This is a spoiler-free review for all 12 episodes of Twisted Metal season 2, the first three of which are now streaming on Peacock. New episodes debut every Thursday through August 2025.
Season 1 of Peacock’s Twisted Metal resembled its PlayStation source material more in spirit than content: It was a madcap(pier) Mad Max, delivering a loony Zombieland-style look at a post-apocalyptic wasteland teeming with vehicular carnage. But in season 2, the show’s namesake tournament takes center stage and the results are silly and satisfying – a more focused story, a deeper exploration of character, and some truly impressive demolition derby warfare. Just as in the first season, not every joke lands. I don’t have an actual success rate percentage breakdown for you, but there’ll be a dozen fizzles on the funny front before a gut-buster floors you. When it comes to bits and gags, Twisted Metal is for sure playing the numbers game.
Showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith takes the irreverent sass of season 1 and crafts more of a sitcom setting in season 2, with an established ensemble taking us through the story as they all compete for a spot in Twisted Metal. The characters are given room and board (at an abandoned high school) while jumping through proverbial flaming hoops until the lucky few reach the final level. In some ways, this structure makes season 2 feel a bit tamer. It’s still a mix of dude-bro antics and surreal Community-type laughs, but there’s so much violence and destruction in the elimination rounds leading up to Twisted Metal that it works, in a way, to deflate the big battle.
With 12 episodes now (compared to 10 in season 2), longer does not necessarily equal better here, and while infusing the story with a more focused goal – a multi-stage driving tournament where the winner gets one wish granted – there are definitely moments within this season that feel buried under nonsense and distraction. At the same time though, season 2 gives us a colorful, sprawling ensemble, assembling the principal players from season 1 and adding Raven (Patty Guggenheim, replacing first-season guest star Neve Campbell), Mr. Grimm (Richard de Klerk), Vermin (Lisa Gilroy), Axel (Michael James Shaw), and Dollface (Tiana Okoye).
Those invested deeply in the decades of lore will recognize these names, though as someone who’s never played Twisted Metal – and really only knows the franchise from seeing the grinning, flaming clown head of Sweet Tooth plastered all over the games’ covers and advertising – I can say the uninitiated will be just fine. It’s an insane world that already set up enough genre-warping wiggle room to make way for just about every type of crazy character you can think of – including the infusion of both cyborgs and soul-stealing sorcerers.
Twisted Metal: Season 2 ImagesEven the Twisted Metal contest itself has some supernatural chicanery because the grand-prize wish-fulfillment is literal. Crazed, cackling tournament maestro Calypso (Anthony Carrigan) means to do exactly what he says, and that’s provide the champion with their heart’s desire. It’s just an extra layer of bonkers in an already ridiculous world. Also, it leads to a very funny recurring bit where we’re forced to question if Mr. Grimm’s powers are even real or if he just makes a lot of goofy faces and gestures.
It’s really still the core Season 1 characters who shine here: John Doe (Anthony Mackie), Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz), Sweet Tooth (played onscreen by Samoa Joe and voiced by Will Arnett), and Stu (Mike Mitchell). Mackie and Beatriz remain awesomely funny and likable as John and Quiet, now working as a team and dealing with a myriad of family-adjacent concerns. In the midst of the violence, chaos, and class warfare waged by the walled cities against the outsiders, John must contend with his amnesia getting in the way of a heartfelt sibling reunion while Quiet stumbles upon a new conniving connection who gives off younger sibling (or even possible daughter) vibes: Saylor Bell Curda’s Mayhem. Being a teenager born into a broken world (an “Apo Baby,” as she’s described), Mayhem is as stubborn and overconfident as they come. But instead of that being an aggravating trait, she pops as a fun, relatable addition to Twisted Metal.
Because the season is designed to eliminate characters – with many episodes showcasing a lethal qualifying round for the tournament – many of the new cast members are just here to be to killed off. That doesn’t mean they’re dispensable though. Most are cool, key components of the Twisted Metal world, and some are even given flashbacks that show us how they got here. There are a couple stragglers who stick around too long, but overall, we’re given a good lot.
Also, you can still lean on the OGs, and the Samoa Joe/Will Arnett Sweet Tooth combo remains a wonderfully insane creation. Sweet Tooth’s relentless homicidal tendencies mixed with his random softness and sentiment continue to make him a spotlight character. His motivations to win Twisted Metal are thin (he just wants to be the most famous killer) but that doesn’t prevent him from being the most consistently funny character onscreen. John and Quiet are the heart of the show – even when their relationship hits rough waters – but Sweet Tooth and Stu are also a surrogate family in their own right, providing unexpected moments of tenderness.
Having watched all of season 2 for this review, the parts that instantly pop into my head are the funny gags. To name a few: There’s a very amusing cameo, an inspired Baby-Sitters Club bit, and a hilarious exchange with Axel’s creator, Dr. Zemu. I note this because the action scenes are very impressive, but they take a back seat to the absurdities. But yes, it’s Twisted Metal so there’s still rampant gore, flying limbs, and many unceremonious deaths. It’s a testament to Smith and the writing staff that moments of warmth actually resonate through all the mayhem. The scenery isn’t much to look at (a lot of empty warehouses, parking lots, drab open roads, etc.) but what’s being saved on visuals is made up for by a ton of ferocious action set to hit songs from the 1990s. Season 2 has a few more lulls than season 1, but it’s still a bold expansion of Twisted Metal.
VerdictTwisted Metal’s second season goes bigger by bringing in (and killing off) more characters in the name of vehicle-mangling glory. John Doe and Quiet now find themselves fighting for a larger, loftier purpose while also dealing with various personal turmoils. Sweet Tooth and Stu feel more “in the mix” given all the other characters, but that damn clown is still vicious and vibrant enough to rise above the rest of the rabble. Season 2 gives us a satisfying deepening of the characters and lore, though some of build up to the climactic Twisted Metal match gets repetitive as it moves from one random death race to another.
