The CW’s Riverdale continues season three with episode three set to air October 24, 2018. But before we look ahead at episode three, let’s take a brief look back at season three episode two.
Archie’s in juvenile hall and he’s got a roommate named Mad Dog who passes on his jailhouse wisdom, warning Archie to watch out for his new sneakers. Which, of course, the Serpents proceed to steal. Archie’s got major problems with the Serpents, even though he’s sort of an honorary one.
So, what does Archie do about all this tension in juvenile hall? He gives his fellow inmates a pep talk and suggests they engage in a friendly game of football. And to top it off, Veronica and the River Vixens show up and perform a cheer to the tune of “Jailhouse Rock” right outside the fence. Speaking of Veronica, her dad is definitely not into his daughter visiting Archie while he’s locked up.
Elsewhere, Jughead and Betty begin their new investigation into the creepy and mysterious Gargoyle King. Plus, Betty’s beginning to realize her mom and sister have joined a bizarre cult.
Up next, season three episode three directed by Jeff Hunt from a script by Aaron Allen.
The cast of season three includes KJ Apa as Archie Andrews, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, and Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones. Madelaine Petsch is Cheryl Blossom, Marisol Nichols is Hermione Lodge, Mӓdchen Amick is Alice Cooper, and Luke Perry is Fred Andrews. The third season also stars Ashleigh Murray as Josie McCoy, Casey Cott as Kevin Keller, Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge, Skeet Ulrich as FP Jones, Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle, and Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz.
The “Chapter Thirty-Eight: As Above, So Below” Plot: OPENING NIGHT — When a series of suspicious roadblocks threaten to delay the opening of the speakeasy, Veronica (Mendes) enlists the help of Cheryl (Petsch), Toni (Morgan), Reggie (Melton), Kevin (Cott) and Josie (Murray) to ensure opening night goes off without a hitch. Elsewhere, Betty (Reinhart) and Jughead (Sprouse) follow different leads to learn more about the strange incidents going on in the town. Finally, some unwanted attention forces Archie (Apa) to make a difficult decision about his future.
During our roundtable interview with The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow stars Caity Lotz and Brandon Routh on season four, they discussed who they’d like to see their characters work with more in the future. The ensemble of Legends of Tomorrow continues to grow, and season four will find Matt Ryan as John Constantine playing a big role on the team. Routh confessed he’d like to see his character, Ray Palmer, spend some time with Constantine because he thinks the pairing of magic and science would be pretty interesting to watch.
Caity Lotz, on the other hand, is pleased about all the female characters who are part of the season four cast, and she expressed interest in Sara getting a little more time with her fellow females. “I’d like to get more, now that we have so many girls on our cast, some missions where it’s all ladies. I think there’s a lot of great bromances on our show and we need some more girlmances,” said Lotz which led to a discussion of whether “girlmance” is an actual word. She added, “I would like for some of the female relationships to deepen a bit.”
Caity Lotz and Brandon Routh also discussed their characters’ arc for the new season and the impact of the return of Maisie Richardson-Sellers playing a new character named Charlie.
Season four of The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow will premiere on October 22, 2018 at 9pm ET/PT.
What would you say are your characters’ emotional journeys for season four?
Caity Lotz: “I think for Sara she really wants to try to build a life, and like some normalcy and feel like a real person. And, you know, she had a relationship and some normalcy, and of course that’s not an easy thing to do. I think she’s going to struggle a lot between her responsibilities as the captain and having a relationship and trying to be normal.”
Brandon Routh: “You know, Ray is happy they defeated Mallus but conflicted about his decision to give Nora Darhk the time stone. There’s some things that happen early on in the season that lead him to question whether that was a good idea and if his gamble on Nora turning into a good person is going to pay off or not. He’s a little worried about that.”
It seems like around season two they changed your character’s personality a bit and made him more wholesome. Do you know why?
Brandon Routh: “I think they leaned into what I was doing, and I think they wrote more towards that aspect, I guess. Maybe they had a need to make somebody be that to contrast with the other darker sides of characters that we had. I mean, the truth is that Ray on Arrow was, I think, envisioned one way and I swam upstream because I wanted to make him not so much a Tony Stark but have him be a kinder presence.
That just naturally fed into the comedic abilities of Ray and the comedy gold that could be mined out of a goody two-shoes character, a Boy Scout character. That worked and the comedy of that worked, so we just kept building and morphing Ray into this version which I think is great because it’s true to a lot of my growing up. I don’t know if it’s a character that’s represented or not enough… Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. Kind of the nerdy Boy Scout kid who still wants to be cool and part of the team.”
Caity Lotz: “There’s such a rise of the antihero on TV and if I had a kid I’d want my kid to watch and want to be Ray, rather than Heat Wave or Constantine. I’d be like, ‘Be like him!’ I think it’s good to have. We’re too into the antihero thing.”
Brandon Routh: “Also, the science aspect is something that I hear from a lot of fans – whether it be kids or parents – who like that, the fact that Ray is so geeked out about science and talking about science and having that positive role model for somebody who’s intelligent. And a scientist and physicist is a cool role model.”
Caity Lotz: “I think Constantine is sort of like the devil on Sara’s shoulder. She’s got this new hold on life of like, ‘We did good. We saved the world. I have a girlfriend. Maybe my life’s not so bad. Maybe I can let people in. Maybe I can love people.’ And then you have Constantine who’s like, ‘I know who you really are. You’re just like me.’ I see him putting in jeopardy the loose hold that she has on this new life. I think he’s going to make it harder.”
Brandon Routh: “As far as Ray’s concerned, I don’t see them having a contradiction or issues. I think Ray’s excited about understanding magic and learning about it and understanding how it works. He’s not going to push it away because it’s not science. I think he’s intrigued by the supernatural.”
How about the new character, Charlie, played by Maisie Richardson-Sellers?
Brandon Routh: “I think she’s going to be whoever she wants to be. She’s going to be a challenge for certain characters and be welcomed by others.”
Caity Lotz: “I would imagine for Sara it would be hard. It’s like, ‘You’re not my friend. You’re not Amaya. You look like Amaya. Where’s Amaya?’ Like, I liked Amaya and now you have this new person who’s coming in and it looks like your friend but it’s not your friend. I think it might take a little bit for her to (adjust).”
Brandon Routh: “Ray will probably be like, ‘Come on, guys. We can all get along.’”
Lauren Cohan as Maggie Rhee and Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon in ‘The Walking Dead’ season 9 episode 3 (Photo by Gene Page/AMC)
AMC’s The Walking Dead season nine episode three opens with the revelation that Justin (Zach McGowan) is the newest member of the walking dead. Walkers munch on him and then shuffle away, leaving (most) of Justin to rise and follow.
When he shuffles away, he passes a building painted with “Final Warning.”
Over at Rick’s place, he rises early, not disturbing Michonne (Danai Gurira). Rick checks on a sleeping Judith, places his hand on the wood with Carl and Judith’s handprints (from early season 8), and wanders out to the garden. It’s almost like Rick/Andrew Lincoln are taking a really early pre-goodbye tour of Alexandria.)
Back home, Michonne’s awake after a restless night. She couldn’t stop thinking about the charter she’s writing for the communities. Rick acknowledges Michonne’s the one keeping the place running since he’s been busy with the bridge.
Judith’s not feeling well and since there’s a lot of sickness going around, they agree to take her to see Siddiq. But first, Rick looks lovingly into Michonne’s eyes and thanks her for everything. Michonne and Rick then find a way to take her mind off the charter as they dissolve into each other’s arms.
Elsewhere, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and a helper are confronted on the road by Saviors. Jed (Rhys Coiro) does his best to intimidate Maggie, obviously unaware of just how ruthless she can be. Maggie’s only reluctantly sharing more food with the Sanctuary, and they’ve interrupted her as she’s bringing fresh food to their group despite not receiving the fuel she was promised.
Maggie stares Jed down as another Savior thanks her for bringing food and tells the group to get on their way. After they walk away, Maggie’s still willing to give them a chance.
The horses only move forward a few feet when Maggie spots Justin, the newly turned walker, emerging from the trees.
Rick and Michonne make the visit to the doctor into a fun day of adventures for Judith. She’s all giggles as her dad joins her in games, including a crawling race through their home. The afternoon of adventures also includes a picnic and storytime.
Unfortunately, the relaxing family day’s interrupted with news of Justin being found dead. All indications are that he was murdered.
Over at the bridge camp, a huge fight breaks out between the Saviors and everyone else. Rosita (Christian Serratos) and Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) try and calm things down, but it takes Alden (Callan McAuliffe) screaming and pushing his way through the mob to quiet the crowd. He promises they’ll find out who did this, but is quickly punched in the face by Jed for his efforts.
Melissa McBride, Cooper Andrews, Lauren Cohan, Sydney Park and Nadine Marissa in ‘The Walking Dead’ season 9 episode 3 (Photo by Gene Page/AMC)
Carol (Melissa McBride) is next to step into the fray, placing one arm on Jed’s chest and the other on the gun in her holster. She demands the Saviors all turn around, but Jed refuses. He suggests she go ahead and kill him now instead of waiting until he’s not watching. Carol removes her gun from its holster and so do others gathered behind and at her side.
The Savior who stopped Jed from hassling Maggie steps forward and claims they don’t want to fight, they just want the ability to defend themselves.
Daryl (Norman Reedus) is standing apart from the group and growls, “No guns.” He’s immediately accused of being the one who killed Justin. Other Saviors put the blame on Jadis/Anne, but the overwhelming consensus among the Saviors is that Daryl killed Justin.
A handful of Saviors arm themselves with tools (including axes) and begin to walk toward Carol and her people. Daryl aims his crossbow and as the groups are about to meet, Rick rides through on his horse, ordering everyone to back off.
Rick whips out his gun and the one calm voice among the Saviors tells her group to let it go. Rick then sends both sides of the argument off to work on finishing the bridge.
Father Gabriel lags behind and Rick confesses he believes Anne might have had something to do with Justin’s killing. Gabriel provides her alibi for the previous night, and Rick warns him to watch out for her because the Saviors might come after her.
Alden approaches Rick and asks if he’s thought about arming a few of the very trustworthy members of the Saviors. Maggie steps in and nixes that idea. Rick just wants to figure out who killed Justin first and why other Saviors have gone missing. If they figure that out, then Rick will think about arming a few Saviors.
After Alden leaves, Maggie and Rick continue their talk. Surprisingly, Maggie is in agreement with Rick on the issue of arming a few Saviors once they find Justin’s killer.
It turns out Gabriel isn’t sure Anne didn’t kill Justin. He delicately questions Anne, reminding her he wasn’t with her the entire night. He asks if she saw anything, but she fails to provide him with a straight answer.
Rick’s equally worried Daryl killed Justin. Rick describes the wound on Justin which could have been made by an arrow. Daryl asks, “Do you really think I did it?” Rick replies, “No. But others do so I had to ask.” Daryl reminds Rick that if he did it, he wouldn’t have hidden the body.
Daryl believes this is the result to be expected by bringing all these groups together. Rick disagrees, prompting Daryl to ask, “Why do they get this future when Glenn don’t? Or Abraham? Or Sasha? All the people the Kingdom lost, Hilltop, Oceanside, do you ever think about what they want, what they’d do if they could?”
Rick acknowledges that he does, but he thinks killing the Saviors isn’t the right thing to do. He asks Daryl to try and look toward a better future.
The bridge work continues, and all the outposts report things are clear. However, Maggie and Cyndie (Sydney Park) notice a couple of walkers heading into the trees. They call it in and Rick tells Group 5 over to help them assess the situation.
Cyndie knows the area because her group used to live nearby before they set up camp at Oceanside.
Maggie and Cyndie track the walkers to a deserted house. As Maggie makes a noise to draw their attention, Cyndie sneaks onto the porch. Walkers inside the house are attempting to get out, drawn to a metal banging noise caused by loose roofing. The sounds of the walkers and the banging will ultimately draw other walkers if this group isn’t taken out.
Cyndie falls through a board on the porch and the loud noise causes the walkers inside the house to push through the boarded-up door. Cyndie frees herself as Maggie fights off the group stumbling out of the house. Cyndie no longer has a weapon and can only use her hands to fend off a walker. Fortunately, Daryl, Rick, Rosita, and Dianne (Kerry Cahill) arrive to assist in finishing off the walkers.
Group 5 never arrived and Rick tries to contact them, but no one answers. They race off to find Bea (Briana Venskus) has been knocked out. She comes to but doesn’t know what happened or who hit her. She was paired up with Arat (a Savior), but now Arat is nowhere to be found. Her radio was left behind and they have no clue who took her.
Back at the camp, Rick, Carol, Daryl, Cyndie, and Maggie try and figure out their next step. The Saviors haven’t been told Arat is missing, and Carol voices everyone’s concerns. If she’s been killed, the Saviors will desert the bridge crew.
Jerry (Cooper Andrews) is at the tent door and he’s been quiet until now. He asks what will happen if they find the murderer. “Who decides what happens next? Is it going to be a Gregory or a Negan?” asks Jerry.
No one replies for a while. Finally, Cyndie says whoever did it will get what they deserve.
The group breaks off into pairs and head out to search for Arat. Rick doesn’t want any of them to return until they find her.
Rick and Carol pair up. She admits she was going to pull the trigger earlier, ending the inevitable war before it can begin. She knows if they don’t find Arat, then there will definitely be another war. Rick swears he won’t let it come to that and then confesses he wakes up every morning with a feeling that he needs to kill Negan and the Saviors. But, he then thinks about everyone they’ve lost during the zombie apocalypse. He needs to honor those people. “It’s us or the dead, and every life counts now,” says Rick.
Carol does not look convinced.
Daryl and Maggie make up another team. She admits she wishes she could see the future Rick envisions. She also agrees Rick’s way is in fact better for the future. They spot a walker and Maggie stabs it. When it’s dead, Daryl removes an arrow from its chest and declares, “I know who took Arat.”
Anne walks through her old junkyard by flashlight. She uncovers a metal box and removes a walkie-talkie hidden there. She turns it on and says, “It’s Jadis. I know you’re in range. I saw the helicopter last night.”
A man finally responds and asks if she has an A or a B. She asks if he took the missing people and he denies he was involved. He then tells her the deal still stands and asks again if she’ll have an A or a B. She replies, “Neither.”
Anne tells this mysterious man she’s paid her share and he reminds her she’s been compensated. She wants to know what it will take and he tells her an A…tomorrow.
Gabriel secretly follows her and eavesdrops on the conversation. He demands to know who she was talking to and what she did. She admits she did bad things, but she didn’t kill Justin or take the missing Saviors.
Gabriel figures out Anne traded people and that she would have done that with both him and Rick. Anne reveals she did it for supplies. She gets emotional as she talks about how everyone, including Rick, assumes she’s the one who killed Justin. No one came to her defense except Gabriel.
Anne begs Gabriel to leave with her, indicating she knows of a better place where things will be different. If he helps her and doesn’t tell anyone, they can have a life “like you can’t imagine.”
Gabriel turns her down and says he needs to tell Rick. She knocks him out after telling him she thought he was a B.
Back out in the forest, Carol and Rick are still hunting for Arat. They’re not walking close to each other and Jed launches a sneak attack on Carol. He grabs her and holds a knife to her throat as Rick pulls his gun and tells him to drop it.
Rick asks if Jed killed Justin, but Jed says he’s just doing this to get the guns. They want to take off because they’re tired of being hunted. If Rick hands over his gun to Jed’s accomplice, DJ, then they’ll be free to leave.
Carol’s worked her own knife free and is ready to attack. She says it’s over, and Rick lowers his weapon which causes Jed to pull his knife away from Carol’s throat. As soon as it’s no longer at her neck, she turns around and stabs Jed in the shoulder. Rick then forces DJ to kneel.
Neither DJ nor Jed are killed, although both should be. Instead, Carol and Rick take them back to camp because every life matters.
Daryl was right when he deduced it was the Oceanside crew picking off the Saviors. When Maggie and Daryl arrive at the old Oceanside place, Cyndie, Bea, and two other Oceansiders have Arat on her knees insisting she beg like she and the Saviors made people beg for their lives.
Daryl doesn’t drop his weapon as he and Maggie approach, however, Cyndie keeps Bea from shooting either of them. After Daryl asks if that’s how she killed Justin, Bea reveals Justin killed her husband.
As Arat pleads for her life, Cyndie tries to assure Maggie and Daryl that Arat will be their final victim. They’ll stop killing as soon as she’s dead. Maggie doesn’t believe that, so Cyndie shares her memories of her old community. She recalls all the men, women, and children who thrived there until the Saviors, in particular Simon, wanted what they had. After the killing was over, the surviving women created a new community.
They agreed to help Rick and the other communities because they knew they couldn’t forget what had happened. After the battle, they’ve only gone along with Rick’s instructions because they didn’t think they had any other choice. It’s all because of Maggie they now believe they’re able to get revenge for their people who were slaughtered. Maggie killing Gregory was a signal that “Rick’s rules aren’t the only rules.”
Cyndie cries as she remembers how the Saviors murdered her mother. Arat was the one who shot her brother before taking all of their supplies.
Arat begs Maggie and Daryl once more for her life, claiming she’s one of them now. Maggie asks if she did what she’s accused of, and she blames it all on Simon.
“You asked me to beg for his life. He was crying and you smiled,” says Cyndie, struggling to maintain a semblance of composure. Cyndie told Arat she loved and needed her little brother who was only 11 years old when he was murdered.
Arat’s forced to recall what she said while Cyndie was begging for her brother. “No exceptions,” says Arat.
Maggie and Daryl turn and walk away, leaving Arat begging while kneeling in front of Cyndie and Bea. They are not out of earshot when Arat is killed.
As they’re walking, Maggie tells Daryl, “Cyndie says I showed her the way. She did the same thing for me.” Maggie and Daryl decide it’s time to see Negan. (Actually, it’s way past time.)
Official poster for the 52nd Annual CMA Awards (Photo credit: CMA/ABC)
The first round of performers have been announced for the upcoming 52nd Annual CMA Awards airing Wednesday, November 14, 2018 on ABC. Among the Country artists confirmed to perform are returning co-host Carrie Underwood as well as 16-time nominee Luke Bryan.
Also set to take the stage on what’s described as Country Music’s Biggest Night are Kelsea Ballerini, Old Dominion, Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, and Keith Urban.
This year’s CMA Awards will air live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville from 7pm – 10pm/CT. Gary Halvorson is directing, David Wild is the head writer, and Robert Deaton is on board as an executive producer.
Carrie Underwood is teaming up with Brad Paisley for the 11th year as hosts. Overall, Underwood has earned an incredible 30 CMA Awards nominations since 2006. She’s also been awarded the CMA Awards Female Vocalist of the Year trophy four times, and she picked up her 13th nomination in that key category this year.
Kenny Chesney ups his total to 46 with this year’s nominations, and he’ll be competing in the Entertainer of the Year category for the 11th time. He’s also garnered his 12th nomination in the Musical Event of the Year category.
Keith Urban’s nipping at Chesney’s career CMA Awards nominations total with 45, winning 11 times. Among his 2018 nominations are nods in the Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Album of the Year categories.
Luke Bryan, a 16-time nominee, will be competing in the Entertainer of the Year category in which he’s already earned two awards.
Kelsea Ballerini has earned six nominations over the course of her career, and Old Dominion has picked up five. Dan + Shay were recognized with three nominations this year, including nominations in the Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year categories.
Three more of CBS’s new shows have picked up early full season orders. All three – God Friended Me, The Neighorhood, and Magnum P.I. – have increased ratings in their time slots over last year’s numbers, prompting the decision to announce an early increase in their episode numbers.
CBS previously announced freshman drama FBI has earned a full first season.
According to the network, the biggest improvement over the 2017-2018 fall primetime season numbers came from the reboot of Magnum P.I.. The action drama has been pulling in an average of nine million viewers, up 50% over last year’s Mondays at 9pm ET/PT ratings.
The Neighborhood has been showing a 14% increase over 2017’s Kevin Can Wait‘s numbers during the same Mondays at 8pm ET/PT time slot. More than eight million viewers have been tuning into the half-hour comedy since it debuted on October 1, 2018.
God Friended Me‘s 10 million viewers have earned the show the #1 spot among Sunday’s scripted series. Airing Sundays at 8pm E/PT, God Friended Me has increased CBS’s viewership over last year in the same time period by 8%.
The cast of God Friended Me is led by Brandon Micheal Hall and Violett Beane. Suraj Sharma, Javicia Leslie, and Joe Morton also star in season one of the series which is executive produced by Steven Lilien, Bryan Wynbrandt, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Marcos Siega.
The Neighborhood stars Cedric the Entertainer, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs, and Tichina Arnold. The cast also includes Sheaun McKinney, Marcel Spears, and Hank Greenspan. Cedric the Entertainer pulls double duty as executive producer along with Jim Reynolds, Aaron Kaplan, Dana Honor Wendi Trilling, and Eric Rhone.
The remake/reboot of Magnum P.I. finds Jay Hernandez taking on the titular role originated by Tom Selleck. Joining Hernandez in season one are Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Tim Kang and Amy Hill. Peter Lenkov, Eric Guggenheim, Justin Lin, John Davis, John Fox, and Danielle Woodrow executive produce.
Jack Bannon stars ‘Pennyworth’ (Photo Credit: Epix)
Singer-songwriter Paloma Faith has signed on to the cast of Pennyworth which is set to begin filming at Warner Bros Studios Leavesden on Monday, October 22, 2018. According to Epix and Warner Horizon Scripted Television, Faith will be playing Bet Sykes, “a spirited, sadistic and sharp-tongued villain.”
Paloma Faith will be a series regular. She joins previously announced cast members Jack Bannon as Alfred Pennyworth, Ben Aldridge as Thomas Wayne, Ryan Fletcher as Dave Boy, and Hainsley Lloyd Bennett as Bazza. Dave Boy and Bazza are described as lifelong friends of Alfred’s.
The new series is based on the DC characters created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger. Season one’s expected to consist of 10 one-hour episodes.
Pennyworth comes from executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (Gotham, The Mentalist, Rome) and executive producer/director Danny Cannon (Gotham, the CSI series).
The Pennyworth Plot:
The drama follows Bruce Wayne’s legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Bannon), a former British SAS soldier in his 20’s, who forms a security company and goes to work with a young billionaire Thomas Wayne (Aldridge), who’s not yet Bruce’s father, in 1960s London.
The Characters:
Alfred Pennyworth is a boyishly handsome, cheerful, charming, clever young man from London. Honest, open-faced and witty; you’d never take him for an SAS killer. Alfred doesn’t know how to reconcile the kind-hearted boy he used to be with the cold, calculated killer he was forced to become. He’s a man on the make, who doesn’t know what to make of himself yet.
Thomas Wayne is a young, fresh-faced billionaire hailing from the east coast of the United States. Confident and extremely disciplined, this young aristocrat meets an unlikely business partner in Alfred Pennyworth.
Dave Boy, a haggard Highland Scotsman who is slowly drinking himself to death since leaving the army, is a close ally of Alfred and Bazza and also the most unpredictable of the trio.
Bazza, a posh Bajan playboy, is highly proficient at logistics and a valued member of Alfred’s team.
Sheaun McKinney and Katie Aselton in ‘Room 104’ season 2 (Photo: Tyler Golden / HBO)
Season two of HBO’s anthology series Room 104 kicks off on Friday, November 9, 2018 at 11:30pm ET/PT with an episode titled “FOMO.” With the series a month away from its new season premiere, HBO’s released details on all 12 episodes including brief plot descriptions and air dates.
The second season, which features a cast that includes Mahershala Ali, Judy Greer, Michael Shannon, and Rainn Wilson, will finish up on December 14th.
Season two also stars Joel Allen, Stephanie Allynne, Katie Aselton, Frank Birney, Josephine Decker, James Earl, Marlene Forte, Abby Ryder Fortson, Ginger Gonzaga, Brian Tyree Henry, Anita Kalathara, Jennifer Lafleur, Tom Lenk, Phil Matarese, Sheaun McKinney, Natalie Morales, Kent Osborne, Zane Pais, Leonora Pitts, Mark Proksch, Pia Shah, Onur Tukel, Dolly Wells, Mary Wiseman, Charlyne Yi, and Katya Zamolodchikova.
The series was Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass, with the filmmaking brothers serving as executive producers along with Sydney Fleischmann and Mel Eslyn. Tyler Romary is the season two producer.
The Season Two Plot:
Room 104 “tells a different story of the assorted characters who stay in the room in each episode, ranging from dark comedy and horror to poignant drama and musical romance. Filled with twists and surprises, ROOM 104 offers a new discovery from one episode to the next, telling tales of everyday people striving for connection and meaning inside a single room.”
Room 104 Season 2 Episodes Preview:
Episode #13: “FOMO”
Debut: FRIDAY, NOV. 9 (11:30 p.m.-midnight ET/PT)
Grace (Charlyne Yi) and her friends (Tom Lenk and Pia Shah) take a weekend trip to celebrate Grace’s 30th birthday, only to be surprised by the arrival of her uninvited sister (Jennifer Lafleur).
Written by Mark Duplass; directed by Ross Partridge
Episode #14: “Mr. Mulvahill”
Debut: FRIDAY, NOV. 9 (midnight-12:30 a.m.)
Jim (Rainn Wilson) reunites with Mr. Mulvahill (Frank Birney), his third-grade teacher, and challenges him to admit to an incident from the past that left Jim forever changed.
Written by Mark Duplass; directed by Ross Partridge
Episode #15: “Swipe Right”
Debut: FRIDAY, NOV. 16 (11:30 p.m.-midnight)
A powerful Russian political technologist (Michael Shannon) arranges an internet first date with a veterinary nurse (Judy Greer), who tries to figure out the truth behind his shifting identity.
Written and directed by Liza Johnson
Episode #16: “Hungry”
Debut: FRIDAY, NOV. 16 (midnight-12:30 a.m.)
Two strangers (Mark Proksch and Kent Osborne) meet to fulfill an unusual mutual fantasy.
Written by Mark Duplass; directed by Patrick Brice
Episode #17: “The Woman in the Wall”
Debut: FRIDAY, NOV. 23 (11:30 p.m.-midnight)
Plagued by a host of ailments, Catherine (Dolly Wells) is comforted by a disembodied woman’s voice (Leonora Pitts).
Story by Esti Giordani; teleplay by Mark Duplass; directed by Gaby Hoffmann
Episode #18: “Arnold”
Debut: FRIDAY, NOV. 23 (midnight-12:30 a.m.)
After waking up soaking wet and with no memory of the previous night, Arnold (Brian Tyree Henry) tries to piece together the events that got him to Room 104.
Written by Mark Duplass & Julian Wass; directed by Julian Wass
Episode #19: “The Man and the Baby and the Man”
Debut: FRIDAY, NOV. 30 (11:30 p.m.-midnight)
A couple (Josephine Decker and Onur Tukel) hoping to conceive makes a video of their emotionally-charged night for their future child.
Story by Josephine Decker; teleplay by Josephine Decker & Onur Tukel; directed by Josephine Decker
Episode #20: “A Nightmare”
Debut: FRIDAY, NOV. 30 (midnight-12:30 a.m.)
A woman (Natalie Morales) finds herself trapped in increasingly terrifying versions of the same nightmare.
Written by Mark Duplass; directed by Jonah Markowitz
Episode #21: “The Return”
Debut: FRIDAY, DEC. 7 (11:30 p.m.-midnight)
Grieving the death of her father months earlier in Room 104, a young girl (Abby Ryder Fortson) returns with her mother (Stephanie Allynne) in hopes of being able to communicate with him.
Written by Mark Duplass; directed by So Yong Kim
Episode #22: “Artificial”
Debut: FRIDAY, DEC. 7 (midnight-12:30 a.m.)
A reporter (Sheaun McKinney) looks to uncover the truth about a woman (Katie Aselton) who claims to be a hybrid robot warning of an impending AI takeover.
Written by Mark Duplass; Directed by Natalie Morales
Episode #23: “Shark”
Debut: FRIDAY, DEC. 14 (11:30 p.m.-midnight)
A charismatic pool shark (Mahershala Ali) tries to convince his reluctant cousin (James Earl) to stay in the hustling game.
Written and directed by Mark Duplass
Episode #24: “Josie & Me” (Season finale)
Debut: FRIDAY, DEC. 14 (midnight-12:30 a.m.)
A woman (Mary Wiseman) asks her slightly-younger self to recreate the events of one night at a college frat party.
Written by Lauren Budd; directed by Lila Neugebauer
Fox has just increased the first season order for the half-hour comedy, The Cool Kids. The new comedy, created by Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Paul Fruchbom, currently airs on Friday nights at 8:30pm immediately after the resurrected comedy, Last Man Standing.
The Cool Kids‘ first season order increased by nine additional episodes.
According to Fox, the pairing of Last Man Standing and The Cool Kids have given the network its best Friday night ratings in 10+ years. Friday’s block of Last Man Standing and The Cool Kids are ranked #1 on that night among all networks.
“Charlie Day has given us a show that delivers the goods – hilarious stories and impeccable timing and chemistry between its stars, David Alan Grier, Vicki Lawrence, Martin Mull and Leslie Jordan,” said Michael Thorn, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “On top of that, it has the perfect lead-in with Tim Allen and Last Man Standing. The Cool Kids…are just that…and we’re thrilled they’re going to be on FOX for a full season.”
The cast of The Cool Kids includes David Alan Grier as Hank, Martin Mull as Charlie, Leslie Jordan as Sid, and Vicki Lawrence as Margaret. The series is executive produced by Charlie Day, Patrick Walsh, and Nick Frenkel. Don Scardino (30 Rock, 2 Broke Girls) directed the series’ pilot.
The Plot:
The Cool Kids is a multi-camera comedy about a rowdy, rag-tag group of friends living in a retirement community who are willing to break every rule in order to have fun – because, at their age, what do they really have to lose?
Hank (Grier) is the leader of this motley crew, a gruff, opinionated, 21st century Archie Bunker who will go to any lengths to have a good time. His loyal, but less than helpful, friends include Charlie (Mull), a bumbling wanderer who constantly goes off on tangents about some bizarre, barely believable episode from his life; and Sid (Jordan), a fun-loving hedonist with a flair for the melodramatic. Complicating matters is Margaret (Lawrence), a brash, confident woman who forces her way into their group and refuses to leave because she’s not going to take crap from anyone – especially not these three.
But what unites them all is their shared belief that they’re not done yet – not by a long shot. Growing old with dignity is for chumps. These self-proclaimed “cool kids” are determined to make the third act of their lives the craziest one yet.
Alan Ritchson’s no stranger to action-heavy roles. His resume includes The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, starring as Raphael in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films, and a role as a UFC fighter in the upcoming film, Shadow Girl. Now he’s taking on the part of Hank Hall / Hawk in DC Universe’s Titans.
During our interview at the 2018 New York Comic Con, Ritchson described the process of suiting up to play Titans‘ Hawk and his knowledge of the character prior to signing on to the series.
Titans debuted on October 12, 2018 and is based on the popular Teen Titans comics.
Not everyone can make a superhero costume work, but you do.
Alan Ritchson: (Laughing) “With a thick enough wetsuit I think anyone can look like a superhero.”
What was your take on that costume when they first gave it to you?
Alan Ritchson: “Uh, get this thing off of me, I think. It was so uncomfortable building that thing. I mean, the process that that team took… They really poured their heart and souls into it, but I had to be the mannequin. It was like a lot of hours and hours of pushing and pulling and bolts digging in. They really built that thing from the ground up.
For a long time I couldn’t see it; it couldn’t envision it. You just saw like foam things shooting off the back. It just wasn’t worth the trouble at the time. When I finally got up here and it was finished, and I put it on for the first time, I was like, ‘Man, this is pretty cool!’ So, it was interesting seeing that come to life.
I hated it and then when I saw it all put together I was like, ‘This is cool!’ And now I can’t pee for the entire day, so it’s a love/hate relationship with that thing.
But, no, I think they did a great job honoring the comics. It’s really hard to translate what you can draw on a page to our dimension. I think they did a fantastic job.”
How comfortable is it now?
Alan Ritchson: “It’s super uncomfortable. It just doesn’t like to move. They’ve removed all the bolts. It used to be put together with bolts because the cape is so heavy. The cape’s like 30 pounds or something, so the wings have steel rods in them to keep them from moving in a way that they shouldn’t move. It was all so heavy that it was bolted and screwed together. I’d take it off at the end of the day and my chest would be bleeding. There would be bruises all over from it. If I’d punch somebody, it’s like (digging into me). I’d feel it happening. It was awful. They’re like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to fix this.’
They’d get super Velcro manufactured for them, it’s like stronger than any Velcro. It works now. I’m not bleeding at the end of the day, but it’s just not the most comfortable thing. It takes like four people to put it on.”
Hawk and Dove have had many different iterations in the comic books. Is there one that you took a deep dive into to get into the character?
Alan Ritchson: “I’m going to say this with some shame. I wanted to do that kind of research. Geoff Johns had called me and pitched me on the part. I was like, politely, ‘I’ve done the DC thing, respectfully. I think I want to keep trying new things.’ He was like, ‘No. Let me tell you why this is different and why it has to be you.’
So, he pitched me and I was like, ‘Okay. I’m in. If it’s what you say it is, I’m in. Why don’t you send me some literature and I’ll read it and start getting to know this guy the way you think I should get to know him.’ And so, a box shows up and it’s one comic. I was like, ‘I guess there’s not much…’ I thumbed through that and I’m done. I think I know this guy.
I get to set and I meet Minka (Kelly) and we’re getting to know each other. I’m like, ‘So, did you read it?’ ‘What?’ ‘The comic book.’ She’s like, ‘What? Like one comic book? I read them all.’ I was like, ‘Well, what happened?’ She was like, ‘I called Geoff Johns and he sent me like 80.’ ‘Wait, how many?’ She said, ‘I read like 80 comic books.’ I’m like, ‘Well shit. Now I’m like the idiot who doesn’t know what he’s doing!’
But he only sent me one – that wasn’t my fault! So, I don’t know who’s to blame there. But, I’ve only read one.”
How does the action in this compare to the action that you’ve done in your other projects?
Alan Ritchson: “It’s pretty similar. I mean, I think one of my favorite things about this business is getting to learn different trades and crafts that I wouldn’t otherwise. When I was in The Hunger Games, I hardly spent any time on screen but they had me in training for four months on a dagger so I’d look like I know what I was doing.
I’d come home and at night I was like in the living room flipping these daggers. Then I’d start throwing them. I got to where I could hit a rubber training dagger, I could peg it through a rubber training mat. We have it on camera, too. It was insane what I could do with those daggers.
And then immediately I go from that to Ninja Turtles with a scythe and 87Eleven, the stunt team that was on Hunger Games was there. Danny Hernandez, my trainer – I showed up for training for Raphael and it was him. I was like, ‘What?’ He goes, ‘I guess we’re just switching to a scythe.’ So now I know the scythe really well.
That stuff is really cool. It takes a lot of work, but I mean who gets to learn new crafts like that?
Much of what I’ve done is action. I’ve always played somebody who has to fight. Raphael or whoever. So, it’s just a slightly different version of those kind of martial arts. I actually did a movie immediately before this that isn’t out yet called Shadow Girl where I play a UFC fighter. I spent four months training MMA and then a month with Tito Ortiz because he was like the antagonist in the movie. We fought each other a bunch in the ring, and that is actually the style that we used for this guy. So, I rolled off that movie right into this.
Thank god I had five months of that kind of jiu-jitsu training. That prepared me for this. But it all kind of helps, in my world at least.
(Laughing) I mean, I’d love to do a movie where I play piano and I’m a librarian and I read a lot. Maybe someday.”
Participants have to find the clues that will lead to their escape or die, so says the new official trailer for Escape Room. The trailer sets up the film and shows strangers receiving mysterious little black boxes. Inside each box is a note that reads: “This serves as an entry voucher for Minos Escape Rooms. Be the first to escape our most immersive room yet and win a million dollars.”
The trailer further reveals these strangers weren’t chosen arbitrarily, and whoever is behind the room knows all their secrets. Creepy!
The cast of the psychological thriller includes Taylor Russell (Lost in Space), Logan Miller (Guardians of the Galaxy TV series), Deborah Ann Woll (The Defenders, Daredevil), Jay Ellis (Insecure), Tyler Labine (Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency), Nik Dodani (Murphy Brown), and Yorick van Wageningen (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).
Adam Robitel (Insidious: The Last Key) directed from a screenplay by Bragi Schut and Maria Melnik. Neal H. Moritz and Ori Marmur produced, with Rebecca Rivo serving as an executive producer.
The behind the scenes team includes director of photography Marc Spicer, editor Steve Mirkovich, production designer Edward Thomas, costume designer Reza Levy, set designer Tracy Perkins, and art director Mark Walker. The film’s music was done by John Carey and Brian Tyler.
Columbia Pictures is set to release Escape Room in theaters on January 4, 2019.
The Escape Room Plot:
Escape Room is a psychological thriller about six strangers who find themselves in circumstances beyond their control and must use their wits to find the clues or die.
