Universal Pictures just released the second official trailer for Split, writer/director M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller. Shyamalan (The Village, Sixth Sense, Wayward Pines) also produced Split which stars James McAvoy (the X-Men franchise) as a man with 23 different personalities. The cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch), Betty Buckley (Pretty Little Liars), Jessica Sula (Recovery Road), and Haley Lu Richardson (The Edge of Seventeen). Universal Pictures has set a January 20, 2017 theatrical release date for Split.
The Plot: While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being. Though Kevin (McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Taylor-Joy), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.
Hairspray Live! executive producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan have been involved in all of NBC’s live musical productions. The producing team has learned important lessons while working on televised live musical events, including not being daunted by the live aspect of the production. Meron and Zadan also produced the 2007 Hairspray film starring John Travolta, Nikki Blonsky, and Amanda Bynes, so they’re not only veterans at live televised musicals, but they’re also very familiar with this particular musical.
The cast of Hairspray Live! is led by newcomer Maddie Baillio and includes Harvey Fierstein, Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Kristin Chenoweth, Martin Short, and Derek Hough. NBC’s Hairspray Live! will air on December 7, 2016 at 8pm ET/PT and as rehearsals are getting underway, Meron and Zadan teamed up for a conference call to discuss the popular musical, their cast, and what fans of the movie and Broadway musical can expect from this live television event.
Neil Meron and Craig Zadan Hairspray Live! Interview:
How will you be integrating the live audience into the show?
Neil Meron: “We will be having a live audience, and it’s going to be functioning in two ways, interestingly enough. Naturally story-wise there is an audience for the ‘Corny Collins Show.’ So, we will have that as kind of a natural extension of the story of Hairspray Live. Plus, in another location, we will have just a general audience that will be there to watch, observe, react, and hopefully have a really good time.”
Can you talk about the casting process?
Craig Zadan: “Well, you know, the casting process for us depends on the kind of show we’re doing. In the last couple of years, we’ve done shows that require unknowns, so in the case of Hairspray Live we did a major search for our female lead. And last year for the Wiz Live we did a major search for our female lead. In those particular cases, it all started with looking for discovering an unknown talent that could sing, dance, and act, and carry a three-hour live show. So, that’s the beginning of the process.
Once we have had those people cast, the next step was finding the right people for the right roles. We’ve been very careful not to do stunt casting where you’re going and putting stars in roles that they don’t belong in for the sake of having names. I think that we have a lot of stars in this show, as we did in the Wiz Live, but they really were needed to be able to deliver the goods. I mean, they really needed to be the right people. And, you know, you go through each role and specify why each of these people were really special and really right for each particular part.”
Neil Meron: “If you look at the roster of the names that are in the cast, they’re a lot of them who have a history with us that are either friends or we’ve worked with them before which is always nice to be able to call on friends to kind of populate the cast.”
Which part was the most difficult to cast?
Neil Meron: “You know, it was, strangely enough, Link. We really looked and looked and then we found Garrett (Clayton). Garrett had amazing, amazing musical chops that we were not really aware of. We knew he came from Teen Beach Movie, but the depth of his talent we didn’t really know.”
Harvey Fierstein and Maddie Baillio (Photo by Brian Bowen Smith/NBC)
How did you find your new Tracy Turnblad?
Craig Zadan: “I mean, the Tracy that we’ve cast – we saw a lot of people who lined up for the open call and we saw a lot of people who submitted themselves online. The actor had to be able to really sing really well and obviously come in and sing Good Morning Baltimore gorgeously, but also do the scenes and really be right for the role as an actor. And then it’s a big dancing role so she had to really dance really, really well. When you look at a lot of people the strange thing is that you find that there are either a handful or even less people who could actually fulfill the triple threat.
It’s also looking for the confidence level. You’re taking an unknown and you’re giving them the lead in a big musical and they’re working with all of these professionals and these — in some cases — stars who have done it all. This person has to not only fit in, but even stand out from the crowd. It’s quite a weight that’s on their shoulders. Not to be redundant, but we encountered the same situation last year with the Wiz Live because we had the same requirements for our Dorothy as we did for our Tracy.”
What are the logistical challenges of this production?
Craig Zadan: “I’ll just say that logistically it’s the biggest production we’ve done so far in so many ways. Universal’s building two brand new sound stages on the Universal lot and we are going to use them as soon as they’re done. They will be done just before we need them, which is any minute. We’ll be using them and we’ll be using the backlot for exterior shots and scenes and musical numbers.
It is quite an enormous endeavor. The previous shows we’ve done — we did them out of New York on Long Island — and they were done on a sound stage that was much, much, much smaller. Here we have two huge sound stages and an exterior. So, we’re going much, much bigger this time.
A lot of it also has to do with the show. You know, I mean I think that the other shows were more contained in their conception. This show is not contained. Neil and I had the privilege earlier on of producing the movie of Hairspray and we got to do a big, huge movie musical which turned out really well and was very successful. We’re looking at this as almost as big in size and scope, the only difference is that we’re doing basically the show of Hairspray; we’re not doing the movie of Hairspray. And so a lot of people have said, ‘Oh, well you’re repeating yourself. Why would you do Hairspray again?’ But I think strangely enough we don’t feel like we’re repeating ourselves. We feel like we’re doing something that we haven’t done before, because they’re different projects in a way.”
Neil Meron: “I think the footprint of this particular production is probably the biggest of any of the live musical set-up that’s been done on television, ours included and Grease Live included. What’s wonderful about it is that we learn and we grow from each iteration. We grew in terms of the three that we did. Grease Live basically honored us, in terms of doing it live and then taking what we’ve done and putting their own mark on it. We follow that up with learning what everybody else has done before us and doing something unique again.
That’s what’s so wonderful about doing this entire genre. It’s that sense it’s kind of a new genre. We’re kind of creating it and building out with it as audiences continue to like it.”
What’s it been like working with Derek Hough as Corny Collins?
Neil Meron: “Derek is, you know, what you see is what you get. You get somebody that first of all is one of the best dancers in the world, totally charming, totally eager, has a depth of talent, always cooperative, always there. But speaking about talent, it’s also our privilege and honor to have Harvey Fierstein kind of like preserve his iconic performance from Broadway. It’s something that we are thrilled to be able to do. His performance is so strong that it should be preserved and we’re glad to be able to do it.”
Can we expect any new original songs for this production?
Craig Zadan: “We’re not doing new songs, but we are adding a few songs from the movie that Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote for the film and that we all fell in love with when we did the movie. So, there will be a couple of moments where we will use some of the material from the movie. But otherwise, it’s basically the material from the Broadway show.”
You discussed reviving Wiz Live on Broadway after the live broadcast. Do you have any intention to do that with Hairspray?
Neil Meron: “Of course the goal was to get the Wiz Live to Broadway. But as anybody on the call that knows about what’s going on in the theater, there is always a log jam in terms of the available and appropriate time that we need for the show. So, it’s kind of like jets lining up on the runway. Unfortunately, we’re still on the runway with that. And in terms of a Hairspray revival, we haven’t even discussed that.”
What are the similarities and differences in how you’re approaching this production from how you approached the movie?
Neil Meron: “You know, it’s an entirely different approach since we have an original screenplay that was written for the movie and with this Harvey Fierstein re-examined the original Broadway book and wrote a new adaptation of that. So, it is more akin to doing the Broadway show as opposed to an original movie. Some of the plotting that was in the movie was written specifically to the movie, so we revert mostly to the plotting of the way it was done on Broadway. I would say that we kind of are based upon the Broadway show and took what worked on the Broadway show and then added to it and made it our own. And, mostly everything that was done on Broadway worked. It was a great show.”
Craig Zadan: “Also, the other thing you have to remember is that making a movie is so different an experience from mounting a Broadway show. Like, in certain cases you can go throughout a tremendous amount of locations outside in a movie. You can go anywhere. Here we’re thrilled to be outside, but we’re also on a backlot of a sound stage. Basically, we are limited to movement in terms of where we can go in limited space that we have is outdoors.”
You’ve mentioned that Ariana Grande won’t be singing until the end of the show. What went into that decision?
Neil Meron: “It’s a very easy answer. That’s the way it was scripted. It’s that Penny is a very, very shy kind of school-booky type of character that eventually is able to find her voice when she joins this group of kids that are trying to, in essence, change the world. So, in the end through love she’s able to find the voice and the voice is able to emerge.”
Craig Zadan: “The other aspect of the Ariana Grande question is that when we started casting, we hadn’t gotten to those roles yet. We got a call from her manager saying she would like to play Penny. We did not contact Ariana or her representatives. She contacted us and we were overwhelmed and thrilled and pinching ourselves. We’re so excited that Ariana wanted to be part of it and that she wanted to play Penny and that she didn’t come in and say, ‘Write me a new song. Give me more to sing. But, you know, I want a bigger part.’ She said, ‘I love Hairspray. I love the role of Penny. I want to play Penny. Don’t change anything. Don’t make it bigger. Let me play the part as it exists.’ I mean, which showed her passion for doing this and for the project and her not wanting to come in and say, ‘You know, make it bigger and better.’ She said, ‘I want to play what’s there.’”
What would say is the biggest take-away from the Wiz Live which may have influenced your creative decisions for Hairspray Live?
Neil Meron: “I think one of our biggest take-aways which we knew going into the Wiz Live but are still continuing with it is working with Kenny Leon on this, the director. He is just superb to work with and there’s no better actor’s director. Nobody gives production a sense of stability and vision and better than Kenny. So, we’re just thrilled to be working with him again.
Every time we’ve done it we have learned different things and get more comfortable with this genre. I think that not to be as daunted by the live aspect of it all, as we were going into it starting with Sound of Music.”
Craig Zadan: “The other aspect of it was that we had Harvey Fierstein write the book, the new book for the Wiz Live and he did an incredible job. And when he said he’d love to write the adaptation of Hairspray Live we were thrilled. That became the close collaboration as Neil pointed out between our director, Kenny Leon, on the Wiz and now our director Kenny Leon on with Harvey again on Hairspray Live.”
Jason Clarke and Blake Lively star in ‘All I See Is You’
The dramatic thriller All I See Is You has been picked up by Open Road Films for U.S. distribution. Directed by World War Z‘s Marc Forster, All I See Is You is headlined by Blake Lively and Jason Clarke, with Yvonne Strahovski, Danny Huston, Ahna O’Reilly, and Wes Chatham co-starring.
“Since we worked together on the groundbreaking Monster’s Ball, I have been hoping to work with Marc Forster again,” stated Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films. “All I See Is You is a provocative thriller with a great cast and Marc has made yet another terrific film.”
“I have always admired Tom Ortenberg and his seemingly effortless ability to bring interesting and provocative films to the marketplace, I am confident this is the right home for All I See Is You,” said director Forster.
All I See Is You was executive produced by Ron Perlman, Brian Wilkins, and Renee Wolfe, and was produced by Forster, Craig Baumgarten, Michael Selby, and Jillian Kugler. Open Road Films is targeting an August 4, 2017 theatrical release date.
The Plot:All I See Is You is the story of a blind woman (Lively) and her husband (Clarke). When her sight unexpectedly returns, she begins to discover the previously unseen and disturbing details about themselves, their marriage and their lives.
Jaylen Moore, Kyle Schmid, Barry Sloane, Walton Goggins, Juan Pablo Raba, Edwin Hodge, and Donny Boaz in ‘Six’ (Photo Credit: History)
History’s new dramatic series Six will premiere on January 18, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT. The military drama focuses on members of Navy SEAL Team Six and is inspired by real missions the elite force took part in. Season one will consist of eight episodes starring Walton Goggins (Sons of Anarchy, Vice Principals), Barry Sloane (Revenge), Kyle Schmid (Copper), Juan Pablo Raba (Narcos), Edwin Hodge (Chicago Fire), Dominic Adams (Devious Maids), Brianne Davis (Jarhead), Nadine Velazquez (Flight), Jaylen Moore (Homeland), Donny Boaz (The Great Debaters), and Nondumiso Tembe (True Blood).
The series was created by William Broyles (Cast Away, Jarhead) and special operations veteran, David Broyles. William Broyles, David Broyles, Alfredo Barrios, Jr, Karen Campbell, and Bruce C. McKenna wrote the series, and Oscar nominee Lesli Linka Glatter directed the first two episodes.
The Plot:Six is an authentic portrayal of what it means to be a member of SEAL Team Six, a true brotherhood, the best at what they do. The series begins with SEAL Team Six troop leader Richard ‘Rip’ Taggart (Goggins) making a questionable decision while on a mission in Afghanistan. Two years later, Rip is captured by Boko Haram and it’s up to his former SEAL Team Six brothers – led by Joe Graves (Sloane), Alex Caulder (Schmid), and Ricky “Buddha” Ortiz (Raba) – to put their differences aside to locate and rescue their former troop leader.
The eight episode first season of Six follows members of Navy SEAL Team Six, modern American warriors, whose covert mission to eliminate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan goes awry when they uncover a U.S. citizen working with terrorists. Inspired by real missions, the series authentically captures the inside world of America’s elite Special Operations unit – what these SEALs do, their personal lives, combat and the life-and-death decisions they make to protect and serve their country.
Jennifer Nettles hosts ‘CMA Country Christmas’ (Photo by Heidi Gutman / ABC)
Jennifer Nettles has been tapped to host the CMA Country Christmas special for the seventh time. This year’s holiday special will tape in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry House on November 8, 2016 and will air on November 28th at 8pm PT/ET on ABC. The studio audience is asked to bring an unwrapped toy to be given to children in need in Middle Tennessee. During the taping of the 2015 holiday special, 5,000+ unwrapped toys were collected by the CMA in partnership with ABC Television Network and the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program.
“Providing new toys for deserving children shines a spotlight on a worthy endeavor and reflects the values and spirit of giving found in our artists, industry, and city,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer.
The 2016 CMA Country Christmas has Paul Miller on board as director, David Wild is the special’s writer, and Robert Deaton is the executive producer. “The taping of CMA Country Christmas has become a treasured holiday tradition for Nashville families,” said Trahern. “And watching CMA Country Christmas on ABC is equally important as generations gather to celebrate the season.”
Nettles will be releasing her first ever holiday album on October 28th. The album, titled To Celebrate Christmas, will feature collaborations with Idina Menzel on “Little Drummer Boy,” Andra Day on “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman,” and Dolly Parton on “Circle of Love.”
Lady Gaga is confirmed to perform on the 2016 American Music Awards airing live on ABC on November 20, 2016 at 8pm ET. Lady Gaga joins previously announced performers Bruno Mars (he’ll open the AMAs) and Sting for the year’s largest fan-voted music awards show. Lady Gaga will be making her third appearance as a performer on the AMAs with this year’s performance. She first appeared on the AMA stage in 2009 singing a medley of “Bad Romance” and “Speechless.” She also performed in 2013 with R. Kelly singing “Do What U Want.”
Lady Gaga has been nominated for nine American Music Awards and won in 2010 in the Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock category. She’s sold over 30 million albums and 150 million singles, earning Grammys, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar nomination. Lady Gaga’s had 13 singles make it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart and just released her fifth album, Joanne.
Drake leads the list of the 2016 American Music Awards nominees with 13 nominations followed by Rihanna with seven, Adele with five, and Justin Bieber with five. Other artists receiving multiple nominations include Beyonce, Twenty One Pilots, Carrie Underwood, and The Weeknd.
Voting is now open via AMAvote.com. You can also cast your vote for your favorite musical artists on Twitter using the nominee’s Twitter handle, the category name, and the hashtag #AMAs.
One month out from the mini-series’ premiere and Netflix has finally released a full trailer for Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. The four-part Netflix show reunites series stars Lauren Graham (Lorelai) and Alexis Bledel (Rory) with Kelly Bishop (Emily) and Scott Patterson (Luke Danes).
Also reprising their roles for the short series are Rose Abdoo, Keiko Agena, Matt Czuchry, Chris Eigeman, Sean Gunn, Todd Lowe, Melissa McCarthy, Jared Padalecki, Danny Strong, Sally Struthers, David Sutcliffe, Liz Torres, Yanic Truesdale, Milo Ventimiglia, Liza Weil, and Michael Winters.
Netflix will release all four episodes of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life on Friday, November 25, 2016.
The Plot:Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life is made up of four memorable chapters from the lives of Lorelai, Emily, Rory and countless Stars Hollow stalwarts. The story is told through four 90-minute chapters — each spanning one season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall — and brings back to life everything from the quaint corner diner to the dreamy Dragonfly Inn to a fast-talking, quick-witted mother-daughter love story unlike any other.
Picking up nine years after we last dropped in on the whimsical Connecticut town, Gilmore girls: A Year in the Life finds each of our leading ladies at a major crossroad: Lorelai’s relationship with Luke is at an unnerving standstill; Rory’s budding journalism career in New York has stalled before it’s even begun; and Emily’s world is turned upside down following the untimely passing of her beloved husband, Richard.
Watch the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life trailer:
Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, Lennie James as Morgan Jones, Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha Williams, Michael Cudlitz as Sgt. Abraham Ford, Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, Austin Nichols as Spencer Monroe, Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter, Ross Marquand as Aaron, and Katelyn Nacon as Enid (Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC)
AMC’s released two new The Walking Dead videos featuring Negan’s two victims thanking the show’s fans for their support. The question of who would die at the hand’s of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his favorite weapon, Lucille the bat, was answered in season seven’s first episode, an episode that literally made some fans physically ill. Both characters left the show after suffering violent, gory deaths and both actors express how happy they are to have been a part of the top-rated series.
In the two farewell tribute videos, Steven Yeun (‘Glenn’) and Michael Cudlitz (‘Abraham Ford’) are given the chance to speak to their fans from the show’s set one final time.
Season seven is airing on Sundays at 9pm ET/PT and stars Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Lauren Cohan as Maggie, Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha, Ross Marquand as Aaron, Chandler Riggs as Carl, Christian Serratos as Rosita, Josh McDermitt as Eugene, Tom Payne as Jesus, and Khary Payton as Ezekiel. The series is executive produced by Scott Gimple, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Greg Nicotero, and Tom Luse.
The Season Seven Plot: The first half of Season 7 sees the group fractured, broken, bereaved, and picking up the pieces while living under the thumb of oppression. Negan will have successfully brought the survivors under his will, brutally convincing them to live under his rules with a deadly and horrific example of what happens if they don’t.
Faran Tahir and Colin O’Donoghue in ‘Once Upon a Time’ season 6 (Photo by Jack Rowand / ABC)
Captain Nemo kidnaps Hook in ABC’s Once Upon a Time season six episode six titled ‘Dark Waters.’ Premiering on October 30, 2016 at 8pm ET/PT, the sixth episode of the season also finds Emma attempting to convince Aladdin to reconnect with Princess Jasmine. ‘Dark Waters’ was written by Andrew Chambliss and Brigitte Hales and directed by Robert Duncan.
The cast of Once Upon a Time season six includes Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret, Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen/Regina, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David, Emilie de Ravin as Belle, Colin O’Donoghue as Hook, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, Rebecca Mader as the Wicked Witch/Zelena, and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold. Guest starring in episode six are Raphael Sbarge as Dr. Archie Hopper/Jiminy Cricket, Karen David as Princess Jasmine, Deniz Akdeniz as Aladdin, David Avalon as Doc, Faran Tahir as Captain Nemo, Nick Eversman as First Mate, and Corey Schmitt as Second Mate.
The ‘Dark Waters’ Plot: Emma tries to convince Aladdin to work with Jasmine to help Agrabah, while Regina teams up with Snow and David to free Archie from Zelena. The Evil Queen sows suspicion between Henry and Hook, even as Mr. Gold reminds her of his most important lesson. Meanwhile, in the past, Hook finds himself kidnapped by the mysterious Captain Nemo and held captive inside his legendary submarine, the Nautilus.
Rebecca Mader and Lana Parrilla in ‘Once Upon a Time’ (Photo by Jack Rowand / ABC)
Tom Ellis delivers his best performance to date with Fox’s Lucifer season two episode five titled ‘Weaponizer.’ The last 10 minutes are heartbreaking and Ellis proves the show’s title character is more than just a charming womanizer who likes to solve crimes. Airing on October 24, 2016, the episode begins on a well-manicured street in a nice neighborhood. The peace is interrupted by a mom yelling at her son for leaving his skateboard out where she would trip on it, not knowing an angel actually put the skateboard in her path. Their dog escapes, a car swerves to avoid it and crashes into Chloe as Lucifer’s brother Uriel looks on.
Chloe’s banged up but basically fine, telling Lucifer it was just a random car crash but he’s not buying it. He thinks his dad is trying to send him a message. Plus, he doesn’t think Chloe (Lauren German) and Maze (Lesley Ann Brandt) mix…they probably aren’t the best roommate match. He wanders through Chloe’s apartment picking up Maze’s random sex toys, dropping one quickly when Trixie appears. Chloe thinks it will be fine once they’ve adjusted to the arrangement.
Trixie (Scarlett Estevez) demands her mom read her a book immediately because she’s worried about how dangerous her mom’s job is. Trixie’s not positive her mom will always return home after she leaves for work, and Chloe promises she won’t get hurt as Lucifer makes jokes about birth control.
Chloe and Lucifer catch up with Ella (Aimee Garcia) at a murder scene where Lucifer immediately recognizes the victim as Wesley Cabot, an actor in B movies and an 8th-degree black belt. Lucifer loves his movies and knows a lot about Wesley. Wesley had a huge drug habit, and Lucifer’s fine with that, but it meant studios wouldn’t hire him anymore. He was teaching karate when he died and Ella has determined the time of death was around 7am. He was hit with a nunchuck statue award and that’s what caused his death.
Lucifer gets down on the floor and tries to take a selfie with the dead body when Chloe wisely takes his phone away. Then Lucifer gets the idea one of Wesley’s opponents in a movie did him in. He promises to avenge Wesley’s death.
After Chloe walks away to question a kid, Ella starts to ask Lucifer a question when he immediately jumps to the conclusion that she wants to have sex with him. Because, you know, he’s Lucifer and irresistible. He even suggests a nearby bed but Ella actually wanted to know why he loves Wesley Cabot. When Lucifer explains, Ella thinks it makes sense since he’s a method actor. Lucifer swears once again he’s not, but Ella’s not buying it. As she talks, Lucifer’s distracted by a man walking by.
Lucifer heads up to a nearby rooftop where he chats with Uriel, his brother (Michael Imperioli). Uriel says he has 24 hours to either return with mom or he’ll kill Chloe. Lucifer, for once, is speechless.
Back at his place, Lucifer tells Amenadiel (DB Woodside) and Maze about Uriel. Maze suggests he pay up and give up mom. Amenadiel reminds them all that angels can’t hurt people, and Lucifer says Uriel can cause an accident that seems random. Maze continues on with the solution of sending mom back to Hell. Lucifer, however, thinks they have a nuclear weapon: Amenadiel. Uriel doesn’t know Amenadiel and Lucifer are working together so he can be the one who deals with Uriel.
Lucifer happily tells Chloe she’s being attacked by celestial forces. She needs to do the opposite of what she’d normally do, so she jokes she was going to have sex with him. Lucifer loves that until he figures out he told her to do the opposite. No matter what, Lucifer says he won’t be leaving her side for at least a day. He’ll be her “guardian devil.” Dan (Kevin Alejandro) interrupts Lucifer and Chloe and it appears he’s just as big a Wesley Cabot fan as Lucifer, with both men quoting one of the actor’s catchphrases at the same time. Lucifer decides he needs a catchphrase but Chloe says no. Lucifer and Dan are actually doing a bit of bonding over this whole ‘Wesley Cabot films’ thing.
Wesley’s ex-wife Jamie (Charisma Carpenter) is called in for questioning and Lucifer snarls, “Welcome to Devil time.” It’s his new catchphrase but no one gets it. The ex says she got a mysterious phone call from Wesley and when she went to visit him, he was already dead. She also says she still cared about him. And, she has an alibi. Her current husband is Kimo Van Zandt (Mark Dacascos), Wesley’s ex-co-star in action films.
Body Bags 4 seems to be at the heart of the killing and Lucifer and Dan do some more bonding by acting out of scenes. Kimo, the co-star who’s now married to Jamie, is now a prime suspect.
And now we get to check in with Charlotte (Tricia Helfer) who is failing at the mom thing and at work. Amenadiel shows up and he wonders if she’s just postponing the inevitable. He asks what happens if more of her children come down and try to bring her back to Hell, and she says she’s happy to be spending time with he and Lucifer for as long as she can.
Chloe and Lucifer are on a stake-out and she tries to eat a sandwich, but Lucifer throws it in the backseat. Chloe doesn’t understand why Lucifer’s so obsessed with her well-being and just then Kimo (aka The Weaponizer) attacks some guy in the parking lot. They haul Kimo into the station and although Lucifer is hoping for some Hollywood-type reason for the attack, Kimo says it’s because the man had gambling debts and he’s working for the mob to pay bills. Lucifer uses his powers to find out what Kimo really wants, and he confesses he’s working so that his wife can be happy. He also claims he and Wesley were great friends and hid their friendship from Jamie so it wouldn’t get weird. Kimo was signing stuff at a comic book store during the murder, but the murder weapon turns out to have his prints on it. He’s placed under arrest.
Lucifer doesn’t think Kimo did it because he’s not a killer. Chloe, however, does believe it but then sees the Weaponizer is already out of jail which is weird since he claimed to be broke. Awww, Lucifer turns out to be Kimo’s benefactor, declaring the Weaponizer will not spend one night in jail if he can help it. Ryan Goldburg (Kimo’s business manager) thanks Lucifer for making Kimo’s bail because Kimo spent all of his money on a high-priced lifestyle. Dan is also caught up in the whole Kimo/Wesley thing and takes a selfie with a photo of Kimo, while Lucifer notices Amenadiel is hanging out in the station.
Amenadiel believes Uriel is setting a trap, but Lucifer thinks there’s something wrong with Amenadiel. Lucifer doesn’t realize Amenadiel – the all-powerful first-born son – has lost his powers. Lucifer said Uriel was always afraid of Amenadiel, and just the sight of him will send shivers down his spine.
Amenadiel meets Uriel up on a rooftop and says it’s good to see him. He tells Uriel he has to go home, but Uriel doesn’t believe Amenadiel has everything under control. Amenadiel says he doesn’t need Uriel’s help…definitely not help offered by just a mid-level son. “I am Amenadiel, the fury and righteousness of our Father, and you little brother are standing in my way!” says Amenadiel, invading Uriel’s space to get him to back down. Uriel apologizes and says he’ll return home but then he turns and punches Amenadiel, dropping him to the ground. Uriel suspected something was wrong because Amenadiel is more of a man of action than a talker usually. He thinks he can beat this Amenadiel and kicks him while he’s down. “The bigger they are…” says Uriel, spreading his gorgeous wings before beating up his big brother.
Dan says Kimo’s alibi checked out, but he collected toys from the comic book store because the Body Bags items are selling like hotcakes. Wesley and Kimo were being cheated out of royalties by their manager, collecting 1% of sales instead of 10%. Chloe needs to head out to call on Ryan the manager and Lucifer has to go attend to family business, so Dan’s left talking to Ella. Ella mentions Wesley was killed by his own weird award and Dan then remembers there were two awards given out that year. The awards must have been switched and that’s why Kimo’s fingerprints were on the murder weapon. Jamie had access to both and could have given the award to Ryan to set up Kimo.
At Lucifer’s place Maze is trying to work on Amenadiel’s badly beaten face. He looks horribly beaten and finally admits to his brother that he doesn’t have his powers anymore. They could be gone for any number of reasons including the fact he slept with a demon and is working with Lucifer. Amenadiel wonders if he’s simply no longer worthy. He says he needs to face the truth that he’s fallen, and Lucifer welcomes him to the club. Lucifer tells him losing his powers could be the best thing that happened to him. That said, Lucifer needs to find Uriel because time’s up and Chloe is now in grave danger.
Uriel sets off a little chain reaction that ultimately ends with Kimo spotting his wife kissing his business manager. Immediately afterward, Chloe arrives at the same hotel. Uriel watches as she enters, a small smile gracing his face.
Charlotte is yelling at her young son who won’t stop barking at her as Maze walks up. She’s chained the kid to the goal for a time out and he doesn’t stop barking until Maze growls back at him. But Maze isn’t there for childcare purposes; she tells Charlotte they need to talk.
Jamie and Ryan are having a nice lunch with a glass of wine when Chloe interrupts what they claim is a business meeting. Chloe accuses Ryan of stealing from his clients and Jamie of setting the whole thing up. They both start pointing the finger at each other, blaming each other for killing Wesley. Kimo arrives with a shotgun ready to take out his cheating wife and business manager. Chloe blocks his shot and Lucifer, plus two officers, arrive as Kimo is ready to shoot someone. Chloe talks Kimo out of shooting anyone, admitting she’s terrified after the accident and just wants to go home and read a bedtime story to Trixie. She begs him to make the right choice and put down the gun which he does. Lucifer congratulates Chloe on talking Kimo out of shooting anyone. She also says she doesn’t believe in fate or bad luck, and she’ll be leaving the premises alone. He warns her she needs to buckle up and then he’s off to deal with his brother.
Back at Lucifer’s, Charlotte tells her son she’s decided she’s letting Uriel take her back to Hell. Maze arrives to second the motion, saying she doesn’t want to clean up Lucifer’s mess and this will mean Chloe is safe from dad. Lucifer says he’s keeping his word by making mom serve out her sentence on earth, and Maze argues that’s not what God wants. Lucifer finally loses control, yelling that everyone thinks they know what God wants but they don’t. He said dad showed him an open door, but that could have meant any number of things. “Nobody bloody well knows because the selfish bastard won’t just tell us! I’m sick of it!” says Lucifer, pounding his fist on the table. Mom’s proud of her son and says Uriel was small as a child and only wanted to play with the older kids, including Lucifer. “Uriel is a stubborn boy and when he sets his mind, he doesn’t waver,” says Charlotte. Lucifer thinks there has to be another way, and Charlotte has faith that her son will find it.
Lucifer is praying in a church and Uriel asks if he’s done hiding behind Amenadiel’s skirt. Uriel says in his version of how this plays out, Lucifer’s friend will die. Lucifer tries to tell Uriel he doesn’t know what dad wants, but Uriel says he knows what dad needs. It’s only a matter of time before mom finds her way back to heaven where dad will forgive her. Lucifer doesn’t see that happening, but Uriel believes it will. God will let his guard down and mom will destroy him.
Uriel pulls out Azrael’s blade, saying he borrowed it from the Angel of Death when she wasn’t looking. Uriel is determined to keep mom from destroying heaven and was going to use the blade on her. Lucifer says he’s going insane, but Uriel doesn’t care about anything other than getting rid of mom. If he hits a key on the piano it will set off a series of events that will mean in two days Chloe will die. It’s Lucifer’s choice – turn over mom or kill Chloe – and Lucifer chooses to slug Uriel. Lucifer’s easily beating Uriel in hand-to-hand combat but then Uriel starts getting the upper hand. They’re trashing the church and Uriel knocks Lucifer down and almost out, but says he won’t use the blade on him. He will however be fine with using it on Maze who he calls a scum-sucking demon. They fight and Maze knocks the blade out of Uriel’s hand. But, he figures out her pattern of attack and also bests her. Uriel is ready to play a key on the piano in order to kill Chloe. He also promises to kill their mom but doesn’t count on Lucifer getting up and running him through with Azrael’s blade. Uriel dies and Lucifer is distraught, gazing up to the heavens.
Chloe is in bed with Trixie reading a bedtime story and looking adorable.
Charlotte waited patiently at Lucifer’s for any news and Lucifer wanders in bloody and heartbroken. He’s been crying and Charlotte realizes he killed Uriel. She hugs him and they both cry.
