HBO dropped the first teaser trailer for The Young Pope starring Oscar nominee Jude Law before the premiere of the sci-fi series Westworld. The series, centering around a fictional Pope from America, comes from BAFTA winning director Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty) and is executive produced by Lorenzo Mieli, Mario Gianani, Caroline Benjo, Carole Scotta, Simon Arnal, and John Lyons. Law plays Pope Pius XIII and Diane Keaton co-stars as Sister Mary, an American nun residing in Vatican City.
Season one will consist of 10 episodes, all directed by Sorrentino. The series is a Sky, HBO, and Caanl + production and will premiere in 2017.
The Plot: The Young Pope tells the controversial story of the beginning of PIUS XIII’s Pontificate. Born Lenny Belardo, he is a complex and conflicted character, so conservative in his choices as to border on obscurantism, yet full of compassion towards the weak and poor. He is a man of great power who is stubbornly resistant to the Vatican courtiers, unconcerned with the implications to his authority. During the series, Belardo will face losing those closest to him and the constant fear of being abandoned, even by his God. He is, however, not afraid of undertaking the millennial mission of defending that same God and the world representing Him.
Describing the series, Paolo Sorrentino said, “The clear signs of God’s existence. The clear signs of God’s absence. How faith can be searched for and lost. The greatness of holiness, so great as to be unbearable when you are fighting temptations and when all you can do is to yield to them. The inner struggle between the huge responsibility of the Head of the Catholic Church and the miseries of the simple man that fate (or the Holy Spirit) chose as Pontiff. Finally, how to handle and manipulate power in a state whose dogma and moral imperative is the renunciation of power and selfless love towards one’s neighbour. That is what THE YOUNG POPE is about.”
James Marsden and Evan Rachel Wood in ‘Westwood’ (Photo: John P. Johnson / HBO)
HBO’s long-awaited much-anticipated Westworld finally arrived, premiering on October 2, 2016 with episode one titled “The Original.” We’ve been hearing about Westworld for years and not all of the reports on the production have been positive. Filming was actually put on hold for a while as the overall plan for the series was reconsidered, however, the pre-premiere buzz was mostly positive leading up to episode one’s debut. The big question ultimately is whether HBO spent its money wisely on this big-budgeted sci-fi action series or if this will be a one and out like Vinyl. Based solely on episode one, it appears Westworld’s future is bright and viewers won’t be let down after such a long wait for the show.
The effects, acting, and story in “The Original” were all first-rate although the violence – in particular the violence toward women – might turn off some viewers. In interviews leading up to the series’ debut, producer J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) acknowledged the concern over the show’s violence toward women. “I would say the criticism is accurate but you can’t tell a story about oppression without depicting the oppressed,” said Abrams in an interview with the Press Association. “If it was a movie I would say: ‘Damn it, they’re 100% right.’ It’s a series and it goes somewhere for a reason. No one was going into this thinking ‘let’s do a show that somehow dehumanizes women.’ This is a show, I would argue, very much about the opposite.”
The series is set in the near future in which people can live out their dreams by visiting a park populated by androids (called ‘hosts’). Visitors pay to do whatever they please to (and with) the hosts, no matter how disgusting and depraved. The hosts, however, are unable to harm any living creature.
Westworld Season 1 Episode 1 Recap:
In the operations headquarters of Westworld, a fly crawls over Dolores Abernathy’s eyeball as she’s asked if she ever questions the nature of her reality and what she thinks of her world. She responded by saying she sees the world’s beauty.
The story shifts to the actual park where Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) lives with her parents on a ranch. Dolores is a beautiful young woman with a sunny disposition. She exchanges morning pleasantries with her dad, Peter (Louis Herthum), outside of their farmhouse and then she’s off to town for the day.
The newcomers, as Dolores calls them, are on a train heading to the Western town. They arrive at the station where they’re met by gentle townsfolk going about their ‘normal’ lives. The Western town has everything imaginable you’d expect from a Wild West setting and Teddy (James Marsden) heads to the saloon/brothel where he orders up a whiskey and spots Dolores outside the saloon. She’s so happy to see him again, and they’re all flirty as they ride out to her place against a stunning backdrop of hills, meadows, and cows. They pause on their ride and he leans in for a kiss, but she stops him and says her dad won’t be happy to see him. They finally arrive at the ranch and it’s now nighttime. They’re still a bit away from the house when they hear gunshots. Teddy rides ahead and kills the thieves who’ve broken into Dolores’ house and murdered her parents.
The Man in Black (Ed Harris) arrives and we learn he’s been visiting Westworld for 30 years. We also learn he lusts after Dolores but unlike with Teddy, she doesn’t remember him. He expresses regret he wasn’t the one who got to kill her dad and Teddy, upset, begins shooting at the Man in Black. He’s hit but not injured in the slightest and Teddy’s confused. Teddy doesn’t realize he’s a host and can’t actually hurt the Man in Black. Teddy falls at the Man in Black’s feet, incredulous. The Man in Black hauls Dolores away by the neck while she screams, taking her into the barn to rape.
In a voice-over Dolores is told there are no chance encounters. This unseen person from the corporation explains she was built to gratify the people who pay to visit the world. Dolores doesn’t grasp the concept and professes to love all of the newcomers.
And now the action reboots, with a new day in Westworld beginning with Teddy back on the train but with different newcomers sitting in front of him. Zoom out and we see the theme park is being overseen by technicians who monitor every event. They’re also busy constructing new horses and putting them through their paces. New hosts are also being created for different purposes – hookers, cowboys, etc.
In one of the cubicles where hosts are prepped for Westworld, a hooker host is exhibiting behavior outside the norm. She touches her finger to her lip and Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) and Elsie Hughes (Shannon Woodward) are fascinated by how new programming updates are incorporated that include memories from past days in the park.
Bernard is alerted there is unscheduled activity in sublevel 83, the storage area. An armed team accompanies Bernard to the sublevel, even though Bernard doesn’t think he needs them since the hosts can’t hurt them. Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) pipes up and says all kids rebel eventually. They walk through rows and rows of naked robots, seeing nothing unusual until they hear someone talking. An old cowboy named Bill is drinking with Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) and Robert reveals he’s the second host they ever built. Robert says they broke down constantly and he tells Bill to put himself away. Bernard congratulates him on the new gestures included from the memories into the updates, saying they’re beautiful.
Dolores heads out, passing by her dad once again. He warns her to be home before it’s dark. He was once a lawman and wants her to be safe from the murderer hiding out in the hills. They are having a sweet heart-to-heart and then she heads into town.
The train pulls up to the station and it’s a replay from the prior day except the Marshal recruits a couple to help with the manhunt for the outlaw hiding out in the hills. Teddy once again sees Dolores but he’s stopped from following her by newcomers who want him to show them around. Instead, the Man in Black meets Dolores at her horse. Fortunately for Dolores, he says he won’t be visiting her tonight. Instead, he heads into the saloon to play cards.
The Marshal and his team head out and find a dead body, and the newcomers are uncomfortable and don’t want to be up there at night. As the Marshal’s talking, he breaks down, like a computer program gone bad.
Back at the operations headquarters, Bernard says the Marshal is exhibiting strange behavior that could be due to the last update. That means 200 hosts might have to be taken down. Head of Narrative Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman) is upset because pulling 200 hosts would screw up all the storylines guests are engaged in in the park. Westworld’s Head of Quality Assurance Theresa Cullen (Sidse Babett Knudsen) wants to know if the 1,400 guests in the park are in danger. Bernard assures her they’re not because even if they malfunction they can’t hurt a fly. Cullen decides to not pull the hosts but to make sure they keep a close eye on everyone for any strange behavior.
Dolores is at the river, painting, when a couple and their young child walk up. There are three horses grazing and the young boy gets to feed one an apple. He says to Dolores, “You’re one of them, aren’t you? You’re not real.” She looks confused and warns them to get home by sundown because there are bandits in the hills.
Dolores’ dad discovers a piece of paper mostly buried in the earth while rounding up his cows. He shows it to Dolores and it’s a photo from now. Dolores doesn’t look fazed but he’s completely confused by what he’s seeing.
Poster for Disney’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’
Johnny Depp once again reprises his role as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth film of the franchise. The latest pirate adventure from Walt Disney Pictures has just unveiled a teaser trailer minus Depp but featuring Javier Bardem and Brenton Thwaites. Directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning (Kon-Tiki), the cast also includes Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbosa, and Sir Paul McCartney. Disney’s planning a May 26, 2017 theatrical release date.
The Plot: Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Captain Jack Sparrow finds the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost pirates led by his old nemesis, the terrifying Captain Salazar (Bardem), escape from the Devil’s Triangle, determined to kill every pirate at sea…including him. Captain Jack’s only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artifact that bestows upon its possessor total control over the seas
Watch the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales trailer:
Alec Baldwin as Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump and Kate McKinnon as Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton on ‘SNL’ (Photo by Will Heath/NBC)
Saturday Night Live season 42 opened with Alec Baldwin portraying presidential candidate Donald Trump and SNL regular Kate McKinnon playing Hillary Clinton. The much-anticipated season opener delivered on its promise to skewer the 1st Presidential Debate, with the late night show snagging its biggest premiere in eight years and growing 29% over last year’s premiere.
Season 42’s opener was hosted by first-timer Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad) with The Weeknd as the episode’s musical guest, but it was really Baldwin as Trump that had people tuning in. Larry David also returned as Senator Bernie Sanders and Darrell Hammond was back as President Bill Clinton.
Father Tomas Ortega (Alfonso Herrera) and Father Marcus Keane (Ben Daniels) move closer to uniting to fight evil in Fox’s riveting new horror series The Exorcist season one episode two. Titled ‘Chapter Two: Lupus in Fabula,’ the episode opened in a dark room with boys gathered in front of a priest. He tells them they don’t have a future and are basically nameless, and warns them he’ll be testing them. Each boy will be sent one at a time into a pitch black room with a possessed man. Armed only with a Bible and cross, one boy doesn’t retreat and remains in the room reading passages.
Fast forward to Father Marcus on a bus making notes in a well-worn Bible.
Using only the light of her iPad, Angela Rance (Geena Davis) goes to her kitchen for a midnight snack. The house is quiet around her when she suddenly hears a man’s voice. She’s shocked, finding only her daughter Casey (Hannah Kasulka) seated in a chair, facing away from her in the room. She begins recording on her iPad, watching as her daughter feels up her own body. (The voice had said she was fresh and supple.) Angela speaks to her daughter and the male voice tells Casey her mother is snooping beside her and to wake up. She jerks awake and comes to her feet, all while Angela still records. When Casey sees her mom, she looks confused and frightened.
Father Tomas speaks to Bishop Egan (Brad Armacost) about Casey, saying he sat down with her after their run-in in the attic. Casey didn’t remember, her mom is concerned and Casey’s sister, Kat, and father, Henry, are unaware of what’s happening. Father Tomas received Angela’s video of Casey and now he wants to know if he can get approval for an exorcism. Bishop Egan tells him he’s done an incredible job in the parish and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Plus, His Holiness is visiting in a month and Tomas is on the welcoming committee so it’s a big month. The Bishop says this isn’t his job and that the child just needs a psychiatrist. Bishop Egan also brings up the fact Father Marcus has gone missing.
Angela meets with her friend, Maria Walters (Kristen Fitzgerald), who was part of the group responsible for bringing the Pope to Chicago. Pope Sebastian will be sleeping in a bedroll on the floor elsewhere, but Maria wants Angela’s hotel to host his entourage. Security is critical, says Maria. The meeting ends when Angela receives a message from Casey. She calls her cell phone and only hears heavy breathing.
Rushing home, Angela yells for her daughter but there’s no answer. She calls her cell again and hears it ringing in Casey’s room. It’s there on her pillow but Casey’s not in the room. Just then Casey, Kat (Brianne Howey), and their dad (Alan Ruck) come up the stairs. They went for ice cream…so who was on the phone heavy breathing with Angela? Creepy! Angela picks up Casey’s phone and there’s a huge bug under it. Kat is apparently the brave one of the group and snatches the pillow to find the bug. Under the pillow is a mass of centipedes all swirling around in a circular group. Not even Kat’s brave enough to deal with this insect invasion.
Father Tomas returns home from a jog and his apartment door’s unlocked. Father Marcus is in the kitchen after having picked the lock, and Father Tomas doesn’t know why he’s there. Marcus wants to know if Tomas has told anyone else about the possessed girl, and Tomas admits he told the Bishop. Marcus guesses the Bishop told him to bugger off, and he wants to know if Tomas always does what he’s told. Tomas is weirded out by the visit, especially as Marcus keeps inspecting all of his possessions. Marcus believes the demon has “gone possum” and will gather strength before showing itself. He says he’ll kill it when it does and Tomas will either watch or pass out. Marcus also asks about Jessica after seeing all the letters from her that Tomas keeps on his kitchen table.
Casey’s playing lacrosse with Kat looking on from the stands. She gets tripped and goes down hard, right before they take a water break. She glances up at the stands and sees a man (Robert Emmy Lunney) waving to her while seated next to her sister. The game starts up again and the man is staring at her intently. The same girl knocks her down again as the man stands up. Casey stares at her opponent and with no one around her, the girl breaks her leg. She falls to the ground, leg contorted in a direction it wasn’t intended to go. Casey just smiles.
Marcus and Tomas are discussing what the demon will do and Jessica’s name comes up once again as someone the demon can use to shame Tomas. Marcus read the letters and Tomas says he and Jessica helped each other with English and Spanish. She was married, he took his vows, and that’s it. Marcus wants to know what else Tomas is hiding because the demon will use everything against them. He tells Tomas to break it off with Jessica, for the sake of the Rance family.
Henry, Kat, and Casey are playing Jenga and discussing toilets and pipes when Angela finally gets home from work. She joins Henry’s team and Casey tells her about the lacrosse game and the girl whose leg snapped. Kat warns Casey that mom will sic Father Tomas on her. Henry doesn’t understand and Kat says her mom told Father Tomas she was possessed by the Devil. Angela tells Henry Kat hasn’t seen the sun in months and Casey isn’t herself. Casey pulls out a piece from the Jenga tower, a piece from the bottom that should have instantly made the tower fall. Henry and Kat don’t understand how it’s possible the tower is still standing, all while Angela and Casey are locked in a staring contest. Casey has a small smile on her face as the game ends.
Angela visits Father Tomas at the church and says the demon can now move things, and it can hurt people. Tomas says Bishop Egan wants Casey to see a therapist before they proceed. Angela doesn’t want Casey to see a therapist, but Tomas says they have to follow the church’s rules. After Tomas walks away, Angela begins to fill her water bottle with holy water. She’s interrupted by Father Marcus who asks her if she knows how to use the water. He tells her to put it in Casey’s drinking water and it will be hard on the demon.
Angela takes her seat in the pew next to Henry while Casey and Kat help Father Tomas serve food to those in need. Casey serves Marcus and they introduce themselves to each other. He takes a seat in a pew and watches Casey. A man who looks homeless approaches her, saying, “Hi. I know you. He chose you.” He wants to touch her and she jerks away. Father Marcus goes to lead him out and he says the same words the possessed man said to the boy at the beginning of the episode. Marcus is stunned.
Father Tomas meets with Jessica (Mouzam Makkar), asking her for advice about Marcus. She took multiple buses to get there and he says she knows him better than anyone. It’s been 13 months and a week since they were together. He asks after her husband and she takes his hand. He pulls away, saying he can’t do this. She feels stupid and leaves, but not before telling him to send her another letter.
Father Marcus has followed the homeless man to the street and watches as he gets into a delivery van. After he leaves, Marcus looks through his tent. An elderly woman tells him everyone knows him, calling him by name and saying they all feared him until he lost that little boy. He orders the unclean spirit out and she stands, asking in a male voice, “On whose authority?” She’s not frightened and the demon’s not leaving her body. It’s not working, even after he places the cross on her forehead. She says, “So, it’s true what they say…” She is not compelled and walks away but not before placing her hand on his face and saying, “The mighty Marcus, vessel of nothing!”
Back at home, the Rance family sits down for dinner. Angela has secretly poured holy water into Casey’s glass, watching every movement Casey makes at the table. She apologizes for being late for game night and being distracted. She also apologizes to Kat for not knowing how to handle her pain and what she’s been going through. Casey sips her water and nothing happens.
The family is acting pretty much normal, clearing plates and talking. Casey heads upstairs saying she has studying to do. She races to the bathroom and throws up her dinner and the holy water (pea soup!). As she’s leaning over the toilet, she reaches into her mouth and pulls out the centipedes in one long, continuous string.
Later, Casey’s sitting outside with a book, by herself. The stranger from the stands at the lacrosse game approaches and she tells him she thinks there’s something really wrong with her. He says it’s just a “glorious seed breaching the soil, a fresh glimpse of the sun.” He sits next to her and asks her to tell him everything. She leans her head against his shoulder and tells him what she thinks is going on.
Father Tomas looks through Father Marcus’ tattered notebook. He’s upset Marcus’ book has the blood of tortured children, and Marcus asks why Tomas thought the man at the church was hearing voices. Marcus explains it’s because he recognized the demon in Casey. Marcus believes Casey isn’t the only one possessed and that there are many demons here. Tomas wants him to leave and instead Marcus describes his horrific childhood. He was seven when his dad killed his mom in front of him. After the murder he was sent to a boys home before being sold to the Church. At 12 he was locked in a room with a demon. He asks if Tomas was scared when he saw the demon in the attic and Tomas admits he was. Marcus said he felt relief because at 12 he finally had a purpose. “I was the gun and the Church was the hand and the words were true.” He saw God’s face once and it was so loud he couldn’t hear it. Now he says he’s not fit and Tomas should know that. He swears on his life he can try to help. Then it’s Tomas’ turn to admit things. He says he saw Jessica today. Marcus suggests they do this together, and they begin praying.
For the third time in the episode a young man is seen on a bicycle. This time he’s returning home while wearing headphones and listening to music. He doesn’t realize his father’s dead and his mother’s being attacked in the other room. She’s killed and then the murderer comes after the young man. He’s also murdered and the killers leave the murder scene with body parts. They join others, including the homeless man from the church, in the street. Each is carrying a small cooler. Half a dozen or so of these men get into the same white delivery van that picked up the homeless man earlier in the evening.
Marcus is still at Tomas’ place when the news comes on reporting the murders of nine people. Few details are given but they were all brutal stabbings. It’s assumed this is gang-related.
A lighted billboard showing the Pope’s back with the words “He Is Coming” is shown on the street.
The CW’s set to debut the new drama Frequency, inspired by the movie of the same name, on October 5, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT. Frequency isn’t the only new series with time travel elements, however Mekhi Phifer says what sets this one apart is the fact the time travel is just the backdrop to a character-driven story.
Phifer and his co-stars Peyton List and Riley Smith were promoting the new series at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, participating in a Q&A with Con attendees as well as sitting down for roundtable interviews to further discuss the series from executive producers Jeremy Carver (Supernatural), Toby Emmerich (The Notebook), John Rickard (Horrible Bosses), Dan Lin (The LEGO Movie), and Jennifer Gwartz (Veronica Mars). Phifer talked to us about the time travel aspect and more during our interview in July.
Mekhi Phifer Interview:
Mekhi, are you just doing a cop drama because the time travel doesn’t really affect your character?
Mekhi Phifer: “No. It does in the sense that it affects the people I really, really care about. Riley’s character, Frank, being my best friend and me sort of being the fun uncle but when he passes away becoming more of a mentor and a surrogate father in essence for Raimy, Peyton’s character. So, the drama that they’re going through whether he’s alive in my reality or he’s dead is very much affecting me because it affects these people and their attitudes.
I don’t know yet what could be going on but at some point it’s going to be like, ‘How come you guys are always at the right place at the right time for some odd reason? How is that possible?’ It will start to raise those sort of questions. Even though I’m going about my own normal life in essence, I am being affected – and I will be affected by – their talking to each other.”
Is it hard to keep track between the past and the present and what your character knows and doesn’t know?
Mekhi Phifer: “Not yet. As far as me as an actor, that’s an interesting thing. Reading the scripts is very much a highlighting experience because you have to really literal highlight, ‘Okay, so this is ’96. I know this then and then this happens so now I don’t know that.’ And then bouncing back to 2016…so it’s a little bit tricky. But that’s what I love about acting and doing a multitude of different projects. There’s always something new around the bend. I get to sort of explore and do things that I haven’t done before.
It does help to have that mindset because, yes, it is very intricate for me. But when you see it as an audience, it’s not confusing. But it’s about us putting in the work and making sure that everything lines up in the right way so that as an audience you’re not going, ‘Oh, come on! Last episode they said this. This doesn’t make sense.’ So it’s really an effort between the writers and us to make it authentic, as much as time travel can be. It’s an interesting process.”
Brad Anderson directed your pilot and he has done a lot of horror and thrillers. What is he like as a director?
Mekhi Phifer: “Brad’s a great director. He really has a great way of one, communicating with the actors, but he also has a great way of telling the story. I think that there’s a lot of directors who can just shoot something, but there’s not so many that can tell a good story. I think that he was able to tell the story and then add a certain element of the suspense.
When I saw the pilot I was very impressed with the way that he shot it, the way that he edited it. I really felt like it was a suspense element. Not just because I’m in it but I really wanted to see what happens next when it’s over. ‘Okay, now where do they go with this?’ So he did a great job of setting the tone I think. Hopefully he’ll do more episodes throughout the season.”
There are multiple time travel shows this season. Is time travel the new vampires? How do you explain the trend?
Mekhi Phifer: “Well the thing about ours I think which is different than the basic genre of time travel… I think that time travel or the ham radio aspect is really sort of a backdrop or foundation from which the stories are being told. It’s really a character-driven piece. There’s a lot of emotion with a lot of real world – if there was a real world of butterfly effects.
It’s not like we’re getting in a time machine and then all of a sudden we’re running from dinosaurs or anything like that. I just think that it’s a great anomaly that happens that lends itself to a great mystery, a great detective drama, a suspense mystery. There’s a sort of multi-genre thing about it.
I think it’s a creative way to almost have never ending stories. I think you can go to so many different places with this sort of thing, especially with ours. I haven’t seen the others but with ours, one change of something in the present or one change of something in the past really affects when you come back to the present. I get asked a lot, ‘If you could change one thing in the past…’ it’s really hard to answer that because then it would affect something else and I may not be here and I’m very happy to be here. So, yeah, I think that’s part of the trend that people get really psyched about, if it’s done well.”
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.
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.
