SundanceTV is headed back to the South. Today, the network announced production has begun on season two of Hap and Leonard. 

Based on the novels by Joe R. Lansdale, the dark comedy follows two lifelong best friends, Hap Collins (James Purefoy), an East Texas white boy with a weakness for Southern women, and Leonard Pine (Michael Kenneth Williams), a gay, black Vietnam vet with a hot temper. The cast also includes Christina Hendricks, Bill Sage, Jeff Pope, Neil Sandilands, and Jimmi Simpson.

In addition to the regular cast, season two will feature Brian Dennehy, Irma P. Hall, Tiffany Mack, and Cranston Johnson. Season two of Hap and Leonard is slated to premiere in 2017.

From SundanceTV:

NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 – The boys are back… with mojo! SundanceTV announced today that they will start production on season two of the network’s critically-acclaimed original scripted series “Hap and Leonard,” on September 19th in Atlanta, Georgia. Joining the cast as recurring guest stars for season two are Golden Globe and Tony(R) award winner and six-time Emmy(R) Nominee, Brian Dennehy (“Death of a Salesman,” “First Blood”) and Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize winner, Irma P. Hall (“A Family Thing,” “Soul Food,” “The Ladykillers”). Also joining the cast is Dohn Norwood (“All the Way,” “Hell on Wheels”) as a recurring guest star, and Tiffany Mack (Wicked Love, “Timeless”, “iZombie”) and Cranston Johnson (“Atlanta,” Find a Way) as series regulars. Episodes will be directed by Maurice Marable (“Veep,” “Always Sunny In Philadelphia”), Abe Sylvia (“Nurse Jackie,” “Dirty Girl”) and Tim Southam (“Hell on Wheels,” “Bates Motel”). “Hap and Leonard,” a darkly comic swamp noir series set in the late 1980’s, stars James Purefoy (“The Following,” “Roots,” “Rome”) and Michael K. Williams (“The Night Of,” “The Wire,” 12 Years a Slave).

“Hap and Leonard” is based on the celebrated book series of the same name by famed author Joe R. Lansdale, and follows two lifelong best friends, Hap Collins (Purefoy), an East Texas white boy with a weakness for Southern women, and Leonard Pine (Williams), a gay, black Vietnam vet with a hot temper. Season one of “Hap and Leonard,” inspired by the first novel in the series, “Savage Season,” featured Christina Hendricks and Jimmi Simpson, and was touted by TV Guide as “the most pungently flavorful regional crime drama since ‘Justified,'” and by Vulture as “Entrancing.” The second season takes inspiration from “Mucho Mojo,” the second book in the series.

“We’re so excited to have Brian Dennehy and Irma P. Hall join our cast,” said Joel Stillerman, President of Original Programming & Production, AMC and SundanceTV. “They are both superb actors who will bring these powerful characters to life beautifully. Attracting these kinds of actors is a testament to the strength of Joe Lansdale’s timeless novels, and the excellent work from season 1 led by James Purefoy and Michael K Williams.”

In “Hap and Leonard: Mucho Mojo” Hap and Leonard find themselves in mucho-trouble as they unravel a murder mystery with more twists and turns than an East Texas highway. The story begins with a skeleton; Trudy’s missing ashes; a pissing match with a neighborhood drug dealer, and; a piece of MeMaw’s fresh baked pie. When Leonard is arrested for a murder he didn’t commit, Hap and attorney Florida Grange must work to clear his name. The only things standing in their way are Hap’s unquenchable thirst for Florida; a serial killer; bad mojo; and themselves.

Dennehy joins “Hap and Leonard” as Valentine Otis, a Sherriff and all-around boss-hog in Marvel Creek; Irma P. Hall joins the cast as MeMaw, the neighborhood matriarch and a confidant to Hap and Leonard; Dohn Norwood plays Reverend Fitzgerald, a charismatic preacher and MeMaw’s grandson; Tiffany Mack hops aboard as Florida Grange, Leonard’s lawyer and the object of Hap’s deep admiration; and Cranston Johnson joins as Detective Hanson who finds Hap and Leonard in the way of his murder investigation at every turn.

As previously announced, “Hap and Leonard” will return to SundanceTV with six episodes in 2017. John Wirth (“Hell on Wheels,” “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) is showrunner and executive producer for Season 2, and Jim Mickle, Nick Damici, Jeremy Platt, Linda Moran, and Nick Shumaker return as executive producers, along with co-executive producers Joe R. Lansdale and Lowell Northrop.”

What do you think? Did you see season one of Hap and Leonard? Will you watch season two?