Brotherhood actor Jason Clarke, left, poses for a photo with Madeline Ernest, center, and Sharon Gravell in the State House rotunda yesterday.

THE PROVIDENC JOURNAL / Bill Murphy

There was a Brotherhood love fest yesterday at the State House rotunda as state officials welcomed cast members of the Showtime drama back to Rhode Island for a second season of filming.

On hand were cast members Jason Isaacs, Jason Clarke, Annabeth Gish and Fionnula Flanagan, plus the show’s writer/creator, Blake Masters.

Brotherhood, which recently won a prestigious Peabody award, stars Isaacs and Clarke as two brothers on opposite sides of the law — Clarke plays Tommy Caffee, an ambitious state legislator, while Isaacs plays Michael Caffee, a criminal who returned to Rhode Island after a mysterious absence.

The show, filmed entirely in the state, debuted last July. Shooting for the second season is set to begin Monday. Masters didn’t want to reveal exactly where the show would be filming, although he said Brotherhood crews would be getting to some different locations this season than they had in the past.

Ten new episodes of Brotherhood are scheduled to debut this fall.

Because Clarke plays a state representative from a mythical Irish neighborhood called The Hill, Brotherhood frequently films at the State House.

“I’m standing on a set that would probably cost $20 million to build and I don’t have that kind of money,” said Masters when asked about the advantages of filming in Rhode Island. As he spoke, he waved his arms to take in the State House rotunda.

Masters paid tribute to the hospitality and cooperation of Rhode Islanders in making the show.

“This show wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of the people of Rhode Island,” he said. “If you didn’t let us shoot on your streets and shoot in this building, we wouldn’t have a show.”

On a more practical level, House Speaker William J. Murphy pointed out the importance of the tax credits passed by the General Assembly last year in luring productions such as Brotherhood to Rhode Island. At one point, he said, the show had considered doing most of its filming in Canada.

“We said, ‘If the show is about Rhode Island, why are you going to produce it in Canada?’ ” Murphy said.

While several speakers from Brotherhood thanked Rhode Island public officials for their help with the show, Isaacs drew a laugh by thanking “all the criminals in Rhode Island” for inspiring his character.

The last time Brotherhood aired, Isaac’s character, Michael Caffee, was bleeding profusely from a savage beating to the head. He looked dead.

Not so.

“Fans love Michael, they love that character,” Masters said. “The most foolish thing we could do would be to kill him off. The second most foolish thing we could do is leave him in a coma for four episodes.”

Masters said the new season of Brotherhood will pick up about six months after last season’s finale, with Michael out of the hospital. “Aspirin and a little rest work wonders,” Isaacs joked.

Isaacs said a lot of viewers apparently thought he was dead. He said he walked into a Rhode Island Starbucks recently and was greeted by a Brotherhood fan who yelled “Yo! You’re dead! You should be dead!”

But aside from Michael’s recovery, Masters didn’t give away any plot points, partly because he hasn’t finished writing them yet.

Isaacs said one of the interesting things about working on Brotherhood is that he doesn’t know what’s going to happen, either. “I’m looking forward to whatever roller coaster they put me on,” he said.

asmith@projo.com

Journal photo / Bill Murphy
Actors Jason Issacs and Annabeth Gish enjoy a light moment at the State House before the start of the Showtime press conference this afternoon (4/11/07).