Sean Bean stars in "Legends"

Every once in a while, a TV series has great bones but fails to live up to its full potential. Such was the case with season 1 of TNT's spy drama "Legends," starring fan favorite Sean Bean ("Game of Thrones") as a chameleon-like undercover agent who struggles to solve the mystery behind his own identity. The first season attracted a modest audience, many of them tuning in solely for Bean's acclaimed performance.

Rather than throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak, TNT decided to tweak "Legends" for its sophomore season, recruiting Ken Biller to lead the revamp. Biller, whose television credits include "Star Trek: Voyager" and TNT's "Perception," now serves as showrunner for the series. A new episode of the thriller airs Monday, Nov. 23, on TNT.

Bean has nothing but praise for his new "Legends" colleague. "Ken Biller has shown his creativity, his passion for creating this new series again and giving it much more breadth and depth and richness of character," said Bean at this year's New York Comic Con.

Based on the novel "Legends: A Novel of Dissimulation" by Robert Littell, the series follows the story of Martin Odum (Bean), an agent who begins to question his sanity and his past when he realizes that the name "Martin Odum" may itself be an alias. After asking too many questions in season 1, Odum was framed for the murder of the FBI director, and now he's on the lam.

Season 2 finds Odum back home overseas, a move Biller has called a "great adventure." Fans of Bean are likely just happy he's alive somewhere, as the actor has the unfortunate distinction of being killed in many of his roles. So notorious is Bean's penchant for characters that get killed off that TNT used the hashtag #DontKillSeanBean to promote the first season of “Legends.” The campaign went viral with stars such as actor Kiefer Sutherland and "A Song of Ice and Fire" author George R.R. Martin wearing T-shirts with the plea.

It looks as if Bean's Odum is safe from death for now. TNT has "reimagined" the series almost completely for season 2, as Odum returns home to the U.K., where he uses his unique talents to transform himself and stay under the radar. Much darker than the first season, the show now boasts a “very gritty and rich and cinematic" feel, according to Biller, as the story jumps not only around the world, but also through time, following plots in both present day and 2001. This season centers on the story of one of Odam's past covers, that of Dmitry Petrovich, a ruthless Russian mobster.

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding season 2, and Biller upped the ante even more with a big promise for the upcoming season at Comic Con. “Well, if you keep watching, and you get all the right episodes, then you will find out who Martin Odum really is,” he said.

Klára Issová as seen in "Legends"

Before the season premiered Nov. 2, TNT gave viewers a little taste of the revamped "Legends," and the first and second episodes were made available on several VOD (video on demand) platforms. That shows great faith in the series, but it should come as no surprise given the team behind it. Executive producer Howard Gordon's credits include the action-packed Fox drama "24," as well as the current Showtime hit "Homeland."

Of course, the success of "Legends" once again rests heavily on Bean's capable shoulders. The acclaimed actor is perhaps best known to American audiences for his roles as Ned Stark in HBO's "Game of Thrones," and on the big screen as Boromir in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The English actor is also well known for his turn as Richard Sharpe in the ITV series "Sharpe," and won an International Emmy Award for his work in the BBC anthology series "Accused."

What viewers won't see this season are most of the other season 1 stars. Morris Chestnut (“Rosewood”) managed to hang on as FBI agent Tony Rice -- the only one who knows Odum's innocent. However, the rest of the cast hasn't returned for season 2. Instead, producers have added fresh blood with a number of new series regulars. Winter Ave Zoli, best known for her role as Lyla in “Sons of Anarchy,” joins Bean as Det. Gabriella Laska, a driven cop with a laissez-faire attitude. Kelly Overton (“True Blood”) appears in season 2 as no-nonsense CIA officer Nina Brenner. Young actress Aisling Franciosi (“The Fall”) stars as Kate Crawford, a teenager experiencing her own identity crisis thanks to a troubled relationship with her stepfather and Chechen mother. Steve Kazee (“Shameless”) faces a unique challenge in season 2 as he plays FBI Agent Curtis Ballard in two different time periods -- 2001 and present day.

A second round of casting brought Ralph Brown (“The Blacklist”) into the fold as Terrence Graves, described by Deadline.com as a “wry, sophisticated MI6 Intelligence officer." Klára Issová ("Crossing Lines") was also a later addition to the cast, joining Bean and company as Ilyana Crawford, a refugee from Chechnya who is, above all else, a survivor.

With Bean leading this international cast, the second season has the potential to blow the first season out of the water. To find out if it lives up to the hype, tune in to a new episode of "Legends," airing Monday, Nov. 23, on TNT.