Jason Momoa’s HBO Max Series On The Roam Has A “Massive Episode” Coming In Season 2

by

Jason Momoa returns with more adventures in season 2 of On the Roam, and he has a major project planned before the season ends.

Jason Momoa, a star of the DC Universe, created, executive produced, and helped direct this HBO Max series. In it, he travels across the country, stepping away from filming to meet and connect with talented artists – including painters, musicians, and photographers. Through these connections and learning about their work, Momoa finds fresh inspiration for his own creative endeavors.

After a two-year break, season 2 of On the Roam is here! The show once again follows Jason Momoa as he travels the world, meeting fascinating artists and giving viewers a close-up look at how they create their work. This season features interviews with painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel (director of the Basquiat biopic), punk band The Bobby Lees, and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett.

Ahead of the new season, ScreenRant’s Grant Hermanns spoke with Jason Momoa and director Brian Andrew Mendoza about On the Roam. They talked about making time for the show despite Momoa’s busy schedule, how they chose the people featured in the new episodes, and hinted at a particularly special episode coming later in the season.

Season 2’s “Massive” Metallica Episode Resulted In An Epic Real-Life Moment

While planning the artists for the new season, Jason Momoa received a text from Kirk Hammett, who will be featured in an upcoming episode of On the Roam. Momoa admits he didn’t really know Hammett before the show, but recognized him from mutual friends and was a bit starstruck. He’s a huge fan of Metallica – so much so that the show’s opening credits use their song “Wherever I May Roam” – and he specifically wanted to create an episode focused on Gibson’s Flying V guitar.

Growing up, Jason Momoa was a huge fan of bands like Metallica, especially their guitars – the Flying V and the Explorer. He’s particularly in awe of James Hetfield’s Explorer. That’s why he’s making an episode about the Korina guitars, of which only around 90 were made, with just 20 of a specific type. He excitedly started searching for owners, and was thrilled when Kirk Hammett offered to let him visit and see his collection.

After connecting with Gibson CEO César Gueikian, the team was invited to his home to see the prototype of the Flying V guitar. This became a hugely exciting experience for Jason Momoa and Edgar Mendoza, and it was during this visit that Momoa received a text from Kirk Hammett confirming he would perform “For Whom the Bell Tolls” at the Aloha in Action flood relief concert – promising an incredible performance.

Beyond Kirk Hammett’s participation, Jason Momoa and his Aloha in Action team received permission from Gueikian to create 100 new Flying V guitars for auction. This was a significant step for the ‘Chief of War’ project, especially after Gueikian’s experience performing with Black Sabbath at the 2025 ‘Back to the Beginning’ event, which he described as a dream come true. Momoa hinted that season 2 of ‘On the Roam’ will feature this initiative, though it’s currently unknown if the episode will focus on Hammett or be a standalone segment.

Things really took off with this event. We’d just finished filming a movie and I wanted to do a small benefit concert in Hawaii to help with flood relief, bringing over a few friends. But it quickly grew! What started as a plan for 200 or 300 people turned into a venue that could hold 6,000 to 10,000! Suddenly, Jack Johnson and others were involved. Then, Kirk Hammett asked if he could join us, which was completely unexpected. He’s going to surprise everyone and play with me – it’s unbelievable! We’re also planning to perform Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ as a surprise for the audience. It’s all just been crazy and amazing.

Mendoza and Momoa explained that how Momoa connected Hammett to the Aloha in Action concert perfectly illustrates his creative process for his show, On the Roam. He’ll explore a topic or artist, and then months later, seemingly out of nowhere, the project will come together. Mendoza used Julian Schnabel as an example, explaining they filmed at his house. This connection ultimately led to Momoa landing a role in Schnabel’s film, In the Hand of Dante, where Mendoza also helped with some second unit directing.

I ended up painting with him at his house, and he cooked us spaghetti with clams. It felt like being in a Basquiat film – I was really impressed. We just had a great, relaxed time chatting.

On The Roam’s Subject Selection Is A Very “Organic” Process

The HBO Max docuseries, featuring a diverse range of artists, has viewers wondering how Jason Momoa and Brian Mendoza selected the talent for its second season. The pair, friends and creative collaborators for over 25 years, first connected when Momoa was 23. They bonded over their shared love of skateboarding and snowboarding, a connection that formed the basis of their long-standing partnership.

Mendoza explained that many of the people profiled in On the Roam are figures they admired growing up, like skateboarder Erik Ellington for Jason Momoa and photographer Todd Hido for himself – similar to the episode about Julian Schnabel in season two. He also noted how the Oscar-nominated Schnabel particularly demonstrated their natural approach to finding compelling subjects.

Brian Andrew Mendoza explained that Julian Schnabel’s favorite artist is Basquiat, while Mendoza personally prefers The Diving Bell and Butterfly. They connected at the Oscars and Mendoza casually suggested the project to Schnabel. The whole thing happened organically through a mutual connection, Jason – they didn’t have to go through agents or make formal requests to start filming.

Momoa described his approach: he brings ideas for potential subjects to Mendoza, who handles all aspects of production – filming, directing, and everything else. But the idea has to really impress Mendoza, because Momoa completely trusts his judgment. He joked that the next step is calling HBO Max to see if they can fund the project, and if they say no, he’s prepared to finance it himself and move forward anyway.

On The Roam Is The Best Look At Momoa’s Life & “F—-ng Geeking Out” Over Art

Given Jason Momoa’s demanding work life, it’s not surprising if he’s unsure about making another season of On the Roam. However, he shared that the docuseries is deeply personal – it’s simply about pursuing “my life” and “things that I love to do.” This includes following up on projects he’s passionate about and maintaining the close relationships – his “family” – he’s built with the artists he features.

He explained that while On the Roam is a passion project, it’s different from his usual work. He sees it as a personal endeavor – “it’s my life,” not just his job. With this HBO Max show, he’s not playing a character, but rather openly exploring things he genuinely loves. He described a portion of the series as revealing a vulnerable, and even frighteningly intimate, side of himself – ultimately offering viewers the most authentic look at who he is when the cameras aren’t rolling.

It’s a great opportunity to tell this story and make sure we do it justice, because you’re dealing with people’s lives. The biggest hurdle is just the time it takes – it could be done much faster if I didn’t have other commitments, but balancing everything makes it a bit more difficult.

Read More

2026-05-14 00:40