Screentime February 26 – March 4, 2023

Your Weekly Guide to TV Entertainment

new CBS and Paramount+ series

By Jay Bobbin

Almost 30 years later, one of Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron’s top movie hits is becoming a television series ... and that’s the truth.

The seriocomic adventure “True Lies” premieres in its weekly form Wednesday, March 1, on CBS and Paramount+, basically remaking the 1994 film as the opening episode. Steve Howey (“Shameless,” “Reba”) assumes Schwarzenegger’s role as Harry Tasker, a super-spy whose wife Helen (Ginger Gonzaga of “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” inheriting Jamie Lee Curtis’ earlier part) believes he’s a mild-mannered computer salesman. Once she learns what his real job is, she’s enlisted

by his intelligence agency, and they frequently travel the world on missions — while trying to prevent their children (Annabella Didion, Lucas Jaye) from finding out.

“It’s the hardest job I’ve had yet,” states the good-humored Howey, who has no illusions about possibly being mistaken for Schwarzenegger as he generates his own “True Lies” under the leadership of executive prodicer Matt Nix (“Burn Notice”). “This experience has taught me a lot about having an idea and then executing it,” Howey reflects, “because that doesn’t always pan out. Every episode of this gets better. And we get more tired.”

An alum of CBS’ “Showcase” talent search, the lively

Gonzaga knows “True Lies” also is a big showcase for her. She notes she feels “guilty” that she didn’t see the movie before landing the TV job: “I didn’t want to be influenced by Jamie Lee’s iconic performance. And then, I had to buy the DVD off eBay ... and a DVD player. It was a whole ‘thing.’ ”

With Omar Miller (“CSI: Miami”), Erica Hernandez and Mike O’Gorman also featured, “True Lies” has been in development for TV since 2010, and Gonzaga reasons that it’s “good that it’s been a while.” Since Cameron also had other commitments (including the now-Oscar-nominated “Avatar: The Way of Water”), his longtime associate Rae Sanchini had more firsthand involvement

in the casting; Tom Arnold, of the original movie, is a guest star on the show.

Being built for action, “True Lies” can put its stars at risk, as Howey learned close to the end of filming the first season.

“I was fighting a stunt man,” he reports, “and we did it once and it went great. Then we did it again, and he pretended to bounce his face off a wall ... and as he went back, my left hand went forward into his neck, and it snapped my left ring finger back to the point where my nail hit my knuckle. And I finished the stunt, and when they yelled ‘Cut!,’ I snapped it back. Then I got an X-ray and sure enough, I broke the bone. And I thought, ‘There’s a reason you have a stunt guy. Use him.’ ”

Learn Something News Every Day

Did you know your local newspaper is a valuable teaching tool? It’s filled with the latest information on all types of important topics, from current events and health and science breakthroughs to mindopening information about the arts, travel and different cultures all over the world!

The STREAM Scene

“Movie: We Have a Ghost”

Christopher Landon (“Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones”) directed this horror comedy about a family who become social media sensations when they discover a ghost named Ernest (David Harbour, “Stranger Things”). But when young Kevin (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) helps the spirit investigate the mystery of his past, they attract the attention of the CIA. (ORIGINAL)

Where all the top choices can be found in one place!

“The Mandalorian: Season 3” (March 1) The third season of this action adventure series continues the travails of the lone bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal), operating in the Outer Rim, away from the dominion of the New Republic, who goes on many surprising and risky adventures. Giancarlo Esposito, Katee Sackhoff and Carl Weathers are other cast returnees. (ORIGINAL)

In Focus

“UnPrisoned: Season 1” (Hulu — series premiere, March 10)

From creator Tracy McMillan and executive producers Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo comes this original dramedy series about a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist and single mom (Washington) whose life is turned right-side-up when her dad (Lindo) gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son (Faly Rakotohavana, “Raven’s Home”).

WebLinks

Bluefin lines are being cast and new contender Capt. Michelle Bancewicz and first mate Lea Pinaud of F/V No Limits sail onto the scene to compete for the biggest catch as a new round of “Wicked Tuna” airs Sundays on National Geographic. Binge on past episodes at www.disneyplus. com/series/wicked-tuna

Sports Zone

sunday

12:00 p.m. WIVB-4 WSEE-35 College Basketball Illinois at Ohio State. (N) (Live) Å

ESPN Women’s College Basketball Notre Dame at Louisville. (N) (Live) Å

ESPN2 Women’s College Basketball Georgia at South Carolina. (N) (Live) Å USA College Basketball Saint Joseph’s at St. Bonaventure.

(N) (Live) Å

12:30 p.m. WNYW-5 WUTV29 College Basketball Providence at Georgetown. (N)

(Live) Å

1:00 p.m. WKBW-7 NBA Basketball Phoenix Suns at Milwaukee Bucks. (N) (Live) Å

WPIX-11 LIV Golf Invitational Series Mayakoba, Day 3. (N)

(Live) Å

GOLF PGA Tour Golf The Honda Classic, Final Round.

(N) (Live) Å

MSG NHL Hockey Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres. (N)

(Live) SNY MLB Preseason Base-

ball Washington Nationals at New York Mets. (N) (Live)

2:00 p.m. WIVB-4 WSEE-35 College Basketball Wisconsin at Michigan. (N) (Live) Å

ESPN Women’s

(Live) Å

Solution is on page 6.

BY GEORGE DICKIE

Phillies look for Schwarber to muscle up again in 2023

For baseball fans, spring doesn’t begin until the crack of the bat can be heard in major league ballparks throughout Florida and Arizona, signifying that another season has arrived. For the Philadelphia Phillies, the 2023 season comes with expectations. In 2022, the 87-win Phillies rode a late season surge through the playoffs to the World Series, despite finishing third in the National League East. Now all eyes are on them to see if they can pull it off again.

At the center of those expectations has to be Kyle Schwarber. The burly left fielder with the vicious lefty home run cut was a force to behold last year, his first in the City of Brotherly Love, slamming a league-leading 46 homers and driving in 94 runs largely from the leadoff spot. Of course, he batted only .218 and struck out an even 200 times but he more than made up for that with his power and his 86 walks, which upped his on-base percentage to .323 and his OPS to .827. And he even managed to steal 10 bases in 11 attempts.

In the postseason, it was more of the same: six homers and 10 RBIs in 17 games with that same .218 average and a .937 OPS. He was also three for three in steal attempts. A model of consistency if there ever was one.

If the Phils are to hope to repeat as NL champs, they’ll need similar output from Schwarber to get them past the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in the East. He and the Phillies can be seen in action against the Boston Red Sox Thursday, March 2, in a preseason game airing from Fort Myers, Fla.

FULL NAME: Kyle Joseph Schwarber

BIRTH DATE: March 5, 1993

BIRTHPLACE: Middletown, Ohio

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6 feet/229 pounds

SNY MLB Preseason Baseball Atlanta Braves at New York Mets. (N) (Live)

2:00 p.m. GOLF PGA Tour Golf Arnold Palmer Invitational, First Round. (N) (Live) Å

7:00 p.m. ESPN College Basketball Michigan at Illinois. (N) (Live) Å ESPN2 College Basketball Teams TBA. (N) (Live) Å

FS1 College Basketball Rutgers at Minnesota. (N) (Live) Å

SNY Women’s College Basketball William & Mary at Monmouth. (N) (Live)

7:30 p.m. TNT NBA Basketball Philadelphia 76ers at Dallas Mavericks. (N Subject to Blackout) (Live) Å

9:00 p.m. ESPN College Basketball Teams TBA. (N) (Live) ESPN2 College Basketball Memphis at SMU. (N) (Live) Å

FS1 College Basketball Purdue at Wisconsin. (N) (Live) Å

10:00 p.m. TNT NBA Basketball Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors. (N Subject to Blackout) (Live) Å

11:00 p.m. ESPN College Basketball Teams TBA. (N) (Live)

FS1 College Basketball California at Oregon. (N) (Live) Å Friday

10:00 a.m. GOLF PGA Tour Golf Puerto Rico Open, Second Round. (N) (Live) Å

1:00 p.m. SNY MLB Preseason Baseball Washington Nationals at New York Mets.

(N) (Live)

2:00 p.m. GOLF PGA Tour Golf Arnold Palmer Invitational, Second Round. (N) (Live) Å

3:00 p.m. FS1 Horse Racing America’s Day At the Races.

(N) (Live) Å 7:00 p.m. ESPN2 College Basketball Dayton at Saint Louis.

(N) (Live) Å

7:30 p.m. ESPN NBA Basketball Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics. (N) (Live) Å

9:00 p.m. ESPN2 Women’s College Gymnastics Florida at Oklahoma. (N) (Live) Å

FS1 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200. (N) (Live) Å

10:00 p.m. ESPN NBA Basketball Memphis Grizzlies at Denver Nuggets. (N) (Live) Å

TEAMS: Chicago Cubs (201520); Washington Nationals (2021); Boston Red Sox (2021) Philadelphia Phillies (2022-present)

POSITION: Left fielder

BATS/THROWS: Left/right

11:00 p.m. FS1 College Basketball New Mexico at Colorado State. (N) (Live) Å

saTurday

12:00 p.m. WIVB-4 WSEE-35 College Basketball Alabama at Texas A&M. (N) (Live) Å

WNYW-5 WUTV-29 ESPN

ESPN2 College Basketball Teams TBA. (N) (Live) Å

FS1 Women’s College Basketball Big East Tournament, First Quarterfinal: Teams TBA. (N) (Live) Å

12:30 p.m. GOLF PGA Tour Golf Arnold Palmer Invitational, Third Round. (N) (Live) Å USA College Basketball George Mason at Richmond.

(N) (Live) Å

1:00 p.m. WKBW-7 NHL Hockey New York Rangers at Boston Bruins. (N) (Live) Å

CNBC FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Aspen - Men’s Downhill. (N) (Live) Å

2:00 p.m. WIVB-4 WSEE-35 College Basketball Kentucky at Arkansas. (N) (Live) Å

WNYW-5 WUTV-29 ESPN ESPN2 College Basketball Teams TBA. (N) (Live) Å SNY College Basketball Duquesne at Fordham. (N) (Live)

2:30 p.m. WGRZ-2 WICU-12

PGA Tour Golf Arnold Palmer Invitational, Third Round. (N)

(Live) Å GOLF PGA Tour Golf Puerto Rico Open, Third Round. (N) (Live) USA College Basketball St. Bonaventure at Massachusetts. (N) (Live) Å

3:30 p.m. WKBW-7 NHL Hockey Colorado Avalanche at Dallas Stars. (N) (Live) Å

4:00 p.m. WIVB-4 WSEE-35 College Basketball Stanford at Oregon. (N) (Live) Å CNBC Horse Racing (N) (Live) ESPN ESPN2 College Basketball Teams TBA. (N) (Live) Å SNY

NO.: 12

HONORS AND

ACHIEVEMENTS: Two-time AllStar; NL home run leader (2022); Silver Slugger Award (2022); World Series champion (2016)

BEST DUDLEY MOORE MOVIES

“Bedazzled” (1967) Along with longtime comedy partner Peter Cook, Moore devised the story for this satire about a hapless fellow (Moore) granted several wishes by the devil himself (Cook). Raquel Welch also is featured.

“Foul Play” (1978) Moore’s star definitely was on the rise as he played a randomly selected, unsuspecting alibi for a murder witness on the run (Goldie Hawn).

Chevy Chase, who would reteam with Hawn later in “Seems Like Old Times,” also stars.

“10” (1979) Moore got his shot at stardom – and made the most of it – in director Blake Edwards’ melancholy comedy about a composer whose midlife crisis is deepened by his obsession with his dream girl (Bo Derek). Edwards’ wife, Julie Andrews, also is in the cast.

“Arthur” (1981) Arguably Moore’s signature character, drunken New York

millionaire playboy Arthur Bach shapes up through the love of a waitress (Liza Minnelli) and the devotion of his manservant (Oscar winner John Gielgud). The music score includes the Academy Award-winning tune “Arthur’s Song (Best That You Can Do),” performed by Christopher Cross.

“Six Weeks” (1982) Comedic instincts were left on the back burner as Moore played a politician increasingly involved with a businesswoman (Mary Tyler Moore, no relation) and her ill daughter (Katherine Healy).

“Lovesick” (1983) This offbeat comedy from Woody Allen collaborator Marshall Brickman casts Moore as a psychiatrist who develops romantic feelings for a patient (Elizabeth McGovern), eventually leaving him subject to questions from peers about his professional ethics.

“Romantic Comedy” (1983) Moore and Mary Steenburgen make an engaging

ad

team in the screen version of Bernard Slade’s play about a creatively blocked playwright and his new assistant, whose relationship ensures various twists and turns ... including romantic involvements with other people.

“Unfaithfully Yours” (1984) This reboot of a movie-comedy classic features Moore as a composer-conductor plotting revenge against his supposedly cheating wife (Nastassja Kinski) and “the other man” (Armand Assante).

“Micki & Maude” (1984) Moore’s television-reporter character has two wives –the title characters played by Ann Reinking and Amy Irving – in this reunion for Moore and director Blake Edwards.

“Crazy People” (1990) An institution for the mentally troubled becomes a source of inspiration for the advertising man played by Moore in this satirical stor y. The cast also includes Daryl Hannah and Paul Reiser.

Look Now Look Here...

word search

“True Lies” on CBS and Paramount+

(Words in parentheses not in puzzle)

(Steve) Howey

(Ginger) Gonzaga

(Erica) Hernandez

(Omar) Miller

(Mike) O'Gorman

Solution is on page 11.

(International) Spy (Language) Professor Omega (Sector) (Covert) Missions

(Top) Secret

Matt Malloy

BY JAY BOBBIN

OF ‘ALASKA DAILY’ ON ABC

You’ve done plenty of work in both TV and movies. What do you like about doing a continuing character in a series such as “Alaska Daily”?

I have been fortunate to make a living as a day player/guest star for decades, and as such I am often hired on a Tuesday to shoot on a Thursday. I quickly learned that I’m expected to briskly reveal the character while plausibly and quietly moving the plot forward. And ... don’t slow things down with questions.

Being a series regular at times allows you the luxury of time – time to prepare, time to exchange ideas with the writers in advance, time to ask the writers if a slight tweak of a line is OK, time to sit with the costume designer and talk about the look and feel of the character. Also, being a series regular can sometimes embolden you to ask for one extra take if you feel you really didn’t quite get it right. It also pays more.

How are you finding it to work with Hilary Swank, who’s both a fellow star and an executive producer of “Alaska Daily”

Well, pretty much everyone has a built-in respect for her and her body of work. You don’t get two Oscars by accident. Her intelligence, honesty and courage are hypnotic, and these traits make you want to go into any situation with her. I expected to like her, but when I heard that she was driving across the country with her five rescue dogs and two birds I was downright smitten. Aside from her artistr y, she’s clearly mastered the technical aspects of filmmaking ... camera angles, lenses, flawless continuity, and an editor’s precision of what is needed. You need not look any further to confirm her skills than the fact that she managed to hide being pregnant with twins for three months from a bunch of nosy, needy castmates.

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE SHALL DIRECT YOUR PATHS. (PROVERBS 3:5-6)

In Focus

“Gotham Knights” (The CW — series premiere, March 14) In this new drama series, Batman is dead and a powder keg has been ignited in Gotham City without the Dark Knight to protect it. In the wake of Bruce Wayne’s murder, his adopted son Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan) is framed for killing Batman, along with the children of some of Batman’s enemies: Duela (Olivia Rose Keegan) and Cullen Row (Tyler DiChiara). With D.A. Harvey Dent (Misha Collins) and the GCPD hot on their trail, Turner will soon learn there is a larger, more dangerous force at work within Gotham City.

Crossword Puzzle

The identity of the featured celebrity is found within the answers in the puzzle. In order to take the TV Challenge, unscramble the letters noted

Look Now Look Here...

28. Actor on “NCIS: Hawai’i” (2)

32. Unprocessed metal

33. Skater Babilonia

34. Comment from Annie’s dog

37. Stared open-mouthed

39. Christiane __, formerly of “FBI: International”

40. Actor on “FBI” (2)

DOWN

1. Alex Tarrant’s role

2. Perpendicular annex

3. Kilmer

4. “__ Plain Sight” (2008-12)

5. Laugh loudly

6. “The King __ __”

7. Omaha’s state: abbr.

8. Eartha & others

9. “Big Trouble __ __ China”; Kurt Russell film

13. Hoffman’s initials

15. Sid, for one

16. PC tray inserts

17. Vane letters

18. __ gai pan; stir-fry dish

19. “Charles __ __” (1984-90)

21. Give the cold shoulder to

24. Billboards

26. Fleece sheep

29. Dating couple gossiped about 30. “My Fair __”

31. Amanda Peet’s age

34. Camera batteries, often

35. Groove

36. Role on “Alice”

38. Gym class,