“Instinct” returned Sunday as part of CBS Summer TV with its second season, which set up a few changes for the upcoming new episodes. After being fired from the precinct at the end of last season, Dylan managed to get his job back as a consultant thanks to his husband Andy. Only his return came with a catch. He now had to follow the lieutenant's rules and act the same as the other cops which meant filling out paperwork. Lizzie and Dylan's partnership quickly returned to their usual banter and dynamic, along with their determination to solve cases which involves leaving Andy and Julian alone at a restaurant.
Lizzie and Julian are officially (and secretly) dating but their relationship hit a snag when Jasmine's relationship ended and she moved into Lizzie's home. Andy made the announcement that he's considering returning to practicing law on his own terms while the premiere episode also saw that he and Dylan are still looking to adopt. The premiere episode ended when a new detective played by Travis Van Winkle showed up seeking a connection between a murder he's trying to solve and the 'Sleeping Beauty Killer.' The second season sees the return of Alan Cumming as Dylan, Bojana Novakovic as Lizzie, Naveen Andrews as Julian, Daniel Ings as Andy, and Sharon Leal as Jasmine.
Season two explores new cases
The next episode “Broken Record,” airs July 7. CBS released an episode description which teases that Dylan and Lizzie will be heading to an amusement park after an aspiring musician is gunned down. Elsewhere in the episode, Dylan and Andy (Daniel Ings) are looking for other adoption options while Lizzie (Bojana Novakovic) attempts to keep up with Jasmine (Sharon Leal) now that she's single.
On July 14, the episode “Finders Keepers” will focus on the case of a missing boy whose disappearance coincides with the decision of a judge during a custody battle. The case will bring out deep emotions from both Dylan and Lizzie. Dylan (Alan Cumming) helps Lizzie confront demons from her childhood while a major advancement in their attempts to adopt presents itself to Dylan and Andy.
Then on July 21, the episode “Big Splash” will find a sweet 16 celebration taking a grizzly turn when the birthday girl's stepmother ends up dead and everyone at the party is a suspect. Detective Ryan Stock finds a lead in his case while Lizzie receives some good news at the precinct.
'Instinct' is breaking barriers
Bojana Novakovic shares in an interview with CBS Local, that on a network like CBS which is the most watched network, having a cop show like “Instinct” with an openly gay lead, isn't necessarily what people expected. The actor details how people can be afraid of what they don't know and by welcoming “Instinct” they can become less afraid of something they've had a prejudice against.
Novakovic goes onto describe her character as being emotionally inept which is something she enjoys since female characters aren't often portrayed as such and that Lizzie is someone who has flaws of her own. The actor believes seeing a character like this will show the audience new people for them to open their lives to and describes the show as breaking through barriers.
In an interview with CBS Local, Alan Cumming shares some tidbits about working on “Instinct” which includes sharing dancing between takes and how the crew has dress up days which the actor describes as being a fun environment. Talking about season two, the actor teases that the tone of the new episodes will only get better and describes the show as fun with a wit.
Season two of "Instinct" will also have an overreaching story throughout whereas season one focused more on the case of the week.
The actor also shares how when season one aired, there were various aspects they were concerned about which turned out to be what people loved about the show and this made them able to play to their strengths for season two. Cumming also dives into how sometimes the narrative of storytelling needs to be guided and how if the sexuality or gender of a character isn't made into a big deal then it can show people how it isn't a big deal.
