Helen’s continuing to adjust to her new bizarre secret life on CBS’s True Lies season one episode three. Directed by Anna Mastro from a script by Matt Nix, episode three – “Separate Pairs” – will air on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT.
Steve Howey stars as Harry and Ginger Gonzaga stars as Helen. The season one cast also includes Erica Hernandez as Maria, Omar Miller as Gib, Mike O’Gorman as Luther, Annabella Didion as Dana, and Lucas Jaye as Jake.
“Separate Pairs” Plot: Henry and Helen go undercover as billionaires when the Omega Sector team gets an opportunity to bring down a weapons dealer. Helen struggles to separate her home and new work life.
The Season One Plot:True Lies follows Harry Tasker (Howey), a first-class international spy for U.S. intelligence agency Omega Sector, and his wife, Helen (Gonzaga), a language professor bored with her daily routine, who makes the shocking discovery that her seemingly ordinary husband is leading an extraordinary double life.
With the secret out, Omega recruits Helen, who impresses everyone with her formidable skills (thanks to Tae Bo and yoga), and she joins Harry and his team of top-notch operatives, embarking on covert missions around the globe and an exhilarating life of danger and adventure – all while keeping their adventures a secret from their children. The renewed bond between them adds much-needed sizzle to the Taskers’ emotionally distant marriage and upends the top-secret world of Omega Sector.
But, as Harry says, if you’re going to save the world, you might as well do it for the ones you love.
The Scream franchise was meta before meta was cool. And with Scream 6, one of the franchise’s best entries, it manages to out-meta itself in surprisingly fresh ways – especially given that the first Scream arrived way, way back in 1996. That’s 27 years and four dozen-ish Ghostface kills ago.
Look, no one cares about Scream reviews. Is there a single fan who isn’t going to check out a sequel based on what a critic writes? The odds of finding someone who does that are about the same as the odds of the next Ghostface turning pacifist.
So, with that in mind, this review is going to be short, simple, and completely spoiler-free.
2022’s Scream stars Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Mason Gooding reprise their roles as Sam, Tara, and twins Mindy and Chad. The foursome moves to New York only to discover that putting thousands of miles between them and Woodsboro doesn’t stop Ghostface from hunting them down. All it does is give the mask-wearing psycho a nifty new location to conduct his/her slash-and-dash killing spree.
And holy cannoli, Ghostface takes advantage of everything NY has to offer.
Mindy lays out the basic Scream/Stab rules but then throws in a few new ones based on sequels, prequels, reboots, rip-offs, etc., etc., etc. Most notably, Mindy reminds everyone that legacy characters are no longer off-limits. Dun dun duuun! Anyone can die.
Any good Scream fan knows not to count out a character just because they’ve been stabbed dozens of times. Also, Scream fans know not to assume a gaping chest wound is fatal. With those rules in place, Scream 6 lets its freak flag fly and relishes in gory, gruesome, and gloriously entertaining mayhem.
Unlike some Screams, Scream VI or 6 – for those who despise Roman numerals – actually manages to keep things scary for the full length of this iteration of Ghostface’s reign. And it’s not just jump-scares and nervous laughter, there’s full-on horror and tension in director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s second film of the franchise.
The core four are terrific, and the acting throughout is of a higher caliber than most slasher films. Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers provides the requisite connection to Scream’s history, and Hayden Panettiere’s return helps fuel the badass women vibe.
Scream 6 is not just a worthy addition to the beloved horror franchise. I’d place it in the top three offerings of all Scream films, right after the original Scream and 1997’s Scream 2.
GRADE: B+
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, brief drug use, and strong bloody violence
The Cure announced they’ve added a North American leg to their “Songs of a Lost World” tour. The band will kick off their North American dates on May 10, 2023 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. They’ll hit cities including Dallas, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Atlanta before wrapping up on July 1st in Miami.
The Cure’s just-announced leg includes 30 dates spread out over May and July. The Twilight Sad will join The Cure as the opening act on all North American shows.
Tickets will be available via Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Sale (and we all know just how well that worked for Taylor Swift). The sale begins on Wednesday, March 15 and you’ll need to register to access the site. Per The Cure: “We have priced tickets to benefit fans and our efforts to block scalpers and limited inflated resale prices are being supported by our ticketing partners.”
With the exception of a few Hollywood Bowl charity seats, there will not be any “platinum” or “dynamically priced” tickets on this tour.
The Cure North American Tour:
MAY ’23
10 NEW ORLEANS, LA SMOOTHIE KING CENTER
12 HOUSTON, TX TOYOTA CENTER
13 DALLAS, TX DOS EQUIS PAVILION
14 AUSTIN, TX MOODY CENTER
16 ALBUQUERQUE, NM ISLETA AMPHITHEATER
18 PHOENIX, AZ DESERT DIAMOND ARENA
20 SAN DIEGO, CA NICU AMPHITHEATRE
23 LOS ANGELES, CA HOLLYWOOD BOWL
24 LOS ANGELES, CA HOLLYWOOD BOWL
25 LOS ANGELES, CA HOLLYWOOD BOWL
27 SAN FRANCISCO, CA SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE
JUNE ’23
01 SEATTLE, WA CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA
02 VANCOUVER, BC ROGERS ARENA
04 SALT LAKE CITY, UT VIVINT SMART HOME ARENA
06 DENVER, CO FIDDLER’S GREEN AMPHITHEATRE
08 MINNEAPOLIS ST. PAUL, MN XCEL ENERGY CENTER
10 CHICAGO, IL UNITED CENTER
11 CLEVELAND, OH BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER
13 DETROIT, MI PINE KNOB MUSIC THEATRE
14 TORONTO, ON BUDWEISER STAGE
16 MONTREAL, QC QC BELL CENTRE
18 BOSTON, MA XFINITY CENTER
20 NEW YORK, NY MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
21 NEW YORK, NY MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
22 NEW YORK, NY MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
24 PHILADELPHIA, PA WELLS FARGO CENTER
25 COLUMBIA, MD MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION
27 ATLANTA, GA STATE FARM ARENA
29 TAMPA, FL AMALIE ARENA
It’s happening, people! Maggie is ready to deliver on ABC’s A Million Little Things season five episode six. “mic drop” will air on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT.
The cast includes David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Kim, and James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez. Stephanie Szostak is Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon is Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene is Sophie Dixon, and Chance Hurstfield is Danny Dixon.
“mic drop” Plot: With the impending arrival of their baby, Maggie wraps things up at work while the guys help Gary set up the nursery. Regina’s efforts to help Dustin cause a rift with Rome. Katherine plans a surprise for Greta’s birthday.
Allison Miller and James Roday Rodriguez in ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode 6 (ABC/Jeff Petry)
The Season 5 Plot:
As Rome Howard says, “Life isn’t just about the moments, it’s about who you share them with.” And as the fifth and final season of the beloved ABC drama series A Million Little Things unfolds, we’ll watch through laughter and tears as we bring this incredible journey to its conclusion. Along the way, we’ll explore the depths of friendship, love, and sorrow as we bid this special family of friends goodbye, once again proving that friendship really is a million little things.
Cameron Esposito in season 5 episode 6 (ABC/Darko Sikman)James Roday Rodriguez and Romany Malco in season 5 episode 6 (ABC/Jeff Petry)Colin in season 5 episode 6 (ABC/Jeff Petry)David Giuntoli and Romany Malco in season 5 episode 6 (ABC/Jeff Petry)Cameron Esposito and Grace Park in season 5 episode 6 (ABC/Darko Sikman)David Giuntoli in season 5 episode 6 (ABC/Darko Sikman)Grace Park and Cameron Esposito in the “mic drop” episode (ABC/Darko Sikman)
Mr. Anderson’s stalking behavior places him on the suspect list as Paramount+’s School Spirits episode three begins. He refuses to tell Simon (Kristian Flores) why he was lurking in the auto shop, and Simon’s spidey sense is tingling like crazy.
Maddie (Peyton List), on the other hand, refuses to consider Mr. Anderson a suspect. He bent over backward to help her out when she was alive and seemed to genuinely care about her, not just as a teacher but as a human being.
Angry mom Sandra heads to Sheriff Baxter’s house and demands to know why he’s called off the searches and only has one deputy assigned to Maddie’s case. She believes it’s because he’s worried about his upcoming election.
Xavier (Spencer Macpherson) heads off to school while at Split River High, Simon and Maddie debate Mr. Anderson’s status on the suspect list. Mr. Anderson has booted Xavier from Simon’s #1 spot, but Maddie insists he isn’t capable of her murder.
Simon’s gotten better at pretending to be on the phone, but he still finds himself apologizing to whoever’s in earshot when he says something weird out loud. Maddie reveals she’s locating new spots for them to talk by lingering in an area and checking to see if Simon notices her. The bus stop is the newest addition to the “Simon can see dead people” locations list.
Maddie promises she won’t check him out in the bathroom.
A flashback reveals a little more about Maddie and Mr. Anderson’s relationship. He’s a good listener and understands more than most teachers about what she’s going through with her mom. He also had an alcoholic parent and empathizes with her situation.
Back to current events and Xavier’s not welcomed back to school with open arms.
Simon asks Nicole (Kiara Pichardo) if she thinks it’s weird Mr. Anderson gave Maddie his number, and she’s not nearly as suspicious as he is. Nicole mentions that it looks like Mr. Anderson sleeps in his car, and Simon drags her along to distract Mr. Anderson while he searches the teacher’s desk for his keys.
Maddie attends a therapy session and since she’s a little down, Mr. Martin suggests a field day. “Everybody needs exercise, and as you’ll come to learn, we ghosts occasionally need to exorcise a few demons too,” he says to assorted cheers and groans.
Maddie doesn’t do sports and Wally (Milo Manheim) brings up American Gladiators. No one has a clue what he’s talking about, and he chooses not to be insulted by their lack of knowledge.
Simon looks around Mr. Anderson’s filthy car and finds the phone piece in his glove compartment. He didn’t take it to the police, and Simon tells Maddie that Mr. Anderson may be trying to tamper with evidence. He’s hiding something for sure.
A flashback shows Mr. Anderson helping Maddie in the middle of the night after a car crash. Simon had no idea Mr. Anderson rescued her and is upset that she still has secrets. They get into an argument and Maddie storms off, declaring she’ll solve her murder on her own.
Wally spots her and convinces Maddie to jump behind the wheel of a golf cart and race around school. They can run over anything they want, and it doesn’t matter since the living won’t see the damage.
Wally has her drive to the athletic fields and helps her crash into barrels full of water stacked up like a pyramid. The rest of the ghosts are also wreaking havoc on the equipment, and Wally reveals field day is actually “destroy the field” day. The ghosts get all their aggression out on the equipment. Even Mr. Martin gets in on the demolition.
After going full-on Tanya Harding on school equipment, Maddie tells Charley (Nick Pugliese) she’s upset over fighting with Simon about Mr. Anderson. Charley suggests that she speak with Rhonda since an adult she trusted is the one who killed her.
Maddie does as suggested and Rhonda (Sarah Yarkin) reluctantly opens up about her death. She describes Mr. Manfredo as the nicest man she had met…until she was accepted to Berkeley. Something inside him snapped and they argued about her leaving town. He murdered her and ultimately died in prison.
Elsewhere, Nicole freaks out when Maddie likes one of her photos. She immediately texts Simon and tells him she thinks she knows where Maddie is.
Nicole races over to an old, deserted factory full of graffiti. She calls out for Maddie but, of course, there isn’t any response. She looks out the window to the view in the photo Maddie liked and remembers when she and Maddie first found this cool hangout place. They both added their own graffiti to the building, and Maddie couldn’t stop praising Nicole’s artistic skills. Maddie was sure Nicole’s going to become a great artist.
Nicole is stunned when Xavier shows up and claims not to have any idea what she’s talking about when she brings up Maddie liking a photo. She thinks Xavier lured her to this secluded place to kill her – like he killed Maddie!
Xavier finally admits he followed her because he thought she found a clue. That still doesn’t explain who liked the photo using Maddie’s account. Xavier suggests it might have been Maddie’s mom using Maddie’s laptop.
Nicole and Xavier have a heart-to-heart conversation, and Nicole’s convinced they need to prove Maddie’s still alive to get everyone to stop talking crap. They agree to team up to search.
Simon confronts Mr. Anderson about the piece of Maddie’s phone, and Mr. Anderson confesses he doesn’t trust the people in charge. He’s not taking the piece to the police until he knows who he can trust.
Rhonda’s description of her death gives Maddie an idea. She looks through Rhonda’s yearbook and discovers Ms. Fields’s room – where she can talk to Simon – is where Rhonda died. So that means she can speak to Simon any place there’s been a death at the school.
Simon realizes that when the custodian told him the school has scars, he must have been referring to the multiple deaths on campus.
Maddie apologizes for how she acted earlier and admits he may be right about Mr. Anderson. She may have had a blind spot about him since he was her favorite teacher. Maddie thinks they should look around his classroom for any potential clues now that they’re a team again.
While searching, Simon asks why she didn’t call him about the car accident. She begs him to let it go and he agrees, but then she tells him the truth anyway. She didn’t crash the car; her mom did. Mr. Anderson helped her cover it up. Simon understands why she didn’t say anything.
They hear Mr. Anderson approach and Simon hides. Actually, so does Maddie, even though she doesn’t need to. Simon realizes that and as Mr. Anderson’s pacing while talking on the phone, Maddie leaves her hiding place so she can hear the conversation.
Meanwhile, Nicole, Xavier, and Maddie’s mom head out into the dark, scary woods to search for Maddie, armed with bear mace and flashlights. Nicole finds Maddie’s ticket to Night of the Living Dead, which has a big shoeprint on it. Sandra confirms it matches Maddie’s boots.
Mr. Anderson’s engaged in a heated conversation with someone. “You know what I shouldn’t have done? I shouldn’t have given Maddie the f**king money!” snarls a clearly frustrated Mr. Anderson.
Maddie has no idea what he’s talking about and claims she never asked him for cash. Simon points out Mr. Anderson thinks she did and maybe that’s why he killed her. Maddie spots something that looks off. It turns out Mr. Anderson has a secret compartment in the wall and inside is, as Maddie describes it, “a sh*tload of cash.”
Paramount+’s School Spirits episode two picks up with Maddie (Peyton List) shocked that Simon (Kristian Flores) can see her. Charley (Nick Pugliese) is equally surprised and says, “Holy f**k,” after witnessing the exchange. (Simon can’t see Charley, just Maddie.)
Being able to talk to the living has never happened before in the history of Split River High School. All three have a million questions, and Maddie immediately clears up the mystery of her phone. Simon doesn’t understand why Xavier was texting Claire, and Maddie explains they were secretly hooking up.
Nicole (Kiara Pichardo) barges in and can’t see Maddie. Simon doesn’t admit he’s talking to a ghost, and Maddie prompts Simon to go with Nicole to search for her body because they all need answers.
As Simon’s leaving the classroom, he turns back but can no longer see Maddie. Maddie’s confused, but Charley isn’t any help since this is brand-new territory. Charley thinks it might have been just a one-time thing.
Maddie runs outside to join the search party, hits the property line, and is sent sprawling back into the boiler room.
Charley suggests she keeps the fact she can talk to Simon to herself for now. The other ghosts might try and make her into a messenger service.
Over at the Baxter house, Xavier’s dad thinks his son should stay home from school. Xavier (Spencer Macpherson) believes that will make him look guilty. Sheriff Baxter confirms the DNA results are in and it’s definitely Maddie’s blood in the boiler room.
Meanwhile, the ghost support group meets and we learn another Split River High School ghost rule. The dead can eat food and drink.
Maddie interrupts their argument about food and asks if anyone’s talked to a living person. Charley tries to change the subject, and Mr. Martin (Josh Zuckerman) believes Maddie needs to start trying to let go. He thinks she should write her obituary, but Maddie thinks death is a good excuse not to do homework.
A janitor suggests to Simon that they should look under desks rather than in dark, scary places outside.
Xavier ghosts Claire.
Mr. Martin finds Maddie alone and looking out toward the water tower. He still insists she should try writing her obituary, and Maddie confesses she’s not looking for closure. She wants to continue investigating her death, and she’s worried about how her mom is taking her disappearance. It will probably break her.
The following morning, Maddie wakes up with Rhonda (Sarah Yarkin) in the teachers’ break room as the teachers arrive for school. Rhonda loves this time of day since there’s lots of gossip and juicy stories. Maddie learns from the teachers that her DNA matches the boiler room blood stains. The teachers seem to genuinely miss Maddie, but Rhonda suggests they’ll be over it in a week. Maddie’s adamant that she won’t be turned into a footnote.
“Simon wouldn’t let them,” says Maddie, rushing out of the room.
Xavier follows his dad’s orders and stays home. He also continues to ghost Claire.
Over in the cafeteria, Nicole (Kiara Pichardo) momentarily surprises Simon by talking about Maddie popping up out of nowhere. However, it turns out she’s just talking about in photos – not in ghost form. Nicole’s hanging onto the idea that Maddie’s still alive. In fact, she’s going to buy her a ticket for HorrorCon that weekend. Maddie would never miss a chance to listen to the director of The Babadook. (Maddie has excellent taste in horror.)
Maddie rushes into the cafeteria and Simon’s still the only person who can see her. He hurries away from Nicole at the table, and to everyone in the cafeteria, it appears as if he’s talking to himself. Maddie has him take out his phone so it doesn’t look weird.
Maddie admits it’s possible Xavier killed her, and Simon’s happy she’s finally come around to his way of thinking. She still doesn’t remember much from that day, and Simon fills in one gap in her memory. Her mom never found her when she came to school to see her on the day of her murder.
Maddie has a flashback to lying on the boiler room floor with her own blood dripping off the boiler onto her face. In the flashback, she stands up and looks at the blood and then has a vision of walking through the hallway, trying to talk to people, but no one responds.
Simon narrows the time frame down to between her leaving study hall (when she saw Xavier in his truck) and 8th period. Simon’s sure it was Xavier, and maybe Claire helped him – or maybe he killed Maddie to prove to Claire he loved her. Simon recalls Xavier skipped classes and wasn’t in 8th period.
They need to find some actual evidence.
Claire shows up uninvited at Xavier’s home, and he explains he can’t even look at his phone. It’ll look bad if anyone knows that she’s visiting him, and he confesses he’s scared of them finding Maddie’s body.
“Hey, we’re going to be fine,” says Claire. Xavier doesn’t respond. (Xavier + Claire = the killers? It’s looking that way.)
Simon searches Xavier’s locker and drawers at school and doesn’t find anything.
Sheriff Baxter arrives home with the news Maddie’s phone’s empty, so maybe it’s not actually her phone. Xavier’s dad wonders if his son’s keeping secrets and knows something about why this phone has nothing on it. He’s working hard to protect his son and needs him to tell the complete truth before things escalate.
Charley and Maddie watch the janitor clean her blood off the boiler. Maddie’s confused why Simon can only see or hear her in certain locations around school.
Later that day, Maddie rushes into Ms. Fields’ classroom and tells Simon the cops are in Principal Hartman’s office and have figured out it wasn’t really her phone. Simon requests a restroom break and meets Maddie in the old auto shop where Xavier used to hang out. Simon glances around and describes the auto shop as a perfect place to dump a body.
Maddie and Simon look for clues while discussing Maddie’s attraction to Xavier. Maddie has a flashback of making out with Xavier in an old car and being freaked out by a rat. Even though she asked him not to, Xavier dropped a large brick on the rat and killed it – while laughing.
Simon finds pieces of the back of what’s most likely Maddie’s real phone on the floor. They take a break from the old auto shop to get coffee, and Maddie thinks Simon should call the store and get her phone’s serial number.
Mr. Anderson (Patrick Gilmore) joins them and assures Simon that he won’t give up hope that Maddie’s still alive. He also reveals Maddie’s final essay blew him away. Maddie thinks Simon should give him the phone parts because he’s the only person they can trust.
Simon’s reluctant but finally agrees and shows Mr. Anderson the parts.
Rhonda, Wally (Milo Manheim), and Charley hang out by the school’s pool during swim practice. Maddie joins them and stares as Claire helps coach. They debate whether Claire killed Maddie on her own or did it with Xavier.
Maddie’s barely listening to their conversation and is fixated on Claire. Suddenly a swimmer’s in trouble and Claire dives in without hesitating to save her. It looks like the ghost crew will expand by one for a second, but Claire performs CPR and revives the girl.
Officers show up at school with search dogs to sniff around the football field. Simon watches it go down from Mr. Anderson’s class and thinks it’s just for show. They won’t find anything.
An officer and a dog arrive in the classroom and the dog reacts to something on Mr. Anderson’s desk. Anderson claims it’s Maddie’s essay that the dog smells and says nothing about any phone parts.
Xavier visits Maddie’s mom, Sandra, and confesses that he hurt Maddie by lying to her. But he denies having anything to do with her disappearance. He asks if Sandra has Maddie’s phone and informs her the police have a phone, but it’s not Maddie’s.
Simon tells Maddie he thinks Xavier’s father is covering up for Xavier and Claire. He also believes the dogs did a very superficial search, and the boiler room was cleaned up way too quickly. After seeing Claire save that girl, Maddie no longer believes she has it in her to kill someone.
Charley continues to hide that Maddie can speak to the living, even though Mr. Martin appears to be catching on.
Maddie and Simon check out the old auto shop late at night, searching for more clues. Maddie seems to have changed her mind about Xavier’s involvement, and Simon warns her she needs to see people for who they really are.
They find another piece of the phone on the ground and as Simon bends over to retrieve it, Mr. Anderson sneaks up behind him. Mr. Anderson thinks Simon should let the people in charge figure out what happened to Maddie.
Mr. Anderson is now vying for the top spot on the suspect list.
Maddie’s life was cut short, but that’s almost not the worst part of being dead. Since she was murdered at her high school, Maddie’s stuck spending every minute of the afterlife roaming Split River High’s halls. Talk about being trapped in hell! Paramount+’s School Spirits follows Maddie (Peyton List, Cobra Kai) as she attempts to solve her own murder while learning to exist (not live) with other ghosts doomed to high school purgatory.
Episode one, “My So-Called Death,” finds Maddie watching from the bleachers as the school’s assembled to discuss her disappearance. It’s obvious Maddie wasn’t the most popular student – self-involved cheerleaders can’t even remember her name – but at least her two BFFs and boyfriend are upset that she’s gone.
The cheerleaders bust out in an inappropriate routine, given the circumstances, which they end by dedicating to “Maggie.”
The assembly does, however, serve a purpose. The first clues are dropped that a substantial amount of blood was found in the boiler room and that Maddie’s phone is still on campus.
Charley (Nick Pugliese), a super helpful fellow ghost, is Maddie’s mentor and reminds her she can’t be seen or heard. He also suggests her body will be discovered soon and she’ll go from missing person to murder victim.
Maddie’s confused about what’s expected of her and thinks it’s possible she’s actually in a coma. She wills herself to wake up, but Charley quashes that dream. For all the trapped spirits, high school has gone from just feeling like an eternity to an actual eternity.
Charley convinces a reluctant Maddie to sit through a group therapy session. Among the ghosts she’ll be hanging out with for maybe eternity are Rhonda (Sarah Yarkin), a pretty lollipop-sucking teen who died in the ’60s and is into Kerouac and confrontation; Wally Clark (Milo Manheim), a class of ’84 jock who died during a football game; and Mr. Martin (Josh Zuckerman), the leader of the Split River High Afterlife Support Group.
Maddie confesses that all she can remember is that she was ditching study hall and now she’s dead. She freaks out when she learns she’s the first among them who can’t remember her death.
A flashback introduces her boyfriend, Xavier (Spencer Macpherson), as well as BFF Simon (Kristian Flores), who disagrees that there needs to be a remake of Carrie. He and Maddie are horror fans and have plans to go to the Night of the Living Dead screening that night. Simon forgot to print his ticket and Maddie gives him a hard time.
The flashback also reveals Maddie’s mom has a drinking problem and is getting treatment, so Maddie’s home alone. The third member of the BFF group, Nicole (Kiara Pichardo), joins the discussion and they decide to throw a rager. Simon’s jazzed all three are college material and will be leaving Split River after graduating.
Maddie spots Xavier heading to his truck and checks out of study hall early to find out what he’s up to. They talk briefly and she leaves him in his truck to get high, still unsure why he didn’t join her in study hall like he promised. Back inside the school, Maddie takes another look at Xavier in his truck and notices he’s on his phone – even though he claimed it was dead.
Very curious. Xavier is now Suspect #1.
And now back to dead Maddie watching Xavier in the parking lot again. She doesn’t think he’s handling her death well and Charley reminds her the living have no clue ghosts are walking among them, so there’s no way she can help Xavier.
She can’t go back, but Charley reveals it’s possible to eventually cross over to the great beyond…whatever that may be. Charley thinks that can only happen if the ghosts stick together, which brings them to the one ghost who prefers solitude. Maddie and Charley look at Dawn (RaeAnne Boon) sitting on top of the lockers as Charley explains they don’t know how she died, but it was the ‘70s so it might have been bad acid or a cult thing.
Maddie learns another ghost rule: she can touch items and even hold them, but the living won’t see what she’s doing. (This explains why/how she can open doors to enter rooms rather than walking through walls.) She rips a missing flyer with the word “dog” rudely scrawled over her face off of a locker, but in reality, it remains right where it was.
Charley says her situation could be worse. She could be stuck in eternity marching around school like the six marching band members who died in a bus accident.
Maddie watches as Simon loses it in front of Ms. Fields’ class. He’s pissed no one cares Maddie’s missing and that not a single person signed up for the search party. Xavier’s the main target of Simon’s anger and as they argue, Simon grabs Xavier’s backpack to keep him from leaving. Maddie’s missing phone flies out!
Xavier’s hauled into Principal Hartman’s office and Maddie eavesdrops. Maddie thinks Xavier must have been using her phone to find her, but Charley suggests she needs to take a time out. She’s getting far too worked up over this.
Charley invites her to his office…otherwise known as the boys showers…where he enjoys the view. He confesses he died because he forgot his EpiPen on the one day the French fries were fried in peanut oil. Apparently, they continued to bully him even after his death, making jokes about him being a gay kid in the ‘90s who was allergic to nuts.
Simon insists Xavier’s guilty, but Nicole doesn’t want to rush to judgment. Maybe Maddie gave Xavier her phone, and maybe Maddie’s just out of town. Simon stops her to point out that Claire (Rainbow Wedell) is acting weird and waving at Xavier through the office door.
Wally tries to help Maddie figure out what’s going on and interrupts as she listens in on Nicole and Xavier’s argument. Maddie wonders if Wally was missing anything when he showed up as a ghost and he wasn’t. She reveals her backpack was with her when she died, but she doesn’t have it now.
Another flashback to Maddie’s last day shows Xavier making up an excuse to skip the Night of the Living Dead screening after receiving a text. Simon gets her attention and they watch her mom have trouble parking in the school lot. While they’re distracted, Xavier snatches her phone from her backpack.
Maddie grabs her backpack, unaware Xavier took her phone.
Ghost Maddie realizes she’s also missing her necklace.
Maddie watches Simon and Nicole confront Xavier about her phone. Simon attacks Xavier, but it’s Xavier who lands a punch to the face. After Xavier’s pulled off him, Simon’s even more convinced Xavier is the killer. (He’s looking incredibly sketchy at this point.)
Maddie demands her ghost support group help her get answers by terrorizing the living. Unfortunately, in School Spirits’ version of the afterlife, ghosts aren’t capable of that. There’s no way to interact with the living.
Maddie refuses to take no for an answer. She wasn’t ready to die and is going to search the town for answers if that’s what it takes.
And up pops another rule… If you die in the high school, you can’t leave the school grounds. Attempting to sends you back to the spot of your death. Maddie repeatedly tries to leave and each time she winds up back in the boiler room. Dawn laughs and then warns her it’s fun the first few times but on the fifth attempt, it’ll start to hurt.
Maddie doesn’t listen and tries again with the same result. She finally pauses and looks around the boiler room, examining the roped-off crime scene and a spray of her blood on the boiler. She looks closer and finds more of her blood on different parts of the machine.
While staring at the crime scene, she has a flashback of herself looking panicked and yelling stop.
She eventually gives up and returns to the support group in the gym as Rhonda’s talking about being murdered by her guidance counselor. Rhonda’s able to make jokes about it now, and Mr. Martin suggests holding onto the past can only hold a person back.
The discussion’s interrupted as students arrive in the gym for another assembly about Maddie. Even Maddie’s mom, Sandra (Maria Dizzia), is in attendance as Principal Hartman explains they’re trying to spread awareness about Maddie’s disappearance. Sandra admits Maddie would be embarrassed that she’s there but then she’s too overcome with emotion to finish her speech.
Hartman instructs the students they can each take one candle (and only one). They’ll head outside for a vigil while keeping their eyes open in case any clues to Maddie’s whereabouts have been missed.
Xavier tries to join the group but is stopped by his dad, Sheriff Baxter, and led out of the gym. He questions Xavier and Xavier confesses he had Maddie’s phone because he was protecting her. He didn’t want Maddie to learn he’s been hooking up with Claire the cheerleader, and he was trying to get rid of a text he accidentally sent to Maddie that was meant for Claire.
“I didn’t know she wasn’t coming back, dad,” says Xavier, tears in his eyes.
Maddie hears the entire conversation. Xavier’s no longer Suspect #1 in her book.
Simon stops in a classroom to speak with Ms. Fields before going to the vigil. He apologizes for acting up in class earlier in the day, and confirms he believes something bad happened to Maddie. He’s known her forever and doesn’t think she’s a person who runs.
“She has seen things. She has faced things that no one should ever have to. She doesn’t get scared. She doesn’t run,” says Simon. If she did, Simon would know.
He confesses he has no idea how he’ll survive high school without Maddie.
Students pause on their way to the vigil to take photos of Xavier in the back of his dad’s squad car.
Candles are lit as everyone stands outside thinking about Maddie. Or not.
Ms. Fields comforts Simon as he cries and then leaves him alone in the classroom to collect himself. Maddie watches her friend, who’s so obviously in pain, and as he looks out the window at the students gathered for the vigil, Maddie stands just a foot away also looking outside.
Charley watches from the doorway as Maddie turns to Simon and thanks him. Simon slowly turns his head toward her and says, “Maddie?!” She’s shocked and replies, “Simon?”
So, Maddie’s only been dead a few days and is already breaking all the Split River High School ghost rules!
Final Thoughts:
Episode one did a terrific job of introducing the key players, and Peyton List is incredibly good at moving along all the storylines and bouncing between her living friends via flashbacks and her new ghost compadres.
Season one focuses on the search for not just Maddie’s killer but also her physical body. Multiple suspects spring up early on, and the first three episodes do a decent job of tossing in some red herrings. But it’s really the interactions between Maddie and Simon, and Maddie and Charley, that make School Spirits so entertaining.
A mysterious machine suddenly appears in a store, promising to divulge to its users their true potential in the official trailer for Apple TV+’s The Big Door Prize. No one knows where it came from, but the community embraces the machine and seems to accept whatever it says.
Chris O’Dowd stars as the one person in town who questions the validity of the machine. The half-hour comedy also stars Gabrielle Dennis, Ally Maki, Josh Segarra, Damon Gupton, Crystal Fox, Djouliet Amara, and Sammy Fourlas.
Emmy Award-winner David West Read (Schitt’s Creek) created the series, based on M.O. Walsh’s novel, and serves as showrunner and executive producer. Bill Bost, Sarah Walker, and Skydance Television’s David Ellison and Dana Goldberg also executive produce. Additional executive producers include CJ ENM/Studio Dragon’s Miky Lee, Young Kyu Kim, and Hyun Park.
The Big Door Prize is produced by Skydance Television and CJ ENM/Studio Dragon.
The 10-episode season premieres at SXSW, followed by the debut of the first three episodes on Apple TV+ on March 29, 2023. The remaining new episodes will be released once a week on Wednesdays.
Chris O’Dowd in ‘The Big Door Prize’ (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
The Plot:
The Big Door Prize tells the story of a small town that is forever changed when a mysterious machine appears in the general store, promising to reveal each resident’s true life potential. Dusty Hubbard (O’Dowd), a seemingly content, cheerful family man and high school teacher, watches everyone around him reevaluate their life choices and ambitions — based on the machine’s printouts — and is forced to question whether he is truly as happy as he once thought.
While he remains skeptical of the machine, his wife, Cass (Dennis), indulges in the dream that there’s something bigger out there for her. Like many of Deerfield’s residents, the couple has lived a relatively safe, uncomplicated life until the arrival of the Morpho machine. However, all of that is about to change when the community is forced to reconcile with their unfulfilled achievements in pursuit of a better future.
Ashley insists that she’s fine in the official trailer for Starz’s Blindspotting season two. It’s been more than year and a half since season one wrapped up, and the new season will move the action forward nine months from the events at the end of the critically acclaimed first season.
Season two will premiere on April 14, 2023 with the release of the first two episodes. New episodes will arrive on subsequent Fridays at 9pm ET/PT on Starz.
Returning cast members include Emmy winner Jasmine Cephas Jones as Ashley, series co-creator Rafael Casal as Mike, Oscar winner Helen Hunt as Rainey, Jaylen Barron as Trish, and April Absynth as Jacque. Lance Holloway plays Cuddie, Candace Nicholas-Lippman is Janelle, Atticus Woodward is Sean, Benjamin Turner is Earl, and Margo Hall is Nancy.
Casal and Daveed Diggs co-created the critically acclaimed half-hour comedy and serve as executive producers. Casal is the showrunner and also directed four season two episodes. Emily Gerson Saines, Ken Lee, Tim Palen, and Snoot Entertainment’s Jess Wu Calder and Keith Calder also executive produce. In addition, Wu Calder directed two season two episodes.
The Season 2 Plot, Courtesy of Starz:
Season two picks up nine months after Ashley and Miles’s prison nuptials in the season one finale, Ashley is doing backflips to try and raise Sean on her own. She is reaching her breaking point and is taking it out on everyone around her.
Miles is adjusting to life on the inside and counting down the days before their first family visitation weekend at San Quentin. Rainey (Hunt) is doing her best to make Ashley and Sean feel at home while trying to find a way to stay connected to her son behind bars, but Ashley holds all the cards.
Trish’s (Barron) new business is flourishing, but she is dealing with jealousy issues now that her best friend and business partner Jacque (Absynth) is dating Cuddie (Holloway). Janelle (Nicholas-Lippman) is growing frustrated with Ashley’s constant need for support and has begun to miss her life back in Bali.
And then, of course, Earl (Turner), fresh out of prison himself for unintentionally breaking his probation, has moved out of Nancy’s (Hall) house and is trying to re-establish a relationship with his own family, and his past. Welcome back to the ordeal.
Ramsey is zeroing in on a suspect on Paramount+’s Wolf Pack season one episode seven. “Lion’s Breath” will stream on March 9, 2023.
Season one stars Tyler Gray as Harlan Briggs, Chloe Robertson as Luna Briggs, Bella Shepard as Blake Navarro, and Armani Jackson as Everett Lang. Rodrigo Santoro plays Garrett Briggs and Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Kristin Ramsey. Additional season one cast members include Bailey Stender, Chase Liefeld, Hollie Bahar, Lanny Joon, Rio Mangini, Stella Smith, Zack Nelson, James Martinez, Amy Pietz, Bria Brimmer, John L. Adams, and Sean Philip Glasgow.
“Lion’s Breath” Plot: The pack uncovers a truth about the wildfires; Blake’s family is forced to leave the motel and Luna confides in her crush; Ramsey’s investigation closes in on a suspect.
Based on the book series by Edo Van Belkom, Wolf Pack follows a teenage boy and girl whose lives are changed forever when a California wildfire awakens a terrifying supernatural creature and drives it to attack a highway traffic jam beneath the burning hills. Wounded in the chaos, the boy and girl are inexplicably drawn to each other and to two other teenagers who were adopted sixteen years earlier by a park ranger after another mysterious wildfire. As the full moon rises, all four teens come together to unravel the secret that connects them – the bite and blood of a werewolf.
