Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Season 2 of Sense8 will premiere on Netflix worldwide this December, but one primary cast member from last season won’t be present. British actor Aml Ameen has been recast suddenly amid rumors of on-set strife.
Deadline broke the news last night that American actor Toby Onwumere would take on the role of Capheus (formerly played by Aml Ameen) next season. The news site then describes Ameen’s departure as “abrupt” and spurred on by a “conflict” between the actor and one of the series’ masterminds, Lana Wachowski. Deadline reports that this friction “flared up at the Season 2 table read in Berlin and worsened as filming progressed in India, leading to Ameen’s exit a couple of episodes in and the recasting of the role.”
Adding to the drama? Sense8 actress Jamie Clayton took to Twitter last night to address the rumors and, as online gossip community OhNoTheyDidn’t put it, threw “Mariah levels of shade.” First, she excitedly tweeted about Ameen’s departure:
And then followed that up by saying that the recasting would allow “THE WRITING & CHARACTER CAN SHINE AS THEY WERE MEANT TO!” (ALL CAPS hers), and then went a little deeper on her clear dislike for Ameen:
So, there’s a lot to unpack here. Clayton definitely confirms that there is much more to this story than Deadline has published, especially when you consider that Sense8 is a show run by two transgender women that also features a transgender actress in a leading role. However, when directly asked by a fan on Twitter if the beef was “transphobic” in nature, Clayton responded:
The bottom line is that it sounds like Sense8 just had some on-set drama that rivals The Good Wife‘s Julianna Margulies/Archie Panjabi feud. However, unlike that show, which could cleverly concoct reasons why the two actresses didn’t have to share a scene, Sense8 uses complex and dazzling visual effects (and, cough, orgies) that rely on the actors working closely together — and trusting each other.
In any event, it sounds like there’s much more to this story to come and that the second season of Sense8 will be even more exciting than its first.
