CBS announces ‘NCIS: Origins’ (Photos L-R: Brian Bowen Smith/CBS; Courtesy: Courtney Harmon; Courtesy: Joanna DeGeneres; Courtesy: David J. North)
Mark Harmon is returning to the NCIS franchise as narrator and executive producer of NCIS: Origins. CBS has given the show, which will explore Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ younger years, a straight-to-series order.
NCIS fans can expect the origin story to premiere as part of the 2024-2025 primetime season.
“The character of Gibbs has been an important part of my life for 20 years, both in watching my father craft the role and previously having the honor to play young Gibbs myself,” stated executive producer Sean Harmon. “I always felt there was a tale worth telling about his earlier years, so I am thrilled to be stepping into a producing role alongside Gina, David, and my dad as we tell this story and reveal a new side of this beloved character.”
In addition to Mark and Sean Harmon, the behind-the-scenes team will include David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal as executive producers, writers, and co-showrunners. North currently handles co-showrunner and executive producer duties on NCIS.
CBS offered this description of the newest addition to the NCIS franchise:
“NCIS: Origins begins in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS and follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, narrated by Mark Harmon. In the series, Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.”
“We’re thrilled to be bringing this new chapter to life along with Mark and Sean Harmon,” said executive producers and co-showrunners Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North. “This really is the making of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. And even the most dedicated NCIS fans will discover that they don’t know the whole story.”
Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, said, “We are elated and honored to continue the expansion of the NCIS universe in such a unique and unexpected way. Viewers can look forward to Mark Harmon returning to CBS to narrate the complex and mysterious backstory of Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ early years in NCIS: Origins, which will build on the rich legacy of this character while reintroducing fan-favorite characters and meeting new ones.”
This Is Us‘ Justin Hartley returns to primetime with the lead role in CBS’s new drama Tracker. Based on Jeffery Deaver’s The Never Game, Tracker kicks off with episode one – “Klamath Falls” – directed by This Is Us‘ Ken Olin from a script by Ben H. Winters. Episode one airs on Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 10pm ET/PT after Super Bowl LVIII.
Justin Hartley stars as Colter Shaw, Fiona Rene plays Reenie Greene, and Robin Weigert is Teddi. Abby McEnany plays Velma and Eric Graise is Bobby Exley. New season one episodes will air on Sundays at 9pm ET/PT.
“Klamath Falls” Plot: Justin Hartley stars as Colter Shaw, a lone-wolf survivalist who roams the country as a reward seeker, using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family. In the premiere episode, Colter’s handlers, Velma (McEnany) and Teddi (Weigert) Bruin, send him to Klamath Falls, Ore., to investigate the disappearance of 14-year-old Gil Brown who is suspected to have been taken by his birth dad with a criminal background.
While pursuing a lead at a local burger joint based on intel from tech genius Bobby Exley (Graise), Colter finds himself in some trouble of his own, requiring help from legal mind Reenie Greene (Rene).
Haley Lu Richardson and Jennifer Coolidge in ‘The White Lotus’ season 2 (Photograph by Courtesy of HBO)
It appears hopes have been dashed for those holding on to the belief that somehow Jennifer Coolidge survived HBO’s The White Lotus season two and will return for season three. Granted, the odds were against anything other than a Coolidge flashback.
The official casting announcement for season three confirms Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, and Tayme Thapthimthong will lead the cast of the critically acclaimed, Emmy winning series. In keeping with the previous two seasons, season three will find the new cast visiting a different White Lotus resort property.
The announcement also confirmed filming will take place in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok beginning next month.
“We are pleased to partner with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to execute Mike’s creative vision and showcase all that the beautiful country of Thailand has to offer as the next group of guests check in to the White Lotus,” stated Janet Graham Borba, EVP of Production, HBO & Max.
Mike White created The White Lotus and serves as writer, director, and executive producer. David Bernad and Mark Kamine also executive produce.
“We are honored to have Amazing Thailand featured as the filming location for the highly anticipated upcoming season of The White Lotus. The kingdom’s exotic natural beauty, rich historical sites and diverse landscapes are the perfect settings to share our fascinating culture, fantastic cuisine, top-notch wellness and luxury offerings, and most importantly our people and Thai hospitality,” said Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. “Thailand has long been considered one of the world’s favorite filming locations. The White Lotus project will certainly strengthen the kingdom’s status as a preferred filming destination and a beacon of experience-based tourism, inspiring even more visitors to Amazing Thailand.”
Season one debuted in July 2021 and was set in Hawaii. The action moved to Sicily for season two, which premiered in December 2022. HBO hasn’t announced a target date for season three.
LL Cool J starts his stint as a recurring special guest star on CBS’s NCIS: Hawaii with season three episode one, reprising his role as Sam Hanna from NCIS: Los Angeles. Episode one, “Run and Gun,” was directed by Tim Andrew from a script by Jan Nash and Christopher Silber, and will air on Monday, February 12, 2024 at 10pm ET/PT.
Season three stars Vanessa Lachey as Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant, Alex Tarrant as Kai Holman, Noah Mills as Jesse Boone, and Yasmine Al-Bustami as Lucy Tara. Jason Antoon plays Ernie Malik and Tori Anderson is Kate Whistler.
“Run and Gun” Plot: After passing her medical and psych evaluations, Tennant is surprised to see Sam Hanna conducting her final interview to clear her return to work. Also, when the team discovers a breach in the U.S. Marshal’s database, Sam joins Tennant in Las Vegas to locate the hacker.
The world’s most successful television franchise continues on the seductive shores of Hawai’i as the first female Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor takes command. She and her team balance duty to family and country, investigating high-stakes crimes involving military personnel, national security, and the mysteries of the island itself.
This NCIS: Hawai’i team is a skilled mix of mainland transplants who’ve relocated to the tranquility of the Pacific and wizened locals who know their mahalo from kapu.
Wyatt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 9 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode eight ended with a gut-wrenching cliffhanger that saw Cate, May, and Lee tumbling through a rift. Episode nine, the season’s penultimate, keeps us hanging about their fate and instead opens with a flashback to a Monarch test site in Kansas, 1962, and a young Hiroshi being babysat by Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) and Bill Randa (Anders Holm).
Scratch that…it’s actually Bill who’s pulled babysitting duty for the day as Lee is about to make history by traveling into a rift via a specially constructed ship. Before leaving, Lee loans Hiroshi his pocketknife to hold onto until he returns.
Bill and Lee have grown close to Hiroshi, and Lee compliments Bill on the job he’s doing raising the boy. Lee thinks Keiko would be proud.
General Puckett (Christopher Heyerdahl) does a walk-and-talk with politicians and officers as Operation Hourglass is about to commence. He notes that space travel is still decades away but that they’re capable of traveling into “underspace” now; it’s the culmination of Monarch’s two decades of research and work.
Lee Shaw leads a team of four into the spacecraft as General Puckett proclaims this operation is a matter of national security. Plus, the future of mankind is at stake. However, the only way to enter a rift is with the appearance of a Titan. Otherwise, it’s too unstable.
Bill and Lee exchange quick salutes before Lee enters the craft. Dr. Suzuki (Leo Ashizawa) activates his Titan signal, which lures in a creature with the promise of a meal. A massive creature responds, the tunnel stabilizes, and the spacecraft drafts into the rift in the Titan’s wake.
Mere seconds later, it’s apparent there’s a problem when all the metal surrounding the launch platform folds in on itself. Anything not tied down gets caught up in a quick-forming tornado above the rift. The crew signals that they’re in distress, but no one above ground responds.
The tornado vanishes, and even Bill and Dr. Suzuki have no idea what happened to Lee and the other rift travelers.
In the aftermath of the disastrous mission, General Puckett informs Bill Randa that the DoD has taken away all of Monarch’s funding. Puckett acknowledges the DoD doesn’t understand underspace and that to the powers-that-be, it all sounds insane.
Both men believe they could have stopped Operation Hourglass, which cost them their friend, Lee.
Almost 15 minutes in, the action finally moves forward to 2015, with Kentaro (Ren Watabe) recuperating from his injuries in a hospital in Tokyo. Verdugo (Mirelly Taylor) informs him that the Kazakhstan reactor plant collapsed down on itself after Shaw imploded the rift. Tim (Joe Tippett) was injured, but Duvall saved him. He breaks the news to Kentaro that Cate, May, and Lee never made it out.
Verdugo blames the deaths and the chaos surrounding the implosion on Shaw. She also informs Kentaro there’s no further need for his assistance at Monarch. Kentaro becomes emotional, suggesting there must be something he – and/or Monarch – can do. Verdugo says the only thing left for him to do is live.
Kiersey Clemons and Kurt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 9 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
And it turns out Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) is also busy trying to just live after falling through the rift. He regains consciousness in the Titans’ underground universe, surrounded by tall creaking trees. Cate doesn’t respond when he calls her name.
May (Kiersey Clemons) also comes to in this bizarro world, and Lee knocks her out of the way just as the ground lights up with an electrical charge. Lee warns her they need to move fast, and she needs to follow exactly in his footsteps. They carefully make their way through a field of lightning, pausing in an area Lee believes is momentarily safe. Lee says that after a rift closes, an electrical charge is left behind that feels like a lethal static shock. It also affects your vision.
Lee explains he was down there once on a recon mission. He also confirms he caught Cate and that they fell together. However, he doesn’t know for sure that she’s still alive.
Lee promises to keep May safe if she does exactly what he says. Together, they set off to find Cate. Lee confesses he’s not a science guy but knows that time’s running short.
A flashback shows the moments after Lee returned from his first disastrous trip into the underspace. He’s peppered with questions while being examined but refuses to eat unless they agree to contact Bill Randa. A nurse brings him a cookie, and Lee returns her kindness by taking her hostage and demanding to see Bill.
Lee’s finally informed that Bill is dead. Oh, and 20 years have passed since Operation Hourglass. (This explains why Kurt Russell’s Lee Shaw looks so much younger than his chronological age.) The man who informs Lee of this is a grown-up Hiroshi, who still has the knife Lee handed him two decades ago before the mission into the rift.
Lee goes into shock when he realizes it’s now 1982.
Later, Hiroshi apologizes to the nurse Lee assaulted, and she understands Shaw was simply alone and terrified. Hiroshi confesses that when he was a child, Lee, Bill, and his mom promised they’d return. They didn’t, and now he’s having a difficult time accepting Lee’s back after spending so much time mourning his death.
Hiroshi works through his issues and has a chat with Lee. Lee reveals that they followed a Titan down and crashed. One crew member died upon impact. The survivors immediately began to try and contact Mission Control while also doing a recon of the landing area. Unfortunately, that was interrupted by a Titan.
Lee was pulled up through the rift in the draft of a Titan. He remembers looking up and seeing an airplane and then nothing else until he came to at the hospital. Hiroshi fills in a few details, including that he was found in the woods near the site of a shrine that marks the boundary of the living and the dead.
Hiroshi claims they found a rift inside the shrine. Lee believes Bill was right about everything, including the Titans’ world and its balance to our world. Hiroshi corrects him and says his dad was crazy. He also informs Lee that he’s being sent to a “retirement home” for further study.
Lee asks Hiroshi for help with the Titans, and Hiroshi refuses. He believes the Titans lived here for 300,000 years and it wasn’t until Lee, Bill, and Keiko disturbed them that there was any trouble between the worlds.
Ren Watabe in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 9 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Tokyo, 2015 – Kentaro’s mom helps him settle in back home, and although she tries her best to tell him he’ll get through this, Kentaro feels guilty he wasn’t with Cate when she fell into the rift. He can’t just go back to the way things were before learning about Monarch.
Kentaro’s mom says that to get through this, he must accept that he can’t go back. He needs to allow himself to feel the pain and loss. She also says that he shouldn’t listen to Verdugo and shouldn’t cut himself off from what just happened.
And speaking of Verdugo… Over at Monarch, Dr. Barnes discovers the gamma-ray bursts are signals. There’s a pattern in the bursts, and Tim believes someone is sending them a message.
A brief scene of Lee from 1982 taking medication while watching TV with his fellow retirement home residents and then an elderly Lee going through the same motions indicates decades have passed while he was locked away. He’s about to take his meds when a breaking news report gets his attention. The news shows Honolulu under attack (there’s a scene of Godzilla fighting a MUTO) and confirms the USS Saratoga has been deployed to help.
The action catches up to Lee and May still trying to find Cate, but at least May now understands what Lee’s been through over the past 50 years. Lee hopes what happened to him doesn’t happen to May and that he can get her and Cate home quickly – if they ever find Cate.
Kentaro’s looking through his dad’s office when Hiroshi walks in on him. Kentaro’s still angry at Hiroshi for deserting them, but Hiroshi’s more interested in learning why his daughter and son were together in the desert. Kentaro explains they were looking for him and thought he was dead.
Hiroshi never expected his two families to meet. He also didn’t expect Kentaro to be taking some of his files. Kentaro reveals that since Monarch won’t help him, he’s conducting his own research now into what happened at the rift. Hiroshi begs to be allowed to explain everything to Kentaro and Cate, and Kentaro breaks the news that Cate is dead.
Sobbing, Hiroshi sinks to his knees, devastated to learn Cate’s gone. Kentaro calls him a sad, lying, secret little man who caused all of this.
Anna Sawai in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 9 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Episode nine ends with Cate (Anna Sawai) finally waking up from the fall. The forest is full of weird noises when suddenly she hears a growl nearby. A Titan stalks her and breathes directly into her face from inches away. It then circles the tree she’s leaning against as if taunting its prey.
Cate crawls away on her hands and knees, and the creature comes charging after her. It’s just feet away when an arrow hits its face and causes it to turn tail and run off. Cate turns to see her savior and discovers it’s Keiko!
Carrie Preston leads the cast of CBS’s new primetime drama Elsbeth, premiering on Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 10pm ET/PT. The series centers around Elsbeth Tascioni, a character that was featured in The Good Wife and The Good Fight, and kicks off with an episode that reunites Preston with her True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer.
In addition to Carrie Preston, season one stars Wendell Pierce as Captain C.W. Wagner and Carra Patterson as Officer Kaya Blanke. Episode one was written by executive producers Robert King and Michelle King, with Robert King directing. Jonathan Tolins guides the series as showrunner and also executive produces along with Liz Glotzer.
“Carrie Preston stars as Elsbeth Tascioni, an astute but unconventional attorney who utilizes her singular point of view to make unique observations and corner brilliant criminals alongside the NYPD. After leaving her successful legal career in Chicago to tackle a new investigative role in New York City, Elsbeth finds herself jockeying with the toast of the NYPD, Captain C.W. Wagner (Pierce), a charismatic and revered leader,” reads CBS’s synopsis. “Working alongside Elsbeth is Officer Kaya Blanke (Patterson), a stoic and ethical officer who quickly develops an appreciation for Elsbeth’s insightful and offbeat ways.”
And the network released this description of the pilot episode:
“In the premiere, when a college theater student is mysteriously found dead in her high-rise New York City apartment, Elsbeth immediately suspects foul play and enters a game of wits against the victim’s popular theater director Alex Modarian (guest star Stephen Moyer) who she believes is involved. Throughout the evolution of the murder investigation, Elsbeth must balance her consent decree role with the NYPD and her uncommon methods to make her case and uncover the real killer.”
HBO’s set a January 27, 2024 premiere date for Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero. The documentary from directors directed by Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel is a behind-the-scenes look at the Grammy Award-winner’s “Long Live Montero” tour.
In addition to interviews with Lil Nas X, the documentary features his show producer Saul Levitz, manager Adam Leber, creative director/stylist Hodo Musa, lead choreographer/show director Sean Bankhead, choreography assistant Christian Owens, horse designer Margot Rada, and tour videographer Aaron Idelson. Family members Chase White, Lamarco Hill, Robert Sleepy, Tramon Hill, Mia Stafford, and Robert Stafford also participate in the documentary which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival.
“Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero captures the creative dynamo and mesmerizing star power of Lil Nas X, the groundbreaking, Grammy award-winning rapper, singer, and songwriter, as he prepares for and embarks on his first-ever headlining U.S. tour. With unparalleled access, the film follows the genre-breaking artist on a personal journey of self-investigation and discovery as he creates, rehearses, and performs nightly in front of his legions of devoted fans.
Spanning 60 days of the ‘Long Live Montero’ tour in 2022/2023, the verité-style film delves beneath the surface of Lil Nas X, a boy from Atlanta born Montero Hill, whose musical career exploded with his 2019 crossover hit ‘Old Town Road.’ Mirroring the stage show, the film is divided into three acts — Rebirth, Transformation, and Becoming — and chronicles Montero’s own odyssey as he navigates the pressures of his meteoric rise to stardom, his desire to inspire his fans and accept the naysayers, and his place within the pantheon of Black, queer icons.
Capturing this provocative performer at a transformational point in his life, Montero’s elaborate stage show transports the audience through the highs and lows of his life via his deeply personal music, while behind the scenes, the film reveals a sensitive young man still exploring his own queer identity, complicated relationships with family members, and his aspirations as a force for self-expression and acceptance. Vulnerable and raw off stage, dazzling and spectacular on stage, Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero is a testament to an artist who continues to push boundaries, transcend genres, and reshape expectations on his quest to become the truest and greatest version of himself.”
January is here. That’s the time when studios will traditionally and unceremoniously dump movies in which they don’t have a lot of confidence. That usually includes a lot of horror movies. But last year, January gave us such well-received offerings as M3GAN, Knock at the Cabin, and Skinamarink. So, what does this January have in store for us? We shall see. First up – the new Blumhouse Studios movie Night Swim.
Night Swim is about a former baseball player named Ray Waller (Overlord’s Wyatt Russell) who is suffering from Multiple Sclerosis. Along with his wife Eve (Kerry Condon from The Banshees of Inisherin) and kids Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) and Elliot (Fear the Walking Dead’s Gavin Warren), he seems to find a perfect house in which to lay low and begin his recuperation – it even has a pool so that he can do his water therapy. Soon after moving in, the family starts to experience strange happenings, all revolving around the aforementioned pool.
Forget about haunted houses, haunted forests, and even haunted cars. Night Swim is about a haunted pool. Writer/director Bryce McGuire and co-writer Rod Blackhurst adapted the screenplay from their own spooky 2014 short film of the same name. In reality, it’s not so much of an adaptation as it is an expansion. It provides a mythology to the one-scene short film. Whether or not that mythology is necessary is the question.
The set-up and first act of Night Swim are terrific. The audience cares about the characters and is engaged in what is happening to them. And for the most part, it’s a fairly creative little supernatural tale. For as corny as a movie about a haunted pool sounds, Night Swim pulls it off. At least, for a while it does. Once the movie gets rolling and the family (and the audience) starts to figure out what’s going on, it loses most of the momentum that it has been building up for the first half.
Unsurprisingly, Night Swim is an aesthetically well-made movie. There’s some great underwater camera work from cinematographer Charlie Sarroff (Smile, Relic), a nail-biting score from composer Mark Korven (The Witch, The Black Phone), and a subtle sound design by P.K. Hooker (Five Nights at Freddy’s, Insidious: The Red Door) and his team, all of which helps to build tension in the way that only a Blumhouse production can do it. The suspense doesn’t always pay off with a good scare, but boy does it build itself up well.
Story-wise, Night Swim is full of problems. There are plenty of unexplored subplots, untied loose ends, and unforgivable plot holes that leave the audience scratching its head. It feels as if either the concept of the short film wasn’t ambitious enough to support a feature on its own, or that the feature is too ambitious to do justice to the simple-yet-terrifying short film. Either way, Night Swim is let down by its story. Even by horror movie standards, the decisions made and the events that occur are, in a word, silly.
Night Swim is the epitome of a January release. It’s serviceable in the moment, but it will be forgotten by summer. And it may be better that way.
GRADE: C
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language, terror, and some violent content
Running Time: 1 hour 38 minutes
Release Date: January 5, 2024
Studio: Universal Pictures
Can love raise the dead? Apparently, it’s possible in the undead romantic comedy Lisa Frankenstein. The official trailer for the February 9, 2024 release shows a teenager falling hard for a boy who should be unattainable – given that he’s a corpse.
Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies) stars as the girl with the twisted crush, and Riverdale‘s Cole Sprouse plays her decaying love interest. The cast also includes Liza Soberano (Make It With You), Henry Eikenberry (The Crowded Room), Joe Chrest (Stranger Things), and Carla Gugino (The Fall of the House of Usher). Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (Jennifer’s Body) dives back into the horror genre with Lisa Frankenstein, and Zelda Williams (daughter of Robin Williams) makes her feature film directorial debut with the project.
“A coming of RAGE love story from acclaimed writer Diablo Cody about a misunderstood teenager and her high school crush, who happens to be a handsome corpse,” reads Focus Features’ synopsis. “After a set of playfully horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a murderous journey to find love, happiness… and a few missing body parts along the way.”
Gina Rodriguez (Not Dead Yet), Damon Wayans Jr (The Harder They Fall), and Tom Ellis (Lucifer) lead the cast of Netflix’s upcoming romantic comedy Players. The streaming service just released the first batch of photos from the rom-com that takes its name from a group of friends who refuse to become emotionally involved in relationships.
The cast also includes Joel Courtney (The Kissing Booth), Augustus Prew (The Morning Show), Liza Koshy (Work It), Ego Nwodim (Saturday Night Live), and Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel).
“New York sportswriter Mack (Rodriguez) has spent years devising successful hook-up ‘plays’ with best friend Adam (Wayans Jr.) and their crew. While it has led to countless one-night stands over the years, following their playbook comes with a strict set of ground rules — chief among them: you can’t build a relationship from a play,” reads Netflix’s synopsis. “When Mack unexpectedly falls for her latest target, charming war correspondent Nick (Ellis), she begins to rethink the game entirely. As the lines between work, fun, friendship, and romance begin to blur, Mack must learn what it takes to go from simply scoring to playing for keeps.”
Trish Sie (Sitting in Bars with Cake, Pitch Perfect 3) directed from a screenplay by Whit Anderson. Ross M. Dinerstein, Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, and Ryan Christians served as producers, with Ross Girard, Sophia Lin, Gina Rodriguez, and Molly Breeskin executive producing.
