Kevin Durand as Vasiliy Fet in ‘The Strain’ season 1 (Photo by Frank Ockenfels/ FX Networks)
FX has set a July 12, 2015 premiere date for the second season of the horror series The Strain. Based on the trilogy of books by Chuck Hogan, The Strain is executive produced by Hogan, Guillermo del Toro, and Carlton Cuse. Cuse is also the showrunner and a writer on the series along with del Toro and Hogan.
Season two will air on Sundays at 10pm ET/PT with Corey Stoll, Mia Maestro, David Bradley, and Kevin Durand back in starring roles. According to FX, season one was the most-watched new scripted cable series in 2014, averaging 6.28 million total viewers.
The Plot:
As the second season unfolds, the transformation has begun. It can no longer be denied — New York City is rapidly falling to an evil epidemic, and no one is coming to its rescue. Its citizens must fight or die. Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Stoll) and his unlikely allies tried to take down the embodiment of this evil — the Master — and failed. Now Eph and Dr. Nora Martinez (Maestro) concentrate on creating a biological weapon to wipe out the creatures, while Abraham Setrakian (Bradley) searches for an ancient book he hopes will reveal the strigoi’s entire history…and possibly a way to kill them.
Meanwhile, the Master is out for revenge, unleashing new and even more terrifying breeds of bloodthirsty creatures after our team. Our team must find a way to defeat him before the infection spreads too far and becomes irreparable … before they become monsters themselves.
Lust for Youth just announced a new set of summer 2015 tour dates. The band will be back out on the road, kicking off the new tour on July 2nd in Roskilde, Denmark. Lust for Youth will stop in Copenhagen, Chicago, Vancouver, and Los Angeles before finishing up the two-month tour in Helsinki, Finland on August 28th. In addition to keeping busy touring, the band’s been hard at work on their next album which will be released in 2016.
Lust for Youth
7/2 – Roskilde, Denmark – Roskilde Festival
7/4 – Toulon, France – Rockorama Festival
7/30 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Trailerpark Festival
8/1 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Total Control
8/5 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
8/7 – Calgary, AB @ National Music Centre
8/8 – Vancouver, BC @ Hindenburg
8/9 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
8/10 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
8/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Berserktown
8/27 – Tallin, Estonia – Rock Cafe
8/28 – Helsinki, Finland – Modern Sky Festival
Nick Offerman, Hugh Jackman, announcer Steve Higgins, host Jimmy Fallon and Susan Sarandon (Photo by: Douglas Gorenstein / NBC)
Hugh Jackman teamed up with Nick Offerman while Jimmy Fallon had Oscar winner Susan Sarandon as his teammate for a rousing game of Password. The competitive, evenly balanced showdown between Team Jackman and Offerman and Team Fallon and Sarandon took place on the May 18, 2015 episode of The Tonight Show. The object (for those who aren’t familiar with Password) is to give your partner a one-word clue that will lead to them guessing the secret word.
Watch Hugh Jackman and Nick Offerman take on Susan Sarandon and Jimmy Fallon:
Dylan O’Brien and Kaya Scodelario are back in starring roles in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, the sequel to the 2014 sci-fi action film The Maze Runner. 20th Century Fox has just released the first trailer for the adventure film directed by Wes Ball and based on the book by James Dashner. The cast also includes Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen, Barry Pepper, Lili Taylor, and Patricia Clarkson.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials opens in theaters on September 18, 2015.
The Plot:
In this next chapter of the epic Maze Runner saga, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD’s vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.
Seth MacFarlane has been chosen as the recipient of this year’s Critics’ Choice LOUIS XIII Genius Award. MacFarlane will accept the award, which is given out in recognition of his unprecedented excellence in the television arts, during the awards show scheduled for May 31, 2015. So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley is hosting this year’s show set to air live on A&E at 8pm ET/5pm PT.
“Whether he’s in the writer’s room, behind the camera or in the recording studio, Seth MacFarlane has become one of Hollywood’s most beloved talents,” stated Broadcast Television Journalists Association President Joey Berlin. “MacFarlane’s work has been a fixture on our screens – both large and small – for almost two decades. His humor and talent is undeniable, and we’re honored to present him with the Critics’ Choice LOUIS XIII Genius Award.”
In addition to announcing MacFarlane’s award, the Broadcast Television Journalists Association also revealed the nominees in the first ever “Most Bingeworthy Show” award category. Voting is now open at www.AETV.com/Bingeworthy and via Twitter, and it will remain open through the first hour of the awards show. The nominees are:
– American Horror Story: Freak Show – #AHSCCTA
– Empire – #EmpireCCTA
– Game of Thrones – #GameOfThronesCCTA
– Orange Is the New Black – #OITNBCCTA
– Vikings – #VikingsCCTA
– The Walking Dead – #TheWalkingDeadCCTA
Maxim Roy has signed on for a recurring guest starring role on ABC Family’s Shadowhunters, executive produced and directed by McG. Roy will play Jocelyn Fray in the series based on Cassandra Clare’s bestselling book series The Mortal Instruments. The leads have been cast, and Roy will be joining series stars Katherine McNamara as Clary Fray, Dominic Sherwood as Jace Wayland, Alberto Rosende as Simon, Emeraude Toubia as Isabelle Lightwood, Matthew Daddario as Alec Lightwood, Isaiah Mustafa as Luke Garroway, and Harry Shum Jr. as Magnus Bane in the TV adaptation of the young adult book series.
Alan Van Sprang also recently committed to a recurring guest-starring role as Valentine.
Constantin Film is producing Shadowhunters with Ed Decter on board as an executive producer.
The Plot:
Shadowhunters follows 18-year-old Clary Fray, who finds out on her birthday that she is not who she thinks she is but rather comes from a long line of Shadowhunters – human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons. When her mother, Jocelyn, is kidnapped, Clary is thrown into the world of demon hunting with mysterious Shadowhunter Jace and her best friend, Simon. Now living among faeries, warlocks, vampires and werewolves, Clary begins a journey of self-discovery as she learns more about her past and what her future may hold.
Very beautiful, warm, protective and bold, Jocelyn Fray is Clary’s mother. On the surface, Jocelyn leads a normal life running an antiquities store. We will learn, however, that she harbors many secrets about a past life, particularly her ties to an ancient group of supernatural beings known as Shadowhunters. In order to defend Clary from danger, Jocelyn transforms from single mom back into one of the most lethal Shadowhunters that ever lived.
Finding Carter‘s Alex Saxon (‘Max’) took to YouTube to announce some big news about the dramatic series: MTV has given Finding Carter an order for another 12 new episodes which will debut sometime later this year. In addition to Saxon, the cast includes Kathryn Prescott, Cynthia Watros, Anna Jacoby-Heron, Alexis Denisof, and Zac Pullam. Milena Govich, Meredith Baxter, Robert Pine, and Eddie Matos co-star.
Finding Carter was created by Emily Silver and is executive produced by Brothers & Sisters‘ Emily Whitesell and Alexander Motlagh. The series debuted in July 2014 with a 12 episode season one. Season two premiered on March 31, 2015 and will finish up on June 16th.
The Plot:
Finding Carter is an unconventional family drama that centers on Carter, a teenage girl who thinks she has the perfect life until one night after a police bust at a high school party she is told that the woman who she believes to be her biological mother actually abducted her as a toddler. Now Carter must return to the family who thought they had lost her. As she navigates brand-new parents, a twin sister, high school and boys, Carter vows to find Lori before the police capture the only mom she’s ever known and put her behind bars.
Season two picked up right after last season’s cliffhanger with newly kidnapped Carter (Kathryn Prescott) more scared than ever. What Carter learns will shake the foundation of her already fragile family to its core, as the biggest secrets of all are yet to be revealed.
Muse performs at the 2015 KROQ Weenie Roast (Photo by Christina Radish)
The annual KROQ Weenie Roast Y Fiesta took place at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, Calif. on May 16th, with a line-up that had enough variety that there was something for just about everyone, including the bands themselves, who were not only clearly appreciative to be there, but who also expressed their own excitement about getting to see their fellow artists.
Not to jump right to the headliner, but when Muse is the star attraction, it’s hard not to get right to them and come back to everything else after. With their next album, Drones, releasing on June 5th, and their first single, “Dead Inside,” showing very promising things for what’s to come, you could feel the anticipatory energy in the crowd, as the band took the stage.
The British trio, with a sound much larger than should be humanly possible from three people, kicked things off with “Psycho,” before making their way through such hits as “Supermassive Black Hole,” “Uprising,” “Resistance” and “Starlight,” before closing with “Knights of Cydonia,” and were spot-on throughout their set. Watching frontman Matt Bellamy communicate through his guitar is truly a thing of magical beauty, as it seems like another limb extended from his soul.
Another real highlight of the night was listening to the pure voice of Florence Welch from Florence + The Machine. Still recovering from a broken foot that she got during her performance at Coachella, she had to remain seated for her performance (and later even had to be carried off stage), forcing all of the attention onto her vocals and showcasing her power and skill.
Whether it was with “Ship to Wreck,” “Shake It Off,” “What Kind of Man,” or “Dog Days Are Over,” she had everyone in the crowd hanging on her every word and was clearly appreciative of the fact that they were all dancing for her.
Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men, whose new album Beneath the Skin will be released on June 9th, overcame unfortunate technical difficulties to prove that they are continuing to grow as musicians, singers and songwriters. Kicking things off with the moody and atmospheric “Thousand Eyes,” they performed a mix of new and old songs that included “Crystals,” “Empire,” “Eye of the Storm” and the ultra-catchy, can’t-help-but-sing-along “Little Talks,” and sounded great throughout.
After side stage performances by up-and-comers like All Time Low (joined by Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus), Big Data, James Bay, Saint Motel, and X Ambassadors, any of which you could expect to find on the main stage next year, Cold War Kids kicked off the big show, turning in a solid set of new songs and radio smashes. Vance Joy, AWOLNATION, Walk the Moon, and Death Cab for Cutie followed suit, with Panic! at the Disco delivering the surprise of the night, killing it with their stand-out, impressive performance of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Once all was said and done, it was a night of truly great music, with the promise of even better and more exciting things to come.
Andy Samberg in ‘7 Days in Hell’ (Photo Courtesy of SXSW)
Game of Thrones star Kit Harington (‘Jon Snow’) and Andy Samberg, who’s currently busy working on the top secret Lonely Island movie, star in the HBO mock sports documentary 7 Days in Hell. The tennis-based comedy will premiere on July 11, 2015, at 10pm ET/PT, which is the first weekend of Wimbledon. Jake Szymanski directed from a script by Murray Miller, with tennis greats John McEnroe, Serena Williams, and Chris Evert showing up in cameos.
The plot: “This outrageous sports ‘documentary’ brings together Andy Samberg and Kit Harington for a look back at a pair of fictional players from the not-too-distant past, who played on the longest and greatest tennis match of all time: a seven-day, five-set marathon that took literally everything out of them. In addition to highlights (and lowlights) from the match, the special looks back at the lives and careers of the competitors: Aaron Williams (Samberg), a hyper-malcontent, and Charles Poole (Harington), a dim-witted prodigy who carried England’s hopes for a tennis champion on his shoulders.”
In addition to playing the bastard son of Eddard Stark/the man who knows nothing in HBO’s critically acclaimed dramatic series Game of Thrones, Harington also starred in the action epic Pompeii, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, Testament of Youth, and had a supporting role in Seventh Son. Samberg stars in Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine. His other credits include Hot Rod, I Love You, Man, That’s My Boy, Hotel Transylvania, and The To-Do List.
Nick Jonas will be on the road with his “Live in Concert” tour kicking off on September 6, 2015 in Hershey, PA. Jonas will be touring in support of his solo album and will be joined by special guest Bebe Rexha for the two-month-long tour. The “Live in Concert” tour will hit cities including Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta before finishing up in San Francisco on October 25th.
Tickets will go on sale on May 22nd through Ticketmaster.com.
Nick Jonas North American Tour Dates
September 6: Hershey, PA, Hershey Theatre
September 7: Syracuse, NY, New York State Fair
September 9: New York, NY, Terminal 5
September 10: Boston, MA, House of Blues Boston
September 11: Uncasville, CT, Mohegan Sun Arena
September 13: Detroit, MI, The Fillmore Detroit
September 14: Chicago, IL, House of Blues Chicago
September 15: St. Louis, MO, The Pageant
September 17: Denver, CO, Fillmore Auditorium
September 20: Phoenix, AZ, The Marquee
September 22: Houston, TX, House of Blues Houston
September 23: Dallas, TX, House of Blues Dallas
September 25: Atlanta, GA, The Tabernacle
September 26: Lake Buena Vista, FL, House of Blues Orlando
September 27: Miami Beach, FL, The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
September 29: Silver Spring, MD, The Fillmore Silver Spring
October 1*: Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre
October 2*: Montreal, QC, Bell Centre
October 3: Toronto, ON, The Phoenix Concert Theatre
October 4*: London, ON, Budweiser Gardens
October 6: Saint Paul, MN, The Myth
October 7*: Winnipeg, MB, MTS Centre
October 10*: Saskatoon, SK, SaskTel Centre
October 12*: Calgary, AB, Scotiabank Saddledome
October 14*: Edmonton, AB, Northlands Rexall Place
October 15*: Dawson’s Creek, BC, EnCana Events Centre
October 17*: Vancouver, BC, Rogers Arena
October 23: Los Angeles, CA, The Wiltern
October 25: San Francisco, CA, The Masonic
* = Dates on Kelly Clarkson’s “Piece By Piece” Tour