'Shadowhunters' season 2 spoilers: Katherine McNamara hints 'darker' and 'sexier' episodes; Clary meets a new rival

After being forced to embrace her role as a Shadowhunter, Clary (Katherine McNamara) must find her place in the world when "Shadowhunters" premieres its much-awaited second season next year.

Some of the show's cast recently caught up with Buddy TV, and they revealed interesting spoilers on how the storyline for season 2 will take shape. McNamara hinted that Clary's main motivation for season 2 is to find her place in the world after season 1 saw her being forced to become a Shadowhunter. Her new struggles will give her an opportunity to take a good look at her life and to possibly decide if she really wants to be one.

A new character named Maia (Alisha Wainwright) will also be introduced this season, but fans shouldn't expect her arrival to be good news. She will reportedly cause problems, particularly for Clary, because she'll stir up some trouble with Clary's treasured relationships. Maia becomes part of Simon's (Alberto Rosende) life and becomes like a daughter to Luke (Isaiah Mustafa) — both relationships that Clary has had all to her own up to this point.

"The show's darker, it's grittier, it's sexier," McNamara teased. "We've stepped up our game in every sense."

Season 2 picks up with the Institute in upheaval following Jace's (Dominic Sherwood) unexpected departure with Valentine (Alan Van Sprang). Just a few hours after the two characters leave, all hell breaks loose at the Institute. Clary, Isabelle (Emeraude Toubia), and Alec (Matthew Daddario) are determined to find Jace, but before they could even make their first move, the trio is quickly stopped in their tracks with the arrival of Victor Aldertree (Nick Sagar). Upon arriving at the Institute, he gathers everyone up to announce that he means business about getting the organization back on track. Elsewhere, Jocelyn (Maxim Roy) has a lot to catch up on now that she is awake.

The second season of "Shadowhunters" premieres on Monday, Jan. 2, at 8 p.m. EST on Freeform.