Just when you thought the house emptied, it’s “Crowded” again The dark side of being a spy is getting darker for them
Thought
Criminal Minds only existed in America? Think again
Move over,
Daredevil:
Here come Elektra and Punisher
Buddy
PLUS
CHECK OUT WHAT WE THINK OF THESE NEW RELEASES!
“Zoolander 2” “CAROL”
Oklahoma’s best
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contents
What’s HOT this Week!
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YOURTVLINK
CELEBRITY
‘Crowded’
4 Pauley Perrette
brings grown daughters back home
“NCIS” marks its 300th episode
5 John Travolta
Why John Travolta is an “O.J.” producer plus star
6 Steve Zahn
How Tom Hanks “inspired” him to be a better musician
8 Freddie Highmore
How co-star helped Freddie Highmore get into Norma Bates’ head
‘The Americans’ are newly exposed
9 Pete Nelson ‘Marvel’s Daredevil’ Still a ‘Daredevil,’ Marvel hero returns
17
Getting to know ‘Treehouse Guy’ Pete Nelson
FOOD
7 “Cooks vs. Cons”
Liar! Liar! Flambe on fire!
SPORTS
the story!
18-19 Buddy Hield
‘Criminal Minds’ moves ‘Beyond Borders’ in spinoff
Oklahoma plays Bahamian ball
MOVIES
IN EVERY ISSUE
REALITY
Review, Our top DVD pick, and Coming Soon on DVD.
suggested programs to watch this week!
Unknown” A yen for the ‘Extreme’
20-21 Featuring: Theatrical
22-23 Featuring: Our top
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16 “Expedition
STORY
Editor's choice
Gary Sinise pursues villains ‘Beyond Borders’ in ‘Criminal Minds’ spinoff Premiering Wednesday on CBS
By Jay Bobbin The minds of criminals aren’t limited to one country ... nor to one show. CBS’ long-running “Criminal Minds” attempted a spinoff series in 2011 – the short-lived, Forest Whitaker-starring “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior” – and the show’s makers are ready to try again. Premiering right after the original drama Wednesday, March 16 (with Joe Mantegna making a crossover appearance), “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” returns “CSI: NY” alum Gary Sinise to the network and the role he originated in a “Minds” episode last season: Jack Garrett, leader of an FBI International Response Team dedicated to helping Americans who run into danger overseas. Alana De La Garza (“Law & Order,” “Forever”) also stars as a former agent who left for reasons both personal and professional, but agrees in the premiere to help Jack find several volunteer workers who vanished in Thailand. Daniel Henney (“Revolution”), Tyler James Williams (“The Walking Dead”) and Annie Funke (“The Affair”) play the other members of the squad, each with specialized abilities. Executive producer Erica Messer oversees the parent “Criminal Minds” as well. She says she saw room to expand, though “we didn’t want to tell more stories domestically, because we feel that ‘Criminal Minds’ handles that very well, and has done so for 11 years. “But there’s a great big world out there where Americans are traveling more than ever before, and when we did the research and found that 68 million Americans leave the United States every year, our brains just started ticking that there’s crime that happens to those Americans. And wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a team of FBI heroes that could come save you?” As the chief of those heroes, Sinise is looking beyond the case of the week, conceding there are similarities between his new character and “CSI: NY’s” Mac Taylor. “You always see these characters that are constantly broken,” the Emmy-winning actor reasons. “They’re dealing with a lot because they deal with such a dark
world. There’s always multiple divorces, and they’re going through a lot of pain in their own personal lives. “On the other hand, there are law-enforcement individuals in this country that have found a way to have a successful family, to raise kids, to keep their marriages together ... all of that. I know several of those people personally, so we decided to do that with this character, to show somebody who was able to balance home and work, even though he’s dealing with a pretty dark world that these individuals go into constantly.” Though much of “Beyond Borders” ostensibly unfolds on foreign turf, locations close to the series’ Southern California home base stand in for other lands. “I’m constantly amazed by their interpretation of each country,” De La Garza says of the show’s production-design and set-decoration team. “I traveled a lot when I was younger – not that I’m not young! – and I’m in awe of their talent. When we’re supposed to be in India, it looks just like India. They’re incredible.” Projecting why “Beyond Borders” may work where “Suspect Behavior” didn’t, executive producer Mark Gordon (whose current shows also include “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Quantico” and “Ray Donovan”) reflects, “It’s always tricky when you have a show that is franchisable. ‘Criminal Minds’ was that show, and we were obviously very excited about the idea when we created ‘Suspect Behavior’ to take advantage of it. Whether you’re a new show or whether you’re a spinoff, it doesn’t always work. I think that, quite honestly, one of the things that did not help us with the audience with ‘Suspect Behavior’ was that we were trying too hard to be different. “When you are creating a spinoff, you want something that’s fresh and different,” adds Gordon, “but at the same time, you want to honor the show that you’re spinning off from. And I think that sometimes the desire to, frankly, have an opportunity to create more is not always the best way to create a great show. (This was) taking the right opportunity to create the right show that was organic and would be correctly in the “Criminal Minds” family but had its own identity. Erica came up with this idea, and it felt like we have it. And here we are.”
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
Pauley
Perrette of ‘NCIS’ Tuesday on CBS Having been there from the start as Abby, what was the feeling for you of filming the 300th episode of “NCIS” that airs Tuesday, March 15? It’s wonderful, just another incredible milestone. We’ve had so many. I’ve been here since Day One, and I’m so grateful. As much as everyone loves Abby, I love her that much, too ... so I totally understand. People yell to me, “I love Abby!” And I yell back, “Me, too!” With Taye Diggs as the main guest star, the 300th episode deals with the Musicorps music-therapy program used in treating patients at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Do you feel it works as a regular “NCIS” story as well as the series milestone that it is? I think people are really going to love it. Reading the last scene of the script, I thought it was very touching. It really is very meaningful; we talk a lot about issues within the military and with veterans, things that matter. And we have the lovely and humble and sweet Taye Diggs with us. When Abby is assisting with Musicorps, it’s so easy and so fulfilling for me to play. I completely relate. It’s the best thing in the world to give back – nothing feels better.
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folio
How was the cake to celebrate the 300th episode? We had 300 cupcakes! Every cupcake had the name of one of our episodes on top of it, from Episode 1 all the way up to Episode 300. The wife of one of our crew members has a bakery, and what a job that was. I own a bakery in New York (Donna Bell’s Bake Shop in Manhattan), and I was thinking, “Whoa! That is a tall order.”
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
JohnTravolta of ‘The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story’ Tuesday on FX Was it daunting for you to attempt to approximate someone as well-known as attorney Robert Shapiro in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”? That’s part of the joy of acting. When I was offered this challenging role, and investigated the reasons why I should do it or shouldn’t do it – and found out it was not going to be a guilty pleasure, but instead, something meaningful and maybe a message on many levels – I decided to tackle it with a full-court press, if you will, and really try to give as much reality to Robert Shapiro as needed. You have to do enough as an actor to invite the audience in to take the journey and tell the story. You’re the one cast member who’s also billed as a producer of the project. Why? It took four months for me to decide to do this project, and then I was convinced that it was going to (have) a multilayered message, which is what I would have hoped it would be. But in order to ensure that, (executive producers) Ryan (Murphy) and Nina (Jacobson) allowed me to have some participation, if I wanted to, in the production of it. And to be honest, other than some suggestions here and there, I never needed to assert that producer card. Everybody was so excellent in their departments, I was only doing it as an insurance method to assure that the product would be going in not a sensationalist way, but in a way that communicated something to an audience that was enlightening. Perhaps at the end of it, they would understand more about why the verdict ended the way it did, as opposed to chasing some rabbits that didn’t matter. The things we don’t know were more important.
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CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Q&A
Steve Zahn
of ‘Mad Dogs’ on Amazon and ‘Joy Ride’ Tuesday on Thriller Max Did he pick up playing the drums for the movie?
He picked that up for the movie. To this day, it’s one of the most incredible feats of an actor picking up something I think I’ve ever witnessed.
Had you played previously?
Were you the only one of the four “Wonders” who was actually playing his instrument in “That Thing You Do!”? No. Ethan (Embry) is a great bass player. Johnny (Johnathon Schaech)? No. Tom (Everett Scott)? Yes. You can’t fake that.
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Yeah, I’d played John Prine. I knew chords and stuff like that. I wasn’t that good but that really propelled my playing and made it a lot better. Tom, though, to this day, I was like, “You’ve never played?” “Nope.” Because you don’t just play drums. You have to have rhythm. ... There’s like wide shots of like, “D-doom, pishh,” you know, doing it, and he’s playing, even if there was a track, because obviously when you’re shooting you play over a track all the time. But that was really incredible because Tom (Hanks, the film’s director and co-star) was adamant about us playing. He said, “I don’t want to waste time hiding that you can’t play. I’ve got stuff to worry about when I’m shooting and I don’t want to worry about you being on or off. OK?” And we were like, “Got it.” So we f... learned it. We learned it. We were playing.
FOOD George Dickie’s What's for Dinner
Deception is the name of the game in ‘Cooks vs. Cons’
Viewers who like their culinary competition shows with a side dish of good, old-fashioned subterfuge will want to take a gander at a new series premiering this week on Food Network. In “Cooks vs. Cons,” premiering Thursday, March 17, professional chefs (the titular “Cooks”) are pitted against home cooks (aka the “Cons”) in two rounds of culinary challenges, with the final dishes evaluated by a rotating panel of judges. The winner receives a cash prize – $10,000 if it’s a pro and $15,000 if it’s an amateur. And who is whom isn’t revealed until the end of the competition. But along the way, the judges and host Geoffrey Zakarian try to figure that out based on their mannerisms and aplomb in the kitchen. And that, as Zakarian explains, is where the fun begins. “This is what it is,” he says. “If they’re talented, they don’t act talented. And if they’re not talented, they’re coached sometimes or – I don’t know how they Pictured: Geoffrey Zakarian get it but they try to fool us with little tricks and stuff. But I definitely think sometimes some of the talent underplays their talent. But the great thing about the show is you can play that game but it really doesn’t matter because if you win, it doesn’t have anything to do with who you are. (If) you win, you win. We tell people, we have the reveal before we tell who wins.” To figure out who is the cook and who is the con, Zakarian looks for “tells,” such as how they handle a knife or roll out dough. But when the pressure is on in the final round, he says years of training and experience – or lack thereof – cannot be hidden and the cook and the con will often reveal themselves. Often but not always. Some cons turn out to have been well-coached and even the judges and Zakarian are fooled. And even the final product, the dish, is no reliable indicator. “Very often, the best food wasn’t the cook,” Zakarian says. “... But you have to wait until the end to see who the con is. We ask them, ‘Are you a cook or a con?’ And then we reveal who wins. We don’t even know ourselves. So it’s really kind of a mind game but it’s also fascinating to see how they try to fool us.”
What book are you currently reading?
“Well at the current time, I’m sorry to say that I’m not reading anything but I just finished ‘The Big Short’ because I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie. So I just put it down. Actually, I just gave it to my father-in-law to read.”
What did you have for dinner last night?
“What was last night? I ate dinner at Polo Bar with some very lovely people and I think I had ... the lobster salad and a glass of rosé champagne.
What is your next project?
“My next project is the Garden Bar at the Beverly Hills Hotel.”
When was the last vacation you took, where and why? “St. Bart’s, two years ago.”
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CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Celebrity ScooP
Freddie
Highmore Last season on “Bates Motel,” viewers saw motherfixated Norman Bates finally fulfill part of his “Psycho” destiny and transform into mom Norma, doing things such as wearing her clothes and even killing a potential rival for his affections. For the actor playing Norman, Freddie Highmore, it was a highlight of Season 3 and something he looks forward to doing more of this season on A&E Network’s Monday thriller/drama. “One of the great things about this season,” the 24year-old English actor says, “has been working with Vera (Farmiga, who plays Norma) in creating the fictional version of Norma, the Norma that is imagined and appears to him in his head.” That was best exemplified, Highmore says, by a scene in last season’s finale, in which he transformed into Norma to kill popular classmate and one-time lover Bradley (Nicola Peltz), of whom Norma was jealous. “There’s this switch,” he says, “and we see ... Vera take over the role of Norman in that moment – we’re sort of seeing it from Norman’s perspective as he then goes and smashes Bradley to death on the rock. And so in creating this mother/Norma character, this Norma that Norman becomes when he has his blackouts or when he goes into a certain state, it’s been great to sort of create that with Vera. “And even down to each individual take, she’ll do one take and you’ll see it as me, she’ll do certain things and then I’ll pick up on when it’s my turn to take over. And we sort of alternate these takes, each of us bringing our own ideas, and then ultimately you’ll get these incredible scenes that are a mixture of Vera and me acting the same role of mother and you sort of intercut between the two. And so it’s that fluidity of storytelling, I guess, that’s key in Season 4.”
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CELEBRITY CelebritY profile
PeteNelson
- Born June 4, 1962 in Mineola, NY. He grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey, with a stint in Brussels, Belgium as a 9-10 year old. - He became excited about treehouses at age 5 when his dad built him a treefort behind the garage of their Ridgewood, NJ home. - Early on, he had a fascination with and aptitude for working with wood. He loved to build small model boats with his grandfather in his workshop on Long Island. - He graduated Colorado College with an Economics degree. - The carpenter and homebuilder within him could not be silenced, and with an eye to become “the treehouse guy,” he embarked on a unique career path.
Pete Nelson is a TV personality, business owner and treehouse designer who can currently be seen on Animal Planet’s “Treehouse Masters.” - During his summers, he worked as a carpenter and acquired the skills to fulfill his considerable builder’s imagination. With his new wife, Judy, he moved to Seattle and started a small company specializing in residential construction.
- In 2005, he decided to build one of the first hotels to live amongst the trees, a bed and breakfast called Treehouse Point. This inn sits alongside his Nelson Treehouse and Supply in Issaquah, Wash., which conducts treehouse workshops for do-it-yourselfers.
- In 1994 Houghton Mifflin published “Treehouses, the Art and Craft of Living out on a Limb.” He has published 6 more treehouse books since.
- In May 2013, “Treehouse Masters” premiered on Animal Planet.
- He co-founded TreeHouse Workshop in 1997 and is the co-founder and host of the Global Treehouse Symposium. - He designs and builds treehouses all over the world with the talented group of individuals that make up his company, Nelson Treehouse and Supply.
- He lives with his wife in Fall City, Washington and has three adult children, Emily, Charlie and Henry, who he happily works with daily in the trees.
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CELEBRITY
“I was looking to perhaps do a show that had two leads, something like this. I had been cast for, but hadn’t started shooting, my run on ‘Girls’ when I learned about this project … so I was really excited about doing something more in that vein, in the world of ‘dramedy,’ getting to have incredibly serious scenes and then also very funny things as well.” – Gillian Jacobs of “Love” on Netflix
“Certainly, there was a mistake made. Once I owned it, most people said, ‘Man, he made a human mistake.’ The rest of the people weren’t having that, and I understood it … but it turned out to be a huge blessing.” – Steve Harvey of “Steve Harvey” and “Family Feud” in syndication and “Little Big Shots” on NBC, on his gaffe of announcing the incorrect contestant as the winner while hosting December’s Miss Universe Pageant
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“The nice thing is that not a day goes by when someone doesn’t come up to me and talk about the show and talk about Joan. So I have this really nice feeling that it’s living on and people are still enjoying it or just now discovering it or rewatching it. ... So I think it’ll live on for a while. It was very rewarding as an actor to get that kind of material. It was a bit of a gift.” – Christina Hendricks of “Hap and Leonard” on Sundance Channel, on her previous series “Mad Men”
CELEBRITY
ON DVRs
“
Gary Sinise of “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” on CBS I think ‘Homeland’ is just a really good show. Claire Danes is terrific, and the writers are very, very good on that show. And Turner Classic Movies is one of my favorite channels. My wife and I have that on all the time.
”
Aldis Hodge of “Underground” on WGN America “ ‘Homeland.’ Let’s see, I have like ‘Scandal’ on there. ... But its weird. Jeez, my shows haven’t come around. ... I’m waiting for ‘House of Lies’ to come back. ‘House of Cards’ is in there. ‘Girls’ is funny, too. They’re so awkward, it’s hilarious. ‘Game of Thrones.’ ”
Pauley Perrette of “NCIS” on CBS “Oh, man ... ‘The People’s Court.’ I don’t know Judge (Marilyn) Milian, but I love her so much. She’s like this unknown mentor to me. She’s so firm, but also so kind, just a strong lady – and I’ve become ridiculously obsessed with her. I just want to watch her all the time; she’s so cool. I probably have, like, 70 ‘People’s Courts’ recorded.”
Bradley James of “Damien” on A&E Network “You know, I’ve been asked the question of binge watching and I’ve repeated ‘Mr. Robot’ because I threw myself through that very quickly because I thought it was fantastic. And ‘Bates Motel’ I checked out because we’re on the same channel and I enjoyed that as well.”
March 13 - 19, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 11
STORY
“CROWDED”
An empty nest fills up again Sitcom has a “Preview” premiere Tuesday on NBC. Story on next page
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STORY
In-laws and grown children keep a house ‘Crowded’ in new NBC sitcom By Jay Bobbin Many parents are familiar with empty nest syndrome. But what if the nest suddenly fills back up again? Getting a preview showing Tuesday, March 15 – before its official premiere Sunday, March 20 – the NBC sitcom “Crowded” casts Emmy winner Carrie Preston (“The Good Wife”) and Patrick Warburton (“Rules of Engagement”) as spouses ready to reclaim their life as a couple on their own. That’s thwarted when both of their daughters (played by “iCarly” alum Miranda Cosgrove and Mia Serafino) move back in, along with the decision by the husband’s parents (Stacy Keach and Carlease Burke) not to relocate, all keeping family ties tighter than expected. Created by “Hot in Cleveland” mentor Suzanne Martin, “Crowded” boasts a notable lineup of executive producers – including television-comedy icon James Burrows (“Will & Grace,” “Cheers”), recently saluted in an NBC special on the occasion of directing his 1000th sitcom episode, which was a “Crowded” story. Sean Hayes, who played Jack for Burrows on “Will & Grace,” and his longtime professional partner Todd Milliner also are on the new show’s production team. “I think 31 percent of millennials are living at home right now,” Martin says, “and the most interesting fact about that for me is that 80 percent of them are fine with it. They are happy to be home. They like their parents. This is somewhat based on my own experience where we were so sad when our girls left, and then so happy about a month after and were having so much fun.
Pictured: Miranda Cosgrove
“Then, after college, they both moved back in again. It just seems like everyone is doing that. They’d come back, and they think you are going to be happy that they are back and hang out with them and have fun. It’s not just the economy; I think the root cause, which we try to get into in the show a bit, is that this is the first generation where we really made our kids our friends. The whole time we were doing it, everyone was saying, ‘Don’t do that. You are not supposed to do that.’ But we did it anyway.” Cosgrove knows about the experience from the other side. Now in her early 20s, she notes, “I do have my own place, but I live with my parents 99 percent of the time. I only go to my house if I get in an argument with my parents, and I threaten them, ‘I’ll go to my house.’ But, other than that, I really love it there. I just love my parents, and it’s nice to get to be around them. I even have my childhood room at the home that they live in, and it’s just nice to get to be able to have that.” Also seen on “True Blood” during its run, Preston has gotten particular notice (and her Emmy) for playing scattered but effective lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni on CBS’ soon-to-end “The Good Wife.” She reports “Crowded” is “definitely fun for me because I’m a theater girl. I got my training doing theater, and then, I started doing all of the single-camera work. And I haven’t been in front of an audience in a while, so for me to get back to that is really exciting, just to have that interaction with the audience. To get that feedback is fun.”
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STORY
“THE AMERICANS” Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys’ spy game resumes Starting Wednesday on FX!
Story on next page
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STORY
The jig may be up for ‘The Americans’ in Season 4 By Jay Bobbin That word comes straight from Joel Fields, an executive producer of the FX series, and it’s clear just from the promotional ads that a new reality is setting in for “Philip” and “Elizabeth” Jennings (played by Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell), KGB spies planted near America’s capital during the Cold War era. As the drama starts its fourth round Wednesday, March 16, the couple’s true identities are no longer known only to them – and their daughter, Paige (Holly Taylor), has imperiled them by sharing that information with others.
Pictured: Matthew Rhys
Partnered with others including series creator (and ex-CIA man) Joe Weisberg in making “The Americans,” Fields says “one of the things that for all of us is fun about the show is whether it’s ‘Philip’ and ‘Elizabeth’ as parents, or their daughter or their neighborhood or any of these characters, what we’re playing with are actually universal relationship dynamics ... just under very, very heightened circumstances. “What’s powerful is, you always have to ask yourself how much of yourself are you going to share – and there’s always a sense of disillusionment from a teenager who’s growing to see his or her parents in a new, more realistic light. It just so happens that the stakes for these guys are life and death.” The “death” part is a prominent consideration in “The Americans,” since its antiheroes often exhibit brutal violence. “I’ve always had this thing that with each season, the intensity increases,” Rhys reasons, “and I think for Philip, it becomes a sort of quest for survival. I think his goal has become kind of narrower, more pure in that he wants his family to be OK. He’s kind of going, ‘I just need to do everything as best as I can so everyone stays alive.”’ Among other “Americans” actors, Margo Martindale (seen lately on CBS’ “The Good Wife”) is expected back in her Emmy-winning role as KGB supervisor Claudia, and Frank Langella and Richard Thomas also will return. Noah
Emmerich (who also directed an “Americans” episode last season) continues as FBI man Stan Beeman, the Jennings’ neighbor, with Alison Wright back as Philip’s informant ... and much more. Russell notes, “This season feels a lot to me about the emotional cost in the people that all of these choices over the last three years has had on them. I think there is a big opening for ‘Elizabeth’ in a new way, especially with Paige and seeing how it’s affecting her. And I think that’s a very (parental) thing. You try your best, and you think you know what’s right, but you have no idea how (a child is) going to react as an individual. I think there is a bigger sensitivity to the fragility of her family this season.” Maternal matters related to “The Americans” aren’t only on-screen for Russell: She and Rhys are expecting their first child together in real life. Filming on most of the Season 4 stories was completed before Russell’s condition became apparent, and Fields reports that in story terms, “We actually haven’t made any changes, based on the happy news. Except that we are happy.” With that said, Rhys adds jokingly – presumably – that Russell, in her “Elizabeth” guise, is “now incredibly effective with a blow dart from a seated position at 12 feet.”
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STORY
Gates and crew go to the ‘Extreme’ to make ‘Expedition Unknown’ By George Dickie Travel Channel’s “Expedition Unknown” may be featuring its “Most Extreme Moments” this week, but host Josh Gates had one to top them all earlier this season. That came while cameras were rolling in an episode shot in September, when he received a phone call from wife Hallie that she was pregnant with the couple’s first child. “We were filming a two-part special on Christopher Columbus and we were in Haiti,” the 38-year-old Massachusetts native says of the episode that aired in December, “and we were on the northern coast in a town called Cap Haitian. And we have an emergency phone with us that doesn’t ring very often and so when it does ring I always try to answer it. And it was a call from my wife telling me that she was pregnant. So it was a really emotional moment. We were in the middle of doing some host stand-up stuff and the cameras were rolling and so it was captured and we made it a part of the show and it’s a very real moment.” Real moments are something Gates strives for in his Wednesday series, in which he goes to far-flung locations around the globe to search for answers to baffling mysteries and legends. So far in Season 2, he’s investigated sunken ruins in Japan, sought the true cross
of Jesus Christ in Istanbul and looked into the legend of Shangri-La in Nepal. This week’s March 16 episode features Gates in neverbefore-seen and extended footage that shows him taking the controls of a World War II-era biplane, navigating tunnels beneath Istanbul and diving in hazardous conditions in Japan. He also turns the camera on his crew to give viewers an idea of how hard they work and how dangerous things can get, including one scene in which a drone operator is injured in a fall in the Cayman Islands. “It’s a really physical show,” Gates says. “Everything that I do there’s someone else doing (while) holding a 40pound camera on their shoulder or holding a big audio mixer pack. ... You just have to be game for this kind of a trip. “Everyone on the crew is someone who really has a pretty entrenched case of wanderlust,” he continues. “They’re people who really love to travel and they love the experience of it because it can be really challenging out there. So we’ve got a great crew of folks who just love the opportunity.”
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STORY
‘Marvel’s Daredevil’
sees new action in second Netflix season -Launching its Season 2 in full Friday By Jay Bobbin As Daredevil starts his second television season, he’s coming back to a Netflix that now has more Marvel. The streaming service gained extra attention with “Marvel’s Jessica Jones” last year, and “Marvel’s Luke Cage” is on the way. “Marvel’s Daredevil” started the brand’s association with Netflix rolling, though, and all 13 episodes of Season 2 will debut Friday, March 18. With Charlie Cox still starring, the new tales add fellow Marvel staples Elektra (played by Elodie Yung) and Punisher (“The Walking Dead” alum Jon Bernthal) – but pivotal to all the stories are Daredevil and his alter ego: blind attorney Matt Murdock, who dons his other guise and uses his highly attuned senses to battle crime in the Hell’s Kitchen section of New York. “One of the pitfalls when we have this many great characters to play with is wanting to throw them at the wall at the same time and say, ‘Look at all of the fun stuff we have,’ ” allows Marco Ramirez, one of “Daredevil’s” executive producers. “It was an exercise in patience, surely, to actually try to hold back and say, ‘Let’s be very careful about this. Let’s make sure that even people who aren’t aware of who Elektra and Punisher are will be with us on this journey.’ So it’s mostly about finding the strongest journey for Matt Murdock to go on, and then letting these two characters get into the water with him at the right time for his journey.”
Cox is ready for that, along with other changes in Daredevil’s world. “He’s so much more visible and he is a symbol that is instantly recognizable,” the actor reasons. “He’s been on the front cover of the newspaper. It has to inform the decisions that he makes. I think he has to be more responsible. He can’t be as anonymous as he could be in the first season. And that informs not only his actions, but also the way he carries himself, the way he holds himself, the way he communicates with people, etc.” Rosario Dawson, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson and Scott Glenn also return to the “Daredevil” cast, but Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk is now off the streets and the show ... presumably. Whichever villain the hero must confront, Cox believes “you can’t help but champion that. You want them to succeed, and you want them to do the things that you can’t, and maybe you enjoy the idea that it’s possible.” In the same sense that Iron Man, Thor, et. al. have united as Marvel’s “Avengers,” Daredevil and the other starring Netflix characters are en route to teaming as “The Defenders” in a future show. However, “Daredevil” executive producer Douglas Petrie is content for himself and Ramirez to keep their creative sights on the here and now: “As (genre) fans, first and foremost, we’re giant nerds who just can’t believe we’re in the driver’s seat as much as we are.”
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SPORTS
Buddy Story on next page
From Bahamia to the NCAA Tournament Chavano Rainer “Buddy” Hield Born: Dec. 17, 1993 Birthplace: Freeport, Bahamas Size: 6 foot 4 inches, 212-pounds Team: Oklahoma Sooners (2012–present) Position: Guard Number: 24 Honors and Achievements: Third-team All-American, 2015; Big 12 Player of the Year, 2015
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SPORTS
By Dan Ladd When the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament commences in midMarch, there’s no doubt that the Oklahoma Sooners and standout shooting guard Buddy Hield will be among the top teams. The Tournament technically gets underway March 15 and 16 with the First Four airing on truTV. The action picks up officially, however on March 17 and 18 with 32 games airing over the course of those two days as part of the first round. CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV will carry the action. Hield, at times has been a oneman show for the Sooners who could possibly have to contend with the Kansas Jayhawks, their Big 12 Conference nemesis. Hield put up 46 points in a 109-106, triple-overtime loss to Kansas in January, and another 24 in yet another loss to their rival in February. The young Bahamian excelled in high school and was eventually recruited by both Kansas and Oklahoma, choosing the latter. In today’s one-and-done world, Hield, now a Senior, has progressed nicely from averaging 7.8 points per-game his freshman season to around 25 this season.
BuddyHield
Where Hield and the Sooner’s land to start the tournament will depend on how they do in the weeks leading up to it. Kansas will have the upper hand for the Big 12 title, but a showdown in the conference championship could prove vital for both teams who will be seeking a top seed bid. Still, the possibility of two top seeds from one conference is quite possible if the Sooners return to early season form. March 13 - 19, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 19
MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's Theatrical movie review
‘Zoolander 2’: Ben Stiller offers too little too late review If you wait too long to make a movie sequel, you take a couple of big chances. The brand may no longer have the heft it did, and if the sequel isn’t up to par, you also run the risk of damaging the brand overall. Will Ferrell took that gamble with “Anchorman 2” late in 2013, and now, Ben Stiller places the same bet with “Zoolander 2,” arriving almost 15 years after the original. He’s back as male model Derek Zoolander, who’s been out of the public eye for some time ... as has his rival on the runway, Hansel, played again by Owen Wilson. Through the efforts of “Titanic’s” Billy Zane (portraying himself), they reunite in Rome, where they quickly become involved with an Interpol operative (Penelope Cruz) in trying to stop a plot to eliminate such famous folks as Justin Bieber – who gamely plays along with that premise very early in the movie. (Spoiler alert: True Beliebers will not be pleased about what becomes of him here.) Kristen Wiig (spinning fashionista Donatella Versace’s image to a degree of amusement) and Benedict Cumberbatch, showing a sense of humor as a very distinctive model, also are on board. But wait! There’s more to the plot ... like a supposed fountain of youth
and Zoolander’s strained reunion with his son (Cyrus Arnold), whose appearance startles his looks-conscious dad. You really – like, REALLY – have to enjoy Stiller or the first “Zoolander” to make your way comfortably through all the convolutions of the follow-up. Yes, it’s supposed to be silly and satirical ... but also as director and co-writer, Stiller throws the idea that less is more right out the window. He obviously believes there’s enough good will remaining from the initial “Zoolander” to hit basically the same jokes, and enough broad knowledge of the fashion business to have wide license for inside jokes. Valentino, Tommy Hilfiger and magazine editor Anna Wintour are among the industry staples who turn up. However, don’t be surprised to hear “Who’s that?” whispers in the theater. Despite all the famous faces who pop up in cameos, from Will Ferrell to Katy Perry, a 15-year gap suggests how much demand there was for “Zoolander 2.” Let’s give it another 15 before “Zoolander 3.”
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MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's movie review movies to watch
Top Pick
DVD
“CAROL”
Widely acclaimed, Oscar-nominated performances by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara fuel director Todd Haynes’ (“Far From Heaven”) compelling version of Patricia Highsmith’s novel “The Price of Salt,” focusing on the early-1950s relationship of a novice photographer (Mara) and the Carol of the title (Blanchett), a woman whose marriage is coming apart. Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) plays Carol’s husband, who threatens to use her homosexuality in lobbying for custody of their child, and Sarah Paulson (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”) plays a friend of the Mara character who has her own connection to Carol. Screenwriter Phyllis Nagy also earned an Academy Award nomination. ›››› (Rated R) Pictured: Cate Blanchett
upcoming DVD releases
Coming Soon on DVD! “THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 2” (March 22): The movie franchise concludes as Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) targets her society’s leader ... who’s also targeting her. (PG-13)
“DADDY’S HOME” (March 22): Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg reunite in this comedy about a stepfather and biological father at odds with each other. (PG-13)
“FREAKS AND GEEKS: THE COMPLETE SERIES” (March 22): The cult-classic show, about a Detroit high school circa 1980, makes its Blu-ray debut and features Seth Rogen and James Franco. (Not rated)
“EXPOSED” (March 29): Keanu Reeves plays a New York police detective whose probe of his partner’s death comes to involve a troubled woman (Ana de Armas). (R)
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MUST WATCH
Melissa Benoist stars in “Supergirl”
Kevin Harvick competes in the Good Sam 500
SUNDAY 3:30 p.m. on FOX NASCAR Racing Kevin Harvick no doubt has a warm place in his heart for Phoenix International Raceway, home of today’s Good Sam 500. It was here a year ago on the 1-mile oval that the 40year-old Californian turned in a dominating performance, leading 224 of 312 laps in registering his seventh Sprint Cup victory on the desert track and 12th there as a pro. He defends his title today from a field including Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr.
MONDAY 8 p.m. on CBS Supergirl Just about anyone familiar with the franchise this show belongs to knows what red kryptonite does, and it does it to Kara (Melissa Benoist) in the new episode “Falling.” Her personality changes completely when she’s exposed to it, making her an evil super-threat to everyone in National City. The hosts of daytime’s “The Talk” play themselves ... and it’s a good thing Julie Chen is married to CBS chief Leslie Moonves, since that should keep her protected here. New
Hayden Panettiere stars in “Nashville”
TUESDAY 8 p.m. on FREEFORM Pretty Little Liars In the winter finale, “Hush, Hush, Sweet Liars,” the stalker threatens to kill all the girls if they don’t divulge Charlotte’s killer, compelling them to use Hanna (Ashley Benson) as bait to draw their “Uber Bad” out of the shadows. As Spencer and Toby (Troian Bellisario, Keegan Allen) pursue Sara Harvey (Dre Davis), Yvonne (Kara Royster) wonders where his affections lie. Aria (Lucy Hale) comforts Ezra (Ian Harding) as he completes his book and prepares to let go of Nicole. Tyler Blackburn also stars. Season Finale New
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WEDNESDAY 10 p.m. on ABC Nashville The drama series resumes with its midseason premiere, “Forever and for Always,” as Rayna and Deacon (Connie Britton, Charles Esten) finally head for the altar together — with, expectedly, much music underscoring the occasion. Series regulars Esten, Clare Bowen, Sam Palladio, and Lennon and Maisy Stella perform. Also turning up are Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus and singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale. Hayden Panettiere and Jonathan Jackson also star. New
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MUST WATCH THURSDAY 9 p.m. on BRAVO Top Chef It’s all over but the plating in the Season 13 “Finale,” as the remaining two chefs — abetted by mentors and former competitors — face off for the last time, cooking for their familiar panel of judges, as well as a dining room filled with such A-list culinary figures as Emeril Lagasse, Charlie Palmer, Dominique Crenn, Jonathan Beno, Hubert Keller and JeanGeorges Vongerichten. Also cheering on the finalists are family members eager to see who takes home the grand prize, plus bragging rights as this season’s Top Chef. Season Finale New
Rob Kazinsky stars in “Second Chance”
FRIDAY 9:01 p.m. on FOX Second Chance The next-to-last episode of the show’s season, “Geworfenheit,” thrusts Jimmy and Duval (Rob Kazinsky, Tim DeKay) deeper into their probe of Albert Lin (guest star Chih-Ping Cheng). As a result, Mary and Otto (Dilshad Vadsaria, Adhir Kalyan) have conflicting interests. Gracie’s (Ciara Bravo) sudden disappearance forces others to revise their immediate priorities. Amanda Detmer and Adan Canto guest star. Vanessa Lengies also stars. New
Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors
SATURDAY 8:30 p.m. on ABC NBA Basketball Western Conference Finals preview, anyone? The two best basketball teams on the planet get down to business tonight in the Lone Star State, where Kawhi Leonard and the Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs play host to Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, the defending NBA champs and leaders in the Pacific. The Warriors won their first meeting with the Spurs in January in convincing fashion, 120-90, behind Curry’s 37 points.
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