Them: The Scare: Deborah Ayorinde Was Surprised to Be Only Returning Actor in Season 2

Deborah Ayorinde admits to being surprised that she was the only actor to return for the new installment of Them: The Scare. Created by Little Martin, Them is a Black anthology horror series that debuted on Prime Video in 2021. Ayorinde led the cast of the first season, but with a lot of anthology projects, a whole new cast was brought in for Them: The Scare, making its premiere today on the Amazon streaming service. However, when it came for Martin and the rest of the creatives to cast Them: The Scare‘s leading actress, they could only see Ayorinde for the role.

ComicBook.com spoke to Deborah Ayorinde ahead of the premiere of Them: The Scare, where she spoke about being the only returning actor for Season 2, and if that was always the plan. “Well, not always. When I did the first installment, I thought that was going to be it,” Ayorinde revealed. “LM (Little Martin), in secret, does his magic, created this role. He was thinking of putting another actress in there, but he told me he couldn’t stop thinking about seeing my face when he was creating this role. In his mind and the way the art works, where nothing is impossible, he said, ‘Why don’t we have Deborah do it?’”

She added, “We talked for about an hour and he was like, ‘Come to Atlanta. Let’s get to work.’ I said, ‘Okay, say less [laughs].’ I’m so honored to be back.”

What is Prime Video’s Them: The Scare about?

THEM will once again be set in Los Angeles (the first installment, subtitled Covenant, took place in Compton circa 1952 but will move the time frame forward to 1991). The story centers on LAPD Homicide Detective Dawn Reeve, who is assigned to a new case: the gruesome murder of a foster home mother that has left even the most hardened detectives shaken. Navigating a tumultuous time in Los Angeles, with a city on the razor’s edge of chaos, Dawn is determined to stop the killer. But as she draws closer to the truth, something ominous and malevolent grips her and her family…

The series cast includes Deborah Ayorinde (Riches, Harriet) as “Detective Dawn Reeve,” Pam Grier (Foxy Brown, Bones, Ghost of Mars, Jackie Brown) as “Athena,” Grammy-nominated musician and actor Luke James (The Chi, Insecure)  as “Edmund Gaines.” Rounding out the cast are Joshua J. Williams (Cloak & Dagger, Mudbound), Jeremy Bobb (The Continental, God’s Country), Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, Narcos), Carlito Olivero (This Is Me… Now, Escape Room: Tournament of Champions), Charles Brice (Homeland, The Blacklist, Watchmen), and Iman Shumpert (The Chi).

The first episode of Them: The Scare premieres on Prime Video on April 25, 2024.