CBS’s Blue Bloods season 12 wraps up with episode 20, “Silver Linings,” which finds Danny and Jamie teaming up with their nephew. Directed by Ralph Hemecker from a script by Siobhan Byrne O’Connor, episode 20 will air on Friday, May 6, 2022 at 10pm ET/PT.
Tom Selleck leads the cast as Frank Reagan, with Donnie Wahlberg back as Danny Reagan and Bridget Moynahan returning as Erin Reagan. Will Estes plays Jamie Reagan, Len Cariou is Henry Reagan, Sami Gayle is Nicky Reagan-Boyle, Marisa Ramirez is Det. Maria Baez, and Vanessa Ray plays Officer Eddie Janko.
Recurring season 12 cast members include Abigail Hawk, Gregory Jbara, Robert Clohessy, Steven Schirripa, Andrew Terraciano, Ian Quinlan, Will Hochman, and Rosyln Ruff.
“Silver Linings” Plot: Danny and Jamie join forces with their nephew, Joe Hill (Hochman), when Jamie and Joe’s search for an undocumented, trafficked teenage girl converges with Danny and Baez’s investigation into the murder of a woman in witness protection. Also, Frank and Erin butt heads when Frank calls out the district attorney’s office for instituting a new rule that classifies armed robbery as a misdemeanor, a mandate that has immediate ramifications for Eddie and her partner.
Blue Bloods is a drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the New York Police Commissioner, and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry, during his stint as Chief. A source of pride and concern for Frank is his eldest son, Danny, a seasoned detective, family man and Iraq War vet who on occasion uses dubious tactics to solve cases with his partner, Detective Maria Baez. Erin, the middle daughter, is a New York Assistant D.A. who serves as the legal compass for her siblings and father.
Jamie is the youngest Reagan, a Harvard Law graduate and the family’s “golden boy.” Unable to deny the family tradition, Jamie decided to give up a lucrative future in law and follow in the family footsteps as a cop. He’s found a friend and ally in his wife, Eddie, who keeps him on his toes, and has very different reasons than the Reagans for joining the police force.
CBS’s Magnum P.I. season four comes to an end with episode 20, “Close to Home,” which finds Katsumoto’s ex-wife in serious trouble. Directed by Bryan Spicer from a script by Eric Guggenheim, episode 20 will air on Friday, May 6, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT.
Jay Hernandez leads the cast as Thomas Magnum. Season four also stars Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins, Zachary Knighton as Orville “Rick” Wright, Stephen Hill as Theodore “TC” Calvin, Tim Kang as Det. Gordon Katsumoto, and Amy Hill as Kumu.
Episode 20 guest stars include Chantal Thuy, Christopher Thornton, and Shawna Christensen.
“Close to Home” Plot: Magnum and Higgins take on a dangerous mission inside a high-security correctional center when a ruthless criminal abducts Katsumoto’s ex-wife, Beth. Also, T.C. rushes to help Rick when Suzy has unexpected pregnancy complications.
Magnum P.I. is a modern take on the classic series centering on Thomas Magnum, a decorated former Navy SEAL who, upon returning home from Afghanistan, repurposes his military skills to become a private investigator. A charming rogue, an American hero and a die-hard Detroit Tigers fan, Magnum lives in a guest cottage on Robin’s Nest, the luxurious estate where he works as a security consultant to supplement his P.I. business.
The “majordomo” of the property is Juliet Higgins, a beautiful and commanding disavowed MI:6 agent whose second job is to keep Magnum in line, with the help of her two Dobermans. When Magnum needs back-up on a job, he turns to his trusted buddies and fellow POW survivors, Theodore “TC” Calvin, a former Marine chopper pilot who runs Island Hoppers, a helicopter tour business, and Orville “Rick” Wright, a former Marine door-gunner-turned-impresario of Oahu’s coolest nightclub and the most connected man on the island.
Suspicious of Magnum’s casual attitude and presence at his crime scenes, Detective Gordon Katsumoto finds that he and Magnum are more alike than either of them care to admit. One of Magnum’s biggest supporters is Teuila “Kumu” Tuileta, the unofficial “House Mom” and cultural curator of Robin’s Nest. With keys to a vintage Ferrari in one hand, aviator sunglasses in the other, and an Old Düsseldorf longneck chilling in the fridge, Thomas Magnum is back on the case!
Part two of the final season of Netflix’s critically acclaimed Ozark opens with a distraught Ruth (Julia Garner) driving while experiencing flashbacks of her beloved cousin Wyatt (Charlie Tahan). Season four, episode seven, ended with Wyatt and Darlene being murdered by Javi, and episode eight finds Ruth remembering fun times spent on the roof of their trailer naming albums of their favorite artists. She recalls they daydreamed about building a big house on their land.
The memories are too powerful and Ruth pulls over to the side of the road, lost in her grief over Wyatt’s death.
Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) is on the phone with Javi (Alfonso Herrera) when the cartel bigwig orders him to clean up a mess. While Wendy (Laura Linney) listens to one side of the conversation, Javi informs Marty he’s setting a meeting up with Clare; he wants to renegotiate the terms of their deal. Javi lets Marty know he wants him to “clean up” what he did at Darlene’s, stating he took care of her.
After Marty hangs up, he fills Wendy in on what Javi wants them to do. She wonders why he didn’t tell Javi about Ruth. The answer’s obvious – it’s because Javi would kill Ruth. It comes as no surprise that Wendy doesn’t seem to care. She thinks her family will get killed if Javi finds out they didn’t warn him about Ruth.
Jonah (Skylar Gaertner), who hasn’t been #TeamWendy this entire final season, jumps in because he doesn’t want anything to happen. Wendy tries to cut him off by pleading that she and Marty are trying to figure this out. Jonah’s not having it and asks his sister, Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz), to take him back to the motel where he’s been staying.
Wendy, who truly believes she’s never wrong, says, “I’m right.”
Marty insists she’s being too emotional and Wendy takes offense to that description and begins to freak out. She tries to get him to see her side about why Javi needs to know what Ruth is doing. Marty refuses to get Ruth killed. (We should all be solidly #TeamMarty at this point.)
Ruth meets up with Jonah and Charlotte at the motel and begs them to tell her where Javi stays when he’s in the Ozarks. Jonah claims not to know, but Ruth picks up on Jonah and Charlotte exchanging glances. She pleads with Charlotte to tell her what she knows. “Please, if you have ever cared about Wyatt…”
Charlotte breaks and tells Ruth her parents are meeting with Javi the next day in Chicago.
As Ruth’s loading up money from the safe Jonah shows her a photo of Javi so she knows what he looks like. She assures Jonah she’ll be okay. (Fans really hope that’s a promise she can keep.)
Ruth returns home to find Wendy waiting for her. Ruth wonders if Wendy came to kill her and Wendy immediately launches into more lies, saying if she wants to kill Javi they won’t stand in her way. When Ruth questions if they’ll deliver Javi to her, Wendy continues her lies by saying he’s on a plane back to Mexico. (Unbeknownst to Wendy her children already spilled the beans.)
Ruth asks how many months he’ll be gone and Wendy says three. Ruth asks her to promise to tell her when he’s back and Wendy, who’s been known to break promises without feeling an iota of remorse, assures her she will.
Marty calls Javi and tells him there’s a problem and that cops are already at the Snell Farm. Javi demands Marty get to Chicago and bring with him the financials regarding his uncle’s children.
Ruth pays a visit to Frank Cosgrove Jr. (Joseph Sikora) and asks for a gun. He reminds her she was just trying to talk him out of doing the same exact thing she’s planning on doing, and then asks who does he have to thank for taking care of Darlene. She suggests it’s probably better if he doesn’t know.
Ruth shows up in Chicago, spots Javi, and shoots him point-blank in the middle of the street. Oh, not really, it’s just a daydream that’s broken up when Marty calls her. He reveals the cops told him she reported the dead bodies and now the sheriff’s looking for her. She seems to think Marty is most likely in the same boat as Wendy, so she points out she wouldn’t call the cops if she was about to do something stupid.
Marty asks what she wants him to tell the sheriff and she says she’ll go see the sheriff in a couple of days. She ends the call after telling Marty she’s fine and he doesn’t have to worry about her.
Ruth arrives in Chicago and parks outside the Shaw building. She briefly steps out of her truck but then gets back in and calls her cousin Three (Carson Holmes). He wants to know how and why Wyatt was murdered and she protects him by claiming she doesn’t know. He doesn’t believe her and wants her to come home. Three’s smart and figures out what she’s doing. He warns her Wyatt wouldn’t want her to do this. She says she’ll be home soon and hangs up.
As Ruth begins to walk around the city she thinks about her childhood with Wyatt and their broken home.
Ruth’s leaving a diner when she runs into rapper Killer Mike. She’s a fan and they have, strangely, a heart-to-heart chat before she leaves.
The next day Ruth does a lousy impersonation of Charlotte as she calls the Shaw company to confirm the time her parents are supposed to meet.
Her stalking pays off as she spots Javi walking up to the building. As he goes in, she grabs the gun, gets out of her truck, and follows him.
Javi meets with Marty, Wendy, and Clare Shaw (Katrina Lenk) and says he’s willing to commit to five years right now at a 20% price reduction. Gee, how nice of him! Clare’s not buying it and senses a catch. After saying there isn’t any catch when, of course, there is one, he informs them he wants stock options in Shaw Medical.
Clare insists that’s impossible. Javi tries to get Wendy to buy in on this but she attempts to defuse the situation by reminding him he needs to get back to Mexico to get the family business set. She then tries to appeal to Clare, complimenting her business skills and suggesting she could tell Javi a thing or two about transforming a family business.
Javi’s like a dog with the bone and doesn’t move one. He wants the stock to be put in his mother’s name. Clare reminds him his mother is the sister of a drug cartel lord.
Javi turns his attention to Marty and asks for the financials of his uncle’s legit business dealings. As Javi glances through them, he informs Marty he wants them transferred to his mother’s name. Marty reminds him those are for his uncle’s children. Javi says he’ll take care of them. (Javi’s word is about as good as Wendy’s.)
Ruth spots Javi exiting the Shaw building and begins to walk in the same direction but then stops. As she’s walking back to her truck, she locks eyes with Marty.
Back in her truck, she chastises herself for being scared. The phone rings and it’s Marty wondering what she’s doing. As they’re going back and forth – she calls herself a failure, he assures her she’s a good person – Ruth lets Marty know Wendy lied to her. He tries to defend that by saying Wendy was just trying to give her time to calm down. She calls BS on that, aware Wendy was trying to protect the Byrde family circle. (Ruth says this in much more colorful words). She correctly points out that Marty knows she’s right.
Backed by music from rapper Nas, Ruth follows Marty and Wendy around Chicago. She’s tracking the couple as she leaves a message on her deceased cousin’s cellphone about how Marty and Wendy are looking at offices and making deals, continuing on with their lives. “They’re building a whole life that should be ours,” she says.
Javi has dinner with a former professor from his business college and brags about all that he’s done for the family business. (He leaves out that his uncle actually did it all.) His former professor believes that puts him in a position to make an anonymous donation to the college. Javi wants to know why it needs to be done anonymously. The professor shies away from the truth (no one wants to openly accept cartel money) and claims it’s to protect him from the people with their hands out.
A short while later, the professor’s in the restaurant’s bathroom when Javi walks in and asks what if he offered him a $2 million donation but wants his name on the building? He then gives him another option: “Or, I could beat the living s**t out of you.”
Javi’s obviously insulted by the suggestion of a donation being anonymous. He lands on option two, beats up his former professor, and then tells him he’ll have his people write the check.
Ruth watches from outside of a restaurant as Marty and Wendy have a good time eating with Clare. She interrupts their happy little dinner and informs them they’re going to return to Clare’s office now. Ruth calls Wendy out, throwing her lie that Javi was on a plane to Mexico in her face. Looking smug, Wendy acknowledges she lied.
Marty jumps in and reminds Ruth she told him she was going home. Ruth corrects Marty, saying he told her to go home and there’s a big difference. Clare’s in the middle of an “I won’t be bullied” speech when Ruth suggests the Byrdes tell Clare to take her to her office or she’ll shoot her in the head.
Once there, Marty tries – again – to tell Ruth she doesn’t want to do this because she’s a good person. This isn’t who she wants to be. He tries to play on her sympathy, bringing up the time he thought his and Wendy’s lives were in danger and went to her to take care of his kids because he trusts her. Ruth says she used to love hearing Marty talk.
Ruth informs Clare just who she’s in business with. Looking directly at Wendy, Ruth describes her as f**king soulless. “She will rip your heart out of your chest if it helps her get what she wants,” says Ruth, speaking the truth.
She then talks about how Marty wants to believe he’s a good person and he’s doing everything for his family but that’s not true. As she continues recounting all the evil things they’ve done Wendy cuts her off and calls Javi. Wendy tells him to come down to Clare’s office because they’ve talked Clare into giving him stocks.
This time it’s not a dream… As Javi walks in Ruth shoots him dead. Afterward, she looks Marty and Wendy directly in the eyes before leaving.
As season four episode eight comes to an end, Marty and Wendy begin to clean up the mess Ruth made. Meanwhile, Ruth is in her truck sobbing. She suddenly stops, pulls herself together, and drives away.
Netflix just released new details on the upcoming original comedy series Mo created by comedians Mo Amer (The Vagabond, Black Adam) and Ramy Youssef (Ramy, Mr. Robot). The photos, plot description, and character list arrived ahead of Mo Amer taking the stage at the 2022 Netflix Is A Joke Festival running April 28 through May 8 in Los Angeles.
Mo stars Mo Amer, Teresa Ruiz, Farah Bsieso, Omar Elba, and Tobe Nwigwe. Amer executive produces along with Ramy Youssef, Harris Danow, Luvh Rakhe, and A24’s Ravi Nandan and Hallie Sekoff. Executive producer Solvan “Slick” Naim (It’s Bruno!) directs.
Season one consists of eight half-hour episodes and will premiere on August 24, 2022.
Netflix released the following plot and character descriptions:
“Mo Najjar straddles the line between two cultures, three languages, and a ton of bulls**t as a Palestinian refugee constantly living one step away from asylum on the path to U.S. citizenship. His family — including his resilient and spiritual mother, sister, and older brother — flee to Houston, Texas. Laughing the pain away, Mo learns to adapt to his new world though getting ahead in life comes with several setbacks.”
Mo Amer as Mo Najjar, a refugee at the mercy of a decades-long, convoluted immigration process. He works hard for his family, wanting to provide for the people he loves…even if they might not approve of the means.
Teresa Ruiz (Father Stu, Narcos: Mexico) as Maria, an ambitious businesswoman and supportive girlfriend who is committed to her relationship with Mo but will not compromise on her independence or her beliefs.
Farah Bsieso as Yusra Najjar (devoted mother to Mo and Sameer Najjar), the quick-witted, intelligent and, when necessary, meddlesome head of the family. Despite all the loss and hardship she has endured, Yusra has only grown stronger focusing on the things that matter most to her: family, God and The Price is Right.
Omar Elba (Limetown, A Hologram for the King) as Sameer Najjar, Mo’s brilliant older brother, with a natural innocence and a deep love of cats. He has always had trouble fitting in due to his social anxieties. Deep down, Sameer has a desire for independence and romantic love.
Tobe Nwigwe as Nick, Mo’s oldest, most loyal, and most cunning friend. After spending his youth getting into trouble with Mo, Nick has sought out a calmer lifestyle, but his willingness to stand by his best friend means his life can never truly be stress-free.
Disney+ just released a new music video from the upcoming family-friendly musical Sneakerella, an updated, quirky twist on the classic fairy tale, Cinderella. The video features the original song “Kicks,” written for the film by Antonina Armato, Tim James Price, Thomas Armato Sturges, and Adam Schmalholz, and performed by Sneakerella‘s star Chosen Jacobs (It).
In addition to Chosen Jacobs, the musical’s cast includes Lexi Underwood, John Salley, Devyn Nekoda, Juan Chioran, and Bryan Terrell Clark. Kolton Stewart, Robyn Alomar, Yvonne Senat-Jones, and Hayward Leach also star.
Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum directed Sneakerella from a screenplay by David Light, Joseph Raso, Tamara Chestna, Mindy Stern, and George Gore II (story by Stern & Gore and Light & Raso). The film features eight new songs as well as a score composed by Elvin Ross. Ebony Williams and Emilio Dosal are the film’s choreographers.
Sneakerella will premiere on Disney+ on May 13, 2022. The digital soundtrack also drops on May 13th, followed by its physical release on June 24th.
Chosen Jacobs in ‘Sneakerella’ (Disney/Brendan Adam-Zwelling)
The Sneakerella Plot:
El (Jacobs) is an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens who works as a stock boy in the shoe store that once belonged to his late mother. He hides his artistic talent from his overburdened stepfather and two mean-spirited stepbrothers who constantly thwart any opportunity that comes his way. When El meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers.
With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a ‘legit’ sneaker designer in the industry. El is now ready to lace up and dream big.
An American scientist’s murder has the team searching for a sniper on CBS’s FBI: International season one episode 19. Directed by Jonathan Brown from a script Wade McIntyre, episode 19 – “Get That Revolution Started” – will air on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT.
The season one cast includes Luke Kleintank as Special Agent Scott Forrester, Heida Reed as Special Agent Jamie Kellett, Carter Redwood as Special Agent Andre Raines, Vinessa Vidotto as Special Agent Cameron Vo, and Christiane Paul as Europol Agent Katrin Jaeger.
Episode 19 guest stars include Christina Rouner, William Ludwig, Joseph Balderrama, Thirsa van Til, Dendrie Taylor, Balázs Csémy, and Magnus Bruun.
“Get That Revolution Started” Plot: The Fly Team works to hunt down the sniper responsible for killing an American during an attack targeting a biomedical lab in Belgium. Also, Jaeger clashes with her boss at Europol over her allegiance to the Fly Team.
FBI: International is the third iteration of the successful FBI brand that follows the elite operatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s International Fly Team. Headquartered in Budapest, they travel the world with the mission of tracking and neutralizing threats against American citizens wherever they may be, putting their lives on the line to protect the U.S. and its people.
The Fly Team’s Special Agent Scott Forrester, their accomplished and dedicated leader, puts his missions ahead of his personal life and is rarely seen without the team’s “secret weapon” – their trusty Schutzhund dog, Tank. Second in command is Special Agent Jamie Kellett, not afraid to tussle – in an alley or courtroom – and her extensive network of informants is a powerful resource. Special Agent Andre Raines shines in the field and makes good use of his accounting background in tracking criminal enterprises’ moving money; and the group’s newest member is Special Agent Cameron Vo, a competitive West Point grad who excels at interrogation and strategy.
A key part of the mix is the unflappable Europol Agent Katrin Jaeger, a multilinguistic liaison between the FBI Fly Team and each host country they inhabit. Always at the scene where American interests are at risk, FBI: International is a globe-trotting depiction of law enforcement overseas.
Andy fights to clear her name on ABC’s Station 19 season five episode 16, “Death and the Maiden.” Episode 16 will air on Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 8pm ET/PT.
The season five cast includes Jaina Lee Ortiz as Andy Herrera, Jason George as Ben Warren, Boris Kodjoe as Robert Sullivan, and Grey Damon as Jack Gibson. Barrett Doss plays Victoria Hughes, Jay Hayden is Travis Montgomery, Danielle Savre is Maya Bishop, Stefania Spampinato is Carina DeLuca, and Carlos Miranda plays Theo Ruiz.
Guest stars include Patricia De León as Elena Herrera, Josh Randall as Sean Beckett, and Merle Dandridge as Natasha Ross.
“Death and the Maiden” Plot: Andy’s fate remains unknown as a trial date is set. Meanwhile, Vic and Sullivan are approached by an unexpected guest, and the crew responds to a row of townhouses on fire.
Station 19, currently in its fifth season, follows a group of heroic Seattle firefighters as they put their lives and hearts on the line. Station 19 takes us inside the tough, tight-knit and sometimes heartbreaking world of the city’s bravest first responders.
Merle Dandridge and Jaina Lee Ortiz in ‘Station 19’ season 5 episode 16 (ABC/Raymond Liu)A scene from “Death and the Maiden” (ABC/Raymond Liu)A scene from season 5 episode 16 (ABC/Raymond Liu)Carlos Miranda and Barrett Doss in season 5 episode 16 (ABC/Raymond Liu)Jaina Lee Ortiz in season 5 episode 16 (ABC/Liliane Lathan)Jay Hayden and Merle Dandridge in season 5 episode 16 (ABC/Raymond Liu)
Tim Guinee, Sophie Turner, Colin Firth, Olivia DeJonge, and Patrick Schwarzenegger in ‘The Staircase’ (Photograph Courtesy of HBO Max)
The death of Kathleen Peterson in December 2001 and the subsequent investigation that led to the conviction of her husband, novelist and one-time Durham, North Carolina mayoral candidate Michael Peterson, for her murder is revisited in HBO Max’s The Staircase starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette. Kathleen was found dead in a pool of blood at the foot of a staircase in her Durham home, and the amount of blood plus suspicious wounds on her head led police to believe fool play was involved.
Michael claimed his wife must have fallen while descending the stairs, but in 2003 a jury disagreed. Although he was sentenced to life in prison, Peterson was granted a new trial in 2011 and ultimately entered an Alford plea in 2017. He’s currently a free man and once again calls Durham his home.
If this all sounds incredibly familiar it’s because Kathleen’s death and Michael Peterson’s trial were the focus of the award-winning documentary series The Staircase directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. Peterson has also written two books – Behind the Staircase and Beyond the Staircase – about his life following Kathleen’s death.
During the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour The Staircase writer, executive producer, and co-showrunner Antonio Campos explained this HBO Max limited series is not just dramatizations or recreations of scenes from the documentary.
“We were very interested in what happened leading up to the night of her death and then sort of from there after the documentary was over. And a lot of it was what was going on when the cameras were off,” said Campos. “So, we were going off of a lot of different sources. The documentary is just one source. It’s kind of where the journey started for us but wasn’t the only thing we’re referring to.”
Campos and writer, executive producer, and co-showrunner Maggie Cohn’s research included Diane Fanning’s book Written in Blood as well as numerous articles about the trial and investigation. They also conducted interviews in order to tell Kathleen and Michael’s stories.
“We took cues from what we knew and created scenes based on that. One of the approaches that I think every actor took and that we took in every aspect of the show, including the writing and then wardrobe and hair and makeup, was we don’t want to just replicate things. We wanted to find things where we – the storytellers – and reality kind of met,” explained Cohn. “We didn’t want any actor to be forced to just be whatever characteristic they were playing, whatever person they were playing. We wanted to find where does that person and that actor meet and where do we find this sort of beautiful combination of the two? And that’s really the approach. So, we were really not trying to recreate a dramatized thing that you’ve seen. We really wanted to create a whole new story.”
Colin Firth leads a toast in ‘The Staircase (Photograph Courtesy of HBO Max)
Michael Peterson was convicted of murder, however, Colin Firth tried not to judge him as he took on the role.
“It’s something that was ingrained into all of us as students, but it’s just not your job. As a person you can walk away afterward and judge all you like, if that’s what you want to do or that’s what your instincts are,” explained Firth. “It’s a subjective job. And what’s interesting about the approach here is it, I think, deftly avoids taking up a single position. It’s the nature of the exercise here is to keep doubt alive, to mess with your expectations, to tease you with a potential resolution into thinking perhaps you now can find some certainty, and then it subverts that constantly. And I was kind of steered around because of that.”
Firth continued: “It wouldn’t have been possible and it certainly would have defeated the purpose of the exercise if I did take up a single position and impose my judgment because then I wouldn’t have been free to explore an alternative interpretation. And it does play with different interpretations. So, the whole business about not judging your character but justifying your characters isn’t a moral one. It’s stagecraft. It’s a creative necessity, really. You have to stay as open as possible just for the purpose of the exercise.”
Colin Firth described playing Michael Peterson as a unique experience in that it was difficult to construct a biography of a person who is so hard to understand. He used the documentary, including outtakes, and Peterson’s own writing to try and figure out who this man is and how to approach playing him in The Staircase.
“…I was less interested in finding a way to mimic anything or assimilate his mannerisms for the sake of it. It’s just I was looking for codes. I was wondering what you can find out about a person by the way they speak, by the way they phrase things, by means of body language and that sort of thing,” said Firth. “It’s kind of just exploring what I had, which were his words and his way of delivering them. The job of an actor is entirely that. Someone else has written it. How a thing is said can be mightily eloquent, really. So that was really my first point of contact was all of that.”
During the TCA panel Firth was asked about the challenges of telling a story that’s already been told in other forms.
“One of the only things I can think of where we almost used verbatim was Michael Peterson taking the documentary crew on a little tour of what happened and his account of that night and going out to the pool. And that is something we’ve seen in the documentary. It was very interesting to me; it was one of the few occasions where in a way the requirement was to reproduce it and fairly closely approximate to what you’d seen.
But what you don’t see in the documentary is the documentary crew following him. And if you’re telling a story, particularly if it’s the first moment you’ve ever been interviewed, if you’re telling a story and you’ve got a camera on you and a boom mic and all the rest of it, you’ll get a different perspective on what was going on while he was telling that story. It’s very unadorned.
We weren’t sort of trying to point to anything or create an interpretation out of it. I certainly wasn’t. It’s just saying, ‘Well, we see it from that lens quite literally, and now we’re going to see it from another perspective where the picture isn’t a man alone, it’s a man surrounded by people who are recording him and watching him.’
And so, I think that […] it’s actually making use of the familiarity with the story. This is addressing that. It’s actually the fact that you think you know certain things, the fact that you’re familiar with certain things is kind of the point here. This isn’t telling the story for the first time. It’s looking back on the way it’s already been told and seeing if we can play with the perspectives,” said Firth.
Campos has been following this case for a long time and noted it’s had several different endings over the years.
“When I started there was one end to the story, which was Michael was serving life in prison. And then it just kept changing. Then Michael was out and then eventually Michael took a plea. And so, while it feels like this story has kind of been told before, the reality is, is there’s so much of the story that hasn’t been explored, particularly who was Kathleen Peterson,” said Campos. “We don’t get to know Kathleen Peterson except as sort of a photo, a blurry image in videos. And we only get to know Michael Peterson through footage in a documentary where he knows there’s a camera on him. And we experienced the family that way too.”
Campos added: “What we were interested in was we just saw a family drama more than a crime show. And exploring the events leading up to that night and after that night, in some way, felt like we were getting closer to something like the truth than sort of staring at a bunch of evidence and going over a lot of the things that people get obsessed about with this case, whether it be the blood-stain pattern or the shape of the lacerations and things like that.”
And speaking of lacerations, Campos confirmed The Staircase will address the owl theory. “We took it as seriously as any other theory,” said Campos.
Michael Peterson hasn’t shied away from interviews and continues to discuss Kathleen’s death as well as his time in prison. However, Colin Firth chose not to speak with him, or any member of the Peterson family, while working on The Staircase.
“I felt that the way that the script was structured, just the whole approach of this was its own ecosystem, so to speak. And I think that these are created characters. I mean, we all know what the source is. We all know that these characters have names of living people, but it’s very carefully calibrated to tell the story in a certain way and I felt that I wanted to keep my inspiration, my motivation, and the sense of the source material as much as possible contained within the script and the way it was written,” explained Firth.
“I felt that that could have been skewed in some way if I had personal connections during the shooting of this with Michael Peterson or the people concerned. If I’d had a personal response to the meeting, it might have prevented me from tuning in to this world of varying possibilities that had been created. So, I wanted to be as open to the possibilities of the script as possible, and I don’t think I wanted it to become too specific due to anything outside that frame.”
The Staircase limited series premieres on HBO Max on Thursday, May 5, 2022 with the release of the first three episodes. Colin Firth and Toni Collette lead a cast that includes Michael Stuhlbarg, Juliette Binoche, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, Rosemarie DeWitt, Tim Guinee, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sophie Turner, Vincent Vermignon, Odessa Young, and Parker Posey.
There’s a lot going on in the 18 second teaser for Prime Video’s action series The Terminal List starring Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) as a Navy SEAL. The short video montage includes a couple of car crashes, a military funeral, an explosion or two, and Pratt armed and ready to shoot.
In addition to Chris Pratt as James Reece, the series stars Constance Wu as Katie Buranek, Taylor Kitsch as Ben Edwards, and Jeanne Tripplehorn as Lorraine Hartley. Riley Keough plays Lauren Reece, Arlo Metz is Lucy Reece, and Patrick Schwarzenegger stars as Donny Mitchell.
The Terminal List is based on Jack Carr’s bestselling novel and Carr’s involved as an executive producer. David DiGilio writes, executive produces, and serves as the showrunner. Additional executive producers include writer Daniel Shattuck, Fuqua Films’ Antoine Fuqua, and Indivisible Productions’ Chris Pratt and Jon Schumacher.
Amazon Studios and Civic Center Media, in association with MRC Television, co-produce.
Prime Video’s set a July 1, 2022 premiere date.
The Plot, Courtesy of Prime Video:
The Terminal List follows James Reece (Pratt) after his entire platoon of Navy SEALs is ambushed during a high-stakes covert mission. Reece returns home to his family with conflicting memories of the event and questions about his culpability. However, as new evidence comes to light, Reece discovers dark forces working against him, endangering not only his life but the lives of those he loves.
Chris Pratt stars in Prime Video’s ‘The Terminal List’
Animal Kingdom Season 6 Poster (Photo Credit: TNT)
TNT just released the poster for the upcoming sixth – and, unfortunately, final – season of Animal Kingdom. The new poster features the Cody boys on a cliff, with Pope on a skateboard balanced precariously on the edge.
Season six stars Shawn Hatosy as Andrew ‘Pope’ Cody, Ben Robson as Craig Cody, Jake Weary as Deran Cody, Finn Cole as Joshua ‘J’ Cody, and Leila George as Janine.
The series is inspired by the award-winning independent film from Australian filmmaker David Michôd. Michôd and the feature film’s producer Liz Watts are involved in the series as executive producers. Jonathan Lisco developed the series and Emmy winner John Wells, Daniele Nathanson, Erin Jontow, Nick Copus, and Bradley Paul executive produce.
The final season will premiere on Sunday, June 19, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT.
TNT released the following description of the show’s final season:
“In the final season of TNT’s adrenaline-fueled family crime drama, the Cody boys discover that they can’t outrun their past. With their empire expanding, a cold case investigation sets off a series of events that puts the entire family in jeopardy. Revenge, betrayal, and a reckoning with long-forgotten violence leads to an explosive conclusion six seasons in the making.”
A Look Back at Season 5:
In Animal Kingdom season five, Pope (Hatosy), Craig (Robson), Deran (Weary), and J (Cole) are still dealing with the fallout from the events surrounding Smurf’s death, including family members out for revenge. With their kingdom without a leader, the Cody family struggles to maintain their fragile alliance, and to see which of them will come out on top. Meanwhile, they search for more information on Pamela Johnson whom Smurf made the beneficiary of her estate.
And back in 1984, an increasingly volatile 29-year-old Smurf is forging her own path raising Pope and Julia and leading the charge on dangerous jobs with new and old friends.
