Ahead Of Loot Season 2, Joel Kim Booster Recalls The 'Kind Of Traumatic To Relive' Scene That Hit Close To Home
Loot is on the way back to Apple TV+ in the 2024 TV schedule, nearly two years after the first season of the Maya Rudolph-starring comedy debuted. Fans were left on a cliffhanger back in 2022, and the cast will be back to continue the story in April. Before the new season can get started, however, Joel Kim Booster spoke with CinemaBlend about the "kind of traumatic" scene from Season 1 that sticks with him.
Fire Island's Joel Kim Booster plays Molly's (Maya Rudolph) assistant Nicholas on Loot, who was devoted to her throughout the first season but had an arc of his own as he attempted to get back into acting. As part of that story, Nicholas had to brave going to an audition for the first time in years, which involved sitting in a room full of men around his age, looking similar, wearing similar outfits, and vying for the same role.
He was so discouraged that he left, and although he did eventually go back to do the audition and land a role in a play (with some encouragement from Ron Funches' Howard), the shot of Nicholas looking uncomfortable and defeated was hard for me to forget. So, when I spoke to Joel Kim Booster at SCAD TVfest in Atlanta, I asked if that was an arc that he could relate to as part of the entertainment industry. He shared:
Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, the scene of him in the commercial waiting room surrounded by everybody in the same look, that has been my life for so long. Pretty much until Fire Island. And so the struggle of that is something that hits very close to home, sometimes too close to home. It's the kind of traumatic sometimes to relive all that.
The recipient of SCAD's Rising Star Award in 2024, Joel Kim Booster has a list of on-screen credits to his name prior to the release of Fire Island in 2022. But between Loot and the rom com film that he both wrote and starred in for viewers with Hulu subscriptions, he's much more well known as a performer by this point. Ideally he won't have to endure what Nicholas went through on Loot as his career continues to rise, and Season 2 certainly looks like a fun next step.
Looking back at the underrated Fire Island, did that project feel particularly worthwhile at that point is his career, since he was involved as both writer as star? Booster answered that very question, saying:
Oh yeah! That is where I thrive, I think, wearing those different hats. It was really nice to finally be able to sort of flex all those muscles all at once, because I've been working really hard. And I think most people just sort of saw me as sort of this vapid stand-up guy for a long time who had some stupid jokes. It was really gratifying to sort of show up and be like, 'No, there's a lot more, and there's still more yet to come.'
As he noted, Booster has had a stand-up comedy career for quite a while, and one special is currently streaming with a Netflix subscription. It has just been more recently that he became more of a familiar face in the entertainment industry with scripted projects. When we spoke on the SCAD red carpet, Loot had aired its first season finale nearly two years prior, and he shared how he feels about the show's success looking back:
It's difficult, because there are so many shows, and it's really hard to sort of break through the noise and get people to watch. But it was a slow burn for us, I think, definitely. When the show first premiered, it's also hard to know who's watching anything these days, because there's like five shows that break through and everybody talks about, and if you're not Beef or Succession or The Bear, is anyone watching your show? But it's been really nice to see sort of a groundswell of support online, from people who really love the show, really resonated with the show.
The actor made a very good point about how many shows are available nowadays, to the point that some series are cancelled before consumers have even heard that they released. He also name-dropped three shows that have been awards darlings. Among the major winners at the 75th Emmys alone, Succession nearly swept the Drama categories, The Bear nearly swept the Comedy categories, and Beef won the majority of the Limited Series categories.
Fortunately, Loot did turn out to be a hit among Apple TV+ subscribers, and ranks on our list of the best Apple TV+ shows. Booster continued:
And I think for me, too, specifically, I've been like a very D-list gay celebrity for a couple of years now. I think like, gay guys in gay bars recognize me, and that makes sense to me. But people come up to me now who are frat bros who like the show, and I'm like, 'Wow, I've never gotten that before.' And so that's nice for me to see that I'm sort of breaking through for a different audience than I think I've cultivated over the beginning stages in my career.
If the first season of Loot helped Joel Kim Booster in "breaking through for a different audience," the second season could go even farther, based on the trailer! Nicholas looks like he has plenty of laughs to deliver opposite Maya Rudolph's Molly, and the wait is luckily almost over to finally get new episodes for the first time since 2022. Take a look at the trailer:
Loot Season 2 premieres on Wednesday, April 3 on Apple TV+, with the story picking up a year after Molly's divorce from John (Adam Scott) was settled, following Molly's cliffhanger announcement that she was giving away all of her money. A lot has changed over the course of that year, including new relationships, new challenges, and new ways to incorporate gin into daily life. For now, you can always revisit the first season for a refresher ahead of the new episodes!
