Hulu’s second season Wake up is just around the corner. To celebrate the approaching release date, the streaming platform has released a new trailer for the upcoming season.
The first season of Wake up followed Keef Knight, a black cartoonist, who avoided controversial viewpoints, preferring to keep things light. After being assaulted by an aggressive police officer who racially profiled him, the cartoonist is traumatized and is now able to communicate with inanimate objects. The encounter leads to a more sensitive Keef now awakened to the daily microaggressions and discrimination he had previously shunned and ignored. On the brink of mainstream success, Keef Knight must learn to navigate his career and relationships through new lenses. The season sees Keef’s journey to embrace parts of himself he had shunned as he is thrust into activism as a result of his experience.
Although the subject matter is heavy, the TV show uses surreal humor and animated elements to earn its place in the comedy genre. The second season is set to take the story one step further by revisiting Keef as a rising grassroots activist. Realizing that being “woke” is a big deal, Keef must learn to navigate this new world if he is to bring about real change and not be affected by money.
The recently released trailer shows Keef’s increased profile as an “artivist” who now has fifteen thousand social media followers. With her new profile comes new opportunities, including headlining a protest. The two-minute clip tackles the familiar beats, tropes, and comedy that made the first season a hit. The new trailer showcases proof that the upcoming season will stay in line with Season 1’s intent to satirize and engage with polarizing topics about race and culture in today’s world.
An interesting point from the trailer is that Keef wants to use his platform to tackle other newsworthy issues. A storyline similar to this is included in the third season of Cultivated when Aaron Jackson (played by Trevor Jackson) tries to use his platform in the same way after he was arrested for putting up posters in the university. Though both shows play this plotline in comedic fashion, the sentiment remains the same – the added pressure on black activists to tackle all pressing social issues.
Interestingly, the series based on the life and work of Keith Chevalier, an American designer and musician. Several of the series’ moments and plot points were taken directly from Knight’s real-life experiences.
Larmon Morris stars in the lead role of Keef Knight, appearing alongside Blake Anderson, T. Murph, Sasheer Zamata andn/a JB Smoothe. Wake up was developed by Knight and Marshal Todd, who also serve as executive producers alongside Anthony King, Maurice “Mo” Marable, Richie Schwartz, John Will, Will Gluck, and Eric Christian Olsen. The comedy is also co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and ABC Signature.
The second season of Wake up premieres with all eight episodes Friday, April 8 on Hulu. Watch the trailer for the new season below:
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