Jason Momoa playing the Flying V on stage in On the Roam season 2
Jason Momoa is back with his latest set of travels in On the Roam season 2, though he has something big cooking before it comes to a close.
Created, executive produced and partially directed by the DC Universe star, the HBO Max series has followed Momoa as he travels across the country, taking time away from his filmmaking schedule to visit a variety of artists, craftspeople, musicians and photographers, among many others. As he forms unique bonds and learns more about different forms of artistry, he finds himself further inspired for his own creative projects.
After a two-year hiatus, On the Roam is back with season 2, once again following Momoa around the world as he meets a new range of artists and offers viewers an in-depth look at their creative process. Amongst the new subjects are that of Julian Schnabel, director of the Jeffrey Wright-starring biopic Basquiat, punk rock band The Bobby Lees, and Metallica vet Kirk Hammett.
In anticipation of the show's return, ScreenRant's Grant Hermanns interviewed Jason Momoa and co-director/executive producer Brian Andrew Mendoza to discuss On the Roam season 2. The pair discussed taking the time out of the former's busy schedule to ensure they got to continue celebrating others' artistry with the series, while also how they went about picking the subjects for this season's episodes, and teasing a"massive episode" later in the season.
Season 2's "Massive" Metallica Episode Resulted In An Epic Real-Life Moment While discussing putting together the new season's lineup of artists to explore, Momoa received a text message from Kirk Hammett, who is the subject of an episode of On the Roam season 2. The creator/star recalls he"barely knew" the iconic guitarist prior to his show, having seen him around his social circles and"geek out" a bit upon doing so.
Describing the band as being"my f----ng idol," partly evident by the show's opening credits being set to the tune of Metallica's"Wherever I May Roam," Momoa wanted to do an episode about Gibson's Flying V model: Jason Momoa: Those guys were my childhood, seeing the Flying V, seeing the Explorer. James 's Explorer is everything. So we're going to make an episode about the Korinas. And they made, what, 90 of those, and 20 of those.
And you're like,"All right, we're going to go find people who have them.
" And I'm on a phone freaking out, going,"Kirk Hammett's saying we can come over to his house. " After having formed a connection thanks to Gibson CEO César Gueikian, the team got to"go over to his house" and"get to see the prototype of the Flying V." In addition to becoming a"massive episode" for Momoa and Mendoza, it also evolved into an epic real-life moment for the pair as the former's text from Hammett was confirming his involvement in the Aloha in Action flood relief benefit concert, in which he was"going to come and play 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' and blow f----ng minds.
" In addition to Hammett's involvement, Momoa and the Aloha in Action team got the approval from Gueikian to make 100 new versions of the Flying V to put up for auction, all of which was a meaningful continuation for the Chief of War creative after helping host 2025's Back to the Beginning, where he got to"f----ng in Black Sabbath. " He even teased that an episode of On the Roam season 2 will showcase this benefit, albeit unclear if it's in Hammett's episode or a completely separate one: Jason Momoa: The episode just keeps escalating and escalating to the point now that we're in Hawaii.
We just wrapped our movie. There's a flood relief benefit, so I fly my buddies over, like,"Hey, let's do a flood relief.
" We're going to do this small 200, 300-person kind of venue. And they're like,"We can get more people. We can get more people. There's a venue over here that holds 6–10,000 people.
" We're like,"All right! " Next thing you know, Jack Johnson is on there, all these other people. And then Kirk's like,"Hey, bro, can I play with you guys?
" I was like,"Are you f----ng kidding me? " So he's going to surprise everybody. He's going to come on. I'm going to be playing with Kirk Hammett.
I don't know why I'm f----ng whispering, but that's the s--t that happens. You know what I'm saying, bro?! Godd--n it, we're going to go surprise everyone. We're going to play Purple Rain too.
Mendoza and Momoa went on to point out how the way the latter brought Hammett into the Aloha in Action benefit concert is"a really short summary of how he manifests" episodes of On the Roam, in which he'll discuss a topic or artist and"six months will pass, and he'll just be like, 'Dude, we just got the go ahead.
'" Mendoza further cited Julian Schnabel as such an example, as they got to go over and shoot at his house, while Momoa further denoted this led to him getting a role in his historical drama In the Hand of Dante, while Mendoza was"helping him direct some second unit on it": Jason Momoa: Next thing, I'm painting with him, and I'm at his house, he's cooking us spaghetti and f----ng clams. It's like,"I'm in a Basquiat movie.
" I was blown away. It's awesome. So anyways, we just shoot the s--t out. On The Roam's Subject Selection Is A Very "Organic" Process With both seasons of the HBO Max docuseries featuring everyone from independent artists to mainstream names, it raises curiosity as to how Momoa and Mendoza put together their roster of talent for On the Roam season 2.
The pair began by reflecting on having been friends and creative partners for"25-plus years, dude," with the former having met the latter when he was 23, bonding over the fact that"we both grew up skating and snowboarding.
" Mendoza went on to share that many of the people featured in On the Roam have been"the heroes grow up with," citing skateboarder Erik Ellington for Momoa and photographer Todd Hido for himself, as well as season 2's aforementioned episode around Schnabel. He also shared how the six-time Oscar nominee, in particular, showcased the"organic" way in which they find their subjects: Brian Andrew Mendoza: Julian Schnabel was like, his Basquiat, mine's The Diving Bell and Butterfly.
So it's just this organic thing of he met him at the Oscars and you just kind of like . It's all through Jason. It's not like we're getting in touch with agents and going like,"Hey, we want to go shoot.
" Momoa went on to explain that his process is coming to Mendoza and pitching him ideas on who to chronicle, given the latter"produces, directs, shoots everything," with it having to"beat his tastemeter" that the Aquaman alum"fully rel and trust in. " He laughed as he shared the next step is calling the execs at HBO Max to ask,"Can we afford to do this," and saying that"we're doing it anyways" if they say no, offering to"put the money in" himself.
On The Roam Is The Best Look At Momoa's Life & "F----ng Geeking Out" Over Art Considering Momoa's busy schedule, it would be understandable if he didn't have the time to produce another season of On the Roam. When asked about making sure he let himself step back and continue exploring the various artists of the world, the creator/star expressed that"it's my life" and the docuseries is all about"things that I love to do.
" This could include"checking in on these commitments of ideas," as well as the"people that have now become family" after getting to know them. Subscribe to our newsletter for On the Roam extras Hungry for more creative deep dives? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive extended interviews, curated artist spotlights, and extra context about shows like On the Roam - your go-to source for deeper looks at the people and projects shaping contemporary art.
Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. He further denoted that, while On the Roam may be a creative project for him, it's not the same as many of his other works, as"one's my job and one's my life," with the HBO Max show seeing him"not hiding behind a character.
" Instead, he's"f----ing geeking out over people and things that I love," describing part of the series as"showing an intimate side that is scary," but is still the best glimpse into who he is off-screen: Jason Momoa: You're responsible for these other people's lives, and making sure you tell that story correctly. So it's awesome to do the show. The thing that's challenging is because it takes so long. You know what I mean?
I'm sure it could happen in a year if I didn't have a day job, but it's just a little bit more challenging to be able to pull this off with all that we're doing. On the Roam season 2 premieres on May 14 on HBO Max, followed by new episodes every Thursday!
Powered by Expand Collapse On the Roam - Season 2 TV-MA Documentary Adventure Travel Release Date January 19, 2025 Network Max Series On the Roam Episodes 6 Powered by Expand Collapse
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