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WGN America Renews ‘Manhattan’ for Season Two

By
Rebecca Murray
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Manhattan renewed for season 2
The cast of ‘Manhattan’ (Photo Courtesy of WGN America)

Ahead of the show’s October 19, 2014 season one finale comes word that WGN America has picked up Manhattan for season two. Season one starring John Benjamin Hickey and Olivia Williams has been averaging 1.2 million viewers. Season two will go into production next spring and will debut later in 2015.

The cast also includes Daniel Stern, Ashley Zukerman, Rachel Brosnahan, Katja Herbers, Alexia Fast, Christopher Denham, Harry Lloyd, Michael Chernus, and Eddie Shin.

“Manhattan represents the kind of high-quality original series we aim to deliver at WGN America, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the show’s widespread critical acclaim and its loyal audience,” said Matt Cherniss, President and General Manager, WGN America and Tribune Studios. “Sam, Tommy and the talented cast and creative team have so brilliantly brought to life the world of the Manhattan Project and we can’t wait to see what secrets and surprises await us in season two.”

“We’re so thrilled to get to continue telling this extraordinary American origin story with our incredible family of writers, actors, directors and crew – and to be doing it on WGN America, which has always supported our creative vision,” said series creator Sam Shaw and director Thomas Schlamme.


The Plot:

Manhattan is set against the backdrop of the greatest race against time in the history of science — the mission to build the world’s first atomic bomb. The series follows the brilliant but flawed scientists and their families in Los Alamos as they attempt to coexist in a world where secrets and lies infiltrate every aspect of their lives.

In the upcoming season one finale, “Perestroika,” Frank Winter is given a life-changing opportunity, while Charlie Isaacs finds himself in the U.S. Army’s hotseat.

-By Rebecca Murray

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‘A Merry Friggin Christmas’ Shows Off a New Trailer

By
Rebecca Murray
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A Merry Friggin Christmas Trailer
The cast of ‘A Merry Friggin Christmas’ (Photo Courtesy of eOne)

One of Robin Williams’ final films is the holiday themed comedy A Merry Friggin Christmas coming to theaters on November 7, 2014. A new trailer’s been released for the PG-13 dysfunctional family comedy directed by Tristram Shapeero and co-starring Joel McHale, Lauren Graham, Clark Duke, Oliver Platt, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Tim Heidecker, and Candice Bergen.

The Plot:

Boyd and his family are forced to spend a dreaded Christmas at his parent’s house with his eccentric father that he has been avoiding for years. When he realizes that he left his son’s gifts at home, Boyd and his father must hit the road in a blizzard to retrieve the gifts before sunrise to save Christmas.


-By Rebecca Murray

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Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s ‘Incorporated’ Coming to Syfy

By
Rebecca Murray
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Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Team Up on Incorporated
Ben Affleck (Photo © Richard Chavez)

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Pearl Street Films, CBS Television Studios, and Syfy are combining forces on the dramatic series Incorporated. There isn’t an anticipated premiere date set yet for the futuristic spy thriller, but the pilot does have writers Alex and David Pastor (The Last Days) attached.

Damon, Affleck, Ted Humphrey, and Jennifer Todd are on board as executive producers, and Humphrey will handle showrunner duties.

The Plot: Incorporated is set in a world where corporations have seemingly unlimited power. This will be the story of one man’s efforts to beat the system.


-By Rebecca Murray

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Robert Downey Jr Will Return as Iron Man in ‘Captain America 3’

By
Rebecca Murray
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Robert Downey Jr Returns as Iron Man in Captain America 3
Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man in ‘Iron Man 3’ – Photo Credit: Zade Rosenthal© 2012 MVLFFLLC. TM & © 2012 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

Fans of Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man may not ever see a fourth stand-alone Iron Man movie with Downey Jr in the lead, but according to various reports he will be reprising the role. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are reporting Downey Jr is close to signing on to Captain America 3 starring Chris Evans. The reports also state Captain America 3 will include elements of the comic book event series, “Civil War.”

Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo are returning to the franchise with Captain America 3 and Marvel’s set a May 6, 2016 release date for the superhero film.

Here’s Marvel’s official synopsis for the 2006-2007 “Civil War” event series:

The event that changed the Marvel Universe forever! When a tragic event leaves the public demanding super heroes register their identities, a schism in the Avengers sets Captain America and Iron Man against each other and spirals Marvel’s major players into all-out Civil War!”


-By Rebecca Murray

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Sam Neill’s Joined the Cast of ‘The Dovekeepers’

By
Rebecca Murray
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Sam Neill Joins The Dovekeepers
Sam Neill (Photo by Richard Chavez/ShowbizJunkies)

The CBS limited event series The Dovekeepers is currently shooting in Malta with Cote de Pablo, Rachel Brosnahan, Diego Boneta, and Kathryn Prescott in starring roles. And as of today, the cast also includes Sam Neill, according to CBS.

Neill has joined the production as Josephus, “the somewhat controversial first-century Jewish scholar and historian. In this project, he is seen interviewing the few adult survivors of the Siege of Masada in order to record the events that took place prior to and during the siege. These interviews are the first-hand accounts included among the vast annals of history of the Jewish-Roman War.”

CBS will air the four-hour limited series based on Alice Hoffman’s novel in 2015. Roma Downey and Mark Burnett (The Bible) are executive producing the series along with Frank Siracusa, John Weber and Yves Simoneau. Simoneau is directing The Dovekeepers from a script by Ann Peacock.

“We are delighted to have the incredibly talented Sam Neill, an actor whose breadth of experience will bring such depth and vision to the role of Josephus,” said executive producer Roma Downey. “Sam is a wonderfully exciting choice to bring Josephus to life in this gripping story of Masada.”

The Plot:

Set in ancient Israel, The Dovekeepers is based on the true events at Masada in 70 C.E. After being forced out of their home in Jerusalem by the Romans, 900 Jews were ensconced in a fortress at Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. Besieged at Masada, the Jews held out for months against the vast Roman armies.

The project will recount the events from the perspective of a few extraordinary women who arrive at Masada with unique backstories, but a common bond for survival. Additionally, these women, who work together daily as dovekeepers, are each concealing substantial secrets.




‘Cristela’ Series Premiere Recap and Review

By
Rebecca Murray
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Cristela Series Premiere Recap and Review
Cristela Alonzo in ‘Cristela’ (Photo by Adam Taylor © 2014 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.)

If ABC’s Cristela succeeds it will be because of the show’s star Cristela Alonzo and not because of the material. The half-hour comedy kicked off on Friday, October 10, 2014 with an episode that found Cristela attempting to land an internship at a prestigious law firm. And while the setup’s cute – a law student has to live with her sister (Maria Canals-Barrera) and brother-in-law (Carlos Ponce) because she can’t afford her own place – the humor seemed alternately forced or too obvious in this first episode.

Have you ever watched a sitcom and wished they’d turn the laugh track down? 
Cristela had me wishing for that very thing, as the show’s laugh track was annoyingly excessive. You could almost picture flashing “laugh like you’re losing your mind” signs above the audience as the volume and sheer stridency of the track intruded on rather than complimented the jokes.

Still, even when jokes fell flat – and there were a handful of such instances – Alonzo’s charm carried the show over the rough spots. She’s just naturally likable, and you’re rooting for her to succeed, both as an actress and as the character. Much of the humor comes from jokes made at the expense of Hispanics, but even as the show pokes fun at stereotypes, they’re doing so without malice and with Cristela not accepting the jokes without throwing in a few jabs of her own.

Episode one’s high points all took place at Cristela’s new place of employment, as she and her new boss at the law firm traded one-liners. There’s solid chemistry between Alonzo and Sam McMurray, who plays the aggressive, politically incorrect lawyer who hires Cristela on as his intern. Less successful were the scenes that were set at Cristela’s sister’s home, with the characters coming off as complete stereotypes.

Will Cristela find the right tone after an uneven premiere? And, more importantly, will ABC give it time to find its footing before deciding its fate? Cristela offered splashes of laugh-out-loud humor but Cristela Alonzo can’t carry the show by herself. Hopefully, in upcoming episodes, the supporting characters will be allowed to develop further than the one-dimensional throw-away characters they came across as in the show’s premiere.

GRADE: B-




‘Gotham’ Will Be Sticking Around for a Full First Season

By
Rebecca Murray
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Fox Gives Gotham a Full Seasaon Order
Series stars Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney and Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma/future Riddler; guest star Clare Foley as Ivy Pepper/future Poison Ivy; and series stars Donal Logue as Detective Harvey Bullock, Ben McKenzie as Detective James Gordon, Camren Bicondova (above, on fire escape) as Selina Kyle/future Catwoman, David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne and Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth in Warner Bros. Television’s Gotham, which is based on the characters from DC Comics. The series will air Mondays at 8/7c on FOX this fall. (Photo Credit: © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./FOX. All Rights Reserved.)

Gotham watchers, go ahead and allow yourself to be hooked on the series. Fox has just announced they’ve given the gritty action drama a full season order, extending the show’s season one run by six to a full 22 episodes.

“Gotham debuted as one of the most buzzed-about shows of the fall, and with good reason. Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon have created an incredibly rich world, with characters that draw you in and a cast that brings to life these heroes and villains in a way we’ve never seen before,” said Dana Walden and Gary Newman, Chairmen and CEOs of Fox Television Group. “We are so excited to see where Bruno, Danny and the entire Gotham team take this story over the course of this season, and so thankful to all the fans who have embraced it this fall.”

According to the network, Gotham is currently tied for first place as the biggest drawing dramatic series for adults between 18 and 49 this season. Fox also said that Gotham‘s premiere was their highest rated dramatic series premiere in 14 years, with 14.1 million viewers tuning in during the show’s first seven days.

The Plot:

Gotham follows one cop’s rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering between good and evil, and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time. The entirely new, untold chapter stars Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue and Jada Pinkett Smith.

The next episode, “Arkham,” airs tonight on Fox. In “Arkham,” a contentious city council vote on the future of the Arkham district approaches, and politicians on both sides are in danger. Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Bullock (Donal Logue) must race to protect the council. Meanwhile, Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), who has already been christened “The Penguin,” takes violent measures to further ingratiate himself with Maroni (guest star David Zayas), and an old friend pays Gordon a visit.


-By Rebecca Murray

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Benjamin Walker and Teresa Palmer Star in ‘The Choice’

By
Rebecca Murray
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Filming Begins on The Choice with Benjamin Walker
The Choice’s first day of production. (Photo courtesy of the film’s Facebook page)

Just as The Best of Me heads into theaters comes news that another film based on a Nicholas Sparks book, The Choice, is about to start shooting. According to Lionsgate, filming will begin today in Wilmington, North Carolina on The Choice with Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer, Maggie Grace, Alexandra Daddario, Tom Welling, and Tom Wilkinson in starring roles.

Ross Katz (Taking Chance) is directing from a screenplay by Bryan Sipe (A Million Miles).

The Choice marks the first feature film from Nicholas Sparks Productions, with Sparks, Theresa Park and Peter Safran producing and financing the movie. Other films based on Sparks’ novels include The Lucky One, Dear John, A Walk to Remember and The Notebook.

The Plot:

The Choice tells the story of Travis Parker (Walker) and Gabby Holland (Palmer), who meet first as neighbors in a small coastal town and end up pursuing a relationship that neither could have foreseen. Spanning a decade and tracing the evolution of a love affair that is ultimately tested by life’s most defining events, this story features a memorable ensemble of friends and family in Sparks’s beloved North Carolina setting, culminating in the question that every couple must ask themselves: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?

Check Out the New ‘The Penguins of Madagascar’ Clip

By
Rebecca Murray
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New Trailer for Penguins of Madagascar
Skipper is the Penguins’ fearless leader in ‘The Penguins of Madagascar’ (Photo Credit: DreamWorks Animation)

20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation have revealed an adorable new clip from the animated comedy The Penguins of Madagascar, the spin-off from the Magadascar film series. Directed by Simon Smith and Eric Darnell, the penguin-centric comedy features the voices of Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru, Peter Stormare, and John Malkovich.

The Penguins of Madagascar will open in theaters on November 26, 2014.

The Plot:

Super spy teams aren’t born…they’re hatched. Discover the secrets of the greatest and most hilarious covert birds in the global espionage biz: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private. These elitists of the elite are joining forces with a chic undercover organization, The North Wind. Led by handsome and husky Agent Classified (we could tell you his name, but then…you know), voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, together they must stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine, voiced by John Malkovich, from destroying the world as we know it.

Watch the clip:

‘American Horror Story’ Earns a Fifth Season Order

By
Rebecca Murray
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American Horror Story
Poster art for ‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’ (Credit: FX)

Was there ever any doubt that FX would want American Horror Story to stick around for a fifth season? No, and definitely not after the show’s fourth season premiere numbers set new records for the horror anthology series. The first episode of American Horror Story: Freak Show is now the most watched single program in the network’s history.

10+ million viewers tuned in to check out the carnival characters and a psycho clown, overtaking the 9.25 million record set by this season’s premiere of Sons of Anarchy. Adding in the encore episodes, AHS: Freak Show episode one raked in 13.36 million total viewers.

The network will be bringing AHS back for a 13 episode fifth season. FX says season five will premiere in October 2015.

“The American Horror Story anthology has had the highest growth trajectory of any show in FX history, not to mention an unprecedented track record of success in awards recognition,” said John Landgraf, CEO, FX Networks and FX Productions. “With Ryan Murphy and his partners, Brad Falchuk, Dante Di Loreto and Tim Minear at the helm, the show’s success is not surprising. AHS continues to deliver amazing stories, a brilliant troupe of actors led by Jessica Lange, and a visual style unlike any other on TV. With Nip/Tuck, Glee, The Normal Heart, and American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy has established himself as one of the most successful and prolific producers of this generation. We expect AHS: Freak Show and the next incarnation of AHS to further his legacy.”

The Plot of American Horror Story: Freak Show:

American Horror Story: Freak Show begins its tale in the quiet, sleepy hamlet of Jupiter, Fla. The year is 1952. A troupe of curiosities has just arrived to town, coinciding with the strange emergence of a dark entity that savagely threatens the lives of townsfolk and freaks alike. This is the story of the performers and their desperate journey of survival amidst the dying world of the American carny experience.

In episode two airing October 15th, “Massacres and Matinees”, a citywide curfew threatens to shut down the Freak Show. Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis), a strongman from Ethel’s (Kathy Bates) troubled past arrives at camp. Gloria (Frances Conroy) arranges a terrifying play date for Dandy (Finn Wittrock). The Tattler Twins (Sarah Paulson) reveal a talent that could knock Elsa (Jessica Lange) from the spotlight.

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