Get ready for the Season 2 premiere of the CW hit show "Hart of Dixie"! The show centers on Dr. Zoe Hart, played by Rachel Bilson, who goes from New York City to Bluebell, Alabama. At the end of last season, Zoe finds herself struggling to keep her work, love life, and all around sanity in order. Actor Cress Williams, who plays as Lavon Hayes on the show, stopped by to talk about where Season 1 ended and what we can expect from this season.
Can you give us a quick recap of where Season 1 left off and where Season 2 picks up?
Season 1 left off where there were a lot of relationships exploding. (Laughs) It is literally relationship explosion. George (Scott Porter) was going to get married, but leaves Lemon (Jamie King) at the altar. Zoe gets together with Wade (Wilson Bethel), and then George comes knocking at her door. I have been laying in the cut and try to mend some relationships. That is how Season 1 ended. Season 2 literally picks up the day after everything went down. The town is trying to recover from the storm. Everybody is waking up the next day trying to figure out on how to get back to their lives.
Now at the end of every season, there is a cliffhanger that leaves the audience wanting more. As an actor, do you find that you would want to shoot the next few episodes to carry on that momentum for the next season or are you happy to take a break?
Shooting a season can be a grind. It can be seven to eight months of work. Once you stop, it slows down any momentum you had. For me personally, my body told me that I needed a break. Just like the audience, I am curious and excited to see where we go next. From an acting standpoint I was happy to take a break and do something different.
Getting back to your character, Lavon had an affair with Lemon Breeland in Season 1. Will that have a decent story arc in Season 2?At this point I don't know too much about that story arc. I guess if I did, I couldn't tell you everything. (Laughs) There will be some scenes that touch on that subject. It is not over in terms of what we are working through. Where it ends up I honestly don't know. Right now we are shooting Episode 7, so we are still pretty early in. We are not even at the halfway point yet. Things will get a bit more complicated, but where it ends up, I don't know right now.
Lavon has a pet alligator named Burt Reynolds. What was your reaction when you heard that you would have an alligator for a pet?
I thought it was awesome. It is funny because originally the name for the alligator was Don Johnson. The alligator had so many name changes. Like I said, at first it was Don Johnson, but we couldn't get that cleared. For less than an hour, it was Nick Nolte. In the end we chose the name Burt Reynolds. I was stoked. I actually am still waiting to get a scene where I walk down the streets with the alligator on a leash. We haven't made that happen yet. What can we expect from Season 2?I can tell you that this is a re-election year for my character. So the first part of this season is all about the re-election. My first election I ran unopposed. I can tell you that a good twist is that this year I am not running unopposed. That will make it a bit of a challenge for my character. One of my old high school girlfriends comes on the show, played by Golden Brooks. Things ended in high school not as smoothly as we both would have liked, and it creates tension right away.
Season 2 of "Hart of Dixie" premieres on Tuesday, 10/2 at 8 PM on the CW.
