{blackbabes} Regina King teases a big twist ahead for ‘American Crime’

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On Season 2 of ABC's powerful series "American Crime," Regina King plays Terri LaCroix, a self-made strong black woman. It seems like the ideal role for the actress, who started on TV at age 14 in the sitcom "227," and has since worked her way up the ladder while appearing in the good ("Ray"), the bad ("Mighty Joe Young") and the ugly ("This Christmas" with Chris Brown).

It all culminated in what any actor would consider the perfect 12-month-period: King announced her presence with authority in two of TVs top dramas, playing Erika Murphy on "The Leftovers" and winning an Emmy as Aliyah Shadeed on Season 1 of "Crime."

"Yeah, yeah," she says enthusiastically, speaking with Zap2it. "2015 was pretty good."

Eager to chat about Season 2 — and a total character transformation — King is happy to be told that her success is so good to see. Laughing, she replies: "It's good to be."

In Season 1, Regina won her Emmy playing the Islamic, racially-sensitive sister of a suspected murderer; a hit with fans and critics alike, it seems like "American Crime" creator John Ridley did something particularly mean to King when he decided that each season of the show would necessitate the main actors abandoning their roles and taking on new ones. Is it like asking a successful baseball slugger to try pitching instead?

"No, not really," she responds. "It's more like a theater rep group with someone saying: 'We did our 2014 fall show, and now we're back for our 2016 winter show. 'And in this story, you'll be playing this.' That's what it feels like."

King admits that she'll miss her Season 1 character, but enjoys the challenge of taking on Terri, the affluent mother of a teen basketball player caught up in a rape scandal. "Both characters are fascinating women," she explains. "Aaliyah will always be special, because I won an Emmy, and to win an Emmy for a show that had ABC stepping out on a ledge to air — there's a lot of firsts that come with 'American Crime' Season 1."

Over two seasons, "Crime" has excelled at going to deep, dark places that network TV would never normally touch — and using the preconceived notions and biases of the audience to twist the plot in ways they won't expect.

"A show like that, on a broadcast network?" King beams. "Not since 'Twin Peaks' has there been something that provocative and that risky on a broadcast network. So, that made it more special, that they stepped out on faith, and an Emmy for that is confirmation that taking that risk was rewarded."

Insisting that in both seasons, "the crime is the least important thing when you're talking about 'American Crime,'" King says she's especially proud of the show's willingness to address the hot-button of Season 2. Although rape and the plight of victims has been frequently in the news over the past several years, the subject of male-on-male sexual assaults was only recently even classified as rape, and statistics show little — other than that it is rarely reported.

"It's something that exists, and it exists a lot more than we'd like to believe," King says of the central storyline involving Connor Jessup as Taylor Blaine, a teenager who blacks out at a basketball party and is sexually assaulted. "But, it being male-on-male, when you talk about rape, I think there's a lot of shame that comes with that for a man."

"[My character] says that doesn't happen, and even if it did, boys can fight other boys off," King says of Terri's disbelief when told of the crime. "I think that stigma comes with that idea. So when a man has that experience, they know people are feeling that — and maybe they're feeling some of it themselves. And so, it's not reported, but it's definitely happening."

Viewers of the show have watched as King and her husband, played by Andre Benjamin, have lawyered-up and tried their best to grapple with a 2016 problem: Their son's permanently-tarnished reputation thanks to the Internet, before he's even been charged with a crime. "There's a lot going on … they're angry that he could have violated, hurt someone that way," King explains. "That possibility is terrifying for them. Then, they've truly failed as parents."

Which brings King to her next thought about the triumphs of "Crime" Season 2: As a former child actor herself, she's in awe of Jessup's performance as the victim.

"Connor Jessup is blowing me away. He is just magnificent," says the Emmy winner. "If I'm singling someone out, it would be Connor — the subtleties, these small little moments of turmoil and rage that he lets out as Taylor; they are perfect for a young man who could possibly be going through what Taylor is going through."

"How do you navigate that as a teenager?" she says of the themes Jessup is trying to convey through his difficult performance. "How do you live with that? What do you do with that? Who do you talk to about that, and how do you still feel like a regular person? As a teenager, you're less trying to be an individual and more trying to fit in. How can you navigate your day-to-day world, trying to fit in, after having an experience like that?"

She adds: "Connor does such an amazing job, with these little subtle moments of fear and rage that comes through."

Wrapping things up, King throws out a tease that would seem to indicate that "American Crime" has some big twists ahead. "As this story plays out, and as you see more episodes, it's really gonna make sense," King says of breadcrumbs being laid by Jessup. "You're going to go back to other episodes and say 'Oh my gosh, I saw a little bit of that there.'"