Big Shot season 2 is now airing on Disney+, and the stakes for the Westbrook Sirens are higher than ever. The high school sports show stars John Stamos as Marvyn Korn, the coach of a girls' basketball team, who went from seeing his new job as a burden last season to viewing it as a gift this time around. But his goal of winning the Division II championship the first year after qualifying is threatened when the school goes coed and the girls on his team see firsthand how the boys are treated in the same sport.
Marvyn also brings some necessary but difficult upheaval to the team itself when he recruits a talented but troubled volleyball player named Ava, causing a few clashes at first. If that weren't enough, his ex-assistant coach Holly (Jessalyn Gilsig, Vikings) is now coaching the boys' team, and he and his daughter Emma are going through some growing pains. The series also stars Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) as Dean Sheralyn Thomas, who must handle the diverse crop of complaints from teachers and coaches throughout the school.
Screen Rant spoke to Stamos about the fire he sees the cast bring to every episode of Big Shot, the changes in the series for season 2, and the evolution of Marvyn's relationships with Emma and Holly.
John Stamos Shares His Passion For Big Shot Season 2
Screen Rant: I love how we've peeled back a new layer of the Marvyn and Emma dynamic. We're growing from the previous season, but there's still so much left to uncover between them. What can you say about that father-daughter dynamic?
John Stamos: Well, you just said it all... I just love that relationship. I just love that story, and I love working with Sophia. She's one of the best actors I've ever [seen], and she's so smart too. She goes to Yale; she's got a whole thing. And I just marvel at it—at all the girls; I learn from all the girls. But I love how we just went there with this character.
He's a human, and he makes mistakes. He tries not to make the same mistakes; that's where you get in trouble. The show really was about second chances, now that I really think about it. He gets a second chance after being ousted from the college circuit, and he gets a second chance at being a dad. It's complicated. I mean, I'm a dad now, and I know how complicated it is when my kid's, like, four. It's a lot, and I'm grateful that we get to highlight some of that. And certainly, I think people out there can relate to it.
I'm also grateful that this season dips a toe into the Marvyn and Holly dynamic. What can you tell me about that and working with Jessalyn?
John Stamos: I love her. I love Jessalyn and the adults. The girls, they're pros. It's a good vibe, they're really good people, and they have a lot of energy. They're fearless, and I go, "I want to be like that. I used to be." And the adults just got it. We really pushed to not have the two of them hook up; we see that all the time. Every show I'm ever on—like on Scream Queens, by the second episode I've literally hooked up with almost every cast member on the show. And this was not that, obviously, but we tip to it.
Marvyn gets to a place this season where he's just lost. I don't want to spoil too much, but there's a big event that happens halfway through [the season], and he finds himself at rock bottom, trying to grab on to anything he can for comfort. Holly's right there, and it's nice.
Five months before we started the show, Bob passed away, and I wanted to do a story about legacy. Because I don't think Bob knew the impact that he had. He didn't know how loved he was, and it was a tragedy that he didn't get to hear what people thought of him and how he touched so many lives—how many lives he saved.
And so, we did an episode where Marvyn's friend, an old coach mentor, dies. He gets this outpouring of love like Bob, and [Marvyn's like], "What am I leaving here? What's my legacy? What have I done in my life?" He gets a chance to hear what he's done that he maybe doesn't realize, and at graduation, the girls tell him what he means to them. Other people say, "This is how you changed my life." It's a beautiful story, but it's inspired by Bob.
That is beautiful, and I'm sure that he would love that. What is one thing you're most excited about this season? Like, I'm excited to see more of Ava and Marvyn's dynamic. How about yourself?
John Stamos: Yeah, Sarah's a new character. She's great. She's got that fire.
Disney gave us some really good notes, both the studio and the network. The show's shorter now; it's a half hour, so moves faster. All 10 episodes are gonna drop at once, and we brought in some new fiery characters. I see this character Ava, that Sarah plays. She's a volleyball player, and I say, "We need that fire on our team."
It's interesting. I love the girls there, and some of them are newer than others, but they work well as a unit. But to throw a different dynamic in there, it knocks everybody—including myself—off our axis. It works, because anytime a new dynamic comes into something like what we have on that show, it changes everybody and everything. That was a good change.
About Big Shot
Marvyn’s (John Stamos) latest plan toward relevance is to get his team broadcast on ESPN and his method is to recruit an unlikely player: Ava (Sara Echeagaray), a gutsy beach volleyball phenom whose public tantrum got her ousted from her own sport. Between losing their assistant coach Holly Barrett (Jessalyn Gilsig) to a rival school, new friction amongst teammates, a sudden and unexpected proximity to boys, and off-the-court disasters that no one could’ve predicted, this season, the Westbrook Sirens have even more to prove.
Check out our other Big Shot interviews here:
- Yvette Nicole Brown
- Cricket Wampler, Tiana Le & Tisha Custodio
- Nell Verlaque, Sophia Mitri Schloss & Sara Echeagaray
Big Shot season 2 is currently streaming on Disney+.