Ben Schwartz and Cast Talk ‘Space Force’ Season 2

Ben Schwartz from Netflix's 'Space Force' Season Two.

Premiering on Netflix February 18th is the second season of the popular comedy ‘Space Force.’ The series is a workplace comedy that revolves around a group of people tasked with establishing the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces, the United States Space Force.

The series stars Steve Carell (‘Despicable Me’) as General Mark R. Naird, the Space Force’s first Chief of Space Operations. The ensemble cast also includes John Malkovich (‘Con Air’), Ben Schwartz (‘The Afterparty’), Diana Silvers (‘Booksmart’), Tawny Newsome (‘Vacation Friends’), Noah Emmerich (‘Suspicion’), and Jimmy O. Yang (‘Crazy Rich Asians’).

Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with actors Ben Schwartz, Jimmy O. Yang, Diana Silvers and Tawny Newsome about their work on ‘Space Force’ season two.

You can read the full transcript of our interview below, or watch all the interviews in the video played above.

Moviefone: As season two begins, the US Space Force is really having to prove its worth. Ben, as the social media director and the publicist, what is Tony's biggest challenge this season?

Ben Schwartz: By the way, you're exactly correct, that is what is happening. Tony's biggest challenge is trying to spin this thing into something that looks positive. He has to spin this thing into showing that Space Force is worthwhile and keeping these people who work there is worthwhile.

Somehow, now he is the underdog trying to keep the story of what's happening as positive as possible, to give people hope that this thing could actually be wonderful for our country and things like that. So, there's a lot more on his shoulders, but also failure is just a skip away. He is very aware that he may have to start looking for another job.

MF: Jimmy, what is Chan dealing with personally and in the workplace this season?

Jimmy O. Yang: I'm not sure of the Chan and Angela possibilities. Will they, or won't they? Relationships can cause HR complaints, but you know, it's happening. So, I think he's a capable scientist. He approaches everything like science, like a math problem. So, he really has to learn how to grow as a human being with his interpersonal relationships.

But it's not just with Angela. It's also his bromance with Tony, Ben Schwartz's character, him being a mentee to John Malkovich's character, almost mentoring this new intern, all while under the family umbrella of General Naird. It's all very, very fun with very relatable human family dynamics and circumstances, even though it's set in the very high stakes and grand scale of ‘Space Force.’

MF: Tawny, does Captain Ali have a larger role this season than she did in the first season?

Tawny Newsome: Yeah, for sure. You know, I think the writers did a great job of not ignoring the fact that she did this wild thing. She literally went to the moon. She was the first black woman on the moon. Then to just come back and kind of jump into everyday life is a big ask. So, she definitely has some tumult going on. I think we got to play with it in a really fun way.

You know, (producer) Greg Daniels had asked me, do you have like something that you do? We need an outlet for her or whatever. I was like, well, I play the drums. Could she be drumming somewhere? He's like, yes. So, the writers ran with that. Then when I got the scripts later, I was like, oh wait. So, she's drumming in the middle of the night in an apartment complex. That's a serial killer move, who does that? That's truly insane to drum, even to drum in a house, in a regular neighborhood, or in an apartment. So, that told me a lot about where she's at and the amount of F's she was giving at that moment, which is less than zero.

MF: Diana, your character has matured a lot between season one and season two. What happened to her between seasons that helped her to grow so much?

Diana Silvers: I think especially at that age, everything is kind of life or death. Because your emotions are heightened, you're hormonal and there's just a lot going on. You truly are the center of everything that revolves around you. You are the center of your universe. I think in season one, Erin felt like she wasn't. She felt like a side character in someone else's life. I think when, that big event happened with her mom and General Naird, she actually sees that she does matter.

She means something, and she is kind of like the center of not just her universe, but her family's universe. I think it allowed for her to get grounded again and reground herself. So, going into Space Force and finding a parental figure in Mallory and having like two parents in a way again. Having a support system and being around other adults that genuinely care about her, she was able to explore her own identity and figure out what she wants for herself and where she wants to go with her life.

'Space Force' season two premieres February 18th on Netflix.

(L to R) John Malkovich, Tawny Newsome, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Carell, Jimmy O. Yang, Ben Schwartz, and Diana Silvers in 'Space Force' Season Two. Photo Courtesy of Netflix.