In support of the upcoming December 7, 2017 official release of the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom trailer, Universal Pictures has unveiled a nearly three-minute behind-the-scenes video from the action film. The sequel to 2015’s Jurassic World is directed by Juan Antonio Bayona (A Monster Calls, The Impossible), and in the video Bayona explained what he was aiming to do with this second Jurassic World film.
“I love playing with suspense. I like intensity and I love to make the audience feel the total experience,” said Bayona. He added, “The challenge of making a sequel is finding the right balance of what people are expecting and what people will be surprised by.”
Bryce Dallas Howard reprises her role of Claire Dearing, an executive at the dinosaur theme park. Howard calls the film intense and spectacular, promising “it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.” She also admits in the new behind-the-scenes video that even while she knew the dinosaurs weren’t real, the animatronic versions were genuinely scary.
Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) also returns as Owen Grady, dinosaur wrangler and the man responsible for saving hundreds of the park’s guests in the first Jurassic World. Although the official synopsis has not been released, Pratt assures fans of the dinosaur franchise this film will find them “littering blowing up the island.”
The cast of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom also includes James Cromwell (The Young Pope), Ted Levine (The Alienist, Ray Donovan), Justice Smith (The Get Down, The Thundermans), Geraldine Chaplin (A Monster Calls, Beyond the Walls), Daniella Pineda (The Originals, American Odyssey), Toby Jones (The Snowman, Atomic Blonde), and Rafe Spall (Sons of Liberty). BD Wong and Jeff Goldblum return to reprise their roles as Dr. Henry Wu and Ian Malcolm, respectively.
Jurassic World‘s director Colin Trevorrow co-wrote the sequel with Derek Connolly. Trevorrow also executive produces along with Steven Spielberg.
Universal Pictures has set a June 22, 2018 theatrical release for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
“Where’s my son?” asks Joe West (Jesse L. Martin). “Has he gone missing?” responds DeVoe (Neil Sandilands). “He’s not missing – he was taken,” replies West as he tries to find Barry after hearing from Iris that DeVoe ambushed and kidnapped him in The CW’s season four episode nine of The Flash.
As the episode begins, it’s Christmas time in Central City. At S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco (Carlos Valdes) and Harry Wells (Tom Cavanagh) fight over how to decorate a blue Christmas tree. Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) arrive and things don’t stay festive long after Caitlin finds out Cisco, Harry, and Ralph have been spending some social time with her alter ego, Killer Frost. They now have inside jokes with Frost, and Ralph flat-out tells Caitlin he likes Frost way better than her.
Feeling hurt, Caitlin leaves saying she’s off to get some coffee. Cisco and Harry realize she’s upset.
At Barry (Grant Gustin) and Iris’s (Candice Patton) apartment, the newlyweds are opening their wedding presents. Barry notices one that has no label and is just a single knife. Iris notices Barry hasn’t been using his speed and he tells Iris since he came out of the Speed Force and has been back, he’s felt at peace and doesn’t need to use his speed when he’s with her. Iris also expresses her irritation at Oliver and Felicity intruding on their wedding day by also exchanging vows.
Over at Jitters, Catlin’s sitting alone pouting and feeling blue when Harry arrives and tries to cheer her up. She’s not happy about the new drink named after her alter ego and feels as though everyone – even her closest friends – think Frost is a cooler person to hang out with. Harry assures Caitlin she’s special and that her friends would much rather be with her than Frost. She’s just beginning to smile when the front door to Jitters is smashed to pieces and Amunet (Katee Sackhoff) walks in looking for Caitlin. Harry tells Caitlin to hide and tries to stop Amunet, but she quickly destroys his gun. Before Catlin can change into Frost, Amunet straps on her power-dampening cuff and takes her away to an abandoned hospital.
Meanwhile, Barry and Iris are out for a walk when DeVoe (in his hovercraft) attacks. He blasts Barry but he quickly recovers and moves Iris out of harm’s way. Barry begins to fight DeVoe only to be knocked out this time by the octopus-like tentacles attached to the craft. He grabs Barry and flies off with him.
Iris runs to S.T.A.R. Labs and tells the gang what happened to Barry. She’s informed Amunet has kidnapped Caitlin and Ralph points out that’s a strange coincidence that both have been taken. Cisco quickly tells him to shut up. Iris instructs Team Flash to start trying to locate Barry and Caitlin using the S.T.A.R. satellite to check for the Speed Force in Barry as well as Caitlin’s special cold DNA.
Barry wakes up in an energy field-powered prison in The Thinker’s lair he’s unable to escape.
Over on another side of town, Amunet has taken Caitlin to help save a new meta who has mind-reading capabilities. The meta named Dominic (Kendrick Sampson) has a piece of metal stuck in his neck, thanks to Amunet capturing him. If it’s not removed just right, he’ll die.
Initially, Caitlin refuses to do the procedure but when Amunet says she’ll just have to try ripping it out herself, Caitlin agrees to try. Pleased, Amunet warns Caitlin as she walks out of the room that if she fails and he dies, she’ll kill her too.
When he wakes up from the sedative, Dominic asks Caitlin to help him and he accidentally reads her mind. He learns she thinks Killer Frost could get them out of this, but she can’t get the power-reducing cuff off. Dominic tells Caitlin that Amunet is crazy enough and he’ll take his chances with her.
While Barry’s trying to figure out a way out of his cell, DeVoe shows up in his hover chair and taunts him. Barry asks what he wants and DeVoe tells him he should learn humility and that it will help him with what he’s soon to face. Barry hears a knock and sees on a monitor that Joe’s outside DeVoe’s house. “Seems we have a guest,” says The Thinker as he hovers away. Barry yells after him not to hurt Joe.
DeVoe opens the door (now dressed in his every day professor clothes and back in his wheelchair) and lets Joe and Harry, who was also outside, in. After a few choice words, DeVoe says he doesn’t know where Barry is and welcomes Joe to search his home if he likes. As Joe searches, Harry stands guard staring down DeVoe. “You’re not as smart as you think,” says Harry. DeVoe replies, “Yes, I am.”
Down in The Thinker’s lair, Barry’s still trying to escape when DeVoe wife’s, Marlize (Kim Engelbrecht), tells him he’ll only hurt himself. Barry tries to reason with her, insisting she could endanger her marriage if she goes along with Clifford’s plans. She confirms she’s devoted to Clifford and reminds Barry that his body may be stronger than her husband’s, however her husband out-thinks him any day of the week.
Harry returns to S.T.A.R. Labs with no new leads on Barry. Cisco and Ralph get in a fight over what he said to upset Caitlin that caused her to be a target for Amunet since she was alone at Jitters. Iris breaks it up and the two men retreat to sulk.
Harry informs Iris she’s the real reason they’re fighting and that they’re exhausting their manpower and tools trying to find both. Harry tells her she has to choose to look for one or risk losing them both. Not wanting to choose between her husband and her friend, Iris refuses.
Back at the old abandoned hospital, Caitlin and Dominic try to make a break for it but get caught by Amunet. Amunet tells her armed thugs to take Dominic back. Instead of hurting Caitlin, who she sees is feeling powerless without her Killer Frost persona, she gives her a pep talk telling her she could have kidnapped any doctor in town but chose her because she knows she’s the best. She reveals to Caitlin that before she became an underworld boss, she was a flight attendant who was being harassed by the pilots she worked with. Once the particle accelerator exploded, she used her new powers to show them the error of their ways.
Amunet assures Caitlin she was special before she ever got powers. She knows Caitlin is the only one who can save Dominic’s life.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco and Ralph apologize to each other and Iris finally makes a decision to look for Caitlin who she says is vulnerable right now. Iris believes Barry can take care of himself.
Caitlin manages to pull together enough usable equipment to perform the procedure. After she successfully pulls out the piece of metal, Dominic goes into shock and his vitals drop. She starts to do chest compressions and that’s when Amunet’s armed thugs drop to the floor unconscious.
It turns out Caitlin leaked anesthetic gas into the room. She and Dominic were protected from it by the medical masks they’re wearing. As Amunet passes out she says to Caitlin, “Oh, you are good.”
Caitlin and Dominic make a run for it. Amunet makes a fairly quick recovery and chases after them, using her powers to fling metal shrapnel at Caitlin. Ralph and Cisco show up through a breach and Ralph, being the Elongated Man, gets in front of Caitlin and takes the hit. The metal bounces off him. Cisco hits Amunet with a power blast and they all escape through the breach.
DeVoe checks on Barry and finds his power prison empty. “Impossible,” says DeVoe as he turns off the cell. Barry appears and speeds out of the cell. DeVoe realizes he’s been tricked and that Barry vibrated so fast that to the naked human eye it seemed he wasn’t there.
Barry and DeVoe fight, with DeVoe’s hoverchair flying them across Central City. Finally, Barry’s able to trick the octopus-like tentacles to attack the chair itself. Down the two go with Barry saved by the raft function activating before he hits the river while DeVoe and his chair crash into the water.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, there seems to be no trace of DeVoe or his wife in town. Joe admits he hasn’t had time to decorate the house for Christmas with everything going on and asks if they should skip the yearly Christmas Eve party. Barry says no because they have a lot to celebrate.
When Barry and the others walk into the house, they find Ralph has gone all out (a little too much, maybe) to decorate and he tells them he wanted to do something nice for his friends. Ralph then apologizes to Caitlin for saying he liked Frost better and tells her she’s the best as far as he’s concerned, which makes her smile. Dominic shows up and Cisco nicknames him Brainstorm. The celebration’s interrupted when Barry gets an alarm alert at his apartment and heads home to check it out.
Barry arrives at the apartment to find the front door’s open. He’s starting to look around when he gets a call from Dominic who is actually DeVoe! In a flashback we see Amunet recapturing Dominic and delivering him to DeVoe who, with the help of his chair and its devices, transports his mind into Dominic. As Barry listens, he finds DeVoe’s body lying in the apartment. He’s been stabbed with the lone wedding gift knife that has his fingerprints on it from when he opened the package. The police arrive and bang on the door. Barry, looking longingly at a photo of him and Iris, says to himself, “Don’t run.”
The Flash Season 4 Episode 9 Review:
Suspenseful and surprising, episode nine titled “Don’t Run” has two of the major characters in the series being kidnapped by their current nemeses and having to rely on their intellect rather than their powers to escape. It’s a solid episode reinforcing the fact Barry and Caitlin are extremely smart heroes who can get out of dangerous and dire situations on their own, rather than needing to be rescued.
There are two stand-out performances in this episode. The first was delivered by Danielle Panabaker as she shows Caitlin’s vulnerable and sensitive side as well as her craftiness and caring side while trying to care for her patient, Dominic. She’s absolutely not another damsel in distress and comes up with a way out of her situation all on her own, only needing the help of her friends to complete the escape. This once again shows Caitlin is not just the heart and soul of Team Flash but also one of the smartest members as well.
The second stand-out performance came from Katee Sackhoff as the underworld boss, Amunet. The humor she injects into the character and how she almost shows a sign of genuinely liking Caitlin make her an entertaining and intriguing villain. The two actresses have solid chemistry and their scenes together were some of the best in the episode.
With Barry now arrested for a murder he didn’t commit (like father, like son), it’s going to be up to Team Flash to find a way to clear Allen’s name – hopefully without revealing his identity.
Jordan Peele (Get Out), Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Apocalypse), and Marco Ramirez (The Defenders) are on board to executive produce a new The Twilight Zone series for CBS All Access. The new series is set up with CBS Television Studios, Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, and Simon Kinberg’s Genre Films. Audrey Chon and Win Rosenfeld are also executive producing.
“Too many times this year it’s felt we were living in a twilight zone, and I can’t think of a better moment to reintroduce it to modern audiences,” said executive producer Jordan Peele.
“The Twilight Zone was a touchstone in my life,” stated executive producer Simon Kinberg. “The opportunity to continue its lineage is a dream come true, and I’m so thrilled to be doing it with Jordan, Marco and the team at CBS All Access.”
The Twilight Zone will be joining CBS All Access’ lineup that includes the return of Star Trek with Star Trek: Discovery, the comedy series No Activity, and the spinoff of The Good Wife, The Good Fight.
“The original The Twilight Zone bridged science-fiction, horror and fantasy together to explore human nature and provide social commentary in a way that audiences had never seen before,” added Julie McNamara, Executive Vice President, Original Content, CBS All Access. “Under the auspices of Jordan Peele, Simon Kinberg and Marco Ramirez, and with the creative freedom that the CBS All Access platform affords, this is an incredible opportunity to bring today’s audiences a modern reimagining of this iconic series.”
Details on The Twilight Zone, Courtesy of CBS: The original The Twilight Zone took viewers to another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. It was a journey into a wondrous land of imagination for five years on CBS, from 1959-1964. The godfather of sci-fi series, the show explored humanity’s hopes, despairs, prides and prejudices in metaphoric ways conventional drama could not.
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA)* and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA)* have announced the 23rd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards nominees, revealing their picks for the best in films and television of 2017. The Shape of Water earned the most nominations among the eligible films while FX’s Feud: Bette and Joan topped the list of television nominees.
Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water picked up 14 nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress (Sally Hawkins), Best Supporting Actor (Richard Jenkins), Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer), and Guillermo del Toro for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay alongside Vanessa Taylor. Call Me By Your Name, Dunkirk, Lady Bird, and The Post each earned eight nominations, with Blade Runner 2049 following with seven. The Big Sick and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri picked up six, and Get Out and I, Tonya earned five each.
On the television side, Feud: Bette and Joan was awarded six nominations followed by Big Little Lies and Fargo with five. Glow earned four nominations, and American Gods, Black-ish, Game of Thrones, Godless, The Good Fight, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, This Is Us, and The Wizard of Lies each earned three.
“2017 has proved to be an incredibly exciting year in movies – and one of the most wide-open in terms of awards possibilities,” stated BFCA President Joey Berlin. “The mix of legendary filmmakers and performers along with vibrant new voices representing fresh and varied styles and perspectives has entertained and challenged critics and audiences alike. It’s been a joy to experience these films and we can’t wait to celebrate them all on January 11th.”
“Choosing a handful of outstanding programs or personalities to nominate in any category is a daunting task given the sheer volume of high quality options today on broadcast and cable television and streaming services,” added BTJA President Ed Martin. “But after much careful consideration and thoughtful debate I believe we have filled all of our categories with the most deserving nominees.”
Winners will be announced during the 23rd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards gala on Thursday, January 11, 2018. The awards show will air live on The CW beginning at 5pm PT/8pm ET.
BEST PICTURE
The Big Sick
Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Florida Project
Get Out
Lady Bird
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Call Me by Your Name
James Franco – The Disaster Artist
Jake Gyllenhaal – Stronger
Tom Hanks – The Post
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
Daniel Day-Lewis – Phantom Thread
Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – Molly’s Game
Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie – I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
Meryl Streep – The Post
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Willem Dafoe – The Florida Project
Armie Hammer – Call Me By Your Name
Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water
Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Patrick Stewart – Logan
Michael Stuhlbarg – Call Me by Your Name
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mary J. Blige – Mudbound
Hong Chau – Downsizing
Tiffany Haddish – Girls Trip
Holly Hunter – The Big Sick
Allison Janney – I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer – The Shape of Water
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Mckenna Grace – Gifted
Dafne Keen – Logan
Brooklynn Prince – The Florida Project
Millicent Simmonds – Wonderstruck
Jacob Tremblay – Wonder
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Dunkirk
Lady Bird
Mudbound
The Post
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST DIRECTOR
Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water
Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk
Luca Guadagnino – Call Me By Your Name
Jordan Peele – Get Out
Steven Spielberg – The Post
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor – The Shape of Water
Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani – The Big Sick
Liz Hannah and Josh Singer – The Post
Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Jordan Peele – Get Out
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
James Ivory – Call Me by Your Name
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber – The Disaster Artist
Dee Rees and Virgil Williams – Mudbound
Aaron Sorkin – Molly’s Game
Jack Thorne, Steve Conrad, Stephen Chbosky – Wonder
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins – Blade Runner 2049
Hoyte van Hoytema – Dunkirk
Dan Laustsen – The Shape of Water
Rachel Morrison – Mudbound
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Call Me By Your Name
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau, Jeff Melvin – The Shape of Water
Jim Clay, Rebecca Alleway – Murder on the Orient Express
Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis – Dunkirk
Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola – Blade Runner 2049
Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer – Beauty and the Beast
Mark Tildesley, Véronique Melery – Phantom Thread
BEST EDITING
Michael Kahn, Sarah Broshar – The Post
Paul Machliss, Jonathan Amos – Baby Driver
Lee Smith – Dunkirk
Joe Walker – Blade Runner 2049
Sidney Wolinsky – The Shape of Water
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Renée April – Blade Runner 2049
Mark Bridges – Phantom Thread
Jacqueline Durran – Beauty and the Beast
Lindy Hemming – Wonder Woman
Luis Sequeira – The Shape of Water
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Beauty and the Beast
Darkest Hour
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water
Wonder
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Thor: Ragnarok
War for the Planet of the Apes
Wonder Woman
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Breadwinner
Coco
Despicable Me 3
The LEGO Batman Movie
Loving Vincent
BEST ACTION MOVIE
Baby Driver
Logan
Thor: Ragnarok
War for the Planet of the Apes
Wonder Woman
BEST COMEDY
The Big Sick
The Disaster Artist
Girls Trip
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Steve Carell – Battle of the Sexes
James Franco – The Disaster Artist
Chris Hemsworth – Thor: Ragnarok
Kumail Nanjiani – The Big Sick
Adam Sandler – The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Tiffany Haddish – Girls Trip
Zoe Kazan – The Big Sick
Margot Robbie – I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
Emma Stone – Battle of the Sexes
BEST SCI-FI OR HORROR MOVIE
Blade Runner 2049
Get Out
It
The Shape of Water
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BPM (Beats Per Minute)
A Fantastic Woman
First They Killed My Father
In the Fade
The Square
Thelma
BEST SONG
Evermore – Beauty and the Beast
Mystery of Love – Call Me By Your Name
Remember Me – Coco
Stand Up for Something – Marshall
This Is Me – The Greatest Showman
BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat – The Shape of Water
Jonny Greenwood – Phantom Thread
Dario Marianelli – Darkest Hour
Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer – Blade Runner 2049
John Williams – The Post
Hans Zimmer – Dunkirk
Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange star in FX’s ‘Feud: Bette and Joan’
23rd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards – Television:
Best Drama Series
American Gods (Starz)
The Crown (Netflix)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
This Is Us (NBC)
Best Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)
Paul Giamatti – Billions (Showtime)
Freddie Highmore – Bates Motel (A&E)
Ian McShane – American Gods (Starz)
Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Liev Schreiber – Ray Donovan (Showtime)
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander (Starz)
Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Claire Foy – The Crown (Netflix)
Tatiana Maslany – Orphan Black (BBC America)
Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Robin Wright – House of Cards (Netflix)
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Bobby Cannavale – Mr. Robot (USA)
Asia Kate Dillon – Billions (Showtime)
Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones (HBO)
David Harbour – Stranger Things (Netflix)
Delroy Lindo – The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Michael McKean – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Gillian Anderson – American Gods (Starz)
Emilia Clarke – Game of Thrones (HBO)
Ann Dowd – The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Cush Jumbo – The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Margo Martindale – Sneaky Pete (Amazon)
Chrissy Metz – This Is Us (NBC)
Best Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Black-ish (ABC)
GLOW (Netflix)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Modern Family (ABC)
Patriot (Amazon)
Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson – Black-ish (ABC)
Aziz Ansari – Master of None (Netflix)
Hank Azaria – Brockmire (IFC)
Ted Danson – The Good Place (NBC)
Thomas Middleditch – Silicon Valley (HBO)
Randall Park – Fresh Off the Boat (ABC)
Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristen Bell – The Good Place (NBC)
Alison Brie – GLOW (Netflix)
Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Sutton Foster – Younger (TV Land)
Ellie Kemper – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
Constance Wu – Fresh Off the Boat (ABC)
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Tituss Burgess – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
Walton Goggins – Vice Principals (HBO)
Sean Hayes – Will & Grace (NBC)
Marc Maron – GLOW (Netflix)
Kumail Nanjiani – Silicon Valley (HBO)
Ed O’Neill – Modern Family (ABC)
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik – The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Betty Gilpin – GLOW (Netflix)
Jenifer Lewis – Black-ish (ABC)
Alessandra Mastronardi – Master of None (Netflix)
Rita Moreno – One Day at a Time (Netflix)
Best Limited Series
American Vandal (Netflix)
Big Little Lies (HBO)
Fargo (FX)
Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Godless (Netflix)
The Long Road Home (National Geographic)
Best Movie Made for TV
Flint (Lifetime)
I Am Elizabeth Smart (Lifetime)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (HBO)
Sherlock: The Lying Detective (PBS)
The Wizard of Lies (HBO)
Best Actor in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series
Jeff Daniels – Godless (Netflix)
Robert De Niro – The Wizard of Lies (HBO)
Ewan McGregor – Fargo (FX)
Jack O’Connell – Godless (Netflix)
Evan Peters – American Horror Story: Cult (FX)
Bill Pullman – The Sinner (USA)
Jimmy Tatro – American Vandal (Netflix)
Best Actress in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series
Jessica Biel – The Sinner (USA)
Alana Boden – I Am Elizabeth Smart (Lifetime)
Carrie Coon – Fargo (FX)
Nicole Kidman – Big Little Lies (HBO)
Jessica Lange – Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Reese Witherspoon – Big Little Lies (HBO)
Best Supporting Actor in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series
Johnny Flynn – Genius (National Geographic)
Benito Martinez – American Crime (ABC)
Alfred Molina – Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Alexander Skarsgård – Big Little Lies (HBO)
David Thewlis – Fargo (FX)
Stanley Tucci – Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Best Supporting Actress in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series
Judy Davis – Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Laura Dern – Big Little Lies (HBO)
Jackie Hoffman – Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Regina King – American Crime (ABC)
Michelle Pfeiffer – The Wizard of Lies (HBO)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead – Fargo (FX)
Best Talk Show
Ellen (NBC)
Harry (Syndicated)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (BRAVO)
Best Animated Series
Archer (FX)
Bob’s Burgers (FOX)
BoJack Horseman (Netflix)
Danger & Eggs (Amazon)
Rick and Morty (Adult Swim)
The Simpsons (FOX)
Best Unstructured Reality Series
Born This Way (A&E)
Ice Road Truckers (History)
Intervention (A&E)
Live PD (A&E)
Ride with Norman Reedus (AMC)
Teen Mom (MTV)
Best Structured Reality Series
The Carbonaro Effect (truTV)
Fixer Upper (HGTV)
The Profit (CNBC)
Shark Tank (ABC)
Undercover Boss (CBS)
Who Do You Think You Are? (TLC)
Best Reality Competition Series
America’s Got Talent (NBC)
Chopped (Food Network)
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
Project Runway (Lifetime)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (LOGOtv)
The Voice (NBC)
Best Reality Show Host
Ted Allen – Chopped (Food Network)
Tyra Banks – America’s Got Talent (NBC)
Tom Bergeron – Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
Cat Deeley – So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
Joanna and Chip Gaines – Fixer Upper (HGTV)
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race (LOGOtv)
The Critics’ Choice Awards are one of the best predictors of the Academy Award nominations. Members of the BFCA and BTJA represent television, radio, and online outlets. More than 300 critics/journalists are involved in the BFCA and BTJA.
Bailee Madison stars in ‘The Strangers: Prey at Night’ (Photo by Brian Dogulas / Aviron Pictures 2017)
2018’s offerings in the horror film genre will include new installments in the Cloverfield, The Purge, Day of the Dead, The Conjuring, Predator, and Halloween franchises. The year will also deliver new movies in The Conjuring and Insidious series’ as well as the much-anticipated sequel to The Strangers.
It, Get Down, and It Comes at Night were standouts among the 2017 horror releases, and hopefully there will be a few films of equal quality in the batch of 2018 releases. Here’s a preview of the horror films heading to theaters during 2018, listed in alphabetical order.
2018 Horror Films
Abruptio starring James Marsters, Hana Mae Lee, Jordan Peele, Robert Englund, Chris McDonald, Sid Haig, and Rich Fulcher
The Plot: Les Hackel (Marsters) is a guy down on his luck who wakes to find an explosive device has been implanted in his neck. He must carry out heinous crimes in order to stay alive while trying to identify the mastermind manipulating the now twisted and strange world around him. (The film is performed entirely with lifelike puppets.)
Annihilation starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac.
The Plot: A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don’t apply.
Cloverfield Movie (formerly titled God Particle) starring David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ziyi Zhang, Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Brühl, and Chris O’Dowd
The Plot: Bumped to 2018 from its October 2017 release date, the next Cloverfield film takes place in the not-so-distant future and involves astronauts on a space station. The team discover something that challenges the very fabric of reality.
Day of the Dead: Bloodline starring Sophie Skelton and Johnathon Schaech
The Plot: In a post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled society, a former med school student is tormented by a dark figure from her past. The only thing is, he’s a half-human, half-zombie hell-bent on destroying her world.
Death House starring Kane Hodder, Cody Longo, Dee Wallace, Bill Moseley, and Sean Whalen
The Plot: The Death House is the Area 51 of Evil…a subterranean government facility that holds humanity’s worst on nine levels. Hell…Dante’s ninth level, holds the Five Evils…the “dark stars” of Death House. These individuals are so heinous they can never walk among society again. They may also be supernatural.
Agents Toria Boon and Jae Novak have their own dark pasts, arriving at Death House to tour its levels and observe its denizens first hand as well as the medical and mental experiments of Drs. Eileen Fletcher and Karen Redmane. Their depraved experiments date back to the Nazi doctors of WW II. Prison cells are virtual reality holo decks that recreate prisoner environments before they were incarcerated. A special hallucinogenic gas keeps inmates under control. The victims are homeless bused into Death House to play literal victims while killing habits are studied. The results are sick, but only a hint of what goes on here.
Hell literally breaks loose inside the facility when an EMP device detonates, killing all power and communication and…releasing every prisoner. Boon, Novak and Fletcher are caught in a race against advancing prisoner hoards led by occultist Neo-Nazi Sieg. The monsters are freed and they’re going down. Boon and Novak’s fight through Death House turns into a house of horrors gauntlet with the only hope of escape is descending into Hell and the help of The Five Evils. Events culminate in a violent face to face standoff with absolute evil…only to find that they have traveled down a rabbit hole and through a looking glass. Black is white and white is black and the definitions of good and evil no longer apply…
Who are the monsters? Who will escape…
Ghosts of War Starring Brenton Thwaites, Theo Rossi, Kyle Gallner, and Skylar Astin
The Plot:Ghosts of War follows five battle-hardened American soldiers assigned to hold a French Chateau near the end of World War II. Formerly occupied by the Nazi high command, this respite quickly descends into madness when they encounter a supernatural enemy far more terrifying than anything seen on the battlefield. Thwaites will play Chris Goodson, a natural leader and brilliant strategist who is plagued by battle fatigue.
Halloween Starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Judy Greer
The Plot: Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
The House That Jack Built starring Riley Keough, Uma Thurman, and Matt Dillon
The Plot: Lars von Trier’s upcoming drama follows the highly intelligent Jack (Dillon) over a span of 12 years and introduces the murders that define Jack’s development as a serial killer. We experience the story from Jack’s point of view, while he postulates each murder is an artwork in itself. As the inevitable police intervention is drawing nearer, he is taking greater and greater risks in his attempt to create the ultimate artwork.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls starring Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, Owen Vaccaro, and Kyle MacLachlan
The Plot: In the tradition of Amblin classics where fantastical events occur in the most unexpected places, Jack Black and Cate Blanchett star in The House with a Clock in Its Walls, from Amblin Entertainment. The magical adventure tells the spine-tingling tale of 10-year-old Lewis (Vaccaro) who goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart. But his new town’s sleepy façade jolts to life with a secret world of warlocks and witches when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead.
Insidious: The Last Key starring Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Josh Stewart, Caitlin Gerard, Kirk Acevedo, Javier Botet, Bruce Davison, Spencer Locke, Tessa Ferrer, Ava Kolker, and Marcus Henderson
The Plot: The creative minds behind the hit Insidious trilogy return for Insidious: The Last Key. In the supernatural thriller, which welcomes back franchise standout Lin Shaye as Dr. Elise Rainier, the brilliant parapsychologist faces her most fearsome and personal haunting yet: in her own family home.
The Little Stranger starring Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, Will Poulter, and Charlotte Rampling
The Plot: Academy Award nominee Lenny Abrahamson (Room) directs a complex and chilling ghost story. Dr Faraday (Gleeson), the son of a housemaid, has built a life of quiet respectability as a country doctor. During the long hot summer of 1947, he is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall, where his mother once worked. The Hall has been home to the Ayres family for more than two centuries and is now in decline. But Mrs Ayres (Rampling) and her two grown children, Caroline (Wilson) and Roddy (Poulter), are haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life. When he takes on his new patient, Faraday has no idea how closely, and how terrifyingly, the family’s story is about to become entwined with his own.
The Meg starring Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Winston Chao, Cliff Curtis, Rainn Wilson, and Ruby Rose
The Plot: A deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.
The New Mutants starring Alice Braga, Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga, and Blu Hunt
The Plot: The story of the New Mutants, a team of mutant heroes comprised of the first graduates from Charles Xavier’s school.
The Nun starring Taissa Farmiga, Demian Bichir, Charlotte Hope, and Bonnie Aarons
The Plot: When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest ( Bichir) with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows (Farmiga) are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in The Conjuring 2, as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned.
The Plot: On the eve of D-Day, a group of American paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines to carry out a mission crucial to the invasion’s success. But as they approach their target, they begin to realize there is more going on in this Nazi-occupied village than a simple military operation.
The Plot: High school loner Bird Fitcher has no idea what dark secrets are tied to the mysterious Polaroid vintage camera she stumbles upon, but it doesn’t take long to discover that those who have their picture taken meet a tragic end.
The Predator starring Yvonne Strahovski, Olivia Munn, Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Jane, Sterling K. Brown, and Boyd Holbrook
The Plot: 20th Century Fox has not released the official synopsis for the 2018 Predator film.
The Purge: The Island starring Y’Lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, and Luna Lauren Velez
The Plot: On Independence Day, 2018, experience the next terrifying chapter in our country’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness. The film will be a prequel to the other The Purge movies, setting up how the annual Purge first developed.
Emily Blunt stars in Paramount Pictures’ ‘A Quiet Place.’
A Quiet Place starring John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, and Millicent Simmonds
The Plot: If they can’t hear you, they can’t hunt you.
Slaughterhouse Rulez starring Michael Sheen, Simon Pegg, Asa Butterfield, Finn Cole, and Nick Frost
The Plot: Welcome to Slaughterhouse, elite boarding school, where those boys and girls groomed for power and greatness — are about to meet their match.
Our hero, Don Wallace, is a wide-eyed new boy from a modest background, forced to navigate a baffling new world of arcane rules and rituals, presided over by sadistic sixth formers. Matters of status are aggressively enforced and conversation with school goddess Clemsie, strictly forbidden. But this ancient and ordered world is about to be shaken to its foundations – literally. A controversial frack site on prize school woodland causes seismic tremors, a mysterious sinkhole and an unspeakable horror to be unleashed. Soon a new pecking order will be established as pupils, teachers and the school matron become locked in a bloody battle for survival.
Slender Man starring Joey King, Julia Goldani-Telles, Jaz Sinclair, and Annalise Basso
The Plot: In a small town in Massachusetts, four high school girls perform a ritual in an attempt to debunk the lore of Slender Man. When one of the girls goes mysteriously missing, they begin to suspect that she is, in fact, HIS latest victim.
Slice starring Joe Keery, Paul Scheer, and Chance the Rapper
The Plot: Who murdered the pizza delivery man? Could it be ghosts? Or, maybe it was werewolves…
The Plot: A family’s road trip takes a dangerous turn when they arrive at a secluded mobile home park to stay with some relatives and find it mysteriously deserted. Under the cover of darkness, three masked psychopaths pay them a visit to test the family’s every limit as they struggle to survive.
Suspiria Starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson, Mia Goth, and Jessica Harper
The Plot: A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the troupe’s artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.
Unsane starring Juno Temple, Claire Foy, Amy Irving, Jay Pharaoh, Aimee Mullins, and Joshua Leonard
The Plot: A young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she is confronted by her greatest fear — but is it real or is it a product of her delusion?
Winchester starring Helen Mirren, Jason Clarke, Sarah Snook, Angus Sampson, and Finn Scicluna-O’Prey
The Plot: On an isolated stretch of land 50 miles outside of San Francisco sits the most haunted house in the world. Built by Sarah Winchester, (Mirren) heiress to the Winchester fortune, it is a house that knows no end. Constructed in an incessant twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week mania for decades, it stands seven stories tall and contains hundreds of rooms. To the outsider it looks like a monstrous monument to a disturbed woman’s madness. But Sarah is not building for herself, for her niece (Snook) or for the brilliant Doctor Eric Price (Clarke) whom she has summoned to the house. She is building a prison, an asylum for hundreds of vengeful ghosts, and the most terrifying among them have a score to settle with the Winchesters…
The CW’s Riverdale season two episode nine is the final episode before the series takes a month off for the holidays/winter break. Titled “Chapter Twenty-Two: Silent Night, Deadly Night,” the fall finale is set to air on December 13, 2017 at 8pm ET/PT. Season two episode nine was directed by Rob Seidenglanz from a script by Shepard Boucher.
The season two cast includes KJ Apa as Archie Andrews, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom, Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge, Mӓdchen Amick as Alice Cooper, Luke Perry as Fred Andrews, Casey Cott as Kevin Keller, Ashleigh Murray as Josie McCoy, Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge, and Skeet Ulrich as FP Jones.
The “Chapter Twenty-Two: Silent Night, Deadly Night” Plot: A SHOWDOWN WITH THE BLACK HOOD — After snooping around for Christmas gifts, Veronica (Mendes) uncovers a major secret Hiram (Consuelos) has been keeping from her. Fallout from Jughead’s (Sprouse) encounter with Penny Peabody (guest star Brit Morgan) creates tension between him and FP (Ulrich.) Meanwhile, a defiant Cheryl (Petsch) takes matters into her own hands after Penelope (guest star Nathalie Boltt) tells her they cannot afford Christmas this year. Finally, Betty (Reinhart) and Archie’s (Apa) vow to take down the Black Hood once and for all leads to a dangerous showdown.
Alice Eve attends Relativity Media’s ‘The Raven’ premiere (Photo by Frazer Harrison / Getty Images For Relativity Media)
Marvel just announced Alice Eve (Star Trek: Into Darkness) has joined the cast of the comic book-inspired series, Iron Fist. Marvel and Netflix didn’t reveal who Alice Eve will play in the series’ second season, however Marvel’s Head of Television/Iron Fist executive producer Jeph Loeb confirmed they’re excited to have her on board for season two.
The Iron Fist season two cast includes Finn Jones as Danny Rand, Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum, Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum, and Sacha Dhawan as Davos.
Alice Eve’s credits include Criminal with Kevin Costner, Misconduct with Josh Duhamel, Before We Go starring Chris Evans, Cold Comes the Night from writer/director Tze Chun, and a guest starring arc on HBO’s Entourage. Alice Eve will next be seen in Please Stand By starring Dakota Fanning and set to open in theaters on January 26, 2018.
“We are very excited to have an actress of Alice’s stature join the cast of Marvel’s Iron Fist,” said Loeb. “Her exceptional talent brings an intrigue and danger to her character unlike anyone else.”
“We’re over the moon that Alice Eve is joining us this season,” said series showrunner and executive producer Raven Metzner. “We think she’s going to be a great addition to an already stellar cast.”
Season one is available for binge-watching on Netflix, along with all completed seasons of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Punisher, Daredevil, and The Defenders.
The Season Two Plot: In the second season of Marvel’s Iron Fist, Danny Rand, The Immortal Iron Fist and Colleen Wing set off on a new adventure as the protectors of Chinatown in NYC – where death, action and surprises await them around every corner.
A scene from A&E’s ‘Undercover High’ (Photo by A&E Network / Copyright 2017)
A&E has unveiled its January 2018 primetime lineup which will include the premieres of Waco: Madman or Messiah, Undercover High, and Rooster & Butch. The network’s schedule also includes the return of 60 Days In and Intervention.
“A&E continues to deliver impactful programs, rich with in-depth brave storytelling that tap into the cultural zeitgeist. These new projects serve as perfect companions to our current slate and showcase our continued investment in the quality programming that resonates with our loyal audience,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming, A&E Network.
60 Days In will return with 12 new episodes on January 1st and 4th at 9pm ET/PT before moving to Thursdays on January 11th. 11-time Emmy Award nominee Intervention‘s new nine episode season premieres on January 2nd at 9pm ET/PT. Undercover High debuts on January 9th at 10pm ET/PT and Rooster & Butch‘s 10 episode first season begins on January 10th at 10pm ET/PT.
Waco: Madman or Messiah featuring nine surviving Branch Davidians will air on January 28th and 29th at 9pm ET/PT.
60 Days In
A&E Network’s hit series 60 Days In returns to Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail with a two-hour premiere kicking off the explosive new season in one of the most dangerous facilities in the country. Nine participants go undercover, posing as inmates, for a deeper understanding of the criminal justice system and to help evoke change within the facility. This season, one of the participants goes “full inmate,” blowing their cover and turning the entire program on its head. Faced with rampant drug problems, a powerful gang population and the constant threat of violence, innocent participants plunge deeper into the dangerous world of incarceration.
Intervention
A&E Network will premiere a special new season of the Emmy(R) Award-winning and critically-acclaimed docuseries Intervention. For the first time in series history, this season will follow interconnected stories of addicts and their families suffering at the hands of the national opioid crisis. Living in a cluster of communities within the affluent Atlanta suburbs known as the “Heroin Triangle,” the families chronicled highlight the desperate need for support and help during this national drug emergency. Each episode focuses on the journey of those plagued by their opioid addictions and their families who are left to pick up the pieces, as well as the city officials who are on the ground fighting as they attempt to intervene and save the lives of those affected while helping to heal the community. Veteran interventionists Candy Finnigan, Ken Seeley, and Donna Chavous partner with interventionist and Georgia native, Heather Hayes, as well as new team member, Michael Gonzales as they face the biggest challenge of their careers and attempt to help these victims of addiction.
Undercover High
Undercover High is a gripping new docuseries that follows seven young adults, ranging in age from 21 to 26, who embed themselves for a semester in Topeka, Kansas’ Highland Park High School. The participants pose as typical students – attending classes and making friends for an inside look at what it’s like to be a teenager today. Each with personal motivations driving them to help enact positive change, the participants, unaware of each other, arrive on campus where only the school administrators and select members of the community know their true identities and the reason for their semester-long stay. From bullying and the pervasiveness of social media to the struggle to excel in the classroom and navigate evolving social standards, participants discover the challenges and complexities, both new and familiar, facing today’s teens.
Undercover High: After School, a special one-hour conversation with participants and experts will immediately follow the premiere at 11pm ET/PT to discuss the topics raised within the episode and provide insight into the season to come.
Rooster & Butch
Everything’s bigger in Texas! Self-made millionaires, Mike “Rooster” McConaughey and Butch Gilliam, believe in the American Dream and are looking for ambitious entrepreneurs to spread their wealth. Along with their buddy, Gil Prather, these larger-than-life personalities have been wheelin’ and dealin’ for years and are eager to find the biggest and boldest investment opportunity. Living life by the “Golden Rule,” Rooster and Butch are eager to help other folks get a leg up the same way others helped them along the way. A pretty balance sheet will only get you so far in West Texas – these good old boys will only throw their money down after they’ve tested the true measure of an entrepreneur’s character. Integrity first; idea second.
Waco: Madman or Messiah
Few had ever heard of the Branch Davidians and their leader David Koresh until the events of February 28, 1993 when a raid by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on their center close to Waco, Texas, left four agents and six of the religious sect dead. It led to a 51-day stand-off with the FBI, the longest in US law-enforcement history, ending in a tragic fire which killed an additional 76 members of the Branch Davidian community including 22 children.
Who was David Koresh and why were many Branch Davidians prepared to die for him? Was he a con man or an anointed messenger of God sent to warn his followers of the imminent end of the world? With Koresh’s own voice taken from many previously never-before-seen FBI negotiation tapes, nine Branch Davidians will now tell their emotional story from the inside.
Courtney B. Vance to star in ‘Ben is Back.’ (Photo by Matthew Jordan Smith)
Emmy Award winner Courtney B. Vance (The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story) has signed on to the cast of the dramatic film, Ben is Back. Vance will be joining previously announced cast members Julia Roberts (Wonder, Secret in Their Eyes), Lucas Hedges (Lady Bird, Manchester by the Sea), and Kathryn Newton (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) in the Color Force and Black Bear Pictures production.
Oscar nominee Peter Hedges (About a Boy) wrote the script and is directing. Filming kicked off today in New York.
Courtney B. Vance earned Emmy and Critics’ Choice awards for his portrayal of OJ Simpson’s lead defense attorney, Johnnie Cochran, in FX’s The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story. Vance’s credits also include The Mummy with Tom Cruise, Office Christmas Party starring TJ Miller, Terminator Genisys with Emilia Clarke, State of Affairs, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks starring Oprah Winfrey. Next up, Vance has Heist 88 from director Anthony Hemingway and writer Dwayne Johnson-Cochran.
The Plot:Ben Is Back is a drama that follows the charming, yet troubled, Ben Burns (Lucas Hedges) who returns home to his unsuspecting family one fateful Christmas Eve. Ben’s wary mother, Holly Burns (Julia Roberts) welcomes her beloved son’s return, but soon learns that he is still very much in harm’s way. During the 24-hours that may change their lives forever, Holly must do everything in her power to avoid the family’s downfall.
Ben is Back shows us how far we will go to protect the ones we love. Courtney B. Vance will play Roberts’ husband and stepfather to Hedges. His philosophy on how to handle her son’s return puts him at direct odds with his wife.
HBO’s set to premiere the new miniseries Gunpowder starring Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harington and Knightfall‘s Tom Cullen on Monday, December 18, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT. The three-part dramatic thriller is set in the 17th century and is based on real events, with the three one-hour episodes airing over subsequent nights.
In addition to Kit Harington and Tom Cullen, Gunpowder stars Peter Mullan (Quarry), Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), and Liv Tyler (The Leftovers). The series, originally commissioned by BBC One, was written by Ronan Bennett (Top Boy) and directed by J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed). Kudos’ Ollie Madden and BBC’s Bennett and Matthew Read executive produce, with Thriker Films’ Kit Harington and Daniel West co-executive producing.
The Plot: Every year on Nov. 5 the English mark the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in London in 1605 with bonfires and fireworks. Though known as Guy Fawkes Day because many people believe Fawkes devised the plot, the actual driving force was Robert Catesby, a 30-year-old Warwickshire gentleman.
Gunpowder chronicles the evolution of the plot, the selection of collaborators to carry it out, the gathering of resources and the obstacles to its execution, even as Catesby’s team plays a deadly cat-and-mouse game with Cecil’s ruthless spy network.
The Characters: Kit Harington has a personal connection to the real-life source of Gunpowder. The actor is a descendant of Robert Catesby, the central figure in the story, and plays him in the show. A committed Catholic at a time when Protestant England persecutes Catholics relentlessly, Catesby’s refusal to abandon his religion brings him to the edge of financial, social and psychological ruin.
Mark Gatiss plays Robert Cecil, King James’ spymaster, who directs efforts to hunt down, torture and kill priests, while rank-and-file Catholics are subject to oppression and the loss of their property. Peter Mullan portrays head Jesuit Father Garnet, whose peaceful protestations have little effect on Catesby. Liv Tyler plays Anne Vaux, Catesby’s astute and capable cousin, who becomes suspicious about his activities and fears the consequences will be the exact opposite of what Catesby intends.
Gunpowder Episodes Plot Details and Air Dates:
Episode #1
Debut date: MONDAY, DEC. 18 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)
England, 1603: After the death of Elizabeth I, English Catholics are persecuted and mass is forbidden under the rule of King James I (Derek Riddell). In Warwickshire, a small, secret ceremony is interrupted by the King’s men, who are searching for a young Jesuit priest (Thom Ashley). When the priest and the lady of the house, Dorothy Dibdale (Sian Webber), are captured and gruesomely executed, a young nobleman, Robert Catesby (Kit Harington), resolves to avenge his kin and defend his faith by any means necessary. Meanwhile, in London, Secretary of State Lord Robert Cecil (Mark Gatiss) advises the King to bring down a heavy hand on the papists, ordering William Wade (Shaun Dooley), lieutenant of the Tower of London, to hunt down Catesby and Father Henry Garnet (Peter Mullan), the head Catholic in England.
Written by Ronan Bennett; directed by J Blakeson.
Episode #2
Debut date: TUESDAY, DEC. 19 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Catesby (Kit Harington) and his close friend Thomas Wintour (Edward Holcroft) travel to mainland Europe to seek the assistance of the Catholic King of Spain, but the brutal actions of the King’s representative, the Constable of Castile (Pedro Casablanc), force Catesby to find allegiances in his own country. In England, Lord Cecil (Mark Gatiss) enlists a spy, and puts pressure on Catesby’s cousin, Anne Vaux (Liv Tyler), in hopes of determining his whereabouts. In Flanders, Catesby and Wintour are introduced to Guy Fawkes (Tom Cullen), whose expertise in logistics and explosives could prove helpful. Returning to England, Catesby and his supporters work out the logistics for a bold plan to overthrow King James (Derek Riddell).
Written by Ronan Bennett and Daniel West; directed by J Blakeson.
Episode #3
Debut date: WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
As Catesby (Kit Harington) and his men load 6,000 pounds of gunpowder into a secret cellar underneath Parliament, Father Garnet (Peter Mullan) is visited by the Constable of Castile (Pedro Casablanc), who pressures him to reveal details of Catesby’s plot. An unwitting revelation allows the King (Derek Riddell) to catch wind of the plan, with Lord Cecil (Mark Gatiss) tasked to root out the conspirators. Anne (Liv Tyler) implores Catesby to flee the country for the sake of his young son (Tom Sweet), as Cecil and his henchmen close in.
Written by Ronan Bennett; directed by J Blakeson.
Tom Cullen and Kit Harington star in ‘Gunpowder’ (Photo by Robert Viglasky / HBO)
