Never underestimate the power of a woman, and that advice goes double when it comes to the powerhouse that is Viola Davis. The Oscar-winning actor is capable of delivering outstanding performances in any genre, and she adds badass action queen to her resume with The Woman King.
TriStar Pictures’ The Woman King features some of the most breathtaking fight sequences to unfold on the big screen in recent memory. And yes, you absolutely must see this in theaters on the largest screen possible. Masterfully choreographed and delivered with fierce, flawless intensity, the action sequences serve to punctuate but not overpower the incredible tale of the Agojie warriors – also known as the Dahomey Amazons – led by General Nanisca (Davis).
The year: 1823
The setting: West Africa, the Kingdom of Dahomey
A new ruler has been crowned and his fiercest warriors, the Agojie, guard his palace and his kingdom. Their leader, General Nanisca, is stern but fair and has the respect of her fighters as well as King Ghezo (John Boyega).
King Ghezo has taken power at a time when the alliance between Dahomey and the Oyo Empire is fractured. Ghezo’s desire to free his kingdom from being forced into paying the Oyo annual tributes is shared by Nanisca. The Dahomey and the Oyos are slave traders, but Nanisca believes there are other ways to maintain Dahomey’s wealth rather than selling their own people to the Portuguese.
Members of Dahomey’s elite female squad are required to dedicate their lives to defending the kingdom, foregoing romantic relationships, and committing to filling their waking hours with rigorous training. The first time we see Nanisca and the Agojie put that training into action is in the opening minutes of the film. They stage outside an Oyo encampment and then move as a unit, attacking the Oyo raiders and freeing Dahomey hostages meant to be sold as slaves while slaughtering those foolish enough to put up a fight.
It’s a stunning sight watching these incredibly powerful female warriors outmaneuver their male enemies.
The Agojie are considered heroes to the Dahomey, and any young girl who wants to join is in for months of physically demanding training, after which there’s no guarantee she’ll be allowed to join their ranks. Much of the story is told through the eyes of one such trainee, Nawi (Thuso Mbedu). Nawi is slight in size but large in personality and spirit. After refusing to marry an abusive elderly man, she’s given to King Ghezo by her father who wants nothing more to do with her.
Nawi proves to be as dedicated to honing her fighting skills as she is to annoying General Nanisca. She tests the patience of Nanisca but, fortunately for the impudent girl, Izogie (Lashana Lynch) – one of the Agojie’s most capable fighters and an instructor of the new recruits – takes her under her wing.
Nawi’s training takes place as the tension between the Oyo leader Oba Ade (Jimmy Odukoya) and King Ghezo escalates. The Oyo fighters are ruthless but the Agojie are an incredible fighting machine, guaranteeing the much-anticipated battle telegraphed from the film’s opening moments will be brutal and visually spectacular.
The Woman King is filled with outstanding performances led, of course, by the extraordinary performance of Viola Davis. The Academy Award-winner does an impressive job of playing the fierce side of General Nanisca, emotions restrained and laser-focused on protecting the kingdom. Davis also nails Nanisca’s vulnerability when a secret from her past is revealed and she’s forced to face her inner demons.
John Boyega does a terrific job of playing the new king who attempts to do what’s best for his kingdom, despite the fact the odds are stacked against him. Lashana Lynch and Thuso Mbedu are excellent screen partners, providing the film with its few lighter moments as well as one of its most heart-wrenching.
There’s an unnecessary love story squeezed into the story, but that’s a minor misstep in an otherwise riveting film. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s direction is pitch perfect, and she assembled a first-rate team to recreate the kingdom of Dahomey in the early 1800s.
The Woman King’s inspired by a true story and because of how beautifully it’s been brought to life on the screen, we can hope the film will spark interest in learning more about the Agojie’s place in history.
GRADE: A
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, partial nudity, brief language, some disturbing material, and thematic content
Netflix’s three-part documentary series The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist explores the true story behind the so-called Bling Ring. The new trailer shows the targets of the burglary crew and delves into the background of the thieves who wanted to be just as famous as the Hollywood stars they stole from. The fact they not only pulled off these robberies but then became celebrities is beyond ridiculous and can only happen in La La Land.
The docuseries was directed by Miles Blayden-Ryall and executive produced by Lawrence Walford, Rob Davis, and Alastair Cook.
The Real Bling Ring premieres on Wednesday, September 21, 2022.
Sofia Coppola wrote and directed a feature film based on the Bling Ring and starring Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Claire Julien, and Taissa Farmiga. Audiences didn’t embrace the R-rated film – it grossed $5 million during its domestic release and $20 million worldwide – and critics were mixed, with the 2013 movie sitting at 60% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Netflix released the following description of the docuseries:
First there was the reality series, then came a Hollywood movie — but the truth about the Bling Ring burglaries has never been told…until now. 10 years after the notorious heists, the culprits have served their jail time and are coming forward to tell the real story behind the Hollywood Hills home invasions that gripped the nation.
A cautionary tale for teens today, the docuseries shows what can happen when a fame-and-celebrity-obsessed culture meets the rise of social media and spins wildly out of control. Featuring interviews with Alexis Haines (Neiers), Nick Norgo (Prugo), Andrea Arlington, Gabrielle Hames, Audrina Patridge, and Perez Hilton.
Peacock’s debuted an official trailer for the limited true crime series A Friend of the Family starring Colin Hanks and Anna Paquin. The nine-episode drama is based on a bizarre true story, and the trailer introduces the key players, including the titular friend of the family, who turns out to be a complete psychopath.
The cast also includes Jake Lacy, Lio Tipton, Mckenna Grace, and Hendrix Yancey. Nick Antosca serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner, with the real kidnap victim at the heart of the story – Jan Broberg – involved as a producer.
Peacock’s official synopsis describes the series as “based on the harrowing true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of a few years by a charismatic, obsessed family ‘friend.’ The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family, and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them. This is the story of how their lives were permanently altered — and how they survived.”
Nick Antosca notes that when he first heard the Brobergs’ story, he empathized with their vulnerability. ” I felt like I understood their story from the outside,” explained Antosca. “But it stayed with me, and I wanted to understand from the inside — to know what their lives felt like, to live in each family member’s experience, to see how they were caught in such a bizarre web, and to help audiences empathize with them too.”
Antosca believes the Brobergs’ story is relatable. “The Brobergs’ story is an extreme point on a continuum that more of us are on than we realize,” stated Antosca, adding, “It was a wrenching, complicated story to work on. In addition to the thousands of pages of trial transcripts, FBI notes, interviews, and childhood diaries that we were able to use to tell the story, we have had the privilege of working with Jan Broberg herself. We could not and would not tell this story without Jan and her family’s blessing and participation.”
Mary Ann Broberg serves as a producer, with Alex Hedlund and director Eliza Hittman executive producing.
A Friend of the Family premieres on Peacock on October 6, 2022.
The Cast and Characters, Courtesy of Peacock:
ANNA PAQUIN plays the role of Mary Ann Broberg. Mary Ann is the mother of three daughters, and her life has felt safe, happy and rewarding until recently. She has realized too late that she may have missed warning signs and made a terrible mistake by becoming close to her charismatic neighbor Robert Berchtold — and trusting him around her oldest daughter, Jan.
JAKE LACY plays the role of Robert “B” Berchtold, a charming local businessman who appears to be a genial Mormon father and husband. An expert in manipulation, he puts everyone around him at ease as he carefully plots the abduction of Mary Ann’s daughter.
COLIN HANKS plays the role of Bob Broberg, Mary Ann’s husband and Jan’s father, Bob is big-hearted, kind, and everyone’s best friend, the very model of a suburban patriarch. As his family gets closer to neighbor Robert Berchtold, Bob begins to fear that something is amiss.
LIO TIPTON plays the role of Gail Berchtold. Gail is Robert Berchtold’s wife and the mother of a large family. Her husband suffers from mood swings and this has led him to act erratically. Gail’s concerns about her husband may keep her on edge, but she never could have expected what her husband would eventually do.
MCKENNA GRACE plays the role of Jan Broberg in the later years. Jan is the oldest daughter of Bob and Mary Ann Broberg and leads a happy, traditional life in an idyllic American city. Jan trusts family friend and neighbor Robert Berchtold, though he has plans for her abduction that she doesn’t suspect.
HENDRIX YANCEY plays the role of Jan Broberg in the early years. Jan is the oldest daughter of Bob and Mary Ann Broberg and leads a happy, traditional life in an idyllic American city. Jan trusts family friend and neighbor Robert Berchtold, though he has plans for her abduction that she doesn’t suspect.
The official (uncensored) trailer for Paramount Pictures’ Babylon begins with Margot Robbie’s character Nellie LaRoy snorting a line and confessing that if she had money, she’d only spend it on things that were fun. “Not boring things like taxes,” she adds.
Next up is the introduction of Brad Pitt’s character who explains that when he came to LA there were signs on all the doors that read: “No actors or dogs allowed.” He claims to have changed that, but doesn’t explain if he’s referring to the two or four-legged subjects. The trailer then spotlights clips of partying mixed with the filming of a medieval battle scene, an elephant walking through a packed club, and Brad Pitt doing a little dance before falling over a balcony.
Margot Robbie’s Nellie asks who wants to see her fight a snake, and Tobey Maguire appears in one brief shot and speaks for the audience when he says, “What the f**k?!”
Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
The cast also includes Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, P.J. Byrne, Lukas Haas, Olivia Hamilton, Max Minghella, Rory Scovel, Katherine Waterston, Flea, Jeff Garlin, Eric Roberts, Ethan Suplee, Samara Weaving, and Olivia Wilde. The music is by Justin Hurwitz and Marc Platt, Matthew Plouffe, and Olivia Hamilton serve as producers. Maguire, Michael Beugg, Wyck Godfrey, Helen Estabrook, and Adam Siegel executive produce.
Oscar winner Damien Chazelle (La La Land) wrote and directed the weird and wild big-name production set in 1920s Los Angeles. Paramount’s official synopsis doesn’t offer much in the way of insight: “A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.”
Babylon opens in limited release on December 25, 2022 followed by a wide release on January 6, 2023.
The talent from ‘Succession’ at the 74th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (Photo by Evans Vestal Ward/NBC)
With her win in the Lead Actress in a Drama Series category at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, Euphoria‘s Zendaya became the youngest actor to win two acting honors at the Emmys as well as the first Black woman to win twice in that category. The 2022 Emmys also found Squid Game‘s Lee Jung-jae breaking ground as the first South Korean actor to win the Lead Actor in a Drama Series award, and his director Hwang Dong-hyuk is now the first South Korean to win in the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series category.
Hosted on NBC by SNL star Kenan Thompson and held on September 12, 2022, the big winner of the 2022 Primetime Emmys was HBO’s The White Lotus which snagged five wins including Outstanding Limited Series. Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso was hot on its heels with four wins. Succession went into the night with 25 nominations and took home the top prize in the Outstanding Drama Series category as well as a win for Matthew Macfadyen in the Supporting Actor In A Drama Series category.
2022 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners in Key Categories
Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul • AMC
Euphoria • HBO/HBO Max
Ozark • Netflix
Severance • Apple TV+
Squid Game • Netflix
Stranger Things • Netflix WINNER:Succession • HBO/HBO Max
Yellowjackets • Showtime
Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary • ABC
Barry • HBO/HBO Max
Curb Your Enthusiasm • HBO/HBO Max
Hacks • HBO/HBO Max
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel • Prime Video
Only Murders In The Building • Hulu WINNER: Ted Lasso • Apple TV+
What We Do In The Shadows • FX
Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series
Dopesick • Hulu
The Dropout • Hulu
Inventing Anna • Netflix
Pam & Tommy • Hulu WINNER: The White Lotus • HBO/HBO Max
Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Killing Eve – Jodie Comer as Villanelle
Ozark – Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde
Yellowjackets – Melanie Lynskey as Shauna
Killing Eve – Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri
The Morning Show – Reese Witherspoon as Bradley Jackson WINNER: Euphoria – Zendaya as Rue
Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Ozark – Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde
Succession – Brian Cox as Logan Roy WINNER: Squid Game – Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun
Better Call Saul – Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill / Saul Goodman
Severance – Adam Scott as Mark Scout
Succession – Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy
Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel
Abbott Elementary – Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues
The Flight Attendant – Kaley Cuoco as Cassie Bowden
The Great – Elle Fanning as Catherine The Great
Insecure – Issa Rae as Issa WINNER: Hacks – Jean Smart as Deborah Vance
Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Atlanta – Donald Glover as Earn
Barry – Bill Hader as Barry Berkman / Barry Block
The Great – Nicholas Hoult as Peter/Pugachev
Only Murders In The Building – Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage
Only Murders In The Building – Martin Short as Oliver Putnam WINNER: Ted Lasso – Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso
Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
The Staircase – Toni Collette as Kathleen
Inventing Anna – Julia Garner as Anna Delvey
Pam & Tommy – Lily James as Pamela Anderson
Impeachment: American Crime Story – Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp
Maid – Margaret Qualley as Alex WINNER: The Dropout – Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes
Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
The Staircase – Colin Firth as Michael Peterson
Under The Banner Of Heaven – Andrew Garfield as Detective Jeb Pyre
Scenes From A Marriage – Oscar Isaac as Jonathan WINNER: Dopesick – Michael Keaton as Dr. Samuel Finnix
Station Eleven – Himesh Patel as Jeevan Chaudhary
Pam & Tommy – Sebastian Stan as Tommy Lee
Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Barry – Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank WINNER: Ted Lasso – Brett Goldstein as Roy Kent
Ted Lasso – Toheeb Jimoh as Sam Obisanya
Ted Lasso – Nick Mohammed as Nathan Shelley
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Tony Shalhoub as Abe Weissman
Abbott Elementary – Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie
Barry – Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau
Saturday Night Live – Bowen Yang as Various Characters
Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Succession – Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch
The Morning Show – Billy Crudup as Cory Ellison
Succession – Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy
Squid Game – Park Hae-soo as Cho Sang-woo WINNER: Succession – Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans
Severance – John Turturro as Irving Bailiff
Severance – Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman
Squid Game – Oh Yeong-su as Oh Il-nam
Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie WINNER: The White Lotus – Murray Bartlett as Armond
The White Lotus – Jake Lacy as Shane Patton
Dopesick – Will Poulter as Billy Cutler
Pam & Tommy – Seth Rogen as Rand Gauthier
Dopesick – Peter Sarsgaard as Rick Mountcastle
Dopesick – Michael Stuhlbarg as Richard Sackler
The White Lotus – Steve Zahn as Mark Mossbacher
Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Alex Borstein as Susie Myerson
Hacks – Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels
Abbott Elementary – Janelle James as Ava Coleman
Saturday Night Live – Kate McKinnon as Various Characters
Ted Lasso – Sarah Niles as Dr. Sharon Fieldstone WINNER: Abbott Elementary – Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard
Ted Lasso – Juno Temple as Keeley Jones
Ted Lasso – Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca Welton
Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Severance – Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel WINNER: Ozark – Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore
Squid Game – Jung Ho-yeon as Kang Sae-byeok
Yellowjackets – Christina Ricci as Misty
Better Call Saul – Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler
Succession – J. Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman
Succession – Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy
Euphoria – Sydney Sweeney as Cassie
Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
The White Lotus – Connie Britton as Nicole Mossbacher WINNER: The White Lotus – Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya
The White Lotus – Alexandra Daddario as Rachel Patton
Dopesick – Kaitlyn Dever as Betsy Mallum
The White Lotus – Natasha Rothwell as Belinda
The White Lotus – Sydney Sweeney as Olivia Mossbacher
Dopesick – Mare Winningham as Diane Mallum
Outstanding Competition Program
The Amazing Race • CBS WINNER: Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls • Prime Video
Nailed It! • Netflix
RuPaul’s Drag Race • VH1
Top Chef • Bravo
The Voice • NBC
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah • Comedy Central
Jimmy Kimmel Live! • ABC WINNER: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver • HBO/HBO Max
Late Night With Seth Meyers • NBC
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert • CBS
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show • HBO/HBO Max WINNER: Saturday Night Live • NBC
Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series
Atlanta • New Jazz – Hiro Murai, Directed by
Barry • 710N – Bill Hader, Directed by
Hacks • There Will Be Blood – Lucia Aniello, Directed by
The Ms. Pat Show • Baby Daddy Groundhog Day – Mary Lou Belli, Directed by
Only Murders In The Building • The Boy From 6B – Cherien Dabis, Directed by
Only Murders In The Building • True Crime – Jamie Babbit, Directed by WINNER: Ted Lasso • No Weddings And A Funeral – MJ Delaney, Directed by
Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
Ozark • A Hard Way To Go – Jason Bateman, Directed by
Severance • The We We Are – Ben Stiller, Directed by WINNER: Squid Game • Red Light, Green Light – Hwang Dong-hyuk, Directed by
Succession • All The Bells Say – Mark Mylod, Directed by
Succession • The Disruption – Cathy Yan, Directed by
Succession • Too Much Birthday – Lorene Scafaria, Directed by
Yellowjackets • Pilot – Karyn Kusama, Directed by
Outstanding Directing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Dopesick • The People vs. Purdue Pharma – Danny Strong, Directed by
The Dropout • Green Juice – Michael Showalter, Directed by
The Dropout • Iron Sisters – Francesca Gregorini, Directed by
MAID • Sky Blue – John Wells, Directed by
Station Eleven • Wheel Of Fire – Hiro Murai, Directed by WINNER: The White Lotus – Mike White, Directed by
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series WINNER: Quinta Brunson • Abbott Elementary
Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky • Hacks
Duffy Boudreau • Barry
Bill Hader and Alec Berg • Barry
Steve Martin and John Hoffman • Only Murders in the Building
Jane Becker • Ted Lasso
Sarah Naftalis • What We Do in the Shadows
Stefani Robinson • What We Do in the Shadows
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series WINNER: Jesse Armstrong • Succession
Dan Erickson • Severance
Hwang Dong-hyuk • Squid Game
Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle, and Bart Nickerson • Yellowjackets
Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson • Yellowjackets
Chris Mundy• Ozark
Thomas Schnauz • Better Call Saul
Soman Chainani’s bestselling book series springs to life in Netflix’s The School for Good and Evil. The official trailer explains that this special academy trains heroes and villains, and is the origin of every great fairy tale story.
The huge ensemble cast features Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Patti LuPone, Sophia Anne Caruso, Sofia Wylie, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Flatters, Kit Young, and Peter Serafinowicz. Rob Delaney, Mark Heap, Rachel Bloom, Earl Cave, Demi Isaac Oviawe, Freya Parks, Kaitlyn Akinpelumi, Holly Sturton, Emma Lau, Briony Scarlett, and Ally Cubb also star.
Additional cast members include Rosie Graham, Joelle, Chinenye Ezeudu, Oliver Watson, Ali Khan, Myles Kamwendo and Misia Butler.
Sofia Wylie and Sophia Ann Caruso star as BFFs Agatha and Sophie who are given the opportunity to study at the magical school. Discussing the relationship between these two characters with Netflix’s TUDUM, Wylie explained, “Both of the girls have strengths that complement each other. When one of the characters is faltering, the other is there to pick them up. And yes, while they might fight and argue, at the end of the day, they love each other!”
Caruso added: “I’m excited for viewers to see an example of friendship between two female protagonists [like Agatha and Sophie]. The movie is full of magic, but the real heart of it and the true magic is their love.”
Paul Feig directs and co-wrote the screenplay with David Magee. Feig, Joe Roth, Jeffery Kirschenbaum, Jane Startz, and Laura Fischer produce. Author Soman Chainani, Stephen Jones, Zack Roth, Chris Castaldi, and Patrician Riggen serve as executive producers.
Sofia Wylie and Sophia Anne Caruso in Netflix’s ‘The School for Good and Evil’
The Plot, Courtesy of Netflix:
In the village of Gavaldon, two misfits and best friends, Sophie (Caruso) and Agatha (Wylie), share the unlikeliest of bonds. Sophie, a golden-haired seamstress, dreams of escaping her dreary life to become a princess, while Agatha, with her grim aesthetic and offbeat mother, has the makings of a real witch. One night under a blood red moon, a powerful force sweeps them away to the School for Good and Evil — where the true stories behind every great fairy tale begin. Yet something is amiss from the start: Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil, run by the glamourous and acid-tongued Lady Lesso (Theron), and Agatha in the School for Good, overseen by the sunny and kind Professor Dovey (Washington).
As if navigating classes with the offspring of the Wicked Witch (Parks), Captain Hook (Cave), and King Arthur (Flatters) wasn’t hard enough, according to the Schoolmaster (Fishburne), only true love’s kiss can change the rules and send the girls to their rightful schools and destiny. But when a dark and dangerous figure (Young) with mysterious ties to Sophie reemerges and threatens to destroy the school and the world beyond entirely — the only way to a happy ending is to survive their real life fairytale first.
Loan Chabanol as Nora, Jessie T. Usher as Davon, and Embeth Davidtz as Amanda in ‘Tales of the Walking Dead’ season 1 episode 5 (Photo Credit: Curtis Bonds Baker/AMC)
Season one episode five of AMC’s post-apocalyptic anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead opens with Davon (Jessie T. Usher, The Boys) waking up from a blow to the head. The season’s penultimate episode is told in a non-linear style, so it’s a bit confusing to see this just-introduced character is handcuffed to a zombie who’s trying to attack him.
Davon experiences a brief flashback of a woman and some drawings on a wall. He grabs a prosthetic leg and begins to hit the zombie over the head with it.
It’s the dead of night as this is going down, and a little girl finds him. He asks for help, and she yells for her mom. It’s obvious she knows him as she yells, “Davon! It’s him! He’s here!” before running off.
Davon is oblivious to what’s happening (and so is the audience). The zombie wakes up, and he hallucinates the dead person calling him a murderer.
As Davon drags the zombie along, he continues to hallucinate. The zombie accuses him of doing this to her and says that’s why they’re looking for him. He briefly hides under an upturned tree and then continues walking with the zombie to a small boathouse. Unfortunately, he’s unable to get inside it.
He discovers a photo in his boot and keys on the zombie. “Who are you?” he asks, and the zombie responds, “897.” Davon keeps walking through the community, and the zombie says the numbers again, right as they stumble upon that address.
Davon has a flashback of two French Canadian women and of his leg being chopped off.
The story leaps backward seven weeks, finally allowing viewers to begin to piece together what’s transpired.
Two women rescue Davon, and he regains consciousness in bed to discover one of his saviors tending to the wound on his leg. He asks for his boot, and one of the women hands him the photo of his family that was inside of it.
Flipping back to the present, Davon and his zombie friend enter 897’s garage. There are pieces of flesh, blood, and his missing boot on the floor. The zombie begins to explain this is where he killed her as he experiences multiple, rapid flashbacks. He has a vision of the woman becoming a zombie and of her saying, “Sometimes murder is mercy.”
He’s done dragging the zombie around and grabs a hacksaw. He cuts off the zombie’s hand so that she’s no longer his shadow.
Davon carries the zombie inside and lays it on the table. He’s struck with another flashback of the women – Nora (Loan Chabanol) and pre-zombie Amanda (Embeth Davidtz) – along with himself and a teenage boy named Arnaud (Gage Munroe) sitting at that very table, enjoying a meal. Amanda explains her son, Arnaud, got the scar on his throat because he and his father went out too far beyond the wall. His father didn’t make it back.
After that fond memory, Davon smiles at the zombie and says, “Amanda, I’m sorry.”
He glances at a piano and remembers Nora teaching him how to play. She encouraged him to keep trying, and the flashback reveals there was an attraction between him and Nora. (A shadowy figure watched from behind.)
Davon begins to explore the house and makes his way upstairs. After tending to the wound on his head, he has yet another flashback when he spots a poster on the wall. (This episode is littered with flashbacks!) This time his vision shows him waking up in bed after being rescued and Nora and Amanda giving him glasses because his were broken. He finds out he’s in Maine and recalls telling these helpful strangers that he ran into an unfriendly man in the woods. He didn’t shoot the man, but the man shot him. He believes murder isn’t the only option, but Amanda disagrees. Amanda thinks sometimes murder is the only option.
A short leap back in time shows Davon clearly hearing a child repeatedly saying the same thing in French through a vent. He heads down to the basement to investigate and discovers a zombie child chained up down there. He has a flashback of stabbing it in the head and of Amanda coming down the stairs. She said, “Sometimes murder is mercy,” before placing a black hood over his head.
Back to another flashback, Devon is bringing Nora strawberries which makes her happy. She wanted some for her salad, even though Davon thinks adding them ruins the salad. There is some flirtation going on between the two.
Jessie T. Usher as Davon in ‘Tales of the Walking Dead’ season 1 episode 5 (Photo Credit: Curtis Bonds Baker/AMC)
And now to the present… Davon is tied up to a gravestone as the hood’s removed from his head. The angry mob calls him a murderer and wonders how he could do this to children. Even Nora is there, and she also believes he’s done something.
Arnaud steps forward and drops to his knees next to Amanda’s body, accusing Davon of killing his mother. Davon insists he didn’t do it and would only kill if he was forced to or if someone was trying to kill him. Arnaud weeps as he calls his mother a good, kind person who took care of everyone. Arnaud suggests Davon murdered her after she discovered what he did.
Davon still has no clue what’s going on and what they’re talking about.
The angry mob demands to know where the children are, and Davon continues to be confused. He admits he saw one boy, and then one by one they all begin to extend their hands, palms up. (It’s some sort of signal they use to vote.) Davon attempts to get Nora to tell him what’s happening as she drops to her knees in front of him. She begs him to say where he saw the boy, and he confirms it was in the basement.
They drag Davon to a van and sentence him to death for killing children. They order him to get into the van and reveal it will be crushed once he’s inside.
Davon’s memory seems to clear a little amid the chaos, and he pleads with them, again claiming he’s innocent. He thinks it was Amanda who killed the children, and if they do this to him, an innocent man will be put to death for murders he didn’t commit. That will make them all murderers.
He begs Nora for help as they toss him into the van. Once inside he has a flashback of drawings of boys, and that triggers a memory.
Davon recalls being in the basement and seeing boys chained up down there. Amanda found him there and told him he didn’t belong in the basement.
As the bulldozer is about to crush the van, Davon screams out that there’s a boy who’s still alive. Nora orders the execution be put on hold as Davon says the boy is her son, Garen. The execution is still moving forward, despite Nora’s plea for them to stop. The townsfolk think Davon’s lying to save himself.
As she and Davon continue to scream, the bulldozer begins to crush the van.
Nora tries to stop the man operating the bulldozer, and a fight breaks out. The angry mob is divided and fights amongst themselves as Davon sees Arnaud running away.
The next morning Davon returns to the boathouse that he couldn’t get into before and sees Arnaud entering it. He quietly peeks in the door and sees Garen chained up. Arnaud is lecturing Garen about how it was very bad of him to run away but he forgives him.
Arnaud tells Garen that whenever he was scared, his mom would give him a treat. Davon has a flashback of reading in his room when he heard the child through the vent. He visualizes going down to the basement and finding a boy chained up there who was repeating flavors over and over, just like Arnaud is doing to Garen right now. Davon remembers seeing Garen in the basement and trying to free the boy but being thwarted by Amanda who then knocked him out.
Garen got away and Amanda tried to stop him, but Davon fought her off. Davon then handcuffed himself to her so couldn’t go after Garen. They made it into the garage and during the struggle, she faceplanted into a bucket of acid. Her face melted and she died.
Right after she passed away, Arnaud hit Davon in the head with a tire iron.
We get caught up on all the events as we see Davon waking up and then carrying Amanda through the woods. He was looking for help before collapsing.
Snippets of scenes we’ve already been shown flow by, but now we see Garen is in them too. Garen was with Davon right before Davon passed out.
Davon enters the boathouse and confronts Arnaud with a wooden club. Arnaud is armed with a knife as he confesses he knew Davon would be a problem, but because of Nora he was allowed to stay. Davon is stunned and asks why he’s killing kids, and Arnaud reveals he’s saving them from growing up in the world that they now live in now. He parrots his mom and says, “Sometimes murder is mercy.”
Davon realizes Amanda knew what her son was doing. Arnaud gets upset that Davon is bringing up his mother.
Arnaud explains that, at first, Amanda didn’t know but then she caught him. She tried to save his first victim, but they realized they couldn’t let him go because he’d tell. They wound up leaving him in the woods. Apparently, Amanda wouldn’t do anything about it because Arnaud is her son and she’d almost lost him once. She didn’t want to lose him for good.
Davon and Arnaud have made it out of the boathouse and are in the nearby field. He can hear zombies beneath him and that distracts Arnaud just enough for Davon to hit him with the club. Davon then pulls back a piece of wood and exposes two zombie children who’ve been buried beneath it.
Davon screams Nora’s name over and over as Arnaud drops to his knees, begging Davon not to do this. He swears he’ll leave and never come back.
Garen walks outside as Nora and the others come running. Garen tells everyone what Arnaud’s been doing and Arnaud calls Garen a liar. Fortunately, no one believes Arnaud.
Davon calls Arnaud a murderer and addresses the townspeople. “You would’ve killed me. Do you even care? Would you have regretted it when Arnaud killed another one of your children and then you realized that it wasn’t even me?”
Davon tells them they don’t have to live like this. There is still life out there. There is still hope.
Nora isn’t swayed by Davon’s powerful words and slaps Arnaud in the face. One by one the others run up and hit or kick Arnaud.
As Arnaud is being dragged toward the hole, he tries one last time to blame Davon. The men dragging him toss him in with the two zombie boys he killed. He dies a fitting death, being bit by those he murdered.
The most confusing episode of the season ends with Davon walking away and saying in French, “I will see.”
Daniela Nieves (Save Me) and André Dae Kim (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Locke & Key) star in Peacock’s Vampire Academy series, based on the bestselling books by Richelle Mead. Premiering on Thursday, September 15, 2022, Vampire Academy is set at St. Vladimir’s Academy, an institution populated by vampires – including the moroi (vampire royalty) – and guarded by dhampirs (half-human/half-vampires). Nieves stars as Lissa Dragomir, the last surviving member of the royal Dragomir bloodline. Kim plays Christian Ozera, a member of vampire royalty whose parents willingly turned into Strigoi (evil vampires).
Fans of Richelle Mead’s books know what to expect from Christian and Lissa’s relationship, while newbies only need to know Christian’s a bit of a bad boy and Lissa’s well respected among the royals. Teamed up for interviews at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, Daniela Nieves and André Dae Kim discussed getting into their characters, the source material, and wearing fangs.
Daniela Nieves as Lissa Dragomir and André Dae Kim as Christian Ozera in ‘Vampire Academy’ (Photo by: Peacock)
Daniela Nieves and André Dae Kim Interview:
How much did you know about Vampire Academy before signing on to star in the series?
Daniela Nieves: “Not much. Personally, for me, I feel like I hadn’t even heard of the books before I did it. I just really went into it seeing the sides, the way they were, and the relationships between Rose and Lissa and Christian and Lissa. I just kind of did my take on it. And then after that, I realized it was a book series.
(Laughing) So, I got the book series, read them…I binged the first book in two days. I was obsessed, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, this story of friendship and this vampire world is so incredible.’ I’m so happy to be a part of it.”
André Dae Kim: “I was the same way. It was kind of a general audition and after booking the show I read the first book. I was like, ‘Okay, now I’m a fan. That’s great.’ And now I get to work on this show and be a fan at the same time. So, yeah, it was the same for me.”
Daniela Nieves: “And it was crazy too because after we booked it, I think we all started really feeling like, ‘Oh wait, this is like a thing.’ It got released that we got cast and I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, no big deal.’ And then soon there were like 50 edits of us with like, ‘Dragomir this…,’ and us making out.”
André Dae Kim: “Our faces photoshopped.”
Daniela Nieves: “I was like, ‘Oh, wow, these fans really love these books.’ It just feels like a responsibility and an honor to be like, wow, we are the ones representing that.”
André Dae Kim: “A little bit of a motivation to keep the essence of those characters while we are training.”
Was there anything that was really creepy where you were like, “Now wait a minute – that’s just pushing it too far,” from the fans?
Daniela Nieves: “Oh my god, you know what’s so funny is that we had this scene one time… I wasn’t in it, but I heard about the story and it cracked me up. Jen (Kirby) who plays Alberta, she’s absolutely brilliant, and she had her first scene with the Strigoi. The Strigoi are like the evil vampires and our makeup team that was run by Ana Lozano – who is amazing as well – they really intricately made them so scary that while we were on set it was like, ‘Okay, action!’ and she (jumped) and goes, ‘That’s quite scary, isn’t it?’ She started laughing and she couldn’t get through it because they were just so creepy and scary in person.
They had these black teeth, with the fangs and the red bloodshot eyes, and they are swinging at you too as they are trying to kill you…in the show. So, I’d say the Strigoi were like really scary.”
André Dae Kim: “Were you talking about the show or the fan art?”
Both.
Daniela Nieves: “Oh, like something creepy from the fan art. Oh my god.”
André Dae Kim: “Do you remember that fan edit that we got that was like deep fakes of our faces with the movie – the Vampire Academy movie? That wasn’t creepy; that was so weird to see our faces rendered onto other people. I was like, ‘How do people do that? It’s so crazy.’”
Daniela Nieves: “Or like people would – because obviously in the books she’s blond – so people would photoshop blond hair on me, but it just didn’t suit me at all. It’s like I know y’all want me to be blond so bad, but it just doesn’t look good.’”
‘Vampire Academy’ stars Sisi Stringer, Kieron Moore, Daniela Nieves, and André Dae Kim at the San Diego Comic-Con (Photo by: Todd Williamson/Peacock)
Andre, you’ve been a part of big franchises before. How intimidating is it to be a part of something with a built-in established fan base?
André Dae Kim: “Yeah, it’s an established world too which can be scary, and I felt that way with Star Trek as well. There’s a core fanbase, there are established rules to this world, and coming in as like a newcomer can feel a little bit intimidating. But I’ll give full props to not only our cast but to our writing team Julie (Plec) and Marguerite (MacIntyre) as well because they absolutely made us feel so comfortable and so much like we had a place to be here, to play, but also to collaborate as well. So whatever nerves I had after meeting those two were just wiped away. And after meeting Daniela I was like, ‘Oh good, I’m in good hands.’”
Daniela Nieves: “Same here with meeting him. And, yeah, Julie and Marguerite obviously have done this and they are really great at what they do. I think having that was like a breath of fresh air and they definitely had a vision too. It was just incredible to be along for the ride and see it as well as an actor and be like, ‘Oh my god that’s what this is going to look like! What? This is the church that you guys picked out?!’ They really created a whole world top to bottom which was incredible.”
So how were the teeth?
Daniela Nieves: (Laughing) “I didn’t have to use the teeth too much, but I do use them a little bit. They were really interesting. The mold was that gummy disgusting thing, like when you make retainers – it was that. They just molded it to my canines.
There were a couple of different options, sizes, sharpness, and trying to decide what it would look like. And, ultimately, we went with really sharp options at the end and Julie really helped me with how to do the bite and how to tilt in a way that really looks good on camera and everything. And then when we finally got the final teeth, I guess it was a little too sharp and my feeder was like, ‘Hey just a little less…just a little less pressure.’
I was like, ‘Oh my god am I puncturing you and you’re bleeding out here?’
She was like, ‘No, no, no. It’s fine. It’s fine, just a little less.’
So, I definitely learned how to bite properly so for season two I will do it better.”
André Dae Kim: “You know what? I haven’t gotten a chance to show off my teeth, but I will say the teeth in the show look amazing.”
The vampires have special powers, including the ability to make fire. How do you visualize that and act as though you’re using your characters’ powers?
André Dae Kim: “That’s the great part about working on this show. I really wanted to have a little bit of agency over the magic. I didn’t want it to be just a set motion of set things, so there were scenes that were like everything that I envisioned now in the scene gets played out in the CGI.
I got to play with the fire, I got to throw it up in the air, I get to catch it, and I get to do stuff like that. And it was all allowed by Julie and Marguerite to play around with. I had a little bit of experience like you said with Star Trek and Locke and Key on working with things that weren’t actually there, which can be a little bit difficult because you’re expecting something to be there in front of you and you have to pretend like it is when it’s not. But it’s so much fun. There’s no kid who doesn’t grow up wanting to be a superhero shooting movies. It was a dream come true.”
Daniela Nieves: “I think the elements too…we have this whole selection of (elements) and I think Jeff and them created and showed us the different moves. We created moves for each element and all this stuff. Lissa doesn’t really get to play too much with her elemental magic because she’s not great at it, so I guess that’s part of it. But he (pointing at Andre) did a great job with really owning the fire and making us believe that he really is so good with fire, which is a whole thing of Christian’s is that he’s so amazing at fire. But yeah, it was a lot of fun.”
André Dae Kim: (Laughing) “I’m not like a pyromaniac or whatever. I just really thought about it.”
The two-minute trailer for Paramount+’s 11 Minutes documentary series opens with Country music fans enjoying the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas before their joy was erased by a mass shooter. Using interviews with concertgoers, cellphone footage, and other videos, 11 Minutes recalls the horrific mass shooting and its aftermath.
The four-part docuseries was directed by Emmy and Peabody-winning director Jeff Zimbalist (Momentum Generation, The Two Escobars) and features the very first in-depth interview with Jason Aldean. The Country music star was actually on stage when the shooting began.
“When I turned around, my bass player was just looking at me like a deer in the headlights. And my security guy was on stage at that point, telling me to get down, waving me off the stage,” recalled Aldean.
Aldean admits to feeling survivor’s guilt. “It’s hard not to feel a little guilty. I mean, those people were there to support us,” said Aldean.
The documentary is executive produced by Susan Zirinsky, Terence Wrong, Stu Schreiberg, Jeff Zimbalist, and Ashley Hoff. Hoff was one of the concertgoers who was forced to flee as the bullets flew.
“As I ran out of that field, I believe I witnessed some of humanity’s greatest moments … I’ve gotten to hear from many fellow survivors, some of the strongest, bravest, most resilient people I’ve ever met,” stated Hoff.
“It’s important that people know the truth out of respect for those we lost, out of those who were injured, those who are still mentally and physically scarred … that everybody’s spirits and legacies remain intact. That friendships made that night in those 11 minutes were made for a reason,” said SiriusXM radio host and festival emcee Storme Warren.
Warren added: “The story, to me, wasn’t about a shooter. It was about people helping each other.”
11 Minutes is timed to air during the week of the shooting’s fifth anniversary. The shooting took place on October 1, 2017 and the four-part documentary premieres on September 27, 2022 on Paramount+.
Paramount+ released the following description of the documentary:
“The documentary highlights first-person narratives of officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police force, trauma teams at Sunrise Hospital, and concertgoers who all experienced the trauma of this mass-casualty event. Using never-before-seen police bodycam footage and 200 hours of cell phone video, 11 Minutes lets viewers accompany heavily armed officers on a hair-raising mission, as step-by-step they approach the shooter’s hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay.
At the heart of 11 Minutes are miraculous stories of survival as ordinary people undertake extraordinary acts to help strangers. The series investigates the legacy of the 11 fateful minutes of gunfire as subjects ask crucial questions about lone-wolf violence, prevention and the humanity that transcends.”
The Rookie: Feds, premieres on September 27, 2022 with an episode titled “Day One.” Niecy Nash-Betts’ character Simone Clark was introduced over two episodes of The Rookie season four, and season one episode one focuses on Simone joining the FBI’s Los Angeles office.
In addition to Niecy Nash-Betts, the season one cast includes Frankie R. Faison (White Chicks) as Christopher “Cutty” Clark, James Lesure (Las Vegas) as Carter Hope, Britt Robertson (Big Sky) as Laura Stensen, Felix Solis (The International) as Matthew Garza, and Kevin Zegers (Transamerica) as Brendon Acres.
Season one episodes air on Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT.
The “Day One” Plot: Fresh out of the FBI Academy, Simone Clark arrives in Los Angeles and has her sights set on joining Matthew Garza’s newly formed special unit as they investigate the murder of a federal engineer. Garza’s squad includes Carter Hope, a promotion-hungry traditionalist, Laura Stenson, a talented agent in desperate need of a second chance, and Brendon Acres, a former actor who graduated from Quantico with Simone.
On the home front, Simone and Cutty’s father-daughter relationship is put to the test as their opposing opinions about law enforcement come to a head.
Niecy Nash-Betts stars in ‘The Rookie’ spin-off, ‘The Rookie: Feds’ (ABC/Raymond Liu)Niecy Nash-Betts and Felix Solis in ‘The Rookie: Feds’ season 1 episode 1 (ABC/Raymond Liu)Niecy Nash-Betts in season 1 episode 1 (ABC/Raymond Liu)Frankie Faison in season 1 episode 1 (ABC/Raymond Liu)Niecy Nash-Betts as Simone Clark in ‘The Rookie: Feds’ season 1 episode 1, “Day One” (ABC/Raymond Liu)
