CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHTS the story!
Marg Helgenberger Rita Moreno Anthony Melchiorri John Stamos Sunny Anderson
WHAT'S FOR DINNER in “Blood & Oil,” premiering Sunday on ABC.
Featured Stories “The Grinder” “Code Black” “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah”
Featuring: Phil Rosenthal
EXCLUSIVE!
Profiled athlete Peyton Manning
Still bucking with the Broncos
JAY Bobbin's movies to watch And so much more! folio
Connect to these shows within this magazine!
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CONTENTS Click to jump to these featured sections!
YOURTVLINK
Celebrity
SPotlights 4 Marg Helgenberger of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” Sunday on CBS.
5 Rita Moreno
of “Nina’s World” daily on Sprout.
6 Anthony Melchiorri
of “Hotel Impossible” Tuesday on Travel Channel.
7 Phil Rosenthal
of “I’ll Have What Phil’s Having” premiering Monday on PBS.
8 John Stamos The “Full House” alum returns!
9 Sunny Anderson on Food Network.
Featured
Stories
3 “Blood & Oil”
premiering Sunday on ABC.
the story!
12-13 “The Grinder” premiering Tuesday on Fox.
14-15 “Code Black” premiering Wednesday on CBS.
16 “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah”
premieres Monday on Comedy Central.
17 “Quantico”
premiering Sunday on ABC.
Athlete Profile 18-19 Peyton Manning
Could this be his final season?
Movies to watch 20-21
Featuring: Theatrical Review, Our top DVD pick, and Coming Soon on DVD. Pictured: From the vault! A great shot of Don Johnson from “Miami Vice.”
SHOWS to watch 22-23
Featuring: Our top suggested programs to watch this week!
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Editor's choice
STORY
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By Jay Bobbin Don Johnson maintains he isn’t channeling J.R. Ewing in his return to series television, but even with North Dakota as the setting, there still are echoes of “Dallas.” The “Miami Vice” and “Nash Bridges” veteran stars as Hap Briggs, a bigger-than life tycoon who’s in the right place at the right time, particularly for scheming – as the biggest American oil boom ever lures fortune-seekers, including a young working-class couple played by Chace Crawford (“Gossip Girl”) and Rebecca Rittenhouse (“Red Band Society”) – in the ABC drama “Blood & Oil,” premiering Sunday, Sept. 27. “The only thing that we have in common is that, tangentially, oil is a part of it,” Johnson says of any “Dallas” comparisons. “ ‘Blood & Oil’ is about a boomtown and a big family and the seven deadly sins at play. I’m very respectful, and God rest his soul, of Larry Hagman ... but the character of Hap Briggs was conceived by Rodes Fishburne and Josh Pate (who are among the show’s executive producers, along with Johnson). “I then accepted the role, and I know a lot of these guys. And so, I took an amalgamation of these types of characters or these types of people, and I sort of rolled them into Hap Briggs.” The genesis of “Blood & Oil,” which also stars Amber Valletta (as Hap’s wife, his partner in multiple ways) and Delroy Lindo, was a call Fishburne made to Pate several years ago: “I said, ‘I just heard about the largest oil discovery in American history. It’s happening in North Dakota, and it’s the San Francisco 1849 gold rush in the middle of the prairie.’ And what Josh and I both immediately chimed on was, we’ve never seen anything set in North Dakota.
Pictured: Rebecca Rittenhouse
“Even ‘Fargo’ wasn’t actually in North Dakota, if you remember the movie,” adds Fishburne, “so we were excited about this new place where we could tell this old, classic tale of a speculative mania of a boom.” For any and all glamor “Blood & Oil” puts forth, Rittenhouse stresses “the writing for women in this show is really strong. Amber’s character is a very intelligent, savvy, crafty woman, and Cody (played by Rittenhouse) is also a very intelligent woman. She’s not defined by her husband. That’s one of the things that I really liked about this script, that I felt that the writing for women was refreshing and that they had something to do.” In the days of the trend-setting “Miami Vice,” Johnson was as famous as a TV star could get, and he embraces now making a prominent return to the home screen roughly three decades after that. “Listen, this is great for me,” he reflects. “I mean, to have the opportunity to use the gift that I’ve been given, and to have the long career that I’ve had and to work with these great and talented people ... it’s just a gift. I get up every morning and I pinch myself. “Back then, I was a brash, terrified young man with a big ego and a lot of ambition, and I’d like to think that since then, I’ve let those things that don’t really serve you kind of fall to the wayside. And really, for me, it’s about the joy and enthusiasm that comes with being given the opportunity to be here and do this.”
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
MargHelgenberger of ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ Sunday on CBS
What does it mean to you to return for the final episode of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”? Being involved in that show for close to 12 seasons was, certainly, the highlight of my career ... and it had such a huge impact on my life. Being a part of a show that becomes a cultural phenomenon, that doesn’t happen very often. The phrase “the CSI effect” was coined because of the show, and just the amount of kids who were inspired to become criminologists – that’s certainly an impact I wouldn’t have anticipated when I began the show. Why do you think “CSI” caught on the way it did? The audience was ripe and ready for it, and just from the few commercials that existed for it, they said, “Hey, this looks exciting.” I do remember the teaser, and it was pretty exciting, actually. Obviously, I’m biased, but I can see why an audience would be engaged and intrigued. What do you make of the international success “CSI” has enjoyed? I sometimes don’t think about that until I travel abroad. In some ways, I’m more recognized there than I am here, and that always takes me aback. The most recent time that happened to me, I was in Cuba in November. This was before the travel embargo was lifted, and one would assume they didn’t have American programming there... but how wrong I was. From the moment I stepped foot through immigration, I was recognized throughout the entire country, and the people were so incredibly lovely. It was like the old days, when in our country, the whole family would sit around and watch a show as it was broadcast. Who does that now?
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
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RitaMoreno of ‘Nina’s World’ daily on Sprout What led you to become involved in “Nina’s World” as an animated character’s voice? I read some of the scripts. I read some of the objectives of the show, and I was and am very ready. I think the show is a service in its own way, because it presents a world that is diverse ... which, of course, is not unusual anymore. Now it almost seems obligatory, but it’s diverse in a very interesting way to the extent that – and this is my favorite part of the show – there’s a little boy named Nikko. The character is named Nikko, who is deaf and is played (vocally) by a little deaf boy. And I met him and fell madly in love with him. What appealed to you about the character you voice? Abuelita plays a major role in finding adventures, making something out of nothing sometimes when things don’t go well in Nina’s life, and she’s ... I love this about her: She does yoga, and she always engages Nina – at least in one part of every show – always in some pose that has to do with yoga poses. She’s very contemporary, as is the show.
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At this stage of your life and career, what keeps you so energetic? It’s in my DNA. I am the most enthusiastic Puerto Rican person you ever met. I am the happiest Puerto Rican woman you’ve ever met. I literally wake up humming. I am very, very aware that I’m in the third act of my life. How long that’s going to be is in the lap of the gods, so I am literally smelling the coffee every moment of my life. I am so happy, it’s disgusting.
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CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Q&A
Anthony
Melchiorri of ‘Hotel Impossible’ Tuesday on Travel Channel You’ve said that this season has been about tough love on “Hotel Impossible.” How was it received? For the most part, I’d say successfully. ... There are three things that I could think of off the top of my head that I would say ... I was surprised (at). I was surprised that they would try to play me after six seasons and after realizing how I am. I’m very respectful, very nice, very caring, I want to help them. But I don’t really have a lot of tolerance for nonsense. You know, I’m away from my family, I’m away from my business. I’m on the road trying to help your hotel. You think I’m there for a TV show? I’m there to save your hotel but we happen to have a TV show. But I think there’s been two or three incidents where they thought I was a TV host. They forgot I was a hotel expert, so I had to remind them in a very direct way. So they dismissed you as a TV host? I think what happens is you’ve been on six seasons, so you become somewhat of a host/ celebrity, and I don’t see myself that way at all. I see myself as a hotel guy that happens to be doing TV. And they get caught up with that and they can’t figure out, ‘Why isn’t he talking to me?’ Well, I don’t talk to anybody off camera. They’re like, ‘He’s so nice to me but then like he’s not talking to me.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t talk to you because if I talk to you off camera, you’re going to think this is a big joke.’ So I think this season I ran into several owners who were very set in their ways and I just had to pull them out. And I’ve had to do things – very interesting, very unique ways of pulling them out of it.
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FOOD George Dickie’s What's for Dinner
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What book are you currently reading?
“I’m reading a graphic novel at the moment called, ‘This Is Not the Israel My Parents Told Me About.’ And it was written by the guy who wrote ‘American Splendor,’ Harvey Pekar. I saw it and I said, ‘Let me see if I feel the same way as him.’ So I started reading that. That’s what’s on my nightstand at the moment.”
What did you have for dinner last night?
“I went to Chi Spacca (in Los Angeles). Chi Spacca is one of the Mozza restaurants, and it’s almost like a night in Italy because everything is grilled on a wood fire. It’s very rustic and you get this tomahawk pork chop ... and they dust it with fennel pollen and they just grill it over an open fire and it’s one of the more delicious things you’ll ever eat. ...”
What is your next project?
“I hope to do this some more. Who wouldn’t want to do this some more? And I’m writing other things. I’m writing a play. I’m thinking about another series for network TV, maybe. But this is the priority right now.”
When was the last vacation you took, where and why?
“My wife and I just had our 25th wedding anniversary. We took two of our friends who had never been to Italy, to Italy. And we hit Venice, Florence, Rome and the Amalfi Coast. I don’t think there’s any more spectacular place on Earth, that I’ve seen so far.”
Rosenthal travels the world for adventure and gastronomy on PBS Phil Rosenthal wants you to travel more – so much so that he’s created a TV series intended to pique your interest. Indeed, the 55-year-old creator of “Everybody Loves Raymond” has a deep and abiding love of the world’s sights, sounds and especially tastes, and he shares it in “I’ll Have What Phil’s Having,” premiering Monday, Sept. 28, on PBS (check local listings). “I read that at least two-thirds of America doesn’t have a passport. That’s crazy to me ... ,” he says. “How many things can you do in your life that are life changing? There’s no more mind-expanding thing we can
do in life than travel. And for me, food and laughs are the way in. It’s how we connect. That’s everything.”
understand the city and the culture, he gained an appreciation of the cuisine.
The six-part hourlong series follows the gregarious Rosenthal as he visits the world’s culinary capitals, dining on regional specialities and sometimes sampling things that perhaps he’d rather not. Along the way, he meets locals and goes into the kitchens of eateries in Tokyo, Barcelona, Paris and Hong Kong, all in the interest in trying new things and finding adventure. In the series opener, Rosenthal visits Tokyo, a city so big and confusing, he says, “it’s like 50 Times Squares on top of each other.” But once he began to
“It’s the most food-centric place I’ve ever been to ...,” he says. “When you’re served something, every single dish is a gift. It’s presented as a gift, it tastes like a gift. Every molecule seems to have been worked up.” “This is where you hear about the $90 melon. But you see it and it’s like it’s a work of art. These are like ultimate gifts that you bring to people. And we tasted one because is this going to be the best melon I ever had? Yeah, it was.”
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Celebrity ScooP
John
Stamos If John Stamos looks too young to be a grandpa, that’s part of the basic joke of his new sitcom. The “Full House” alum returns to weekly television work – playing a personal-freedomloving restaurateur shocked to learn he not only has a son (played by Josh Peck, formerly of Nickelodeon’s “Drake & Josh”), but also an infant granddaughter – in Fox’s “Grandfathered,” premiering Tuesday, Sept. 29. Paget Brewster (“Criminal Minds”) and Christina Milian also star in the show, which Stamos considers a perfect fit for him. “This is the show I’ve been waiting for for 10 years,” he says. “I mean, I couldn’t be more grateful for this particular type of show. As actors we like to try to find roles that we don’t normally get typecast in. And I was actively looking for a show, but something a little edgier. I wanted to play a bad guy. And my agent was like, ‘Why don’t you just do what you do well, and play in your wheelhouse?’ I was like, ‘That makes sense.’ ” Also an executive producer of his new series, Stamos is very aware he doesn’t match the traditional definition of “grandfather,” and he’s relishing that: “That makes it sort of interesting, and I guess there’s some irony in it ... though I feel that a lot of people sort of look good at (that age). I remember watching television when I was a kid and a 50-year-old guy was, like, Abe Vigoda. I was like, ‘Well, here’s a chance to change things.’ ” Stamos also will reprise his Jesse Katsopolis role in the upcoming Netflix sequel show “Fuller House.” He believes it and its 1987-95 forerunner have thematic links to “Grandfathered,” which he terms “a very relatable high-concept show, but again, an unconventional family show. But ‘family first’ on this.”
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CELEBRITY CelebritY profile
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Sunn yAnderson is a chef and television personality who can currently be seen on several Food Network shows.
- Born April 19, 1975 in Lawton, Oklahoma. - As an Army brat she and her family traveled around quite a bit, including to other countries, where her parents encouraged her to experience and experiment with new cuisines. - In 1993, she joined the U.S. Air Force and worked as a radio broadcaster in Seoul, South Korea and in San Antonio. - After leaving the Air Force she worked as a radio disc jockey at several stations, before landing in New York City in 2001, at a top rated station. - While in NYC, she began cooking for her friends in the entertainment business and turned her hobby and growing client list into a catering company. - Talking about her cooking on the radio caught the attention of someone at the Food Network and in 2005, she had a guest appearance on “Emeril Live!,” which launched her Food Network career. - Her first show, “Gotta Get It,” a food gadget show, premiered in 2007, followed by “Cooking for Real,” “How’d That Get on My Plate” and “Home Made in America With Sunny Anderson.” She has also co-hosted “Top Five Restaurants” and “The Kitchen” on Food Network. - In September of 2013, her first cookbook, the New York Times best-seller “Sunny’s Kitchen: Easy Food for Real Life,” was released. - At age 19, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis – a chronic disease that affects the large intestine and doesn’t allow her body to absorb nutrients as it should. She has since teamed up with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America to raise awareness of the disease and develop recipes (available on getyourfullcourse.com) to help others who have it.
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CELEBRITY
“We’re going to have to find the balances and figure out what works and what doesn’t work. We’ll get there, you know. When you’re having this much fun and working with great people and (have) great writing on the page, it takes care of a lot of the work.” – Philip Winchester of “The Player” on NBC
“That is part of the plan. He’s not just going to be a guy standing behind a desk and barking orders. He’s going to be a man of action., so he’ll be able to bring some interesting things to the table – and some nice martial arts as well.” – Wesley Snipes of “The Player” on NBC, on integrating his movie image into his new series role
“I genuinely thought there was no chance, so I prepared nothing – which, if you ask any comedian, is your worst nightmare, having nothing prepared. So, yeah, it was really exciting. As soon as I left the stage, I was kind of like, ‘What the hell just happened? I’m pretty sure I just humiliated myself in front of the biggest audience I’ve ever stood in front of.’ And then, it was just drinking.” – Andy Samberg of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” on Fox, on his Golden Globe Award win for the show
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CELEBRITY
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ON DVRs Rob Lowe of “The Grinder” on Fox “The presidential debates are like the Super Bowl to me. And I love ‘The Americans,’ ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Silicon Valley’ ... and at the moment, that’s sort of it.”
Dolly Wells of “Doll & Em” on HBO “ ‘Orange Is the New Black,’ my daughter’s obsessed by. ... ‘Family Guy.’ ... ... And I love ‘Louie.’ ... I really enjoy ‘Girls.’ I’ve watched a bit of ‘Broad City’ and I think that’s really good.”
Jennifer Carpenter of “Limitless” on CBS “I’m always behind everybody else. I recently watched ‘The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,’ and it was the most entertaining, scary event of my life. And I watched ‘Mad Men,’ finally, and really loved it. It’s actually just good company; just having that feeling in the house was nice.”
Marg Helgenberger of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” on CBS “I watch ‘Better Call Saul’ because I was such a ‘Breaking Bad’ fan, and I’ve gotten to know (producer) Vince Gilligan a little bit and he’s such a doll. And I’ve been watching ‘Ray Donovan,’ which I think has had a very good season ... and besides Liev (Schreiber), I know David Hollander, who’s been running the show. I think he’s a very talented guy, and he created a show that my ex-husband (Alan Rosenberg) was in, ‘The Guardian.’ And I’m so sorry that ‘Key & Peele’ is having its last season. I’m so disappointed; I love them.”
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STORY
Rob Lowe stars in “The Grinder,” premiering Tuesday on Fox. Story on next page
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STORY
Fox’s
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‘The Grinder’ gives Rob Lowe new grist for the comedy mill By Jay Bobbin When it comes to self-aware actors, a photo of Rob Lowe could be the defining one to illustrate the phrase. In the adult phase of his career, the star who built his fame on such 1980s movies as “St. Elmo’s Fire” and “About Last Night” has spoofed his image in ventures from the “Austin Powers” comedies to DirecTV ads – while still maintaining his performing career in series (“The West Wing,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Parks and Recreation”) and Lifetime true-crime movies. Now, Lowe shows he still knows how the game is played as the Fox sitcom “The Grinder” debuts Tuesday, Sept. 29. He portrays television star Dean Sanderson Jr., whose long-running role as a lawyer ends ... prompting him to become the real thing in his hometown of Boise, Idaho, where his intentions worry his actual-attorney brother Stewart (Fred Savage, of “The Wonder Years” fame). Not only does the TV-trick-using Dean affect his sibling’s life at the firm headed by their father (William Devane), but also after-hours with Stewart’s family, which includes the wife (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) who was Dean’s girlfriend in high school. “When I read this script,” says Lowe, also an executive producer of the show, “I had no sense of what it was going to be. My agents hadn’t given me any background, so I didn’t really know what to expect, and that was the very thing I really responded to. In an era where we all want things to be less and less derivative, this was not derivative. This was a tone I hadn’t seen before. It was challenging on the one hand, and also really, really accessible on the other.” Part of the accessibility of “The Grinder” comes from the brothers’ ever-shifting relationship, and Savage is putting
Pictured: Fred Savage his flourishing TV-directing career (“Modern Family,” “2 Broke Girls,” etc.) on the back burner to return purely to acting. “This was a first time in a long time I didn’t really think through the implications of a job,” he maintains. “it was all very thoughtful ... like, where I wanted to go and what I wanted to be and, ‘OK, this job can lead to that.’ And after reading the (‘Grinder’ pilot) script and meeting with the guys, it just seemed like a really fun way to spend a week. And, then, there was all of this (the series order) that happened.” Having had so much TV experience himself – now also encompassing his animated, just-launched Comedy Central series “Moonbeam City” – Lowe likes the chance to consolidate it into his “Grinder” role. He reflects, “I learned a tremendous amount from ‘The West Wing.’ I learned a lot from ‘Parks and Recreation’ and ‘Brothers & Sisters.’ You learn the good things, you learn the bad things, the cautionary tales ... all of it. I sort of feel, without being too ‘fine’ about it, that everything has sort of led to this. I don’t know how many episodes of television I’ve done, but it’s a lot, so it’s sort of a perfect time for me to play a guy who’s done a lot of episodes of television.”
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STORY
The ‘Code’
to life or death Marcia Gay Harden stars in “Code Black,” premiering Wednesday on CBS. Story on next page
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ER doctors respond to ‘Code Black’ in new CBS drama By Jay Bobbin Initially, Marcia Gay Harden was a supporting player instead of the star of “Code Black,” proving how much can shift in the development of a series. Inspired by physician-professor-filmmaker Ryan McGarry’s same-named 2013 documentary movie, the CBS drama – premiering Wednesday, Sept. 30 – now casts “Pollock” Oscar winner Harden, seen in recent seasons on “The Newsroom” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” as the chief of residents in a perpetually busy Los Angeles emergency room. There, simultaneous treatment of many critical patients in the area known as Center Stage results in the new show’s title status. Bonnie Somerville (“NYPD Blue”), Melanie Chandra, Benjamin Hollingsworth and Harry M. Ford play Dr. Leanne Rorish’s (Harden) first-year charges who must work with speed and limited resources to save the people who often flood the site. Raza Jaffrey (“Smash”), William Allen Young and Luis Guzman (“Narcos”) also play members of the unit in which virtually every case is life-or-death. The frantic pace of “Code Black” is having its impact on Harden and her fellow performers. “Actors normally shoot a 12-hour day,” she reflects, “and I joked with Ryan (who’s an executive producer of the show) when he first came on, because the doctors were working a 12-hour day, ‘You guys got nothing.’ We were shooting 15-hour days. It’s not just showing up. There is not beautiful lighting. It’s real. It’s raw. And the amount of knowledge that they want us to acquire, so that it’s second nature (and) so it feels authentic, is a lot.” Now based at Cornell University’s New York Presbyterian Medical Center, McGarry says from firsthand knowledge that the Code Black situation impacts doctors in “maybe a way that a workout feels ... in that you start the workout, you go to the gym, and you’re one person. And when you go to a shift as an ER physician, especially at a place like our
Pictured: Raza Jaffrey hospital (in the series) Angels Memorial, you leave as someone else. It is an experience. It is something that changes you.” Co-star Jaffrey acknowledges how long medical dramas have been staples of the television landscape. “I grew up with ‘ER,’ and I’ve watched ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ through the years,” he notes, “and you think, ‘Oh, many of those stories have been done.’ And then during the course of this process, we got to talk to more and more doctors. We’ve been involved and been down to ERs. And you realize how many extraordinary stories that almost seem too incredible to put on screen happen every single day.” For the intensity of her “Code Black” work, mother-ofthree (including 11-year-old twins) Harden says she believes in such values the series espouses as family, health and teamwork. “That is so what I was brought up to believe in and I do believe in,” she maintains, “and I get kind of edgy, interesting drama. I get all of that. I love it, but sometimes for me to come to work every day and spend these kinds of hours and devote this kind of energy, I really do want to be behind those other values. So, the work is a blessing at the end of the day – and if you want to help me babysit my kids, come on over.”
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STORY
Noah brings a different view to ‘The Daily Show’ By George Dickie
Trevor Noah will be the first to tell you he’s no Jon Stewart. After all, he reasons, how could a half-black, half-white man raised in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa have the same life experiences, sensibilities and perspective as a white Jewish man from suburban New Jersey? And it is from that premise that the 31-year-old Johannesburg native will proceed when “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” premieres on Comedy Central on Monday, Sept. 28. For 16 years under Stewart, “The Daily Show” made its reputation gleefully exposing hypocrisy in politics and business and skewering members of the media for not doing their jobs as watchdogs of government. That voice will be maintained in the new iteration, Noah recently told a gathering of journalists in Beverly Hills, Calif., only he will take things in a slightly different direction. “The way you look at comedy depends on your points of view,” Noah says. “... The way we would tackle an issue would be completely different because we’d have different access to certain jokes, to certain sides of a story that you wouldn’t have necessarily. Certain sensitivities, all things that you feel are close to you that you may be able to access that you wouldn’t have were you not that.
“So if you look at the issues in America right now, let’s say just around racial inequality,” he continues, “Jon and I come from two totally different points of view. Jon would have to empathize. I, myself, come from a different place, and I guess it would be the same for him on different issues as well. When it comes to Mike Huckabee commenting on leading Jewish people to the ovens, Jon would come at it from a very different place than I would because I’m more of an outsider into that world and he isn’t.” But while the issues may change and the news will always be fluid, the mission statement for “The Daily Show” will always be the same: be funny. “That’s the most important thing Jon Stewart left with me, is that we are in the comedy business,” Noah says. “... It’s our comedic view on the news as opposed to news with a comedic view. You know, that’s the very distinction that we have to be careful that we keep on ensuring. “So comedy is the main thing, and I’m not worried about people taking it the wrong way if we’re delivering it in the right way. You can never control how people absorb what you say. All you can do is control how you tell it.”
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FBI trainees aren’t sure who to trust at ABC’s ‘Quantico’ By Jay Bobbin Training to join the FBI is built on trust ... unless you happen to be a recruit of television’s new, fictionalized “Quantico.”
saw anybody who looked like me on TV. And this was an opportunity for me to change that.”
The Virginia academy for federal agents is the main setting of an ABC drama series created by executive producer and “Gossip Girl” alum Joshua Safran and premiering Sunday, Sept. 27. Extended flashbacks show a group of newcomers learning the job, but another consideration ultimately is on their minds: that one among them might be the mastermind of an attack on New York.
Chopra was making a movie as well when she filmed the “Quantico” pilot, and she reports she got a crash course from an FBI agent “who spent four days with me wherever I went and just kept talking to me about his life, and talked to me about his friends’ lives and what actually happened at Quantico. And surprisingly, when I went into doing the show, it was very similar.”
Though “Quantico” is an ensemble piece – also featuring Aunjanue Ellis (“NCIS: Los Angeles”), Jake McLaughlin (“Believe”) and Josh Hopkins (“Cougar Town”), among others – first among equals in the cast clearly is Priyanka Chopra, who plays aspiring FBI agent Alex Parrish. A Bollywood movie star who won the title of Miss World in 2000, she was the sole performer on a panel for the show at the Television Critics Association press convention last month. “I’m a huge fan of television shows, of American TV especially,” Chopra says, “and I feel like the best content in the world has suddenly come into American TV, and it’s like the golden phase of television right now. I wanted to be a part of that revolution in a way. “The only thing I had said to ABC was that I wanted to do a show which gave me the respect of being an actor, instead of casting me for the color of my skin or what I looked like or where I come from,” Chopra notes, “because ever since I was a kid and I went to school in America, I never
Well before “Quantico” (which also counts Mark Gordon of “Criminal Minds” among its executive producers) came her way, Chopra received valuable advice from an actor who knows quite a bit about the workings of television. “I was doing a master class with Kevin Spacey a couple of years ago in Florida,” she says. “He’s one of those actors who’s done TV, movies and theater, so I asked him, ‘What did you find most fascinating?’ He said to me, ‘Television,’ when I thought he would say, ‘Theater,’ because you have a live audience. And he said, ‘I just don’t know what Frank Underwood (his “House of Cards” character) would do. I get my episode a couple of days before and I have to create it, and it keeps you on your toes.’ “And that was amazing,” Chopra adds. “That keeps coming back to me, and it keeps me on my toes, and it’s frighteningly exciting as an actor. I absolutely love it.”
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SPORTS
Full Name: Peyton Williams Manning
Height/Weight: 6 foot 5 inches/230-pounds
Born: March 24, 1976
Position: Quarterback
Birthplace: New Orleans
No.: 18 College: Tennessee
Honors & Drafted: No. 1 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft Achievements: Champion and MVP of NFL Teams: Indianapolis Super Bowl XLI, 2006; Colts, 1998-2011; Denver AFC Champion, 2006, 2009, 2013; 14-time Pro Broncos, 2012-present Bowler; five time NFL MVP, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009 & 2013
Page 18 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote September 27 - October 3, 2015
SPORTS
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By Dan Ladd Omaha, Omaha! That phrase has become all too familiar when Denver Broncos veteran quarterback Peyton Manning is on the football field. Although he’ll be operating a new offensive scheme under new coach, Gary Kubiak, Manning, who is a shoein Hall of Famer when he hangs up his cleats, will likely be shouting his infamous pre-snap phrase when the Broncos visit the Detroit Lions, Sunday on NBC. Both the Lions and Broncos ended their 2014 seasons in disappointing fashion with Denver bowing to Manning’s former team, the Indianapolis Colts. Although the Broncos had won four straight AFC West titles and reached Super Bowl XLVIII under head coach John Fox, they parted ways with Fox after last season. Now, in what could be his final season, Manning will operate under Kubiak, who once was a backup quarterback to John Elway, but runs an offense that relies more on the running game than that of the passing. Ironically, Kubiak was an offensive coach when the Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls with Elway in 1997 and 1998.
PeytonManning
With Manning coming off a season in which he was rated fourth in the NFL in both quarterback rating and passing yards, the Broncos are hoping for a repeat performance of the 1990s. It’s quite possible with an improved defense and a committee of running backs on the roster that includes Montee Ball. Ball, however, has had his issues with injuries. Still, as long as Peyton Manning is under center, few doubt the Broncos chances of winning the AFC West and advancing through the post season.
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MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's Theatrical movie review
Owen Wilson finds
ew i v e r
‘No Escape’ from overseas peril
Owen Wilson ... action star? That usually doesn’t happen, despite such past examples as “Shanghai Noon” and “Behind Enemy Lines.” The actor is much better known for comedy, but there’s virtually none of that to be found in “No Escape,” a melodrama casting him and Lake Bell – who also shines in humorous circumstances (“It’s Complicated,” “No Strings Attached,” etc.) – as a couple who move with their children from Texas to Southeast Asia. Talk about truly awful timing: Very shortly after they arrive, their new homeland erupts in a political rebellion, with the protesters indiscriminately targeting just about everyone in sight. The situation is especially dangerous for Wilson, since he’s a known representative of a company the rebels have a big grudge against. To get out of a situation like this, you’d need James Bond ... and for a while, the family actually gets him in the form of Pierce Brosnan, a welcome presence as a mystery man who turns up at opportune moments to lend assistance. Still, it’s Wilson and Bell and the young actresses who play their daughters who do the most running
and jumping by far here. Certain stunts seem pretty incredible for characters who apparently never had to attempt such things before, but if you can suspend disbelief to project that people in immediate peril would find the courage and skill for such measures – well, there you go. One of the demerits of “No Escape” is that it does leave so little time for what Wilson and Bell do best. Both are so expert at off-kilter repartee, you’d love to get a sufficient amount of it from them. However, “No Escape” is not concerned with such matters; it would much rather concentrate of the next ledge to leap from or the next roof to land on. That’s all well and good (and more than a little simplistic), but just know going in that the film doesn’t have anything more complicated on its mind than that. If you’re seeking layers of subtext about social classes and international relations, you’ll get those only as far as you read into the bountiful action put forth here. Indeed, look elsewhere for deeply cerebral considerations. In this case, when it comes to violence and sheer brawn, there truly is no escape.
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MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's movie review movies to watch
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“AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON”
Top Pick
DVD
Here’s a great reason to test your home entertainment set-up’s sound system, an expectedly loud and busy chapter in the Marvel movie franchise that’s especially notable for the sly performance of James Spader. He literally gives voice to the titular Ultron, a powerful new enemy unwittingly generated by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) – alias Iron Man – in a bid to create an army of global defenders. Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) also are drawn back into battle to save the world from the villain. Joss Whedon wrote and directed the saga, with Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders and (as “Agent Carter”) Hayley Atwell among other returnees. New cast members also include Elizabeth Olsen and Stellan Skarsgard. ››› (PG-13: P, V) (Also on Blu-ray) Pictured: Scarlett Johansson
upcoming DVD releases
Coming Soon on DVD... “INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3” (Oct. 6): Paranormal sleuths try to help a teen (Stefanie Scott) who’s convinced her late mother is reaching out to her. (PG-13: AS, P, V)
“SAN ANDREAS” (Oct. 13): A rescue pilot and his estranged wife (Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino) try to save their daughter when “the big one” hits California. (PG-13: AS, P, V)
“MAGIC MIKE XXL” (Oct. 6): Mike (Channing Tatum) and his former male-stripper peers reunite for a final performance; Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello also return. (R: AS, N, P)
“TOMORROWLAND” (Oct. 13): An inventor and a young woman (George Clooney, Britt Robertson) are united by their shared thoughts of a unique place. (PG: P, V)
“ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL” (Oct. 6): A teen (Thomas Mann) gets plenty of life lessons from his new friendship with an ill classmate (Olivia Cooke). (PG-13: AS, P)
“TERMINATOR GENISYS” (Nov.10): He’ll be back, all right: Arnold Schwarzenegger returns in a reboot of the sci-fi saga. (PG-13: N, P, V)
Pictured: Stefanie Scott
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FAVORITE SHOWS
Elizabeth Henstridge stars in “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Sophia Bush stars in “Chicago PD”
Ted Danson stars in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”
SUNDAY 9 p.m. on CBS CSI: Crime Scene Investigation The drama that launched one of the most durable, globally popular crimeshow brands in television history ends its 15-year run with the twohour offering “Immortality Parts I and II,” written by series creator Anthony E. Zuiker. Founding cast members William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger and Paul Guilfoyle return as the CSI team probes a case that devastates Las Vegas. Guest star Melinda Clarke reprises the role of Lady Heather. Ted Danson also stars. Series Finale New
Jim Parsons stars in “The Big Bang Theory”
MONDAY 8 p.m. on CBS The Big Bang Theory It’s over for Sheldon and Amy (Jim Parsons, Mayim Bialik), and he’s not taking it well in the new episode “The Separation Oscillation.” For evidence, there’s his latest “Fun With Flags” show ... which isn’t really about flags. Leonard (Johnny Galecki) tries to settle Penny’s (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) concerns by talking with the woman he kissed. Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) debates whether to come forth with something she’s withheld from Penny. New
TUESDAY 9 p.m. on ABC Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Just what happened to Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) in last spring’s final scene, which saw her essentially swallowed up by a cube that turned from solid to liquid, then back again? That’s one of the burning questions to be addressed in the Season 3 opener, “Laws of Nature,” which finds her S.H.I.E.L.D. colleagues encountering a rival organization with a similar agenda regarding Inhumans. Constance Zimmer (“UnREAL”) guest stars. Clark Gregg also stars. Season Premiere New continued on next page
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FAVORITE SHOWS
This Week’s Series Premiere List! WEDNESDAY 10 p.m. on NBC Chicago PD The police drama’s third season begins with “Life Is Fluid,” as a major heroin dealer (guest star Bokeem Woodbine) becomes even more of a target when he kidnaps an Intelligence operative. Lindsay’s (Sophia Bush) depression continues as Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) keeps trying to break through it. Roman (Brian Geraghty) worries openly about Burgess’ (Marina Squerciati) forthcoming marriage to Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger). Elias Koteas also stars. Season Premiere New THURSDAY 9 p.m. on FOX Sleepy Hollow The quest against evil begins anew for Ichabod Crane and Abbie (Tom Mison, Nicole Beharie) as the eerie drama starts Season 3 with “I, Witness.” A strange tablet indicates they may not be able to pursue normal lives just yet, though they have vanquished old enemies. An ancient amulet proves valuable in a number of ways as they oppose the forces of darkness again. Co-star Lyndie Greenwood also returns. Season Premiere New FRIDAY 8:31 p.m. on ABC Dr. Ken After furnishing reliable support in projects including “Community” and “The Hangover,” Ken Jeong — who does have a medical background — is center stage in the debut of this sitcom, playing a character who seems like a humorous version of Hugh Laurie’s Dr. Gregory House to a degree. His bedside manner is virtually nonexistent, but his wife (Suzy Nakamura) and two children keep him grounded. “Martin” alum Tisha Campbell-Martin co-stars in the “Pilot.” Series Premiere New SATURDAY 8 p.m. on LIFETIME Movie: The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story Continuing Lifetime’s TV movie series purporting to offer a behind-the-scenes look at some past hit TV series, this latest entry throws a spotlight on the backstage drama during the first four seasons on the ’90s Fox teen soap that made stars out of Jason Priestley, Luke Perry, Shannon Doherty and Tori Spelling, among others. In a spot of inspired casting, Dan Castellaneta (“The Simpson”) stars as Hollywood mogul Aaron Spelling, leading a cast composed otherwise of lesser-known young actors. Premiere
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SUNDAY
Nicole Beharie stars in “Sleepy Hollow”
7:30 p.m. on FOX Bob’s Burgers 8 p.m. on ABC Once Upon a Time 8 p.m. on FOX The Simpsons 8:30 p.m. on FOX Brooklyn Nine-Nine 9 p.m. on ABC Blood & Oil 9 p.m. on FOX Family Guy 9:30 p.m. on FOX The Last Man on Earth 10:01 p.m. on ABC Quantico
MONDAY 9 p.m. on TRAVEL Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern 10 p.m. on PBS I’ll Have What Phil’s Having 10 p.m. on TRAVEL Booze Traveler 11 p.m. on COMEDY The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Ken Jeong stars in “Dr. Ken”
TUESDAY
8:30 p.m. on FOX The Grinder 10 p.m. on ABC Beyond the Tank 10 p.m. on BRAVO My Fab 40th 10 p.m. on TRUTV Adam Ruins Everything
WEDNESDAY
9 p.m. on CBS Criminal Minds 10 p.m. on CBS Code Black
THURSDAY
8 p.m. on FOX Bones 9 p.m. on NBC The Blacklist
FRIDAY “The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story”
10 p.m. on LIFETIME The Jacksons: Next Generation 10 p.m. on TLC Sex in Public
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