One of Netflix’s biggest hits is coming back for a second season with a super-powered vengeance.
After a long two-year hiatus, Netflix’s Raising Dion returns to the screen with a few new faces, new threats to the city of Atlanta, and a newfound level of confidence for our pint-size 10-year-old hero, Dion (Ja’Siah Young).
“[Season Two] sort of picks up from where we left off and everything is kind of moved on to even more extreme elements, the problems are not just with the family but with the entire city of Atlanta now, and its all kind of leveling up in a nice way,” says Jason Ritter.
Season two opens up with an elevated level of action, and doesn’t miss in keeping viewers intrigued while following Dion on his journey to hone his expanding powers in the wake of a new unknown threat.
This season brings a fellow super-powered kid, Brayden (Griffin Robert Faulkner), disguised as a new student in Dion’s class. With Brayden’s arrival comes a series of alarming events set to affect the world around him and everyone in it. Danger is certainly looming and Dion is going to need a bit more help than the Triangle of Justice.
While the previous season also had its fair share of imminent risks, with the entire Atlanta community in jeopardy there is a stark contrast when compared to this current season. The first season gave an insight into Dion’s origin story, the perfect visual representation of the comic book storyline. The audience followed Dion as he, alongside Pat and Nicole, discovered his newfound abilities – and just how much they would be needed to defeat The Crooked Man and the occasional middle school bully.
However, this season explores the world around Dion through a more experienced lens; Dion is after all now in the double-digits which in turn doubles his confidence in his now harnessed powers. Fans and new viewers alike can get a sense of Dion’s faith in his abilities and role as a superhero, as he says (and with mighty conviction, might I add) that “it’s time to clean up the neighborhood!”
Dion’s developing powers aren’t the only change in season two. The unique dynamic between Dion and Nicole has also evolved as Nicole sets out to do whatever she can to protect her super-powered son, who may or may not believe the roles should be reversed.
In any case, danger is certainly looming and Dion is going to need a bit more help than the Triangle of Justice.
That’s where Nicole (Alisha Wainwright) steps in to get Dion the coaching he needs to harness his powers at Biona, and we meet season two newcomer, and trainer, Tevin Wakefield (Rome Flynn).
“I want to be a guy that’s real,” says Flynn when asked about what he plans to bring to his role. “I wanted to try to just be, and just allow what’s on the page to just materialize once we do the scenes.”
If the element of witnessing a super-powered kid from Atlanta defeat the treacherous Crooked Man (à la Season one) didn’t already keep its audience in its grasp, watching Nicole juggle work and life as a single mom definitely will.
Some may argue that the admirable relationship between Nicole and Dion is even more relatable this season, and the secret behind the show’s success.
The show is so successful that its first season alone was one of the 10 “most popular” series on Netflix in 2019 and the most popular Kids & Family series release of 2019. It’s no wonder that Wainwright can recall children pulling their parents over just to meet her on the street.
“The number of people that were hype about Raising Dion was so beautiful to see all the little kids being super excited. I was just like this is so special,” Wainwright says with a smile. “It just feels really heartwarming because I didn’t really have shows like that when I was coming up so I’m glad that I’m able to provide that for them now.”
While the storyline (and comic originally written by Dennis A. Liu) follows a super-powered kid navigating life and mysterious visitors in his city, it also encompasses something natural that speaks to a wide audience.
“I think what people respond to are the things that sort of ground [the series]; we know what it’s like to grow up and not know how you’re feeling and navigating that stuff, and for parents and single parents especially, those feelings of feeling ill-equipped to raise someone where there’s no book or support group,” Ritter says.
Raising Dion’s ability to touch on a human element while telling a story about superheroes, villains, and energy is a true testament to its strength and is not lost on its audience.
“These stories don’t really get told, especially in this fashion,” says Flynn. “Sometimes you get the representation but the storyline is rooted in characters dealing with trauma related to who they are and the color of their skin and this show isn’t about that.
In essence, it’s so much more.
Tune into Netflix, for its debut of season 2 – you won’t want to miss it!
