Paramount+’s 1923 breakout stars Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer have captured the hearts of viewers as Spencer Dutton, son of 1883‘s James and Margaret Dutton (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill), and Alexandra, a British socialite who falls for the ruggedly handsome American. Spencer and Alex have faced down a charging elephant, fended off hungry lions, and in season one episode six they survived the sinking of a tugboat in the middle of the ocean. And this is just the beginning of their life as a couple; they haven’t even made it to the Yellowstone Ranch yet!
In an interview with TVLine, Julia Schlaepfer said Alex has no idea what’s in store for her when they arrive in Montana. “But I think that she is the type of gal to take anything and give it her best. Give it her all… You know, ‘I don’t necessarily know what I’m doing or why, but I know what I want and I’m going to get it, and I’m going to master it,'” explained Schlaepfer.
Schlaepfer added: “Wherever she lands, I think that she’s going to be great at it.”
The onscreen chemistry is sizzling hot and Sklenar told TVLine that the more they go through together, the deeper their bond becomes.
Episode six, premiering on February 12, 2023, found the couple celebrating their survival – it looked dicey there for a while – by asking their rescuer, Captain Shipley (Game of Thrones‘ Joseph Mawle), to marry them. As Spencer said, “Putting things off a day isn’t proving conducive to our current lifestyle.”
In appreciation of all things Spencer and Alex, here’s a batch of photos from “One Ocean Closer to Destiny,” a pivotal episode in the evolution of the young couple’s relationship.
Paramount+’s 1923 season one episode six begins by catching up with Teonna (Aminah Nieves) who’s on the run after murdering two abusive nuns and escaping the boarding school. Teonna’s now traveling with Hank (Michael Greyeyes) and they’ve made it to his small home, along with his flock of sheep.
Hank thinks Teonna needs a boy’s name as part of her disguise and she suggests Hank Jr. since that’s what the white men do. Hank prefers Joe and Teonna agrees.
Teonna changes into Hank’s son’s clothes and they burn everything she brought with her from the U.S. School for Native Americans. That is, except for the Bible. Hank fears the white man’s God will turn them to salt if they anger him. They decide to bury the Bible instead.
Meanwhile, two lawmen visit Teonna’s grandmother, Issaxche (Amelia Rico), and inform her Teonna’s wanted for murdering two nuns. They search the premises and when she hits one while telling him to stop destroying her possessions, he shoves her into the stove. She hits her head and dies instantly.
The murderer tells his partner, who missed the incident while out checking the teepee, that he’ll need to lie and say he was present and witnessed the attack. They’re going to claim it was self-defense.
Episode five ended with Spencer and Alex’s tugboat floating upside in the water and the young couple nowhere to be seen. Fans who watched the promo video for the second half of the season knew that the adorable twosome would survive, but it was still alarming to not get a glimpse of either Alex or Spencer before episode five’s credits rolled.
Episode six finds Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) surfacing and swimming to the overturned tugboat while shouting Alex’s name. He can hear pounding from inside the boat and dives back into the water. Swimming up under it, he discovers Alex (Julia Schlaepfer) alive and in an air pocket.
Spencer takes a few minutes to search underwater for their possessions and then confirms Alex can swim. He instructs her to hold the end of his lucky rope while he leads the way out from under the boat and up to the surface.
Once on top of the hull, they realize the boat could sink at any time. Plus, they don’t have any water or food and the sun’s beating down on them. Spencer asks Alex to stay in the center of the hull and heads back down for more supplies.
He retrieves more items but when he climbs back onto the hull, Alex is gone. She shouts for help and he swims out to her, but now they’re drifting away from the hull! If they don’t swim as fast as they can right now, they’ll die.
They make it back but now they’re both exhausted. Thankfully, the supplies he retrieved are still on the hull.
Alex confesses she didn’t think this is how she’d die, and Spencer promises it won’t be. He made contact with a ship before they were hit, and he’s sure it will come looking for them.
Spencer places his soaking-wet shirt on Alex, who appears to be going into shock.
Time passes and the noises of fish under the boat are spooking Alex. A shark swims up and Alex wonders if they’re in more danger. Spencer waxes philosophical, pointing out that in six hours the ocean’s already adapted to the boat being there. People aren’t as smart.
Alex still has a sense of humor and corrects him – they’re both smart. They also both agree this is their last tugboat ride.
Alex swears she will not be afraid. If death is their fate, she’ll use her last breath to kiss him. Spencer strokes her face and assures her death isn’t their fate. Of course, the shark ramming the hull might not share that opinion.
Night’s fallen and they’ve actually managed to fall asleep when a ship’s horn interrupts the silence. Alex wakes first and sees a light streaking through the darkness. She wakes Spencer and he fires a shot in the air to get their attention. He keeps shooting, begging the ship to see them.
It doesn’t seem like it worked until suddenly the horn bellows again and the light moves closer. Jack fires off one more shot but it’s clear they’ve been spotted.
A small motorboat with two sailors pulls up, and one of the sailors suggests they need to go to a casino. (It is incredibly lucky that they’ve been located late at night in the middle of the ocean.)
Once safely onboard the ship, Captain Shipley (Joseph Mawle) pours them drinks and asks if they retrieved the captain’s log. They didn’t, and Spencer explains they were on their way to the Suez. Their ultimate destination is the United States, but they don’t know where Lucca was heading.
Captain Shipley points out it’s going to be difficult dealing with U.S. Immigration, and he recommends Galveston or Port Arthur in the Gulf since Ellis Island is a cesspool of disease. Since Elizabeth is an immigrant, it might take months for her to gain entry. Spencer asks the captain for his help with that. Since they’re in international waters, he wants Captain Shipley to marry them.
Captain Shipley says he would be honored to officiate and suggests they can pull something together tomorrow. Spencer doesn’t want to wait that long. “Putting things off a day isn’t proving conducive to our current lifestyle,” says Spencer. Alex laughs.
They don’t have rings and Captain Shipley retrieves a box. Inside are rings belonging to sailors who have passed away and whose families couldn’t be contacted. Alex thinks it’s morbid and Shipley suggests they replace them when they can.
“The ocean almost took us and now it gives us rings. I think I’ll keep mine,” says Spencer.
The rings are all too big for Alex. Captain Shipley removes his necklace and on it is his wife’s ring. He believes she will approve of Alex having it.
It fits perfectly.
They exchange their vows and are escorted to their quarters. They barely spare a minute to accept a gift basket before slipping naked into the shower. A night of lovemaking and quiet conversation follows. They can’t take their eyes off each other, and Alex isn’t ready to sleep so they get dressed and head up to the bow of the ship.
Spencer points out the lights of Egypt and the Suez Canal and explains in Montana there aren’t any lights at night – just the stars. Alex didn’t realize the Yellowstone Ranch doesn’t have electricity or plumbing; Spencer failed to mention that.
She asks about his dreams and he claims he doesn’t have any. She doesn’t believe it and if he won’t tell her, then he’s breaking his vows to obey her. Spencer finally says that in his heart he knows he shouldn’t have taken her and that everything they’ve experienced has been a warning to put her back. But he feels too selfish to do that. His dream is that the universe is wrong and she’s his to keep.
Alex assures him she’s following him wherever he goes, whether he likes it or not. He should pick a different dream since that one’s already come true.
“There is no putting me back. We are one now,” says Alex.
Jacob Heals While Cara Makes Decisions for the Yellowstone Ranch
Zane (Brian Geraghty) is happy to see Jacob (Harrison Ford) out of the house and walking around the ranch. Jacob’s happy to report Spencer’s coming home from Africa, a trip that should take two months. When Spencer gets home, they’ll finally be able to take on Banner and his men.
Jacob wants Zane to start quietly inquiring about who wants to join the posse. Zane thinks it’ll be tough going since so many cowboys went to California. Jacob points out only the quitters took off for Hollywood.
In town, Cara (Helen Mirren) and Sheriff McDowell (Robert Patrick) begin interviewing men to serve as livestock agents. One applicant takes offense that Cara’s doing the questioning. He becomes angry and curses at Cara, and Jack – who’s been standing back by the door – has heard enough. He punches the man and then McDowell escorts him from the room. Looks like he’ll remain unemployed for a while.
It’s a slow process and they’ve only found two men all morning. Fortunately, the next man seems like a legitimate candidate. Clyde (Brian Konowal) is smart, knows ranching, and was a detective with the Chicago Police. He left because he couldn’t take the smell of so many people and cows in one area.
“I don’t know what hell is but it ain’t worse than Chicago,” says Clyde.
Cara’s about to thank him for his interest but Sheriff McDowell hires him on the spot.
They need 20 new agents and now they’ve hired three. McDowell thinks they’ll get there eventually but Cara confesses her family’s running out of time. She also reveals she needs to share a family secret.
Cara returns home, happy to see Jacob standing outside looking off into the distance. They discuss a road being cut two-thirds of the way up a nearby mountain, and Cara wonders if it’s heading nowhere.
Jacob realizes Cara’s going to hold nursing him back to health over his head, and Cara confirms that’s true. She wants a generator and a washing machine. Plus, she’s decided she wants a motorcar. Jacob wonders if he can just ease into these modern contraptions, and Cara agrees he can choose which one they get first.
Jacob brings up gathering a posse and Cara will hear none of that talk. She orders him to leave the fighting to the agents. She’s not about to become a widow. But Jacob understands that a mine’s being blasted into the mountain above the Yellowstone’s water supply. The ranches surrounding the Yellowstone have been purchased, and he knows the ultimate goal is to take over the Yellowstone too.
When he admits his concern is survival, Cara confesses she told Sheriff McDowell what’s really going on. Just then McDowell drives up with his men, and he’s angry Jacob didn’t immediately report the ambush. Jacob rips his shirt open to show off his bullet wounds, claiming his family and the other ranchers have paid a huge price.
McDowell understands Jacob didn’t want the bank or thieves to take the ranch and that’s why he kept this a secret. However, neither the bank nor thieves are coming for the Yellowstone since Jacob survived. There’s no reason that Jacob shouldn’t have come to him to report the ambush after he started to heal.
McDowell will not allow Montana to have a range war. He’s planning on arresting Banner in the morning, and Jacob and his men will have to come in and give their statements.
After McDowell leaves, Jacob’s furious with Cara. She follows him into the house and back outside once he grabs his hat, jacket, and gunbelt. She’s seething with anger as she yells at him for turning his back toward her after all she’s done.
Cara knows Jacob wants vengeance, not justice. He wants to be the one who shoots Banner, even if that means he rots in jail. Cara reminds him she bathed him, spoon-fed him, dug graves, and took care of everything while he slept. She’s suffered and so has everyone at the ranch, especially Jack and Elizabeth, yet they’ve all set aside the desire for vengeance for Jacob and the good of the ranch.
Jacob doesn’t respond and instead walks off to the barn. He manages to get his saddle up on his horse on his second try. He actually smiles as he rides off alone.
It’s not all doom and gloom at the ranch. Jack (Darren Mann) and Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) are spending time in bed discussing the baby. Jack can’t hear it and wonders how she even knows she’s pregnant. Elizabeth laughs as she explains the signs, and he kisses her stomach. They laugh as Jack suggests they need to keep practicing so that in a year they can get pregnant again.
Cara’s seated outside and happy to hear the young couple laugh. (Their window’s open.)
Jacob joins her outside and notes Jack and Elizabeth can’t make two babies at once. Cara says they’re embracing the sport of it.
Jacob claims he’s not after vengeance, he just wants to preserve the land and keep it from turning into another big city. He won’t let them dam the rivers, cut down the trees, and turn this into another concrete desert.
He wants to kill Banner and his men because he knows they’re just the first wave of the attack. Men who build cities send men like Banner in first to do their dirty work.
Jacob knows how much Cara’s suffered and it’s Banner’s turn now. Cara doesn’t reply as he gently kisses her forehead and walks away.
Mike’s office is crowded with angry family members worried about the inmates who were moved out of Tent City in the middle of the night as Paramount+’s Mayor of Kingstown season two episode five begins. Rebecca (Nichole Galicia) tries to calm everyone down, but Bunny’s cousin Rhonda (Nona Parker Johnson) refuses to wait in line and is the first to get a meeting with Mike (Jeremy Renner).
Mike assures Rhonda he didn’t lose Bunny and that he’s somewhere in the system. Rhonda calls Mike on his bullsh*t and forces him to admit has no idea where Bunny’s currently located. Mike admits the inmates were transferred to four different locations, and she’s worried her shop will get hit now that Bunny’s not minding the neighborhood.
If he doesn’t get Bunny out, Mike’s going to be in serious trouble.
The prison transfer hasn’t gone smoothly, and the inmates are on edge after one is pushed off the second floor and dies, a puddle of blood and brain matter around his body. (The back of his head is bashed in but he landed on his face.)
Bunny (Tobi Bamtefa) observes this from inside his cell. He doesn’t call out and instead calmly takes a seat on his cot. It’s obvious he’s going through his options since Mike hasn’t kept his end of the deal.
Mike calls Carney (Lane Garrison) and learns that even he doesn’t know where they’ve moved the four leaders. Anchor Bay, the prison where Carney’s been assigned, is massive and has three yards full of prisoners. As they’re talking, Carney spots the leader of the Bloods, Dedrick (Marcus Brandon), as well as Gunner (Dylan Kenin), the white supremacist in charge of the Aryan Brotherhood. Mike thinks they might have moved all the prisoners there and orders Carney to find Bunny.
Meanwhile, Horace’s wife is trying to pack up and hit the road before Milo’s men can show up. Unfortunately, Joseph and his thugs break down the door before she can leave. She swears she doesn’t have the bonds anymore.
And speaking of those bonds… Mike meets with Ian (Hugh Dillon), Stevie (Derek Webster), and Kyle (Taylor Handley) and tells them he’s sure Milo survived and is coming after the bonds. Mike’s certain it was Milo who ordered Horace’s murder after Horace made the mistake of going to Joseph the Russian for help fencing them.
Stevie confirms he didn’t log them in when Horace’s wife dropped them off at the police station. And Mike wants him to keep the $14 million in bonds out of the system as long as possible.
After the meeting ends, Kyle suggests Mike should just forget about Milo and let him have the bonds. Once he cashes out, Milo will leave Kingstown. Kyle thinks that he and Mike should concentrate on finding Bunny, getting him out of jail, and setting things right in Kingstown.
Mike claims that he and Kyle will set things right, but Milo took something and broke it. Mike can’t just let him leave. (Mike needs to worry less about Milo and more about the target his disastrous deal has painted on his back.)
Over at Anchor Bay, Bunny’s brought into the yard and scans the crowd. He spots a familiar face and asks Big Hush about his crew. “Big dog, we all your crew now,” says Big Hush.
Bunny meets with Raphael (D Smoke) next, and Raphael admits he was worried they shipped him out of state. Instead, it looks like all four generals have landed at Anchor. Bunny assumes this is Mike’s doing, keeping everyone together to help strategize. (If only he knew the truth!)
Raphael points out that the Aryan Brotherhood have the guards on their side.
As they’re talking, one of the inmates goes down. Carney sends in a medical team and continues to scan the yard. He finally spots Bunny.
Elsewhere, Kyle gets the call that he’s been cleared for duty. His wife, Tracy (Nishi Munshi), wonders if he wants to go back to KPD and Kyle admits he doesn’t know what he wants. All he does know is that he’s going to be a horrible dad. He asks what Tracy wants him to do and she confesses she doesn’t think he’s ready to go back to work. He needs time to heal. In the meantime, they’ll be okay.
Ian and Stevie summon Mike to a crime scene. Horace’s wife has been hung with a metal chain, and Mike’s certain she talked before they killed her. Ian and Stevie believe the police department’s lockup is the safest place for the bonds. Mike disagrees and wants the bonds to go missing.
Over at Anchor Bay, he four leaders are rounded up and brought inside for a meeting. They expect Mike to lead it but it’s Captain Moore (Michael Beach) who shows up. He claims he’s responsible for them and knows they all assumed they’d be back on the streets by now. Gunner demands to see Mike but Captain Moore doesn’t think Mike can fix things now.
Captain Moore wants to make their experience painless while they’re there and warns them not to mess with him – or else.
After he leaves, the Mexican gang leader, Luis (Reinaldo Faberlle), says he’s finished with Mike. They need to run things the way they always did before Mike got them all locked up.
Carney grabs a minute with Captain Moore as he’s leaving work and informs him the inmate who had a seizure was a Tent City transfer. The doctors – or the coroner, if he dies – will discover the incredible amount of trauma he’s endured recently. Moore doesn’t get the point of this discussion until Carney reveals the man is one of the three prisoners Moore ruthlessly assaulted after the prison riot.
Joseph the Russian (George Tchortov) is summoned to a meeting with Milo (Aidan Gillen) and before he can say a word, Milo says, “You killed him.” Joseph admits he tried to get Horace to talk but he never did. He also claims Horace’s wife didn’t talk.
Milo wonders if Joseph would have brought him the money if he found it. It’s obvious Milo thinks Joseph is trying to screw him, but Joseph asks to be allowed to fix the situation. Milo doesn’t want Joseph anywhere near the bonds. He’ll fix things himself.
Later that night Carney secretly heads up to Bunny’s cell and hands him a phone. Mike tells Bunny he’s got a plan to get him out, but it’ll take a little while. In the meantime, he’s going to set Bunny up to earn inside so he can take care of his family.
Their conversation’s cut short when another guard approaches.
At exactly midnight, a crooked Kingstown cop unlocks the evidence room and leaves. A man in a hoodie walks in, looks for the bonds, and then leaves with the bag. When Stevie attempts to sign it out the following morning, it’s missing. He immediately calls Mike, and Mike is furious that Stevie waited a day to check on the bonds. Mike orders him to look at the tapes now, find out who took them, and then destroy the tape.
Captain Moore checks on the injured inmate while he’s hooked up on life support. He’s informed that what happens to the prisoner is going to be Tent City’s responsibility – not Anchor Bay’s.
Mike and Bunny have a face-to-face (through the glass and via a phone) at the prison, and Mike explains he has something to offer the DA. He’s working on getting Bunny out and wants Bunny to tell the other leaders he’s still setting things up. Bunny informs Mike the other leaders aren’t as willing to be patient.
Mike begs Bunny to just hold on but Bunny’s finally done with Mike. Mike tries to get him to promise not to do anything, but Bunny’s not going to play by Mike’s rules anymore.
On the way back to his cell the Aryan Brotherhood-sympathizing guards demand to take Bunny off Carney’s hands. Carney refuses but they pull rank and start beating Bunny. Bunny resists but they overpower him and toss him into the kill box (solitary confinement). He’s told Gunner ordered Bunny to be removed from the floor. Something’s about to go down.
Mike hasn’t even made it out of the parking lot when Carney calls with the news of Bunny’s beating. Mike calls Captain Moore but Moore ignores his call.
Big Hush waits in the walkway outside a row of cells as another prisoner squirts a flammable liquid on Luis. Big Hush finishes the job and sets the Mexican boss on fire.
An alarm sounds and Mike spots black smoke rising above the prison.
Vin Diesel to Star in ‘Riddick: Furya’ (Credit: Steve Granitz / Courtesy of Rocket Science)
The Riddick film franchise continues with Riddick: Furya, the just-announced fourth film of the series. Vin Diesel’s on board to star and produce under his One Race Films banner, with writer/director David Twohy also returning to the popular franchise.
Twohy wrote and directed the three previous Riddick films: 2000’s Pitch Black, 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick, and 2013’s Riddick.
“Our legion fans have demanded it for years, and now we’re finally ready to honor their call-to-action with Riddick: Furya. My collaboration with Vin and One Race has spanned 20 fruitful years, as together we’ve created three movies, two video games, an anime production, and motion comics for the internet,” stated Twohy. “This new big-screen event will see a return to Riddick’s homeworld, where we finally get to explore Riddick’s genesis.”
Pitch Black had an $11.5 million opening weekend at the domestic box office and went on to rake in $53 million worldwide before exiting theaters. The Chronicles of Riddick more than doubled Pitch Black‘s opening weekend, grossing $24 million domestically over its first three days. The second film of the franchise pulled in $115 million worldwide during its theatrical run.
Riddick grossed $19 million domestically during its opening weekend and $98 million overall.
The Riddick: Furya Plot: In Riddick: Furya, Riddick finally returns to his homeworld, a place he barely remembers and one he fears might be left in ruins by the Necromongers. But there he finds other Furyans fighting for their existence against a new enemy. And some of these Furyans are more like Riddick than he could have ever imagined.
Rocket Science and CAA Media Finance will launch worldwide sales of Riddick: Furya at this week’s EFM.
This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia is following up his six-year run with a starring role as a con artist on ABC’s new series The Company You Keep. The one-hour primetime drama is based on the Korean Broadcasting System’s My Fellow Citizens and will premiere on Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT.
ABC’s released this description of season one:
“A night of passion leads to love between con man Charlie and undercover CIA officer Emma, who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the “family business” so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in hand – forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences.”
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Milo Ventimiglia described his character, Charlie, as unremarkable. “He’s very plain, very simple. He tries to be unnoticed, yet when he steps into that con world, he has to put something on that is remarkable and forgettable. As an actor, it’s challenging to be able to be engaging, and at the same time, people are going to forget you in the same breath if they’re ever talking to law enforcement or anything like that.”
He added: “He’s got to be a chameleon that kind of just disappears. That’s what we’re working on now is understanding what the Nicoletti family’s gotten into, what they’ve been doing in the world of grifting, how their choices are affecting Charlie personally.”
The season one cast also includes Catherine Haena Kim as Emma, William Fichtner as Leo, Tim Chiou as David, Freda Foh Shen as Grace, James Saito as Joseph, Sarah Wayne Callies as Birdie, and Felisha Terrell as Daphne.
Catherine Haena Kim and Milo Ventimiglia in ‘The Company You Keep’ episode 1 (ABC/Eric McCandless)Sarah Wayne Callies and Milo Ventimiglia in episode 1 (ABC/Eric McCandless)William Fichtner in episode 1 (ABC/Scott Everett White)Freda Foh Shen and James Saito in episode 1 (ABC)Catherine Haena Kim, Freda Foh Shen, and James Saito in episode 1 (ABC)Milo Ventimiglia and Sarah Wayne Callies in episode 1 (ABC/Eric McCandless)Sarah Wayne Callies and Milo Ventimiglia in episode 1 (ABC/Eric McCandless)
Eliza Coupe returns as Todd’s ex-girlfriend Veronica on CBS’s So Help Me Todd season one episode 14. Directed by Brad Silberling from a script by Jamie Pachino, episode 14 – “Against All Todds” – will air on Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 9pm ET/PT.
Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden stars as Margaret Wright, Skylar Astin plays Todd Wright, and Tristen J. Winger is Lyle. Madeline Wise plays Allison, Inga Schlingmann is Susan, and Rosa Arredondo stars as Francey.
“Against All Todds” Plot: When Veronica appears at the law firm requesting a favor from Todd, he agrees to help but soon realizes she may be out for revenge. Also, Margaret is upset when she is taken off a high-stakes case.
Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin star as razor-sharp, meticulous attorney Margaret Wright and Todd, her talented but scruffy, aimless son whom she hires as her law firm’s in-house investigator. As the black sheep of the well-heeled Wright family, Todd is a laidback, quick-thinking, excellent former private detective who fell on hard times after his flexible interpretation of the law got his license revoked. Margaret’s penchant for excellence and strict adherence to the law is at complete odds with Todd’s scrappy methods of finding his way through sticky situations: by the seat of his wrinkled pants.
When Todd inadvertently teams with his mother on a case, she’s surprised to find herself duly impressed by – and proud of – his crafty ability to sleuth out information with his charm and his wide-ranging tech savvy. At last, Margaret sees a way to put her son on a “suitable” path to living an adult, financially solvent life she approves of, and she asks him to join her firm. Todd agrees since it means getting his license back and once again doing the job he excels at and loves.
Mother and son working together is a big first step toward mending their fragile, dysfunctional relationship, and they may even come away with a better understanding of each other at this pivotal point in their lives. But whether Todd and Margaret will be able to accept each other for who they are is another case entirely.
CBS’s CSI: Vegas season two episode 14 finds Chavez and Allie investigating the source of the silver ink notes. Episode 14, “Third Time’s the Charm,” was directed by Eduardo Sanchez from a script by Tom Szentgyorgyi, and will air on Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT.
The second season stars Paula Newsome as Maxine Roby, Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows, Matt Lauria as Joshua Folsom, and Mandeep Dhillon as Allie Rajan. Ariana Guerra plays Detective Serena Chavez, Lex Medlin is Beau Finado, and Jay Lee is Chris Park.
“Third Time’s the Charm” Plot: The CSIs investigate the mysterious death of a competitive eating contestant, and Chavez partners with Allie to prove where the mysterious silver ink notes have been coming from.
CSI: Vegas, the sequel to the Network’s global hit CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, returns for a second season in Las Vegas – the city where it all began. Amidst the neon lights and long shadows, dark threats continue to lurk in Sin City. Maxine Roby leads her brilliant team of Crime Scene Investigators – Joshua Folsom, Allie Rajan, Detective Serena Chavez, Chris Park, and Beau Finado – as they use science to solve baffling cases. Catherine Willows returns to help the CSIs face off with a dealer of death who is planning to beat the odds in Las Vegas.
This combined force will deploy the latest forensic techniques to do what they do best – follow the evidence – in order to preserve and serve justice in Sin City.
The farewell season of ABC’s A Million Little Things continues with episode two, “think twice,” which finds Rome really concerned about Walter. Season five episode two will air on Wednesday, February 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.
“think twice” Plot: An unexpected fan steps behind the mic at Maggie’s radio show, and Walter attempts to convince Rome he is more than capable of being behind the wheel. Meanwhile, Eddie makes moves to reenter the dating pool and gets some help from an unexpected ally.
Romany Malco and Lou Beatty Jr in ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode 2 (ABC/Sergei Bachlakov)
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.
Christina Moses and Lizzy Greene in season 5 episode 2 (ABC/Sergei Bachlakov)James Roday Rodriguez in season 5 episode 2 (ABC/Darko Sikman)Allison Miller and James Roday Rodriguez in season 5 episode 2 (ABC/Darko Sikman)Christina Moses in season 5 episode 2 (ABC/Sergei Bachlakov)Kuba Oms and Lizzy Greene in season 5 episode 2 (ABC/Sergei Bachlakov)Allison Miller in season 5 episode 2 (ABC/Darko Sikman)
The nearly four-minute official trailer for Universal Pictures’ Fast X introduces Jason Momoa as the big bad that Dom (Vin Diesel) and his crew will be going up against. The trailer starts off being all about family (since that’s a running theme in the Fast & Furious franchise) but then Momoa’s new character Dante pops up and warns, “Dominic Toretto, you’re about to learn all about fear.”
Dante continues: “You built such a beautiful life filled with love and family. I never got that chance. You stole that from me. My future. My family. And now…I’m gonna break yours. Piece by piece.”
So, that’s in the trailer’s first minute. A quick flashback shows the crew taking out Dante’s father, followed by lots of over-the-top action sequences and Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty promising they will fight back.
The cast of the 10th Fast & Furious film also includes returning F&F stars Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Jason Statham, John Cena, Scott Eastwood, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron. Louis Leterrier (Clash of the Titans) directs and from a screenplay by Justin Lin, Zach Dean, and Dan Mazeau.
Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, Justin Lin, Jeff Kirschenbaum, and Samantha Vincent serve as producers. Executive producers include Joseph M. Caracciolo, Jr., David Cain, Chris Morgan, Amanda Lewis, and Mark Bomback.
Fast X races into theaters on May 19, 2023.
The Plot, Courtesy of Universal Pictures:
Fast X launches the final chapters of one of cinema’s most storied and popular global franchises, now in its third decade and still going strong with the same core cast and characters as when it began.
Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved, and outdriven every foe in their path. Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they’ve ever faced: A terrifying threat emerging from the shadows of the past who’s fueled by blood revenge, and who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything—and everyone—that Dom loves, forever.
In 2011’s Fast Five, Dom and his crew took out nefarious Brazilian drug kingpin Hernan Reyes and decapitated his empire on a bridge in Rio De Janeiro. What they didn’t know was that Reyes’ son, Dante (Momoa), witnessed it all and has spent the last 12 years masterminding a plan to make Dom pay the ultimate price.
Dante’s plot will scatter Dom’s family from Los Angeles to the catacombs of Rome, from Brazil to London and from Portugal to Antarctica. New allies will be forged and old enemies will resurface. But everything changes when Dom discovers that his own 8-year-old son (Leo Abelo Perry) is the ultimate target of Dante’s vengeance.
The film also features an extraordinary new cast including Oscar winner Brie Larson as Tess, a rogue representative from the Agency; Alan Ritchson (Reacher) as Aimes, the new head of the Agency who doesn’t hold the same fondness for Dom’s crew as his predecessor, Mr. Nobody; Daniela Melchior (The Suicide Squad) as a Brazilian street racer with a powerful tie to Dom’s past; and legendary Oscar winner Rita Moreno as Dom and Mia’s Abuelita Toretto.
Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek Pinault in Warner Bros. Pictures musical comedy ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Has the magic gone out of Mike? No, not at all. I realize from a quick glance at the film’s current rating on Rotten Tomatoes that I’m swimming against the tide when I call Magic Mike’s Last Dance a worthy end to the franchise. But it’s by far the film with the most heart. And for all you naysayers who watched the trailer and said there wasn’t any chemistry between Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek Pinault, prepare to eat some crow with a side dish of don’t judge a film by its trailers.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance glides in with a voiceover praising dance as a way of recognizing life’s important moments…or something of that nature. I was too distracted by the fact that the film had a voiceover that I may have spaced on the actual details. The voiceover – provided by a character we’ll meet later – explains that Mike owned a small furniture company in Miami that was forced to close its doors as a result of the pandemic.
Mike’s now adrift and full of unrealized dreams. Did he want to become a bartender? No, but his options were limited so that’s where we pick up his story.
Mike‘s wrapping up working at a fundraiser when the stunning, disgustingly wealthy woman (played by Oscar nominee Salma Hayek Pinault) hosting the shindig invites him to stick around. Maxandra Mendoza’s heard from a friend that he has a particular set of skills and wonders if he’d like to show them to her. Mike’s not in that line of work anymore and besides, he used to get $60,000 for a dance. What?! Whoa, that’s a bit ridiculous, isn’t it?
She’s willing to pay him $6,000 and Mike, who seconds earlier was a definite no, quickly becomes a definite yes.
Pelvic thrusts, sensuous swaggering, and the most acrobatic pull-ups outside of the Olympics follow. Max is hooked and offers Mike $60,000 if he travels with her to London. Mike’s social calendar is empty, so after a bit of hemming and hawing he agrees, although he has no idea what he’s supposed to do once they cross the pond.
Max is separated from her cheating media mogul husband and as part of their agreement, she’s taken over ownership of his family’s historic The Rattigan theatre. Mike’s $6,000 erotic dance woke up a passion inside Max that she never felt before, and now she wants to share that excitement with other women. To do so, she wants to stage a spectacular erotic version of Isabel Ascendant, a stale period piece currently hogging the theatre’s spotlights.
Isabel Ascendant is the story of a woman forced to choose between a loveless marriage and a social misfit, and Max wants to show that women can have it all by putting on a one-night-only strip show. The lead actor of Isabel, Hannah (Juliette Motamed), is all in on representing women who demand to be given agency and who will no longer be forced to be subservient to the wants and needs of men. Hannah’s evolution plays out on stage while surrounded by gorgeous nearly naked men.
The final film reunites Tatum with Magic Mike’s director Steven Soderbergh and Reid Carolin, who penned all three movies, and they brought in dancers from the London, Las Vegas, Berlin, and Australia Magic Mike Live stage shows. Bringing dancers so familiar with the Magic Mike vibe gives the dance numbers extra zing.
Additional supporting players include Jemilia George as Zadie Rattigan and Ayub Khan-Din as Victor. Zadie is Max’s teenage daughter who’s the voice of reason when all the adults around her are floundering. She’s also the voiceover who pipes in occasionally and provides a little necessary exposition. Victor is Max’s long-suffering righthand man whose scoffs and looks of disdain keep the household in check.
Channing Tatum’s come a long way since his strip club days, but he’s still got all the right moves. When Tatum takes the floor, he’s the real deal. And a decade after first ripping off his shirt and displaying his incredible physique as Magic Mike, Tatum’s honed his acting skills to the degree that he’s now capable of playing the quieter relationship moments just as effectively as the physically demanding dance routines.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance is more intimate than either of its predecessors, with the film concentrating on building the relationship between Channing Tatum’s Mike and Salma Hayek Pinault’s Max. There’s not much else to the plot, and the success of this final outing depends on whether you buy into Tatum and Hayek Pinault as a couple. Fortunately, Tatum and Hayek Pinault play incredibly well off each other. There’s a nice balance to the characters that allows Hayek Pinault and Tatum to transition back and forth between playful and sexy and uncertain and vulnerable. It also doesn’t hurt that Tatum and Hayek Pinault fully commit to this fictional world where dance can solve 99% of life’s problems.
I chose to allow the plot’s underlying grab bag of mixed – and at times weirdly misogynistic – messages to remain in the background. A Magic Mike film doesn’t need to preach or teach, it just needs to have enough well-choreographed dance numbers to make the dialogue-driven moments worth sitting through. This third and final film fulfills that requirement, dishing out impressive numbers including one that defies description. (It involves spectacular choreography while rain falls on the stage.)
Overanalyzing the underlying themes will send you down a slippery slope that doesn’t lead anywhere pleasant. If you toss those themes aside, then Magic Mike’s Last Dance is a sexy, fun-filled two hours of romance and dance.
