Silicon Valley season 2
| Silicon Valley | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
 Promotional poster | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Release | |
| Original network | HBO |
| Original release | April 12 – June 14, 2015 |
| Season chronology | |
The second season of the American comedy television series Silicon Valley premiered in the United States on HBO on April 12, 2015. The season contained 10 episodes, and concluded on June 14, 2015.
The season picks up immediately following Pied Piper's victory at TechCrunch Disrupt. Seeking a Series A investment, they are courted by Laurie Bream (Suzanne Cryer)—who replaced Peter Gregory at Raviga Capital after his death—among other venture capital firms. Hooli CEO Gavin Belson (Matt Ross) sues Pied Piper, alleging that Richard (Thomas Middleditch) created the algorithm on Hooli property during company time. Richard eventually decides to work with Russ Hanneman (Chris Diamantopoulos) instead.
Cast
Main
- Thomas Middleditch as Richard Hendricks
- T.J. Miller as Erlich Bachman
- Josh Brener as Nelson "Big Head" Bighetti
- Martin Starr as Bertram Gilfoyle
- Kumail Nanjiani as Dinesh Chugtai
- Amanda Crew as Monica Hall
- Zach Woods as Donald "Jared" Dunn
- Matt Ross as Gavin Belson
- Suzanne Cryer as Laurie Bream
- Jimmy O. Yang as Jian-Yang
Recurring
- Chris Diamantopoulos as Russ Hanneman
- Ben Feldman as Ron LaFlamme
- Bernard White as Denpok
- Andy Daly as Doctor
- Alice Wetterlund as Carla Walton
- Patrick Fischler as Dr. Davis Bannercheck
- Ping Wu as Henry
- Matt McCoy as Pete Monahan
- Aly Mawji as Aly Dutta
- Scott Prendergast as Scott
- Jill E. Alexander as Patrice
- Brian Tichnell as Jason
- Anna Khaja as Rachel
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "Sand Hill Shuffle" | Mike Judge | Clay Tarver | April 12, 2015 | 2.13[1] |
| 10 | 2 | "Runaway Devaluation" | Mike Judge | Ron Weiner | April 19, 2015 | 1.73[2] |
| 11 | 3 | "Bad Money" | Alec Berg | Alec Berg | April 26, 2015 | 1.94[3] |
| 12 | 4 | "The Lady" | Alec Berg | Carson Mell | May 3, 2015 | 1.75[4] |
| 13 | 5 | "Server Space" | Mike Judge | Sonny Lee | May 10, 2015 | 1.53[5] |
| 14 | 6 | "Homicide" | Mike Judge | Carrie Kemper | May 17, 2015 | 1.54[6] |
| 15 | 7 | "Adult Content" | Alec Berg | Amy Aniobi | May 24, 2015 | 1.60[7] |
| 16 | 8 | "White Hat/Black Hat" | Alec Berg | Daniel Lyons | May 31, 2015 | 1.78[8] |
| 17 | 9 | "Binding Arbitration" | Mike Judge | Dan O'Keefe | June 7, 2015 | 1.87[9] |
| 18 | 10 | "Two Days of the Condor" | Alec Berg | Alec Berg | June 14, 2015 | 2.11[10] |
Production
In April 2014, HBO renewed the series for a second season.[11] In October 2014, it was reported that Rebecca Creskoff had been cast as a series regular as Laurie Bream; however, in January 2015, it was announced that the role had been recast with Suzanne Cryer.[12][13] In November, it was reported that Chris Diamantopoulos had been cast in the recurring role of Russ Hanneman.[14] Beginning with this season, Jimmy O. Yang and Matt Ross were promoted to series regulars after having recurring roles in the first season.[15]
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a 96% approval rating, earning a "Certified Fresh" rating. It holds an average score of 8.51/10 based on 23 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads "Silicon Valley re-ups its comedy quotient with an episode that smooths out the rough edges left behind by the loss of a beloved cast member."[16] Similarly, on Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, holds a score of 86 out of 100, based on 9 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[17]
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly, who gave the season an A rating, described it as "smart and snide", saying that "the show's actors imbue their geeky cut-outs with winsomely flawed humanity that allows us to care about them even as they undercut each other and themselves in their pursuit of success and significance. Pied Piper may never reach greatness, but Silicon Valley seems ready to."[18] For The Hollywood Reporter, Tim Goodman praised the season as "impressively upgraded after a stellar first season."[19]
One focus for critics was the show's replacement for Christopher Evan Welch, who died during the production of season 1. In Vulture, Matt Zoller Seitz praised Welch's replacement, Suzanne Cryer, saying "both the character and the actress are excellent – at once reassuringly familiar and off-putting in ways that don't register right away."[20] Less enthusiastic, Brian Tallerico on RogerEbert.com described Cryer's character Laurie Bream as a "fill-in character".[21]
Accolades
For the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, the series was nominated for Best Series (Musical or Comedy).[22] The series also received seven nominations at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Mike Judge for "Sand Hill Shuffle"), and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Alec Berg for "Two Days of the Condor"), Outstanding Production Design, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing, and Outstanding Sound Mixing.[23]
Home media
The second season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 19, 2016; bonus features include six audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and deleted scenes.[24]
References
- ^ Bibel, Sara (April 14, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Wins Night, 'Silicon Valley', 'MTV Movie Awards', 'Mad Men', 'Veep', 'The Royals' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (April 21, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Tops Night + NBA Playoffs, 'Real Housewives of Atlanta,' 'Naked and Afraid' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (April 28, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Wins Night, NBA Playoffs, 'Real Housewives of Atlanta', 'Silicon Valley', 'Mad Men' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (May 5, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Tops Night + 'Real Housewives of Atlanta', 'Silicon Valley' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (May 12, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Wins Night, NBA Playoffs, 'Silicon Valley', 'Mad Men', 'The Royals', 'Veep' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (May 19, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Tops Night + 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Mad Men' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (May 27, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: NBA Conference Finals Win Night, 'Game of Thrones', 'Silicon Valley', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Veep' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (June 2, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Tops Night + 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Silicon Valley', 'Naked and Afraid' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (June 9, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Wins Night, 'Silicon Valley', 'Naked & Afraid', 'Married to Medicine', 'Veep' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (June 16, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Tops Night + 'Silicon Valley', NASCAR, 'Botched' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (April 21, 2014). "'Veep,' 'Silicon Valley' Renewed at HBO". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 23, 2014). "Rebecca Creskoff Joins HBO's 'Silicon Valley' As New Regular". Deadline. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 13, 2015). "Suzanne Cryer Joins HBO Comedy 'Silicon Valley' As New Regular". Deadline. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Diamantopoulos Joins HBO's 'Silicon Valley'; Ashley Zukerman In Syfy Mini 'Childhood's End'". Deadline. November 19, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (October 23, 2014). "'Silicon Valley' Promotes Jimmy O. Yang to Series Regular (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ "Silicon Valley: Season 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ "Silicon Valley - Season 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff (April 10, 2015). "'Silicon Valley': Doc Jensen reviews season 2". EW.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Goodman, Tim (April 12, 2015). "'Veep' and 'Silicon Valley': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (April 12, 2015). "Silicon Valley Spins Its Wheels in Season Two, Remains Enjoyable". Vulture. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Tallerico, Brian (April 10, 2015). "HBO's Brilliant "Veep" and "Silicon Valley" Make For Best Comedy Hour on TV". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Lang, Brent (December 10, 2015). "'Carol,' Netflix Lead Golden Globes Nominations". Variety. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
- ^ "Emmy Awards 2015: The complete winners list". CNN. September 21, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Lambert, David (January 21, 2016). "Silicon Valley – 'Season 2' is Updated by HBO's Official Press Release". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
