Interview with actors Sandro Rosta, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Bella Shepherd, Zoë Steiner, Karim Diané, Robert Picardo, and Gina Yashere, and showrunners/executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau of “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” on Paramount+ by Suzanne 1/7/26
I can’t tell you how much fun these interviews were. This is a very exciting Trek show, and I love these actors. I was especially excited to speak with Robert Picardo and Gina Yashere because of their previous work. The new series drops tomorrow, January 15, 2026 on Paramount+! If you loved “Star Trek: Discovery,” you should love this one as well.
STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY will premiere with two episodes on Thursday, January 15 on Paramount+ in the U.S. Following the premiere, new episodes of the 10-episode-long season will drop weekly on Thursdays, with the season finale on Thursday, March 12.
ABOUT SERIES
STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.
The new series stars Academy Award winner Holly Hunter as Nahla Ake, the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy and Captain of the U.S.S. Athena, plus the cast of cadets played by Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins and Bella Shepard. Additional cast members include Zoë Steiner, Robert Picardo, Tig Notaro, Oded Fehr, Gina Yashere and Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti, as the season’s villain.
Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau serve as co-showrunners and executive produce the series alongside executive producers Gaia Violo, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Jenny Lumet, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Frank Siracusa and John Weber. The series’ premiere episode is written by Gaia Violo and directed by Alex Kurtzman. STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment.
Billy and Sally run into Cane and Phyllis at the GCAC. Phyllis goes off on a tirade to Billy, while Sally and Cane stand there in awkward silence.
Later, at the Crimson Lights patio, Phyllis gloats to Cane about how she handled Billy. Cane lets her know that he pressed the button on his phone which triggered the AI program to destroy Enterprises from within. Phyllis pulls Cane in close, kisses him, and they go to his train and have victory sex.
Billy tells Sally he found out that Phyllis and Cane are in cahoots to take down Newman Enterprises and they discuss the ramifications.
When they go to Sally’s suite and she leaves the living room momentarily, Billy calls Jack and tells him that Cane and Phyllis are working together against Victor. As Sally heads back to the living room, she eavesdrops on their conversation.
At the Newman ranch, Jack (accompanied by Kyle) tries in vain to convince Victor to accept his offer to trade Matt to Victor in exchange for the AI program. Victor gets a text, leaves, and Jack’s security team takes Matt away to a secure location.
When Victor returns, he digs in his heels with his refusal to accept Jack’s offer and banishes Jack and Kyle from the ranch. Then, he gathers Adam, Nikki and Victoria and alerts them that their family is under attack by the AI program going after it’s host.
Interview with Richard Wharton of “Days of Our Lives” on Peacock by Suzanne 11/13/25
I very much enjoyed speaking with Richard, who plays the “mad scientist” Dr. Rolf on Days of Our Lives. I’ve watched the show off and on since 1992, so I’ve seen his predecessor (Will Utay) play him for years. Wharton is a great replacement. He’s had a long career as a character actor. He’s one of the few I’ve ever interviewed that asked about me, or my work, as well. I hope you enjoy it! Make sure to catch him Mondays through Fridays on DOOL.
Richard Wharton was born in Chicago, Illinois, and attended Western Illinois University. He stayed at WIU for an additional two years to get a Masters Degree in what eventually became their MFA program. He is most known for taking over the role of Major Recurring Guest Star Dr. Wilhelm Rolf on Days of Our Lives in 2022 and has appeared in over 60 episodes. He can also be seen as Grayson in The Pitt on HBO Max, and as a Pawnbroker on several episodes of The Young and The Restless. Richard is particularly proud of his part in the “Claires sketch” in I Think You Should Leave, as well as his King’s Alchemist role in Dragon Storm – one of two Sci-Fi films he filmed in Bulgaria and directed by the late great Stephen Furst. Richard’s first film role was as Punk #2 trying to rob Billie Crystal and Gregory Hines in Running Scared. In addition to his training at WIU, Richard studied for a summer at The National Shakespeare Summer Conservatory in Woodstock, New York and studied Shakespeare in Chicago with Barbara Gaines, the artistic director of Chicago Shakespeare Rep. After college, Richard toured the country for 9 months performing with the Alpha Omega Players eventually returning to Chicago where he spent the next 19 years performing in various theatres. His first paid acting job was in 1976 as the apostle Peter in an outdoor drama, The Smoky Mountain Passion Play. He then got his Equity card working with Chicago’s Free Street Theater directed by Patrick Henry, after which he served as Co-Artistic Director of The Immediate Theatre in Chicago where he was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award for his portrayal of Henry Hackamore in Seduced by Sam Shepard. In his free time, Richard likes to read, hike, do yoga, go to the gym, go to the beach, play golf, watch movies, cook (he is the CDO at home, “Chief Domestic Officer”), and travel. He also loves to take long drives with his wife along the ocean or thru the mountains in his first “fun car”, a 2008 Toyota Solara Convertible which he bought in 2024. He is an on again off again sports fan, liking the 1985 Chicago Bears, The Jordan years of The Chicago Bulls and the Kobe/Shack years of the Lakers (the Phil Jackson years for both teams), The Cubs when Richard lived a block from Wrigley, the Dodgers, The Rams, and his current obsession, The Indiana Fever.
Days of our Lives is the multi-award-winning daytime drama that has weathered and reflected political and societal shifts without pause since 1965. Featuring drama, romance, mystery, and suspense, “Days” follows the lives, loves, and conflicts of the Horton, Brady, DiMera, Kiriakis, and Hernandez families and their many friends and colleagues. As one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, it is enjoyed in many foreign territories including Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Israel, South Africa, and Australia. Peacock is the exclusive home of Days of our Lives. Audiences can access the past season and new episodes every weekday. Days of our Lives is produced by Corday Productions Inc. in association with Sony Pictures Television.
Interview with Tyler Hynes and Paul Campbell of “Three Wisest Men” on Hallmark by Suzanne 10/29/25
This was a very fun interview! “Three Wisest Men” is the third in the series of Hallmark movies that started with “Three Wise Men and a Baby” and “Three Wise Men and a Boy.” I didn’t realize before this interview that Campbell co-created and co-wrote the movies! He’s written and starred in many others as well. I’ve enjoyed them all, but this one is even funnier than the previous movies. I laughed all the way through. He also played Billy in “Battlestar Galactica,” so that was an added bonus, since I’m a huge fan of that show. He and Hynes have a great rapport both in the movies and in interviews. I hope you enjoy our video. Watch the movie Saturday night on Hallmark 8/7C and then streaming the next day on Hallmark+. The third of their trio, Andrew Walker, couldn’t make the interview, which is too bad. They’re great in this movie, along with Margaret Colin, Lochlyn Munro and others.
Stars: Paul Campbell (Christmas at the Catnip Café), Tyler Hynes (The Groomsmen trilogy), Andrew Walker (She’s Making a List) Logline: The Brenner family is back, and their lives are more chaotic than ever! As Luke (Walker) is expecting twins, Taylor (Hynes) is debating a monumental job opportunity out-of-state, and Stephan (Campbell) attempts to plan for his upcoming nuptials, everyone’s stress heightens when they learn their mom (Colin) has put their childhood home up for sale, marking their final Christmas in the Brenner house. With unexpected in-laws visiting, wild animals lurking in freshly cut Christmas trees and a hesitant mall Santa, the boys will have their work cut out for them as the holiday begins to loom. As they navigate adulting at a level they have yet to reach, they must learn to once again lean on one another to rise to the needs of their growing family, conquer the newest challenges in their lives and, most crucially, have the best Christmas EVER!
Paul Campbell is a Canadian actor born on June 22, 1979, known for his roles in the TV series Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider, and numerous Hallmark Channel movies. After working as a carpenter, he pursued acting, making his debut in 2002. He is also a writer and producer, married to Lorie Campbell with whom he has a son named Kingston.
Tyler Hynes is a Canadian actor and filmmaker born on May 6, 1986. He began his professional acting career at age eight, appearing on stage before moving to television and film, and is known for his roles in the Hallmark Channel’s romantic movies as well as for recurring roles on shows like Letterkenny, The Firm, and Saving Hope. He is also an accomplished director, producer, and writer, with credits including music videos and short films.
Interview with Ginna Claire Mason and Wes Brown of the movie “A Newport Christmas” on Hallmark by Suzanne 10/29/25
I really enjoyed this Hallmark Christmas movie, which has time travel, history and a lot of other fun stuff. It airs Sunday, 11/2/25 on Hallmark, and streaming the next day on Hallmark+! They were both really nice. It’s always nice to talk to people with a lot of warmth and enthusiasm. These two are so good in this movie. I’m a longtime fan of scifi and fantasy, as well as Christmas movies, so I enjoy when they combine all these elements. Check out their new song, too! “Timeless!”
About A NEWPORT CHRISTMAS Premieres: Sunday, November 2
Stars: Ginna Claire Mason (A Holiday Spectacular), Wes Brown (Haul out the Holly: Lit Up)
Logline: Ella (Mason) is a charitable and spirited Newport socialite in 1905 who dreams of using her wealth to start a foundation to help others in town. After learning her father intends for her to become engaged to a man she’s never met at the upcoming Christmas Eve ball, Ella goes for a nighttime sail in her schooner to clear her head. Upon seeing a comet shoot across the sky, she wistfully wishes for a different life. Ella is shocked to suddenly find Nick (Brown), a sailor and local Newport historian, aboard her schooner and accuses him of being a stowaway. But Nick insists he owns the boat and a standoff ensues. Once on dry land, Ella realizes that somehow, she’s traveled from 1905 to 2025. As she spends time there and gets a glimpse at what her future in 1905 appears to be, she becomes reluctant to return, especially since she and Nick have grown close and she now knows how true love feels. But the legacy Ella built in her time – and the course of Newport’s history – risks being erased the longer she stays in the present, so the two plot a course for her trip back through time. But what awaits her at home is even more surprising that what she found in the future.
Wes Brown (born January 26, 1982) is an American actor known for his role as Luke McDonald in HBO’s True Blood and other TV and film roles, including Hallmark movies. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas, raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attended Louisiana State University, initially intending to pursue business before switching to acting. His career also includes roles in series like Hart of Dixie and Private Practice, and films such as Glory Road and We Are Marshall.
Ginna Claire Mason is an American actress known for her role as Glinda in the Broadway musical Wicked and her starring roles in Hallmark Channel movies. Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, she graduated from Elon University with a BFA in Music Theatre. Mason is married to pilot Eric Moffett, and they have two children.
Interview with Ramona Floyd of “Murdaugh: Death in the Family” on Hulu by Suzanne 10/28/25
It was great to speak with Ramona about her role in this TV miniseries, which airs Wednesdays on HULU. It premiered October 15th and finishes up November 19th for the finale. I can’t wait! She plays Lynn Goettee, Alex Murdagh’s sister. The miniseries is based on the real-life story of the Murdagh family murders from 2021 in South Carolina. We had a nice, in-depth discussion about the show and her role in it.
SeriesPremieres Oct. 15, 2025, on Hulu (Three Episodes at Launch, Then Weekly)
Maggie and Alex enjoy a lavish life of privilege as members of one of South Carolina’s most powerful legal dynasties. But when their son Paul is involved in a deadly boat crash, the family is faced with a test unlike any they’ve ever encountered. As details come to light and new challenges emerge, the family’s connections to several mysterious deaths raise questions which threaten everything Maggie and Alex hold dear.
The series stars Patricia Arquette as Maggie Murdaugh, Jason Clarke as Alex Murdaugh, Johnny Berchtold as Paul Murdaugh, Will Harrison as Buster Murdaugh, Brittany Snow as Mandy Matney, J. Smith-Cameron as Marian Proctor, Gerald McRaney as Randolph Murdaugh and Noah Emmerich as Randy Murdaugh.
Inspired by the popular “Murdaugh Murders Podcast,” the series hails from co-creator and showrunner Michael D. Fuller (“Quarry,” “Rectify” and “Locke & Key”) and co-creator Erin Lee Carr (“Britney vs Spears,” “I Love You, Now Die” and “Mommy Dead and Dearest”). Nick Antosca (“A Friend of the Family,” “The Act” and “Candy”) and Alex Hedlund for Eat the Cat are executive producers along with Mandy Matney, David Moses and Bill Johnson. Steven Piet executive produced and directed episodes 101, 102 and 108. Patricia Arquette and Jason Clarke also serve as executive producers. UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.
Ramona Floyd is a versatile stage and screen actor whose work spans Off-Broadway, television, and film. She has appeared in a wide range of acclaimed New York productions, including Please Go Gentle Into That Good Night, The Monument, the title role in Medea, and standout performances in Pygmalion and The Maids with the Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre. Other stage credits include Gone in 60, Arms and the Man, and Fulana. On screen, Ramona has built a career portraying everything from tough bosses to compassionate caregivers in popular series such as The Blacklist, The Punisher, FBI, True Detective, Girls5Eva, Blue Bloods, Bull, and the upcoming Murdaugh Murders: Death in the Family for Hulu.
Interview with star Drew Van Acker and director Jaco Bouwer of the film “Orion” by Suzanne 10/27/25
This is a smart, twisty, psychological thriller as well as a scifi movie. If you like good scifi, or suspenseful dramas, you should enjoy this. Drew Van Acker plays an astronaut, caught up in some intrigue, and he is interrogated by a mysterious person, played by Andrew McCarthy. I can’t tell you more because of spoilers. Just know that the description below is not entirely accurate, due to the twists and turns in this movie! I really enjoyed it, especially the great ending.
The interview, unfortunately, had many technical problems (at least for me). The video came out fine, but near the beginning, the sound went mostly out, and nothing I did fixed it. I apologize to the director, whose name I mispronounced throughout. I take full responsibility for the tech problems because I was on my phone instead of my computer. Bad choice on my part! Both gentlemen were very kind, though, as were the PR women helping me.
The movie is showing at various film festivals, so go see it if you can! ORION had its World Premiere at FilmQuest on Saturday, October 25th, and will have its International Premiere at Triste Film Festival November 1, 2025
Sunil Perkash, Drew Van Acker, Elle Army, Scott Army
RUN TIME
96 minutes
LOGLINE
ORION is an intense, sci-fi thriller about a Nasa Interrogator (Jim) tasked to help an amnesiac astronaut (Apollo) recover his memory in order to determine “who” or “what” killed the rest of the crew before they crash landed back on Earth.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT BY JACO BOUWER
When I received Orion’s script, it inspired me to create a film that continually kept the audience guessing at what the hidden truth might be, and therefore, on edge – not just through narrative twists, but brought about by the tension of what is not being said.
Orion is a meditation that hinges on the delicate balance between trust and doubt, and endeavours to celebrate all forms of language – spoken, cinematic, and experienced.
I grew up in South Africa, a country with 12 official languages, where realities of communication, translation, and misunderstanding are part of daily life. A cacophony of meaning and intent – which felt so relevant in the making of this film.
Together with production designer(Mike Conte) and cinematographer(David Kruta) we were able to conceptualise, design and build the sets together and so the world building was a unique way of development for me which reminds me of my theatre work and processes, embracing the concept of single location as referenced in some of my previous work. To be able to largely shoot in continuity also really helped the actors and myself arcing out their emotional journeys. To have enough time to develop the language and score tonality was a privilege in collaboration with long-time collaborator and composer Pierre-Henri Wicomb.
Of course, the production could only be brought to full fruition with the presence of our actors, Drew Van Acker, our Apollo – who himself has invested a great deal in the project – and the sharp intellect of Andrew McCarthy, with a nuanced performance and inescapable gravity to the mysterious Jim. Debbie Ryan with all her layers completes the lead ensemble.
The film navigates those unspoken spaces where meaning is unstable, and unpredictable, the film explores how language – intended to connect us – can also conceal, distort, and betray us – even more relevant than we could have possibly anticipated, with the onset of more authentic AI models, and the advent of more believable fake news, propaganda, begging to question the agenda of a current geopolitical landscape, in social media and speech of a global community.
It is a privilege to make films in a language other than my own, and in another country so far removed from what I grew up with – the process truly resonating on a deeper level as far as the scope, comprehension, and possibilities of communication and language could anticipate.
PRODUCER STATEMENT BY SUNIL PERKASH
Orion was initially an idea Drew Van Acker and I had, based on his love of space and our collective passion for great science fiction films that both entertained and explored humanity in a clever way (Star Wars, Total Recall, Inception etc…) We also were very interested in finding something that was all about the LANGUAGE of filmmaking. Rear Window and even Sleuth (Caine/Olivier) were two great films that relied on filmmaking -acting, camera, lighting, sound etc…- to transcend from their sparse locations. With that in mind, we went to the writer we had previously developed a script with, Anne Vithayathil. She had lived in India and US before settling in US from high school on, and with a degree from Dartmouth and Masters at Stanford, she had studied in Eastern Europe and loved all things spy related and had studied spy tactics in the 1960s, specifically how to use words as a weapon and manipulation.
Our goal was to tell a story that played out like the Russian Mystroishka doll!
Once the script was finished and we met with a number of wonderful directors that had enthusiastic takes on the material. But when we met with Jaco Bowser, something magnificent happened. In telling us the film he saw in his head, we realized, this was no longer our film, but his film we were about to be so fortunate to be a part of. Jaco had a knowledge of filmmaking that was impressive, as much as the most experienced directors I have worked with but perhaps because budgets are so low in South Africa, his approach was very humble and very specific. Needless to say, he instantly wowed us. He closely supervised an additional draft – specifically to fit his vision and ideas for the film, always balancing the spoken word and what was left unsaid.
With our day-to-day partners, Elle and Scott Army – who were critical in helping with financing, a true labor of love for them. Raising independent financing is just impossible today, I analogize it to asking a friend for a ride to the airport for a 2am flight!
Yet…all four of us (Elle/Scott/Drew and I) were able to find collaborators who believed and were even inspired by the vision Jaco and we all had for Orion.
We sponsored Jaco’s visa and working with renowned casting director Avy Kaufman and Leeba Zakarov, we found the perfect Jim in Andrew McCarthy. Jaco felt he had both an extremely affable and cerebral quality, crucial to mine to give Jim all the enigmatic complexities he required. Debby also connected deeply with the existential aspect of the material, and given how cherubically guileless her vibes were, Jaco also felt she would bring all he hoped to Mary, submerging the audience in a woman’s struggle to save her husband (even though…that was not at all what was going on.)
We then set out to make our film, another fortunate thing happened. By not having the mega budgets of my past Studio Films like Enchanted and Salt, it inspired all of us to find ways to stretch our budget, led by Jaco’s unwavering defiance to never compromise the story. He always used his creativity and imagination to find solutions that seemed to always be much more inspired than had we had the mega studio budgets to solve them without that process. And in the end, Jaco and the entire cast and crew found themselves meticulously using the language of filmmaking to tell a story that explores the nature of language in the world we live in today.
ACTOR-PRODUCER STATEMENT BY DREW VAN ACKER
Ever since I can remember I was driven by imagination. The idea of different people, different places, and different times all coming together to create “reality”. Movies, for me, were just that. A journey into the possible.
I’ll spare you my ENTIRE story, but a few years back, I started searching for and developing my own material through producing. It was something I had always been interested in, not just as a performer, but as a fan of story telling.
With “Orion”, I wanted to tell a story that combined my love of science fiction and my ever-present fascination with our communication as a species. It wasn’t until I saw a masterful turn in filmmaking, from a director out of South Africa, that I knew. He had to be the one to help tell this story. That film was “Gaia” and that director was Jaco Bouwer. “Gaia” transcended what I thought a film could be at that budget range. And that was exhilarating. THAT was what I wanted to be a part of. To be challenged. Afraid. Open…
My character, Apollo, is a man living in his very own multiverse of emotions and truths. Which, I realized during this process, we all are. Each scene allows him to explore the possibility that he isn’t as righteous as he wished to believe. He’s scared, troubled and anxious to peel back the onion. He’s confronted with having to find a way to believe his own lies in order to pass them as “truth”. Something all of us deal with on one level or another.
I was blessed when given the opportunity to explore these layers alongside two selfless individuals. Andrew McCarthy and Debby Ryan. I remember walking into the set and seeing Debby for the first time. I remember watching Andrew rehearse. I was being confronted with performances that were so honest, I had to question my own. I think that was a bit of a theme for me here, not only as an actor, but as a man. Facing my fears and doubts that I had long ignored.
This film is cerebral. That’s what makes it sparkle in my opinion. That “drive home” conversation type of movie. Talking about what you just saw. What motivated the characters? Who figured it out first? Truly moved by the honesty of what you witnessed. And that is where I want to be as an artist and a producer. A small part of stories that make people think. Make them talk to each other. Make them wonder…what’s POSSIBLE??
ABOUT THE CAST
ANDREW MCCARTHY | “Jim”
Andrew McCarthy is an award-winning travel writer, a television director, and, of course, an actor. He has appeared in more than two dozen films including such iconic 80s movies as Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire. His recent documentary, BRATS, debuted at #1 on Hulu. He has directed nearly 100 hours of television, including Orange Is the New Black and Blacklist. Andrew has been named Travel Journalist of the Year by the Society of American Travel Writers, and for a dozen years served as an editor-at-large at National Geographic Traveler magazine. He has written for the NY Times, WSJ, The Atlantic, TIME, and many others. Andrew is the author of four New York Times Best Selling books. His latest, WHO NEEDS FRIENDS will be published in March of ’26.
DREW VAN ACKER | “Apollo”
Drew has been acting for over 16 years, including starring in Cartoon Network’s first live action show, Tower Prep, as well a lead role on the worldwide hit Pretty Little Liars for 7 seasons, Devious Maids for Marc Cherry, Training Day series for Jerry Bruckheimer, and Aqualad on the hit show Titans.
He recently wrapped Bethesda for the Lewis Bros directing and starring alongside Max Martini and Brianna Hildebrand.
He also starred in Addison Rae’s 2024 smash, top ten songs Music Video, Diet Pepsi directed by Sean Price Williams (The Sweet East, Cannes Premiere) which has over 32 million views on Youtube.
His 2022 critically acclaimed film Last Survivors, which he produced and starred alongside Alicia Silverstone and Stephen Moyer, had its World Premiere at the prestige genre festival Frightfest in London, and also played at Leeds International Film Festival.
The film also reached #1 on both Hulu (US) and Amazon Freevee (UK.) The Film also appeared on over ten “Best of” and “critics picks” lists including New York Times, Gizmodo, Screen Rant, Looper, and Collider.
He previously starred in the independent sci-fi feature Life Like, released by Lionsgate (trailer has over 14 million views) alongside James D’Arcy, Steven Strait and Addison Timlin as well as the comedy Spy Intervention with Poppy Delevigne and Blake Anderson.
DEBBY RYAN | “Mary”
Debby Ryan plays “Mary.” She has a MASSIVE fanbase: social media (15.7 MILLION Instagram followers, 11.6 Million Facebook, 7.6 million Tiktok, HUGE SOCIAL media following) and has most recently starred in Shortcomings (World Premiere Sundance 2023,) Horse Girl (World Premiere at Sundance 2020,) and Howdy Neighbor (World Premiered at Screamfest.) She is best known for her lead in the smash hit phenom Disney Channel Series JESSE.
She currently is in post production Famous for A24 starring alongside Zac Efron and expecting her first child with Husband Josh Dun, part of Twenty One Pilots musical duo.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
JACO BOUWER | DIRECTOR
Jaco Bouwer is an award-winning South African director whose work spans theatre, film, and television, known for his bold visual style and radical narrative approach.
He was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Drama in 2008 and went on to win Best Director three years in a row at South Africa’s premier theatre awards, the Fleur du Cap.
His debut feature film GAIA — a visually striking eco-horror — premiered at SXSW 2021, where it won the ZEISS Cinematography Award, and was sold by XYZ Films to multiple territories, including Bleecker Street (U.S.) and Altitude (U.K.). The film was featured as part of Hulu’s “Huluween” lineup in 2022.
Jaco also directed the haunting two-hander Breathing In, adapted from a play by acclaimed South African playwright Reza de Wet, for producer Jorrie van der Walt and Kaapland Films.
In television, he directed all 8 episodes of Spinners (produced by Joachim Landau / Federation MEAC for Canal+ and Showmax). The series made history as the first African series selected for Canneseries, and went on to win Best Series at the inaugural Dakar Series Festival in 2023. It premiered on Showmax in November 2023, with Season 2 currently in production.
Most recently, Jaco directed all 9 episodes of the true-crime limited series Niggies (Cousins) for kykNET. The show became a phenomenon, breaking every viewership record on the channel during its run.
Jaco’s work blends the personal and political with bold formal experimentation, confronting controversial subjects through layered, introspective storytelling.
ANNE VITHAYATHIL | WRITER
Anne Vithayathil is a writer with over ten years of experience as an intelligence analyst focused on Russia/Eastern Europe/Central Asia. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Stanford University, as well as a Fulbright fellow, she has traveled extensively and lived in the United States, India, Ukraine, Russia, and France. She specializes in dramatic thrillers based on spycraft, international espionage, and the military. Her script Year of the Dog, a one-hour pilot about a Chinese-American CIA agent, is currently being packaged as a TV series by Aleve Loh (Blacklight) and Mark Williams (Ozark) at Zero Gravity.
SUNIL PERKASH | PRODUCER
Sunil Perkash is an independent producer in Hollywood.
Perkash, who holds a B.A. in economics and communications from Stanford University, began his career in 1992 working as the U.S. Production Coordinator on CRONOS, Guillemo Del Toro’s directorial debut. He developed a number of projects at various major studios including MGM, Sony, Tristar, Disney, Warners and Dreamworks/Amblin. The Wrap listed Sunil in their list “Producers Who Are Making a Mark on Hollywood” and Fade In Magazine named him one of the ”Top 100 people to know in Hollywood.”
His major studio films include BLAST FROM THE PAST, for New Line, starring Brendon Frasier, Alicia Silverstone, Sissy Spacek and Christopher Walken. PREMONITION for Sony, starring Sandy Bullock, which grossed more that 85 million worldwide. Disney’s ENCHANTED which became a worldwide mega blockbuster grossing $340million and received rave reviews and numerous awards, including multiple oscar and golden globe nominations. SALT, a vehicle originally developed for Tom Cruise, but transformed into a female lead for Angelina Jolie. The film also became a worldwide blockbuster in summer of 2010, grossing $300mil! And DISENCHANTED, a sequel to the now classic ENCHANTED for Disney Plus starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey. The film reached #1 on Disney Plus worldwide.
His independent features include LIFE LIKE, starring Drew Van Acker, James D’Arcy, Addison Timlin and Steven Strait, distributed domestically by Lionsgate in May 2019, the film’s trailer has accumulated an unprecedented 14 million views on youtube.
And 2022’s Last Survivors starring Alicia Silverstone, Stephen Moyer, and Drew Van Acker, was released in February 2022 by Vertical Entertainment to strong reviews. The film had its world premiere at Frightfest in London and also played at Leeds International Film Festival last fall. The film received strong reviews and reached #1 on Hulu in the US and #1 on Amazon Freevee in the UK. The film appeared on numerous “best of” or Critic’s Picks lists including New York Times, Screen Rant, Looper, Collider, Movieweb amongst others.
ELLE ARMY | PRODUCER
Elle began her career as a successful model – walking in NYFW, being featured in magazines such as Men’s Health and GQ, as well as working with iconic brands like Calvin Klein, Guess, Aerie and Nike. As an actress, Elle starred in Life Like along with Drew Van Acker. The trailer for Life Like has amassed 14 million views. That led Elle to playing the lead in the Lifetime movie, Fatal Fashion. Before transitioning into producing, Elle helped her husband Scott Army build Vision Hill Group; a multi-faceted asset management business in the digital asset space. Vision Hill Group was bought by Galaxy Digital in 2021.
Elle received a BA in Cinematography and Film Production and a BFA in Musical Theater from Loyola University Chicago.
SCOTT ARMY | PRODUCER
Scott Army is an entrepreneur and investor. He founded Vision Hill Group in 2017 after a 13 year career as an executive at JP Morgan. Vision Hill Group was a hedge fund and advisory platform in the digital asset space. After a very successful acquisition of Vision Hill Group to Galaxy Digital in 2021, Scott took his knowledge and investment acumen to MeetPerry in 2024 as their Head of Alternatives. His work at MeetPerry spans across alternative asset strategies, sourcing differentiated opportunities, and advising founders and portfolio companies through complex growth phases. Scott’s ability to structure funds, run a complex due diligence process and lead process-driven teams makes him an excellent partner for creating a film fund. Scott connects macroeconomic vision with granular execution earned him the trust of both institutional partners and entrepreneurial teams.
Scott received his BA from Georgetown Magna Cum Laude at Georgetown University in Business Administration double majoring in Finance and International Business.
KARIN ANN | SINGER, SONGWRITER, ACTRESS
Described as “Gen-Z’s new alt-pop protagonist”. 22-year-old Slovakian wunderkind Karin Ann makes music with Gothic grandeur, sophisticated indie balladry and theatrical art-pop, while strutting alt-rock riffs that explode into radio-conquering choruses. Her music explores a wide range of themes including gender equality, the LGBTQ+ experience, mental health, and love toxicity.
Voted “Discovery of the Year” at the Czech Republic Music Awards 2021, Karin Ann is the first Slovak artist to appear on a Times Square billboard as a part of Spotify’s EQUAL Music Program highlighting women making a difference in the music industry.
Karin Ann has opened tours for Yungblud, Imagine Dragons, LP, Paris Paloma, and Alfie Templeman, and makes her debut appearance at SXSW in 2024.
DAVID KRUTA | CINEMATOGRAPHER
David Kruta is an award-winning Director of Photography known for his work on films such as “Concussion” (Sundance Official Selection) and “The Sounding,” for which he won the Haskell Wexler Award for Best Cinematography. Most recently, he shot “Black Friday” starring Bruce Campbell, “Agent Game” starring Mel Gibson and Jason Isaacs, and “The Last Thing Mary Saw”, starring Stefanie Scott and Isabelle Fuhrman. David is a two-time Emerging Cinematographer Awards recipient and a 2023-2024 ASC Vision Mentee.
MIKE CONTE | PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Mike Conte has been working as a production designer and art director for over 20 years in Film, TV and Commercials in LA, NY, and internationally.
As a production designer, his films have screened in film festivals such as Fright Fest, Denver Film Festival, Fantasy Film Fest – Trespassers, and won awards at Madrid International Film Fest, and NoHo Cinefest — Three Hours Between Planes.
A well-rounded artist, Mike studied photography and sculpture at Columbus College of Art and Design, and is also an accomplished musician. Mike has worked as a composer and toured the world with his band, Early Man.
Mike is currently working in Los Angeles as the art director on I Want Your Sex, starring Olivia Wilde, directed by Gregg Araki.
NEIR ATHERTON | COSTUME DESIGNER
Neil Atherton is best known for Costume Designing Bad Shabbas, which played at Tribeca and had a very successful theatrical run grossing 1.5 million in limited engagement. He also designed the 2021 The Wheel directed by Steve Pink that had its world premiere at TIFF.
Interview with Asa Butterfield of the movie, “Stitch Head” by Suzanne 10/16/25
This is a fun, animated Halloween movie that kids and adults alike should enjoy. It has cute characters and an entertaining story that’s perfect for the spooky season. The animation style reminds me a little of “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” I enjoyed speaking with this young actor who has already doing amazing work in TV and films for almost 20 years. He was very nice in our chat. Hope you enjoy this short video and the film!
High above the little town of Grubbers Nubbin, in a castle laboratory, the maddest of all mad professors brings monstrous creations to (almost) life… and then promptly forgets all about them. So, who runs the castle? Who keeps the monsters in line, so the townsfolk don’t form an angry mob? That job falls to Stitch Head – the professor’s very first creation. He does it all, unnoticed and unthanked. But when a ramshackle freak show rolls into town, its sly owner, Fulbert Freakfinder, comes knocking, offering Stitch Head fame, fortune… and maybe even love. A whimsical, heartfelt twist on the Frankenstein legend, STITCH HEAD is a comedy adventure for monsters of every age.
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Joel Fry, Alison Steadman, Rob Brydon, Fern Brady, Tia Bannon, and Jamali Maddix
Directed and Adapted by: Steve Hudson
Produced by: Sonja Ewers and Mark Mertens
Executive Produced by: Adam Nagle, Mark Rau, Guy Collins, Tom Ortenberg, Ronnie Exley, Jeremy Ross and Oli Strong
Interview with Jonathan Bennett, Melissa Peterman, Drake Kuyper, Marcus Brodie, Angel Garet and Robbie Simpson of “Finding Mr. Christmas” on Hallmark by Jamie 10/1/25
Finding Mr. Christmas is a reality competition on Hallmark premiering its second season on Monday, Oct. 27. I recently spoke with both the host, Jonathan Bennett and judge, Melissa Peterson, as well as four of the contestants: Robbie, Angel, Drake, and Marcus. Both Jonathan and Melissa were a delight, and they, as well as the contestants, seemed to have a lot of fun making the show, and the men made a lot of lasting friendships coming out of the competition.
I was only given the first episode to watch, but it was a lot of fun. The contestants take part in various Christmas-themed competitions, such as making a Santa costume to show who they are, as well as acting challenges where they get to perform alongside Hallmark stars. In the first episode, they had to ski over to actress Janelle Parris and act out a scene with her. That competition was hilarious, because most of the men didn’t know how to ski, and no one helped them with that. The four men spoke to me about acting out the scene with Janelle and which challenges they found difficult.
Jonathan and Melissa talked about advice they gave the contestants, many of whom were new to acting and the hoops they had them jump through. Both were really great conversations, and the series is worth a watch. Season 2 premieres 10/27 on Hallmark Channel and is available to stream the next day on Hallmark+.
Jonathan Bennett, Drake Kuyper and Marcus Brodie
Melissa Peterman, Angel Garet and Robbie Simpson
TRANSCRIPTS OF THE INTERVIEWS
JONATHAN BENNETT: Jamie’s coming to us from space! How’s the signal up there?
JAMIE RUBY: It’s hard to hear. [laughs] It’s nice to talk to you all. I enjoyed the first episode that we got to see. Jonathan, let me start with you. How do you feel that the show has evolved since last season?
JONATHAN BENNETT: You know, we took everything we learned from season one and, you know, expanded that into season two to make it even bigger and bolder than season one. I can’t believe I got away with what I got away with in season two. Like, when I said to the executives, “Hey, I want to hang them from a cable in a harness thirty feet and fly them through the air,” they were like, “Yeah, that’s a great idea.” And I’m like, “Are you sure?” They’re like, “Yeah.” I’m like, “Okay, great. I also want to put them on skis in the first episode and make them ski down a hill while having to memorize a scene and act with the biggest Hallmark star, Janelle Parrish, and they only get one take. They have to do it, and whatever happens, happens.” And they’re like, “Yeah, that’s a great idea.” And I’m like, “Great.” So, it’s just, you know, I think my sandbox has expanded, and I’ve been able to play with all the different things in it a lot bigger.
JAMIE RUBY: All right, that’s fair. Robbie and Angel, what made you both want to be a part of this?
ROBBIE: Oh, yeah. I’ve been watching Hallmark movies forever when I was on the couch with Hot Coco with my family members. So, to be able to be a part of the Hallmark universe and tell these stories that I have watched forever, I mean, Hallmark is the place for feel good entertainment. So, you know, when you click that on, you’re just going to feel good. And then also to do that with Jonathan Bennett and learning from him and also laughing with him was just a total blast and an easy yes for me.
JAMIE RUBY: What about you Angel?
ANGEL: I grew up in Venezuela, and I immigrated to this beautiful country, and every Christmas I would watch movies to enjoy it and learn English, and Hallmark was my go-to. Then, when the opportunity came to be part of a Hallmark on a scripted show, I was like, “I have to do this.” I’ve been doing this for years, every Christmas, and I’m excited that I’m part of it.
JAMIE RUBY: What did you two do to prepare? And did you go back and watch season one?
JONATHAN BENNETT: Yeah. What’d you do to prepare for this?
JAMIE RUBY: If anything.
JONATHAN BENNETT: If anything, they can’t really prepare what I put them through, because every day they’re like, “Why do we have to do [that]? What, Jonathan, what are we doing?”
ANGEL: I watched season one first. I researched who this awesome host was, and then just, a lot of self-talk. English is my second language, so I had to like, tell myself, “You’ve got this.” You just gotta be present, active, listening, cheer for others, let go of ego, let go of your past, enjoy the moment, pay attention and just take as much information from the hosts, your friends, and everybody else. And the Christmas movies help too.
JONATHAN BENNETT: That’s right.
ROBBIE: I love unscripted television. I love watching reality TV. So, this has been a total dream for me to get dropped into my ideal reality television show, you know, being an actor.
So, I watched season one, probably like three times, just trying to figure out everything that was going on, but that helped to a certain extent. But as soon as I got there, Jonathan [was] switching it up on us constantly, so I just realized that like every day, it just was about saying “Yes, and.” What are we doing today? Getting excited about that. Then, also just having fun. Like at the end of the day, I think that’s the name of the game, and that was what helped me do well was enjoying the time together and enjoying the other guys. And it was a total blast.
ANGEL: I mean, this show lets us bring our inner child out. We were kids in a playground, and that was just the best experience ever.
JAMIE RUBY: And Jonathan, having been in Hallmark Christmas movies, did you find yourself trying to give them advice? Did you try not to??
JONATHAN BENNETT: The best way to learn how to do something is to just do it. And I’ve done, I think, twelve, thirteen Hallmark movies at this point. So, like, I’ve learned so much from doing that when I’m hosting and judging these guys. I’m able to like share all my knowledge with them. And I’m like, “Hey, when you do this, you know, you might want to think about this, because this is going to happen.” Like anytime I have a chance to coach them, you know, from what I can coach, because it is a competition. So, I kind of got to let them – I’ll give them advice, but I don’t want to see – I’ve got to let them see what they do on their own first, you know? But then the feedback after they do it is usually where I’m able to help them and say, “Okay, next time do this,” you know? And they soaked it up like sponges.
ROBBIE: I think the thing that sets this show about apart from other reality television is that every day we showed up to set and felt supported, and Jonathan, Melissa, and the judges wanted us to succeed. They were helping us through that, and that’s not something you see on a lot of reality television, but it’s definitely why I think Hallmark putting their specific stamp on this show is what makes this different and why people are going to love this.
JAMIE RUBY: Did you guys have more trouble with the acting challenges or with the other challenges?
JONATHAN BENNETT: Ooh, that’s a good question. What’d you have a harder time with? I mean, they both struggled in both of them in different ways. I’m not going to lie, but that’s part of – that’s the fun of the show.
ROBBIE: I think what was hard is that for this show, you’re doing both at the same time. So, like you’re acting, but then you’re also doing it. Do you know, like riding an animal of some sort? Do you know?
JONATHAN BENNETT: They’re on skis or hanging in the air or riding an animal while acting.
ROBBIE: Yeah. So, you know, you can take an acting class. You can go to acting school for as long as you want, but nothing is going to prepare you for some of the stuff that you’re doing on this show. But if you just focus and just remember, kind of who you are, what you’re there to do, and then act opposite the incredible celebrity Hallmark scene partners that we had, then you’re going to do great.
JONATHAN BENNETT: What about you, Angel?
ANGEL: I mean, just, it doesn’t matter how prepared you are. Just like Robbie was saying, it’s just surprise after surprise. This season brought so many twists that kept us on our toes. Yeah. So, it doesn’t matter if it was an acting challenge, a modeling challenge, or anything. Everything was out of the ordinary.
JAMIE RUBY: You say that though. What surprised you the most?
ANGEL: What surprised me the most? The skis, because I’ve never skied before in my life, and I remember Jonathan was like, “Are you ready?” “No. How do you break?” “Bye! Action!”
[laughter]
JAMIE RUBY: What about you, Robbie
JONATHAN BENNETT: Angel falls down on his skis. We’ll do a spoiler alert.
JAMIE RUBY: A lot of people fell down.
ROBBIE: Watching Angel fall was not surprising to me, but what was surprising to me was I thought that I was signing up for an unscripted competition reality show, and as soon as I got there, I realized that that’s not what this was going to be. I met the other guys, and it became a show about community, and it wasn’t about the competition. The only person you were competing with is yourself every single day, and the community and the brotherhood that was developed between all of us. I don’t even think it was something anyone was expecting on set, like crew or hosts or judges. It just was this natural melding of all these awesome guys. So, I came for a competition, but I left for the community.
ANGEL: I remember when I fell and came back to the group, the guys were already talking amongst themselves. “All right. Does anyone know how to break?” “Oh, yeah. Do this. Do that.” We’re already helping each other. Like, hey, if you have a hard time, try this or do this. So, in my head, I was like, this is a competition and people are already helping each other? Wow.
JONATHAN BENNETT: And that was day one. I don’t shine if you don’t shine. That’s something I tried to instill in them is like, it doesn’t matter how good you’re doing. If the people around you and your scene aren’t doing well, then you’re not doing well. So, it’s like, make everyone around you better, and if you do that, then you’re going to be lifted up.
JAMIE RUBY: Speaking of scene partners, what was kind of like your first reaction, I guess, to getting to do a scene with Janelle? Were you nervous? How did you feel? Both of you.
ROBBIE: I think it was twofold, because you’re so excited to be working with these incredible actors, especially Janelle, that you’ve watched in so many networks and so many television shows, legends of Hallmark. So, you’re so nervous, but then at the same time, I had to remember, like, wait, she’s the best at what she does. So, just like Jonathan said, if she is shining, I’m going to shine. So, I was just listening to her, and being able to talk to her beforehand was really helpful. And the better she was, the better I was going to do, and that’s what I was able to give over to, and it made me feel so much better.
JONATHAN BENNETT: Did any of them really intimidate you, Angel, like any of the stars?
ANGEL: Her beauty intimidated me.
[laughter]
JONATHAN BENNETT: Janell is intimidating. She’s beautiful.
ANGEL: She was easy to connect. I remember introducing myself to her, and she gave me a big smile. “Hi, nice to meet you.” And then, spoiler alert, I take her down with me, and I’m like, “What are you doing?” Time slows down. Get up. We finally get up. And it was so smooth after that. Like, we got that out of the way. We got that out of the way. So, now let’s just have fun and enjoy the scene.
JAMIE RUBY: Yeah, the skiing part was hilarious. Jonathan, I want to ask you really quick. One of your first roles was on a soap opera on All My Children. What did that teach you, that experience? And do you still find yourself using that?
JONATHAN BENNETT: Yeah, you know, I think soap operas are the best training camp. And now it’s kind of like what they call the verticals, like the candy jar and the real shorts and all that. Those verticals are great training ground for actors, because it’s low expectations and low stakes. Like I said earlier, the best training is just to do it. And so, every day, when you’re on a soap, you’re standing in front of a camera, and you’re acting every single day. Whether it’s good or not doesn’t matter, because they’re going to shoot the next scene in two minutes. So, whatever you said is what’s going on in the air, and that’s a real quick way to learn how to become an actor. So, with, you know, Finding Mr. Christmas, I think there’s a similarity there. It’s like, just go do it. And they’re like, “Well, how do we do it?” Well, you’ll figure it out.
And to watch their growth from the beginning of the episodes to the end of the episodes, you know, throughout the whole season, to watch these boys grow, each one of them grow in a different way, and they take that with them onto their auditions.
JAMIE RUBY: I know we’re almost out of time, but what are you two taking away the most?
JONATHAN BENNETT: Yeah, what are you guys taking from the show?
ANGEL: I’m taking so much. I’m taking joy, vulnerability, teamwork. And this experience has taught me and made me a better man. Like I’m putting everything that I learned on this show into my own life with my personal lifestyle, with my family, and I’m excited for what’s next.
ROBBIE: Yeah, thank you, Hallmark.
JONATHAN BENNETT: Yeah. This might be Mr. Christmas. You never know. Or this could be Mr. Christmas. What are you taking away possible, Mr. Christmas?
ROBBIE: I’m really taking away that being your authentic self is absolutely what is wanted in this industry and is wanted at Hallmark. All of the things that make us who we are, the community, the love, the family, all of those values that you hold dear, just letting those out and being the part of the scene, whether it’s in a conversation you’re having with someone on the crew. I mean, that’s what it takes to be a Hallmark leading man is not just who you are in front of the camera, is who you are off the camera. It’s how you live your life. And when you’re able to let out all of those things that make you an authentic person and let people in on that, that’s the joy. And I think that’s what they’re looking for on the show.
VIDEO #2 TRANSCRIPT
JAMIE RUBY: Let’s start with you, Melissa. How do you think the show’s evolved since season one? What do you feel is different this season?
MELISSA PETERMAN: You know, season one, I think we loved what happened there. So, we didn’t really change the sort of the foundation of that show, but, you know, Jonathan had more time to dream of bigger challenges. So, everything got a lot bigger. We asked a lot more of the guys in the acting challenges. We have, we brought in, I think, I don’t know if we even brought in more mentors. We just, everything’s just a little bit extra in season two as far as we know what worked here. So, let’s dial it up a notch. And I enjoyed watching that happen.
JAMIE RUBY: For both of you, what made you want to be a part of it? We’ll just go Drake, then Marcus.
DRAKE: Yeah, I would say what made me want to be a part of this is just really how wholesome Hallmark is. Like whenever I think Hallmark, I think Christmas. And I think that like, it’s in the background whenever we’re in Christmas, I just think of, you know, my mom making cookies and it’s in the background playing. It’s just like a happy memory of childhood. So, when I heard that Hallmark was interested, I’m like, “Absolutely, let’s do this. I’m so in, so excited to take on this role.”
MARCUS: And for me, when I first heard about the show, me and my girlfriend started watching the first season, and we were just, we were hooked. Like after the first episode, we were like, “Do you want to watch another one?” They’re like, “Yeah.” And we ended up binge watching like four or five episodes in a row. So, I knew. I was like, “Okay, this is something I probably want to do.” And my girlfriend really pushed me, like, this is going to be a great opportunity to see how much you’ve grown, seen how much you’ve learned and see what you can learn from the other people on the show, the other judges, other guys. And I learned so much. So, it was great to be able to be on the show.
JAMIE RUBY: Marcus, other than watching the show, what else did you do to prepare? Is there anything you can think of?
MARCUS: Oh man, I didn’t do much to prepare. I just really wanted to come into the show with an open mind, be ready to learn, ready to see how much I’ve grown, ready to open up about myself. And it took a lot for me to get to the point where I could just open up about myself and be myself. I feel like I kind of got to that point, and within a couple of days, like us guys, we’ve got so close. So, it made it easier to open up about myself because of how close and how much the other guys were opening up.
JAMIE RUBY: All right. Drake, what about you? Did you watch season one, and what did you do to prepare?
DRAKE: Yep. So, I watched all of season one, and that’s what I was hoping was my preparation. Little did I know they were about to crank up the heat, and then competitions were way, way more intense. So, pretty much watching that was a big deal. I also didn’t have any experience in actually speaking lines, so I was like in front of my camera trying to practice with my brother, trying to go back and forth and get a little more experience before this, because I knew this was going to be a pretty big jump and from my experience to, you know, being on TV.
MELISSA PETERMAN: See, that’s what I love about this show is that we’ve got guys that [are] from all different like levels and experience of acting and the reality is anyone could win, because if you’ve got that it factor, you know, you can teach them that other stuff, because otherwise, someone can take all the classes in the world, but if they don’t have that sort of special equality that doesn’t really matter. So, I love that there’s people from all different levels of acting experience.
JAMIE RUBY: That leads me into my next question. I was going to ask you, do you find yourself though trying to give them acting advice since you’ve been doing it a while, or do you feel like you have to restrain yourself somewhat since you’re a judge?
MELISSA PETERMAN: I’ve never restrained myself in anything whether it’s a buffet or being a judge. No, I think my job is to tell them stuff. I may not always be right. I can only speak from my experience as someone who’s auditioned a million times and worked with different people. So, I can only tell them, I think I’m supposed to tell them what I know, and I really took that seriously, because they’re going to hear no a lot. Actors are going to hear no. You’re going to be asked to get up the next day and go back in a room and maybe hear no again, and you have to really want it.
And what I loved about the show, is just like in real life, they’re going to be competing for jobs against friends or people they know, and they’re going to maybe watch their friend get the job, and they don’t. And what I try to say all the time is, “You’re going to need those friends.” If you’re going to be in this business, you’re going to want that support group.
And what I love seeing, is these guys really did create a brotherhood that I think will continue on long after the show is gone. And you [are] going to need that in this business, because I don’t think I would have gotten through my very – anytime in LA or auditioning without having someone I could call and go, “Oh, I had this audition and what do you think?” She’s like, “Oh, I went in on it yesterday, and here’s what I think.” And just to really build a community, because that’s what you really need to succeed, I think.
JAMIE RUBY: You say that, but for the two of you though, was that hard at all? I mean, you’re friends with each other but you also kind of want to beat each other too. So, how do you balance that?
MARCUS: It was definitely hard, because we grew so close so quick. Like, having to see anybody go home during that first elimination, it hurt. When we first walked into that first elimination, we all felt it. It hit us, because it was like, wow, this is real. Somebody really has to go home right now.
DRAKE: Yeah, definitely, the bonds we created so quickly. It reminded me of football. Like, all of us just spend hours together, you know, and then the next thing you know, you’re competing again at some an hour later. That was definitely super tough to kind of balance that, but what was great, is everyone was so supportive. It was one of those things where if you messed up, people were rallying behind you. Like, “Hey, you’ve got this next one.” And that was such a good feeling to just know that these guys had my back, you know?
MELISSA PETERMAN: I think if even, if any of the guys walked in thinking it was a competition, and I have to come in with my game face, I think the show and the format quickly strips that away. You know, they can come in thinking, “I’m not going to show I’m – game face. They’re not going to get to know me. I’m here to win.” It’s formulated that we really want to get rid of that quickly, and it sort of happens.
MARCUS: Oh yeah.
JAMIE RUBY: For the two of you, what did you find more difficult? The first challenges, or, I mean, obviously I’ve only seen the first episode, but the [other kinds of] challenges, or the acting challenges, because I think they both kind of cause other problems.
DRAKE: Yeah, I would say that the first challenges felt like less pressure, because like, you’re just getting that advantage and stuff, but then the acting challenges, that’s when you had to lock in. You’re like, “This is the part where I really need to focus.” So, I felt like a little bit less pressure from the challenges, even though it was fun and it was intense, it felt like the actual acting challenges when you really had to lock in.
MARCUS: And I would probably say the opposite. Maybe just because I have a little bit more of a background in acting, but obviously not a ton, but a little bit more, but the first ones were a little bit more about opening up about yourself, and that’s harder for me. It always has been. And the show helped me be able to do that a lot more, but I was a little bit more afraid that I was going to have to talk about myself more, and that’s almost more fearful for me than just acting or, you know, acting in somebody else’s shoes, almost.
MELISSA PETERMAN: It’s hard. I mean, it’s easy to play, you know, when they give you the words to say. It’s hard to –
MARCUS: Exactly, but then when you have to talk about yourself, that’s a whole ‘nother level. You have to really be vulnerable and show your real self.
MARCUS: That’s a good point.
JAMIE RUBY: I was going to say, Drake, is that something you struggled with?
DRAKE: Yes. I was going to say for any of the ones where it felt like, you know, you really had to open yourself up, that did feel tough. Like there’s obviously some walls that like, it’s kind of hard to just talk about yourself.nIt’s not a character you’re playing. This is actually you. It’s like when they’re actually learning who is Drake Kiper, like it definitely is a little bit more intense and it’s a lot harder to just open up and say everything, you know, it takes a little bit. It does help though having other guys do it as well. Like, you see these guys that you’re getting close with, and they’re also showing who they are. It makes it much, much easier to share yourself.
JAMIE RUBY: Melissa, obviously you’re on the other side of that, but is there anything that you found a challenge in this?
MELISSA PETERMAN: Eliminations. I hated them. I really hated to tell somebody that, you know, it was time; their time was over on the show, because I know what that feels like, and it doesn’t always feel great.
And that was really hard for me, because I was at that point very invested, and still am, in all of them and want them to succeed. So, I did not look forward to eliminations. And I want everyone to know, nobody walked in there without being so serious about it and thinking about it and talking about it. But also, I hope imparting on everybody that this isn’t over. This is just today, and like, that’s the life of an actor. Today is maybe not your day. Tomorrow might be your day. So yeah, eliminations were very difficult.
JAMIE RUBY: Yeah, I was going to say, I’m sure this will still give everybody more opportunities, regardless of the outcome.
MELISSA PETERMAN: People are going to watch and fall in love with all of these guys. And somebody is going to see something that, you know, their faces are going to be in front of a lot of people, and that’s the beauty. There’s a lot of – everyone wants something different. Some days, you know, they’re looking for a Drake. Someday they’re looking for a Marcus, and tomorrow they’re looking for a Marcus.bLike that’s what’s the beauty of the business. Things can change in an hour, truly.
MARCUS: I mean, come on, they’re always looking for a Drake.
DRAKE: Yes, man, no, don’t be humble.
MARCUS: And a Melissa, of course.
JAMIE RUBY: For you two, what was it like for the first time you acted against another Hallmark star?
MELISSA PETERMAN: Ooh, I want to hear.
MARCUS: Oh man. Well, acting for the first time with Janelle [Parrish] was amazing. I mean, I remember skiing up and then seeing her and being nervous. But then once she started saying her lines, it like relaxed me, and I was able to kind of fall into the scene. So, you could just tell she was a pro, and it made everything so much more relaxed and easy.
DRAKE: Yeah, to piggyback off what he said, it was really nice to have such a professional in there to where there’s a lot of crazy things going on with it, and you have to be able to like remember your lines and everything. And I feel like her confidence helped you gain confidence. Like, okay, this is where I’m supposed to be. This is what I’m doing. Like, let’s do it. I feel like that helped, because there’s some crazy elements in the acting scene. It’s not just, you know, two people standing there. We’re skiing, we’re doing – the weather’s crazy. Everything just comes together to become like a more difficult thing.
JAMIE RUBY: Who else were you guys looking forward to getting to work with during this season?
MARCUS: That’s a good question. You know, I was really hoping that Jonathan and Melissa would hop in a scene with us and maybe do something crazy.
DRAKE: That would have been so cool.
MELISSA PETERMAN: I don’t know how much they can spoil it.
[crosstalk]
MARCUS: I wish we could have done more scenes with Jonathan and Melissa, just because they’re so good at acting.
MELISSA PETERMAN: Jonathan’s not even sitting here. You can just say Melissa.
MARCUS: Melissa. I was gonna say Melissa first, because I mean, she’s so quick, so witty, so funny. She brings the best actor out of you. So, I mean, I would have wanted to do everything with Melissa. Of course.
MELISSA PETERMAN: I’m just gonna give you another lesson right here. When you’re sitting next to the person, say them.
MARCUS: Yes, say them, Melissa. Put down Jonathan. Got it.
[laughter]
MELISSA PETERMAN: Not put down, just say. Yeah, I don’t know how much we can, because I know that they, I think people know who we have coming on for mentors, but I’m not sure that they can spoil all of them. But I will say this, that I would tell every contestant, like when you have time with the Janelle Parris or an Ali Sweeney or any of the Chris Palaha, when you’ve got people there, take that time. That’s a gift. You’re getting somebody who’s been working. Ask questions, listen to what they say, watch what they do when they walk on a set, and what they ask a director. And I learned something every day. You’re not done learning ever, ever, ever, ever. Yeah.
JAMIE RUBY: I know we’re almost out of time, but really quick, what did you two take away the most? What did you learn in particular?
MARCUS: Just to be yourself and be vulnerable, be willing to open up and just be yourself, because at the end of the day, people are gonna judge you, whether you’re yourself or acting like you’re somebody else. So, you may as well be yourself and be as happy as possible.
DRAKE: I would say definitely being vulnerable. I mean, just watching these guys open up and you just can develop such a deeper relationship when you actually know the true person. Like, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to hide anything, like just be yourself and be vulnerable and you’ll end up making closer friends.
Synopsis: We’re back to find Hallmark’s next star! 10 men prove their passion for Christmas, with the goal of landing a role in a Hallmark Christmas movie.
FindingMr. Christmasfollows 10 aspiring actors who compete in a variety of outrageous Christmas-themed competitions to prove they have what it takes to land the next Hallmark leading role — from present wrapping, making gingerbread houses, dancing and even on-screen kissing. Joined by beloved Hallmark guest judges, each week, one contestant will be sent “home for the holidays,” while the winner lands a role of a lifetime in one of this year’s Countdown to Christmas movies.
Finding Mr. Christmas Renewed for Season 2!
Hallmark has renewed its first-ever hit reality competition series, Finding Mr. Christmas, for a second season! Hosted by Jonathan Bennett with lead judge Melissa Peterman(Reba, Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up), the reality series follows 10 aspiring actors who compete in festive challenges and learn how to become the best Hallmark leading man — from present wrapping and dancing to acting and on-screen kissing. Each week, one man is sent “home for the holidays,” while the winner lands a starring role in a Hallmark Channel Countdown to Christmas movie. Season 1 winner Ezra Moreland made his movie debut as the star of “Happy Howlidays” alongside Jessica Lowndes.
Finding Mr. Christmasseason 2 is part of Hallmark’s new slate of unscripted series, branded as “Reality TV with Heart”. This original programming brings together friendly competition series, community building, home and lifestyle enhancement shows, aligning with the company’s brand principles of joy, hope, warmth, connection, family and most definitely…love.
Interview with Christopher Gorham of “Sheriff Country” on CBS by Suzanne 10/13/25
Christopher Gorham is working hard right now. He’s on three different TV shows: “Tempest” on HULU/Disney+; “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” on CBS (continuing the role of Scott, Mandy’s ex-boyfriend, from last season); and the new series “Sheriff Country,” also on CBS (where he plays Mickey’s ex-husband, Travis). The last show is his main one, and it’s a spin-off from the popular Friday night show, “Fire Country.” Mickey (played by Morena Bacarin), is the sister of Sharon on “Fire Country,” and there will be more crossovers between the two shows.
Watch our interview and learn all about the three shows, and Christopher’s work on them. He’s very nice, and an amazing actor. I was thrilled to speak with him, frankly. Check out his shows – especially the new one, “Sheriff Country!” It premieres Friday, 10/17. “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” season 2 starts Thursday, 10/16 (both on CBS, but you can also watch them on Paramount+ the next day.) “Tempest” has already premiered on HULU. Two new episodes drop each Wednesday. Also, please watch the video below and enjoy!
SHERIFF COUNTRY stars Morena Baccarin as straight-shooting sheriff Mickey Fox, the stepsister of Cal Fire’s division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr of FIRE COUNTRY). She investigates criminal activity while she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater, contending with her ex-con father, Wes (W. Earl Brown), who is an off-the-grid marijuana grower, and a mysterious incident involving her wayward daughter. SHERIFF COUNTRY is an expansion of the universe of the hit drama series FIRE COUNTRY.
Premieres Friday, Oct. 17 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
Max Thieriot, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, Matt Lopez and Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed for JBTV
Christopher Gorham stars as Travis in SHERIFF COUNTRY. Also on the horizon for fall is Hulu’s Korean spy drama, “Tempest,” in which he stars alongside John Cho.
Recently, he starred as Bob Barnard in the original dark comedy series “Insatiable” and as Trevor Elliot in “The Lincoln Lawyer.” Also, Gorham starred in “Out of Practice” opposite Ty Burrell and Henry Winkler. He has also held roles in GEORGIE & MANDY’S FIRST MARRIAGE, MATLOCK, 2 BROKE GIRLS and HARPER’S ISLAND on the Network.
Gorham is known from his starring role on “Ugly Betty” as Betty’s accountant boyfriend, Henry. Also, Gorham starred as blind CIA operative Auggie Anderson in the hit series “Covert Affairs,” for which he was awarded the Seeing Beyond Vision Loss: Special Achievement Award from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. He also directed four episodes of the series.
Gorham’s additional television credits include “Full Circle,” “The Magicians,” “Medical Investigation,” “Odyssey 5,” “Popular” and “Justice League.”
Gorham made his feature film directorial debut with the comedy “We Love You, Sally Carmichael!” in which he also starred alongside Jack McBrayer, Bitsie Tulloch and Paula Marshall.
Gorham made his film acting debut in Danny Boyle’s “A Life Less Ordinary” with Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz. Additionally, he starred opposite Anne Hathaway in the film “The Other Side of Heaven,” and more recently reprised his role in the long-anticipated sequel. Additional film roles include “The Ledge,” “Answer This,” “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” and “Somebody’s Hero.”
Gorham starred as the father of a child with autism in the independent film “A Boy Called Po,” directed by John Asher, which won Best Feature Film at the 2016 Palm Beach International Film Festival.
On the stage, Gorham guest starred in the off-Broadway production “Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell” at the Minetta Lane Theatre and performed in the play “The Water Children” at The Matrix Theatre.
Gorham is a Fresno native. While attending UCLA, he met his wife and they now have three sons and live in Los Angeles. His birthday is Aug. 14. Follow him on Instagram @chrisgorham.
Interview with author Neal E. Fischer of the book “LAW & ORDER SVU: CONFIDENTIAL – Everything We Love about the Show We Can’t Stop Watching” by Suzanne 9/25/25
This was such an interesting interview because Neal is a fellow TV and mystery fan, so we had a lot to chat about. His book is really fun. Every fan of “Law & Order: SVU” should buy it to add to their collection. I’m not kidding about how interesting it was because after I turned off the recording, we chatted away for a while more about TV mysteries! That almost never happens. I hope you enjoy it, and this book. Buy it here!
Coming October 14th, the new book LAW & ORDER SVU: CONFIDENTIAL – Everything We Love about the Show We Can’t Stop Watching, by Neal E. Fischer, is the ultimate investigation into the world of Law & Order: SVU.
With over 25 seasons and 570+ episodes, SVU has become more than a show—it’s a cultural ritual. Fischer’s deep dive explores what makes it so addictive, comforting, and cathartic, even as it tackles “especially heinous” crimes.
A map of SVU filming locations and their real world context
Full character arcs of beloved detectives like Olivia Benson and Fin Tutola
How true stories inspired some of SVUs most gripping episodes
The addictive formula behind every SVU case
Memorable celebrity guest stars and their roles
The ultimate book for Law & Order: SVU superfans, Fischer explores why the show remains so beloved—how, despite its focus on “especially heinous” crimes, it offers comfort, catharsis, and connection. More than just a TV drama, SVU has become a cultural phenomenon, a weekly ritual, and a binge-worthy obsession.
Whether you’re a long-time viewer or a recent binge-watcher, Law & Order SVU: Confidential is essential reading for anyone who’s ears perk-up at the sound of “dun dun.”
Publishing October 14, 2025 by Epic Ink, an imprint of The Quarto Group
Neal E. Fisher’s Website BIO: He’s an award-winning filmmaker, writer, podcaster, and pop culture fanatic who cut his teeth as a musician and performer on stage before ultimately transitioning behind the scenes. After a brief but rewarding stint directing children’s theater in Chicago’s South Loop, Neal moved on to a diverse slate of projects like the award-winning documentary 10 mountains 10 years (narrated by Anne Hathaway), #whokilledheather, an innovative branded web series, and many short films and features screened at festivals around the world.
When he’s not developing film/tv projects or directing commercial campaigns for brands such as Dunkin’, Heinz, and Cars.Com (an award-nominated Super Bowl campaign), you’ll find Neal in cute coffee shops furiously writing books on subjects like 80’s icon Patrick Wwayze, tv sitcoms, trivia, and pop culture history. If you want more Neal, you can hear him each week on his podcasts, Triviality and Curated By Chance.
Interview with Adam Saunders, Tony Danza, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Kym Whitley, and Rizwan Manji of the film “Re-Election” by Suzanne 10/6/25
Although I only had a few minutes with them, I enjoyed speaking with these actors. Adam Saunders not only starred in the movie, but he also wrote, produced and directed it. This is a really fun, farcical comedy with a hint of political satire. It’s very entertaining. Saunders does a wonderful job playing the lead character, Jimmy, who tries to better his life by re-creating some of his high school glory as class president. It’s worth checking out!
First, I spoke with Bex Taylor-Klaus, Rizwan Manji and Kym Whitley. Bex has the largest part of the three, as a trans teen that tries to teach Jimmy how to win. I’ve seen them in past projects, such as “Arrow,” “The Killing” and many other roles. Rizwan Manji, who plays the Texas governor (and Jimmy’s rival) has a very familiar comedy face. I think I know him most from the 2019 sitcom “Perfect Harmony.” Kym Whitley has a slightly larger role as the school’s superintendent. She’s done stand-up and has appeared in many TV shows and movies, including the reason hit film, “Happy Gilmore 2.” Anyway, we had a fun chat. All three of us were cracking up!
I spoke with Adam and with Tony Danza after that. They had a lot to say. It was an honor to speak with Tony because I’m a fairly big fan of his. I used to watch his two big hit shows, “Taxi” and “Who’s the Boss.” I never missed an episode of either. He plays Jimmy’s dad in this. Check out his cookbook, “Don’t Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza’s Father-Son Cookbook.” It looks amazing – and funny, too! Don’t miss this funny, heartwarming and thought-provoking movie, either.
We did have a tiny glitch when the internet interrupted us, but it didn’t last very long.
Written and Directed by ADAM SAUNDERS
Starring ADAM SAUNDERS, BEX TAYLOR-KLAUS,
NATHALIE KELLEY, PATTY GUGGENHEIM and KYM WHITLEY
with RIZWAN MANJI and TONY DANZA
October 10:
October 17:
Opens in New York, NY (Regal Union Square)
Opens in Dallas, TX (Angelika Film Center)
Opens in Atlanta, GA (The Springs Cinema & Taphouse)
Rating: PG-13 some strong language, suggestive material, and teen partying
Runtime: 84 mins (1 hr 24 mins)
presents
Written and Directed by ADAM SAUNDERS
Starring ADAM SAUNDERS, BEX TAYLOR-KLAUS,
NATHALIE KELLEY, PATTY GUGGENHEIM and KYM WHITLEY
with RIZWAN MANJI and TONY DANZA
October 10:
October 17:
Opens in New York, NY (Regal Union Square)
Opens in Dallas, TX (Angelika Film Center)
Opens in Atlanta, GA (The Springs Cinema & Taphouse)
Rating: PG-13 some strong language, suggestive material, and teen partying
Social Media: Website – reelectionmovie.com
Instagram – @reelectionmovie
Facebook – Re-Election Movie
TikTok – @reelectionmovie
A wry, warm, and witty coming of (middle) age comedy, RE-ELECTION follows a 40-something underdog who returns to high school to reboot his past and finally win the race for class president.
High school haunts everyone, in one way or another. For Jimmy Bauer (director-writer-producer ADAM SAUNDERS), it was losing the race for class president during his senior year back in 1995, which caused him to drop out. Now a 40-something underdog stuck working in a memorabilia store owned by his dad (TV comedy icon TONY DANZA), Jimmy decides to go back to school for his missing class credits — and win the election he’s sure will make his life right. But after 30 years, things have changed a bit, and with the help of his new Gen-Alpha friend Noa (BEX TAYLOR-KLAUS) and former classmate-turned-girlfriend Ama (NATHALIE KELLEY), Jimmy learns that it’s not how we start a journey that matters — it’s how we finish it.
ABOUT THE CAST
ADAM SAUNDERS (Jimmy) Multi-hyphenate Adam Saunders’ most recent film, DOTTY & SOUL, premiered in 2023 and sold to Showtime. The film was written, directed and produced by Saunders, who also stars in the film opposite Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Leslie Uggams. It was produced by Footprint Features, the production company Adam co-founded. With Footprint, he has produced DARBY AND THE DEAD (dir. Silas Howard, starring Auli’i Cravalho) for 20th Century Studios; WHEN WE FIRST MET (dir. Ari Sandel, starring Adam Devine) for Netflix; SHIMMER LAKE (dir. Oren Uziel, starring Rainn Wilson) for Netflix; ABOUT ALEX (dir. Jesse Zwick, starring Aubrey Plaza) for Sony; and FAMILY WEEKEND (dir. Benjamin Epps, starring Joey King) for Paramount. He holds a BA in Drama from Duke University and an MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama.
BEX TAYLOR-KLAUS (Noa) In 2011, Bex Taylor-Klaus was introduced as one of the first and most well-received transgender roles on cable TV on the critically acclaimed THE KILLING. They have been a catalyst and inspired more ideas for transgender, trans nonbinary, and non-conforming representation in Hollywood over the last decade. In the last couple of years Bex has been in leading roles such as CBS Films’ HELLFEST along with the Netflix hit, DUMPLIN’ where they played a supporting role opposite Jennifer Aniston. They can also be seen in Millennium’s BLACKBIRD opposite Kate Winslet and Susan Sarandon. They most recently wrapped on Adam Saunders’ feature film, RE-ELECTION, and last year, they finished filming for the indie film, I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST, written and directed by Tommy Dorfman.
RIZWAN MANJI (Manish) Rizwan Manji is an actor known for his work in television and film. He received a Best Guest Actor nomination at the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards for playing Ray Butani on SCHITT’S CREEK. The CBC/Pop TV series became a cultural phenomenon and swept the 2020 Emmy Awards, including Best Comedy. Manji is also known for playing Rajiv Gidwani, the ambitious assistant manager in the NBC comedy OUTSOURCED. The show was part of the network’s Thursday night comedy lineup and was the first American sitcom set in India with a predominantly South Asian cast. He also appeared as Jamil in the DC Extended Universe series PEACEMAKER. His additional television credits include IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, THE MAGICIANS, MR. ROBOT, and BETTER OFF TED, as well as BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: A 30TH CELEBRATION, a musical television special created by ABC in honor of the classic movie, starring Rita Moreno, Josh Groban, and H.E.R. In film, Manji has worked with directors like Martin Scorsese (THE WOLF OF WALL STREET), Mike Nichols (CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR), and Jim Jarmusch (PATERSON). He starred in MUSTACHE, a coming-of-age film that won the 2023 Audience Award in the Narrative Feature competition at SXSW. Film credits include THE DICTATOR, TRANSFORMERS, THE DONOR PARTY, SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS, and JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM. He recently wrapped PATEL, written and directed by Ravi Kapoor; the genre-defying film is described as a “deadpan gangster tragedy” set in the world of Indian-American–owned motels. He has several projects in development, including a new take on a well-known and beloved Sit-com and a fish-out-of-water comedy set in South Florida.
KYM WHITLEY (Donna) Kym Whitley is a multi-talented entertainer, rich with humor and heart. She is a Daytime Emmy-Nominated actress for her menacing role as Big Candi on THE BAY. In addition, Kym is a three-time NAACP Image Award-winner for her “Two Funny Mamas” podcast, alongside her partner-in-crime, Sherri Shepherd. As an actress, author, comedian, and multi-award-winning podcaster, namely the 2023 Signal Award winner for her Audible podcast, “Kym,” Whitley has proven her versatility and ability to captivate audiences across multiple mediums. Whitley is an HBCU Fisk graduate, where she pledged Alpha Beta Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Kym also holds an Honorary degree from Virginia University of Lynchburg. Kym Whitley serves as a board member for the Special Needs Network, in Los Angeles, CA, which focuses on Autism and other Developmental and Intellectual Challenges. Over the past two years, she’s appeared in several high-profile film projects including YOU PEOPLE (2023) as Aunt Nadine, OUTLAW JOHNNY BLACK (2023) as Sister Betty, and KILLING MARY SUE (2025), where she plays Anita Koch. She also stars as a part of the AA group alongside Adam Sandler in Netflix’s sequel HAPPY GILMORE 2 (2025), portraying the character of Bessie. In addition, Whitley is a producer of the animated short WALK IN THE LIGHT, a powerful true story about a blind man who helped rescue people during the Oklahoma City bombing. On the hosting front, Whitley brought her charm and humor to BET+ as co-host of the reality series I LOVE US alongside Kountry Wayne, celebrating Black culture and comedy. With her dynamic range and enduring appeal, Kym Whitley continues to be a beloved figure in film, television, and live entertainment. Her comedic imprint has been seen on TV series such as CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO), RAISING WHITLEY (OWN), ACT YOUR AGE (Netflix), and countless others. There is never a dull moment with Kym!
TONY DANZA (Stanislaw) Tony Danza has been one of the world’s most beloved and iconic entertainers for over 40 years. Perhaps best known for his starring roles on two of television’s most cherished and long-running series, TAXI and WHO’S THE BOSS, Danza has also starred in hit films such as ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD, SHE’S OUT OF CONTROL, HOLLYWOOD KNIGHTS, and DON JON. Well-established as a song-and-dance man, Danza has also starred on Broadway in THE PRODUCERS, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, and most recently received rave reviews for his performance in the Broadway musical comedy HONEYMOON IN VEGAS, with The New York Times calling his performance “sly genius” and a “career high.” He received an Emmy nomination for his guest spot on THE PRACTICE, and has recently made special appearances on hit shows like BLUE BLOODS, AND JUST LIKE THAT…, and BROAD CITY. Danza most recently starred in the animated feature RUMBLE for Paramount, the Hulu original film DARBY & THE DEAD, the Netflix series THE GOOD COP, the limited series THERE’S JOHNNY on Hulu, and the hit Starz series POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN.
Interview with Dani Deetté of “The Runarounds” on Prime Video by Suzanne 10/1/25
I had such a nice chat with Dani, and we bonded talking about TV shows and dogs. I love this show, “The Runarounds,” so much. I hope it gets another season because I’m hooked on it. I loved William Lipton on “General Hospital,” and he’s the star of this show. What makes it really cool is that this was a real-life band before they made the series (which is not based on real life), so all of them are really singing and playing.
Dani has been in many shows and movies, and she also had a whole other career before becoming an actress! She’s pretty amazing. Her dog is adorable, too. Hope you can watch the show and enjoy our video interview.
Dani Deetté was born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan. She graduated from the Honors College at Michigan State University with a major in Criminal Justice after spending her senior year abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Dani got her start in law enforcement after deciding at age 15 that it was the path for her, but after several years in the field and having grown up performing she chose to pursue her creative side – making the transition into TV and film full-time.
Dani booked her first role on Greenleaf TV series after moving to Atlanta and dove into the industry full force. She is most known for her recurring roles as super soldier Gigi on Marvel’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Sheriff Kim Reddick on Netflix’s hit show Ozark, and Rori Barnhill in Season 3 of the USA Network show, The Sinner. She can also be seen in several guest star appearances including Tulsa King, Matlock, FBI: Most Wanted, and NCIS: New Orleans. Recently Dani was in On Swift Horses with Daisy Edgar Jones, in Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore 2 and her upcoming projects include Amazon’s The Runarounds, and For All Mankind on Apple TV.
Now she mentors and coaches other actors and travels bicoastally. Dani is also a passionate environmental and mental health advocate, and often pulls from real life experiences for her work. In her free time she loves spending time in nature with family, friends, and animals – especially her with her do,g Link.
The Runarounds follows a group of recent high school graduates from Wilmington, North Carolina, who come together the summer after graduation to form a rock band, united by their shared love of music and near-impossible dream of stardom. Over the course of one unforgettable summer, they throw themselves into the pursuit of their big break—falling in love, getting into trouble, and building the kind of bonds that feel like family along the way. With original music, romantic entanglements, and the raw highs and lows of coming-of-age, The Runarounds captures the rush of risking everything at the edge of adulthood to chase your dreams.
Executive Produced By
Jonas Pate, David Wilcox, Joon Yun, Josh Pate, Shannon Burke, Lisa Mae Fincannon, Scott Lambert, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Matt Thunell
Produced By
Amazon MGM Studios and Skydance Television
Cast
William Lipton, Axel Ellis, Jeremy Yun, Zendé Murdock, Jesse Golliher, Lilah Pate, Maximo Salas, Kelley Pereira, Marley Aliah, Mark Wystrach, Brooklyn Decker, Hayes MacArthur, and Shea Pritchard
Interview with Evan Oppenheimer, Amy Carlson and Kirrilee Berger of the movie “Peas and Carrots” by Suzanne 9/26 and 9/30/25
This is such an amazing movie! It has music, comedy, family drama and scifi… the writing is outstanding, and I love the characters. The family feeling in the movie dominates. I was happy to interview all three. I spoke with Evan a lot about music – perhaps more than the movie! Kirrilee is such a bundle of energy, full of youth, but with a great head on her shoulders and so much talent. I love Amy Carlson, who’s had a long career, including “Another World” and “Blue Bloods.” She was very sweet and funny. Don’t miss this indie movie because it’s a fun ride with amazing music. Jordan Bridges also stars in it – I loved him in “Rizzoli & Isles” and other shows. Go watch this show! It comes out in select theaters 10/3/25.
Laugh-Out-Loud Comedy Directed by Evan Oppenheimer
In Theaters This Friday October 3rd
***Opening Night Film – Dances With Films 2024***
Written & Directed by: Evan Oppenheimer
Known For The Magnificent Meyersons, Lost in Florence, A Little Game,
The Speed of Thought, Alchemy, Justice, and The Auteur Theory
Produced by: Edward Schmidt, Jay Zellman
Original Songs Written by: Marky Ramone (The Ramones),
Ryan Miller (Guster), Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth)
Starring:
Kirrilee Berger (Unsung Hero)
Amy Carlson (“Blue Bloods”)
Jordan Bridges (“Rizzoli & Isles”)
Talia Oppenheimer (The Magnificent Meyersons)
Callum Vinson (“Long Bright River”)
Andrew Polk(Armageddon Time)
Laurissa Romain (Top Five)
Dan Thompson(A New York Story)
Faith Gitchell
Gabriel Rush (MoonriseKingdom)
Angel Desai (“NCIS: New Orleans”)
Joey Wethersby is a typical 16-year-old New York girl — if your typical New Yorker had parents who were in a one-hit wonder band in the 90’s. And if your typical New Yorker found themselves traveling every night to a bizarre alternate reality, where everybody only says three words: “Peas and Carrots”. Joey finds herself navigating this weird new world, while also dealing with her changing family dynamic, after she suggests that she and her parents (and, to her chagrin, her siblings) form a new band and start rocking out together.
ABOUT DIRECTOR EVAN OPPENHEIMER
Peas and Carrots is the eighth film written and directed by Evan Oppenheimer. His previous films include The Magnificent Meyersons, Lost in Florence, A Little Game, The Speed of Thought, Alchemy, Justice, and The Auteur Theory.
A Little Game, Evan’s first family film, starring F. Murray Abraham, Ralph Macchio and Olympia Dukakis, was called “a classic in its own right” upon its release in 2014, and won Best Feature and Best Actor at the International Family Film Festival. In 2023, the film had an unexpected resurgence, blowing up on TikTok after clips were posted to the social media site, garnering up to 28M views per clip.
Evan’s first film, The Auteur Theory, starring Alan Cox and Natasha Lyonne, won numerous awards at festivals worldwide. Reviewers have called it “ingenious”, “among the best first features I have ever seen”, “one of the best independent films of the year”, and “easily the funniest indie film since Clerks”.
Alchemy was a New York Times Highlight, a Washington Post Best Bet, and an Us Weekly Pick. Justice was recognized as the first narrative film to deal with the after-effects of 9/11, and after premiering at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival it was lauded in The New York Times (“A genuine surprise”), TV Guide (“Admirably subtle”),and The New York Daily News (“There’s no denying the film’s emotional core”). Lost in Florence, shot entirely in Italy, was released around the world in 2017by MGM and Orion Pictures.
Evan is a graduate of Yale University and NYU Film School. He lives in New York with his wife and three daughters. His next film, Out on a Limb, is planned for 2026.
ABOUT ACTRESS AMY CARLSON (LAURIE)
Born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Amy Carlson spent most of her early life in the Chicago area. But when Amy was in junior high, she and her family also lived in the Middle East where her parents, Bob and Barb, taught at the American School. Amy has three siblings, sisters Betsy and Lori and brother Joe. Amy has backpacked all over Europe with her family and on her own. Because her parents were teachers, they were able to spend every summer together traveling and camping all over the United States. In fact, they have camped in every state except Alaska. Amy also went to Rwanda after the war in 1994 to aid relief efforts. Early on, Amy showed artistic talent acting in school productions and winning contests for writing. In high school, she was a promising athlete who placed in the first ever 3200 meter relay in Illinois girls track. In college, after an injury, she returned to the theater with many roles on stage starting with Lanford Wilson’s “Fifth of July” and directing Wallace Shawn’s “Aunt Dan and Lemon”. Amy attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where she graduated cum laude with a B.A. in East Asian history and a concentration in Theater. She moved to Chicago afterward and studied Improv at the Improv Olympic and acting at The Actor’s Center. A contract job on the now defunct soap opera Another World (1964) moved her to NYC soon after graduation. She has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category of “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama Series”. Her most memorable roles have been of strong women playing Alex Taylor in Third Watch (1999), Maggie Pistone in Falcone (2000), Katie Owen alongside Tom Berenger in Peacemakers (2003) and Linda Reagan in Blue Bloods. Carlson resides in New York City with husband Syd Butler, bassist of Les Savy Fav, where she also works in the independent music business as part-owner of the independent label “Frenchkiss Records”. Amy continues to write as well as seek out diverse and unique roles in the film industry.
ABOUT ACTRESS KIRRILEE BERGER (JOEY)
Kirrilee Berger, an actress from Teaneck, NJ, played the central role of Rebecca Smallbone in Lionsgate’s 2024 release, “Unsung Hero.” She also appeared in “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Country Comfort, and recently released her first album, Stories, Lies, Allegories and Fables. She’s also lived in Brisbane, Australia and Los Angeles, CA.
Interview with director Andreas Zerr of the film “Sane Inside Insanity” by Suzanne 9/11/25
Speaking with Andreas about his “Rocky Horror Show” documentary was fascinating. I’ve enjoyed the cult movie and its music since the 70’s. It’s worth watching his film, whether you’re a fan of the play/movie/album or not. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 50 years since it was first out… The first half of the doc focuses on the development of the play and movie, and the second half is all about the fans (particularly the “shadow casts,” who dress up every weekend in RHPS costumes and relive the movie).
If you didn’t live through that era, it might be hard to imagine it, but the movie was very shocking at the time to many people who were not comfortable with the LGBTQ+ community (or anyone who dressed in costume, for that matter). Younger people often embraced it. From what I’ve seen, Rocky Horror Fans tended to be either part of that LGBTQ+ group, or they were scifi/horror fans. Both groups know what it’s like not to fit in (especially back then).
I didn’t dress up for Rocky Horror, and I only saw the movie a couple of times, but I had friends and family who really got into it and went to the midnight showings in San Diego often. This happened all over the world.
SANE INSIDE INSANITY, the unofficial, unauthorized and unbiased documentary about The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 50 years after it became an unlikely cult classic!
Few films have had the cultural staying power of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. What began as a quirky stage play in 1970s London became a global phenomenon that reshaped film, fashion, punk, musical theater, and even the early LGBTQIA+ movement.
Set for release on September 25, to coincide with the film’s 50th anniversary, SANE INSIDE INSANITY, chronicles Rocky Horror’s unlikely rise through never-before-seen interviews and rare archival footage. Rather than a documentary full of platitudes, director Andreas Zerr’s film offers a warts-and-all approach that is as much a celebration of the cult classic as it is a critique about the unhappier and more serious parts of its story.
Andreas and his team spent more than a decade capturing candid conversations with the original cast and creative figures, including Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Barry Bostwick, Jim Sharman, Sal Piro, Richard Hartley and Sue Blane— and many others who had never shared their stories on camera until now.
The film goes beyond nostalgia, examining Rocky Horror’s role as a cultural lightning rod. It shows how a low-budget production not only survived but thrived for over five decades, captivating millions around the world. Filmed across the UK, Europe, Australia and the United States, the journey concludes in New York City—the birthplace of Rocky Horror’s legendary midnight screenings.
BIO: Andreas Zerr is known for SANE INSIDE INSANITY – The Phenomenon of Rocky Horror (2025), Nussbraun (2010) and Bali: 1000 Faces of an Island (2013).
Born in Hamburg, Germany, in February 1971, he began his career as a marketing manager at Apple from 1999 to 2002. Driven by a passion for creativity, he transitioned into the film and television industry as a freelance editor. His talent and dedication quickly earned the trust of his clients, who encouraged him to take on roles as a producer and director. In 2012, Andreas founded his own production company “PIXELGALAXIE”, which he successfully managed until 2020. After selling his shares of the company to his long-term business partner, he returned to self-employment, focusing on producing and directing his own films and documentaries. Today, Andreas continues to bring compelling stories to life with his expertise and vision.
Interviews with Annabella Sciorra, Jay Will, Martin Starr, Garrett Hedlund and Bella Heathcote of “Tulsa King” on Paramount+ by Suzanne 9/15/25
This is a very good show, even though I’m not a big fan of mobster shows or movies. The actors are fantastic (including star Sylvester Stallone), and there’s a lot of superb writing for the stories and characters, as well as action. They do an outstanding job of showing the characters caught up in the criminal world and how it affects their lives.
The actors answered my questions very well last week, and I enjoyed speaking with them. It was an honor to speak with Annabella Sciorra and the rest….but of course, it would have been nice to speak to Sylvester Stallone again. Not all “stars” leave a noticeable absence in any room, but he always does. He’s the titular king as well as the main character and star. He’s a busy guy, though, so I’m not surprised I didn’t get to speak with him a second time. Don’t miss the premiere tomorrow, 9/21/25 on Paramount+!
TULSA KING follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone), just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Okla. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet.
Interview with Annabel Scholey, Aggy K. Adams and Sam Palladio of “The Couple Next Door” on STARZ by Suzanne 9/16/25
This anthology series on Starz is very sexy (and maybe a bit kinky – if anything is nowadays) and filled with drama and intrigue. It also has some very good writing and characters. If you enjoyed season 1, you should enjoy this season 2. Even if you never saw season 1, though, you can watch season 2 because it mostly different characters.
I was supposed to interview all 3 of these actors, plus Sendhil Ramamurthy. Unfortunately, the latter had a personal conflict, so I wasn’t able to speak with him. That was a real shame because he’s the one I most wanted to chat with! He’s always great, and I’ve enjoyed his work since “Heroes” on NBC (2006-2010) and that show’s reboot later on, as well as many other series I watched, like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Flash” on The CW and “Doom Patrol” on MAX. It was wonderful to speak to the other three, though. We weren’t allowed to use the video this time, though, only audio, so here are the two transcripts below. They’ve been edited, but we’re not quite through proofreading them yet, so please do check back.
Sam Palladino
Suzanne: My name is Suzanne from TVMEG.COM. So, had you watched the first season of the series before you, started filming the second?
Sam: Well, I got the audition, and so I hadn’t seen it without any context. But, after getting the audition and reading the first script, I definitely did a little research and definitely watched a few, and actually was really…quite honestly, very captured and spellbound by this show. And it wouldn’t usually be my kind of show.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
Sam: But I was like, “This is really great. It’s beautifully shot, it’s well acted…. The story’s gripping.” And so, I think before I’d actually got the job, I was a fan. I was auditioning, going, “I hope I get this one ’cause it’s pretty good.”
Suzanne: That’s good. So, can you say, is the second season as crazy as the first?
Sam: oh, the second season of “The Couple Next Door” takes it to a whole new level, right? I mean, it really does. I think the writers and producers learned what worked in Series One, and it was pretty obvious that was the… I mean, it was the great writing, but it was the tension, it was the drama, it was the spicy sexual desire and the consequences of all that. All that hit home for sure. So with Series Wwo, we build on that and we go to even more bonkers places, to be honest. Yeah, it’s a real progression and I think, with this series… I got to work with just some fantastic actors and we all felt very much like a team. And even so much so with the directors, and producers, and the whole creative team. It was very collaborative. It wasn’t like, “Here’s your lines, you act, go stand over there.” It felt like we were all trying to make the show the best it could be.
Suzanne: That’s good. I think it works well when they let the actors have some input.
Sam: Mm-hmm. For sure.
Suzanne: And is there a lot of sex this season, like last season?
Sam: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. There’s way more sex. Oh, way more. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, we certainly, yeah. We take it to some new steamy places. There is a sequence in episode three that, when I read on the page, I thought, “How are we gonna do this? This feels like we’re put really pushing the boat out.” And so, yeah, like I said, I think that we build, and we take it to new levels, for sure.
Suzanne: Okay. And did they have someone on set to make you all feel comfortable during those scenes?
Sam: For sure. I mean, and that’s a brilliant thing that’s come into the industry now: the intimacy coordinator. I think it’s really important, particularly for us, our sequence — there’s a threesome sequence, you know, and so on the page you kind of go, “How do we handle this?” But yeah, Vanessa, our intimacy coordinator, they make it more like a choreographed dance sequence. And so that means that we had rehearsals prior, fully clothed, you know, where actually, you go through the protocols… it’s also contractual, you know, levels that you’re comfortable with. Everything’s open and discussed. And then it becomes very much… It’s choreographed. Gone are the days of like, “Okay, off you guys go, do your thing.” Which just means everybody feels comfortable and safe. And by that point, we’d saved a lot of those intimate scenes to… pretty much the last week in filming ’cause we were shooting for about three months or so. We’d all dubbed it “sex week.” Which was really quite funny because they just put it all together. So it was this very confusing week where we were all just went to the gym, you know, for weeks, trying to eat healthy and work towards “sex week.” But it just meant that we are all very comfortable with each other at that point. You know, Annabel, who plays my wife, Charlotte on the show… we’ve become like really great friends,, and so nothing felt awkward. And if it did, we were able to joke about it and have the intimacy coordinator there to just make sure everybody’s on our side, you know?
Suzanne: Right, right. And now this is an anthology series, so most of the characters are new, and the setting’s the same, and some of the characters are the same. So, is there anything that you can tell us about what’s new besides, you know, spoilers? No spoilers.
Sam: For sure, for sure. I mean, we have some, we have, Hugh Dennis, who returns as Alan. So he, he’s a brilliant actor. I love the character, Alan, actually, he goes on quite a redemptive arc.
Suzanne: He’s so pervy.
Sam: He’s so pervy. and that really sets the tone for Series One. And, and of course he goes on a different arc, this series. But, yeah, he’s a great. You know, he’s a catalyst to bring us back to this world. I think this series, just goes deeper into those desires and what happens when you explore that, and the consequences of that. And with some pretty, pretty drastic consequences. This series, you know, for my character Jacob, he goes on a crazy arc, you know? He’s a proud, jealous guy. His wife’s ex-partner, Leo, comes back into the mix, who Jacob has this real beef with from 20 years ago. And of course, Mia moves into the neighborhood, seduces me, seduces my wife. Suddenly, Jacob’s thrown into this world where he thought maybe this was gonna go somewhere and then realizes that Mia is after other things. So, you know, the, the layers are pretty varied for Jacob. And then he makes some terrible decisions late in the series that, I don’t think the viewers are expecting…based on the, the crazy circumstances they put themselves in.
Suzanne: Right. All right. Well thank you. I appreciate you talking to me today and I look forward to seeing the rest of the show.
Sam: Thanks. Thanks, Suzanne.
Annabel Scholey and Aggy K. Adams
Suzanne: Hi, I’m Suzanne from TVMEG.COM. How are you feeling?
Speaker 3: Good, thanks. Thank you. Good.
Suzanne: Had you both watched the first season of the series before you started shooting?
Annabel: Yes, I auditioned for series one. Yes. So I knew it pretty well. I actually read for Evie, and then I watched it ’cause I, I love the scripts. So I was very familiar.
Suzanne: Okay. How, how about you?
Aggy: Yes, me, too. I’ve seen season one, but only after I’ve gotten the job actually. So. yes, I’ve watched it sort of as we started filming. I was very curious once I’ve met the team, of how it was shot. So it was very fun. It’s great to see.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm. So, we know that it’s set in the same neighborhood (as the first season), and it has some of the same characters in the neighborhood, but the main cast is different. What else can you tell us about the differences this season… either of you, or both of you?
Annabel: This season has much more of a thriller element to it. There’s a lot more suspense… it’s not obvious where it’s headed. I mean, Aggie will talk about this more, but her character in particular is extremely mysterious and you don’t really ever find out until the end, really, the truth about what’s going on there. But, they wanted to shoot it more like a thriller. as well. And I think the director DRIs, who did both series one and series two, deliberately shot it more like that, so there’s more suspense, I’d say. I mean, it was very fast-paced, Series One, and gripping. So we keep that. But yeah, it definitely has a different tone.
Aggy: Yeah. Well, the plot is very different, and the tone as well. Series Two is maybe more sensuous in some way. There’s some art to it — it felt quite artistic to me. Some shots just feel slower… it is shot a bit differently. It takes place in the Autumn, as well, so it just has a different feel. It has a different mood — Series One was in the summer, so obviously, that, yeah. It sets the tone differently.
Annabel: And ours is a love story as well. It’s a love story between the two women. And I think Series One was more about sexual attraction and obsession, whereas this felt more like a psychological relationship drama.
Aggy: Definitely. It felt more psychological, yeah.
Suzanne: Okay. And, I read that the neighborhood that it takes place in is mostly shot in Leeds, right?
Annabel: No, we didn’t shoot anything in Leeds, actually.
Suzanne: Oh, yeah?
Annabel: It was shot in Antwerp and Holland. And I think… Maggie, you were in France, weren’t you?
Aggy: Exactly. We were just on the border of France and Belgium. Yeah, that’s where we shot Brussels, but we never shot in Leeds. Yeah, I think they shot Series One in Leeds.
Annabel: Yeah, they did.
Suzanne: That’s interesting that they changed it.
Aggy: Hmm.
Suzanne: The houses are a set, right?
Annabel: They are. So I actually grew up in, in Leeds, and the houses are definitely more attractive in our show. On the whole, they wanted to keep it set in Leeds, but because we didn’t really have any specific Leeds areas, right? They just shot everything elsewhere in Europe.
Suzanne: Interesting…I’ve been to the UK, but I grew up in the US. So, I’m thinking (while watching the first season), “How can a teacher, and a guy who’s working in a struggling newspaper, afford such a nice house — that comes with a Koi pond?”
Annabel: Mm-hmm.
Suzanne: But my husband just said, “It’s Europe.” I said, “I don’t know about that. It looked awfully nice.”
Annabel: No, I agree. That’s probably stretching into the realm of fantasy a little bit.
Suzanne: They had family money, maybe…. So, do either of you have any interesting or funny stories about shooting, or behind the scenes?
Annabel: Well, we both went into open heart surgeries as a research day, which was incredible.
Aggy: Mm-hmm.
Annabel: I mean, it definitely wasn’t funny. It was very moving, actually. And I was really worried I was gonna pass out ’cause I get a bit like that, but I just, it just blew my mind how incredible it was. It was a real it life-changing moment, actually. It was a real privilege.
Aggy: Yeah. Absolutely.. open heart surgeries, and that part of research was the best part for me, as well. Hmm. So interesting.
Suzanne: Had you ever played a doctor before, Annabelle?
Annabel: No, but I really wanted to, and I’m a huge “Grey’s Anatomy” fan, , and Christina Yang was my favorite, and I always thought, “Oh, God, how great….” Yeah, it was really good to delve into that. It was a real physical challenge, actually…not only to try and understand some of the science, and learn how to hold things, but to act with just your eyes. My eyes were behind the goggles, as well. So it was not only doing all of the technical stuff, but then trying to convey the relationship that was happening across the table between our two characters. It was a lot. It was a really interesting thing to have to try and learn how to do. It was thrilling.
Suzanne: Wow.
Annabel: Yeah.
Suzanne: What about you, Aggy? Have you played a nurse, or doctor, or any kind of medical professional before?
Aggy: No, I’ve never played a medical professional before. This was my first time. And, I’m very fascinated by it. It was like my dream, in a way. I’d love to play a heart surgeon next time ’cause obviously I’ve played a scrub nurse. So I hope it will happen again. And I’m a huge fan of medical shows, too. I really can’t wait to see “The Pitt,” also. And yes, I did watch “Grey’s Anatomy” in the past, growing up and, yeah, it was really fun.
Suzanne: Okay. Cool. Nice shout-out to “The Pitt.” That’s an awesome show.
Aggy: Yes, I, it’s on my list. I can’t wait to start.
Suzanne: Oh, you haven’t seen the first season yet?
Aggy: No, not yet. I’m new to it.
Suzanne: Yeah. It’s a bit intense. It’s a good show, though.
In this new chapter of the deliciously dark psychological drama, “The CoupleNextDoor,” we venture back into the claustrophobic world of the cul-de-sac and explore the fallout of taking your fantasies and making them reality. Brilliant heart surgeon, Charlotte Roberts (Annabel Scholey), and her husband, consultant anaesthetist Jacob (Sam Palladio) take centre stage, alongside their mysterious new colleague Mia (Aggy K Adams) and Charlotte’s old flame Leo (Sendhil Ramamurthy). Leo’s return sparks a change in Charlotte and Mia seizes the opportunity to work her way into Jacob and Charlotte’s confidence, their street, and eventually even their bed, befriending cul-de-sac outcast, Alan (Hugh Dennis) along the way. But it’s not long before Mia’s past comes back to haunt her, leading Charlotte and Jacob to question who she really is, especially when patients at the hospital start mysteriously dying. One thing is clear – giving in to their desires could have deadly consequences.
Annabel Scholey has performed extensively on stage and is known for her roles in the BBC supernatural drama Being Human in 2009 and as Anne-Marie Blake in the true crime drama miniseries The Sixth Commandment in 2023. She also played the leading role of Maddie in the musical feature film Walking on Sunshine (2014).
Aggy K. Adams is a British actress, born 19th May 1998. Her television roles have included The Witcher (2023). She had a lead role in the film Oh, Ramona! (2019). She was born in Warsaw, Poland, before later living in the United States and eventually settling down with her family in the UK as a child.
CAST AND PRODUCTION CREDITS
CHARLOTTE Annabel Scholey
JACOB Sam Palladio
MIA Aggy K. Adams
LEO Sendhil Ramamurthy
ALAN Hugh Dennis
GEMMA Maimie McCoy
BEN Adam James
YVONNE Tanya Moodie
PRODUCTION CREDITS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER David Allison
Dries Vos
Walter Iuzzolino
Jo McGrath
DIRECTOR Dries Vos
WRITER David Allison
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Diego Dezuttere, SBC
EDITOR Gert Fimmers, Ep. 201, 203, 205, 206
David Verdurme, Ep. 202, 204, 206
PRODUCTION DESIGNER Max Van Essche
COSTUME DESIGNERS Katie Broome
Jutta Smeyers
HAIR & MAKE-UP DESIGNER Morgane Verhelst
ORIGINAL MUSIC BY Hannes De Maeyer
INTIMACY COORDINATOR Vanessa Coffey
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
CHARLOTTE Annabel Scholey
A consultant cardiothoracic surgeon, Charlotte is highly competitive and well-respected at work. Married to Jacob and happily child-free, Charlotte is starting to wonder what’s next – is 20 more years doing exactly what’s expected of her really that appealing? The pressure of her career and of caring for her elderly father sometimes overwhelm her, but it’s not until her ex, Leo, returns, and Mia crashes into her life, that she starts to entertain the thought of cutting loose from it all.JACOB Sam Palladio
Always charming, Jacob loves his wife, Charlotte, and enjoys their verbal sparring, as well as the fact that she is so proficient in the operating room. But buried deep within him are insecurities about his status. Jacob enjoys pushing boundaries and copes with the pressures of his high-octane job with the help of various illicit prescription drugs. Adored by half the junior staff at the hospital, Jacob has always been faithful to Charlotte. But when Mia arrives, it soon becomes clear she might be another drug he can’t quite resist.MIA Aggy K. Adams
New in town, with a very mysterious past, surgical nurse Mia is clearly trying to run from someone or something. With a very un-British attitude toward both work and sex, Mia has an uncanny ability to draw people in and make them desire her. But this can also make her a formidable enemy. When she sees Charlotte and Jacob for the first time, she’s immediately fascinated by them and determined to work her way into their seemingly perfect marriage
LEO Sendhil Ramamurthy
Having had a whirlwind romance with Charlotte during her med school years, Leo’s life has taken a very different path in the years since. He’s travelled the world, working for charities and eschewing the trappings and easy life his family’s wealth could have provided. But now, with his father, Viraj, seriously ill, Leo has returned home. When he sees Charlotte, the old feelings come flooding back. Will he try and win back the woman he’s always loved?
ALAN Hugh Dennis
Isolated and alone since Jean left him a year ago, Alan has had to suffer the scorn of the community, as his crimes towards Becka became more widely known. Now fully recovered from his stroke, he’s been sentenced to community service, completing menial tasks around the local area to repay his debt to society. But has Alan really mended his ways? And if he has, will his past prevent him from ever finding love again?
GEMMA Maimie McCoy
Senior manager at the hospital, and longtime best friend to Charlotte, Gemma’s still struggling to process the end of her marriage to Ben, who left her for a much younger woman. Once she meets the charming, suave Leo, life starts looking up. But with Leo still harboring feelings for Charlotte, can they ever be more than just good friends?
BEN Adam James
Medical director of the hospital, Ben is Jacob’s boss, friend and mentor. In the grip of a mid-life crisis, he has left his wife for Alyssa, the 20-something receptionist at his local gym. She’s beautiful and makes him feel young again, but do they really have anything in common? And, as he watches his ex-wife getting closer to Leo, will he start to feel the pangs of regret?
YVONNE Tanya Moodie
Mia’s closest ally amongst the nursing staff, Yvonne avoids being drawn into the gossip and drama of the hospital. She’s kind and caring, but unlucky in love. Mia thinks she might know the perfect man for her friend – Alan. But can Yvonne overlook Alan’s past? And, if so, will he be able to prove he’s a changed man?
EPISODE DESCRIPTIONSEPISODE 201 Airdate: September 19, 2025 Written by: David Allison Directed by: Dries Vos
When new surgical nurse Mia arrives at the hospital, she quickly turns her charm on married colleagues, Charlotte and Jacob, who can’t help but feel unsettled when she unexpectedly moves into the house next door.EPISODE 202 Airdate: September 26, 2025 Written by: David Allison Directed by: Dries Vos
After a wild night out, Charlotte tries to distance herself from Mia. Charlotte’s ex, Leo, returns to the hospital and at the fundraising ball, his and Jacob’s mutual dislike is palpable. Mia’s reaction to a death at the hospital raises eyebrows.
EPISODE 203 Airdate: October 3, 2025 Written by: David Allison Directed by: Dries Vos
To celebrate their 20-year anniversary, a guilt-ridden Jacob plans a surprise weekend trip to Antwerp for Charlotte.When an unexpected third person turns up, things take an erotic, but dangerous, turn. Back in town, cul-de-sac outcast Alan is forced to put his telescope back into action.
EPISODE 204 Airdate: October 10, 2025 Written by: David Allison Directed by: Dries Vos
Upon her return from Antwerp, Charlotte throws herself into her work. Gossip about the trip spreads through the hospital, leading to tension. Meanwhile, Mia tries to do a good deed for Alan.
EPISODE 205 Airdate: October 17, 2025 Written by: David Allison Directed by: Dries Vos
Jacob comes to a heartbreaking realization, while Mia’s past finally catches up to her leading to tumultuous events for everyone.
EPISODE 206 Airdate: October 24, 2025 Written by: David Allison Directed by: Dries Vos Relationships are imploding and the fallout seems to have deadly consequences. Leo is in a race against time to try and uncover who is really behind the deaths at the hospital, while Alan is forced to take drastic actions to protect Mia.
Interview with Omari Hardwick, Trae Romano and Matthew Loren Oates of the movie, “Xeno” by Suzanne 8/27/25
First, it was really fun to speak with Omari Hardwick, whom (as I mentioned in this video) I interviewed 15 years ago! He was very nice, and humble, in this chat. He plays a great villain (of sorts), named Keyes, in this compelling scifi drama. I hope you can watch the movie because it’s got a lot of heart. It’s definitely worth watching. It premieres Friday, 9/19 in select theaters!
Omari Hardwick
Trae Romano and Matthew Loren Oates
Second, I spoke with Matthew, AKA Mattie, who wrote and directed the movie, as well as actor Trae Romano. It’s very exciting. Trae was one of the stars of this film. I recognized him from the show “Stargirl,” where he played Mike, kid step-brother to the heroine, Courtney. He plays a different character here, Gil, but he’s still on the good guys’ team. The actress who stars in the movie, Lulu Wilson, does a fantastic job as a sad high school girl who discovers something amazing in the desert. Gil is one of her classmates, who clearly has a crush on her. The film sort of reminds me of “E.T.” mixed with “Predator.” I really think they should make it into a TV series because the characters and story are so intriguing. I found the ending to be sad, but I didn’t realize that there’s another clip midway through the credits. Don’t miss that!
Production Company: Hartbeat in association with Tabooma
Director: Matthew Loren Oates
Writer: Matthew Loren Oates
Producers: Kevin Hart, Bryan Smiley, Luke Kelly-Clyne, Shana Marie, Jesse Jensen
Production Company: Hartbeat, in association with Tabooma
Distributor: Blue Fox Entertainment
Cast: Lulu Wilson, Omari Hardwick, Trae Romano, Wrenn Schmidt, Paul Schneider, Garrett van der Leun
Tagline: One Bond. Two Worlds.
Logline: A teenage girl and a terrifying alien form a powerful bond after a chance encounter in the desert, sending them on an adventure that questions the nature of good and evil.
Synopsis: A teenage girl and a terrifying alien form a powerful bond after a chance encounter in the desert, sending them on an adventure that questions the nature of good and evil.As government agents close in, the girl discovers the alien is not the extraterrestrial she expected. Compelled to protect her new friend, she uncovers a secret that could change the fate of both their worlds.
Matthew Loren Oates (Director/Writer) was born on 5 November 1981 in Sacramento, California, USA. He is a writer and director, known for We Don’t Work (2003), Xeno (2025) and Wasted (2006).
Trae Romano’s (Gil) love of acting came after a summer on the set of the Farrelly Brothers remake of “The Three Stooges”. This was soon followed by 555 with Jane Adams. His breakout performance was starring opposite Beau Bridges in “Robbie”, where he played young Robbie. When Trae isn’t acting and doing school work, he enjoys playing guitar, skateboarding and playing video games with friends. He splits his time between Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Omari Latif Hardwick (Keyes) is an American actor known for his starring role as James St. Patrick / Ghost, the protagonist of Starz’s Power and his role as Vanderohe in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead (2021). He is also known for his roles in Saved and Dark Blue, in Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna (2008), Kick-Ass (2010), Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls (2010),[2] and as Andre in BET Network’s Being Mary Jane.
**mid-season usually means Winter or Spring, but it could be pushed back to Summer as well.
Click on the link of each show to watch, find more info or to double-check and see what dates the networks give. NOTE: Some shows don’t have pages yet….
Interview with David Altrogge (Director) and Roberto Clemente, Jr. of the documentary “Clemente” by Suzanne 8/26/25
This is a very interesting documentary about the late, great baseball player, Roberto Clemente, Jr. It was really wonderful to speak with his son, and the film’s director. As you will see, Roberto Jr. has a lot of his dad’s charisma. They were both very kind when answering my questions. I hope you can see the movie, which opens September 12th in theaters, and if you go to MLB ballpark, it’s also Robert Clemente Weekend! If you’re a fan of history, or baseball, or documentaries, or just of Roberto Clemente, you should enjoy it. Families and kids should enjoy it as well as adults. The movie is not rated at this time, so check your local listings or movie theaters. Can’t get to the movie theater? Then watch it on the History Channel September 23, 8/7 Central time.
Produced By: Mike Blizzard, John Bennett Scanlon, Mary Sabol, Andrew Calvetti, Sarah Altrogge, Jocelyn Hartnett, Keith Ayers, Stephen Turselli; Associate Producers, Luis Mayoral, Matt Paré and Jackson New-Smith
Executive Produced By
Roberto Clemente, Jr., Luis Roberto Clemente, Roberto Enrique Clemente, Richard Linklater, LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Duane Rieder, Jamal Henderson, Philip Byron, Steve Burman, Laura Heberton, Jim Evans, Brad Ragland; co-executive produced by Matthew Rissmiller
Run Time: 101 minutes
SYNOPSIS
Clemente is the definitive documentary on the extraordinary life, career, and enduring legacyofMajor League Baseball icon Roberto Clemente. Told through stunning archival footage, never-before-heard recordings, and unprecedented interviews, the film reveals the story of aman who lived by his own uncompromising code. A double outsider—too Black for white America and too Latino for Black America—Clemente refused to stay silent in the face of racism and injustice. Through sheer determination and relentless discipline, he rose from poverty to superstardom, yet never lost sight of those on the margins. Clemente is more than a sports story; it’s a portrait of a man who gave everything—for the game and for others. A powerful, joyful reminder that a life marked by passion, courage, and empathy can truly change the world.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
We live in an age of uncertainty. An age of division. An age where people are asking, “is there good in the world?” The life and legacy of Roberto Clemente answer that question with a resounding “yes!” Roberto lived his life for others. Instead of pursuing the rich, famous, or powerful, he sought out the poor, destitute, and broken. Clemente is a film about a man who gave his all for others. A reminder to the rest of us that an act of kindness, no matter how small, can change the world. A celebration of the power of compassion, generosity, and sacrifice. Since his death over fifty years ago, many have attempted to tell the story of Roberto Clemente the athlete. However, few have told the story of Roberto Clemente the man. I came to this story not primarily interested in Roberto’s prowess on the field. Rather, I was primarily drawn to this story because of the life he lived off the field. A life of sacrifice and kindness, courage and empathy. It was this vision that drew Roberto’s three sons — Roberto Jr., Luis, and Enrique — to the project.
Their support, guidance, and stories have shaped the film in countless ways. In addition to conducting the last interview with Roberto’s late wife, Vera, we’ve been able to secure interviews with some of Roberto’s nearest and dearest friends, people who knew a side of him that was rarely seen in public. Additionally, we’ve been granted unprecedented access to the Roberto Clemente Museum’s extensive archives. Duane Rieder, the executive director of the museum, has amassed tens of thousands of rare photographs, documents, films, and artifacts, many of which have never been seen by the public. Finally, our team has discovered a cache of Roberto Clemente recordings, most of which have not been heard by anyone since the late ’60s. Preserved by Ramiro Martinez, a close friend of Roberto, these tapes present a side of Roberto that, until recently, was lost to history.
Clemente is a film about an athlete and a man who gave his everything for others. A reminder to the rest of us that an act of kindness, no matter how small, can change the world.
– David Altrogge, Writer/Director
FAMILY STATEMENT
We are thrilled to be involved with CLEMENTE, a documentary that shines a light on our father’s life and legacy. The documentary could not be more timely as it marks a cornerstone of a new movement for the Clemente Brand. After 50 years, a legacy as strong as our father’s deserves a fresh perspective for the younger generation, and we are excited for audiences to see what director David Altrogge captured. Over the years, there have been several documentaries, but none where we were involved with producers and worked with the creative teams to accurately and holistically capture all aspects of Roberto Clemente – husband, father, humanitarian, and professional baseball player.
With David, hailing from Pennsylvania and living in Pittsburgh, we quickly found comfort with his involvement in telling the story. We could see his passion for the project from the start. He developed a strong relationship with Duane Rieder, founder of the Roberto Clemente Museum. Rieder’s Museum began as his photography studio, which was turned into a Clemente photo exhibit as decor for a family All-Star Game party in Pittsburgh. At the party, our mother approached Rieder and remarked that he had the beginnings of a museum on his hands. This eventually inspired the creation of Clemente Ground Zero in Pittsburgh.
To see David utilize this space as the backdrop of our mother’s last interview before her demise in 2019 was extremely special and significant to us. It further proved that David was the perfect person to shape this story. Through her grace and love for humanity, our mother, Vera, further solidified the enduring Clemente legacy of goodwill.
We are grateful to David and the Vinegar Hill production team for their dedication in thoroughly exploring aspects of our family’s legacy that are being brought to viewers for the first time. Their attention to detail in presenting this story in impeccable detail is truly commendable.
The most significant impact of this project is the call to action it inspires. Understanding how he lived and died prompts us to reflect on how we can make our own surroundings better. We hope it will inspire viewers to emulate our father’s legacy of kindness, respect, and unity.
As producers of this project, we invite both devoted Clemente fans and newcomers to witness and learn from the worldwide generational impact of our father, “The Great One.” Every year, we learn that thousands of students choose our father as the subject of their school year-end projects. We hope this documentary will provide them with more context and a better look into who he was on and off the field. Our father’s career and life were first and foremost works of love and we are honored to be able to continue to share his story and legacy with the world through this documentary.
– Roberto Clemente Jr and Luis Clemente
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
DAVID ALTROGGE | Director, Writer, and Producer
Born and raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania (the hometown of Jimmy Stewart, in case you were wondering), writer/director David Altrogge produced his first feature-length film in high school. Since then, he has established himself as a filmmaker whose work is inspiring, entertaining, and deeply human. In addition to directing content for some of the globe’s most influential brands (Netflix, Google, and the Discovery Channel, to name a few) his films have been featured by the LA Times, HuffPost, CNN, BBC, and NatGeo. David lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife and two children. When not making films he enjoys painting and writing sappy songs about his family.
ROBERTO CLEMENTE JR | Executive Producer
Roberto Clemente, Jr., eldest son of Roberto Clemente, is a philanthropist, entrepreneur, former broadcaster, and professional baseball player. Roberto Sr. used his platform and immense athletic gift to serve others and devote his short life to helping make the world a better place, something Roberto Jr. has sought to emulate. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the first seven years of Roberto Jr.’s life were spent between Puerto Rico and Pittsburgh, PA. After his father’s untimely death in a 1972 plane crash, while taking relief supplies to Nicaragua earthquake victims, Roberto Jr. became his father’s voice and the spokesperson for the family. He went on to establish the Roberto Clemente Foundation, an organization committed to aiding at-risk youth, disaster relief, and promoting global service leadership. Throughout the last 30 years of the foundation’s existence, Roberto Jr. and the team have helped thousands of children and their families.
LUIS CLEMENTE | Executive Producer
Luis is the second of three sons of Roberto and Vera Clemente. Currently, Luis leads the Clemente Legacy Program. This complex integration of Clemente namesakes, schools, and programs encourages students to become goodwill ambassadors in their communities. Luis is a highly sought-after motivational speaker, making numerous appearances representing the family at Roberto Clemente commemorative tributes throughout the world. As CEO and President of Ciudad Deportiva Roberto Clemente (Roberto Clemente Sports City) and The Roberto Clemente Foundation, Luis has played an integral role in continuing his father’s legacy. Luis and his wife Olga have three sons, Luis Jr. (33), Robby (29), and Bobby (28) and they make their home in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
ROBERTO ENRIQUE CLEMENTE | Executive Producer
Sports journalist Bob Costas, one of the film’s commentators – Courtesy of Clemente Film Ltd.
Roberto Enrique Clemente is the youngest son of Roberto Clemente. He was born in San Juan, PR and played baseball until the age of 13. He’s worked with the Roberto Clemente Foundation since the age of 21 alongside his older brothers Luis Roberto and Roberto Jr. He has committed his life to honoring the legacy of his parents.
RICHARD LINKLATER | Executive Producer
Richard Linklater is the Oscar-nominated director of Boyhood, the Before Trilogy, and Dazed and Confused. He resides in Austin, TX and is a lifelong Roberto Clemente fan.
DUANE RIDER | Executive Producer
Duane Rieder is the founder and executive director of the Clemente Museum. Over the last twenty years, he has gathered one of the largest, most comprehensive Clemente archives in the world.
MIKE BLIZZARD | Producer
Mike Blizzard is the producer of the award-winning NO NO: A DOCKUMENTARY, which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. More recently Mike has teamed with Oscar-nominated writer/director Richard Linklater as producer of the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, the animated Netflix film APOLLO 10 ½: A SPACE AGE CHILDHOOD, and HIT MAN – which premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals and will be released in theaters and on Netflix in 2024. Mike currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Austin Film Society, and previously served two terms as Board President.
ABOUT VINEGAR HILL
Founded in 2007, Vinegar Hill is a Pittsburgh-proud production company and storytelling outfit. In addition to producing content for some of the globe’s most influential organizations, their films have been featured by the Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, RogerEbert.com, LA Times, HuffPost, CNN, BBC, and NatGeo. www.VinegarHill.film
ABOUT VANTAGE PICTURES
Founded in 2022 by Jim Evans (of Untitled Inc.) and Keith Ayers, Vantage Pictures specializes in creating high-quality content across a range of genres with a focus on telling underdog stories. The company has several projects in active development, including the sports documentary series Clutch with director Jingyi Shao (Chang Can Dunk) and SMAC Entertainment producing, and the thriller Do Not Disturb with Tate Donovan attached to direct. Vantage is also developing a feature film based on the book Spinning the Globe about the origin of the Harlem Globetrotters and is in preproduction on a feature documentary about philosopher Alan Watts with Religion of Sports.
ABOUT UNITERRUPTED
UNINTERRUPTED is the award-winning athlete storytelling brand within The SpringHill Company (TSHC), founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, that combines revolutionary content, experiences and consumer products. Since 2015, the UNINTERRUPTED brand has existed to partner with athletes to invite the sports community to celebrate the humanity in sport through culturally connected content. as creators to help the world reimagine the athlete’s world beyond sport through culturally connected content. UNINTERRUPTED original content properties and franchises include Top Class, More Than An Athlete, Iman Amongst Men and more. Studio projects within the unscripted and documentary space for UNINTERRUPTED include What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali, Greatness Code, Top Class, Golden: The Journey of USA’s Elite Gymnasts, The Redeem Team and more. For more information follow @UNINTERRUPTED on social media.
Interview with J. Eddie Peck of “The Young and The Restless” on CBS by Suzanne 7/24/25
It was awesome to speak with J. Eddie! I used to watch him play Cole on “Young and The Restless” 32 years ago when he first appeared in 1993. I’d been watching the show since 1986, when I was in college. Like many young people back then, I picked up the soap habit in college – between classes or while at home on vacation. He’s incredibly handsome and made a good couple with all of the women they paired him up with, especially Victoria (played then by Heather Tom); her mom, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott); and Ashley (Shari Shattuck and then Eileen Davidson back then). It was wonderful that they brought him back last year, not only to reunite him with Victoria (now played by Amelia Heinle), but to show that they have a long-lost daughter, Claire (Hayley Erin). Heinle and Peck had immediate chemistry; they’d previously played lovers Jake and Mia on “All My Children” in 2003.
Unfortunately, the powers-that-be on Y&R wrote Cole out by killing him off with Legionnaires’ disease in early July. This was very disappointing to fans of his, and of fans of the couple Cole and Victoria, and their family with Claire. That happens quite often on the soaps, and in TV in general, usually do to cutting costs, or contract negotiations, or because of some other reason – they don’t let us know these things. Peck was originally brought in for a short-term return, so it was great when they decided to keep him around longer and give him story. We wish it had lasted longer! Perhaps one day they’ll bring him back. As they always say, you’re never really dead in the soaps.
We had a very nice, long chat. I hope you enjoy it! There are also quite a few other questions that I didn’t have time to ask, but he kindly answered them via email.
TRANSCRIPT (not finished proofreading this yet)
Suzanne: So it’s great to see you.
JEP: Thank you, Suzanne. It’s a pleasure to be on with you today and I, I appreciate you reaching out to do [this].
Suzanne: Oh, yeah. Well, first off, let me get something out of the way that I’m sure all your fans are asking. Do you know why “Young and the Restless” decided to kill off Cole?
JEP: Oh, wow. That’s, uh. Excuse me. Um, that’s a really good question. Um, well first, Suzanne, it, it, it took me by surprise.
Suzanne: Right?
JEP: Obviously when Cole– (thank you, son) when Cole got sick, or started with the cough, my first thought was, “he’s gonna have this cough. He’s gonna get sick. He might get really sick ’cause it’s lingering for a long time.” I know the fans, fans, viewers, were very, keen to, Hey, we’ve seen this before. I think they’re gonna write this character off. me, on the other hand, I, I really had a lot of faith, that, um, it was working well for Cole and I. Over at the show, I really felt like, it was starting to really click with, Amelia Heinle, who plays Victoria, and the relationship with Claire. I just thought there was a really nice family dynamic that may have been slightly a different tone than some of the other family. Relationships. I just felt like we, we, we had a certain unique uniqueness to us.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: And I felt like, all of the goods were there, if you will, all of the history, right….three, you know, good actors, lots of history, lots of stuff to work with. So I felt like this was gonna be something that they were going to utilize to, move Cole into the tack house, which. It seemed as though we were going in that direction.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: And then, um, Victoria would nurse Cole back to health and that would, that would quickly speed up their relationship.
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: So they could take us to a different place in their relationship.
Suzanne: Yeah.
JEP: And possibly even, you know, remarry, that sort of thing.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: So, uh. Actually that was not the intent and it never really was the intent. That was me, the wishful actor thinking, Hey, this is working. Yeah, for what it really was. Josh Griffin, our executive producer, head writer, he had given me a call and he was so, so kind and gracious and, and and just, just really a very, very heartfelt conversation that we had. And he says, you know, J. Eddie, we only intended on bringing you back for a couple of days. You know, we saw you at the 50th and everybody got to talk and said, Wow, J. Eddie, you look great.
Suzanne: Gee.
JEP: It was a lot of chatter. And, and the fans have wanted Cole to come back for some time and, you know, due to the 50th, they brought a lot of people back for cameos and things. So I looked as though, Hey, we’re gonna stay back for a couple of days. This might be interesting and fun.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: And, um. Then he said, but we liked you. You know, we like the dynamic with you and Amelia and Haley. And he said, and we just really liked you. He said, I just, I love what you did and I just continued to write for you. So, and, and so really, um, everything beyond that two days, Suzanne was really a gift. And something, I’m very, very grateful for. And, it’s been really, really nice, you know, at this time in my life to be able to go back and play the role that I love so much. And, so I’m very, very grateful for that. And he did his thing. I think, you know, Josh says, we gotta kill Cole, to take Victoria and Claire where we need them to go.
Suzanne: Ah.
JEP: So I don’t know exactly what that means.
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: But I do believe that there’s obviously gonna be a big story, you know, a big setup for those characters. And, and Cole was kind of the sacrificial lamb, I guess, if you will, to propel those characters emotionally, you know, where [it] can take them, so…
Suzanne: Yeah.
JEP: They’ll do their ride, and I wish that was along for it, but, you know, yeah. Again, I’m grateful for the 20 months that I did get.
Suzanne: Well, even though they did kill him off, they could bring him back because it’s a soap and anything’s possible, right?
JEP: Yeah, yeah, yeah. There’s been, there’s been a lot of chatter , even when, you know, it was first learned, over at the show, I had at least half the directors come to me and say, “Ah, you’ll be back,” but who knows? You know what I mean? Who knows? I mean, that’s fine. I mean, listen, I, I certainly can’t guess any of this stuff.
Suzanne: Yeah.
JEP: And so, yeah, who knows.You know, I mean, Josh is very, very creative. If he ever woke up in the middle of the night, says, you know what? And may, Hmm, that might’ve been a mistake. Let’s bring that cowboy back.
Suzanne: Yeah.
JEP: You know, so, yeah.
Suzanne: And I mean, I could say this because people say that about me, but you don’t look your age at all, so….
JEP: Oh, yeah. Thank you.
Suzanne: I mean, they can easily bring you back in 10 years. You’ll still look great.
JEP: Oh, well, I don’t know about that, but, um, you know, when I went back for the 50th, I made a big mistake, Suzanne, when I went back for the 50th, I was so anxious to take my wife, you know. We were really excited and whatnot, and she says, “You know what? You don’t want to take me. Take Austin” – my son, my oldest son, and really, Austin’s like, “Dad, I’d love to go. This might be my only chance to ever go with you, you know, for something like that. Sure. I’d love to go.” Well, Suzanne — and he’s not in the room so I can say this — My son is six foot seven, and better looking than [me] on my best day in life. So I take this guy that completely upstages me. I mean, if you can look all over the internet, and there’s all these pictures of him at the 50th, and he’s not an actor, you know, he’s kind of a, I hate to say “struggling musician”, but, you know, somewhat of a struggling musician and he is all over the place. ’cause simply because the people are like, my gosh, who is that six?
Suzanne: Is he the one that was wearing the mustache and beard in the picture you sent me?
JEP: Yeah.
Suzanne: Yeah. You know.
JEP: Oh yeah, yeah. That’s him.
Suzanne: He looked a little bit, and I can’t remember the actor’s name. Don um, Don… something… that used to play Brad on “Young and the Restless.”
Yes. He looks a lot like him. yeah. Yeah. He has a bit of, a bit of a bit of that, a bit of that, that, yeah. He has blackness in his black hair. Yeah, he is very dark. Yeah.
Suzanne: So tell us, um. How it came about. Let’s go back a little bit to 2023, when you returned to as Cole after 26 years.
Hard to believe it was 26 years. You see, I’m gonna interrupt you. Oh, doggie. Hi baby. Aww.
Suzanne: There’s your little baby
is a rescue that I’ve had eight months and I just adore him. He is such a sweet boy. I love him so much.
Suzanne: Boy, he’s so cute.
Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt, Chris.
No, that’s fine. You can always interrupt.
You’re just looking up at me. Daddy, you’re ignoring me. You’re not talking with me.
Suzanne: I put mine in the back room because she’ll bark. She might.
JEP: Oh yeah. Well, I’ve got, I’ve got a house full of dogs here. They must, I’m so sorry. Must than mine. You were asking, you were asking me a question. I’m so sorry.
Suzanne: No, that’s okay. How did it come about back in, 2023 when they asked to come on the show?
JEP: Oh, well, yeah, that’s a good question. Again, you know, Y&R had its 50th anniversary, and they had a special event.
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: And, uh. You know, I’d been off the show at that time. I was off the show about 23 and a half years.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: And they hadn’t seen me in a long time. Well, I shouldn’t say that. I mean, they, they have invited me back for anniversaries and things like that. They’ve been really nice to me over the years and always invited me back. But they hadn’t seen me at that in that time. I don’t know, maybe in about five years or something like that. So when I showed up and everything, my son and I, we went… my son’s very western… we went wearing our Western gear. Just, you know, let’s just, let’s kind of go, let’s just go being us, you know, I don’t have to dress looking all soapy. And, and I think it just kind brought more attention and just people went, “Well, who…? Oh hey, that’s J. Eddie. Oh, oh my gosh, that’s Jay Eddie.” And, you know, so a lot of the network people saw me and, uh, and this and that, and they kinda got the idea, “Wow, we ought to bring him back for the Blast From The Past event.”
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: So I got a call maybe a couple of months later, and YR was doing their very first Blast From The Past. And I’d asked Kathy Thomas, “Who else is doing the Blast From The Past?” She says, “Well, you’re the first one we called.” I said, “Oh, great. Okay.” So II did that. They brought back alumni from —
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: From B&B, “Young and the Restless”, and by far, I was the longest person to be off the show, so I really– I told my wife, I said, I don’t really know if I want to go to this Blast From The Past. She says, “Well, why?” I said, “It’s gonna be embarrassing,” I said, “because no one is gonna know who I am.” I’d been off the show almost 24 years at that point. And I said, “No one’s gonna know me. It’s gonna be embarrassing.” So Suzanne, when I showed up, thankfully it was amazing how many fans were our fans back in the nineties and were Cole fans back then. And I got a very, very unexpected reception.
Suzanne: Oh.
JEP: And um, so, uh. You know, um, I guess I didn’t know this, but what I was told by another producer is that before that even happened, Josh already said, I wanna bring J. Eddie Peck back for something. I’ve gotta figure out what it is, right? And then about, oh, a couple of days after this Blast From The Past, one of these soap predictors that we see on YouTube – that predicts what’s going on?
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: And a reputable one, said, “J. Eddie Peck is coming back to Young and Restless.” And whenever that announcement came out, my phone lit up.
Suzanne: Oh wow.
JEP: And I was like, “Oh my gosh. I hope Y&R doesn’t think that I’m announcing that I’m going back to Y&R.” I hope they don’t think I’m that guy.
Suzanne: Yeah.
JEP: And my phone just looks… I immediately get on my social media, and I said, “Hey, not going back to Young and Restless. I don’t know what the rumor is. I don’t know why anyone would say that. I’m not in talks with Y&R. I’m not going back to Y&R. Not happening, but thanks for asking. You know, thanks for inquiring” and so, about two weeks after that… So, I would say it was around, August 18th or 20th, I get a call. I’m sitting on my patio having a coffee. My son was visiting again, so I’m having a coffee with my wife and my son. And it’s Greg Salmon, casting director of Y&R. He says, J. Eddie. this is Greg. Are you getting my messages?” I said, “No, Greg. What messages?” He said, “Well, I’ve been emailing you, and I’ve left you messages. And he says, “Listen. We wanna bring you back to the show.” He said, “Are you interested?” And I just start laughing. I’m laughing and I, and I’m shedding tears. So I said, “Oh, great. This is hilarious.” I said, “This rumor got out a couple of weeks ago .”I said, “I guess it’s true! I’m the last one to know.” See, here I am, Suzanne. I’m the last one to know that I’m going back to the show, and I’m the last one to know, “Hey, stupid, you’re fired.”
Suzanne: That’s funny. But anyway, there are so many rumors out there, all the time about…
JEP: Yeah.
Suzanne: About soaps and actors.
JEP: Yeah.
Suzanne: Yeah, there are. I mean, I always tell people, Don’t believe anything at all until you see it in a verified publication because you just don’t know, and it’s just speculation most of the time. Even if it turns out to be true, it’s not necessarily true [when you read it] and you shouldn’t depend on it and spread it.
JEP: Well. It’s like you said, oftentimes it’s speculative.
Suzanne: Well, yeah.
JEP: You know, maybe, maybe something is a rumor or a thought, but then, you know, once it gets out there, people may think it’s gonna happen, right?
Suzanne: Yeah, exactly. So, well, so you had a great deal of chemistry with everyone on the show, particularly Haley, who played Cole’s daughter —
JEP: Thank you.
Suzanne: Claire, and Amelia, who plays Victoria, the love of Cole’s life.
JEP: Yes.
Suzanne: Can you talk about working with them?
JEP: Oh, well. Yeah. I will start off with Haley. Haley is — I think she’s about the age or so — she’s somewhere between my two adult sons, and… I don’t have a daughter, but, I mean, for maybe the second day that I worked with her, I just really felt a connection with her in a fatherly way. And I think what that is, is she’s such a special young lady, you know? She’s a mother, a wife. She’s classy, she’s unique. I feel like Haley has a maturity and, almost like a throwback to another era.
Suzanne: Hmm.
JEP: She’s not your typical young lady of her age. She’s not even your typical actor of her age. You know, she has a really wonderful, wonderful quality about her, and I just found it endearing, and I just connected in…when I say connected, I mean, Cole just really connected with what she was giving me [as an actor], and um, I’ve always had in my mind the history of where Cole was, what’s happened in his life, his loves… His disappointments. I knew that Cole never had children over the years. I knew that Cole never had a deep, meaningful relationship when he was gone all of that time. That was truly always the way that I had seen him in my mind. And it was uncanny how the writers picked up on his history exactly the way that I had seen it. And, you know, because they could have easily said, well, Cole was married and divorced and he lost his wife.
Suzanne: Right?
JEP: And, you know, all different kinds of things. I knew that he had never had a deep, meaningful relationship. And, they actually brought that up in a conversation between Cole and Victoria one day. She had said to him, “Well, Cole, you’re a, a professor at Oxford and you must have run across and had a number of relationships and things of that nature,” and he said, “Well, I had a trist or two, but I never really had any deep, meaningful relationship, and that truly is the way I always saw this character. I always saw him… even when he was married to Ashley, [whom] he cared a great deal for, but his true love was always Victoria. And that’s why he went, you know, he went outside his marriage…He, I just, I think so much was just the way I played him, the way that Bill wrote him, that even back in the day, I was always trying to steer it back to Victoria, even when I was working with Ashley.
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: And, and I really enjoyed working with those actresses, Shari and Eileen… I loved it, and I loved the Ashley character. Wonderful character.
Suzanne: Right. She’s great.
JEP: Yeah. But, um. I felt Cole’s heart was always with Victoria. And so when Amelia took over that role in, [2004], just prior to that, She was on “All My Children” [as Mia].
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: And I had several different love interests on “All My Children” for the time that I was there.
Suzanne: Sure.
JEP: But Amelia was my last one. And Cole, or excuse me –Jake and Mia actually got engaged right just before I left the show, so there was a connection there, there was a night, there was a friendship there that Amelia and I had, and I thought we had a really nice chemistry on that show, just from absolutely, from the get go.There was just some nice chemistry there.
Suzanne: So yeah, I watched that one too, so I–
JEP: Oh, good. Oh, wonderful. Well, thank you for even remembering. It was so long ago.
Suzanne: It was a long time ago.
JEP: Yeah, it was, it was long ago. But, but anyway, um, yeah, I absolutely believed that all the goods were there. You know, if they had chose to go more that direction and for a longer period of time, I just really believed that Cole’s relationship with Claire, and the chemistry, that the three of us had, which is, eh, it was fun.
Suzanne: It was, it was unique, I think, and I think it worked.
JEP: The other thing too, Suzanne, is that I hate to use the word designed, but I guess you could say that I saw a path for Cole. Um, his personality, his history, his love and devotion. He’s a hopeless romantic. He has a sense of humor. He’s a strong male who will fight for the deaths for his family and anything he believes in. I knew I had the fire in the belly, if you will, as an actor, just like I do as a father and a husband in real life. And, I knew that I could make that character very, very interesting if I had the opportunity to do more with it. And especially at this time in my life. You know, this time in my life, I’m a very different person
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: Than I what I was 20, 25 years ago. You know, fatherhood and life and ups and downs, and reinventing myself – as I had to do when I left acting. All these kinds of things, you know, have deepened me as a person, and it’s kind of shaped me into a different person than who I was in the 1990s.
Suzanne: Well, that’s, I guess that’s the best of what happens to us as we get older and mature and we–
JEP: Yeah. Fully become better people.
Suzanne: Absolutely.
JEP: Absolutely. And I think that’s what makes it so interesting, you know, for all actors, as we all get, get older, I think…motherhood, for the ladies that I’ve worked with, whether it was Amelia, whether it was Heather Tom, you know. I know, as Heather, whom I worked all those years ago, she was just this young– this young lady with this tremendous amount of talent. I know that she, she’s a different person today. You know, she’s had a very long, successful marriage and she’s a mother and all the years of experience and her close relationship with her mother and things that she had, and all these things really shape all of us. And I think that’s what makes daytime such a dynamic medium is that we see these characters grow and evolve from their youth and through their trials and tribulations to hopefully [become] seasoned, mature, interesting people.
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: And it’s not just the characters, it’s us, too, [and] that’s what makes the storylines so much more compelling and more interesting in this medium than anywhere else. And that is, that we see and experience the life that these characters go through and how that changes them.
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: And generally for the better character.
Suzanne: The character development is great… has always been great on soaps. Anyway, is there anything else that you’d like to tell us about working on the show, and if you have any funny behind-the-scenes stories?
JEP: Well, let me think here. Funny and behind-the-scenes…
Suzanne: You know, anything you’re allowed to tell.
JEP: Yeah, exactly. Well, you know, at Y&R, I think I grew up a lot. By the time I got toY&R, even in the nineties, you know. When I was on Days of our Lives, we were stinkers, you know, and especially me. I had to be one of the worst. (Bye honey. My wife’s checking out. ) I had to be one of the worst when it came to just doing stupid pranks, stupid stuff. But my fellow actor buddies on the show. Oh gosh. I hate to even tell some of the stuff I used to do. But anyway, yeah, over there, there was a lot of, you know, we were just young, younger guys and, just a lot of crazy stuff. I know we did have showers in our dressing rooms, and, of course, why not? We always had a shower in the dressing room, so if you choose to shower at work and shower in the dressing room… “All My Children”, we did not have showers in a dressing room.
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: And at days, most of the time I was there.. actually, I was one of the few people who did have a shower in a dressing room because I had Redd Foxx’s dressing room, which meant you had to walk through a whole ‘nother empty stage to get to the main stage. And a lot of the actors went, “Mike, I don’t wanna walk that far. Just, just gimme one of the close rooms.” And I was like, “Wait a minute. That room’s got a shower, and it’s got a steam. I take it, I want that room. I don’t care how far I gotta walk.” But before I took that room, Suzanne, there was a downstairs area that– most of us guys were downstairs. Most all of us were. And we’d have to shower, you know, down in the community shower and whatnot. You didn’t have a separate stall, but, and I think there was just two showers. There might have been one. I think there was two. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There was two. And, so when, you know, Michael Easton or Robert Mailhouse, when they would be in their showering or whatever, man, I’d, I’d sneak down there. I’d sneak in there and I’d grab, they’d have freezing cold water. I could get that outside in the hallway, not the tap, but really, really cold stuff. They’d be in their shower and I’d be dousing them with the cold water — just mean, stupid stuff, you know?
Suzanne: Yeah, yeah.
JEP: And then a lot of other funny stuff that I, I really can’t tell, but, we were always cutting up and doing things. What it was at Y&R, you know, for whatever reason, it wasn’t as juvenile as what I was allowed to be on some of the other shows. Again, I was more mature, so where by the time I went to “All My Children,” I wasn’t doing any shenanigans. And then, you know, after I left Days and went to Y&R, there were no shenanigans. I’m trying to think of, if the other folks did stuff.
Suzanne: You know, I heard that the actor that plays Nick, um…
JEP: Oh yeah. He is a practical joke. Nick is, yeah, Josh is, Josh is hilarious. He’s, he’s very, very funny. He’s, he’s a very special individual. Um, I just have so much respect for Josh because I remember when he came in his very first day, and he, Josh, was originally from Oklahoma, and he had been living out in the LA area in the valley for a short amount of time.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: And, going to school, playing basketball for our junior college. (And I got Pilgrim saying, he’s just handing me his ball, handing me his bosses. Come on, dad’s ball time.) Hopefully he’ll stop. But anyway, I remember when Josh first came in and. I wanna say he was 19, I think he was 19 years old. He was pretty young. You know, those first scenes, I was doing those first scenes with him. He [played] Victoria’s brother…But I was gonna say, he’s just a great guy with a tremendous sense of humor. All of the younger guys on the show are all super special. I mean, they’re just, they’re great guys. They’re great individuals. Um. Pots of gold. Everybody’s a just a really good person. Everybody’s so solid. I’ve said to my sons, when I look at my cast members, these are people that are fortunate, but these aren’t people who got lucky.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: These are people that are so special and unique. [They] have a multitude of gifts and qualities, which put them in a position to where they could win that special job. And then when they won that special job, they grew from there and they improved and they were professional and they’ve hung on, you know, to those roles. And trust me when I tell you that these are not just lucky people who happen to land on a soap. I think that. Sometimes there were those people maybe 30 years ago or more. But, I really think, especially with our cast over at Y&R
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: These are really talented, deserving, people that have these coveted jobs and roles and characters that we love. You know, they’re wonderful. I’m a huge fan of my cast on that show, as it was every cast that I ever worked with.
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: They’re just really special talented people that don’t take anything for granted. They’re professional. People know their stuff. They show up prepared. There’s no slacking, they’re good. I have seen people that, I don’t wanna say slacked off, but maybe weren’t as professional prepared, you know?
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: And that’s not slacking. It’s just like some people just have a problem getting that material down, Suzanne. It’s hard to deliver it. Well, and the people I work with are a lot better at it than I am. They’re really, really good at it. And they’re tremendous and, anyway, but funny stories…Let’s see. Do I have anything? I’m sure you know that there are, um. But I can’t. I can’t.
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: No, they cannot for anything. You know, I will say that, in the nineties and everything, um, I used to socialize a lot more with a cast.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: And, you know, we’d go to the Emmy’s and we’d all go hang out and go out to dinner and go out dancing and all those kinda things and–
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: And even over the show, you know, I used to socialize a lot with the cast and, and maybe, I don’t know what it is now, but… This time coming back? I’m friends, but I never really socialized, you know? Probably ’cause most of the people who do the socializing, you know, were younger than me, and I’m that guy that would finish up with work and, say, “Oh my gosh, I’d love to go do this. Or I’d love to go meet a friend for a while. I gotta race home…” Because I was always rescuing dogs, you know?
Suzanne: Right, right.
JEP: Oh, I can’t leave my wife with. 15 million dogs at the house. I gotta, I gotta rush home.
Suzanne: And how long have you been doing the dog fostering and rescue?
JEP: Um, well, my mother had an animal rescue, when I grew up as a boy in Joplin, Missouri. So, she kind of initiated me with that when I would get home from school. If I didn’t have sports after school, then I was, I was racing home to bottle-feed, to clean up after the puppies, or clean the kennels or do something, or, she’d say,” Hey, I need you to go with me. We’re gonna go pick up a doll.”
Suzanne: She trained you and all that.
JEP: She trained me with all that. Exactly. That’s good. But what she really did was that she opened my eyes to the plight of the dogs. You know, we have the same issues today that we did in the 1970s, which is spaying and neutering, educating – get getting people to spay and neuter their animals. We have overpopulation.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm
We have dogs that are going in the shelter situations, and the shelters are overrun all over the country. And obviously, a lot of shelters euthanize, and that’s what we have out here inL.A. You know, most euthanize. And what I try to do is I try to help find the homes, and place, and bring attention to the dogs that are on the 72-hour list. So, you know. My time is limited.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm.
JEP: And there’s a lot of things that I want to do at this time in my life. I’m 66 years old, and I wanna make the best use of my time while I have my health and things. But to be honest with you, Suzanne, my wife and I are up every single night, following the plight of these dogs. We get alerts and things of the situations and dogs that are critical. We just can’t– you can’t turn your back on it.
Suzanne: Right.
JEP: You know, it’s just not something that I can just walk away from and, oh gee, that’s a bad problem. And I can’t, and I just feel compelled to try to, to do more, to try to help these animals, to educate people more, too. So I am trying to, more so than, “Hey, I’m gonna try to place and find a home for this particular dog,” which I do a lot of, but I’ve exhausted my Rolodex. I’ve exhausted every friend, family [member] — people see me coming, you know, on area over area. So place the dog, can we help it? Can we keep it? Can we foster it? You know?
Suzanne: Yeah.
JEP: So what I’m trying to do now is, I’m trying to do fundraising. I’m trying to expand more on the education of people throughout my entire area and things. We have a lot of folks in Los Angeles that are from all over the world, and folks from all over the world have different cultures, and different cultures that the way in which they view spaying and neutering and things of that nature. So there’s an educational campaign, that I really think that we need to do. And I’m working with that. I’m working with raising money, particularly for my shelter here in Santa Clarita. I did a fundraiser here about four months ago that, thankfully, I had some really nice people that did the heavy lifting.
Suzanne: Good
JEP: That really did the most of the work for me. But we were able to raise some good money. Then I’m involved with another, philanthropist-type of person here, within my community. And we have a big gala coming up on November 1st.
Suzanne: Well, thank you so much.
Here are the rest of the questions that we didn’t have time for:
Suzanne: How did you get into the Airbnb business? Have you ever booked any soaps fans (either inadvertently or on purpose)?
JEP: I had remodel and resale experience. One son is in commercial real estate, the other has history in residential. At the beginning of the pandemic we set our sights on finding the worst house in a nice neighborhood with a great location. Within a few weeks, we found it: a corner lot with a city view.
My son, Austin, created the interior and exterior design, and I got to work—taking the house down to the studs and rebuilding what we call a rustic mid/century farmhouse—remodeled inside and out, including re-plastering the pool and landscape.
The house is very quiet and private. A nice alternative for those looking to avoid hustle and bustle of Los Angeles while being just 7 minutes from Six Flags Magic Mountain, 25 minutes to Universal Studios and an hour from Disneyland during low traffic times.
Last year the house was booked 92% of the time, and we’ve met some wonderful people from every continent in the world. To your question: Yes, I have been recognized a few times. A few months ago I dropped-in to clean the pool. The female guest walked outside, I waved “hello,” she took a long pause then ran back inside the house. After a few minutes a man comes out and shyly says: “I know this is crazy, but my wife is convinced you’re the actor, JEP on the Young and the Restless?” I think even he was surprised when I said, “Yes.” I was pretty sure they were both wondering why an actor on her show is cleaning the pool? I said, “It’s a family biz and we are very hands on. I’m the guy who fixes everything and does the pools.”
The B&B business takes a lot of work. When something breaks—and it will, it’s gotta be remedied right away. There are days when I rather be acting on B&B than be the AirBnB biz. But this is about doing business ventures with my sons, and nothing is more rewarding than that.
Suzanne: I saw a video on your Instagram where you said something like, you would like to go to another soap. Are you going out for auditions in general?
JEP: I think what I mentioned was I’d love to work on another soap. It’s hard to beat the daytime medium when it comes to finding roles with depth. So yes, I love to work on any of the daytime shows. Whether it be B&B, GH, reprising my role of Hawk Hawkins on Days, or creating a new one on “Beyond The Gates.”
Suzanne: Some questions from fans:
Monica wants to know what your favorite storyline on Y&R was?
JEP: Without a doubt, my favorite storyline on the “Young and the Restless” was the early days when Cole and Victoria discovered one another, fell in love, only to marry and find out that they were half brother and sister.
I got a call from Bill Bell one night telling me that he loved the chemistry between Heather Tom and I (when Cole and Vic first met in the tack house where Cole lived). I said, “Oh that’s great. I really enjoy working with her, but we are brother and sister.” Bill followed with: “Hey, you don’t worry about that. That’s my job. You just keep doing what you’re doing—I like you two together. You’re the first actor to have chemistry with the kid, and I’ll figure out how to make it work.” Of course, we know the rest of the story, Victor exhumed Cole’s mother (Eve) from the grave, did a DNA test, and as it turned out, Cole was NOT Victor’s so,n and he and Victoria were reunited. That made much of the audience happy and I was glad to be working with such a brilliant young lady. Heather’s depth was far beyond her years, and I loved working with her. Bill Bell’s stories through the 90s were wonderful, and I was honored to be a part of that era.
Suzanne: Eva writes Y&R recaps for our site. She asks if you have any kind of message for the fans that miss you on Y&R?
JEP: When I got the call from Josh Griffith that he was going to kill Cole, it caught me by such surprise that all I could think about was how grateful I was to have the opportunity to come back and play the role for 20 months. And now, after some time has gone by, it’s really hit me on how much I enjoyed Cole’s return and sad to see it end in his death. Reading viewer comments—some of which are fans from the 90s—touched me deeply. It made me feel I’d left some kind of mark on the show, and at the end of the day, that’s what all of us actors are hoping for.
I think I had over 7,000 comments for two short posts that I put out on my departure. I announced I was going to read every one of them, and I did. It took me about 3 1/2 weeks to read them all. So my message to the fans : Thanks so much for your kind, heartfelt words of support that have helped me feel a little better about Cole’s demise. Wishing you and your family the very best! ❤️
Suzanne: Janet asks, “Where does your next adventure take you to?”
JEP: I’m not sure…and it’s kind of exciting not knowing, really, what lies ahead. I do know that whether it’s on another show, a Lifetime movie, or my own YouTube channel—which I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, I promise I will bring heart, depth and worthy content that our Y&R viewers deserve.
Suzanne: Chris wants to know where you would have liked to see the dynamic of Claire, Victoria and Cole go in the future?
JEP: Hey Chris, thanks for your question. Yeah, I would have liked to have seen the story go exactly in the direction that me as the actor and Cole as the character were hoping and pushing for since Cole’s return to GC. Obviously, Cole’s first priority is the health and well-being of his daughter, Claire, followed by his unconditional support for helping Victoria reach whatever goals she was after in her life. As far as Cole, Victoria was the love of his life since leaving Genoa City 24 years earlier. He never forgot about his one true love and was never able to move on and find a fulfilling relationship. As Cole once told Victoria, “Yeah, sure, I had a tryst with a colleague every now and then, but nothing that ever went anywhere.” Cole’s wish was to remarry Victoria and become the family unit that he always wanted with his daughter, Claire.
Suzanne: Chris also asks, “If you have a dream job or role to play, what would that be?”
JEP: Chris, I became an actor because I wanted to tell stories. I wanted to play characters with depth, heart, and passion. Characters that were appealing, unpredictable, within stories that inspire people to hopefully become better people.
I also have a rather deep sense of humor. I like to bring some level of humor to all my characters . Unfortunately, this time around there wasn’t much room for humor, romance or courtship. The depth of Claire’s story, Aunt Jordan, and Victoria dealing with it all, left little opportunity for Cole’s personality to shine. If there was room, I would have brought it, and it would have been a lot harder for them to get rid of me, I can promise you that.
A veteran actor of eight television series; actor, producer, writer, director and host, J. Eddie Peck has both domestic and international appeal. Once known by millions of viewers around the world due to his thirteen-year stint in daytime television as Cole Howard on CBS’s number one daytime drama, The Young and the Restless, Hawk Hawkins on NBC’s Days of Our Lives, and as Dr. Jake Martin on ABC’s, All My Children. In addition, his starring roles on Dallas and Dynasty are still aired throughout the world. In fact, J. Eddie is one of the very few actors to have a front-burner storyline on two primetime series simultaneously.
Peck has also starred in fourteen films and several hit Movies-of-the-Week. One being the major release dance movie, Lambada, a Gene Siskel “top ten” rental pick-of-the- year. The film was an idea J. Eddie pitched and sold to the studio as a writer, and was later cast as the film’s lead. Peck also starred with the Olsen Twins in the lighthearted comedy, To Grandmother’s House We Go, one of ABCs most successful TV movies of the 90’s, and still a holiday classic today.
Eddie recurred as the world’s “second” smartest human in the role of scientist, Adam Baylin on ABC Family’s all-time highest rated series, KYLE XY. Originally hired for a two-episode guest star, the show opted to bring Peck’s character back from the dead enabling him to return in seventeen of the last 27 episodes.
Once voted by “Teen Magazine” as “TV’s Sexiest New Star,” JEP is one of a small few daytime male stars to shoot the cover of “TV Guide” magazine. He also appeared on eleven daytime covers within his first twelve months on The Young and the Restless, as well as over 75 National magazine covers throughout his daytime career.
While at CBS, the network approached the actor about an “at home special” featuring Peck and his family on their California horse ranch. Originally slated for daytime viewing, CBS later decided to air the show as a prime-time special. The show caught the attention of the network’s executives, and as a result J. Eddie was soon hired by the network, and approved by the pageant owner, Donald Trump, to host the Miss Teen USA, and later, the Miss USA, which proved to be the highest rated USA Pageant in CBS history.
Eddie has also been a guest on over 50-television talk shows, including The Today Show, GMA, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Good Day LA, Regis and Kathie Lee, and Donahue. The former disc jockey also enjoys holding the mic, having hosted for E-Entertainment’s Pure Soap and Along for the Ride with J. Eddie Peck, an equestrian lifestyle show which he created and executive produced. In addition, Peck served as guest correspondent for Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Crook and Chase, as well as a celebrity panelist on 22 episodes of the syndicated game show, Match Game.
Eddie’s created scripted and unscripted programming as well. He’s sold or optioned several feature scripts; a one-hour scripted drama, as well as a one-hour pilot for Animal Planet. Currently, he is in development with “Flippin’ The Bird,” a reality pilot featuring an interesting cast of characters and their vintage-aircraft restoration business out of Ozark, Missouri. Also in 2023, J. Eddie co-stars in Bright Ideas, a Ronn Head-directed, independent comedy currently hitting film festivals and expecting a distribution deal within the year.
From the executive level in entertainment, J. Eddie was brought on by TAMD Multimedia Corporation from 2009 to 2010 as Senior VP of Acquisitions. Mr. Peck expanded his executive level work outside the studio realm when he was hired from 2012 to 2016 as the CEO & President of the national financial services company, AmeriPrem LLC. In addition, he served a five-year term as consultant and national spokesman for the healthcare company, AmeriPlan USA.
Outside of entertainment J. Eddie’s lifelong passion for building and remodeling to restoring old cars and trucks, J.Eddie is usually juggling several projects at a time. Most of all, he enjoys doing all of the above with his wife, Sonya, and their two adult sons. The kid who booked a national commercial within his first 24 hours in Hollywood because they liked his “Ozark Twang,” is still the same guy today — only a little less accent, and a few more credits.
In October of 2023, J. Eddie Peck reprised his role of Cole Howard on CBS’s number one daytime drama, The Young and the Restless. Cole’s managed to rekindle his relationship with his former wife and long-time love interest, Victoria Newman, played by Amelia Heinle.
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, the #1 daytime drama for over 30 consecutive years, is a continuing drama revolving around the loves, enmities, hopes and fears of the residents of the fictional Midwestern town of Genoa City.
The series, currently in its 52nd season, airs on the CBS Television Network, and is available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.
Interview with Rory Alexander & Sadhbh Malin of “Outlander: Blood Of My Blood” on Starz by Suzanne 8/25/25
It was fun to speak with these two young actors. This was a roundtable, so there were 5-6 other press members asking questions, besides myself. They gave us about a half an hour, so everyone had a chance to ask at least one question, and some got two questions. I came in a little late due to a previous engagement, but I didn’t miss too much. I hope you enjoy this transcript below. We weren’t allowed to use video on this one. They were delightful, though, I have to say. They clearly enjoy their work.
Tony: Great to talk to you both. Rory again it was pleasure last time.
Rory: Nice to see you, Tony.
Tony: Yeah, I gotta say. Let’s go back to the first episode, because that we can talk about, because it’s already aired. For example, there was a scene right after the victorious boar hunt, and you’re washing your hands, and she comes on over. Jocasta comes over. So, talk about playing that scene, because I saw a little bit of a spark there. Maybe I’m wrong. We’ll start with the ladies, of course.
Sadhbh: Yeah, you’re definitely not wrong. There’s definitely a little spark there. I don’t know. I think it’s in that moment, so early on in their very long relationship, as we know. I think it’s just fancying and seeing something in someone that you really, really like, and it’s a crush and it’s young. I think he’s really kind to her, and I think it’s a really beautiful moment for Jocasta, who is not in her most ideal situation right now. We’ve seen her being quite stern, and there’s feelings of being misunderstood, but we see her in this light, beautiful, playful moment with a man that she’s crushing on. So, yeah, I think it’s young and relatable.
Tony: What do you say, Rory? You kind of glanced in another direction slightly there in that scene, if I recall.
Rory: Yeah, I definitely clock that there is chemistry between us. He is pretty focused on Ellen, but also, I think he’s on top of the world. He’s just been victorious in a boar hunt, and he kind of feels like things are going his way, and then Jocasta reads his eyes so quickly and kind of embarrasses him and goes, “I’m going to talk to my sister for you.” And I think he sort of suddenly spots that she does have this likeness and that they can actually have quite a serious conversation, but in quite a sort of gentle, playful way. And I mean, he’s only human. He is a young man, and the lovely Jocasta is in front of him.
So, although he has these feelings for Ellen, he’s like, oh, wow. I also I think it’s important that he does give her a compliment. That feeling of being overlooked is a really hard one, and Murtagh definitely feels that in his life and with his set up as well. So, the opportunity to be able to say to someone, “I see you,” is very special, and it’s a really good place for them to start, I think.
Joe: Hi, guys. Thanks for chatting with us today. People are different when they get older from their younger selves, right? I’m not the same guy today as I was 10 years ago, and 10 years ago, I wasn’t the same guy that I was 10 years before that.
You’re both playing characters that are established already in the Outlander universe. What’s the challenge of playing these new characters, playing these characters that people already know, but playing younger versions that they don’t know? Like Murtagh, for example. The younger Murtagh is more hopeful, less hopeful than he becomes later. What’s the challenge of taking little moments, though, of these actors’ performances from the original Outlander series and kind of saying, like, well, “I’m still that guy; part me is still there, but I’m creating a new version of this character or a younger version of this character.” Talk about that challenge.
Sadhbh: Yeah. Well, I guess, I mean, we all kind of, I think, spoke about this the whole way through filming. It wasn’t something that you were really able to obsess over, and like, I guess, for me, it was about finding the essence of of Jocasta and like small things like voice. Because I do think the way someone starts off their life as a baby and, you know, as a young person and the way they end, there’s often something really in their essence that’s very similar. So, for me, like the essence was quite important. Then, also like remembering how much Jocasta goes through in her life and all of those experiences are what make her the version that we meet in Outlander. So, I guess trusting that she’s going through all of those things episode by episode that are going to turn her into who she becomes. So, yeah, I guess trusting in that and trusting that, if that makes sense.
Rory: Yeah, I totally agree with that. You can’t play the character like you’ve been through those experiences, and that’s kind of the joy of getting to do it is you go, “Well, we are on one side of the veil, and then everyone has already seen on the other.” And there’re little things like, you know, Sadhbh’s and my like kind of chemistry on screen might be different to theirs. But the same thing is true, which is that they have an important and deep connection, and I don’t think there are certain organic things that you can just mimic. Otherwise, you fall into the realm of kind of being inauthentic. And also, there are similarities that come through just by dint of being in the same universe. You know, it’s the same family members and like they’re fighting the same – well, they’re not the same wars, but, you know, figuratively the same wars. So much of the similarities are kind of given to you by the world already, which is really, really useful.
Riju: So, both of your characters are kind of, I mean, if not for Ellen, we did mention that there was a spark between both of your characters. So, if not for Ellen, do you think that Jocasta and Murtagh would have made a good couple?
Sadhbh: I think in the world, if we weren’t in the world that they’re in potentially, but I think there’s so many reasons going against them. And Jocasta is married, and it was arranged for her. Yeah, I think there’s a lot of reasons bigger than them as to why they couldn’t, but I think in a simpler world, there’s definitely a spark there that could have been excavated.
Rory: Yeah, I mean, Murtagh doesn’t really have control of his life necessarily, because of his family ties and things and his kind of status and position. But yeah, you kind of hope that if you took away all the other elements, just at the core, they definitely have a spark in the chemistry. Yeah, it’s good. It’s like, it’s good writing, but it’s always sad that you don’t get to kind of do more of it. There is definitely something good to mine here. I guess that’s where the tension comes in.
John: Well, first off, you guys are doing amazing work this season. This episode, especially, there’s just so much power that comes from what you both go through when it comes to this longing for love. I’m just curious, as actors, how you found the essence of those emotions, because it felt so raw and so real.
Sadhbh: Yes. Well, I mean, together, I guess, trusting in each other and trusting in the writing. And I think what they go through is really real and relatable, and I think they go through like a very imperfect or the beginnings of a very imperfect love story. I think we all, anyone who’s human, knows kind of what that feels like. So, I guess, yeah, trusting in each other, and we’re friends, so I’m trusting in that too.
Rory: Yeah, trust is the key word. I think you can do as much work as you like, sort of answering all the questions and thinking about the context and the emotional history and how they’ve got to these places and what’s causing them to feel this way, and then you kind of just have to sit in a tent opposite Sadhbh and do the scene, and, you know, you’re not thinking about any of that stuff. You’re just there, and somehow that’s kind of all become ingrained in you. Then, you just go, “What happens if you if you touch my hand? How am I going to touch it back?” And it just happens when you’re doing it, because, yeah, you can’t kind of logistically plan emotions. You just kind of have to hope that something feels right as you’re doing it. Yeah, I think, because of our relationship and how Emer directed it and the script, it just went, “yeah, this clicks.”
John: Thank you guys. Appreciate it. Amazing, amazing work.
Rory: Thank you, John.
Genevieve: First of all, I want to let you know that I am loving Blood of My Blood. First, I was really just looking forward to a return to the Outlander universe, but you have all blown me away with your acting and the storytelling, and I can only imagine the great pressure of taking on established characters brought alive by other great characters, but you’re both handling your characters wonderfully, and I look forward to more of your versions of Murtagh and Jocasta. But my question is more about your acting, and it’s for both of you. What is the last thing you do, think, or say to yourself before you step on set to get into your characters?
Sadhbh: Very much the same.
Rory: Sometimes I’ll be like listening to music in my trailer to kind of get yourself into the right into the right headspace. Like some of like Bear’s music, who obviously does the music for the show. Sometimes it’s, yeah, listening to the Rolling Stones just to kind of get the right energy and feel for it. I don’t have like a line that I say to myself that like instantly makes me feel like Murtagh, I would say. And it’s hard, because sometimes you’re sat there having a coffee talking about what you did on the weekend, and they’re like, “Okay, and rolling,” and then you go, “Here we are,” which is maybe unprofessional. Maybe it means that we’re getting better at it. I don’t know where the line is. Sadhbh, any thoughts?
Sadhbh: It really depends on the day, I think. Yeah. There’s sometimes like where I like really, really, I don’t know, try to get into like create the thoughts that Jocasta is having, like really try to create a stream. I don’t know. It’s so hard to talk about that without sounding like a little, without sounding like a proper actor. Yeah, different things. Music is good. But I find sometimes as well, like sometimes I think if you have a scene, you like really, really care about it, and I think every scene you care about. But if there’s a scene that really feels huge for your character, and you go in with all these like massive, complicated thoughts and feelings and you’re, you know, doing movement in your trailer, not that I’ve done that, but, you know, you’re going to that extreme. Then, you get to doing it, and you’ve made the process towards the scene so complicated that actually you’ve kind of brought a bit too much to it. I think sometimes like understanding and connecting and being present is actually enough. Like you’ve done the work, and you just have to trust that it’s in there when you show up on the day.
Rory: Sometimes, just before the camera rolls, I sort of talk to myself. Like I’ll say, “Oh, I’m in this tent, because I made a stupid mistake, and Brian’s not here.” And then you can kind of kind of gee yourself up into it. But I totally agree with Sadhbh. You can outthink yourself and try and become way too prepared.
Sadhbh: I also don’t do movement in my trailer, by the way. Sorry, I just really had to clear that up. I promise.
Rory: It’s like, have you’ve ever played Mario Kart? Like if you rev the engine at the start of the Mario Kart race, if you do it, then your car just goes, and you don’t get a good start. Like you can’t overcook it. That is my academic analogy for today.
Genevieve: Thank you both. Thank you.
Rory: Thank you.
Suzanne: So, I’ve had actors say before that they love when they get into the costume and have the props and everything, because it gets them into the mood, so to speak, gives them the headspace, helps them with the character. But leaving that aside, your costumes look kind of uncomfortable. Would you say they’re uncomfortable or do they try to make them comfortable for either one of you both?
Rory: They definitely try and make them comfortable, but that doesn’t make them comfortable, especially if they get wet, and then they start to smell, and then everyone smells like wet sheep. Then, you’re doing a scene where you’re meant to be staring at each other thinking like you’re the hottest girl in the world, but we both stink of sheep. But it is very useful, because I get wrapped up like a burrito every day in my kilt, and after you’ve done that, you don’t really feel like yourself anymore. You’re 90% of the way to getting into character. So, it is very helpful. But yeah, when you’re doing long days in triple tweed, you finish, and you feel like you’ve been carrying a military backpack for the day. It’s quite a lot.
Sadhbh: Yeah, they’re heavy. They’re really heavy. So, that dance scene in Belton was like, I don’t know how much my costume weighed that day, because it felt like I was carrying a few kilos on my dress. So, prancing up and down was funny.
Suzanne: So, women’s costumes aren’t any lighter?
Sadhbh: Say that again, sorry.
Suzanne: I said, the women’s costumes aren’t any lighter?
Sadhbh: No, I mean, I don’t have facts on this, but I feel like they’re probably heavier.
Rory: I think they could well be heavier. Everyone always looks forward to a scene where they’re like, “Oh, you’re not wearing a jacket in this,” and two weeks off, you’re like, “I can’t wait to do that scene,” and then on the day, it’ll be snowing, and you’re like, “I wish I was wearing a jacket.” You can’t get it right.
Sadhbh: I think the discomfort helps. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Rory: Yeah, I agree. My corset is very comfortable, though.
Sadhbh: Do you have a corset?… Humiliating me.
Tony: All right, guys. Well, you both have relatives in this series that you’re close to. One’s a sister, and I think, Rory, he’s more of a cousin to you, isn’t he? Isn’t that right?
Rory: Yeah, he’s my cousin.
Tony: So, what’s it like? Kind of describe the relationship and how you get along, or maybe at times you don’t get along. What’s it like? Ladies First, of course.
Sadhbh: Yeah. I think there’s, as we saw at the end, or at the start of episode five, I think there’s the beginnings of a change in Jocasta and Ellen’s relationship. But I think Ellen and Ellen’s position, Ellen’s relationship with her late father is a real outlet for Jocasta’s kind of frustration and discomfort in her own life. I think it’s much easier to get angry at your sister, but I think there’s the beginnings of a change, and I think their trip to Belton is a real step in the right direction. So, I have hope for them.
Rory: Yeah, similarly, I think, I hope, but knowing that there’s definitely going to be some family feuds along the way, which is nice, because it means it’s realistic. I have lots of siblings, and we’re not always having picnics. So, Murtagh is Brian’s cousin, but they really are best friends. So, sometimes it feels like there’s a family duty, and sometimes it feels like they’re actively making a choice. And that works both ways, where if you betray one another, it kind of cuts double deep. But also, if you’re looking out for each other, you’re not just doing it because you have to, you’re doing it because you choose to, because you can’t choose your family, but you can choose your friends. And in this instance, he kind of does both. So, yeah, it makes everything doubly powered, in both the positive and the negative.
Tony: That’s what it’s like being a sibling.
Rory: There it is.
Tony: All right, thank you guys.
Joe: Guys, the show’s a very physical show, right? A lot of it’s set outside. I’m sure, I don’t know what the weather’s like, if it’s too hot when you’re filming, or maybe too cold. You’ve got animals. I’m sure there’s a lot of mud and dirt and bugs. Ben, can you pick out maybe one of the most challenging or uncomfortable days or scenes that you experienced during season one of Outlander: Blood of My Blood? And on the opposite end of the spectrum, maybe what was a pleasant surprise? Something that you’re like, “You know what? If I wasn’t on this show, I never would have got to experience this moment or this day.”
Rory: Well, we’ve had some very uncomfortable ones on season two already, and we’ve only just started. So, that’s not a good sign. I had an incident with a horse, where I was stood on the mark for too long, and the horse, like the Mario Kart, actually, it got too charged up. And I was meant to just – it’s actually in the start of episode five. I come in, and I tell Brian, “Come on, let’s go to the festival,” but the horses galloped full speed into this courtyard, and there were 200 crew and a crane and all the lights and stuff. And I was riding over the cobbles. And as I came around, Jamie looked up, and apparently, I was just manically giggling. And Jamie was like, “Why is he going to this scene hysterical?” I was like, “I didn’t choose to do this. It was just my pure fear pouring out of me.” So yeah, that was a pretty sticky day, I think. I got it in the end, just.
Sadhbh: We had one day at the funeral scene at the very start of episode one. It was actually an amazing day. But we went, I think it was in Crieff in Scotland. We travelled up there to shoot the scene. They had this amazing place down, all these windy, windy roads. If you imagine the most rural, undiscovered Scottish land down. It was wild. It was amazing. It was so beautiful. So, many of us there and so many essays and crew. I have never seen rain like it in my life, and I’m from Ireland. It was rain that you could see. It was like bullets and just went and went and went all day. I just felt for, yeah, it was like bullets. But they did it, and it actually looks amazing. So, it was worth it.
Rory: I think that shot of you guys on the road, the really far, [it’s] unbelievable.
Sadhbh: Yeah, it’s fabulous. Fabulous shot.
Rory: Fabulous.
Sadhbh: Fabulous. But it was one of those days where everyone just laughed so much, and we had so much fun, and we were all together, but no one had any signal. We’re like, “God, if something happens, we’re doomed.”
Joe: Opposite end of the spectrum, what was a pleasant day or a pleasant moment, big surprise?
Rory: There were loads. Sometimes it’s just about doing a really, really good scene. Like our scene in episode five, I just loved doing, and I knew as soon as I read that script, I knew that that was the scene that was kind of make or break. Like if we did it badly, I would have thought about it for weeks. So, yeah, when things like that go well, or it felt like it went well, that’s like really special.
I think my first day filming was a scene that’s, I think it’s cut, because it probably wasn’t very good. And it was Brian and Murtagh by a fire before they go to the gathering. And I just couldn’t really get my head around the fact that it was just two people and a fire, and yet we were in the middle of the forest. The cranes had lit up the sky so that it was starlight and there was a fake moon. And Philippe, the chef, had been preparing an actual rabbit for us to cook over the fire, and he’d been seasoning it with like thyme and tarragon. Then, there was a van that was giving us hot gyoza in the middle of the night, and we’re literally in the middle of nowhere. And I just thought, they’ve just created an entire world just so that me and this lad can sit by this fire and say three lines, and it blew my mind.
Sadhbh: Yeah, that’s a really good one, I think. Yeah, I think there were so many days. I mean, there [were] amazing days where loads of us were in and sitting in the [unintelligible]. And it’s just like – not to sound, yeah. It was just like laughing, just so much laughing. So much laughing that you go home with a headache. I know probably every cast says this. Like,”Oh, we’re all genuinely friends,” but like, we’re genuinely really good friends, and it’s like so lovely and cool that you get to go to for like people that you genuinely think are class. But yeah, I think those days where there’s loads of people in, and it’s like you kind of get so giddy and hyper, and you go home, and your head hurts, and people are like, “Do you want to go for dinner?” And you’re like, “I have to go sit in a quiet room for the night, I think.” I think those days are really special, because you’re like, “This is work. This is mad.”
Rory: Big time. Doing the Belton festivals like that, I had the giggles at Belton for four days, and everyone was there, and then you kept forgetting that like certain characters don’t know other characters. So, I kept giggling with Conor who plays Ned. And I thought, actually, Murtagh doesn’t know who Ned is, but he just, you go, “Right, come on, professional. Be professional.” Yeah, I think we are very lucky, not to sound trite.
Sadhbh: Yeah.
Lauren: Yeah. Thank you all so much. Really appreciate your time.
“Outlander: Blood of my Blood” is a romantic saga that unfolds across time. From the battlefields of World War I to the rugged Highlands of 18th century Scotland, two fated couples must defy the forces that seek to tear them apart, intersecting in surprising and unforeseen ways.
After 11 years of epic romance on the groundbreaking series “Outlander,” the timeless tale continues — or rather begins — on the eve of an earlier Jacobite rebellion. A prequel to “Outlander,” the series explores the lives and relationships of two couples as they fight against all odds to be together: the parents of “Outlander’s” Claire Beauchamp — Julia Moriston (Hermione Corfield) and Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine); and those of “Outlander’s” Jamie Fraser — Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater) and Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy). In addition to Corfield, Irvine, Slater, and Roy, “Outlander: Blood of my Blood” stars Tony Curran as Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, Séamus McLean Ross as Colum MacKenzie, Sam Retford as Dougal MacKenzie, Rory Alexander as Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser, and Conor MacNeill as Ned Gowan.
The stand-alone prequel series features new cast, characters and stories welcoming viewers unfamiliar with the “Outlander” universe, while also providing origin stories of fan-favorite characters from early seasons of “Outlander,” and offering new perspectives that will change what viewers of the original series think they know.
New episodes of “Outlander: Blood of my Blood” will air weekly on Fridays at 8:00 pm ET/PT on STARZ in the U.S. and at 9:00 pm ET/PT in Canada.
Matthew B. Roberts serves as showrunner and executive producer on “Outlander: Blood of my Blood,” with Ronald D. Moore, Maril Davis and Jim Kohlberg also serving as executive producers. “Outlander: Blood of my Blood” is produced by Sony Pictures Television.
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About STARZ STARZ (NASDAQ: STRZ) is the leading premium entertainment destination for women and underrepresented audiences, and home to some of the most popular franchises and series on television. STARZ offers a robust programming mix for discerning adult audiences, including boundary-breaking originals and an expansive lineup of blockbuster movies, and is embodied by its brand positioning “We’re All Adults Here.” Complementary to any platform or service, STARZ is available across a wide range of digital OTT platforms and multichannel video distributors and is a bundling partner of choice. STARZ is powered by an industry-leading advanced technology, data analytics and digital infrastructure and the highly rated and first-of-its-kind STARZ app.
About Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) is one of the television industry’s leading content providers, producing, distributing and carrying programming worldwide in every genre and for every platform. In addition to managing one of the industry’s largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, SPT is home to a thriving global content business, operating a robust portfolio of wholly-owned and joint-venture production companies across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific, as well as linear and digital channels around the world. SPT is a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.
Rory Alexander is a British actor, also known for his work as a voice actor and content creator. His acting credits include roles in the TV series Alex Rider, Pistol, and Outlander: Blood of My Blood, and the film Inland. He is also a sim racing content creator on YouTube, known as EERIEISSSS.
Sadhbh Malin is a graduate from The Lir Academy’s BA Acting. Her play “In Heat” debuted at this year’s Dublin Fringe Festival, produced by Philomena Productions. Recent theatre credits include “Portia Coughlan” (Almeida Theatre); “Lights Out” (Four Rivers Theatre); “Steward of Christendom” (Gate Theatre, Dublin) and “Dubliners” (Corn Exchange). She made her feature film debut in Love Rosie with Lily Collins, Sam Claflin, Jaime Winston and Suki Waterhouse in 2014. She was recently seen in “Conversations with Friends,” the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel.
Interviews with Nicholas Colia and Everett Blunck of the movie “Griffin in Summer” by Suzanne 8/21/25
It was a lot of fun to chat with both of these guys. Nicholas is the brilliant mind behind the movie, and Everett is the talented young actor who stars as Griffin. It’s always great to enjoy a film and then pick the brains of the people in or behind it. They did not disappoint! Don’t forget to watch “Griffin in Summer,” which premieres August 29th in theaters everywhere.
Produced by: Juliet Berman, Bobby Hoppey, Camila Mendes, Rachel Matthews, Matthew Miller
Executive Produced by: Fred Bryant, Cullen Conly, Alex Tynion
Starring:
Everett Blunck (The Old Way)
Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”)
Owen Teague (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes)
Abby Ryder Fortson (Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret)
Kathryn Newton (Lisa Frankenstein)
RT: 90 minutes
SYNOPSIS
Griffin Nafly (Everett Blunck) is the most ambitious playwright of his generation. He’s also fourteen years old and living with his parents in a humdrum suburb while dreaming of moving to New York City. When his mom (Melanie Lynskey) hires a handsome 25-year-old handyman (Owen Teague), Griffin’s life and his new play take an inspired turn. Also starring Kathryn Newton and Abby Ryder Fortson.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
On March 13th 2020, I left Brooklyn, moved back home to Massachusetts for what I thought would be a couple weeks. I ended up staying for several months, and like a lot of people, found myself languishing. A year out of NYU Graduate Film School, I had come to the end of the road on various script collaborations I had spent the past couple years working on and was generally adrift. So, with seemingly nothing certain in the future, I decided to look backwards, digitize all our old home movies. Amongst the endless baby videos, the now colorless weddings of relatives since divorced, I found dust-covered VHS tapes of the various plays and films I had directed out of my parents’ basement as a teen but hadn’t really revisited since. Watching them back as an adult, I was finally at a place where I was able to see the unintentional absurdity of these productions.
While Griffin is not my exact autobiography (he loves writing new dramas, I preferred directing old comedies. Think Neil Simon), these shows were still all a bunch of young teens in bad wigs, with wrinkles drawn on their faces, sipping fake martinis as they discussed their divorces. I became obsessed with this notion of kids playing adult. And, more than anyone onstage, with the overzealous teen at the center of it all, choosing to spend the bulk of his pubescent years striving for theatrical professionalism whilst avoiding his actual impending adulthood. I combined these themes with a handyman crush element from a short film of mine, and the journey of Griffin in Summer began.
Five years later and we are finally releasing Griffin into the world, it’s taking on a life of its own. Part of this has been seeing the phrase “queer coming-of-age” attached to our film. While not inaccurate, it still feels surprising for me as this was never really something I thought about. Griffin’s queerness is not incidental, but it’s also not the source of the central conflict in the film. Ultimately, I just wanted to make a comedy that felt wildly personal and actually got made. In terms of what I hope audiences will take away from the film, I’d be pleased if they picked up on any of the more thematic elements described above. But truly, I just hope they fucking laugh. Thanks! – Nicholas Colia, 2025
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
NICHOLAS COLIA (Writer & Director)
Nicholas Colia is a Brooklyn based filmmaker. He received his MFA from NYU Graduate Film School where he was the recipient of the Martin Scorsese and Maurice Kanbar Scholarships. His award winning short films include Alex and the Handyman and Untitled Short Film About White People. His first feature, Griffin in Summer, premiered at the Tribeca Festival where it received awards for Best US Narrative Feature, Best Screenplay, and the Special Jury Mention for New Narrative Director. Since then, it’s played over twenty additional festivals across the US and Europe and was acquired for distribution by Vertical Entertainment. He was recently nominated for the Someone to Watch Award at the 2025 Independent Spirit Awards.
JULIET BERMAN (Producer)
Juliet Berman is a film and television producer with experience working in both the independent and studio/streamer space.
Since forming Spiral Stairs Entertainment in 2023, Berman has produced two features, a remake of the 1991 cult classic DON’T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER’S DEAD which was released wide theatrically in April 2024 before streaming on BET+ and independent comedy GRIFFIN IN SUMMER, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2024 where it won the Founders Award for Best US Narrative Feature as well as Best Screenplay and a jury mention for Best New Director. She is currently in post-production on DEAD LETTERS, an independent drama starring Margo Martindale, Cole Sprouse, Stephen Root and Yalitza Aparicio.
Previously, Berman was the Head of Production for Treehouse Pictures where she built a film and television slate from the ground up and managed an in-house fund for independent development/production financing. During her ten-year tenure at Treehouse, she brought in and oversaw a diverse range of films, including the Italian drama MEDITERRANEA written and directed by Jonas Carpignano which premiered at Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, Iraq war film SAND CASTLE, starring Nick Hoult and Henry Cavill and the romantic comedy SET IT UP starring Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch, which was developed based on her original idea and was Netflix’s top-performing movie in over 200 territories in the summer of 2018.
Prior to Treehouse, Berman worked at New Line Cinema, Summit Entertainment and Anonymous Content. She grew up in Los Angeles and graduated with honors from Columbia University.
BOBBY HOPPEY (Producer)
Known for championing talent, Bobby Hoppey has over a decade of experience in film and television development. Bobby’s executive experience includes indie finance shops Complementary Colors, Valparaiso Pictures, and Echo Lake Entertainment where he oversaw their respective in-house project slates. His most recent producorial credits include Neon’s PIG starring Nicolas Cage (streaming on Hulu), and the LGBTQ rom-com STRAIGHT UP (streaming on Netflix) – both Independent Spirit Award nominees. Bobby currently has a number of feature projects in development through his new production shingle, Coveside Films. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Corporate Communications from Elon University.
RACHEL MATTHEWS (Producer)
Rachel Matthews is an actress and producer, and a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is known for her work in Disney’s Frozen II, Universal’s Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U, Lionsgate’s The Duel, CW’s Batwoman, Hulu’s Looking for Alaska, Netflix’s Do Revenge, and Upgraded, which reached #1 worldwide on Prime Video. She is also the co-founder of Honor Role, a production company she launched with Camila Mendes. Honor Role produced Griffin in Summer, which won the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and will be premiering in theaters this summer and most recently produced Idiotka which premiered at SXSW and has been acquired by Utopia for a theatrical release.
CAMILA MENDES (Producer)
Camila Mendes is a Brazilian American actress and producer best known for her role as Veronica Lodge on the CW’s hit series Riverdale. In 2020, she appeared in the critically acclaimed sci-fi/comedy Palm Springs,followed by Netflix’s Do Revenge in 2022. After wrapping her seventh and final season of Riverdale in 2023, Mendes launched production company Honor Role alongside her fellow NYU Tisch graduate Rachel Matthews. Mendes and Matthews previously collaborated as executive producers on Upgraded, a romantic comedy in which they also starred. The film premiered on Amazon and remained the platform’s number one film globally for several weeks. Their latest project, Idiotka, which also stars Mendes, premiered at SXSW to glowing reviews and was acquired by Utopia for a theatrical release. Mendes also served as an executive producer on Amazon’s critically acclaimed Música, in which she starred opposite director Rudy Mancuso. Next year, she will star in Mattel’s live-action film, Masters of the Universe,portraying the character of Teela alongside Nicholas Galitzine, Alison Brie, and Idris Elba.
MATTHEW LEE MILLER (Producer)
Matthew Lee Miller is the co-founder and owner of Vanishing Angle, a critically acclaimed production company known for championing innovative independent films. A Spirit Award and Critics Choice Award-nominated producer, Matt has produced over seventeen feature films and has executive produced, co-produced, or line produced over ten others. His work also includes more than thirty short films, several digital series, and numerous music videos and commercials. His projects have premiered and won awards at top festivals worldwide, including Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Cannes, and Berlinale. Before shifting his focus to producing, Matt spent years working in production as an assistant director and set PA, gaining hands-on experience under some of the industry’s most respected filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Noah Baumbach, Gus Van Sant, Clint Eastwood, and Sean Penn. These experiences shaped his approach to fostering a collaborative and supportive production environment. Through Vanishing Angle, Matt continues to support emerging talent while maintaining long-term collaborations with filmmakers. Recent projects include Tina Romero’s Queens of the Dead which recently won the audience award at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, and The Edge Of Normal, starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Rupert Friend, which recently wrapped production. For more, visit www.vanishingangle.com.
FRED BRYANT (Executive Producer)
Fred is a Richmond, Virginia-based serial entrepreneur. Over the past decade, he has founded, built, run, and exited businesses across various industries. Before his private sector career, Fred served as a decorated officer in the United States Army, where he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). He currently oversees several companies he has founded and serves as a Board Member and advisor to several privately held businesses. Fred is a University of Richmond graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.
CULLEN CONLY (Executive Producer)
Cullen Conly is a literary manager and producer at Anonymous Content. Among his clients are Academy Award winner Sian Heder (CODA), Cory Finley (Bad Education), Andrew Ahn (Fire Island), Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) and Tony Award winner Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). Prior to Mosaic, he was a Motion Picture Literary agent in the New York offices of ICM Partners. Before representation, Conly was the Manager of the Feature Film Program of the Sundance Institute, where he worked in the Screenwriter and Director Labs. Among the filmmakers he supported in that program are Ryan Coogler, David Lowery, Marielle Heller, Sara Colangelo, Sean Durkin, Benh Zeitlin, Lena Dunham and Ry Russo-Young. Before Sundance, Conly worked in development and production at Paramount Vantage and began his film career in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency.
BETSY FIPPINGER (Casting Director)
Betsy Fippinger has trained under some of the best casting directors in New York, including Meredith Tucker, Ellen Lewis, Ellen Chenoweth, and Shayna Markowitz. As a casting associate and assistant, she worked on projects directed by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Bo Burnham, Greg Mottola, and Lynn Shelton. She won an Artios Award for her work as the casting associate on the pilot episode of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. As a casting director, Betsy cast the pivotal youth roles of ‘Margaret’ and ‘Nancy’ in “Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret” for Lionsgate. Her upcoming films include Jane Weinstock’s “Three Birthdays”, Patrick Clement’s “Bury Me When I’m Dead” and Sarah Friedland’s “Familiar Touch”. Before entering casting, Betsy worked at HBO and the William Morris Agency and graduated with a BFA in Film from Wesleyan University in 2003.
MEREDITH TUCKER (Casting Director)
Meredith Tucker is a New York-based casting director. Credits include THE WHITE LOTUS (Emmy Win), BOARDWALK EMPIRE (Emmy win and nomination), VEEP (Emmy win and nomination/New York Casting) and WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS, all for HBO; UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT (Emmy Nomination) and the upcoming THE RESIDENCE for Netflix; GODFATHER OF HARLEM for MGM+ and DEFENDING JACOB for Apple TV+. Recent film highlights are EIGHTH GRADE, BRAD’S STATUS, BEATRIZ AT DINNER, IRRESISTIBLE, and SET IT UP.
Prior to breaking out on her own, she worked for Walken/Jaffe Casting on THE SOPRANOS from Season 3 on, and co-cast Seasons 1 & 2 of ENTOURAGE (Emmy nomination). She also worked for Casting Director Howard Feuer on films helmed by directors including Jonathan Demme, Alan Parker, Tom Hanks, Peter Weir, Barbet Schroeder, Harold Ramis and Gus Van Sant.
FELIPE VARA DE REY (Director of Photography)
Felipe Vara de Rey is a Madrid-born, LA-based director of photography. After obtaining a Fulbright Scholarship, Felipe moved to New York City to pursue NYU’s Graduate Film program, where he has now served as an adjunct professor for the cinematography department for the past seven years.
Felipe’s body of work as a cinematographer includes commercials, music videos, documentaries and long-form narrative projects. He’s recently shot the sci-fi thriller BREATHE, directed by Stefon Bristol and produced by Thunder Road Pictures; the film FIRE ISLAND, directed by Andrew Ahn for for Searchlight; the four-part HBO documentary series ‘NYC Epicenters’, directed by Spike Lee; and the rom-com LONG WEEKEND, directed by Steve Basilone and distributed by Sony Classic Pictures.
ABOUT THE CAST
EVERETT BLUNCK
Everett Blunck was the breakout star of GRIFFIN IN SUMMER, from filmmaker Nicholas Colia, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2024 where it took home the festival’s top prize for Best Narrative Feature. The film will release in theaters later this summer. He was most recently seen in the lead role in Charlie Polinger’s directorial debut, THE PLAGUE, which had its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Everett is currently in production on Jonathan Glatzer’s upcoming AMC series, THE AUDACITY, with Billy Magnussen, Sarah Goldberg, and Zach Galifianakis. Additional film credits include OUTLAW POSSE (dir. Mario Van Peebles), BLOOD FOR DUST (dir. Rod Blackhurst), and THE OLD WAY starring Nicolas Cage (dir. Brett Donowho).
OWEN TEAGUE
Teague’s range and versatility as an actor is robustly captured on both big and small screens, as witnessed in his numerous television, theatrical, and streaming credits. Teague’s performance in 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is earning him high praise with film critics worldwide and opened number one at the box office during its first weekend. 2023 was a busy year for Owen, the widely-praised actor with co-starring roles in two films which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival: writer/director Nicole Holofcener’s comedy “You Hurt My Feelings,” starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies released by A24 in January; and “Eileen,” a mystery-thriller directed by William Oldroyd, starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie released by Neon in December. In 2022, Teague received unanimous praise for his role in the critically acclaimed drama “To Leslie,” as Andrea Riseborough’s son, James, which debuted at SXSW Film Festival and was released by Momentum Pictures in October (and resulted in an Oscar® nomination for Riseborough as best actress). He also starred in “Montana Story” opposite Haley Lu Richardson, released by Bleecker Street in April of that year. Additional film credits include “The Empty Man” and “Every Day.”
MELANIE LYNSKEY
New Zealand-born and Emmy Nominated actor Melanie Lynskey has become an industry staple, having amassed a plethora of thought-provoking roles in television and film over the course of 30 years.
Most recently, Melanie starred opposite Christina Ricci and Tawny Cypress in the 10-time Emmy-nominated Showtime series Yellowjackets, which had its season 3 finale on April 13th to much acclaim. She plays Shauna Sadecki, a player on a team of wildly talented high school soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the Ontario wilderness. Melanie has received high praise for her performance, including two Emmy Nominations, a Critic’s Choice Award win for Best Actress in a Drama Series and a Gotham Award nomination for Outstanding Performance in a New Series.
Upcoming, Lynskey will lead Pike River as Anna Osborne, opposite Robyn Malcom and directed by Robert Sarkies. The film is centered around the 2010 Pike River tragedy and captures the profound impact of one of the worst mining disasters in New Zealand’s history.
Lynskey was seen in the film Griffin in the Summer alongside Everett Blunck, which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. In this coming-of-age story, ambitious fourteen-year-old, Griffin Nafly, is putting on a dramatic new play when his attention begins to drift toward Brad, a handyman working at his house, his life will never be the same. The film won three awards at Tribeca Film Festival, including Best Screenplay.
In 2024, Lynskey starred in Peacock’s limited series The Tattooist of Auschwitz alongside Jonah Hauer King, which premiered May 2nd. She portrays Heather Morris, the writer of the heartbreaking true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov’s time in Auschwitz Birkenau.
Lynskey recently starred in HBO’s critically acclaimed The Last of Us, a series adaptation of the widely popular 2013 PlayStation video game of the same name. Written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman, Melanie stars alongside Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsay, Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman. The first episode premiered on January 15, 2023 and drew4.7M viewers across linear and HBO Max, marking the second-largest debut for the network since 2010.
Lynskey picked up a Guest Actress Emmy nomination for her role, which was one of the twenty-four the show was nominated for.
Lynskey’s career began in 1994 with the release of Peter Jackson’s acclaimed film Heavenly Creatures, which earned her a New Zealand Film Award for Best Actress. Subsequent film credits include Adam Mckay’s Don’t Look Up, Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Steven Soderbergh’s TheInformant, Tom McCarthy’s Win Win, Megan Griffith’s Sadie, Billy Ray’s Shattered Glass, Sam Mendes’ Away We Go, Jason Reitman’s Up in The Air, Justin and Christian Long’s Lady of the Manor, Andy Tennant’s Ever After and Sweet Home Alabama, Jamie Babbit’s But I’m A Cheerleader, Clint Eastwood’s Flags Of Our Fathers, Joe Swanberg’s Happy Christmas, Angus MacLachlan’s Goodbye To All That, Macon Blair’s I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore, for which Lynskey was nominated for a Gotham Award for Best Actress, and Clea Duvall’s debut feature, The Intervention, which earned her the US Special Jury Prize for Individual Performance at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2012, Lynskey played the lead role in Todd Louiso’s film Hello I Must Be Going. The film opened the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and was rated one of the Top Ten Independent Films of the Year by the National Board of Review. Lynskey’s performance earned her critical praise and a nomination for a 2012 Gotham Independent Film Award in the category of Breakthrough Actor.
On the small screen, Melanie starred in Hulu’s crime thriller Candy opposite Jessica Biel. The series tells the true story of Candy Montgomery, a Texas housewife who infamously murdered her friend Betty Gore, played by Lynskey, with an ax in 1980. She received a Critic’s Choice nomination for her performance in the series. Additional television credits include: Hulu’s Mrs. America opposite Uzo Aduba and Cate Blanchett and Castle Rock, opposite André Holland, Sissy Spacek and Bill Skarsgård; Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later and Girlboss; the Duplass brothers’ critically acclaimed HBO show, Togetherness in which she was nominated for a Critic’s Choice Award for her performance in the series. Lynskey voiced the character Beatrice in Cartoon Network’s Over the Garden Wall, which won the 2015 Emmy for Best Animated Program; and from 2003-2015, Lynskey had a popular recurring role as Rose in the hit TV show Two and A Half Men.
Melanie currently resides in Los Angeles, with her partner, actor and producer, Jason Ritter and their daughter.
ABBY RYDER FORTSON
Abby Ryder Fortson recently starred in the title role for Lionsgate’s feature adaptation of Judy Blume’s beloved novel, ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET, opposite Rachel McAdams and Benny Safdie.
In addition to her work in MARGARET, she can also be seen as ‘Cassie Lang’ in Marvel feature films ANT-MAN and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, where she earned widespread praise for her scene-stealing performance opposite Paul Rudd. Abby also played Kara in GRIFFIN IN SUMMER an indie film that recently got accepted to the Tribecca film festival. Prior to that, Abby starred as ‘Young CJ’ opposite Betty Gilpin in the DreamWorks and Universal feature, A DOG’S JOURNEY.
Abby is also active in TV and reoccurred in the Golden Globe winning Amazon series, TRANSPARENT. She can be seen in the Amazon series TALES FROM THE LOOP and as a series regular in the HBO series, TOGETHERNESS. Additional credits for Abby include Spielberg’s ABC series, THE WHISPERS, and the Duplass Brothers’ HBO show, ROOM 104.
Entertainment Weekly named Abby “One of TVs Most Valuable Kids” and “One of the Top Child Actors to Watch.” She was also awarded RISING STAR OF THE YEAR at CinemaCon in April 2023, and nominated for Critic Choice Awards, Best Young Actress in 2024.
KATHRYN NEWTON Kathryn Newton most recently starred opposite Cole Sprouse in Zelda Williams’ directorial debut, LISA FRANKENSTEIN, which was written by Oscar-winner Diablo Cody and will be released by Focus Features on February 9. She will also be seen opposite Connie Britton and Zach Galifianakis in WINNER, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and Universal’s ABIGAIL alongside Giancarlo Esposito, Dan Stevens, and Angus Cloud.
Newton recently starred in Marvel’s ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA, in which she stars as ‘Cassie Lang’ opposite Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer – the film made almost $500 million at the box office and was nominated for a 2024 People’s Choice Award for “Action Movie for the Year.” Upcoming, she will be one of the few new actors that will lead Marvel’s next iteration of the MCU in Phases 5 & 6.
Newton is well known for starring in HBO’S Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning series, BIG LITTLE LIES, for which she was nominated for a SAG Award as part of the ensemble. She also starred in Netflix’s popular series, THE SOCIETY; Kay Cannon’s BLOCKERS, which made almost $100 million at the box office and was the highest earning R-rated comedy of 2018; and POKÉMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU opposite Ryan Reynolds, which made $450 million.
Newton’s other film credits include Amazon’s THE MAP OF TINY PERFECT THINGS; THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI for which she was nominated for a SAG Award as part of the ensemble; Universal’s FREAKY opposite Vince Vaughn; Greta Gerwig’s LADY BIRD; and Peter Hedges’ BEN IS BACK.
Newton is also an extremely accomplished golfer, having played in some of the most prestigious international golf tournaments including the Celebrity Ryder Cup. She is a champion for women in the sport and was recently named as the newest ambassador for the R&A.
ALIVIA BELLAMY
Alivia Bellamy, a talented young actress, has quickly made a name for herself in the world of film, theater and TV. She recently starred as Pam Vanderworm in Griffin in Summer, directed by Nicholas Colia, which is set to world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival June 2024.
Alivia honed her craft through rigorous training at Richmond, Virginia’s Cadence Theatre Company, where she studied under esteemed instructors such as Laine Satterfield and Jana Ferrell. Her dedication to the art of acting was evident from an early age, participating in various theater productions such as Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Black Girl Magic, and Heathers: The Musical, all of which have helped shape her into the skilled performer she is today.
Born and raised in Hampton, Virginia, Alivia’s passion for acting was ignited at a young age by watching classic films like the 1934 classic Imitation of Life and theater productions like Diana Ross’s The Wiz with her grandmother. Her commitment to her craft and ability to bring depth and authenticity to her characters have earned her praise from peers and mentors alike.
Looking ahead, Alivia aspires to explore diverse and challenging roles that push her creative boundaries. She is particularly interested in memorable characters and hopes to continue to work with visionary directors and writers who share her passion for storytelling. Outside of acting, Alivia enjoys watching movies, singing, listening to old school music, and collecting vintage albums, all of which she believes enrich her performances and provide a well-rounded appreciation of the arts.
JOHANNA COLÓN
Johanna Colón first entered the spotlight at the age of 6 when her dance recital video to Aretha Franklin’s RESPECT went wildly viral earning more than 80 million views world wide. After appearances on NBC’s Little Big Shot and The Ellen Show she began acting in television on TBS’ The Guest Book (2017) and HBO’s Euphoria (2019) and in film as Smash in Troop Zero (2019) on Amazon and as Lucia in Feel The Beat (2020) on Netflix. She made her voice over debut as Becky in Little Ellen (2021) making her dream of becoming a cartoon a reality. Johanna is of Puerto Rican and Italian descent and loves singing, dancing and performing improv with her troop.
MICHAEL ESPER
Michael Esper plays a supporting role in the recently released film THE CREATOR, for writer/director Gareth Edwards, and starred opposite Rebecca Hall in RESURRECTION (dir. Andrew Semans). Other features include BEAU IS AFRAID (dir. Ari Aster), BEN IS BACK (dir. Peter Hedges) starring Julia Roberts, RUNNER, RUNNER (dir. Brad Furman), FRANCES HA (dir. Noah Baumbach), THE DROP (dir. Michael R. Roskam), ALL GOOD THINGS (dir. Andrew Jarecki) and A BEAUTIFUL MIND (dir. Ron Howard).
Esper has a Recurring Role in the new Amazon series, FALLOUT and a Guest Starring Role in the recently released series, THE GIRLS ON THE BUS for HBO Max. He recently starred in FLORIDA MAN opposite Edgar Ramirez, currently airing on Netflix. He was a Series Regular in TRUST (FX) starring opposite Donald Sutherland and Hilary Swank. Recurring Roles include THE OUTSIDER (HBO), RAY DONOVAN and NURSE JACKIE (Showtime), THE FAMILY (ABC), SHADES OF BLUE (NBC), PERSON OF INTEREST, THE GOOD WIFE and BRAINDEAD (CBS) and has Guest Starred in JULIA (HBO MAX), PRODIGAL SON (Fox), REPRISAL (Hulu), ELEMENTARY (CBS) and HALT AND CATCH FIRE (AMC). Esper is currently in the Tony nominated Broadway hit, APPROPRIATE with Sarah Paulson (Belasco Theater). He has originated several Leading Roles on Broadway and Off including Sting’s THE LAST SHIP, the Tony nominated production of THE LYONS, the multiple Tony award winning musical, AMERICAN IDIOT, and Roundabout Theater Company’s critically acclaimed production of A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. Other New York Theatre credits include CATCH AS CATCH CAN (New Ohio Theatre), LAZARUS (NYTW AND LONDON), THE AGONY AND THE AGONY, AS YOU LIKE IT (The Public), SLANTED! ENCHANTED!, PAVEMENT, THE INTELLIGENT HOMOSEXUAL’S GUIDE TO CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM WITH A KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES (The Public Theatre), BIG BILL (Lincoln Center Theater), ASSISTANCE, CRAZY MARY, MANIC FLIGHT REACTION (Playwrights Horizons), THE FOUR OF US (Manhattan Theatre Club), and subUrbia (Second Stage Theatre), THE GLASS MENAGERIE (LONDON WEST END) Regional credits include LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (The Druid Theatre Company & the Dublin Theatre Festival) and ME, MYSELF, AND I (The McCarter), TALES FROM RED VIENNA (MTC) .
IAN HERNANDEZ-OROPEZA
14 year old Puerto Rican actor, Ian Hernandez-Oropeza, started his journey in 2020 through the IMTA competition where he won the Most Sought Out Talent award. He filmed his first short film in Los Angeles, “The Last Human Person on Earth,” directed by Ryan Hoskins and went on to work on the feature film “Over/Under” from Director, Sophia Silver that premiered in the Deauville American Festival in France.
Ian plays the principal role, alongside Jason London and Robert LaSardo on Danny LeGare’s “Blood Harvest”, currently streaming on Prime Video. In 2023, he worked alongside Melanie Lynskey, Owen Teague, Abby Ryder Fortson, and Everett Blunk on “Griffin in Summer” directed by Nicholas Colia, now premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival and nominated for the Best US Narrative Feature Award.
Ian is proud of his heritage and continues to honor it by bringing Latinx characters to life through bilingual (English/Spanish) voiceover work for video games and audiobooks, as well as in his choice of acting roles.
Ian is very active on and off set. He is an outstanding student, plays competitive baseball and loves other sports such as golf, basketball, and table tennis. Ian lives at home in Florida with his parents, grandma and four dogs.
GORDON ROCKS
Gordon Rocks is an American actor who was born on December 2, 2009, in Sydney, Australia, to a family of Russian immigrants. Due to his father’s job (an airline pilot) Gordon spent the first years of his life in Miyazaki City and Tokyo (Japan). When he was 4 years old, his family moved to Southern California, where he began acting at the age of 10.
Gordon’s first onscreen appearance was as The Boy in Rene Perez’s western Righteous Blood (released on DVD and being streamed on Amazon since August 2021), where he played most of his scenes with Michael Paré.
Gordon is best known for his lead role of the Son in the short film Lemon Tree, directed by Rachel Walden, which had its World Premiere at the Directors Fortnight Division of Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, got qualified to be considered for Academy Awards, and is now streaming on MUBI.
CREDITS
Written & Directed by
Nicholas Colia
Produced by
Starring
Juliet Berman
Bobby Hoppey
Camila Mendes
Rachel Matthews
Matthew MillerEverett Blunck
Melanie Lynskey
Owen Teague
Abby Ryder Fortson
Kathryn Newton
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obsession, The Indiana Fever.
and Knight Rider, and numerous Hallmark Channel movies. After working as a carpenter, he pursued acting, making his debut in 2002. He is also a writer and producer, married to Lorie Campbell with whom he has a son named Kingston.
Wes Brown (born January 26, 1982) is an American actor known for his role as Luke McDonald in HBO’s True Blood and other TV and film roles, including Hallmark movies. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas, raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attended Louisiana State University, initially intending to pursue business before switching to acting. His career also includes roles in series like Hart of Dixie and Private Practice, and films such as Glory Road and We Are Marshall.
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Fuller (“Quarry,” “Rectify” and “Locke & Key”) and co-creator Erin Lee Carr (“Britney vs Spears,” “I Love You, Now Die” and “Mommy Dead and Dearest”). Nick Antosca (“A Friend of the Family,” “The Act” and “Candy”) and Alex Hedlund for Eat the Cat are executive producers along with Mandy Matney, David Moses and Bill Johnson. Steven Piet executive produced and directed episodes 101, 102 and 108. Patricia Arquette and Jason Clarke also serve as executive producers. UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.
ABOUT THE CAST
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Produced by: Sonja Ewers and Mark Mertens
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Christopher Gorham stars as Travis in SHERIFF COUNTRY. Also on the horizon for fall is Hulu’s Korean spy drama, “Tempest,” in which he stars alongside John Cho.
Gorham made his feature film directorial debut with the comedy “We Love You, Sally Carmichael!” in which he also starred alongside Jack McBrayer, Bitsie Tulloch and Paula Marshall.
theater in Chicago’s South Loop, Neal moved on to a diverse slate of projects like the award-winning documentary 10 mountains 10 years (narrated by Anne Hathaway), #whokilledheather, an innovative branded web series, and many short films and features screened at festivals around the world.
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Reddick on Netflix’s hit show Ozark, and Rori Barnhill in Season 3 of the USA Network show, The Sinner. She can also be seen in several guest star appearances including Tulsa King, Matlock, FBI: Most Wanted, and NCIS: New Orleans. Recently Dani was in On Swift Horses with Daisy Edgar Jones, in Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore 2 and her upcoming projects include Amazon’s The Runarounds, and For All Mankind on Apple TV.
ABOUT ACTRESS AMY CARLSON (LAURIE)
Third Watch (1999), Maggie Pistone in Falcone (2000), Katie Owen alongside Tom Berenger in Peacemakers (2003) and Linda Reagan in Blue Bloods. Carlson resides in New York City with husband Syd Butler, bassist of Les Savy Fav, where she also works in the independent music business as part-owner of the independent label “Frenchkiss Records”. Amy continues to write as well as seek out diverse and unique roles in the film industry.
and creative figures, including Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Barry Bostwick, Jim Sharman, Sal Piro, Richard Hartley and Sue Blane— and many others who had never shared their stories on camera until now.
Logline: A teenage girl and a terrifying alien form a powerful bond after a chance encounter in the desert, sending them on an adventure that questions the nature of good and evil.
she uncovers a secret that could change the fate of both their worlds.
with friends. He splits his time between Atlanta and Los Angeles.
next to the title – click on it to see our page for the show!
FAMILY STATEMENT
Roberto Clemente, Jr., eldest son of Roberto Clemente, is a philanthropist, entrepreneur, former broadcaster, and professional baseball player. Roberto Sr. used his platform and immense athletic gift to serve others and devote his short life to helping make the world a better place, something Roberto Jr. has sought to emulate. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the first seven years of Roberto Jr.’s life were spent between Puerto Rico and Pittsburgh, PA. After his father’s untimely death in a 1972 plane crash, while taking relief supplies to Nicaragua earthquake victims, Roberto Jr. became his father’s voice and the spokesperson for the family. He went on to establish the Roberto Clemente Foundation, an organization committed to aiding at-risk youth, disaster relief, and promoting global service leadership. Throughout the last 30 years of the foundation’s existence, Roberto Jr. and the team have helped thousands of children and their families.
ABOUT VANTAGE PICTURES
Suzanne: Claire, and Amelia, who plays Victoria, the love of Cole’s life.
Suzanne: And how long have you been doing the dog fostering and rescue?
JEP: So what I’m trying to do now is, I’m trying to do fundraising. I’m trying to expand more on the education of people throughout my entire area and things. We have a lot of folks in Los Angeles that are from all over the world, and folks from all over the world have different cultures, and different cultures that the way in which they view spaying and neutering and things of that nature. So there’s an educational campaign, that I really think that we need to do. And I’m working with that. I’m working with raising money, particularly for my shelter here in Santa Clarita. I did a fundraiser here about four months ago that, thankfully, I had some really nice people that did the heavy lifting.
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EVERETT BLUNCK 
OWEN TEAGUE
MELANIE LYNSKEY