Innholdsfortegnelse for January 8, 2018 i TV Guide Magazine

@TVGMMattRoush TV Guide Magazine @TVGuideMagazine @tvguidemagazine America’s top TV critic Matt Roush answers your burning questions Whatever possessed the creators of Designated Survivor to kill off the first lady (Natascha McElhone) in the winter finale? Why needlessly introduce a whole new calamity while eliminating one of the few rays of sunshine in an already troubled narrative? —Steven MATT ROUSH: It does seem like open season on TV wives lately (RIP, Blue Bloods’ Amy Carlson and Kevin Can Wait’s Erinn Hayes), and this seemed especially random. Plus, how overdone is the T-bone car collision as a plot device? This twist appears to have been prompted by McElhone joining Hulu’s Mars-set The First, premiering in 2018, and the producers likely saw it as an opportunity to present Kiefer Sutherland’s President Kirkman with…

SUPERSTORE’s BEN FELDMAN MY CURRENT FAVORITE SHOW Other than Superstore, which is not only insightful, hilarious and paying for my newborn’s night nurse, I’d say it’s a tie between The Handmaid’s Tale and Rick and Morty because they’re two of the most thoughtful shows on TV. MY GUILTY-PLEASURE SHOW American Ninja Warrior (above). This past summer, my wife and I couldn’t tell if we watched it a lot because we liked it or because it was on 75 times a week and completely inescapable. THE FUNNIEST PERSON ON TV Nathan Fielder (Nathan for You). I’m never completely sure that he intends to be [the funniest person], and that makes me very uncomfortable, which is peak humor as far as I’m concerned. THE SHOW I’D LIKE TO GUEST STAR ON Westworld.…

FEATURE PRESENTATION (JAN. 8–14) The Girl on the Train (2016) Saturday, Jan. 13, 9/8c, Showtime THRILLER In this sharp adaptation of Paula Hawkins’s page-turner, unemployed Rachel (Emily Blunt, left) has a tendency to get blackout drunk—which just may be the death of her. She spends her days boozing and riding a train that passes by her old house, where her ex (Justin Theroux) lives with his new bride (Rebecca Ferguson). The sad-sack also daydreams about former neighbor Megan (Haley Bennett), whom Rachel imagines has a perfect marriage. Things go off the rails when Rachel spies Megan seemingly having an affair and leaves the train to confront her. One blackout later, Rachel is bloody, Megan is missing and mysteries are piling up. Blunt is terrific, and Allison Janney gives a great performance…

Trading Spaces and Lost in Space aren’t the only vintage hits getting an update in 2018. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Schlubby straight men of America, your help has arrived! It’s been a decade since the last installment, but a new batch of specialists are onboard for the revamp: food and wine pro Antoni Porowski, interior design expert Bobby Berk, culture maven Karamo Brown, grooming authority Jonathan Van Ness and fashion guru Tan France. (Premieres February, Netflix) American Idol This is American Idol. Sorta. Less than two years after ending its 15-season run, the music competition is back with a new network and new judges: Katy Perry (below), Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. Staying the same: Ryan Seacrest still hosts. (Premieres Sunday, March 11, 8/7c, ABC) Roseanne The popular…

PREMIERES Sunday, Jan. 21, 8/7c, Starz MEET HOWARD SILK, a reserved, low-level employee in a Berlin-based U.N. agency so top secret he doesn’t even know what they do until he meets…himself. That’s not even the trippiest part of the new sci-fi drama Counterpart, starring Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) in dual roles. The second Howard, a gun-toting operative oozing confidence, crosses over from a parallel universe to stop a kill order and enlists meek Howard in the mission. Simmons clues us in on the double trouble. How do the two Howard Silks differ? The first Howard is the kinder, gentler version who has spent most of his adult life being deferential. The second Howard is more of a man’s man. He’s initially disdainful of this namby-pamby version. How did…

PREMIERES Sunday, March 11, 8/7c, CBS NOBODY EVER SAID that maintaining a work-life balance was easy, especially Dylan Reinhart (The Good Wife’s Alan Cumming), the former CIA operative at the forefront of CBS’s new procedural Instinct. Dylan gave up his high-octane career for the love of a good man—he’s a happily married author and professor now—but when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer, playing house loses its luster. Cumming explains. Dylan has a devoted husband and a cushy gig. Why return to the criminal-catching fray? He tried to change, but there’s a little wanderlust left in him—with a background like his, it’s hard not to be drawn back in! This is the first openly gay lead character on a network drama series. Do you anticipate any…

PREMIERES Thursday, Jan. 24, 10/9c, Paramount Network IT WAS A siege that will live in infamy. Which is why it’s so significant that the six-part series Waco, based on the U.S.government’s notorious 1993 raid on an end-ofdays religious sect known as the Branch Davidians, will not be taking sides. And that means there will be no villains. “Everyone needed someone to blame,” executive producer Drew Dowdle says of the 51-day standoff in Waco, Texas, that led to an apocalyptic fire and the deaths of 76 men, women and children. “Many believe the Branch Davidians’ leader, David Koresh, was hell-bent on the mass suicide of his followers, which wasn’t the case.” Others think the FBI acted inappropriately and dangerously and harbored ill will against the Branch Davidians, notes Dowdle, “all of…

Making a Model With Yolanda Hadid SERIES PREMIERE 10/9c, Lifetime The star of Making a Model With Yolanda Hadid sure knows how to play to her strengths. On the new reality series, Hadid—who spent 15 years posing herself and now oversees the careers of her supermodel daughters, Gigi and Bella—will share her secrets with six young hopefuls. Coming along for the ride? The gals’ momagers. “This wasn’t about doing just another modeling competition,” says the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum (below). “I wanted to bring the mother-daughter relationship to the forefront, because it’s an important part of the journey.” For eight weeks, the crew will share an apartment while going through a taxing fashion boot camp. In the end, Hadid will select one winner to remain under her tutelage—so…

The Paynes SERIES PREMIERE 10/9c, OWN We needed a little more Payne. Cassi Davis and LaVan Davis reprise their roles as married retirees Ella and Curtis Payne from the 2006–12 TBS sitcom House of Payne in the new spinoff The Paynes. The difference this time around: a change of scenery, as Ella and Curtis find themselves unexpectedly relocating to Sun Coast, Florida, from their longtime Atlanta home. Oh, and sitcom legend Jackée Harry (227; Sister, Sister), joins the cast as Curtis’s cousin JoAnn. Harry gives us a preview. How would you describe JoAnn? She’s good-hearted, a community activist—but also a bit of a crook. You can’t turn your back on her! She sells Curtis a laundromat… and it turns out not to be so great. So, safe to say she’ll…

Hell’s Kitchen 8/7c, Fox OK, who’s gonna fumble this one? The five remaining contestants are tasked with teaching all-star athletes (including former NBA star Reggie Miller and NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman) how to cook signature dishes. Blue Bloods 10/9c, CBS Pissing off your entire family: It’s not just for bratty teens anymore! Great-grandfather Henry (Len Cariou, below left, with Genevieve Angelson and Jared Kemp) does something that really pushes the buttons of another member of the Reagan clan. Gold Rush: White Water SERIES PREMIERE 10/9c, Discovery Fortune-seeking gold miners Dakota Fred and his son Dustin are back in this spinoff of Discovery’s No. 1 show. Only this time the bad-luck prospectors are going to more extreme lengths: They’re diving into Alaska’s frigid white-water rapids in hopes of catching precious metals…and…

10TH ANNIVERSARY Breaking Bad 6/5c, AMC IT’S BREAKING BAD’S anniversary, bitch! The iconic drama—about chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, far right, with Cranston) becoming unlikely crystal meth kingpins— made its debut on January 20, 2008. During its run, the show picked up 16 Emmy Awards and is now widely considered one of the best series ever. Says creator Vince Gilligan, “If you’re lucky and hire the most talented people, put them in a writers’ room or on a set and just let them go, great things can happen. Breaking Bad is proof of that.” AMC is running a series-long marathon, with Season 5 kicking off tonight. In honor of the occasion, we pick five episodes to rewatch, all available to stream…

@damianholbrook LOVE IT! Cheers to Yara Shahidi for grown-ish’ing up so nicely. The civic-minded teen’s Zoey Johnson has moved from black-ish to a very different world in her own Freeform spinoff, and from what we’ve seen so far, it’s clear that Shahidi is just as solid a leading lady as she is a role model for so many young people offscreen. Cheers to The Exorcist for ending on one hell of a high note. John Cho’s heart-breaking work as the doomed Andy and the divine, complicated bromance between Tomas (Alfonso Herrera) and Marcus (Ben Daniels, center, with, from left, Zuleikha Robinson, Cho and Herrera) have us willing to make a deal with the devil for a third season. Cheers to the Christmas Story Live! ladies. Sure, it’s about a kid who wants a…

COMIC RELIEF HAPPY! BY GRANT MORRISON AND DARICK ROBERTSON Buy on ImageComics.com If your taste in comics leans more toward Preacher than caped crusaders, you’ll enjoy Happy!, the M for Mature–rated graphic novel that inspired Syfy’s latest series, starring Christopher Meloni as troubled hit man Nick Sax. The Christmastime crime noir is both bloody and bonkers, but Darick Robertson’s colorful illustrations make the, yes, happy blue horse (a figment of a child’s imagination) just as lovable on the page as he is onscreen. —Ileane Rudolph, Senior Writer THIS CHARACTER FUTURE MAN’S WOLF Now streaming on Hulu He may be a badass sent from the dystopian future to save mankind, but Wolf (Derek Wilson) is also about as jaded as a newborn when it comes to the small joys of our…

@TVGMMattRoush In these nightmare tales, the state of the planet could keep you up at night Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams The stars come out for a new anthology of sci-fi mind-benders SERIES PREMIERE Friday, Jan. 12, Amazon Prime HOW MANY DARK mirrors can even the most devoted fantasy fan look into without cracking? For those who may have raced through the six terrific episodes from the latest season of Netflix’s Black Mirror, here’s an unhappy New Year present: an even more heaping helping of downbeat science fiction, from the imagination of Philip K. Dick, best known for inspiring the Blade Runner movies. It’s easy to see the appeal for Amazon, which had early success with its series adaptation of Dick’s The Man in the High Castle and wisely sees…

PREMIERES Tuesday, Jan. 16, 9/8c, The CW “He’s certainly a peaceful man and he wants to stay peaceful, but for how long?”—Executive producer Salim Akil BLACK POWER TAKES on an electrifying new meaning as The CW, which has built an entire universe around the Green Arrow, tries on a different shade for its newest superhero. Just don’t expect him to cross paths with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) and Co. anytime soon. “This first season will probably not be part of the Arrowverse,” confirms Salim Akil, who created the edgy action drama with his wife, Mara Brock Akil (exec producer of Being Mary Jane), and pal Greg Berlanti. “I want people to get to know Black Lightning without a lot of interference because he’s a fairly new character to everyone.” Based…

PREMIERES Wednesday, Feb. 28, Hulu COULD 9/11 HAVE been prevented? Possibly, argues The Looming Tower, Hulu’s gripping examination of the events leading to the terrorist attack. The 10-part drama, based on Lawrence Wright’s book The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, blames missed opportunities to avert Osama bin Laden’s plot on a turf war between the FBI and the CIA. “There was a lack of communication and some personal animosity between the [agencies],” says executive producer Dan Futterman. The show follows FBI counterterrorism chief John O’Neill (Jeff Daniels) and his Arabic-speaking deputy Ali Soufan (Tahar Rahim), as well as their CIA counterparts, represented by composite characters Martin Schmidt (Peter Sarsgaard) and Diane Marsh (Wrenn Schmidt). They frantically—and separately—work to disrupt what they believe are imminent attacks by Al-Qaeda.…

PREMIERES Tuesday, March 13, 10/9c, NBC WE WON’T DANCE around the bush. The new drama Rise, from Friday Night Lights producer Jason Katims, is a lot like its predecessor. The series is set in a working-class town—albeit in the North, not South—where football rules. The star player (Damon J. Gillespie) is a key character. The hero, English teacher Lou Mazzuchelli (Josh Radnor), is basically FNL’s Coach (Kyle Chandler) in tweed. Except that Lou’s focus is the drama club, which he wrests control of from a more qualified colleague (Rosie Perez) in the pilot. He soon announces plans to put on the controversial coming-of-age musical Spring Awakening, causing a conflict between town and gown. “Lou wants risk,” Radnor says, “and he has a taste for more challenging, cuttingedge musicals.” That’s where…

The Resident SERIES PREMIERE Sunday, Jan. 21, 10/9c, Fox PICK OF THE WEEK! On the new medical drama The Resident, it would appear that the Hippocratic oath—the pledge that all physicians famously take to “First, do no harm”—is pretty open to interpretation. In the first few moments of the pilot, we see the egomaniacal chief of surgery at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital in Atlanta botch a standard appendectomy, then bully the staff into covering for his mistake. But hey, at least senior resident Conrad Hawkins, played by Matt Czuchry (left), is brilliant and principled—even if his methods (and tattoos… and leather cuff) are a tad unorthodox. Here, Czuchry takes us through the rounds. This is a big departure from Cary Agos, the slick lawyer you portrayed on The Good Wife.…

ACROSS 1 Against All ____ 5 Walking ____ 9 Ed.’s request 12 Loughlin of Full House 13 Flack of Black Scorpion 14 Dallas commodity 15 Ellen of Beauty and the Beast 16 Angela of Murder, She Wrote 18 In addition (2 wds.) 20 Carter of Gimme a Break! 21 Feast for Chip ’n’ Dale 23 ____ of the Jungle 26 Shooter’s grp. 29 Late-night host Jack 31 Rudolph of SNL 32 All-out eff ort (3 wds.) 35 Ray of Bonanza 36 Furry red Muppet 37 A shoe size 38 The ____ Factor 40 Malik of New York Undercover 42 Clare of The Young Riders 44 Richard of L.A. Law 48 Sandy lives in one on SpongeBob (2 wds.) 51 Born ____ 52 Director Anderson 53 Get ____ 54 ____ and the King 55 Horse food…

NETFLIX Somebody Feed Phil SERIES PREMIERE Friday, Jan. 12 Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal’s epicurean PBS travel show, I’ll Have What Phil’s Having, moves to Netflix with a new title. The latest batch of episodes follows him on a tasting tour of Tel Aviv, Lisbon, Saigon, Mexico City, New Orleans and Bangkok. The Polka King MOVIE PREMIERE Friday, Jan. 12 Jack Black (above, with Jenny Slate) stars as real-life “Polka King of Pennsylvania” Jan Lewan. The former tchotchke store owner built an international polka empire (we kid you not), earned a Grammy nomination and befriended Pope John Paul II before ultimately being jailed for a Ponzi scheme. Grace and Frankie SEASON PREMIERE Season 4, Friday, Jan. 19 Getting back on the dating scene (not to mention having sex) is…

PREMIERES Spring, Netflix REBOOTING CLASSIC TV is tricky business. Some get it right (Hawaii Five-0) while others fall short (sorry, Charlie’s Angels). Netflix hopes for the former with Lost in Space, the memorable 1965–68 CBS sci-fi series. This incarnation, set in the future, again follows the Robinson family as they struggle to get back to Earth after their ship, Jupiter 2, is stranded on an unknown planet. In an era when high-tech special effects are the standard, the producers knew a 21st-century spin on the series had to be grounded in one crucial element. “If you are going to make a new version of Lost in Space,” executive producer Zack Estrin says, “you focus on the core of that original Irwin Allen story: the family.” This time around, though, the…

PREMIERES April, Starz HEAR HER ROAR! E.M. Forster’s great proto-feminist novel Howards End—a collision of the social classes, published in 1910—will soon be a limited series on Starz. Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter) plays Margaret Schlegel, a trust-fund bohemian in Edwardian England who could easily be at home in 2018. “Margaret and her sister, Helen [Philippa Coulthard], are intelligent, progressive women who use their money to free themselves in a man-centric world,” Atwell says. “They don’t sit at charity luncheons with upper-class women merely talking about social reform. They consider that a big pile of crap!” Instead, the Schlegels walk the walk, which is not without its awkward complications: Margaret finds herself in love with widower Henry Wilcox (Matthew Macfadyen), a money-mad imperialist who is “the complete antithesis of everything the…

We all have to start somewhere or, in this case, sometime. And for most network shows, that means in the fall, amid all the pomp and circumstance of a new TV season. Others have quieter births— usually to replace another series and nearly always without fanfare. But that doesn’t mean they can’t have the last laugh, as proven by these big winners. • All in the Family (Jan. 12, 1971) Norman Lear’s CBS series changed sitcoms forever by taking on such topics as rape, abortion and, of course, racism. Fun fact: It was originally made for ABC, which shot two pilots before dropping the controversial comedy. • Dallas (April 2, 1978) CBS intended the drama about big oil and bad manners in Texas to be a miniseries. But viewers liked…

Let’s get real. That seems to be the mantra for the slew of actors headlining upcoming biographical projects. Here’s a look at who’s channeling whom in 2018. Penélope Cruz as Donatella Versace The Oscar-winning Spanish actress worked with a dialect coach to capture the designer’s Italian accent on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (Jan. 17, 10/9c, FX). Marcc Rose as Tupac Shakur Rose previously portrayed the late hip-hop artist in 2015’s Straight Outta Compton, not that it made his turn in Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. (Feb. 27, 10/9c, USA) any easier. Says Rose, “This comes with all the pressures in the world.” John Legend as Jesus The R&B crooner changes his tune to sing and dance as the Son of God in…

America’s Next Top Model SEASON PREMIERE Tuesday, Jan. 9, 8/7c, VH1 PICK OF THE WEEK! Mommy’s home—and not a moment too soon! After taking a break as host of America’s Next Top Model last season— giving some fans abandonment issues—creator Tyra Banks is back at the center of the catty catwalk action. And this time on the reality competition, she won’t just be presiding over the usual doe-eyed ingenues: For the show’s 24th installment, women of all ages are eligible to compete (the oldest to make the cast is 34). Banks offers a snapshot of what’s to come. ANTM wasn’t the same without you. Are you here to stay? Not necessarily! But I’m here now. One of the reasons I stepped away is that, as a businesswoman, I feel the…

Trisha’s Southern Kitchen 10:30am/9:30c, Food Network Country singer (and cook) Trisha Yearwood (right) hosts fellow Food Network star Jeff Mauro at her Nashville home, where she prepares eggplant Parmesan towers and lemon ricotta cookies. Y’all bring your appetites! Frozen in Love MOVIE PREMIERE 9/8c, Hallmark Meet-cute alert! The owner of a struggling bookstore (Rachael Leigh Cook) and a bad-boy hockey player (Niall Matter) seek help from the same public relations firm, which leads to some personal relations. The Vet Life SEASON PREMIERE 10/9c, Animal Planet Hurricane Harvey drives the drama on the new installment of this reality series. Texas veterinarians Diarra Blue, Aubrey Ross and Michael Lavigne (above) care for furry friends affected by the storm, including a cat in danger of losing a leg.”…