Posted in: Preview, TNT, Trailer, TV | Tagged: animal kingdom, codys, pilot, preview, Season 1, season 5, Smurf, tnt, trailer

Animal Kingdom Cast Goes Back to Where It All Began: Pilot Pool Scene

With the fifth season of Animal Kingdom set to kick off in only a little more than a week, Deran (Jake Weary), Pope (Shawn Hatosy), Craig (Ben Robson), and J (Finn Cole) are looking towards a future that's Smurf (Ellen Barkin)- free. But as the Codys look to reaffirm the family's seat at the head of a very deadly table, they'll face off with those looking for answers about Smurf's demise and others looking to challenge the Codys' power. But the conflicts will come from within, too- with Deran, Pope, Craig, and J each looking to take the reins to lead the family into the future. But for this update, it's not so much about planning for the future as it is learning from the past. Following up on the previous featurette examining Smurf's season-ending death, the clip below finds the foursome going all the way back to the beginning- back to the pilot episode and scene that would set the tone for the series.

So take a trip back in time with Weary, Hatosy, Robson, and Cole as they look back at where it all began with a deep dive into "The Pool Scene" from Animal Kingdom S01E01:

Here's a look back at the previously-released Season 5 trailer, with the series set to make its return on July 11:

In "Animal Kingdom" season five, Pope (Shawn Hatosy), Craig (Ben Robson), Deran (Jake Weary) and J (Finn Cole) are still dealing with the fallout from the events surrounding Smurf's death, including family members out for revenge. With their kingdom without a leader, the Cody family's struggle to maintain their fragile alliance, and to see which of them will come out on top. Meanwhile, they search for more information on Pamela Johnson whom Smurf made the beneficiary of her estate. And back in 1984, an increasingly volatile 29-year-old Smurf is forging her own path raising Pope and Julia and leading the charge on dangerous jobs with new and old friends.

Jasper Polish (Force of Nature), Darren Mann (Fortunate Son), Kevin Csolak (Boardwalk Empire), and Stevie Lynn Jones (Nancy Drew) are set to join the cast in recurring roles during what's expected to be a 2022 debut for the sixth and final season. Now here's a look at "who's who" during the show's final run, beginning with Polish's Julia- a beautiful, intelligent, and edgy. Although she's an excellent student, she's also the type of chick who sells tabs of LSD because she thinks it's cool. She's torn between loving and hating her mother, Smurf.

Csolak's Andrew is intense and struggling with an undiagnosed mental illness. He possesses a simmering rage but also instinctively searches for redemption as he struggles with his darkest impulses. He is completely devoted to Smurf, to his best friend Baz, and his twin sister Julia. Mann's Baz is a charismatic opportunist who will do whatever is necessary to ensure his own safety. He's not above pitting the other kids against each other in his effort to ingratiate himself with Smurf, who sees him more as a partner (personally and professionally) than as her adopted son. Stevie Lynn Jones' Penny is an intelligent, beautiful young woman in her early 20s. A rule breaker in her youth, she's trying to stay on the straight and narrow. She's stuck in a loveless marriage to a Marine- though she and she and J will become dangerously close.

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