18 Survivor fans will attempt to outwit, outplay, and outlast the competition on season 46 of the popular reality competition. The first-time Survivor castaways competing for the $1 million grand prize include an actor, an artist, a musician, a real estate agent, and a special education teacher.
Emmy winner Jeff Probst returns to guide the castaways through immunity challenges and tribal councils as host.
Season 46 will premiere on Wednesday, February 28, 2024 with a two-hour episode airing at 8-10pm ET/PT. The March 6th episode will also run two hours, followed by new 90-minute episodes each week.
“Building upon its legacy, this groundbreaking series continues to be the ultimate test of physical and mental endurance as this new set of castaways embarks on the adventure of a lifetime when they are left stranded on the breathtaking islands of Fiji. These determined players must form a new society and adapt to their physical and social surroundings while facing difficult obstacles and navigating a complex social game,” reads CBS’s synopsis. “The participants will be divided into three tribes of six and endure a faster, more intense season from the moment they step foot on the beach. The moral dilemmas, extreme situations and new twists in the game will test even the strongest competitor, and the mental and physical challenges require players to masterfully evolve their strategies to survive another day.”
Survivor Season 46 Castaways
Name: Q Burdette
Age: 29
Hometown: Senatobia, Miss.
Current Residence: Memphis, Tenn.
Occupation: Real estate agent
Name: Jessica “Jess” Chong
Age: 37
Hometown: Hong Kong, China/Toronto, Ontario
Current Residence: San Francisco, Calif.
Occupation: Software engineer
Name: Charlie Davis
Age: 26
Hometown: Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.
Current Residence: Boston, Mass.
Occupation: Law student
Name: Tevin Davis
Age: 24
Hometown: Goochland, Va.
Current Residence: Richmond, Va.
Occupation: Actor
Name: Tiffany Nicole Ervin
Age: 33
Hometown: Franklin Township, N.J.
Current Residence: Elizabeth, N.J.
Occupation: Artist
Name: Moriah Gaynor
Age: 28
Hometown: Boca Raton, Fla.
Current Residence: San Diego, Calif.
Occupation: Program coordinator
Name: Maria Shrime Gonzalez
Age: 48
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Current Residence: Dallas, Texas
Occupation: Parent coach
Name: Bhanu Gopal
Age: 41
Hometown: Visakhapatnam, India
Current Residence: Acton, Mass.
Occupation: IT quality analyst
Name: Jemila “Jem” Hussain-Adams
Age: 32
Hometown: Berbice, Guyana
Current Residence: Chicago, Ill.
Occupation: International brand mentor
Name: David “Jelinsky” Jelinsky
Age: 22
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nev.
Current Residence: Las Vegas, Nev.
Occupation: Slot machine salesman
Name: Ben Katzman
Age: 31
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
Current Residence: Miami, Fla.
Occupation: Musician
Name: Hunter McKnight
Age: 28
Hometown: French Camp, Miss.
Current Residence: French Camp, Miss.
Occupation: Science teacher
Production is currently underway on Netflix’s Cobra Kai season six, with the cast announcing the start of production in a minute-long video. Although they were restricted from revealing any real details, Cobra Kai‘s returning stars promised fans haven’t seen anything yet and should prepare for a bigger, badder final season.
Ralph Macchio and William Zabka return to lead the cast as Daniel LaRussa and Johnny Lawrence. Season six also stars Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso, Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz, Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene, Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso, and Jacob Bertrand as Hawk.
Gianni Decenzo plays Demetri, Vanessa Rubio is Carmen, Peyton List is Tory, Martin Kove is John Kreese, Dallas Dupree Young is Kenny, Oona O’Brien is Devon, Griffin Santopietro is Anthony, Yuji Okumoto is Chozen Toguchi, and Alicia Hannah-Kim is Kim Da-Eun.
“Cobra Kai takes place over 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament with the continuation of the inescapable conflict between Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (Zabka),” reads Netflix’s generic synopsis. The streaming service didn’t drop any hints about the final season’s description, other than the start of production video that shows John Kreese will be involved in sending the series out with a bang.
Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg write and executive produce. Additional executive producers include Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, and Westbrook Entertainment’s Will Smith, James Lassiter, and Caleeb Pinkett, along with Susan Ekins in association with Sony Pictures Television.
‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ starts production (Photo Credit: Starz)
Filming has begun on Starz’s Outlander prequel Outlander: Blood of My Blood which dives into the lives of Jamie’s parents, Ellen and Brian, and Claire’s parents, Julia and Henry. The network’s start of production announcement confirmed Harriet Slater (Pennyworth) will star as Ellen and Jamie Roy (Condor’s Nest) is playing Brian. Hermione Corfield (The Road Dance) is on board as Julia and Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) stars as Henry.
“We’re thrilled to be telling the stories of these two couples. The origins of their relationships explore universal themes that transcend time periods, and we’re so excited for fans to discover and fall in love with these characters and their love stories the way they have with Claire and Jamie,” said Matthew B. Roberts, showrunner, executive producer, and writer on both series.
Season one will consist of 10 episodes and will be shot in Scotland.
“Outlander: Blood of My Blood will explore the lives and relationship of Jamie’s parents, Ellen MacKenzie (Slater) and Brian Fraser (Roy). STARZ confirmed today that the series will also explore the origin story of Claire’s parents, Julia Moriston (Corfield) and Henry Beauchamp (Irvine),” reads Starz’s announcement. “The series will center on these two parallel love stories set in two different time periods, with Jamie’s parents in the early 18th century Scottish Highlands and Claire’s parents in WWI England.”
Executive producers include Roberts, Ronald D. Moore, Maril Davis, and Story Mining & Supply Company. Author Diana Gabaldon is a consulting producer.
The original Outlander will return with the second half of season seven later this year. Filming is expected to begin on the eighth – and final – 10-episode season soon in Scotland.
Starz provided the following brief biographies on its newly announced Outlander: Blood of My Blood stars.
Harriet Slater (Photo Credit: Gerry McCabe, Courtesy of Starz)
Harriet Slater was born in Leicester, England and caught the acting bug early, at 6 years of age, through involvement with the ‘Little Theatre,’ home of the hundred-year-old Leicester Drama Society, which counts Lord Richard Attenborough as one of its most famous members. Having performed in dozens of musicals and plays during her youth, the Society gave Slater the foundations and confidence to pursue acting as her career.
At the age of 19, she relocated to Guildford to attend drama school. Slater studied dramatic arts at Guildford School of Acting, before moving to London and signing with a prestigious talent agency. Slater’s first professional job was a three-person play at Theatre Royal in Plymouth. The play, about cycling, required the cast to peddle on static bikes for the full duration of the play! Off the back of her run at the Theatre Royal, she completed six months with the Royal Shakespeare Company in a play called Vice Versa.
She quickly followed that by landing her first TV role as Sandra Onslow, club singer and Alfred Pennyworth’s love interest in three seasons of the high-profile Pennyworth, a highly stylized deep dive into the life of the Wayne family butler of Batman fame.
On completing Pennyworth, Slater jumped straight into production on three feature films: a small role in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the most recent installment of the Indiana Jones franchise and a bucket-list job alongside Harrison Ford; as one of three leads in The Haunting in Wicker Park alongside Jamie Campbell-Bower and Erin Moriarty telling the story of the first-ever televised exorcism, broadcast on NBC News in 1971 with terrifying after effects for everyone involved; and another horror feature film called Horrorscope, which is set for a release in spring/summer 2024.
Most recently, Slater can be seen as the lead character of Clara Dunn in Julian Fellowes’ Belgravia: The Next Chapter.
Jamie Roy (Photo Credit: Kristia Knowles, Courtesy of Starz)
Jamie Roy was born in Greenock and grew up in Glasgow, Scotland. He has lived in America for a number of years where he has developed his career. Roy’s credits include Condor’s Nest, Your Boyfriend is Mine, Squeaky Clean Mysteries: Hazardous Duty, Flowers and Honey, Burning Little Lies, and Picture Perfect Lies.
Roy is a keen and talented golfer and rugby player.
Hermione Corfield (Photo Courtesy of Starz)
Hermione Corfield has had an extensive career on screen. Her film, The Road Dance, won the 2021 Audience Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Other film credits include Sea Fever, directed by Neasa Hardiman and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival; The Misfits, a heist crime drama alongside Pierce Brosnan, Jamie Chung and Tim Roth; Born a King, the extraordinary real life story of a 14-year old teenage Arab prince, also starring Kenneth Cranham and Ed Skrein; Rust Creek, directed by Jen McGowan; Slaughterhouse Rulez, alongside Michael Sheen, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost; King Arthur: Legend of the Sword with Charlie Hunnam, Annabelle Wallis, Jude Law and Aiden Gillen; xXx: Return of Xander Cage, alongside Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Ruby Rose and Nina Dobrev; Lucasfilms’ Star Wars: The Last Jedi as Tallie Lintra; Fallen, based on the popular young adult novel series by Lauren Kate; Seth Grahame-Smith’s horror parody Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which starred Lily James, Sam Riley and Charles Dance; Mr. Holmes alongside Ian McKellen, Frances de la Tour and Hattie Morahan, and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, the fifth instalment in the Mission Impossible franchise, with Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner.
For television, she starred as Freddy in We Hunt Together, currently in its second season. She also previously starred in the period drama series The Halcyon, co-starring Olivia Williams, Jamie Blackley, and Kara Tointon.
Corfield has just wrapped production on the thriller Family Secrets.
Jeremy Irvine (Photo Courtesy of Starz)
Jeremy Irvine is an English stage and screen actor. He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before catching Hollywood’s eye starring in Steven Spielberg’s 2011 epic war film War Horse which went on to receive a Best Picture nomination for the 2012 Academy Awards and Golden Globes.
Irvine earned widespread critical acclaim for his role opposite Dakota Fanning in the independent film Now Is Good, leading critics to list him among Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars. In 2013, he dropped more than 25 pounds and performed his own torture scene stunts in the film adaptation of The Railway Man.
In 2018, Jeremy played the younger version of Pierce Brosnan’s character Sam in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again opposite Lily James and directed by Ol Parker.
His recent credits include Leopardi & Co, Return to Silent Hill, Baghead, This Is Christmas, Dalgliesh, Treadstone, and The Last Full Measure with Christopher Plummer and Samuel L. Jackson.
Other notable credits include Paradise Hills, Billionaire Boys Club, The Professor And The Madman, Fallen, The World Made Straight, Stonewall, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, and Beyond the Reach, in which he stars alongside Michael Douglas.
Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, and Aka Niviâna in ‘True Detective Night Country’ episode 4 (Photograph by Michele K. Short/HBO)
With just a few episodes left in True Detective: Night Country, we seem to be no closer to finding out what happened to the researchers at the Tsalal Research Facility. One thing is for certain: Night Country is unlike any of the previous three seasons of the Emmy Award-winning series.
Episode three ended with two jaw-dropping scenes. In one, Dr. Anders Lund sat up in his hospital bed and, in a demonic voice, said, “Hello, Evangeline. Your mother says hello. She’s waiting for you.” In the other, a cell phone video shows Annie saying, “My name is Annie Kowtok. If anything happens to me…” before the phone is ripped away and she screams.
As episode four opens, Chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) can’t sleep, so she watches the video of Annie Kowtok again. She focuses on the last part of the video and sees bones in the ice.
December 24th – the seventh day of night
Officer Peter Prior (Finn Bennett) is the bearer of bad news when he tells Liz the Anchorage Police Department is early and packing up the bodies of the deceased research team at the ice rink. Liz spots Julia (Aka Niviana), Evangeline Navarro’s sister, outside stripping off her clothes, visibly distraught. After telling Peter to call Evangeline and tell her to meet at the station, Liz tries to help and comfort Julia.
Evangeline (Kali Reis) thanks Liz for helping with her sister, but when Liz tries to ask if Julia will be okay Evangeline changes the subject back to the case. She isn’t pleased to hear Captain Connelly is there and warns that he better not take this case away from them. Before leaving, Evangeline tells Liz they need to talk about Annie’s video.
Liz is shocked when she gets to the station and sees Captain Ted Connelly (Christopher Eccleston) is there. Ted informs her he’s going to stick around for a while but assures her he’s not taking the case away. However, she needs to get everything under control.
Liz reveals they’ve learned the researchers died before they froze, and Ted’s not sure he wants to know how she knows that. Liz also confirms that they’re treating this like a murder case. As for the Annie K video, Ted suggests she keep it on a need-to-know basis.
Evangeline checks her sister into The Lighthouse, a care facility for people dealing with addictions. She assures Julia it won’t be like the other places she’s been to. The sisters have an emotional goodbye, even though Evangeline insists she’ll come visit her on Christmas.
Jodie Foster in ‘True Detective Night Country’ episode 4 (Photograph by Michele K. Short/HBO)
Liz asks Peter to find anyone in the past who’s had similar injuries to the dead researchers, and Peter comes up with a name: Otis Heiss. In April of 1998, Heiss had burns on both corneas, ruptured eardrums, and self-inflicted bites. Heiss is a German national with almost no records – not even an active bank account. There’s been no registered address for him for the past eight years, but he does have a long criminal history and was in and out of rehab. Also, there’s no known cause of his accident.
Liz wants everyone to look for this guy, but Peter reminds her all available units are out looking for missing researcher Raymond Clark.
Navarro and Liz have determined Annie was killed in an ice cave, but there aren’t any caves near where her body was found. Liz believes Annie was killed in one place and dumped in town to send a message.
Liz and Navarro visit Adam (the geology teacher), and Liz wants Navarro to step in front of her when his wife answers the door. Navarro realizes why and wonders if there’s anyone in that town Liz hasn’t slept with. Adam confirms the bones in the video are whale bones and that there is an ice cave system nearby, but the caves are death traps and people don’t go near them.
Adam suggests they need a guide to take them. Or they can track down the person who mapped the cave system. Coincidentally, that person is none other than Otis Heiss.
Meanwhile, Julia’s sitting in her room at The Lighthouse when an orange rolls out from under her bed. She hears whispering, checks under the bed, and sees her dead mother.
Navarro joins Rose (Fiona Shaw) at her house for dinner. She asks about Rose’s life before she moved to Alaska, and Rose says she used to be a professor. Rose tells her it is quieter here, except for all the dead.
When Evangeline calls to check on her sister on Christmas Eve, Julia lies and says everything’s good. In reality, Julia’s out in the cold during the call. After telling Evangeline she loves her, Julia strips off her clothes, neatly folds them, and then walks off onto the ice.
Liz is called to the mining company offices after the doors were spray painted with the word “murderers.” Kate wants to press charges against Liz’s stepdaughter, Leah, and Liz asks her not to do that.
Leah (Isabella LaBlanc) reacts to Liz’s anger over the mining office’s graffiti by packing her bag and leaving with Peter’s wife, Kayla (Anna Lambe), who’s waiting for her outside. Liz isn’t happy but jumps back into watching the Annie video. She then watches the video taken at Tsalal. She calls Evangeline to tell her someone cut the power to the facility. The same thing happened in the cave where they shouldn’t have been in power in the first place. Liz thinks the cave must have had a power generator.
Liz is in no condition to handle the job after having a few drinks and orders Peter to go with Navarro to see Oliver Tagaq again since he has access to generators. Peter’s not happy about it since it’s Christmas Eve and he has a family, but he can’t say no to his mentor.
Liz visits Connolly, and he admits she was a better cop than him, but he sent her away because she was terrible with people. And after Jake and Holden, it got worse. He doesn’t sugarcoat his words and says no one wants to work with her.
Liz shouldn’t be driving but she heads home anyway and gets into an accident. The one-eyed polar bear is outside her car.
There’s no sign of Oliver, but Navarro and Peter find a rock with the same spiral symbol as Annie’s tattoo. They learn Oliver left the day after Navarro and Liz saw him. None of Oliver’s friends acknowledge knowing anything about the mysterious symbol.
Kali Reis, and Joel Montgrand in ‘True Detective Night Country’ episode 4 (Photograph by Michele K. Short/HBO)
On their way back, Navarro receives devastating news from the Coast Guard that Julia is dead. She orders Peter to go be with his family and heads to The Lighthouse, furious that they just let her sister leave. She screams and takes out her anger by destroying a few items in the waiting room.
Outside, she sees the guy she arrested for domestic abuse in episode one and picks a fight. She winds up on the losing end as his friends join in on the beating.
Peter tries to apologize to Kayla, but she knows he’s not sorry. He’ll always be at Liz’s beck and call.
A beat-up Navarro shows up at Eddie Qavvik’s (Joel Montgrand) place and as he tries to help her clean up, the rock she found at Oliver’s falls out of her pocket. She wonders why Eddie’s alone in life. He reacts by pretending he’s going to propose to her but pops her finger back into place instead. She begins to cry, but more so for her sister than from the pain.
Liz is having flashbacks of playing with her son when she’s awakened by Navarro. Navarro fills her in on Oliver and that she lost his rock with the spiral symbol. When Liz tries to move a box, the bottom breaks out and Navarro sees the stuffed polar bear with one eye. She asks if it belonged to Liz’s son, Holden, and Liz becomes angry and says there’s no dead out there waiting for us. “The dead are dead,” says a hungover Liz.
After Liz tosses the bear outside, Navarro tells Liz that her sister killed herself last night. Julia walked out into the sea until she drowned. Navarro believes it’s a curse and that it’s coming for her next. Liz gets angry and says she’s doing the same thing she did with Wheeler (from episode three). Liz is certain that Navarro saw something in that room – a ghost or a spirit or something. A quick flashback shows a woman who resembles a zombie, but Navarro claims she saw nothing.
Peter calls to say they spotted something and sends Liz a photo. It’s of a man (believed to be Clark) walking and wearing Annie’s pink parka. Liz and Navarro immediately head to the dredges.
They spot the symbol painted inside the huge ship when suddenly a man takes off running. Liz gives chase, but Navarro hears her name whispered, and when she looks into the water, she sees her sister’s body floating face down. Navarro sees wet footprints and decides to follow them.
Liz believes she found Raymond Clark, but it is Otis Heiss. Clark gave him that coat.
Navarro finds a decorated Christmas tree, and when she turns around to help Liz, Julia – dead and blue – is there in front of her, making noises.
Otis is asked where Clark is and he says ominously, “He’s gone. He went back down to hide. He’s hiding in the night country. We’re all in the night country now.”
Episode four ends with Liz discovering Navarro sitting in front of the tree. Blood is running out of one of her ears.
CBS’s new primetime action-drama, Tracker, is set to premiere in the coveted timeslot immediately following Super Bowl LVIII. The Big Game is always a big draw, but even more viewers are expected to tune in because of the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce romance. CBS has high hopes those viewers will stick around to check out Justin Hartley taking on the lead role in Tracker after six seasons on This Is Us.
Tracker is based on Jeffrey Deaver’s bestselling novel The Never Game and stars Hartley as Colter Shaw, a survivalist who travels via RV all over the country to find missing people (or items) and collect the rewards. Colter, who prefers to be known as a “rewardist” rather than bounty hunter, has support from a close-knit team played by Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany, Eric Graise, and Fiona Rene.
CBS recently hosted a press conference with the Tracker cast and executive producer/director Ken Olin (This Is Us) to promote the first season. Here are the highlights of the Q&A with series star Justin Hartley who also serves as an executive producer.
On the appeal of Tracker and reuniting with Ken Olin:
Justin Hartley: “Ken and I worked together, as you know, on This Is Us, and we had this really great culture and great experience together and developed such a tight friendship – sort of like a family – that we sort of looked at each other, and we said, ‘We gotta keep doing this. We want to do another show.’ And so, we were on the lookout for something really great to do together, and we found this book.
We were able to, luckily, get our hands on it and develop it. And from there, find this extraordinary cast to fill out our show. We’re so lucky. And we have, I think, continued that culture that we found on This Is Us in this really wonderful environment.”
On Colter Shaw’s backstory and his relationship with his fractured family:
Justin Hartley: “It’s sort of a driver for all of the stuff that you see this character do in his adult life. There’s an element, I think, to most if not all of the jobs that he takes – and his ability to solve, to find these people, and to get these positive outcomes – that comes from the way that he was raised. And the way that he was raised is not necessarily always easy on the palate.
I mean, his father was very, very difficult. He had a rough childhood, really unique, strange kind of childhood. But all of those things that he went through when he was younger are things that he was taught and that he uses in his current life. And you know, I think a lot of the stories that we tell […] open up Colter a little bit in a sense that he then kind of can reflect on his childhood.
And oftentimes, I think the way that you remember things might not be actually the way they actually happened, right? And I think Colter’s kind of figuring that out as well. But that’s a major part of our show is the backstory in the family, and he’s got a lot of questions about his childhood and what he ends up, I guess, realizing are assumptions that might not be true.”
On the workload on Tracker compared to This Is Us:
Justin Hartley: “The workload is great. Look, here’s the thing. I love it. I’ve always wanted this, and it’s not work. It’s a labor of love. I mean, you have a call time, and you show up. And gosh! People have written stuff for you, and people are lighting you. And I’ve got this amazing support group around me. These guys, I mean, it’s a team effort for sure. And whether you’re on stage or out in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night, on a Saturday morning, yeah, in 4 degrees by yourself, or whether it’s you or whether it’s you guys on stage or wherever you are. It’s the story that matters. And when you watch the finished product it all becomes worth it. So, I don’t really feel the workload.
That’s…I mean…that’s bullsh*t. (Laughing) I do. It’s hard – it’s really hard. No, it’s not! Look, I mean, I’m not […] complaining. It’s been great when you get an opportunity to do something that you love and spend a lot of time doing it with people that you love. It’s a joy.”
On how much Jeffrey Deaver’s description of Colter influenced how he plays the character:
Justin Hartley: “I would say quite a bit. Ken and I talk about it all the time. We worked on this character together, you know. Obviously, Jeffrey wrote it and then you have to figure out a way in. What is it that’s so interesting about this character? First of all, what drew you to it? And then, from there, how do you adapt it to the screen? Because it doesn’t [adapt easily].
There are certain things in the book where this character…he does a lot of calculations and sort of talking to himself in his head. You just can’t do that on screen. It would be very hard to watch. You’d be reading a lot, and it would be very hard to watch. So, you have to figure out a way to show this guy and what’s going on in his head without just him talking to himself all the time, which sort of is not the character. He’s not a weirdo. He’s not constantly talking to himself like Ken, and he’s not haunted.
But yeah, we talked a lot about that. Actually, how do you get all of that stuff that we love about the character in the book translated to the screen without losing it, but also without kind of making it look like something it’s not?”
On playing a strong, silent type after six seasons of This Is Us:
Justin Hartley: “Well, in some sense, it’s a relief. And in some sense, it’s a daunting task. You know, when you’re still and you’re on camera, and you’re still and you’re not talking, you’re telling the story through your look and what’s going on with your body. It’s interesting. It’s a bit scary, in a way, because you’re sitting there going, ‘Okay, I’ve been still and silent for a good solid 40 seconds. Is that boring? Is that going to be interesting? I mean, is that going to make people think that I’m asleep or something?’
I mean, the writing is good, and the storytelling is great, and if Colter’s listening to something… I firmly believe that if you actually, as far as acting goes, do what you say you’re doing – actually firing a gun or actually stabbing someone or actually punching someone – if you’re emotionally doing what you say that you’re doing. I think that’s very hard to deny or to say that that’s not true or honest.
So, I love it. I think it’s really cool too. I love those characters, too. I love watching a character not necessarily talk all the time but think as an audience member just sitting here watching what Bruce Willis might be thinking, and then you sit at the edge of your seat wondering what he’s going to say next. So, I’ve always been a fan of those kinds of characters. So, for me, it’s sort of a dream come true.”
On whether he likes having a book available as source material or prefers to create his own backstory:
Justin Hartley: “I like both. I think there are fun aspects of both. It’s great to have that source material, though, because week-to-week, as we get these new episodes, new [stories], new guest stars, new sets of circumstances, new jobs, whatever it might be, you do have that source material. […] The fact that it’s there gives you comfort, right? As the stories change week-to-week and, like I said, new characters come on in new…I don’t want to call them cases, but new jobs, new sets of circumstances, you have that source material.
You always have that sort of in the back of your head. What would Colter do? And you use that source material. At least, I do to decide for yourself. What would Colter do? Well, how would he react in this situation, given the source material? So, I use it. And I find it’s good to have.”
On Colter’s personality and his dedication to being a rewardist:
Justin Hartley: “You know what I love about him is I think he’s a good man. He’s a good man and he wants to do good things for people in need. And I think we talk a lot about how he’s a restless guy. He can go in, you know, sort of help a situation, there’s an outcome, and then he leaves. He has a hard time not running away. I don’t think he intentionally runs away. I just think it’s how he is.
He’s afraid of a lot of stuff, oddly enough, and I think that’s why he finds he’s trying to fill this void that is probably unfillable. He’s trying to fill it with these rewards and helping strangers. And he’s sort of created this family around him to try to fill all these voids that, like I said, I don’t think he can fill. I also think, at a surface level, I think he enjoys the action and the fun and the excitement, and not being tied down, and the freedom.
But yeah, I think it’s definitely when you look at his past – his childhood, the way he was brought up, what happened to his father, the questions that he has about his family, the paranoia that he was surrounded by when he was younger – and then you look at what he does as an adult, it all makes sense. You go, ‘Well, he’s a product of his environment.’ You know, what happened to him as a youth.
(Laughing) I hope I got that right ’cause we’ve already shot like six episodes!”
* * * * * * * *
Tracker will premiere on Sunday, February 11, 2024 after the Super Bowl before settling into its regular Sundays at 9pm ET/PT timeslot on February 18th.
Three-time Emmy winner Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) guest stars as the owner of the newspaper where Nell works on ABC’s Not Dead Yet season two episode one. “Not Owning It Yet” will premiere on February 7, 2024, with new season two episodes airing on Wednesdays at 8:30pm ET/PT.
Gina Rodriguez leads the cast as Nell Serrano, Hannah Simone plays Sam, and Lauren Ash is Lexi. Rick Glassman stars as Edward, Joshua Banday is Dennis, and Angela Gibbs is Cricket.
“Not Owning It Yet” Plot: Lexi’s father and owner of the SoCal Independent, Duncan Rhodes, comes into the office and forms a bond with Nell, much to his daughter’s dismay.
Gina Rodriguez and Brad Garrett in ‘Not Dead Yet’ season 2 episode 1 (Disney/Temma Hankin)
Series Description, Courtesy of ABC:
From creators David Windsor and Casey Johnson and starring Gina Rodriguez, Not Dead Yet follows Nell Serrano, self-described disaster, who writes obituaries at her local newspaper while navigating relationships in her personal and professional life. The twist – she can see the dead people she’s tasked with writing about, and they don’t hesitate to give her life advice.
The series is adapted from the book Confessions of a 40-something F**k Up by Alexandra Potter.
Lauren Ash and Jimmy Bellinger in season 2 episode 1 (Disney/Temma Hankin)Lauren Ash and Rick Glassman in season 2 episode 1 (Disney/Temma Hankin)Hannah Simone, Josh Banday, Lauren Ash, and Brad Garrett in season 2 episode 1 (Disney/Temma Hankin)Hannah Simone and Gina Rodriguez in season 2 episode 1 (Disney/Temma Hankin)Brad Garrett and Lauren Ash in season 2 episode 1 (Disney/Temma Hankin)Gina Rodriguez and Nico Santos in season 2 episode 1 (Disney/Temma Hankin)
A still from In ‘The Summers’ by Alessandra Lacorazza (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Grammy winner René Pérez Joglar (aka Residente) delivers a compelling, layered performance as Vicente, a divorced dad who comes to terms with his mistakes and tries to make amends in In the Summers. Vicente’s tortuous journey begins with an optimistic hopefulness about his relationship with his two daughters and takes a dark turn as he slips into the clutches of addiction, eventually evolving into a redemption tale as he confronts his failures and seeks to become a better man.
First-time feature filmmaker Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio teases the trouble to come in part one of the four-part story. Vicente’s all smiles as he picks up his young daughters at the airport, ready to show them a good time over their summer vacation. He lives in the tidy home his mother left him in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and treats the girls to fun days in the sun by the pristine backyard pool. Days pass by with water balloon fights, visits to an amusement park, and cooking lessons.
During a visit to his favorite neighborhood bar, Vicente shows the first sign of having a real problem with alcohol. Despite the fact his young daughters depend on him, he can’t resist drinking while teaching them how to play pool. Later, they spend the night stargazing, and Vicente has a constant supply of beer at his side. His driving is noticeably impaired on the way home, but he treats it like a game. His oldest daughter, Violeta, is shocked and freaks out, while his youngest daughter, Eva, still believes that her dad can do no wrong.
Vicente’s inability to place his daughters above his addictions is on full display in part two. Violeta and Eva arrive from California, older and more disillusioned with their father. Vicente can’t hide his discomfort at the responsibility of caring for his kids and, for the most part, shirks his duties as a caregiver.
By part three, Vicente has descended into the depths of addiction, and his already tenuous relationship with his daughters is on the verge of being severed for good. Part four marks Vicente’s emergence from the throes of addiction as his daughters, now independent young women, arrive for their annual visit. The traumas all three have endured (Vicente’s being self-inflicted) cannot be forgotten or minimized. However, the question is whether they can move forward in a way that allows healing to begin in earnest.
Sasha Calle and Lio Mehiel in ‘In The Summers’ (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Watching this father ruin his relationship with his daughters is alternately heartbreaking and infuriating. But writer/director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio doesn’t ask audiences to judge Vicente and instead seeks to show that his quest for redemption, though a long time coming, is possible as long as it’s genuine.
Lacorazza Samudio does a terrific job of setting up the relationship between Vicente and his girls in part one, followed by the destruction of that relationship as Vicente plunges deeper into his addiction in parts two and three. By the time part four arrives, 20 years have passed since the family began their summertime visits. During those years, Vicente loses himself to substance abuse, and his self-loathing for his own cowardice and weakness is clear in the way he interacts with his daughters. It’s also clear in the appearance of his backyard pool.
In the Summers might be the only film in history that uses the condition of a backyard swimming pool to reflect not just the passage of time but the lead character’s mental state. Vicente’s arc is reflected in the pool’s upkeep, going from sparkling, clean, and inviting to filthy and neglected. When Vicente finally faces up to his demons, the pool is emptied of trash and becomes a safe harbor for Eva and Violeta’s new stepsister.
René Pérez Joglar anchors the film as Vicente, but the entire ensemble masterfully handle the complex characters filmmaker Lacorazza has created. Eva and Violeta are played by Luciana Elisa Quinonez and Dreya Castillo as children, by Allison Salinas and Kimaya Thais as adolescents, and by Sasha Calle and Lio Mehiel as adults. The foundation established by Quinonez and Castillo is built upon and expanded with the actors who follow, with Calle and Mehiel completing Vicente’s daughters’ growth into mature, intelligent adults who have not only survived but thrived.
In the Summers took home the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Competition and the Directing Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Both awards were well-deserved, and Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio – who was inspired by her experiences with her father and sister – establishes herself as a filmmaker to watch with this auspicious debut.
Oxygen True Crime’sSelena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them revisits the murder of Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez by her fan club president and boutiques manager Yolanda Saldivar. The two-part limited series features new interviews with the convicted murderer who’ll be up for parole next year, as well as interviews with investigators and law enforcement personnel involved in the case.
Saldivar was found guilty of shooting the popular singer during a confrontation over financial discrepancies. (Selena believed Saldívar embezzled money from her businesses.) The jury convicted Saldivar of first-degree murder on October 23, 1995 and she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 30 years.
Part one of the two-part series will premiere on February 17, 2024 at 8pm ET/PT. Part two follows on February 18th at 7pm ET/PT.
Poster for Oxygen True Crime’s ‘Selena & Yolanda’
Oxygen True Crime released this description of the limited series:
“Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them marks the first time in over two decades that Saldivar has been interviewed extensively in English and on camera. In a series of wide-ranging interviews from prison, Saldivar details her working relationship and friendship with Selena, and she’s not alone. For the first time, members of Yolanda’s family discuss the two women and share never-before-revealed documents and recordings in an effort to show there was more to the tragedy than the public knows.
The investigation that followed Selena’s killing revealed that Saldivar was a close friend of Selena’s, ran her fan club, and was accused of stealing from the singer’s businesses. Some of those who were on the scene in Corpus Christi, Texas and who investigated Saldivar, challenge the new information presented and remain steadfast in their determination that she was rightfully convicted. The hostage negotiator who spent nine hours on the phone with Saldivar after she shot Selena, the Corpus Christi Police Department detectives who were on the scene, the prosecutors who put Saldivar on trial, and journalists who cover Selena and Latinx culture are among those who provide their unique insight on the tragedy and Selena’s legacy.”
Expedition X returns for a new season on February 7, 2024, and on February 11th, animal lovers will be treated to the 20th edition of Puppy Bowl featuring adorable dogs looking for their forever homes. Discovery Channel and Animal Planet’s February 2024 lineup also includes the premiere of the 17th season of the survival series Naked and Afraid.
Zak Bagans and his crew of paranormal investigators take a look back at their previous investigations with season three of Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room. And Sarah Silverman provides a special preview of Stupid Pet Tricks.
Expedition X New Season Debuts on Discovery Channel on Wednesday, February 7 at 9pm ET/PT
Phil and Jess head out on bigger and crazier adventures in their quest to explain the unexplained. Starting with a haunted forest in Transylvania where Josh Gates once spent the most terrifying night of his life, then to Fukushima, Japan, the site of one of the world’s biggest nuclear disasters, and all the way to the most haunted guest house in America—the paranormal activity they see might just be more frightening than ever.
Coby from ‘Puppy Bowl XX’ (Photo Courtesy of Animal Planet)
Puppy Bowl XX Debuts on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, truTV, and TBS on Sunday, February 11, 2pm ET/11am PT
Puppy Bowl, the original and longest running call-to-adoption television event, returns for a 20th year! The three-hour television matchup will be the biggest yet, featuring 131 puppies, 73 shelters and rescues across 36 states and territories. Inspiring adoption stories will highlight the dedication and incredible work of rescues and shelters, as puppies from Team Ruff and Team Fluff take to the gridiron in the Puppy Bowl XX stadium to win the WAYFAIR® “Lombarky” trophy and find their forever homes.
Special Preview of TBS’ Stupid Pet Tricks on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, truTV, and TBS, 5pm ET/ 2pm PT
Hosted by comedian and actress Sarah Silverman, TBS’ new series is a reimagining of the iconic David Letterman segment, the half-hour variety show retains all the original charm, silly fun, and appreciation for the bond between humans and their animal friends.
Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room New Season Debuts on Discovery Channel on Wednesday, February 14, 10pm ET/PT
Zak Bagans and the Ghost Adventures crew Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley and Jay Wasley are back for season three of Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room. In this series Zak and his fellow paranormal investigators watch back some of their favorite episodes from past seasons, commenting on the scariest, funniest and most exciting moments from those episodes.
Naked and Afraid New Season Debuts on Discovery Channel on Sunday, February 18, 8pm ET/PT
Man-eating crocodiles, aggressive hippos, and toxic frogs await a new group of survivalists in the all-new season of Naked and Afraid. Throughout the series, the participants must overcome their personal struggles and face the raw brutality of nature without easy access to food, water, or clothing.
Season two of CBS’s Fire Country finds Bode, after taking the fall for Freddy, back in prison and having a rough time of it. Season two episode one, “Something’s Coming,” will air on Friday, February 16, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT.
Max Thieriot leads the cast as Bode, Billy Burke plays Vince, Kevin Alejandro is Manny, and Diane Farr is Sharon. Stephanie Arcila stars as Gabriela, Jordan Calloway is Jake, and Jules Latimer plays Eve.
“Something’s Coming” Plot: Bode is back in prison where he receives some shocking news. Meanwhile, the station 42 crew responds to a massive earthquake that rocks Edgewater to its core. Season two episode one was written by Tia Napolitano and directed by Bill Purple.
Fire Country stars Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence by joining a prison release firefighting program in Northern California, where he and other inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to extinguish massive, unpredictable wildfires across the region. It’s a high-risk, high-reward assignment, and the heat is turned up when Bode is assigned to the program in his rural hometown, where he was once a golden all-American son until his troubles began.
Five years ago, Bode burned down everything in his life, leaving town with a big secret. Now he’s back, with the rap sheet of a criminal and the audacity to believe in a chance for redemption with Cal Fire.
