At the start of “Master of None” Season 2, Dev is well on his way to mending his broken heart with some “Eat, Pray, Love” action.
We find Aziz Ansari’s character three months into his trip in Italy, where he jetted off to at the end of the first season. Dev spends his days learning the lingo and making pasta that’s subjected to critique by an Italian grandmother.
The first two episodes dive into Dev’s new life abroad, which includes a new circle of friends, but we also bear witness his anxiety as he prepares to transition out of the food-soaked sojourn and back into his life in New York City.
Italian actress Alessandra Mastronardi (“To Rome with Love”) and Riccardo Scamarcio (“John Wick: Chapter 2”) play some of Dev’s new companions.
“Master of None’s” co-creator Alan Yang said he wanted to treat fans to the sight of our protagonist in a new setting with new experiences.
“If this season had started with Dev in New York going, ‘Well, I came back from Italy!’ wouldn’t that be disappointing for the viewer?” Yang told CNN recently at a Netflix event that kicked off its Emmy campaigning season. “We didn’t want to do that to them.”
There’s a bigger purpose to Dev’s time in Italy beyond cooking, eating and causing hunger pains among viewers. But no spoilers.
Story aside, Yang said taking their tale across the ocean meant bringing the production team along for the journey, which was “even more fun than you can possibly imagine.”
“Whatever you’re picturing, multiply by that by ten,” he said. “Because let’s be honest, a lot of the people who work on the show are our friends. And a lot of the people who came back from Season 1 are our new friends. So it was really spectacular.”
Yang and Ansari got to spent some extra time there ahead of the production’s start to scout “beautiful locations.”
“The city of Modena really took care of us,” he said. “Obviously you can’t beat the hills of Tuscany as a location. And on top of that, we got to eat some delicious food and drink a little bit of wine.”
The first few episodes will no doubt spark a Googling frenzy among food-lovers. (Luckily, it’s not hard to find details on the locations featured.) Osteria Francescana, dubbed one of the best restaurants in the world, is among the show’s stops.
“It was a great bonding experience for the cast and crew,” Yang added. “It was a dream experience.”
“Master of None” Season 2 is streaming now on Netflix.
