Interview with Jemima Rooper, Max Irons, T’Shan Williams, Alana Boden and Paul Sciarrotta

TV Interview!

 

Jemima Rooper, Max Irons, T'Shan Williams, Alana Boden and EP Paul Sciarrotta of "Flowers In the Attic: The Origin" on Lifetime

Interview with actors Jemima Rooper, Max Irons, T’Shan Williams, Alana Boden and EP Paul Sciarrotta of “Flowers In the Attic: The Origin” on Lifetime by Suzanne 6/22/22

This was a Lifetime event where we watched the first episode of this series and then asked the actors and executive producer questions.  It was unusual that we watched the episode first, live, right before the Q&A. Usually they put the episodes up on their press site for us to watch on our own time. It was nice to chat with these nice people, most of whom are British! The characters they’re playing are all Americans, though. I enjoyed the show and the panel. I hope you like the show! It’s a four-part miniseries that airs every Saturday starting tonight, July 9, on Lifetime.

 

Here’s the transcript, but it’s not edited yet. Check back to see it!

Please welcome our panelists for today’s Q&A with stars Jemima Rooper, Max Irons, T’Shan Williams, Alana Boden and executive producer Paul Sciarrotta. Hi everyone.

Thank you for being here today. Paul, our first question is for you. You both executive-produced and co-wrote “Flowers in the Attic: The Origin.” We understand that you were in close contact with VC Andrews ghost writer, Andrew Nierman. Can you please tell us a little bit about that process?

Paul: Sure. Yeah. We started about four years ago when the project was brought to me, and I, of course, had read Flowers in the Attic,” you know, maybe a long time ago. and I wasn’t, at the time, even aware there was this prequel book… and when I found out it existed and that Andrew wrote it, I was very excited. So it’s actually the first book that he wrote in the VC catalog…The first of, I think over a hundred, now, that he’s written. So it’s been a valuable resource to have him on speed dial all the time. I would call him, always. I still do for any questions I might have, if I’m ever unsure about story point or if something is totally correct. Or, you know, of the world. I can just check with him, and he has his finger on the pulse of all things VC. So it was…I was very lucky to have him be a part of the project.

Awesome. I will take some questions from the audience. Just a reminder. If you can, please make sure you have your first and last name so I can call upon you correctly. Our first question is from Suzanne at TVMEG.COM. Please unmute yourself to ask your question.

Suzanne: Hey, how are you all? I really enjoyed that. That was a good movie… or, it wasn’t a movie, I know, but it was. Let me ask you, Max: What did you do to prepare yourself for this role of being this horrible, horrible person?

Maxi: Hi, Suzanne. Well, I think for me, firstly, I had to get past the fact that he was horrible quite quickly. I had to look and find why he was the way he was, how he had learned to cope with the world as the world presented itself to him. So, the formative things I think in Malcolm’s life were his mother and father. His mother was the center of his universe was taught him about emotions, about love, about, you know, everything. They coexisted for the first few years of his life almost entirely. And then, all of a sudden, she left, and his father wasn’t around to help him process that or make any sense of that. You know, there was no modern psychology to come to his aid. He had tutors. He was sent away to a boy’s school, and he had to make sense of that. And so he did, and he hardened himself to the world and where his father had been through his, you know, through Malcolm’s understanding headness and not particularly capable. Self-serving Malcolm discovered duty and, and, you know, rigid a rigid work ethic and, you know, uh, where Malcolm had shame, he, he sought to, to, to elevate the Foxworth name and his business and make himself triumphant and powerful. And so, yeah, it was just looking at his younger self and yeah, and, and going from there.

All right. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Our next question is from my cues. Yeah, this is a question for Elena. Um, this is a really unusual role for you. Um, it’s, it’s not pretty unusual to have a romantic scene with someone who’s 43 years older than you are, but it’s not the cliche kind because you warmly like the man and he warmly liked you.

So it’s, it’s not any kind of cliche. So tell us a little bit about playing it, getting in the mood. And were you really familiar with Kelsey grammar ahead of time? To what extent did this become kind of a, a, a big challenge. Yeah. Um, I mean, Kelsey is absolutely fantastic and he made me feel so comfortable for some of the, some of the scenes, because like there is, there is like that really, um, really big age gap.

Um, But I think in terms of getting prepared, you know, we, we just took some time to, we worked with an intimacy coordinator. We took some time to figure out, um, how we think their relationship would be, how, what we were comfortable with. Um, and yeah, it was, it was actually really, really interesting to sort of work on that.

And, um, you know, I think for me, it’s, it is genuine love between the two of them. So to make sure that was, that was how it, how it was, you know, Perceived as the audience was, was really important. Um, but yeah, it was, yeah, it was really, it was really interesting Dean, like I say, he’s fantastic. And he was, you know, always making sure I was feeling comfortable and, um, just really worked with me and we worked together to hopefully create something that, that comes across really genuine.

Okay. Thanks. Thank you so much. Our next question is from Hanta Smith.

Please unmute yourself to ask your question. Oh, okay. Is there, um, video on here? No video, just audio and we can hear you. Oh, okay. Perfect. Hi everyone. Thank you so much for your time. I’m so excited for everyone and it’s exciting series. I would love to know what was it like, you know, interacting with everyone on set and also what can the viewers expect when watching this awesome series?

Anyone can take that question, right? Uh I’ll I’ll go. I’ll go. I’ll jump in. Um, uh, it was, we shot the series, um, sort of in the height of the pandemic. We all relocated to Romania for four months. Um, and we became, uh, a lovely family, not quite the twisted family of the show. Um, and I think, uh, You know, I, I adored working with every single person on set and, uh, what was amazing is that as we were there after more time, the episode that you’ve just watched is very much just sort of the beginning, but from episode two and three to four, the whole thing opens up the children grow up.

Um, they come into it, um, the, the whole sort of premise six fans and, um, the whole S. Expands. And, uh, that was what it was like for us. Uh, in Romania, we suddenly got this injection of, uh, new minds and hearts and then while we were working and, um, and it was just. You know, gorgeous in, in every respect and despite, you know, how dark some of it gets.

Um, it, it was always a very happy set. I think sometimes when you’re doing things that are a bit darker or a bit more serious, you kind of find the fun a bit more on set. So it’s more enjoyable. Um, I think people are sometimes more miserable during comedy . Um, we had, yeah, we just had, uh, a beautiful time with, uh, a lot of really amazing people and we all just felt really happy to be working at a time.

Uh, it definitely felt like a luxury. Awesome. Thank you so much. thank you so much for your question. Our next question is from Jared Horton.

Hi, can you guys hear me? Yes. I am. Well, first of all, congratulations on the series. I thought it was great. Um, when I’m watching movies and TVs, I’m really big on dialogue and I thought you guys had some great dialogue within the series. I was wondering it was something that you picked up within your character that you took from, um, Um, afterwards in your own personal life, like she made the comment that a mother said forgiveness and revenge.

And I was just wondering, did is anything that you guys picked up far as wisdom or life lessons that you picked up from your character or just in general? Great question. I’ve started doing voiceovers in my everyday life. I now describe everything’s doing I’m going downstairs in the morning. Um, uh, no, I really, um, that’s a great question.

Um, No, I don’t think I, I sort of, sort of hope I haven’t taken anything of Olivia into my day to day life, but I tell you what I was thinking about this earlier today. Um, playing, playing that part, playing that kind of a role, um, playing this character that. I, I feel like it’s very far removed from who I am as a person, but she was so vivid on the page.

Uh, Paul’s writing what he did. Um, I sort of never had any questions as how to play her. And, uh, there’s something about playing Olivia. That for me was incredibly empowering and I sort of feel like that element of it I’ve taken. I hope that’s great. That’s great. Well, I think you did do a great job with the role.

Thanks. Um, I think it’s a great series. I look forward, um, to watching it more and congratulations to you guys, especially pulling it off during the pandemic. I just think you guys did a great job, pulling it off. KU kudos you guys over there. Thank you. Thank you so much. Our next question is from Dominique Clark from Ben worthy media.

Hello, all. Congratulations on this series. I mean, the trailer gave me goosebumps and I’m so excited that we’re finally getting the origin story of the grandmother who locked our children in the attic. Um, Seeing the story through Olivia’s eyes shows how evil isn’t born, it’s made. Right. And specifically for the ladies here, how did Olivia’s transformation throughout this series transform your individual characters?

How did you change as she did? I think, I will say with, um, Nell’s character, I think as she was a, a longstanding staff member at Foxworth hall and was quite used to, as max was saying, like the rigid rules of how it works. Um, I think meeting. Olivia and seeing that she had a bit of bite and spark really kind of opened up their friendship a little bit and it made it grow, which was really quite interesting to discover with Jemima.

Um, yeah, cuz I think, yeah, I think she, her character really like challenges him and um, and yeah, and I think with N working there for so long, um, and I guess. Conforming in, in a way until she kind of meets Olivia. I think it’s, um, I think she definitely, um, like made an impact on her arrival for vanilla.

Thank you. Any other other ladies or folks wanna share? No, that was too

Okay, great. Thank you guys so much. And congratulations again. Thank you our next, oh, thank you so much. Our next questions from Pauls.

All right. Hello? Hello. Thank you so much for being with us today. And, um, congratulations, uh, on this, this is fantastic. Uh, I gotta note because these characters are so different from you personally, um, everything about them, where they’re from, you know, and different time, everything, uh, what kind of Headspace do you have to for each of the actors?

Do you have to put yourself in to, to play these really dark roles? Cool. My personal experience, which may well be very different to the others. So, um, they, they must say as well, um, uh, the, the sort of amount that Olivia had dialogue wise, um, and scene wise, especially sort of at the beginning, it kind of eased up a little as we got into it.

Um, Sort of so full on. Um, I remember I just had to be, I just to get one foot in front of the other and to know my lines and turn up on set was what I could manage at the time. Um, which in a way is really liberating and kind of makes it easier because otherwise you can. Get, I very often get stuck in my own head and think too much about everything.

Um, and sometimes, you know, after the event, you look at things and think, oh, I wish I wish I’d thought about this, or I wish I’d done that differently. Um, but. Such a sort of big undertaking in so many ways is actually in some ways easier and, and, uh, yeah, more, more freeing, more liberating, um, than sometimes not having so far to go with a character.

Um, it’s, you know, I find it easier to be further away from myself, I think, but, and normally I do lots of research, but, uh, in this. I, and I, I think with regards to Malcolm, um, you know, a lot of credit goes to Paul for, for, you know, when, when the writing’s good, it helps those neurons connect sort of effortlessly, and you don’t have to.

To force anything, but sort of, it returns to my first, um, thing I said at the beginning that, you know, when, when you are evil, when a person’s evil, they don’t wander around thinking they’re evil. You know, they, they wander around thinking what they’re doing is right and proper. And just, but I, I do know, um, I spent quite a lot of time in the early days trying to convince people that I wasn’t an asshole.

There was a, there was a picture of me in the production office. You know, all the actors have their faces up in the production office. And my everyone elses was lovely. My picture, I looked like an asshole, like really smug. And then I thought, oh shit, they’ve seen that. Now I’m cast as this, this asshole.

How is your so I, I, I dunno if I can say anyway, I spent a lot of time giving people cups of tea, that sort of thing. And, and trying not to be an asshole. Um, yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Todd was one thing there too. Um, like Jeremiah was saying we had a lot to do in a limited amount of time. And, um, I, I can’t necessarily speak to what everyone did individually creatively to prepare for that, but I certainly can speak for when they showed up, everyone was on point, smiling, prepared, professional, lovely.

Um, and that is, you know, that’s pretty special when that all comes together. So I felt like the lucky recipient of all that on my end. So thank you to you guys. Thank you so much, Paul and max, that was a great answer. And you are allowed to curse here, so it’s okay. oh really? Oh, great. Let’s go away. OK.

Thank you so much. Thanks, Paul. Our next question is from women for the culture.

Please unmute yourself to ask your question. There you go. Okay. Hi. Thank you guys for having me. My name is Natasha and I’m with women for the culture. My question is for, to Sean. Um, I just wanted to ask you, so from the moment we meet your character, Noah, we can tell just by looking in her eyes that she’s compassionate, caring and knows something that everybody doesn’t know right now, especially when we see the scene from your daughter.

But I just wanted to know why do you think black women’s first instinct is to go into protective mold, even when we barely know, um, their person. Well, I think if you think about the time that this is set in, um, it’s a very, very good question. And I found myself asking that question in my process as well.

Um, especially in scenes where I found myself helping, um, Olivia and. Because in some ways, she’s very much the more compass of, of, um, the story when all of this madness is going on. And sometimes I find myself asking that question as well, um, for my process, but, um, I think is she’s a rock for her family and she’s also a very fiercely loyal friend and, um, And I think if, if we look at the time, as I was about to say, if we look at the time that this is set in, it would be very unlikely that her and Olivia would probably even strike up a friendship with one that’s lasting anyway.

So it’s just a, a very specific circumstance that they have kind of built their friendship on. And I guess you’ll see more, more about that when the other episodes come out and more be clear, um, about, um, maybe ask, answer your question more, but, um, yeah, I can say that. She’s got a really good heart, I think.

Yeah. Thank you so much for that answer. And I can’t wait to see Noah’s, uh, story unfold more throughout the series. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Our next question is from Karen Mo from sci-fi vision. Hi everybody. Um, thanks for doing this. My question is for Paul, I’ll try to keep it short. Um, flowers in the attic has been adapted before.

I think the last time lifetime did so was in 2014 and 15. Um, in the, since then audience standards and industry standards for how you adapt and present some of this really sensitive, uh, material rape incest abuse. Um, Has really changed. And I wonder if you could speak for a minute about your approach and lifetime’s approach and how it may have evolved in the last few years.

Sure. Um, I can’t speak to how their other, um, flowers movies were produced. I wasn’t a part of those back then, but I do know that from the very beginning of my working with them, they were, um, incredibly supportive, incredibly collaborative. Um, and what we had was this, um, this source material. Where so much of the main character story was based on this sexual assault.

And it was a balancing act that I worked with with my, um, my, my producing team in Los Angeles and all the great executives at a and E in lifetime, trying to figure out just how much of that assault do we show and how do we show it. Um, and in order to tell the story best, uh, and I hope we struck. A good balance.

Um, I was very grateful to have such, um, open partners with it. And the other piece of it was Jemma for the, um, on set. We talked, um, a lot with the intimacy quarters and everyone else, but even about certain lines, you remember, we were talking about a line in the fourth movie, um, with Paul Wesley and, and Jemima.

And it was something about how she didn’t wanna, like, I think the line I had written was allow someone to control me again. And we talked a lot about that in that tent of all the mosquitoes. I remember that. Um, we changed the line. Um, and I think it’s that kind of conversation, um, that I hope helped tell Olivia’s story in a thoughtful and sensitive and productive way.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Our next question is from Mr. Dark eye podcast.

Please unmute yourself to ask your question. Thank you. Yes. All right. Can Y. Yes, we, yeah. All right. So my question is for max, um, in your role, like with you having to be evil and, um, you know, play that role so well, what was your inspiration to be so into the character the way you was and how did you really tap in?

Oh God. Um, I, for fear of repeating myself, um, You know, there there’s, there was a few, obviously the cast, uh, helped enormously. Um, you know, also as an actor, when you have wonderful costumes and you have wonderful sets that also helps a great deal. Um, but yeah, I just, I like, like I said, I sort of just had to tune into the, the child inside of Malcolm.

That was the tapping in, uh, and, and, you know, these days we, we are so there’s so much modern. There’s therapy available. There’s psychology and there’s, you know, the way parents work with their children. Now it was these things were unheard of in those days. Um, and we, we take these things for granted, modern parental thinking and, and trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder and all these sorts of things.

Um, Malcolm was just left to figure it out and it didn’t, he didn’t figure it out. He didn’t. Do a good job, but he, he, he did so in a way that enabled him to survive. Um, and that’s how I have to look at Malcolm. Uh, and, and out of that way of thinking comes his evil. And, and that for me is, is a byproduct of that, that interior life think.

Thank you for that. And you did a very convincing job, so that just means you’re good at what you do. thanks. You guys also very kind and put a lot of people on set at ease with his kindness with, with, with that kind of material. Um, and it takes a very special to person to do that. And we had that in that, so, yes.

Oh, thanks. Cool. I’d like to add as well that, um, I know probably a lot. Male actors who would just a approach it as is wouldn’t, wouldn’t struggle playing this sort of a role would probably quite enjoy it. And max is, you know, the opposite of Malcolm. He is, um, such a lovely person. And for him to get to those places was a struggle.

And the struggle is what makes the character more interesting and more layered. And so it’s only better for that. I. I agree. Nice guys go. This is nice. Thank you so much for your question. Our next question is from Towanda Blake.

Hi. Um, my question is what was it like filming inside of a, the pandemic? And did, do you think that offered you more? I’d say it stretched you more to bring perfection to your characters.

Yes, I think, uh, in a way it did, it was this sort of quite surreal bubble. Um, I think for us all to be away from home for as long as we were, um, normally people, if you are filming, you know, outside of home, you are in and out or, um, You’re not really with each other. And it was such a shared experience, the whole thing, onset and offset, and, uh, Yeah, I think there was such a, a lovely feeling because you did, everyone felt really grateful and really privileged to be working.

And it was also really interesting work and everyone really looked out for each other, the, the credo all the way through the crew from the top to the bottom, um, it, it felt very collaborative and very supportive. And I think that’s quite rare to that extent. And, um, and that made. Very special. Um, it wasn’t just another job, I think.

Thank you. Awesome. Thank you. We have time for one more. Our last questions from Aries, urban bridges.

Hi, everybody. I’m gonna echo everybody else. You guys did a great job. I love the movie. I’m gonna address my question to Taan. Besides it being an epic book. First, what made you want to be a part of this role and play Nella and flowers on the. Oh, because, because she’s not part of the books because, because I could, because I could, um, Paul really gave me the reigns to like build on her from the ground up and I kind of just got to implement her story, um, where it wasn’t there before.

And, um, yeah, so I just got to bring this completely fresh character to such a huge franchise of, of a book. Um, Book series and I just, and I thought her character was really interesting, um, and layered and, um, Yeah. And quite exciting and important as well to the story. Yeah. Um, as I said, like her being, um, like the moral compass of, of the story for a lot of the, a lot of this, um, episodes, um, and her family, which you’ll get to meet in the other episodes and, and yeah, you get to see a bit more of her when you see her family as well.

And that’s all really exciting and they’re all brilliant actors as well. And yeah, so it, I mean, it. It wasn’t hard. That’s, that’s an easy, it wasn’t very hard. yeah, it makes a lot of sense, but you brought the character. Great job again. Continued success. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you everyone for such great questions.

Thank you to our panelists. You guys were amazing as always. And thank you all for joining today’s advanced screening of part one. If we did not get to your question, I know we dropped this in the chat as well.

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Official Site and Preview

"Flowers in the Attic: The Origin" key art

Flowers in the Attic: The Origin tells the story of the headstrong and determined Olivia Winfield (Rooper) who is working alongside her beloved father (Hamlin) when she finds herself unexpectedly wooed by one of the nation’s most eligible bachelors, Malcom Foxworth (Irons). After a whirlwind romance, Olivia finds herself as the mistress of the imposing Foxworth Hall, where she soon discovers that the fairytale life she expected has quickly become a nightmare.  Under Malcolm’s debonair exterior lies a dark heart, and a twisted evil lurks inside Foxworth Hall that will threaten Olivia’s happiness and that of her children. Her attempts to keep them all safe ultimately push Olivia to become to most terrifying version of herself, leading to her inevitable—and notorious—decision to lock her grandchildren in the attic…

Dodd stars as Olivia’s daughter, Corinne; while Williams takes on the role Foxworth Hall’s longtime staff member and Olivia’s observant housekeeper, Nella. Mulgrew plays Mrs. Steiner, Malcom’s loyal house manager and head of the Foxworth Hall staff. Grammer portrays Malcom’s illustrious father Garland Foxworth, who is married to new wife Alicia, played by Boden. Wesley stars as John Amos, Olivia’s cousin whose revelations change her life forever and Callum Kerr stars as Christopher, a close relative of the Foxworth family whose life will be eternally intertwined with Corrine’s from the moment they set eyes on each other.

Additional talent starring in the four-part miniseries event includes Luke Fetherston, Buck Braithwaite, Jordan Peters, Evelyn Miller, Rawdat Quadri, Emmanuel Ogunjinmi, David Witts, Carla Woodcock and Peter Bramhill.

Flowers in the Attic: The Origin is an A+E Studios production in association with Sutton St. Productions and CBS Studios. Paul Sciarrotta serves as executive producer. Jennie Snyder Urman and Joanna Klein serve as executive producers for Sutton St. Productions and CBS Studios. Zoë Rocha serves as executive producer for RubyRock Pictures, Gary Pearl executive produces for Aquarius Content and Dan Angel executive produces. Declan O’Dwyer also executive produces and directed part one and part two of the miniseries. Robin Sheppard serves as director for parts three and four. Scripts are from executive producer Paul Sciarrotta, as well as Amy Rardin and Conner Good. Flowers in the Attic: The Origin is based on the prequel novel, Garden of Shadows by Andrew Neiderman. The miniseries was made with support of the Romanian Government.

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Irons and Rooper in "Flowers in the Attic: The Origin" on Lifetime

Primetime TV Review: “Doctor Blake Mysteries”

TV Review!

Doctor Blake Mysteries – Episode 2

“Doctor Blake Mysteries” Review on by Eva 7/8/2022

The show comes from Australia and stars popular Australian actor Craig McLachlan an as Doctor Lucien Blake who returns home to take over his deceased father’s medical practice in the small town where he grew up.

Dr Blake has a knack for solving murders with his second job as police surgeon. Dr. Blake does autopsies and takes care of the police force members when they are injured. Dr. Blake has help from his housekeeper Jean (Nadine Garner), her nephew Danny (Rick Donald) a young constable and District Nurse Mattie O’Brien (Cate Wolfe). The show is set in1959.

The mysteries aren’t as Interesting as the way Doctor Blake solves the mysteries using his medical knowledge and re-enacting the crime. The show keeps you guessing until the end. Doctor Blake also has trauma from his time as a POW during World War II.

The episodes start out slowly but once they get going you wonder who killed the victim and it is never the person you suspect which is the fun part for mystery fans.

The show will air four episodes back-to-back starting at 8AM Eastern time on July 7, 2022. The show will begin airing season 2 on July 21, 2022 at 11AM Eastern time.

I think that if you enjoy mysteries you will enjoy watching this show. Even though the episodes begin slowly, stick with it you won’t regret it. I give this show a 4 out of 5 stars.

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The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.

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Interview with Jane Velez-Mitchell

TV Interview!

Jane Velez-Mitchell with puppy

Interview with Jane Velez-Mitchell of UnchainedTV by Suzanne 6/28/22

This was a really informative interview. I learned a lot from Jane, who is a veteran news reporter and activist. She’s definitely the most intense and passionate person I’ve ever interviewed.  Enjoy the video! Make sure you visit her free streaming news site, unchainedtv.com.

 

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Jane Velez-MitchellThere’s a New Streaming Boss in Town: Jane Velez-Mitchell

Hollywood, California, June 8, 2022 – Jane Velez-Mitchell, award-winning TV journalist, New York Times bestselling author and former CNN Headline News anchor, has launched a new streaming network called UnchainedTV. This network is FREE and does not require any emails, subscriptions, or disclosure of personal information to watch. How does she do this, you may ask? It is all done through her non-profit organization, here to expand your mind and transform your lifestyle. This channel offers documentaries, cooking shows, travelogues, talk shows and music videos. It is a portal to a joyous, healthier, more environmentally sustainable, and more compassionate lifestyle. UnchainedTV has just launched the first ever reality show starring a family of pigs called Pig Little Lies.

UnchainedTV Just Surpassed Its Millionth View

https://watch.unchainedtv.com/apps/3909/167038

This network offers a radically new approach to capture the attention of consumers who do not respond to arguments or graphic footage. UnchainedTV is using a format that has been proven to engage viewers: reality TV. Let viewers connect the dots on their own.

This is a subtle strategy to help brand the plant-based movement as something fun and uplifting. Psychologists say when people reach a conclusion on their own… it sticks.

With the Millionth mark passed, Jane Velez-Mitchell is proving all her years in media have given her insights into compelling and impactful storytelling. UnchainedTV provides a free road map for viewers to transform their lives one day or one program at a time.

Check out the network by visiting its online hub:  https://unchainedtv.com

Jane Velez-Mitchell is a television and social media journalist and author, with specialities in vegan lifestyles, animal rights, addiction and social justice. More

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Jane Velez-Mitchell with piglets

Interview with Catherine Bell and Tom Stevens

TV Interview!

Tom Stevens and Catherine Bell of "Jailbreak Lovers" on Lifetime

Interview with Tom Stevens and Catherine Bell of “Jailbreak Lovers” on Lifetime by Suzanne 6/1/22

This was from a LIfetime press day covering three different movies. It was great to speak to Catherine Bell, who has been on so many series and in many movies. I’ve spoken with Tom Stevens a few times before. They were both great in this movie. Even though the movie is about two felons, it has a humorous side to it that improves on the story. I enjoyed it. Also, there are many dogs, which elevates it even further.

MODERATOR:  Wonderful. Well, thank you all for coming to our Summer 2022 Virtual Press Day. Please join me in welcoming the stars of “Jailbreak Lovers.” We have with us today executive producer and star Catherine Bell along with her costar Tom Stevens. First up is Tamara.

QUESTION:  Hi, how are you?

TOM STEVENS:  I’m good, Tamara, how you doing?

QUESTION:  I’m good. Thank you. So Toby always followed the rules and did what was expected of her. Can you guys identify with the character’s desire to be carefree, coloring outside the lines, not being perfect, or simply being wild and free for once?

CATHERINE BELL:  Well, I think probably anyone could relate to that.  Hopefully, people don’t resort to this sort of a, (laughs) craziness but, you know, I think there’s always that idea of, like, “Ooh, what if I, you know, broke the rules and did something wild for a moment.” I think that’s what – I wanted to at least give a sense of like – People are always going why would someone do this? Why would someone break the law and do something like this and, hopefully, we give you guys a little insight into where that comes from.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah, and I agree. I think that every person needs to kind of check in on their life at some point and go am I coloring too within the lines, o do I need to go outside of my comfort zone, because I think out of your comfort zone, outside your comfort zone is where you really learn who you are.

CATHERINE BELL:  Yeah.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

MODERATOR:  Wonderful. Thank you. Up next, we have a question from Suzanne. Suzanne, you may feel free to unmute.

QUESTION:  Hi. Catherine, since you were a producer on this movie, did you have any influence over the tone of the movie? It’s a little less serious than most Lifetime movies I’ve seen.

CATHERINE BELL:  You know, Katie Boland is our beautiful director. She brought her vision to this, which was this playful and high-energy and sexy and fun spirit. You know, I really — I think Tom and I both really enjoyed making this movie because it had all of that in it. It was just this fast-paced and just wild adventure that these two were on and, you know, definitely you have some say as a producer, but I got to say it all just kind of came together magically. There wasn’t a whole lot to do except become this character on my end, you know.

QUESTION:  And that same for you, Tom?

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah, no, I mean, I didn’t have the same kind of hand in it as Catherine did, but I mean it was what we brought kind of fit exactly what Katie wanted, what Catherine and I were doing, and it was just so fun to just — Like we shot so many scenes kind of like back to back to back to back and we always found like a fun way of connecting as these two people, because in the prison it was like a secret love, and then when we were out in the cabin it was more spontaneous and free, and every single time Catherine and I brought like a really strong connection and, yeah, it was just always fun. You know, every scene was always fun to shoot.

QUESTION:  Well, thanks. It was fun to watch.

CATHERINE BELL:  We joke we want to do a sequel. I don’t think it’ll happen. They’re not together, but we had too much making it.

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah.

QUESTION:  As long as you have dogs. That’s the good thing.

CATHERINE BELL:  Right, exactly.

TOM STEVENS:  Prison pen pals and dogs.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

MODERATOR:  Wonderful. Thank you, Suzanne. Up next we have Jamie. Jamie, you may feel free to unmute.

QUESTION:  Hi, thanks for talking to us today.  So can you kind of talk about when you’re doing something that’s based on real people, like, how — Can you talk about balancing kind of what you pull from that versus what you’re able to creatively add from yourself, for both of you?

CATHERINE BELL:  Tom, you go.

TOM STEVENS:  Oh, you want me to go.

CATHERINE BELL:  Yeah.

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah, Jamie, good to see you again.

QUESTION:  You too.

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah, it’s I think with John, he — like with Maynard, uh, there wasn’t a lot about him.  There’s kind of the story.  There’s a lot of Moll and like of everything that she went through, but for John it was kind of more free for me to just bring the foil to her husband, do you know what I mean? Like I had to represent something that was something that she was missing in her life, and it was a more free experience to build the character rather than actually like, you know, having interviews that I could bounce off of, like Catherine obviously had.

CATHERINE BELL:  Yeah. I, on the other hand, had a lot of interviews, and I watched all the ones that I could find of Toby.  Obviously, I don’t look anything like her so I gave that up quickly.  But there’s an essence to her that I tried to get.  You know, there’s just she’s got that little bit of the Kansas accent and, yeah, just this sweet woman who really just was totally taken by surprise by this guy, and it just completely altered the course of her life.  But, yeah, it was a lot of fun trying to become this woman who is very different than myself.

QUESTION:  Thank you so much, both of you.

CATHERINE BELL:  Thank you.

TOM STEVENS:  Thanks, Jamie.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Jamie.  Up next is Mike Hughes. Mike, feel free to unmute.

QUESTION:  Okay. There we go. Okay, cool. Probably shortly after you finish this another real-life case like this came up in Alabama where someone escaped with (inaudible). I was wondering did this give you like special interest in it? Did you kind of follow that news story extra special? Do you may root for them or anything like that?

CATHERINE BELL:  I mean, you know, yeah, it was unbelievable that that happened. It was like, okay, life imitating art imitating real life, you know. It’s interesting that this happens a fair amount, you know, that these guys are in this unusual situation in a prison and fall for each other. The idea for me of crossing that line and going, “Yeah, let’s break out of jail,” I mean, really, you’re never going to get away with it, you know. That one ended very tragically but, yeah, it’s just fascinating.

QUESTION:  You didn’t root for them —

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah.

CATHERINE BELL:  What’s that?

TOM STEVENS:  Were you rooting for them, Catherine?

CATHERINE BELL:  Was I (laughs), I mean, I don’t think — no, I wasn’t really thinking about it either way. It was very, very sad, of course, how it ended but, yeah, I would have preferred a happier ending than that, for sure.

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah. And we kind of tell – we kind of tell the fictitious fun side of this, and I mean the true story between Toby and John is, you know, a little darker than this like in reality than the story that we told, and I’m sure that that story was darker, too. So, I mean, we can have with this because we’re making a movie about it but, you know, these people were going through something.  Yeah, it’s more serious when it’s real.

QUESTION:  Okay. Thanks.

MODERATOR:  Wonderful. Thank you, Mike. Up next we have Jay Bobbin. Jay, feel free to unmute.

QUESTION:  Hi, folks. Hi, Catherine. How are you?

CATHERINE BELL:  Hi, Jay.

QUESTION:  Hi, good to see you.

TOM STEVENS:  Hi, Jay.

QUESTION:  Catherine, question for you. You’ve done non-edgy for so many years now.  To step back into something that is decidedly edgy, an actor acts, obviously, that’s their profession, but was it an easy thing for you or did it take working up to this a little bit having done Cassie for so many years?

CATHERINE BELL:  Yeah, you know what? It’s always challenging to me, which is probably why I love acting so much.  It’s never just like, oh, a piece of cake.  Like it’s like, oh, who is this person, and in the beginning you don’t know who they are or how to become them and watching her interviews and kind of just trying to work on that was a beautiful challenge. I really loved it – really, really love stepping into this. And, yeah, edgy, edgy and also a very kind of withdrawn, like kind of toned-down person as well, someone who’s not so confident or whatever. So it was just a lot of fun for me to play all of those things.

QUESTION:  Thanks a lot.

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah, it was fun to witness, actually. It was fun to watch you build the character, yeah, yeah.

CATHERINE BELL:  Thank you. We had so much fun together.

TOM STEVENS:  I know.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Jay.  Up next we have “Starry Constellation Magazine.”

QUESTION:  Well, Tom, they say you should never work with ids and animals onscreen, and you worked with a number of dogs. Talk about the training you went through for dog training.

TOM STEVENS:  So I’m an advocate for Cesar Mila and everything that he does with behavioral science and dog science, and I have a dog of my own that I have put through a rigorous training, and it comes naturally to me to be around animals and to be like an alpha or like a calm sort of presence with them. So that wasn’t hard for me.  What was when the dogs didn’t care that I was a calm presence or authoritative presence, and they were like my trainer’s behind the camera, and I could do whatever I want right now for the next thirty seconds while the cameras are rolling, and he starts eating a toy in the middle of our scene.  So there’s like there’s certain things that you can’t control when like a dog’s just on the side, and he just kind of starts doing his own thing, but there’s like a lot of things that you can do to just be like the calm presence for the dogs that they respect. They say don’t work with animals because animals are in the moment, and the audience will always be drawn to them, so it kind of forces you to be in the moment with the dog, and then it’s interesting for the audience to watch.

MODERATOR:  Awesome. Thank you. Up next we have Cynthia Horner.

QUESTION:  Hello.

CATHERINE BELL:  Hi.

TOM STEVENS:  Hi, hi, hi.

QUESTION:  I would like to ask both of you this question what is a memorable behind the scenes moment that you can tell us about when you were filming?

TOM STEVENS:  Hm.

CATHERINE BELL:  Hm.

TOM STEVENS:  There were a lot, there were a lot.

CATHERINE BELL:  I instantly thought of the car chase stuff.  That was just so much fun.

TOM STEVENS:  That was so much fun.

CATHERINE BELL:  Yeah. Actually, driving and then on the top of the truck where they’re towing you and you’re pretending there’s so much going on. We had some good laughs.

TOM STEVENS:  And getting arrested. I think I loved the feeling as when we got out of week one, when we got out of the prison. I mean we were shooting a prison movie so a lot of it had to be done on location in this corrections facility, and it felt very much like repeated scenes, like we were doing like similar scenes over and over and over again in this box, and then when we got out of that week it was like this freedom just opened up, and it really felt like the characters got to like go and see new places, and go to different restaurants, and do all this stuff. It was very much what the character is going through. So I love that like transition into the Toby and John being free period.

CATHERINE BELL:  True. I also really loved all the stuff in the cabin. It was just such a tiny, little cabin and our whole crew really bonded. Just it was, you know, just — It was Halloween, too, right, and the crew came in with the crazy costumes on and we were in our Toby and John costumes —

TOM STEVENS:  In our little, yeah — And it like nearly drowned us in rain. It was pouring rain so hard. It was like flooding around the cabin, it was crazy. And then our DP is in a Sumo suit, and it was hilarious.

QUESTION:  Wow, you guys had great stories to tell. Thank you.

TOM STEVENS:  No worries, Cynthia.

CATHERINE BELL:  Thank you, Cynthia.

MODERATOR:  Wonderful. Thank you, Cynthia. Up next we have Rick Bentley. Rick?

QUESTION:  Hi, can you hear me?

CATHERINE BELL: (Inaudible @ 00:14:32).

QUESTION:  Great. I’m sorry. Hey, Catherine, I’m just curious. This sort of ripped from the headlines, it’s something that’s been going on for years, and obviously there’s a big audience for that out there, do you think it’s a situation of people being sort of living vicariously through these wild moments or is it there by the grace of God goes me?

CATHERINE BELL:  Oh, man. You know, I’m sure it’s just that natural curiosity that all humans have of like what is going on in someone’s else world, you know. And, yes, this is a crazy world. It’s something that, hopefully, most people will never experience, and then there’s that other, you know, the concept of what were thinking? Why would somebody do that? So, hopefully, they get a little taste of that with what Tom and I did, you know, just the how they fell in love and what led this to this crazy idea that they might get away with running away together, you know.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

CATHERINE BELL:  Thank you.

MODERATOR:  Awesome. Thank you, Rick. Up next is Luaine Lee. Luaine.

QUESTION:  Yeah, Catherine, you were talking about the challenge and how you really adore the challenge in acting, and you’ve been doing it a long time, so what is it that you like best about acting and television, and what do you like the least?

CATHERINE BELL:  In television as opposed to film you mean or just in general, acting?

QUESTION:  Well, just in general acting.

CATHERINE BELL:  Yeah. I think I love so much about it. I love the process. I love the finding the character, and as I mentioned, the challenges of that, it keeps me on my toes and always wanting to improve and be better and even up until the scene is over, you’re still okay, “Well, the next take I want to try this. I want to do that. I want to make this better or different.” I love the camaraderie, and there’s just such a sense of family on these shows that you do together, movies, shows, whatever. You just meet such beautiful people, and so much I love about it. I love the effect it has on people when they’re watching it. I think probably I love the adventure of travel and going to different locations, but sometimes that’s challenging for my family, you know, just to be away so much, so that’s probably, if I could say here’s something I don’t like about it, sometimes that gets challenging. But, again, you just — I’ m so grateful for what I get to do, so I got no complaints.

QUESTION:  So what’s the worst part of it?

CATHERINE BELL:  Yeah, I think that, you know, being along in a hotel room for weeks at a time, especially in COVID.  There was one stretch I took my son to Toronto for “Good Witch”. It was thirteen weeks away from home. I couldn’t go back and forth because of the travel quarantine. That was intense.

QUESTION:  Oh, wow. Thank you.

CATHERINE BELL:  Yeah, thank you.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Luaine. And then we have Steve (Gitmo @ 00:17:26). Steve?

QUESTION:  Hey, how are you guys?

CATHERINE BELL:  Hey, good.

TOM STEVENS:  I’m good.

QUESTION:  Good. I just wanted to ask how familiar were you or at all familiar with this story? Was it all kind of news to both of you when you got the script?

CATHERINE BELL:  I haven’t heard of it at all. When I started telling people about it a lot of people remembered seeing it on the news. It was on “Dateline” and “Anderson Cooper” and all of that, but I hadn’t heard of it at all. You, Tom?

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah, no, same. The escaping out of prison in a dog crate. I think it maybe a rang a bell but maybe I’m like, yeah, maybe that’s just a logical way to sneak out of prison.  But the case itself I hadn’t heard anything about it, then I started reading the script, and it was just so fun.

CATHERINE BELL:  Yeah.

QUESTION:  And, Tom, can you actually fit in a dog crate?

TOM STEVENS:  Easily, easily. That dog crate was too easy to fit into. I wanted a smaller one. I wanted to do contortion, you know.

QUESTION:  Thanks so much.

TOM STEVENS:  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Awesome. Thank you.  And we’re going to be wrapping here momentarily but I see two more hands are up. Jamie from SciFi Vision, did you have another question?

QUESTION:  Yeah, I can go again. I was going to ask about the dog crate, but so what did the two of you learn about yourselves from working on this show either as performers or just as people in general?

CATHERINE BELL:  Ooh.

TOM STEVENS:  Ooh.

CATHERINE BELL:  Wow. Tom, do you want to answer? I want to think about that.

TOM STEVENS:  I think what I learned about myself was it’s — With all the challenges that came with this there’s a lot of layers to John and playing John, and when I ever felt like I was kind of lost in it all I knew I had to do was connect with Catherine, and I don’t know if I learned that about myself, but I did learn that I can trust in Catherine whenever I feel like I’m lost in a scene. Is that me learning something? I don’t know. I learned that about Catherine.

CATHERINE BELL:  Hm, thank you. Yeah, I had such an incredible time working with you and our connection. It was just really, really special; really, just like you said, you just look in your eyes and it was like all there, and I don’t know.

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah.

CATHERINE BELL:  It was probably just a great realization that I can do this sort of a role, which was so different for me and being able to trust in you and just making that happen. It was so magical.

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah.

QUESTION:  Well, thank you and I enjoyed it, so.

TOM STEVENS:  Thank you, Jamie. We loved it, too.

MODERATOR:  Awesome, and now our final question is from Mike Hughes. Mike?

QUESTION:  Yeah. I’ll just ask real briefly, all your impressions of working when you were in the correction facility there, it looked like it wasn’t a high security one. It looked like it was maybe medium or a low-security facility. Nothing struck you about it there and did you get a chance to interact with the prisoners at all? Were they friendly to you? Just give us your overall impressions.

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah.

CATHERINE BELL:  Yeah. Well, it wasn’t an active prison, so it was actually shut down. So, but still I, for me, it was very — And, Tom, you were the one in the cell, but so cold, so impersonal. I can’t even imagine being in a cell like that for years or for life. It’s just wow, where I really just realized what that experience could be like, just a little taste of it.

TOM STEVENS:  Yeah. Again, it’s an old youth center, so it’s a youth correction center in Burnaby that we were shooting in and all the other prisoners were background so, you know, not actual prisoners, but I did get a chance on my other show in Halifax I got to talk to a lady on our crew who had spent four months in prison that year on a charge that she was serving from years prior. It just all caught up with her, and she’s a good friend of mine and we sat down and just like hatch — She gave me as much insight on what living in prison was like, and I just asked for words that would come up in her mind every day, like what’s something that you would think every single day, and frustration is a big one, and you can feel frustrated places like that because it, like Catherine said, it’s so confined and so isolating, and there’s no time, and you just — It’s very plain and uncomfortable. Like there’s no cushions. So you can imagine a human being whose mind needs stimulation become completely frustrated in a situation like that.

QUESTION:  Okay, thanks.

MODERATOR:  Thank you. And thank you, Catherine and Tom for joining us today. “Jailbreak Lovers” premieres Saturday, July 2nd, at 08:00 p.m., seven Central only on Lifetime. Stay tuned for “He’s Not Worth Dying For” in a moment.

MORE INFO:

Official Lifetime Site and Preview

Inspired by a true story, Jailbreak Lovers follows Toby (Catherine Bell), a woman who always played by the rules. Toby never ran a red light, married the only boy she ever dated, raised a family and went to church. She did everything she was supposed to do. When Toby loses her job and starts a non-profit to rehabilitate abused, rescued dogs at the local prison no one could have anticipated that she would end up on the run, shacked up with her younger lover John (Tom Stevens), a convicted murderer. The star-crossed lovers hatch a plan to break John out of prison by smuggling him out in one of the dog crates, sparking a federal manhunt.

Jailbreak Lovers is produced for Lifetime by Crate Productions Inc. Catherine Bell, Angela Mancuso, Stacy Mandelberg and up-and-coming director Katie Boland are executive producers. Supervising producers are Oliver DeCaigny and Tom Stanford. Boland directed from a script by Anne-Marie Hess and Jodie Burke.

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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poster for "Jailbreak Lovers"

Interview with cast of “Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story”

TV Interview!

 

Lifetime press day panel for "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story"

Interview with actors Candice King, Michael Roark and Jackson Hurst; EP Kim Raver; and Director Nicole L. Thompson of “Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story” on Lifetime by Suzanne 6/1/22

This is your typical Lifetime thriller, based on a true story.  Candice King does a great job as the title character. This was from a larger Lifetime press panel. I hope you enjoy it!

 

MODERATOR: Please join me in welcoming the cast and creatives from “Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story.” We have with us today Executive Producer Kim Raver; Director Nicole L. Thompson who makes her directorial debut with this movie; Candice King who plays Melanie McGuire; Michael Roark who plays Melanie’s husband and victim; and, Jackson Hurst who plays the doctor with whom Melanie is having an affair. I’m going to now open the floor to questions. If you would like to ask a question, just a quick reminder at the bottom there’s a reactions button. You can raise your hand, and I will get to as many questions as possible, and we’re just going to get started right now.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. Hi, everyone. Kim, my question is for you. I know you’ve been producing for a while. When you get a project like this do you automatically look for a role for yourself in it, or do you not look for a role in it, or I’m not sure which way that question really cuts, but obviously we know your acting credentials, so it strikes me that perhaps you might have pursued the role of the prosecutor had you wanted it. Can you talk about that a little bit?

KIM RAVER: Sure. Hi, Jay. Thank you for your question. I actually don’t look for a role for myself. I, you know, I love the fact that I can kind of be a creative and my job is on “Grey’s” acting in it. So it’s, I think, you know, my partner, Manuel Boyer, who’s also executive producer on this, we look for things that are story driven and, for sure, I’m looking for really interesting characters. But the way that I can kind of produce is, in a way, if I’m not acting in it. But I still I think my acting drive helps me kind of search out for really interesting characters and really interesting female characters. So I think my first thing is, yes, I would imagine how an actor would want to play it or perceive it, because if it’s something that I find interesting I’m hoping that other actors as talented as this group, you know, is as interested. So I think for me it’s character driven, but it’s more about me not acting in it so that I can kind of do it simultaneously.

QUESTION: Thank you very much.

QUESTION: Thank you. Candice, I’m just curious. Your career has been filled with fantasy roles and that strangeness that comes in those kind of characters, but when you do a project like this do you sometimes think that life is stranger than fiction, than the fictional fantasy worlds?

CANDICE KING: Yes, absolutely. Even in some of the circumstances we found ourselves filming in. I mean, essentially, recreating what is, of course, in real life, a horrific scene of a body being cut up in a bathtub. I oddly felt right at home with a bunch of fake blood and, you know, being thrown at my face and, you know, fake saw sounds. It really brought me back to some “Vampire Diaries” days, so absolutely real life and fantasy can obvious — There’s a lot of parallels, shockingly.

QUESTION: To follow up, Candice, real quickly, what do you do as far as thinking their state-of-mind? Do you think this person I’m playing is a guilty person or somebody that doesn’t understand guilt? What kind of state-of-mind do you get yourself into?

CANDICE KING: Ooh, well, that’s a big question for anyone that was on set with me, because I get very into stories, and especially true life crime stories. So I talked everybody’s ear off about this case. For me, personally, I really just felt that it was my responsibility to tell Melanie’s story, as those were the shoes that I was filling, and this was someone who, by her own account, she is a mother who was scared and as in an abusive relationship, and who was also very dedicated to her job and who was not perfect. She had many, many faults, self-admittedly. So I really felt that kind — listening to her testimony and that she had given to her lawyers, and as well as there’s a great podcast called “Direct Appeal” in which she spoke for hours, there’s hours of recording of her sharing her story and her experiences that I listened to. So that’s more kind of the direction in which — or at least that’s what I was showing up to set with, you know, also while following the script that we have.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Rick. I have an email request that we received for Nicole. Nicole, you’re a first-time director. What was your experience like bringing this shocking story to television?

NICOLE THOMPSON: It was a great experience being able to work with this very talented cast and crew. As a first-time feature director, it was very important to me to make sure that I did the research to give the story justice and make sure that the facts shine through and showing the characters in fullness, right. Candice spoke to how being flawed, but also having a humanity side to it, so just wanting to make sure that the characters were portrayed properly, but also making sure that film had a full story arc all from beginning to end.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Nicole.

QUESTION: Yeah. This is also for Nicole. Interestingly enough, at the last session, we had a Black actress told a story about how she knew she wasn’t getting the role, because the real life person was Caucasian, and she got the role anyway, and so I was wondering, I wanted to ask you are we closer to having real colorblind casting now? Have you sensed any of that at all? And also are we closer to getting rid of that huge gap of there weren’t enough Black people behind the screen, scenes as directors and producers and so on?

NICOLE THOMPSON: Great question. I think Hollywood has definitely began progressing, but I think we still have more to go. I think in terms of your first question with colorblind casting, when I’m looking for cast I’m looking for the best person who can play the role, so I can’t speak for every director or every company, but — and that’s something that’s a priority for me. And I’m happy with the way things are progressing as well as, you know, seeing more people of color in leadership roles behind the camera, so but I would say, back to my first point, we definitely are taking steps further but there’s still more to go, and I’m very thankful to Lifetime who allowed this opportunity, the Broader Focus Initiative is to put more women in opportunities of leadership roles behind the camera, so that’s why I think because of leaders like Lifetime there is a change.

QUESTION: Okay. Cool, thanks.

KIM RAVER: Yeah, I’m going to add into that. I really do feel that Lifetime is like what Nicole was saying. They really are taking the steps to give opportunities to women and to women of color, and in order to make those changes we need to have those positions filled by women and Women of Color, and Lifetime is really doing that, and I think as producers, too, we’re really trying to support that, and we have Lifetime’s support, which is it’s really encouraging, and it’s just the steps and moving in the right direction of where we need to go and then, you know, we’re lucky to have the talent of Nicole to be able to direct a movie like this, and Lifetime giving those opportunities. So, yeah, it’s nice that that’s happening, and it’s happening at Lifetime.

QUESTION: Cool. Thanks.

MODERATOR: Thank you. The next question is an email question for Michael Roark. You play Melanie’s husband in the film, who she subsequently murders. What was the biggest challenge you faced in playing him?

MICHAEL ROARK: Well, initially, you know, obviously, whenever we’re doing a story that’s, you know, we’re doing a real-life story here we’re going where are the resources, what are the facts, and the biggest challenge I faced initially was two things. One was while there was a whole lot of information on Melanie there really wasn’t a whole lot on Bill. I was actually surprised how little could be found on Bill. So, you know, I had to do my work, kind of fill in a lot of those gaps and find my own interpretation. And the other is just the speed at which we move. You know, especially when we’re doing film you never know how much time you have to prepare something, so we moved very quickly on this, so that was a challenge but that’s not atypical for making films.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Michael.

QUESTION: Hi, for Candice, this is such a dark role. How long did you shake off a long day of embodying this character?

CANDICE KING: You know, I’d like to say that really going into — tequila. That’s the straight answer. No. I mean, the reality is that we, you know, as to what Michael was just saying, we shot so much in such a short amount of time, which I mean we were — we all were together for many, many hours within this three-week period, so there wasn’t a lot of time to really shake off the character, which I actually appreciated because, which sounds so silly, I usually don’t say things like that, but I really did get so deeply involved with reading as much as I could about this case and Melanie, because it is such a wild and tragic and fascinating story of so many flawed individuals, and even just the prosecution and the defense attorneys, that could be a whole other film in itself, just those two characters and real-life people. So there wasn’t a lot of shaking everything off, but I was totally happy with that, because I really could not get enough of the story and really convincing myself that I was going to solve it. I was just going to solve every, you know, unanswerable question to this case by obsessing over it for these few weeks.

MODERATOR: Thank you.

QUESTION: Hi, how are you guys?

GROUP: (Hellos.)

QUESTION: So Melanie did gruesome things in order to have the life she wanted. How do you guys feel about her maintaining her innocence even though the evidence proved otherwise? Do you think she was in denial or simply disassociated herself from the crime itself?

MICHAEL ROARK: Ooh, that’s juicy.

Candice King stars in"Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story" on LifetimeCANDICE KING: Well, there’s a lot of circumstantial evidence against Melanie, but that’s what I think is so fascinating about this case is that the actual physical evidence specifically to the condo in which her and Bill lived in they couldn’t find anything within that condo, and that’s what I think — Regardless of what you believe on either side of the case, you have to take that into consideration is, you know, they went four or five times. They took piping from the sinks and to test it and found nothing. So regardless of which side you stand on just, you know, the evidence alone it’s just really interesting based off of what the prosecution came to the courts with.

MICHAEL ROARK: I’ll chime in here. This is something we talked about endlessly on set as well. I do agree. There is, you know, if you look at the facts of the case there’s so many other things other than just, you know, the facts that were presented that even the discovery in the trial seemed like it was a bit off, so we’re not even sure the facts that were presented, you know, are all the information that’s there. And now there’s no smoking gun evidence but, at the same time, Melanie had some really behavior that kind of looks like someone who would be guilty. So, I mean, and this is obviously very much just like the minimal amount that we can, you know, just say like, you know — The case goes on and on but, for me, like how did it affect me coming in, it didn’t. I mean, I played Bill the way I would play Bill, and do I think there’s more to it? Do I think she was guilty? I don’t know. I’ve got opinions on it, but I’d like to hear what everyone else has to say.

QUESTION: Thank you.

KIM RAVER: Yeah, I think — Go ahead —

JACKSON HURST: Yeah, I will take it just for (a hair @ 01:04:05), you know, I was kind of torn. I went in thinking she was guilty, guilty, guilty as charged, and then I started listening to the podcast, of course, and I started doing my own research, and then I realized through, yeah, the forensic evidence that was completely lacking. It was circumstantial evidence and it’s crazy. I mean, you could get into the specifics of a few things but I, to this day, am still pretty torn. But, I mean, that’s what makes it such a riveting story, and Lifetime did a good job, Nicole did a good job at not forcing you to choose sides within the movie but just telling the story and then from there the audience can pick a side however they see fit, and then somebody can break Melanie out of jail and everything — everybody would be happy, boom.

QUESTION: Thank you.

KIM RAVER: I think that’s what’s so great about this film. I mean, the talent in it that tells the story, and the directing of it, that it’s this incredible roller coaster of back and forth, and there’s just there’s moments where you’re like, “Oh, my God. She did it.” “Oh, my God. She didn’t do it.” You know, and I think that that — I mean, unfortunately, it’s a real story, but I think that’s what makes a true crime story to watch so appealing is that there is so much back and forth, and it is such a sort of a ride that you go from one side to the other and just makes it a really great true crime story.

NICOLE THOMPSON: Yes, and I would add, you know, throughout the entire time it was pretty hard not to be torn, because it’s seeing both accounts, but also our goal was to kind of keep it in a way that the audience can, in return, make their decision.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you.

QUESTION: Hey, my question’s actually for Candice. Did you have to put your mindset in the fact that she was innocent to get an accurate portrayal of her, because I would imagine if you thought she was guilty, I’m not going to ask you to pick sides here, but I’m just wondering did you go into this thinking, yeah, she has to be innocent for me to accurately portray her?

CANDICE KING: Yeah, I mean, I think what any actor usually says to a question like this is that you have to go in servicing the character. So, of course, even though the character is a real person, you know, I am going in telling her story. Now what everyone’s just also shared is there are two different narratives. You know, there’s her story and there is, you know, the reason why she’s in jail, the fact that others believed the prosecution’s story and what they said happened. So, of course, yes, I showed up playing Melanie McGuire as Melanie McGuire and what she shared was her, you know, she still to this day declares innocence, you know, and she passed a polygraph test. It’s not admissible in court, but it’s there. So that’s absolutely the role that I came to. That’s who I was, whose story I was there sharing also while acting out the script and the story that you guys will all see, because it is, of course, we are sharing an entertainment version of these events. So as everyone has said you’re going to have moments of like did she, did she not, and that’s why we’re all turning on the TV to watch something.

QUESTION: Great. Thanks so much.

KIM RAVER: And I think what Candice does so well in this movie, which is so difficult, is it’s not like a one-dimensional “is she guilty/is she not guilty.” She’s such a human being with so many different layers, and that’s really her specific performance in all of these incredible moments and multilayered moments that it just also makes it — It’s so appealing to watch, because you’re watching this real human being go through and navigate such kind of intricate details of her life, and I think that that’s also what’s so fascinating, and it’s performed so well by you, Candice, and really kind of brings us into her world of how someone gets there whether they’re guilty or not guilty, and so that’s also the beauty of the performance.

CANDICE KING: Thank you.

MODERATOR: And so the next question is for Jackson Hurst. What is tough about playing a bad guy of sorts as the doctor who’s having an affair with Melanie McGuire?

JACKSON HURST: Bad guy?

KIM RAVER: I was like bad, (laughs.)

JACKSON HURST: This is news to me. This is the first I’m hearing this.

(Laughter.)

JACKSON HURST: You know what, it’s you don’t look at yourself as a bad guy. In my case, I looked at myself as an endocrinologist who’s in love with a woman, and that’s essentially it, and everything revolves around love, you know, and then at the end of the day did she kill somebody and stuff him in a suitcase, maybe. Do I still love her? Yeah, you know, and at the end of the day, it’s we go to court. I’m sure you guys have all seen the story, but it’s tough to justify all of your actions, but in this case, I loved her, and that’s pretty much it.

MODERATOR: Thank you so much.

QUESTION: I’m here. Yes, I really enjoyed the film, and I’m looking forward to watching it again once it actually comes on TV on June 18th. Can you all talk about any behind-the-scenes moment that was interesting that we wouldn’t have known about since we were not there on set with you?

CANDICE KING: I mean, I think that what was really interesting was how many times we’d find ourselves filming a scene and, all of a sudden, everyone would just stop for a minute and ran — like different people in the crew would go, “I don’t know if she did it. I don’t know if she did — “ because we, and then we’d find ourselves in another scene where they’d go, “No, no, no, no, no, this seems like she did it,” and just it was interesting to be acting out these two different, very different accounts that were presented in court, and I think the two ones — which, Nicole, you can expand on — but the two ones that stick out to me were, one, how much fake blood was in that bathroom and even if you were to drain a body of blood there would still be — You know, if you’ve ever been in a surgical room, my dad’s a doctor, so I’ve been lucky enough to witness a surgery, and it’s messy. You know, it’s not — it’s clean but it’s still very hard to keep it perfectly clean, but they’re going to have blood on the walls, and then the second thing would be throwing suitcases over the bridge, because we actually did that, and they were very difficult, and less than what Melanie would have been pushing over the bridge.

NICOLE THOMPSON: Yes, I can’t chime in with that. Uh, Candice did an amazing job at just demonstrating lifting those suitcases and how much they would have actually weighed in real life, and like it’s like this is actually really difficult to do so just experiencing that, to have it come to life, it was definitely a testament to, you know, what some might say how could this happen or how could it not happen, but I would just say that whether you agree or disagree those moments were definitely some things that we can keep with us as we think about the journey of making this film.

MODERATOR: Thank you. I think we have time for one more question.

QUESTION: Yeah. I wanted to ask you, Candice, the year on “Vampire Diaries,” what do you think you learned from that experience that you could apply to this one?

CANDICE KING: Shaving cream gets out fake blood when it (stains to your skin @ 01:12:46).

KIM RAVER: And tequila at night. No, I’m just kidding.

CANDICE KING: And tequila at night, yes. Those are both two very important facts. I mean, I think what I would apply — We had very long hours. We had a lot of nights on that show. We were 22 to 24 episodes a season, so I think making a lot happen in a short amount of time but, obviously, my time on “Vampire” was very special. You know, it immediately kind of bonds you when you are working those kind of hours together. So I think that that’s also something that could be applied to this experience. We’re all coming in. We were all — You know, the story really did take a hold of all of us at different points throughout the experience. It’s impossible for it not to, and so just to immediately all be showing up to make the best story that we could together is something that I was delighted to be able to experience with a new group of individuals in such a short amount of time.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Well, that concludes today’s Virtual Press Day. Just a quick reminder that “Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story” premieres on Saturday, June 18th at 8/7 Central. A special thank you to the cast and creatives from “Suitcase Killer” and all the panelists that joined us today. Thank you, everyone. As a quick reminder, transcripts and recordings will be available beginning tomorrow. If we didn’t get to your question please feel free to email us at LifetimePR@aenetworks.com, and please be sure to tune into all of our incredible movies all season long, and follow us on social at @LifetimeTV and @LifetimeTVPR. Have a great week and thank you so much.

MORE INFO:

Trailer

poster for "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story"

Based on a shocking true story, Melanie McGuire (Candice King) was an exceptional fertility nurse, married to her ex-Navy husband Bill (Michael Roark) and doting mother of two boys. When she falls for Brad (Jackson Hurst), a doctor at her clinic, and gets entangled in a steamy love affair, Melanie does the unthinkable. After drugging and murdering Bill, she dismembers him and places the body parts into three suitcases, throwing them into Chesapeake Bay. But when the suitcases are found on the shores of Virginia Beach, an investigation is launched leading to Melanie as the prime suspect. Led by the efforts of assistant attorney general Patti Prezioso (Wendie Malick), authorities eventually bring Melanie to justice, who despite being convicted, continues to maintain her innocence.

Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story is produced by Swirl Films and Big Dreams
Entertainment. Executive producers are Manu Boyer and Kim Raver. As part of the Broader Focus initiative, Nicole L.Thompson makes her directorial debut from a script by Peter O’Brien.

Candice King and Michael Roark in Suitcase Killer: "The Melanie McGuire Story" on LifetimeCandice René King is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Caroline Forbes in The CW supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries and her recurring role as the same character on the spin-off series The Originals and Legacies.

 

 

Michael Roark was born in Schaumburg, Illinois, USA as Michael Sean Roark. He is an actor, producer and a licensed attorney, known for his roles as Marshall Bennett in Bennett’s War (2019), Kyle Johnson in Beauty and the Beast (2012), Travis Crawford in The Young and the Restless (1973) and Colton Donavan in Driven (2018). He has starred in several television series including Sleepy Hollow (2013), Finding Carter (2014), Banshee (2013) and Grey’s Anatomy (2005).

Jackson Hurst in "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story" on Lifetime

Jackson Ryan Hurst is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Grayson Kent on the Lifetime comedy series Drop Dead Diva.

 

 

 

Kim Raver of "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story" on LifetimeKimberly Jayne Raver is an American actress and producer. She is best known for television roles as Dr. Teddy Altman on ABC’s medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, Kim Zambrano on Third Watch, and Audrey Raines on 24.

 

 

Nicole L. ThompsonNicole L. Thompson is a filmmaker born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. Nicole L. Thompson is the Director of Lifetime Network’s film Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story. Nicole is also the Producer for Nickelodeon’s Noggin animated children’s show Rhymes Through Times featuring Nick Jr. characters. Nicole graduated from USC with a MFA in Film & TV Production. Recently, Nicole served as the 2nd Unit Director of Lifetime Television Network Original Film Envy.

 

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Candice King stars in"Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story"

Primetime TV Review: “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend”

TV Review!

“Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend” Review on by Eva 6/16/2022

I enjoy watching cooking shows although I don’t know how to cook. One of my favorite shows to watch on Food Network was Iron Chef America. The show was fun to watch and I loved to see what the chefs would do with the secret ingredient.

The food Network canceled the show a few years ago but Netflix has brought the show back and the eight episodes of the show are now available to stream. The show consists of battles between an Iron Chef and a challenger and the battles have a theme such as tailgating or street food. The chefs must make several courses of food to present to three judges who give each chef points. The chef who gets the most points wins the battle if the challenger beats the Iron chef; that chef has the chance to return to compete in the final battle where the chef has to compete against all five of the Iron chefs to have the chance to become the Iron Legend.

If you love to watch cooking shows you will enjoy this show; it is interesting to see what dishes the chefs prepare with some little known ingredients and you learn some food facts during the show too.

The episodes last thirty minutes, so if you like to binge watch, it is easy to do with this show. I am so happy that Iron Chef is back, and the show has kept all the ingredients that made Iron Chef America so much fun.

I give this show 5 out of 5 stars.

More Information:

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The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.

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Review of “Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Eleventh Season”

DVD Review!

"Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Eleventh Season" DVD cover

“Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Eleventh Season” Review by Suzanne 6/10/21

This is my favorite comedy, since “Frasier” left the air. Yes, “Seinfeld” was very good, but I liked “Frasier” better. “Curb” is better than both. In part, that’s because it’s on HBO. Larry David can come up with these great ideas that would never have worked on broadcast TV.  This season, they had some great guest stars such as Jon Hamm and Tracey Ullman.  One of the new characters, Maria Sofia (Keyla Monterroso Mejia), is polarizing among fans. She’s both annoying and hilarious. More importantly, she makes Larry funnier.  Leon is also one of our favorite characters, and he continues to make us laugh uproariously.

I hope you can enjoy these episodes as much as we did. Each season is only 10 episodes, and it’s hard to wait between seasons while Larry comes up with the ideas and perfects them.

The DVD, unfortunately, doesn’t have any features or extras.  At least, though, you shouldn’t have too much trouble taking off the shrink wrap.

Buy this DVD

MORE INFORMATION:

HBO’s Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award Winning TV Series

Brings Home the Antics

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM:

THE COMPLETE ELEVENTH SEASON

Contains All 10 Hilarious Episodes from the Eleventh Season

Available on DVD June 14, 2022

BURBANK, CA (April 19, 2022) – HBO’s iconic comedic series, from writer/producer/comedian Larry David, will have you laughing in your seats as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases Curb Your EnthusiasmThe Complete Eleventh Season on DVD June 14, 2022. Life will be prett-ay, prett-ay, prett-ay good as you binge on all 10 episodes from the outrageous eleventh season. Curb Your EnthusiasmThe Complete Eleventh Season will retail for $19.99 SRP ($24.99 in Canada) and will also be available to own on Digital via purchase from all major digital retailers. All seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm are now available for streaming on HBO Max.

Starring Larry David as an over-the-top version of himself, the iconic Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm offers a tongue-in-cheek depiction of the writer/producer/comedian’s fictionalized life. With Jeff Garlin (as manager Jeff Greene), Susie Essman (as Jeff’s wife Susie), Cheryl Hines (as Larry’s ex-wife Cheryl), JB Smoove (as Leon), and Richard Lewis and Ted Danson (as themselves), all reprising their roles alongside a rotating cast of familiar faces, including Vince Vaughn (as Freddy Funkhouser) and Tracey Ullman (as Irma Kostroski), Season 11 finds Larry once again seeking and dispensing his own peculiar brand of social justice.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is created by Larry David; executive producers, Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Jeff Schaffer; co-executive producer, Laura Streicher; consulting producers, Jon Hayman, Steve Leff.

10 EPISODES

  1. The Five-Foot Fence
  2. Angel Muffin
  3. The Mini Bar
  4. The Watermelon
  5. IRASSHAIMASE!
  6. Man Fights Tiny Woman
  7. Irma Kostroski
  8. What Have I Done?
  9. Igor, Gregor, & Timor
  10. The Mormon Advantage

DIGITAL

Curb Your Enthusiasm is currently available to own on Digital. Digital purchase allows consumers to instantly stream and download to watch anywhere and anytime on their favorite devices. Digital movies and TV shows are available from various digital retailers including Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu and others.

BASICS

Release Date: Jun 14, 2022

Presented in 16×9 widescreen format

Running Time: Feature: Approx. 330 mins

DVD Price: $19.99 ($24.99 in Canada)

2 Discs (2 DVD-9s)

Audio: English (5.1)

Subtitles: ESDH

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s physical and digital distribution businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, CNN+, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.

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The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.

Larry with Irma Kostroski in Season 11

Interview with Joel Kinnaman

TV Interview!

 

Joel Kinnaman of "For All Mankind" on Apple TV+

Interview with Joel Kinnaman of “For All Mankind” on Apple TV+ by Suzanne 6/2/22

It was great to speak with Joel. He’s one of my favorite actors, ever since “The Killing.” He’s wonderful in every show or movies he’s in. I only had 5 minutes to speak with him, but it was still great.  If you’re not watching this show, you should be…especially if you’re a fan of sci-fi or history. It’s a little slow at times but definitely worth the wait. Season 3 starts June 10! Keep reading below the interview for more information about Joel and the show.

Suzanne: So, can you tell us about your character this season?

Joel: Yeah, so,  we’re three decades into “For All Mankind,” and Ed Baldwin’s journey… You know, it’s fascinating to get to play someone over three decades. It’s a big chunk of a life. And, I think 10 years ago (something like that), I read a summary of this big study that three American universities (and I’m blanking on which ones they were), but they did this big study on personality where they studied personality over four decades. And what they realized was that every 10 years we’ve basically become a new person. That’s how much we change. So it was very fascinating to get to portray that. And, of course, we feel similar inside because we still carry the experiences, but we basically become new people. So that’s something that’s very present in my mind when I go into a new season here… you know, we change so much, but at the same time, we’re the same.

On our show, it’s been such a great journey on this because at the end of the first season, I think it was pretty hard for people to understand what the show really was, you know, because it doesn’t really reveal itself until the second and third season. I kept saying that on interviews after the first season: “Look, this is what it is now, but this is not the show.” It’s not like “Mad Men,” you know, in a NASA environment. This show is going to move really quickly in time. And every season is going to jump. It’s going to end up being the most grounded sci-fi show ever made. That’s where this is headed, and there’s going to be…there’s no official link, but at the end of this show, [it answers the question] how do you get from the space race of the late sixties to “Star Trek?” And “For All Mankind” might have something with that.

Suzanne: Hmm. That is interesting. Yeah. Thank you. I know you have to avoid spoilers, but is there anything in specific that you can tell us about what Ed goes through this season? I watched the first few episodes. I haven’t watched the rest yet, but…

Joel: Well, you know, Ed lost his son and, and then he lost his best friend. And his best friend’s son, Danny, was best friends with his son. So Danny should become his son [in Ed’s mind]. And that’s how Ed sees him, you know? Ed views him like, this is a chance for you to become my son. It has the potential to heal the wound and the void of Shane and also to give love and respect to his best friend, Gordo. But Danny’s just a different person and, and he doesn’t view Ed the same way that Ed views him. And I think the journey between Ed and Danny over the course of the third season is so fascinating. Also, because, you know, Danny’s very fascinated with Karen, Ed’s wife. Um, Fascinating. [In character] He’s fucked my wife! Ed doesn’t know about it, but…

Suzanne: Right. (Laughs)

Joel: (Laughs)

Suzanne: Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us today.

Joel: (Laughs) My pleasure.

Suzanne: All right. Talk to you later.

MORE INFO:

Poster for "For All Mankind" Season 3 on Apple TV+.

The race continues as Apple reveals trailer for adrenaline-fueled third season of space drama “For All Mankind” 

Critically acclaimed Apple Original from Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi returns Friday, June 10 on Apple TV+

Watch Trailer: https://youtu.be/M4EOW9oqZ4k

Apple TV+ today released the trailer for the highly anticipated third season of “For All Mankind.” The trailer sees the alternate-reality series jump ahead nearly ten years, moving into the early ‘90s with a high-octane race to a new planetary frontier: MARS. The critically-acclaimed series, from Emmy Award-winner Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, will make its global debut on Friday, June 10, 2022 on Apple TV+. The ten-episode third season will premiere with the first episode, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday through August 12, 2022.

In season three, the Red Planet becomes the new frontier in the Space Race not only for the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but also an unexpected new entrant with a lot to prove and even more at stake. Our characters find themselves going head-to-head as their ambitions for Mars come into conflict and their loyalties are tested, creating a pressure cooker that builds to a climactic conclusion.

The ensemble cast returning for season three includes Joel Kinnaman, Shantel VanSanten, Jodi Balfour, Sonya Walger, Krys Marshall, Cynthy Wu, Casey Johnson, Coral Peña and Wrenn Schmidt, along with new series regular Edi Gathegi who will play ‘Dev Ayesa,’ a charismatic visionary with his sights set on the stars.

“For All Mankind” is created by Emmy Award-winner Ronald D. Moore, and Emmy Award nominees Ben Nedivi & Matt Wolpert.  Nedivi & Wolpert serve as showrunners, and executive produce alongside Moore and Maril Davis of Tall Ship Productions, as well as David Weddle, Bradley Thompson and Nichole Beattie.“For All Mankind” is produced by Sony Pictures Television.

The first two seasons of “For All Mankind” are now available to stream on Apple TV+.

Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all your favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries, and series have been honored with more than 200 wins and 900 award nominations and counting.

About Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $4.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.*

FOR MORE INFORMATION

“For All Mankind” on Apple TV+: apple.co/–forallmankind

Instagram: apple.co/forallmankind_

Facebook: apple.co/ForAllMankind-

Twitter: apple.co/For-All-Mankind-

Hashtag: #ForAllMankind #AppleTV

Joel Kinnaman, star of "For All Mankind" on Apple TV+Joel Kinnaman Bio

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Wrenn Schmidt and Joel Kinnaman in "For All Mankind," premiering June 10, 2022 on Apple TV+.

Interview with Eric Kripke, Karl Urban, Chace Crawford, Claudia Doumit, Antony Starr and Erin Moriarty

TV Interview!

"The Boys" on Amazon Prime

Interview with Eric Kripke, Karl Urban, Chace Crawford, Claudia Doumit, Antony Starr and Erin Moriarty of “The Boys” on Prime Video by Suzanne 6/1/22

This is one of my favorite shows, even though it’s exceedingly violent and gory. I just love the characters, the story and the humor. I was very happy to be included in this year’s press day for the show. They didn’t allow us to record the video, unfortunately. Also, I was not able to ask Starr and Moriarity a question because the other journalists asked questions that were way too long. We were told to only ask one question, with no followup, but they didn’t follow the rules. We’re very limited in time. It’s such a shame, but I’ve included their questions here, at least. I heard that many journalists were asking some very bawdy questions about certain sex scenes in the show! It was pretty funny…You will understand more when you see the whole Season 3!

Showrunner Eric Kripke and star Karl Urban (Billy)

Suzanne: Oh, hi. Eric, one thing I’ve noticed with a lot of action shows is that it seems that they have to keep upping the ante every season on action and violence to keep the fans happy. Is this a pressure that you feel, or do you put pressure on yourself instead?

Eric: I actually don’t… we never tried to play the game of topping ourselves because I think it never leads to a really creatively, rich or fertile direction because you’re only thinking about steps and not about the characters. So what I always say in the [writers’] room is [that] the mandate is, “Don’t try to go bigger, try to go deeper.” And, “What’s a new aspect of all of these characters that we haven’t seen yet?” That every season has to get you even closer to the core of who they are. And that’s really challenging because you got to come up with new– you got to keep finding stuff that’s even deeper than the thing you did the season before. But if you… once you find that, then you say, okay, what’s the best way to dramatize that in this insane world that the show takes place in, and then that just kind of inevitably leads to these bananas moments. I really, swear to God, I don’t try to have it be bigger. I think the deeper you go into these characters and the more, you know, extreme their emotions are… just when you dramatize them, it just results in these, like, bat shit moments.

Suzanne: Like giving Karl’s character super powers?

Eric: Right. For example.

Karl: The explosive opening sequence was really born out of one of the worst allergy attacks, uh, you’ve ever had, right? [Laughs]

Eric: Right.

Suzanne: Well, thank you very much.

Karl: Thank you.

Henry: Thank you both for your time today. Amazing season. I love the show. I just want to start off by asking Eric, how long have you been waiting for Jensen Ackles to be available after you worked with him on “Supernatural?” It feels like this has been a placeholder character for him because of how you’ve worked with him in the past and how you know he’s going to do. And to Karl, we talked about going deeper and not bigger. What was it like to go find that the deeper you go into Billy Butcher, you sort of see a character that is getting… we started getting more comparisons to Homelander and how much of a threat and danger he is to those around him? And what have you felt about exposing that character in that way.

Karl: Okay. That was a great question. Um, yeah, I mean, in terms of elements about Homeland and Butcher, which have a similarity about them… in my opinion, the biggest similarity between them is the fact that they are both driven to destroy each other, and they are… neither of them are happy with the status quo. Uh, and on that issue alone, I think there is common ground, but fundamentally they’re quite different characters. And, uh, you know, think that, yes, Butcher has done some highly questionable things, and obviously Homelander has, too, but to my mind…I don’t even see that there are opposite sides of the same coin. I think they really both have so many different, wonderful shades with them, and then some of them overlap.

Eric: To answer your Jennson question. Uh, how long have I been waiting? About 15 years. Look, obviously, I love Jensen, and I’m not sure if you’ve heard or not, but I worked with him for a minute. So, when you do that many seasons of a TV show, you put them through every possible emotional permutation, you know, and one of the things I love about Jensen is how adept he is at every single thing you throw at him. He can be emotional, he can be scary, he can be funny, he can be charming, he can be sweet. Because of that, it allowed me to put all of those colors into Soldier Boy. Because [with] Soldier Boy, we needed him to be all of those things. And so it’s fun. It always takes you a minute as the writers and the actors are kind of feeling each other out to really start writing, like, “Oh, okay.” It starts to meld into one beautiful thing. I think that’s what we’re doing with all “The Boys” characters right now. So it was nice to have a new character show up, and for me to immediately be able to do that instead of having to go through that same process of discovery.

Monica: I’m going to just go right in. So, Karl, Butcher hates supes, obviously, but you’re slowly, you know, taking the temp V. So is he becoming something that he’s ultimately going to end up hating, or is he even aware of it as the season goes on? And then for Eric… music has been a huge part of the show. This will all come out later, but the musical episode was fantastic, so I wanted to ask about the constant use of Billy Joel. And if you have other musical things that you plan on doing, maybe a musical episode? And then, will Soldier Boy be back for next season?

Karl: Wow. A lot going on there.

Eric: Yeah.

Monica: I threw it all out! (Laughs)

Karl: Yeah, So, the moral dilemma for Butcher this season is, “Are you willing to turn yourself into the monster in order to defeat the monster?” And in Butcher’s case, the frustration that he feels has become so palpable, the danger that he senses in terms of Homelander getting closer to discovering the location of Ryan, and his general frustration with the lack of traction that he’s getting in taking down The Seven in conventional ways means that he decides to take that step and the wonderful thing about the way that it’s written is that Butcher is actually quite self-aware along the way. And he has, you know, a wonderful conversation with M.M., where he is, you know, pretty candid about that. He’s under no illusions as to exactly who he is. And then, he also has a great conversation with somebody else where he discusses the nature of power and what it does to people. So I think that it’s very cleverly written, and Butcher is a hundred percent aware that he’s making a very morally bankrupt choice. But he decides to do it anyway. And in true, “Boys” fashion, when you make the right choice, you get rewarded. And when you make the wrong choice, you get punished. And you know, every character in the show this season is really kind of faced with a precipice, and they have to decide whether they’re going to leap or not.

Eric: Yeah, just to.. (and then I’ll talk about the music thing) One thing that’s interesting that Karl touched on that we all talk about is: for as crazy and cynical as “The Boys” is, we take a lot of care to make sure it takes place in a moral universe. And you can tell who will win or lose this season based on the decisions they’re making. And is it a morally solid decision, or is it a morally bankrupt decision? And you can go through almost every season, for sure, and when they make the wrong choice, they tend to lose the season. And when they make the right choice, they tend to win it.

Eric: Um, in terms of the music…

Karl: And we’ll say, that is why Butcher has never won a season

(Both laugh)

Eric: It’s hard for Butcher to win a season.

Karl: Yeah, yeah. In terms of the music…

Eric: He’ll win at the end. Um, you know, in terms of like where the Billy Joel came from… where it really came from was [this: in] season one, we really scored all the needle drops from Butcher’s point of view. So it was all, like, a lot of punk rock. And then [in] season two, we thought, just to mix it up, we would score all the needle drops from Huey’s point of view…and Huey really loves yacht rock; that’s his thing. So Billy Joel was kind of a perfect, uh, indicator. And then each Billy Joel song really represents the emotions that he was going through that season. So it became this bizarre rock opera of Huey steps that we really loved. And in terms of the musical number this season… I’m just a huge fan of Hollywood musicals. Like, I love them, like, they’re so brilliantly done, and I’ve just been hungry to get a number in. I don’t think we’ll be able to do a whole musical episode because “The Boys” is just not that stylized of a show. It takes pains to take place in our version of reality; but to be able to like, just have a completely candy-colored, innocent sweetness in the middle of our, you know, bloody little milkshake was just a treat. And you can’t watch that sequence without a big smile on your face.

Karl: Entire musical episodes usually happen in season eight or nine when the writers are completely dried up of ideas.

Eric: We hope to be long gone [by then]. That’s a wrap around when Butcher moves to Hawaii and adopts a precocious child, and we’re going to get out before that.

Sophia: Karl, Eric, it’s such a pleasure to speak with both of you. Thank you for taking the time. So I just want to ask both of you the same question, just phrased differently. Eric, obviously we have a season four, which I’m so excited for, but do you have any sort of end in mind? Not that I want it to end any time soon, but do you have anything for it? And then Carl, is there anything you’d like to do with your character before the show comes to an end?

Eric: Yes. We’re thinking about it all building towards a thing, but also, I was in many interviews saying that “Supernatural” wraps out in five years. Um, So, there’s literally no other person in television history, more wrong about the length of their show…

Karl: (Laughs)

Eric: Literally, like this isn’t even hyperbole, like… I’m the most wrong that anyone’s ever been about how long a show goes. So I have learned my lesson and I do not publicly say how long I think the show should go. We’ll see how it.

Karl: I, too, have learned my lesson never to articulate any desires about what my character should or shouldn’t do in a show.

Eric: (Laughs)

Karl: Because as soon as an actor articulates it, it will never happen.

Eric: Or it’ll happen in such a horrible way…

Karl: Exactly.

Eric: He’ll regret having ever brought up.

Karl: Even furthermore, ma’am, I will not tell Krip what I do not want to do because that is a hundred percent guaranteed to make it into the show.

Eric: Can I tell you something? Someone said to me, during one of these interviews today, “You know, I was just interviewing Erin, and she really pointed out she hasn’t been covered in blood yet.”

Karl: (Laughs)

Eric: And I was like, that was a mistake. Yeah.

(Both laugh)

Karl: Laz* made the same mistake.

Eric: Yeah, he really did.

[*Laz Alonso, who plays M.M.]

As we said our goodbyes, I not only thanked them for the interview but for including one of my favorite actors because he has a great small part this season. I can’t say who that is, sorry!

Chace Crawford (Kevin AKA The Deep) and Claudia Doumit (Victoria Neuman)

Moderator: Hello, everyone. Just a friendly reminder to keep your mics muted, unless you’re asking a question. And Suzanne, you can take the next one.

Suzanne: Hi! You both… your characters are not what we would really call “good people,” but you also, well… Chase, you have a lot of– you’re, sort of the comic relief a lot of times, but, um, you both make us feel sympathy for your character at times. And how do you go about that, and is it difficult?

Claudia: I mean, I think it’s really easy to say the word “villains” in places like, bad or good. And I think these characters… I’m just always wary of saying that because–

Chase: Right. Life isn’t like that. The world’s not like that.

Claudia: No, and these are people and they’re going through many different things. Um, what a vague answer, Claudia that you’re giving right now…

Suzanne: [Laughs]

Chace: [Laughs]

Claudia: I’m going to possibly, uh…

Chace: I’ll say it like it is, I mean, the characters don’t judge themselves. Right? So you have to see it from their point of view. But for the show in the writing, I feel like it’s in there. Like they allow us to do these really, uh, interesting, weird things… To me, for me it would be like… one of the things that season one, at the end, we sort of– Eric calls it the Britney moment where he like is drunk and breaks down and shaves his head. It is such a weird thing, but you see, and as an audience– he’s by himself, you see this like kind of breakdown moments…just really interesting ’cause that’s kind of how he really, really is. And he’s sort of sheds that veneer, but he’s also, you know, just very deeply, it’s.. (I keep doing it) DEEPly insecure–

Claudia: DEEPly!

Chace: And he needs to be validated. So, yeah. So, can you be both of those things? Can you be an asshole and assault someone like he did in one episode and also try to save a dolphin, and have, like, a weird romantic relationship. It’s like so bizarre. And like, they deal with the tonal shifts so well, but I don’t really think, you know, it’s all gray. It’s not really…

Claudia: And they really dive into the gray on this show, and I think that’s important because human beings. Aren’t just like that… they’re three dimensional characters, and it’s a character-driven show. Like, sure, there’s explosions, and giant dicks, Herogasm and everything. But, it’s also, these characters are so rich…the writer’s room are fantastic at really making sure that that is the case. And I think that’s what makes it so entertaining to watch, too.

Chace: Right.

Claudia: Yeah.

Chace: And people can, yeah. They sort of… I want to say they can relate to that. No, I mean, but like it does give it a more well-rounded human dynamic of just, like the normal superhero arc of like, do this. And they’re only showing one side, but, uh, it’s fun to play.

Claudia: Because that’s what people, also, human beings are like. They are just intricately rich. And I think we as humans live in that gray area, more so than just, like, black and white.

Chace: Right.

Claudia: Yeah.

Suzanne: Thank you!

I’ve deleted the rest of this and left out the audio due to spoilers. It will be put up later.

Antony Starr (Homelander) and Erin Moriarty (Annie AKA Starlight)

Here’s the transcript; I’m still editing it

Hi, welcome everyone. Thanks for Jane. Um, just reminders. You please keep yourself muted when it’s not your turn to ask a question, I’m going to quickly slate that this is for round table number four and Sophia, you can go ahead and start us off. Thanks. Hi Anthony. Aaron. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today.

Uh, so you have soda with the nerds of color. Huge congrats on the new season. Thank you course. So first off I wanted to ask, you know, Homeland are definitely focuses on the far, right? And Starlight is more of the liberal front that they’re supposed to show this United front together. What can you tell me about the narrative that this story is trying to tell and basically make a parody over?

I mean, mine’s not difficult to figure out as Caroline, you know, isn’t, there’s always been an element. Uh, that guy in Homeland and Nevermore. So, I mean, never more so than a season three. I mean, we, we literally, we’re literally taking things that he’s said and, and seeing, you know, what would happen if I killed someone, you know, what would happen?

And, uh, it’s a. It’s a lot of fun and there’s a boardroom scene as well, like directly relates to a sick circle that we saw on the telly and that.

Oh, the one hand, I think it’s, I think it’s great that we can sort of parody it and, uh, lovingly poke fun at it. Uh, on the other hand, I think it’s tragic that. There’s so much material available at the moment to satirize and, um, and choose for, you know, we’re spoiled for choice, uh, at the moment. So as far as, especially as far as my side is concerned.

Yeah, yeah, no, I agree. And I think Starlight comes in and tries to shake things up because things are so corrupt in so many of the aspects of thought are so antiquated and. Sexist. And even the feminist press junket they had in the last season was so exhibitive and obligatory. So I think she tries to shake things up.

And I think the issue is, you know, again, another parallel which, um, draws from the real world is an antiquated system. How much can you change? Things get really locked into place and it’s so difficult and she tries her best, but. I, I think it reflects a lot of antiquated policies and things going on that we stopped that happened today and that we’ve not evolved.

Um, according to the times, so

Monica. Hi guys, how are you at my entertainment? And sounds onset podcasts check with you guys. Um, so you guys did a fantastic job this season. I’m going to ask them for the questions, but we’ll put it out later. Okay. So I want to ask for both of you the arcs. Yes. You guys are kind of on the opposite sides, but I don’t know if it was related and I’ll talk to Eric about it to the world in terms of.

Okay. I didn’t think that the boys could get any crazier and this is like next level crazy. So I wanted to know one, if. That that was influenced by like the world’s events to kind of heighten your characters up. And then second for, um, you know, Anthony for you. Um, a lot of your reassurance comes from yourself, like you’re your own character from Outlander.

So I wanted to know how you play off of that. And then Erin, you get a lot from your support team. So how you play off of that to get your strengths for each other. When you, sorry, go ahead. Well, I think I actually think in this season, I, I agree with you. I think this is, but this is something of an emancipation for Homeland or of like, you know, similarly the characters both find their voice in this season and realize that them speaking their truth will, will get them what they want in terms of fan base, uh, and the recognition and the attention that they want.

But homie’s always been basically a marketing. Packaged product. Uh, that’s always. Help sometimes literally by a mommy figure or someone supporting him or, you know, and he’s finally broken free of that. And it gets fed up and actually decides to take things on, on his own. And, um, you know, with that comes a lot more exposure.

So there’s no in cleaning up after or in front of him. And he makes a lot more mess for himself and he has to clean it up. He has to deal with it. So, uh, as to, as to. The show getting bigger and more expensive. I mean, you, I think it’s about on par, uh, I think right off the bat seeing, uh, Huey’s girlfriend explode in slow motion as a speeding bullet, man went through her.

Um, You know, I think that was a sign of things to come and I don’t think we’ve really done that much. I don’t think we deviated from that. Cause I just think it’s more of the same to me. Yeah. Yeah. And then, and then in terms of Starlights support team, sorry, will you ask that question again? Will you. Sure.

So like where does she, I would say where she gets her strength from and she has a support the report team. And are you talking about the Starlight kind of the Alliance that is building like, almost like a political team behind her, is that, and that’s where she seems to find her strength and where she, I mean, I think, I think.

I think she’s, she’s found her. I think the strength that she’s found has kind of been an intrinsic thing. I think it’s been intrinsically motivated through, um, what she’s been through and what she’s learned from, and the grit she’s developed. I think this support team, I think we might see more of, and I think it might be a source of.

Support and validation for her and help her in her effort to expose that. But I do think that that her, her growing strength, this season confidence, et cetera, her voice, um, and her ultimate decision to be honest is, is an intrinsically motivated evolution. That’s just been. Developed over the past couple of seasons and as a result of integrated lessons.

Thank you guys so much. Thank you.

Um, did you say my name? I, I almost heard it. I didn’t. Yes, Henry. Okay. Thank you. Sorry. Um, and to me, or lovely to chat with you today. Thank you for your time. Love the new season. Um, so my first question, uh, we’ll break it out like this. Um, so to Aaron, what was it? And to both of you, what was it like to be in the, the filming of the hero chasm episode, which was the most different?

It felt like out of any episode of the series, but also to Anthony. Um, it felt like home ender when he was shouting about how it’s safe to go outside and safe to go to the rallies. It almost like a surrogate for going outside, living your life during COVID. I was wondering when you’re filming a show, On set and it felt like the boy was one of the shows that was returning to the set.

What was it like for you both to have the sort of. Knowledge that you’re doing the safest things you possibly can. We, we, we assume and believe while you’re also having this character. Who’s like projecting like, oh, it’s safe outside. Don’t worry about, yeah. I mean, the irony wasn’t lost. Uh, we were in the longest lockdown in human history up in Toronto.

So, so it didn’t, it didn’t go unnoticed saying one thing, doing another in real life. But like, I mean, what if my guy is a. He’s never really doing the right thing is he he’s always doing the wrong thing. I never, I mean, according to himself, it’s always the right thing. There’s very few people or characters actually that do anything.

Um, because I think it’s the wrong thing is, you know, they, they they’re doing what they believe is the right thing. So it’s always fun to, to say. Do the stupid things that he says and does, um, as far as here, orgasm, I’m going to cough it over to my friend here because I didn’t have a lot to do with it.

And I can only say I’m very grateful not to have been there. Yeah. It was a lot of time spent in a space, in a house full of naked people, simulating various types of sex. Um, And in a house filled with sex toys and sex swings. And I learned a lot about different things and I saw a lot of things I can’t un-see, but I actually, I knew it was going to be insane.

So I just embraced it and laughed a lot and just kind of had a fun time. But on the fifth day I had filled my quota of naked bodies for the week. Um, and, um, I will not be joining nudist colonies, a nudist colony anytime soon, because that’s just, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s a little, it’s a lot of genitalia in five days.

It’s a lot of, you know, even there was even a butthole shot. So it just was all a lot. I saw a lot, I saw a lot, um, and it was hilarious, fun, excessive, uh, but it’s going to be a great idea.

Great. Thank you all so much for joining us. That’s all the time we have for this round table. Thank you. Thank you. That was biblical. On the fifth day, I reached my quota of naked a lie.

MORE INFO:

poster for "The Boys" season 3

About

It’s been a year of calm. Homelander’s subdued. Butcher works for the government, supervised by Hughie of all people. But both men itch to turn this peace and quiet into blood and bone. So when The Boys learn of a mysterious Anti-Supe weapon, it sends them crashing into the Seven, starting a war, and chasing the legend of the first Superhero: Soldier Boy.

The Boys is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes—who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians, and as revered as gods—abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. Intent on stopping the corrupt superheroes, The Boys, a group of vigilantes, continue their heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven and Vought—the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages the superheroes and covers up their dirty secrets. It’s the seemingly powerless against the super powerful.

Season Three of The Boys stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Jensen Ackles.

The Boys is based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, who also serve as executive producers, and developed by executive producer and showrunner Eric Kripke. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Phil Sgriccia, Craig Rosenberg, Ken F. Levin, Jason Netter, Paul Grellong, David Reed, Meredith Glynn, and Michaela Starr also serve as executive producers. The Boys is produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television Studios, with Kripke Enterprises, Original Film, and Point Grey Pictures.

Executive Produced By

Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Craig Rosenberg, Phil Sgriccia, Paul Grellong, David Reed, Meredith Glynn, Ken F. Levin, Jason Netter, Ori Marmur, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Michaela Starr

Developed By

Eric Kripke

Directed By

Phil Sgriccia, Julian Holmes, Nelson Cragg, Sarah Boyd

Produced By

Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television Studios, with Kripke Enterprises, Original Film, and Point Grey Pictures

Cast

Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Jensen Ackles

The Boys Are Back! Take a First Look at Season Three With a Mind-Blowing Teaser

Mar 12, 2022

The Emmy-nominated global hit drama series from Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television returns to Prime Video June 3

WATCH THE TRAILER

AUSTIN, Texas—March 12, 2022—Today, Prime Video revealed the first teaser from the highly anticipated third season of the Emmy-nominated drama The Boys during their panel at South by Southwest (SXSW). During the panel—moderated by Christian Slater, who voices a character in the animated anthology series The Boys Presents: Diabolical—cast members and showrunner Eric Kripke revealed details about the next installment of the fan-favorite superhero series.

The teaser showcases just some of the truly diabolical moments ahead, and offers a glimpse at all of the fan-favorite characters and fresh faces from the upcoming season of The Boys. It is also set to the song “Bones,” the first new music from Grammy-winning band Imagine Dragons’ forthcoming releaseMercury – Act 2 (KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records).

The series will debut on Prime Video with three episodes on Friday, June 3. New episodes will be available each Friday following, leading up to the epic season finale on July 8. The eight-episode season will stream exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

The Boys is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes—who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians, and as revered as gods—abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. Intent on stopping the corrupt superheroes, The Boys, a group of vigilantes, continue their heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven and Vought—the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages the superheroes and covers up their dirty secrets. It’s the seemingly powerless against the super powerful.

Season Three of The Boys stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Jensen Ackles.

The Boys is based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, who also serve as executive producers, and developed by executive producer and showrunner Eric Kripke. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Phil Sgriccia, Craig Rosenberg, Ken F. Levin, Jason Netter, Paul Grellong, David Reed, Meredith Glynn, and Michaela Starr also serve as executive producers. The Boys is produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television Studios, with Kripke Enterprises, Original Film, and Point Grey Pictures.

It’s Time to Level the F***ing Playing Field: The Boys Unleashes the Official Season Three Trailer and Key Art

May 16, 2022

The Emmy-nominated global hit drama series from Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television
returns to Prime Video June 3

CULVER CITY, California—May 16, 2022—Today, Prime Video gave fans a look at the highly anticipated third season of The Boys, with the release of the head-poppingly diabolical official trailer and key art. The Emmy-nominated drama will return with three gripping new episodes on June 3, followed by one additional episode each subsequent Friday, and ending with a wicked season finale on Friday, July 8 . The eight-episode season will stream exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

About The Boys
The Boys is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes—who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians, and as revered as gods—abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. Intent on stopping the corrupt superheroes, The Boys, a group of vigilantes, continue their heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven and Vought—the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages the superheroes and covers up their dirty secrets. It’s the seemingly powerless against the super-powerful.

Season Three of The Boys stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Jensen Ackles.

The Boys is based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, who also serve as executive producers, and developed by executive producer and showrunner Eric Kripke. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Phil Sgriccia, Craig Rosenberg, Ken F. Levin, Jason Netter, Paul Grellong, David Reed, Meredith Glynn, and Michaela Starr also serve as executive producers. The Boys is produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television Studios, with Kripke Enterprises, Original Film, and Point Grey Pictures.

Follow THE BOYS:
Website: https://www.amazon.com/TheBoys
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @TheBoysTV
YouTube: Prime Video
#TheBoysTV

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

Back to the Primetime Articles and Interviews Page

The Boys Season 3 Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video Copyright: Amazon Studios Description: Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko), Karl Urban (Billy Butcher), Tomer Capone (Frenchie), Laz Alonso (Mother's Milk)

Review of “Eraser: Reborn”

DVD Review!

Eraser: Reborn (Blu-ray+Digital) DVD cover

“Eraser: Reborn” (Blu-ray+Digital) Review by Suzanne 6/1/22

If you’re a fan of action flicks, you’ll probably enjoy this low-budget movie. It’s a reboot of a 90’s movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan and other big names. I’m sure that was a much better movie. This one has a lot more technology. The movie is about a special FBI team that helps witnesses in WitSec get “erased” so they can stay alive.  It stars British actor Dominic Sherwood, who does a passable job here with an American accent; and Jacky Lai, who plays the woman being protected (or, erased). The script is not very interesting and everyone seems to mumble a lot. It does have a lot of shooting, running, chasing, etc.  There are some interesting twists and turns in the plot that you might not anticipate.

The DVD just has one feature about the making of the movie.

Buy this DVD

MORE INFORMATION:

ERASER: REBORN

Unravel The Secrets on June 7, 2022

 With The Release on Digital, Blu-ray™ & DVD

BURBANK, CA (March 15, 2022) – 25 years after the blockbuster hit, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will have you on the edge of your seat with the release of Eraser: Reborn, on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD on June 7, 2022. A reboot of the 1996 blockbuster, this all-new action-packed film follows US Marshal Mason Pollard, a specialist in engineering the fake deaths of witnesses that need to leave no trace of their existence. Eraser: Reborn will be available on Digital for $14.99 SRP ($14.99 in Canada), on DVD for $19.98 SRP ($24.98 in Canada), and on Blu-ray for $24.98 ($29.98 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (US Only). Pre-orders for the Blu-ray and DVD will be available on March 22, 2022. Eraser: Reborn will be available for streaming on HBO Max in Fall 2022.

Eraser: Reborn will also be available on Movies Anywhere. Using the free Movies Anywhere app and website, consumers can access all their eligible movies by connecting their Movies Anywhere account with their participating digital retailer accounts.

U.S. Marshal Mason Pollard specializes in “erasing” people – faking the deaths of high-risk witnesses. With the technological advances of the last 25 years, the game has upgraded, and it’s just another day at the office when he’s assigned to Rina Kimura, a crime boss’ wife who’s decided to turn state’s evidence. As the two flee to Cape Town, South Africa, with a team of merciless assassins on their trail, Pollard discovers he’s been set up. Double-crossed and fueled by adrenaline, he needs to be at the top of his game, or he’ll be the one who’s erased. Permanently.

The film stars Dominic Sherwood (Shadowhunters) as Mason Pollard, Jacky Lai (V-Wars) as Rina Kimura, McKinley Belcher III (Marriage Story) as Paul Whitlock, a mentor to Pollard and Eddie Ramos (Animal Kingdom) as Sugar Jax, a local gangster.

The film is directed by John Pogue (The Quiet Ones, Deep Blue Sea 3) and written by Michael Weiss (Jarhead3: The Siege), Hunt Lowry (Donnie Darko) and Patty Reed (Pure Country Pure Heart) produce for Roserock Films. The creative team includes cinematographers, Michael Swan and George Amos, production designer, Franz Lewis, costume designer, Neil McClean and casting by Harriet Greenspan in the US and Bonnie Rodini in South Africa.

Eraser: Reborn is the next chapter to Eraser (1996) the Chuck Russell directed action thriller that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as a U.S. Marshall assigned to “erase” the identity of a witness he is assigned to protect. The film also starred Vanessa Williams, James Caan and James Coburn and grossed around $242 million in worldwide box office.

BONUS FEATURES

  • The Warrior and the Witness: The Making Eraser: Reborn – Go behind the scenes on set in Capetown, South Africa for an all-access look at the fast-paced filmmaking approach used to capture the action-packed tale of a witness on the run and the agent tasked with keeping her alive. Includes Interviews with the filmmakers, cast and crew.

DIGITAL

Eraser: Reborn will be available to own on Digital on June 7, 2022. Digital purchase allows consumers to instantly stream and download to watch anywhere and anytime on their favorite devices. Digital movies and TV shows are available from various digital retailers including Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu and others.

BASICS

Release Date: June 7, 2022

Presented in 16×9 widescreen format

Feature Running Time: Approx. 102 min

Enhanced Content Running Time: Approx. 9 min

Rated R for violence throughout and language

DVD

Price: $19.98 SRP ($24.98 in Canada)

Audio – ENG, French-Parisian, Japanese, Latin-Spanish

Subtitles – ENG-SDH, French-Parisian, Japanese, Latin-Spanish

BLU-RAY

Price: $24.98 SRP ($29.98 in Canada)

Audio – ENG, French-Parisian, Japanese, Latin-Spanish

Subtitles – ENG-SDH, French-Parisian, Japanese, Latin-Spanish, Dutch

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s physical and digital distribution businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees.

About WarnerMedia

WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands including: HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and others.

WarnerMedia is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T).

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The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.

scene from "Eraser: Reborn"

Interview with the cast of “The Orville”

TV Interview!

"The Orville: New Horizons" poster

Interview with actors and producers from “The Orville” on HULU by Suzanne 5/16/22

“The Orville” returns for season 3 on June 2 on HULU. I can’t wait for you to see it. The first episode is fantastic. Truly! I was very happy to chat with some of the actors and writer/executive producers. I wish I had more than 10 minutes with each!

Here are the videos, we hope to have the transcripts up very soon!

Interview with executive producers Brannon Braga, Jon Cassar and David Goodman

I love talking with writers and producers because they can really tell you what’s going on with the show.

I hadn’t yet finished watching season 2 when I did these interviews. I sent a follow-up question to Brannon Braga: The Kaylon war happened and then there were 5 more episodes. Why did you wait for season 3 to address the crew’s feelings about Isaac? What was the thinking or reasoning behind that?

Answer: At the end of “Identity, Part Two”, there are three scenes where we deal with the Isaac issue. Ed and Kelly debate what to do about Isaac; Admiral Halsey informs them about the Union Council’s proposal that Isaac stay on board the Orville; and the final scene with Claire, where Isaac states he has no home, and Claire assures him that given enough time, forgiveness might one day be possible. Our thinking was that when the Captain gives an order with the Union Council’s, the Orville crew would follow that order, no matter what their personal feelings. It’s not until Ensign Charly Burke joins the crew that things get shaken up. It’s one of the reasons Seth created the character: to be a voice for the people who do not trust Isaac and want to hold him accountable for the deadly attack on Earth. That was by design. But some ideas emerge later, such as young Marcus’ trauma over the attack. We had that idea when we started work on Season Three. We had 5 cool episodes already planned to round out Season Two, and we stuck to that plan. The fallout from Isaac would happen in Season 3.

NOTE: The producers got one point wrong in that it was Ed and Kelly who asked for Isaac to remain on board; the Union wanted him to be taken apart. The main point is still correct, though.

Interview with Adrianne Palicki and Penny Johnson Jerald

I enjoyed talking with the women, especially Penny, who I’ve been a fan of since she was in “The Larry Sanders Show” years ago. Scifi fans no doubt remember her as Sisko’s girlfriend on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” too.

Interview with Scott Grimes and J. Lee

They two guys were very nice. I loved Scott so much on “ER!”

MORE INFO:

The Orville: New Horizons -- Season 3 - Seth MacFarlane’s epic space adventure series “The Orville” returns exclusively as a Hulu original series. Set 400 years in the future, “The Orville: New Horizons” finds the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continuing their mission of exploration, as they navigate both the mysteries of the universe and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships. The ensemble cast includes MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, J. Lee, Mark Jackson, Chad
The Orville: New Horizons — Season 3 – Seth MacFarlane’s epic space adventure series “The Orville” returns exclusively as a Hulu original series. Set 400 years in the future, “The Orville: New Horizons” finds the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continuing their mission of exploration, as they navigate both the mysteries of the universe and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships.
The ensemble cast includes MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, J. Lee, Mark Jackson, Chad L. Coleman, Jessica Szohr and Anne Winters.
“The Orville: New Horizons” is produced by 20th Television and Fuzzy Door. The series was created and written by Seth MacFarlane. MacFarlane, Brannon Braga, David A. Goodman, Jon Cassar, Jason Clark and Howard Griffith serve as executive producers.
President Alcuzan (Bruce Boxleitner), Lt. Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes), Speria Balask (Lisa Banes), Admiral Halsey (Victor Garber), Charly Burke (Anne Winters), Capt. Ed Mercer (Seth MacFarlane), Cmdr. Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki) and Isaac (Mark Jackson), shown. (Photo by: Michael Desmondl/Hulu)

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The Orville: New Horizons -- Seth MacFarlane’s epic space adventure series “The Orville” returns exclusively as a Hulu original series. Set 400 years in the future, “The Orville: New Horizons” finds the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continuing their mission of exploration, as they navigate both the mysteries of the universe and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships. Capt. Ed Mercer (Seth MacFarlane), Lt. Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes), Lt. Cmdr. Bortys (Peter Macon), and Cmdr. Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki), shown. (Photo by: Michael Desmond/Hulu)

Interview with AleXa

TV Interview!

"American Song Contest" winner AleXa on finals night 5/9/22

Interview with AleXa of “American Song Contest” on NBC by Suzanne 5/9/22

After a few months of this music competition show, a winner was finally chosen! K-Pop singer AleXa of Oklahoma took the award for best American Song.  We interviewed her after the show. She was very happy… as you will see in the video. I’ll admit she wasn’t my top favorite, but I’m glad she won because she has a lot of talent and a good song.

MORE INFO:

AleXa with Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson on "American Song Contest" on NBCAmerica’s biggest live entertainment event has arrived! Based on the worldwide phenomenon “Eurovision Song Contest,” organized for 65 years by the European Broadcasting Union and watched by 200 million viewers annually, this amazing musical spectacular combines the competitive spirit of rooting for your favorite sports team with the joy of watching a beloved singing performance.

In the U.S. version of the international megahit, “American Song Contest” will feature live original musical performances, representing all 50 states, five U.S. territories and our nation’s capital, competing to win the country’s vote for the best hit song. The 56 artists span a wide range of performers – from undiscovered talent, up-and-coming new artists, and rising stars to established and legendary icons. An incredible solo artist, duo, group or band will represent each location and perform a new original song, celebrating the depth and variety of different styles and genres across America.

Hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, the eight-week live competition consists of three rounds as the artists compete in a series of Qualifying Rounds, followed by the Semi-Finals and the ultimate Grand Final where one state or territory will emerge victorious.

“American Song Contest” is executive produced by Propagate’s Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens, alongside Audrey Morrissey, Amanda Zucker, Kyra Thompson and Gregory Lipstone as well as American Song Contest, Inc.’s Anders Lenhoff, Christer Björkman, Peter Settman and Ola Melzig. Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson also serve as executive producers.

The series is produced by Propagate in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group, and American Song Contest, Inc.

Hashtag: #AmericanSongContest

AMERICAN SONG CONTEST -- “The Live Grand Final” Episode 108 -- Pictured: AleXa (OK) -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)Oklahoma: AleXa

State: Oklahoma
Singer’s name: AleXa
Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Resident: Seoul, South Korea

Proud to represent the state where she was born and raised until the age of 21, Alex Christine, known professionally as AleXa (알렉사), is a K-pop singer, dancer and songwriter who grew up in Tulsa. A lifelong dancer, AleXa was first drawn to K-pop because of its strong performance identity. After nearly a million fan votes determined her the winner of online talent competition Rising Legends, she was one of the 96 chosen to participate in “Produce 48,” the most competitive audition show in Korea. In 2019, AleXa made her multilingual K-pop debut with “Bomb,” which has received nearly 22 million views to date and hit #7 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart. A year later AleXa released extended plays “Do Or Die” and “Decoherence,” garnering wins for two of Korea’s most prestigious awards. In 2021, AleXa released Y2K-inspired “ReviveR” with dance track “Xtra,” performed the national anthem for the Los Angeles Dodgers and became the first K-pop artist to host a fan meeting in the metaverse within the action shooter game Scavengers.

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AMERICAN SONG CONTEST -- “The Live Grand Final” Episode 108 -- Pictured: AleXa (OK) -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)

Interview with Tonya Pinkins

TV Interview!

Tonya Pinkins, from her Instagram, 12/16/22

Interview with Tonya Pinkins of “All My Children” and many other shows by Suzanne 5/5/22

I’m very honored to have interviewed Tonya because she is an amazing actress who started out on soaps many years ago and was also a Broadway star (and Tony winner!) as well as becoming a great actress on many TV series such as “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Madam Secretary,” “Women of the Movement,” and my personal favorite, “Gotham,” where she played the creepy Mrs. Peabody.  Now she’s also become a film creator with her new movie “Red Pill.” You can rent it on Amazon!

Tonya’s first soap job was playing Heather on “As the World Turns,” and then she went on to “All My Children” for the epic role of Livia Frye Cudahy, off and on from 1991-2009. That’s the main reason I wanted to speak with her because I used to watch her on that, and we have a great All My Children page.  She is also an amazing singer who’s been acting and singing on Broadway since 1981, and she won a Tony for her role in “Jelly’s Last Jam” (as well as having been nominated 2 other times). She also does concerts, and she really is a very soulful singer. Oh, and she’s been my Facebook friend for many years because she’s the type of person that interacts with her fans.

She decided to finance, write and direct her own horror movie, “Red Pill” during the pandemic. I really don’t think there’s anything she can’t do. I could easily have chatted with her for hours about other aspects of her career, but we mostly talked about the soaps, singing and “Red Pill.”

I hope you enjoy our Zoom interview! We will be putting up a transcript at some point.

MORE INFO:

Tony Pinkins as Cassadra in "Red Pill"From IMDB: Tonya Pinkins has won or been nominated for nearly every award there is in the American theater. She is a Fulbright Specialist. As a producer, writer and director she conceived “Truth and Reconciliation of Womyn; Narrative Stories and Songs for the Soul in ten minutes or less.” The women involved in this project span the globe in age, culture and ethnicity.

From Wikipedia:

Tonya Pinkins (born May 30, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Her award-winning debut feature film RED PILL was an official selection at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, won the Best Black Lives Matter Feature and Best First Feature at The Mykonos International Film Festival, Best First Feature at the Luléa Film Festival, and is nominated for awards in numerous festivals around the globe. Her web-series The RED PILLING of AMERICA can be heard on her podcast “You Can’t Say That!” at BPN.fm/ycst

She is known for her portrayal of Livia Frye on the soap opera All My Children and for her roles on Broadway. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards (winning one), and has won Obie, Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, AUDLECO, Garland, L.A. Drama Critics Circle, Clarence Derwent, and NAACP Theater Awards. She has been nominated for the Olivier, Helen Hayes, Noel, Joseph Jefferson, NAACP Image, Soap Opera Digest, and Ovation Awards. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Jelly’s Last Jam.

Visit her official website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

poster for "Red Pill"Red Pill Official Site Red Pill Official Trailer

SYNOPSIS

The eve of the 2020 election, a posse of progressives ride into red country armed with heart humor and naiveté.

From the mind of Tony award-winning actress, Tonya Pinkins comes a progressive dystopia nightmare. Shot by cinematographer John Hudak Jr., Red Pill is a visually stunning metaphor for all our fears and a reminder that there are worse things than death.

Cassandra (Tonya Pinkins) is a black American woman fearful for the fate of her country in the next election. Election weekend 2020, she reluctantly accompanies her best friend Rocky, land preserver activist (Ruben Blades) and his wife Emelia (Luba Mason), her roommate Lily (Kathyrn Erbe), friend Nick (Jake O’Flaherty) and partner Bobby (Adesola Osakalumi) to canvas in newly blue Virginia.

As the friends arrive at their “Super-Host” housing, they encounter signs that point to possible trouble and before the weekend is over their fight for the country becomes a fight for their lives.

After you watch the movie, listen to her Audible Book, “Red Pill Unmasked!”

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From Instagram: Tonya outside the theater, where she stars in "A Raisin In the Sun" September, 2022

General Hospital Interviews

GH Interviews

Some of the GH actors we've interviewed

Check out our other Interviews!

Other GH Articles

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Lucy Coe with microphone at the Nurse's Ball on GH

Interview with Grant Knoche of Texas

TV Interview!

AMERICAN SONG CONTEST -- “The Live Qualifiers Part 3” Episode 103 -- Pictured: Grant Knoche (TX) -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)

Interview with Grant Knoche of “American Song Contest” on NBC by Thane 5/5/22

I was very happy to get this interview with Grant. He does such a great job on ASC and is very popular with fans (and with Kelly Clarkson, with whom he shares the home state of Texas!).  Please vote for him if you like his music.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

How does it feel representing Texas in a live TV show?

What does “Mr. Independent” mean to you?

What are the challenges of being a young solo singer?

Why did you join Kidz Bop and what was that like?

As a solo artist, what inspires your music?

These days collaborations are popular. With whom would you want to collaborate?

Is there anything in particular that gets you in the mood to write songs?

What’s your view of modern pop music?

Do you feel that streaming services fairly compensate musicians?

I have watched your latest music videos. How do you come up with ideas for them?

Where can people follow you?

MORE INFO:

AMERICAN SONG CONTEST -- “The Live Qualifiers Part 3” Episode 103 -- Pictured: Grant Knoche (TX) -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)Texas: Grant Knoche

State: Texas
Singer’s name: Grant Knoche
Hometown: Frisco, TX
Resident: Los Angeles, CA

Grant Knoche, 19, taught himself to write and produce in his childhood bedroom and he hasn’t looked back since. Grant’s synth-driven, deep bass and intimate pop songs have all been written and produced by him. On his way to gathering over 900,000 followers, Grant has spent most of his life on the road performing more than 160 shows across America, including on “Today,” at Radio City Music Hall, Woodstock and many other locales. Grant’s debut EP, “Color Me Blue,” has been featured on multiple top playlists and he was recently called out by Ones to Watch as “One of today’s finest rising pop stars.” Grant’s excited to represent his home state of Texas.

American Song Contest

Mondays on NBC (8-10 p.m. ET)

 

America’s biggest live entertainment event has arrived! Based on the worldwide phenomenon “Eurovision Song Contest,” organized for 65 years by the European Broadcasting Union and watched by 200 million viewers annually, this amazing musical spectacular combines the competitive spirit of rooting for your favorite sports team with the joy of watching a beloved singing performance.

In the U.S. version of the international megahit, “American Song Contest” will feature live original musical performances, representing all 50 states, five U.S. territories and our nation’s capital, competing to win the country’s vote for the best hit song. The 56 artists span a wide range of performers – from undiscovered talent, up-and-coming new artists, and rising stars to established and legendary icons. An incredible solo artist, duo, group or band will represent each location and perform a new original song, celebrating the depth and variety of different styles and genres across America.

Hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, the eight-week live competition consists of three rounds as the artists compete in a series of Qualifying Rounds, followed by the Semi-Finals and the ultimate Grand Final where one state or territory will emerge victorious.

“American Song Contest” is executive produced by Propagate’s Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens, alongside Audrey Morrissey, Amanda Zucker, Kyra Thompson and Gregory Lipstone as well as American Song Contest, Inc.’s Anders Lenhoff, Christer Björkman, Peter Settman and Ola Melzig. Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson also serve as executive producers.

The series is produced by Propagate in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group, and American Song Contest, Inc.

Hashtag: #AmericanSongContest

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AMERICAN SONG CONTEST -- Episode 103 Contestant Gallery -- Pictured: Grant Knoche (TX) -- (Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC)

Interviews with “American Song Contest” performers

TV Interview!

"American Song Contest" April 25 on NBC

Interview with performers of “American Song Contest” on NBC by Thane 4/25/22

I was at this virtual press event with some of the semi-finalists for this show. I watched the first semi-final episode. My favorites were Riker and Jonah, but all the contestants shone this night.

Riker Lynch of Colorado

Sadly, the jury didn’t like him. He’s very upbeat, so I asked him what his motivation is for wanting to spread joy.


Jonah Prill of Montana

His style is more country, so I asked him what he liked about country music.


Ada Leann of Michigan

Ada is the youngest performer; I asked her what the challenges are of being a young singer.


AleXa of Oklahoma

I asked her if she’s inspired by any K pop artists. I liked her tune. I really should listen to more K Pop.


MARi of New Hampshire

I loved her song and asked her what got her in the mood to write such an inspirational song.


Hueston of Rhode Island

I assumed that Hueston likes to reach people through his music, so I asked how it feels to know that he’s reaching people.


Ni/Co of Alabama

I asked whether both of them always writes songs for their duo or whether just one of them writes the songs.


Jared Lee of Massaghusetts

Since his song was called “Shameless,” I asked him whatever the most shameless thing he’s done (that’s he’s comfortable sharing).


Allen Stone of Washington

He wrote his song after becoming a father, so I asked him what his family thinks of his song.


Ryan Charles of Wyoming

His style was influenced by hip hop, so I wanted to know what his favorite hip hop jams were.


Jordan Smith of Kentucky

I felt that “Sparrow” was a powerful song and wanted to know what it meant to him.


MORE INFO:

AMERICAN SONG CONTEST — “Semi-finals” Episode 106

America’s biggest live entertainment event has arrived! Based on the worldwide phenomenon “Eurovision Song Contest,” organized for 65 years by the European Broadcasting Union and watched by 200 million viewers annually, this amazing musical spectacular combines the competitive spirit of rooting for your favorite sports team with the joy of watching a beloved singing performance.

In the U.S. version of the international megahit, “American Song Contest” will feature live original musical performances, representing all 50 states, five U.S. territories and our nation’s capital, competing to win the country’s vote for the best hit song. The 56 artists span a wide range of performers – from undiscovered talent, up-and-coming new artists, and rising stars to established and legendary icons. An incredible solo artist, duo, group or band will represent each location and perform a new original song, celebrating the depth and variety of different styles and genres across America.

Hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, the eight-week live competition consists of three rounds as the artists compete in a series of Qualifying Rounds, followed by the Semi-Finals and the ultimate Grand Final where one state or territory will emerge victorious.

“American Song Contest” is executive produced by Propagate’s Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens, alongside Audrey Morrissey, Amanda Zucker, Kyra Thompson and Gregory Lipstone as well as American Song Contest, Inc.’s Anders Lenhoff, Christer Björkman, Peter Settman and Ola Melzig. Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson also serve as executive producers.

The series is produced by Propagate in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group, and American Song Contest, Inc.

Hashtag: #AmericanSongContest

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AMERICAN SONG CONTEST -- “Semi-finals” Episode 106 -- Pictured: (l-r) Snoop Dogg, Kelly Clarkson -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)

Interview with William B. Davis

TV Interview!

 

William B. Davis, author, actor, director and more!

Interview with William B. Davis of “Upload” on Amazon by Suzanne 4/13/22

It was great to speak with Bill again, this time about a new book. I interviewed him 12 years ago about his first book. Most of us know him well as the Cigarette Smoking Man (CSM) on “The X-Files,” but he’s been in many scifi and other shows, including the current series “Upload” on Amazon where he plays the villainous David Choak. I love this show and can’t wait to see more.

He is very candid. Watch the video – he tells whether he thinks there will be more “X-FIles” or not, and why, whom he keeps in contact with from X-Files, why there are fewer episodes of “Upload” in season 2, and about the future of that show.

 

MORE INFO:

On Acting... and Life by William B. DavisOn Acting …and life, the new book by Acclaimed Actor/Director/Author William B. Davis will be released on May 3, 2022

Best known as the Cigarette Smoking Man on TV’s The X-Files William’s book is part memoir and part master class

For immediate release: Acclaimed award-winning actor William B. Davis, best known as the Cigarette Smoking Man on TV’s The X-Files, is pleased to announce that his second book ‘On Acting …and life will be released on Tuesday, May 3, 2022.  With over 135 IMDb credits and not one to slow down, William’s current roles include the villain David Choak in Uploadnow airing on Amazon. He can also be seen in the upcoming Netflix TV series from Mike Flanagan entitled The Midnight Club. This fall Davis will play a major role in Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land on stage in Vancouver, BC.

About the Book: 

Dozens of books on acting exist, but none of them are quite like this. Part memoir and part master class, modeled after Stephen King’s bestseller, On Writing, the book is divided into two parts. 

Part one takes readers on a seventy-year journey that begins with William B. Davis, at age twelve, riding his bicycle through the streets of Toronto to his first acting classes, and eventually leads to him starring in the long-running television series, The X-Files, starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. From a summer theatre in Ontario to the National Theatre of Great Britain to the National Theatre School of Canada to the William Davis Centre for Actors’ Study in Vancouver, few have traveled such a colorful journey. Along the way, Davis met all sorts of familiar faces, including Donald Sutherland, Brian Cox, Albert Finney, Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, David Duchovny, and Gillian Anderson, among others. 

Although there is a lot about acting in part one, the heart of the book for an aspiring or working actor is in part two. What has Davis learned in seventy years of working both in the theatre and in film and television? A lot, as you will see. Davis’s grasp of the art of acting is vast and practical. And in some ways, original.

In his final chapter, Davis explores the underlying philosophy of acting and actor training and argues for bringing the work into the twenty-first century.

Praise for On Acting …and life.

“This book celebrates a lifetime’s passion and commitment to the mysterious realm of acting. It’s not a tale of fame, fortune, and gossip, but instead, it documents the twists and turns of an artist’s determined engagement with making and sustaining a career in Canada for over sixty years. It’s a history lesson and an inspiration, reminding the discouraged actor that you never know what’s coming round the corner so be prepared and keep the faith. The discussion of what makes for good acting is a wealth of practical, clear advice, mined and honed in decades of devoted exploration as an actor, director, and teacher. Gold!”  Rosemary Dunsmore (Award-winning Actor, Director, and Acting teacher)

“Before he was my cigarette smoking nemesis for over 25 years before he incarnated one of TV’s great villains, William Davis was an acting teacher. It’s not true that those who can’t do, teach because Bill can do both. And he can write. Like all good teachers, the wisdom and stories that Bill elaborates upon in his book are really lessons about life. It’s possible you will become a better actor after reading Bill; it’s also possible you will become a better person. For fans of The X-Files or just people who enjoy listening to a no-nonsense craftsman and lifer talk about his craft with none of the usual humble-brag or sensational Hollywood bullshit.”  David Duchovny (Novelist and Star of The X-Files)

“Bill Davis’s ‘On Acting’ is a fascinating tapestry of a life dedicated not only to the Art, but also to a deeper philosophical grasp of our work. Bill chronicles a highly personal journey that is founded in the search for a truth that truly illuminates the mystery of our craft!”  Brian Cox (Bafta Award Winner and Star of Succession)

“Bill’s vast experience, on stage, screen and as a teacher is more than impressive, it’s a rarity in our culture of instant fame. I cast him as a villain 30 years ago, but little did I know he’d always played to win.”  Chris Carter (Creator of The X-Files)

About the Author:

After decades of working as a theatre director and actor in Canada, the UK, and the US, William B. Davis rose to prominence as the Cigarette Smoking Man on TV’s The X-Files. Besides appearing in numerous other TV shows and movies, most recently, Upload and Midnight Club, Davis also founded his own acting school, the William Davis Centre for Actors’ Study. 

Davis has written one other book, a memoir entitled Where There’s Smoke . . . The Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man. He lives in Vancouver, B.C., with his wife, Emmanuelle Davis. 

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William B. Davis in "Upload" on Prime

Review of “Constantine: The House of Mystery”

DVD Review!

Constantine: The House of Mystery DVD cover

“Constantine: The House of Mystery” Review by Suzanne 4/30/22

Although John Constantine and his story are in the title and cover of this DVD, it’s really four, short animated specials from DC Showcase (a comic book and DVD series). You’ll notice that at the very top of the DVD, in tiny letters, it says “DC Showcase Animated Shorts.”  I would buy it, anyway, just for the great Constantine story. I love this character and his portrayer, Matt Ryan.  They probably focused on the Constantine story because the character is more well known that the others.Kamandi - The Last Boy on Earth

This is a good story that takes place after the animated movie, “Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.” I haven’t seen that one, but now I’m going to have to watch it.  That one ends on a sad note, apparently, and “House of Mystery” begins with Constantine telling us about how he tried to reverse what happened, using magic, and with the help of The Flash. The Spectre then sends him to the house, where he’s tortured.  It’s a very good story. Unfortunately, it also has a sad ending, but it’s also not a very satisfying ending. I hope they make a sequel, so we can find out what really happened.  This story is a bit dark; I would not let a child watch it because it might be too scary for them. Teens should enjoy it, though.

The sec"The Losers"ond short is about Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth. I used to read that comic back in the 70’s, so I’m happy to watch this short. It has a really cool ending that I loved, too.  Kamandi and his tiger friend Prince Tuftan are captured by a gorilla cult and forced to undergo a series of dangerous trials to determine if any of them is The Mighty One. It’s better than it sounds! Cameron Monaghan (“Gotham”) plays Kamandi. Each of these shorts is done in a different style.  The story here has a sort of Tarzan-meets-Planet-of-the-Apes vibe. It’s safe for kids, too.

The third short stars the WWII soldiers group called “The Losers.” I may have read some of their comics growing up. They sound vagueBlue Beetlely familiar. This cartoon is very violent. Many people and beasts are murdered. The ending is horrible. I can’t imagine why anyone would like it. The Losers and some Chinese soldiers crash on a mysterious island with dinosaurs. The best thing about this is the cast: Dean Winters plays Captain Storm; Ming-Na Wen plays Fan Long; and Eugene Byrd plays Henry ‘Mile a Minute’ Jones. I recognized WInters’ voice right away. I’ve interviewed both him and Byrd before, and Wen is always terrific. This fine cast is wasted, but at least the animation was done very well.

The last one is the most fun. “Blue Beetle” was made in a campy 60’s style that will remind you of cartoons you watched on Saturday morning, as well as shows like the original “Batman.” I really laughed out loud with this one. Blue Beetle is accompanied by a character called The Question. I don’t recall if I ever read Blue Beetle comics or not. He was around in the 30’s (long before my time) and then was in Charlton Comics in the 60’s, which I may or may not have read. This is the best of the four shorts. The Blue Beetle tries to apprehend some villains who stole a large diamond. The Question aids him in tracking it down. They deduce that Doctor Spectro is controlling the other bad guys and have to defeat him to save the world from his mind control.

There’s also a special feature that tells about the shorts and how they made them. It’s very interesting. You should check out this DVD as it’s worth having for any fan of comics or animation – especially DC fans.

Buy this DVD

MORE INFORMATION:

Constantine: The House of Mystery scene

CONSTANTINE – THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY
ANCHORS NEW COLLECTION OF
DC SHOWCASE ANIMATED SHORTS

COMPILATION SPOTLIGHTS KAMANDI, THE LOSERS & BLUE BEETLE;
COMING TO BLU-RAY™ AND DIGITAL ON 5/3/22

Warner Bros. Animation continues to glean beloved characters from DC’s robust library for the popular DC Showcase line of animated shorts, this time opting to elevate Constantine, Kamandi, The Losers, and Blue Beetle in the 2021-2022 compilation release, DC Showcase – Constantine: The House of Mystery. The R-rated shorts collection will be available from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Blu-ray (USA $24.99 SRP; Canada $29.99 SRP) and in 4K on Digital starting May 3, 2022.

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, and inspired by characters and stories from the iconic DC Universe, the all-new quartet of DC Showcase shorts are produced by Rick Morales (Mortal Kombat Legends franchise, Injustice). Jim Krieg is producer, and Sam Register is executive producer.

While Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth!, The Losers and Blue Beetle have all appeared as enhanced content on past DC Universe Movies, the extended-length Constantine – The House of Mystery makes its public debut as the anchor for this dynamic shorts compilation.

Matt Ryan (Constantine, Legends of Tomorrow) reprises his live-action and animated role as the Hellblazer himself in Constantine – The House of Mystery. In the all-new short, John Constantine wakes up in the eerie House of Mystery with no recollection of how he got there. Fortunately, Zatanna and his friends are all there. Unfortunately, they have a bad habit of turning into demons and ripping him to shreds, over and over again! Camilla Luddington (Grey’s Anatomy) and Ray Chase (Licorice Pizza) reprise their roles from Justice League Dark: Apokolips War as Zatanna and Jason Blood/Etrigan, respectively, while Robin Atkin Downes (The Strain) and Damian O’Hare (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) reprise their roles from Constantine: City of Demons as Negral and Chas, respectively. In addition, Grey Griffin (Scooby-Doo franchise) and Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba, Longmire, Young Guns) join the cast of the short, which is directed by Matt Peters (Injustice) from a script by Ernie Altbacker (Batman: Hush).

Also included in the animated shorts collection are:

KAMANDI: THE LAST BOY ON EARTH!
Directed by Matt Peters (Justice League Dark: Apokolips War) from a script written by Paul Giacoppo (Young Justice, Star Wars: Resistance), Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth! was initially released as a bonus feature on Justice Society: World War II in Spring 2021. Jack Kirby’s beloved DC comic creation features the last civilized teenage boy on a post-apocalyptic Earth ruled by talking animals. In this short, Kamandi and his friends Prince Tuftan of the Tiger Kingdom and humanoid mutant Ben Boxer are kidnapped by a gorilla cult dedicated to finding the reincarnation of their god, The Mighty One. Golgan, the cult’s leader, puts Kamandi’s team through a series of deadly tests to find if any of them know the secret of The Mighty One. The thriller features the voices of Cameron Monaghan (Gotham, Shameless) as Kamandi, Steve Blum (Star Wars: Rebels, Cowboy Bebop, Naruto franchise) as Golgan & Tuftan, Adam Gifford (Masters of the Universe: Revelation) as Zuma, and Armen Taylor (Justice Society: World War II) as Ben Boxer.

THE LOSERS
The legendary rag-tag team of World War II outcasts – Captain Storm, Johnny Cloud, “Mile-a-Minute” Jones, rookie Gunner and Sarge – find themselves marooned on an uncharted island in the South Pacific that is completely overrun with dinosaurs! Their would-be ally on this deadly mission, the mysterious and beautiful Fan Long of the Chinese Security Agency, tells them their job is to rescue the scientists that have been sent to study a time/space anomaly. Perhaps… but what is her mission? Ming-Na Wen (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Book of Boba Fett) leads the cast as the mysterious Fan. Along for the journey is Dean Winters (John Wick, 30 Rock) as Captain Storm, Dave B. Mitchell (Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms) as Gunner & Sarge, Eugene Byrd (Bones, Arrow) as Mile-a-Minute Jones, and Martin Sensmeier (Westworld, The Magnificent Seven) as Johnny Cloud. Initially included as a bonus feature on Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One, The Losers is directed by Milo Neuman (LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash) from a script by Tim Sheridan (Batman: The Long Halloween).

BLUE BEETLE
Sufferin’ Scarabs! Silver Age Blue Beetle is back! And had he ever starred in a 1960s Saturday-morning limited-animation cartoon with its own jazzy earworm of a theme song, it would have been just like this short! Welcome to the adventures of Ted Kord, alias the Blue Beetle, as he teams up with fellow Super Heroes Captain Atom, The Question and Nightshade to battle that nefarious finagler of feelings, Doctor Spectro. Matt Lanter (Timeless, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, 90210) stars as Blue Beetle alongside Jeff Bennett (Johnny Bravo, Curious George) as Captain Atom & Pops, Ashly Burch (The Ghost and Molly McGee) as Nightshade, David Kaye (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) as The Question, and Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Dr. Spectro. Originally attached to Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two, Blue Beetle is directed by Milo Neuman (Freedom Fighters: The Ray) from a screenplay by Jennifer Keene (Phineas and Ferb) based on a story by Jeremy Adams (Mortal Kombat Legends franchise).

Launched in 2010, DC Showcase was originally comprised of four animated shorts: The Spectre (2/23/2010), Jonah Hex (7/27/2010), Green Arrow (9/28/2010) and Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam (11/9/2010). An additional short, Catwoman (10/18/2011), was attached the following year to the release of Batman: Year One. For 2019-2020, DC Showcase returned with five shorts: Sgt. Rock (8/6/2019) Death (10/22/2019), The Phantom Stranger (3/17/2020), Adam Strange (5/19/2020), and the interactive Batman: Death in the Family (10/13/2020).

DC Showcase: Constantine – The House of Mystery – Special Features
Blu-ray and Digital
• DC Showcase: One Story at a Time (New Featurette) – Since the 1993 debut of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Warner Bros. Animation has revolutionized and mastered the feature film world with their critically successful DC Universe Movies and DC Animated Movies. In 2010, the creative team hit upon the idea of presenting some of the more under-utilized DC characters in shorter stories – and thus, the DC Showcase was born. The shorts program has provided a fertile venue for creators and animators to explore the vast array of DC’s diverse heroes, worlds and universes, and gives audiences a taste of their infinite possibilities. Featuring some big names as well as the deeper cuts, these short films reflect different styles and sensibilities, and are inspired by renown creators like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Alan Moore. This documentary takes a look at the roots of DC Showcase – from Catwoman and Sgt. Rock to Death and Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam, as well as the current quartet of shorts. Included are interviews with producer Rick Morales and directors Matt Peters & Milo Neuman as they explore the featured heroes and villains, the comics that inspired them, and these adventures’ place in the bigger picture of the DC animated universe.

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Inc.:
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s physical and digital distribution businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees.

ABOUT DC
DC, a WarnerMedia Company, creates iconic characters, enduring stories, and immersive experiences that inspire and entertain audiences of every generation around the world and is one of the world’s largest publishers of comics and graphic novels. As a creative division, DC is charged with strategically integrating its stories and characters across film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, interactive games, DC UNIVERSE INFINITE digital subscription service and community engagement portal. For more information visit dccomics.com and dcuniverseinfinite.com.

CONSTANTINE and all related characters and elements are TM and © DC. © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

About Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, producing and developing projects for multiple platforms, both domestically and internationally. WBA’s current series include Animaniacs for Hulu, Green Eggs and Ham and Wings of Fire for Netflix, Aquaman: King of Atlantis, Batman: Caped Crusader, Batwheels, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Harley Quinn, Jellystone!, Little Ellen, Looney Tunes Cartoons, My Adventures with Superman, Tiny Toons Looniversity, Tom and Jerry in New York, Velma and Young Justice for HBO Max, DC Super Hero Girls, Teen Titans Go!, ThunderCats Roar for Cartoon Network, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who?, The Tom and Jerry Show and Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! for Boomerang. WBA is also in production on a series of animated longform movie specials for ACME Night, WarnerMedia Kids & Family’s family programming block on Cartoon Network and HBO Max. Programs include Did I Do that to the Holidays? A Steve Urkel Story, Merry Little Batman and an Untitled Looney Tunes Cartoons movie. The studio is currently in production with New Line Cinema on the upcoming original anime feature film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. WBA’s full-length theatrical film, Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, was released in summer 2018. As home to the iconic animated characters from the DC, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries, WBA also produces highly successful animated films — including the DC Universe Movies — for DVD, Blu-ray® and digital media. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has won six Academy Awards®, 40 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, a BAFTA Children’s Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 21 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).

About WarnerMedia

WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands, including: HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and others. WarnerMedia is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T).

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The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.

Constantine: The House of Mystery scene

Interview with Nathan Witte

TV Interview!

Nathan Witte of "Greed" on Lifetime

Interview with Nathan Witte of “Greed” on Lifetime by Suzanne 3/23/22

This press day with Lifetime stars was great fun. The actors chatted a lot with us about this season’s Seven Deadly Sins movie series. Since these movies are about the seven deadly sins, there is a religious element in each of them. In this one, Zuri (Monique Coleman) is a preacher’s daughter, and we see a bit of that influence from her parents, and there are some scenes with preaching.

With these press calls, we basically get one question. I had interviewed Monique before, so I chose to speak with Nathan Witte because he’s been on several shows I like, such as “Arrow” and “Superman and Lois.” I put my questions first, but you can see the others below that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MORE INFO:

LIFETIME GREENLIGHTS NEXT TWO MOVIES FROM THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS ANTHOLOGY WITH WRATH STARRING MICHELLE WILLIAMSTINA KNOWLES-LAWSON, ROMEO MILLER AND ANTONIO CUPO

AND GREED STARRING MONIQUE COLEMAN, LISARAYE MCCOY, ERIC BENÉT AND NATHAN WITTE

FROM EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS T.D. JAKESDERRICK WILLIAMS AND SHAUN ROBINSON FILMS WILL DEBUT ON BACK-TO-BACK SATURDAYS STARTING APRIL 16

Los Angeles, CA – February 17, 2022 – On the heels of last year’s popular Lust and Envy movies seen by over 9.4 million viewers in their airings, Lifetime announces the next two Seven Deadly Sins Anthology movie installments, Wrath and Greed, from executive producers T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams and Shaun Robinson. Based on the series of books by Victoria Christopher Murray, Wrath: A Seven Deadly Sins Story stars Michelle Williams (Destiny’s Child), Tina Knowles-Lawson (Profiled: The Black Man), Romeo Miller (Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection) and Antonio Cupo (Blood & Treasure) while Greed: A Seven Deadly Sins Story is headlined by Monique Coleman (A Christmas Dance Reunion), LisaRaye McCoy (A House Divided), Eric Benét (Real Husbands of Hollywood) and Nathan Witte (Merry Liddle Christmas Baby).
Below are the movie descriptions and premiere dates.
GREED: A SEVEN DEADLY SINS STORY
Saturday, April 23 at 8/7c
Interior decorator Zuri Maxwell (Monique Coleman) had it all – a career she adored, loving family and friends,
and a good man in her life, artist Stephon Gardner (Nathan Witte). But greed threatens to destroy everything,
when Zuri meets handsome benefactor and entrepreneur Godfrey Anderson (Eric Benét) and his fabulously
wealthy aunt Miss Viv (LisaRaye McCoy). They have everything Zuri thinks she wants. As Godfrey
romances her, she compromises the values and morals that should guide her in an effort to be part of the
moneyed world she so desperately wants to be part of.
Wrath: A Seven Deadly Sins Story and Greed: A Seven Deadly Sins Story are produced by Wrath
Productions Inc and Greed Productions Inc respectively in association with T.D. Jakes Enterprises and
RobinHood Productions. T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams, and Shaun Robinson serve as executive
producers. Wrath and Greed are directed by Troy Scott from scripts written by Richard Blaney and Gregory
Small (Wrath) and Wuese Houston-Jibo (Greed).

ABOUT LIFETIME

Celebrating 35 years of entertaining audiences, Lifetime is a premier entertainment destination for women dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning award-winning movies and breakout non-fiction series and documentaries. Lifetime has an impressive legacy in public affairs, bringing attention to social issues that women care about with initiatives such as the long-running Stop Breast Cancer for Life, Stop Violence Against Women, and Broader Focus, a major global initiative dedicated to supporting and hiring female directors, writers and producers, including women of color, to make its content. Lifetime Television®, LMN®, Lifetime Real Women® and Lifetime Digital™ are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.

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"Greed" poster

Interview with Tosin Cole

TV Interview!

Tosin Cole stars in "61st Street" on AMC

 

Interview with Tosin Cole of “61st Street” on AMC by Suzanne 4/12/22

It was great to speak with Tosin because he’s an amazing actor. I really loved him on “Doctor Who” and was so sorry that he left there. He’s gone on to bigger and better roles, though, such as his outstanding work in this series. You should really make sure to watch it!

We’ll have the transcript up here at some point!

MORE INFO: Official Trailer

61st Street posterAMC Networks announced today the premiere date for its highly anticipated new drama 61st Street, starring Emmy®-winner Courtney B. Vance,  ahead of the series’ world premiere at SXSW.  From BAFTA-winner Peter Moffat, J. David Shanks and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society, the series debuts Sunday, April 10 at 10pm ET/PT on AMC, with the first two episodes streaming on AMC+ and ALLBLK. New episodes will rollout  weekly, on Sundays, and be available one week early on AMC+ and ALLBLK.

From AMC Studios, 61st Street is a propulsive thriller which courses through the dark heart of the infamous Chicago criminal justice system as police and prosecutors investigate a deadly drug bust that threatens to unravel the Tosin Cole stars in "61st Street" on AMCpolice department’s code of silence. Vance (The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Lovecraft Country), leads an ensemble cast that includes Emmy®-nominee Aunjanue Ellis (When They See Us, King Richard), Mark O’Brien (City on a Hill, Blue Bayou), Holt McCallany (Mindhunter, Lights Out), Tosin Cole (Doctor Who, Hollyoaks), Andrene Ward-Hammond (Your Honor, Manifest) and Bentley Green (Snowfall, Sweet Magnolias).

The series is executive produced by Moffat (The Night Of, Your Honor), Shanks  (The Chi, Seven Seconds, Shots Fired), Outlier Society’s Jordan and Elizabeth Raposo (Just Mercy, David Makes Man), Alana Mayo (Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, Just Mercy), Jeff Freilich (Lodge 49, Dispatches from Elsewhere) and Hilary Salmon (MotherFatherSon, The Night Of, London Spy).

About AMC Networks Inc.

Tosin Cole in "61st Street" on AMCAMC Networks is a global entertainment company known for its popular and critically acclaimed content. Its portfolio of brands includes AMC, BBC AMERICA (operated through a joint venture with BBC Studios), IFC, SundanceTV, WE tv, IFC Films, and a number of fast-growing streaming services, including the AMC+ premium streaming bundle, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and ALLBLK. AMC Studios, the Company’s in-house studio, production and distribution operation, is behind award-winning owned series and franchises, including The Walking Dead, the highest-rated series in cable history. The Company also operates AMC Networks International, its international programming business, and 25/7 Media, its production services business.

About AMC+

AMC+ is the company’s new premium streaming bundle featuring an extensive lineup of popular and critically acclaimed original programming from AMC, BBC America, IFC, and SundanceTV and full access to targeted streaming services Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited, which feature content such as A Discovery of Witches, Creepshow, and Boyhood. The service features a continually refreshed library of commercial-free content, including fan favorites Mad Men, Halt & Catch Fire, Turn: Washington’s Spies, Hell on Wheels, NOS4A2, Rectify, Orphan Black, Portlandia, and series from The Walking Dead Universe, among many others. The service also offers a growing slate of original and exclusive series including Gangs of London, Kin, The North Water, Ragdoll, The Beast Must Die, Too Close, The Salisbury Poisonings, Cold Courage, Spy City, Ultra City Smiths, Anna, Anne Boleyn, Firebite, and La Fortuna. AMC+ recently launched in Canada and Australia, and is available in the U.S. through AMCPlus.com, the AMC+ app, and a number of digital and cable partners.

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Courtney B. Vance and Tosin Cole of "61st Street" on AMC

Review of “Aquaman: King of Atlantis”

DVD Review!

Aquaman: King of Atlantis DVD cover

“Aquaman: King of Atlantis ” Review by Suzanne 4/20/22

This is a good miniseries for kids. As someone who grew up reading comics, I didn’t enjoy it. It’s too silly. It’s a kids’ cartoon. Also, I’m not a huge fan of this style of animation.  It’s definitely a good series for kids or teens. The voice actors do a good job, and the animation has a lot of wonderful detail. We’ve never really seen this much of the world of Atlantis before. We only saw a little bit of it in the “Aquaman” movie.

I wish they would do more of the Aquaman animated movies, like “Justice League: Throne of Atlantis.” That was a good one.  They need to give Aquaman his own animated movie, though. I know that many people like to make fun of the character, but growing up, I never had any problem with him or thought that he was comical. Jokes aside, he can do a lot more than “talk to fish!” He has that trident (just as powerful as Thor’s hammer, if you ask me), and he’s very strong, fast and smart – almost as much as Superman. He can breathe in multiple environments and has super hearing as well as SONAR abilities. He’s certainly not the boob portrayed in this cartoon.

The DVD does not come with any extras or features, unfortunately. I’m sure the kids won’t care. They’ll probably watch it on HBOMAX if their parents can afford it. Otherwise, the DVD is a great alternative.

Buy this DVD

MORE INFORMATION:

Aquaman: King of AtlantisAQUAMAN: KING OF ATLANTIS

EPIC MINI-SERIES COMES TO DIGITAL & DVD

AS A FULL-LENGTH ANIMATED MOVIE ON APRIL 26, 2022

BURBANK, CA (March 24, 2022) – Monstrous creatures, devious foes and incredible underwater adventures populate Aquaman: King of Atlantis, an action-packed mini-series now coming to Digital and DVD (USA $14.99 SRP; Canada $19.99 SRP) as a feature-length animated film on April 26, 2022 courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the mini-series premiered on HBO Max on October 14 to rave reviews from both critics and fans alike. James Wan (Aquaman) served as executive producer through his Atomic Monster production company on this playful reimagining of the iconic DC Super Hero and tells an original tale about Aquaman’s first adventures as King of Atlantis.

Aquaman: King of Atlantis begins with Aquaman starting his first day on the job as king of Atlantis – and he’s got a lot of catching up to do. Luckily, he has his two royal advisors to back him up: the scholar Vulko, and Mera, the water controlling warrior princess. Between dealing with unscrupulous surface dwellers, elder evils from beyond time and his own half-brother who wants to overthrow him, Aquaman must rise to the challenge and prove to his subjects – and to himself – that he’s the true heir to the throne, and holder of the trident!

Cooper Andrews (The Walking Dead, Shazam!) leads the cast of Aquaman: King of Atlantis as the title character, and he’s joined by Gillian Jacobs (Community, Invincible, Injustice) as Mera, Thomas Lennon (Supergirl, Reno 911!) as Vulko, Dana Snyder (Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Justice League Action) as Ocean Master, Andrew Morgado (Supergirl, Archer) as Mortikov, Kevin Michael Richardson (The Simpsons, American Dad!) as the Royal Announcer, Flula Borg (The Suicide Squad, Pitch Perfect 2) as Mantis, and Kimberly Brooks (DC Super Hero Girls, Batwheels) as Hammer. Also providing voices is Chris Jai Alex, Trevor Devall, Armen Taylor, Kaitlyn Robrock, Regi Davis, Ludi Lin, Robbie Daymond, Erica Lindbeck, Laila Berzins and Erica Ash.

Victor Courtright (ThunderCats Roar!) and Marly Halpern-Graser (Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) served as showrunners and co-executive producers. Courtright and Marly Halpern-Graser conceived the story for the mini-series/film, and Halpern-Graser, Bryan Condon (Right Now Kapow) and Laura Sreebny (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) co-wrote the teleplay. The mini-series was executive produced by James Wan (Aquaman), Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear (Annabelle Comes Home), Rob Hackett (Swamp Thing), and Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!). Keith Pakiz (ThunderCats Roar) served as director on all three episodes of the mini-series.

ABOUT MOVIES ANYWHERE

Movies Anywhere is a digital movie platform that enables movie fans to discover, access, and watch their favorite digital movies in one place. Movies Anywhere brings together a library of nearly 7,500 digital movies from Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film, The Walt Disney Studios (including Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm), Universal Pictures (including DreamWorks and Illumination Entertainment) and Warner Bros. and will continue to expand the consumer experience as more content providers, digital retailers and platforms are added. By connecting participating digital retailers that include Amazon Prime Video, the Apple TV app, FandangoNOW, Google Play, and Vudu, movie fans can now bring together their digital movie collections (whether purchased or redeemed) in one place and enjoy them from the comfort of their living rooms, and across multiple devices and platforms, including Amazon Fire devices; Android devices and Android TV; Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch; Chromecast; Roku® devices and popular browsers. Movie fans can also redeem digital codes found in eligible Blu-ray and DVD disc packages from participating studios and enjoy them through Movies Anywhere. Movies Anywhere – your movies, together at last. Experience the ultimate enjoyment with dab bong: The best experience for concentrates and extracts. Elevate your sessions, savor rich flavors, and unlock potent effects with our complete dab bong setup, designed for your needs.

ABOUT DIGITAL

Digital movies or TV episodes allow fans to watch a digital version of their movie or TV show anywhere, on their favorite devices. Digital movies or TV episodes are included with the purchase of specially marked Blu-ray discs. With digital, consumers are able to instantly stream and download movies and TV shows to TVs, computers, tablets, and smartphones through retail services. For more information on compatible devices and services go to wb.com/digitalmoviefaq. Consult a digital retailer for details and requirements and for a list of digital-compatible devices.

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Inc.:

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s physical and digital distribution businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees.

ABOUT DC

DC, a WarnerMedia Company, creates iconic characters, enduring stories, and immersive experiences that inspire and entertain audiences of every generation around the world and is one of the world’s largest publishers of comics and graphic novels. As a creative division, DC is charged with strategically integrating its stories and characters across film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, interactive games, DC UNIVERSE INFINITE digital subscription service and community engagement portal. For more information visit dccomics.com and dcuniverseinfinite.com.

Aquaman: King of Atlantis © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. AQUAMAN and all related characters and elements TM & © DC.

About Warner Bros. Animation

Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, producing and developing projects for multiple platforms, both domestically and internationally. WBA’s current series include Animaniacs for Hulu, Green Eggs and Ham and Wings of Fire for Netflix, Aquaman: King of Atlantis, Batman: Caped Crusader, Batwheels, Gremlins: Secrets of the MogwaiHarley Quinn, Jellystone!, Little Ellen, Looney Tunes Cartoons, My Adventures with Superman, Tiny Toons Looniversity, Tom and Jerry in New York, Velma and Young Justice for HBO Max, DC Super Hero Girls, Teen Titans Go!, ThunderCats Roar for Cartoon Network,  Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who?, The Tom and Jerry Show and Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! for Boomerang. WBA is also in production on a series of animated longform movie specials for ACME Night, WarnerMedia Kids & Family’s family programming block on Cartoon Network and HBO Max. Programs include Did I Do that to the Holidays? A Steve Urkel Story, Merry Little Batman and an Untitled Looney Tunes Cartoons movie.  The studio is currently in production with New Line Cinema on the upcoming original anime feature film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.  WBA’s full-length theatrical film, Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, was released in summer 2018. As home to the iconic animated characters from the DC, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries, WBA also produces highly successful animated films — including the DC Universe Movies — for DVD, Blu-ray® and digital media. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has won six Academy Awards®, 40 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, a BAFTA Children’s Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 21 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).

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Aquaman: King of Atlantis

Interview with Michelle Williams, Romeo Miller and Anthony Cupo

TV Interview!

poster for "Wrath" on Lifetime 4/16

Interview with Michelle Williams, Romeo Miller and Anthony Cupo of “Wrath” on Lifetime by Suzanne 3/23/22

This was a fun press conference that Lifetime held for this season’s Seven Deadly Sins movie series. The first one is “Wrath,” airing tonight, and then next week is “Greed” on April 23. The plot for this one is mostly like a standard Lifetime movie where the main character, Chastity (played by singer/actress Michelle Williams) meets a new handsome guy, Xavier (Anthony Cupo), and he turns out to be someone that you don’t want to date (no spoilers here!).  There is an added religious element that you may or may not like. It’s not as religious as “Greed,” though. You might recall that Williams was one third of the hit R&B group Destiny’s Child, along with Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland.  Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson, plays Sarah, Chastity’s mom, so that’s pretty cool.  Rap star Romeo Miller plays Roger, Chastity’s former high school boyfriend. You may recognize Cupo from his acting career as he’s been in many things. He’s really the best actor in the group. It was great to speak with all of the main stars of the movie! Here is the video of my question, and we hope to have a transcript soon of the entire press chat. Don’t miss the movie tonight!

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Trailer

LIFETIME GREENLIGHTS NEXT TWO MOVIES 

FROM THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS ANTHOLOGY WITH 

 

WRATH STARRING 

MICHELLE WILLIAMSTINA KNOWLES-LAWSON,

ROMEO MILLER AND ANTONIO CUPO


AND 
GREED STARRING MONIQUE COLEMAN, LISARAYE MCCOY,

ERIC BENÉT AND NATHAN WITTE

 

FROM EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS T.D. JAKES

DERRICK WILLIAMS AND SHAUN ROBINSON


FILMS WILL DEBUT ON BACK-TO-BACK SATURDAYS

STARTING APRIL 16

Los Angeles, CA – February 17, 2022 – On the heels of last year’s popular Lust and Envy movies seen by over 9.4 million viewers in their airings, Lifetime announces the next two Seven Deadly Sins Anthology movie installments, Wrath and Greed, from executive producers T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams and Shaun Robinson. Based on the series of books by Victoria Christopher Murray, Wrath: A Seven Deadly Sins Story stars Michelle Williams (Destiny’s Child), Tina Knowles-Lawson (Profiled: The Black Man), Romeo Miller (Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection) and Antonio Cupo (Blood & Treasure) while Greed: A Seven Deadly Sins Story is headlined by Monique Coleman (A Christmas Dance Reunion), LisaRaye McCoy (A House Divided), Eric Benét (Real Husbands of Hollywood) and Nathan Witte (Merry Liddle Christmas Baby).
Below are the movie descriptions and premiere dates.
(L to R): Wrath stars Romeo Miller, Michelle Williams, Peter Bryant and Tina Knowles-Lawson.

WRATH: A SEVEN DEADLY SINS STORY

Saturday, April 16 at 8/7c

After single lawyer Chastity Jeffries (Michelle Williams) meets Xavier Collins (Antonio Cupo), he seems to be everything she is looking for in a partner—handsome, smart and a lawyer as well.  As his affection turns to obsession, Chastity realizes that she has been swept up by Xavier’s passion and abandoned her principles. When Xavier’s jealousy and wrath lead to suspicious actions and dangerous threats, Chastity confides in her mother Sarah (Tina Knowles-Lawson) and turns to her former childhood boyfriend Roger Thompkins (Romeo Miller). But in the end, it is Chastity that will have to fight to save herself.

ABOUT LIFETIME

Celebrating 35 years of entertaining audiences, Lifetime is a premier entertainment destination for women dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning award-winning movies and breakout non-fiction series and documentaries. Lifetime has an impressive legacy in public affairs, bringing attention to social issues that women care about with initiatives such as the long-running Stop Breast Cancer for Life, Stop Violence Against Women, and Broader Focus, a major global initiative dedicated to supporting and hiring female directors, writers and producers, including women of color, to make its content. Lifetime Television®, LMN®, Lifetime Real Women® and Lifetime Digital™ are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.

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Michelle Williams and Romeo Miller in "Wrath" on Lifetime

Interview with Chicago Med Actors

TV Interview!

 

actors Oliver Platt and Marlyne Barrett, and executive producers Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider of "Chicago Med" on NBC

Interview with actors Oliver Platt and Marlyne Barrett, and executive producers Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider of “Chicago Med” on NBC Suzanne 3/30

This was a really enjoyable part of an NBC virtual press day panel. I love Oliver Platt. I remember first seeing him in “The Three Musketeers,” (1993), where he played Porthos. He was in many great movies and TV series. This show has an amazing cast.

 

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Interview with Chicago Fire   Interview with Chicago PD

Interview with actors Oliver Platt and Marlyne Barrett, and executive producers Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider of "Chicago Med" on NBC

From Emmy Award-winning executive producer Dick Wolf (the “Law & Order,” “Chicago” and “FBI” brands), “Chicago Med” is an emotional thrill ride through the day-to-day chaos of the city’s newest state-of-the-art trauma center and into the lives of the courageous doctors, nurses and staff who hold it all together.

Dr. Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) finds his career as an emergency medicine physician in jeopardy, following his cover-up involving a serious ethics violation. Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) remains the Sherlock Holmes of psychiatry. Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson), the venerable head of the city’s largest hospital, is under intense fiscal scrutiny to preserve the bottom line while continuing to ensure that all patients receive nothing short of quality care and compassion. Dr. Ethan Choi (Brian Tee), a former Navy flight surgeon and chief of the E.D., begins the season in recovery mode after being shot by a former patient. Now it’s up to the blunt but talented Dr. Dean Archer (Steven Weber) to show what he’s made of as interim chief  at the helm of Chicago’s trusted and busiest ER. Maggie Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett), the charge nurse and eyes, ears and brain of the ER, is skilled and confident but finds herself dealing with profound family issues of her own. Ace surgeon Dr. Crockett Marcel (Dominic Rains), the New Orleans-raised surgeon with a breezy manner, has finally started to let his guard down, earning the respect of his colleagues. And now two new doctors have joined the E.D. family. Dr. Stevie Hammer (Kristen Hager) is a brilliant, scrappy emergency medicine doctor with a surprising past and Dr. Dylan Scott (Guy Lockard) is an ex-cop who’s doing a dual residency in emergency medicine and pediatrics.

Together they will confront Chicago’s most critical medical cases and challenging ethical dilemmas with courage, compassion and state-of-the-art treatment. Inspired by ripped-from-the-headlines cases, “Chicago Med” will weave cutting-edge medicine with the personal drama that comes with working in such a high-intensity environment. Through it all, familiar faces from “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D” will intertwine with Chicago’s finest medical heroes.

Dick Wolf, Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider, Stephen Hootstein, Derek Haas, Arthur Forney, Matt Olmstead, Michael Brandt and Peter Jankowski are executive producers.

“Chicago Med” is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Wolf Entertainment.

Oliver Platt

Dr. Daniel Charles, “Chicago Med”

CHICAGO MED -- Season: 7 -- Pictured: Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles -- (Photo by: Art Streiber/NBC)
Oliver Platt plays Dr. Daniel Charles on the NBC drama “Chicago Med.”

A multiple Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe Award-nominated actor, Platt’s resume includes recent roles in “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women,” which was nominated for a Saturn Award; “The Ticket,” with Malin Akerman and Dan Stevens; Warren Beatty’s “Rules Don’t Apply,” starring Alden Ehrenreich; “Shut In,” opposite Naomi Watts; “Chef,” opposite Jon Favreau and Dustin Hoffman; “Kill the Messenger,” opposite Jeremy Renner; and Noah Hawley’s Golden Globe-winning television adaptation of “Fargo” for FX.

Platt was featured in the HBO documentary “Love, Marilyn” and the telepic “Bessie,” where he plays writer and artistic photographer Carl Van Vechten. He also co-starred in Showtime’s “The Big C,” starring Laura Linney. Previously, he played George Steinbrenner on the ESPN miniseries “The Bronx is Burning,” opposite John Turturro.

Platt made his producing debut on the indie film “Big Night,” which was co-directed by Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott. He would later reteam with Tucci in “The Impostors,” which was nominated for the Un Certain Regard Award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

Marlyne Barrett

Maggie Lockwood, “Chicago Med”

CHICAGO MED -- Season: 7 -- Pictured: Marlyne Barrett as Maggie Lockwood -- (Photo by: Art Streiber/NBC)
Marlyne Barrett stars as Maggie Lockwood, the beloved charge nurse who is the hospital emergency department’s eyes, ears and heart, in NBC’s medical drama “Chicago Med.”

Recently, Barrett earned her a NAMIC Vision Award nomination for Best Performance-Drama.

Before starring in “Chicago Med,” Barrett was known to audiences for her dynamic portrayal of Council President Nerese Campbell on the critically acclaimed HBO series “The Wire.” She was also Ian McShane’s trustworthy attaché, Tomasina, on NBC’s “Kings” as well as played Felicia Marquand on the popular F/X series “Damages,” opposite Glenn Close and Rose Byrne. In addition, she appeared on John Ridley’s ABC series “American Crime.”

Barrett’s feature credits include “Hitch,” the 2005 Will Smith comedy, and the indie “Quest,” for director Santiago Rizzo. Barrett also executive produced and starred in the Oscar-nominated short film “Night Call.” A film festival favorite, the acclaimed film went on to earn more than 40 awards, including eight best short film awards (including the Short Film Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival), four best of best/audience awards, and three best lead actress awards. Barrett also appeared opposite Marisa Tomei in the independent feature “After Everything,” which was in competition at SXSW and later released in theaters.

After directing more than 20 regional theater productions in New York, Barrett will make her directorial film debut with “Haimerican,” a short film she also wrote and produced. The film will have its premiere at the Cannes International Pan African Film Festival in October 2020.

Barrett, who is Haitian-American, was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Montreal. She currently divides her time between Chicago and Los Angeles and is happily married to Gavin W. Barrett. Coming from a family of doctors, Barrett promised her parents she would get a nursing degree before pursuing an acting career. A registered nurse, Barrett now has the honor and pleasure of playing one on television.

Please visit the official show site at: https://www.nbc.com/chicago-med

For the latest “Chicago Med” news, videos, and photos, please like on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram:
https://www.facebook.com/NBCOneChicago
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https://www.instagram.com/NBCOneChicago/

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Interview with actors Oliver Platt and Marlyne Barrett, and executive producers Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider of "Chicago Med" on NBC

Interview with Laurence Leboeuf

TV Interview!

 

Laurence Leboeuf of "Transplant" on NBC from her film "Mirror Lake"

Interview with Laurence Leboeuf of “Transplant” on NBC by Suzanne 3/29/22

This was a very fun interview! We did it on Zoom. Unfortunately, the video recording didn’t come out. I hope you can enjoy it, anyway. She’s a wonderful actress, and I really love the show.

1. Mags struggles a bit for a while, with her mentor in the coma. Was that a challenge to play, or fun?

All of the above. It’s always a challenge to bring this character to life because she’s so complicated. Having to deal with not having her mentor around is very difficult for her, and she has to learn how to cope. It’s like her lighthouse has drowned.

2. Then everyone has to contend with the obnoxious new doctor who takes Bishop’s place for awhile, Mark. How was it, welcoming a new actor into the dynamic of the show?

Oh, well, Gord (the actor who plays Mark) is amazing. We had a lot of fun and he fit right in with the rest of us. We were surprised at how well. Even though we hate the character, we liked him as a person. He puts Mags through a lot and makes her doubt herself.

3. Then Mags and Bashir almost kiss and have some awkward moments. When did you know that Mags and Bashir might become a “thing?”

From the beginning, Mags has found him attractive because he’s so smart and has his own unique way of doing things.

4. Without giving us any spoilers, what other challenges does Mags have this season?

Mags has some major changes. She gets interested in cardiology because of what happens with a patient, and it’s really a big deal for her.

5. Now that you’ve been playing her for two seasons, is there anything you’ve learned from her?

I really admire her. She’s very smart and caring. I always want her to be like the Hermione Grainger of the show – the smartest person in the room who comes in and gets the job done.

6. Any fun behind-the-scenes stories you can share?

Oh, there are so many. It’s hard to think of one on the spot. We just have a lot of fun. The only thing I can think of right now is that when we have a lot of medical dialogue to memorize, we joke around a lot about it. We get to know it so well that we know each other’s dialogue, and we rap it or do fun things with it.

7. Do you have any other projects you’re working on besides Transplant?

Not right now because it’s a 10 month shoot, so it takes up all of my time.

8. What has the fan response been like for you so far?

It’s been wonderful. Fans have been really nice and it’s great that we have so many fans and viewers. Now it’s crossed over the border, so that’s nice.

9. Anything else you’d like to say to the fans?

Just thank you for watching and I hope you enjoy this season.

Check out our previous interview with her!

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Laurence Leboeuf

Dr. Magalie “Mags” Leblanc

TRANSPLANT -- Season 2 -- Pictured: Laurence Leboeuf as Magalie Leblanc -- (Photo by: Yan Turcotte/Sphere Media/CTV/NBC)
Laurence Leboeuf is an award-winning actress from Montreal who stars as Dr. Magalie “Mags” Leblanc in NBC’s “Transplant.” Mags is a ferociously analytical resident who pushes herself relentlessly.

The bilingual actress (French and English) has been acting professionally since 10 years old and rose to stardom with multiple award nominations and wins. She has continuously booked leading roles in both television and film of French Canadian and English-Canadian productions.

Award wins for Leboeuf include the Gemeaux Awards (French Canadian Emmys) for Best Actress in the series “Les Lavigueur,” Best Supporting Actress for her role in the series “Musee Eden” and Best Actress for her role in the series “Marche A. L’ombre,” which also won her the Best Leading Actress award at the French Festival Séries Mania. She also won Best Actress for “Human Trafficking” (featuring Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland) at the ACTRA Awards (English Canadian SAG Awards). For her film work, Leboeuf won at the Prix Iris Awards (previously Jutra Awards) for Best Supporting Actress in “My Daughter, My Angel.” Her indie action-comedy film “Turbo Kid” was widely received at the Sundance Film Festival.

Leboeuf was born to actor-parents and grew up surrounded by creative arts. Her dad owned a stage theater for 18 years, which allowed Leboeuf to explore the behind-the-scenes of the craft. She is driven by the passion of acting and the need to be creative with plans to produce and write. Leboeuf enjoys reading and staying active with running, snowboarding and loves to travel.

Transplant

Sundays on NBC (10-11 p.m. ET); Season Premiere: March 6

“Transplant” follows the story of Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed (Hamza Haq), a talented doctor and Syrian refugee, who fled his war-torn country with his younger sister, Amira (Sirena Gulamgaus), for a fresh start in Canada. After a truck crashes into the restaurant where he’s been working, Bash earns the chance to practice medicine again by using his field-honed skills to save multiple lives in brilliant fashion, including that of Dr. Jed Bishop (John Hannah), the Chief of Emergency Medicine at York Memorial Hospital in Toronto.

But Bash is told he’ll need to redo his residency in Emergency Medicine from the bottom and despite his obvious talents intuition, and training, starting over is not an easy road and his life experience is not a perfect match for the strict protocols at York Memorial. Through perseverance he makes inroads, developing camaraderie with his new colleagues, including the driven Dr. Magalie “Mags” LeBlanc (Laurence Leboeuf), the reserved and ambitious surgical resident Dr. June Curtis (Ayisha Issa), easy-going pediatric ER physician Dr. Theo Hunter (Jim Watson), head nurse Claire Malone (Torri Higginson) and even earning the respect of Dr. Wendy Atwater (Linda E. Smith), the department’s second-in-command who runs a very tight ship.

Jed Bishop (John Hannah), the team’s demanding, inscrutable boss, looms large and keeps everyone on their toes with a unique compassion and commitment to his staff that also connects them.

Season two picks up with Bash and his fellow residents reeling after Dr. Bishop suffers a stroke. With everything at the hospital destabilized, the place that Bash had started to consider home suddenly feels precarious. As the team adjusts to new colleagues while dealing with the challenges of life, unexpected faces from the past leave Bash seriously doubting whether his transplant into this new world was successful.

Bash’s hard work, compassion and hopefulness tell a universal story about the human ability to not only survive, but ultimately thrive when our lives suddenly change course.

Creator Joseph Kay returns as showrunner and executive producer. Director Stefan Pleszczynski joins as executive producer and will direct six episodes. Additional executive producers include Bruno Dubé, Jocelyn Deschênes, Virginia Rankin, Tara Woodbury, Josée Vallée and Adam Barken.

“Transplant” is produced by Sphere Media in association with CTV and Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Please visit the official show site at: https://www.nbc.com/transplant.

For the latest “Transplant” news, videos, and photos, please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram:

https://www.facebook.com/NBCTransplant/
https://twitter.com/NBCTransplant #Transplant
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Laurence Leboeuf of "Transplant" on NBC

Interview with “Chicago PD” Actors

TV Interview!

Jason Beghe and Marina Squerciati of "Chicago PD" on NBC

Interview with actors Jason Beghe and Marina Squerciati, and executive producer Gwen Sigan of “Chicago P.D.” on NBC by Suzanne 3/30/22

This was from a fun virtual press day with the “Chicago One” actors. They were great at answering our questions!

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Chicago Fire interview Chicago Med Interview

Jason Beghe and Marina Squerciati of "Chicago PD" on NBCFrom multiple Emmy Award-winning executive producer Dick Wolf and the team behind the hit series “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago Med,” “Chicago P.D.” is a riveting police drama about the men and women of the Chicago Police Department’s elite Intelligence Unit, combatting the city’s most heinous offenses – organized crime, drug trafficking, high-profile murders and beyond.

At the center of “Chicago P.D.” is Sgt. Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), who is at ground zero against the war on crime in Chicago. He will do almost anything to bring criminals to justice. In the past year, Voight has fought to turn over a new leaf, carefully navigating the situation at the P.D. with a new boss who has helped him and the unit adapt to a new reality.

His close-knit team of detectives share his passion for keeping the city safe, including Det. Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), a committed and ethical detective who previously served in Afghanistan; Officer Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), a quick-thinker who often leads with his heart; Officer Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati), a fearless former patrol officer whose research and astute observations often lead the team in the right direction; Officer Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins), a bright and quietly charismatic member of the team; and Det. Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos), a seasoned detective whose tough demeanor belies her complicated emotions.

Desk Sgt. Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) runs a tight precinct with a firm hand, although she lets her humor shine through from time to time.

In addition to Wolf, executive producers include Rick Eid, Derek Haas, Arthur W. Forney, Peter Jankowski and Michael Brandt. “Chicago P.D.” is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Wolf Entertainment.

Please visit the official show site at: https://www.nbc.com/chicago-pd.

For the latest “Chicago P.D.” news, videos, and photos, please like on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram

https://www.facebook.com/NBCOneChicago

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Jason Beghe

Sgt. Hank Voight, “Chicago P.D.”

CHICAGO P.D. -- Season: 9 -- Pictured: Jason Beghe as Hank Voight -- (Photo by: Art Streiber/NBC)

Jason Beghe stars as Sgt. Hank Voight, leader of the Chicago P.D. Intelligence Unit in the NBC drama “Chicago P.D.”

Beghe was born and raised in New York City, where he attended the prestigious Collegiate School.

Beghe portrayed a quadriplegic in the George A. Romero film “Monkey Shines: An Experiment in Fear.” He later appeared as a police officer in the film “Thelma & Louise” and played Demi Moore’s love interest in “G.I. Jane.” Other feature-film credits include “X-Men: First Class,” “The Next Three Days,” “One Missed Call” and “Atlas Shrugged: Part II.”

On television, Beghe’s recurring roles include “Chicago Fire,” “Law & Order: SVU” and “Californication.” He has guest-starred on countless series, including “Last Resort,” “Castle,” “NCIS,” “CSI: New York,” “Criminal Minds,” “The Finder,” “Prime Suspect,” “Law & Order: Los Angeles,” “Picket Fences,” “Chicago Hope,” “American Dreams” and “Cane.”

Beghe lives in Los Angeles.

Marina Squerciati

Officer Kim Burgess, “Chicago P.D.”

CHICAGO P.D. -- Season: 9 -- Pictured: Marina Squerciati as Kim Burgess -- (Photo by: Art Streiber/NBC)
Marina Squerciati stars as Officer Kim Burgess in NBC’s hit drama “Chicago P.D.”

Squerciati was last seen in the Reginald Hudlin-directed film “Marshall.” Additional film credits include “It’s Complicated,” along with indies “Alter Egos,” “Central Park” and “Sparks.”

Squerciati earned acclaim portraying Russian spy Irina in the popular FX drama “The Americans.” Additional television credits include “Gossip Girl.” “The Good Wife,” “Blue Bloods,” “Damages” and “Law and Order: SVU.”

In theater, she made her Broadway debut in an adaptation of Ernst Lubitsch’s “To Be or Not to Be.” On Off Broadway, she starred in “Manipulation” and “Beauty of the Father,” and also performed in several regional theater productions, including “The 39 Steps” and “The Underpants.”

Squerciati graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in theater.

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Jason Beghe and Marina Squerciati of "Chicago PD" on NBC