When The Affair returns for season 2, things are going to get even more complicated. In addition to showing Noah and Alison’s perspectives, the show is adding both Helen and Cole’s perspectives to the mix.

At the Television Critics Association’s semi-annual press tour, the show’s cast and creator weighed in on how the show will work with those added perspectives.


In terms of individual episodes, creator Sarah Treem revealed that “for the most part, it’s still goint to be two perspectives [per episode]. The question is, whose two perspectives.”


But with those added perspectives, Treem promised that the plot won’t slow down greatly, thanks in part to the fact that there will be time jumps between episodes.


“We show from different POVs, different parts of their lives and then we’ll move to another and it will be three months later and you’ll be left to fill in the gaps,” she said. And unlike last season, star Joshua Jackson revealed that there will be “less direct overlap” when it comes to plot points within the different perspectives.


But with new perspectives, comes a better look at the characters of Cole and Helen. “By allowing Cole to have an interior life, it allows me to show him in a way that being Noah’s recollection or Alison’s recollection just doesn’t,” Jackson said. “It’s opened up for me an entirely different world for this character.”


As for Helen, Maura Tierney teased that she’ll be embracing her family’s money a bit more in season 2. “Helen is more of a baller this season, I think,” Tierney said. “When we see her on her own, [she’s] flashing that money she has because he’s gone now and she can own this part of their relationship that she had to cover up.”


Most importantly, Treem promised that all four perspectives will funnel together by the end of season 2, which premieres on Oct. 4 on Showtime.