Tricia Helfer and Tom Ellis in the “Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire” episode of ‘Lucifer’ (Photo by Bettina Strauss / FOX)
Fox’s Lucifer continues season two with episode two airing on Monday, October 3, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT. The episode is titled ‘Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire’ and finds Lucifer dealing with his mom’s presence on Earth. The cast includes Tom Ellis in the title role, Lauren German as Chloe, DB Woodside as Amenadiel, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Maze, Kevin Alejandro as Dan, Scarlett Estevez as Trixie, Rachael Harris as Linda Martin, Tricia Helfer as Charlotte, and Aimee Garcia as Ella.
The episode features guest stars Eric Ladin as Liam Pickering, Colin Egglesfield as Ben Wheeler, Michael Goorjian as Elliot Richards, and Daniel Edward Mora as Victor Perez.
The Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire Plot: When Lucifer’s mother, Charlotte, turns up at the scene of a grizzly murder pleading innocence, Lucifer is hesitant to believe her tale. Not wanting to leave her on her own, he instructs Maze to babysit her – and not to torture her, allowing him to investigate the case with Chloe in the all-new “Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire” episode of Lucifer.
Lucifer Series Details:Lucifer is the story of the original fallen angel. Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, he has abandoned his throne and retired to L.A., where he has teamed up with an LAPD detective to take down criminals.
Starz confirmed Harry Lloyd and Olivia Williams will star in the spy thriller, Counterpart. Williams and Lloyd join JK Simmons who was previously announced in a starring role in the series created by Justin Marks (The Jungle Book). Marks wrote Counterpart and Oscar nominee Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) is attached to direct the series’ first episode. Starz has given the drama series a two-season order of 10 episodes each.
Counterpart is produced by MRC, Anonymous Content, and Gilbert Films and has Tyldum, Marks, Jordan Horowitz, Keith Redmon, Bard Dorros, and Gary Gilbert executive producing.
In addition to Manhattan, Lloyd’s credits include Wolf Hall, The Theory of Everything, The Fear, Jane Eyre, and Robin Hood. Game of Thrones fans will never forget Lloyd’s performance as Viserys Targaryen. Viserys was killed off in season one episode six titled ‘A Golden Crown’ when Khal Drogo (played by Jason Momoa) poured boiling hot liquid gold over his head.
Williams’ resume includes roles in Rushmore, Maps to the Stars, The Sixth Sense, Seventh Son, and Dollhouse.
The Plot:Counterpart is the story of Howard Silk (Simmons), a lowly cog in a bureaucratic agency, who discovers that the agency he works for is really guarding a crossing into a parallel dimension. Through Howard and his “Counterpart” on the other side, the show will navigate themes of identity, what ifs and lost love. Williams will play the role of Emily Burton Silk, Howard’s wife, a mysterious woman whose secrets become the centerpiece of the first season’s story. Lloyd is cast in the role of Peter Quayle, an upper-crust director at Howard’s agency, whose carefully calibrated career slowly begins to unravel as he sinks deeper into the world of espionage and double lives.
Joanne Froggatt attends The 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (Photo by Larry Busacca / Getty Images for Turner)
Downton Abbey‘s Joanne Froggatt and Forever‘s Ioan Gruffudd are set to star in Liar, a six-part series coming to SundanceTV. The project’s backed by Two Brothers Pictures and ITV and was created by Harry and Jack Williams. Harry and Jack Williams wrote Liar and are executive producing. BAFTA winner James Strong (Doctor Who) is the lead director, with Sam Donovan (Humans) directing episodes four and six.. Filming’s expected to begin in November.
“Liar is that rare combination of a thoughtful and emotional exploration of the human condition, and a page turner. The Williams Brothers have created something both relevant and compelling, attributes that the SundanceTV audience respect and embrace,” said Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV.
“I am so delighted to have arrived at ITV and to be working with Jack and Harry Williams on Liar,” said ITV’s Head of Drama, Polly Hill. “They are brilliant storytellers, who have written a gripping thriller that doesn’t shy away from exploring a powerful subject. I’m thrilled we’ve commissioned Liar for ITV and secured such a terrific cast.”
“We’re delighted to be reunited with Polly Hill in her new role at ITV and join forces with SundanceTV,” added Harry and Jack Williams. “This story deals with highly emotional and important subject matter, exploring modern issues of gender politics through the lens of a character-driven emotional thriller. We couldn’t be happier with the caliber of the team we have working on this.”
The Plot:Liar tells the story of a night that changes the lives of Laura Newell (Joanne Froggatt) and Andrew Ellis (Ioan Gruffudd) forever. Laura is a smart and dedicated teacher, not long out of a relationship and unsure about getting back on the dating scene. Andrew is a renowned surgeon whose son is a student at Laura’s school. An initial attraction leads to a date, but neither fully realizes the far-reaching consequences that their meeting will have on each other or their families. Truth and consequences go hand in hand in a tense and gripping thriller that examines both sides of a relationship and both sides of the truth. Are there really two sides to every story? Liar explores the devastating cost of deceit on both the couple and their friends and family, as secrets and lies are laid bare…
The CW’s The Vampire Diaries returns on Friday, October 21, 2016 at 8pm ET/PT for the first episode of its final season. The last season of the supernatural series will find Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Enzo (Michael Malarkey) off killing people after disappearing from the vault. The Vampire Diaries‘ eighth season debuts with an episode titled “Hello, Brother” written by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson and directed by Michael Allowitz.
The cast of season eight includes Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Kat Graham, Michael Malarkey, Candice King, and Matt Davis.
The Hello, Brother Plot: THE BEGINNING OF THE END — Months after Damon (Somerhalder) and Enzo (Malarkey) mysteriously vanished from the Armory vault, Stefan (Wesley) tirelessly pushes forward with their search, while Bonnie (Graham) struggles holding onto hope that they will be found. Meanwhile, a dangerous encounter with an unexpected visitor leaves Caroline (King) and Alaric (Davis) fearing that someone – or something – may be targeting their family. Finally, after following some mysterious clues, Stefan realizes that whatever has a hold of his brother may have a more damaging grip over him than he could have ever imagined.
Mark Wahlberg stars in Summit’s ‘Deepwater Horizon’ (Photo by David Lee)
Director Peter Berg reunites with his Lone Survivor star Mark Wahlberg for Deepwater Horizon, an adrenaline-pumping thriller set on an oil rig at sea and based on devastating true events. The action scenes are intense and stunningly realistic, and the story remains relevant six years after the events portrayed onscreen.
Deepwater Horizon explores the events immediately leading up to the explosion on the oil rig leased by BP (formerly known as British Petroleum). Screenwriters Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand trim all the fat from the story and lay out the crucial facts by focusing on the day of the rig’s destruction. Surrounding the central story of the oil rig going up in a massive fire, the script provides for plenty of opportunity to meet the Deepwater Horizon crew and think of them as individuals, which allows the audience to truly care about their welfare as the disaster unfolds.
As described in the film, the deep-water drilling platform was held together by a dedicated crew that was handcuffed by the fact BP did not want to spend money on much-needed repairs. Too many shortcuts were taken by the leasing company and the “well from hell” experienced a blowout that caused 11 workers to lose their lives while countless others were injured. Millions of gallons of oil filled the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days, resulting in a devastating ecological disaster.
Deepwater Horizon primarily focuses on the lead electronics technician Mike Williams (Wahlberg) who leaves his wife, Felicia (played by Kate Hudson), and daughter to work on the rig. Mike’s a decent man, hard-working, and a no-nonsense guy who fights a losing battle to keep the rig’s electrical systems working well enough so that the Deepwater Horizon was safe for the workers on board.
Mr. Jimmy (Kurt Russell), the crew boss who puts the safety of his employees before anything else, is also a key character in the story. Mr. Jimmy knows the BP executives on board the rig are only looking out for the bottom line, but his loyalty to his crew is unflinching. The drilling operation is six weeks behind and Mr. Jimmy is asked to move forward without the requisite safety checks. He refuses, butting heads with BP bigwig Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich) who is only focused on the fact this well is costing the company millions of dollars as the result of the delayed drilling.
The safety tests Mr. Jimmy demanded prove there are problems with the cement around the well. A stream of bubbles quickly evolves into a gushing flow of oil, and almost immediately the rig is awash in flames. The crew and the BP executives have to fight for their lives amid the fire, oil, flying shrapnel, and massive pieces of metal falling onto the rig’s platform.
Berg does an excellent job of staging the rapid disintegration of the oil rig. The flames seem to leap off the screen and the action is intense and in your face. In fact, Deepwater Horizon is Berg’s best action film to date. He tells this riveting story in a straightforward style and his cast, led by Wahlberg, Russell, and Gina Rodriguez as a computer expert who remains at her post almost too long, deliver outstanding (and believable) performances. In supporting roles, Malkovich, Dylan O’Brien, and Ethan Suplee are equally terrific.
Deepwater Horizon is a thriller that provides a behind-the-scenes look at a true life disaster while also entertaining the audience. It’s a fitting tribute to the crew of the oil rig and one that should spark conversations over the industry and the possibility of another colossal disaster of this sort.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for prolonged intense disaster sequences and related disturbing images
STX Entertainment’s sci-fi action adventure The Space Between Us offers up its second full trailer which further explains how a boy born and raised on Mars can adjust to Earth. Directed by Peter Chelsom from a script by Allan Loeb, the cast includes Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino, and Britt Robertson. The Space Between Us will open in theaters on December 16, 2016.
The Plot: In this interplanetary adventure, a space shuttle embarks on the first mission to colonize Mars, only to discover after takeoff that one of the astronauts is pregnant. Shortly after landing, she dies from complications while giving birth to the first human born on the red planet – never revealing who the father is. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Gardner Elliot – an inquisitive, highly intelligent boy who reaches the age of 16 having only met 14 people in his very unconventional upbringing.
While searching for clues about his father, and the home planet he’s never known, Gardner begins an online friendship with a street smart girl in Colorado named Tulsa. When he finally gets a chance to go to Earth, he’s eager to experience all of the wonders he could only read about on Mars – from the most simple to the extraordinary. But once his explorations begin, scientists discover that Gardner’s organs can’t withstand Earth’s atmosphere. Eager to find his father, Gardner escapes the team of scientists and joins with Tulsa on a race against time to unravel the mysteries of how he came to be, and where he belongs in the universe.
Poster for ‘Better Off Single’ starring Aaron Tveit
The romantic comedy Better Off Single‘s just debuted two new clips and they’re not safe for work-ish – you’ve been warned. Written and directed by Benjamin Cox, Better Off Single stars Aaron Tveit (Grease Live!, BrainDead), Abby Elliott (Odd Mom Out), Lauren Miller Rogen (Sausage Party), Kal Penn (Designated Survivor), Analeigh Ashford (Masters of Sex), Shane McRae (The Following), Ben Rappaport (Mr. Robot), and Lewis Black (Inside Out).
Better Off Single will open in theaters and On Demand on October 7, 2016.
The Plot: When Charlie Carroll (Tveit) quits his job and his girlfriend (Elliott) on the same day, it seems as though he’s finally found freedom. But after a quick dip in the dark waters of the NYC dating pool, Charlie begins to wonder if he’s made a mistake — he’s not equipped for single life. In fact, Charlie might not be equipped for life in general, and even his therapist (Black) wants to cut ties! With no job and no love, Charlie is forced to go on a journey of self-discovery so intense that he begins to suffer from surreal hallucinations, flashbacks, fantasies – and some pretty bad advice from his buddies. Will he find “the one?” Or did that ship already sail, taking with it his only hopes for relationship sanity?
Mason Cook as Ray, Kyla Kenedy as Dylan, John Ross Bowie as Jimmy, Minnie Driver as Maya, Micah Fowler as JJ and Cedric Yarbrough as Kenneth in ‘Speechless’ (ABC/Kevin Foley)
There’s good news for fans of ABC’s new shows Designated Survivor and Speechless. ABC confirmed viewers can expect both series to stick around through their first seasons, with each show receiving full season orders. The network added nine more episodes to both series following their debuts to outstanding ratings. Designated Survivor is ranked first among Wednesday at 10pm fare while Speechless earned the number two spot among new comedies, losing out only to Kevin Can Wait.
Designated Survivor‘s premiere was watched by 15.3 million viewers, including the Live + 3 Day numbers. Speechless‘ 6.9 million viewers gave the half-hour comedy a spot on the Top 5 list of highest rated comedies among young adults.
Designated Survivor stars Kiefer Sutherland, Natascha McElhone, Adan Canto, Italia Ricci, LaMonica Garrett, Tanner Buchanan, Kal Penn, and Maggie Q. The one-hour drama was created by David Guggenheim and is executive produced by Guggenheim, Sutherland, Simon Kinberg, Mark Gordon, Jon Harmon Feldman, Nick Pepper, Suzan Bymel, and Aditya Sood.
Speechless comes from writer Scott Silveri (Friends), with Silveri, Jake Kasdan, and Melvin Mar executive producing. The cast includes Minnie Driver, John Ross Bowie, Mason Cook, Micah Fowler, Kyla Kenedy, and Cedric Yarbrough.
Commenting on the additional episodes order, Channing Dungey, president, ABC Entertainment, said, “Designated Survivor and Speechless are two of the most critically acclaimed new shows of the fall season. We’re very proud of the creative excellence in front of and behind the camera, and are thrilled to be giving our audience more episodes.”
The Speechless Plot: Maya DiMeo is a mom on a mission who will do anything for her husband, Jimmy, and kids Ray, Dylan, and J.J., her eldest son with cerebral palsy. As Maya fights injustices both real and imagined, the family works to make a new home for themselves and searches for just the right person to help give J.J. his “voice.”
The Designated Survivor Plot: Kiefer Sutherland stars as Tom Kirkman, a lower-level cabinet member who is suddenly appointed President of the United States after a catastrophic attack on the US Capitol during the State of the Union. In this dramatic thriller, Kirkman will struggle to keep the country and his own family from falling apart, while navigating the highly-volatile political arena and while leading the search to find who is responsible for the attack.
Daisy Ridley of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ at D23 (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Disney)
20th Century Fox announced Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Johnny Depp, and Michelle Pfeiffer are confirmed to star in Murder on the Orient Express, a new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic bestselling novel. Kenneth Branagh is on board to direct and Blade Runner 2‘s Michael Green adapted the novel for the screen. Branagh will also produce and star as Detective Hercule Poirot. Ridley, Depp and Pfeiffer join a cast that includes Judi Dench, Lucy Boynton, Tom Bateman, Derek Jacobi, Michael Pena, and Leslie Odom Jr.
Fox says there are still a few roles yet to be cast before production gets underway this November in London. Ridley Scott (The Martian), Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Mark Gordon (Steve Jobs), Michael Schaefer, Aditya Sood, and Judy Hofflund are on board as producers. Agatha Christie Ltd.’s James Prichard and Hilary Strong are executive producing.
“It is always thrilling for us to see the stellar casting that Agatha Christie film adaptations attract,” stated Prichard. “It is fantastic to have Kenneth Branagh at the helm of this new adaptation of Murder On The Orient Express and we are extremely excited about the cast he is bringing aboard.”
“Christie’s Murder is mysterious, compelling and unsettling. I’m honoured to have this fantastic group of actors bring these dark materials to life for a new audience,” said Branagh.
The Plot: Agatha Christie’s novel, published in 1934, is considered one of the most ingenious stories ever devised. It revolves around a murder onboard the famous train, and Belgian detective Hercule Poirot must solve the case – but there are a number of passengers who could potentially be the murderer.
LaMonica Garrett and Kiefer Sutherland in ‘Designated Survivor’ (ABC/John Medland)
“Are you ready for this?” asks Alex Kirkman (Natascha McElhone). “How could anybody be ready for this?” replies Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) on his way to see the devastation at the Nation’s Capital and to pay his respects to those the country lost in the second episode of ABC’s new political thriller series, Designated Survivor.
Following the attack on the Capital, being sworn into office as the new President of the United States, and delivering his first speech to the Nation, Kirkman now sets out to try to rebuild the Cabinet while also trying to find out who is behind the despicable attack on the United States. After attending his first meeting in the Oval Office, which was nothing more than a yelling, chaotic mess, Kirkman leaves and finds a nice quiet place to collect his thoughts. He tells his Assistant Chief of Staff Aaron Shore (Adan Canto) and his other assistant, Emily Rhodes (Italia Ricci), that he needs them to go through the list of who is left politically, help him find a Chief of Staff, and help work on building a new Cabinet.
Kirkman’s told he needs to meet the other designated survivor (the Republicans selected one also, just in case) and that she’s already in the building. She’s Congresswoman Kimble Hookstraten (Virginia Madsen), and it seems he has a new ally. During their first meeting, Kimble tells the new President that the first two things she did this morning were cry and pray, and she asks him if he knows when was the last time she did that. He answers, “9/11.” The two bottom-rung politicians admit to each other being worried about letting the American people and their government down. Kimble tells Kirkman that party affiliation just doesn’t matter anymore, and she says to him, “We’re all Americans now.”
Meanwhile, the FBI is getting some intelligence on the bomb they found. Despite Agent Hannah Wells’ (Maggie Q) suspicions that they’re being given the wrong information by the bombers who are trying to falsely implicate an organization to keep themselves out of the spotlight, the FBI sends the info on to the military. This is when General Harris Cochrane (Kevin R McNally) bursts into the Oval Office saying, “We know who blew up the Capital!” There’s a terrorist organization called Al-Saqar (once part of Al-Qaeda), and the General tells Kirkman that the way the bomb was put together is similar to that organization’s work in the past. Kirkman wants to know how sure the General is, and he answers 75%. The President replies, “75% is a C on a test.” The General tells the President that this is not a test and he needs to name the enemy publicly and strike. Kirkman walks up to the General and gets in his face, telling him that he wants to strike back at the people who did this, from the ones who planned it to the bomb makers and everyone involved, but the percentage needs to be higher. “Come back to me with more than 75%, and I’ll launch the damn missiles myself,” says Kirkman.
Kirkman is also dealing with a problem in Michigan, the home to America’s biggest Muslim population. They are being targeted and racially profiled by the police, and curfews and unlawful arrests are taking place. Kirkman reaches out to the Governor of the state, John Royce (Michael Gaston), to rein in his police. Royce responds by telling the new President that he will govern the way he sees fit and the police are doing what he wants to protect HIS people. He also manages to let Kirkman know that as far as he is concerned, he’s not HIS President.
Tom meets with both Aaron’s and Emily’s choices for Attorney General – they constantly disagree – and both men disagree on how Kirkman should handle it, with one of them suggesting putting martial law into effect. This does not fly with Kirkman, and so he has the legal team look to see what he is allowed to do to fix the problem in Michigan.
Now it’s time for Kirkman and his small staff to visit Ground Zero in Washington…the Capital. Just as Tom and Alex are getting ready, their young daughter Penny (Mckenna Grace) comes in all smiles but soon becomes wide-eyed and concerned when she sees her father wearing the Kevlar vest. “What’s that, daddy?” she asks. Tom replies, “This is to keep me from falling down, but the cool part is that you can hit it, and I won’t feel anything. Go ahead, try.” Penny hits her father who playfully falls back and lets out a gasp, and Penny laughs. Alex tells their son Tanner (Leo Buchanan) that he needs to watch Penny and keep her away from the television while she and Tom make the visit to the Capital.
The visit to the destroyed Capital at first seems to be the perfect photo op, and Kirkman borrows a fireman’s speaking horn to talk to the workers and the press. It’s an inspiring few moments that are destroyed when the crowd and press get video alerts on their phones about a Muslim teen in Michigan being beaten by the local police. The press start shouting questions at the President about the incident, but he hasn’t even seen it yet. Then a man quickly moves to the front reaching inside his jacket and the Secret Service spring into immediate action and rush Kirkman and the First Lady out of the area and back to the presidential convoy while the other agents tackle the man. Basically, it’s a complete disaster, and, oh yes, Leo left little Penny alone to take a phone call so she saw the whole thing on television.
Alex tells Leo when she finds out that he needs to rise to the occasion and grow up fast. She’s going to need to know she can depend on him to protect Penny, and he doesn’t seem to want to be counted on to do anything. She says they’ll find out if he’s up for it. Kirkman has another video meeting with the Governor of Michigan and this time tells him that he’s ordering him to release any and all Muslims who have not already been charged with a crime. At first, the Governor isn’t going to do it, but Kirkman adds that three of the Muslim men are FBI undercover operatives and that the Governor doesn’t have the clearance to know who they are. If he doesn’t release the Muslims, he will be up on federal charges. Governor Royce yields and says he will order the releases. Afterward Kirkman reveals to Aaron, Emily, and Kimble it was a bluff.
Congresswoman Kimble Hookstraten is back at her office and on her computer and brings up different sites about Tom Kirkman. It’s clear she’s looking up more about the new President because she wants to know more about him. But is it to be his ally or enemy? Time will tell.
Kirkman heads back out to the remains of the Capital but this time incognito, accompanied only by Secret Service Agent Mike Ritter (LaMonica Garrett) at night. No press, no cameras, just to shake the hands and thank the first responders, rescuers, engineers, police, and others doing their jobs. This time Kirkman gets it right. Right after the new President leaves, some first responders yell, “Hey, over here! We’ve found someone alive!” Screen to black.
Review of Designated Survivor episode 2 – The First Day:
Fast-paced, intense, and emotional, episode two of the political thriller begins to reveal what kind of leader Tom Kirkman is going to be and that he doesn’t have many people around him he can trust or count on. Sutherland is the perfect choice to play Kirkman as he captures the man’s insecurities, devotion, determination, and, when called for, toughness. It’s going to be very interesting to see how Kirkman evolves, especially when he begins to realize just how alone he is in the Oval Office.
The series, in its fast pacing, still finds time to slow the show down to have a few sweet and touching scenes with Kirkman and his family. The quieter scenes are effective and never feel forced. The best and most powerful scene in the episode by far, though, was the return to the bombing site with Kirkman slowly going among the first responders, shaking their hands and thanking them for their efforts.
With the real bombers still unknown, Kirkman still needs a Cabinet and a Chief of Staff he can trust (seriously, doesn’t he have a best friend he can promote to this position?!) and a survivor of the bombing just found, episode three should be extremely fascinating.
