- Leon sheds his reluctance, becoming an active crime-fighting partner in Season 2.
- Cathy’s true-crime expertise makes her a valuable asset as the stakes escalate.
- The couple’s relatable dynamic adds depth to the show’s dark comedy and suspense.
Cathy and Leon Montgomery survived Russian mobsters, murder, and $10 million worth of trouble in Season 1of Average Joe, and the married duo is back for Season 2 once again, proving that couples who commit crimes together apparently stay together.
Average Joe returns for Season 2 TODAY, August 19, on Paramount+, and while Deon Cole’s Joe Washington remains at the center of the chaos, we’re particularly excited to see Cynthia Kaye McWilliams and Malcolm Barrett return as married couple Cathy and Leon Montgomery supporting him through it all, because if Joe Washington is going to get himself wrapped up with dangerous criminals again, he definitely needs his most hilariously ride-or-die friends nearby.
When audiences first met Leon and Cathy, they appeared to be a relatively ordinary married couple living a relatively ordinary Pittsburgh life.
Then Joe’s late father stole millions from the Russian mob.
And “ordinary” went straight out the window. Season 1 quickly transformed him from supportive best friend to reluctant criminal accomplice as Joe’s crew attempted to locate the missing money—and stay alive long enough to spend it. While Leon was a little reluctant to embrace the chaos in season 1, actor Malcolm Barrett reveals that fans can expect a completely different version of “Leon” for season 2.
“In the first season, should I say, Leon was a little giving his like the side eye, like Kathy was giving the side eye because she was into the detective and the murder mystery and then he started, so now he’s starting to feel it too and embrace the detective and he’s ready because he’s in the crime world this season,” Malcolm Barrett said.
“It’s been fun being able to grow in that way because I think it was a slow build for Leon like to get into that sort of thing. Near the end of season one, you see him have a fist fight, and you see him use a sniper rifle, and I think season two, he builds on those sort of skills and aspects that were sort of at play near the end of the first season.”
But every Leon needs a Cathy, and Cynthia Kaye McWilliams’ character is the right person to be around when things go completely off the rails.
Cathy entered the story as Leon’s outspoken, true-crime-obsessed wife, only to discover that all those hours watching murder mysteries were about to become extremely useful.
Because once bodies started dropping, Cathy didn’t panic; she started problem-solving.
McWilliams’ sharp comedic timing and unapologetic delivery made Cathy one of Season 1’s scene-stealers. While everyone else is attempting to process the insanity surrounding them, Cathy often feels like she’s been preparing for this moment from her couch for years. The comedic actress stands out as the crime-show-obsessed wife who steps up when things get tense, but it’s her ability to embrace the role without doubling down on the stereotypes that truly makes her excellent.
“I’m always going to be a Black woman,” McWilliams said. “So any character that I portray, I never try to approach as a type. I always say, ‘What’s the truth in this moment right now? What are the given circumstances? Who am I in this moment, and who am I in that moment with I think that the key to authentic storytelling is moment-to-moment truth, because truth is ever-evolving. And it is because of that that we’re allowed to be so many different things. So as a Black woman, as a Black person, as a person of color in society, I am always interested in storytelling that expands us.”
Together, Cathy and Leon bring another layer to what makes Average Joe work so well. And it helps that Cynthia and Malcolm are married in real life.
They’re funny, but their relationship isn’t simply there for comic relief. Watching an everyday marriage get dropped into extraordinary circumstances gives the show’s dark comedy another dimension.
These aren’t professional criminals or highly trained assassins; they’re regular everyday married people trying to survive their friend’s family drama.
Unfortunately, that family drama involves the Russian mob, and nothing says marital bonding quite like an international life-or-death crisis.
Created by Robb Cullen, “Average Joe” has found its sweet spot by combining crime, suspense, family drama, and an extremely dark sense of humor into a story about regular people making increasingly irregular decisions—and Cathy and Leon might be the perfect example.
For better or worse, indeed.
Average Joe Season 2 is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+.