Sam Trammell Shows off Dark Side With Netflix Series ‘Reckoning,’ Shares Details of Upcoming HBO Max Series ‘Generation’ (Exclusive)

Homeland might be coming to an end this month after nearly 10 years, but Louisiana native and True Blood veteran, Sam Trammell has plenty of projects in the pipeline for fans and viewers eager to keep up with the award-winning actor. Working consistently since first beginning his career in 1996, the 51-year-old actor has been keeping particularly busy as of lately, sharing exclusively with PopCulture.com two projects he’s very excited about that have a sharp contrast between them.

“[Reckoning] is just premiering in Spain and in Portugal this coming week and we’ll see if and when comes this way,” Trammell said of the dark, 10-episode series. “It’s an incredible, incredible show about a serial killer and a cop and their families, and I’m playing one of the two, and you sort of figure that out as it goes.” Filming in and around Sydney, Australia, and its northern beaches all the way up to Palm Beach, Trammell reveals they used the sunny and gorgeous backdrop as their fictional northern California setting, which he touts as “awesome.”

Reckoning, which premiered last fall on New Zealand’s TVNZ and set to premiere on Netflix May 1, is one that will certainly spark an audience with its dark and mysterious subject matter. Exploring the darkest corners of the male psyche through the eyes of two fathers — one of whom is a serial killer — the Sony Pictures developed series find both men doing what’s best for the people they love and families they protect. But as each struggle in trying to suppress their inner demons, the murder of a local teenager sets the men on a course of mutual destruction that emanates through every facet of their quiet, suburban community. The show also stars actor, Aden Young.

But Reckoning isn’t the only show Trammell is enthusiastic about. He shares with PopCulture his excitement over the upcoming Lena Dunham-produced HBO Max series Generation, which “may get pushed” in light of the coronavirus outbreak, but begins shooting later this year. Created by 17-year-old, Zelda Barnz and her father, Daniel Barnz — who also directs — the series is a dark, yet playful comedy following a group of high school students whose explorations of modern love and sexuality tests their deeply entrenched beliefs.

“I play opposite Martha Plimpton and we have these two teenage kids and it’s really about them and their friends as well, and it takes place in this high school and it’s really interesting. The pilot is written by Zelda — she’s 17. She and her father wrote it, and he directed and his husband Ben Barnz, produced. So, it’s like this family, it’s another young… I’m sure that’s part of what attracted Lena to it is another young woman, very young woman, who is just so talented.”

Trammell admits the show is as real as it gets with its charm and realism as it’s written about teenagers by a teenager, adding to its unique and refreshing angle. “Every single one of those characters is so unique and interesting and different,” he said. “It’s about a lot of people that have their own thing going on and structurally the pilot is fascinating because it’s about one day and it’s from the perspective of three different groups of kids. It’s really about current life as a teenager in high school these days. But it’s also funny — like a dark comedy, and so I’m getting to do some comedic stuff and working with Martha, she’s so funny and it’s really fun.”

Trammell also says, without sounding “fuddy-duddy,” another aspect he loved about the show was getting to hang out with real kids who are teenagers and in their early 20s. “I just had no idea what their lingo was. It was just whoa, I haven’t hung out with this age of a person of a human being in so long,” the father of twin sons laughed. “And my kids are like 8, so I’m in the world of really young kids, so it was fascinating. I was learning a lot about the new jargon that’s out there and the new everything!”

Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for more with Trammell, including what he thinks about a True Blood spinoff and a possible return to This Is Us. For more TV coverage and exclusives with your favorite stars, follow us on Twitter for the latest updates. (This exclusive was originally published April 10, 2020.)