Defiance: William Atherton and Anna Hopkins Join Season 2

Syfy has announced additional casting for the second season of Defiance in William Atherton (Life) and Anna Hopkins (Killer Wave).

The former is set to play ruthless Earth Republic official Viceroy Mercado, whose prickly air and constant stream of old Earth cultural references make him an authority figure that no one, not even the new Mayor, wants to cross. However, he may have a weakness that a worthy foe can exploit, a secret that would shock anyone who has had contact with him and knows the type of person that he can be. Meanwhile, the latter will portray Jessica “Berlin” Rai, an E-Rep soldier who creates the propaganda material that gets distributed to the citizens of Defiance, the focus of the material being the good that E-Rep is doing for the town. Described as being sexy and confident, Berlin believes that the government is an unfortunate necessity in the lives of citizens, having experienced the Pale Wars as a young girl, and will reportedly be involved in a love triangle sometime during season two.

In addition to his role on the NBC crime drama, Atherton has appeared on the likes of Desperate Housewives, Workaholics, and The Practice, while Hopkins has guested on episodes of Nikita, Law & Order, and Killer Wave. They join James Murray (Primeval) in signing on to the post-invasion drama, with Murray set to play the provisional Mayor of Defiance, having been appointed to the position by E-Rep.

The second season of Defiance, which averaged 1.5 million viewers 18-49 and 3.2 million total viewers in its first season, is set to premiere in June 2014 on Syfy. Production is currently underway on the 13-episode second season in Toronto.

Will you be watching Defiance next season? What do you think Mercado’s secret will be? Who will be involved in the love triangle with Berlin?