Janelle Monae Will Replace Julia Roberts in ‘Homecoming’ Season 2

Singer and actress Janelle Monae is set to star in the second season of Amazon’s TV series Homecoming, according to Deadline.

Monae is taking over the lead role from Julia Roberts, who starred in Homecoming’s first season about a social worker who helps soldiers transition back to civilian life...except there’s much more to the facility than meets the eye (very Black Mirror–esque, in our opinion). 

Roberts won’t return for the sophomore season (RIP to that chestnut wig with bangs that we can never unsee), but she will stay on as executive producer. Some of the original characters in Homecoming, which is by Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail, may return for season two, including Bobby Cannavale, Stephan James, Hong Chau and possibly Shea Whigham, according to Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva.

According to Amazon’s description, Monae’s character finds herself floating in a canoe with no recollection of how she got there or who she is. 

Eight-time Grammy-nominated artist Monae is no stranger to acting—she starred in Hidden Figures and Moonlight—but this will be her first go at a leading role on the small screen. She’s also set to star in the Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet as well as Disney’s Lady and the Tramp live-action reboot, in which she will play Peg, the wisecracking pound dog voiced by Peggy Lee in the 1955 original movie.

While there’s no release date yet, Homecoming season one debuted in November 2018, so we may get Monae on the small screen by this fall. 

Hey, Amazon: Show us the Monae! (Sorry, we had to.)