As reported by Variety, two new people will be joining AMC’s Mad Men-with-computers show Halt And Catch Fire when it returns for a second season later this year. The first is Boardwalk Empire’s Aleksa Palladino, who will be playing a “well-traveled and highly educated freelance journalist” named Sara Wheeler. There’s more to her than that, though, because Sara Wheeler happens to have one of the most elaborate character descriptions we’ve ever seen. In addition to being well-traveled and highly educated, she also “comes from a wealthy background.” That hasn’t stopped her from being “self-reliant and responsible,” but she has had some bad experiences that have made her “skeptical of relationships.” That’s until she reconnects with Lee Pace’s character, who she met in college and has a “real, deep connection” with.
Seriously, there are Tolkien characters with backstories that are less involved than that. By contrast, Canadian actor Mark O’Brien (recently seen as Randall Tier on Hannibal) will be playing someone who is a little more straightforward: Tom Rendon, the head of an IT department at a computer-using law firm. Apparently, he shares the “brilliance and passion for gaming” that Mackenzie Davis’ character does, and he has a “conservative exterior but a strong hacker ethos.” OK, he’s no Mr. Men character, but at least some of his life story will be left for the show to elaborate on.