CBS rolled out its new drama and comedy series yesterday at the Upfronts in NYC. I thought this might be a good time for a brief synopsis on what to expect in the 2013-14 season. Here goes. Hostages, set to air on Mondays at 10 (taking the slot of Hawaii Five-0), takes a dare and uses kidnappers led by Agent Duncan Carlisle (Dylan McDermott) to attempt to force a Presidential assassination via threats to Dr. Ellen Sanders (Toni Collette) and
When I recently chatted with Jim Triplett, Location Manager for Hawaii Five-0, I found that finding locations for the series is not all peaches ‘n cream – or pineapples ‘n spam – or well, you get the picture. Life Is Not A Beach One of the things I discovered was that you don’t always get what you want in the land of make believe. Triplett told me about a snag he encountered prior to the shooting of episode 2.22 of
Some people are simply “gifted” in their craft. There’s no other way to describe them. Nora Kirkpatrick is one of those people. Enter The Office I recently spoke with Kirkpatrick about her role in the last season of The Office, on which she plays Dwight’s new love interest, Esther. Kirkpatrick told me she found out about the job through her agent and thought the addition of the character was a twist in the series to perhaps provide a bit of
Just outside Pittsburgh lies the town of Hemlock Grove – in the fictional world of Netflix, that is. And Laurie Fortier is excited to be a part of that world. A New Opportunity When I recently had the chance to chat with her, Fortier told me, “Being on Netflix gave the producers and writers of Hemlock Grove a freedom that radiated down through them to us, the crew. Moreover, as an actor, being on Netflix gave me permission to twist
You remember David Faustino. He played Bud Bundy in Married with Children. Nowadays, Faustino is playing a new character with similar traits, something he calls “Bud Bundy-esque” qualities, for Netflix. Bud Bundy II? The character’s name is Dax Wendell, the series Bad Samaritans. Wendell resembles Bundy on several fronts. Says Faustino, “Bud Bundy was obviously a character who wanted to be loved and wanted to be respected, and never was. And the same goes for Dax Wendell. I think there
When Windell Middlebrooks auditioned for the role of Dr. Curtis Brumfield on Body of Evidence (now Body of Proof), he just knew he had blown all hope of ever getting the job. No Time to Prepare He told me, “Normally, I like to get more time than I had to prepare and get ready for an audition, but this time I had no choice. “I had just returned home from Los Angeles in the middle of the night, on the
When actor Cameron Mathison (All My Children) signed on to star in The Carpenter’s Miracle, he got more than he bargained for. Another Perspective Mathison, well-known for his charm and leading-man good looks, spent some time discussing choices with director Kristoffer Tabori. He told me, “We spent a lot of time doing readings, chatting, and talking. I was playing the character with a lot of myself in the role.” Tabori changed all that. He helped Mathison to see that he
Joseph Julian (JJ) Soria is really making a name for himself in Hollywood these days. He is now a series regular, starring as Private First Class Hector Cruz, in Lifetime’s Army Wives, now in its seventh season. It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over As I speak with Soria in North Carolina, I learn that Hector’s relationship with Gloria (Alyssa Diaz) just may not be over. (For those who watch the show, the couple is on the verge of divorce). Soria
In his own words, Al Sapienza tells me, “I made my mark in The Sopranos a long time ago, so people think of me as a hood. You know, I have that Mafia look and name.” His role as Marty Spinella in House of Cards breaks that mold. Sapienza’s A Good Guy As I speak with Sapienza, he is shooting Person of Interest, on which he has a recurring role as Detective Terney. He’s also starring with Kevin Spacey on
“Like my acting teacher in New York said years ago, ‘If you’re gonna play a part, play a great part.’” That’s what actor Robert Knepper said to me about not one, but two, great parts he has in the new CW series, Cult. Two in One Knepper read via tape for the dual role of cult leader Billy Grimm and actor Roger Reeves while he was on location in Santa Fe for Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin