‘The Terminal List’ Star Breaks Down Katie’s Most Intense Season 2 Scene and Possible Return

Published Oct 22, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT

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Editor's note: The following contains major spoilers for The Terminal List Season 2.

Summary

• Katie and Raife are united by James Reece—both trust him despite the peril that follows.
• Constance Wu trained with a Navy SEAL for authentic, physical action and EMT-guided injury work.
• Crazy Rich Asians sequel greenlit as an HBO series; filming in New York slated for next year.

In Season 2 of the Prime Video series The Terminal List, based on former Navy SEAL-turned-author Jack Carr's second novel True Believer, Voltstreem News’ seasoned journalist Katie Buranek (Constance Wu) is drawn back into James Reece’s (Chris Pratt) orbit when she teams up with Raife Hastings (Tom Hopper) to discover how his weapons shipment ended up in the hands of terrorists. As they start to uncover what’s really going on, and how it’s all connected to Reese, it puts Katie’s life directly into the line of fire.

Collider recently got the opportunity to chat with Wu about the second season of the hugely popular book series and returning to her character four years after the first season debuted. During the interview, she discussed Katie and Raife’s evolving dynamic, spending so much time working with Hopper, shooting her action scenes, whether Katie regrets ever having gotten involved with Reece, and whether she’d like to play this character again. She also talked about when she learned about the Crazy Rich Asians TV series sequel and when fans might get to finally see it.

The Thing That Connects Katie and Raife in ‘The Terminal List’ Season 2 Is James Reece

"That is the touchstone for both of them."

Image via Prime Video

COLLIDER: In the first season, we saw Katie working with James Reece to investigate a conspiracy, but just being in his orbit seems to get people into trouble. And in the second season, she ends up on the same path as Raife. How does her experience with Reece shape her dynamic with Raife? What was it like to find their relationship and to play with that a little bit?

CONSTANCE WU: The thing that Raife and Katie share is the character of James Reece. That is a touchstone for both of them. They are each trusting a person that they don’t know if they should trust, which says something about the integrity of the character of James Reece and how both characters feel about him. She’s in a different world this season because now she has a little bit more notoriety as a journalist, she has a lot more access as a journalist, and she’s also gone through a lot more. All of that was because of the story she did on James Reece, so there’s history there and there’s a lot of care there, as well.

It feels like, with some of what she was put through, you could understand why she might not want to ever see him again, but he’s also brought a lot to her life.

WU: Yeah, but she’s never one to back down from a challenge.

How different was it to find the dynamic with Tom Hopper compared to Chris Pratt?

WU: Tom and Chris are very different kinds of personalities. I tend, in my work, to lean a little more comedic. This is obviously not a comedic show. Working with Tom, he brought a real gravity and a real darkness to it that is appropriate for the world of The Terminal List, but is not necessarily the world I usually live in. So, I think it was very helpful for me to think about that because he was really great with that.

Katie is a woman who is trying to get to, investigate, and uncover the truth, but that can be very challenging when the people you’re trying to uncover the truth about really don’t want anyone to be able to do that. How hard has that been for her? What keeps her so determined to go it alone when she doesn’t have anyone helping her?

WU: It’s just in some people’s nature. I think some people are just determined. That’s a trait I think I share with Katie. I have always been very determined when I have a goal in mind, and setbacks don’t drag me down. They actually fire me up. More like it almost pisses me off, so that drives the engine even better. In childbearing, you see your kids react to things in different ways. One kid, with the first setback, they’ll just want to give up. And then, there are some kids who, with the first setback, they’ll get really mad and want to keep trying. And then, they get frustrated and ask for help. Katie is very much a person who would never give up on something that she was determined to fight.

Constance Wu Trained With Former Navy SEAL Jared Shaw for Her ‘The Terminal List’ Season 2 Action Sequence

"When you have a really great teacher who really knows their stuff and is patient and kind, it's really helpful."

Image via Prime Video

In Episode 4, Katie gets shot in a parking garage, she has to run and hide between cars while she’s trying not to get killed, and she also has to shoot at someone. What was all of that like to shoot, with Raife ultimately carrying her out of the parking garage?

WU: That was a very complicated shoot. I had to do a lot of training for that shoot because I’d never really fired a gun before. I guess I did in the first season. I forgot about that. But Constance has never fired a gun. Katie fired one in the first season. This season, I was supposed to look like I was really good on the gun because everything that happened in Season 1 has made Katie feel that she needed to be more prepared for things like that. So, I had a great gun trainer in Jared Shaw, a former Navy SEAL who is a consultant, producer, writer and actor on the show, and an all-around great human. He was my gun trainer. When you have a really great teacher who really knows their stuff and is patient and kind, it’s really helpful. He always said, “Slow is smooth, and smooth as fast.” He never pushed me. We were always going slow and just making sure that I was really comfortable in the slow bits. And he was right, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. That was definitely a new thing for me.

Even when you were just sitting in the car, unable to breathe, it seemed very physical in your body.

WU: That was very hard. This show cares a lot about authenticity, so they had some veteran EMTs on set for me that told me the reality of what it looks like when somebody has that injury, what it feels like, what the eyes in that person usually look like, and how people look when they think they’re dying. There’s a very specific kind of panic that they have. Having those EMTs there to help me with that kept it from being too Hollywood-y and made it more real. That’s why I really like that the show values authenticity so much.

While all of that was going on, do you think Katie regretted getting involved, or does the fact that she did everything she could do to hide the report in the parking garage show just how determined she is?

WU: I don’t think Katie is a person who lives in regret. I think she’s a forward-moving person. Whatever happens, she deals with the ramifications of those choices in the best way she knows how, but she does have a very strong core value system of what she thinks matters. That’s her guide. So, as long as she goes back to that touchstone, the regret is not a part of her thought process.

It’s really easy to admire the will and determination of someone like Katie. But at the same time, it’s also hard to understand someone who can put themselves in so much danger by choice.

WU: We actually see people who do that a lot, every day, in my field as stunt people. Stunt people literally put themselves in danger for their career, and they think it’s fun. And it is fun. They get a little thrill out of it. Katie is like a stunt woman, except for what she’s doing has real ramifications.

How do you feel about her? Do you admire her?

WU: I try not to judge my characters too much, so what I feel about her is something I don’t think about that much. But I think if I met her in my real life and knew stuff about her, I would try to bring more peace into her life. I might encourage her to do meditation, socialize more, and have a friend group. That’s what Constance would probably do. I love that she has a core of integrity. That’s also very important to myself. But if I met her, I’d probably be like, “You should take some time off for yourself, honey, and relax.”

Constance Wu Enjoyed Sharing Scenes With Tom Hopper and His Real-Life Wife in ‘The Terminal List’ Season 2

"Their kids even came, and our kids had playdates."

What was it like to have your co-star Tom Hopper’s real-life wife, Laura Hopper, be the one to play the doctor that helped save Katie?

WU: She was great, and they’re great together. Their kids even came, and our kids had playdates. It was very cute. From a comfort level with Tom, they just understood each other. Those two characters actually have history, as well, so it was already built in. And she was great. She was so good. I really loved working with her.

We could see how Katie was frustrated with Raife and didn’t really know what to make of him when they met. And then, he also has a hand in saving her life. What does she think of him after everything, especially compared to what she thought of him in the beginning?

WU: I think by the end, she thinks of him as an ally. He literally helped save her life, so that’s going to bond you. I think she trusts him more because of that. He also understood the importance of the mission, as a lot of these guys really do. That’s how the trust really develops throughout the season.

We know that the creative team wants to continue the series and this franchise that’s now being built around it, and Katie hasn’t retired from seeking the truth. So, will we see her again? Would you like to play her again?

WU: Yeah, I would love to play her again. I love working on this show. I love the people. I have never felt as safe on a set before because you’re surrounded by all these Navy SEAL veterans and veteran EMTs. Nobody is going to be able to injure themselves badly because there’s always somebody around. And (showrunner) Dave [DiGilio] is great. Everybody is so kind and respectful on the set. The more I work, the more I realize, a lot of times, it’s less about the job and more about the people you’re working with. And the people I work with on this show are great. So, I don’t know if there is going to be a Season 3. I would hope so, and I would also hope to be a part of it, if I can.

I love that Katie exists in the world of The Terminal List because, otherwise, it’s a very male world.

WU: The fan base is definitely different. Guys come up to me and they’re like, “I love The Terminal List,” but a lot of them have never even heard of Crazy Rich Asians. It’s just such a different fan base, which is fun. And then, there are the Crazy Rich fans who don’t know anything about The Terminal List. And I love working with all these guys because they’re really great. I can’t really stand up to them physically, but I’ve tried to. Tom Hopper is like 6’6” and Chris Pratt is 6’4”. I remember I was doing a scene with the two of them and, in my head, I was like, “I’m the shortest person in the world.” That’s how I felt. But they’re great guys. We had a lot of fun. They’re lovely people, but I might accidentally get stepped on. It would be accidental because nobody would do it purposely, but it would happen if they didn’t see me there.

Constance Wu Found Out Over a Year Ago That the ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Sequel Would Be an HBO TV Series

"I just didn't talk about it because, in Hollywood, so many times, you'll get an offer, and then something falls through."

Image via Warner Bros.

We’ve been hearing about the possibility of a Crazy Rich Asians sequel for a long time now, and it was surprising to learn that not only is it finally happening, but it’s going to be a TV series. How did you find out and what was your reaction to learning about that?

WU: I’ve known for over a year, truly, in terms of when the offer came in and that it was going to be a TV show. I’ve known for a long time, I just didn’t talk about it because, in Hollywood, so many times, you’ll get an offer and you say yes, and then something falls through. I didn’t want to be a tease because there are such huge fans of the movie. I didn’t want to say, “Oh, yeah, it’s definitely happening, I’ve got an offer,” and then have it fall through. I know that once a show is greenlit by the network or the studio, that’s when you can talk about it because that’s when production gets rolling. They kept saying, “We’re going to greenlight it. That’s why we’re negotiating with you for the contracts.” But it was never fully, officially greenlit until about two days before the announcement came out. So, I’ve known about it for a while. I’d known was going to be a show at HBO. I just didn’t know if it was actually going to be greenlit until last week.

How did you feel about the whole concept of the sequel being a TV show instead of another movie?

WU: Story is story, right? Whether it’s TV or film, for me, my work remains very much the same. Just like Jack Carr has a whole bunch of books, Kevin Kwan has a whole bunch of books, and there’s a Crazy Rich universe, in a way. There are many other characters. There are new characters to expand upon. So, I think that having it be a series is a great opportunity to expand on those things. And for fans of the books, I think they’ll be pleased.

It feels exciting that, as fans, we’re guaranteed some extra time with a TV season.

WU: It’s still going to be a while. We haven’t even started production. We just got the official greenlight last week, and then we’re supposed to start production next year. And then, of course, production takes several months, and then there’s post-production. I think people are acting like it’s going to come out next year and I’m like, “No, we haven’t even shot it yet. We’re going to shoot it next year.” I don’t want to be a tease. I don’t want to promise things that I don’t know are going to happen. But we are greenlit. We’re going to be shooting it. We’re shooting it here in New York, which is where I live, so that’s great. It’s very exciting for everyone.

The Terminal List is available to stream on Prime Video.