The pursuit of “HAPPYISH” - The Concordia Blade

Featured
Stories
The 42nd Annual Daytime
Emmy Awards
“Casual Vacancy”
“Good Wife”
Profiled
athlete
Leonard Williams
CELEBRITY
SPOTLIGHTS
Cecily Strong
Diogo Morgado
Tatiana Maslany
Shantel VanSanten
Tiffani Thiessen
WHAT'S FOR
DINNER
Featuring: Tia Mowry
JAY Bobbin's
movies to
watch
And so much more!
The story
The pursuit of
“HAPPYISH”
Bradley Whitford, Steve Coogan
and Kathryn Hahn (from left) star in
“Happyish,” premiering Sunday on
Showtime.
Connect to these shows within
folio
this
magazine!
Courtesy of Gracenote April 26 - May 2, 2015
C
CONTENTS
What’s Hot This Week
Click to jump to these featured sections!
Featured
Stories
“Happyish”
Premiering Sunday on Showtime.
p3
“The 42nd Annual
Daytime Emmy Awards”
Sunday on Pop.
p 11
“Casual Vacancy”
Premiering Wednesday
on HBO.
pp 12-13
“Good Wife”
Sunday on CBS.
pp 14-15
SIX
Celebrity potlights
Cecily Strong
of “Saturday Night Live”
on NBC.
p4
Diogo Morgado
of “The Messengers”
on The CW.
p5
Tatiana Maslany
of “Orphan Black” on
BBC America.
p6
Tia Mowry
of “At Home” on Cooking Channel.
p7
Shantel VanSanten
Checking in!
p8
Tiffani Thiessen
hosts “Dinner at Tiffani’s” on
Cooking Channel.
p9
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+
Pictured:
From the vault! Sandy Duncan
and Betty White, 1989, in
Hollywood.
Profiled Athlete
Leonard Williams
pp 16-17
Editor's choice
STORY
Happiness
S
causes a couple
misery on Showtime’s
‘Happyish’
By George Dickie
The middle finger is Thom Payne’s flag and he will have
you saluting it by the end of the first episode of the new
Showtime comedy “Happyish.”
The half-hour series, which premieres Sunday, April 26,
stars British actor Steve Coogan (“Philomena,” “Alan
Partridge”) as Thom, a misanthropic 44-year-old New York
advertising executive fed up with all things digital, branded
and youth-oriented. After two decades of pursuing the
American dream, he hates the compromises he’s had to
make in business and in life and finds himself becoming
more expressive of his feelings, especially to his 25-yearold Swedish wunderkind boss (Nils Lawton, “Eye Candy”)
and his veteran co-worker and friend (Bradley Whitford,
“The West Wing”). For Thom, the pursuit of happiness has
become odious and unbearably oppressive and the rebellion
is underway.
Back home in upstate Woodstock, Thom’s wife, Lee (Kathryn
Hahn, “Revolutionary Road”), is experiencing a similar
phenomenon. An artist and stay-at-home mom, she’s not
all that satisfied with life, either, and she struggles with the
apparition of her estranged mother, a meddling, hypercritical
matron with a flair for administering liberal doses of Jewish
guilt.
Otherwise, Thom and Lee seem a reasonably happy
married couple raising their young son in a postcardlike
setting.
But working in a shallow, morally ambiguous industry has
taken its toll on Thom.
“I think he’s unhappy,” Coogan says, “because he’s living
in a world he thinks is unjust and amoral and is full of
compromises that he hates himself for having to make,
which most people do make without any compunction to do
otherwise. So I think he’s a very important character because
he has a conscience and he wants a better world but he’s
angry at the world and angry ... at the corporatization of
America and about selling your soul, I guess – the Faustian
pact that people make to have glittering careers.”
The pilot for the series was originally shot with Philip Seymour
Hoffman as Thom, but was shelved with the role recast
following his death last year.
Executive producer and writer Shalom Auslander, a former
New York ad exec and current resident of Woodstock who
indicates the story is more personal to him than he’d like to
admit, says the Paynes would probably be happy were it not
for the outside world.
“I think they’d be happy on planet Earth if it wasn’t for the
humans ...,” he says with a laugh. “I think that they’ve got
something good going but it’s under constant attack, not just
from the media or from the news, but from existence, from life,
illness, death, war, poverty, having to survive and those are
the things we kind of struggle with.”
“I’ve always thought that the interesting thing about this show,”
Auslander continues, “is that – and this is something that
probably annoys Thom and Lee as well – most TV shows, or
at least the ones I grew up on, seem to suggest that here’s
this house and here’s this family and everything in the house
is lame and stupid and the husband is fat and dumb and the
wife is a complaining shrew and the kids are snarky a... . And
everything outside their world like beer and clubs and Porsche
convertibles, that’s really what’s cool and great. And in this
series, it’s the complete opposite. Everything in the house is
really what matters and the outside world is just remarkably
stupid and threatening.”
Click here for more!
April 26 - May 2, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 3
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CELEBRITY
Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
C e c i ly S t r o n g
of ‘Saturday Night Live’ on NBC
What has it meant to you to be part of
the “Saturday Night Live” cast in this
40th-anniversary season?
With a lot of the people I know, and even
people I meet, it’s such a part of our
history with comedy ... growing up with it.
That’s why I cried so much when I got the
job, and why I cried so much at the 40thanniversary special. I was holding hands
with Aidy (Bryant) and Vanessa (Bayer)
and Kate (McKinnon) on the stage, and I
was saying, “I can’t look around right now.
I’m so overwhelmed.” And it will feel like
that forever, I think.
How has it been lately at the show,
now that the big 40th-anniversary
celebration is in the rearview mirror?
It’s nice to have that over with, because
we get a bit more of Lorne (Michaels, the
show’s mentor and executive producer)
back, in a sense ... not that he’s ever
gone, but it’s nice to have that kind of
release. Every week is the same amount
of focus, and every show is its own thing.
What can you say about reports that
you’ll be joining fellow “SNL” veterans
Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and
Leslie Jones – as well as past guest
host Melissa McCarthy – in a remake
of “Ghostbusters”?
It’s another example of what you read in
the paper being 100-percent not anything
that’s happened to me. It’s like I met with
Paul (Feig, who will direct the film) and he
said, “Hey! Did you read those rumors I
planted about you?” It’s always shocking
to me, like, “What will they say next?
What’s next in my life, I wonder?”
folio
Page 4 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote April 26 - May 2, 2015
Click here for more!
CELEBRITY
George Dickie’s Q&A
C
DiogoMorgado
of ‘The Messengers’ on The CW
What is it like to play the devil, aka The
Man, on The CW’s “The Messengers”?
The thing that I love about this show is that
it defines (our characters) as human beings
and I think the greatest thing is that you
can see how we choose stuff under certain
circumstances. So it’s like we are what we
choose and what we choose is affected by
what’s going on with us at the moment. So
we’re never, like, one fixed thing; we’re never
completely stable. I think in all of us we have
the potential to be a saint or a devil. It really
depends on the circumstances that are
surrounding us and it really depends on the
moment.
So what I love about the show is that my
character moves around those things. It’s like
he takes what is the heat of the moment, he
takes the fragile things he knows about the
characters around him – all that info, he uses
... it and I like that.
What did you draw from in creating The
Man?
I think the main thing is not to take it as the
graphic idea that we have of the devil. If we
go to the story in the Bible, we realize that
the devil was once one of God’s favorite
angels, so he’s basically a fallen angel.
And we used that path, we used the story
behind the figure of Lucifer. In any way,
we try to excuse him more and give him
a (back story) that will lead you to why he
does what he does. ... So for me, it was
more about using and abusing the tools that
we have as humans that we understand,
like the manipulation, the sarcasm and
having this big smile when somebody really
wants to stab you in the back. So all of that
stuff that is common sense as being bad
and manipulative, I used that but not in a
demonic way.
Click here for more!
April 26 - May 2, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 5
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CELEBRITY
John Crook’s Q&A
TatianaMaslany
of ‘Orphan Black’ on BBC America
Is it hard to reconnect to the
characters at the start of a new
season?
It’s always a bit of a learning process,
whenever we come back. So much
has happened to these characters,
so it’s a matter of charting that and
remembering where each of them is,
trying not to be surface and skin-deep
about it.
What’s it like for you and Kristian
Bruun to play the comic “Orphan
Black” scenes as Alison and
Donnie?
Kristian is an amazing improviser and
really allows me to go off as well. We
enjoy each other’s company a lot, and
there’s a lot of mutual respect there
as well. It’s really fun to work with him.
Those characters are so rich, and
there is so much there to mine as far
as comedy goes. It’s one of my favorite
dynamics on the show.
How was it playing a young Helen
Mirren in the movie “Woman in
Gold”?
It was really exciting for me to watch
Helen work and try to take on some
of her beautiful, elegant stillness
and sense of humor and intelligence
and incorporate all of that into my
performance. It was such an honor to
be a part of that project with her. We
met and chatted, and she was very
keen on me making my own decisions.
I had some questions, but she said,
“No, make her yours, and our two
versions of her will find each other in
the middle.”
Click here for more!
Page 6 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote April 26 - May 2, 2015
FOOD
George Dickie’s What's for Dinner
TiaMowry
F
prepares healthy meals ‘At Home’ on Cooking Channel
Tia Mowry is a wife, mother, actress and
TV producer who can whip up a batch of
low-fat turkey meatballs or cauli-crusted
pizza with the best of them, and she’ll show
busy working moms and dads how they can
to do it, too, in her new Cooking Channel
series “Tia Mowry at Home.”
“I run into a lot of people who are working
moms,” explains the now-36-year-old former
child star of the 1990s sitcom “Sister,
Sister,” “they’re wives and they’re burning
the candle at both ends of the stick but
healthy food is a priority to them or it’s
something that they want to provide to their
family but they don’t know how to.”
“I want to help encourage other women or
just people who enjoy great food and enjoy healthy dishes that it can be done. I mean, look at me. I’m a mom, I’m a
wife, I’m an entrepreneur, I’m an actress, and healthy food is a priority to me. And if I can do it, I know you can, too.”
In six half-hour episodes that start Wednesday, April 29, Mowry creates tempting and healthy meals for her husband,
Cory, and 3-year-old son, Cree, while balancing her hectic work schedule and fitting in time with family and friends who
include actress Natasha Marc (“Bones”) and former NBA star Metta World Peace. The menu is imaginative – witness
the low-carb pizza crust made from ground cauliflower – and the tips are practical (for inexpensive fresh veggies,
grow your own or hit the farmer’s markets). And as a former Army brat who has lived in South Korea, Hawaii and Italy,
Mowry brings eclectic influences to her kitchen.
“Just tasting such great food and learning about the different dishes that you enjoy or that you experience, it’s very
kind of orgasmic for me,” she says. “I know that’s kind of like a crazy word to use but I’m sorry, there’s no other word to
express it. ... I loved learning about other cultures.”
What book are you currently reading?
“As it stands, right now I have not been into a book lately.
I’m reading loads of scripts (laughs) and am busy writing
them.”
shows or television movies together. But to be working on
something like this, we’re just really excited about it. And
of course I’m working on ‘Instant Mom,’ we’re in our third
season ... .”
What did you have for dinner last night?
“I ate very healthy. I had broccolini with some carrots and it
was sautéed. And I just had some salmon, like four ounces
of salmon.”
When was the last vacation you took, where and why?
“The last vacation I took was in Anguilla and it was last
year. We usually take a vacation every year around June or
July because it’s my son’s birthday as well as mine. ... So it
was in Anguilla and it was magical. That’s all I have to say.”
What is your next project?
“I have a book that’s coming out called ‘Twintuition’ this
month with my sister (Tamera) by HarperCollins Children,
and it’s a four-part book series that I’m really, really excited
about. I mean, usually my sister and I work on television
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April 26 - May 2, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 7
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CELEBRITY
Jay Bobbin’s Celebrity ScooP
ShantelVanSanten
During her days as Quinn on “One Tree Hill,” Shantel VanSanten didn’t
foresee herself as an Angel of the Apocalypse, but she’s getting used to
that role.
The actress is back on The CW in the Friday drama series “The
Messengers,” playing Vera, one of five diverse people affected by a
strange force that may enable them to prevent a rapture in which many
others would disappear. Just as “One Tree Hill” was an ensemble piece,
VanSanten likes sharing the load with others in the new show.
“I think that each character brings a different perspective,” she says, “a
different set of beliefs or non-beliefs, their own personal stuff along with
it, and it allows for it to get more complex as a story.”
Part of that complexity comes from the fact that as a “Messengers”
character, VanSanten explains, “You’re a human being. You’re not a
superhero. We’re not playing superheroes that can put on a suit and
have this power. We also don’t have the choice of when we have the
power, when we get to use it. And there’s also downfalls to it. There’s
this moral dilemma for some people. There’s physical dilemmas. So it’s
interesting to have that.”
Having worked for The CW before, VanSanten appreciates that the
network is “very loyal to the actors who have been on their shows”
– including her main “One Tree Hill” acting partner Robert Buckley, who’s
now on “iZombie.”
“I think that this show being on The CW and it finding its home is going
to draw in a fan base that maybe they didn’t have before,” VanSanten
says. “And it creates some new energy. And I’m grateful to be back.”
Birthdate: July 25, 1985
Birthplace: Luverne, Minn.
Current residence: Los Angeles
Marital status: Single
Other television credits include: “One
Tree Hill,” “Gang Related,” “Beauty and
the Beast,” “The Night Shift,” “The Glades,”
“CSI: NY”
Movie credits include: “Something
Wicked,” “A Golden Christmas 3,” “You and
I,” “Remembrance,” “In My Pocket,” “The
Final Destination”
On projecting how it would look to
be caught up in an otherworldly force
field: “There was a lot of that on the show,
where we wouldn’t always know how to
play something and you’d have to play
around with it and try something. And it
may feel silly, but you would watch it and
you were like, ‘Wow. That worked.’ ”
Click here for more!
Page 8 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote April 26 - May 2, 2015
CELEBRITY
CelebritY profile
T i f fan i T hiessen
C
hosts ‘Dinner at Tiffani’s’ on Cooking Channel
- Thiessen (born Tiffani-Amber Thiessen
on Jan. 23, 1974) is an American
actress best known for her roles as
Kelly Kapowski in “Saved by the Bell”
and as Valerie Malone in “Beverly
Hills, 90210.” She has played in “White
Collar.”
- In 1987, she was crowned Miss Junior
America and a year later won Teen
magazine’s “Great Model Search” in
1988.
- In 2006, she volunteered at Camp
Rainbow Gold, a summer camp for
children stricken with cancer, located
near Ketchum, Idaho.
- Thiessen won the CLCA Green
Image Award presented by the “Green
Expo/Green Image Awards” in 2009
for her contributions to help residents
learn sustainable living techniques and
support the California Green Movement.
- Thiessen married actor Brady Smith
on July 9, 2005, and gave birth to their
daughter, Harper Renn Smith, on June
15, 2010.
- She invites her celebrity friends over
for good company, great stories and
delicious food.
- Her creative flair for life has been
grounded in preparation and planning.
- Her greatest joy in life is being a mom!
Click here for more!
April 26 - May 2, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 9
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CELEBRITY
Celebs’ favorite shows
Luke
Bryan
Clea
DuVall
Charles
Esten
Alex
Anfanger
Set the DVR
Luke Bryan of the 50th Annual Academy of Country
Music Awards on CBS
“We’ve been hooked on ‘Modern Family’ lately – and I was
watching a lot of basketball during March Madness.”
Charles Esten of “Nashville” on ABC
“My daughter has got us started on ‘How to Get Away
With Murder.’ I didn’t start on the ground floor with it, but
she’s totally fallen for it, and I get why.”
Clea DuVall of “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles” on
Lifetime
“ ‘Walking Dead’ and ‘Togetherness.’ I don’t have regular
TV, so I’m super behind the times with it. But ‘Highlander’ I
watch. ‘Orange Is the New Black.’ ”
Alex Anfanger of “Big Time in Hollywood, FL” on
Comedy Central
“A lot of different stuff. Right now, I have ‘Man Seeking
Woman’ on it. We have ‘Louie,’ ‘It’s Always Sunny in
Philadelphia,’ ‘South Park.’ We just started ‘Last Man on
Earth,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘The Comeback’ and ‘Better Call
Saul.’ ”
Page 10 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote April 26 - May 2, 2015
STORY
S
Daytime Emmys
celebrate
Betty White
Betty White receives a Lifetime Achievement honor at
The 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, airing Sunday on Pop.
By Jay Bobbin
She’s been a staple of primetime television for so long,
some may not think about Betty White’s ties to shows that
have aired at earlier hours.
also had an evening show where I did songs and that kind
of thing.
Those who oversee the Daytime Emmy Awards have,
though ... and that’s why the long-beloved performer
will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 42nd
ceremony. Staged at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank,
Calif., the annual event returns to TV (having been an
online-only offering last year) when it has its first Pop
telecast Sunday, April 26. Tyra Banks will serve as host.
“Anyone or anything that was in town automatically
came through our show,” adds White, “so you met some
fascinating people and felt you were in on stuff. Let’s face
it, it’s an interesting way to spend your life ... and I do
appreciate it.”
After getting her daytime-TV start locally in Los Angeles
more than 65 years ago, White won the first of her six
Emmys to date for her first comedy show (“Life With
Elizabeth”), then became a daily NBC talk-program
host. She then made a mark as a guest on game shows
including “Password” – hosted by her late husband, Allen
Ludden – “To Tell the Truth” and “Match Game,” and she
earned a Daytime Emmy for hosting NBC’s “Just Men!”
Additionally, White has been a drama guest (“The Bold
and the Beautiful,” “Another World”) and event host (The
Tournament of Roses Parade, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade) in the morning and afternoon.
“We did a show five-and-a-half hours a day, six days a
week for four years,” the perennially pleasant White recalls
of her first job in daytime. “Whatever you did, you did it
there. And five-and-a-half hours a day wasn’t enough, so I
White also appreciates what she learned doing game
shows: “You have to respect them. You can’t say, ‘Oh, this is
just a game show.’ If you’re going to do it, play the game as
hard as you can and really participate. The audience picks
up on it immediately if you don’t respect the game. You
listen to what the host and the other guests say, and I think
that’s what keeps the game going.”
Now done filming TV Land’s soon-to-conclude “Hot in
Cleveland,” White is proud to be honored for her daytime
work that stands beside her roles on such primetime
classics as “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Golden
Girls.”
“I can’t even tell you,” White enthuses. “Sure, it’s an ego
trip, but we’re in an ego business. I’m really thrilled.
Seriously thrilled.”
April 26 - May 2, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 11
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STORY
Filling the
‘Vacancy’
Michael Gambon and Julia McKenzie star in
“Casual Vacancy,” premiering Wednesday
on HBO.
Story on next page
Page 12 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote April 26 - May 2, 2015
STORY
HBO’s ‘Casual
Vacancy’
S
beautifully acted but bleak
By John Crook
Don’t look for any boy wizards, giants or Hippogriffs in
“The Casual Vacancy.”
Author J.K. Rowling keeps her first non-“Harry Potter”
novel firmly anchored in the all-too-real world of
recognizably human characters in a tale that is gripping,
compassionate yet often almost unbearably downbeat.
Those qualities translate to the three-part, three-hour
miniseries adaptation premiering Wednesday and
Thursday, April 29 and 30, on HBO, with one added
bonus: It’s brilliantly acted by a superb cast.
Set in what seems to be a postcard-pretty English
village called Pagford, the story quickly reveals that
this community is sharply divided along class lines. A
battle is shaping up over the future of a local community
center that houses a methadone clinic serving the drugaddicted lower classes. Wealthier residents – including
parish council chairman Howard Mollison (Michael
Gambon) and his sunny but malicious wife, Shirley (Julia
McKenzie) – would love nothing more than to close the
center and turn the country house that contains it into a
chic spa.
Their chief adversary on the council in this regard is
Barry Fairbrother (Rory Kinnear), whose boundless
empathy for Pagford’s poor serves as the beating heart
of the village. Unfortunately, it’s his brain that betrays
him in the opening moments of the miniseries, as Barry
suddenly drops dead of a cerebral aneurysm.
Barry’s death opens a “casual vacancy” – an unexpected
empty seat – on the council, and while Howard and
Shirley halfheartedly tut-tut over Barry’s passing, inwardly
they’re gleeful: If they can fill this seat with their spineless
son, Miles (Rufus Jones), they’ll have the majority they
need to close the clinic.
The urgency to keep that clinic open is embodied by
local teenager Krystal Weedon (newcomer Abigail Lawrie
Abigail
Lawrie
in a star-is-born turn), who is struggling to care for her
baby brother while their mother (Keeley Forsyth) spends
every dime she can find on heroin. Sadly, the only viable
candidate to oppose Miles is hapless schoolteacher Colin
“Cubby” Wall (Simon McBurney), a walking collection of
social disorders and neuroses.
As the election approaches, any pretense toward
neighborliness falls away as the class-driven rift widens
even further. When the dust finally settles, few are left
happy – including, perhaps, some viewers. This is not a
drama that will send you off to bed with a smile.
Bursting with eccentric, vividly drawn characters in a story
with a social conscience, Rowling’s “Casual Vacancy” is
in some respects a throwback to the novels of Charles
Dickens. And like many Dickens adaptations, the piece
gives some splendid actors a chance to shine.
Gambon, who played the sage Dumbledore in several
of the Potter film adaptations, makes Howard both
dangerous and somewhat buffoonish, while McKenzie
brilliantly plays against her sweet little old Miss Marple
image to make Shirley truly chilling. Cast against type as
their brassy, bitter daughter-in-law, former ingénue Keeley
Hawes, now 38, serves notice that she’s ready for much
harder-edged roles.
“The Casual Vacancy” will reward fans of great acting, if
they can cope with some truly bleak moments.
Click here for more!
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S
STORY
Good work
for ‘Good Wife’ guests
Christine Baranski co-stars on “The Good Wife”
Sunday on CBS.
Story on next page
Page 14 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote April 26 - May 2, 2015
STORY
S
‘The Good Wife’
gives good roles to good guests
By Jay Bobbin
If you’re an actor who wants a good television role, head for
“The Good Wife.”
That’s the consensus among those who have worked
on CBS’ much-praised Sunday law drama, borne out in
many cases by guest stars who have played recurring
characters over the show’s six seasons thus far. Among
them: Michael J. Fox; Nathan Lane; David Hyde Pierce;
America Ferrera; Matthew Perry; Jill Flint (“The Night Shift”);
Stockard Channing; Dylan Baker; Gary Cole; Edward Asner;
and Carrie Preston, a 2013 Emmy winner as deceptively
scattered attorney Elsbeth Tascioni.
Currently, one of the actors in that “Good Wife” spotlight
is Oliver Platt, who’s sharing most of his scenes with
longtime friend and series co-star Christine Baranski
– with whom he did (along with Pierce) the Mike Nicholsdirected, Jules Feiffer-written play “Elliot Loves” in the early
1990s – as Reese “R.D.” Dipple, a conservative political
powerhouse who now has dealings with lawyer Diane
Lockhart (Baranski). In the episode airing Sunday, April 26,
they’re involved in a test case over mandatory minimum
sentencing.
Baranski reasons the new character was brought in to
benefit “that aspect of the show that examines issues. You
see two people who really like each other and get along,
but who fundamentally disagree. So many people have
commented on the scene in the woods (in which Diane and
R.D. debated) the abortion issue. And the episode we did
about gay marriage is one of my favorite episodes we’ve
ever shot.”
“I really adore Oliver, as a person and as an actor,”
Baranski adds, “so I was just delighted when I saw his
name on the call sheet. Fortunately, I’ve had a lot to do
with him on the show. I’ve also worked with David Hyde
Pierce in the theater, but our paths did not cross on ‘The
Good Wife,’ which was unfortunate. So many people
have come onto the show who are just marvelous
actors. There’s just a tremendous talent pool there, and
these actors love coming on because the writing is so
good.”
Platt readily attests to that. A veteran of other series
including “Fargo” and “The Big C,” and such movies as
“Indecent Proposal” and “Executive Decision,” he also
was making two feature films and the pilot for NBC’s
projected “Chicago Fire” medical spinoff while doing his
work for creators and executive producers Robert and
Michelle King on “The Good Wife.”
“They sent me the (first script), and I thought it was
such an interesting character,” he says, “and I’ve always
admired the show. I can safely say my own personal
politics are not in the same neighborhood of R.D.’s, but it
was such a civilized dialogue, and that’s the thing that’s
important.
“Human beings can sit down and talk about these
things, at a time when discourse has become the
polar opposite of ‘civil’ in so many venues,” notes Platt,
“but having said that, this is just good stuff ... and with
Christine being an old friend, it was a no-brainer.”
Click here for more!
April 26 - May 2, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 15
S
SPORTS
Story on next page
Name: Leonard Williams
Tackles: 218
Born: June 20, 1994 (age 20)
Sacks: 21
Hometown: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Size: 6 feet 5 inches/302 pounds
Position: Defensive end/tackle
Uniform number: 94
Honors and achievements: USC’s Most
Valuable Player, 2014; First-Team
All-Pac-12, 2013, 2014; First-Team AllAmerican, 2013, 2014; Pac-12 Defensive
Freshman of the Year, 2012.
Page 16 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote April 26 - May 2, 2015
SPORTS
S
By Dan Ladd
What was once a gathering of
NFL owners, general managers
and other staff, and was attended
by only the more serious football
media members, has turned
into one of the biggest television
sports events of the year. It is
the NFL Draft, which takes place
Thursday, April 30, through
Saturday, May 2, and airs on
ESPN live from Chicago.
What the draft was then, and still
is today, is the realization of the
lifelong dream for more than 200
young men, some of whom will go
on to have storied NFL careers.
This year, beyond celebrated
quarterbacks Jameis Winston
and Marcus Mariota, you start to
look at other players, including
those who will be chasing the
quarterback.
USC junior defensive end Leonard
Williams is at the top of that list. In
some mock drafts he’s projected
to be the second overall pick,
being chosen over one of the
coveted QBs. Williams is a 302pound monster with quick hands
and feet, who actually may be
more of a run-stopper than a
pass rusher, although he’s played
all over the defensive line with
success. He had 80 tackles and
seven sacks in 2014 and was a
Trojans team captain.
Quite often, it is suggested that
college players need all four years
develop their skills. However, the
chance to be a top-five pick is
one that can’t be overlooked. NFL
teams win with defense as much
as they do offense and Leonard
Williams’ name will likely be called
early on Thursday night.
LeonardWilliams
April 26 - May 2, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 17
M
MOVIES
JAY BOBBIN's Theatrical movie review
review
“Get
Hard”
Will Ferrell seeks Kevin Hart’s help
when it comes to doing ‘Hard’ time
There are all sorts of ways to do movie comedy, and one
of the easiest is to just wind up a funny person and turn
him or her loose.
Some of the jokes in “Get Hard” hark back to “Trading
Places,” which had a somewhat similar theme (and which,
frankly, was a smarter and better movie). Those who know
For extra insurance, you can wind up two of them, let them that picture might think Ferrell is channeling Dan Aykroyd,
do their individual things and see what happens when they especially when he turns plaintively whiny – an act Ferrell
collide. That’s pretty much the approach of “Get Hard,” the certainly has down pat – as he frets about his possible
teaming of two stars well-known for their respective brands fate in the prison population.
of humor: Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart.
Conversely, Hart is as fast and brash as he’s meant to be,
often using facial expressions to convey wry irony over his
It’s exactly their differences that are meant to drive the
character’s situation, thus letting us know that he’s very
picture’s laughs, with Ferrell playing a financial wizard
much in on the joke. There can be a risk of overdoing that,
convicted of fraud and embezzlement – of which he’s
but to his credit, Hart stops short of going over the line
actually innocent – and Hart as the streetwise fellow he
with it.
hires to get him ready for prison life.
Just that description should indicate “Get Hard” plays the
race card plentifully, but Hart seems as game as Ferrell to
go with the premise. One could delve into the notion that
Ferrell immediately assumes Hart will be an ideal guide
to prep him to be among other convicts, but the movie
reinforces almost every minute that it’s meant to be a
comedy.
Craig T. Nelson and Alison Brie are welcome in the
supporting cast, but those who see “Get Hard” will do
so because they’re fans of Ferrell or Hart or both. The
filmmakers know that, so they leave the stars to do the
heavy lifting ... but getting a completely satisfying result
proves to be the truly hard part of “Get Hard.”
Page 18 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote April 26 - May 2, 2015
MOVIES
JAY BOBBIN's movie review
movies to watch
M
“PADDINGTON”
The beloved title bear created by
Michael Bond gets an enjoyablefor-all-ages movie showcase as
he’s brought to life via computer
animation – and the voice of Ben
Whishaw (“Skyfall”). Seeking a new
destiny for himself, he leaves Peru
and travels to London, where he
gets an adoptive family headed
by Hugh Bonneville (“Downton
Abbey”) and Sally Hawkins. He
gets an enemy, too ... a taxidermist
(Nicole Kidman, who obviously
has fun with the role) determined
to add him to her collection. Jim
Broadbent and Peter Capaldi also
appear. DVD extras: three “makingof” documentaries; music video. ›››
(PG: AS) (Also on Blu-ray and On
Demand)
Top Pick
DVD
upcoming DVD releases
Coming Soon on DVD...
“BLACK OR WHITE” (May 5):
A child becomes the object of
a custody battle between two
of her grandparents (Kevin
Costner, Octavia Spencer).
(PG-13: AS, P, V)
“GOODFELLAS” (May 5):
For its 25th anniversary, the
true crime drama gets a newly
remastered Blu-ray edition with
new cast and director (Martin
Scorsese) interviews.
(R: AS, P, GV)
Kevin Costner
“THE LAST FIVE YEARS”
(May 5): The romance of
a would-be actress and
an aspiring novelist (Anna
Kendrick, Jeremy Jordan) is
traced ... in reverse, and largely
in song. (PG-13: AS, P)
“SELMA” (May 5): In director
Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-winning
drama, Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. (played by David Oyelowo)
leads the legendary 1965
march advocating voting
equality. (PG-13: AS, P, V)
“FIFTY SHADES OF GREY”
(May 8): A student and an
entrepreneur (Dakota Johnson,
Jamie Dornan) have a sizzling
affair in the screen version of
E.L. James’ provocative bestseller. (R: AS, N, P)
“BLACKHAT” (May 12): A
convict (Chris Hemsworth) is
sprung to help dismantle a
global cybercrime ring.
(R: AS, P, V)
April 26 - May 2, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 19
S
FAVORITE SHOWS
Serena
Williams
“Weird
Loners”
SUNDAY
2 p.m. on NBC
Laureus World Sports Awards
A fixture since 2000, this awards
show taped April 15 in Shanghai
honors remarkable individuals and
achievements in sports over the
past year. Oscar nominee Benedict
Cumberbatch hosts for a second
straight year as honors are distributed
in six categories, including Sportsman
and Sportswoman of the Year, Team
of the Year and Comeback of the Year.
Serena Williams, the San Antonio
Spurs and Formula One driver Lewis
Hamilton are among those up for
hardware.
Jennifer Lopez
in “American
Idol”
8 p.m. on DISNEY
The 2015 Radio Disney Music
Awards
Disney Channel star Zendaya (“K.
C. Undercover”) hosts this two-hour
special taped Saturday, April 25, at the
Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, where
awards are presented in categories
such as Best Breakup Song and Best
Song to Rock Out to With Your BFF.
Scheduled presenters include actress
Chelsea Kane (“Baby Daddy”), singersongwriter Carly Rae Jepsen, pop
trio Sweet Suspense, country singer
Kelsea Ballerini and the casts of
“blackish” and “Teen Beach 2.” New
MONDAY
8 p.m. on FOX
Gotham
Barbara (Erin Richards) falls prey to
Page 20 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote April 26 - May 2, 2015
Erin Richards
stars in
“Gotham”
the Ogre (guest star Milo Ventimiglia),
making Gordon (Ben McKenzie) all
the more desperate to find the villain,
in the new episode “The Anvil or the
Hammer.” The Penguin (Robin Lord
Taylor) launches an all-out assault that
leads to ever-mounting carnage. Bruce
(David Mazouz) is shocked by what
he learns about his family’s company.
Morena Baccarin and David Zayas
guest star. Donal Logue also stars.
New
TUESDAY
9:30 p.m. on FOX
Weird Loners
The screen classic “The Godfather”
proves to be a uniting force for Stosh
(Zachary Knighton) and his young
son (guest star Daniel Zolghadri),
along with Eric (Nate Torrence), in the
continued on next page
FAVORITE SHOWS
new episode “The Weirdfather.” Just
as their relationship is solidifying,
another is eroding — rapidly — since
Zara (Meera Rohit Kumbhani)
becomes concerned about Caryn’s
(Becki Newton) needy nature. Renee
Marino also guest stars. New
to get witnesses to come forward.
Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan, Will
Estes, Len Cariou, Marisa Ramirez and
Vanessa Ray also star. Season Finale
New
9 p.m. on SYFY
Bitten
In the aftermath of the brutal faceoff
WEDNESDAY
between the witch and werewolf
8 p.m. on FOX
coalitions and their new common
American Idol
enemy, Elena (Laura Vandervoort)
The title is within reach for those still awakens to the horrifying discovery that
in the contest in the new two-hour
she is being held prisoner at an off-theepisode “Top 4 Perform” ... and since grid compound run by a maniacal cult
they’ve gotten this far, the decision of leader who is subjecting her to a series
which participant to eliminate clearly of sadistic experiments. Meanwhile,
is a tough one. Nevertheless, it has
back at Stonehaven, the Pack and the
to happen, putting the reasoning of
witches are forced to resort to dark
judges Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer
Lopez and Keith Urban — and also
of viewers who cast their votes — to
the test. Ryan Seacrest is the host.
New
THURSDAY
8 p.m. on CBS
The Big Bang Theory
Surely not hurt by Jim Parsons’ four
Emmy wins (to date) for his portrayal
of Sheldon, this sitcom is still one
of broadcast television’s ratings
powerhouses as it heads toward the
end of Season 8. Since the show
already has been renewed for two
more years, Parsons will be staying
around a while — along with fellow
series stars Johnny Galecki, Kaley
Cuoco-Sweeting, Simon Helberg
and Kunal Nayyar. Mayim Bialik and
Melissa Rauch also remain as cast
regulars. New
FRIDAY
10 p.m. on CBS
Blue Bloods
The two-part finale of the police
drama’s fifth season concludes with
“The Art of War,” which brings the
ongoing investigation of a gangrelated shooting case too close to
home for the Reagans. A member of
the family is wounded, challenging
Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) to keep
his emotions in check as he tries
Tom Selleck
stars in “Blue
Bloods”
S
magic to find their missing members in
the new episode “Dead Meat.” New
SATURDAY
4 p.m. on NBC
141st Kentucky Derby
And they’re off! It’s time for the “Run
for the Roses” and the first leg of
horse racing’s Triple Crown with the
141st running of the Kentucky Derby.
A few press time favorites on the 1.25mile dirt oval at Churchill Downs in
Louisville include International Star and
Materiality, both of which should be
among the field of up to 20 three-yearold thoroughbreds.
Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik
star in “The Big Bang Theory”
The 141st Kentucky
Derby
April 26 - May 2, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 21