The Prime Video anthology series, Them, is back for its sophomore season. This time, in Them: The Scare, the story centers on LAPD Detective Dawn Reeve, who is assigned to a new case: a gruesome murder that has left the most hardened detectives shaken. As Dawn draws closer to the truth, something malevolent grips her and her family.

Series creator Little Marvin spoke with Blavity’s Shadow and Act about taking viewers back to Los Angeles but in a different time period. “I was excited with the second season to explore the city of Los Angeles in a different era. I am endlessly fascinated by Los Angeles and its history,” he said. “I think watching a city go from the 1950s in the first installment, to the 1990s in this installment, and the way in which the city is not only different, but the ways in which its the same are the ways in which the past has sort of affected the present. That was very fascinating to me.”

Deborah Ayorinde, who starred in the first installment, returns as Dawn, the protagonist. She admits it was hard for her to leave her character behind for this role. But, she was thrilled to dive back in and says it’s the first situation for her that she returns to any series. The Them anthology was the perfect fit. And she says it’s harder for viewers, and sometimes even the characters, to distinguish who is good and bad. 

“In the first installment, it’s very clear who the ‘us’ is and who the ‘them’ is. But what you see in the second installment, which is very true to the time, people don’t really know who the ‘us’ is or who the ‘them’ is, who the enemy is, who the bad guys are, who the good guys are, you don’t really know. And by nature that in itself, which is cause people to be very, very paranoid and, and to be suspicious of everyone,” she told us. It’s one of the elements in the series that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats.

Pam Grier stars as Dawn’s mother, Athena. On the surface, she’s a typical caring mother and grandmother. But she’s hiding something that could shake Dawn’s investigation and her family life. “She’s got a dynamic that she’s holding a grave secret and she has no control of it,” Grier explained. “There are paranormal issues and episodes in her home that are inexplicable, and it’s daunting because she doesn’t know if she should reveal those events to her daughter, or if her daughter and grandson have seen the same paranormal events.”

Completing the core family is the teenage son and grandson, Kel, played by Joshua J. Williams. When viewers first see him, he’s a typical teenager who blocks out the stress around him by turning to music, which is his safe place. But like the adults around him, he’s also carrying a major burden. 

“Kel is just a kid. He’s dealing with a lot. But the thing that really got him to where. To the point that he’s gotten to to where the point that he’s gotten to is that he felt alone in a sense,” Williams said. “It’s really important for people to really watch out for these kids because once they feel alone in certain spots, it’s really hard for them to get out of that corner.”

Each character has a special duality to them, and they take us on a journey of who they are versus who society wants them to be.

No one exudes this more than Luke James as Edmund, a struggling artist who is a sensitive soul yet feels compelled to give into the world around him in his search for the best acting role and in his personal life. “Edmund is a loner. He’s alone in this world and he’s in search for an identity and a purpose,” James said. “I think his love for films and movies, and I think his admiration for those characters, those famous people of the ’80s and ’90s is why I think he gravitates towards is that those people are loved.” 

Them: The Scare is now streaming on Prime Video.