Season two of Disney+’s Goosebumps has a new subtitle – Goosebumps: The Vanishing – and a premiere date. The new season will premiere on January 10, 2025 on Disney+ and Hulu.
David Schwimmer leads the cast as Anthony Brewer, described as a former botany professor who has immersed himself in science and mystery. Ana Ortiz stars as Jen, Sam McCarthy plays Devin, Stony Blyden is Trey, and Jayden Bartels is Cece. Elijah Cooper plays CJ, Galilea La Salvia is Frankie, and Francesca Noel is Alex. Recurring season two cast members include Arjun Athalye as Sameer, Eloise Payet as Hannah, Christopher Paul Richards as Matty, Sakina Jaffrey as Ramona, and Kyra Tantao as Nicole.
“Goosebumps: The Vanishing begins when twins Cece and Devin Brewer are sent to spend a summer in Gravesend, Brooklyn, with their divorced dad. A threat is stirring, and they quickly realize that dark secrets are among them, triggering a chain of events that unravel a profound mystery,” reads Disney+’s synopsis. “As they delve into the unknown, Cece, Devin, and their friends — Alex, CJ, and Frankie — find themselves entangled in the chilling tale of four teenagers who mysteriously vanished in 1994.”
The eight-episode second season draws on R.L. Stine’s Stay Out of the Basement, The Haunted Car, Monster Blood, The Girl Who Cried Monster, The Ghost Next Door, and Welcome to Camp Nightmare. Nicholas Stoller, Rob Letterman, and showrunner Hilary Winston developed Goosebumps: The Vanishing. Stoller, Letterman, Winston, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Conor Welch, Erin O’Malley, Karl Frankenfield, James Eagan, and Scholastic Entertainment’s Iole Lucchese and Caitlin Friedman executive produce.
‘Goosebumps: The Vanishing’ Poster (Photo Credit: Disney+)
Keith Urban will co-host ‘New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash’ (Photo Courtesy of CBS)
Four-time Grammy winner Keith Urban will take the stage with Entertainment Tonight‘s Rachel Smith as co-hosts of CBS’s New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash. Urban will also perform on the New Year’s Eve special airing on Tuesday, December 31, 2024 at 8-10pm ET/PT and 10:30pm-1:30am, ET/PT.
Additional announced performers include Jelly Roll and Kane Brown. The New Year’s Eve celebration will take place at Bicentennial Park in Nashville. Sandra Restrepo will direct this year’s special, with Robert Deaton and Mary Hilliard Harrington in partnership with Music City Inc. executive producing.
Last year’s New Year’s Eve special was co-hosted by Rachel Smith and Elle King. The star-studded lineup included Grace Bowers, Kane Brown, HARDY, Cody Johnson, Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney, Brothers Osborne with Trombone Shorty, Jon Pardi, and Carly Pearce. Jackson Dean, Blake Shelton with Trace Adkins, Morgan Wallen, Bailey Zimmerman, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett, and Lynyrd Skynyrd also helped ring in 2024.
Gina Gershon and Justin Jedlica guest star on ABC’s Doctor Odyssey episode three, “Plastic Surgery Week.” Episode three is set to air on Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT.
Joshua Jackson (Fatal Attraction) plays Dr. Max Bankman, Phillipa Soo (Shining Girls) is Nurse Avery Morgan, Sean Teale (Little Voice) is Nurse Tristan Silva, and Don Johnson (Rebel Ridge) stars as Captain Robert Massey. Ryan Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz, and Joe Baken write and executive produce the first season.
“Plastic Surgery Week” Plot: Plastic Surgery Week on The Odyssey brings new faces and fresh features to be carefully maintained by the medical team. Meanwhile, when the owner’s wife comes on board, Capt. Massey must juggle charm and skillful dodging to sidestep her advances.
From the brilliant mind of Ryan Murphy comes the high-octane procedural Doctor Odyssey. Max (Jackson) is the new on-board doctor for a luxury cruise ship where the staff works hard and plays harder. It’s all hands on deck as Max and his small but mighty medical team navigate unique medical crises and each other miles from shore.
Joshua Jackson and Justin Jedlica in episode 3 (Disney/Tina Thorpe)Sean Teale in episode three (Disney/Tina Thorpe)Joshua Jackson in the “Plastic Surgery Week” episode (Disney/Tina Thorpe)Justin Jedlica in season 1 episode 3 (Disney/Tina Thorpe)Joshua Jackson and Justin Jedlica in episode 3 (Disney/Tina Thorpe)Joshua Jackson and Sean Teale in ‘Doctor Odyssey’ episode 3 (Disney/Tina Thorpe)
The 9-1-1 season eight premiere event concludes with Athena desperately in need of a runway. Season eight episode three, “Final Approach,” will air on Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 8pm on ABC.
The cast is led by Peter Krause as Bobby Nash and Angela Bassett as Athena Grant-Nash. Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Maddie Han, Oliver Stark is Evan “Buck” Buckley, Kenneth Choi is Howie “Chimney” Han, Aisha Hinds stars as Henrietta “Hen” Wilson, Ryan Guzman is Eddie Diaz, and Gavin McHugh is Christopher Diaz.
“Final Approach” Plot: Athena realizes her only chance of surviving and saving everyone on the flight is to attempt to land the plane before it crashes is to call on the 118 for help.
Oliver Stark, Callum Blue and Peter Krause in ‘9-1-1’ season 8 episode 3 (Disney/Kevin Estrada)
9-1-1 Synopsis, Courtesy of ABC:
The series explores the high-pressure experiences of first responders — including police officers, firefighters and dispatchers — who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping conditions. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives.
The show draws from the real lives of first responders who regularly face situations that are often unpredictable, intense and uplifting at the same time.
Ryan Guzman and Kenneth Choi in season 8 episode 3 (Disney/Kevin Estrada)Oliver Stark and Callum Blue in season 8 episode 3 (Disney/Kevin Estrada)Aisha Hinds in “The Final Approach” episode (Disney/Kevin Estrada)Callum Blue and Peter Krause in ‘9-1-1’ season 8 episode 3 (Disney/Kevin Estrada)Oliver Stark in season 8 episode 3 (Disney/Anne Marie Fox)
Steve Howey as Wyatt James and Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf in ‘Brilliant Minds’ episode 3 (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)
NBC’s Brilliant Minds episode three, “The Lost Biker,” kicks off with Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) recalling a childhood memory of losing track of his dad while visiting an arboretum. However, his recall of this specific event is called into question when he adds that as easily as the brain remembers, it also forgets.
If we don’t nourish our memories, we may discover they’ve wilted away.
A quiet night of caring for his ferns is interrupted when a biker gang pounds on his door. A member, Wyatt (Steve Howey), has been shot, and it turns out these guys are friends of Oliver’s. Wyatt’s fixed Oliver’s bike before and offers the doctor a free tune-up in exchange for removing the bullet from his arm. Wyatt experienced a tremor while cleaning his gun and shot himself. The guys exchange knowing glances when Wyatt claims the tremor means nothing. Oliver wants Wyatt to come in for an exam and won’t take no for an answer.
The workday starts with the interns and Oliver tossing around Taylor Swift song titles, and Oliver claiming he has no idea what a Swiftie is after telling the group to calm down. The Swiftie talk was initiated during an examination of Emily (Markeda McKay), a young girl who is apparently a returning patient. She experienced a seizure while on her iPad.
The interns fill Oliver in on Emily’s history, which includes multiple EKGs, MRIs, and every imaginable lab. They have all come back normal. Different drug treatments have also been unsuccessful, and Oliver’s shocked that none of the four interns have witnessed Emily having a seizure. A doctor who moved on to work for big pharma is the one who suggested the meds, but Oliver doesn’t work that way. He orders them to spend time with Emily, provoke an episode, and only then attempt to treat it.
Wyatt and his wife, Rosie, show up for an exam, and it turns out Wyatt didn’t shoot himself because of a tremor. He’s become forgetful and didn’t remember his gun was loaded. His memory loss has escalated recently, but Wyatt makes light of his forgetfulness. Rosie, however, believes there’s something going on. Wyatt’s forced to admit he’s been getting headaches and has felt more tired recently, and Rosie has become really concerned about his health.
Oliver sends Wyatt to get a brain MRI which doesn’t go well. Wyatt becomes combative and tries to choke intern Dr. Jacob Nash (Spence Moore II), and only Oliver can get him to settle down. Wyatt confesses he was disoriented after the MRI and thought he was being questioned by cops.
Oliver and Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears) break the news that they’ve found a tumor that’s obstructing Wyatt’s brain’s third ventricle. However, this type of tumor is usually benign and Dr. Nichols can remove it. Unfortunately, because of its location, the tumor’s removal could make him lose the ability to form new memories. On the upside, he’ll keep all of the memories he’s already formed.
If he doesn’t agree to surgery, he may only have weeks to live. Rosie wants Wyatt to get the surgery and insists she’ll help him. She’ll be his memory. “I have no interest in living a life that I can’t remember,” says Wyatt.
Oliver asks Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry) to do a psych evaluation to make sure Wyatt’s tumor isn’t impeding his ability to make a decision. She does and determines he fully understands the risks.
It’s been hours and the interns haven’t been able to provoke a seizure from Emily. Her parents are concerned because nothing’s working, but Oliver insists this is the only way they’ll be able to figure out what’s going on. He asks for their trust, and Dr. Ericka Kinney (Ashleigh LaThrop) asks if they can describe exactly what was happening right before the most recent seizure. They recall it was 7:15am and Emily was doing her math homework before school.
Dr. Dana Dang (Aury Krebs) seems skeptical, and Oliver asks Emily if that’s correct. She admits she was watching the Three Stooges and Oliver confesses he’s also a huge fan of slapstick. The interns have no idea who Oliver and Emily are talking about.
Emily’s hooked up to monitors while they watch a Three Stooges video and when she starts laughing, she falls unconscious and stops breathing. So does Van (Alex MacNicoll)! The interns want to call a code, but Oliver insists it will end in five seconds. He’s correct. Both Emily and Van come to at the same time.
Oliver apologizes to Emily’s parents for the other doctor’s misdiagnosis. Their daughter doesn’t have a seizure disorder. She has laughter-induced heart block, which means her heart slows when she laughs. Now that they know what’s going on, they can focus on a course of treatment.
Aury Krebs as Dr. Dana Dang, Spence Moore II as Dr. Jacob Nash, and Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf in ‘Brilliant Minds’ episode 3 (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)
Oliver orders the interns to come up with a permanent fix that doesn’t require Emily to never laugh again. The interns wonder what’s up with Van, but he insists he’s fine. He just hasn’t eaten and got lightheaded.
Oliver pays Wyatt a visit at home and finds him busy getting rid of his stuff, so Rosie doesn’t need to worry about cleaning up after he’s gone. Wyatt confesses he walks into rooms and doesn’t know why he’s there. But although it’s hard on him, he knows it’s tougher on Rosie. He doesn’t want to be trapped in what feels like limbo for the rest of his life.
Oliver asks about one of Wyatt’s tattoos and learns it’s to celebrate his daughter Hailey’s birthday. He hasn’t seen her in years, and he wishes they could reconnect. Oliver points out that if Wyatt gets the surgery, maybe Hailey can make new memories with him one day.
Wyatt changes his mind and decides to have the surgery. Oliver admits to his mom/Chief Medical Officer Dr. Muriel Landon that he’s no longer sure it’s the right choice. Not being able to make new memories might be cruel, but Muriel suggests not all memories are worth revisiting. That prompts a flashback to the arboretum and his dad showing him a resurrection fern. (Oliver still loves the ferns and just brought one into the hospital.)
Wyatt’s scheduled for surgery, but Oliver delays it (without informing Dr. Nichols) by taking him to visit Hailey (Hannah Whitmore) at the bar where she works. Oliver hopes to create one final good memory for Wyatt but quickly realizes he’s misjudged the situation. Hailey isn’t interested in reconnecting with her dad who she believes deserted her. Wyatt apologizes and says his biggest regret is missing so much of her life. He should have been a better dad.
Hailey doesn’t forgive him, and Oliver informs her whatever she does will be Wyatt’s last memory. Hailey tells her dad she grew up without him and that she’ll never, ever forgive him.
Teddy Sears as Dr. Josh Nichols, Steve Howey as Wyatt James, and Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf in ‘Brilliant Minds’ episode 3 (Photo by: Rafy/NBC)
Wyatt stumbles as they leave the bar and needs to sit down. His head’s killing him and he feels off. Dr. Nichols drives up, angry that Oliver displayed such horrible judgment and took his patient out without permission. Oliver’s saved from a further tongue-lashing by Wyatt’s worsening condition.
Hailey rushes out as they’re driving off, concerned about her dad.
Wyatt’s fading fast, and Oliver’s forced to use a spinal needle to extract cerebral spinal fluid through the orbit just above the eye while Nichols drives. Nichols warns Oliver that if Wyatt dies in surgery, it’s his fault.
Back at the hospital, the interns toss out ideas of how to treat Emily, including beta blockers. Van’s against that and reminds them this is a problem with her heart. Ericka latches onto that.
Van asks Chief Medical Officer Dr. Landon to approve a pacemaker for Emily. Dr. Landon says it’s an unorthodox procedure, but she approves it. She also warns him not to cover for her son ever again. She’s well aware Oliver didn’t request that she weigh in on this.
Hailey, Rosie, and Oliver talk in the waiting room while Wyatt’s in surgery. Rosie assures her stepdaughter that Wyatt talks about her every day, and that it’ll mean so much to him that she’s there. Nichols joins them and confirms they removed the tumor and Wyatt’s alive, but it’s almost a certainty that he won’t retain any new memories moving forward.
Days later, Wyatt watches a video of himself explaining what he went through and what’s going on. The video advises him to check the notebook beside his bed to catch up on what he doesn’t remember. He writes important stuff that happens throughout the day in that book. Wyatt’s learned to accept help from his friends and from Rosie, who leaves Post-it notes around the house to remind him of things.
He’s also made peace with Hailey. She’s forgiven him and loves her dad.
Emily’s pacemaker surgery is a success. She can laugh at the Three Stooges all she wants from now on without fear of lapsing into unconsciousness.
Van’s called into Dr. Wolf’s office and assumes he’s being fired. He ran off while doing a spinal tap and passed out when Emily passed out, but Wolf isn’t letting him go. Instead, he diagnoses Van with mirror-touch synesthesia. The condition makes him feel what the person he’s talking to feels. It’s incredibly rare, and Van confirms that’s exactly what he feels. Oliver believes this could be an asset and they need to figure out how to use it in a positive way.
Episode three ends with Oliver and Muriel at the arboretum. When she talks about the resurrection fern, Oliver suddenly realizes his memory was wrong. It was his mom who brought him there when he was younger, not his dad. She never corrected him all these years because she wanted him to have good memories of his dad, even if they weren’t real.
Apple TV+ just released two clips from the series premiere of Disclaimer, a psychological thriller created by five-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón premiering on October 11, 2024. One clip features Oscar winner Cate Blanchett as Catherine, reacting to the arrival of a book that appears to be about her life. Oscar nominee Sacha Baron Cohen stars as her husband, Robert, who attempts to de-escalate his wife’s terror.
The second clip features Oscar winner Kevin Kline experiencing a shock of his own.
The cast of the seven-episode series also includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Lesley Manville, Louis Partridge, Leila George, and Hoyeon. Indira Varma is the narrator.
“Acclaimed journalist Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett) built her reputation revealing the misdeeds and transgressions of others. When she receives a novel from an unknown author, she is horrified to realize she is now the main character in a story that exposes her darkest secrets and threatens to destroy her family,” reads Apple TV+’s synopsis. “As Catherine races to uncover the writer’s true identity, she is forced to confront her past before it destroys her life and her relationships with her husband Robert (Baron Cohen) and son Nicholas (Smit-McPhee).
DISCLAIMER* – *Any resemblance to persons living or dead is not a coincidence.”
Alfonso Cuarón wrote, directed, and executive produced Disclaimer. Blanchett, Emmanuel Lubezki, Donald Sabourin, and Anonymous Content’s David Levine and the late Steve Golin also executive produce. Renée Knight, author of the book the series is based on, is involved as a co-executive producer.
Yvonne Strahovski as Maggie Chenoweth in ‘Teacup’ (Photo by: Mark Hill/PEACOCK)
There’s something really weird going on in the rural Georgia community that’s the setting for Peacock’s new horror series Teacup. The eight-episode series follows a small group of people who find themselves trapped by a mysterious threat.
Loosely based on Robert McCammon’s novel Stinger, Teacup stars Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale), Scott Speedman (You), and Chaske Spencer (Marvel’s Echo) as Ruben Shanley. Strahovski, Speedman, and Spencer took part in Peacock’s first San Diego Comic-Con panel for the show in July 2024. Following the panel, the cast and showrunner Ian McCulloch participated in roundtable interviews to dive deeper into what viewers can expect when Teacup premieres on October 10, 2024.
Yvonne Strahovski and Ian McCulloch Teacup Interview
How closely did you stick to Robert McCammon’s book? What did you take from it for the series?
Ian McCulloch: “I did not stick to the book. When the producers of Atomic Monster, James Wan’s company, came to me, they said, ‘Hey, do you have any interest in adapting this book?’ I read the book, and I went, ‘Well, this isn’t my cup of tea.’ But then I thought, ‘Well, what if I just flipped it all on its head? What if I took everything that was big and made it small? What if I took the cast of an entire town and made it about three families? What if I took the location of an entire town and made it a secluded farm?’
And it all kind of came together. So, it was about keeping the conceit and some of the ideas that inspired me, but everything else went out the window. And none of that would have worked if Atomic Monster hadn’t been on board with that. And really none of that would have worked if Robert McCammon, who wrote the book, wasn’t on board with that. So, I had conversations with him. I said, ‘You’re a maximalist writer, I’m a minimalist writer. This is what I want to do.’ And to his credit, he was on board. He came to set; he had a blast.”
Horror is well known for having feminist themes. Are there feminist themes in this show?
Ian McCulloch: “Well, it’s funny because I don’t write … I don’t think about politics or isms. I just write characters and then put them in situations. But I think that horror lends itself to something like that because it’s a way to kind of, it’s not real life and it’s a way to break it down. Granted, in our show I hope there are some real-life complications and obstacles and conflicts between people, but you’re kind of doing a larger-than-life version of that. So, you can say Maggie’s character, look how strong she is because she can deal with this and you get to see what that is right in front of you, and it’s big and scary. It’s not having to navigate something that’s subtext or something that’s mentioned inside. It’s something right in front of her that’s impossible, yet we can identify with.”
Yvonne Strahovski: “Ultimately, it really, I guess, is a bit of a feminist story. […] But you know, I think the same. I don’t necessarily go into something thinking about the politics or, you know, in hindsight, what the themes are. I think that’s something that comes to light after the fact. Once we’re here in this position, we put it together and we get to talk about how it’s relatable on a global scale or more universally.
Definitely, definitely there is this strong feminist storyline in it because Maggie, it’s all about her motherhood journey and what she would do. What lengths do you go to to protect your children and what lengths do you go to to carry an emotional burden for yourself, for everybody around you? What masks do you put on to pretend that you’re strong enough that you can handle things until you crumble, and then you put yourself back together again and you keep going?
And you see this woman steadily handle and acknowledge and accept and fall and get back again and ultimately fight and protect and make the hardest decisions of her life at the end of this journey. I’ve got goosebumps! But that was like really the most amazing thing for me because it’s not just a genre piece. This is a story where I, as an actor, can go, ‘Wow, what would you do if circumstances were this insane and your family is at stake?’ I think that’s the piece.
I mean, yes, we are a horror. Yes, it’s going to be exciting to get to the end of the episode and go, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to see the next one.’ But I think really the threat here is the characters and watching Maggie, the character of Maggie, and her husband and the kids who are extraordinary and Chaske and everybody else who is in this farm setting, you know, deal with everything that’s thrown at them. That’s the key, for me anyway, I think, as an audience member. I wouldn’t watch it otherwise, and I wouldn’t have done it otherwise.”
Scott Speedman, Caleb Dolden, Emilie Bierre, and Yvonne Strahovski in ‘Teacup’ (Photo by: Mark Hill/PEACOCK)
Why do you think Maggie is the first one to accept the directive not to trust anyone?
Yvonne Strahovski: “Well, I think she’s definitely set up to be in a not-so-very trusting mood when we meet her. I think that becomes apparent as to why when we watch episode one, which is great because we’re already deeply emotionally invested in this family because something’s really off. And the character’s already dealing with something that’s deeply hurtful to her. We really kind of set the bar high already for what’s to come, in terms of emotional dealings in the show.”
What was the most unique experience that the show afforded you guys?
Yvonne Strahovski: “For me it was really, I think, the most unique in the last two episodes. They’re really something else. I mean, I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I don’t often feel like perhaps I’m going be like super challenged, just because I’ve done, I don’t know, I’ve done so much sort of carrying a lot of emotional weight for certain characters in different shows and things. And this definitely raises the bar for me, for sure, which was both surprising and very exciting.”
Ian McCulloch: “I would say the entire experience because this is my first show. As you can tell, I am not a spring chicken. And the most unique thing about it was that I had really high expectations of what I wanted the experience to be. I’ve worked a lot of jobs in a lot of industries, and I didn’t want this to feel like a job. And it exceeded every single expectation.
It was the hardest job I’ve ever had, but it was also the best job I’ve ever had. So yeah, the whole thing was unique. We finished production, what, a month and a half ago, and I’m still like, ‘I gotta go back to summer camp. I love it.’”
Season six of Netflix’s Virgin River has landed on a December 19, 2024 premiere date. The 10-episode new season takes place shortly after the events of season five’s Christmas episodes. According to Netflix, this upcoming season focuses on Mel and Jack’s wedding.
“We’re trying to hit all the milestones of the pre-wedding planning, the bachelor and bachelorette parties, the rehearsal dinner,” said showrunner Patrick Sean Smith.
The premiere date announcement was accompanied by the first batch of photos from season six.
The series stars Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel, Martin Henderson as Jack, Tim Matheson as Doc, Annette O’Toole as Hope, Colin Lawrence as Preacher, Benjamin Hollingsworth as Brady, Zibby Allen as Brie, Sarah Dugdale as Lizzie, Marco Grazzini as Mike, Kai Bradbury as Denny, Kandyse McClure as Kaia, and Mark Ghanime as Cameron. Season six directors include Martin Wood, Rama Rau, Felipe Rodriguez, Martin Henderson, and Monika Mitchell.
Netflix’s season six synopsis reads: “Against the backdrop of Mel and Jack’s romantic spring wedding season, this sixth installment promises fresh twists and turns, escalating love triangles, delightful wedding drama, as well as uncovered secrets from Mel’s father’s past which will transport us to the magic and mystique of Virgin River in the 1970s.”
Patrick Sean Smith, Sue Tenney, Amy Palmer Robertson, Roma Roth, Christopher E. Perry, Robyn Carr, Erin Cardillo, and Richard Keith serve as executive producers.
CBS’s record-setting Tracker returns for season two on Sunday, October 13, 2024. Based on Jeffrey Deaver’s bestselling novel The Never Game, Tracker stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a survivalist who makes a living traveling the country and collecting rewards for finding missing people.
In season one, Colter was supported by a team that included the dog-loving married couple Velma (Abby McEnany) and Teddi (Robin Weigert); attorney Reenie Green (Fiona Rene); and tech expert Bobby Exley (Eric Graise). Season two changes things up, with Velma, Reenie, and Bobby working together much more closely.
Series star and executive producer Justin Hartley joined showrunner Elwood Reid at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con to promote the new season. During our small roundtable interview, Hartley and Reid discussed Colter’s journey, Jensen Ackles returning as Russell Shaw, and Colter’s support team. Reid also dropped a teaser that this new season will “wink” at Green Arrow, a character Hartley played in multiple seasons of Smallville. And since I’m a Corgi owner, I had to ask if we’d see more of Velma’s four-legged family members in the upcoming season.
Justin Hartley and Elwood Reid Tracker Season 2 Interview
Is the second season going to give us more with Reenie and Velma? Are they going to be incorporated more into the second season?
Justin Hartley: “Yeah, I think so, right?”
Elwood Reid: “Yes, and there’s going to be a big change that’s coming for the Reenie character and also for Velma. We’re reconfiguring some of that stuff.
And there’s going to be a surprise. In the first episode, we’re going to introduce a little piece of Colter’s past which we’ve not talked about before. It’s pretty dark, let’s say, and it’s something that haunts him. And you’re going to see the repercussions of that through the season. So, we’re starting that storyline in the first episode so it’s going to introduce something from his past.
And then, of course, our normal people like Jensen will be back, who plays Russell, and Dory will be back, played by Melissa (Roxburgh). And then the mother, of course, will be back. But those are all things that are going to be promised this season.”
How does Jensen Ackles shake things up on the show, and how does it impact your performance?
Justin Hartley: “Well, it’s great. I mean, I think it’s a good … you’ve written a great dynamic. The brother, you know, taken right from the book, it’s a tough relationship, but the way that he’s written it, there’s tension, of course, because of what happened, what they went through, but then also they’re brothers. And I mean just from the very beginning, the silence that they have, and they haven’t spoken, they haven’t talked, they haven’t done anything, no contact at all. Now here they are side by side, and they have to sort of do this thing together. So, it’s been great.
I think that dynamic is cool, too, because we see this lone wolf character. He’s always by himself; he’s always doing his own thing. And then all of a sudden you see this other dude next to him, right? And there’s a little bit of tension there, but also, I think towards the end, some respect and love. So, it’s an interesting place to see Colter that we haven’t seen before.”
Elwood Reid: “Not so much acting, because when you see these two together, it’s crazy. You always get nervous when you’re writing something to see if they’ll have chemistry or the dynamic. I didn’t say a f**king thing. I didn’t say anything. And these guys are just … I was like this could be a disaster because I’ve worked with Jensen before…”
Justin Hartley: (Laughing) “And it’s always a disaster.”
Elwood Reid: “And you never know. And I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ It was so funny because the first couple of days you guys were filming, I was up there and I was just, ‘Oh, okay, I see what this is.’ But they showed me how to write it. It was just to see the chemistry they had, it was crazy.”
Justin Hartley: “[Elwood] came in and we were doing it. He came in about 10 minutes after we started, 15 minutes after we started, whatever. And he walks onto the set. We didn’t know he was on the set. And he just comes over, we were in the truck, and he goes, ‘So I’m over here just listening. I guess you guys are just saying whatever you want now, just whatever you guys feel like,’ which is not what we were doing. He was joking.”
Elwood Reid: “But he goes way back with (Jensen), too. So, the minute they step on set, I think you just feel it. And that’s rare in this business to have that.”
Justin Hartley and Elwood Reid promote ‘Tracker’ season 2 at the San Diego Comic-Con (Photo by PictureGroup for Disney Entertainment Television)
You said we’re going to get more of his dark past, but we’ve already seen so much of that. How much darker can you go?
Elwood Reid: “Well, I don’t mean … the family stuff is different. I think the big question that’s ticking from the books and also from the first season is, what would compel a person to live this lifestyle and why would you do this? Because people keep asking, I get asked this question, ‘Why would he do this? What’s driving him?’
And this first episode in the second season is going to give you insight into something that haunts him. I’ll let him talk about it, but I think it’s a case that he did not solve. And we’re going to see how that sort of bleeds out through the season. And it’s something, in keeping with the way Justin plays the character, he keeps it in. I think that’s something he and I, from day one, have been very on board with, is not giving too much away. I think there’s a lot of layers here that we can play with.”
Justin Hartley: “It’s interesting to see him, the way he deals with people on a daily basis, right, people that he’s helping in the present moment versus, like you said, something that haunts him and someone that’s known him for a long time and how he deals with and talks to that person. What he allows that person to see. And you just sort of see a different side of him. You go, ‘Wow, that’s a personal connection that we sort of didn’t see.’ And it happens with, you know, when Russell came in, Billy – the Billy character – his sister, Dory, the mom, you see him interact differently with these people. If he doesn’t trust his mom, that’s a tough thing, right? I mean, can you imagine that? Hopefully not, but that can’t be a good feeling.”
Green Arrow is one of my favorite characters ever and a lot of times watching Tracker, I just feel there are very Oliver Queen moments. Do you feel any qualities in Oliver that have bled through to your performance here?
Justin Hartley: “Yeah, I certainly try to learn from all of the characters that I play, like personally. And so, I guess, you know, throughout life you sort of then hopefully change in a good way. Maybe not change, but adapt and hopefully become a better person. And so, I don’t know. I think I try to keep the characters different because they’re all so different, but I like to make a list of things that I have in common with these characters that I’m playing and things that I don’t have in common with them. That’s sort of how I start.
And then, interestingly enough, for this one, I kind of did a list of Kevin Pearson and Colter Shaw because I’ve been playing Kevin Pearson for so long. But I never really thought about the Green Arrow. I mean, he was sort of a loner at times. He had strong convictions about certain things. Oliver was a little bit more – the way that I played him and it was really important for me to do this – he was a little bit more politically motivated than Colter. I don’t know if Colter has that, necessarily.”
Elwood Reid: “Well, if you did, you’d never know.”
Justin Hartley: “Right, exactly. I guess Colter, you could call him a vigilante in ways. He breaks the law every once in a while. He does what he needs to do to sort of get the job done. Oliver was a lot like that, maybe a little more bold. He had more resources, for sure. (Laughing) He was richer and he dressed differently.”
Elwood Reid: “We’re going to wink at Green Arrow. Just wait, there’ll be something. We’re going to wink at it.”
Justin Hartley: “You’ll be happy. We have a plan.”
Is there any chance of a Smallville reunion on Tracker?
Justin Hartley: “I don’t know. I don’t know. We have everyone’s number. We’ll see, yeah. I don’t know how busy people are, but it would be lovely. It would be wonderful. I would love that.”
At the end of each episode, there’s that healing moment where you allow the families or whoever to understand what the person’s gone through, and there’s kind of a healing. Is it also healing for Colter? Is that kind of a therapy for him?
Justin Hartley: “It’s both, I think, and you can speak more about this as well. But for me, it’s both. It’s like sort of a double-edged sword, right? I mean, it’s great and it’s wonderful, but he has this void left by his own family in his relationship that he has with his sister and his brother and his mom and his deceased father and all that huge tragedy that is just sort of like, ‘Man, wouldn’t it be nice?’ You know, that kind of thing.
So, it’s healing in a way, but it’s also sort of dredges up, I think, those feelings. It’s also what motivates them, I think, in a way.”
Elwood Reid: “No, it’s funny. We’ve never talked about this, but those moments that you talk about at the end, I talk about a lot with the writers. He can’t fix some of the stuff in his past, and so that moment when he does fix for those things, and he’s just – this was never scripted – you see him pull away from that moment.
It’s really interesting. He walks right up to it and then he steps away from it. And I think that’s part of what keeps him kind of like unknowable. I think about his character all the time. He’s just this unknowable thing. There are parts of him that he’s going to keep in, and you see that in every episode. He just naturally does that. You don’t lean in, ever. And I’ve never told him that. And he just naturally does it.”
Justin Hartley: (Laughing) “Now I’m gonna do it.”
What surprised you the most about working on Tracker?
Justin Hartley: “That, I mean, Elwood is actually not that bad of a guy. I was shocked because it’s not what I was expecting. No, the size of you. Just how big you are. You are such a big guy.”
Elwood Reid: “I don’t look like a writer, I suppose.”
Justin Hartley: “No, I can’t believe it. You know, gosh, it’s a lot of work but it really is our pleasure, isn’t it? I mean, we really do love the work. And I think it makes it easier when you have such a big fan base and people are really enjoying it as well. For me, it makes it easier because you just go’ ‘Wow, it’s impacting people’s lives in a positive way in so many people.’ It’s been our pleasure, really. It’s been wonderful.”
Elwood Reid: “I’d say it’s as a writer you don’t get this flow state. Again, Justin and I did not … we got thrown together pretty quickly. And there’s also Ken Olin who’s our other partner that took the book with Justin. There was so much that we didn’t have to say that we knew. And I’m afraid to talk to him about some of this stuff because I don’t want him to know. It’s that weird, you never know when you go into these creative partnerships if that person’s going to sort of pick up your end of things. And it’s rare. It has not happened to me very often in my career. It’s happening here. I think he knew all this, but I did not.”
We just got the signal to wrap up, but I need to know if there will be more Corgi in the second season?
Elwood Reid: “It’s funny. Are these people on payroll?”
Justin Hartley: “No!”
Elwood Reid: “Last night we’re at the bar and he’s pitching me. We have a dog episode to do, too. It’s his idea. I don’t know if it’ll be a Corgi. There’s also a dog in first episode. You with some steaks. I’m not kidding. There’s a little dog stuff.”
Justin Hartley: “That’ll be a cool episode. It’ll be great.”
The stakes are even higher on season 15 of Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush. Premiering on November 8, 2024, the new season takes place as gold prices soar and hit new record highs.
New season 15 episodes will air on Fridays at 8pm ET/PT.
Discovery Channel offers this description of the new season: “Twenty-nine-year-old mining prodigy Parker Schnabel has hauled in over 63,000 ounces of gold in his career, worth more than $98 million. As one of the most powerful landowners in the Klondike, his new claim at Dominion Creek holds a massive $200 million worth of gold, which must be mined before his license expires in six years. In a race against time, Parker is chasing a record-breaking 10,000-ounce, $25 million dollar season. In deep debt and under immense pressure, Parker is one bad decision away from sinking his whole operation and derailing his masterplan for a gold bonanza.
After a season of redemption, Rick Ness has finally assembled a crew to fulfill his dreams of becoming a landowner. As he continues to battle his personal demons, a bombshell from his landlord throws him into a tailspin, jeopardizing his entire future and everything he’s worked hard to build.
The Beets family will face considerable changes this season. While Tony Beets targets a 5,000-ounce season, his eldest son, Kevin strikes out on his own for the first time. When Tony leans on his other two kids and nephew, a power struggle ensues that threatens to reshape the family dynasty.”
