Urban cowboy Cover Story

By Francis Babin TV Media

After weeks of looking back at the year’s best movies, television shows and all things entertainment, it’s time to look at what 2020 will bring us. Once again, superheroes and comic book adaptions are poised to dominate the big and small screen alike. This is nothing new, of course — we are currently living in a superhero world and have been for well over a decade, but that has not always been the case. There was a period not long ago when the majority of these kinds of movies and shows were neither remarkable nor very successful.

Long before our favorite Marvel and DC friends dominated Holly wood, it was the western that ruled the world. From the advent of the moving picture to the 1960s, the western was without a doubt the most popular genre before it slowly started to fade away. There were some memorable westerns released in the intervening de cades, but they were few and far between.

However, the western genre is resilient and tough like its cowboy protagonists, so it never truly went away. Over the years, the elements that made the genre so popular have been incorporated into other genres. From the cult-classic series

“Firefly” and the critically acclaimed blockbuster “Logan” (2017) to FX’s “Justified” and Disney’s “The Mandalorian,” the western is still going strong, just in a more subtle way than before. On Thursday, Jan. 2, travel to Los Angeles as the Old West meets the big city in the premiere of the modern-day western “Deputy,” on Fox.

After years of obscurity following a fruitful early career, Stephen Dorff bounced back in a big way in 2019 with his leading performance opposite Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali (“Green

Book,” 2018) in the well-received third season of the HBO anthology “True Detective.” Now, Dorff dons a badge and gun for a second year in a row to portray Bill Hollister in “Deputy,” a gruff, fifth-generation lawman who must come to terms with his new position as the Los Angeles County Sheriff after his predecessor dies unexpectedly. If that sounds like a generic procedural, you’re not wrong. But there is definitely more to this story. In this gritty, modern-day western, Deputy Bill Hollister is not at all an ambitious man, and he certainly has no aspirations of climbing the ladder at work. He is a career lawman who is very comfortable kicking down doors and taking down bad guys but is utterly lost in a staff meeting or navigating the sea of

How, then, does Hollister end up in the coveted position of the Los Angeles County Sheriff in this western tale? Pure chance. The deputy who does not play by the rules ends up as the top cop, thanks to an arcane rule written way back in the days of the Wild West. If that sounds like an outrageous premise, again, you are not wrong, but just think about how many wildly outof-date laws are still on the books

Late Laughs

A Little Late With Lilly Singh

because the time was never taken to repeal them. In short, becoming sheriff by chance is unlikely but not implausible. And it’s very entertaining.

We have all been in a situation where we did not feel comfortable or felt like an imposter. We have all found ourselves in a situation where we did not feel at ease or in control, but most of us were not thrust into the high-stakes world of law enforcement where lives are constantly on the line. How will the newly appointed sheriff fare in this brave new world of politics and red tape? Only time will tell.

Beyond having to deal with the countless new responsibilities, the new sheriff in town has to learn how to lead and be part of a team, a prospect that is assuredly not appealing to the lawman. Luckily for our protagonist, his new colleagues all share his passion, devotion and dedication for law and justice.

Joining Hollister will be Deputy Cade Walker (Brian Van Holt, “Cougar Town”), a tough as nails former Marine who served in Afghanistan and one of the few that our sheriff can truly trust. Accompanying the pair will be Joseph Blair (Shane Paul McGhie, “What Men Want,” 2019), a bright-eyed go-getter and son of Hollister’s old partner.

Social media isn’t only ruining our bodies, it’s ruining our brains. Remember our brains? They used to give us ideas. Now they just say, “Let’s go on Twitter and see if the world is still on fire.”

Cosmo magazine makes a lot of assumptions, the biggest one being that anyone still buys magazines.

Conan

Joe Biden debuted his new campaign slogan, you know what it is? This is real: “No malarkey.” [It] narrowly beat out “No bunk,” “No poppycock” and “No tomfoolery.”

We have a fine show tonight … that’s just something people say in this business. I really have no idea.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

The New England Patriots played the Houston Texans. For the Texans, it was the biggest game of the year. For the Patriots, it was a short layover in Houston on the way to the Super Bowl.

The weather was brutal today with snow, ice and rain slowing down one of the busiest travel days of the year. Flight delays ranged between one hour and “The Irishman” on Netflix.

The weather is so bad travelers flying out of JFK and Newark had delays between one and two hours, while people flying out of LaGuardia were getting sleeping bags and being told, “You live here now.”

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20 Illegal firing

22 Bank posting

23 Actress Kelly of “The Cutting Edge” (1992) and “One Tree Hill”

6 It beats rock, but falls to scissors

7 D-Day beach

8 Pie-in-the-face sounds

9 Ukrainian capital

10 Fortune teller’s opening

“Shameless”

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By Jessica Gosse TV Media

WHAT’S NEW ON NETFLIX

“Alexa & Katie”

Season 3

Alexa (Paris Berelc, “Tall Girl,” 2019) and Katie (Isabel May, “Young Sheldon”) have been best friends for as long as either can remember, and they have faced all of life’s challenges together. On Monday, Dec. 30, the dynamic duo continue to take on the world as Season 3 of “Alexa & Katie” premieres on Netflix. The show kicked off as the girls started high school, which is a tough leap to begin with, but when Alexa was diagnosed with leukemia, their whole world turned upside down. Alexa worries a lot about fitting in, but luckily she always has Katie beside her to help her face the world. Their friends Hannah (Merit Leighton, “The Nerd Posse,” 2017) and Reagan (Iman Benson, “Uncle Buck”) round out their core friend group, and the four girls help each other through the big things and the small. While Seasons 1 and 2 covered the girls’ freshman and sophomore years, Season 3 is a two-part season that focuses on their junior and senior years of high school. There are more cancer treatments to cope with, not to mention parents and relationships.

“Anne With an E” Season 3

The beloved tale of “Anne of Green Gables” comes to a close as the third and final season of this take on L.M. Montgomery’s classic novel debuts Friday, Jan. 3. This latest depiction of the Canadian tale comes from creator Moira Walley-Beckett (“Breaking Bad”), and a Netflix news release declared the streamer’s faith in the final season, saying “that it brings [fans] a satisfying conclusion to Anne’s journey.”

Amybeth McNulty (“Clean Break”) stars as the titular Anne Shirley, an adventurous and outspoken young orphan living in Prince Edward Island in the 19th century. The series follows Anne’s arrival in Green Gables, where she immediately makes an impression by insisting that girls can do anything boys can do (and more) and standing up for herself despite the difference in status between her and her classmates. Season 3 sees Anne turn 16, and while most girls in her class are promised to someone, Anne believes adventure is her destiny and is inspired to begin searching for her birth family and learning about her lineage. Don’t miss the conclusion to Anne’s adventures when Season 3 of “Anne With an E” comes to Netflix.

“The Degenerates” Season 2

On Tuesday, Dec. 31, this standup comedy series returns for a second season. It’s similar in concept to “Just For Laughs” or “Comedy Central,” and “The Degenerates” didn’t get its title for nothing. The series stars six foul-mouthed, politically incorrect standup comedians who really don’t care if you’re offended by their own half-hour episode. Season 1 featured dwarf comedian Brad Williams, bawdy comedian Liza Treyger, veteran comedian Joey Diaz and more. Making up this season’s colorful and crazy lineup are Robert Kelly, Ms. Pat, Nikki Glaser, Donnell Rawlings and Adrienne Iapalucci.

WHAT’S NEW ON PRIME VIDEO

“Wonder Park” (2019)

On Monday, Dec. 30, the imagina- ants have come to life, but the park is in ruins and all of the creatures live in fear of the Chimpanzombies that terrorize it. Featuring the voices of Mila Kunis (“Family Guy”), John Oliver (“The Lion King,” 2019), Ken Jeong (“Community”) and Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”), watch as June realizes only she can restore the wonder to Wonder Park.

WHAT’S NEW ON HULU

“Preacher” Season 4 tion of one little girl comes to life in this movie that’s fun for the whole family. June Bailey (Sofia Mali, “American Romance,” 2016) has a vivid imagination that her mother (Jennifer Garner, “Love, Simon,” 2018) strongly encourages, and together they dream up a magical theme park called Wonder Park. When her mother gets sick, though, June becomes depressed and gets rid of anything related to Wonder Park. Then, while walking through the woods, she discovers that the park and all of its magical inhabit-

West Texas preacher Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper, “Mamma Mia,” 2008) continues his literal search for God when the fourth and final season of “Preacher” joins Hulu on Sunday, Dec. 29. Not your typical man of the cloth, Jesse is joined in his mission by his criminal ex-girlfriend, Tulip (Ruth Negga, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D”), and Irish vampire Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun, “Misfits”). Season 4 jumps in as the mission has gone slightly awry — Jesse has condemned his soul, Cassidy has been kidnaped by a Christian paramilitary group, and Tulip saw God himself (Mark Harelik, “Getting On”), who told her to get Jesse to stop looking for him. Find out if Jesse will get the answers he’s been so desperately searching for in the final season of “Preacher.”

“Anesthesia” (2015)

When Columbia University’s philosophy professor Walter Zarrow (Sam Waterson, “Grace and Frankie”) is badly injured while being mugged, the aftermath brings together a number of people in his life in this captivating film that joins the Hulu lineup on Monday, Dec. 30. “Anesthesia” shows the intricacies of one seemingly small moment from the chain of events that leads to the fallout that can ripple through to even the most unexpected people. This fascinating indie film features an all-star cast, including Glenn Close (“Damages”), Kristen Stewart (“Charlie’s Angels,” 2019) and Corey Stoll (“The Strain”).

Primal

Working deep in the Brazilian rainforest, professional hunter Frank Walsh (Cage) finally successfully captures an ultra-rare white jaguar to sell to a zoo that’s willing to pay an exorbitant amount of money for the creature. While preparing to transport the large cat back to the United States, Walsh finds that many of his usual nefarious contacts are unwilling to risk moving the legendary “ghost cat” due to the bad luck associated with the rare animal. Unfazed by his disreputable colleague’s concerns, Walsh organizes a cargo ship stateside. Director: Nick Powell. Stars: Nicolas Cage,Famke Janssen,Kevin Durand,Michael Imperioli,LaMonica Garrett,TommyWalker, Rey Hernandez,John Lewis. 2019. 97 mins.Action.

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From the list, find each word and circle its letters in the puzzle to reveal a message relating to this week's theme