Season two of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers premieres on Disney Plus September 28. Lauren Graham plays Alex, coach of the underdog kid hockey team, and Josh Duhamel joins the cast as Colin, a former NHL player who runs a camp for the overdogs–serious, and seriously talented, youth players.
The Ducks turn up at Colin’s camp, and don’t exactly fit in.
Duhamel is new to the cast. Growing up in North Dakota, he comes from a sporting background that includes hockey (he was also a quarterback in college), and said he was psyched to lace them up again. “I loved the idea of putting the skates back on and learning how to skate again after 30 years,” he told B+C. “Having played sports my whole life and dealing with a-holes like I was playing in this, it was fun to channel some of those aggro coaches that I had.”
Graham, who of course played Lorelai on The Gilmore Girls, does not have much of a skating background. “The occasional Friday night birthday party at the rink,” she said.
Graham has much more of a background watching Disney movies, which drove her to the series. “I love things that feel very classic in terms of theme and tone,” she said. “This wasn’t a cynical story, it’s not a hip teen story. It’s about being big-hearted and being a team player and that was all appealing to me.”
When Graham’s Alex drives the Ducks squad from Minnesota to California for Colin’s summer hockey camp, he realizes he invited the wrong Ducks squad. But they’re not leaving.
Duhamel described the camp as catering to the “best of the best,” and Colin “elevates them to the next level.”
“She comes rolling in in an RV, with a bunch of misfit kids eating cheeseburgers and french fries,” said Duhamel. “They don’t exactly fit in. I try to be nice about it and give them an easy way out but they decide to stay, and thank God they did.”
Alex and the Ducks bring out the best in Colin. “Not only do they become better, I become better,” he said. “A better coach, a better father.”
Emilio Estevez played coach Gordon Bombay in the first season but is not in season two.
I asked Graham what makes Mighty Ducks: Game Changers right for 2022, and she said the themes could work at any time. “It could’ve been from any decade in that there are always themes of sportsmanship and character and having fun and summertime,” she said. “That’s all timeless.”
Graham called the series “escapist, really warm-hearted and positive–just a good, fun family time.” ■
