Interview with stars Max Thieriot, Billy Burke, Kevin Alejandro, Diane Farr and Jordan Calloway; and Executive producers Tia Napolitano and Tony Phelan of “Fire Country” on CBS by Suzanne 9/16/22
This was a TCA panel, so there were a lot of journalists there, and we’re only allowed one question (more or less). I’m not allowed to give you a transcript or video, so below is my summary of the panel. I really enjoyed the first episode, so I’m adding this show to my watch list. It’s a unique idea and very well done.
CBS 2022 FALL TCA PRESS TOUR
FIRE COUNTRY
Max Thieriot, Creator/Star/Executive Producer
Billy Burke
Kevin Alejandro
Diane Farr
Jordan Calloway
Tia Napolitano, Showrunner/Executive Producer
Tony Phelan, Executive Producer
This was the first panel of the day, so we heard a general CBS introduction from Phil Gonzales, Senior Vice President, Communications, CBS Entertainment, and he played a promo for their shows. Then we heard from another executive, Mallor Mason. She told us, “We’d like to welcome you to the “Fire Country” panel. The drama inspired by series star Max Thieriot’s experiences growing up in northern California fire country premieres Friday, October 7th on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus.” That’s right, the star of the show, Max Thieriot, is also the creator of the show, and it’s based on his own experiences! Also, he’s an executive producer (of course).
Then showrunner Tia Napolitano said, “We are so excited to bring you “Fire Country.” We’ve got a fun show that is about redemption and family. It’s a character driven thrill ride. We have had so much fun making it. I got excited just watching the sizzle reel again. It is inspired by the reality of the fires in California, and our characters are the heroes that are custodians of a community deep in fire country in California. Let’s get this started. We’re so excited to be here.”
Most of the press asked Max questions, but I really love Billy Burke (ever since I saw him in the “Twilight” movies! And he’s been great in many shows I love, such as “Revolution” and “Major Crimes”), and Diane Farr (who plays Sharon) is also great. They play spouses in this show. There’s a bit of familial reveal at the end of the first episode, too. I asked them if they could speak a little bit about their characters’ relationship, and their relationship with the main character, Bode (Max).
Diane was very funny but really didn’t answer my question. She spoke more about working with Billy than about the characters. That’s fine – it was very entertaining. She revealed that it was fun to work with Billy because he’s “really not a morning person.” She made a funny noise and said that’s the noise he makes when he works. Then she compares him to Max, who comes in very bright, cheery and friendly. She said that he’s “Jesus, who was born in the manger” and then added, “And the juxtaposition of those two men is where I live.” She did say that she was just joking. She went on to speak more seriously about how she and Billy worked well together because they both have strong personalities, are veteran actors, “we negotiate our scenes. I usually want more emotional stuff, and he wants a little more action, and we literally negotiate, “Okay, if you kiss me here, I’ll do that thing you asked for.” Like, we barter for who’s going to give what.” I found that to be very interesting. She also praised Max for being such a great guy and full of heart.
Billy replied, “I’m going to go ahead and let you guess who wins most of those negotiations”. Then he praised Diane for making the acting easy and interesting. He’s very happy, he said, as long as he “feels like there’s something happening there.” He then went on to praise the entire cast, saying that they’re the best cast he’s worked with in a long time. He conceded that he does sometimes arrive in the mornings grumpy (or as he put it, “I’m all grumbly”) but working with them all makes things “a whole lot better.” They joked around a bit more. It was very fun to watch them play together.
The rest of the press had their own questions. The first one asked about how Max had to negotiate (there’s that word again!) his work on this show with his work on “SEAL Team,” where he’s also a part of the cast. Max admitted that it was a little difficult to “juggle,” but what helped is that they were already shooting season 6 of “SEAL team” before they started on “Fire Country” in earnest. He was able to make it work during breaks in the shows. He explained, “It’s been crazy, but, you know, life’s crazy, and I got a couple kids to throw in there, and I’m moving around, up to Vancouver to shoot a TV show…but I’m young, and I can keep up, and … I like staying busy, so it works for me.”
He added that when he started working writing this show, it was the start of COVID, and he didn’t know “how long this process would be.” He’d never tried to pitch an idea to a studio, and he’d never finished writing anything. He joked about being “a little bit of a hummingbird where, like, I’ll start on something and then I’m off to, like, another idea.” This started like that, but then he felt “locked into it.” He theorized that this is “just because it was personal.” He wasn’t sure whether he would play Bode, but then the producers convinced him that he needed to.
Max was also asked where he grew up in Northern California, and why he thought it would make a good TV show setting. The reporter also wanted to know whether the show will have self-contained episodes or be more serialized. Max answered that he grew up in Occidental, although he was born in Los Altos because his family was staying in a friend’s garage unit at that time. He told us that Occidental, which is in Sonoma County, only has about 1,000 people in it. He left there to work in the big cities, so he didn’t value how interesting the small town could be. He looked back on his life there and realized how different it is. He described it as “the comfort that you have and the familiarity you have with everybody and how close this community is. You know, in times of struggle and when everybody needs to come together, they really do, and they all support each other.” He felt that this would be a good “core foundation for the show.” Diane chimed to say that this is why she calls him Jesus Christ, because he was born in a manger.
Tony answered the other question, saying that it’s somewhat serialized, but he believes that it will be easy for the audience to catch up if they miss some episodes. He conceded, “There are obviously fire events, rescue events. Our firefighters battle wildfires from the Oregon border all the way down to Mexico..they also do water rescue, they do search and rescue. So there’s all sorts of stories to tell.” Their personal lives, and the mysteries involving them, will be the more serialized parts.
Billy was asked whether playing a fire captain on “911: Lone Star” helped him prepare for this role. Billy replied that he did a movie called “Ladder 49” (2004). He joked that maybe he’s a “closet pyro” because he loves fire. Then he thought about it and said that it’s really the characters he cares about, more than the world they’re in. His character on 911 was “just this despicable yet somehow likable guy,” which is completely opposite his character here of Vince. He’s not sure that he’s ever played a character like this one before.
The same reporter asked Kevin (who plays Manny) about his role. He’s played a lot of cops, but here he’s more of a “fire cop.” Kevin is very honored to have played by many cops, but he’s new to the world of fire fighters. He shared that they, as actors, “dive as deep as we can to kind of figure out and respect not only the script but respect the job that’s put in front of us.” He’s really enjoying playing the role, but he feels that “it’s still a mystery to me. He just wants to do his best to represent firefighters on the show. He praised their “fire consultants” that show them how to do things. They have to stick close to the real firefighting but within the boundaries of entertainment. He agrees with Max about the small-town aspects of their show. He enjoys that aspect of “community and understanding that heart.”
The cast was asked whether anyone is afraid of fire in real life. No one thought that anyone there was. I mean, even if an actor had that kind of fear, I would think they wouldn’t want to admit it because they might lose their job (as long as they were able to conquer it and not let it interfere with the role). Max responded by talking about great their visual effects team is. Sometimes they have real fires in front of them, and sometimes it’s just visual effects, and their team “makes that look much scarier than it is.”
Max was asked about whether he’d experienced any great fire storms when he was living in Sonoma County; specifically whether his family ever had to be evacuated. Max revealed that there was one that happened when he was two, but he doesn’t remember. It. Most of his writing was based on the fires of the past few years, where a lot of Santa Rosa was destroyed by the fires. That one affected him the most emotionally because of all the damage and lives lost. He described to us that it came very fast, so the firefighters only had time to try to save lives and nothing else. He was texting with his friends who work as firefighters in that area and some of their stories were “pretty horrific.” He lives by the beach, but his mom lives up there, as well as friends. She had to be evacuated. How scary! She has horses and other animals on their faimly farm, so he had to go up and help them get the animals out and go to a safer area, like the dairy land in the southern part of the county.
Diane was asked about her past fire experiences on the movie “SuperFire” and in “Rescue Me” – specifically comparing real fire with CGI fire, and how it’s less risky now. She did agree that they’re much safer now.
She told a great story (she really should be on a podcast or writing) about her jobs. In the movie, she “had to learn how to fly a Cessna.” Then, with the series, “I had to learn everything because nobody thought I could be a firefighter. I trained with three ladies in three states. It was super hard.” She said that didn’t know anything before this series about Cal Fire (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) or about the different types of fires. She alluded to climate change making the world hotter and creating more fires, and how scary that is. She went back to the original point, saying that she doesn’t get to do too many dangerous things as an actor. However, she does “ride a motorcycle in real life,” which they wrote into the show. She thinks it’s probably too dangerous, but when a large stunt man tried to take it away, she didn’t let him, so we will see her riding that.
Actor Jordan Calloway (Jake) is most known for playing Khalil/Painkiller on “Black Lightning.” He was asked how “the physicality of that role” helped to prepare him to play a firefighter. Jordan said, “I’m still laughing after Diane. She’s hilarious. That’s mama bear on set.” He went on to explain that the two roles are very different. With the earlier show, “there was a heavy martial arts, heavy weaponry work.” He mentioned that Max probably has that on “SEAL Team” as well. He praised the real life firefighters for what they do, such as carrying around a heavy oxygen tank all day, as they had to do in one episode, as well as having to run around, check their surroundings, and deal with forest fires. He said admiringly that those are long days they have to stay fit and focused. He has some firefighter friends that deal with the fires in California because he’s from the Altadena area, which is in the mountains north of Pasadena. He remembers a big fire they had in 1996 where they had to evacuate. He laughed, telling us a story where his mom was up on the roof, watering it to make sure it wouldn’t catch fire. She also had “12 gauge shotgun” to keep looters away. However, they found out later that it wasn’t even loaded.
He went back to talking about how tough it is physically for the real firefighters, who spend long hours fighting the fires that can change very quickly. The stunt guys have it much easier, since the fire is fake, but he praised them for how great they are. He said they’re “crushing it.”
The journalist replied that he’s “been evacuated three times,” so he knows what it’s like for the real firefighters. He asked Max how he handles his heavy workload and whether it’s ever scared him. Max doesn’t think he’s ever been scared of the amount of work. He likes to “give a hundred percent” at whatever job he gets. He said that it may seem like his time is very “divided,” but compared to his “grandpa who farmed corn for 72 years,” it’s no big deal. His grandpa said, “Make hay while the sun shines.” He doesn’t shy away from the hard work. He enjoys “the sense of accomplishment in completing things.” He revealed that, “I have my work jeans on right now underneath my fancy shirt because I’m going to go out and finish my chicken coop that’s in the back as soon as we get off this call.” Whether he’s filming or working at home, it’s no different for him. He just has a bit more work than he’s used to, and he’s getting “a lot more emails” than he’s used to from his “Fire Country” co-workers, so he has a hard time keeping up on that, but he enjoys the work.
Actor/comedian Richard Kind, who was on the next panel for “East New York,” arrived early, so Diane Farr said, “I just want to welcome Richard Kind to our Zoom meeting. Richard, I’m so glad you can join ‘Fire Country.'” He didn’t seem to know where he was, so he asked, “Is that true? Am I with all you guys?” So she told him that he was. He replied, without missing a beat, “Well, I look forward to putting on my suit and wearing a big hat. Really big. How do I do that?” It was pretty hilarious.
Then they let Max give some closing remarks. He talked about how much he loves everyone on the show and how great they are. He’s excited to share the stories of the heroic firefighters.
MAX THIERIOT STARS AS BODE, A YOUNG CONVICT SEEKING REDEMPTION BY JOINING A PRISON RELEASE FIREFIGHTING PROGRAM WHERE HE AND OTHER INMATES ARE PARTNERED WITH ELITE FIREFIGHTERS TO EXTINGUISH MASSIVE, UNPREDICTABLE WILDFIRES, ON THE SERIES PREMIERE OF “FIRE COUNTRY,” FRIDAY, OCT. 7
Inspired by Series Star Max Thieriot’s Experiences Growing Up in Northern California Fire Country
Series Also Stars Billy Burke, Kevin Alejandro, Diane Farr, Stephanie Arcila, Jordan Calloway and Jules Latimer
“Pilot” – Max Thieriot stars as Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence by joining a prison release firefighting program in Northern California where he and other inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to extinguish massive, unpredictable wildfires across the region. It’s a high-risk, high-reward assignment, and the heat is turned up when Bode is assigned to the program in his rural hometown, where he was once a golden all-American son until his troubles began. Five years ago, Bode burned down everything in his life, leaving town with a big secret. Now he’s back, with the rap sheet of a criminal and the audacity to believe in a chance for redemption with Cal Fire, on the series premiere of FIRE COUNTRY, Friday, Oct. 7 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. Series also stars Billy Burke, Kevin Alejandro, Diane Farr, Stephanie Arcila, Jordan Calloway and Jules Latimer.
REGULAR CAST:
Max Thieriot
(Bode)
Billy Burke
(Vince)
Kevin Alejandro
(Manny)
Diane Farr
(Sharon)
Stephanie Arcila
(Gabriela)
Jordan Calloway
(Jake)
Jules Latimer
(Eve)
GUEST CAST:
Marcelo Arroyo
(Julio)
Michelle Choi-Lee
(Ana)
W. Tre Davis
(Freddy)
Aleita Northey
(Lindsey)
Ty Olsson
(Cory)
Kaylah Zander
(Aydan)
STORY BY: Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and Max Thieriot
TELEPLAY BY: Joan Rater and Tony Phelan
DIRECTED BY: James Strong
GENRE: Drama
*Paramount+ Premium subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service as well as on demand. Essential-tier subscribers will have access to on-demand the day after the episode airs.
Interview with Jaime Ray Newman of the movie “MK Ultra” by Suzanne 10/4/22
It was really great to speak with Jaime about her part in this movie, and about “General Hospital” (where she played Kristina, Alexis’ sister) and more. I had a lot of fun. The movie comes out today, Oct. 7, in theaters and On Demand. I highly recommend it because it’s a good psychological horror thriller. Anson Mount (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) stars in it, and Jaime plays his wife. It’s a fairly small role, but she’s great in it.
Oh, one little correction. The actress in the movie that I referred to (Jen Richards) is not the same actress as the one that guest-starred on “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” That’s what I get for talking off the top of my head, rather than looking it up to make sure. That actress is Jesse James Keitel. They look very similar, but they are not the same. Maybe they could play sisters in some future movie or TV show!
Starring Anson Mount, Jaime Ray Newman, Jason Patric, Jen Richards, Alon Aboutboul and David Jensen
Written and Directed by Ex-Intelligence Officer Joseph Sorrentino
Based on the infamous CIA drug experiments from the early 1960s, this psychological thriller follows a brilliant psychiatrist (Anson Mount) who unknowingly becomes entangled with a dangerous government entity fixated on mind control.
Under Project MKUltra, the CIA ran an illegal human experimentation program intended to develop procedures and identify drugs such as LSD that could be used in interrogations to weaken individuals and force confessions through brainwashing and psychological torture.
Jaime Ray Newman (born April 2, 1978) is an American actress, producer and singer. She is known for starring as Kristina Cassadine in the soap opera General Hospital, Mindy O’Dell in the drama series Veronica Mars, Kat Gardener in the fantasy series Eastwick, Lt. Laura Cadman in the science-fiction series Stargate Atlantis, Tess Fontana in the science-fiction series Eureka, Kat Petrova in the drama-thriller series Red Widow, Sam Gordon in the comedy-drama series Mind Games, Allison Roth in the crime drama series Wicked City, and Sarah Lieberman in the Marvel series The Punisher.
Along with her husband Guy Nattiv, she won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2019 for producing the drama Skin (2018).
Interview with actors Miia Harris, Ceci Balagot, Nayah Damasen, and Case Walker and EP’s Todd Holland, Adam Bonnett and Phil Breman on Paramount+/Nickelodeon by Suzanne 9/21/22
This TCA panel was for a new Halloween special movie based on the popular animated series and children’s dolls, “Monster High.” It airs Thursday, 10/7. It was fun seeing how excited everyone was.
First we had an introduction from Todd Holland, and he played us a musical clip from the show.
I had researched the cast, and the only one that I knew very well at all was Nayah, who was on “Grey’s Anatomy.” I asked her how working this fantasy setting was different from working in her past projects, which were mostly set in the real world.
She agreed that this movie was the most extensive fantasy experience that she’s had. She maintained, “it’s not every day you are painted pink and waking up at 3:00 in the morning,” but she enjoyed it. Getting to play a monster is very different from real life. However, these monsters do “go through very real human experiences.” Of course that’s true because otherwise it wouldn’t be very relatable for viewers. She went on to say that her character, Draculaura, is “trying to find her place
in the monster world.” Similar to the other characters she’s played, they’re young kids growing up and trying to figure out who they are. She compared Draculaura to her character, Kimmie Park, in Grey’s. They both love to sing but are prevented from doing that, so they have “that same predicament.”
There were many other reporters there asking questions. The first one asked the cast what it was that they made them want to do the movie. Miia grew up loving “Monster High,” and she would “pretend to be Clawdeen Wolf and howl at the moon very
proudly in public.” She remembers that the show had a big impact on her, and it was great to identify with such a “cool character,” especially being “a person of color.” She’s glad to have the opportunity to do that for other children and to create “that safe space for kids everywhere.”
Ceci admitted that she was a “really weird kid” and liked spooky and creepy things. She also grew up “singing
and dancing.” The movie gave her an opportunity to sing, dance and be spooky on screen, so she loves it.
Nayah is another one who grew up watching old musicals, and being in a movie musical is her dream job. She’s also happy to be part of the MH franchise “with fashionable dolls and a really cool cartoon,” which she loved as a little girl.
Case is another one who loves live-action musicals, and it was a dream for him to do this.
Another reporter spoke touchingly about her daughter, who’s autistic and loves these characters. She had some questions from her little girl that she asked. She asked what the cast and producers there think about “old friends of the series” and how they’re “reacting to the new characters.” I think everyone here assumed that by “friends” she meant “fans” because that’s how they answered it.
Todd explained that they love the fans and value them. They made the movie because of how popular the series is. However, he knows that some people have complained about changes, but he believes that inclusion is important. He explained that Mattel decided that it was time to “change the body types and broaden some of the character histories to include more people.” He hopes that original fans will see how beautiful that message is and will enjoy the new dolls they come out with. The message is the same as it’s always been: “”All monsters welcome,” or as he said, “Be unique, be a monster, be yourself, and you
are invited.” EP Phil added in his own opinion that they love how passionate the fans are. He said, “We like to consider them our alumni.” He confided that he has to pre-teen daughters who are part of that group. He explained that “The
core tenants of the brand are still there from the inclusion and diversity and community, but most of all a sense of friendship.” He ended by saying, “We are excited about introducing this new world to a whole new group of kids.”
Miia was asked to discuss her musical background and whether she was surprised that she was able to get the chance to do a musical on TV. Miia told us that she grew up “in the musical theater world” and has been training her singing and dancing talents since she was 8. Once she hit high school, developed a “deep passion for songwriting,” which led to her singing publicly for money in her hometown. Professionally, she’s mostly done acting, but she’s always wanted to include music as well, so to do both things she loves is “a dream come true.” She said that she’s “a very happy monster.”
The same reporter asked if Todd or Adam wanted to add about the fun of creating the new music. Adam told us that the music mixes “many different genres,” with all of them having something creepy in them, thanks to Todd’s guidance. They tried to give all of their songs “their own really unique MONSTER HIGH personality.” He praised the cast members for being so talented in acting, singing and dancing. Also, they had to do all of their casting over Zoom. The cast blew them away with their auditions in spite of the limitations.
Todd spoke about how crazy it was to do try to get the songs and have them performed in such a short amount of time, which he had never done before. Musicals are new to him. He has 12-year-old daughters who are triplets, so they helped him choose the songs to use. Some of the songs they didn’t choose for the final cut were used in the background of the movie. He also mentioned that Nayah performs “with her Nickelodeon band Good News Girls.”
Phil chimed in again to praise the production, the music and the performers.
Next, the cast were asked which was most difficult: Singing, dancing or something else?
Miia piped up to say that she loves dancing, but having to do them in very tall monster boots, with little “peripheral vision” (because of the monster contact lenses) was challenging.
Todd concurred, saying that whenever Miia stumbled, she would say, “I’m okay!” and they were always asking, “Are you all right?”
Adam pointed out that they had to always hide her human ears under the wig (since she has costume wolf ears), but she was always concerned about her eyes popping out during the musical numbers. He said that the actors had a lot of those type of things to worry about while also singing and dancing.
Case gave his point-of-view that “keeping it all together at the end of the day” could be tough because of the long days, but he said that when it all came together through all the hard work, it was worth it. He also added that being all together in it “was the best part.”
Ceci said that what was tough for her was dancing with a big wig. She’s used to ballet dancing, where your hair is usually slicked back. She noted that all of their “amazing dancers” had to do the same thing, but with really big shoes. She thinks it looks “effortless” on screen, so she’s excited for everyone to see it. She thinks the filmed version looks more “relaxed” that how “stressed and diligent” they were during filming.
The next press person asked about how tough it was to take an animated show and make it a live-action musical and whether anyone had any criticism about it.
Todd admitted that it’s difficult to take a cartoon character or doll and translate that into a regular teen. They had to adapt and change things that didn’t work. There were a lot of conversations between them and Nickelodeon and Mattel to try to find the right look of the characters. That was difficult, and then how to make the live action people look realistic, like making “Frankie” blue and look real, not like “Halloween makeup.” He praised their “brilliant department heads in hair, makeup, and costumes that worked very hard” to make it all work.
Adam and Phil complimented Todd for his vision in wanting the “monster world” to be fun but also more believable. They didn’t want it to look like a cartoon. They hired “a brilliant production designer named Fred Andrews, who was just so smart and brought a level of sophistication to creating this world in Vancouver.” He had to create this scary school that doesn’t really exist, from scratch.
Phil noted that the main point of the show is friendship and being your “authentic self.” He credits the actors for bringing these characters to life in that way.
The actors were asked if they were big fans of Halloween and how they celebrate it.
Ceci reiterated that she loves anything “spooky and scary.” She and her brother have a “Halloween movie marathon” of scary or fun-scary movies for a month. She mentioned “Heathers,” “Hocus Pocus” and the Peanuts Halloween special. She hopes that others that love watching these movies will add “Monster High” to their list.
Nayah told us that she loves the scary mazes at places like Universal and Knott’s Berry Farm (in Southern California). She plans to go to the maze that has “OG monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein.” She joked that she plans to go there and take a picture with Dracula, her father (in the movie). She loves to dress up in costume as well. During the filming of the movie, Halloween occurred, so they all dressed up like scary characters from “The Wizard of Oz.”
Miia said that going to work on this movie was like “Halloween every single day,” which to her was “really cool.” She loves Halloween and dressing up. She plans to dress up this year “as the plant in ‘Léon: The Professional.'”
Case also said that he loves Halloween and dressing up, but he’s looking forward to next year when there are people dressing up as the characters from “Monster High: The Movie.”
MONSTER HIGH: THE MOVIE premieres Thursday, October 6th, on Paramount+ and that same evening at 7 p.m. ET/PT on Nickelodeon.
MATTEL, NICKELODEON AND PARAMOUNT+ DEBUT TRAILER FOR MONSTER HIGH: THE MOVIE, LIVE-ACTION MUSICAL PREMIERING THURSDAY, OCT. 6
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. and HOLLYWOOD, Calif., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), Nickelodeon and Paramount+ today revealed the premiere date and trailer for Monster High: The Movie, a live-action movie musical based on the iconic Monster High franchise about the children of famous monsters and creatures. Monster High: The Movie premieres Thursday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon and streams that same day on Paramount+. The movie will encore on Nickelodeon on Friday, Oct.7, and Saturday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT). Internationally, the movie will premiere on Nickelodeon and Paramount+, beginning Oct. 6.
Monster High: The Movie
Monster High: The Movie follows Clawdeen Wolf (Miia Harris, Just Beyond), who was born half human and half werewolf, after she arrives at her new school, Monster High. She quickly makes friends with her classmates Frankie Stein (Ceci Balagot, Dispatches from Elsewhere) and Draculaura (Nayah Damasen, Grey’s Anatomy), and for the first time in her life, Clawdeen feels like she has finally found a place where she fits in and can truly be herself, despite keeping her human half a secret. When a devious plan to destroy Monster High threatens to reveal her real identity, Clawdeen must learn to embrace her true monster heart and find a way to save the day alongside her new friends.
Monster High: The Movie also stars: Case Walker (The Other Two) as Deuce Gorgon; Kyle Selig (Mean Girls on Broadway) as Mr. Komos; Marci T. House (Day of the Dead) as Headmistress Bloodgood; Scotch Ellis Loring (Firehouse Dog) as Clawdeen’s dad, Apollo; Steve Valentine (Mom) as Draculaura’s dad, Dracula; Jy Prishkulnik (Just Beyond) as Cleo de Nile; Lina Lecompte (Death Pursuit) as Lagoona; Justin Derickson (When the Streetlights Go On) as Heath Burns; Lilah Fitzgerald (Honey Girls) as Ghoulia; and Nasiv Sall (Descendants 2) as Abbey Bominable. Additional fan-favorite characters from the Monster High universe will also be seen throughout the movie.
In addition to Monster High: The Movie, an animated series based off the beloved Mattel franchise is slated to premiere later this year on Nickelodeon. Both projects join other Mattel Television content in production, including series and specials based on Barbie, Masters of the Universe, Thomas & Friends, Polly Pocket, Pictionary and Fireman Sam, to name a few. Mattel first introduced Monster High in 2010, and it quickly became one of the most successful and beloved kids’ properties of all time. The franchise seeks to foster a more accepting world where everyone is proud to be their authentic self, which is more relevant than ever. Today, Monster High is back with a reimagined set of fangtastic characters, inspired by the original ghouls, for a new generation that embraces what makes them unique and rallies people everywhere to express themselves.
Monster High: The Movie is directed and executive produced by Todd Holland (The Real O’Neals, Malcolm in the Middle, Firehouse Dog). The story is by Jenny Jaffe (Big Hero 6: The Series, Rugrats), Greg Erb, and Jason Oremland (Princess and the Frog, Playmobil: The Movie), and the teleplay is by Jaffe and Billy & Matt Eddy (Zapped, Teen Beach Movie). Adam Bonnett (Descendants franchise, Masters of the Universe: Revelation) serves as executive producer. Frederic Soulie, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Mattel Television and Phil Breman, Vice President of Live Action Development, oversee the movie for Mattel and serve as executive producers. Production on Monster High: The Movie for Nickelodeon is overseen by Zack Olin and Shauna Phelan, Co-Heads of Nickelodeon & Awesomeness Live-Action, along with executives Lee Rosenthal, Linda Halder and Jules Kovisars.
About Mattel Mattel is a leading global toy company and owner of one of the strongest catalogs of children’s and family entertainment franchises in the world. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain, and develop children through play. We engage consumers through our portfolio of iconic brands, including Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Fisher-Price®, American Girl®, Thomas & Friends®, UNO®, Masters of the Universe®, Monster High® and MEGA®, as well as other popular intellectual properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include film and television content, gaming, music, and live events. We operate in 35 locations and our products are available in more than 150 countries in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering children to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. Visit us online at mattel.com.
About Nickelodeon Nickelodeon, now in its 43rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location-based experiences, publishing and feature films. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon is a part of Paramount’s (Nasdaq: PARA, PARAA) global portfolio of multimedia entertainment brands.
About Paramount+ Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, combines live sports, breaking news and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream CBS News Streaming Network for 24/7 news, CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis and ET Live for entertainment coverage.
For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlus on social platforms.
PARAMOUNT+ PEAK SCREAMING RETURNS WITH MORE THAN DOUBLE THE SCARES
The Horror and Thriller Film Collection Includes the Highly Anticipated Premiere of “Significant Other” and Popular Horror Franchises Such as “A Quiet Place,” “Scream,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Paranormal Activity” and “The Descent”
Family Fright Night Favorites Include the Debut of “Monster High the Movie,” Plus Halloween Episodes from “Big Nate,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “PAW Patrol” and More
NEW YORK – Sept. 22, 2022 – The Paramount+ Peak Screaming collection returns to the service today with an expanded screaming and streaming collection just in time for Halloween. The collection features more than double the programming from last year, including highly anticipated new originals, fan-favorite horror movies and iconic Halloween episodes from beloved series. This year’s seasonal collection will include the debut of MONSTER HIGH THE MOVIE (Thursday, Oct. 6), a brand-new live-action musical from Nickelodeon; the exclusive premiere of new thriller movies such as SIGNIFICANT OTHER (Friday, Oct. 7); the release of an all-new special Halloween episode of GHOSTS (Thursday, Oct. 27) and more. The Halloween-themed content on Paramount+ can be found here.
The thematic library, which includes entertainment for everyone in the household, is thoughtfully curated into subgenres to enhance discovery. Carousels within the Peak Screaming collection include:
Big Screen’s Big Screams: Blockbuster hits such as A QUIET PLACE, THE RING, THE DESCENT, WORLD WAR Z and 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE.
Buried Gems: Chilling thrillers such as THE BABYSITTER, as well as horror films like SPELL and SAINT MAUD.
Slash Hits: Spine-chilling films such as ORPHAN: FIRST KILL, SCREAM, CANDYMAN and THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN.
Suspenseful Series: Edge of your seat shows such as EVIL, PAROT, THE TWILIGHT ZONE and CRIMINAL MINDS.
Family Fright Night: Family favorites such as SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH, THE ADDAMS FAMILY and ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK.
Nickelodeon Monster Fest!: Beloved Halloween episodes from popular Nickelodeon series such as BIG NATE, SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, PAW PATROL and BLUE’S CLUES.
Spooktacular CBS: Iconic Halloween episodes from some of the most popular CBS series, including BEVERLY HILLS, 90210, BLUE BLOODS, CHEERS, FRASIER and GHOSTS, which returns for its second season on Thursday, Sept. 29. The frightfully funny series will also debut a special Halloween episode, “Halloween 2: The Ghosts of Hetty’s Past,” on Thursday, Oct. 27.
Chilling Classics: Timeless films such as NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, PROPHECY, DEMENTIA 13 and ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES.
Teen Wolf: The Beginning: The complete original series of TEEN WOLF, including popular episodes such as “Wolf Moon,” “Second Chance at First Line,” “Lunatic” and “Code Breaker.”
In October, the movie collection will grow again to include even more genre-defining hits and cult classics such as THE GRUDGE, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, SHUTTER ISLAND, JENNIFER’S BODY, ANNIHILATION and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, among others.
Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® bundle subscribers can stream the SHOWTIME Bloody Good collection of series and movies, including the Showtime Original Series premiere of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN on Friday, Oct. 7, plus other killer series like DEXTER®: NEW BLOOD and Emmy-nominated YELLOWJACKETS. Fright fans can also watch the latest installment of the legendary franchise SCREAM (2022), horror hits from A24 like X, MIDSOMMAR and HEREDITARY, and other perennial Halloween favorites including THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and ROSEMARY’S BABY. The bundle is currently offered at a special introductory pricing of $7.99 per month for the Essential Plan and $12.99 per month for the Premium Plan through Oct. 2.
The Peak Screaming collection is available to stream now. To view the Peak Screaming trailer, click here.
For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlus on social platforms.
Interview with actors Katherine McNamara, Matt Barr, Greg Hovanessian, Lawrence Kao, Philemon Chambers, Gabriela Quezada, Katie Findlay, Justin Johnson Cortez; and Executive Producers Jared Padalecki, Seamus Fahey and Anna Fricke on The CW by Krista 9/22/22
This was an interesting panel for this new show, which is a spin-off of the hit series “Walker” on The CW. Both shows air Thursdays starting Oct. 6. Unfortunately, they had a lot of press there, with a big cast who liked to chat, so I was not called on to ask a question. I enjoyed it, though. NOTE: This transcript below was provided by The CW. There are some mistakes in it.
THE CW NETWORK
Walker Independence
Seamus Fahey, Anna Fricke, Jared Padalecki, Lawrence Kao, Greg Hovanessian, Philemon Chambers, Gabriela Quezada, Katie Findlay, Katherine McNamara, Matt Barr, Justin Johnson Cortez
HOST: Good morning, y’all! Welcome to the virtual press panel for Walker Independence, our brand new series and origin story to our hit series, Walker. Walker independence is from CBS television studios and premieres on Thursday, October 6th, at 9:00 PM on The CW. Our executive producers like to call this a remix of a Western, and we’re thrilled to be bringing this genre to the CW. Set in the late 1800s, Walker Independence follows Abby Walker, an affluent and tough-minded Bostonian whose husband is murdered before her eyes, while on their journey out West.
After crossing paths with Calian and a curious Apache tracker, Abby arrives in the town of independence, Texas, where she encounters diverse and eclectic residents running from their pasts, chasing their dreams, and keeping their own secrets, including Kate Carver, an idiosyncratic burlesque dancer with perhaps too keen an interest in Abby’s origins. And Kai, a soulful Chinese immigrant who runs a local restaurant/laundry and offers Abbey friendship without agenda.
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Abby also literally runs into Hoyt Rawlins, a slippery rogue thief and con artist with a dented heart of gold, who quickly eyes Abby as a mark until she turns the tables on him. In seeking justice for her husband, Abby encounters Independence’s noble deputy sheriff Augustus, and his new boss, Sheriff Tom Davidson, who she has reason to believe is a very bad man, indeed. Abby and Hoyt soon find themselves precariously aligned, both seeking to uncover the truth about the identity of her husband’s killer as they navigate the dusty roads of Independence, a frontier boom town, where nothing is what it seems. Old West, new rules.
Now we’ve had our premier episode available for everyone to view since June, and have just added two episodes, 2 and 3, to the press site this week. So we hope you’re all very familiar now with Walker independence. So please welcome the cast and executive producers of Walker Independence and starting here on the back row, in the left, we have Lawrence Kao as Kai. Greg Hovanessian as Tom Davidson. Philemon Chambers as Augustus, or Gus. Gabriela Quezada as Lucia Reyes.
And then moving up to our front row on the left. We have Katie Findlay as Kate Carver, Katherine McNamara as Abby Walker, Matt Barr as Hoyt Rawlins. And Justin Johnson Cortez as Calian. Also say hello to our executive producers. Show runner and executive producer, Seamus Kevin Fahey. And executive producers, Anna Fricke and Walker himself, executive producer Jared Padalecki.
We’re so excited to have you all with us this morning. Thank you so much. And as a reminder to the press, if you’d like to ask a question, please click the “raise your hand” button, and we will put you in the queue and call on you when it’s your turn. If You have a two part question or follow-up, please let us know that this, please let us know this at the top of the question. And no photography or screen grabs or anything from this event on social media. Thank you so much. And first up, we have Jamie Ruby with Rick Bentley on standby. Jamie to you.
JAMIE: Hi, thanks so much for talking to us this morning. So this is for the cast. Can you talk about sort of how these costumes inform your character and maybe some of the difficulties you’ve had with them?
KATHERINE: Well, I’ll, I’ll speak.
PHILEMON: You start, you start. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
KATHERINE: Shall I start?
MATT: Yeah. Ladies have fun with this one.
KATHERINE: Ladies first, and it is the 1870s. You know, we have the most amazing wardrobe department. Marian Toy is our brilliant costume designer and she has taken such care to make sure everything is as historically- accurate as possible. And that comes down to us wearing corset. And a lot of these dresses, this one in particular, that is actually vintage from some year, I’m not, I don’t think it’s from 1870, but it is as historically accurate as possible.
And it really does change how you move, and how you walk and how you just exist in space. And you know, we have such an amazing cast of characters that has such a diverse wardrobe. But I will say that our women’s shoes in the 1870s were not made for function.
(audio problem here)
KATIE: Not, everything in the 1870s was built to keep women from running and carrying things. Not good.
KATHERINE: Keep us in our place. And getting on horses.
KATIE: And getting on horses, [UNINTELLIGIBLE] with any goods of any kind. (It’s true) Not a [INAUDIBLE].
KATHERINE: Although, they do give us pockets.
KATIE: They give you pockets.
PHILEMON: They give you pockets.
KATIE: But the reason here, the reason I don’t have pockets is because, so like, Kat was saying, Marion Toy is maybe one of the smartest people I’ve ever met in my life. A lot of my stuff, cause Kate’s a bit of a fashion plate is, is borrowed from vintage collections as opposed to made. So I don’t get pockets, but then I’m also wearing things that are so beautiful, I’m terrified to sit down because if I rip, like they’re so old. And if I have one tiny rip, I feel like I’ve let history down. So… Hey, does anybody else wanna talk about [OVERLAPPING]
GREG: The corset stance too, to make it more comfortable.
KATIE: So you prop yourself up on your own bones a lot when you get tired.
GREG: The squat move.
(Overlapping chatter)
Send you guys a photo. I’ll send you…
JARED PADALECK: I’ll post it.
JUSTIN: Yeah please do Jared, Jared has it.
KATIE: You’re so charming.
JUSTIN: Yeah, I wore it for about seven minutes and uh, it wasn’t fun at all. So…
GABRIELA: I think all the men on set should wear corsets.
(Overlapping chatter)
SEAMUS: I thought we talked about no spoilers, but we’ll embrace them.
KATHERINE: Already, first question, spoilers.
KATIE: Justin, you have interesting costume stuff though.
JUSTIN: I do, I do I, I mean, I, I love my costume.
MATT: It’s a little breezy in there.
Show us the back, Justin.
GABRIELA: We need to see your thigh.
Yeah, I want to see the back.
Do you have a runway?
JUSTIN: But, I asked for legit leggings. That way I could have some breathing…
KATHERINE: It’s up to your imagination.
PHILEMON: We will not go further into that.
GREG: But every, every once in a while we’ll I, I’ll go to set for a rehearsal and I’ll be in my street clothes. And we do the blocking and it’s weird. It’s so weird because you’re not in costume and the costume is just everything. When you put that gun belt on, with the weight of the revolver and the bullets and the badge. It changes everything.
KATIE: Greg’s got a cool hat too.
PHILEMON: I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this gun belt now. Okay, look, when you’re running in a gun belt, it don’t work.
It bounces around.
PHILEMON: It bounces around.
(Overlapping chatter)
KATIE: I have so many videos of Philly trying to run in a gun belt. I say that like it’s a joke, maybe five or six, honestly.
Ten-pound pound thing around your waist.
(Overlapping chatter)
JUSTIN: Nobody answered that in a good way.
MATT: Here’s a red light. I was like, is that good or bad?
JAMIE: Well, okay. How about this? I will ask a follow up then. Um, can you guys talk about sort of how the, like the, I guess the seed of the idea to go from the other show to this as being the prequel, like sort of how that came about?
SEAMUS: Sure. Um, Anna and I were working on Walker, and basically there was a beloved character named Hoyt Rawlins that we decided to kill off. And we kind of regretted it, to be honest. And, and so we started to think about what did we do wrong with our lives, but also with that creative choice. And so it kinda started with just a text to Anna saying like, well, what if we went back to the first generation Walkers and, and Hoyt Rawlins was part of the, part of the ride. And a couple texts later and all of a sudden Jared’s on the hook and studio’s excited and it kind of just went from there, and we just built momentum and developed the pitch. And, and so there’s a lot of Easter eggs with Walker that we’re gonna do more and more. But, you know, we wanted it to kind of stand on its own and be its own thing, be the first generation and figure out like, what are all the expectations people might have. And how do we, how do we subvert them? How do we kind of have a fresh approach, new take to, to the proceedings and kind of just kept building with that in mind and that approach.
MATT: I remember when, when Seamus was like, Hey, you know what, what if we went back in time? And I’m like, what, like two years before? He’s like, he’s like, he’s like maybe like 150. Love it.
KATIE: So really what you’re saying is that Matt Barr just caused an existential crisis for you, like he does for the rest of us.
KATHERINE: It makes perfect sense.
KATIE: I don’t know what waking up every morning looking like that is like, I can’t, I can’t relate.
GREG: Oh, terrible.
HOST: So next up, thank you so much, Jamie. Next we have Rick Bentley and on deck is going to be Vlada Gelman.
RICK: Thank you. Can you hear me? Hey, Katherine, two-part question. First off, following up on that previous question, how do you see Abby as sort of setting the, the bar or for the legacy of Walker to follow her? And secondly, you seem to be always attracted to roles that aren’t set in just a modern-day person. I mean, they’re, they’re costume roles, they’re different time per-, those sort of thing. Is that something you’re attracted to or, or are casting people just see you in those roles?
KATHERINE: You know, it’s interesting you say that because for years when they ask an actor the question, you know, what’s your dream role? I would always say, a period piece, you know, put me in a corset and a hoop skirt and I’m a, I’m a happy girl. And I guess manifestation works cause here I am. But no it’s, it really is an honor to kind of do something entirely different. And some, I love that somewhere in the CW verse, I’m Stephen Amell’s daughter 20 years in the future, but also Jared Padalecki’s great, great, great, great grandmother. Works for me. [LAUGHS] But somebody out that timeline and I’m, I’m very, very much can’t wait to hear.
But no, when it came to this character and this role in particular, it’s not necessarily something I look for it, it just sort of happened to be what fell into my lap. You know, I’m always attracted to characters that are challenging and that have interesting stories to tell. And this was that. You know, we read the pilot and Seamus had created such a wonderful world of characters that still felt as though it was akin to the world of Walker, but something new and something fresh in a genre that held so much nostalgia and so much familiarity for so many people.
So it’s a new opportunity kind of give a new look at a part of history that a lot of people feel they know. Also, I do have big boots to fill with the Walker legacy that our lovely Mr. Padalecki has set out for us.
RICK: Thank you.
JARED: She just meant literally bigger, I have big feet. That’s all she meant by it.
HOST: Next up we have Vlada Gelman and on deck is Damian Holbrook. Go ahead Vlada.
VLADA: Hi everyone. Thank you so much for doing this. I wanted to ask a little bit more about Hoyt, because obviously we saw a version Hoyt on the original Walker series. So can you talk about how this Hoyt differs or compares to that Hoyt. And Matt, how did that kind of inform your performance?
MATT: Yeah, you know, I always thought of the modern day Hoyt as like a golden retriever with an unloaded gun. And 1800’s Hoyt is maybe like a, like a German shepherd, you know, he’s, he’s nice until you cross him. And then he is, he’s gonna bite. 1800’s Hoyt’s more dangerous. I think in the wild west you kind of had to be to survive. So I wanted to see that sort of DNA in him. But I also liked the idea that you can’t really outrun your fate. And so, there was that consistent kind of recklessness in the Rawlins’ DNA that just, you know, as we meet Hoyt 150 years later, they’re still, you know, still trying to figure things out and get in his own way. Um, and they’re equally charming, aren’t they? I mean, they have to be right? (Very charming)
KATHERINE: It’s true. It’s hard to compare. There’s no comparison. That Rawlins’ charm is genetic, that’s for sure.
PHILEMON: It’s, it’s a thing.
MATT: Yeah. I wanted to, I want to differentiate them, but also, you know, feel very much that same kind of core bloodline there.
VLADA: Thank you.
HOST: Thanks, Vlada. So next up will be Damian Holbrook. And then on deck we have Josiah Soto. Damian, go ahead.
DAMIAN: Hey everybody. Um, so it’s good to see everyone. And I want to know about cowboy camp. And did the producers go and participate as well?
(Overlapping chatter)
PHILEMON: They were there in spirit.
KATIE: I’m the only one now.
PHILEMON: Cowboy camp was fun.
GREG: I’m waiting to do it with Katie Finley and she hasn’t kind of responded back.
KATIE: You and I have a, have a talk to have. I, so just, just to put this out in the open, I told Seamus that if I didn’t ride a horse by Episode 5, I was walking off the show. I am now the only person who was not ridden a horse. And I think I’m gonna trade it for a pony, cause I didn’t know we had ponies until a week ago and I love them.
KATHERINE: They are adorable. But they’re twins, aren’t they?
KATIE: Talk to a real person. Don’t talk to me.
DAMIAN: So how was, how was cowboy camp? Who excelled?
PHILEMON: Uh, we all did.
LAWRENCE: I was gonna walk off the show yesterday, but then I decided not to, because they finally allowed me to go to cowboy camp. They finally did.
KATIE: I lost my only ally.
(Overlapping chatter)
KATIE: You were my only person.
LAWRENCE: We’ll go, we’ll go riding next week.
KATHERINE: Also did enjoy cowboy camp with Justin.
MATT: I think our first day at cowboy camp, we’re all like saddling up. And then everyone’s like, where’s Justin and he’s like hauling ass, you know, just loping with this horse [OVERLAPPING].
He’s already on top of a mountain.
MATT: In your element.
JUSTIN: This is when the hair grew. It just grew.
MATT: That’s right. That’s right.
KATHERINE: No, cowboy camp was a lot of fun. You know, we all had, I had a very different experience than most the other guys. I had to learn how to ride with Justin, with Matt, backwards on a horse with Matt, for the pilot. And then now, Abby has her own horse. And that whole arc has been a really interesting relationship getting to watch all of these guys do such amazing things and then joining the team myself.
MATT: It’s kind of bonding for us too. You know, we all, we all were getting to know each other, you know, as we’re starting this journey together, hopefully for many years. And getting out there, riding together just was pretty special.
KATHERINE: And there’s nothing like it. I mean the office that we have, being our town is just the most beautiful place in the world.
MATT: Yeah.
PHILEMON: And there are some beautiful shots on those horses. And I gotta give a shout out to Rainman. Thank you so much.
(Overlapping chatter)
GEORGE: And T for being a butthead for trying to buck me off all the time.
KATIE: I would too. Any of us would.
MATT: You know, Philly… Nicholas… Philly, Nicholas Cage said Rainman tried to kill him in one movie.
GREG: Oh!
MATT: You, you love him, so… Oh, Rainman loves
(Overlapping chatter)
GREG: That’s A true story.
PHILEMON: Nicholas, if you are listening, Rainman is great.
MATT: He is good.
PHILEMON: Okay? Thank you.
(Overlapping chatter)
KATIE: My horse is also great.
GREG: What horse?
KATHERINE: Thank you.
HOST: So thank you very much, Damian, I appreciate it. Next up is Josiah and on deck is Luaine Lee. Go ahead Josiah.
MATT: Josiah, you around.
JUSTIN: Thank you, Josiah. I’ll take that question. Uh, so I think when we start…
(Overlapping chatter)
JOSIAH: I’m so sorry. Can you hear me? I’m so sorry, I don’t know why it was glitching like that, but thank you so much for letting me ask a question. Um, I just kind of wanted to ask more like of a general question to, like I guess, like the entire cast there’s a lot of like, I guess, conversation about method acting or just different methods actors take to, I guess prepare for their certain roles. I guess just like how different was it for each of you to, I guess just prepare and also like what steps did you take, I guess, to like, just in advance, if that makes sense.
JUSTIN: As you can see I’m in my wardrobe.
(Overlapping chatter)
KATHERINE: Jokes aside, for us as a, as a group, at least, what I’ve felt is such a comradery. You know, we really have built this community together personally and among our characters. And I, I think you see that on screen. You know, all of us genuinely enjoy working together and genuinely enjoy finding these character relationships and bringing them to life and seeing how they grow and change. And that’s been the most fun for me is, you know, diving into a time that’s so foreign to all of us.
MATT: I think sometimes you work from the inside out. And I think with our show too, like we were talking about earlier, the wardrobe, you walk onto our set, which is like this Western town, you know, in New Mexico. It’s beautiful and you’re, there’s horses and there’s goats and there’s, you know, all these, these beautiful background actors. And it’s like, you’ve time-traveled back in time. So it’s very easy to just walk right into that character and, it’s, or maybe it’s a crutch. I don’t know.
PHILEMON: No, I found the wardrobe and the setting…
KATHERINE: Special group of people.
JUSTIN: Yeah. The wardrobe and the setting definitely informs, you know, I think how we’re working in this show in particular. Like Greg said earlier, and Matt just said. It’s like, if we’re doing it in our daily clothes, it’s just not really gonna work. It’s kind of hard to get in the head space. Um, but for me personally, what I’ve loved about this cast is, if I come to them and want to talk about our relationships in the show, or whatever it is, and everyone’s extremely open, you don’t always get that. Some people are very closed off and, or maybe they don’t make time. But everyone’s been amazing when it comes to, you know, meeting up. “Let’s talk about, you know, where are we coming from? How do you feel about this?” And, and it’s extremely valuable and I appreciate it.
PHILEMON: Agreed, agreed. I mean, you know, it’s, I count it as a joy really to just work off of all of you. Because it is so nice and everybody’s just so good at their job, you know? I mean, no words, no words.
KATIE: I think that we also, I don’t know if anybody’s deep enough into the internet to know what a head canon is. It, our head cannons for each other on this show, are we could write a whole extra show about how excited we all are to hang out. And when, like we realized uh… before Justin and I had ever met on the show, we were taking one prom photo per official photo shoot, until we met on the show. Like, we’re all so excited to be here together. And we write little storylines for each other, with each other constantly, and poor Seamus is like, “All right, guys, come on, like I’m writing an actual television program, can you calm down.”
MATT: You know, for years I’ve been trying to find excuses, not to shower as much. So…
PHILEMON: That is, that is very true. No, that is very true.
MATT: I’m a method actor now.
PHILEMON: Yeah, you are, yeah you are.
Can we go back to the fact that… I don’t know if anyone noticed…
GREG: The bond that we all had from day one is a very special relationship that we’ve all developed. And it just creates this, this really safe space where there’s a lot of trust where we can all be really vulnerable and kind of experiment and go the distance. And just this support of all of it really allows for a, you know, very experimental-type safe space, which helps a lot. Especially, you know, playing evil where I, I kind of have to turn it on and off. Here comes the hand…
PHILEMON: I was gonna say, I’m gonna cover your mouth.
KATIE: Greg’s evil in real life. So it helps.
GREG: I’M, I’m nothing like the character, so there’s gotta be, completely the opposite. I’m like a, a boy, like four-year-old goofy…
KATIE: Greg’s a Great Dane puppy.
PHILEMON: Me and Katie can actually, you know, prove that Greg is nothing like his character.
KATIE: Yeah. I have, I have a bunch of blackmail materials.
GREG: So that, that you know, safe space to be able to turn on and off like that and, and completely go outta my skin around all these beautiful people is, is very special. Yeah. It’s just so… Way too much love here.
GREG: It’s such a joy, it’s, it’s such a joy to be working with everyone here.
KATHERINE: No, but it’s true. The world of the west is not always the most happy place to be, for lack of a better word. And to have this group of people just sort of carry each other through emotionally on those days where we have several emotional scenes stacked together and, and these things that we, we feed off of each other’s energy and, and the commitment to the character and the commitment to the story. And it’s really a beautiful, wonderful place to work.
KATIE: It is, she’s right.
LAWRENCE: I also think like character-wise for all of our characters, we’re all going through like the same kind of thing. Like everyone’s trying to find themselves in this town, like, we’re all trying to find our identity. We’re all like starting off, like on a fresh start, like having new beginnings, like every single character. And I think that’s what, like brings us together too.
PHILEMON: Agreed, community.
GREG: It’s evolving. It’s evolving.
PHILEMON: Community.
HOST: Next up we have Luaine Lee and on deck will be Bruce Miller. Go ahead, Luaine.
LUAINE: Yes, it’s actually Lou-Ane. Uh, I’d like to ask Seamus and then Jared, there is a Renaissance of westerns. Where do you think that started and why?
SEAMUS: You want to go first Texan? Or do you want, you want the…
JARED: Uh, I’ll defer to the boss and then I’ll chime in.
SEAMUS: Yeah, I mean, I don’t know. I, I, I grew up, my dad loved westerns, so I, I watched westerns with him, and it was more interesting of like, which ones did my mom like? And just like, come at it more than like just the ones that dad liked. So I always had like a little bit of like, instead of just Butch Cassidy, what’s like McCabe and Mrs. Miller. What’s the little Western that’s a little off? And so I always loved them, the, the, the popular ones and the, you know, the obscure ones, One-Eyed Jacks, I think is one of the best westerns ever made, not many people talk about. So I think it always stayed with me. And I think it stayed with a lot of, a lot of folks, like creators and just people who, you know, rewatched ones. And I don’t know why it went dormant. Um, but obviously there’s Deadwood and gentleman by the name Taylor Sheridan, who kind of helped the revival. But, at the time, I think, I think there wasn’t a fresh take.
SEAMUS: It’s kinda what we were talking about earlier. I think part of the reason was we’d seen a lot of the same things like over and over again. So I, I think the revival kind of started. I mean, it, it was funny cause when Anna and I were talking about it and we looped in Jared, it was, there was a little bit of like, they’re never gonna bite. No one’s gonna do a Western. Um, and then a couple shows came out and just changed the landscape. Um, and, you know, The Harder They Fall came out and, and kind of just was a big splash. So I think, to me, I think it went dormant because no one had figured out, how do we come at it from a different way? And that’s why we say remix. It’s not a remix of history at all. We’re shining a light at history with, that was there, voices that are there. Margins of history that just wasn’t told.
It’s a remix of how it’s told – the filmmaking, the storytelling, how, how we cast the show. So, I think that’s, that’s what kind of helped the resurgence for this show. And I think that’s what’s helping the resurgence of, not just TV, but film, is like everyone’s coming at like, what haven’t we seen before? What are different voices we haven’t highlighted, and storylines, we, we kind of, haven’t seen before? And maybe starting with the expectation, the tropes, and then like, I was talking about earlier, figuring out ways to subvert it or twist it, or go for the unexpected, or go for something that’s a little uncomfortable and being patient with the storytelling to get someplace that we haven’t, haven’t seen. I think fundamentally that, that was the biggest thing.
JARED: Yeah. I think yeah, I, too kind of echo and, and go off on a bit of a tangent possibly. Well, first and foremost, I want to say
(Overlapping chatter)
SEAMUS: Jared, a tangent?
JARED: Seamus, I also love One-Eyed Jacks. I know you you’re upset that people don’t talk about it. Uh, we can talk about it. But I think you know, Seamus obviously, Seamus and Anna had the Western idea. And Seamus really spearheaded that. And I think, not just westerns, but I think genre stories in general. You know, I came from a, a show for 15 years, that was a sci-fi genre. And I think there’s a bit more freedom in telling a genre show. You know, you see this resurgence of superhero shows, and thrillers and sci-fi, and now westerns. And I think there’s some freedom that the, the actors and the writers are afforded. Because if you were to write some scenes like we have in Wendy that take place in 2022, people would be like, “Nah, this is BS,” and change the channel.
And so I think another part of it and kind of touch on what Kat was talking about earlier, Katherine, you know, the, the Old West wasn’t necessarily comfortable. And I guess I would say, you know, a version of that is it, it wasn’t conducive to comfort. And so there’s something about seeing characters in, in an unfamiliar situation, persevere and, and work to, to keep finding who they are, like Lawrence is talking about, and I think a lot of the, the cast has talked about. And I think that was something that really struck me during the casting process. You know, the, the writers, not only do they, do they create the road trip, you know, they say, Hey, you need to go from point A to point B, but they create the roadmap that it’s on in the first place.
And so you get some actors and actresses that come in and they get from point A to point B. May see somebody else come in and they go in a direction that you weren’t really expecting and get to point B faster, or more efficiently or better, or more emotionally. And so I think to, to a person, our cast, they came in and they were the character. And I think it was, I’ve never heard of a show that got every number-one pick. Always somebody has a conflict or, you know, they’re still tied into another show, they’re guest-starring on or something. But each and every single person, once we were watching all the videos, were like, oh, that person is already that person. I didn’t even see that.
And I think Seamus and Anna and the rest of the gang felt the same. But going back kind of closing the loop. Genre shows, specifically have a broader palette with which to play from. And so the Western, you know, it is making a resurgence and I think that’s wonderful.
LUAINE: Thank you.
HOST: Thank you, Luaine. And thanks for, thanks for correcting me. Next up is Bruce Miller, and then on deck is Bryan Cairns.
BRUCE: This is for the minority actors. What kind of responsibility do you feel in giving a new kind of performance, or a new kind of portrayal of minorities in the Old West? And you know, how, how do you deal with that? It must be very difficult. And then I have a follow-up for Matt. So if I could.
PHILEMON: Okay. Um… it is a heavy responsibility, because, not all the time have our characters been showcased properly in westerns. And nine times outta 10, we do get the shorter end of the stick. And it’s unfortunate, but with Seamus and Jared, our writers, everybody’s doing a great job at showcasing us fully. And I’ll tell a little story and then I’ll let you go. Um, it was a, a young black kid on set, he was one of the extras for the day, and his name was Elijah. And he was just so excited to be there. He was just like, “I watched Walker and I, I watched Walker, Texas Ranger, and I’m a big thing of westerns.” And I just saw the excitement in his eyes. And that’s the reason why I do it. Because I want a little boy to see themselves and say, I can be that. Cause when I was growing up, I didn’t see that in westerns. I didn’t see that in a lot of media. So for me it is a very rewarding feeling to be here and to do this with these amazing people. That’s it.
LAWRENCE: Yeah. And the fact that we can even just flesh out these kinds of characters, like back in the 1870s, like in, in a Western is like we, we never had the opportunity to do that. Just, just showing that we exist is already something in itself. And, yeah. You know, like I, I just feel like people normally would see a character that looks like me in a Western and, and you know, you would, it’s just, it’s just natural to look down upon a character like that. You know, we were never perceived in a, I guess in a cool light. And so just to, to exist in a way. Like even for Kai to be like, you know what, I’m gonna embrace this accent. I’m gonna make this accent cool. Like I’m gonna make this like character like soulful. You know, it’s a, it’s a, it’s just a cool opportunity. And it’s like a, it’s a huge responsibility, but um, it’s so much fun and I’m just so excited to be here.
PHILEMON: Wow, don’t cry.
GREG: Don’t cry.
JUSTIN: No, I could echo a lot of what they just said. Um, Native people obviously have always kind of been around the Western genre, and I think, I think people have come to expect them in that genre. And I, and I, I think they need, they deserve to have a place in there. So for me, it’s, it’s that I just wanna make sure we’re doing it in a way that is respectful, authentic, that makes this character feel like a complex human that people could relate to, and not just there to serve plot or serve another character. And a big part of the responsibility for me is to treat the Apache language and the Apache culture, with the respect it deserves. It’s, it’s one of the few times we’ve seen this language on screen.
JUSTIN: So the responsibility to do that right is, is heavy. And you know, I’m, I’m always doing my best, and I’m always nervous, you know, that, that people will, will kind of just not see the weight of that. So I hope people see how important it is that we’re hearing this, this language and people are gonna hear it all across the country, and maybe across the world and be incredible. And it’s, it’s a blessing. So I’m just thankful and, and I’m thankful to everyone behind it and, and everyone that’s supportive here, and, it’s exciting. It’s exciting. So I’ll rise to it., hopefully, and I’ll do my best.
PHILEMON: Oh, not hopefully. You’re doing, you’re doing it.
LAWRENCE: A quick one for Matt.
(Overlapping chatter)
GABRIELA: I just want to add that, the US, at the end of the day, is made up of different cultures. That’s what we are. And the fact that there’s so many stories that have never really been told is interesting. So, I think that’s what’s so exciting about the show, is that we’re able to show so many different cultures that existed during that time, and everyone’s stories, and you know, that’s what makes the US the US. So why, why not show it?
SEAMUS: I, I wanna hear what Katie has to say, if, she was about to say something too. But I wanted to give a shout out to Larry Teng really quick. (Yes, yes) You know, when we, we pitched it and you know, you go through the process, and when the pilot goes, you’re obviously looking for a director. And I had worked with Larry before, and back of my brain, I, I knew, I knew he was kind of a perfect match, not just because he’s a great filmmaker, he’s, he’s just a solid human being, and he’s a logistical genius, which we needed to pull off. But, you know, it, it was, it was a tough thing again, at that time, like when we were pitching in getting into the pilot, it was very tough to kind of sell a Western. And, and Larry was onboard right away, And he was very excited when, when we met and talked about it.
And I hope he doesn’t kill me if he ever hears this or whatever, but he got the vision and he just knew how to like sharpen the vision and expand the vision. Uh, but I remember asking him, I was like, when we were out there in New Mexico and filming, I was like, “I never asked, like, why, why did you really want to do it?” And, and it was tough for him to even answer, based on everything that like Philly and Lawrence is saying, just like, “I haven’t seen a Western like this and I’ve been waiting.” And, and he couldn’t even finish his sentence. And it just meant a lot. And, and kind of like, you know, Justin’s saying, just that, almost burden of responsibility of, we know we’re not gonna get everything right, but we’re gonna, we’re gonna try, we’re gonna fucking try.
And we’re gonna leave it all on the field and, and do our best. But that was kind of like, that moment was like a little bit of a rallying call. And it just kind of spread between like how we talked to crew, how we were putting together the crew, how, how we talked to cast, we were putting, to how we approach the story, everything. But it was, it was a huge moment in realizing like what, what we we’re about to embark upon, no doubt.
KATHERINE: We were so lucky to have Larry, because whenever you’re starting a series, you have to have that person who has the vision and who can be there to connect what’s on the page to what we’re all doing emotionally to what’s visually happening with the camera. And that was Larry, from the music to the camera, I mean, he had paintings on his vision board. He had all of these things that brought all of the elements of what the West is, all that nostalgia, but also added color and depth and interest and intrigue and all of this complexity, both in the way it was shot, to the way it was designed, to the way we played all of the moments. And it really added so much to make the pilot special. And that has kind of spurred us on, for lack of a better word, to continue on that. Thank you. I love puns. To continue on that, on that journey and on the trail with all these lovely folks.
GREG: Also his leadership as well, was what really set the tone and set the bar. And yeah, Larry left us with something to, to carry on forward. Um, and we miss him. We miss him a lot.
(Overlapping chatter)
SEAMUS: He’ll be back.
GREG: What, what he, what he started, he catalyzed something that was…
MATT: Justin just goes, “he’s not dead, you guys.”
KATHERINE: He’s alive
(Overlapping chatter)
GREG: He touched all of us. So, you know, and we all miss him. We all miss him. Thank you for that question, that was a great question.
LAWRENCE: Who’s Larry?
KATIE: You’re the worst person I’ve ever met in my life, and I want you to know that in front of all these people.
GREG: Come on, Lawrence.
HOST: You have a follow-up for Matt as well?
BRUCE: Yeah. I just have a quick one for Matt. And Matt, is there something that a viewer should look for that they would see that would connect the two characters?
MATT: Oh my gosh. They’re, I mean, like I said, I think they’re, they’re 90% of the… [JUSTIN POINTS TO BEARD]
KATIE: Have you seen this? Have you seen this? (The beard)
GREG: You woke up like that.
BRUCE: There’s not a gesture or anything that you would say, oh yeah, that’s something he would do?
MATT: Yeah. There’s a, there’s a, a wink. I think Hoyt has this sort of, he, he’s so amused by
(Overlapping chatter)
PHILEMON: Do it, do it.
Make him do it.
MATT: Ready? [WINKS]
Perfectly executed.
GREG: It got hot in here.
MATT: I think there’s a, I think there’s this little, there’s a little swagger, the way that Hoyt walks
(Overlapping chatter)
KATIE: It’s a walk that I can’t do cause
(Overlapping chatter)
PHILEMON: You’ll see it on behind the scenes stuff.
JARED: There are also some pretty great Easter eggs as part of the dialogue that Seamus threw in there that we can’t wait for the audience to see as they air, especially our crossover audience. Um, so yeah, I think, I think Matt is doing a great job of gingerly dancing around it, but there’s certainly a nod to the OG Hoyt. Or the, I guess it would be the new gangster. The old gangster.
MATT: Who’s the OG, Jared?
JARED: I guess you’re the OG now.
MATT: That’s right. That’s right.
KATHERINE: Matt Barr is the OG. That’s, that’s, end of story.
BRUCE: Thank you so much.
HOST: Thank you, Bruce. Next up is Bryan Cairns and on deck is Terrell Royster.
BRYAN CAIRNS: Hey guys, this question is for Katherine. Abby could have shot sheriff Davidson, but didn’t. Can you talk about what her sense of justice is? And in what ways is she redefining it as things are thrown at her?
KATHERINE: You know, with Abby, I think she’s a woman who’s a bit out of her time. You know, she is very well educated, very intelligent, but still somehow finds her in a world where she knows nothing. She has to completely start over her entire life, literally, you know, is gone in the first 15 minutes of our show, and stumbles into this town that is also finding itself. And it’s, it’s such an interesting opportunity to see a woman in this time period have such agency, and to be able to start over on a life that is for her, and to create her own destiny, while also trying to take revenge for the death of the love of her life. And try and find some sense of justice in a world where justice is always a shade of gray.
But that is one thing I love about all of these characters is that I think everyone has their own sense of justice, and their own drive, and their own way of moving through the world that they think is right, and something that they’re striving for, and something that they’re hiding. So, you know, as the series unfolds, we get to see the different kinds of justice that happen in the West and the different ways in which these characters can go about accomplishing that.
BRYAN: Thank you.
HOST: Thanks Bryan. Next up is Terrell Royster and on deck is Jennifer Griffin.
TARA: Hey guys, can you hear me? (Yes, loud and clear) All right, cool. This question goes out to the executive producers, obviously watching the pilot episode of Walker independence and, you know as Katherine said earlier, The CW verse at this point. Obviously there are actors in this show that have been in other shows. Are we in surprise for other, other actors, referring to Mark Shepherd that have been in other shows that we’re gonna see as the show goes on? Either this, either regular Walker, or Walker independence?
SEAMUS: Yes.
JARED: If they say yes, then I can say yes. So yes.
TARA: So those will be surprise guest stars.
SEAMUS: Yeah. Come on. You don’t want me to give away, right?
PHILEMON: No, no.
JARED: There are some people that there, there are some people from shows that also were on CW or WB back in the day, that are just perfect for certain roles. And I know that with Seamus and Anna’s knowledge of kind of the CW/WB lexicon, they probably have a few different actors in mind, they’re writing a few different things, and we’ll be sure to, to try and reach out to them, continue to reach out to them if, if the opportunity arises.
TARA: Cool. Thanks.
HOST: Next up is Jennifer Griffin and on deck is Briar. Go ahead, Jennifer.
JENNIFER: Hi guys. Uh, thanks for being here today. Uh, my question is for Anna and Katherine. And I have a quick follow-up then for anyone who wants to answer it. Um, but basically we don’t often see westerns that are told from a female perspective. And I was wondering if you could talk to that a little bit.
ANNA: I think just, just to jump in, I think first and foremost, when Seamus and I were talking about this, it’s as, as Seamus was saying, like watching the westerns with his dad and, and paying attention to what his mom also liked, I think is a big part of it. It’s like, we know we had this great world in Walker, and wanting to move forward and telling, you know, a remix with this spin on it. And what’s, what’s another point of view. And Walker is such a legacy story, obviously this is as well. And so, you know, we wanted to, to go back and tell it from that, from that origin essentially.
KATHERINE: I’ll follow up on that. You know, my, my favorite thing about my job is that I get to be a storyteller. And I think, you know, there are a few story tropes that are told over and over again. But, what makes stories interesting is when you find a new perspective, and a part of that story, or her perspective on that story that has not yet been told. Or has not yet been told in a certain way. And that’s what we get to do with, with Walker Independence. It starts with Abby. It starts with this woman who has to rebuild her life from the ashes of her expectations.
And then it brings in all of these other characters in this town that’s building itself up as well. And it allows for us to show what we hope is a more historically accurate version of the west than perhaps we’ve been able to see before on screen.
JENNIFER: That’s great. Thank you, and I have a follow-up question. I don’t know who wants to answer this question, but what are you guys most excited for fans to see this season?
KATHERINE: These people.
PHILEMON: This right here.
KATHERINE: All of this, all of these characters, all of the relationships, there’s so much, and so many layers that I think there’s, as Katie said, there’s so many head canons and things that we all want to explore even more, so hopefully we’ll be able to do so for the next several years.
MATT: I think, I think a lot of the, the magic in the show is the interactions between these characters and how, I mean, story in general is about change and how people, you know, how characters reinvent themselves. And so, it’s fun to see how we ping-pong off each other. And, and the, the chemistry is so different between each of our, you know, our, our cocktails, I guess if you will.
PHILEMON: Yeah. And finish each other sandwiches.
KATIE: I’m sorry. I’ll give you space.
KATHERINE: But sometimes we do finishes other’s (sandwiches) sandwiches.
MATT: So westerns are, are just badass. There’s horses, horse chases, bank robberies, gunfights, romance.
PHILEMON: Oh, why’d you say romance like that?
(Overlapping chatter)
MATT: I love romance.
KATIE: Let, it be known today, there is romance, that’s true.
MATT: I’m a lover, not a fighter. You know?
KATIE: That’s the first thing I tell people about you.
PHILEMON: That’s true.
KATIE: So tell people to stop asking me about you.
GREG: We’re all, we’re all learning it as we go along too. So…
EVERYONE PUTS THEIR MICS IN GREG’S FACE
GREG: But, but every, every time we get these scripts for each episode, it’s like, we’re so blown away about how all the plot points shift. And we, we, you know, we’ve discussed the, the direction of each… What are you guys doing? Get outta here. The direction of each character and, and we’ve, you know, want to get some insight on it, to try and hone it all out. And then there’s shifts in the way it’s presented by the writers. I think we need a shout-out to the writers and how incredible they present all of these plot twists and these, you know, evolution of each character.
GREG: So if I, I mean, if I’m blown away every time I read the script, I can’t imagine what viewers are gonna think. Cause it’s like Christmas morning every time you get a script, a new episode.
KATHERINE: And I think too, we’re also proud of this community that we’ve built, both on camera and behind the lens. Every single person on this set is so passionate about telling the story and about the detail and every element of bringing this show to life. And I’m looking at a photo of our town right now, and thinking about the costumes, to the sets, to the props, to every single element. It really brings it together and creates this sort of visceral magic for all of us.
JARED: Yeah. I think the interplay, what I’m excited about, the interplay between the cast, for sure. The storylines are incredible. And as a lot of the journalists and a lot of the cast and other producers that are here know already, TV is a giant machine. Making a TV episode is hundreds of people over weeks and/or months, long days and long nights to bring you 42 minutes every week, if we can. And so, sometimes you have to just have somebody there to get the job done. You know, somebody who might go, “they went that way.”
Here on this show, every single character could have their own show. No, one’s there just to progress the storyline. They’re all exciting and intriguing and kind of touch on what Matt touched on. Their interplay with each other is different. They’re not just this person every single time. If they’re talking to this character from the town, they have this relationship. And then it’s very obvious what the relationship is with that person, and so on and so forth. Um, and so I’ve, I’ve really enjoyed, you know, I see the scripts obviously before they get filmed, but getting to watch some dailies and, some of the earlier cuts of the episodes. I’ve been like, I didn’t even, I didn’t think of that. Like how did they figure that out? So I’m just, you know, bravo all around from top to bottom.
JENNIFER: That’s fantastic. Thanks so much, guys.
HOST: Thank you, Jennifer. We’ll get to Briar in just a second, but I also wanted to find out what Gabriela thinks about, you know, women in westerns. And I mean, she plays this really unique character also and would love to hear her, her thoughts on that.
GABRIELA: Yeah. I mean, as Kat said, I feel like you never get to see the perspective of women. And I think what’s interesting is that all three of our characters seem to be very modern-day women in, in a western. My character Lucia is, I think trying to find herself, and she comes from a very traditional Mexican family. And gender roles in Hispanic families, there’s the machismo and there’s the marianismo. And women are often taught to self-deny, and it’s family, it’s family first, which I love, I love family. But I think that there’s a cool journey of her trying to find herself and her independence and where she fits in this world. And that’s different than what you, I think would normally see in a Western. And it’s also very modern. It’s a cool, modern twist on, I guess what would be traditional.
(Overlapping chatter)
PHILEMON: Well said, I love Gabby too.
HOST: Next up is Briar. And then on deck is Margie Barron. Go ahead, Briar.
BRIAR: Hi. Um, my question is for everybody. I want to know, what is a historical event or moment, or even something that you’ve seen in westerns before that you loved, what you love to see explored in Independence?
PHILEMON: Heavy question.
(Overlapping chatter)
PHILEMON: Okay, put me on the spot. Um, you know, for me, I, I really loved The Harder They Fall, and I’m glad that Seamus brought that up. Like everybody can tell you, I watch it probably six times a day. But I just loved that. They brought characters to life that didn’t have light, that were played by different races, and now they’re being more authentic. So I, I love that, and I would love for that to continue. But I have to go, because I gotta go to set and I gotta film.
JARED: Love you, Philly!
(Overlapping chatter)
KATHERINE: Mine is a bit of a lighter version. I grew up in the Midwest. I’ve always loved, you know, I grew up playing the Oregon Trail computer game. I’ve always loved this idea of putting your entire life on a wagon and going out west. But there’s such a romanticized idea of it. In the pilot, we actually had a historically accurate-sized covered wagon for part of it, and put in, you know, a piano, and a bunch of stuff that would’ve been their life: a bed, a bunch of clothing, books. It was tiny.
You put myself and one other actor in there, you couldn’t even fit the camera inside. We had to find creative ways to go from the outside. And it really just puts perspective to what people went through in that time, just to even get around.
KATIE: I have one. I haven’t, I haven’t done a very good job. I’ve just been sitting here cracking wise. And I feel like everybody’s been waiting for me to do this. The west was queer. It was queer. It was all kinds of people, all kinds of gender presentation, all kinds of… And, and I think that’s something we see so rarely. Cowboys lived together in domestic marriages that were sometimes romantic and weren’t. People ran away to the frontiers so that queer women could marry their wives and masquerade as men, because women couldn’t own property. So they bound and bought a damn ranch.
And I, I am so looking forward to the opportunity to explore it, both through my own queerness and, and the queerness of others, which sounds like a hilarious thing to say. But, but I think that, yeah, it’s something that’s not often touched on, sort of the, the wildness of frontier self-discovery and the kind of refuge that was available for people. I mean, not only of different sexualities and genders, but of, of cultures. To find peace or adventure or acceptance or escape or respite from the societal norm of the time.
And obviously in westerns that are a bunch of old, straight, white guys, you’re, you’re not gonna see that. So, I’m really delighted to have been given the opportunity to, to get in there and wiggle around a little bit. I’m using weird verbs this morning, and I’m not sorry about it at all.
JUSTIN: Wiggle, wiggle.
KATIE: Everybody hates me.
KATHERINE: I can’t wiggle in the corset, I’m sorry.
KATIE: You can wiggle like a paper doll. Justin, go.
JUSTIN: Keep wiggling. I think for, for me, the historical part of it, that would be really interesting to see, is the reservation system at this time in history for native people, a lot of land is getting taken away and they were getting forced into, either smaller parts of their own land or getting moved to completely new places that they know nothing about. They know nothing about the, the land, what grows there, what food’s there, and they were expected to thrive. Um, so that could be a really interesting to get thing to get into Seamus.
SEAMUS: We will.
JUSTIN: And, you know, I, I think, I think Calian’s character and his relationship with the town right now is, is a really cool thing that we’re exploring, because the landscape was changing so much at this time. And, and native people did interact as people came west. So, it’s, it’s been really fun to find these relationships and find truth in them, and it’s stuff we haven’t really seen in the past. So, you know, a lot of times what we, what we write, we have really clear examples of. And so I, I almost feel like we’re on a new frontier right now with this show, and exploring these relationships that I’ve never seen shown in TV and film. And I’m sure they’re out there somewhere, but I never had the opportunity to see that. So that’s been a really interesting part of this journey for me.
MATT: Just real quick, like when, as the railroad moved west and these little towns sort of popped up, cause the railroad started to splinter, I always loved the idea of what they represented. Which was that American dream of like, you, you can make what you want in this world. You know, you can build your own life. And it is, it is what you make it. And people fought and died for it. And yet they still kept coming west, still came because of what that meant to people, to have the freedom, to define your own life. And so that sounds romantic and it’s… we, we’re still doing it today, I guess, you know?
KATHERINE: Well, that’s exactly it. To follow onto what you were saying, you know, this story is such a, a classic story of a western, of people who are building their own lives and choosing their own independence. But it’s such an allegory for today. We’re at this point in the world where we have a chance to, in some ways, start over and in some ways reset. And I think getting to see a town go through that on such a small scale, on a network like The CW can be an example and an interesting allegory for our world today.
KATIE: Well, because it also is the intersection of other people’s freedoms, right? Because you can hold a personal freedom, like sure, we’re going west. I want my own life. You get there, and suddenly your freedom is intersecting with the freedom of everybody who was already there. And there is, there is potential for, for damage and for harm, and watching how humans try, fail, try again to live peacefully with one another under various systems that sometimes, let’s be real, really don’t work, and sometimes do. Like there’s a lot of tension, and often tenderness involved in those interactions.
And I think that’s one of the, thematically, what a gigantic idea to then fold up in, you know, this little town full of people in the absolute middle of nowhere, who are all, like, many of them are experiencing each other, people like each other for, like literally the first time in their lives. There’s no YouTube, you know, you’re walking out in the middle of the desert all by yourself. So I think that, yeah, I, I agree with Kat that it is, it is sort of a, a microcosm of, of quite a, quite a, a contentious and broad thing about the world that we live in.
LAWRENCE: I think another fun thing to explore, history-wise would be the Chinese exclusion act. And you know, at that time, like they just stopped allowing Chinese people to come to America and, and, you know, not even own any businesses. So like to, to experience that, to actually explore that, if we get there would be pretty awesome.
SEAMUS: Yeah, just to piggyback off of everybody. I mean, we’re all saying the word change a lot, and we’re all saying the word identity. And, and, and I think, from day zero, day one onward, the idea of taking moments from history, you know, the railroad’s coming, we know, you know, Chinese Exclusion Act, different Native American tribes being forced into reservations. All these historical events are happening. And I always thought it was interesting to be like, what were the very small conversations in a town in the middle of nowhere that were happening before these huge events that we just read about in history books. And just kind of reducing it down to characters, and like focusing on like the emotional impact of that, and moments that we don’t necessarily think about when we’re in a history class.
Cause it’s called Independence for a reason, too. So it’s like, everyone’s trying to figure out like, who they are on their own while these massive events are happening and there’s this huge turning point of what the country was, what Texas was, what this town could be, and who these people are and how they’re gonna adapt. I think it’s just combining that, the historical backdrop of that, while being excited about building the characters in a way where they’re heading toward a certain direction, and then you, you flip it. You flip the script, you, you know, pull the rug out from under people and, and have some unexpected turn.
in the marriage of character and history, I always think that’s another thing, going back to what Jared was saying earlier. I think westerns can do that better than any other genre, you know, for all the obvious reasons. But I think the potential of that, we haven’t even tapped into yet.
HOST: Thank you, Briar. And I do wanna get to Margie, if you’re still there. Margie, you’ll have to be our last question for today. If you didn’t get to get to your question, please feel free to email me, and we will do our best to get you answers. But Margie, go ahead and we will wrap up for today.
JARED: And blame Katie.
MARGIE: Thank you. I’m really excited about this. I love westerns. Uh, grew up on the, you know, the great TV era of, of TV westerns, Maverick, you know, Rifleman, A Man From Black Hawk, a little treasure in there. Anyway, Seamus talk about watching classic westerns with his dad. I, I want to tap into a few other people, Justin and, and Matt and anyone else who wants to chime in. Can you relate Walker independence with any of the classic westerns, whether, and you can combine them like, Dodge City with a touch of Lone Ranger, or High Noon with a touch of Maverick. What, is there any classic old Western that just has a wink and a nod that you see there in Independence?
MATT: I see it more, I see it more with characters, you know? What was kind of cool about when Wyatt Earp and, and his brothers went to Tombstone, you know, what, what was cool was that these were like, they were kind of anti-law. If you remember, they were like gunslingers that became lawmen. And I think we have some of that DNA in our show. Um, I can’t talk too much about that maybe, but we will, we will see about how, you know, these, these towns were… What’s funny is that these sheriffs and these lawmen were actually, you know, outlaws at one point in time. Um, and we see that in a lot of those classical westerns, like, you know, Tombstone, to mention one.
JUSTIN: I just love Chavez from Young Guns. Like I, that’s the one Western I watch. I was like, yeah, him. The rest of ’em, you know, it’s like, you wanna be, you wanna be the guys from Tombstone, because they’re taking care of business. (Right). But for me, you know, I, I think we’re doing something different. Again, like I’ve said, if I, I don’t think I would relate to doing this character, or even agree to, if I thought there was something out there that I’d already seen before. Um, and I think that’s why we’re doing it.
MATT: I do see a, I see a lot of Matt Dillon in, in Augustus’ character that, that nobility, you know, his moral compass is right on target.
KATHERINE: I mean, I would hazard to say, no. I think that’s our whole goal here, is to make something new. And to take a genre that yes, there’s elements of it. There’s characters, there’s the warm nostalgia of seeing, you know, a horse walking down a western street and women in these grand dresses, and a cow in Congress in the middle of town for no reason. Spoiler alert. But, [OVERLAPPING] a cow. But that’s what our goal is here, is to create a new perspective on this genre, and to create something that you haven’t seen before, and to shed light on things that are very uncommon in this genre. And, and, you know, yes, we will have homages to things throughout, but hopefully we can accomplish that.
KATIE: I, I’m gonna say that Kate’s Blazing Saddles all by themselves. But other than that, yeah, that’s something I do find refreshing is that, you know, you can look back into a lot of classic westerns, but there are gonna be people who are misrepresented, insulted, left out completely. Um, so, you know, you can say that the, the spirit of High Noon walks around in everyone handling their problems without giving it away, holding the weight of the world on their shoulders, without, you know, joining in community, refusing to join in community until it’s a desperate situation.
But I, I see us as a Western about community, rather than separation or isolation or violence, per se. Even though, you know, lots of people ride horses through barns and do cool stuff, I’m not allowed to swear. Um, but, but yeah, I think, I think there is sort of a… a unique communal support and an emotional side to Walker Independence that that just sort of shifts it slightly away from most, most of the classic westerns that I’ve seen, which is a reasonable amount, I think. Don’t look at me like that.
JUSTIN: Love you so much.
HOST: Thank you, Margie. Thank you so much. And thank you to everyone. Thanks to all the press who joined us today. Thanks to everyone at The CW. Thank you for everyone behind the scenes who made this happen today. It was three different time zones and lots of people, we appreciate it. Also big thanks, not only to our cast and executive producers here, but also to Dan Linn, Lindsey Liberatore, Laura Terry, and Larry Teng. Also to Lawrence and Greg, and big shout-out to Philly who’s out there working already, to Gabriela and Katie and Katherine and Matt and Justin. Jared, thank you for being here. Anna, thank you for being here. Seamus, thank you so much. Once again, we will premiere on Thursday, October 6th on The CW at 9:00 PM. Hope everybody gets to finish watching all the episodes, if you didn’t get to. And wishing you a wonderful day. Thanks.
Walker: Independence is an upcoming American television series developed by Anna Fricke for The CW. It is a prequel to the television series Walker, which also airs on The CW. The series stars Katherine McNamara in the lead role, along with Matt Barr as Hoyt Rawlins, with Greg Hovanessian, Lawrence Kao, Justin Johnson Cortez, Philemon Chambers, Katie Findlay, and Gabriela Quezada also starring.[1]
The series was ordered in May 2022[2] for a fall premiere, paired with its parent series in a Thursday time slot on October 6, 2022.
Pilot
SeasonS.1 Episode 101
Airdate:
SERIES PREMIERE – In the late 1800s, Abby Walker (Katherine McNamara), an affluent and tough-minded Bostonian, embarks on a journey out west with her husband Liam (guest star Brandon Sklenar), when her husband is murdered before her eyes. After crossing paths with Calian (Justin Johnson Cortez), a curious Apache tracker, Abby arrives in the town of Independence, Texas, where she encounters diverse and eclectic residents running from their pasts, chasing their dreams, and keeping their own secrets, including Kate Carver (Katie
They played a great preview of the show for us. The hosts, Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell, performed the theme song. They are certainly multi-talented. They also reminded us that “The Real Love Boat” premieres Wednesday, October 5th, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Executive Producer Jay Bienstock addressed us with these opening remarks:
So when you hear “The Love Boat” theme song like we just did, you cannot underestimate the power of nostalgia. You can hum that theme all day long, and it will make you smile. So our new series “The Real Love Boat” caps into that nostalgia. So when you hear the theme song and when you see Ted Lange show up dressed up in that famous red bartender’s outfit that he wore when he played Isaac, when we see Jill Whelan, who played Captain Stubing’s daughter, Vicki, arrive on the ship, I mean, you feel like you are in the middle of a mist of friends. It feels like you are coming home. “The Real Love Boat” has this great sense of adventure. Now, the ship, the Regal Princess — which, by the way had 3,200 paying customers on board when we were shooting, no less. The ship visits these beautiful ports around the Mediterranean Marseille and Santorini and Crete it’s really magical, and it’s the perfect environment to fall in love. It’s fun to imagine that, at any port, at any given time, our singles may find the love of their life. And our singles, these are regular people who have great stories, have been in love and fallen out of love. We have a firefighter and a nurse, a youth basketball coach, real people looking for real love. So not only do we have the real ship and real singles and we have a real married couple as our hosts, Rebecca and Jerry, all we needed was the secret sauce. So, like the original series, we needed real crewmembers to be our matchmakers. So we have our captain. We have our bartender. We have our cruise director. And they are the real deal. I mean, those roles are their day jobs. They are not TV people. They are ship people, and over the years, they have made matches for many people on their cruises, and they did so on ours. It was sort of this interesting combining of roles of television and real life. So you take these real singles, take the real Princess Cruise Line, take real crewmembers, and you add them all together, and you throw in one of the most iconic theme songs ever, and — you heard Rebecca and Jerry — it’s amazing. I can listen to that all day long. It’s so fun the way they sing it together. You put that all together, and we have a really, really fun show, and that is “The Real Love Boat.”
I don’t normally watch any kind of unscripted or non-fiction TV shows. I would rather watch great acting and writing. However, I was very happy to speak with Jerry O’Connell and Rebecca Romijn, my favorite celebrity husband-and-wife team. At first it was just these two, and they brought out the crew later.
I’m not embarrassed to say I had a huge crush on Jerry from when he starred in “Sliders” on FOX back in 1995-2000. He was a child actor who got his start in the movie “Stand by Me” when he was only 12. Both he and Rebecca are now in different “Star Trek” series, which I love because I’m a long-time Trekkie. She stars as Number One in “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” and he does the voice of Commander Ransom in “Star Trek: Lower Decks.” I told them that I think they’re “amazing actors” and asked them what made them want to do this project. Rebecca answers that they “love watching reality television” and “watching love stories,” so they’re very excited to do it in person rather than from their sofa. They also enjoyed the “beautiful locations.” Jerry agreed, saying, “We as a couple consume an unhealthy amount of unscripted television.” They joked for a few minutes about how they shouldn’t be admitting that. They should, instead, say that they only watch “premium streaming shows” with “people with accents who live in manors.” They love the CBS competition shows and jumped at the opportunity to host this show. Rebecca had previously hosted “Skin Wars,” but he hadn’t hostead before. Since they’re actors, “This is a muscle we had not flexed before,” Rebecca said.
Jerry talked about how the show drew him in emotionally. Someone got eliminated in their first episode. He started to say something, but Rebecca interjected that he “cried.” He denied that, saying he was just “emotional,” but she repeated that he “cried.” It was a very funny moment. They have a great rapport that’s fun to watch. Jerry said that his “superiors” let him know that he can’t be so invested in what’s going on with the “singles” on the show. Rebecca agreed that being neutral is hard for Jerry. He gets “very caught up in the emotion” because he’s an actor. He added that when he watches at home, he definitely takes sides and shares his strong opinions on social media. Jay jumped in to say that this all proves how real the show is, that the singles wnat to find love and how real it is for them. He thinks that watching them do this is great TV. Jerry shared that he was shocked at how “emotionally attached I became to our couples and how much I was rooting for them.” When they’re acting, they know it’s pretend, but with this, it’s real.
Other members of the press asked their questions as well. They asked if the singles on the show remember the original “Love Boat,” since they’re so young? Rebecca assumed that they probably didn’t know about it. She thinks that the one of the show’s strengths is the nostalgia for people who grew up in the 80’s. Jerry wonders if some do have awareness of the show because of the Princess cruises, where there is a “Love Boat channel” and you can watch all of the episodes there.
This reminded him that he had asked Jay and their other boss, Eden, what he should do to prepare for the show. They just told him to watch the original “Love Boat” because it was all about people trying to find love. Rebecca agreed that both the old and new shows are about “people whose hearts have been broken, who are looking for a second chance at love.” Jerry hopes that people will watch the new show and get that same “warm, fuzzy feeling.”
Jay reminded Jerry that he’s not his boss. He talked about scouting to find the people for the show, and he met the ship’s captain, Captain Paolo. He explained how it worked to film on the ship. He impressed them all with how charming, good-looking, and well-mannered he was, so they decided they wanted him to be their captain on the show. They had to find someone else to actually drive the ship instead of him. He related that the Captain and others are the “matchmakers” on the ship. They “bring people together,” along with Jerry and Rebecca. At that point, they brought out their crewmembers and introduced them.
Captain Paolo was asked if he’d had any acting experience, but he hadn’t. He said he was just playing himself in the show, so he doesn’t consider this acting experience, but he said it was “incredible.” He was asked whether the singls on the show really talk to the captain about how much they want love and whether he believes their stories, and how did he help them. He confirmed that the cruise director, Matt, and the bartender, Ezra, gathered info about the singles and what happened with them, and they all worked to help them out, “to either fortify or strengthen their bond or maybe try to open themselves up to other opportunities out there with other singles until they find the real love.”
Jerry and Rebecca were asked if they’re good matchmakers in real life. Jerry claimed that he was responsible for two couples getting married. Jerry went on to talk about how the setting for “The Real Love Boat” is made for couples to get together and find romance because it’s in the Mediterranean and other beautiful locations. Jerry mentioned that he and Rebecca have been together 15 years. He also admitted that he’d never been on a cruise before. He thinks it’s a very romantic place. Rebecca added that “Water is sexy” while Jerry went on to say that “time stands still.” He understands it now. He compared it to other traveling, like by airplane, which is stressful and not romantic. Rebecca also admitted that she’d never been on a cruise before, either. She said she loved sleeping on the boat, “I have never slept better in my life, like, rocked like a little, gentle baby, oh, so beautiful.”
Bartender Ezra was asked how long it took her “perfect the iconic Isaac finger point to your liking” and what it was like to meet Ted Lange (who played Isaac, the bartender, on the original “Love Boat’). Ezra replied that the finger point is a lot harder than it looks and Ted helped her with it. You have to tuck the thumbs in but point the fingers out. She said that it was “amazing” working with Ted. She was already a huge fan of the original show because of working on the Princess cruise line. She had always joked “that it should be required viewing for crewmembers to watch Season 1.” So she was very excited about the show and to meet Ted. In fact, she said, “Jay told me to stay away from him until we got the cameras rolling because I was so excited to see him and work with him.” She gushed about great he’s been to her. Jay also shared with us that Ted is working behind the bar in some scenes.
Jay was asked whether their partnership with the Princess line was to help promote it and get the cruise industry to be popular again, since it took quite a hit during COVID and via several revealing documentaries. Jay denied that and said that it was just about being “The Love Boat” and nothing else. Jay was also asked whether anyone else besides Ted and Jill (Whelen, who played Vicki on the original series) were going to be on the show. He let Captain Paolo talk about Jill. He had meet Jill on a previous cruise. He used to watch the show with his grandfather who was on the original as an executive chef. They were discussing this before they show the new show, and “all of these nostalgic things.” It was a great conversation for both of them.
Rebecca said a few closing words about how much they love the show and enjoyed traveling to the various beautiful locations. “We are very proud to be a part of it, and we hope everybody enjoys it as well.”
MORE INFO:
REBECCA ROMIJN AND JERRY O’CONNELL COME ABOARD AS CO-HOSTS OF “THE REAL LOVE BOAT”
The Dating Adventure Series Premieres Wednesday, Oct. 5, as Part of
CBS’ All-Reality Wednesday
CBS announced today Rebecca Romijn (Paramount+’ STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS) and Jerry O’Connell (CBS’ THE TALK) as co-hosts of THE REAL LOVE BOAT. The husband-and-wife team will take the helm guiding viewers through the dating adventure series inspired by “The Love Boat,” the hit scripted series in the ‘70s that used Princess Cruises ships as its setting. The series sets sail Wednesday, Oct. 5 (9:00-10:00 PM, PT/ET), following SURVIVOR (8:00 PM PT/ET) and leading into THE AMAZING RACE (10:00 PM, PT), to create the Network’s all-reality night.
“After years of consuming, arguing about and dissecting unscripted television, hosting a reality series where a group of singles look for love while aboard a Princess Cruise ship, seemed like a dream come true,” said Romijn and O’Connell. “When we heard it was aboard THE REAL LOVE BOAT, that dream got an iconic theme song – ‘we promise something for everyone.’”
Rebecca Romijn continues to maintain her leading lady status in Hollywood since famously starring as Mystique in the FOX X-Men franchise. Currently, Romijn stars in the Paramount+ series STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS, reprising her role as the iconic character Number One, whom she also portrayed in STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. As co-host of THE REAL LOVE BOAT, the former Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover model returns to familiar territory – she served as the host of MTV’s iconic “House of Style” and as host and executive producer of the GSN bodypainting competition series “Skin Wars.”
Actor, director and television personality Jerry O’Connell serves as host of THE TALK, CBS’ Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show that examines topical events and contemporary issues. O’Connell began his acting career at age 11 when he co-starred as Vern Tessio in “Stand by Me,” spawning a career of roles in critically acclaimed films and televisions series. O’Connell currently voices Commander Jack Ransom in STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS for Paramount+ and he can now be seen in the thriller “Endangered Species” opposite his wife, Romijn, and Philip Winchester.
THE REAL LOVE BOAT brings singles together to sail the Mediterranean on a luxury cruise ship while looking for love. Destination dates, challenges and surprise singles will test the couples’ compatibility and chemistry. Like the beloved original scripted series, the indispensable crew members, including captain and cruise director, will play pivotal roles in the matchmaking and navigation of the romantic (and sometimes turbulent) waters ahead.
After nearly one month at sea, one winning couple will dock in the final port and take home a cash prize plus a once-in-a-lifetime trip courtesy of Princess Cruises, the series’ exclusive cruise line partner.
THE REAL LOVE BOAT is produced by Eureka Productions in association with Buster Productions. Chris Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Wes Dening and Jay Bienstock serve as executive producers for Eureka.
Biography
Jerry O’Connell is an actor, director and television personality. He serves as host of The Talk, CBS’ Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show.
O’Connell began his acting career at age 11 when he co-starred as Vern Tessio in Stand By Me. Born and raised in New York City, O’Connell graduated from New York University with a BFA before returning to feature films. He received critical acclaim for his role as quarterback Frank Cushman in Jerry Maguire.
Most recently he appeared in the film Endangered Species, with additional credits including Scream 2, Can’t Hardly Wait, Mission to Mars, Tomcats, the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced comedy Kangaroo Jack, Yours, Mine and Ours, Man About Town, Obsessed, Piranha 3-D, The Lookalike, Deep Murder, and The Secret: Dare to Dream. O’Connell was also seen in the big screen follow-up to the cult hit television series Veronica Mars. In addition to his film work, he has been seen in multiple hit television series, including Scream Queens (FOX), Mistresses (ABC), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Billions (SHOWTIME), The Mysteries of Laura (NBC), Carter (OWN) and currently voices Commander Jack Ransom in Star Trek: LowerDecks (PARAMOUNT+.)
Additionally, O’Connell hosted his own daytime talk show Jerry O in 2019 and starred in the Broadway play A Soldier’s Play in early 2020.
O’Connell resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Rebecca Romijn, and twin daughters. His birthday is Feb. 17. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @mrjerryoc.
Rebecca Alie Romijn was born on November 6, 1972 in Berkeley, California. Her father was Dutch-born and worked as a custom-furniture maker. Her mother was American-born, with Dutch and English ancestry, and was a teacher of English. Rebecca attended Berkeley High School where her nickname was the “Jolly Blond Giant”, then she attended the University of California at Santa Cruz where she majored in Music, but left in 1995.
She was a natural for modeling, and has posed for Sports Illustrated, Christian Dior and Victoria’s Secret, to name but a few. Rebecca first met John Stamos in 1994, at a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and had her first date with him at Disneyland. They married in September 1998, but have since gotten divorced.
Rebecca’s favorite foods are fillet mignon, tuna sashimi and Häagen-Dazs Cappuccino Commotion ice cream. But to keep her weight at a svelte 130 pounds, she stays fit with a rigorous stretching and strengthening routine (her firm body tone is evident when compared to photos of her earlier modeling, where she was very slim but not toned). Rebecca’s most famous movie role, so far, was as the shapeshifting Mystique in X-Men (2000), based on the long-running comic book series about teenage mutant superheroes (that Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created in 1962). To play Mystique every day, Rebecca had to start out nude, and then two female makeup artists would apply blue body paint and other stick-on parts for 8 hours a day. Rebecca told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) that things like tissue paper would stick to her hips; and, one day, the long hours of wearing sticky paint makeup made her so upset that director Bryan Singer told her to have a glass of white wine and relax. Notwithstanding those technical difficulties, X-Men (2000) was a box-office bonanza, and Rebecca’s future in films was assured.
SHOW INTRODUCTION: Hello, and welcome to our panel for the new SYFY series “Reginald the Vampire.” The hour long series, which stars Jacob Batalon as the title character, will premiere on SYFY on Wednesday, October 5th at 10:00 p.m., following the Season 2 premiere of “Chucky.” Imagine a world populated by beautiful, fit, and vain vampires. Reginald Andres tumbles headlong into it as an unlikely hero who will have to navigate every kind of obstacle: the girl he loves, but can’t be with, a bully manager at work, and the vampire chieftain who wants him dead. Fortunately, Reginald discovers just a few unrecognized powers of his own. A new show with a lot of heart and just enough blood, “Reginald the Vampire” prove the end of life is just as complicated as life itself.
This was a great TCA panel about the show. I really enjoyed the episodes I watched, and you will, too. I told them this and jokingly thanked them for getting a certain earworm song they used in the show stuck in my head. Peyton replied that it’s stuck in all of their heads, too.
Savannah Basley plays the “evil” ancient vampire, Angela. Mandela Van Peebles (son of Mario Van Peebles!) plays Maurice, the vampire who turns Reginald. There is a very sexy scene in the show between them, so I asked them about what they had to go through as actors to do that scene, which was sexy but involved lots of blood. Savannah had already mentioned that there was lots of “stickiness.”
Savannah explained that it was fun and that she loves the horror genre. She loves being hands-on and said that being covered in blood and having it “squirting” was fun. She admitted that while there is a vain part of you that worries about how your hair and makeup look, you can let go of all that and have the freedom to wallow in the fake blood and just concentrate on acting in the scene. She did add that the stickiness was kind of annoying, but the rest was “a lot of fun.”
Mandela also answered that having EP Jeremiah Chechik and the other “great people behind the camera and being able to trust their vision” was the best part for him. He wants to look good in a sex scene and can be critical of himself. He also spoke at length about how the romance between Maurice and Angela spans many years, so the earlier sex scenes have more innocence, whereas the later ones have more confidence and “the strength of someone who has grown up a bit since the first time.” He agrees with Savannah that it’s fun and figures that when you’re immortal (like the vampires are), it would be difficult to keep holding a grudge (as Angela and Maurice do against each other). He enjoyed playing their relationship and is looking forward to seeing it on screen. Jeremiah also chimed in to compare these type of scenes with others he’s done in the past. He admits that “they can be very disquieting, can be very tense, and can be very uncomfortable.” However, they weren’t for these actors. He works hard to make sure that all of the actors “feel very comfortable and relaxed” and not “self conscious.”
He praised the actors for how they made the scenes fun. Savannah also replied that there was “safety on set.” They made sure that she and Mandela were comfortable, ready and feeling okay. They worked with an “intimacy coordinators,” which made them feel less vulnerable. She felt it was important to show Angela’s softer side, since she’s seen as angry or evil, so that we can see why Maurice fell in love with her. She might have put a wall up due to things that have happened in her 400-year lifetime.
Showrunner Harley joked, “She might pull your heart out of your chest, but other than that, she’s very, very soft inside.” Everyone laughed at that. There was quite a lot of laughing and joking around during the whole panel, which was very fun.
Most of the press questions were for Jacob, who’s not only the star of the show but famous for his role as Ned in the Spider-Man movies. He was asked about having to play a vampire. He praised Harley and the others for making the show as realistic as possible and turning the usual vampire “tropes” on their heads – especially the ones about vampires only being thin and beautiful. He jokingly added that the vampire blood gets everywhere, including in some “bad crevices.” He enjoys being the hero of the story, even though he’s not tall, thin or has “long, flowing hair.” He did have a hard time speaking, at first, because of the fangs, and tried to speak without a lisp on the first day of shooting.
He was also asked about how different it is being the lead in a TV show (after playing Spider-Man’s best friend). He answered that he just tries to make sure that everyone gets along well and enjoys their time on the set. He feels very fortunate that everyone he works with is “so great and so amazing and talented and sweet and willing to work.” He added that it shocked him how much you have to come to work prepared (he may have been joking here, but I’m not sure). He feels that working on the movies led to this way of thinking.
Harley praised Jacob because he wasn’t used to shooting 8 or 9 pages per day, and he was worried that he might burn out, but he is a “superstar.” He said that everyone in the cast is like that. He thinks they’re very lucky to have such a great cast and that is “such a key thing to a successful show.” He mentioned that Jacob is a real leader in the cast and that he never remembers him even having a bad day. Jeremiah added that Jacob was always completely prepared and ready; he set the tone for everyone else. Jacob modestly thanked them for being there for him. Then he joked, “but I am, like, on the title of the show, but whatever. It’s fine” which provoked more laughter.
Jacob was also asked about the trials his character is forced to go through, but he wasn’t sure what he could say without giving away any spoilers. Harley mentioned some difficult arcade games. Jacob said that the “vampire karaoke” was difficult for him (there is a great karaoke scene in the show, although it’s not part of his trials). This is where Savannah said that working with the sticky blood was difficult and got everywhere, which Jacob agreed with. Jeremiah concurred that they did use an awful lot of red liquid, but the cast “all kind of sublimated to that and drank deeply.”
Harley and the other producers were asked whether any particular vampire show or movie from the past inspired them. He acknowledged that it’s hard to forget about “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel,” but they mostly used the “Fat Vampire” books in which the series is based. They made many changes to that and “ended up with a kind of rom com workplace comedy drama.” Jeremiah also weighed in on how past vampire shows and movies inspired them, along with the book, to overturn all of the normal vampire clichés.
The cast were all asked about their favorite things about their characters. Savannah loves how Angela is strong, powerful smart and “claims this full autonomy over herself.” Em pointed out that Sarah is very real, since she isn’t playing a vampire. Sarah is “the grounded center” and she feels that she was able to grow along with the character as she tried to “find her place in the world.” Mandela enjoyed getting to do new things, such as playing a vampire. He tried to channel his granddad and great-grandad, since he was playing someone that’s lived a long time. He tried to bring “different generational traits to a modern character.” It was fun for him to do that as well as playing in a more diverse vampire universe. Jacob described how Reginald is very “thoughtful” and “enigmatic,” and he’s “uncertain about life” and yet aware of how people see him now in this situation (as a “fat vampire”). He used this big change in his life to become a better person. He also thinks that the other characters really affect Reginald’s life deeply. He really loves playing with all of that.
Everyone was asked what other creatures they would like to see on the show. Harley said in a mysterious way that they all would love to see “an angel with a flaming sword.” Jacob likes dragons, and Em agreed, but Harley said that he doesn’t think they could afford dragons. Jacob would also love to see a “vampire battle.” Jeremiah said that they could have just about any type of fantastical creature, since they have vampires. Savannah loves mythology and would love to see a wendigo. Someone else mentioned a Chupacabra. Em joked that she’d like to see a jackalope. Harley agreed that it would be “more appropriate” for their show and “that’s definitely affordable for our special effects.” Savannah asked if Angela could have a pet jackalope. Harley said that he had really wanted to have Mandela and Nikki holding puppies, but they weren’t able to make it happen (that may have been a joke). Em talked about how much fun their show is, that they can be absurd. She commented, “I love that. I love that shit.”
They were asked how their show will stand out from all of the other vampire series currently on the air or coming up. Harley pointed out that most of the shows are not humorous (aside from “What We Do in the Shadows”). He thinks that their source material created a certain type of tone where they have an “interesting dichotomy between the vampire world, where vampires are really vapid, vain, runway models” and they use that to address the issues of “body shaming and body positivity” where Reginald doesn’t fit into that same type, which is different from other shows. They get into how the vampires “love bureaucracy” and are very vain. He discussed the conflict in the vampires between what they see when they look in the mirror (which they do a lot) and whether their inner beauty matches up.
Jeremiah said eloquently that their show is “very rooted in real emotional dynamics. That is the rock solid foundation, and it’s based on how we fit in, how we present ourselves, what we think of ourselves, how we relate to others, what is expected of us, our sexual orientation…the color of our skin. All of these things are really social dynamics which we explore within the wrapping of a vampire show.” Their show is more about those aspects rather than sucking people’s blood. It’s about how you can improve your life after you die. He also mentioned that their show stands out both “tonally and visually” from other vampire shows. It’s not as dark. Lindsay put in her two cents that their show has a different heart than the other shows. It’s really more of “an underdog story” with a “positive message that’s baked into all the entertainment and comedy. So it’s very aspirational, and it’s just so much fun.” She also said that the other shows don’t have their talented cast. Jacob agreed that their show is more about “the human condition” and the journey of self that Reginald goes through, and “the connections he has through death.” He concluded that Reginald “learns life through death, and that’s a very poignant and deeper sort of meaning than just, like, wanting to kill people and look super hot.” Jeremiah informed us that Syfy ordered the show because it’s original; there is nothing else like it on TV.
Mandela was asked to comment on a story his father (Mario Van Peebles) told about how his grandfather (Melvin Van Peebles) wouldn’t help him when he wanted to become an actor because he wanted him to do it on his own. He asked if that’s the way it was with him as well. Mandela answered that he went to college, and then when he tried to get a “real job,” it didn’t work out. He found it very hard. He remembered how much fun it was when he was a kid, traveling all over the world with his dad to different places (for filming). He figured that working on a set was a lot more comfortable for him than working in an office. Once he decided to go for that, it worked out. He’s very excited to be doing the show. He didn’t really answer the question, but that’s fine.
Jeremiah joked, “I’d stick with this for a while.” The reporter asked Mandela what type of regular job he had been looking for, so Mandela answered that he made smoothies at a health food store, “Simply Wholesome.” I thought he was joking at the time (since Reginald and his friends make smoothies), but maybe he wasn’t. It was hard to tell in this panel because there was a lot of deadpan joking.
MORE INFO:
Reginald the Vampire
Premieres Wednesday, October 5, at 10 PM ET/PT on SYFY
Imagine a world populated by beautiful, fit and vain vampires. Reginald Andres tumbles headlong into it as an unlikely hero who will have to navigate every kind of obstacle – the girl he loves but can’t be with, a bully manager at work and the vampire chieftain who wants him dead. Fortunately, Reginald discovers he has a few unrecognized powers of his own. A new show with a lot of heart and just enough blood, “Reginald the Vampire” proves the undead life is just as complicated as life itself.
“Reginald the Vampire” is produced by Great Pacific Media Inc., Modern Story Company, December Films and Cineflix Studios and executive produced by Harley Peyton, Jeremiah Chechik, Todd Berger, Lindsay Macadam, Brett Burlock and Peter Emerson. The series is based on the book series by Johnny B. Truant.
Jacob Batalon
Reginald Andres, “Reginald the Vampire”
Jacob Batalon plays Reginald Andres in the new SYFY series “Reginald the Vampire,” which premieres Oct. 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Batalon is best known for his role as Peter Parker’s charming best friend Ned Leeds in the “Spider-Man” films starring Tom Holland, including the most recent box office smash “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” He’s also appeared in “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” as well as several indie films.
Upcoming projects include the films “Horrorscope” as well as Netflix’s “Lift,” alongside Kevin Hart.
Born and raised in Honolulu to Filipino parents, Batalon attended a two-year acting program at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. While working through his last year in the program, he sent in a self-tape submission for a vague supporting role in a Marvel movie, his first audition ever, which led to being cast in the “Spider-Man” films.
Savannah Basley
Angela Hibbert, “Reginald the Vampire”
Savannah Basley plays Angela Hibbert in the new SYFY series “Reginald the Vampire,” which premieres Oct. 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Basley’s first TV role was in “The Art of More and she has subsequently appeared in multiple series, including “Tales from the Hood,” “Coroner,” “Utopia Falls” and “Wynonna Earp.” She’ll soon return for the second season of “SurrealEstate.”
Her first film role was in the 2015 short “White Lock,” which won the Special Jury Prize at the Amsterdam Film Festival.
Basley is a dual Canadian-US citizen, the daughter of a Canadian mom and an American military veteran.
Em Haine
Sarah Kinney, “Reginald the Vampire”
Em Haine plays Sarah Kinney in the new SYFY series “Reginald the Vampire,” which premieres Oct. 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Born in Vancouver, B.C., Haine is the only child of an Austrian father and French-Canadian mother. They eventually moved to London to study the Meisner technique at the Actors Temple. While in both New York and Los Angeles, Haine took up Improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Haine’s first break came with the role of oddball Noreen Vanderslice in the critically acclaimed miniseries “Fargo.” Other TV credits include “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.”
On the film side, Haine has appeared in “Deadpool,” “Tully” and the indie “Gregoire.”
Mandela Van Peebles
Maurice Miller, “Reginald the Vampire”
Mandela Van Peebles will play Maurice Miller on the new SYFY series “Reginald the Vampire,” which premieres Oct. 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Van Peebles most recently recurred on Taylor Sheridan’s drama series “The Mayor of Kingstown.” He recently guest starred on season 2 of “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” and appeared in the biopic “Salt N Pepa.”
Past film work includes a starring role in “Jigsaw,” the latest installment of the “Saw” franchise, and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage.”
Other television work includes the 2016 Emmy Award-nominated miniseries “Roots.”
Harley Peyton
Executive Producer, “Reginald the Vampire”
Harley Peyton is an executive producer and showrunner on the new SYFY series “Reginald the Vampire,” which premieres Oct. 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Peyton was born and raised in Spokane, Wash., and attended Harvard and Stanford universities as well as the California Institute of the Arts.
On the TV front, Peyton has served as a writer and/or producer on “Twin Peaks,” “Moon Over Miami,” “Route 66,” “Dracula,” “Wedding Band,” “Reign,” “Dominion,” “Channel Zero” “Project Blue Book” and, most recently, “Chucky.”
On the film side, his credits include “Less Than Zero,” “Gold Coast,” “Heaven’s Prisoners,” “Bandits” and “Friends With Benefits.”
Jeremiah Chechik
Executive Producer/Director, “Reginald the Vampire”
Jeremiah Chechik is an executive producer and director for the new SYFY series “Reginald the Vampire,” which premieres Oct. 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Chechik is an award-winning director who has worked in commercials, studio and independent film and domestic and international television for three decades. Among his several feature credits are “Christmas Vacation” and “Benny and Joon.”
In television, he has worked for all the major studios and/or networks and has directed pilots, produced miniseries and worked in every possible genre. Among his credits are “The Bronx Is Burning,” “Gossip Girl,” “Burn Notice,” “Helix,” “Criminal Minds,” “Chuck,” “Shadowhunters,” “Rogue,” “The Gifted” and many others.
Interview with Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid and Bailey Bass of “Interview with The Vampire” on AMC and AMC+ by Suzanne 9/29/22
This was a fun roundtable with the three stars of this great new vampire show. If you love vampire shows, or the Anne Rice novels, you should love this show. It’s very well done, and these actors are great in it. Jacob plays Louie, and we see the story through his eyes as told to ailing reporter Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian, who’s outstanding as always). Sam Reid plays LeStat, the seductive vamp that turns Louie and becomes his friend, lover, mentor, etc. Bailey plays Claudia, the young woman that joins them. They were very kind and fun to interview.
Suzanne: Hi, I’m Suzanne Lanoue from TVMEG.com, and I’ve watched the first episode. I didn’t get screeners till this morning, so I only got to watch the first one so far, but I’m really enjoying it. It just grabs you and drags you in. So, congratulations on being renewed for season two already, which is great. Do you know when you’ll be starting to film season two, or have you already started filming it?
JACOB ANDERSON: We haven’t started. We haven’t started shooting, no.
SAM REID: Probably, I don’t know if we can say anything. [Laughs]
Suzanne: Have they told you yet?
JACOB ANDERSON: They haven’t not told us anything.
Suzanne: [Chuckles} OK, well, thank you!
Jamie from SCIFI VISION: Hi, I’m Jamie Ruby from SciFi Vision. Thanks for talking to us today, I really enjoyed the first five episodes that we’ve seen. So, for the three of you, can you kind of talk about how you balanced what you pulled from the book versus what you added with your own spin on it?
SAM REID: Hello, Jamie, I’ll answer that. No. But I would say that anything for myself and my character, my own spin probably came from my own interpretation of the books and Rolins’ work. So, I wasn’t really trying to put any of my own spin on it. It’s just how I imagined it to be, really.
JACOB ANDERSON: Yeah. I second that. It’s like, you will always view a character through your own lens to an extent and then it’s just kind of, I mean, I guess with anything, it’s like, do other do the other creative people like that, and do they want to discuss it? But you don’t want to mess with this. Like the combination of Anne Rice’s writing and Rolins’ writing, you don’t really want to touch it, you don’t want to just sort of throw your own stuff in just for the sake of it.
SAM REID: They’re so dense already the characters that it sort of would be a shame to try and deviate too much of thing.
JACOB ANDERSON: What could you possibly add?
SAM REID: Yeah.
BAILEY BASS: I feel the exact same way. It’s really, yes, we were cast because there’s something special in us that Rolin and the entire team really enjoyed when we were doing our auditions. But other than that, it’s really just doing the research and the book, reading the scripts, doing our own technique, and then just coming and creating in this world.
Jamie: Okay, great. Thank you so much.
Jamie from STARRY MAG: This is Jamie Steinberg, with Starry Constellation Magazine. Jacob, this is another deeply tortured soul for you to portray. Is there something about these kinds of characters that really draw you to them? Or is this them finding their way to you? Or is it something you see in them that really resonates with you and makes you want to portray them?
JACOB ANDERSON: I think it’s a combination of both. We find each other. I think I’m slightly less like Grey Worm than I am like Louis. But yeah, I mean, I think you normally want to be like very boundaried when you talk about things and be like, “Oh, well, I’m so removed from the character, and I’m brilliant at acting and blah blah blah blah blah”. But to be honest, yeah, I feel very, very connected to Louis. It’s the thing that bothered me about how Anne Rice wrote him, and also how Rolin wrote him as well. Yeah, I’m drawn to characters who are searching. And I’d ask him questions, not just about the world, but about their place in it and what they contribute or don’t contribute to it. But yeah, I also I felt like it would be like, narcissistic of me to be like, “I am the only person who can play Louis.” But namely, because there is somebody else that’s done it, as well. Many people.
Jamie: Well, I think you brings such a unique take on it, though, because of the artistry you have. Both of these characters that you mentioned, have just been wonderfully nuanced, I think through your portrayal. So it might be just a little bit time for you to pat yourself on the back for what you’ve brought to the role on your own.
JACOB ANDERSON: This one’s for you, Bailey.
QUESTION: Question for Jacob and Sam, one of the really interesting things about this particular adaptation is the romance that we kind of finally get to see between Louis and Lestat. Can you speak to that a little bit? What does it mean to you to be able to portray that relationship in that way?
SAM REID: Well, I think AMC has the rights to the entire Vampire Chronicles, and so it’s very important to make sure that relationship is established early on. Particularly as the books progress, it becomes much more clear that they are in a very intense romantic relationship. So, I think it’s it’s great to make sure that we’re serving the story correctly. And it wouldn’t be Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire if it wasn’t there. So, yeah.
QUESTION: I was wondering, and this is kind of specifically for Bailey and Sam, the show doesn’t shy away from race or that being a factor at all for their very long life experience. Was that important to you? And were you afraid of any ignorant backlash, because previously, the characters were paid by white actors?
BAILEY BASS: I was really excited to play Claudia. It’s really a dream to play such a complex character that’s very loud and unapologetic. I honestly didn’t think twice about anything else. I just knew that Rolin was very intentional about the actors that he wanted to cast in the show, and I’m very fortunate that I was one of them. I just dove into all the research. I read the book. I would cross reference the book and the script and see the quotes that Rolin took from the book and was very intentional about adding them into the script. After doing all the research, I mean, I became Claudia and it was fun to play her.
JACOB ANDERSON: Yeah, I think something that Rolin’s done, which is – I’m almost loath to call it important, but like it creates a richness is that this isn’t a colorblind casting situation. Louis’ central question is about his humanity and his place in humanity. I think that if you were to cast a black actor or black actors for Louis and Claudia, and to not address that, you’d take a lot away from that question of their humanity. I’m glad that we don’t shy away from it. And in terms of backlash, I just don’t want to give it energy anymore. Like I just – people are going to – I think people need to be seen. Sometimes they’ll say anything to be seen or recognized, and it’s sad, but it’s the internet.
QUESTION: I would love for you to talk a little bit about what it’s like just being vampires, being able to play vampires when biting people and having these kinds of scenes. What goes into that and how much fun is that to play? How difficult is that to play?
SAM REID:
It’s very fun. It’s very fun. Yeah, you know, because we’ve got a lot of elements that come into every scene. So, they’re very beautiful, sort of rich dialogue-heavy scenes, but we also have this whole element of the vampire, you know, he kills, so we’ll be pausing for the blood to be put in. We had all these different types of blood that we’d been drinking and tasting, and they made us hibicus flavored blood when we had to drink large amounts of it.
JACOB ANDERSON:
It did not taste like hibiscus. It tasted like it was like a Sour Patch Kid.
SAM REID: Yeah.
JACOB ANDERSON: But in liquid form.
SAM REID: But there’s a lot of thought and consideration [that had] gone into this. But yeah, it’s so much fun, really. Vampires are, I think, the best type of monster, because they have so much humanity. They’re so articulate. They experience a huge amount. Anne Rice is responsible for our shift in vampires, because she puts the perspective into the eyes of the monster, and you have empathy for them. So, it’s very fun to do these really extreme, horrific things, but also with a level of understanding and empathy and bringing that into the character. So, it’s a fun thing to do.
JACOB ANDERSON: It’s the best! It’s the best. The best monsters.
Jamie from SCIFI VISION: So, obviously, you guys do go to some really dark places, though, with your characters. Can you sort of talk about getting into that headspace, and how you sort of, I guess, get back out of it? Is it hard to sort of go there? For all three of you.
BAILEY BASS: Yeah, it’s hard. We had such long days that it kind of, for me personally, it was hard for me to differ[entiate], like, who’s Claudia and who’s Bailey. So, I kind of had to, like really sit with myself and reflect, but it’s hard. But then also, this is what I love to do, and playing such an extreme character, that’s what makes it fun is that I get to relive and be in these spaces that I would never normally be in if I didn’t get to play Claudia. But the dark, even though it’s dark and everything, I definitely enjoyed it. And I had Sam and Jacob, which they were incredible scene partners, and we all had each other. We made sure that throughout the whole process, our mental health, even though we’re like hysterically crying sometimes that afterwards, our mental health was still good,
SAM REID: I think to Bailey’s point, like, sometimes the darkest jobs or the darkest sets where the material is the most bleak are the most fun, because, we instinctively know how to just kind of like, help ourselves through that. So, we’ll be making a lot of jokes. You know, it is ridiculous, sometimes what we’re doing, and you have to step back and think [laughs] You know, we’re suspended in the air, covered in blood, so we just kept it light. It was a fun thing to do.
JACOB ANDERSON: Yeah, I agree. I mean, it’s dense. It’s dense, so you need to focus on the language as well. Like, aside from, yeah, we had a lot of fun, but when you’re doing the scene, you focus on what you’re doing. And I think if you let yourself get dragged into it too much, then hard to to do your job, I think.
Jamie from STARRY MAG: Bailey, this is such a beautiful costume you have. Talk about when you first saw what you’d be wearing for the series, and if you had any input, and if it takes really putting on that costume to embody your character.
BAILEY BASS: Costume is one of my favorite things in my job, being able to speak with the costume designer and be able to talk about what she saw when she read the script, because it’s not just me, it’s a big collaboration of an incredible crew that helps make us look good, basically. And to be able to talk to hair, makeup, and costume and get to know what their first ideas were when they read the script, and then being able to collaborate with them and say what I thought, was really, really fun. And the costume designer for this show, Carol, was just so collaborative. I came in and we were talking about posture. That’s a very big thing for Claudia, because in the beginning, she’s like fourteen years old, and she’s excited being a vampire. She would shrug a lot and just walked like, however and had terrible posture. So, the costume designer would think about that when she was making the costumes. And then also I have to look like a little girl. So, she created these beautiful bows along with making sure that the shape of my costumes hid any curves possible. So, when I put them on, I really felt like a little girl. So, when I was doing the scenes where Claudia is struggling, she wants to be a woman, and I’m sitting in this pink dress that it’s not flattering to anything that’s me as Bailey, it was really easy to feel what Claudia would be feeling at that moment.
Suzanne: I really enjoyed the wedding scene and your dancing, Jacob; that was great. Was that actually you dancing? And did you have to train for that, or did you already know how, and will there be any more singing or dancing in the show?
JACOB ANDERSON: That was me and Steven Norfleet, who plays Paul, and we had about a month to train, to practice. I don’t know if you’ve ever done tap dancing, but it’s like learning how to walk again, like how to walk for the first time, like to get your brain to coordinate in that way and to like shift the weight of your body is really confusing. And to add to that we did a lot of our lessons on Sikkim (???). And it’s all like, it’s all sound. You like making music with your feet, but with the lag of, of like, you know, doing it online. But you just drill; you just drill it every day. You drill it every day, and just you have to listen. It’s less about like being mechanical about your body and just like listening to the sound. But there is there is more dancing in the show.
Suzanne: Oh, good.
JACOB ANDERSON: Yeah. It was in the trailer, right?
SAM REID: Yeah, the three of us did dancing lessons.
JACOB ANDERSON: Yeah, we did.
QUESTION: I’m curious to just have any of you or all of you talk a little bit about what you love most about the dynamic between all three of your characters, either once Claudia comes in, or kind of as that progresses.
JACOB ANDERSON: I find it, I think from Louis’ point of view, he’s trying to recreate a kind of family dynamic that he is grieving for in his human life. I think it’s probably the thing that he misses most in some ways. It’s like a grounding thing, is his brother and his sister and his mom, maybe to a lesser extent, but maybe not. So, I find the way that it kind of goes for them, and for him, it’s kind of unexpected. I think he wanted, he was hoping that in bringing somebody else into their family, I think he thought that Claudia might be like him. [laughs] So, it’s interesting. I feel like an outcast, but to also be a part of – I mean, I’ll let Bailey talk more about about that part of it, but really, Claudia ends up being sort of forgotten about a little bit, and their dynamic, which is sad.
BAILEY BASS: I think what’s wonderful though, is that there’s really no protagonist or antagonist. It changes through every scene in every episode, because these characters are so specific and complex, and Rolin Jones, the writer of the show, did an incredible job of explaining in depth why we do what we do. There’s a reason why we kill the people that we do, why we hurt each other. And because of that, the viewer kind of feels bad for the person hurting the other, but then also feels bad for the person being hurt.
QUESTION: So, obviously, as vampires, your characters live very long lives. Which era would you like to see, be able to play your character in?
JACOB ANDERSON: 80s 80s 80s. I want the pastels. I want the hair. Let’s go, 80s.
SAM REID: I’d probably do the 1700s. I think Lestat really that is where he’s from, and that’s the era in which he was born into, so I’d quite like to see him in that in that era.
BAILEY BASS: I just want to get to the 50s. Like, I just want Claudia to get to the 50s so I can wear all those skirts and just explore more hairstyles, because we evolved. Doing the prep work, there wasn’t a lot of hairstyles – we had a horrible of time looking for photos of black girls in that time period with very versatile hair, which we know they existed, just no one took pictures of them. So, to be able to expand that more and show women who have curly hair, that this is what they look like in that time. I’d love to expand that and go into the 40s and 50s.
AMC+ KICKS OFF OCTOBER WITH HIGHLY ANTICIPATED PREMIERES FOR THE WALKING DEAD, WHICH BEGINS ITS EPIC EIGHT-EPISODE CONCLUSION, AND ANNE RICE’S INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE
September 16, 2022
New York, NY – September 16, 2022 – This fall, AMC Networks’ targeted streaming services will feature a number of highly anticipated series debuts and sendoffs including the premieres of the final season of The Walking Dead, and the eagerly-awaited new series Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, both on October 2, the series finale of acclaimed Kevin Can F**K Himself on October 3, the season finale of AMC+ Original Pantheon on October 13, as well as the return of popular IFC Original series, Documentary Now! and Sherman’s Showcase, on October 19 and October 26, respectively.
This month also features exclusive new film premieres rolling out every week in October with AMC+ Exclusive Films from Shudder’s Halloween lineup, including horror comedy Deadstream (October 6), Italian thriller Dark Glasses (October 13), gothic fairytale She Will (October 13), the latest installment in anthology franchise, V/H/S/99 (October 20) and the diabolically entertaining Resurrection (October 28).
The company’s targeted streamers also set to bring viewers an extensive catalogue of compelling dramas, fan-favorite franchises, highly anticipated films and timely collections on AMC+, Acorn TV, ALLBLK, IFC Films Unlimited, Shudder and Sundance Now, and the newly acquired anime-focused HIDIVE, all month long.
Anne Rice’s Interview with The Vampire
Two-Episode Series Premiere Sunday, October 2; Subsequent Episodes Available One Week Early on AMC+
A sensuous, contemporary reinvention of Anne Rice’s revolutionary gothic novel, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire follows Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) and Claudia’s (Bailey Bass) epic story of love, blood, and the perils of immortality, as told to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). Chafing at the limitations of life as a black man in 1900s New Orleans, Louis finds it impossible to resist the rakish Lestat De Lioncourt’s offer of the ultimate escape: joining him as his vampire companion. But Louis’s intoxicating new powers come with a violent price, and the introduction of Lestat’s newest fledgling, the child vampire Claudia, soon sets them on a decades-long path of revenge and atonement.
AMC NETWORKS DOUBLES DOWN ON ANNE RICE’S ICONIC FRANCHISE WITH RENEWAL OF ANNE RICE’S INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE FOR A SECOND SEASON, AHEAD OF SERIES’ ANTICIPATED DEBUT ON OCTOBER 2
September 28, 2022
NEW YORK – September 28, 2022 – AMC Networks announced today the renewal of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire for a second season, ahead of the new series’ anticipated debut on AMC and AMC+ on Sunday, October 2. A sensuous, contemporary adaptation of Rice’s revolutionary gothic novel, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire follows Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) and Claudia’s (Bailey Bass) epic story of love, blood, and the perils of immortality, as told to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). The 8-episode second season will be set in Europe with Oscar and Emmy Award-winning producer Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Halt and Catch Fire, Rectify) and Showrunner Rolin Jones (Perry Mason, Friday Night Lights) executive producing.
“The scope and breadth of this show, and what Mark and Rolin have delivered, is just stupendous. They have rendered the rich and vibrant world of Anne Rice’s Interview in a wonderful way, and we’re incredibly proud. From the set build, to production design, costumes and more — no detail was overlooked. This stellar cast deliver powerful performances that emotionally connect us to these characters and their humanity,” said Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “We look forward to sharing the final product of this extraordinary effort with audiences in just a few short days and are thrilled that this story will continue. This is only the beginning of an entire Universe featuring enthralling stories and characters that capture the spirit of Anne Rice’s amazing work.”
Said Johnson: “The opportunity to revisit the passionate and shocking world of Louis, Lestat and Claudia is irresistible. We will happily walk through the doorway that AMC has so kindly opened for us and deliver a season two that takes full advantage of the wonders bestowed upon us by Anne Rice.”
Said Jones: “Bulgaria. Romania. Paris. (Ah Paris!) San Francisco. New Orleans. Dubai. The writing staff of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire is honored, humbled, and hungry to add more stamps to our vamps’ passport books. All praises be to our fearless network, we shall endeavor not to screw it up.”
The company will also launch an Interview with the Vampire Podcast, hosted by writer/comedian/vampire-enthusiast Naomi Ekperigin, with the first preview episode available today. Each week, Ekperigin will be joined by the actors and writers behind the show – unpacking the twists and turns of every episode. Podcast episodes will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes stories from the set and writers’ room and take a deep dive on the history of the vampire genre with horror experts sharing how the vampire lore has changed and morphed over time – and what has compelled us to follow these terrifying, seductive creatures across centuries. New podcast episodes are available each week wherever you get your podcasts following new episodes of Interview with the Vampire on AMC and AMC+. The AMC+ Interview with the Vampire Podcast is produced by AMC in conjunction with Pineapple Street Studios.
Ekperigin’s writing credits include BROAD CITY, SEARCH PARTY, MRS. FLETCHER, GREAT NEWS, and DIFFICULT PEOPLE. She has developed for ABC and Comedy Central and is currently developing for Hulu. Ekperigin’s acting credits include Apple’s MYTHIC QUEST, ME TIME, with Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg, SEARCH PARTY and SINGLE PARENTS. She co-hosts the popular live show and podcast COUPLES THERAPY with her partner Andy Beckerman and I LOVE A LIFETIME MOVIE with fellow comedian Megan Gailey. As a comedian, she has appeared on 2 DOPE QUEENS on HBO and LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS. Her half-hour special is on Netflix as part of their series, THE STANDUPS.
AMC Networks acquired the rights to Rice’s iconic works, encompassing 18 titles including The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives Of The Mayfair Witches series, in 2020 with Interview as the first title to be developed and greenlit to series. The second series, Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, starring Alexandra Daddario, Jack Huston, Tongayi Chirisa and Harry Hamlin and executive produced by Johnson, Showrunner Esta Spalding (Masters of Sex), Writer Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex), Director Michael Uppendahl and Jeff Freilich, is set to debut in January.
AMC Networks holds the comprehensive rights for this world renowned and globally coveted intellectual property to develop for its own television networks and streaming services under the AMC Studios umbrella, as well as external partner licensing, with the late Anne Rice and her son Christopher Rice serving as executive producers on all series and films. Together, The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair series have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide.
About AMC Networks Inc.
AMC 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.
I decided to watch this show because I saw commercials for it. I thought it was a comedy, but CBS calls it a drama. I think the show is an even mix of both comedy and drama. The show is about Todd Wright (Skylar Astin) who lost his detective license when his partner and detective agency framed him forgery and illegal wiretapping.
Joan Wright (Marsha Gay Harden) has been trying to help Todd get back on his feet, but she thinks that he should quit being a private detective. Todd’s mother, Margaret, needs Todd’s help investigating a case for her law firm, and is impressed at how good Todd at his job so, she gets him his detective license back, so he can be the investigator for her law firm while her investigator is on maternity leave.
I enjoyed watching the innovative way Todd solves cases, and the complicated relationships between him and his mother. If you like lawyer shows with some comedy you will enjoy this show.
The show airs on Thursday nights after Ghosts and if you missed the pilot you can watch it on the show’s official website or on Paramount Plus. I give this show 5 out of 5 stars.
Interview with Victor Garber, Jewel Staite, Zach Smadu, Genelle Williams, Jory Randall and Susin Nielson of “Family Law” on The CW by Suzanne 9/29/22
I really love this cast, but I’m worried that the show’s writing is not as good as it should be. I believe they’ve made Jewel’s character too unlikable. We’ll see, I guess. This is a Canadian show, renewed for a third season, so it must already be popular up there.
It was a very fun panel with a lot of joking around. I really enjoyed it. I love Victor Garber from “Alias,” “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow,” and Jewel Staite from “Firefly” and “Stargate: Atlantis.”
THE CW NETWORK
Family Law
Jewel Staite “Abigail Bianchi,” Victor Garber “Harry Svensson,”
HOST: Hello, and welcome to the virtual press panel for the CW’S new drama series, Family Law. We are excited to have Jewel Staite, Victor Garber, Zach Smadu, Genelle Williams, creator and showrunner season, Susin Nielsen and executive producer Jody Randall participating on the panel today. Family Law follows lawyer and recovering alcoholic Abigail Bianchi, struggling to put her career and family back together after hitting rock bottom. As a condition of her probation, Abby is forced to work at her estranged father, Harry’s firm, Svensson & Associates, and practice in family law for the first time, while figuring new relationships with half-brother, Daniel and half-sister, Lucy, whom she’s never met. The result is a dysfunctional family law firm operating to help other families with their own dysfunctions. Premiering Sunday, October 2nd at 8:00 PM, this is Family Law.
HOST: Please welcome the cast and executive producers of Family Law. And as a reminder to press, if you’d like to ask a question, please click the “raise your hand” button and we will put you in the queue and call on you when it’s your turn. Um, on deck we have Jamie Ruby, and first up, we have Suzanne Lanoue.
SUZANNE: Hi. Thanks for talking to us today. You guys are great. I love the show. My question is for Victor and Jewel. Uh, can you tell us about your character’s father-daughter relationship and what it’s been like for you to play that?
VICTOR GARBER: Well, Jewel can’t talk, so you, do you wanna, do you wanna give them a clue as to why, why I said that?
JEWEL STAITE: Yeah. I, I have a really bad cold, but I sound worse than I feel.
VICTOR GARBER: That’s good. Cause you sound terrible.
JEWEL STAITE: I know. Really bad [OVERLAPPING] Do you want me to talk, do you want me to talk first? [OVERLAPPING]
VICTOR GARBER: Uh, hi. Nice of you to all be here. I can’t see you all, but I’m, I’m, I’m very excited that the show’s premiering on The CW. Um, I think it’s a great show that, the, the relationship between, Abigail and Harry is, is fraught, it’s fractured. And this is an attempt on, on both their parts to try to mend it. Um, and it’s, it’s, of course like all relationships, it takes more than you realize. And, and that is the thrust of the first… that is, that that’s the beginning, and it continues throughout the, the season. Uh, and it’s you know, it’s, it’s family law and in, in, in so many different ways. And they’re trying, they’re trying to find common ground, and they’re, they’re just not quite making it.
JEWEL STAITE: Which is interesting because Abby and Harry are very similar [LAUGHS]. They’re both really stubborn. They both like to win the argument. They both love to argue. So the dynamic is, is fraught, but it’s also really interesting to play because there are so many similarities between the two them that they haven’t noticed yet, of course.
VICTOR GARBER: They, they don’t notice that for quite some time. [LAUGHS]
SUZANNE: All right, thank you. And you don’t sound so bad, Jewel.
JEWEL STAITE: Aw. Thanks. See guys?
JORDY RANDALL: She’s being polite.
HOST: Okay. So, on deck we have Terrell Roister, and up now we have Karen Moul.
KAREN: Hi. thank you so much everybody, for speaking with us today. Jewel, I hate to make you talk, but I have a question about Abby. Uh, as the, as the series opens in that first episode, I think on paper, Abby is, she’s abrasive, she’s in denial about her mistakes. She’s, on paper, she’s maybe a little hard to like, and yet she hits the screen and I’m instantly rooting for her. And I hope you could talk a little bit about what audiences will see in Abby in these early episodes.
JEWEL STAITE: Um, first of all, that makes me feel so good. Because, initially when I started playing this role, I had this silly, you know, worry that she wouldn’t be likable. And then I realized in order to make her as authentic as possible, I had to throw that out the window. And it didn’t matter if she wasn’t likable or, you know, she just had to be as authentic as possible. Um, but she, she uses all of these coping mechanisms – the abrasiveness, the haughtiness, the overconfidence, her sense of humor to hide all of this hurt and this pain that she just simply doesn’t feel like dealing with. That is not something she’s interested in facing for a really, really long time. So it takes her quite a journey to admit any sort of mistake. And, and she’s only willing to do it, to get her family back and get her children back, really, that’s, that’s her sole priority. And unfortunately, her addiction gets in the way of that priority. Um, but she’s, she’s a person in a lot of pain. And it’s incredibly hard for her to be vulnerable to show them.
KAREN: Thank you.
JEWEL STAITE: Thank you.
HOST: On deck we have Mike Hughes and now we have Terrell Roister.
TERRELL: Oh, I guess is my turn. Hey guys, how you doing? Hey Terrell, Big Ol’ Bell Media, question for Jewel, Victor, Zach and Genelle. Uh, you know, watching, watching the episode and seeing you guys work as a family is super tense on the show. Very, very uncomfortable at times, cause you know, you guys don’t know each other. Um, what, what was the kind of like, what got you in the mindset to get you to, “Oh yeah, we’re, we’re all a family,” or to feel like a family on set? Or at least say, I guess a broken family, if I wanted to say [LAUGHS]?
JEWEL STAITE: You wanna go first?
ZACH SMADU: Yeah, I mean that, that, that is the fun of the, the dynamic between all of us as, as Victor and Jewel has kind of have touched on, the fact that we’re somewhat combative and, and private people who are all kind of forced together, both within the family life and also within the law firm. And how was that to play? I mean, to be honest, that’s, that’s not so easy, cause we actually genuinely really get along. But maybe that’s probably why it’s, it’s, it’s easy to kind of step into that in the acting world, cause we, we trust each other, we love being around each other on set, going to work. And, you know, there’s no egos, there’s no, no, no problems, interpersonal problems, it’s just fun. And so, you know, whatever the scene requires, it kind of, kind of came second nature to us. We were able to find that dynamic between all the siblings and, and with our, our father figure Harry as well, I think.
JEWEL STAITE: Yeah. I think, you know, we, we shot this show at the beginning of COVID. So we, we shot for two weeks and then we took this big long break, the whole world took a break. And in that break we had a lot of time to text each other and to really bond in this weird way. So, when we did start filming again in July to finish out the season, we were really, really close. And then, because we had to be in this safety bubble to make sure no one got COVID we, we became even closer. And, and, I don’t know about you guys, but like, I trust you so much that it, it makes the job so much easier. Because I know that whatever I kind of throw at you, you’ll riff on that and throw back at me, and vice versa. So it, it makes these interactions really fun. You know, we love playing combative because, you know, in real life we’re all just like sickeningly in love with each other.
GENELLE WILLIAMS: Not in “real life,” in real life. [LAUGHS]
JORDY RANDALL: But I what I want to know is how did the sibling relationships on the show play in real life. That’s the question, Jewel [INAUDIBLE]
GENELLE WILLIAMS: Yeah, because you stole my point, just like a big sister would. She literally said what I was gonna say. So yeah. [LAUGHS]
JEWEL STAITE: I would say, like Zach is more like the big brother. You know, like Genelle and I we, we’re, Zach is very good at kind of calming everyone down. (We’re crazy, that’s what she wants…) He’s the voice of voice of reason and he’s like, he’s a calming presence. So when Zach is around you, I, you just automatically feel, like my shoulders drop and, and he’s just got that kind of presence. So I would say if anybody, you know, in the sibling relationship is like the older, sage, more wise sibling, it would be Zach.
ZACH SMADU: Enough with the sage.
SUSIN NIELSEN: What do you think of that, Zach?
VICTOR GARBER: I find him confrontational. And kinda, it’s, it’s difficult some, some days, but I have overcome that. And now we’re, we’re doing, we’re doing much better.
JORDY RANDALL: Zach, you’re the father figure to Victor it sounds like.
ZACH SMADU: I guess, it sounds like that. It really plays into the Daniel/Harry story.
VICTOR GARBER: I will just say, I, I will just say they take care of me, 100%. I am, I am so in, I, I can’t really do anything without their help. And I mean, anything, order cereal on the, on… Ask Genelle how much money she’s forked out to get me the proper granola. It’s just, I rely on them for everything. And now that I’m home, I think, “Where, Oh, they’re not here.”
GENELLE WILLIAMS: If they ship to America, I literally thought, “Oh, I have to get Victor some cereal.” [LAUGHS]
HOST: We have actually a question for Susin and Jordy. Uh, what was the inspiration in creating the show? How near and dear to you is this project? And how did you get this amazing cast together?
JORDY RANDALL: Susin, you do have to speak. I told you.
SUSIN NIELSEN: Uh, yes. Alrighty. Well, um yeah, I, the, the, the idea is very near and dear to me. Um, my own [LAUGHS] my own family background isn’t as dramatic as the show, or these four. But, but certainly the nubbin of the idea came from a lot of my own family history. Um, I didn’t grow up with my dad, I grew up with my mother. I didn’t meet my father until I was a teenager, at which point I also met my half-brother and my half-sister. Now my father only had one subsequent relationship, not two. Um, but I think that I, in a lot of my work, you know, a lot of our, I think we’re, we’re all informed by our families. And so that was where the idea started to percolate. And I love working in the realm of drama and comedy. And so it just felt like the world of Family Law was a perfect place for this very dysfunctional family to be operating, and attempting to help other dysfunctional families, you know, while Abby is also trying to win back her husband and children as well. Um, so that was kind of the inception of the idea. And then in terms of the cast, Victor Garber, when somebody mentioned Victor Garber, I thought, well, yes, that would, that would be amazing. [LAUGHS] That will never happen. But that would be so amazing. So [LAUGHS]
VICTOR GARBER: Thank you, Susin. Your check is in the mail.
SUSIN NIELSEN: Um, and then when we were auditioning Abby, I just remember when, when we saw Jewel, I believe it was her callback audition. And you know, I just tell the story of just getting a jolt of electricity up my spine and just realizing, this is Abby, this, this is her. And it was such an exciting feeling. And then, of course we, and then we got Jewel together with some callbacks for the siblings. And again, it was just so obvious that it was Genelle and that it was Zach. And I was so excited because Zach actually rides a road bike [LAUGHS], so you didn’t have to fudge any of that.
ZACH SMADU: Yeah, that was one of the questions you asked as we were walking out the rooms. “Do you actually ride a bike?” I’m like, “I do. Got it. I got it.”
JORDY RANDALL: I think it’s one of those great stories where we look now and like, there’s nobody else who could have played these four parts other than these four people. Like, this is, what Susin visualized in this series is only possible with these four people, so we’re incredibly lucky. And I think when we look back at the development of the show, you ask if we’re passionate about it, I think we first talked about doing the show 10 years ago. I think we first had the idea, we started to develop it. And it’s been a journey and a labor of love. One of those things that you knew was gonna be a show. You knew it was gonna be a great show, but you kind of had to wait for the opportunity to rise, wait for the world to change and for it to open up. And I think we were lucky. We waited and we found that right moment where we got to finally do the show with the right people. So we’ve waited a long time to do this, so we, every day we’re thankful that we’re, we’re here and doing the show.
SUSIN NIELSEN: Well, and that’s kudos to you, Jordy for sure, that you kept believing in it as well. So, yeah.
JORDY RANDALL: But we’re right where we need to be now. So you can see the passion, you know, all of you watching these squares here, you can tell these, everyone here loves it.
HOST: I love it. So on deck, we have Abby Bernstein, and right now we have Mike Hughes.
MIKE HUGHES: This is for Susin and Jordy, and it kind of follows up on what Susin was saying before. We used to have quite a few shows like this, ones that had some comedy, some drama, and managed to solve a case at the end of each week. It kind of disappeared from American TV, but they’re making a comeback this year, “So Help Me, Todd, Rookie’s Fed and this one are three shows in that format. So, first of all, is Canada always consistent? We had these kind of comedy drama combinations throughout the years. And second of all, what is it that you really like about doing a show that has all of these things together and solves a case?
JORDY RANDALL: Well, I’ll answer the first part cause I think Susin will be best suited to answer the second part. I think for us, no, this is not a type of show that’s prevalent in Canada more than the United States. I think, as, you know, producers, we looked at this and, and said, this is the kind of show the world needs right now. You know, there’s a lot of darkness, there’s a lot of controversy over the last few years. Like, it felt like the world doesn’t need another dark serial killer show. What they need is something where you care about family and you laugh and you cry a little bit and you solve the case. Like we wanted the audience to feel something, go on a journey where they actually have a pleasant experience and have fun. Um, so no, I think that was a conscious choice that’s turning out to yes, be the trend now, but I think it felt like what the market needed.
MIKE HUGHES: And Susin, you mentioned…
SUSIN NIELSEN: You, I mentioned what?
MIKE HUGHES: That you like both comedy and drama and you like to combine them. So tell us about why you like that.
SUSIN NIELSEN: Yeah, I, I, you know, it’s funny. I think it’s just always been my sensibility. Um, uh, I also write young adult novels, and they’re always in that vein of, of comedy and drama. Um, for me I don’t know, for me that’s life, right? You laugh, you cry. And I tend, it tends to be my own viewing tastes as well. I love watching shows that can both kind of punch me in the gut emotionally and, and make me laugh. Um, you know, my favorite writers do that as well. Um, I, and I think on, you know, I actually think it’s, it’s really hard to do to, to have that blend of, of, of comedy and drama and know what the right balance is.
SUSIN NIELSEN: And certainly what’s so wonderful about our cast is that they get both of those avenues so well. So, you know, within the course of a few scenes, um… well, Episode 1, I mean, I’m, I’m feeling so bad for Abby when she’s talking to Nico on the phone and you realize that she’s separated from her children for the first time in the episode. And then she goes to AA and we realize, okay, she’s in AA and then she calls herself a shmalcoholic, and suddenly the tone changes again. And I just, I love playing with that kind of emotional journey.
JORDY RANDALL: And I think that’s one of, that’s, well that’s, that’s like a Susin Nielsen superpower, honestly. Is like, you can call this a light procedural, but it’s a comedic procedural with heart. Cause every single episode, you’re gonna feel something. And I think that’s the beauty of the show.
SUSIN NIELSEN: Well, and I do like to think of myself as the, as an optimist. It, sometimes it’s hard. But yeah, I like, you know, I’ll, I’ll be honest, like, I like writing a show that’s very hopeful. And we all have really effed up families, right? So I think we can also [OVERLAPPING]
VICTOR GARBER: What do you mean, Susin? What do you mean?
JORDY RANDALL: I thought we weren’t gonna talk about that.
SUSIN NIELSEN: And our, and most of our families make us crazy, but they also make us laugh sometimes too, hopefully.
HOST: Um, on deck we have Rick Bentley, and up now we have Abby Bernstein.
ABBY: Hi. Thank you all for doing this. Um, for anybody and everybody who’d like to discuss this, was there anything you had to learn in order to either write or play a legal procedural, comedic or dramatic in terms of how lawyers present themselves, or in terms of what the law is, or in terms of how to say the jargon?
ZACH SMADU: Uh, well, I will, I will say, I know Abby and well… Jewel and myself, continually have to learn and check with each other and check with Susin and the writers going, “Sorry, how do you say that word? And what does that mean again? What does that exactly mean?” Cause I, I can speak for myself, I didn’t know too much about the law in detail, let alone pretending to be a lawyer and, and make that realistic and make that, you know… There’s, there’s, it’s like any other procedural, if it’s a medical or, or a police procedural, there’s certain terms and, and lingo and ways in which that, there’s a turn of phrase that people use that if, if you don’t understand, and if you, if you’re not with what it actually means and how it’s used, it can fall very flat.
ZACH SMADU: And so I know, at least for myself, it’s been a challenge and something that I really wanted to make sure that I was always on, because, you know, you can, when you see it on television and it doesn’t ring true, well, it affects the show deeply. So, I’ve been studying law, I’m halfway through getting my diploma.
VICTOR GARBER: Oh, stop it.
JORDY RANDALL: It isn’t what it’s called.
ZACH SMADU: It’s a law degree? No, it has, it has a challenge.
VICTOR GARBER: Mythical law degree.
JEWEL STAITE: Um, Zach and I have talked a lot about the, the courtroom… bravado that you have to have as a lawyer. So it’s like, it’s like being an actor when you’re on stage, right? So when you’re doing your thing and you’re up there and you’re questioning the witness, what, what does this person do with their body? How do they exude confidence? What’s their walk in the courtroom? Um, and, and we both have our little tricks and things. And [LAUGHS] remember Zach, I was watching him question a witness, remember? And he, and he came out, he like, he like did this really good thing where he sort of like leaned on the witness box, in this like, casual way as he was just sort of tearing this person apart. And after that take, I was like, “I like the lean, buddy. I like the lean.” And he’s like, “Thanks.” And I’m like, “I’m gonna steal that.” And he’s like, “Don’t you dare.”
ZACH SMADU: Don’t you dare, that’s mine! [LAUGHS]
JEWEL STAITE: But you know, each character has to have their way of kind of taking control of the courtroom. So, that was interesting to learn. And, and I think, you know, I can speak for Zach as well as myself in saying that the courtroom days are the hardest. And it takes a lot of prep to learn the dialogue, to make it sound like it’s second nature, and to choreograph your moves. What line are you walking on when you have to hand over a prop, an envelope, a thing to the judge, to the, to the other lawyer, you know, the opposing council? There’s so many things to remember, that it’s literally, it’s like a dance. And, and we work on those for weeks [LAUGHS] before we actually shoot.
ZACH SMADU: Well, and it’s really important, because there’s so many little details in a single court scene that, you know, there’s one line or there’s one piece of information that the audience needs to understand. And if, you know, you don’t build to that part, and it is a dance, or it’s like a song, right? If you don’t actually hit the melody at the right time and make it clear and make it obvious and, and let that scene sing, then it’s not gonna work. And so it can fall flat.
SUSIN NIELSEN: Yeah. And I guess I would say from the, you know, from the writing point of view, I too know very little about family law. But I know more now than when I started. Um, and we have wonderful consultants who, who really help us out. And so we’ll often start with, you know, we’ll, we read copious articles and books and we have all sorts of ideas for cases. Some are torn from the headlines, some are…. there’s a beautiful episode in, in Season 1 where some of it takes place in a memory care home, a woman who has early onset Alzheimer’s. And that came from reading an article in, in the New Yorker.
SUSIN NIELSEN: And we figured out a way to build it into a court case. And so, often what we’ll do is we’ll come up with the idea and we’ll come up with the things that we’d like to have happen, and then we run it by our consultant. [LAUGHS] And, and she’s great because she actually helps us figure out how to make it work within, mostly the realm of the law. We call it TV law. Um, you know, some of our law is maybe a little more Canadian, some of it’s more American. It’s TV law.
ABBY: Thank you.
HOST: We have a question actually for Genelle. What similarities are there between you and your character, and what are the differences, and how do you relate to your character?
GENELLE WILLIAMS: Similarities? Um, I, I actually don’t, I, I get asked this question often, and I could be wrong. Maybe Jewel or Zach or Victor might say something different. Um, but I don’t find myself that similar to Lucy other than her being, you know, very empathetic and caring and loving. I guess that’s a lot of things, huh?
VICTOR GARBER: Yeah, that’s a lot. You’re, you’re exactly like her.
GENELLE WILLIAMS: I think she’s way smarter than I am, cause she really genuinely is. She’s an incredibly intellectual young woman. Um, I’m smart, but not that smart. Um, I, I thoroughly enjoy playing Lucy for those reasons, I think just because she is very strong. She’s wise beyond her years. Um, and as much as she’s very self-aware of herself, she’s also, like I said, very sympathetic and very loving. And she’ll see, you know, both sides of things. Where I sometimes, especially with Abby and Daniel, where they can be very, by-the-book or extreme one way or the other, she tends to kind of be able to give this middle ground, which is nice. Which I guess again, is similar to me. So, ignore what I said in the beginning about me.
VICTOR GARBER: Yeah, exactly. She’s exactly like you.
GENELLE WILLIAMS: I’m, I’m more like Lucy than I think.
VICTOR GARBER: I’m so glad you worked that out. I’m so glad you worked it out.
GENELLE WILLIAMS: I didn’t know!
JEWEL STAITE: You’re more fun. (Pardon?) You’re fun and silly and like, I don’t know, you’re just like a very warm, kind of radiating, like a, you know, you’re, you’re just like a super friendly kind of person and…
ZACH SMADU: Yeah, you don’t take yourself too seriously. (More guarded) But yeah, I would say, I would say Lucy is way more guarded.
GENELLE WILLIAMS: Lucy is much more guarded.
ZACH SMADU: But you have the same superpower that Lucy has. You can see it in the, in the scenes when she’s doing therapy sessions or whatever. You have the same, in real life of being able to instantaneously connect with people. Right? You know, we’re out for dinner and you, you know everybody’s, every, every server, every person, every, the host, all their names and their backstory. Like, we’ve been here for five minutes. Like, how, how do you know? How do you know what? But she just said she, you have the, the exact same [OVERLAPPING]
VICTOR GARBER: Genelle, Genelle is the personification of joy that’s just… (Oh, guys) Every time she walks in a room, there’s like, “Oh, why is, Oh, I feel, oh, this is… [INAUDIBLE].”
JEWEL STAITE: That’s true.
GENELLE WILLIAMS: I love you all. Thank you. Thank you. Well, you made me cry.
VICTOR GARBER: That’s the point, yeah.
ZACH SMADU: Something that Lucy also does, yes.
GENELLE WILLIAMS: Lucy, Lucy definitely, Lucy can be emotional. I just, the other day, wasn’t I, Susin told the other day, to not be so emotional. I remember this clearly. Lucy, Lucy, sometimes yeah, could be a little emotional. [LAUGHS]
HOST: Genelle, we need to be friends. Um, so on deck, we have Bruce Miller and up now we have Rick Bentley.
RICK: Thank you very much. Victor, I have a two part question for you.
VICTOR GARBER: Oh now, can’t do two parts.
RICK: Then we’ll do it as A and B. (Okay) Could you talk a little bit about play, the, the differences between playing Harry, the father and Harry, the legal eagle? And then on the, the second question is, do you look at yourself as sort of the personification of authority figures? Cause I think going all the way back to Godspell, you have by characters who are, who are in charge, people who lead. And I’m just wondering, are those the roles that attract you or, or do they see you, casting people see you in those roles?
VICTOR GARBER: You know, I honestly don’t know how casting people see me. But I know when I read something, if it’s something I feel compelled to do. And this, this role, I, I was, this, this came out of the blue, this, this, this script. And I said, Oh, this is really good. Um, and I want to, to do this. And I, you know, I, I think I, I do have a need to… I, I think I’d be a terrible lawyer because I would be on both sides all the time. And I, that’s, that’s, I, I do find that I, it’s hard for me to, you know, I, I know what I think is right and um, but I also have compassion for people who don’t… know what’s right. And I think that’s why it’s a good fit for me. I think this role is… and as a father, that’s, that’s the, the joy of playing this role because it’s so, it’s, it’s always, it’s always changing, you know?
VICTOR GARBER: And, and Harry’s problem or, or relationship with Abigail is, is so compelling. And it, and it, it’s shifted for those reasons. That he, he, he wants to be paternal, she won’t let him. And then he real and then, and then she’s, she’s so adversarial and he won’t, and he can’t, he can’t not fight. So there as, as, as, as Joel was saying, they are so similar. And that was really one of, that’s the joy of playing this role. It’s so multidimensional. Uh, and it, it’s challenging for me, which is really all I asked for in a role.
VICTOR: Did I answer the second part? (Yes, sure) Okay. Do you wanna know what I had for breakfast?
ZACH SMADU: Was it cereal?
VICTOR GARBER: It was cereal.
HOST: On deck we have Laura Novak, and up now we have Bruce Miller.
BRUCE: This is for Victor, too. I, I was just curious, how many lawyers have you played?
VICTOR GARBER: You know what, you have to read the resume, cause I don’t remember. Not that many. I mean, I know, not that many. Um, I’m sure I have… Oh, I was, oh, in Legally Blonde, I was a really terrible lawyer. (Bad one) Um, that’s the most, I think that’s, I, but I’m sure I’ve played more. But, I really don’t remember. I, I, I sometimes wonder how I’ve gotten this far because I don’t remember how I got here.
BRUCE: So nothing carries over then from one lawyer to another?
VICTOR GARBER: Well, of course, I mean, I, I, I mean, on some level, but not consciously. Because, you know, you can only do what the script is giving you to do. You know, and all scripts are different, and some are better than others. The, the, these scripts are better than other scripts I’ve, I’ve… been involved with. And, and so it’s, it’s really, it’s a gift really for an actor. It’s always on the page, always starts on the page. And that’s what, that’s what I always am completely taken with. Um, and I made decisions, for other reasons and I was wrong because the script wasn’t, I knew the script wasn’t right for me, and I shouldn’t, I, I think, oh, well, like, sorry I did that. I’m not, I’m not gonna give you the names of those things.
SUSIN NIELSEN: Later Victor, over drinks.
VICTOR GARBER: Yeah. Oh, you know.
HOST: I wanted to do a quick last call for questions. Um, on deck we have Lou Ann Lee, and up next we have Laura Nokak.
LAURA: Hi this question is for Jewel. I’d also like to hear from Zach and Genelle. Uh, how did you feel about inheriting half siblings you’ve never met and then having to work with them daily?
JEWEL STAITE: Well, I mean, that’s a pretty wild concept, to begin with. I cannot imagine having to do something like that, especially in the position that Abby’s in where her tail is between her legs, and she is so ashamed and is, you know, living at her mom’s, and her life is falling apart and she’s gotta strut into that office acting like she already owns the place. And I think deep down she’s probably pretty terrified. Um, so it takes her a long, long time to figure out what her relationships are with these two people. I think Lucy comes on pretty strong, wants to be buddies, wants to be sisters.
JEWEL STAITE: And Abby, by nature is just not super into that, and doesn’t have very many friends. Abby is not the type of person to have a best friend. Um, and so that’s just completely foreign to her. And Lucy, you know, is often quite affectionate and tries to link arms with her and give her hugs. And it’s like, you know, there’s like one moment where Lucy’s really despondent and sad and at a loss, and Abby sits next to her and doesn’t know what to do. Um, and just sort of like puts like a really awkward, like quick hand on her lap, cause she really is just so clueless.
JEWEL STAITE: Um, and then with Daniel, you know, I think Abby really respects Daniel when she sees what he can do in the courtroom, she, she thinks he’s a pretty great lawyer. And they’ve got this weird relationship where she slams into his face, but talks really nice about him behind his back. [LAUGHS] And, and it, sort of does this, like this sisterly thing where, you know, she comes to Harry and says, “you gotta give him more credit. He’s really good at this. And the way you treat him is not okay.” You know, and, and essentially stands up for her brother, but Daniel never knows, He never knows about that. And it’s really interesting that Abby’s not willing to give that away.
GENELLE WILLIAMS: I think the beautiful thing is that, it’s not in, in this situation, especially for, for all three of us, it’s not that we didn’t know each other existed. So, yeah, you know, Lucy’s always known that she’s had this sister and she’s always wanted to have a relationship with her. It wasn’t a surprise that she existed. So, I, I think this longing to have her, as Abby said, she comes on strong because all she’s ever wanted was to have this sisterly bond. She’s always been close with Daniel, of course. Daniel and Lucy have had a relationship from the very beginning. But unfortunately with Abby, she hasn’t. So she does try every single tactic to try and get Abby to love her, and she does, in her own sort of messed-up way.
JEWEL STAITE: That’s true. [INAUDIBLE]
GENELLE WILLIAMS: Yeah. I mean she, she does, she does love her. She plays hard to get. But I think, based off of your question, it’s, it’s a, it’s a nice thing because it’s something that Lucy has always wanted. And she’s always known that she’s been there. And this is a day that she’s been waiting for. So there isn’t this big surprise. So, to play it was fabulous. I mean, I wanted her to like me even in the, in the casting, in the audition process, I wanted…
JEWEL STAITE: And I love you.
GENELLE WILLIAMS: And I don’t whether she, she took to my love very well the very first time I met her. But [LAUGHS] other than that, I mean…
JEWEL STAITE: She was overly friendly in the audition room, and I was so stressed because, hey, guess what, I was auditioning. And Genelle [OVERLAPPING]
GENELLE WILLIAMS: I could have wrapped her in my arms, I could’ve.
JEWEL STAITE: It was so annoying. She was like, “I love your shoes. Where are you from? Have you been in this restaurant?” And I was like, Oh my God, I’m trying to memorize this monologue. Like, I wanna get this job, girl. [OVERLAPPING]
ZACH SMADU: Well, in, in big contrast to, to Lucy, I think for Daniel it’s quite the opposite. I think Abby showing up is kind of the worst thing, both for his professional world and also the family dynamic that he has. He’s, he’s, it’s literally changes the pecking order in the family, you know, as Genelle and, and Jewel have said that we’ve known about each other, but we’ve never had any interaction. So when Abby shows up, Daniel goes from being, you know, the, the older son in his own mind, to being the middle child, to also being, you know, a partnered lawyer with his stepsister that he doesn’t know, who is quite competent and quite good, despite all the, the shame and the, the backstory that she comes into.
ZACH SMADU: So it’s really a challenge for him to find where he lands within the family with, within Harry’s eyes. And also how he, Daniel is quite competitive in, in nature. So Abby is, is quite the foil for him constantly. And I think Daniel’s also very protective of the relationship, the, the one relationship he has with, with Lucy. So even Lucy’s, you know, eyes and arms, you know, reaching out to, to welcome Abby is, is kind of threatening to Daniel. So it provides a lot of, a lot of a lot of conflict for, for him especially. Well, I mean, I think it still does as the seasons have gone on. So it’s, it’s very fun to play.
HOST: Okay. So last question is with Lou Ann Lee.
LOU ANN: Yeah. Victor, you’ve played everything from Jesus to the devil. Actors tell us that villains are much easier to play than the good guy, but you are so good at the good guy. What are the secrets of playing that kind of character?
VICTOR GARBER: I have no secrets. I, I don’t know. I, I all, all I can tell you is that everyone is complex. Everyone has, you know aspects of their personality that they can rely on. And, and some, and they’re lost in, in other situations that they don’t know how to respond. And it’s, honestly, I don’t really think of them as evil or good. I just think of them as people. Do they have a problem? Do they, is there a challenge? Is there, you know, and I use this word “objective.” But it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s really, really dependent on what the writing is, and who you’re acting with.
VICTOR GARBER: You know, you, I mean, Jewel and I have had scenes where things have come up at where, where we’re having a confrontation or something, where something comes up and sort of… and because we’re both in the moment, it hits us in a completely, an undiscovered way. Cause you can’t plan anything as an actor. I mean, you can plan certain things, of course, but I mean, in terms, if you start planning how you’re going to respond to people, you might as well just stop acting, because that’s just not okay.
VICTOR GARBER: And, and so really honestly, it’s about being in the moment. And, you know, it’s, if it’s in the script that you do something that is, that is not okay, you, you have to somehow believe that you’re, it is in your, in your own way. And so really, it’s really acting and, and I’m just so grateful that the three actors, that your other three actors are on this panel, are just, I, I cannot tell you how impressed I am by their level of professionalism, of talent, of support, of empathy, of and humor.
VICTOR GARBER: We, we, that’s the secret, to me, of why this show is working as well as it is, aside from the incredible writing. It’s, it’s this chemistry, and it’s a magical thing, and it’s indescribable and it doesn’t always happen.
LOU ANN: Thank you.
HOST: Perfect way to end the panel. Um, thank you for joining us today. Thank you to everyone for your participation. As a reminder, Family Law premiers Sunday, October 2nd on The CW. I hope everyone has an awesome day.
SERIES PREMIERE – Abigail (Jewel Staite) begins her probationary period at Svensson and Associates, forced to work with her estranged father Harry (Victor Garber) and her half-siblings Daniel (Zach Smadu) and Lucy (Genelle Williams). She immediately oversteps her low-level position by helping Jeanette, a woman who found her sperm donor via Craigslist, track down the father of her now 13-year-old daughter and sue him for retroactive child support. But when Abigail sees the toll this case is taking on her client’s daughter (who simply wants a relationship with her dad) she fears her intervention might tear this family apart; mirroring her own family situation. Meanwhile, Abby is still stung by her separation from her husband Frank (guest star Luke Camilleri) and misses her kids terribly. Lastly, Daniel, is dealing with a custody battle of his own…an arbitration over a pug called Craig. Lauren Holly also stars. The episode was written by Susin Nielsen and directed by Jordan Canning (#101). Original airdate 10/2/2022.
Parenthood
SeasonS.1
Episode 102
Airdate:
PARENTHOOD – Abigail (Jewel Staite) and Daniel (Zach Smadu) represent a couple with Down syndrome who must prove to authorities they are fit to raise their unborn child. Social services has threatened to take the baby away unless Ellie and Levi can prove they are capable parents. Abigail and Daniel agree to represent them and try creative ways to come up with a workable parenting plan, but obstacles – including Harry (Victor Garber) – litter their path. Meanwhile, Lucy (Genelle Williams) prefers to avoid the whole topic of parenthood altogether, which proves difficult when her wife Maggie (guest star Ali Liebert) ups the pressure to start a family. And when Abigail discovers Nico (guest star Brenden Sunderland) is being bullied at school, she confronts his tormentor but takes it too far. Lauren Holly also stars. The episode was written by Susin Nielsen and directed by Jordan Canning (#102). Original airdate 10/9/2022.
Interview with Mark Gagliardi of “Blood and Treasure” on Paramount+ by Suzanne 8/26/22
This was such a fun interview! Mark is hilarious. I really enjoyed speaking with him. I really love his character on “Blood & Treasure.” I hope you enjoy our video! Don’t forget to watch “Blood & Treasure” on Paramount+. This Sunday, 10/2, is the season finale.
MORE INFO:
Actor and comedian Mark Gagliardi is one of the main stars of the Paramount+ series BLOOD & TREASURE (plays ‘Father Chuck’) – new episodes of the 2nd Season drop on Sundays!
Additionally, Mark co-hosts the podcast “We Got This” with fellow comedian Hal Lublin – each week, Mark and Hal sit down to settle all the small debates that are a big deal to YOU – once and for all. No subject is too small for Mark and Hal to tackle! Even though you may think it’s an impossible puzzle to solve, don’t worry… We Got This.
IMDB bio: Originally from Tennessee and trained at DePaul in Chicago, Mark Gagliardi is best known for the viral hit ‘Drunk History’ and his work on stage in ‘The Thrilling Adventure Hour’, a monthly live hit show and podcast at Largo in Los Angeles. He is a veteran of The Second City and National Lampoon, improvises regularly with the record-breaking group Freedom Snatch, and works at Disneyland and Universal Studios as an actor and improvisation coach.
The Rookie: Feds is a spinoff of The Rookie and follows the career change of former guidance counselor turned FBi agent Simone Clark (Niece Nash-Betts). Simone is the oldest rookie in the FBI and now must prove herself to everyone on the special FBI task force where she is assigned to work. Simone doesn’t always follow the rules relying more on her life experience and her instincts in order to solve cases. Special Agent Carter Hope (James Lesure) a by the book agent who is in charge of training Simone which is hard for him because Simone doesn’t often listen to what he tells her to do.
The first episode started a little slow since they had to introduce the characters in the cast so it didn’t draw me into the episode right away but it got better towards the middle of the episode. The show also has a great sense of humor which fans of The Rookie will enjoy because the show doesn’t take itself as seriously as other police dramas which makes it fun to watch. I hope that in future episodes the show won’t start off as slowly and I will get to know the characters and enjoy watching them. I think it will also be fun to watch the cross overs with The Rookie and to see those characters helping out the Fed team.
I give this show a 4 out of5 stars. If you missed the first episode, you can stream it on Hulu or on the ABC app. I think fans of The Rookie will enjoy this show but I am not sure if it can attract viewers that don’t watch The Rookie.
I was interested in watching this, show because I wanted to see if celebrities are smart or if they, are good entertainers There are 27 celebrities in this tournament and the ultimate winner gets $ 1 million for their charity .
In my opinion the questions are a bit easier than the daytime Jeopardy game, but it is a tournament for charity, so I am not bothered by the easier questions. One interesting change for this version of jeopardy is that they have a triple jeopardy round since then show is an hour long rather than the thirty-minute version in the daytime show. The winner of the game goes on to the semifinal game while the non-winners get $30, 000 for their charity.
If you like Jeopardy, you will enjoy this show and if you aren’t a Jeopardy watcher you might like this tournament because it is a bit less serious than the daytime show. Mayim Bialik hosts the tournament that airs on ABC on Sunday nights and streams the next day on Hulu or the ABC app.
I give this show 5 out of 5stars because I like it better than the daytime show.
Interview with actors Natalie Zea, Eoin Macken, Nicholas Gonzalez, Veronica St. Clair, Jack Martin and Zyra Gorecki; and executive producer David Appelbaum of “La Brea” on NBC by Suzanne 9/15/22
This was for a TV Critics Assocation panel. They have them twice a year, and they’re a lot of fun. We’re not allowed to use photos, videos or transcripts from them, though, so I’m having to quote and paraphrase what was said here. I hope you enjoy it! I love this show. It’s even more exciting this season.
NBC UNIVERSAL 2022 TCA PRESS TOUR NBC LA BREA
Nicholas Gonzalez, Talent
Zyra Gorecki, Talent
Eoin Macken, Talent
Jack Martin, Talent
Veronica St. Clair, Talent
Natalie Zea, Talent
David Appelbaum, Showrunner/Executive Producer
Virtual via Zoom September 15, 2022
Those of us in the press saw the first episode of the show ahead of time. A lot happens in that first episode, and (MINOR SPOILER) Izzy’s artificial leg is damaged. I tried to ask Zyra Gorecki about that, without giving away too much. She admitted that, “both physically and emotionally, she’s having a very difficult time. So the goal is, obviously, they land in Seattle, they’re trying to make it back to L.A., right? That’s a very long walk. That’s a very long walk with two completely there legs, let alone, you know, one leg and a dad that’s got a lot of issues, you know?” I think she put it very well and without giving spoilers. Just know that all is not what it seems when the show starts! There are many surprises in the first episode, so you don’t want to miss it.
Another member of the press asked whether that idea about her leg was from the writers’ or from Gorecki herself. Showrunner David Appelbaum answered that the writers came up with the idea but consulted Gorecki. Gorecki said that it was “very weird” to imagine herself in 10,000 BC and having that happen.
Many journalists were at the panel and asked their questions. Appelbaum was asked whether this season has the same amount of both CGI and non-CGI special effects as last season. He confirmed that there were many special effects this season because the audience expects that, given the setting. He thinks the audience will enjoy it this season even more. He was also asked about physical things the cast interacts with when there is the CGI effect, such as a mastodon. Applebaum explained that sometimes they just use their imagination, while other times they have a proxy that they use. He praised the cast for their imagination and creativity.
Macken joked that their director, Adam Davidson, waves his hands and runs around, which works for him. Everyone laughed. Gonzalez agreed, saying that it can be hard to keep a straight face when Davidson is dressed up in a blue leotard and doing animal impressions. He and Macken joked a bit more about that.
The actors were then asked whether they had “unique acting challenges” this season. Martin spoke vaguely about some problems involved with being in a different time period and having to imagine his own family at that age. Macken added that he felt the scripts were very exciting. He praised Applebaum for giving the actors details about what’s going on in the story and with their characters, so that they can share in the journey and the action.
Gorecki was also asked about a scene where she pet a particular prehistoric baby animal. She replied that it was a foam head of a baby rhino, which Davidson held and wiggled at her. She laughed that it was “super entertaining.” She was also asked about how different it is this season, now that she’s working more with CGI and doing more action. She related that it was very different and had to act like this fake animal was trying to hurt her. She told us that “being afraid of something that isn’t there is wild,” and then she laughed.
Next, Martin was asked about having to learn about a new time period in which his character, Josh, lands. He revealed that he was already obsessed with that decade, especially the music and movies that he loves. He consulted with his relatives and looked at old photos to get an idea about the costumes. He can’t wait for us to see it. Applebaum added that Riley is also a huge part of that story with Josh. St. Clair spoke about how great this new storyline is. She praised their new time period, especially the hair, the costumes and the music. She also loved that it was very different from last season when they had to work in the mud, rain and Australian winter. Zea, whose character stays in 10,000 BC, made a joke about how she shouldn’t rub it in, and everyone laughed.
LA BREA — “The Next Day” Episode 201 — Pictured: (l-r) Natalie Zea as Eve Harris, Nicholas Gonzalez as Levi Delgado — (Photo by: Sarah Enticknap/NBC)
Gonzalez was asked how his character has evolved since last season. He spoke about how his character is principled and upstanding, yet he had an affair with Eve. Things are different this season because he has to keep everyone safe but is faced with this woman that he loves. He shares that there will be a big test to find out whether friendship or love will win out.
He was also asked whether he still runs because (according to Wikipedia), “he was an accomplished cross-country and track runner, winning the Texas State Championship in the mile and two-mile.” The reporter saw him run when he was in college. Gonzalez answered that he just started running again, so he found it interesting that he was asked this now.
The actors were all asked what they liked most about their characters. Zea told us that she likes that Eve felt like she was just a regular person, but now that she’s faced with this “extraordinary situation,” she is struggling both externally and internally about herself. She also likes that she’s flawed.
Macken shared that he likes how his character is involved with his children and not just his ex-wife. He enjoyed this season’s father-daughter journey, and how Izzy can understand her father more. Gorecki agreed that it’s fun to see how different Izzy and Gavin interact this season, and how she takes more control and grows more.
Martin answered that he thinks his story “is about agency and self actualization.” He likes how Josh is forced to grow up and take on more responsibility than most 17-year-olds and to be heroic, even though “he’s definitely still a kid.”
Gonzalez likes how Levi has to navigate his relationships with Eve and her family, as well as the rest of the characters.
Sinclair likes how Riley is “resilient,” especially when dealing with her father and the other “temperamental men,” even though (as she noted), she’s usually wearing a skirt.
Another question was about what will happen when everyone gets back together – especially with the love triangle, and now that Eve knows that Gavin wasn’t crazy, like she thought.
Zea answered that there will be “Fireworks, baby,” which Applebaum agreed with. She went on to say that she believes they cooperate very well together because of the life or death circumstances. Macken agreed that they had to put their survival ahead of their “emotional complexities.” Gonzalez and Macken joked around a bit about it until Zea said, “All right, boys. You’re both pretty,” which made everyone laugh.
Appelbaum was asked about expanding the original world, which was set in 10,000 BC. He thinks the show has a lot of potential for more growth. He praised NBC, Universal, and all the people that he’s worked with, who have been so supportive, and the writers. He loves how they keep finding “these different layers and elements of what this world is and what the characters are and where the show can go.” He thinks it’s exciting to peel back all the layers. Gonzalez added that as actors, it’s fun to jump into the different time periods and how unpredictable the story is. Martin also chimed in to say how much he likes it when the characters go to different times and places where they’re forced to change.
Gorecki was asked about which city in Michigan she’s from, but she said that it’s a very small town, so she won’t say where because of stalkers. She was also asked how the story about her being an amputee came about. She passed the question to Appelbaum, who said that it was always part of this story, even before they found Gorecki. They did an exhaustive search to find the right actor, he said, and they were very lucky to find Gorecki because “she has this great charisma and this natural talent and just immediately inhabited the role.” He praised her growth in season two.
Appelbaum was asked where he was when he learned that they were being renewed for season two. He laughed and said that they just had a baby, so he was feeding the baby with a bottle when he heard. This was a very sweet way to end our panel!
“La Brea” was a tremendous success in its first season and finished as the number one drama for a first year show. The highly anticipated second season begins Tuesday, September 27th at 9:00 p.m. on NBC and will stream the next day on Peacock.
In Season 2, the Harris family remains separated as Eve is reeling from her son, Josh, having mistakenly gone through a portal to 1988. What she doesn’t know yet is that her estranged husband, Gavin, and their daughter, Izzy, have landed in prehistoric Seattle and now must brave the elements and animals to make their way to L.A. Let’s take a look at a recap of Season 1.
From the Official Website:
Tuesdays on NBC (9-10 p.m. ET); Season Premiere: Sept. 27
“La Brea” follows an epic family adventure after a massive sinkhole opens in Los Angeles pulling people and buildings into a mysterious and dangerous primeval land where they have no choice but to band together to survive. In season two, the Harris family remains separated as Eve is reeling from her son, Josh, having mistakenly gone through a portal to 1988. What she doesn’t know yet is that her estranged husband, Gavin, and their daughter, Izzy, have landed in prehistoric Seattle and now must brave the elements and animals to make their way to L.A.
The cast includes Natalie Zea, Eoin Macken, Jon Seda, Nicholas Gonzalez, Chiké Okonkwo, Zyra Gorecki, Jack Martin, Veronica St. Clair, Rohan Mirchandaney, Lily Santiago, Josh McKenzie, Tonantzin Carmelo and Michelle Vergara Moore.
Creator/Showrunner David Appelbaum executive produces with Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, Peter Traugott, Rachel Kaplan, Chris Hollier, Adam Davidson, Bryan Wynbrandt, Steven Lilien, Ken Woodruff, and Arika Lisanne Mittman.
Natalie Zea
Eve Harris, “La Brea”
Natalie Zea stars as Eve Harris in the NBC drama “La Brea.”
Originally from Texas, Zea made her way to New York where she earned a scholarship to the prestigious American Music and Drama Academy. Shortly after graduation, Zea appeared in Off-Broadway productions of the “Three Sisters” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” until a few years later when she made her television debut in an episode of the short-lived WB drama series “D.C.”
Zea has had recurring roles in “9-1-1: Lone Star,” “The Unicorn” and “Members Only” opposite John Stamos. She was also a series regular during the first three seasons of the FX drama “Justified” and brought on as a recurring character for the fourth season. Oher TV projects include “The Following,” “White Famous,” “Californication,” “The Detour” and “Dirty Sexy Money.”
On the theatrical side, she co-starred in “Happily,” which screened at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival.
Zea helped develop Los Angeles’ reputable Lone Star Ensemble, a theater company in which she serves on the board of directors. She has a 6-year-old daughter with her husband, actor Travis Schuldt, and lives in Los Angeles.
Eoin Macken
Gavin Harris, “La Brea”
Eoin Macken plays Gavin Harris in the NBC drama “La Brea.”
Macken can also be seen as the male lead in the film “The Cellar,” co-starring Elisha Cuthbert, which premiered at SXSW 2022 and on Shudder. He also wrote, directed and produced “Here Are the Young Men,” adapted from a novel by Rob Doyle, as well as directing and producing the satirical comedy “Grey Elephant.”
Macken’s TV credits include “Stumptown,” “The Night Shift,” “Nightflyers,” “Killing Jesus,” “Merlin” and “The Tudors.” On the film side, Macken’s credits include “Close,” “The Hole in the Ground,” “Here Are the Young Men,” “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter,” “The Forest” and Netflix’s “Till Death,” alongside Megan Fox.
Zyra Gorecki
Izzy Harris, “La Brea”
Zyra Gorecki plays Izzy Harris in the NBC drama series “La Brea.”
Gorecki is one of the first below-the-knee amputee actresses with a series regular role in a major broadcast television series. Gorecki is involved with the non-profit organization Amputee Blade Runners that helps provide free running prosthetics for amputees.
In addition to her acting career, which includes guest-starring on “Chicago Fire,” Gorecki is an avid runner and skilled athlete who is passionate about living and promoting a sustainable lifestyle.
Nicholas Gonzalez
Levi Delgado, “La Brea”
Nicholas Gonzalez plays Levi Delgado in the NBC drama “La Brea.”
Gonzalez recently wrapped three seasons as a series regular on ABC’s “The Good Doctor.” He can also be seen recurring on ABC Family’s hit series “Pretty Little Liars, ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder” and BET’s “Being Mary Jane.” His other notable TV credits include major recurring arcs on “Sleepy Hollow,” “The Flash” and “Frequency.”
On the feature side, Gonzalez recently co-starred in “Borrego” and “Evil Takes Root.” Other notable feature work includes “Praying for Rain, opposite Jane Seymour; James DeMonaco’s “The Purge: Anarchy,” opposite Frank Grillo; and Jonas Akerlund’s “Spun,” opposite Mickey Rourke.
Veronica St. Clair
Riley Velez, “La Brea”
Veronica St. Clair plays Riley Velez in the NBC drama “La Brea.”
St. Clair can be seen in the Netflix series “Unbelievable,” opposite Kaitlyn Dever, as well as the fourth season of “13 Reasons Why.”
She graduated with a degree in theater arts from the University of San Diego.
Jack Martin
Josh Harris, “La Brea”
Jack Martin plays Josh Harris in the NBC drama “La Brea.”
A Los Angeles-based, actor, writer, and comedian, Martin was most recently seen on CBS’ “All Rise.”
After posting his sketch comedy online during quarantine when the industry was on hold, he exploded on the Internet with his self-produced videos, gaining hundreds of thousands of followers across multiple platforms.
Fresh out of Georgetown University, Martin also studied at New York University’s Tisch Stonestreet Studios Film & TV conservatory, an intensive program focused on screen acting. He had also studied acting and the business side of entertainment through various talent management internships before realizing he was better suited in front of the camera, than behind it.
Martin’s self-referential sense of humor brings something unique to every video he makes. He knows who he is and is not afraid to poke fun at himself.
David Appelbaum
Executive Producer, “La Brea”
David Appelbaum is the creator, showrunner and executive producer of the NBC drama “La Brea.”
Appelbaum was a co-executive producer on “The Enemy Within,” “Wisdom of the Crowd” and “NCIS: New Orleans.”
Appelbaum began his career with four seasons on “The Mentalist.”
Interview with Scott Prendergast, Elizabeth Klaviter, Marcia Gay Harden, Skylar Astin, Madeline Wise, Tristen J. Winger, Inga Schlingmann and Rosa Arrendondo of “So Help Me Todd” on CBS by Suzanne 9/21/23
Here were some introductory remarks about the show. First, from the moderator: The series is inspired by our creator and executive producer Scott show premieres Thursday, September 29th, at 9/8 Central on CBS and Paramount+.
Joining us today is the cast and executive producers of the series. Please welcome creator and executive producer Scott Prendergast, showrunner and executive producer Elizabeth Klaviter, stars Marcia Gay Harden, Skylar Astin, Madeline Wise, Tristen J. Winger, Inga Schlingmann, and Rosa Arredondo.
The second remarks were from the creator/EP Scott Prendergast: “I’m so happy to be here with my showrunner Elizabeth Klaviter and our six incredible cast members. Just a quick recap. This show is based on a true story. My mother’s husband did disappear and I helped her find him and that’s where we drew the inspiration for the show. So it’s very exciting to be here. The cast is incredible. And I’ll just quickly tell you that when I pitched the show, the first thing I said to CBS was if you took Alicia, the lawyer, from “The Good Wife” and Kalinda, the investigator, made them mother and son and had them do “Moonlighting,” that’s the show, and here we are a year and a half later.
This press panel was for the TV Critics Association. They give us a transcript of the interviews, but we’re not allowed to post them verbatim, and there’s no video or audio.
This is a fun new dramady starring Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden (whom you may remember from “Law and Order” and other shows) and Skylar Astin, who’s probably best known for playing Zoey’s love interest in “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” (ZEP) I spoke with Marcia before, years ago, so I was very happy to get a chance to speak to Skylar because I really loved ZEP.
CBS/Paramount let us watch one episode before airing. It’s a quirky show, and those rarely do well on TV, but you never know. One of the more interesting things about it is that the idea for the story came from the show’s creator’s real life experiences.
With these large press panels, we’re lucky to get one question in, so I was ecstatic to ask him if he would be singing on this show. He not only starred in ZEP but was in the musical movie “Pitch Perfect.” He said that they had no plans to do that yet. He didn’t think his character, Todd, would be a very good singer.
The follow-up question to mine asked if filming the show was easier because there wasn’t choreography and everything, like on ZEP and Pitch Perfect. He felt very comfortable doing musicals, but this show has its own “specific rhythm,” so he treats it the same way. He was talking about the dialogue, which is “very rhythmic.”
“So Help Me Todd: A Quirky Blend of Comedy and Mystery Unveiled in CBS’ New Series”
In a recent Television Critics Association (TCA) panel, the creators, cast, and executive producers of CBS’ upcoming series “So Help Me Todd” gathered to share insights into this intriguing blend of comedy and mystery. The series, set to premiere on Thursday, September 29th, at 9/8 Central, promises to captivate viewers with its unique storyline and a cast that seamlessly mixes humor and drama.
“Inspiration from Real Life”
The show’s creator and executive producer, Scott Prendergast, kicked off the event by sharing the series’ origin story. He revealed that the inspiration for “So Help Me Todd” came from a real-life experience where his mother’s husband disappeared, and he played a pivotal role in helping her find him. This deeply personal narrative forms the foundation of the show’s premise.
Prendergast described the series as a blend of “The Good Wife,” “Moonlighting,” and classic CBS procedurals, with a strong focus on the unique mother-son dynamic at its core.
“Balancing Comedy and Mystery”
A recurring theme during the panel discussion was how the show successfully balances comedy and mystery. Skylar Astin, who plays the titular character Todd, explained that while the show has its comedic moments, it also explores deeper emotional aspects. Astin noted that Todd is a complex character, and he enjoys portraying the character’s messiness and vulnerability.
Executive producer Elizabeth Klaviter emphasized that the humor in the show is grounded in authentic character development. The cast’s performances and the witty scripts allow viewers to relate to the characters while enjoying the comedic elements.
“A Cast of Characters”
The cast of “So Help Me Todd” includes the talented Marcia Gay Harden, Skylar Astin, Madeline Wise, Tristen J. Winger, Inga Schlingmann, and Rosa Arredondo. Each actor brings their unique qualities to the series, contributing to the chemistry that makes the show stand out.
Finding Laughter in the Unusual
One of the standout aspects of the show is its willingness to embrace humor in unusual situations. Scott Prendergast shared a real-life anecdote where he pretended to be someone else to locate a missing person. This blend of absurdity and suspense is at the heart of “So Help Me Todd,” making it an engaging and entertaining watch.
Plans for the Future
When asked about the show’s future, Scott Prendergast revealed that they have ambitious plans for seven seasons. He believes that the evolving mother-son relationship and the characters’ growth will provide endless material for captivating storylines. The panelists expressed their excitement about exploring the family dynamics further, including relationships between siblings, colleagues, and adversaries.
A Quirky Family Saga Awaits
As the panel concluded, it was evident that “So Help Me Todd” promises to be a unique addition to CBS’ lineup, offering viewers a captivating blend of comedy and mystery while delving deep into the intricacies of family dynamics. With a strong cast and a commitment to maintaining the delicate balance between humor and drama, this series is poised to become a must-watch this fall.
Prepare to embark on a journey with the Todd family as they navigate life’s twists, turns, and absurdities, all while seeking answers to intriguing mysteries. Tune in on September 29th to catch the premiere of “So Help Me Todd” on CBS and Paramount+.
SO HELP ME TODD stars Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin as razor-sharp, meticulous attorney Margaret Wright (Harden) and Todd (Astin), her talented but scruffy, aimless son whom she hires as her law firm’s in-house investigator. As the black sheep of the well-heeled Wright family, Todd is a laidback, quick-thinking, excellent former private detective who fell on hard times after his flexible interpretation of the law got his license revoked. Margaret’s penchant for excellence and strict adherence to the law is at complete odds with Todd’s scrappy methods of finding his way through sticky situations: by the seat of his wrinkled pants. When Todd inadvertently teams with his mother on a case, she’s surprised to find herself duly impressed by – and proud of – his crafty ability to sleuth out information with his charm and his wide-ranging tech savvy. At last, Margaret sees a way to put her son on a “suitable” path to living an adult, financially solvent life she approves of, and she asks him to join her firm. Todd agrees, since it means getting his license back and once again doing the job he excels at and loves. Mother and son working together is a big first step toward mending their fragile, dysfunctional relationship, and they may even come away with a better understanding of each other at this pivotal point in their lives. But whether Todd and Margaret will be able to accept each other for who they are is another case entirely.
Marcia Gay Harden
July 2022
Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden has forged an incomparable body of work, and like a chameleon she transforms into each character she plays. Her critically lauded performances are myriad – from glamorous Ava Gardner in “Sinatra,” to artist Lee Krasner in “Pollock” (winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress), to the down-and-out Celeste in “Mystic River” (Oscar-nominated in the same category) – and her versatility has been praised in other films such as “Miller’s Crossing,” “The First Wives Club,” “Meet Joe Black,” “Mona Lisa Smile,” “The Hoax” and “Used People.”
Harden stars in the comedy series “Uncoupled” opposite Neil Patrick Harris. She plays a socialite in the middle of a bitter divorce who commiserates with Harris’ character when his husband walks out on him.
On the film side, Harden will be seen in “Roadside’s Gigi & Nate” with Jim Belushi, Josephine Langford and Charlie Rowe, set for a September theater release, along with Greg Mattola’s “Confess, Fletch” opposite Jon Hamm.
Currently, she recurs on the Emmy-nominated series “The Morning Show” opposite Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, for which she was just nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Most recently, she starred in the Amy Poehler-directed comedy “Moxie” and the miniseries “Barkskins.”
Harden lives in Los Angeles. Her birth date is August 14. She can be followed on Twitter @MGH_8 and Instagram @mgh_8.
Skylar Astin
July 2022
Skylar Astin is a celebrated actor with a varied career across stage and screen. This past summer, Astin returned to the theater in the Off-Broadway revival of “Little Shop of Horrors” as Seymour, directed by Tony winner Michael Mayer. Also, he appeared in the documentary “Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known.” Astin and the rest of the cast revisited their roles and re-sparked the cultural phenomenon which put Astin on the map and went on to win eight Tony Awards in 2007. Following the release of the documentary, he performed a special rendition of “Touch Me” at this year’s Tony Awards with the original cast.
Most recently, Astin starred in two seasons of “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” alongside Jane Levy, Mary Steenburgen and Peter Gallagher.
Additional television credits include appearing opposite Golden Globe-winner Rachel Bloom in the final season of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” the Golden Globe-nominated dark comedy “Graves,” Frank Coraci’s comedy “Hot Air,” “Ground Floor,” “Girls,” “Halt and Catch Fire,” “House” and “Love Bites.”
Astin is perhaps best known for his star turn as Jesse in the hit “Pitch Perfect” franchise. Additional big screen credits include “Ghosts of War,” “21 and Over” opposite Miles Teller, “Taking Woodstock” for director Ang Lee, the Sundance cult-hit “Hamlet 2,” “Flock of Dudes,” “Cavemen” and the beloved animated film “Wreck It Ralph.”
In 2020, Astin appeared in “Secret Society of Second Born Royals,” an original live action film. Astin was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award in the category of Best Actor in a Superhero Movie for his role in this film.
A native New Yorker, Astin portrayed the iconic role of Tony in Carnegie Hall’s performance of “West Side Story” and received rave reviews in Encore’s production of Kurt Vonnegut’s “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.” He was also seen in Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck’s play, “What We’re Up Against.”
Currently, Astin resides in Los Angeles. He can be followed on Twitter @SkylarAstin and Instagram @skylarastin.
Madeline Wise
July 2022
Madeline Wise is an actress with a diverse background. After studying at Bard College, with a stint at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, she co-founded New Saloon Theatre Co. and worked extensively in the downtown theatre scene in New York.
Wise made her television debut in season three of the Pete Holmes semi-autobiographical comedy “Crashing,” produced by Judd Apatow. She also played Sir Patrick Stewart’s mother in season two of STAR TREK: PICARD and has appeared in “Single Drunk Female,” EVIL and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Her film credits include Noah Hutton’s sci-fi “Lapsis” and Sophia Silver’s meditation on adolescent female friendship “Over/Under.”
Currently, she resides in New York. Her birth date is March 1 and she can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @wise_dumb.
Tristen J. Winger
June 2023
Born and raised in South-Central Los Angeles, Winger discovered his love for acting at a young age. He notes he was a “TGIF” kid, looking forward to Friday nights where he could tune in to “Family Matters” and see himself represented for the first time on television through Jaleel White and his on-screen character Steve Urkel. Winger attended the Amazing Grace Conservatory (AGC), where he was able to hone his craft in theater, bringing characters to life on stage. He went on to attend the King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science, where he became friends with Issa Rae (who would eventually give him his first big break with “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl”), graduating one year early. While Winger initially thought he would pursue a career in the medical field, even studying science, math and engineering at California State University Northridge, the performing arts kept calling his name. He dabbled in music production and audio engineering, learning to produce and make music while in college, and took a few retail jobs while he auditioned for acting projects in Los Angeles. While working at the Apple store he landed one of his first big jobs on “Insecure,” and he has been booking film and television projects ever since.
On television, Winger has played a variety of characters that come from many different backgrounds. He is best known for his role as Thug Yoda on the award-winning series “Insecure” from creator/writer/producer Issa Rae. His other credits include “Bigger,” “East of La Brea,” “50 Central,” “Almost 30,” and his first big break, comedy web series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” opposite Issa Rae, which debuted on YouTube in 2011.
Winger’s feature film credits include Tripp in the short film “The Hostage,” which was accepted into the Nantucket Film Festival. Winger also appeared in the award-winning short “Baldwin Beauty,” which went to the Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and was nominated for Short Film Grand Jury Prize and Best Short Film. The project was also nominated for a NAACP Image Award in 2020 for Outstanding Short Form (Live Action).
Winger frequently lends his voice to projects. He voiced multiple characters in the highly popular PlayStation 5 video game “Horizon: Forbidden West.” Recently, he starred in the podcast “We Stay Looking” (six episodes), which was produced by HBO Max. The podcast was nominated at the 2022 Ambies for Best Scriptwriting, Fiction and secured back-to-back wins at the 2021 and 2022 Webby Awards in the Podcasts – Scripted (Fiction) (Limited-Series & Specials) category.
Winger is passionate about giving back to his community and bringing awareness to the growing food insecurity issues in South L.A. Winger is also an advocate for shining a light on the stigma around mental health and lack of adequate mental health resources for Black men, as he has been on a personal journey through therapy and building deeper, meaningful relationships with others, and himself. For years, Winger has championed the Amazing Grace Conservatory where he got his start, supporting emerging artists and at-risk youth in the performing and digital arts by offering a well-rounded and culturally enriching educational program in an environment that is nurturing for their personal, artistic and professional growth.
Currently, Winger lives in South-Central L.A. with his rescue dog, a Yorkiepoo named Frito. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @tristenjwinger.
Inga Schlingmann
June 2023
Inga Schlingmann is a first-generation American, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan and Germany. She attended NYU, where she was pre-med and majored in art history, with minors in chemistry and psychology.
While at NYU, Schlingmann was crowned Miss Manhattan, with a platform focused on lowering infant and maternal mortality rates. After NYU, she worked with Americorp as a birth doula and lactation aide for underserved and undocumented women in Brooklyn.
Schlingmann left healthcare to work at Bloomberg LP and later went on to work for LinkedIn, where she was a senior account director when she landed the role of Susan in SO HELP ME TODD.
Schlingmann currently resides in New York. Follow her on Instagram @ingaschlingmann.
Rosa Arredondo
June 2023
Rosa Arredondo’s career includes work in film, television and on stage. An Alvin Ailey-trained dancer, Arredondo transitioned to acting early in her career, though she continues to take dance class regularly. Her most recent film, “The Secret Art of Human Flight,” appeared in competition at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
Arredondo’s stage credits include the Blair Underwood/Daphne Rubin-Vega Broadway production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” at the Broadhurst Theatre, Sonnet Repertory’s production of “The Maids” and Arredondo’s one-woman show “Journeys,” which she wrote, produced and performed herself as part of the Female Forward Festival at The Royal Family Theater in N.Y.C.
Currently, she resides in New York. Her birthday is Jan. 13.
Interview with Ashley Jones of “What Happened to My Sister?” on Lifetime by Suzanne 9/16/22
This was a fun interview last week with Ashley! I interviewed her 9 years ago for another Lifetime movie (Gosh, where does the time go?). She’s always very kind and beautiful. Don’t miss her new movie as well as the LMN marathon of her previous movies all day Friday, September 23! She is most known for being on the soaps, such as “The Bold and The Beautiful,” “General Hospital” and “The Young and The Restless.”
LMN Favorite Ashley Jones Returns With New Thrillers
LMN FAVORITE ASHLEY JONES RETURNS WITH NEW THRILLERS
SECRET LIVES OF COLLEGE ESCORTS MARKS ASHLEY JONES’ DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
AND STARS PILOT PAISLEY-ROSE, LAURIE FORTIER AND BRIANA CUOCO
FOR AN AUGUST 19 PREMIERE
WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER? STARS ASHLEY JONES, LAURYN SPEIGHTS AND MONIQUE STRAW
AND PREMIERES SEPTEMBER 23
NEW YORK, NY (August 4, 2022) – LMN favorite Ashley Jones returns to the network with a two pack of films this summer including the premiere of Secret Lives of College Escorts starring Pilot Paisley-Rose, Laurie Fortier and Briana Cuoco on August 19 at 8/7c which marks Daytime Emmy Award nominee Ashley Jones directorial debut, and What Happened to My Sister? on September 23 at 8/7c which Jones, Lauryn Speights and Monique Straw star in. Additionally, LMN will run a marathon of movies featuring Jones on September 23 leading into the premiere of What Happened to My Sister?
What Happened to My Sister? Friday, September 23 at 8/7c
Drea (Lauryn Speights, The Good Place), a freshman at college, decides to rush the same sorority her sister Gabi (Heather Harris, Broken Mirror) died rushing two years earlier in hopes of finding out the truth about her death. Monique Straw (Fast Color) and Ashley Jones also star.
Interview with Chloe Traicos of “The Righteous Gemstones” on HBO by Krista 8/12/22
Chloe was very accommodating and flexible when I needed to move the interview due to a migraine. She was very friendly and easy to talk with. I enjoyed speaking with her about “The Righteous Gemstones,” and we also shared some small talk and book recommendations as well. I look forward to seeing the third season, which Chloe may or may not be in.
MORE INFO:
From June: Filming this month in Charleston, the third season of the Danny McBride-created, written and executive-produced series continues the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed and charitable work.
Season 2 of THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES is now streaming on HBO Max.
Traicos plays Gloria Freeman, wife of Walton Goggins’ character. The actress is also known for her work on “MacGyver” and “Gone”.
Chloe Traicos was born and raised in Zimbabwe. Her father is international cricket star, John Traicos and her mother, Annette Kileff is an artist. Chloe lived in Zimbabwe until until 2005 when she was forced to flee the country after having made a controversial documentary about the country’s leader, Robert Mugabe. In her documentary Chloe speaks out on behalf of the Zimbabwean people who have spent years being persecuted and starved. Despite the fact she had to leave the country, Chloe’s documentary ( aptly named ” A Stranger in my Homeland” ) went on to win awards throughout the world. Chloe then immigrated to Australia with her parents and sister. In Australia Chloe went on to make the award winning Indie film ” I Wish I Were Stephanie V” which opened the New York City International Film Festival in 2011, with a special screening outside in Times Square. Chloe has since moved to the US where she continues to make films.
Created, written and executive produced by Danny McBride (HBO’s Vice Principals and Eastbound & Down), and marking his third HBO comedy series from Rough House Pictures, The Righteous Gemstones tells the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed and charitable work. Season two finds our blessed Gemstone family threatened by outsiders from both the past and present who wish to destroy their empire. McBride collaborators Jody Hill and David Gordon Green also serve as executive producers and directors.
Interview with Taofeek Abijako, Fernando Casablancas and Ebon Gore of “The Come Up” on Freeform by Suzanne 8/29/22
This is a very interesting reality show (or unscripted show if you wish) focusing on some young people in a particular area of New York they called “downtown New York,” AKA “the lower East Side” AKA “Dime Square.” These three were very nice, as were the other three I interviewed as well. It’s definitely worth watching. I got caught up in the few episodes I saw.
Freeform Introduces Eclectic Cast of Icons on the Rise for New Unscripted Series ‘The Come Up’ (FKA ‘Day to Night’)
Cast Includes Taofeek Abijako, Fernando Casablancas, Ben Hard, Claude Shwartz, Ebon Gore and Sophia Wilson
‘The Come Up’ Set To Premiere on Freeform on Tuesday, Sept. 13, Next Day on Hulu
*Freeform/Sophie Hur
Freeform announced the new unscripted series “The Come Up” (fka “Day to Night”) as one of three original nonfiction series the brand is releasing this year, all targeted at the network’s young adult audience.
“The Come Up” is a glimpse into the wildest feelings and vibrant moments that define coming-of-age in a post-pandemic New York. The series follows six young disruptors as they emerge from downtown New York to follow their dreams and pursue love and art on their own terms. The show follows the creative NYC underground, giving viewers an exclusive look into how the next generation of icons define themselves and how culture is created.
The cast comprises a group of ambitious, action-oriented and diverse Gen Z New Yorkers whose careers are on the rise, including Taofeek Abijako, Fernando Casablancas, Ben Hard, Claude Shwartz, Ebon Gore and Sophia Wilson. Each person is thriving in their respective fields: modeling, fashion design, photography, acting and nightlife organizing. Their bios are below:
Taofeek (He/Him) – At 24, he is the youngest designer to have ever shown at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) with his fashion line, Head of State. Earlier this year, he was invited to dress two celebrities, Danai Gurira and Evan Mock, at the renowned Met Gala, and his career is taking exciting turns as he is now branching out into costume design for feature films. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Taofeek immigrated to Albany, New York, at age 11 after his father, also a fashion designer, won the American visa lottery. Taking nothing for granted, Taofeek launched his first pieces out of his bedroom as a high schooler, deferred all acceptances to fashion schools, and earned a spot on the stage of NYFW and into the pages of Vogue. For Taofeek, fashion is a vehicle for supporting his community. In addition to his fashion collections, he has spearheaded several initiatives to build schools in Nigeria or support local vendors in Albany. Taofeek is on the precipice of becoming the next household name in fashion and beyond.
Fernando (He/They) – Brazilian-born Fernando Casablancas is on the cusp of becoming the modeling world’s next international star. In less than one year of his emergence on the modeling scene, he appeared in campaigns for top brands Balmain, Charlotte Tilbury, Wales Bonner and Chrome Hearts. During the fashion week season of fall 2021, Fernando took to the catwalk for Balmain and Bottega Veneta, and most recently, he walked for cutting-edge designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin. Fernando is breaking the mold as a non-binary talent by modeling both menswear and womenswear. The world quickly took notice, and he was invited to attend the 2022 amFAR Gala in Cannes, an internationally acclaimed event to raise money for AIDS awareness and research. Beyond modeling, Fernando recently wrapped production on his first feature-length film and has been working on DJing and multimedia art projects.
Ben (He/Him) – Coming from San Antonio, Texas, Ben is quickly making New York his home. A rising performer, he is honing his skills as an actor, comedian and dancer. The stage is where he wants to be, and New York is the place to take chances. In spring 2022, he starred in Eastine Theater’s adaptation of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” did his first stand-up comedy performance at The Broadway Comedy Club, and has acted in short films by friends. Ben can also be found behind the camera, taking street photography in New York and doing live videography and music videos for local musical artists.
Claude (She/Her) – A Tribeca native, Claude is a true New Yorker. She is a rising actress who studied the practical aesthetics technique at David Mamet’s Atlantic Theater Company, the Meisner technique, and graduated from Tufts in 2020. Recently, Claude appeared in an off-broadway production at the Tank in February 2022, directed by Alton Alburo. A lover of fashion and a downtown fixture, Claude walked for Batsheva in NYFW Spring/Summer 2022.
Ebon (She/Her) – A budding entertainer on her way to becoming a multihyphenate in the public eye, she is a staple in Brooklyn nightlife as a sought-after party host and fixture of the rave circuit. She most recently threw a party for Pride 2022 and is a member of Nosferatu collective, known for their show-stopping Baroque Ball in Summer 2021. For Ebon, the well-being of the Trans community is paramount. As an active and crucial organizer of queer nightlife, she has recently participated in town hall panels to discuss club safety and accountability. Beyond nightlife, Ebon’s modeling career is quickly gaining momentum as she models for the likes of Milk Makeup, Parade and Ganni.
Sophia (She/Her) – A photography prodigy who has been behind the camera since age 13. She’s shot campaigns for major brands like Google, Nike, Peloton, Converse, Fenty, Instagram and Pepsi and established publications like Vogue, Elle, New York Magazine, i-D, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Hypebeast, Highsnobiety, Nylon and more. Sophia shoots analog only and develops and prints all photos by hand in the color darkroom, a highly technical process that imbues her images with a signature look. Continuing to chart her own path, Sophia deferred her senior year at NYU to focus full time on her artistic pursuits and career in true trailblazing Gen Z fashion. Sophia is committed to changing the face of working photographers by being front and center in rooms that young Black women traditionally have been kept from. She is also pioneering work in the NFT space, including creating the first NFT for Instagram.
“These six creatives emerge from downtown with a vitality and magnetism that’s infectious,” said Tara Duncan, president of Freeform and Onyx Collective. “They are pursuing love and art on their own terms, redefining what success means, and I am so excited for our audience to have a front row seat to it all.”
“The Come Up” is produced by Cousins. Megan Sanchez-Warner (“The Real Housewives of Orange County,” “Love and Hip Hop Hollywood”) serves as the showrunner, and Jessica Chermayeff, Ana Veselic and Anne Alexander executive produce. Chermayeff and Veselic also serve as series directors.
“The Come Up” premieres on Freeform on Tuesday, Sept. 13, with the first four episodes airing back to back. From there, two episodes will air each week. All episodes will be available to stream on Hulu the day after they air.
About Freeform Freeform’s distinct brand of coming-of-age programming helps to position it as the No. 1 primetime cable network in entertainment among Adults, Women and Men 18-34 in the 2021/2022 TV season to date. Connecting to audiences with its bold original programming and immersive social engagement, Freeform channels the force and momentum of its young adult audience in its quest for progress with authentic, groundbreaking original series such as Emmy®-nominated “grown-ish,” “Good Trouble,” “Motherland: Fort Salem,” “Single Drunk Female,” “Everything’s Trash” and “Cruel Summer,” which was the No. 1 new cable drama of 2021 among Women 18-34. Last year, Freeform aired four of the Top 15 scripted cable original series among Women 18-34 — more than any other network, with “grown-ish” ranking as cable’s No. 1 live-action comedy series of the year in the demo.
Interview with Sophia Wilson, Claude Shwartz and Ben Hard of “The Come Up” on Freeform by Suzanne 8/29/22
I don’t normally watch any “reality shows,” or as they’re often called now, unscripted programs. But this one sounded more and more interesting than the previous ones I’ve watched. These young people are mostly not actors, and they’re living their best lives in New York City. I watched the episodes they sent me, and I found myself drawn in. I would advise you to watch it!
I interviewed these three from the show as well as another three. They were all fun and pleasant to talk to.
Freeform Introduces Eclectic Cast of Icons on the Rise for New Unscripted Series ‘The Come Up’ (FKA ‘Day to Night’)
Cast Includes Taofeek Abijako, Fernando Casablancas, Ben Hard, Claude Shwartz, Ebon Gore and Sophia Wilson
‘The Come Up’ Set To Premiere on Freeform on Tuesday, Sept. 13, Next Day on Hulu
*Freeform/Sophie Hur
Freeform announced the new unscripted series “The Come Up” (fka “Day to Night”) as one of three original nonfiction series the brand is releasing this year, all targeted at the network’s young adult audience.
“The Come Up” is a glimpse into the wildest feelings and vibrant moments that define coming-of-age in a post-pandemic New York. The series follows six young disruptors as they emerge from downtown New York to follow their dreams and pursue love and art on their own terms. The show follows the creative NYC underground, giving viewers an exclusive look into how the next generation of icons define themselves and how culture is created.
The cast comprises a group of ambitious, action-oriented and diverse Gen Z New Yorkers whose careers are on the rise, including Taofeek Abijako, Fernando Casablancas, Ben Hard, Claude Shwartz, Ebon Gore and Sophia Wilson. Each person is thriving in their respective fields: modeling, fashion design, photography, acting and nightlife organizing. Their bios are below:
Taofeek (He/Him) – At 24, he is the youngest designer to have ever shown at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) with his fashion line, Head of State. Earlier this year, he was invited to dress two celebrities, Danai Gurira and Evan Mock, at the renowned Met Gala, and his career is taking exciting turns as he is now branching out into costume design for feature films. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Taofeek immigrated to Albany, New York, at age 11 after his father, also a fashion designer, won the American visa lottery. Taking nothing for granted, Taofeek launched his first pieces out of his bedroom as a high schooler, deferred all acceptances to fashion schools, and earned a spot on the stage of NYFW and into the pages of Vogue. For Taofeek, fashion is a vehicle for supporting his community. In addition to his fashion collections, he has spearheaded several initiatives to build schools in Nigeria or support local vendors in Albany. Taofeek is on the precipice of becoming the next household name in fashion and beyond.
Fernando (He/They) – Brazilian-born Fernando Casablancas is on the cusp of becoming the modeling world’s next international star. In less than one year of his emergence on the modeling scene, he appeared in campaigns for top brands Balmain, Charlotte Tilbury, Wales Bonner and Chrome Hearts. During the fashion week season of fall 2021, Fernando took to the catwalk for Balmain and Bottega Veneta, and most recently, he walked for cutting-edge designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin. Fernando is breaking the mold as a non-binary talent by modeling both menswear and womenswear. The world quickly took notice, and he was invited to attend the 2022 amFAR Gala in Cannes, an internationally acclaimed event to raise money for AIDS awareness and research. Beyond modeling, Fernando recently wrapped production on his first feature-length film and has been working on DJing and multimedia art projects.
Ben (He/Him) – Coming from San Antonio, Texas, Ben is quickly making New York his home. A rising performer, he is honing his skills as an actor, comedian and dancer. The stage is where he wants to be, and New York is the place to take chances. In spring 2022, he starred in Eastine Theater’s adaptation of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” did his first stand-up comedy performance at The Broadway Comedy Club, and has acted in short films by friends. Ben can also be found behind the camera, taking street photography in New York and doing live videography and music videos for local musical artists.
Claude (She/Her) – A Tribeca native, Claude is a true New Yorker. She is a rising actress who studied the practical aesthetics technique at David Mamet’s Atlantic Theater Company, the Meisner technique, and graduated from Tufts in 2020. Recently, Claude appeared in an off-broadway production at the Tank in February 2022, directed by Alton Alburo. A lover of fashion and a downtown fixture, Claude walked for Batsheva in NYFW Spring/Summer 2022.
Ebon (She/Her) – A budding entertainer on her way to becoming a multihyphenate in the public eye, she is a staple in Brooklyn nightlife as a sought-after party host and fixture of the rave circuit. She most recently threw a party for Pride 2022 and is a member of Nosferatu collective, known for their show-stopping Baroque Ball in Summer 2021. For Ebon, the well-being of the Trans community is paramount. As an active and crucial organizer of queer nightlife, she has recently participated in town hall panels to discuss club safety and accountability. Beyond nightlife, Ebon’s modeling career is quickly gaining momentum as she models for the likes of Milk Makeup, Parade and Ganni.
Sophia (She/Her) – A photography prodigy who has been behind the camera since age 13. She’s shot campaigns for major brands like Google, Nike, Peloton, Converse, Fenty, Instagram and Pepsi and established publications like Vogue, Elle, New York Magazine, i-D, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Hypebeast, Highsnobiety, Nylon and more. Sophia shoots analog only and develops and prints all photos by hand in the color darkroom, a highly technical process that imbues her images with a signature look. Continuing to chart her own path, Sophia deferred her senior year at NYU to focus full time on her artistic pursuits and career in true trailblazing Gen Z fashion. Sophia is committed to changing the face of working photographers by being front and center in rooms that young Black women traditionally have been kept from. She is also pioneering work in the NFT space, including creating the first NFT for Instagram.
“These six creatives emerge from downtown with a vitality and magnetism that’s infectious,” said Tara Duncan, president of Freeform and Onyx Collective. “They are pursuing love and art on their own terms, redefining what success means, and I am so excited for our audience to have a front row seat to it all.”
“The Come Up” is produced by Cousins. Megan Sanchez-Warner (“The Real Housewives of Orange County,” “Love and Hip Hop Hollywood”) serves as the showrunner, and Jessica Chermayeff, Ana Veselic and Anne Alexander executive produce. Chermayeff and Veselic also serve as series directors.
“The Come Up” premieres on Freeform on Tuesday, Sept. 13, with the first four episodes airing back to back. From there, two episodes will air each week. All episodes will be available to stream on Hulu the day after they air.
About Freeform Freeform’s distinct brand of coming-of-age programming helps to position it as the No. 1 primetime cable network in entertainment among Adults, Women and Men 18-34 in the 2021/2022 TV season to date. Connecting to audiences with its bold original programming and immersive social engagement, Freeform channels the force and momentum of its young adult audience in its quest for progress with authentic, groundbreaking original series such as Emmy®-nominated “grown-ish,” “Good Trouble,” “Motherland: Fort Salem,” “Single Drunk Female,” “Everything’s Trash” and “Cruel Summer,” which was the No. 1 new cable drama of 2021 among Women 18-34. Last year, Freeform aired four of the Top 15 scripted cable original series among Women 18-34 — more than any other network, with “grown-ish” ranking as cable’s No. 1 live-action comedy series of the year in the demo.
Interview with Dennie Gordon, director of “Last Light” on Peacock by Suzanne 8/30/22
I don’t often speak to directors (or writers, for that matter), so it was great to speak to this amazing woman. Her bio (below) is very impressive. I really enjoyed speaking with her. You can watch “Last Light” here!
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Dennie Gordon has been a trailblazing female director her entire career; spanning the worlds of feature films, television series, mini-series and branded content. Her range of genre busting entertainment spans an unusual spectrum of comedy and drama. After being one of the first women to graduate from Yale’s School of Drama with an MFA in Directing, Gordon first gained recognition when “A Hard Rain” was chosen by Showtime’s Discovery Program. Thanks to Steven Spielberg, a rough cut of her film attracted the attention of George Lucas who donated the film’s mix at Skywalker Ranch. “A Hard Rain” , which Gordon also wrote, went on to win dramatic awards at the British Short Film Festival and the Hampton’s Film Festival. This film also caught the eye of David E. Kelley who enlisted Gordon to helm multiple episodes of his television series including “Goliath”, (where she was Co EP) “Picket Fences”, “Chicago Hope”, “Ally McBeal”, and “The Practice”. Gordon has directed over 100 hours of network television including such critically acclaimed series as “Legion”, which was on many critic’s lists as a top 10 show of 2017, with the “astounding direction of Dennie Gordon and her twisted visionary imagery taking the X-Men universe to a whole new level”. Her other work includes “Bloodline”, “Rectify Empire”, “Kingdom”, “Power”, “Hell on Wheels”, “Grace & Frankie”, “The Office”, “30 Rock”, Aaron Sorkin’s “Sports Night”, and HBO’s “Tracey Takes On”, for which Gordon won the DGA Comedy Award. Gordon recently completed the mini-series “Waco”, “Jack Ryan” Season 2 and “The Hunt” starring Al Pacino. Gordon directed the comedy cult hit “Joe Dirt” starring David Spade, and Christopher Walken, and “What A Girl Wants” starring Oscar Winner Colin Firth, Dame Eileen Atkins, and Jonathan Pryce. Gordon was the first American woman to direct a film for the domestic Chinese market, called “My Lucky Star”. The 2013 film starred Oscar nominee Zhang Ziyi and Wang Leehom and was filmed in China and Singapore in the summer of 2012. “My Lucky Star” was the number one film in China for 4 weeks on 5000 screens.
Gordon is a sought after commercial director having completed campaigns for Honda, Toyota, Tsingtao beer and Xcel Energy as well as campaigns with Jimmy Fallon, Betty White, Adam Devine and Don Cheadle. She recently completed a short dramatic film for Huawei, which was shot in Prague. She is represented by CAA.
Based on Alex Scarrow’s bestselling apocalyptic thriller, LASTLIGHT will thrust audiences into a world of chaos, as the world’s oil ceases to function correctly, and all means of power & communication begin to fail. The series stars Matthew Fox (Lost), making his series acting return after 12 years alongside, Joanne Froggatt (Liar, Downton Abbey), Alyth Ross (Traces, Emerald), Taylor Fay (Judge Rinder, The Making of Alex), Amber Rose Revah (The Punisher), Victor Alli (Belfast, Grantchester), Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things) and Hakeem Jomah (Rashash, Kidnap). Dennie Gordon serves as Executive Producer and Director of all five episodes.
Logline: The series is based on the novel LastLight written by Alex Scarrow, which tells the story of a family fighting to survive during the fallout of an oil crisis.
Cast:
Matthew Fox (Lost) will play Andy Yeats, an ex-pat living in London, and one of the world’s leading petro-chemical engineers.
Joanne Froggatt (Liar, Downton Abbey) will play Elena Yeats, Andy’s smart, caring, and beautiful wife. When her son, Sam, was diagnosed with a progressive, degenerative eye disease, she gave up her thriving professional career and put considerable energy and ability toward finding a cure.
Alyth Ross (Traces, Emerald) will play Laura Yeats, a passionate and informed university student committed to confronting the mounting crisis of climate change and finding a solution to helping the planet.
Taylor Fay (Judge Rinder, The Making of Alex) will play Sam Yeats. Eight-year-old Sam is fighting a degenerative eye disease that is slowing taking away his sight.
Amber Rose Revah (The Punisher) will play Mika Bakhash, a representative for the British government.
Victor Alli (Belfast, Grantchester) will play Owen Jones, a brilliant college student who has been working his way through school.
Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things) will play Karl Bergmann. Karl Bergmann works for the British Government and is the man Parliament and MI6 turn to when the world is thrown into chaos.
Hakeem Jomah (Rashash, Kidnap) will play Khalil Al-Qatani, the head of a big oil company.
Director: Dennie Gordon (All 5 episodes)
Executive Producers: Dennie Gordon, Matthew Fox, William Choi, Sydney Gallonde, Rikke Ennis, Patrick Renault, Diego Piasek, Patrick Massett, John Zinman
Co-Executive Producers: Rola Bauer and Steven Johnson
Producer: Veronika Lencova
Produced by: MGM International Television Productions in association with Peacock, Viaplay Group, MBC, Peacock and STAN.
Format: 5 x 45 min episodes, limited drama series.
Interview with Amber Rose Revah of “Last Light” on Peacock by Suzanne 8/30/22
It was very nice to speak with Amber. She’s such an accomplished actor. All three women I spoke with on this junket were really kind – and complimentary to their fellow actors, directors and crew. You should check out the miniseries because Amber has a great role in it. All the characters are outstanding. You can watch it here!
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Amber Rose Revah (born 24 June 1986) is a British actress, writer, and voice artist.
Revah is best known for playing the roles of Dinah Madani in Marvel’s The Punisher and as Mary Magdalene in the box office hit Son of God. She played Leena Prasad in two seasons of the Channel 4 and PBS series Indian Summers with Julie Walters, and appeared in From Paris With Love opposite John Travolta. She voices Nazhedja in The Waylanders Video Game and has been the voice of Jaguar branding since 2018.
Based on Alex Scarrow’s bestselling apocalyptic thriller, LASTLIGHT will thrust audiences into a world of chaos, as the world’s oil ceases to function correctly, and all means of power & communication begin to fail. The series stars Matthew Fox (Lost), making his series acting return after 12 years alongside, Joanne Froggatt (Liar, Downton Abbey), Alyth Ross (Traces, Emerald), Taylor Fay (Judge Rinder, The Making of Alex), Amber Rose Revah (The Punisher), Victor Alli (Belfast, Grantchester), Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things) and Hakeem Jomah (Rashash, Kidnap). Dennie Gordon serves as Executive Producer and Director of all five episodes.
Logline: The series is based on the novel LastLight written by Alex Scarrow, which tells the story of a family fighting to survive during the fallout of an oil crisis.
Cast:
Matthew Fox (Lost) will play Andy Yeats, an ex-pat living in London, and one of the world’s leading petro-chemical engineers.
Joanne Froggatt (Liar, Downton Abbey) will play Elena Yeats, Andy’s smart, caring, and beautiful wife. When her son, Sam, was diagnosed with a progressive, degenerative eye disease, she gave up her thriving professional career and put considerable energy and ability toward finding a cure.
Alyth Ross (Traces, Emerald) will play Laura Yeats, a passionate and informed university student committed to confronting the mounting crisis of climate change and finding a solution to helping the planet.
Taylor Fay (Judge Rinder, The Making of Alex) will play Sam Yeats. Eight-year-old Sam is fighting a degenerative eye disease that is slowing taking away his sight.
Amber Rose Revah (The Punisher) will play Mika Bakhash, a representative for the British government.
Victor Alli (Belfast, Grantchester) will play Owen Jones, a brilliant college student who has been working his way through school.
Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things) will play Karl Bergmann. Karl Bergmann works for the British Government and is the man Parliament and MI6 turn to when the world is thrown into chaos.
Hakeem Jomah (Rashash, Kidnap) will play Khalil Al-Qatani, the head of a big oil company.
Director: Dennie Gordon (All 5 episodes)
Executive Producers: Dennie Gordon, Matthew Fox, William Choi, Sydney Gallonde, Rikke Ennis, Patrick Renault, Diego Piasek, Patrick Massett, John Zinman
Co-Executive Producers: Rola Bauer and Steven Johnson
Producer: Veronika Lencova
Produced by: MGM International Television Productions in association with Peacock, Viaplay Group, MBC, Peacock and STAN.
Format: 5 x 45 min episodes, limited drama series.
Interview with Joanne Froggatt of “Last Light” on Peacock by Suzanne 8/30/22
It was great to interview Joanne. I’ve admired her work for years in British shows like “Robin Hood,” “Liar” and “Angela Black.” Of course, she’s most well known for “Downton Abbey,” but I never saw that one. She couldn’t have been nicer in our interview, as you’ll see. She does her usual great job in Peacock’s “Last Light,” which is a thriller. You can watch it here!
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Joanne Froggatt is a British actress. From 2010 to 2015, she portrayed Anna Bates in the ITV period drama series Downton Abbey. For this role, she received three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television in 2014.
Based on Alex Scarrow’s bestselling apocalyptic thriller, LASTLIGHT will thrust audiences into a world of chaos, as the world’s oil ceases to function correctly, and all means of power & communication begin to fail. The series stars Matthew Fox (Lost), making his series acting return after 12 years alongside, Joanne Froggatt (Liar, Downton Abbey), Alyth Ross (Traces, Emerald), Taylor Fay (Judge Rinder, The Making of Alex), Amber Rose Revah (The Punisher), Victor Alli (Belfast, Grantchester), Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things) and Hakeem Jomah (Rashash, Kidnap). Dennie Gordon serves as Executive Producer and Director of all five episodes.
Logline: The series is based on the novel LastLight written by Alex Scarrow, which tells the story of a family fighting to survive during the fallout of an oil crisis.
Cast:
Matthew Fox (Lost) will play Andy Yeats, an ex-pat living in London, and one of the world’s leading petro-chemical engineers.
Joanne Froggatt (Liar, Downton Abbey) will play Elena Yeats, Andy’s smart, caring, and beautiful wife. When her son, Sam, was diagnosed with a progressive, degenerative eye disease, she gave up her thriving professional career and put considerable energy and ability toward finding a cure.
Alyth Ross (Traces, Emerald) will play Laura Yeats, a passionate and informed university student committed to confronting the mounting crisis of climate change and finding a solution to helping the planet.
Taylor Fay (Judge Rinder, The Making of Alex) will play Sam Yeats. Eight-year-old Sam is fighting a degenerative eye disease that is slowing taking away his sight.
Amber Rose Revah (The Punisher) will play Mika Bakhash, a representative for the British government.
Victor Alli (Belfast, Grantchester) will play Owen Jones, a brilliant college student who has been working his way through school.
Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things) will play Karl Bergmann. Karl Bergmann works for the British Government and is the man Parliament and MI6 turn to when the world is thrown into chaos.
Hakeem Jomah (Rashash, Kidnap) will play Khalil Al-Qatani, the head of a big oil company.
Director: Dennie Gordon (All 5 episodes)
Executive Producers: Dennie Gordon, Matthew Fox, William Choi, Sydney Gallonde, Rikke Ennis, Patrick Renault, Diego Piasek, Patrick Massett, John Zinman
Co-Executive Producers: Rola Bauer and Steven Johnson
Producer: Veronika Lencova
Produced by: MGM International Television Productions in association with Peacock, Viaplay Group, MBC, Peacock and STAN.
Format: 5 x 45 min episodes, limited drama series.
I decided to watch Monarch after I saw some video clips of the show which made me think that it was going to be a nighttime soap opera. While I really enjoy daytime soaps, I also enjoy nighttime soaps if they are good and Monarch is very good.
The show centers around the first family of country music the Roman family, which seems like a family who is living the American dream, but behind closed doors everyone in the family is hiding secrets.
The Matriarch of the family is Dottie Roman (Susan Sarandon) who is facing a battle with cancer and how she handles that battle with cancer will leave a lasting impact on her family especially her daughter Nicolette “Nicky” Roman. Dottie’s husband Albie Roman (Trace Atkins) loves his wife, children, and singing but he hates the business side of the music industry. Albie and Dottie will do whatever they have to do to protect their family image as the first family of country music.
The show premiered its first episode on Sunday, September 11, 2022, but will debut in its regular time slot on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, at 9 PM Eastern time 8 PM Central time on Fox.
If you missed the first episode it is worth going to ABC.com or Hulu to watch it. This show is full of twists and turns that keep viewers guessing what will happen next and gives you the classic soap staple the cliff hanger. The first episode is full of classic country song covers, but the show also plans to have original country songs in it.
I give this show 5 out of 5 stars and I will be watching it every week.
Interview with Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and contestants of “America’s Got Talent” on NBC by Suzanne 8/9/22
This was a fun night (but very long). Members of the press were invited to watch the live show (Quarterfinals) and then interview some of the judges and most of the contestants! It was very entertaining – even if it did go on for 4 hours! I don’t normally watch shows like this, but I loved it. I can’t wait for the one coming up August 16! These comments below are just my impressions from watching them. All of these artists worked very hard on their acts. I feel bad for the ones that didn’t make it to the next round.
Heidi Klum
There were two judges there, but Heidi Klum was the one I was able to speak to (see Howie Mandel below). She was very funny and went on for quite a while.
Howie Mandel
It was great to see Howie because I used to watch him on “St. Elsewhere” years ago when I was in college. Great show, but he’s really come a long way. He was hilarious in this chat.
Amazing Veranica & Her Incredible Friends
Here are my favorites of the acts. I was really hoping this girl would go on to the next round because her act was so adorable. She’s only 12 years old! Learn More about herInstagram
Players Choir
I thought these guys would go on to the next round because they’re very talented. They sing, dance and put on a great show! The crowd clearly loved them. What a great idea to have a choir made out of NFL players! We only got to see a few of them on Zoom, though, because it’s a big group. Learn MoreInstagram
Avery Dixon
This guy is not only very talented and has a great story, but he puts on a great show and has a lot of charisma. I wasn’t too surprised when he went on to the next round because you could tell the judges really liked him. Official SiteInstagram
Don McMillan
There were two comedians among the contestants. They were both OK, but I didn’t think either of them was outstanding. Don was slightly funnier, I thought, than the other one. Both of them are professionals who perform standup regularly, so what do I know? Official SiteInstagram
Lace Larrabee
Lace was funniest, I thought, when she was fighting with Simon during the show, and in our interview, where she was clearly still very angry with him. Like Don above, she is a professional comic. I don’t think you can fight with the judges, though, and expect to go on to the next round…? Maybe that’s just me. She’s a very busy woman, based in Atlanta. I will say that she has a sharp wit. I would watch her in a good sitcom. Official SiteInstagram
Drake Milligan
I wasn’t as excited about this act as everyone else. To me, he’s just another pretty-boy country singer… but then, I’m not really into country music. The judges and crowd seemed to love him, and he was the other one selected to go on to the next round. He has an album coming out in September, and he’s already going places. Official SiteInstagram
Ben Lapidus
This guy does comedy-singing. He thinks he’s a lot funnier than he is. The audience seemed to like him, but I’m not sure why. My question got cut off of the video for some reason. I asked him if he was influenced by “Weird Al” Yankovic. His bit is singing about Parmesan. Sorry, I’m allergic to dairy! Official SiteInstagram
Oleksandr Yenivatov and Aurélie Yenivatov
Oleksandr is a contortionist, which is a very unusual act. He’s also got a weird-looking face and looks kind of creepy (which he plays to). Aurélie is his wife and partner in the show, and they’re circus performers by trade. It’s a very strange act, but I didn’t think he would win because it’s a little unpleasant to watch. He’s from Ukraine, so he mentions that a lot. In this interview, which was the last one of the night, they paired them with dancers (below). Learn MoreInstagram
Stefanny and Yeeremy
These dancers from Colombia did a great job, but they were nothing special, so I didn’t think they would go on to the next round, either. Unfortunately, the interview was difficult because most of them had very limited English. Learn MoreInstagram
Amoukanama
This is a group of acrobats from a circus in Guinea. They were very good, but they didn’t really wow the crowd or judges. Official SiteInstagram
Ava Swiss
Ava is a pop singer. She’s fine, but she wasn’t outstanding. Her back-story is interesting because she was a survivor of a high school shooting in Oxford, Michigan, last November. Tragically, there are so many mass shootings now in the U.S. that it hardly stands out (not enough to give her any help in the competition). She was judged on her talent more than her sad backstory. Learn MoreInstagram
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The 17th season of “America’s Got Talent” returns with a new set of aspiring performers looking to compete for the ultimate $1 million prize. Executive producer Simon Cowell returns to the star-studded judging panel with global fashion icon Heidi Klum, fan-favorite comedian Howie Mandel and acclaimed actress and international superstar Sofia Vergara. The dynamic Terry Crews returns as host. This season promises to deliver some of the wildest acts to ever grace the “AGT” stage. Official Website
August 2, 2022
New Supersized Format Means More Acts Than Ever Before Are Set to Compete for $1 Million Prize
“America’s Wildcard” Is Back as Fans Choose an Additional Act to Advance to the Live Shows
“America’s Got Talent,” summer’s most-watched show for the 17th straight year, returns to the Pasadena Civic Center for six weeks of live shows beginning Tuesday, Aug. 9 (8-10 p.m. ET/PT)on NBC. Results shows will air Wednesday nights (8-9 p.m. ET/PT).
In a series first, there will be 55 acts, divided into five qualifying rounds, that will perform live for “America’s Got Talent” judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and host Terry Crews. Voting is more important than ever before, as each week, only two acts of the 11 that perform will move directly into the finale – both acts will be decided by viewers from the overnight vote.
These top 10 finalists will be joined by an 11th act – a “Final Wildcard” – chosen by the viewers in an Instant Save on Wednesday, September 7th. This vote will consist of four eliminated Live Show acts, each selected by one of the judges.
The top 11 finalists will compete one last time for America’s vote and the chance to win a $1 million prize during the two-night finale on Sept. 13 & 14. The winner will also perform in “America’s Got Talent Las Vegas LIVE” at Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Below are the 54 acts the judges selected for the live shows, including a wide variety of singers, dancers, comedians, contortionists, magicians and more.
“America’s Wildcard” spot is back with four acts in contention for the final spot in the live shows. Viewers can go to NBC.com or the “AGT” app to rewatch the four performances and vote for their favorite contestants. Voting is open from Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 7 p.m. ET until Friday, Aug. 5 at 7 a.m. ET. The winning act will perform on the live show on Tuesday, Sept. 6 (8-10 p.m. ET/PT).
Throughout the live shows, viewers of “America’s Got Talent” will have a chance to vote for their favorite act at NBC.com/AGTVote and via the “AGT” App (available through Google Play and on the App Store).
“America’s Got Talent” was created by Simon Cowell and is co-produced by Fremantle and Syco Entertainment. Simon Cowell, Sam Donnelly and Jason Raff are the executive producers. “America’s Got Talent” is the #1 most-watched program across TV and streaming of the summer with 966 million video views across all of its social accounts.
Auditions for the next season of “America’s Got Talent” are currently underway. Interested acts can visit www.AGTAuditions.com to submit a video online or to receive updates about the upcoming in-person open call auditions.
Heidi Klum serves as a judge on NBC’s hit summertime series “America’s Got Talent.”
Born in Germany, Klum began modeling at the age of 19 and shortly thereafter she appeared on the cover of the 1998 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue which then propelled her career. Klum’s many titles now include supermodel, producer, entrepreneur, television personality, actress, author and fashion designer and she has continued to make an impact across various industries. In 2013, she won an Emmy Award as Outstanding Television Host for her longtime hit, “Project Runway.”
Klum launched her most recent endeavor alongside her frieend Tim Gunn as co-creator, host and executive producer of Amazon Prime Video’s new fashion competition series, “Making the Cut.” Twelve talented designers competed to take their fledging brands to the next level with all the winning looks were shoppable on Amazon.
Klum is also the executive producer and host of “Queen of Drags,” which premiered in Germany in 2019, alongside drag queen Conchita Wurst and German singer Bill Kaulitz of the band Tokio Hotel.
Klum was the host and co-creator of “Project Runway” and also served as an executive producer for 16 seasons. Under Klum’s tenure, the show received 14 consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition program, which is the second-most nominations in the category’s history. Klum is also the host and executive producer of “Germany’s Next Top Model,” a runaway hit for 15 seasons.
Author of lifestyle book “Body of Knowledge: 8 Rules of Model Behavior” as well as “Rankin’s Heidilicious” and “Heidi Klum by Rankin,” featuring some of her favorite photos taken by world-renowned photographer Rankin.
Klum’s acting appearances include “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Blow Dry,” “Ella Enchanted,” “Spin City,” “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Sex and the City,” “Sesame Street” and a voiceover for “Hoodwinked Too.” She also swam with sharks for an episode for Discovery Channel’s popular “Shark Week” and hosted Lifetime’s “Seriously Funny Kids.” She hosted the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards and has hosted various specials for MTV, TNT and CBS.
Klum has been the face of numerous brand campaigns over the years, worked with many of the world’s top photographers and has graced the cover of every major magazine across the globe.
Known for her epic Halloween bash and earning the nickname Queen of Halloween for her unpredictable, over the top costumes, this October marked the 20th anniversary of Heidi Halloween.
Klum’s charity involvements include work on behalf of such organizations as UNICEF, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the American Red Cross (as part of its Celebrity Cabinet), God’s Love We Deliver, amfAR and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Klum also appears in PSAs for Stand Up to Cancer.
Howie Mandel
Judge, “America’s Got Talent”; Host/Executive Producer, “Deal or No Deal”
Howie Mandel begins his 12th season as a judge on NBC’s summer hit “America’s Got Talent.”
Mandel hosts the podcast “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” alongside his daughter. He recently finished production on his new documentary, “Howie Mandel: But Enough About Me.” Other recent projects include judging NBC’s “America’s Got Talent: The Champions,” CNBC’s “Deal or No Deal,” where he served as executive producer and host, and Nat Geo’s “Wild’s Animals Doing Things,” where he co-hosted with his son Alex. He also executive produced the Quibi series “Kirby Jenner.”
In 2019 he released his first solo special in 20 years, “Howie Mandel Presents: Howie Mandel at the Howie Mandel Comedy Club.” In 2020 he teamed up with ePlay Digital and launched the charity “Breakout the Masks,” and mobile game campaign to give back to those involved in the fight against COVID-19. Via Howie’s Games, the first challenge is Outbreak, where players’ points translate to donations of N95 face masks, portable ventilators, gloves and other personal protective equipment to doctors, nurses and more frontline workers. The second game, SwishAR, has users looking for Mandel to join in a backyard basketball game to shoot hoops. Both games are available on the Apple App store and Google Play.
His additional projects as a host, actor, and/or executive producer include “Take It All” and “Howie Do It” for NBC, “Deal With It” for TBS and “Mobbed” for Fox. Previously, Mandel received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program for “Deal or No Deal” and a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Game Show Host for the syndicated version of the show. Mandel’s versatile career has encompassed virtually all aspects of the entertainment spectrum, including television, film and stage. From his work on the Emmy Award-winning “St. Elsewhere,” to the international animated children’s series “Bobby’s World,” Mandel has become a mainstay of the American comedy scene.
In 2009, Mandel added author to his resume when he released his frank, funny and no-holds-barred memoir, “Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me.” The memoir revealed his ongoing struggle with OCD and ADHD, and how it has shaped his life and career. It made the New York Times bestseller list on its first week and remained on the list for several consecutive weeks. Mandel has done countless comedy specials both on cable and network television. He has also hosted his own syndicated talk show, “The Howie Mandel Show” and continues to be a mainstay on the talk show circuit. He also continues to perform as many as 200 stand-up comedy shows each year throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Season 17 premiere: Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Host: Terry Crews
Judges: Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara
Created by: Simon Cowell
Executive producers: Simon Cowell, Sam Donnelly and Jason Raff
Executive in charge: Mike Hofferth
Co-executive producers: Ke’alohi Lee Lucero, Adam Shapiro
Senior supervising producers: Nigel Caaro, Emma Greenhalgh, Meg MacGregor and Lev Mergian
Supervising producers: Susan A. Moyer, Michelle Taylor
Senior producers: Chris Crawford (post), Kayla DePew (acts)
Producers:
Maureen Biegas (post), Dan Bowen (post), Kristin Campbell-Taylor (reality), Jamie Citron, Kelsey Cornell (reality), Miles Crowe (post), Courtney Harrell, Jasmine C. Leyva (reality), Jon Menell (post), Liza Pablico, John Piermarini, Bryan Riches (field), Alevil Rincones (post), Cory Smith (reality) and Joe Warwick (reality)
Associate producers: Keith Glidewell (reality), Angela Green (reality), Christa Irvin, Anjali John, Brianna Solo (reality), Zach Stern (reality), Nicolas Villamar (reality) and James Zukor (reality)
Line producer: Chase Marbumrung
Director: Russell Norman
Associate directors: Carrie Havel , Debbie Palacio and Marty Pasetta Jr.
Associate director/production supervisor:
Casey B. Davis
Production designer: Joe O’Neil, Florian Wieder
Music supervisor: Meryl Ginsberg
Music coordinator: Christa Irvin
Digital producers: Nick Berry, Anthony Scott, Ausrine Plioplys and Ever Pabon Torres
Art director: Gregg Rainwater
Lighting designer: Noah Mitz
Lighting directors: Michael Berger, Bryan Klunder
Origination: Los Angeles
Series produced by: Fremantle and Syco Entertainmen
Friday, September 9 is the last date that “Days of Our Lives” will air on NBC! We’re sure you’ve already heard this by now. It’s moving to PeacockTV! It will start airing there Sept. 12.
Feeling lost? Don’t worry, we’re all in this same boat! Most of us didn’t grow up with streaming technology and streaming TV shows. We’re here to help you. We know – you just want to keep watching your favorite soap, but you’re not sure how this all works.
First, you might find your answers here in this article about streaming. Go read that first! Don’t worry if it’s still confusing.
PeacockTV is a streaming service owned by NBC/Universal. They also own NBC, Syfy, USA Network, E! Telemundo and other cable networks. PeacockTV is neither a broadcast network like NBC, nor is it a cable network like the others. It’s online only; AKA streaming. That means you must have some kind of internet in order to access it. Now, you may have that internet already and not realize it. If you’re on Facebook, do email, or get Netflix on your SmartTV, then you probably already have it.
If you’re completely confused about all of this, I would recommend that you find someone you know that is tech-savvy (possibly a son, daughter, nephew, niece or grandchild, or whomever you call when you have computer or electronic problems) and get them to set it up for you. It will save you a lot of hassle and headaches.
Now, you may decide that it’s too expensive to have a streaming service. That’s up to you, of course. You may also consider getting rid of your cable or satellite and just having a few streaming services. Some of them, like HULU and YouTube, have live TV… not just movies and TV shows that you can watch any time. Also, a lot of services are doing bundling now to make them cheaper, so you might want to go to Google and research what options you have.
At any rate, “Days of Our Lives” is moving to PeacockTV as of Sept. 12 and will no longer be available on NBC at all. The upside is that you will probably be able to watch it sooner than you could before. Most TV shows on streaming drop in the early morning. Also, you can watch them at any time after that – no more having to use your DVR, DVD recorder or VCR if you want to keep a copy for later. Lastly, you can watch many older Days episodes as well as thousands of other shows.
There are three different choices for Peacock services: Free, Premium and Premium Plus. Unfortunately, you can’t watch Days on the Free plan. The whole reason they’re moving it to PeacockTV is because they can no longer afford to air it for free. (More on that below.) You can only watch it by subscribing to the Premium service, which is $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year if you pay ahead of time. The second one is cheaper. If you get Premium Plus, you will have no commercials. There are other benefits as well, so click on the link to see the options.
The easiest way to sign up is on a computer, if you have one. Go to https://www.peacocktv.com and put in your email address to sign up for the free service. From there, you can check it out and see how it works. OR you can scroll down and click on the purple boxes for Premium or Plus. This will take you to a page with a form to fill out. Once you’ve created your account, you’ll need to give them a credit card for the payment.
If you don’t have a computer, then you can use your phone or tablet. Simply download the Peacock app; once it’s installed, open it and register there the same way as described above. If you have an Android device, then you can find apps in the Play Store. If you have an Apple iPhone or iPad, then your apps are in iTunes. (Again, you can get help from someone if you don’t know how to do this) Android has help, and so does Apple. Your cell phone provider may also be of help. For instance, if your phone is with Verizon, you can phone Verizon technical support for help.
If you want to watch Peacock on your TV, then you’ll need a Smart TV or some external device that attaches to your TV, such as a ROKU or Firestick. These are pretty cheap. You can find them very cheap at Wal-Mart or Amazon.
Once you have it hooked up, and you’re watching PeacockTV, do a search for “Days of Our Lives” if it’s not already showing up near the top. When you’re there in the Days section, Click on “My Stuff” and then you’ll always have it there in that list, easy to access.
If you need any help, you go to their help page. If you can’t find what you need there, go to this page for live chat or to send them a message. Feel free to contact us if you need further help!
If you already have the free Peacock plan, then you need to upgrade. There should be a link on the Peacock app or site on your device that says “account” or if you’re on a computer, go to https://www.peacocktv.com/account/plans Click on “change or cancel plans.” It should be obvious from there…. if you’re on the free version, you might have to add your credit card in order to upgrade.
There are many rumors flying around the internet about this move. NBC/Universal is not trying to be “greedy.” They have a business to run, like anyone else. They’re in the TV business. Whenever they air a TV show, they have pay for it by getting money from sponsors (commercials). If the show’s ratings are too low, then they can’t get money from the sponsors. Their local affiliates will not want to air low-rated shows, either. If they can get more money by airing local shows or re-runs, they will. By moving Days to Peacock, they’re trying to save it rather than cancel it. They’re well aware that it has a long history and millions of fans worldwide. However, right now barely over a million people actually watch it every day. (It’s not just Days that has low ratings – all the daytime soaps are doing poorly in the ratings) They’re hoping that moving it to Peacock will bring more subscribers and more viewers to the show. Boycotting NBC or sending them nasty letters will not do any good (even if that makes you feel good).
I’m sure that the network is sad that they will lose some viewers because some won’t be able to watch Days any more because they can’t afford the extra fee or because they don’t have dependable internet. They didn’t have a choice, though, to keep it on NBC… it was this or cancel it. They’re a business and must sometimes make these tough decisions. It’s not fair, we know…but it’s not fair to expect them to keep losing money, either.
Interview with Grace Caroline Currey of the movie “Fall” by Suzanne 8/10/22
It was really great to speak with this lovely young actress who stars in “FALL.” She is outstanding in this exciting movie. You don’t want to miss it; it comes out tomorrow, August 12. Trailer
You might recognize her from one of her many TV shows and movie appearances. She’s probably best known for playing Mary in the “Shazam!” movies. The second one comes out later this year. I can’t wait because I love superhero movies, and the first one was pretty good.
When she was younger, she played the young Natalie Wood in the TV miniseries “The Mystery of Natalie Wood”; and she played the young Melinda in “Ghost Whisperer“; and she played the young Victoria in “Revenge“! Those are some of my favorite shows. Now that she’s older, she can play so many different roles and has many movies coming out.
MORE INFO:
Grace Caroline Currey (Becky)
Grace Caroline Currey has been in back-to-back films across every genre. Grace
stars as the lead in the Lionsgate adventure thriller, FALL, directed by Scott Mann
and set to hit theaters August 12, 2022. Next up for Grace is her portrayal of
Superhero Mary/Mary Bromfield in the Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment franchise
sequel, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, set to hit screens December 21, 2022. Prior to
that she starred in New Line’s popular Conjuring franchise, Annabelle:
Creation. Grace brings her boyfriend home to meet the parents in the rom com, Most
Guys Are Losers, based on the best-selling book, which was recently released in
theaters. She has studied at the renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in
London and was nominated for Best Actress at the Milan International Film Festival
for her role in Badland, an indie feature with Vinessa Shaw. She is also a level 6
ballerina to boot!
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Dropping in Theaters Only on August 12, 2022
PRODUCTION NOTES
RUNNING TIME: 107 minutes
RATING: PG-1
SYNOPSIS
For best friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner), life is all about conquering fears and pushing limits. But after they climb 2,000 feet to the top of a remote, abandoned radio tower, they find themselves stranded with no way down. Now Becky and Hunter’s expert climbing skills will be put to the ultimate test as they desperately fight to survive the elements, a lack of supplies, and vertigo-inducing heights in this adrenaline-fueled thriller from the producers of 47 Meters Down. Costarring Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
A nerve-shredding, knuckle-whitening, vertigo-inducing action thriller, FALL tells the
terrifying tale of climbers Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia
Gardner) who ascend the abandoned 2,000-ft B67 TV Tower in the California desert
as a means of moving on from the death of Becky’s husband Dan (Mason Gooding)
in a climbing accident a year earlier. But when the tower’s external ladder gives way,
the two best friends find themselves stuck on a platform at the top. Too high to use
their cell phones to ring for help, the pair must find a way down. Or die trying.
FALL began life as a short film idea hatched by British-born, L.A.-based
writer-director Scott Mann (Heist) and his regular cowriter Jonathan Frank (The
Tournament) in response to a production company’s call for experiential shorts.
“They were looking at experiential shorts, action thrillers, and we pitched this,” recalls
Mann. “We got so excited about the idea of the fear of falling and the horror of
heights, that it almost wrote itself for 25-30 pages. They wanted to make it, but then
the whole thing shut down.”
With the short film series cancelled, Mann and Frank decided to expand their
idea into a feature, on spec, and see if they could get it set up somewhere else.
“We’ve written specs before, but this was the most fun to write because the two of us
kind of lived it and acted it out as we went on, trying to think what we would do in the
situation that the girls find themselves in,” continues Mann who built a paper version
of the platform at the top of the tower so he and Frank could perch on it, “to figure
out what to do and really play on the horror and tension. We wanted it to be the
ultimate fear-of-heights movie, so we looked at previous films and wrote the script
accordingly.”
Among those cinematic references were Martin Campbell’s 2000 survival
thriller Vertical Limit, Brad Bird’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, in which Tom
Cruise’s Ethan Hunt scales the outside of the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai,
and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin’s incredible Oscar®-winning
documentary Free Solo which detailed Alex Honnold’s quest to climb El Capitan in
Yosemite National Park without ropes (2018, Documentary, Feature – Elizabeth Chai
Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill).
“The experience of watching Free Solo was a big influence,” Mann recalls. “It
got me thinking about the psychology of the fear of heights as opposed to just a
visual medium because in Free Solo you are with the character, you can hear him
breathe and the reflectance of fear is where it’s at. There’s a psychological fear I
think we all go through at heights. Even a lot of climbing videos on the internet tap
into that well. It’s the reaction, the ‘Oh my God, oh my God’ that influenced how Fall
would eventually play out. From an experiential point of view, you’ve got to put
yourself through the eyes of the character, be with them, and then you climb it with
them. So, you’ve done it together. What we wanted to get was a feeling of being raw
and real at height and very human. So that was the backbone of it all.”
One of the things that makes FALL unique is its location. Namely, the real-life
2,000-foot-high B67 TV tower — the fourth highest structure in the U.S. “What we
found was there were a lot of internet videos of daredevils doing crazy stuff, but they
were usually climbing things like cranes,” explains Mann. “So, we said, let’s find
somewhere that would be the ultimate place to get stuck, and we came across this
tower in California. When you’re at the bottom looking up, the tower seems to go out
into infinity, into the clouds. It is a marvel of architecture. And being in the desert,
made for a very barren, difficult place to survive in the first instance, let alone 2,000
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Initially, both the short script and Mann and Frank’s first draft of the feature
version focused on a boyfriend-girlfriend couple stuck on the tower, but for the
second draft they decided to center the story on two female friends, with Becky
losing her husband Dan at the start of the film in a tragic climbing accident and being
unable to cope. The character was inspired by a member of Mann’s wife’s family
whose husband had died young. “It’s quite personal,” says Mann. “It was the first
time someone my age, in my family, had died. And I’d seen her go through a lot of
the things Becky goes through in the script; finding the strength and the will to live
after such a world-changing loss. Also, Covid was rearing its head when we wrote
this, and the world was going into this grief-stricken place that felt more relevant as
we went forward.”
“Becky and her husband are adventuring types,” says Grace Caroline Currey
who plays her. “They love to climb and push their limits and seek out extraordinary
experiences, and at the start of the film we have a very different Becky to the one we
meet post Dan’s accident. She’s consumed with grief, loss, a lack of self and a lack
of desire to live, and through the film Becky finds her fight again and wants to live.
Scott had mentioned she was largely based on his brother-in-law’s widow and how
she survived him. They were this adventure couple, although he died of cancer.”
Becky’s best friend Hunter is a daredevil YouTuber who has her own reason
to be devasted by Dan’s death. “Hunter is a vlogger,” reveals Virginia Gardner who
plays her, “so I watched a lot of YouTube and Instagram influencer videos for some
ideas on her larger-than-life influencer persona ‘Danger D.’ But we wanted to keep
her grounded as well. And we learn there is more than meets the eye to Hunter.”
As with Becky, Hunter was also inspired by a real person, in this case one of
Mann’s wife’s friends. “We used her as the basis,” he admits, “but it is a friend type
that I see a lot, the adventurer who is always searching for something, but is not sure
what. The idea was that Becky retracted, went internal and went into herself, while
Hunter escaped and ran away. They’re two very different personality types who,
typically, become best friends because they need each other’s dynamics, but,
obviously, deal with death and trauma differently.”
THE BIG-SCREEN EXPERIENCE
From the beginning, Mann envisioned FALL as a movie, a film made for the big
screen. “I wanted to do something that had genuinely theatrical potential,” he
reflects. The idea with this was to really go for it.”
“This is a unique experience that you have to see in theatres,” says producer
James Harris (47 Meters Down). “It’s like a ride. Vertigo is one of our biggest fears,
and this film maximises it.”
Given that most of FALL takes place on a small, circular platform at the top of
a 2,000-foot TV tower, Mann wrestled with the best way to make his movie. Initially,
Mann considered using a version of the Volume — the ground-breaking curved LED
screen backdrop on which digital environments are displayed — that had been
pioneered for the first season of the Star Wars/Disney+ show “The Mandalorian.”
“We looked at designing a ‘Mandalorian’ stage that you could look down upon, which
would give you a depth background. But there are limitations to that technology
which meant it wasn’t going to work out.” Plus, there was the budgetary issue. “It’s
enormously expensive to do.”
The second option was to find a mountain where Mann could build the upper
portion of the tower, then film the actors on it against a real background, which
because of the height and positioning would make them appear to be thousands of
feet in the air. “Then you’re able to look down and it’s only from certain angles that
you see the ground is there,” he continues. “Originally, I wanted to do it next to a
steep drop.”
This practical approach required his two leads to not only be able to climb for
real, but more importantly, have a head for heights. During the audition process,
Mann would show Becky and Hunter auditionees a sketch of the proposed tower
built on the edge of a cliff, and tell them they would be up there for real. “In an effort
to weed out the real ones from the fake ones, I would tell them, ‘You’re going to be
really high up so bear that in mind.’ I tried to scare them into being serious about the
fact they were going to be on top of a mountain. And that did weed out people who
weren’t fit for the purpose. I could see it in their eyes, even though they said, ‘I could
do that.’ I was thinking, ‘You can’t.’ The honest ones, like Grace and Ginni, were like,
‘This sounds f**ed up and terrifying, but I’ll give it a go.’”
“I read the script and thought it was really exciting and exhilarating and would
require a lot of discipline,” remembers Currey, whose credits include Shazam!,
Annabelle: Creation, and TV’s “Revenge.” “Scott told me how much he wanted to
shoot practically which is the kind of stuff you hope to work on, something
immersive, that really makes you feel like you’re there. He was gauging to see if I’d
be able to cope with it, but I have a background in dance, so the technical nature of it
really appealed to me. I did go through a phase where I did have a membership at a
climbing gym, and I saw a lot of parallels between climbing and dance. I started
nerding out about climbing and how excited I was at the idea of what he was
proposing.”
“Scott made it clear it was going to be a very physical movie filmed on a real
60-foot tower. I told him I was so excited for the challenge and didn’t have a fear of
heights,” says Gardner, who costarred in TV’s “Runaways” as well as the 2018
Halloween reboot. “It also was right in the middle of Covid so the idea of being so
active and outside every day after being locked down for so long was very appealing.
I had done a lot of indoor rock climbing in the past and worked with a personal
trainer to make sure I would be able to handle the physical requirements.”
“We also discussed Becky and how easy it could be to have her come off too
despairing,” she continues, “because she has been through so much and there is so
much sadness and she is so paralyzed by her grief. And there are many moments
where she speaks up and says she can’t climb, she can’t do what’s in front of her, so
I expressed to Scott that I wanted to make sure she didn’t come off too complaining,
and you feel compassion for her, because you should.”
“Hunter is a rebel and Becky is the heart of the movie,” says Harris. “We went
through a very lengthy casting process and the chemistry between Ginni and Grace
was amazing.”
“I was lucky the financers and producers backed the idea of going for the best
actors, as opposed to the biggest names,” adds Mann, “because from a theatrical
point of view, the tower is the star.”
Because of Covid, all auditions needed to be done over Zoom. “Which was
awkward,” says Mann, “although a few of them did lock themselves up for a period to
do it together.”
“I expressed to Scott I don’t like auditioning, it makes me very uncomfortable,
how unnatural it is,” recalls Currey. “And because so many of Becky’s scenes are
with Hunter, he suggested we should do a chemistry read with the potential
Hunters.” A chemistry read is when actors audition with other potential cast. “I was
sent over a couple of names and one of those was Virginia Gardner, and so I
Instagram-stalked them, and slid into their DMs and said, did they want to practice
before our reads? Ginni responded right away, and she and I rehearsed the day
before our read. I immediately liked her so much and hoped she was going to be
Hunter, and I hoped I would be Becky. Later, Scott told us he felt the fact that we
pursued each other outside the chemistry read and rehearsed together spoke to how
we were going to apply ourselves to the film in general, so I guess preparation paid
off.”
“There were some good actresses who auditioned but what I found with
Grace and Ginni was they had great discipline,” recalls Mann. “Very different
dynamics as actors. Ginni’s extremely controlled, Grace is much more emotive and
method, but they had a real good chemistry and really helped each other. They just
seemed like friends, and they couldn’t help but bond.”
In the small but pivotal role of Becky’s husband Dan — who is killed in a
climbing accident in the opening sequence but whose presence looms large over the
film — is Mason Gooding, one of the stars of the latest Scream. “I loved his energy,”
says Mann of Gooding. “Again, it was a Zoom meeting, but I found him extremely
charismatic and honest. He had a vulnerable charisma about him I liked for Becky’s
partner, who’s a bit softer around the edges and is not your typical alpha male. I also
wanted someone you might think is going to be in the whole movie.”
“Mason is amazing,” adds producer Harris. “He’s going to be a superstar. We
were so lucky to have him.”
Rounding out the rest of the main cast is Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Becky’s
dad. “I’d worked with him and Robert De Niro on a film called Heist and had a great
time,” notes Mann. “I’ve always loved Jeff as an actor and became friends on that.
So, when we wrote the dad character, we literally wrote it for Jeff, thinking, ‘Okay,
who’s the most caring, empathetic, vulnerable dad you can pick out of a pile?’ It’s
Jeffrey Dean Morgan. And he was up for it.”
With his main cast in place, Mann set about rehearsing with his two leads at
ground level, knowing that once they were on location and up the tower, things
would be much trickier. Having utilized a paper platform during the writing stage to
act out the movie with Frank, Mann built a wooden one in his backyard and invited
Currey and Gardner over to play. “We blocked out the movie very thoroughly over
the course of a couple of days, so there was no doubt about any of it.”
“It was the platform and the pole, propped on some boxes or some crates and
we mostly spent the time figuring out how two people could possibly sleep on such a
small platform,” Currey recalls. “We played around with the different physical
configurations our bodies could make on the platform for it to be believable. If our
characters had been sitting for hours, how might they sit? There were also specific
scenes to block, like when Becky and Hunter discuss the affair. Scott had it in his
mind we would be back to back. And many of the scenes that required action and
movement we had to figure out beforehand because when we shot it, we were going
to be so high up and Scott would be far away, and it would have been very tricky to
figure out scenes in that circumstance. But because we blocked it ahead of time it
allowed for efficiency when it came to shooting.”
To recreate the lower portion of the tower on location, Mann approached the
designers of the real one in California that had been their inspiration during the
writing process and had them construct the first 15 feet in the desert just outside of
Los Angeles, in a place near Palmdale called Rocky Buttes. “They built a section of
tower on the ground there, which was safe, but we made it look rusty and
abandoned, and we had the girls climb up that,” recalls Mann. “And then, past a
certain point, it becomes a CGI extension.”
For the upper portion of the tower, Mann needed to find a mountaintop within
easy reach of Los Angeles, given they were planning to shoot while the U.S. was still
in the throes of Covid and there was uncertainty whether cast and crew were allowed
to stay in hotels overnight. “I would drive around in my wife’s SUV out to the desert,
to all these strange places I would find on Google maps, to try and find the correct
mountain with the right landscape,” he recalls. “Because you’re shooting outdoors,
you’ve got to consider where the sun is, the cinematography of it, everything. Also,
how do you get a Technocrane [a telescopic camera crane] up a mountain?”
Eventually, after several weeks, Mann found the perfect spot in Shadow
Mountain near Victorville. “It’s in the middle of nowhere,” he says. “But frankly, on the
top of that mountain, when you’re looking out, filming it for real, it looks amazing.”
BATTLING THE ELEMENTS
Once the mountaintop location was chosen, production designer Scott Daniel
(Wrong Turn) built two different towers of varying height, the tallest being around 60
feet, not including the final section with the light, as well as a five-foot high platform
for shooting closeups. “We were limited by engineering how high you could make it,
what we could get up there safely and construct to make it safe,” explains Mann of
the main tower. “Also, there was a limit on the height of the Technocrane which only
goes 70 or 80 feet up. If we made it too high, we wouldn’t get the look down and the
swing round, so we reduced its height.”
Even so, it was still plenty high. “Obviously, with actors we must be very
careful, and everything must be safe, but when you were climbing up it was quite
scary,” says Mann. “The first time I went there with Ginni and Grace I went first, so I
wasn’t asking it just of them. I remember climbing that ladder all the way at the top,
and it’s hard to get on the top, because there’s a ridge and you must really trust the
fact that if you do fall, you’re attached with a wire that’s going to save you. But I
remember getting up there, thinking, oh my God, that’s horrible, because when you
look out, your mind says, I’m 2,000 feet in the air, and you have to look back around
to realize, oh, it’s okay, there are people down there, 60 feet away. But when Grace
got to the top, she burst into tears. I think it was relief, because the other thing that
makes it feel very high is the wind, and the platform is rocking and swinging and
shaking. So they were very brave. And then from there it got easier.”
“When we first climbed up the tower, Scott went first, and in general
throughout the shoot, he did make sure to show us he was in it with us, which
speaks so much to the kind of director he is,” recalls Currey. “And when we got to
the top, there was a big relief. What was so exciting for me was seeing how high up
we were, feeling how strong the wind was, the elements, and the view was insane. It
was just this immersive feeling and I teared up because I felt so excited.”
“I remember the first climb being taxing and long,” says Gardner. “But the
more we did it the easier it got, although our hands were covered in blisters from so
much climbing. The first time we made it to the top Scott went first so we felt
confident. I remember how beautiful the sunset was and feeling the excitement and
adrenaline Hunter would be feeling in the moment when she reaches the top.”
Both actors wore harnesses which were attached to a safety cable that went
from the ground, up through the center column and out of the pole at the very top,
and back down again. “The characters having real harnesses on helped,” laughs
Mann. “Like, don’t take your harness off until this page [of the script.] So, if they’re
standing or moving around, they know if they fall, they’re safe, although the idea that
you’ve got to trust a tiny cable with your life is a little bit terrifying.”
What helped is that the riggers responsible were the same guys who did the
big tower stunt with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. “Our stunt
coordinator Ingrid Kleinig said, ‘I know the best riggers and they’re not working at the
minute because of Covid, so let’s see if they want to help us.’ And they came out and
did all the rigging. So each actor had their own safety person. The most special
effects in this movie arguably are the safety wire removals,” says Mann, who
estimates FALL has about a thousand visual effects shots, mostly wire removal and
also digitally erasing the mountain from shots and replacing it with aerial footage of
the flat desert at the tower’s base in Palmdale for downward-looking shots.
“Climbing the ladder for the first time, we were getting to know the wires and
the rigging,” says Currey. “The most important thing for me was to understand how it
worked. If I feel safe, the more trust I have to go for the stunts. So, we would sit into
our harnesses and feel the wire take our weight and know there’s this safety net
that’s always with you. Trust was a major component for us diving into so many of
our stunts. Without it, we wouldn’t have been so brave.”
While Currey and Gardner had their own stunt doubles — Alice Rietveld for
the former, Alice Ford for the latter — both did many of the stunts themselves,
including hanging off the platform one-handed to take a selfie. “They did all that stuff
themselves and it is quite terrifying,” says Mann. “But the more we see their faces,
the more we’re with them. Audiences know when it’s a stunt double. They can sense
it because you change your film grammar around it.
“One of my favorite shots in the movie is where Grace is hanging off the
ladder and the ladder comes down and she lets go. That’s really Grace doing that
whole shot, doing that full drop. Originally, I was planning to start with her, then have
the stunt double drop and do face replacement. But in the end, she was like, ‘I want
to do it,’ and she went for it. It was great that our leads loved the experience and felt
safe. The shot where Hunter first climbs down to lower the phone, that’s really Ginni
doing all that. And I hold that take as long as I can, because at one point, Ginni
almost slips. But those kinds of shots are physically demanding and Ginni and Grace
just went for it.”
“The stunts were a lot of fun,” says Currey. “They were athletic and required
work but were fun and invigorating. We were pushing our mental and physical
stamina each day. But I couldn’t be prouder knowing I gave it my all and had such a
wild experience. Ginni and I often look at each other and go, ‘Did that really happen?
That was insane.’ But we were given the time and the space to test the stunts out
and try them and rehearse them and understand them, which made all the difference
and really enabled us to have trust between the riggers, our stunt coordinator,
everyone involved. I felt safe to speak up and say, ‘This feels a little scary,’ and then
we’d figure out what I needed to do to feel I understood what I was doing.”
“The climbing scenes were challenging but it was so much fun to do it all
practically and not in front of a green screen,” agrees Gardner. “It added some real
grit to the scenes and made our lives easier as actors when we could interact with
the real environment. It’s not often you get to do so many of your own stunts, and
getting the thrill of falling off a building that high and hanging off with one hand was
an unforgettable experience! To get to shoot those scenes with the wind hitting our
faces and the sun beating on our backs and the ground so far below gives you the
feeling you’re in the situation. Also, so many of our scenes we are climbing up the
ladder, and so we would climb up and go up and down. Those scenes took days to
shoot, but I think the physical exhaustion of it made our job easier.”
To communicate with his two leads while they were perched on a tiny platform
60 feet off the ground required Mann to use a bullhorn. “I wouldn’t normally use one,
but it was too windy to talk via radio,” he recalls. “I also had a feed of their mics, so I
could always hear what they were saying.”
“Being directed by Scott with a bullhorn 60 feet below us was so funny,”
remembers Gardner. “He knew exactly what he wanted and would often play badass movie soundtracks on a loudspeaker while we were headed up the tower to get
us in the mood. If we were up there for a while, they would use a pulley system to
send up sunscreen and water.” But whenever there was something a bit more
intimate to film or discuss, Mann would hop a ride on a 70-foot cherry picker to lift
him up to platform level. “I could be beside them and the camera, and I could talk to
them, so it was a bit more normal. But it was very physical for me, for everyone,
scorching temperatures, crazy conditions.”
Partnering with Mann on making FALL as cinematic an experience as
possible was Spanish-born cinematographer MacGregor (Vivarium). “He was
amazing. He’s a director as well, is super talented and, like me, is into his
technology,” says Mann. “His rule to me was production value in a movie is dictated
by location. If you get the location right and you’re filming it for real, and you get the
sun in the right place and everything else, you don’t need anything else. You just film
the desert at the right time of day, and it looks incredible. This film has a low budget
for what it is. And it looks bigger than that because of that rule — filming real stuff.”
On the first day of shooting on the mountaintop, the weather turned nasty.
“The first day was a disaster,” remembers Mann. “It got really windy, windier than it
had been on any of the prep days. And at a certain point when the wind reaches 50
miles an hour, it’s too dangerous to be near that tower in case it blows over. So we
had to stop filming and get people in a safe place or off the mountain and there was
a threat the tower might collapse. There was a building at the top of the mountain, an
old radio hut, and we got everyone inside and there was a bloody sandstorm outside.
It was horrendous, like Dune or something. And then the low tower we built for
closeups blew away.”
“We had flying ant infestation, bee infestation, rain, thunder, lightning,
windstorms, the whole gamut,” remembers Currey. “You’re out there in nature and
nature is deciding when you shoot and when you don’t. I mean, we had to be very
careful being so high up on the tower because the winds would get intense, and if
they reached a certain speed, we had to climb down because it was too dangerous.
That was a little stressful at first, but eventually we understood we didn’t get to
dictate the schedule, the weather did. It felt like Indiana Jones. It felt like we were on
an adventure every day. The dirt, the dust, the grime. I took a selfie of myself on the
first day to send to my husband and I looked so fresh and chipper, and about 30
minutes later, being in the wind, I took another, and I am not chipper anymore.”
“It was crazy,” agrees producer Harris. “We were probably the first movie
made after Covid struck and we had those protocols plus all the plagues of the
Bible…it was crazy. But Capstone, our financiers, were very brave taking the risk
and plowing ahead.”
The remainder of the four-week mountaintop shoot was no less challenging,
with cast and crew pushed to their collective limits daily. “There were lots of physical
challenges, but we didn’t have any Covid cases the whole shoot,” says Mann. “Still,
we had about five hurricanes. There were fires nearby that blocked out the view. We
had several lightning incidents, and we had to be very careful because the girls were
standing on a big metal pole at the top of the mountain.”
The production also had to contend with a host of insects, including a swarm
of locusts and an infestation of bees. “After it rained, locusts collected inside the
tower and when we went to film, they all came out and we got swarmed on,” recalls
Mann. “Every other day we would have some physical or environmental disaster.
And we would just have to keep filming.”
“We had a lot of crazy issues at the beginning,” notes Gardner. “We had a
locust invasion and Scott had to use a massive vacuum-like device and suck up all
the bugs. Then we had a bee infestation. I got stung twice during takes. And to top it
all off, we had a thunder and rainstorm that almost ruined all our set dressing. But
we all had a great attitude about it and had to laugh it off and roll with the punches.”
Ultimately, Mann feels all the various environmental challenges were to the
film’s benefit. “They shifted the look of the movie,” he reveals. “At the time I thought,
this is disaster, because it’s all going to look completely different. But I’m glad of it
now. And my favorite moments in the movie are when we had something challenging
happen, like when it’s windy when our leads are on top. That’s real wind. As
everyone says, that’s free production value.”
While filming on a tower on top of a mountain exposed to the elements was
challenging enough, the final week of shooting, which mostly featured scenes in act
one — prior to Becky and Hunter’s tower climb — were among the hardest to
capture due to Covid. “The shoot for the tower element and the mountain we did in
one run and, apart from all the disasters, we got through it,” recalls Mann.
With Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a bubble shooting AMC’s “The Walking Dead” in
North Carolina, it was decided that Mann, Currey, and a small crew would fly to him,
build the bar set there, film the scene with Becky and her dad and then fly home to
L.A. But after Mann landed in North Carolina, he got a text from Currey saying she’d
come down with Covid, so she couldn’t travel. Rather than waste the trip and lose
the opportunity to shoot Morgan, Mann opted to build the bar set and film the scene
with Morgan with a double for Becky, before rebuilding the set four months later in
L.A. where Currey acted opposite a double for Morgan.
“So, the truth is, they never met in real life,” chuckles Mann, “and we filmed
both halves of that scene at different ends of the country. It was crazy. And one of
those filmmaking tricks we had to go through.”
CAST AND CREW BIOGRAPHIES
Scott Mann (Cowriter, Director)
Scott is a seasoned Hollywood director and producer, working with A-list talent on
several blockbuster films. His credits include Heist, Final Score, and The
Tournament. Mann has directed talent such as Robert De Niro, Pierce Brosnan,
David Bautista, Robert Carlyle, Kate Bosworth, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Bruce
Willis. Scott has been at the forefront of the visual effects domain for over 25 years
and has had a lifelong passion for science, innovation, and storytelling.
Virginia Gardner (Hunter)
Virginia Gardner is best known for starring as Karolina Dean in the Hulu original
series of Marvel’s “Runaways” and Vicky in Universal Pictures’ Halloween. She
made her feature debut as Christina Raskin in Paramount’s Project Almanac, and
since then has appeared in various films including Goat, Little Bitches, Monster
Party, Starfish, and All the Bright Places. In television, she can be seen in HBO’s
“The Righteous Gemstones,” FX’s “American Horror Stories,” and Starz’s “Gaslit.”
She will next be seen starring opposite Dylan Sprouse in Voltage’s Beautiful
Disaster.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan (James)
Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s charisma, undeniable charm, and versatility have landed him
a variety of prestigious films and television series working alongside award-winning
actors and filmmakers. Having worked nonstop the past few years, Morgan
continues to capture the attention of Hollywood and has emerged as one of the
industry’s most sought-after leading men.
Morgan can currently be seen in the hit AMC series, “The Walking Dead,” where he
made his debut in the final episode of season six as the infamous antagonist,
Negan. This performance earned him a 2016 Critics’ Choice Award for Best Guest
Performer in a Drama Series. He also won Best Villain at the 2017 MTV Movie and
TV Awards for his work in season seven. The 11th and final season of “The Walking
Dead” is currently airing on AMC.
Following the conclusion of “The Walking Dead”, Morgan will reprise his role of
Negan in the upcoming spin-off series “Isle of the Dead.” Along with Lauren Cohan
reprising her role as Maggie, “Isle of the Dead” will follow the pair through postapocalyptic Manhattan. Morgan and Cohan will also serve as executive producers on
the series that is set to premiere in 2023 on AMC.
Other recent projects include “Friday Night in with The Morgans”, which premiered in
April 2020 on AMC. The talk show was produced and hosted by Morgan and his
wife, Hilarie Burton Morgan, and was filmed from their home in upstate New York
during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the film side, recent credits
include Warner Brothers’ Rampage, directed by Brad Peyton, alongside Dwayne
Johnson and Naomie Harris; Walkaway Joe alongside David Strathairn and under
the direction of Tom Wright; The Postcard Killings with Famke Janssen for director
Danis Tanovic; and horror film The Unholy based on the best-selling James Herbert
novel Shrine.
Morgan began his career in television. In 2005 and 2006, he endeared himself to
television audiences worldwide with three concurrent recurring roles – on the CW
series “Supernatural” as John Winchester, on the ABC hit series “Grey’s Anatomy”
as transplant patient Denny Duquette, and on Showtime’s award-winning comedy
series “Weeds” as Judah Botwin, all of which made Morgan a universal fan favorite.
He then starred in the feature film P.S. I Love You with Hilary Swank and he
captivated genre fans as Edward Blake / Comedian in Watchmen for director Zack
Snyder, an adaptation of the iconic graphic novel. Morgan went on to star in The
Losers, an adaptation of DC-Vertigo’s acclaimed comic book series, produced by
Joel Silver and directed by Sylvain White, and in Ang Lee’s film Taking Woodstock.
He then appeared in the murder mystery Texas Killing Fields alongside Sam
Worthington, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Jessica Chastain.
Morgan’s additional feature film credits include Peace, Love & Misunderstanding
alongside Catherine Keener, Jane Fonda, and Elizabeth Olsen for director Bruce
Beresford; the thriller The Possession with Kyra Sedgwick for producer Sam Raimi;
Red Dawn, the reboot of the 1984 action movie; The Salvation with Eva Green and
Mads Mikkelsen which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival; Heist alongside
Robert De Niro; Solace opposite Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell, and Abbie Cornish;
Desierto alongside Gael García Bernal; and in 2016 he re-teamed with Zack Snyder,
making a cameo appearance in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
On the television side, Morgan’s additional credits include the award-winning CBS
series “The Good Wife,” the critically acclaimed Starz series “Magic City,” the CBS
series “Extant” alongside Halle Berry and produced by Steven Spielberg, and the
Emmy®-nominated History Channel miniseries “Texas Rising” with Bill Paxton and
Ray Liotta.
Morgan currently resides on a farm in Hudson Valley, New York, with his wife and
two children.
Mason Gooding (Dan)
Mason Gooding is quickly making a name for himself. He can currently be seen
starring in Hulu’s “Love, Victor” opposite Michael Cimino and Rachel Hilson. The
series, set in the world of the 2018 film Love, Simon, returned for its third and final
season on June 15.
This year, Gooding was seen starring in Paramount Pictures’ Scream alongside
Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jack Quaid, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, and
Dylan Minnette. He was also seen in the Amazon rom com I Want You Back
alongside Charlie Day and Jenny Slate and in Christopher Winterbauer’s Moonshot
for HBO MAX alongside Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse.
Upcoming, Gooding will be seen starring in Sam Hayes’ indie feature Pools
alongside Ariel Winter.
In 2021, Gooding lent his voice to QCODE Media’s neo-noir podcast series “Electric
Easy,” which featured original music from Kesha and Chloe Bailey. In
2019, Gooding starred in Olivia Wilde’s critically acclaimed Booksmart opposite
Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever. The film made its world premiere at the 2019
SXSW Film Festival where it was nominated for the Audience Award.
Later that year, he was seen in Netflix’s Let It Snow alongside Kiernan Shipka,
Odeya Rush, and Isabela Merced. The romantic comedy, based on the John Green
novel of the same name, was released in November 2019.
On the small screen, Gooding’s credits include: “Ballers,” “Everything’s Gonna Be
Okay,” “Star Trek: Picard,” and “The Good Doctor.”
Madison Beer (Songwriter, “I Have Never Felt More Alive”)
Following unprecedented success as an independent artist, rising pop star Madison
Beer released her major label album debut, Life Support, in early 2021. The album, a
strong personal and artistic statement, received acclaim from the likes of V
Magazine, Nylon, and NME who called it a “thrilling listen.” Life Support features
certified platinum single “Selfish,” and “Boyshit,” which Billboard said, “…makes a
late case for one of the best pop chorus openings of 2020.” The album saw Madison
continue to command creative through writing her own songs, producing, and
creating her own visuals. Most recently she released “Reckless,” the first track to
come from her next project. The song was her personal best streaming week debut
on Spotify and currently has over 222 million streams on the platform. Madison has
seen partnerships with beauty brands like Fenty Beauty and Morphe Cosmetics,
which she showcased in her edition of Vogue’s marquee video series “Beauty
Secrets.” Her episode is one of the highest-performing installments with over 12
million views on YouTube, and it went viral on TikTok, selling out the Morphe
products featured globally for six months. Madison is also the face of Victoria’s
Secret’s line of Tease Fragrances, with a campaign shot by legendary photographer
Mario Sorrenti. Currently, Madison has over 4.2 billion streams across her catalogue
globally and commands a highly engaged social following of over 32 million on
Instagram, 17 million on TikTok, and 3 million on Twitter.
CAST & CREW LIST
LIONSGATE AND CAPSTONE GLOBAL
PRESENT
A TEA SHOP PRODUCTION
A CAPSTONE STUDIOS PRODUCTION
IN ASSOCIATION WITH FLAWLESS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH COUSIN JONES
IN ASSOCIATION WITH BUZZFEED STUDIOS
Directed by
Scott Mann
Written by
Jonathan Frank & Scott Mann
Produced by
James Harris and Mark Lane
Scott Mann
Produced by
Christian Mercuri
David Haring
Director of Photography
MacGregor
Production Designer
Scott Daniel
Editor
Rob Hall
Original Score Composed and Produced by
Tim Despic
Supervising Sound Designers
Alex Joseph
David Barber, M.P.S.E.
Re-recording Mixer
David Barber, CAS
VFX Supervisor
Matt Gardocki
Costume Designer
Lisa Catalina
Casting by
Colin Jones
Line Producer
Brianna Lee Johnson
Executive Produced by
Roman Viaris
Barry Brooker
Executive Produced by
John Long
Dan Asma
Unit Production Manager
Brianna Lee Johnson
First Assistant Director
Doug Turner
Second Assistant Director
Tami Kumin
CAST
Becky Connor Grace Caroline Currey
Shiloh Hunter Virginia Gardner
Dan Connor Mason Gooding
James Connor Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Steve Jasper Cole
Randy Darrell Dennis
Police Officer Bamm Ericsen
Diner Server Julia Mitchell
Flower Girl Evie Mann
Page Boy Joseph Mann
Confused Truck Driver Nick Lynes
Bar Man Branden Currey
Associate Producer
Ashley Waldron
Stunt Coordinator / Second Unit Director Ingrid Kleinig
Assistant Stunt Coordinator Genevieve Aitken
Key Stunt Rigger Chris Daniels
Stunt Utility Anthony Genova
Stunt Utility Jess King
Becky Stunt Double Alice Rietveld
Hunter Stunt Double Alice Ford
Rock Climbing Consultant Tai Devore
Becky Climbing Double Miya Tsudome
Hunter Climbing Double Jennifer Poe
Dan Climbing Double Chip Powell
Opening Stunts
Stunt Coordinator T.J. White
Dan Stunt Double Matthew Osborn
Stunt Utility Hank Kingi Jr.
Stunt Utility Ken Fournier
Stunt Utility Jimmy Ramono
Stunt Utility Jennifer Caputo
Production Supervisor Annie B. Compton
Assistant Production Supervisor Turner Fair
Key Set PA Chloe Huckins
Set PA Trevor Messenger
Set PA Eddy Gudakov
A Cam Operator Nick Muller
2nd Unit DP/B Cam Operator Geoff George
A Cam First Assistant Camera Nicholas Kramer
Additional AC (A Cam) Jacob Rosenblatt
Second Assistant Camera Sasha Wright
B Cam 1st AC Litong Zhen
Digital Imaging Technician Jack Damon
Script Supervisor Barbara Abelar
Production Sound Mixer Chris Polczinski
Boom Operator Tasha Ladwig
Casting Associate Marta Noguera
SFX Boyd Lacosse
Gaffer Mike Van Meter
Best Boy Electric Mitch Pratt
Electric Ronnie Ausborne
Key Grip Jesse Curl
Best Boy Grip Angel Villarreal
Best Boy Grip Alex Harris
Grip Daniel Vlahos
Grip Austin Nelson
Key Grip Jason Younger
Best Boy Grip Mitch Elliott
Grip Ryker Wells
Grip Ivan Garcia
Art Consultant Gabor Norman
Prop Master Bryan Staerkel
Art PA Samuel Figueroa
Scenic Darren Cheeks
Techno Crane Op Brett Folk
Techno Crane Op Harrison Reilly
Techno Crane Op Corey Kiefer
Techno Crane Op Brian Shreiner
Drone Pilot Chase Ellison
Drone Pilot Justin Enrique
Department Head Make Up Erin Blinn
Additional Make Up Brittany White
Department Head Hair Lauren McKeever
Animal Wrangler Mark Schwaiger
Dog Wrangler Ali Santoro
Production Accountant Sue McGraw
Assistant Production Accountant Chelsea McGraw
Production Secretary Mellinda Hensley
Office Production Assistant Ali Pinkerton
Location Managers Derek Tramont
Mitchell Gutman
Permit Service Miles Per Gallon
Key Set Medic Lindsey Roberts
Health and Safety Manager Jerry TerHorst
Health and Safety PA Nicole Daley
Caterer Moore Culinary Services
Security Bruno Mora
NC Goods & Services Lighthouse Films
Brad Walker
Michelle Roca
Kendall Stetson
Vicka Hanson
Ash Christ
Mikel Barton
Michael “Shawn” Lewellan
Alan “Shorty” Swanson
Paige Marsicano
Ben Pellington
Adrian Kohann
Kristen Bell
Paul Sitler
Ashley Spillane
Aaron Kelly
Brielle Barozzini
Nico Guerra
Marco Guerra
Yukimi Bishop
Josiah Graf
Kristen Shaughnessy
JD Lanier
Kristi Ray
Medical Advisor Dr Patrick Yu
(Corporate Medical Advisors)
Accounting & Tax Incentive Services Greenslate
Production and Finance Legal Services Levin Law Corp.
Ronald J. Levin
Rylan Mitchell
Erica Zohar
Associate Editor Michael Cheung
Assistant Editor Esther Sokolow
Music Supervisor Phil Canning
Original Song Music Supervisor Ashley Waldron
Completion Guarantee Film Finances
Mandy Yaeger
Helen Sam
Lieve Jansen
Insurance Services Daniel R’Bibo
Alex Ekizian
Rosita Roque
Head of Development Tea Shop Productions Lieve Jansen
Leo Darby
Head of Development Flawless Lieve Jansen
Sarah Mann
Audio Post Services Provided by Juniper Post, Inc.
Sound Supervisor David Kitchens, M.P.S.E.
Supervising Sound Designers Alex Joseph
David Barber, M.P.S.E.
Re-recording Mixer David Barber, CAS
Dialogue Editor Jeffery Alan Jones
ADR Mixer Alan Jaye
Sound Effects Editors Rob Walker
Payam Hosseinian
Foley Artist Gonzalo “Bino” Espinoza
Foley Editor Jackson Kitchens
Audio Post Accountant Stacy Kitchens
Additional ADR Recording Jed Elliot
Original Score composed and produced by Tim Despic
Composer/ Additional music by James Edward Barker
Music performed by Tim Despic, James Edward Barker and the Van Ness
Orchestra
Music mixed by Tim Despic
Digital Intermediate Services Provided by
TUNNEL POST
DI Producers Heather Toll
Shirley Luong
Alan Pao
DI Colorist Sebastian Perez-Burchard
Conform Editor J.D. Moore
Additional VFX Pulls Taylor Mahony
Visual Effects by
TUNNEL POST
Visual Effects Supervisors Shirley Luong
Heather Toll
Lead Compositors May Satsuki Asai
Wanyan Zhu
Compositors Gigi Babityan
Austin Brown
Xuncheng Chen
Grant Inouye
Yongfeng Lin
Cheng Qiu
Dandan Xiao
Roto Artists Victor Franco
Mia Chang
Additional VFX Supervision Koala FX
Consulting VFX Producer Dasha Sherman
Consulting VFX Supervisor Menelaos Pampoukidis
Lead VFX Artist Antoni Zakheos
VFX Artist Artem Isaakyan
GARDOCKI DIGITAL
VFX Supervisor Matt Gardocki
VFX Artists Jacob Brewer
Peter Epps
Candido Garcia
Sophia Post
Alex Stager
DEKOY
VFX Principal/Founder David Matheny
VFX Production Manager Grace Kao
VFX Artists Christian Feliciano
Brian Recktenwald
VFX2GO
Visual Effects Producers Jake Akuna
Christian Curry Akuna
Supervising Producer
(Sancio VFX Studios) Naresh Botha
Manager Karthik Sabbani
Coordinator Priscilla John
Visual Effects Artists Jake Akuna
Praveen Jambula
Varshini Botha
Anil Kancharla
Sunny Kandimalla
Sunil Kalyan
POSTVFX
Composite Supervisor Edward Anderson
Senior Compositor Ivan Pena Ortiz
22 DOGS STUDIO
VFX Executive Producers Andrea Marotti
Carlo Tosi
VFX Producer Giulio Campiglia
VFX Executive Supervisor Max Pareschi
VFX Lead Compositor Artist Thomas Kremer (II)
VFX Compositor Artists Andrew Antonyuk
Roman Antonyuk
Alexey Ermak
Polina Frolova
Vladislav Kravchenko
Mila Kremere
Dimitrijs Mass
Max Radukha
Roman Sagenov
VFXaddART
VFX Supervisor Eduard Karamshuk
Compositing Artists Aleksandr Pertsovoy
Denis Knyzev
Oleksandr Kuzmin
Dmytro Syrovatsky
Dmytro Shmidt
FLAWLESS
Nick Lynes
Sean Danischevsky
Stuart Lawrence
Allar Kaasik
Hyeongwoo Kim
Praveen Ilangoven
Pablo Garrido
Lindsey Morrow
Gaurav Bharaj
Piran Smith
Christian Theobalt
Jim Rivera
Gary Scullion
Paul Duhig
Alejandra Esquerro
Ryan Axe
BUZZFEED STUDIOS
Head of Studio Richard Alan Reid
Marketing Executive Dan Katt
Creative Executive Ayla Norris-Smith
Production Executive Sam Linder
Distribution & Strategy Executive Jason Nadel
Production Coordinator Brianna McFadden
Creative Will Hunt
STOCK FOOTAGE
Vulture Stock footage supplied by Film Studio Aves/Creatas Video via Getty Images
All Other Footage used under license from shutterstock.com
MUSIC CREDITS
“I Have Never Felt More Alive”
Written by Madison Beer and Leroy Clampitt
Performed by Madison Beer
Courtesy of Epic Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment
“Erase/Rewind”
Performed by The Cardigans
Written by Nina Elisabet Persson, Peter Anders Svensson
Licensed courtesy of Universal Music AB
By arrangement with Universal Music Operations
Published by Universal Music Publishing Limited on behalf of Stockholm Songs
“What a Rush”
Performed by Hart & Maguire
Written by Jimmy Hart & John J. Maguire
Licensed courtesy of WWE Inc
Published by Universal/MCA Music Ltd on behalf of Piledriver Music US
“Cherry Pie”
Performed by Warrant
Written by Jani Lane
Licensed courtesy of Roundhill Music & Zync Music
Used by kind permission of Carlin Music Delaware LLC, Courtesy of Round Hill
Records
SPECIAL THANKS
Sarah, Joseph and Evie
Annie Mahoney
Joyce Harris
Reid and Cindy Johnson
Maribelle and Zella Fischer
Jason Ballantine
Max Adams
Nicolas Chartier
Babacar Diene
Vicky and Mike
Lionel Uhry
Off the Ground
Jake Hebert Custom Tower LLC
AG Light and Sound Inc
Fox 6 News – Birmingham
Martin Spencer
Best Buy
Matthew Marenda
Alex Henes
Jian Giannini
FOR ANDY X
IN LOVING MEMORY OF KARL YOUNG
(c) 2022 FALL MOVIE PRODUCTIONS INC.
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Most of the press asked Max questions, but I really love Billy Burke (ever since I saw him in the “Twilight” movies! And he’s been great in many shows I love, such as “Revolution” and “Major Crimes”), and Diane Farr (who plays Sharon) is also great. They play spouses in this show. There’s a bit of familial reveal at the end of the first episode, too. I asked them if they could speak a little bit about their characters’ relationship, and their relationship with the main character, Bode (Max).
get off this call.” Whether he’s filming or working at home, it’s no different for him. He just has a bit more work than he’s used to, and he’s getting “a lot more emails” than he’s used to from his “Fire Country” co-workers, so he has a hard time keeping up on that, but he enjoys the work.
Alexis’ sister) and more. I had a lot of fun. The movie comes out today, Oct. 7, in theaters and On Demand. I highly recommend it because it’s a good psychological horror thriller. Anson Mount (
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Captain Paolo was asked if he’d had any acting experience, but he hadn’t. He said he was just playing himself in the show, so he doesn’t consider this acting experience, but he said it was “incredible.” He was asked whether the singls on the show really talk to the captain about how much they want love and whether he believes their stories, and how did he help them. He confirmed that the cruise director, Matt, and the bartender, Ezra, gathered info about the singles and what happened with them, and they all worked to help them out, “to either fortify or strengthen their bond or maybe try to open themselves up to other opportunities out there with other singles until they find the real love.”
Sins of the Father
Actor and comedian Mark Gagliardi is one of the main stars of the Paramount+ series BLOOD & TREASURE (plays ‘Father Chuck’) – new episodes of the 2nd Season drop on Sundays!
From the Official Website:
Veronica St. Clair
Marcia Gay Harden
Skylar Astin
Madeline Wise
Tristen J. Winger
Inga Schlingmann
Rosa Arredondo
From June: Filming this month in Charleston, the third season of the Danny McBride-created, written and executive-produced series continues the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed and charitable work.
Dennie Gordon has been a trailblazing female director her entire career; spanning the worlds of feature films, television series, mini-series and branded content. Her range of genre busting entertainment spans an unusual spectrum of comedy and drama. After being one of the first women to graduate from Yale’s School of Drama with an MFA in Directing, Gordon first gained recognition when “A Hard Rain” was chosen by Showtime’s Discovery Program. Thanks to Steven Spielberg, a rough cut of her film attracted the attention of George Lucas who donated the film’s mix at Skywalker Ranch. “A Hard Rain” , which Gordon also wrote, went on to win dramatic awards at the British Short Film Festival and the Hampton’s Film Festival. This film also caught the eye of David E. Kelley who enlisted Gordon to helm multiple episodes of his television series including “Goliath”, (where she was Co EP) “Picket Fences”, “Chicago Hope”, “Ally McBeal”, and “The Practice”. Gordon has directed over 100 hours of network television including such critically acclaimed series as “Legion”, which was on many critic’s lists as a top 10 show of 2017, with the “astounding direction of Dennie Gordon and her twisted visionary imagery taking the X-Men universe to a whole new level”. Her other work includes “Bloodline”, “Rectify Empire”, “Kingdom”, “Power”, “Hell on Wheels”, “Grace & Frankie”, “The Office”, “30 Rock”, Aaron Sorkin’s “Sports Night”, and HBO’s “Tracey Takes On”, for which Gordon won the DGA Comedy Award. Gordon recently completed the mini-series “Waco”, “Jack Ryan” Season 2 and “The Hunt” starring Al Pacino. Gordon directed the comedy cult hit “Joe Dirt” starring David Spade, and Christopher Walken, and “What A Girl Wants” starring Oscar Winner Colin Firth, Dame Eileen Atkins, and Jonathan Pryce. Gordon was the first American woman to direct a film for the domestic Chinese market, called “My Lucky Star”. The 2013 film starred Oscar nominee Zhang Ziyi and Wang Leehom and was filmed in China and Singapore in the summer of 2012. “My Lucky Star” was the number one film in China for 4 weeks on 5000 screens.
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Joanne Froggatt is a British actress. From 2010 to 2015, she portrayed Anna Bates in the ITV period drama series Downton Abbey. For this role, she received three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television in 2014.
August 2, 2022
It was really great to speak with this lovely young actress who stars in “FALL.” She is outstanding in this exciting movie. You don’t want to miss it; it comes out tomorrow, August 12. 
From the Producers of 47 Meters Down
With the short film series cancelled, Mann and Frank decided to expand their
One of the things that makes FALL unique is its location. Namely, the real-life
Becky’s best friend Hunter is a daredevil YouTuber who has her own reason
“Being directed by Scott with a bullhorn 60 feet below us was so funny,”