Jonathan Tucker stars on Audience Network’s “Kingdom” as Jay Kulina, an erratic MMA fighter struggling with addiction.
The series, which returns for the back half of Season 2 in June, follows the Kulina family as they fight and train in their mixed martial arts gym Navy St. In an interview with TheWrap, Tucker described the series, which is currently in its second season, as “one of the most steroidal perspectives of a family drama that’s on television today.”
“The physicality that’s so critical to making the show credible and authentic to the people who understand the world of MMA demands a lot of time and energy and thought for us off screen, as well as when we’re shooting,” Tucker said. Indeed, “Kingdom” doesn’t hold back when it comes to the brutal fight sequences or the injuries that result.
Equally brutal are the show’s emotional beats, which include Jay’s attempts to help his mother get clean, and her eventual overdose.
Tucker describes his character as a “deeply troubled and deeply sensitive man,” who constantly struggles with “real addictions, both in terms of substance and spiritual.” It’s those sympathetic qualities that have earned him a set of diehard fans within the show’s audience.
“People who tend to respond to that are very passionate,” he said.
“Kingdom” returns to Audience Network for the second half of Season 2 on June 1.