You heard it here first. We caught up with The Irrational‘s Travina Springer, and she gave us some sneak peeks into what’s ahead for Kylie and the show in general.
Springer co-stars as Kylie, and the show and her character are undergoing major changes.
The detective series starring Jesse L. Martin as neuroscience professor Alec Mercer, who also consults for the FBI, is about to start its second season.
The Best Word To Describe The Irrational Season 2 Is “Bigger.”
The Irrational’s Travina Springer Is Excited For A Full Season Order
The best news is that The Irrational Season 2 will be bigger in all respects. Like many shows experienced, The Irrational’s freshman season was frustratingly short because of the writers’ and actors’ strikes, but in 2024 it will have a full season order.
The Irrational’s Travina Springer previewed that each episode will “be like a mini-movie,” explaining that in Season 2, the series will focus more on the case of the week rather than on a bigger mystery that includes weekly cliffhangers.
Season 1 had cases of the week, too, but Alec’s — and the series’ — focus was on finding out the truth about what happened the night of the church bombing that left him scarred physically and psychologically.
Thus, Season 2’s more episodic nature is a marked difference that will allow viewers to pick up the series at any point without feeling lost or confused.
But the increased season order and focus on self-contained stories aren’t the only exciting changes. Springer explained, “We’re going to get to expand on relationships… Alec and Kylie, Kylie and Marisa, and Marisa and Alec, and how he’s navigating his skill set.”
Kylie Will Be Working For The FBI
The Irrational’s Travina Springer Previewed What That Will Mean For Her
At the end of Season 1, Kylie accepted a contract position in the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Division, which will utilize her computer skills in a new way during The Irrational Season 2.
Don’t expect it to be smooth sailing for her, however.
As The Irrational’s Travina Springer explained, “She [Kylie] has a complicated relationship with law enforcement, and she doesn’t shy away from that… She has to come to terms with that and what the expectations are on her.”
Despite that conflict, this career change could benefit Kylie in other ways.
Springer also shared that Kylie will be getting out of the house more due to her job and will be collaborating with Alec, which will change their dynamic somewhat. “Alec is often the expert in the room, and understandably so,” she said, “but often in the season, we get to see Kylie be the expert.”
Some Things Change With Alec, But Others Stay The Same
The Irrational’s Travina Springer Previewed Their Season 2 Relationship
Kylie and Alec have always had a close brother/sister bond, but the trauma of Alec’s near-death experience has led to a dynamic in which Kylie is Alec’s caretaker in some ways.
Although things have changed now that Alec has gotten closure on the question of who set that bomb, that doesn’t mean he’s healed completely, which wouldn’t be realistic.
The Irrational Season 2 will continue to depict Alec’s mental health challenges with sensitivity, and he will still do impulsive or dangerous things that worry Kylie.
“Kylie is gonna have to get on some Xanax or something cause Alec is stressing her out,” The Irrational’s Travina Springer said, but she also emphasized that Alec and Kylie still have a beautiful, close relationship that they will get to explore more fully in this new season.
Exciting News For LGBTQ+ Audience Members And Their Allies
There Will Be More Queer-Focused Content For Kylie This Season
For those who don’t know, The Irrational’s Travina Springer is a proud Black queer woman, and so is her character.
This aspect of Kylie’s character wasn’t explored much in Season 1 because of the constraints of a limited number of episodes, but Springer confirmed that that would change in the upcoming season.
This is great news because there is not enough LGBTQ+ representation on TV, especially not diverse representation.
While it’s more commonplace than it used to be to have gay or transgender characters on television, there are still more white men who are gay than any other queer identity. We need more characters like Kylie.
Springer shared with us how honored she is to be able to provide this type of representation, saying, “Seeing Black queerness also represented on network television is important and wonderful…
“We got queer writers in the room, too, including our showrunner, so it’s going to be in the show. It’s just really lovely… The show is giving us the opportunity to tell these specific stories because they matter. Too awesome!”
The Irrational’s Travina Springer Has One Wish For Fans
She Hopes To Inspire Them To Live Authentically
In addition to her work on the show, Springer is an advocate who works with Vigilant Love, a non-profit dedicated to combatting Islamophobia and related violence.
Both this work and her participation in The Irrational is meant to inspire others to be able to live authentically and in peace.
Springer explained, “I believe in everyone’s humanity and in the right to live safe, fulfilling lives and pursue things that make them happy.”
That’s also her message for fans who are eagerly awaiting the next season of The Irrational:
Joy is something that everyone deserves. For the fans, enjoy the show and the ride and be your authentic selves. That’s what I want people to do. Be yourself and live in your own truth.
Over to you, The Irrational fanatics. How excited are you for the new season and for Kylie’s role in it?
Hit the comments and let us know.
The Irrational Season 2 premieres on NBC on October 8, 2024, at 10/9c and streams on Peacock beginning on October 9.
