After teasing the upcoming fourth season for the past three years, Netflix just launched an intense three minute Stranger Things 4 Vol. 1 trailer dripping with clues. Eleven doesn’t have her powers, and a war is coming that can’t be won without the whole gang back together. “See you on the other side,” says Steve. “On the other side,” Nancy replies as the final minute of the trailer makes seasons one through three look tame in comparison to what’s in store for the long-awaited fourth season.
Netflix will release Stranger Things 4 Vol. 1 on May 27, 2022 followed by volume two of season four on July 1st.
Stranger Things season four stars Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, David Harbour as Jim Hopper, Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, and Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair. Noah Schnapp plays Will Byers, Sadie Sink is Max Mayfield, Natalia Dyer is Nancy Wheeler, Charlie Heaton is Jonathan Byers, Joe Keery is Steve Harrington, and Maya Hawke is Robin Buckley. Priah Ferguson stars as Erica Sinclair, Brett Gelman plays Murray, Cara Buono is Karen Wheeler, and Matthew Modine is Dr. Brenner.
Additional cast members include Jamie Campbell Bower as Peter Ballard, Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson, Eduardo Franco as Argyle, Sherman Augustus as Lt. Colonel Sullivan, Mason Dye as Jason Carver, Nikola Djuricko as Yuri, and Tom Wlaschiha as Dmitri. Season four also features Myles Truitt as Patrick, Regina Ting Chen as Ms. Kelly, Grace Van Dien as Chrissy, Logan Riley Bruner as Fred Benson, Logan Allen as Jake, Elodie Grace Orkin as Angela, John Reynolds as Officer Callahan, Rob Morgan as Chief Powell, Amybeth McNulty as Vickie, and Robert Englund as Victor Creel.
Stranger Things was created by The Duffer Brothers. Iain Paterson, Curtis Gwinn, and 21 Laps Entertainment’s Shawy Levy and Dan Cohen executive produce along with The Duffer Brothers. The award-winning series is a Monkey Massacre Productions & 21 Laps Entertainment production.
Shawn Levy directed episodes three and four, and Nimród Antal directed five and six. The Duffer Brothers directed season four episodes one, two, seven, eight, and nine. Writers include The Duffer Brothers, Caitlin Schneiderhan, Paul Dichter, Kate Trefry, and Curtis Gwinn.
Netflix released the following synopsis for season four:
“It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.”
Writer/executive producer Michael Hirst turns his attention from Vikings to America’s Wild West with EPIX’s new drama Billy the Kid. Hirst created the series, based on the life of the legendary outlaw, and during the Television Critics Association’s winter press panel he explained his fascination with the gunslinger.
“He’s like a rock star. He’s young. He’s like a rock star of the West. I thought I knew things about him but when I started doing the research, I realized that I knew very, very little indeed, you know?” said Hirst. “I had cliched ideas about him that he’s probably psychopathic, that he was a born killer, that he was a roughneck. What I didn’t know was about his background, born of Irish immigrants, very devoted to his Catholic mother who taught him to respect women, to read, and to empathize with the underdog. He had a beautiful singing voice. He played musical instruments. He was incredibly sensitive. As he said himself, he was more sinned against than sinning.
He’s a wonderfully attractive character. He’s a compelling character. And I grew writing about him, thinking about him – I grew to love him. And I think, and I hope, that the audience will love him as much as I do, and they should. Again, what I think people think they know about Billy, they will see a totally different young man.”
British actor Tom Blyth (The Gilded Age, Benediction) stars in the title role, portraying Billy the Kid as an intelligent, fearless young man who Michael Hirst describes as a natural leader.
“[…] Tom was the perfect, perfect actor/person to play Billy because he had a deep empathy and understanding for Billy right from the start. And also, uncannily, he looks like Billy,” said Hirst.
Blyth and Hirst both grew up in Norfolkshire in England, and both share a love of Western tales. Blyth was always drawn to the story of Billy the Kid and actually found he has a lot of qualities in common with the Wild West figure.
“Geographically, on paper, we couldn’t be [farther] removed, but I think actually that it would be – you’d be making a mistake to kind of assume that there’s too much difference there because there’s something about him that sung to me from the very, very beginning,” explained Blyth. “He grew up in a house with a strong female presence. He was brought up by this incredibly strong mother, really, who was very principled and taught him how to move through the world with strength, grace, and humility, but also savviness. And I was raised in a house with a single mother and strong women who brought me up with the same kind of strength.”
Blyth added: “I think for me, the immigration side of it is very interesting. I think moving to America six years ago as a 21-year-old and stepping into a new world, kind of looking for something bigger, I think I relate to that. I relate to the idea of going out there and searching for something bigger.
And there’s a survivor in him which I always related to, something about the scrappiness. I’ve always felt that kind of fight-or-flight mentality and usually a willingness to dig in and fight for what you believe in. I think that in him is very attractive to me. Yeah, he’s someone who I think is always watching and always kind of reacting based on his principles. And I think for me that was incredibly attractive.”
Tom Blyth really latched onto the fact Billy the Kid is an immigrant story.
“I mean, it’s the beginnings of America, and I think that’s what drew me to it in the first place is this idea that the America that at least I currently live in and have grown to love coming here, the origins are messy and brutal and not always tied up with a neat bow. And it’s quite recent, you know?
I think there’s something about this story, particularly, where you’ve got this Irish family who have come with the promise of a better life, getting here and realizing that they’re going to have to fight for that better life. It’s in the fight and the striving to thrive that I think the kind of adventure lies. And that’s what’s really attractive is watching people really fight for themselves above all else. To go, ‘Okay, what I thought I was going to find when I got here is not the case, and what I was promised is not the case, but I am going to – in [Billy’s mother’s] case – fight tooth and nail and claw for the best life for my family.’”
Blyth continued: “When you think about how recent that actually was and compared to where we live right now it’s an entirely different world, and yet so much of that still exists. You can see the threads of it in today’s society. I think people will find that fascinating because I think we’ve created such a brutally honest show, I think. It’s very authentic and you can see the kind of blood, sweat, and tears – and mud – that went into creating a life here. All these different societies all trying to build their own life in this kind of messy landscape.”
Blyth grew up a latchkey kid with a librarian grandmother, and he’d often stop by the library on his way home from school. Blyth recalls he was always drawn to the Western section.
“I would sit there and read Western books for hours until it was time to go home. And, you know, I wish I could tell you exactly why that was but I think it’s something about this idea of an unknown landscape that is both brutal but romantic,” said Blyth. “I took a trip to New Mexico to prepare for the role and there’s nowhere like it. I mean, the sunsets are magical and spiritual, and you can see why people arrive there and went, ‘Oh, my God. This is heaven on earth,’ and then realize that what they’d been promised when they got there was quite, quite different. They had to fight to create their little pocket of heaven, and it wasn’t always clean. It wasn’t always done in the right way, but I think the idea of striving for a [richer] life, I think, appeals to everyone.”
EPIX’s Billy the Kid will premiere on Sunday, April 24, 2022. In addition to Tom Blyth, the season one cast includes Daniel Webber as Jesse Evans, Eileen O’Higgins as Kathleen McCarty, and Jonah Collier as a young Billy.
Exotic animals have the team springing into action on CBS’s NCIS: Hawai’i season one episode 19. Directed by Lin Oeding from a script by Jan Nash, episode 19 – “Nurture” – will air on Monday, April 18, 2022 at 10pm ET/PT.
Vanessa Lachey (Call Me Kat, Truth Be Told) leads the cast as Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant, Alex Tarrant plays Kai Holman, Noah Mills stars as Jesse Boone, and Yasmine Al-Bustami plays Lucy Tara. The first season also stars Jason Antoon as Ernie Malik and Tori Anderson as Kate Whistler.
Episode 19 guest stars include Seana Kofoed, Anthony Ruivivar, Alisa Allapach, and Charley Koontz.
“Nurture” Plot: The NCIS team investigates a shipwreck carrying exotic animals that now threaten the native wildlife on Oahu. Also, Alex sustains a career-ending injury and Kai asks Melanie, a fish and wildlife agent, out on a date.
The world’s most successful television series continues on the seductive shores of the Aloha State with NCIS: Hawai’i, where the first female Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor, Jane Tennant, has thrived and risen through the ranks by equal parts confidence and strategy in a system that has pushed back on her every step of the way. Together with her unwavering team of specialists, they balance duty to family and country while investigating high-stakes crimes involving military personnel, national security and the mysteries of the sun-drenched island paradise itself.
HBO’s We Own This City chronicles the scandal that rocked the Baltimore Police Department and took down the elite Gun Trace Task Force. The limited series, which just launched its official trailer, is based on reporter Justin Fenton’s non-fiction book We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption and will premiere on Monday, April 25, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT.
The Wire‘s creator David Simon and writer/producer George Pelecanos created We Own This City, with the new limited series marking their return to Baltimore. Simon and Pelecanos reunited with The Wire‘s executive producers Nina K. Noble and Ed Burns, as well as co-executive producer William F. Zorzi, for the series. Plus, former The Wire cast members Jamie Hector, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Domenick Lombardozzi, Trey Chaney, Delaney Williams, Jermaine Crawford, Anwan Glover, Chris Clanton, Nathan Corbett, Maria Broom, Susan Rome, and Michael Salconi also appear in the gritty drama.
Pelecanos, Simon, Burns, Zorzi and D. Watkins wrote the limited series with Reinaldo Marcus Green directing and executive producing.
We Own This City Synopsis and Character Descriptions, Courtesy of HBO:
In the 2000s, the Baltimore Police Department struggled to respond to crime with meaningful police work, giving itself over to mass arrest and drug warring instead. We Own This City shows how the department’s desperate reliance on statistics over substance eventually led to the inability of department officials to supervise the Gun Trace Task Force and the further inability of the department to discipline rogue police.
At the time of the GTTF scandal in 2017, though there were numerous indications of corruption within several plainclothes units going back almost a decade, Baltimore police commanders held to the belief that any street unit that could bring in guns and drugs consistently had to be championed and protected. We Own This City depicts the inevitable corruption of a unit given this carte blanche.
Jon Bernthal as Sgt. Wayne Jenkins of the Baltimore Police Department, perhaps the central figure in the sprawling federal corruption case that centered on the agency’s Gun Trace Task Force, a plainclothes unit that went completely rogue and began hunting and robbing citizens and drug dealers alike as decades of a relentless drug war and mass incarceration in Baltimore spun wildly out of control.
Wunmi Mosaku as Nicole Steele, an attorney assigned to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, which was investigating policing practices in Baltimore prior to the Gun Trace Task Force criminal investigation. Focused on creating a voluntary, monitored federal consent decree aimed at reform, Steele’s work centers on the systemic reasons police corruption and bad behavior are excused by Baltimore City prosecutors, judges and the police department itself.
Jamie Hector as Sean M. Suiter, a Baltimore City Homicide detective who was caught up in the GTTF case and called to testify before a federal grand jury. Tragically, Suiter finds he can’t outrun his past.
McKinley Belcher III as Momodu “G Money” Gondo, an 11-year BPD veteran and member of the Gun Trace Task Force, implicated in robberies, overtime fraud and other corrupt acts. He was involved in protecting a heroin operation run by Antonio “Brill” Shropshire. Gondo served as an information line and protector to Shropshire, and took little effort to hide this connection.
Darrell Britt-Gibson as Jemell Rayam, one of the most brazen offenders caught up in the GTTF probe. Rayam committed racketeering, extortion, overtime fraud, robberies and unlawful detainments; entered residences without a warrant; and was involved in three shootings that resulted in one fatality. Over the years, he was targeted in multiple investigations by the Internal Affairs Department but suffered few consequences.
Josh Charles as Daniel Hersl, a cocky, swaggering cop known amongst Baltimore residents for his casual brutality and was the subject of multiple citizen complaints. Hersl was effectively banned from the Eastern District before his move to the GTTF.
Dagmara Domińczyk as Erika Jensen, a New York native who, compelled by the 9-11 terrorism to join the Bureau, conducted the federal investigation into the corrupt GTTF officers along with Task Force Officer John Sieracki.
Rob Brown as Maurice Ward, another plainclothesman with the Gun Trace Task Force, who participated in many of the robberies, thefts and illegal activities of the unit, but was bothered by that participation throughout, sometimes tossing away the proceeds from the crimes. When confronted by the federal investigation and charged with the rest of the unit, he was among the first to cooperate unequivocally with prosecutors.
Don Harvey as John Sieracki, a second-generation city cop assigned to the public corruption task force and working out of the FBI’s office in Woodlawn. Sieracki provided the federal investigation key knowledge of the BPD and access to its databases.
David Corenswet as David McDougall, a veteran investigator with the Harford County Narcotics Task Force. McDougall and Detective Scott Kilpatrick, his colleague in neighboring Baltimore County’s Narcotics Unit, began the casework on drug overdoses that set the GTTF probe in motion.
Larry Mitchell as Scott Kilpatrick, a veteran investigator with the Baltimore County Narcotics Task Force. Kilpatrick and Detective David McDougall, his colleague in neighboring Harford County’s Narcotics Unit, began the casework on drug overdoses that set the GTTF probe in motion.
Ian Duff as Ahmed Jackson, a former D.O.J. trial attorney who is tired of criminal prosecutions and transferred to the Office of Civil Rights. Jackson is newly assigned to Nicole Steele’s team and is mentored by her as they investigate the systemic policing issues in Baltimore.
Delaney Williams as Kevin Davis, the Police Commissioner hired after the unrest following Freddie Gray’s death, who is caught between the proverbial rock and several hard places, unable to reform the Baltimore City police department and please City Hall, community leaders, the police union, and his rank and file officers.
Lucas Van Engen as Leo Wise, a veteran federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Baltimore and the lead prosecutor assigned to the Gun Trace Task Force case.
Rebel Wilson (the Pitch Perfect movies) wakes from a 20-year coma ready to finish up high school in Netflix’s R-rated comedy Senior Year. The just-released trailer finds Wilson totally confused as to why Madonna’s now calling herself Lady Gaga, unable to grasp the concept of nine Fast & Furious movies, and determined to return to the high school where she once reigned as cheer captain.
Angourie Rice (Mare of Easttown) plays the popular teenage version of Rebel Wilson’s character. The cast also includes Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, Mary Holland, Justin Hartley, Chris Parnell, Michael Cimino, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Brandon Scott Jones and Alicia Silverstone. Joshua Colley, Jade Bender, and Avantika also star.
Alex Hardcastle directs from a screenplay by Andrew Knauer, Arthur Pielli, and Brandon Scott Jones. Rebel Wilson, Todd Garner, Timothy M. Bourne, and Chris Bender produce, and Jeremy Stein and Jake Wagner executive produce.
Senior Year will premiere on Netflix on May 13, 2022.
After a cheerleader falls off a pyramid and into a 20 year coma, she wakes up as a 37-year-old woman, ready to return to high school, regain her status and claim the prom queen crown that eluded her.
Deacon attempts to help a man who he believes was wrongly convicted of murder on CBS’s S.W.A.T. season five episode 17. Directed by Oz Scott from a script by Amelia Sims, episode 17 – “Cry Foul” – will air on Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 10pm ET/PT.
The season five cast is led by Shemar Moore as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson. Alex Russell stars as Jim Street, Jay Harrington plays David “Deacon” Kay, Lina Esco is Christina “Chris” Alonso, Kenny Johnson is Dominique Luca, David Lim is Victor Tan, and Patrick St. Esprit stars as Commander Robert Hicks.
Recurring cast members include Norma Kuhling and Bre Blair.
“Cry Foul” Plot: When a series of deadly explosions hits oil derricks across Los Angeles, SWAT teams up to hunt down an activist-turned-terrorist. Also, Deacon and his wife, Annie (Bre Blair), work to free a reformed drug dealer who they believe was sent away for a murder he didn’t commit.
Series Description, Courtesy of CBS:
Inspired by the television series and the feature film, S.W.A.T. stars Shemar Moore as a former Marine and locally born and raised S.W.A.T. sergeant, tasked to run a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles. Torn between loyalty to where he was raised and allegiance to his brothers in blue, Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson strives to bridge the divide between his two worlds. However, Hondo is forced to question his professional identity when he is demoted from Squad Leader after going public to expose racial corruption within the LAPD.
The other members of Hondo’s elite S.W.A.T. unit include David “Deacon” Kay, an experienced S.W.A.T. officer and dedicated family man who always puts the team first; Christina “Chris” Alonso, a skilled officer and the team’s canine trainer; Dominique Luca, an expert driver who gets them in and out of high risk situations; newlywed Victor Tan, who started in the LAPD Hollywood Division and uses his confidential informants in the community to help the team; and Jim Street, the team’s cocky newest member. Responsible for the management of all Metro Division S.W.A.T. units is Commander Robert Hicks, a senior LAPD official with the Special Operations Bureau.
With Hondo no longer leading the charge, these dedicated men and women face an uncertain future as they bravely put themselves at risk to protect their community and save lives.
Even though he’s trained as a lawyer, Golden Globe-nominated actor Jason Isaacs has never played one in an acting career spanning nearly 35 years.
“I have a law degree,” said Isaacs, 58, the third of four sons, who earned his law degree at Bristol University in his native England. “It gave me an intellectual approach to things that’s not been helpful as an actor – it’s helpful as a director, a producer, or other aspects of the business – but acting is about, weirdly, suspending your brain and relying on something more animal and less tangible… If you focus too hard, you can’t do acting. You have to be free to allow things to flow into you. It sounds very pretentious, but I believe in it more and more.”
Still, Isaacs has played a starship captain, a pirate, a dark wizard, a drag queen, a cop, a military man, a scientist, a secret agent, not to mention Captain Hook, Superman, Lex Luthor, and Dracula. He has a reputation for playing antagonists, including Col. William Tavington in 2000’s The Patriot, which was set during the American Revolution starring Oscar winner Mel Gibson.
In Good Company
Currently, Isaacs portrays a doctor. On the CBS medical drama Good Sam, which is in its first season, Isaacs (who’s also a producer and will make his directorial debut with the April 20 episode, “Family/Business”) plays Dr. Rob “Griff” Griffith, one of the nation’s best heart surgeons and the chief of surgery at the fictional Lakeshore Sentinel Hospital in Detroit. Although Griff is a brilliant doctor, his people skills are awful.
His daughter, Dr. Samantha “Sam” Griffith (Sophia Bush, Chicago P.D.), is his opposite number. Sam is kind, caring, compassionate, decent, and has a charming bedside manner – the polar opposite of her father. She’s also a gifted surgeon in her own right, something Griff won’t acknowledge.
In the first episode, a random shooting at Lakeshore puts Griff in a coma for six months. The person who replaces him is none other than Sam. On the night Sam’s appointment to his previous position becomes official, Griff awakens. The first thing he wants to do is return to work. Then, he learns Sam is now the chief of surgery, which bothers him.
The only way Griff can perform surgery again is with the approval of his daughter, who’s now his boss. Griff isn’t accustomed to following orders, especially from Sam, undermining her at every turn, challenging her authority and medical expertise. This leads to them butting heads, scratching the surface of a complex father-daughter relationship.
“The old world order is crumbling in which a man like him sits on the throne,” said Isaacs. “I’m a man with two daughters (with Emma Hewitt, his wife of 21 years). My daughters… have long ago passed the stage where they think their father’s a moron – I’m not entirely sure they’re wrong in many aspects. It’s both the pleasure and the pain of watching them be able – maybe more able than me – to engage with the modern world. The story is something I could identify with…”
While Griff may not praise Sam, Isaacs certainly praises Bush.
“She’s extraordinary,” he said. “She takes the happiness of the company desperately seriously… she wants it to be fun and wants everyone to be heard there. She walks the walk. She prepares meticulously for the things I barely look at. She arrives with this medical knowledge and a daunting, intimidating level of understanding of what the medical jargon in the scene means… I’ve never seen anyone so busy and so organized and yet so ready to play. We dance a lot at work. It’s the only company I’ve been in where everybody sees each other on weekends as well. She’s the fairy godmother to all of us, even though she’s half my age.”
Isaacs enjoyed his first time out in the director’s chair.
“I loved being able to work that closely with the actors – they’re my contemporaries, they’re my friends – on the show,” said Isaacs. “I admire all of them. I know some of the things they’re great at and I know some of the areas they can be encouraged to do more… I knew the whole crew – I’ve worked with them for months, so they’ve been incredibly helpful and supportive. Plus, I’ve always been one of those people in scenes that many times over the years I’ve thought, ‘If I can only whisper this in that person’s ear, I think his performance might take off to a new level.’ And I got to try that, and they were all game to try it with me. I felt absolutely in my element. This is something I wished I’d done a long time ago and I intend to do some more.”
One of his more famous roles is Lucius Malfoy – a Death Eater, patriarch of an affluent magical family, and father of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton, The Flash) – in the Harry Potter film franchise, based on the international best-selling novels by J.K. Rowling (who’s been the subject of controversy in recent months, something Isaacs did not comment on). Isaacs portrayed him six times, the final time in 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
“Playing him was less interesting than what it’s been like for Lucius Malfoy since the film series finished in (2011),” said Isaacs, who has stated before in previous interviews that he believes after the fall of Voldemort, his character would become a whisper of his former shout, shunned by society, alienated by his family, and eventually drink himself to death.
“The books – and then the films – have meant much to so many people,” he said. “They’ve really provided a place of light for some people in very dark times. It’s a chance for them to recount the power of stories that brought solace and comfort and hope and gave it to people without those things… (They) occupy an entirely different place because for so many people they’ve been a genuine lifeline. The notion that there is a space for everyone in the world… people who feel excluded, abandoned, and alone – there will be a place that welcomes them, there will be a community for them… It’s been the gift that’s kept on giving. Most of the jobs I do, I enjoy them and forget about them. I don’t really care how many people watch them or their financial success. With the Potters, the lake is not still; the ripples continue forever.”
On the first season of Star Trek: Discovery – for which he earned an Empire Award for Best Actor in a TV Series – Isaacs portrayed Capt. Gabriel Lorca, captain of the titular starship in the 55-year-old science-fiction franchise created by the late Gene Roddenberry. Discovery is the seventh TV series in the franchise and recently concluded its fourth season.
A brilliant military tactician, Lorca was more enigmatic and certainly darker than any other Trek captains such as William Shatner’s James T. Kirk or Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard.
In a twist, it was revealed that Lorca was the Lorca of a different universe, specifically the Mirror Universe, which is occupied by evil versions of Trek characters. At one point, the Mirror Universe’s Lorca replaced the Lorca indigenous to the main reality and died in the episode “What’s Past is Prologue.”
However, Isaacs argued that Lorca isn’t evil.
“He wasn’t evil. That’s a Darwinian universe where only the strong survive. Do you find lions to be evil when they eat other wild beasts at the watering hole?” said Isaacs. “By the way, there was a man in the White House who thoroughly believed in that as a protocol – that the strong should dominate the weak because they can.”
While the fate of the mainstream Lorca is unclear, he is believed to be dead. However, that hasn’t been confirmed. If Isaacs has the chance to play Lorca – any Lorca – again, he would “absolutely” do it.
“My door is wide open,” he said. “Funny enough… I’m gonna work with (a Trek producer) again. I’m not allowed to say what it is, but I will be badgering that person every day to get me back into a skintight, sausage uniform.”
Discovery actor Doug Jones (alias Capt. Saru) enjoyed working with Isaacs.
“Jason is one of the most curious actors I’ve ever worked with, always trying to uncover a hidden gem in a scene whether scripted or not,” said Jones. “Every day with him on (Discovery) was a thrill ride we all just buckled in for. He is among the most gifted, assertive actors I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching, both in person and on screen.”
Isaacs is amazed by Trek’s loyal and vocal fanbase.
“It certainly provides a community for many people, that’s for sure. I had an extraordinary experience – I went on Star Trek: The Cruise (where fans spend a week on a cruise ship with Trek actors), which every fiber in my body told me not to do.”
However, actor/director Jonathan Frakes (alias Cmdr. William T. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation) convinced him otherwise.
“(Frakes) told me I absolutely had to do it and had given me no choice whatsoever because his children were raised on these (cruises), and I would love it. And he was right!” recalled Isaacs. “It was an amazingly eclectic bunch of people. They were the most diverse, inclusive, and generous community I had ever come across. We had ‘Trek’s Got Talent’ one night. It was by popular vote and the popular vote was for the most heavily disabled person who really had tremendous difficulty doing anything on stage and was cheered to the rafters by everyone on that boat. It was one of the most beautiful moments I had ever seen. Trekkers are a remarkable community.”
Another captain Isaacs has played is one of classic literature’s most famous: Capt. James Hook in 2003’s Peter Pan, directed by P.J. Hogan (My Best Friend’s Wedding). In this adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play and 1911 novel of the same name, Isaacs also played George Darling. It is a tradition in Peter Pan stage adaptations that the actor who plays Hook also plays this role. George is the father of Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood, Solomon Kane), the young girl who falls for Peter (Jeremy Sumpter, Friday Night Lights).
“P.J. Hogan’s a genius… and no one’s ever told J.M. Barrie’s story before,” said Isaacs. “There’s been these versions of his story where they’ve taken the wrong aspect of it.”
According to Isaacs, Peter’s a figment of Wendy’s imagination. The story is about Wendy. Upon hitting puberty, she’s told, “Your childhood’s over. It’s time to be a woman,” per Isaacs.
“I have two daughters who are young women,” he said. “I remember so vividly – and they’re still going through it – when the world wants to treat (most of them like) women and they still feel like little girls. It’s a story about that. (Wendy’s) a kid who’s told ‘Get ready to have a family’ … She still has a room with her brothers and plays pirates with them at night. She dreams of a world in which that won’t be true.”
Isaacs continued: “I find that to be incredibly poignant; there’s a reason why it’s still around for a century after it was written. P.J. wanted to tell that story. I thought it was timeless. He made an absolute classic. It’s ironic that it was a box office failure, but it’s been such a triumph over the years – so many people have found it and loved it and that’s because he’s a remarkable filmmaker.”
A Tortuous Process
Isaacs has no preference what medium he performs in – it doesn’t matter if it’s movies, TV, or the stage. To him, they’re the same thing.
“It’s just theater. Can I imagine being someone else? Can I get to a state of flow where I’m just in the space with the other actors and living that life imaginatively?” said Isaacs. “The camera’s the same for TV and movies. Whether I’m seen on the big screen or little screen or on someone’s phone… my job is just to be someone in those situations. Can I make truthful for myself? And if I can, hopefully it’ll be truthful for someone else.”
He continued: “Most things are being streamed nowadays. For most movies, even the ones that are successful, for every pair of eyeballs that sees them at the cinema, there’s gonna be 1,000 pairs of eyes that sees them at home. That’s just the unfortunate reality. The end result is not really my job. I don’t even think about if things will be successful or not. I just think whether I would be interested in living that life and with those people.”
When asked how he chooses his roles, Isaacs confessed he doesn’t know.
“There’s no answer. Normally whatever is gonna f**k up my life the most next. That’s a terrible idea. It’s a torturous process. Initially, I say no to everything, then I phone my agent, ‘Did that thing go? I was thinking about it while I was driving.’ I do lots of first-time directors’ films, most of which you’ve never heard of or didn’t come out. I don’t think about the implications… It’s mostly a sense that I would be bitter if someone else did it; it’s that negative. It’s not that I want to do it, I’m always fearful and wondering about what I’m gonna do. The process of creativity is all born out of fear for me – how can I not fail terribly?”
He continued: “Mostly, if there’s one overriding factor, I couldn’t bear to watch anyone else do it. I’m not even sure that’s true. I’m just making some sh*t up for you. The fact is I have no idea. It’s an arbitrary process and it changes every time. It’s just the thing I’m drawn to… I think it’ll be fun, and I fancy walking in that person’s shoes. Sometimes, it’s because I fancy the research. I didn’t get to hang out with many pirates or wizards, but I’ve certainly shadowed politicians, priests, drug dealers, heart surgeons, and policemen… If I was broke, often I’m sure I’d be drawn to the things with the biggest paychecks. Thankfully, I’ve not been broke for a while.”
Always the Next One
Other notable roles include Armageddon, Black Hawk Down, Green Zone, and the short-lived TV series Awake. Isaacs has also done his share of voiceover work for animation. This includes Lex Luthor in Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Superman in Superman: Red Son, Dracula in two Monster Family movies, King Arthur in Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob, the Grand Inquisitor in Star Wars: Rebels, Ra’s al Ghul in Batman: Under the Red Hood, among others.
With a body of work spanning more than three decades, Isaacs revealed his favorite role.
“Always the next one,” he said. “I figure looking back is madness. It’s true in relationships, it’s true in work, it’s true in everything – harkening back to what was. My greatest joys lay ahead; they have to.”
Isaacs has recently wrapped production on Good Sam. He’s unsure if it will return for a second season.
“Not a clue,” he said. “Somebody in a much nicer suit than I possess will be making that decision.”
Will Good Sam’s season finale serve as a series finale if CBS doesn’t renew it?
“They never do,” said Isaacs. “You have to know you weren’t coming back to write an episode that ties up every storyline or have the coach driving off the cliff. Since we don’t know if we’re coming back or not, they haven’t written an end like that… I’ve never shot a finale that we knew was a finale.”
Isaacs’ other upcoming roles include the films Operation Mincemeat, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Mind-set, Spinning Gold, Agent Game, and several more he couldn’t talk about because of signing NDAs.
“You’ll be sick of me,” said Jason Isaacs. “There’ll be a bunch of others in the next few months. I apologize in advance for flooding the market with my horrible anecdotes.”
Walker Scobell to star in ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ (Photo Credit: Disney/Paul Lorei)
Disney+’s live-action Percy Jackson series has tapped Walker Scobell to star in the lead role. Scobell will take on the titular role in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, based on Rick Riordan’s award-winning book series.
Filming is expected to begin this summer.
Riordan is writing the pilot along with Jon Steinberg (Black Sails), and James Bobin is on board to direct.
When the series was officially announced in January 2022 Riordan posted a video sharing the news with Percy Jackson fans and commenting on James Bobin’s involvement. “James is a terrific person and also an incredibly talented director who recently directed the pilot for Disney+’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, which I loved. James knows the Percy Jackson books well. His kids are fans. So, we’re in great hands,” said Riordan.
Steinberg and his producing partner Dan Shotz will oversee the series. Steinberg, Shotz, Bobin, Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe, and The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg are executive producing. 20th Century Television is producing the latest adaptation of Riordan’s bestselling novels.
Walker Scobell was recently seen in Netflix’s sci-fi action film The Adam Project starring Ryan Reynolds. The movie marked the superhero-loving Scobell’s first acting role. He recently worked on his second film, the action-adventure movie Secret Headquarters with Owen Wilson, Michael Pena, and Jesse Williams.
Disney+ offered the following description of Percy Jackson and the Olympians:
Percy Jackson and the Olympians tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.
Percy Jackson is a smart and compassionate kid with a sharp sense of humor. He’s always seen himself as an outsider, in no small part because of how the world sees his ADHD and dyslexia. He’s impulsive and rambunctious and is quick to anger when things seem unfair to him. But beneath his cynicism is an affectionate son and loyal friend who just wants to do right by those he cares about. If only he could find a place where he fits in.
Apple TV+’s anthology series Roar features eight stand-alone episodes, each telling a powerful story of women facing adversity and responding in unique ways. Alison Brie, Cynthia Erivo, Merritt Wever, Fivel Stewart, Nicole Kidman, Issa Rae, and Betty Gilpin star in their own episodes based on short stories by acclaimed writer Cecelia Ahern, with season one addressing relatable issues in surreal ways.
Sometimes heart-wrenching, often humorous, Apple TV+’s Roar’s eight thought-provoking episodes are meant to spark conversations. The series was created by co-showrunners Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch (GLOW, Orange is the New Black) and is set to premiere on Friday, April 15, 2022.
Flahive said the ability to tell eight incredibly different stand-alone episodes, each with a beginning, middle, and end, made Roar the most exciting project she’s ever been involved in.
“It was also one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to do, just because they were all so incredibly different and required all these different things. We didn’t have a standing set. Every world had to be created from the studs and, luckily, we had a team both in front of and behind the camera – a team of incredibly genius collaborators – which made it actually possible,” explained Flahive during a virtual press conference in support of the series’ debut.
Flahive added: “I think the fact that they are all so different but there is a shared experience of a woman at the center – an ordinary woman being hit with some extraordinary circumstances – is part of the connective tissues for me, in terms of the show.”
Alison Brie in ‘Roar’ (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Screen Actors Guild winner Alison Brie (Mad Men, GLOW) stars in the “The Woman Who Solved Her Own Murder” episode which is described as a comic feminist twist on the male detective genre. (Brie’s episode is one of two not based on a Cecelia Ahern short story.) Brie loved the fact Roar is a mix of genres and also shifts in tone – even within a single episode.
“Each episode explores a different genre, but also, within each episode, there are many facets to the tone. There’s a bit of dark humor and drama and horror and intrigue that’s also filled with so much insight and commentary on the female experience,” said Brie during the Zoom press conference. “It truly was unlike anything I had ever read before or seen before, I think. That was part of the joy of working on it was sort of figuring it out as we went along which was really fun.”
Cynthia Erivo and Jordyn Weitz in ‘Roar’ (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Two-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) plays a wife and mother attempting to balance her home life and career in Roar’s “The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on Her Skin” episode. Erivo described each episode of the anthology series as showcasing just a snapshot of each of these women’s lives, with her character attempting to be at the top of her game and feeling guilty about not being able to be everything to everyone all the time.
“I think that the way it’s been handled, the fact that somehow we managed to sneak the humor into all of them somewhere really feels great,” explained Erivo. “I’ve never done anything like that. I don’t think I’ve done any dark comedy before, and I don’t think anyone has given me the chance to sort of stretch those chops a little bit.
I liked that it was a challenge for me. I liked having to be on set with bite marks on my skin and pretend that it’s oozing and I can see the whole thing falling apart. Like, all of the threads pulling at the extremes of it all and trying to figure out how to make it as grounded as possible knowing that we’re in this ludicrous situation was, for me, kind of awesome. I had never read a script like it before. I had never been able to combine all these different aspects of a person together in one character. So, I think that the fact that you get eight different versions of that is really kind of awesome.”
Fivel Stewart in ‘Roar’ (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Fivel Stewart (Atypical) stars in “The Girl Who Loved Horses” episode, the only episode with “girl” rather than “woman” in the title. (Stewart’s episode wasn’t based on an Ahern short story.) “The Girl Who Loved Horses” is a Western revenge tale with Stewart as a teenager out to avenge her father’s murder.
Stewart hopes her episode will encourage young women to listen to themselves. “I know that for my episode Jane knew exactly where she needed to go and what she needed to do in order for her to feel satisfied in her life. Something that she loved was taken away from her,” said Stewart. “I think one of my favorite things about my episode specifically […]was that she didn’t just act out emotionally, she really internalized what happened and just did the thing.
I hope that young girls…I mean, I know that I’m the youngest one in the anthology…so I hope that young girls see my episode and just feel really driven to listen to their intuition.”
Merritt Wever in ‘Roar’ (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Two-time Emmy Award winner Merritt Wever (Godless, Nurse Jackie) stars opposite a waterfowl in “The Woman Who Was Fed By a Duck,” an episode that finds Wever’s character evaluating her self-worth.
Asked to describe her approach to the character, Wever replied, “It wasn’t any different than I think it always is for me. I just go to the material and that’s where I begin. I start digging in and I try and find my way. But I think one of the most striking features of this whole experience for me was coming back to my first job, pretty much, post-Covid. I hadn’t been working so it was my first time back on a set acting and also in a community or in a group of people sharing a purpose. At times it was a big deal and it was disorienting, and then really quickly it wasn’t. It was just back to the grind.
I often felt a bit like Gumby when I was acting. Like, ‘This is my job. How do you do it?’ But it also felt really beautiful sometimes to find myself shoulder to shoulder with somebody in the trenches with a common goal again. That felt very meaningful to me. I think that’s always going to be like a sheen that’s over this whole experience. Even if you can’t see it from the inside, that’s certainly part of what the experience was for me. It’s something I carried with me when we were shooting, and it’s something I carry with me now when I look back on it – the first one back.”
Watch the interview video for more with Alison Brie, Cynthia Erivo, Merritt Wever, Fivel Stewart, and Liz Flahive. All eight episodes of Roar premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, April 15, 2022.
Niecy Nash begins her two-episode arc as Simone Clarke on ABC’s The Rookie season four episode 19. Episodes 19 and 20 set up a potential spinoff starring Nash that may join the network’s primetime lineup next season. Directed by Liz Friedlander from a script by Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter, episode 19 – “Simone” – will air on Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 10pm ET/PT.
Season four stars Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, and Richard T. Jones as Wade Grey. Melissa O’Neil is Lucy Chen and Eric Winter stars as Tim Bradford.
Guest stars include Felix Solis as Matthew Garza, Kat Foster as Casey Fox, and Frankie Faison as Christopher “Cutty” Clark.
“Simone” Plot: Officer Nolan and the LA division of the FBI enlist the help of FBI trainee Simone Clark when one of her former students is suspected of terrorism following an explosion at a local power station.
Melissa O’Neil, Kat Foster and Niecy Nash in ‘The Rookie’ season 4 episode 19 (ABC/Raymond Liu)Felix Solis, Kat Foster, Richard T. Jones, and Nathan Fillion in the “Simone” episode (ABC/Raymond Liu)Richard T. Jones, Nathan Fillion, and Melissa O’Neil in season 4 episode 19 (ABC/Raymond Liu)Melissa O’Neil and Nathan Fillion in season 4 episode 19 (ABC/Raymond Liu)Eric Winter, Richard T. Jones and Kat Foster in season 4 episode 19 (ABC/Raymond Liu)Eric Winter and Kat Foster in the “Simone” episode (ABC/Raymond Liu)
