The second season of the TNT crime drama about a family of robbers in San Diego run by a matriarch (who picks the targets and masterminds the heists her sons execute) moves away from the template of the Australian film that inspired the series. Crew leader Baz (Scott Speedman) and his brothers leave their controlling, ruthless mother Smurf (Ellen Barkin, alternately maternal and cold-blooded) and plan their own jobs, which results in nephew J (Finn Cole)--an orphaned high school kid adopted by Smurf--being caught between his uncles and his grandmother. As Baz learns just how much Smurf has withheld from them--from murder, to a small fortune she has hidden away--the volatile Pope (Shawn Hatosy) grows tormented with guilt over his past acts of violence, surf bum Deran (Jake Weary) buys a beach dive bar and tries to go legit, and family screw-up Craig (Ben Robson) pulls himself together to plan his own job. Meanwhile, Smurf’s violent past catches up with her, which puts them all in danger. This season features a number of elaborate, well-directed heists (including robberies of a megachurch and a cruise ship), but it’s the evolution of the characters that elevates the show from a gritty crime family drama of reckless machismo and maternal manipulation to a dark drama of complex family relationships within a culture of violence and greed in the Southern California sun. Presenting all 13 episodes from the 2017 second season, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette and deleted scenes. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Animal Kingdom: The Complete Second Season
Warner, 640 min., not rated, DVD: 3 discs, $24.98; Blu-ray: 4 discs, $39.99 Volume 33, Issue 3
Animal Kingdom: The Complete Second Season
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