The Lambo limo—as it’s often referred to on the series—belongs to Maurice Monroe, a.k.a. Mo, the devilishly charming, manipulative and brilliant Wall Street stockbroker played by Don Cheadle. The car’s destruction is the least of Mo’s concerns, though. The presumed blood on his hands for the potential murder of his ex-boss and former mentor Rod “The Jammer” Jaminski (Bruce Dern) doesn’t compare to the betrayal Mo feels after a coup staged by his longtime love interest, Dawn Darcy (Regina Hall), and his protégé, Blair Pfaff (Andrew Rannells), pushes him out of the trading firm that he built. With no company to manage and the police on his heels, Mo closed out season 1 with no choice but to flee his beloved New York City.
Now that it’s being run by Dawn and Blair, Mo’s former firm—the Jammer Group—has gotten a makeover for the second season of Black Monday, which debuts Sunday, March 15.
Emboldened by her new position of power, Dawn’s overhauled the company and hired a bunch of women to handle stock trading at the firm. Despite the fact that Blair’s the one getting all of the attention and praise for Mo’s downfall, she’s really the one calling the shots at the new and improved TBD Group. (That’s The Blair Dawn Group, natch.)
It’s an incredible position for a black woman to be in during the 1980s, and, according to Hall, the character will relish in her success and influence. In speaking about the new season with Newsweek, the actor said Dawn will handle her new title with the same sort of resilience that she’s seen from her often-corrupt male counterparts—except she’ll do it decked out in a fabulous power suit and door-knocker earrings.
“Dawn is still incredibly influenced by what she’s learned from Mo,” Hall said. “She is playing in a much larger and darker arena, and she is faced with having to make a lot bigger decisions now that she no longer has Mo around to make them. But she gets the job done.”
If the first season of Black Monday taught viewers anything, though, it’s that your position is never safe—especially when you’re surrounded by snakes. Dawn’s new boss-lady stilettos may be able to squash a few in her path, but not even being at the top of the ladder can keep her safe from the sneaky, slithering tactics of the man who taught her everything.
Read Newsweek’s full interview with Regina Hall below, and look out for Black Monday’s season 2 premiere, which airs on Showtime on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.
How did it feel to return to Dawn after ending season 1 on such a high?
It was great. I love working on the show, and I love that character. I love working with my co-stars. That’s a big bonus of being able to be Dawn—being back with the guys. It’s a treat. And Dawn is in rare form this season.
A black woman at the top of Wall Street was unheard of back during that era. Even now, we don’t commonly hear of women like Dawn running a trading company.
There’s a scene in the first episode [of season 2] where you really see how, on one hand, Dawn feels incredibly powerful and smart and really aware of the position she’s in. But she’s always reminded that she is a black woman. As much as she’s on Wall Street, she’s still in the same body, which is a female body—a black female body. Honestly, even beyond the color, she’s a woman. So, you will start to see how that was an unexpected prison space during that time.
She really has to swallow a lot, especially having a white male as her partner. But the great thing is the writers are so smart, so it’s comedic. We get to look at this and there’s humor in it. We know what it is. It’s interesting because as horrible as [the characters] are, they make you laugh. What I love [about the show] is that it takes this very comedic look at what normally would be a very serious topic of conversation. We get to have fun with how different things were in the ’80s and yet how similar they still are. It’s funny but there’s so much that still resonates. It’s a funny world to get to play around in.
The last time Mo and Dawn saw each other was when they kissed at the airport, right before he boarded a plane to an unknown destination. It’s so obvious there’s a lot of love between the two of them. Do you think they can ever really be together?
It’s so crazy because they love each other a lot. They’re perfect for each other, but they’re almost too much alike. The love is so real. Of course, there’s a part of me that hopes that Mo and Dawn could actually make it work. They’re both so dysfunctional, but they’re so right for each other. It’s always interesting to see how the writers are going to explore their relationship. What I do know is that whatever kind of relationship they end up in, their love for each other is deep. And their history. We find out a lot about their backstory this season, how they met and how they started. We’ll get to see a lot of why Dawn and Mo are who they are to each other now.
What does this show say about loyalty?
Dawn is driven, and there’s a point when she realizes that she’s not going to get anything unless she takes it, including from Mo. As wonderful as the fairytale would be, everything with Mo is a negotiation, a fight. It’s how he’s built. Dawn learned early on there wasn’t room for loyalty in this business, and we continue to learn more about that this season. That includes loyalty from the person you love. Being disloyal to Mo certainly was not an easy choice for her. But in order to get what you want, sometimes it’s the only choice.
What do you enjoy the most about Dawn?
I love that she’s a little off-kilter. Dawn’s a little zany. I love that she’s smart, and I love that she’s ambitious. She is unapologetic about it. A lot of times, I think we see women apologize for their ambitions. If they don’t, they’re a complete monster. Dawn isn’t that. She is sensitive and loving. I’m glad they don’t write for her to be this kind of woman that feels like she has to be mean and heartless. She feels like a more complete human being.
If there’s one lesson that we can take away from season 2, what would it be?
What will we do for love and success? It’s the same takeaway as the first season: Trust no one.
This interview was edited and condensed for the sake of length and clarity.
