It’s official: UNTAMED is coming back for another season. 

The new season is now in production on O’ahu and the island of Hawaii. Above and below, you can check out a set of images of the Hawaiian blessing held last week to mark the beginning of production. 

Bana (The Dry, Munich) will return as Kyle Turner, Investigative Services Branch (ISB) agent of the National Parks Service. In Season 2 of the series, co-created by Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith, the grizzled park veteran will be investigating a whole new mystery. 

“Elle and I envisioned it as a stand-alone six episodes,” Mark L. Smith tells Tudum of the first season. “But then the more that we got into it, it was such a great cast … it was just like, ‘Oh yeah, how do we keep this going?’ ”

In Season 2, Bana will also be joined by a new cast of friends and foes — starting with new additions Shea Whigham (American Primeval, F1) and Kelly Hu (BMF, Finding ‘Ohana). Hu plays Awapuhi. Born and raised on Hawaii Island, she’s spent the last few years in Oahu grappling with the death of her son. Now she’s returning to the Big Island to face the demons she left behind. Whigham will play businessman Ray Burkart, a bereaved father who clashes with Turner over the investigation into his son’s murder. Burkart moved from California to the Big Island of Hawaii 30 years ago, and has a hand in various businesses — some more legal than others.

The cast and crew are just as excited to carry UNTAMED into the future as fans are. “I am absolutely thrilled that we get the chance to bring another season of UNTAMED to life,” Bana said in a statement. “The response to Season 1 has been a testament to the incredible effort by our crew to deliver something truly unique. I can’t wait to take Kyle on his next journey. Massive thanks to Netflix, John Wells Productions, Warner Bros. Television, and our fans.”

Read on for more information about UNTAMED Season 2, including which park Turner will be investigating this time around. 

What is UNTAMED Season 2 about?

In its second season, the hit series follows Special Agent Turner as he’s called to investigate a mysterious death in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, where local tensions and the volatile, living landscape become an unpredictable force.

Elizabeth Morris/Netflix

Who’s in the cast of UNTAMED Season 2?

So far, the cast of UNTAMED Season 2 includes:

• Eric Bana as Agent Kyle Turner
• Shea Whigham as Ray Burkart
• Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation, Falling Skies) as Layla Hale. Deeply connected to Hawaii, she’s funny, confident, and intuitive. Layla’s able to sense Turner’s suffering and helps bring out his softer side
• Kekoa Kekumano (Rescue: HI-Surf, White Lotus, Aquaman) as Marcus Sawada, a local Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park ranger assigned to assist Turner in the murder investigation.
• Luciane Buchanan (Chief of War, The Night Agent) as Ku‘ulei Pana, who grew up on the island and is well connected. She’s the Hawaii PD detective assigned to the murder investigation. 
• Kelly Hu as Awapuhi
• Moronai Kanekoa (Rescue: HI-Surf) as Ti Hale. Ti is a proud and territorial wrangler on the Hale family ranch. His traditional values are challenged by his daughter Addy’s wilder side. 
• Matthew Keoni Sato (Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.) as Kaden Burkart. Kaden works for his father, Ray, and is dedicated to the family business. 
• Robbie Magasiva (Rescue: HI-Surf, Wentworth) as Lieutenant Ochi, a longtime Hawaii Police lieutenant and Pana’s boss 
• Myra Molloy (Girls Like Girls, Hadestown on Broadway) as Addy Hale. Addy is the youngest member of the Hale family. She has a wild streak despite her family’s traditional values and finds herself caught up in Turner’s murder investigation.
• Branscombe Richmond (Wrecking Crew, Chief of War) as Ikua Hale, the owner and patriarch of Hale Ranch, which has been in the family for six generations. Ikua doesn’t trust outsiders.
• Joe Tippett (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, The Morning Show, Mare of Easttown) as Casper Kane. A lone wolf, Casper is never in one place for long. Competent in the wilderness and living off the land, he’s looking to leave his mark. 

Turner will be getting to know a new park and its inhabitants. “We’re going to make sure we populate it with characters that are interesting and help him in ways both good and bad,” Mark L. Smith says.

Elizabeth Morris/Netflix

Where is UNTAMED Season 2 set?

The first season of UNTAMED saw Turner investigate a death in his home territory: Yosemite National Park. But Season 2 sees him getting out of his comfort zone. At the end of Season 1, having solved one of the most devastating cases of his career, Turner finally leaves Yosemite and hits the road. It’s a moment of catharsis for the character, as he lets go of years of emotional baggage he’s stored in the park’s wilderness. 

The next time we see him, Turner will have taken a hop to the middle of the Pacific — to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. 

His exodus is a realistic narrative turn for the series; real-life ISB agents routinely travel from park to park. In fact, Turner will have made his way to quite a few before landing at his Season 2 destination. “This won’t be the first park he’s been in since Yosemite,” Mark L. Smith says. “He’s been to a lot of parks. He’s been busy, taking on a lot of cases. This will be the latest, and it'll be more impactful for him.”

The shift in scenery means Turner will be far less at home in the wilderness. In Season 2, he takes on a role more similar to his rookie sidekick, Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago) in Season 1. 

“Turner was so comfortable in Yosemite,” Smith says. “He was the one leading this charge, and people followed him. And now, [we’re] putting Kyle on his back foot, making him very uncomfortable. This time we get to follow Turner into a park and let him lead us, and we stumble along with him as he’s kind of finding his way.” 

When will UNTAMED Season 2 be on Netflix?

There’s no release date yet, but stay tuned for more information about UNTAMED Season 2, now in production. 

Watch the teaser for ‘Untamed’