CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHTS
the story!
Fox opens new ‘X-Files’ David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reunite in a limited-run revival of “The X-Files,” starting Sunday on Fox.
Featured Stories “Outsiders” THE 22ND ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS “AMERICAN MASTERS: MIKE NICHOLS”
movies to watch
LILY JAMES Kevin Frazier Karla Cavalli Brandon Routh JENNIFER WIDERSTROM
WHAT'S FOR DINNER
Featuring: “Recipe for Deception”
EXCLUSIVE!
Profiled athlete
Barnes and the Warriors
And so much more!
Connect folioto these shows within this magazine! January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote
C
contents
What’s HOT this Week!
Click to jump to these featured sections!
YOURTVLINK
CELEBRITY
“Outsiders”
4 LILY JAMES
‘Outsiders’ vs. the outside world
“War & Peace” star stayed away from Audrey Hepburn’s version
5 Kevin Frazier
Frazier loves his hoops
6 Karla Cavalli
Cavalli speaks in tongues
8 Brandon Routh
Checking in with some Q&A
9 JENNIFER WIDERSTROM
THE 22ND ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS Carol Burnett will give an ear tug for her latest honor.
Getting to know the former Gladiator and Biggest Loser Coach “AMERICAN MASTERS: MIKE NICHOLS” The late director largely tells his own story.
17
FOOD
7 “Recipe for
Deception” Cooking and lying together again
SPORTS
18-19 Barnes
the story!
Barnes and the Warriors deal with injuries in defending their NBA championship
“The X-Files” The truth is still out there for David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.
MOVIES
IN EVERY ISSUE
Review, Our top DVD pick, and Coming Soon on DVD.
suggested programs to watch this week!
20-21 Featuring: Theatrical
22-23 Featuring: Our top
Page 2 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
REALITY 16 “Finding Your
Roots” From pain comes laughs
Editor's choice
STORY
S
‘The X-Files’ reopens with original stars in new, limited Fox series By Jay Bobbin Mulder and Scully, together again. Almost 14 years after “The X-Files” ended (barring 2008’s “I Want to Believe,” the second of the two featurefilm spinoffs), two of the most famous characters in sci-fi television – and the actors who first played them – reunite as Fox launches a six-episode revival Sunday, Jan. 24, after the NFC championship football game. It will continue the next night and on Mondays thereafter, with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson back as the FBI partners still seeking the truth that’s “out there” through decidedly supernatural cases. “It wasn’t a reality until we both said ‘Yes,’ “ Anderson recalls of the project taking shape once she and Duchovny both signed up again as Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. “Until then, it was just a thought or a question, and I had no desire to do it whatsoever. I thought they were mad, and that it was never gonna happen. I think I’d buried Scully pretty deep, so it took a bit longer to get back into her than I thought. It was fine in the end, and I found my footing. “I’ve made a lot of very deliberate choices away from her,” notes the England-based Anderson, who since has appeared in the series “Hannibal” and “The Fall.” She’s also in the miniseries version of “War & Peace” currently running Mondays on A&E Network, History and Lifetime, and she’ll bring her 2014 London stage performance as Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire” to
New York in the spring. “I’ve played a lot of very complex and equally strong and intelligent characters,“ Anderson reflects, ”and different versions of that than Scully, so she was farther away than I anticipated.” Also key to the return of “The X-Files” is the involvement of its creator, Chris Carter, the writer-director of three of the six new stories (including the first and last). Original writer-producers Glen Morgan and James Wong also are on board again, as are co-stars Mitch Pileggi (alias FBI superior Skinner), William B. Davis (the Smoking Man), Annabeth Gish (FBI operative Monica Reyes), and Bruce Harwood, Tom Braidwood and Dean Haglund as the Lone Gunmen. Joel McHale, Robbie Amell (“The Flash”) and Lauren Ambrose are among cast newcomers. Also a novelist now as a co-writer of the “Earthend Saga,” Anderson maintains any “higher expectations” she had for “X-Files” scripts this time was “less to do with my own writing experience and more to do with the fact that I’ve just worked with such amazing material since (the original series). Anytime you take on a new project when you’ve just done Tennessee Williams, your brain’s going to go, ‘Uhh ... wait a second.’ “And there’s a specific formula we have for “The X-Files,’ ” Anderson adds. “I actually realized, after so much time apart from it, how stylized it is in comparison to a lot of the other stuff I’ve done. I didn’t realize the degree to which it kind of lives in its own universe.”
January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 3
C
CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
Lily James
of “War & Peace” Monday on A&E Network, History and Lifetime With Leo Tolstoy’s “War & Peace” being one of the bestknown novels in literary history, what was your experience with it in getting ready to do the current miniseries version? Even though I actually found it very interesting, I had to read it several times. I was really, really drawn into the book, and I was happy that I read it.
folio
How did you feel about approaching a story that has been filmed a number of times before? I never watched Audrey Hepburn (as Natasha), because I love her and I think it would be very counterproductive watching her being Natasha before I tried to do it myself. I idolize her so much. I think every time they retell this story, though, it’s going to feel modern and new because it is so relevant. It has to be set when it’s set, because of the backdrop of the war and Russia, but there are so many young characters. It felt so fresh, (with such themes as) falling in love for the first time and going to battle. Everything felt very young.
Page 4 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
How did your work with your “War & Peace” co-stars go? Just being a part of this cast – not only with really young, new actors, but experienced and brilliant actors like Jim Broadbent and Gillian Anderson and Stephen Rea – was a really joyous experience. I think the director (Tom Harper) has made it feel so epic, he’s really captured what I think needs to be captured if you’re going to attempt to remake “War & Peace.” There’s scale but an intimacy, too, and it’s one of the things I’ve done that I’m most proud of.
CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Q&A
Kevin
C
Frazier of ‘Game Changers’ Saturdays on CBS You were one of the founding fathers of Fox Sports Net in 1996, correct? I did the very first broadcast when Fox Sports Net first came on the air. It was interesting because it was this weird new world and entity. And being somewhere when it’s on the ground floor and watching it be built and understanding how it functions is something kind of amazing and it’s like one of those things you cherish all your life. From there you went to ESPN, which was a growth experience for you. Yeah, it was. Listen, my dad was a coach in the NBA and college basketball, and I loved basketball all my life. And ESPN was like, “Hey, come and do all our NBA stuff.” And I was like, “What?” And so “SportsCenter,” you also have to remember that a lot of those guys on those shows, we all know each other. We had been traveling around covering events for years and they were my friends. And so it was kind of like going to this place where you knew everybody already and so it was kind of weird, you go in the building, you know everybody and you get to do your dream and everybody kind of gets to watch you do your dream. Is basketball your first love? Yeah, it’s my first love because of my dad and my life and how I grew up. But it’s interesting because as I’ve gotten older, I mean, I love football and I’ve also fallen in love and really become a huge soccer fan, a massive soccer fan. And it’s one of the interesting things I do, when I travel abroad for my current job, is I always usually try and go and see a game, especially if I’m in London. Whether it be London, Spain, Italy, wherever I am, I try to figure out a way that I can go see any team play anywhere at anytime. January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 5
C
CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Q&A
Karla Cavalli of ‘Planet Primetime’ Tuesdays on Travel Channel
How did you go about finding the shows you appeared on for Travel Channel’s “Planet Primetime”? We decided where we wanted to travel around the world and we were researching, basically, who had the most interesting television, especially for the first season because we really wanted to grab the viewers and dive into places that had really interesting or crazy or wild or popular television shows. So we chose 13 places that I think really proved that the world of TV is a really strange animal and a beautiful piece of artistry. So we get the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Japan, Israel, the Philippines. We hit some really fascinating places. What languages did you have to learn? I had to learn Turkish. I was on this very epic, amazing show. It’s sort of like our version of “Game of Thrones”-ish. It’s a 90-minute drama that they pour $1 million an episode into. It’s called “Filinta” and it’s set during the Ottoman Empire, and I had two scenes where I had quite a bit of Turkish to learn and they changed the lines the day of. And oftentimes I wonder how they think I’m the miracle worker that I can learn it. But I think when you’re under pressure and you get some Kodak courage, you strap down and you really just make it work. As a performer, you kind of don’t have a choice. When the red light’s on, you’ve got to perform. Did you do that in one take? No, I think we did a few takes of that but I don’t know that it was necessarily because of my accent. In the United Arab Emirates, I had to do a full, really long poem in ancient Arabic, and that I think is the most terrifying of all the languages to learn because I really wanted to get that one right in front of a live audience of these Emiratis, men and women and judges. It was a poem that I had to write myself. I’m not a poet, so that in and of itself is terrifying and a super vulnerable place to be.
Click or tap on icon for more!
Page 6 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
FOOD George Dickie’s What's for Dinner
F
Cooking and head games
on Bravo’s ‘Recipe for Deception’ There are very few culinary competition shows, if any, that combine cooking and telling lies. But “Recipe for Deception” is one such beast. Airing Thursdays on Bravo, the hourlong series sees contestants tasked with creating dishes featuring a main ingredient in the space of 30 minutes. The problem is, they have no idea what the ingredient is until five minutes before the end of the competition. The only thing they have to go on are clues provided by their opponents (who do know what the ingredient is), two of which are truths and one a lie. And that is where things can get interesting. A chef may conclude from the clues “pink” and “soft,” for instance, that the secret ingredient is salmon when in reality it is watermelon. So if the chef is creating lox and bagels ... well, you get the idea. “It was very funny to be able to watch (the cooks try to) crack this logic puzzle, read the faces of their competitor,” says Max Silvestri, the host of the series. “And really what I think it comes down to is being able to cook flavors that can incorporate a variety of things. Because if you go full in on, ‘I know it’s going to be smoked salmon because it’s pink and it’s soft and it hits these clues. I’m going all in on smoked salmon.’ And you start making bagels and pickling capers or whatever, and then it turns out to be watermelon, something totally different. Like, ‘Oh man, that’s really not going to go well on my bagel.’ ... So the chefs who were flexible and able to think on their feet, rather than the chefs who were more used to like a really specific game plan, were the ones who succeeded.”
What book are you currently reading?
“I’m alternating between two books that are about the same thing, one audio book and one that I’m reading. And they’re both about mismatched pairs of British murder detectives investigating a murder in a small town. ... One is called ”In the Woods“ by Tana French and that’s fantastic, and the other is ‘The Great Deliverance’ by Elizabeth George. ... For some reason, they both settle me to sleep and my girlfriend is horrified that what puts me to sleep is investigations into the brutal slayings of children. But you know what? It calms me down.”
What did you have for dinner last night? “I went to this great place in Petaluma, California, called Central Market. So we split a couple of things. ... So we had fried rock shrimp, like this chili glaze over cabbage, then this sweet gem lettuce salad with bacon and Point Reyes blue cheese and egg. And we split a pizza with roasted eggplant and goat cheese and Calabrian chilies. It was great. ...”
Click or tap on icon for more! Pictured: Max Silvestri
What is your next project?
When was the last vacation you took, where and why?
“I am right now writing a sitcom for NBC, a sitcom pilot that I sold. So hopefully that turns into something else, but right now it’s just developing the script with NBC and doing some more stand-up, too.”
When was the last vacation you took, where and why? “We are recent transplants to Los Angeles from New York, so we decided to do a road trip to kind of explore the coast of it. So we went to Santa Barbara and Big Sur and Point Reyes, which is just north of San Francisco.”
“I am right now writing a sitcom for NBC, a sitcom pilot that I sold. So hopefully that turns into something else, but right now it’s just developing the script with NBC and doing some more stand-up, too.”
January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 7
C
CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Celebrity ScooP
Brandon Routh
Brandon Routh may play a superhero on his Thursday CW series “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” but at least this time he didn’t have to bulk up for the role. And for that, he is thankful. Back in 2004, the 36-year-old Iowa native had to add more than 20 pounds to his lean 6-feet-2-1/2-inch frame to play the Man of Steel in the 2006 theatrical feature “Superman Returns.” The training regimen, he recalls, was rigorous. “It was diet and lots of supplements and protein shakes and a lot of weights ...,” he reports. “A lot of hours in the gym at the time and eating mass amounts of chicken breasts and egg-white omelets.” “I would be up at 4 a.m. running through the pitch-black park in Sydney, then go to the gym, then have a 14-hour workday being hooked up in harnesses and flying and then get four hours of sleep and do it again. It was an interesting experience in my life. I love it.” These days, Routh is somewhat more streamlined in playing billionaire scientist Ray Palmer/The Atom on “Legends” – and he doesn’t have to train for it. “I’d say the (Atom) suit is more forgiving than with Superman,” Routh says with a laugh. “But at the same time I’m a similar size that I was then so the suit is just fine. But I’m definitely not quite as big as I was then and it’s nice to carry around a smaller frame for day-to-day life.” Full name: Brandon James Routh Birth date: Oct. 9, 1979 Birthplace: Des Moines, Iowa Education: Attended the University of Iowa Family: He and wife Courtney have a three-year-old son, Leo TV credits: “Gilmore Girls,” “One Life to Live,” “Cold Case,” “Will & Grace,” “The Batman,” “Chuck,” “Partners,” “The Millers,” “Chosen,” “Enlisted,”
“The Exes,” “The Flash,” “Broken People,” “Arrow,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” Movie credits: “Denial” (2006), “Superman Returns” (2006), “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” (2008), “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (2010), “Unthinkable” (2010), “Miss Nobody” (2010), “Cost of Living” (2011), “Missing William” (2014), “Lost in the Pacific” (forthcoming)
Page 8 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
Click or tap on icon for more!
CELEBRITY CelebritY profile
C
J ENNIFER WIDERSTRO M
- Born Aug. 24, 1982 in Downers Grove, Ill. and raised in Lisle, Ill. - At a young age she began doing gymnastics and lifting weights with her father, Norm. - Athletic leadership runs in the family. Her mother, Lynn, was her gymnastics coach and also coached high school volleyball, while her father coached high school wrestling and football. - She pursued her passion for fitness at the University of Kansas, where she graduated with a degree in sports administration and competed in track and rowing. - She’s a former star of the NBC series “American Gladiators,” where she kicked butt as the pink-haired Phoenix. - Jennifer is an elite personal trainer/group fitness instructor certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine with an emphasis in balance training, cardio performance, reactive and resistance training as well as in neuromuscular stretching. She is also a master trainer for Dynamax Medicine Balls and has also achieved her Crossfit Level 1 certificate.
Jennifer Widerstrom is a personal trainer and TV personality who can be seen on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.”
- She is an expert for Women’s Health, where you can find her training videos, as well as the the wellness life coach for MSN.com. - She hates running, but enjoys burpees. - In 2015, she became a new member of the hit NBC show “The Biggest Loser.” - She takes part in Goodwill Military tours for troops stationed out of the country, and volunteers at orphanages and schools in Africa to help children advance through sport and play.
Click or tap on icon for more! January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 9
C
CELEBRITY
“I come in and I goof around in the makeup trailer and if it gets a laugh then I just do that on set…. I don’t mind laughing at myself if it gives the audience a laugh.” – Vinnie Jones on his singing and dancing on ABC’s “Galavant”
“Regardless of money or no money, I think they are just this power couple. There are certain things that I think Lara enjoys. She eggs him on a little bit and gets him to go get the things that he wants. They are aggressive in their way of being, but in a really smart way, and it kind of turns them on.” – Malin Akerman of “Billions” on Showtime, about the spouses she and Damian Lewis play in the series
Page 10 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
“I think it’s a way of combining a persona and a product and making it not just holding up something as an anonymous person saying, ‘Buy this. Use this. Do this.’ And they’ve all been infused with humor. In order for it to not to feel like I’m an an impostor, I say (to the advertisers), ‘This is what we should comment on. This is what we should be self-effacing about.’” – Brooke Shields, seen recently in “Flower Shop Mystery: Mum’s the Word” on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, about her work as a commercial spokesperson
CELEBRITY
S
ON DVRs Carol Burnett of The 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on TBS and TNT “I’m hooked on ‘Fargo,’ and I do like ‘The Grinder.’ I love the chemistry between Fred Savage and Rob (Lowe). I’ve also started to watch ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’; she (Rachel Bloom) is wonderful, and Donna Lynne Champlin – the gal who plays Paula, who works in the office – played me in ‘Hollywood Arms’ (a play Burnett co-wrote with daughter Carrie Hamilton), and I just love her.“ Tim DeKay of “Second Chance” on Fox “College football, ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Turn,’ ‘Downton Abbey,’ ‘The Americans.’ As a family, we love ‘Parks and Rec.’ But I just watch what I think might be one of the best seasons of television ever, and that is ‘Bloodline.’ Oh, it’s good.”
Caity Lotz of “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” on The CW “I love ‘Homeland.’ I just started watching ‘Master of None,’ which is that Netflix comedy. I think it’s hilarious. And I watch ‘Narcos’ on Netflix, ‘Game of Thrones’ of course. I can’t wait for that to come back. I just started watching ‘Jessica Jones.’ I’m not sure how I feel about that quite yet.”
Katherine McNamara of “Shadowhunters” on ABC Family/Freeform “ ‘Game of Thrones’ is one, and I’ve also been really into ‘Quantico’ lately. And ‘The Big Bang Theory’ ... and I’ve also been into ‘Criminal Minds’ lately.” January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 11
S
STORY
Defending their world David Morse stars in “Outsiders,” premiering Tuesday on WGN America. Story on next page
Page 12 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
STORY
S
WGN America brings viewers inside the world of
‘Outsiders’
Pictured: Ryan Hurst, Gillian Alexy and Joe Anderson (from left)
By George Dickie
There is a family that has existed for hundreds of years on a Kentucky mountaintop, isolated from the rest of society. And they like it that way. In WGN America’s “Outsiders,” premiering Tuesday, Jan. 26, that family is named Farrell and they’re on a collision course with the outside world. The Farrells have existed off the grid and above the law in their ramshackle Appalachian enclave since before anyone can remember. And though they appear unsophisticated and unwashed, they shouldn’t be dismissed as merely dumb rednecks. They’re actually a group of savvy survivors who will fiercely defend their way of life, one that is about to come under attack because they’re sitting on rich deposits of coal that an energy company wants and the surrounding towns see as vital for creating jobs. In the clan are Big Foster (David Morse, “Treme”), heir to the Farrell leadership; Asa (Joe Anderson, “The Divide”), who returns to the family after a stint in the outside world; Lil Foster (Ryan Hurst, “Sons of Anarchy”), a massive mountain man and Big Foster’s son; G’Winveer (Gillian Alexy, “Damages”), confidante of Asa; Hasil (Kyle Gallner, “Veronica Mars”), an intuitive soul who feels rejected by the group; and Lady Ray (Phyllis Somerville, “The Big C”), the tough yet regal leader of the Farrells. “I think they’ve probably been fairly self-sufficient for a long time,” explains executive producer Peter Tolan (“Rescue
Me”) of the Farrells. “Look, if you lived near the base of the mountain, you’d hang your laundry out and you’d go out and there’d be a couple of shirts missing. And at a certain point, you said, ‘Ah, Farrells.’ You know, they came and got it. And I think every now and then they’d make a run and they went and stole stuff from a store. But you know, it’s just like local color.” One of the would-be leaders of Farrells is Big Foster, who Morse indicates was originally written as what he describes as a “one-note bad guy who was there just to be a brute and a pig.” But after meeting with writer Peter Mattei, on whose play the story is based, and being allowed to make a few changes, Morse was “good to go” with the character. “He’s a guy who’s just kind of rotted because he’s not allowed to be who he was meant to be, which was the leader of this clan,” the actor says. “And when we meet him, he thinks he’s finally about to become the leader, and it doesn’t happen. And all those years of just sitting around with nothing to do except drink and party and all of that, has really taken a toll on him. But at the same time he’s the only one who really understands the danger that their world is in and the immediacy of it, and he’s willing to go to lengths that nobody else is to save their clan. So a lot of what he does comes out of that, of both those things: of rotting and really, really wanting to protect their world.”
Click or tap on icon for more!
January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 13
S
STORY
SAG salutes Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett will be honored at the 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, Saturday Story on next page on TBS and TNT.
Page 14 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
STORY
S
Carol Burnett:
So glad to have time with peers honoring her at SAG Awards By Jay Bobbin
Certainly, she is a television icon, but a major honor Carol Burnett is adding to her many others is for more than that. Besides her stature as the star of one of the most successful comedy-variety shows ever, she has acted in movies (“Annie,” “The Four Seasons,” the TV drama “Friendly Fire”) and on stage (“Once Upon a Mattress,” “Moon Over Buffalo” and, lately, “Love Letters”). Burnett’s career overall will fuel her receipt of the Life Achievement Award at the 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which both TBS and TNT will televise Saturday, Jan. 30, from Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium. As an owner of multiple Emmys, a Peabody, a special Tony, a Kennedy Center Honor, a Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and a Presidential Medal of Freedom (to name only some), Burnett is no stranger to accolades. However, her upcoming SAG citation holds special meaning for her. In an interview for this article, she discussed joining a Life Achievement Award roster that includes her close friend Julie Andrews and such other CBS-series legends as Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, Red Skelton, Danny Kaye and past SAG president Edward Asner.
Q: How is it for you to receive the SAG Life Achievement Award?
A: I’m absolutely, as my chum Julie would say, gobsmacked! It’s like having a bunch of kids, like apples and oranges, to try to compare this or that (among awards) ... but this is a biggie, definitely, because it’s for a combination of things. And it’s from your peers.
Q: What do you anticipate the occasion to be like?
A: I went to the one when Julie received this award, and I’m so starstruck. I have been starstruck since I was three years old, especially with (stars of) the big screen. I looked around the room and there were all these beautiful, wonderful actors. I was just in awe, and I felt like I was 10 years old again.
Q: How did the movies you watched in your youth inspire you to go
into show business yourself? A: When we moved out to California, my grandmother and I lived a block north of Hollywood Boulevard. We were on welfare – at that time, I think they called it “relief” – but we would save our pennies and we would see as many as six to eight movies a week. I think those movies made an imprint on me as a kid because they weren’t cynical. The bad guys didn’t win and the good guys always did, so I never grew up
thinking that I couldn’t be successful in whatever I wanted to do, just like Mickey (Rooney) and Judy (Garland).
Q: The SAG Awards usually open with several
actors telling how they got their guild membership card. How did you get yours? A: Well, it had to be for the first movie I made, which was really kind of silly. It was called “Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?,” with Dean Martin and Elizabeth Montgomery. I played the Eve Arden role; I was the best friend of the heroine.
Q:You said that one of the best things about
getting the Kennedy Center Honors was that you didn’t have to give a speech. Not so this time. How are you getting ready for that? A: That’s what I’m very nervous about. I’m not good at that. I’m just hoping to come up with something that’s short, succinct, to the point, and ... OK.
Click or tap on icon for more!
January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 15
S
STORY
‘Finding Your Roots’ connects comedy to pain
Click or tap on icon for more! Pictured: Bill Hader (left) and Henry Louis Gates Jr.
By George Dickie It is said that comedy is often born out of pain, and that is a connection “Finding Your Roots” endeavors to make in an episode airing this week. In “Tragedy Plus Time Equals Comedy,” airing Tuesday, Jan. 26, on PBS (check local listings), host Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. delves into the family trees of three comedy stars – stand-up comic and talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel, actor Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live”) and legendary sitcom creator Norman Lear (“All in the Family”) – to reveal the tragedy behind their stories.
and all that. Although he knew his grandfather Frank Kimmel well.” Hader, on the other hand, was an outcast as a teen. He had ancestors who served as soldiers in wars dating back to the American Revolution, which he knew little about prior to the filming of this episode.
“You’re almost watching him in real time sort of address his roots and try to say how they might impact his comedy,” Streeter says. “And it’s very funny at times. He’s very funny. He had a lot of ancestors who fought in wars, For Kimmel, that isn’t obvious. Growing up in Las Vegas, and of course he’s like, ‘I’m basically a coward.’ “ the host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” had a happy family life. But look back a few generations and there are stories of Lear’s pain is the most obvious. Growing up in hardship. Connecticut in the 1930s, he had a father who was less than honorable, at one point spending time in prison for “His grandfather was basically disowned by his parents,” selling fake bonds. Lear has also said that he was one of executive producer Sabin Streeter says, “and it turns out the inspirations for Archie Bunker. he was probably not the biological son of the woman who raised him and she was very cold to him. He was “Norman Lear is someone who came from a very cut out of their will, not mentioned in either of their obituaries, and there seems to have been some kind of unhappy upbringing,” Streeter says, “and sees his life as kind of a rejection of his parents. And his dad was a total drift.” con artist and a homewrecker – or family wrecker. ... But he is a comedian who was like, ‘I took nothing from my “And so Jimmy knew nothing about that side of the family. I tried to do the opposite. I consciously tried to live family. He identifies much more with his mother’s side, my life in a different way.’ “ which is this Italian side who really raised him and were very present. They’re the ones he brings on his show
Page 16 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
STORY
S
The late Mike Nichols
recaps his directing on ‘American Masters’ By Jay Bobbin It risks understatement to say it, but Mike Nichols had a way with actors. The proof is in the productions he directed for the stage and movie and television screens, including “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Odd Couple,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” “The Graduate,” “Silkwood,” “Working Girl,” “The Birdcage,” “Wit” and “Angels in America.” Fourteen months after the death of the widely esteemed EGOT – a winner of four Emmys, a Grammy, an Oscar and nine Tonys – his story is told largely in his own words, as related in an interview with producer Julian Schlossberg, in a new “American Masters” profile Friday, Jan. 29, on PBS (check local listings). The personal touches of the program extend to its director: Elaine May, who was Nichols’ comedy partner before he gave up performing to focus on directing. In the “American Masters” program, she’s seen participating in the presentation of his 2010 American Film Institute Life Achievement Award, for which Nichols spoke with this writer at the time. “I feel like I’ve done something wrong,” he said of that honor, “first by wanting it and second, by taking it. I need a big joke (to tell at the event). Otherwise, all I have to do is cry.” The husband of ABC journalist Diane Sawyer, Nichols is seen crying at a very telling point in his PBS interview, as he talks about Meryl Streep’s 1983 performance for him as nuclear-plant whistleblower Karen Silkwood. It supports the reasoning he gave us about actors and roles: “If you find the right circumstances and the right expression of them, and it’s perfectly clear what’s happening, all the actor should have to do is ride it home. Sometimes, you find
Click or tap on icon for more! the physical expression that allows the actor just to live and respond.” Streep is one of the Nichols colleagues who offer comments in the “American Masters” episode, as do Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Alec Baldwin, the late Robin Williams, musician Paul Simon and playwrights Neil Simon and Tony Kushner. As it happens, it’s not the only documentary about Nichols that’s coming up; on Feb. 22, HBO will present “Becoming Mike Nichols,” also featuring an extended interview with him. It’s little wonder so many actors pay tribute to Nichols on PBS, even if only in a 10- or 15-second sound bite, since he clearly cheered them on while guiding them. “The satisfaction is to see them unfold and unfold and become more and more,” he told us. “Dustin (made an instant star by ‘The Graduate’) came from nowhere, as it were. From the moment we got together, it was clear that he was a force, someone who could be many people – all of them with strong centers. That’s thrilling.” January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 17
and
playing strong, hoping for another ring
Full Name: Harrison Bryce Jordan Barnes Born: May 30, 1992 Birthplace: Ames, Iowa Height/Weight: 6 foot, 8 inches/225-pounds Team: Golden State Warriors Position: Forward No.: 40
Warriors
Barnes
S
SPORTS
College: North Carolina Drafted: 2012, 7th overall pick by Golden State Honors and Achievements: NBA champion, 2015; NBA All-Rookie First Team, 2013; ACC Rookie of the Year, 2011
Page 18 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
SPORTS
S
By Dan Ladd Harrison Barnes came to North Carolina right after the Tar Heels had won a National Championship in 2009. While he was not able to be champion in college, the young forward got his ring at the pro level with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in 2015. Barnes and the Warriors host Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday, Jan. 27, on ESPN. The Warriors got off to an incredible start this season, winning their first 24 games with Barnes on the court for the first 17. He then suffered an ankle sprain before returning to action earlier this month. Ironically, Curry too has had a nagging shin injury and fellow teammates Leandro Barbosa and Festus Ezeli have also missed time this season. The Warriors have two main goals this season, and at some point may have to choose one over the other. First, they have a shot at besting the 1996 Chicago Bulls’ regular season record of 72-10. At press time the Warriors were on pace at 33-2 to reach that accomplishment, but at what cost? Second, and most important, is repeating as NBA champions. Dealing with injuries is part of the game and getting an integral player like Barnes healthy will be key down the stretch. Still considered a young player, Barnes’ contributions have been increasing. His average of 10 points-per-game and 5 rebounds, prior to his injury, were on pace with the Warriors championship run last season when he played in 82 games and averaged over 28 minutes per game.
HarrisonBarnes January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 19
M
MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's Theatrical movie review
review
Will Smith could coast very easily on the breezy charm he’s shown in such blockbusters as “Men in Black” and “Independence Day,” so it’s all to his credit when he tackles something more challenging that forces him onto fresh turf. Take “Ali.” Or “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Or “Seven Pounds.” Or, now, “Concussion” – the true story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Pittsburgh-based forensic pathologist who basically called out the NFL after he identified an apparent link between football’s necessary roughness and a form of dementia. The doctor’s autopsy on Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs veteran Mike Webster (who’s represented briefly by the ever-excellent David Morse) prompts his conclusion, fortified by similar situations involving other athletes. But his boss, played by Albert Brooks, warns him about going up against the power of the National Football League ... which, he’s told, “owns a day of the week.” Indeed, there’s considerable pushback from those with a vested interest in keeping the image of the game positive, but Omalu has science on his side despite efforts to discredit him. Also working in his favor, to some degree, is that he’s an outsider to America’s passion for the sport: An emigrant from Nigeria, he has no emotional attachment to the teams, helping him maintain a clinical stance on the situation.
Will Smith
tackles a tough topic in ‘Concussion’
Though there are some movie-world concessions in “Concussion,” like a little too much time on the doctor’s new romance (with Gugu Mbatha-Raw as his love interest and eventual wife), the film and its studio (Sony/Columbia) are courageous for taking on this subject. And it gets a boost not only from Smith’s star power, but also from his dedication to a performance that largely steers clear of his trademarked screen tricks. Smith has said that he’s a football fan, so immersing himself in a project that doesn’t paint the effects of the game in the best light clearly was a big step for him. The fine cast also includes Alec Baldwin, Paul Reiser, Luke Wilson – in and out rather quickly as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell – Eddie Marsan (“Ray Donovan”) and Hill Harper (also of television’s “Limitless” currently). However, there’s no question who the bulk of the heavy lifting falls to here. It’s not quite a touchdown, but Smith’s work does move “Concussion” pretty close to the end zone.
Page 20 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's movie review movies to watch
M
Top Pick
“BURNT”
DVD
In dramatic terms, it ultimately collapses like a souffle gone wrong, but fans of Bradley Cooper still may appreciate this seriocomic story as a showcase for him. After imploding while a star of the Paris culinary circuit, the chef played by Cooper resurfaces in London and tries to rebuild his career while trying to overcome his self-destructive ways. Sienna Miller plays a sous-chef who appeals to him personally in a cast that also includes such notables as Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson, Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”), Alicia Vikander, Daniel Bruhl (“Rush”) and Lily James (“Downton Abbey”). DVD extras: “making-of” documentary; audio commentary by director John Wells and culinary consultant Marcus Wareing; deleted scenes; interview highlights. ›› (R: AS, P) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand)
upcoming DVD releases
Pictured: Bradley Cooper
Coming Soon on DVD... “OUR BRAND IS CRISIS” (Feb. 2): Sandra Bullock plays a strategist who advises a candidate in a Bolivian presidential election. (R: AS, P) “SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS: THE WALT DISNEY SIGNATURE COLLECTION” (Feb. 2): The classic animated feature launches a new series of enhanced releases. (Not rated) (Also on Blu-ray)
Pictured: Sandra Bullock
“TRUTH” (Feb. 2): Anchorman Dan Rather (Robert Redford) and newsmagazine producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) probe President George W. Bush’s military record. (R: N, P)
“CRIMSON PEAK” (Feb. 9): A relationship on an isolated English estate has its perils in Guillermo Del Toro’s melodrama; stars include Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain. (R: AS, P, V) “BLACK MASS” (Feb. 16): Johnny Depp stars as Boston-mob figure James “Whitey” Bulger, an informant for an FBI agent and childhood friend (Joel Edgerton). (R: AS, P, GV) “STEVE JOBS” (Feb. 16): Michael Fassbender portrays the Apple co-founder and CEO in director Danny Boyle and writer Aaron Sorkin’s drama. (R: AS, P)
Family Viewing Ratings AS Adult situations
P Profanity
V Violence
N Nudity
GV Graphic Violence
January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 21
S
FAVORITE SHOWS
Tom Ellis stars in “Lucifer”
Zooey Deschanel stars in “New Girl”
SUNDAY 10 p.m. on E! Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry This new series introduces the 20year-old who’s creating waves in Tinseltown’s psychic circles, where he brings messages from the beyond to show business celebrities. In the series premiere, Tyler helps Jaime Pressly (“Mom”) connect with a Hollywood star who died tragically, while NeNe Leakes (“Glee”) confronts secrets from her own past. Bella Thorne (“The DUFF”) hears from a beloved deceased family member. Series Premiere New
Jennifer Lopez is a judge in “American Idol”
“Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry”
MONDAY 9 p.m. on FOX Lucifer The devil typically is considered an enemy, but this new, comic-bookbased series puts him on the side of the good guys. The “Pilot” introduces Tom Ellis (“Rush”) as the charismatic demon who now runs a Los Angeles nightclub, aiming to see justice for evildoers instead of cheering them on. “Chicago Fire” alum Lauren German plays a police detective, and DB Woodside also stars. Filmmaker Len Wiseman (“Underworld”) is an executive producer here. Series Premiere New
Page 22 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 24 - 30, 2016
TUESDAY 8 p.m. on FOX New Girl Nick (Jake Johnson) uses the occasion of Jess’ (Zooey Deschanel) absence, since she’s on jury duty, to rent out the loft to raise funds for Schmidt’s (Max Greenfield) bachelor party in the new episode “No Girl.” Convinced that KC (guest star Kiersey Clemons, “Extant”) is being unfaithful, Winston (Lamorne Morris) turns to Cece (Hannah Simone) to help him prove it. Fred Armisen (“Portlandia”) guest stars. New
continued on next page
FAVORITE SHOWS WEDNESDAY 8 p.m. on FOX American Idol Some of those who received their golden tickets in the final-season auditions cash them in, as the new episode “Hollywood Round No. 1” moves the competition to the area where the last American Idol ultimately will be chosen. Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban are likely to give their critiques more focus, now that the field has been winnowed down to those who are in the contest for real. Another episode airs Thursday. Ryan Seacrest is the host. New
FRIDAY 8 p.m. on ABC Last Man Standing Kyle’s (Christoph Sanders) attempt to do Ed (Hector Elizondo) a favor sets off a series of complications in the new episode “The Ring.” The gesture involves an engagement ring, and when Mike (Tim Allen) sees Kyle with it, he makes the assumption Kyle is about to ask Mandy (Molly Ephraim) to marry him. When Vanessa (Nancy Travis) learns about it, matters get even stickier. Kaitlyn Dever, Amanda Fuller and Jordan Masterson also star. New
S
SATURDAY 9 p.m. on CBS Criminal Minds A release of sarin gas aboard a Los Angeles bus alarms many people, including Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and his team, in “The Witness.” The race is on to find the perpetrator, since it’s feared a more widespread attack may be in the offing. Marisol Nichols and Tim Kang (“The Mentalist”) guest star. Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, Matthew Gray Gubler, Kirsten Vangsness, A.J. Cook and Aisha Tyler also star.
THURSDAY 8 p.m. on NBC You, Me and the Apocalypse If “The Last Man on Earth” suggests what happens after doomsday, this seriocomic new show depicts what might happen just before that. Though the series is Britishmade, Rob Lowe, Jenna Fischer (“The Office”) and Megan Mullally play several of the people whose lives are examined before a comet is expected to strike Earth. In the premiere, “Who Are These People?,” some make their way to a bunker that lets them survive and become the basis of a new society. Series Premiere New 9 p.m. on CMT Party Down South The backdrop shifts to picturesque Savannah, Ga. — which also served as the setting for the book and film “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” — as Season 5 premieres with original cast members Daddy, Lyle, Murray, Walt, Hannah, Lauren, Mattie and Tiffany reuniting for more wild times. Expect to see some new relationships, such as a beau for Mattie, while others, such as Lyle and Santana’s, are sorely tested. Elsewhere, there’s some shocking news about Tiffany’s ex awaiting her. Season Premiere New
Aisha Tyler stars in “Criminal Minds”
Amanda Fuller stars in “Last Man Standing”
Jenna Fischer stars in “You, Me and the Apocalypse”
January 24 - 30, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 23