INDIANAPOLIS — From a cat-and-mouse thriller in Season 1, to an Oscar winner and Emmy winner working together in Season 2, "The Old Man" has it all.
Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart," "The Big Lebowski") plays the lead character, named Dan Chase, who has been living off the grid for 30 years after he was a CIA operative and Vietnam veteran.
However, the FBI's Harold Harper, played by John Lithgow ("The Crown," "3rd Rock from the Sun"), is tasked with apprehending Chase due to their complicated past.
As a minor spoiler, the two work together in the second season to rescue the kidnapped Emily Chase (Alia Shawkat) in Afghanistan.
"It was such a treat to be able to tell that story with them, to be able to be with them while they work together for the first time," said co-creator and writer Jon Steinberg ("Black Sails," "Percy Jackson and the Olympians"). "Knowing that they were really going to be able to go on an adventure together in Season 2 was really exciting."
"It's truly a joy," Shawkat said on working with Bridges and Lithgow. "I feel so lucky I'm getting to work with true legends, and then on top of it, they're just the kindest souls."
Shawkat, largely known for her comedic roles in "Arrested Development" and "Search Party," gets the opportunity to show off her dramatic acting chops with an expanded storyline in the second season.
"I always am looking for actors who can be funny. I think nine times out 10, if you can be funny, you can do anything. When you look at this cast, they all have that in their bag. They've all done stuff that is really excellent, funny, sharp and smart," Steinberg said. "From the gate in Season 1, everything we watched her do, we were just blown away by it. Coming into Season 2, knowing what her story was going to be, it was an open road on what we could ask her to and what we knew we were going to get back."
Shawkat's character has a few different identities through the two seasons, also speaking multiple languages.
"Jon Steinberg really believes in his actors, so he really puts us all to a challenging test, and it feels good when we're able to show up for it," Shawkat said.
FX has yet to announce if it will go through with a third season of "The Old Man," which is based on the 2017 book by Thomas Perry but has already expanded on that story.
"The show started from the book and then found its own way," Steinberg said. "There are some exciting conversations about where that story goes out of the end of Season 2, and we're hoping to get to tell that story."
"I hope (my character) gets to do some more action — not much really killing anybody, but it would be cool to do some action," Shawkat said.
Both seasons of "The Old Man" are now streaming on Hulu.