Kate McKinnon Reveals Why Heads Will Roll Season 2 Took Seven Years (And the Disney Villain That Inspired It)
The hit audio sitcom Heads Will Roll from Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynne has finally returned to Audible with a second season. After introducing fans to the Night Realm in 2019, McKinnon’s Queen Mortuana and Lynne’s raven assistant JoJo, the series made the New York Times best seller list and earned raves from adoring listeners and critics alike. Despite that reception, the sibling pair did not immediately jump back into the dungeons and much like another fairytale, the kingdom slept as it waited for the spell to be broken. Or in this case, another book to be written. Recently, the seven-year curse was lifted when a second volume, Heads Will Roll: Heir Apparent, magically appeared on Audible.
ComicBook’s own Chris Killian was able to catch up to Kate and Emily at Comic-Con to discuss the series and why we were denied new adventures of Queen Mortuana for six long years. The pair admitted under questioning there was no single answer for the long delay. However, they now believe Heads Will Roll: Heir Apparent benefited from the years they spent away from its characters. “Whatever happened, it’s good, because we both moved into a new phase of life in the intervening years that we could then write from,” Lynne explained. McKinnon agreed, adding, “I don’t think we would have been able to do it.”
Why Heads Will Roll Needed Its Creators to Get Older
The years between seasons gave McKinnon and Lynne material that directly connects to the new problems Mortuana and JoJo are facing in their kingdom. Referred to as Game of Thrones meets Veep, Heir Apparent finds the 39-year-old evil queen ordered to produce an heir before her 40th birthday or she must abdicate the throne. Meanwhile, JoJo is dealing with a wing-enhancement surgery gone wrong after she is accidentally turned into a toad. Both characters are put into circumstances that comedically confront aging, family, and whether the lives they’ve built are what they really want.
The first season of Heads Will Roll was chock-full of impressive celebrity cameos including Peter Dinklage, Tim Gunn, Carol Kane, and even Meryl Streep. Not to rest on their laurels, the second season features performances from even more comedy mega-stars like Megan Mullally, Laurie Metcalf, Richard Kind, Carrie Coon, and Patti LuPone. Their casting director is certainly using some strong conjuring spells.
The Disney Villain Who Inspired Mortuana
When we prodded McKinnon about the origins of her character, she didn’t hesitate to explain her fascination with the villain Maleficent from the Walt Disney animated classic Sleeping Beauty. The SNL alum praised the films visuals as “animated in an unparalleled and unique style.” But more than that, the comedienne says she had an Inception-level obsession with the evil sorceress. “I had dreams about Maleficent,” McKinnon said. When Lynne asked whether those were good dreams or bad dreams, McKinnon answered, “Both.”
“I love that character. I love the outfits,” McKinnon continued. “I wanted to play something that was like that. And then, you never hear about what’s happening with these silent minions of evil queens. Do they have an inner life? Maleficent has a raven who’s basically her personal assistant, and so that’s how the character of JoJo came about.”
McKinnon and Lynne have very much embraced the two archetypes through two season of Heads Will Roll. Mortuana’s theatricality and JoJo’s long-suffering voice of reason pair so well that you can almost imagine Walt’s “9 old men” animating the sister’s adventures. Maleficent may have provided the spark, but McKinnon and Lynne have built a dysfunctional fairy tale all their own.
Heads Will Roll: Heir Apparent is available through Audible.
