Starring Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls and Parenthood) as coach/mom Alex Morrow, Josh Duhamel as the new coach Colin Cole, and a close-knit group of hardworking and adorable teen actors, fans of the charming show are looking forward to the much-anticipated return for the second season. Season 2 begins after the team wins back their Mighty Ducks moniker. The squad-with-heart and their coach Alex take to the road to attend an intense summer hockey institute in California run by charming yet hardcore former NHL player, Colin Cole. This is a place for kids to get excellent at hockey without school getting in the way. The team members and their coaches quickly find out that this is also not warm and fuzzy like an actual summer camp. The beloved Ducks try to survive in this super-competitive environment, but they’re faced with the question: Can you win summer? Disney+ Graham says she adores the team members and the feeling is mutual. “At this point, that’s what I’m in it for. I’m in it for a good, fun day of people I really enjoy working with,” Graham exclusively tells Parade.com. “These are some of those people that I just feel really lucky. I truly love these kids!” Read on to find out about Lauren Graham’s appreciation for the show, the challenges she has faced, and the re-examination of success and winning that the show allows all of us to consider.
Lauren, how has Alex evolved for you from Season 1 to Season 2?
Lauren Graham: I think she has more confidence now. She kind of stepped into this coach’s role without a lot of experience, had some successes, and really loved being a team leader. She thinks that she’s bringing her kids, her team, into a really fun experience, which is this fancy but fun camp in California, and doesn’t really realize the challenges it’s going to present.
What have been the biggest challenges in doing The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers?
Josh Duhamel: Well, for me the biggest challenges were trying to ingratiate myself with a show that was already up and running. Emilio Estevez, who’d been one of the leads of this forever, tried to step in, but that was difficult at first. Also, I had a very different character, so I had a chance to make my way a different way. And then learning how to play hockey again I think is one thing that really scared me because it had been so many years. It had been more than 30 years since I played hockey. So, that was something that stressed me out a bit at first but then I just grew to fall in love with the game again.
And Lauren?
Lauren Graham: I mean, every show has its challenges. This one is low on the challenge meter, I would say, in terms of how enjoyable it is and how fun and accessible the material is. I do not have a skating background. I thought I was going to be better than I am, and I’m still working on it so that is a challenge. My character wasn’t in the NHL, but I just want to be better as an actor and also as a team coach. But it was just pretty much top to bottom it was a really fun season and nice to be in California. One thing I love about the show is that every year is kind of a new movie, it’s a new location, a new premise, a new kind of setup. And that’s really fun as an actor, you’re not going back to the same thing. You’re approaching something new and the kids were a little older. It was just a really fun experience.
One of the young actors, Taegen Burns, who plays Maya, said that you’re like everybody’s mom on and off the set. You’ve given them great advice personally and professionally and they adore you. What does that mean to you to hear that?
Lauren Graham: Honestly, it means everything to me. I really love them so much, and especially I always try to keep an eye out for our girls who were in this big, burly sport and they’re throwing themselves around. I just really appreciate how kind they are to each other and want to give them the best experience as young women. Disney+ But all the kids, I just really am proud of them and they’re so impressive, they’re so much fun to be around. And this year, because COVID things were easier and the kids were a little older, we just all got to have more fun and more fellowship and more time together.
Josh, what are some of the life lessons that attracted you to this series?
Josh Duhamel: I love the intensity of the show, of this character, and this agro nature and singular sort of vision about what life is about, which is hockey. It’s obviously flawed, this guy has room to grow and evolve. And also, there’s a really delicate relationship between him and his son. Disney+ I think that is one of the reasons I really liked the idea of this is that this guy has been trying to fill the void, of the loss of his wife, and has been putting way too much pressure on his son to be a great hockey player. As a result, he’s losing him. I think that there’s a lot to play with in that, a guy who just doesn’t know or have the tools to be a better father. I think that he starts to learn that by watching Alex, Lauren’s character, throughout the season.
Lauren, can you talk quickly about the whole underdog theme? As the mom of a teenage son with autism, I could definitely identify with being told not to bother and cheering the team every step of the way.
Lauren Graham: Oh, that’s really meaningful, thank you. I think most of us in life have experienced some feeling of being undervalued or underestimated, and even in the happiest easiest childhood, it’s a time of hard knocks. Where you’re learning, you’re building the person you’re going to become, and sometimes that is as a result of things that don’t go your way.
What do you appreciate about this show?
Lauren Graham: One of the things I especially like about the series is that kind of examining of what is a success. Is it winning? Is it being part of a team? Is it helping somebody? Is it just being a good person? Is it just working hard? It’s all those things and maybe none of those things at once. What I think is so lovely and heartfelt about the show is really focusing on, in a true way, just the value of being a friend, the value of being a team member, and the value of things besides just successes on paper. So that really stuck with me when I first read the series, and it’s something I think we try in every episode to have a little bit of that reminder, that it’s who you are is more important than how you play the game. Season 2 of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Next, check out the best comedies on Disney+ right now.
