Christina Ricci as Misty and Elijah Wood as Walter in ‘Yellowjackets’ season 2 (Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman / SHOWTIME)
Season two of Showtime’s award-winning thriller Yellowjackets has added Elijah Wood in a season-long guest starring role. According to the official announcement, Wood is playing Walter, “a dedicated Citizen Detective who will challenge Misty in ways she won’t see coming.”
Wood will be joining returning Yellowjackets stars Melanie Lynskey (Castle Rock), Juliette Lewis (Camping), Christina Ricci (Z: The Beginning of Everything), and Tawny Cypress (Unforgettable). It was recently announced that Servant‘s Lauren Ambrose has taken a series regular role for season two, playing the adult version of Van. Liv Hewston, the teen version of Van, has been upped to series regular for the upcoming season.
Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s Simone Kessell has signed on to play the adult Lottie Matthews. Courtney Eaton, the teen version, will be a regular in season two.
Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Narcos) created the popular series and serve as executive producers along with their fellow showrunner Jonathan Lisco and Creative Engine’s Drew Comins.
Season one of the addictive drama scored seven Emmy Awards nominations and averaged over 5 million viewers. Melanie Lynskey won the Best Actress in a Drama Series award at the 2022 Critics Choice Awards, and the series also earned two Writers Guild nominations.
Yellowjackets currently stands as the second-most streamed series in Showtime’s history. Filming is expected to get underway on season two this month in Vancouver.
Showtime’s official synopsis:
“Equal parts survival epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama, Yellowjackets is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over.”
(Updated with a photo of Elijah Wood in Yellowjackets.)
Netflix has set premiere dates for much of its fall and winter culinary lineup including Chef’s Table: Pizza, Nailed It! season seven, Easy-Bake Battle: The Home Cooking Competition, and Somebody Feed Phil season six. The streaming service’s lineup of food (and drink) oriented programming also includes Drink Masters, The Great British Baking Show: Holidays season five, Snack VS. Chef, and Cook at All Costs.
The Great British Baking Show Collection 10 is also a part of Netflix’s fall lineup, however, the premiere date hasn’t been announced.
CHEF’S TABLE: PIZZA – Premieres September 7, 2022
• The long-running culinary hit returns with a season that’s all about the pizza pie. From Portland to Phoenix, Italy to Japan, go inside the kitchens of chefs whose creativity elevates this ordinary dish to an art form via their unique flavors, inspiring backgrounds, and passion for creating the perfect slice.
• Featured Chefs: Chris Bianco (Phoenix, Ariz.), Gabriele Bonci (Rome, Italy), Ann Kim (Minneapolis, Minn.), Franco Pepe (Caiazzo, Italy), Yoshihiro Imai (Kyoto, Japan), Sarah Minnick (Portland, Ore.)
THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW COLLECTION 10 – Coming this Fall 2022
• The Great British Baking Show follows a group of amateur bakers as they compete against each other in a series of challenges, attempting to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith with their baking skills. One contestant is eliminated each week, and the winner is selected from the contestants who reach the finals.
NAILED IT! SEASON 7 – Premieres October 5, 2022
• The Emmy-nominated series is back with a season full of tricks and treats as we celebrate Halloween. Featuring ghoulish surprises from some favorite Netflix shows – Umbrella Academy, Cobra Kai, and The Witcher, the desserts are intentionally scary this time!
• Host: Nicole Byer
EASY-BAKE BATTLE: THE HOME COOKING COMPETITION – Premieres October 12, 2022
• Life is complicated, but cooking doesn’t have to be! Enter Easy-Bake Battle, a new culinary competition series inspired by Hasbro’s iconic Easy-Bake Oven, featuring skilled and ultra clever home cooks, all with a ton of heart and soul, facing off and using their most ingenious kitchen hacks to prove who can make the easiest, fastest, and most delicious food.
• Host: Antoni Porowski
SOMEBODY FEED PHIL SEASON 6 – Premieres October 18, 2022
• Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal travels the globe to take in the local cuisine and culture. This season will feature Phil traveling to all new destinations, including Croatia, Philadelphia, Nashville, Austin and Santiago and includes a special tribute episode to Phil’s parents, Helen and Max.
• Phil will also release his highly anticipated book Somebody Feed Phil: The Book on October 18, 2022, via Simon & Schuster. As the companion cookbook to the Netflix show, this is the ultimate collection of must-have recipes, never-before-heard stories, behind-the-scenes photos, and more from the first four seasons of the beloved series.
DRINK MASTERS – Premieres October 28, 2022
• Twelve of the world’s most innovative mixologists infuse, stir and blend their way through a series of high-stakes cocktail challenges to win a life-changing prize and the title of The Ultimate Drink Master.
THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW: HOLIDAYS SEASON 5 – Premieres November 18, 2022
• Deck the halls with sugar, butter and chocolate as competitors from past seasons bake wondrous winter treats for judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.
SNACK VS. CHEF – Premieres November 30, 2022
• Hosted by comedians Megan Stalter and Hari Kondabolu, this new food competition sees 12 chefs go head-to-head in the ultimate snack showdown. Not only must they recreate some of the world’s most iconic snacks, they’ll also be challenged to invent their own original snacks inspired by beloved classics. Only one will prevail and claim the $50,000 prize.
COOK AT ALL COSTS – Premieres December 16, 2022
• Do luxury ingredients always make the best dishes? Or can humble items be transformed into a recipe for success? Hosted by chef and restaurateur Jordan Andino, Cook at All Costs is a cooking competition where skill meets strategy, as three home cooks put their money where their mouths are to bid on ingredients in a high-stakes, auction-packed cook off. With $25,000 in their banks, the homecooks will have to decide if they want to bid big for the best ingredients, save their money for the basics, or gamble on a surprise – because in the end, the cook who best impresses our celebrity guest chef will win all the money left in their bank. Can the THRIFTY dish topple the PRICEY plate or will the WILDCARD wow the guest judge for the win? This is Cook at All Costs!
A rogue lion that kills any human he comes across turns a family’s vacation into a fight for survival in the action thriller, Beast.
The movie begins with newly widowed Dr. Nate Daniels (Idris Elba, Luther) and his two daughters – Meredith (Iyana Halley, This is Us) and Norah (Leah Jeffries, Empire) – arriving in South Africa on vacation. Hoping to reconnect with his daughters and bond, Nate is determined to show them where he met their mother. He’s even planning on having his best friend Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley, District 9), a game reserve manager, take them on a special tour.
At first, the tour of the reserve is beautiful and impressive, with Nate and his daughters witnessing a pride of lions and the place where Meredith and Norah’s mother took a stunning self-portrait. But when Martin takes Nate and the girls to a small village to show them around, they stumble across a terrifying and gruesome scene.
They discover the villagers have been brutally killed by a rogue lion. “I’ve never seen anything like this. Multiple attacks without eating its prey. Lions don’t do that…at least no lion I’ve ever seen,” says Martin to a shocked Nate.
Realizing they’re in danger, Martin orders Nate to return to the girls in his Jeep and get ready to go back to town. What was to be a fun and memorable vacation turns into a deadly fight for survival as the rogue lion begins hunting them.
Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, and Leah Jeffries in ‘Beast’ (Photo Credit: Lauren Mulligan / Universal Pictures)
Reminiscent of the 1970s films Grizzly and Day of the Animals, Beast is a B-grade “animals attack” movie with solid performances by Idris Elba and Sharlto Copley that raise the film above other movies of its ilk. It’s a suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat thriller with plenty of jump scares.
Idris Elba is pitch-perfect as Nate, a loving father who becomes desperate to get his daughters away from the killer lion and quickly realizes just how dire their situation is. Sharlto Copley steals every scene he’s in as Martin Battles, Nate’s best friend and manager of the reserve. Martin’s accustomed to protecting the wild animals from poachers and is genuinely shocked to come across a deadly rogue lion hunting humans. The scene where he searches for the lion and slowly realizes that he’s the one being hunted is one of the most suspenseful in the film.
The CGI effectively creates a realistic-looking lion that is sure to have the audience screaming and jumping in their seats as it roars, charges, and attacks. The audience at this film critics’ screening did precisely that.
Tense and entertaining, Universal Pictures’ Beast is a crowd-pleasing adventure thriller with everything a decent B-grade movie should have.
GRADE: B-
MPAA Rating: R for bloody images, violent content, and some language
Running Time: 1 hour 33 minutes
Release Date: August 19, 2022
Directed By: Baltasar Kormákur (Everest, Contraband)
Dan Levy joins Sex Education season 4 (Photo Courtesy of Netflix)
Emmy Award winner Dan Levy has joined the cast of Netflix’s Sex Education season four. Levy, who recently finished up work as showrunner, writer, and star of Schitt’s Creek (which he also created), will play Thomas Molloy in season four.
The Sex Education casting announcement describes Thomas as “a famous author, and Maeve’s US course tutor at her Ivy League college.”
FIlming is now underway on season four starring Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Aimee-Lou Wood, Emma Mackey, and Connor Swindells. Kedar Williams-Stirling, Mimi Keene, George Robinson, Chinenye Ezeudu, Dua Saleh, Alistair Petrie, and Samantha Spiro also star.
Newcomers to the series for the fourth season include Doctor Who’s Thaddea Graham, Kamikaze‘s Marie Reuther, Felix Mufti, Anthony Lexa, Alexandra James, and Imani Yahshua.
Lauren Nunn created the series and serves as writer and executive producer. Jamie Campbell and Ben Taylor are also executive producers, and Clare Couchman is a co-executive producer. Nunn’s writing team features Troy Hunter, Krishna Istha, Selina Lim, Ethan Harvey, Annalisa Dinnella, Bella Heesom, and Thara Popoola. Dominic Leclerc, Michelle Savill, and Alyssa McClelland direct.
Netflix offered this synopsis of season four:
“Following the closure of Moordale Secondary, Otis and Eric now face a new frontier – their first day at Cavendish Sixth Form College. Otis is nervous about setting up his new clinic, whilst Eric is praying they won’t be losers again. But Cavendish is a culture shock for all the Moordale students – they thought they were progressive but this new college is another level. There’s daily yoga in the communal garden, a strong sustainability vibe and a group of kids who are popular for being… kind?!
Viv is totally thrown by the college’s student-led, non-competitive approach, while Jackson is still struggling to get over Cal. Aimee tries something new by taking an Art A Level and Adam grapples with whether mainstream education is for him. Over in the US, Maeve is living her dream at prestigious Wallace University, being taught by cult author Thomas Molloy. Otis is pining after her, whilst adjusting to not being an only child at home, or the only therapist on campus…”
Paramount+ has set a September 18, 2022 premiere for season six of the popular military drama, SEAL Team. The premiere date announcement was accompanied by a two-minute trailer for the show’s upcoming season.
New episodes of the 10-episode season will arrive on Sundays.
Season six stars David Boreanaz as Jason Hayes, Max Thieriot as Clay Spenser, and Neil Brown Jr as Ray Brown. AJ Buckley returns as Sonny Quinn, Toni Trucks is back as Lieutenant Lisa Davis, and Raffi Barsoumian stars as Omar Hamza. Boreanaz serves as an executive producer along with Spencer Hudnut, Christopher Chulack, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, and Mark Owen.
The first four seasons aired on CBS, with the show moving to Paramount+ for seasons five and six.
Poster for Paramount+’s ‘SEAL Team’ season 6
The SEAL Team Plot, Courtesy of Paramount+:
SEAL Team follows the professional and personal lives of the most elite unit of Navy SEALs as they train, plan, and execute the most dangerous, high-stakes missions our country can ask of them. Jason Hayes (Boreanaz) is the respected, intense leader of the Tier One team whose home life has suffered as a result of his extensive warrior’s existence.
His team includes his trusted confidant, Ray Perry (Brown, Jr.), the longest-tenured operator with whom Jason shares an ingrained shorthand; Sonny Quinn (Buckley), an exceptional, loyal soldier with a checkered past who still combats self-destructive tendencies; Clay Spenser (Thieriot), a young, multilingual second-generation SEAL with insatiable drive and dedication; Omar Hamza (Barsoumian), a senior chief with fifteen years of experience as a SEAL, the son of Syrian immigrants with deep understanding of the Middle East. Vital to the team’s success is Lieutenant Lisa Davis (Trucks), a no-nonsense, take-charge officer.
Deployed on clandestine missions worldwide at a moment’s notice and knowing the toll it takes on them and their families, this tight-knit SEAL team displays unwavering patriotism and fearless dedication even in the face of overwhelming odds.
Woniya in season 1 of The History Channel’s ‘Alone: Frozen’
Six of Alone’s strongest survivalists were selected for The History Channel’s Alone: Frozen season one, and after just five days the field was done to five. Episode one featured three out of the six competitors and episode two, “Frost Bound,” catches us up with the other three Alone veterans who’ve accepted this special challenge – Woniya, Greg, and Michelle.
The Alone spinoff switches things up by challenging the competitors to survive 50 days in the freezing cold Labrador wildness during the North Atlantic winter. Anyone who manages to make it to Day 50 will receive a share of the $500,000 prize money.
Woniya Thibeault, Age 45, California – Season 6, Survived 73 Days
49 Days Left: Woniya loves her beautiful little beach but describes the area she’s about to make her temporary home as sparse. There are only a few tiny trees and bare rock, but at least she’s on the ocean.
Woniya was the runner-up on season six, the first season that took place in the Arctic. She was thrilled to be able to test all of her skills on that season and hopes to carry that forward to the first season of Alone: Frozen.
She wound up tapping after 73 days because she was certain she wouldn’t have passed the medical check. Her body was done but she definitely didn’t want to leave.
Woniya made her much of her own gear for Alone: Frozen, including leather boots. This season’s also different because now she has a partner in life, Taylor, and when she participated in season six, she didn’t. Being without him is going to be difficult.
She finds a water bottle on the beach and is excited about the prospect of having portable water.
The sun’s nearly down when Woniya’s dropped off, so her first priority is shelter rather than food. She sets up her ridge pole and it’s not beautiful, but at least it’s functional. She throws her tarp over it and admits the challenge will be finding firewood and tender because it’s so wet.
Woniya plans on positioning the tarp so that it covers the shelter and is also under her sleeping bag.
As she settles in for the night, she’s wowed by the Aurora Borealis. The sky is gorgeous and she thinks it’s a good sign.
47 Days Left: She’s going to work on her permanent shelter today. There’s not a lot of building materials but she discovered a spot with a rock cliff she can build against. The weather turns wet and windy as she starts her build. The rocks will provide two walls which should cut down on the amount of time it takes to put up a shelter.
Woniya admits she doesn’t feel as connected to this place, and the conditions are harsher than Alone season six.
She gets two and a half sides of her shelter built and puts her tarp over it. A combination of logs and sod will complete it, but her tendonitis is flaring up from all the sawing. The rain’s pouring down as she gets under her shelter.
44 Days Left: Woniya’s concerned about her tarp because there are multiple holes in it. There’s water collected on top of it, too. She admits this is so much more challenging than she expected.
Woniya cries as she says she doesn’t want to be cold, wet, and miserable. She’s thinking about what she put on hold to be here, and she misses her beautiful life at home. She never thought she’d consider leaving on day six.
Greg in season 1 of The History Channel’s ‘Alone: Frozen’
Greg Ovens, Age 58, British Columbia – Season 3, Survived 51 Days
49 Days Left: Greg doesn’t have time to check out the resources as there’s only two hours left of sunlight. He’s going to find a nearby spot and throw up his tarp for the night. Hopefully, he won’t be visited by any polar bears.
Greg went 51 days in season three in Patagonia and says his fall in the lake – plus not eating for a long time – caused him to go downhill fairly rapidly. He realized he wasn’t thinking straight and was forced to tap.
He’s twice as old as almost all the other competitors but with age comes wisdom. Greg’s determined to be more patient and less stressed out this time. He hopes he’ll deal with the challenges differently than he did in season three.
Greg’s concerned about polar bears and worried about his very primitive temporary shelter. He’s set it up amongst the trees and hopes to get to work on a much better one soon.
He gathers some firewood as he thinks about the harsh conditions they’ll be enduring over 50 days. It won’t be easy, that’s for sure.
As he’s grabbing wood, he finds bear scat and footprints. He really, really doesn’t want to see a polar bear. Male polar bears can weigh 1700+ pounds.
48 Days Left: The wind’s kicked up and the weather’s turning nasty, and Greg admits he’s not feeling great about sleeping on the ground. His shelter’s a lean-to and he’s hoping for the best when it comes to protecting him from bears.
Greg sets out to find mussels and admits to being obsessed with living off the land. He loves coming up with new ideas for fishing and trapping. And although he’s gathered some mussels, he decides he needs to try fishing.
He relies heavily on fish when he’s on his own and thinks there should be lots of fish in this area.
Unfortunately, the kelp goes out as far as he can toss his handline. It’s the worst fishing spot he’s seen in his lifetime. He’ll have to dine on mussels today.
The tide’s coming in as Greg discovers he’s lost his pot. He set it down when he was looking for bait and without it, he can’t boil water, make tea, or cook the mussels. “I don’t see why I would do something so stupid,” he admits.
Greg goes through the footage he’s shot to figure out where he left it. It doesn’t help and he thinks it’s possible the tide took it away. So, he can’t catch fish and now his pot is missing.
Greg doesn’t like the overwhelming feeling of not being in control.
A short while later he finds his pot and yells at himself to hang onto it.
47 Days Left: The tarp’s a bust as his down-filled sleeping bag is soaked. He’s going to have to use the black tarp provided for the camera gear to cover everything for now. (That tarp doesn’t count as one of the contestants’ 10 items.) He expects the rain to keep up all day and picks up his sleeping bag, showing it’s soaking wet.
“This is much harder than I thought it would be. The mental struggle is extreme; that’s what I’m finding the hardest is just mentally dealing with the failures,” he admits.
Greg reminds himself to be careful because he’s not 30 anymore. He confesses he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t know when to quit.
He gets in a tussle with a tree and gets soaking wet in the process. All of this is very déjà vu-ish and brings Patagonia back to mind. It took him three months to recover from that experience.
46 Days Left: The sleeping bag’s no longer soaking wet but it took forever to dry it out. He cooks up his mussels for breakfast and decides to try and trap the seagulls that come by during low tide. (FYI, one cup of seagull meat has 300 calories.)
Greg starts work on his bird trap which looks complicated, but he swears will work. It’s one of his new ideas and he’s hopeful it’ll catch something.
45 Days Left: Greg says the lack of food and wet bedding isn’t much fun. Getting any substantial food would be a game-changer and he heads out to check his seagull trap. Unfortunately, he set the trap too close to the water and part of it was destroyed.
Greg thinks he’s wasting his time and it was a lot of work for nothing. He’s finding out there’s just not enough food here and he’s getting very stressed out. He’s sure things will only get worse from here on out.
44 Days Left: Greg’s having panic attacks because this is much harder than he thought it would be. It’s only day six but it’s reminding him so much of Patagonia and how he struggled and suffered there. That’s what’s creating his anxiety.
“I’m just not ready for suffering like this again,” confesses Greg.
Michelle in season 1 of The History Channel’s ‘Alone: Frozen’
Michelle Finn, Age 47, Maine – Season 8, Survived 21 Days
49 Days Left: Michelle’s from the East Coast of Maine and feels a kinship with Labrador. She tapped out after 21 days during season eight because she wasn’t successful at procuring food. She went from 120 pounds to 98 over 21 days.
Michelle feels honored to be given another shot at testing her survival skills. “This season, I really want to win the show,” says Michelle.
After being dropped off, Michelle immediately begins hunting for clams. They’re scattered all over the beach and she’s determined to eat as much as possible as soon as possible.
48 Days Left: Morning arrives and Michelle wakes up after camping on the beach. She also saw the Aurora Borealis and it was cool. She hasn’t seen it since she lived in Alaska.
The day’s gorgeous but she knows bad weather’s coming in. That means she needs to get to work quickly on a shelter. The challenge will be cold, wet, and windy, so she needs a campsite that’s protected but with access to what she needs.
Michelle finds bear scat and recites the bear warning: “Black, fight back. Brown, lie down. White, good night.” She absolutely doesn’t want a polar bear to know she’s there so her shelter needs to provide protection against the weather and predators.
Michelle finds the perfect spot and starts cutting down trees. She wasted too much energy on constructing a large shelter on Alone season eight. This time she wants to keep it simple and small. “The smaller I can make it, the warmer it will be,” says Michelle.
Her shelter will be an A-frame completely covered to the ground by the tarp. Ribs internally will be attached to the support beam across the center.
She takes a break from shelter building to check on the fire and hears something large nearby. Michelle grabs her camera to check it out and discovers it’s just the water. The level’s gone up much more than she anticipated and now she’s nervous because the weather’s changing. She needs to make sure her shelter can support the snowfall. Labrador can get 30” of snow in one day.
45 Days Left: It’s raining and Michelle plans to go collect food. She hopes there are lots of mussels, crabs, clams, and periwinkles around.
It’s only 21 degrees as she wears gloves while digging for clams. She spots mussels out in the open and can’t believe her luck.
As she’s gathering food, she recalls a childhood spent outdoors and growing up in a family that grew their own food. “The connection with food sources was always big in our family, so I feel really grateful for this level of clams and mussels,” says Michelle.
Michelle sewed one of her gaiters shut with fishing line and has been using it to store the food she collected. She’s got a pot full by the time she’s finished and is really happy about how much she was able to find.
Michelle hopes to make it to 50 days in better condition than she was at 21 days on season eight.
44 Days Left: Michelle woke up feeling sick, weak, and nauseous. She made sure to hydrate and feels better, and her goal for the day is to gather a lot of firewood and store it in the shelter.
Her stomach’s feeling raw, but she hopes that will pass. She doesn’t think it’s caused by hunger. Her mind races thinking about what could be causing her to feel sick.
Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, and Michael Maize in ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ episode 6 (Photograph by Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max)
Season one episode six of HBO Max’s Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin picks up right where episode five left off. Tabby (Chandler Kinney) opens up to Imogen (Bailee Madison) about what happened to her, explaining that she was working at the theater when a bunch of kids from school came in last summer. Courtesy of a flashback, we see Greg (Elias Kacavas) inviting Tabby to the party.
Tabby recalls that after Chip (Carson Rowland) agreed to cover her shift, she went to the party and had a good time…until things took a turn for the worse. She became dizzy and lightheaded, and remembers thinking she needed to get home. Instead, she walked deeper into the woods.
The next thing she remembers is lying on her back with a male on top of her. Imogen asks if it was Tyler and Tabby reveals he was away on a family vacation at the time. She doesn’t know who it was.
Imogen’s sorry that happened and Tabby confesses she was too ashamed to tell her mom. Imogen’s the only person who knows.
Imogen admits she doesn’t know who raped her either, and she remembers even less than Tabby. She isn’t ready to say anything else about the incident.
Tabby agrees to accompany Imogen to see Joseph England, the man who says he has info on Davie, Angela Waters, and Angela’s family. They plan a trip for the following day, after school.
Monday, November 2: Faran (Zaria) asks the dance class’s seamstress to add fabric to the back of her corset. She shows the seamstress her scars, and both Henry (Ben Cook) and Kelly (Mallory Bechtel) witness the conversation.
Madame Giry (Kate Jennings Grant) delivers the exciting news that the director of the repertoire of ABT, Madame Lorraine, is coming to watch Swan Lake. She’ll be in class tomorrow as well to critique anyone who has a variation to show her.
Zaria and Mallory Bechtel in ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ episode 6 (Photograph by Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max)
Faran admits to Kelly she was out of line and Kelly cuts her off. Kelly reveals that when she told Madame Giry all the crazy stuff Faran said, Madame Giry wanted to kick her out of Swan Lake.
“The only reason you are still here is because I told her not to,” says Kelly.
Ash (Jordan Gonzalez) asks Mouse (Malia Pyles) why she didn’t text him back after the party and she explains her moms were pissed she missed curfew. He wonders if they’ll let her out again and she says they’re working on trust.
Mouse agrees to a date the following night at the bowling alley.
The track coach offers Noa (Maia Reficco) a spot on the track team because a team member fractured her foot. Noa turns it down, explaining she’s got a lot going on at home.
Meanwhile, Corey Bryant (Zakiya Young) is at work in Pittsburgh when she notices a red box on her desk. The tag indicates it’s to her and the A in Bryant is in red. She opens it and inside is a bloody tattoo gun with a note that reads: “Some scars you see. Some you don’t but they all hurt.” The A in scars is in red.
A flashback to 1999 reveals Corey (Kristian Mosley) and Angela Waters (Gabriella Pizzolo) at a tattoo shop. Corey convinces Angela to get a tattoo of an A on her arm, claiming they’re all doing it. Of course, she talks Angela into going first.
When Angela’s done the waiting room is empty. Corey left her there with no intention of getting a tattoo herself.
After her flashback, present-day Corey quickly closes the box and shoves it under her desk.
Henry tells Faran he thinks it’s cool that she’s presenting tomorrow in front of Madame Lorraine. He thought she would but, honestly, he isn’t even sure she likes dancing. Faran’s surprised by that comment and admits she doesn’t like the politics and pettiness around ballet. However, she loves actually dancing.
Henry asks Faran about her back and she explains she had corrective surgery when she was eight for scoliosis. When her first ballet teacher noticed the curve in her back, her mom couldn’t get her to a doctor fast enough. Henry’s shocked she had surgery that young and wonders why she couldn’t just wear a brace. Faran admits she did before and after the surgery.
Faran says her back still hurts but it’s nothing she can’t handle.
Imogen and Tabby arrive at the trainyard where Joseph England lives, and he tells them people call him Crazy Joe. (That doesn’t settle their nerves at all!) Joe explains the town pays him to keep an eye on the derelict cars to make sure no one burns them.
Imogen gets down to business and asks about Angela Waters. Joe confesses he was in love with her but they didn’t date. They were fellow misfits and friends until “that gaggle of she-bitches turned her head and took her away from me.” The “gaggle” was Imogen’s mom’s group.
Joe explains they adopted her and turned her into a high-town bitch. He tried to warn her about those girls, but Angela ignored him. He was right and what happened was a tragedy.
Tabby asks if he knows why Angela killed herself. He replies that Angela couldn’t keep up with those girls so eventually she came crashing down on Y2K night. Joe also reveals Angela’s mother, Rose, was her only family. After what happened, Rose snapped and showed up at the high school with a knife to get revenge.
Rose didn’t stab anyone, but she tried to stab multiple people at a table full of boys. (She didn’t go after Imogen’s group.) She was ultimately taken away to the Radley Sanitarium in Rosewood. (Sound familiar, fans of the original Pretty Little Liars? It should.)
Joe says it’s possible she’s still there. He changes the subject and asks if she brought his money. Tabby seems surprised when Imogen hands over some cash.
Outside, Tabby and Imogen attempt to piece together what Tabby’s mom meant when she said they were trying to help Angela. They still assume their moms were sweet girls and Tabby wonders if that’s what Joe meant by adopting Angela.
Since Tabby’s mom will be out of town, Imogen and Tabby make plans to go to the Radley Sanitarium and find Rose Waters.
Greg and Kelly are at school at night rehashing what happened at the party. Kelly says she heard that Tabby punched Tyler in the face, and Greg confirms she punched him in the nose. Greg thinks Tyler must be really embarrassed because he hasn’t heard from him since.
Greg leans in for a kiss but Kelly pulls away. He wonders what’s the big deal. “It’s not like we are cheating on her. Karen is gone,” says Greg. Kelly asks if he misses Karen, saying, “I mean, we both do, right? That’s why we kissed at the party, isn’t it?”
Greg confesses that maybe he doesn’t miss her and that maybe he always wanted Kelly, not Karen. This time Kelly lets him kiss her but when he climbs on top of her, she tells him to stop.
Kelly stands up and Greg shows his creepy side by saying, “Come on! You Beasley girls like it rough.” Kelly says that might have been her sister, but that is not her. If he wants a chance with her, he better be at Swan Lake, front and center, with flowers.
When Greg walks off, we see the masked man lurking in the back.
Noa and Shawn (Alex Aiono) pause their hot and heavy make out session in her bed when Shawn says her coach came to see him today after she turned down a spot on the team. Noa explains her mom got fired from the hospital for stealing drugs, so she needs to be at home to keep her busy and make sure she stays clean.
“Noa, all you’ve wanted was to get back on that team. Haven’t you given up enough for her?” he asks. Noa doesn’t want to hear it from him. She thinks he doesn’t get it because his parents are perfect, and he has no idea what it’s like living with an addict. She refuses to turn her back on her mom.
Steve sends a video chat to Mouse and she reminds him pretending to be his missing daughter was a one-time thing. He understands and Mouse ends the call.
Tuesday, November 3: Noa hands in her urine sample and the school nurse says she heard about her mom getting dismissed from the hospital. She’s still friends with someone who works there. Noa knows what her mom did was wrong but can’t believe they fired her. The nurse is sympathetic and Noa seizes the opportunity to see if she can help her mom. The nurse reveals she used to work with Noa’s mom and agrees to see what she can do.
The girls meet at school and Imogen shares what she and Faran learned from Joe. Mouse wonders if Crazy Joe could be A and Imogen thinks it’s possible. Tabby makes a good point when she says, “Except for the fact that he didn’t try to kill us.” Tabby does agree he’s a person of interest.
Joe confirmed their suspicions that their moms are connected to what happened to Angela. If they can figure out what happened, they can figure out why A has been coming after them.
Imogen explains she and Tabby looked up the Radley Sanitarium and learned it’s now a hotel. Imogen and Tabby want to take a road trip but everyone else is too busy to visit Rosewood. Faran’s got the ballet and Mouse has a date with Ash. (The girls are shipping them and declare themselves #TeamMash.)
Elena Goode and Maia Reficco in ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ episode 6 (Photograph by Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max)
Noa shares the exciting news with her mom that the hospital will hire her back if she goes to rehab for 30 days. Marjorie (Elena Goode) seems to think she’s doing fine and doesn’t need rehab. Noa confesses she thought when she took the fall for her mom that would be her rock bottom. “But it wasn’t yours – it was mine,” says Noa.
Noa’s powerful words get to her mom, and she agrees this isn’t how it’s supposed to be. She should be the one holding the family together. When Noa suggests they should do it together, her mom agrees to go to rehab.
Faran performs for Madame Giry and Madame Lorraine, and Madame Lorraine points out she favors her left side. Lorraine asks if she’s been injured and Kelly jumps in and says, “She has scoliosis and like a crazy scar on her back.”
Imogen and Tabby arrive at the hotel in Rosewood and ask the desk clerk for information on the Radley before it was a hotel. They lie that it’s a school project on the Radley Sanitarium, and he explains Eddie Lamb, the maintenance manager, worked in the building for years and knows the history. However, he won’t be in until tomorrow morning.
The clerk refuses to give them Eddie’s number, so Imogen and Tabby declare they’re going to wait in the lobby. When he explains it’s for guests only, Imogen hands over cash for a room – cash she earned from her lucrative fundraiser.
Shawn secretly decides to have a talk with Marjorie. He asks Noa’s mom if she has any idea how badly she’s hurting her daughter’s life and reveals he knows Noa took the fall for her. Shawn also reveals Noa’s giving up a spot on the track team and Marjorie says she didn’t ask her to do that.
“If you care about Noa at all, then stop dragging her down before it’s too late,” warns Shawn.
Faran and her parents celebrate how well her dance went in front of Madame Lorraine with dinner out. Corey believes her daughter’s going to be a star and brings up the possibility of Faran having surgery to take care of the scars on her back. Faran’s dad, Zeke (Benton Greene), is totally against it, but Faran thinks maybe they can look into it.
Corey reveals she already made an appointment with a doctor.
Imogen decides to stay in the hotel because she hasn’t been this comfortable in months, while Tabby wants to check out the local bookstore.
Mouse is having the best time bowling with Ash when she spots Steve lurking nearby. After convincing Ash to get nachos, Mouse confronts her stalker about why he’s following her. Steve calls her Rachel and Mouse immediately reacts, saying that’s not her name. She’s sorry his real daughter was taken, but she comforted him and now it’s over.
Ash arrives with the nachos and Steve introduces himself as Mouse’s dad, which shocks Mouse. She stumbles out an explanation and then asks Ash to take her home.
Noa’s mom attempts to lay a guilt trip on her and is angry she told Shawn their secret. Marjorie’s offended that he made it seem like she’s a burden to Noa. Marjorie isn’t going to rehab and took a job at Pinball Pizza.
Tabby meets a cute boy at the bookstore, and he offers to buy her coffee. They have a good time talking but then when they start to kiss in his car, he tries to go further and she freaks out. Oh, actually, that was all in her head. In reality, Tabby declines his coffee invitation.
Kelly’s alone at school practicing when she receives a text from an unknown person: “Kelly or Karen?” She spots someone in a costume and initially thinks it’s Henry. He chases her with a knife and she cries out, “I’m Kelly!” over and over. When she looks up from cowering, her attacker’s gone.
Bailee Madison and Chandler Kinney in ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ episode 6 (Photograph by Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max)
Tabby returns to the hotel and Imogen tells her she talked to Eddie Lamb. It turns out he used to be an orderly at the Radley. He agreed to meet them and bring an old visitors log.
Wednesday, November 4: Faran exits the doctor’s exam room and informs her mom she’s not doing the surgeries – yes, there would be more than one. Faran confesses her mom makes her feel like she isn’t beautiful or strong.
Corey brings up the scar again and Faran replies, “So what if I have a scar? If I can live with it, why can’t you?”
Imogen and Tabby meet with Eddie Lamb and realize that not only did an A. Waters come to visit Rose, but all the A. Waters signatures in the visitors log are different. Multiple people came to visit her and all used A. Waters to sign in.
Eddie reveals there were five people who visited Rose and confirms the people in Imogen’s photo are the people who visited.
Rose was there until it shut down. Some patients were sent to Sisters of Quiet Mercy in Riverdale and others, like Rose, were bussed out of town. (Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa created both PLLOS and The CW’s Riverdale.)
Imogen brings up that they heard Rose attacked some kids at Millwood High. Eddie shocks them by confirming Rose had a psychotic break after her daughter was raped and committed suicide. Imogen and Tabby had no clue she was raped. Eddie confirms Angela Waters was raped right before she jumped to her death.
Faran receives a text from A while she’s at school that reads: “The scars go deeper than you think. Yours and Angela’s. Corey did wrong by both of you. Check your locker.”
Faran finds a medical file showing her doctor advised against the surgery when she was eight. The doctor wrote that Faran would likely outgrow her condition in time.
Madame Giry offers Faran the opportunity to dance the role of Odile in Swan Lake since Kelly dropped out for personal reasons. Madame Giry offers to have the costume altered to cover her back, but Faran says there’s no need to do so.
Faran wants to update her bio for the board outside the theater and asks Henry to shoot a new photo for it.
Tabby and Imogen are still at the hotel relaxing when Tabby says something doesn’t add up. There are actually six signatures in the logbook, not just five. That means there’s a mystery person out there who visited Rose as A. Waters as well.
Tabby brings up Angela being raped before she died, and Imogen decides to share her story about the night she was raped. It was the night of Karen and Kelly’s party – the night that Tyler shot the video of Karen.
Imogen remembers grabbing a bottle of vodka and drinking it on the beach alone…and that’s all she remembers. When she woke up the next day she was in pain and her underwear was torn. That was the day she got pregnant and she has no idea who’s the father.
Tabby wonders if the guy who attacked her also attacked Imogen.
Marjorie’s smoking outside the Pizza place when a man walks up and sells her drugs. It appears she set up the buy and is still hooked.
The night of the big Swan Lake performance arrives, and the girls show up to support their friend. They read her new bio and see the photo Henry shot. (It’s of her back.) Her mom shows up, looks at the photo, and then reads the new bio. Faran used the updated biography to call her mom out for making her have the surgery.
Corey leaves, absolutely horrified at what Faran’s written.
Noa sees the track coach in the crowd and says she’s going to join the team. Mouse’s stalker, Steve, is also in the crowd.
The celebration after the performance is cut short when Zeke rushes and tells Faran they have to leave. Her mom was in an accident.
HBO’s much-anticipated Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, premieres on August 21, 2022 with episode one, “The Heirs of the Dragon.” The prequel’s based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood and focuses on House Targaryen, with the series set 200 years prior to the events that transpired in Game of Thrones.
The 10-episode season will air on Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on HBO and will also be available to stream on HBO Max. The season finale is set for October 23, 2022.
House of the Dragon was created by George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal. Executive producers include Martin, Condal, Miguel Sapochnik, Sara Hess, Jocelyn Diaz, Vince Gerardis, and Ron Schmidt. Condal also writes and serves as co-showrunner along with director Sapochnik.
In support of the series’ August 21st premiere, HBO released new photos from episode one. (see below)
Paddy Considine, Sian Brooke, Michael Carter, Steve Toussaint, and Eve Best in episode 1 (Photo by Ollie Upton / HBO)
House of the Dragon Cast and Characters – Courtesy of HBO
Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen, chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings.
Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, younger brother to King Viserys and heir to the throne. A peerless warrior and a dragonrider, Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air…
Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen.
Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the king’s first-born child, she is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything… but she was not born a man.
Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, “The Sea Snake.” Lord of House Velaryon, a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. As “The Sea Snake,” the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros, Lord Corlys built his house into a powerful seat that is even richer than the Lannisters and that claims the largest navy in the world.
Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, a dragonrider and wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, “The Queen Who Never Was” was passed over as heir to the throne at the Great Council because the realm favored her cousin, Viserys, simply for being male.
Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, of Dornish descent, the common-born son of the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven. Cole has no claim to land or titles; all he has to his name is his honor and his preternatural skill with a sword.
Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, who came to Westeros with nothing, sold more times than she can recall. She could have wilted… but instead she rose to become the most trusted — and most unlikely — ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the heir to the throne.
Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower. The Hand of the King, Ser Otto loyally and faithfully serves both his king and his realm. As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the king’s brother, Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne.
ADDITIONAL CAST (in alphabetical order):
Milly Alcock as Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. She’s the king’s first-born child, of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything… but she was not born a man.
Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen, eldest daughter of Laena Velaryon and rider of the young dragon Moondancer.
Sian Brooke as Aemma Targaryen, the queen consort and wife of King Viserys Targaryen.
Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen, second daughter of Lady Laena and sister to Baela.
Emily Carey as Young Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. Alicent was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen.
Harry Collett as Jacaerys Velaryon, eldest son of Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Ryan Corr as Ser Harwin ‘Breakbones’ Strong. Harwin is said to be the strongest man in the Seven Kingdoms. Ser Harwin is the eldest son to Master of Laws Lyonel Strong and heir to Harrenhal.
Anthony Flanagan as Ser Steffon Darklyn, member of the Kingsguard.
Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon Targaryen, first-born son of King Viserys.
Jefferson Hall as Tyland Lannister, a crafty and calculating politician, twin to Lord Jason Lannister.
Jefferson Hall as Lord Jason Lannister, the Lord of Casterly Rock and twin to Ser Tyland Lannister.
David Horovitch as Grand Maester Mellos, a voice of reason and trusted advisor to King Viserys.
Wil Johnson as Ser Vaemond Velaryon, younger brother to Corlys Velaryon and commander in the Velaryon navy.
John Macmillan as Ser Laenor Velaryon, son of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen.
Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling, who has served in the Kingsguard since the days of King Jaehaerys; he is a paragon of chivalry and honor.
Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen, second-born son of Viserys, nephew to Daemon, and half-brother to Rhaenyra.
Theo Nate as Ser Laenor Velaryon, son of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen.
Matthew Needham as Larys Strong, younger son of Master of Laws Lyonel Strong, brought to court by his father.
Bill Paterson as Lord Lyman Beesbury, Lord of Honeyholt and Master of Coin on King Viserys’s small council.
Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen, second-born daughter of Viserys, sister to Aegon and Aemond, half-sister to Rhaenyra.
Gavin Spokes as Lord Lyonel Strong, Master of Laws to King Viserys and Lord of Harrenhal.
Savannah Steyn as Lady Laena Velaryon, daughter of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen.
Milly Alcock and Paddy Considine in ‘House of the Dragon’ season 1 episode 1 (Photo by Ollie Upton / HBO)Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Milly Alcock, and Paddy Considine in episode 1 (Photo by Ollie Upton / HBO)Paddy Considine and Sian Brooke in episode 1 (Photo by Ollie Upton / HBO)Milly Alcock and Emily Carey in episode 1 (Photo Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO)Matt Smith in episode 1 (Photo by Ollie Upton / HBO)Graham McTavish and Milly Alcock in episode 1 (Photo by Ollie Upton / HBO)Eve Best and Steve Toussaint in episode 1 (Photo by Ollie Upton / HBO)Emily Carey and Milly Alcock in episode 1 (Photo by Ollie Upton / HBO)
Netflix just released the first photos from The Midnight Club, a new horror series based on books by Christopher Pike. The series comes from Mike Flanagan – the creative mind behind The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass – and Leah Fong (producer, The Haunting of Bly Manor).
The first season will feature episodes based on Pike’s Witch, Gimme a Kiss, Road to Nowhere, and The Wicked Heart.
The 10-episode season stars Iman Benson, Igby Rigney, Ruth Codd, Annarah Cymone, Chris Sumpter, and Adia. Aya Furukawa, Sauriyan Sapkota, Matt Biedel, Samantha Sloyan, Zach Gilford, and Heather Langenkamp also star.
The Midnight Club marks Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy’s Intrepid Pictures’ first foray into young adult content. Flanagan, Macy, Fong, Julia Bicknell, and author Christopher Pike executive produce.
The series is set in 1994 and takes place at Brightcliffe Manor, with Netflix offering this description of the show:
“At a hospice with a mysterious history, the eight members of the Midnight Club meet each night at midnight to tell sinister stories – and to look for signs of the supernatural from the beyond.”
West Side Story‘s breakout star Ariana DeBose is confirmed to star in House of Spoils from Blumhouse and Amazon Studios. Described as a psychological thriller, House of Spoils finds Oscar-winner DeBose playing a chef who’s the target of a vengeful ghost.
Blow the Man Down‘s Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy wrote the screenplay and will direct. Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Divide/Conquer’s Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath produce, along with Secret Engine’s Alex Scharfman, Lucas Joaquin, and Drew Houpt. Blumhouse Television’s Chris McCumber and Jeremy Gold executive produce.
“Since Blow the Man Down, we have been huge fans of Bridget and Danielle’s unique filmmaking voice and knew we needed to be a part of whatever they wanted to do next,” said Julie Rapaport, head of movies at Amazon Studios. “Pairing their thrilling script with Ariana’s incredible talent is a dream come true, and we could not be more excited to bring this story to the screen and to our customers around the world.”
“We’re excited to see Ariana’s fresh, bold, and spirited energy that won her an Oscar in a role that is completely different,” said Chris McCumber, president of Blumhouse Television. “And with the gifted filmmaking team of Bridget and Danielle, the talent in front of and behind the camera is exceptional.”
Filming is expected to begin this fall. A targeted premiere date hasn’t been set, but it was confirmed House of Spoils will premiere on Prime Video.
Ariana DeBose earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 adaptation of West Side Story. That performance also earned her BAFTA and Critics Choice awards. DeBose’s credits also include Schmigadoon! and The Prom, and she’ll soon be seen in Kraven the Hunter, I.S.S., and Argylle.
The casting announcement included this description of the thriller:
“The film follows an ambitious chef (DeBose) who opens her first restaurant—a farm-to-table affair on a remote estate—where she battles kitchen chaos, a dubious investor, crushing self doubts… and the powerful spirit of the estate’s previous owner who threatens to sabotage her at every turn. House of Spoils is a tense, psychological, and sensuous thriller that will leave hearts pounding and mouths watering.”
