Will’s family tree is expanding! An upcoming Season 2 episode of Will Trent will introduce viewers to Will’s uncle, Antonio Miranda. Who is Antonio Miranda and what is there to know about him? We have all the details below, including who will be playing the new character.
ABC’s Will Trent is a police procedural based on the best-selling Karin Slaughter book series of the same name. It centers on Special Agent Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez), who was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. Now, Will works for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and uses his unique point of view in his pursuit of justice. The series first premiered in January 2023 and is currently on its second season. Rounding out the cast is Sonja Sohn as Amanda Wagner, Erika Christensen as Angie Polaski, Iantha Richardson as Faith Mitchell and Jake McLaughlin as Michael Ormewood.
Given Will’s troubled background, viewers have not yet met any of the special agent’s blood relatives. That is going to change, however, when Will discovers that he has an uncle. Who is Antonio Miranda on Will Trent and what is there to know about him? Keep reading to find out.
Who is Antonio Miranda on Will Trent?
Who is Antonio Miranda on Will Trent? Antonio Miranda is Will’s long-lost uncle. He will be introduced during the sixth episode of Season 2, which airs on April 9, 2024. Per the episode’s official synopsis, Will is going to reunite with “a long-lost relative, uncovering unexpected and profound similarities. Meanwhile, the GBI and APB investigate a judge’s murder while Faith’s connection with Luke deepens.”
Antonio is described as “warm and charismatic, with connections to both Atlanta and Puerto Rico.” He is “eager to catch up on lost time when he’s reunited with Will Trent, the nephew he never knew he had.”
The second episode of Season 2 teed up Antonio’s debut, with serial killer James Ulster (Greg Germann) revealing the name of Will’s only living relative: his mom’s brother. James killed Will’s mother, a prostitute named Lucy Morales, and is now claiming to be his father. Although the special agent doesn’t know if he believes James, he does look into the tip about his uncle and begins searching for him.
Executive producers Liz Heldens and Daniel Thomsen hinted back in February 2024 that Will does, in fact, find Antonio, telling TVLine: “By around Episode 4, he’s kind of like, ‘Enough, I think I just have to reach out.’” Heldens added: “It’s something that he’s very nervous about, in a way that we find very endearing.”
“He needs to reach out to this man, and it’s very exciting because Will is [typically] surrounded by women,” she continued. “That’s what [Will Trent novelist] Karin Slaughter created. That was her intention, and it has made this character so interesting. I think a lot of women connect to Will because he is surrounded by women, he listens to women, and he really respects women. But it’s fun, as we’re writing toward the end of the season, to ask ourselves what it looks like when Will has a really charismatic, male role model. What does that feel like with someone who is different from him? That relationship is going to be very emotional… and awkward.”
Antonio’s arrival will come with many questions, including why he didn’t know about Will and what his relationship with Will’s mom was like. Most importantly, fans are hoping Antonio can help clear up some of the mystery surrounding Lucy’s death and if James is really his father.
“Season 2 is going to be about his exploration with his uncle, and we’re not going to turn back to Ulster in this [10-episode] chapter,” the EPs explained, implying that we might not get an answer about who Will’s father is by the end of the abbreviated season. Thomsen did note, however, that the titular character will begin to question who he is and what is “underneath the hood,” which will eventually lead him back to James.
Will’s uncle will be played John Ortiz, who will be coming on board in a recurring capacity. Ortiz boasts a decades-long career in film and television. He has guest starred and recurred roles on some of the most well-known cop shows, including Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Blue Bloods and New York Undercover. He has also had roles in films like Fast & Furious, The Finest Hours, Silver Linings Playbook and Netflix’s Horse Girl. Most recently, he starred in the Best Picture-nominated film American Fiction and on ABC’s Promised Land.
