Conversations with the Cast of ‘The Mysterious Benedict Society’

THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY - Disney’s “The Mysterious Benedict Society” stars Ryan Hurst as Milligan, MaameYaa Boafo as Rhonda Kazembe, Gia Sandhu as Ms. Perumal, Seth B. Carr as Sticky Washington, Kristen Schaal as Number Two, Tony Hale as Mr. Benedict, Mystic Inscho as Reynie Muldoon, Marta Kessler as Constance Contraire, Emmy DeOliveira as Kate Wetherall and Tony Hale as Mr. Curtain. (Disney/Brendan Meadows)

The Mysterious Benedict Society returns for its second season on Wednesday and we here at Nerds That Geek were lucky enough to sit down a bevy of cast members from the show to discuss this year’s adventures. So, without further ado here is what Mystic Inscho (“Reynie Muldoon”), Marta Kessler (“Constance Contriare”), Seth Carr (“George ‘Sticky’ Washington”), Emmy DeOliveira (“Kate Wetherall”), Gia Sandhu (“Ms. Perumal”), and MaameYaa Baofo (“Rhonda Kazembe”) had to say about season two!
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John Betancourt: What does it mean to each of you to be a part of a franchise that is so unique and original?

MaameYaa Baofo: It's an honor. I mean, I feel like being a part of this production, this cast, is part of being a society, you know, a society member myself, you know? Like, I'm part of a cool society, which is this show? And I know, Gia has mentioned this a couple of times, but, um, just to be part of this production, you know, that started filming, in the middle of a pandemic, and, you know, with what the whole story is about, you know, empathy and true happiness. And, in the midst of all of this chaos, it's something that will be with me forever, you know? It's timely, and it's timeless. And it is an honor to be part of, of something that is so inspiring, not just to kids, but to adults as well.

Gia Sandhu: I completely echo everything that MaameYaa just said, it's such a wonderful journey. And it's truly an inspiring cast. And since it's an inspiring story to work on, so yeah, likewise, I just feel really fortunate.

Emmy DeOliveira: Yeah, it's amazing. It's, it's really cool to be part of something like this, where, of course, it's based on the book. So, there's already kind of a dedicated fan base, going into it. And then just like being able to pick up this character, and then being able to carry on with it, like as now we're having a second season. It's, it's really, it's really something.

Seth Carr: Um, yeah, it feels great to be a part of a franchise like this. A franchise that is back and is very loving. And I'm just really honored to be a part of something as great as this.

Marta Kessler: I'm really happy to be in the show, of course, and especially in the second season, and I'm really happy to have Constance as my character, and she's actually a really unique character, and I've never had that type of character before. It's a lot of experience for me.

Mystic Inscho: Yeah, it's really, it's a really great opportunity to play this character. And like all the kids, all my classmates in school, they've all watched the show, and they all say like, “You're really great.” And that's cool.

John Betancourt: What are you most looking forward to audiences to experiencing in season two?

Seth Carr: What I'm looking forward to is definitely not only how it comes out, but how the audience responds to it, because that is a big part of why we do what we do. And I'm really hoping for them to get… misled over everything they're seeing.

Emmy DeOliveira: I think I'm the most excited for people to see all of the new like relationships that happen in the new season, there are so many new characters that are introduced. And there are some characters that are reintroduced. So just getting to be with everyone again, and I think, just like the development that the characters have, and then in terms of like that, and then how they grow and how they interact with one another. I think fans are gonna really enjoy seeing that.

Mystic Inscho: I'm really excited for everyone to see the new changes that not only Rainey, but all the kids go through. And just the new adventures we go to, we filmed on location most of the time. So, you'll see a lot of different settings. And Rainey has an outburst. I don't want to spoil too much, but you’ll have to watch to find out.

Marta Kessler: Well, I think I am most excited about how we will have our changes. And Constance will have a lot of unexpected changes. And I think the audience would like to see this too, and we will have a lot of unexpected turns in the second season itself.

John Betancourt: What are you each hoping the audiences takes away from this season from a message standpoint?

Gia Sandhu: I think this season is really, really interesting. And it's actually very layered, and I think, very complex, but presented as you know, as a parable in a way. And I think, you know, the idea that Dr. Curtain has this “fix you” remedy, which is happiness, you know, a false state of happiness, I think that that's something that our society is really grappling with those ideas of, you know, what, what is true happiness? You know, we've all had so much time to reflect on our lives and think about, what's actually important. And I think that sometimes there is this, it almost feels in his case, it's very sinister, you know, this kind of wash that, you know, people think might be the solution that, “I should feel happy all the time. I'm gonna put all my efforts towards that.” And I think it can be very, very misleading. So, I hope that the takeaway really is that is what the children are presenting, you know, as the alternative to Curtain’s argument that, actually, our reality is complex, and there are ups and their downs and accepting reality for what it is, is actually probably the source of true happiness.

MaameYaa Baofo: I mean, I think Gia said that really well. And I think also it's about finding happiness within yourself, you know, and being happy with who you are. Because someone who is projecting the way Curtain does, you know, that there's, I mean, we see in season one, why he is the way he is, and, you know, I guess it takes time to get past that. But especially for kids, this false sense of happiness, social media, or you know, self-loathing, and all of that like to really be happy with who you are. And if you're not happy with who you are, to find out why that is, and to work on it for you, not to impress anybody else, or to get likes or anything like that. But you know, at the end of the day, you have you. And that's the most important thing. YOU… being happy with yourself.

Emmy DeOliveira: I think that a big part of the second season that I think is a good lesson for people to take away from the show is about change, and how change is important. And how even more so than that, I think how people change is a big part of it. Just seeing how the characters grow and how they evolve, I think is really good. I think it really shows how change is important and how it's a part of life and how anyone can change.

Seth Carr: I would have to say family. Our family comes in all different shapes, sizes, colors, you don't need to be blood related to be family. And I feel like that really plays a big part in the second season.

Marta Kessler: Well, there's an important message about happiness, for example, what is happiness? There is fake happiness, which Dr. Curtain created. And I think that there can be an emotion with fake happiness. Just like in the Disney movie, Inside Out, and happiness can be created with different emotions, like different emotions can be a part of happiness. For example, when you miss somebody, you are sad, but you are happy, because you know how much you love that person. And I think one really important theme in season two is about happiness.

Mystic Inscho: I think the second season goes on the idea of like found family. Because all the kids come together to form one family, they're all orphans. And they come together, and they really trust each other. And they're more confident with each other now, and I also think something else is like the process of winning, because like if you watch season two, Curtain is being praised as the person who solved “The Emergency,” even though the society did everything right. You know, they stopped “The emergency,” they fought Curtain, but Curtain in peace is being praised. So, I think the process of doing what's right is really interesting.

John Betancourt: What are you most proud of when it comes to your time on this show?

MaameYaa Baofo: I'm proud to be part of a show that expresses everything that we've just said. I'm proud of the diversity of our show. And I'm proud of just who… who everyone is on the show. Like we're not just cast members, we're also friends, you know, beyond the show and so it's… I'm very fortunate and I don't take it for granted.

Gia Sandhu: I have so much love for the fact that we get to make a show that's so hopeful and has such a wonderful message for young people, some of what we discussed. And also yeah, what MaameYaa said. I mean, it's great to just be on a show where your cast members, you know, start to feel like family and you just get to go to work and you have a great time working with comedians, is so special, and yeah, we just have this, you know, like there's an abundance of, like happiness. Truly, when we when we come on to set so it's nice, you know, if you're having a bad day or, you know, things aren't going well to be able to, you know, I guess it's different in our case, but you to be able to go to work and actually just have that be a source of happiness is… I feel very, very lucky and I’m proud for that.

Seth Carr: What I'm proud of is me being able to take on challenges of playing such an intelligent character. Because he does have some very big words that he is saying, and he has a challenge because he's not so much of a sociable person.

Emmy DeOliveira: I think the thing that I'm most proud of is the friends that I've made, I think like being on set, I've made just like, I've made so many amazing friends. And I think I'm really proud of in the show itself… just like… just this character that I guess I've, I guess I've made. Well, I didn't make Kate, but I feel like I'm sort of like a part of her kind of becoming… like a full character and I'm pretty proud of that.

Mystic Inscho: I am really proud of making friends with all these three wonderful kids. And I'm really proud of like, when I'm older, I'll probably look back on this and say, “Hey, I was really great friends with them.” And this was a great opportunity for me.

Marta Kessler: Yeah, I'm really proud to know all the actors, for example, Tony Hale. I'm really proud to know Tony Hale as a person and to get so much experience from the adults and from Kristen Schall who plays Number Two, and with MaameYaa Baofo, who plays Rhonda and everybody, every everybody from the set, I got so much experience, and I'm really proud that I know everybody from the set.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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