The second season of The Riches, starring Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard, airs this week. What if you haven't seen the first season? No problem, Driver has a solution. "I honestly think the condensed trailer that you get at the beginning of any new season is enough to fill you in on where you’re at. And really, if you just read a blurb that says, 'A couple of con artists and their kids trying to steal the American dream, move into a rich neighborhood in Louisiana,' you’re kind of good to go.

"I mean, I think that’s what’s wonderful about our show is that you can explain it really quickly, it’s high concept, and the characters are very immediate. And certainly, we pick up literally 15 seconds after where we left off at the end of season one, so you’re coming straight in, in a really dramatic place. I think people will just jump on."

The tone for this season is a bit different than in previous episodes. "I think the tone is more locked down. It’s somewhat darker. Some of the episodes in the first season were slightly funnier, and they’re not (this season), the funny comes out at very dry and bizarre circumstances in this season. It’s a drama with some quirky things going on in it. It’s just very sure and it’s dark and compelling, and it’s a train ride. So, yes, I loved that, and I think Minnie did as well. We liked where it was going the second season," says Izzard.

Almost every episode has a cliff-hanger ending this season, giving the audience a need to come back for the next episode. "We’re serializing the show more this season and I think engaging and keeping an audience in a different way. And you really do that by there being a cliffhanger at the end of every episode. The noose is definitely tightening. That’s what this whole second season is about.

"If it’s a bad scene, we get away with it in the first season. Now, the more successful we get, the more desperate and dangerous it becomes. The truth, or what that means to each of us, is really at the center of this whole season, and it does lead to a dramatic ending at the end of every show," explains Driver.

All of the family members seem to be following their own path this time around, bringing a slightly disconnected reality to this once tight-nit ensemble. "I think the whole family is actually kind of somewhat exploding, and there’s a worry that it does take everyone in different directions and you’re not really focused on the show, but it doesn’t seem to happen that way. So, yes, we are all sort of driving off in somewhat different directions in our brains and in actuality," says Izzard.

Driver's character, Dahlia, is going through a bunch of inner turmoil this season. "Well, I think it’s like a Pandora’s box, and probably with all of the characters, but from my point of view with Dahlia, yes, she’s led by the truth, or her version of the truth, in this season and wanting to kind of cleanse herself of all of the deceit.

"She wants to be this new person, but I don’t think she has any idea of who the old person is. So wanting to be somebody new presents a huge challenge, and it’s very interesting and very kind of psychologically challenging to follow her down this rabbit hole. But she definitely continues to expand, like all the characters, in sometimes an incredibly destructive way and sometimes she blossoms. It’s wild. It’s very cool."

Because of Dahlia's need for self cleansing, the road of love becomes a bit rocky -- not to mention Wayne's little white lies as well about a certain incident involving some blood on the carpet. "Yes. Well at the moment it’s heading towards a sort of train wreck (their relationship), but we won’t wreck the train. I’ve always thought that their ambition is similar, because they’re quite different people, but they’ve got this ambition thing. They kind of want it all and in different ways. And I think that’s going to keep them together, and there’s a love that’s underneath it. They’re both lost children as well, so that …"

Driver interrupts, "Yes, yes very much. They’ve been so much a unit and suddenly they’re getting a taste of what it is to be, to exist separate from this nucleus. And whilst that’s obviously an integral part of being a human being, it is definitely what they discover about each other... stuff to tear them apart. So it’s kind of interesting. It’s like they’re choosing the individual over the whole in this season. They’re choosing to kind of explore their own territory and believe that they are right."

Of all the episodes coming out (there are only seven) for this run, Minnie talks about one of her favorites. "It’s the penultimate episode where there’s a huge 70s costume party that Nina throws for her husband’s birthday, and so much goes down at this party. Pretty much the whole episode takes place in her house at this party, and there’s drugs, there’s death, there’s sex, there’s kind of destruction, and revelation, and it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done as an actor. I enjoyed it so much, and it was such hard work, but it was like shooting a movie... it really was. It was like shooting a movie in a week. It was outrageous. I loved that."

Many of the upcoming episodes will keep viewers glued to the screen. From the great plot twists to the charactorial journeys, each episode brings you one step closer to learning a little something about yourself along the way.

Check out the show on FX Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET. View some behind-the-scenes videos and episode clips from the show in our latest videos section (on the right).

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chuck   |2008-03-27 10:57:38 It's such a rare treat to watch a show the delves so deeply into the psychological subjects that this show deals with. We all wrestle with defining our boundaries but these characters are all starting in such an unusual place that it is infinitely fascinating to see what they will and WON'T do next. Long live The Riches - Give them seven seasons!!! Reply 0   0

april,   |2008-03-19 09:22:14 I watched it last night and it was a great start for the seson! thanks for the great interview! Reply 0   0

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