Unstable Season 2’s “Nuanced” New Character Played by New Girl Star Teased by Rob Lowe & John Owen Lowe

The main actors and co-creators of Unstable give a sneak peek at the complex role portrayed by Lamorne Morris, a former New Girl. The Netflix comedy, which was co-created by Rob Lowe, John Owen Lowe, and Victor Fresco, centers on the father-son team as they start collaborating at a cutting-edge research facility. A personality clash results from the arrangement, especially when the quiet son tries to prevent his flamboyant father from going crazy following the loss of a loved one. Sian Clifford from Fleabag, Aaron Branch, Rachel Marsh, and Emma Ferreira are all among the cast of Unstable.

The Lowes discussed Morris’s guest role in an interview with Screen Rant’s Grant Hermanns for Unstable season 2, which premieres on Netflix on August 1. Rob Lowe, who plays the father Ellis Dragon, zeroed in on what Morris brought to the role and how he avoided turning his portrayal into a caricature. John Owen Lowe, who plays the shy Jackson Dragon, likewise praised the new addition to the ensemble. Read their quotes below:

Rob Lowe: He’s the only guy I can imagine playing that part, right?

John Owen Lowe: He crushed it.

Rob Lowe: It was a very tough part.

John Owen Lowe: It was a very tough part to write, at first, and then, in translation, a difficult part to come in and play, because it carried a lot of stories, but also a lot of comedic relief. And that balance is hard, and he’s so good at it.

Rob Lowe: So good, because that part could easily have been a caricature of, “Is he possibly the heir-apparent villain?” It’s such a nuanced, smart take, which is what he does.

John Owen Lowe: He’s so likable, that’s the other thing. Some people just have likability, and he really exudes that.

Summary

• Co-creator and star Rob Lowe says Lamorne Morris shines in his nuanced role on Unstable, avoiding caricature.
• Lowe praises Morris for balancing story and comedy in his tough-to-play character.
• Morris brings likability to his role, says fellow creator and star John Owen Lowe.

Unstable Season 2 Continues A Strong Run for Morris

The Actor Is Nominated for An Emmy

The two-season series garnered generally positive reviews, mixing live-action and animation elements to tell the story of Morris’ cartoonist who experiences a major shift just as he’s on the verge of major career success. The actor will next appear alongside Nicolas Cage in the upcoming Spider-Noir show, playing Robbie Robertson.

Unstable season 2, from showrunner and executive producer Andrew Garland, is also welcoming Iris Apatow to recur as the stepdaughter of Sian Cliffford’s Anna. SNL vet Fred Armisen will also be reprising his guest role as Leslie, Ellis’s therapist who is desperate to be friends with his patient. Along with the addition of Morris, it sets up for an evolving second installment.

Morris, who is best known for playing Winston on the venerable sitcom New Girl, will return as Peter in Unstable season 2. Morris, who is portrayed as the charming creator of a biotech startup, will ratchet up the already fierce rivalry between Ellis and Jackson. This is related to Morris’s recent Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Witt Farr in season five of Fargo in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Morris was the lead in the critically praised Hulu comedy Woke since the end of New Girl in 2018.

Unstable

 Unstable is a television comedy cantered around Ellis Dragon, an eccentric biotech entrepreneur played by Rob Lowe, and his son, Jackson, portrayed by John Owen Lowe. The series explores the complex relationship between father and son as they navigate the challenges of running a high-stakes company. Both characters grapple with their personal and professional dynamics, creating a blend of humor and family tension.

Cast: Rob Lowe, Fred Armisen, Tom Allen, Sian Clifford, Aaron Branch, Rachel Marsh, and Emma Ferreira
Date of Release: March 30, 2023
One season
Comedy is the primary genre. The creators are Rob Lowe, Victor Fresco, and John Owen Lowe.

Unstable Season 2’s Rob & John Owen Lowe Talk “Too Meta” Storytelling, Lamorne Morris & St. Elmo’s Fire

Unstable season 2 is just going to make things crazier for the Dragon family. The Netflix comedy show, co-created by Rob Lowe and John Owen Lowe, and starring Santa Clarita Diet’s Victor Fresco, is about biotech CEO Ellis Dragon as he starts to fall apart when his wife passes away, endangering the company’s future. The company’s CFO enlists Jackson, Ellis’s estranged son, to assist in trying to right the situation, which sets off a frenzy of office mayhem, emotional processing, and head-scraping.

Unstable season 2 picks up shortly after the events of the season 1 finale, with Ellis and Jackson now on better footing with one another, though the younger Dragon is looking to break free from his father’s shadow and properly make a name for himself at another company, run by Lamorne Morris’ Peter. Jackson’s efforts prove troublesome for his father, though, who hopes to prepare his son to succeed him as the CEO of Dragon. When Ellis buys out Peter’s company and continues to prove an unstable figurehead for his company, problems not only continue to grow between the father and son, but also for Dragon.

In addition to the two Lowes and Morris, the ensemble Unstable season 2 cast sees the returns of stars Emma Ferreira, Aaron Branch, Rachel Marsh, Sian Clifford, Fred Armisen, Tom Allen and JT Parr. Now having The Last Exorcism and Reboot’s Andrew Gurland on as showrunner, the next chapter of the Netflix show takes an insightful look into the real relationship between Rob and John Owen Lowe, while also nicely expanding its ensemble cast of characters and hitting new comedic highs for the show.

Ahead of the show’s return, Screen Rant interviewed Rob Lowe and John Owen Lowe to discuss Unstable season 2, how it can sometimes feel “too meta” for the latter with its storytelling, how bringing on Garland helped expand Ellis’ story, and the reports of a new St. Elmo’s Fire being in the works.

John Owen Lowe Sometimes Has to Remind Himself Unstable Is “Just A Show”

Unstable season 2 delves deeply into the realities of John Owen Lowe’s upbringing with a superstar father and his quest to carve out a niche for himself in the industry, a dynamic that was hinted at in the first season. The younger Lowe can’t help but acknowledge that, despite the humorous treatment of this subject, there are moments when he needs to remind himself that “it’s just a show”:

John Owen Lowe: Well, it’s a bit too meta at times, I will say that. There’s been moments where I’ve had to remind myself that —

Rob Lowe: It’s just a television show.

John Owen Lowe: It’s just a show. Meanwhile, you’ve been fixing my hair in between interviews today. Yep, thank you.

Rob Lowe: It looks good. It’s covering the receding part.

John Owen Lowe: There’s no receding. I can see your hair dye back here for the greys. I truly am trying to focus this season, as you can tell, with the help of my therapist, on being grateful that I get to spend quality time with my dad and learn from him.

Garland Brought One Great Change to Unstable Season 2’s Formula

New showrunner Andrew Garland is one of the major additions to Unstable season 2. Lowe praised Garland’s abilities, highlighting his willingness to “lean into the meta relationship” of his and John Owen’s characters and to let one supporting character “loose” when examining Garland’s character arc and the overall changes to the writing style:

Rob Lowe Andrew Garland has joined us as a new partner on the show.

When Andrew came in to the show, one of the things that he wanted to do, that we just loved, was to really lean into the meta relationship of Jackson and Ellis, me and Johnny, and just mine the reality of the absurdities that come along with the life that I’ve lived and having kids. So, it’s very much refocused on that, and I’m glad that you picked up on it. Also, the other thing was we really wanted to turn Fred Armisen loose. It’s like if we’re coaching a team, we wanted to run some clear outs for Fred Armisen.

Lamorne Morris Was “The Only Guy” The Lowes Could Imagine Playing Season 2’s Peter

Lamorne Morris, a former cast member of Fargo and New Girl, plays Peter, a fellow biotech business CEO who starts to put a rift between Jackson and Ellis by promising Ellis a new life apart from his father in Unstable season 2. The Lowes discovered there was no one else they could envisage “playing that part” as Peter develops into a much more “nuanced” character as the season goes on:

Rob Lowe: He’s the only guy I can imagine playing that part, right?

John Owen Lowe: He crushed it.

Rob Lowe: It was a very tough part.

John Owen Lowe: It was a very tough part to write, at first, and then, in translation, a difficult part to come in and play, because it carried a lot of stories, but also a lot of comedic relief. And that balance is hard, and he’s so good at it.

Rob Lowe: So good, because that part could easily have been a caricature of, “Is he possibly the heir-apparent villain?” It’s such a nuanced, smart take, which is what he does.

John Owen Lowe: He’s so likable, that’s the other thing. Some people just have likability, and he really exudes that.