VIDEO: First Look - Season 2 of TNT's ANIMAL KINGDOM Premieres Today

The Codys are back, and the TIES THAT BIND them are about to be stretched to the limit when TNT's hit ANIMAL KINGDOM returns for its second season. One of cable's Top 5 new dramas this past summer, the series about a Southern California crime family stars Emmy(R) and Tony(R) winner Ellen Barkin as the matriarch of the Cody clan, Scott Speedman as her second in command and Shawn Hatosy as her volatile, mentally unstable eldest son. Also starring are Ben Robson, Jake Weary, Finn Cole, Molly Gordon and Carolina Guerra. The second season of Animal Kingdom, which has been expanded to 13 episodes, is slated to launch Tuesday, May 30, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on TNT.

In season one of Animal Kingdom, 17-year-old Joshua "J" Cody (Cole) moved in with his freewheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town after his mother overdoses on heroin. He finds himself in the care of his estranged grandmother, Janine "Smurf" Cody (Barkin), a woman who rules her sons with a firm but, at times, emotionally incestuous hand. Her second in command is Barry "Baz" Blackwell (Speedman), whose power and position in THE FAMILY is threatened by the return of Pope (Hatosy), Smurf's eldest son just released from prison. Smurf's tough, impulsive middle son, Craig (Robson), has a drug problem beginning to cloud his judgment and endanger the rest of the family, and Deran (Weary), the troubled and suspicious "baby" of THE FAMILY struggles with accepting his sexual identity. Hovering on the edge of this less-than-idyllic household are J's girlfriend, Nicky Belmont (Gordon) and Baz's daughter, Lena. It isn't long after J's arrival that he finds his place within the dangerous family, a sense of belonging that he earns at the conclusion of season one.

As the second season opens, the Cody clan is back to their old ways and in the midst of a fun, high-adrenaline heist. But when things don't go as planned, THE FAMILY dynamics become more fractured than ever as some members advocate for independence from Smurf. Adding fuel to the fire is an external threat from Smurf's past that has come back to haunt her.

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