Find out what
life after
The
Bachelor
CELEBRITY
SPOTLIGHTS
Kevin James
Peyton List
Thandie Newton
Issa Rae
Brent Hull
is like
Katy Mixon
becomes ABC’s
American
Housewife
premiering TuesdaY
PLUS
Divorce
folio
Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
Falling Water
Goliath
contents
C
What’s
HOT this
Week!
YOURTVLINK
STAFF PICK
TOP STORIES
12-13 After seeing her best friend shoot her husband
during a marital spat, a suburban New York woman decides
she’s had enough of her own unhappy marriage and husband
in the HBO comedy series “Divorce.” George Dickie speaks
with the actors who play the spouses on the outs, Sarah
Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church, about their
characters and making what can be sad subject matter funny.
3
14-15 Three people find they have shared dreams in
“Falling Water,” a USA Network fantasy-drama series
premiering Thursday. Co-star David Ajala and executive
producer Blake Masters tell Jay Bobbin about the genesis of
the show, prolonged by the loss of one of its creators.
“Mike & Molly” alum
Katy Mixon stars as
a fish out of water
— and in the suburbs
— in the title role of the
ABC sitcom “American
Housewife,” premiering
Tuesday. She and series
creator Sarah Dunn tell
Jay Bobbin about the
show.
17 Oscar winner William Hurt moves off the big screen
into another medium again as a law-firm titan in the Amazon
drama series “Goliath,” which starts streaming all 10 of its
episodes Friday. Jay Bobbin sits down with Hurt to get a read
on his newest character … and what makes the actor tick.
CELEBRITY
4 Kevin James couldn’t wait to start
‘Kevin Can Wait’
REALITY
16 How to live life after ‘The Bachelor’
SPORTS
5 Acting ‘made sense’ for Peyton List
6 ‘Edgy discomfort’ helped performance,
says ‘Westworld’s’ Thandie Newton
18-19 Blues seeing red with Russia’s
Vladimir Tarasenko
MOVIES
8 Secure in Issa Rae insecurities
9 Getting to know restoration
extraordinaire Brent Hull
20-21 Theatrical Review, and Our top
DVD releases
IN EVERY ISSUE
FOOD
7 Jersey girl goes French in ‘UpRooted’
22-23 Our top suggested programs
to watch this week!
Here’s where you can find us
facebook/yourtvlink
https://twitter.com/yourtvlink Visit YourTVLINK.com
Page 2 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
Vladimir
Tarasenko
19
CONTRIBUTING Staff
Managing Editor: Michelle Wilson
Writers: Jay Bobbin, George Dickie, John Crook, Dan Ladd
Magazine Design: Nicolle Burton
Quality: Chris Browne
Editor's choice
STORY
Katy Mixon is an
amusing ‘American
Housewife’ in new
ABC sitcom
Premiering Tuesday
By Jay Bobbin
It’s called “American Housewife” now, but a new ABC
show’s original title was “The Second Fattest Housewife in
Westport.”
That pretty much defines the premise of the sitcom,
premiering Tuesday, Oct. 11. Fresh off a long run as
Melissa McCarthy’s sister on “Mike & Molly,” Katy Mixon
now assumes the lead as Katie Otto, a Connecticut wife
and mother-of-three whose strong self-esteem helps
her handle not fitting the “perfect” image of many of her
neighbors and acquaintances in – as she terms it – that
“hoity-toity town.” Diedrich Bader (“The Drew Carey
Show”) plays her unconditionally loving husband, with
Daniel DiMaggio, Meg Donnelly and Julia Butters as their
offspring.
Pictured: Katy Mixon
“I kind of just jumped in because I fell in love with the
character and the story,” the effusively friendly Mixon says.
“I had just ended ‘Mike & Molly,’ and I walked into the room
to see all of (the new show’s producers) four days later.
I thought the premise was so incredible, in the sense of
she’s an authentic woman loving in an inauthentic world,
and she’s trying the best that she can to be who she is.
“Sometimes she’s fearless, and sometimes she’s got so
many insecurities, so what attracted me to the role was
that everybody can relate. Whether what gender you are,
whether what area you come from (and what) background,
everybody can relate to insecurities. And it’s about how
you meet yourself where you are and go through it and
how you tackle it.”
“American Housewife” creator Sarah Dunn (“Bunheads,”
“Spin City”) explains, “One of the things that sort of drove
me to do this was that I have two small children. I have a
seven-year-old and a six-year-old, and I had been on bed
rest with both pregnancies for four-and-a-half months. And
I was out of Hollywood and I’m a novelist, so I just sort of
had all of this mommy stuff. I was really being a mom and
not a TV writer or something like that, and I just would
look at my friends (and be) like, ‘This is funny. Like,
what we’re doing is funny. The mom can be the center
of a show.”’
Now that she is, Mixon – whose other television work
has encompassed “Eastbound & Down” and “Two and
a Half Men” – says she’s bringing many lessons she
learned from McCarthy on “Mike & Molly” about being,
for the first time, a top-billed series star.
“She’s quite wonderful,” Mixon reflects of the “Gilmore
Girls” alum who’s also been maintaining a busy movie
career. “It was the biggest pleasure, when I was doing
that show, to be able to watch her (be) just amazing
in everything. The world got to watch her, and I got
to witness all of that happening. I got to witness her
soaring into what she’s meant to be doing.
“I am such a big fan of letting everyone know how
special they are and what they contribute,” adds Mixon.
“I love the tone, when everybody gets on set, of ‘We’re
all in it together.’ We are a team, and we’re going to
make it happen.”
Click on icon for more!
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 3
CELEBRITY
Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
Kevin James
of ‘Kevin Can Wait’ Monday on CBS
Since you’ve done the “Paul Blart: Mall
Cop” movie comedies, and you play a
newly retired police officer in “Kevin Can
Wait,” what’s the appeal of that profession
for you?
I grew up with a lot of guys on Long Island who were
– and are – police officers. They kind of all went into the
academy together, they put their time in together and 20
years later, they were done. And (with) retirement, you
usually think a little older or something.
These guys are in their 40s, and they’re home, and they
had this dream of what they were going to do together
every day. ‘We’ll race go-karts. We’ll go to Mets games.’
Things like that, and also spend time with the family ...
but life doesn’t go as you plan it, and that’s what makes
it so much fun that we have all these characters to
interact with.
How do you launch a new sitcom character
and make him different enough from Doug
on “The King of Queens”?
That’s the trick of it all. You always kind of want to do
something different, yet the same. It’s a constant battle
in my career to say, ‘I don’t want to do the same thing
again.’ You say you want to do something different, but
automatically you lose half your audience, the people that
enjoyed what you were doing – and so you do more of
that. The trick, and I think we’ve done it really well (in the
new show), is to kind of do a blend of both.
Why did you want to film “Kevin Can Wait”
in Long Island?
Click on icon for more!
I wanted to have something special to it. If I was to do
another sitcom here (Los Angeles), I think it would be
great and it would be fun, but you’re one of many that
shoot in Los Angeles and. So, there (Long Island), it’s
something special.
folio
Page 4 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
CELEBRITY
George Dickie’s Q&A
PeytonList
At what point did
you realize you
wanted to be an
actor?
I got started young.
My mom got me into
the industry when I
was the same age as
when I did ballet and
lacrosse and did any
other extracurricular
activity. And it was sort
of something that I just
stuck with. And I think
when you get to that age
where your friends are
going to college, you’re
trying to figure out what
it is that you do with your
life, it was something
that was just sort of
always there. And I had
sort of developed a bit
of a community with the
people I would work with
and I looked up to those
people and I wanted to be
like them so it just kind of
made sense to me.
of ‘Frequency’
Wednesday
on The CW
Click on icon for more!
How was “Mad Men” as a work experience?
I mean, how often do you get to dress up like you’re in the ‘60s? Like that’s crazy and
wonderful. I mean, it was cool. It was really different, like I got really into it while I was
doing it. Even to the point when they graduated and moved to the ‘70s, I was like, “No, no,
no, I want to stay in the ‘60s. I’m good here.” (laughs) It was totally bizarre, especially like
when you’re around actors who are in the same boat and they’re in the same costumes
and doing the same time period but you’re existing in this world that’s super cool and
bizarre. And that’s another thing I look back on, like, “Oh, I did that. Wow. OK, cool.” I think
I just got super, super lucky.
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 5
CELEBRITY
George Dickie’s Q&A
Thandie
Newton
of
‘Westworld’
Sunday on
HBO
Playing a robot prostitute
must have presented
an opportunity to flex
some acting muscles you
wouldn’t ordinarily, no?
Oh yes, and here’s the other thing: having to act completely naked for weeks on end. ... So it’s not just the mental
gymnastics ... I was in situations which made the acting experience that much more surreal but then that was a great
value for the performance because that kind of edgy discomfort is precisely what the hosts are experiencing.
So at the end of the shooting day, did this character require coming down from?
Sometimes. ... There were some personal revelations that occurred during the shooting because of playing the
character, definitely. Just notions of imprisonment in your own psyche and your own body. The effect of society’s
control when you haven’t willfully accepted it. All these existential questions, which the audience will be asking too,
were playing out much more significantly on me in my mind because I was playing this character. And there were real
revelations and I was very emotional in the last couple of episodes. And not to do with the character, just me. Really,
like I was lancing kind of some toxicity from my own life and stuff that I’ve felt, that I’ve experienced, about repression
and about lack of control, about freedom.
The whole notion of freedom was huge for me in the show because of course these hosts are – and the people too,
the guests – the things that we do create a kind of prison. And yes, the things that we do create security. You know,
everything we do – building these houses, etc. – but are we creating security or ultimately a prison because it leads
to disconnection between ourselves and other members of humanity? ... So I found myself having a kind of small
epiphany, and it’s something I’m so grateful for because it wasn’t something that I expected but it has been really
valuable in my life.
Click on icon for more!
Page 6 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
George Dickie’s What's for Dinner
American city girl
meets French
countryside in
Cooking Channel’s
‘UpRooted’
W
hen her husband’s job took Sarah
Sharratt and her family to live in rural
southwest France, the New Jersey native
and Cordon Bleu-trained chef found
herself at a loss for what to do next.
Jobs in that part of the world weren’t plentiful, so an
executive chef position at a five-star restaurant was
out of the question. But she kept finding herself going
on culinary adventures in her adopted homeland, the
Dordogne region, which is known for great produce and
world renowned wines. And so she figured if she found
her jaunts through Bordeaux and surrounding villages
interesting, others might, too.
And so “UpRooted” was born. The 10-episode series,
airing Saturdays on Cooking Channel, takes Sharratt
through the French countryside to experience the food,
people and culture of the region, going on adventures
ranging from a tradition festival that celebrates all things
mushroom and a bison and boar barbecue to the Paris
culinary scene and the subject of this week’s episode, a
French picnic featuring a spaghetti frittata.
TASTY
What did
you have for
dinner last
night?
“I had a savory fig tart.
I was testing it for my
website. It was a fig
tart with arugula and
prosciutto. We have
a fig tree next to the
house and it’s just
exploding with figs right
now, so I’m eating figs
basically breakfast,
lunch and dinner
(laughs) every day.
Which is great; I love
figs but once the fruit
is done I will be very
happy to wait a year
until I eat another fig.”
Pictured: Sarah Sharratt
“There’s a bit of a seasonal aspect to the shows,” Sharratt
explains, “so we’ve tried to film episodes across all four
seasons. And just the idea for each episode would sort of
fall out of what was happening in that season. So in the
fall we’ve got mushrooms and we’ve got the nut harvest,
pigeon hunting, Thanksgiving. We went into Christmas
and black truffle season. ... So I sort of just looked at OK,
what’s going on around me, and we were able to time
the filming so that we were able to capture a lot of these
things that are actually happening in the season.”
The Thanksgiving episode proved to be especially
challenging on several fronts, not the least of which is
the French don’t celebrate the American holiday and thus
turkeys are hard to come by in France in November.
“Basically I have to give like a month’s notice to get my
turkey for Thanksgiving,” she says. “So it just takes a lot of
planning if you want to serve the traditional Thanksgiving
meal but now I know it so it’s not too much of a challenge.
But it was great. The Thanksgiving episode was lots of
fun because we were able to also have some family and
friends join us, which always makes these experiences
here in France so much better.”
Click on icon for more!
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 7
CELEBRITY
Everyone experiences self-doubt
at some time in their life. In
modern-day America, it’s pretty
much a universal malady.
But while some let it eat them
alive, others use it as a motivating
tool to do better.
Issa Rae definitely falls into the
latter category. As co-creator,
co-writer and star of the HBO
comedy “Insecure,” premiering
Sunday, Oct. 9, she’s experienced
the slings and arrows of
questioning whether she’s doing
whatever she’s doing right and
wondering how to fit in. And she’s
OK with it.
George DICKIE’s Celebrity ScooP
“I wanted to just showcase
something real and
authentic in a grounded
way in a way that ‘Awkward
Black Girl’ didn’t,” she says
of the similarly themed web
series. “You know, it was
a bit more caricaturish in
kind of just displaying a lot
of the things that I found
uncomfortable but funny
and wanted to like highlight
them in I guess a more
(television-friendly) way.”
“I feel like I’m going someplace
where I say I’m confident in
my insecurities,” says Rae, at
31 a web series veteran who’s
probably best known for the “The
Misadventures of Awkward Black
Girl,” “like I’m very much aware
of what my flaws are and where
I fall short, and it’s just a matter
of embracing that because that’s
what makes me me at the end of
the day. And that’s the ideal place
to be, you know, just comfortable
with yourself.”
In the series, Rae stars as Issa, a
single African-American woman in
Los Angeles dealing with her own
personal flaws as she attempts
to navigate different worlds and
cope with uncomfortable everyday
experiences. Constants in her
life are best friend Molly (Yvonne
Orji), a corporate attorney whose
professional success belies
her struggles in her personal
life; Lawrence (Jay Ellis), her
complacent boyfriend; and Frieda
(Lisa Joyce), her annoying white
co-worker.
Issa Rae
comfortable
with being
‘Insecure’?
The idea behind the series, says
Rae, is to throw out the cliches
and get to the heart of what life is
like for a lot of black women today.
Page 8 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
Click or tap on icon for more!
CelebritY profile
CELEBRITY
FACTS TO KNOW ABOUT
Brent
Hull
He is a craftsman with a focus on
historical renovation, an entrepreneur,
author and now TV personality who can be
seen on History’s “Lone Star Restoration.”
- After graduating from NBSS in 1993, he returned to his native Texas and started his own company. From a modest
beginning working in his brother’s garage, and a lot of hard work, he went on to build the Hull group of companies, which
now employs over 50 artisans and related staff.
- He began his career restoring pre-1940 homes, moving into providing doors, windows and moldings for historic
buildings as demand for authentic and accurate millwork increased.
- He is the exclusive licensee for the architectural interiors of the Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Wilmington,
Del., the original home of H.F. du Pont. He has restored and worked on numerous historic buildings and many private
residences including those of Barbra Streisand.
- Beyond the commercial success, he is a prolific writer in the field of traditional interior designs and moldings and has
published several books.
- He designed an award-winning line of moldings for Windsor Mill in California, and the Kuiken Brothers enlisted his help
in designing 65 American molding profiles voted the the top 100 best new products 2011 by This Old House Magazine.
- His book “Building a Timeless House in an Instant Age” is a Foreword Reviews’ 2014 INDIEFAB book of the year award
finalist.
- He is the recipient of three John Staub Awards for classical architecture in craftsmanship and historic restoration, is a
board member of the Texas chapter of the ICAA, and recipient of the 2012 NBSS distinguished alumni award.
- This month, History premiered, “Lone Star Restoration,” a new TV show following him and his team of craftsmen.
They’re on a mission to bring back beautiful architecture and the art of timeless building in a world plagued by commodity
construction.
- His four-legged best friend, a yellow lab named Romeo, is often right by his side. He has the title of official mascot/
supervisor on the company website.
- He lives in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife and three children.
Click on icon for more!
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 9
CELEBRITY
“Everyone (on
the show) is
so funny and
so great, it sort
of sets a really
high bar. So,
that’s sometimes
uncomfortable
because I feel
like, ‘What am
I going to do?
What am I
going to add?’
Because I’m
surrounded by
such geniuses.”
– Johnny
Pemberton of
“Son of Zorn”
on Fox
“I’ve got plenty of those
(anger issues). But in
terms of being able
to do anything about
it, he’s in a job where
he kind of can lean on
people, he can bully
people, and there’s not
really that much leaning
on people that you can
do as an actor, really.
I wish there was but
you can’t.” – Martin
Freeman of “StartUp”
on Crackle, on his FBI
agent character Phil
Rask
Page 10 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
“Wonderful, such a nice young kid. He was a
wonderful actor. I was very said when I heard
about it. … I saw it just recently because of
Anton, and I got a copy of it and I looked at
it again. I said, ‘God, what a wasted life.’ “
– Anthony Hopkins of “Westworld” on HBO,
on the late Anton Yelchin, his co-star in the
2001 drama “Hearts in Atlantis”
Where do you
WHAT’S TRENDING
get your current-events fix from?
Visit our facebook page and post your answer to facebook/yourtvlink
Not on facebook? No problem! You can also email your answers to
[email protected]
Mandy Moore of NBC’s “This Is Us” gets her current-events fix
from John Oliver. “I’m a big current-events and political junkie,
and I feel like he does a fabulous job with that.”
Thandie Newton of “Westworld” on HBO
“ ‘Paw Patrol.’ I have a 2-year-old. It’s about ...
puppies that do good for the community, and my
boy loves it. And also what else? It’s all about the
kids. My daughter records ‘Game of Thrones,’ my
15-year-old. My 11-year-old records ‘Backstage,’ and
I record ‘Paw Patrol’ for Boo and nothing for me. I
don’t record anything. I did watch a box set recently,
which I’ve never done, that I binge-watched, a show
called ‘The Line of Duty’ from England. ... I watched
a whole season recently and it was completely
riveting.”
Peyton List of “Frequency” on The CW
“Everything, absolutely everything. I have my HBO
shows, I have my Showtime shows. I have my
ABC shows. I have my CW shows. It’s more about
clearing space in time so that it doesn’t delete
things that I need. Right now, it’s jam-packed with
the Olympics. But I will have my Sunday Ticket
NFL package on coming up, and I need that
because it’s the only way to see the Ravens play
when you live in California. So that’s very important
to me.”
Piper Perabo of “Notorious” on ABC
“I love to watch ‘PTI (Pardon the
Interruption).’ “
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 11
STORY
Divorce
A middle-aged couple tries to give up marriage in this
premiering Sunday on HBO
new dark comedy
BY GEORGE DICKIE
Sometimes it’s obvious when a
marriage has run its course.
It could be a disrespectful rejoinder,
a guilt-ridden explanation or a simple
display of apathy.
For Frances and Robert, the characters
played by Sarah Jessica Parker and
Thomas Haden Church in HBO’s
“Divorce,” it’s her reaction when she
comes home expecting nobody to be
there and instead seeing his car in the
driveway: “My heart sunk.”
Yeah, that might be a sign.
Premiering Sunday, Oct. 9, with the
first of 10 first-season episodes, the
half-hour dark comedy stars Parker
(“Sex and the City,” “Smart People”)
and Church (“Sideways,” “Wings”) as
long-married suburban New Yorkers
with children whose marriage has been
failing for quite some time. Frances,
in particular, was aware of it but kept
stuffing those thoughts down in the
hopes things would get better. But the
wakeup call came when she saw her
friend Diane (Molly Shannon, “Saturday
Night Live”) shoot her husband Nick
(Tracy Letts, “Homeland”) during a
bitter fight at a party.
Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker
“I think for her seeing that level of
violence, that level of anger and
despair and resentment,” Parker says,
“it allows her to say, ‘I don’t want to feel
that way because you are someone
that I loved. And the only reason this
is devastating for me right now to say
Continued on next page
Page 12 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
STORY
Pictured: Thomas Haden Church
Continued from previous page
this to you is because I loved you. If I didn’t care and I
married too young and I made a poor decision and we
spent a life together and it feels wasted, I would simply
walk away. But the fact that we loved and we created
children and we have attempted at righting this ship
more than once, over and over, this allows me to see
that I don’t want to live like this anymore.’ ”
Robert, naturally, is devastated but not completely
surprised. For years, he had existed in what Church
describes as this “comfortable but lazy, desensitized
reality” of “unacknowledged indiscretions” and now he is
forced to face the cold, hard truth: She wants out.
“He still very much loves her and she questions whether
or not she still loves him,” the actor says. “You know,
you’re together for over 20 years and then one day
somebody just plants a flag, ‘It’s over.’ And then it’s like,
‘Oh s..., is it really over?’ ”
Perhaps – but not right away. Living separately, both
struggle with the breakup, he – with his underwear
strewn about his messy apartment – more so than she.
But just like quitting smoking, they find that quitting a
marriage isn’t always successful on the first attempt.
“There’s a one-step-forward, one-step-back kind of
maneuvering with both of them. I just think they’re trying
to get through every day with some degree of dignity,”
Church says. “... Sometimes it’s together dealing with
the kids, dealing with friends, dealing with family in the
first several episodes. A lot of it they do, they’re trying
to deal with it together. But circumstances prevail – you
know, you’ve chosen to split, to tear this relationship
down, and (if) you’re not going to reconstruct it then
you’ve got to deal with the detritus of tearing it down.”
Some scenes are painful to watch and others might
make some viewers squirm in their chairs. Though this
series may be listed as a comedy, the yuks and guffaws
don’t exactly come by the truckload. It’s not that kind of
show.
“We’re not going to shy away from the dark,” Church
says. “We did not set out to make a light comedy. We
set out to make ... a dark comedy. But look, sometimes
it’s just dark and there’s nothing comedic about it.”
Click on icon for more!
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 13
STORY
Premiering
Thursday
Falling Water
People’s dreams are connected by
‘Falling Water’ in USA fantasy series
Pictured: David Ajala
By Jay Bobbin
It’s one thing to dream, and quite another to share the
same dream with people you don’t know.
veteran Gale Anne Hurd (“Fear the Walking Dead,” “The
Terminator”) is a credited executive producer along with
them.
That premise launches “Falling Water,” a USA Network
fantasy-drama series premiering Thursday, Oct. 13 (after
a “preview” showing in mid-September). It poses that
everyone’s dreams, linked together, form a “grand mosaic”
that easily could be upset – and impact all of mankind
– if someone wandered from their part of the dream into
someone else’s. The show was created by the late Emmy
winner Henry Bromell (“Homeland,” “Homicide: Life on
the Street”) and Blake Masters (“Brotherhood”); genre
“Henry and I came up with this in 2006,” Masters explains.
“We were drunk, and both our mothers were Jungian
therapists. And it was actually my bachelor dinner, and
Henry had this theory about how our dreams reflected our
collective unconscious. And he was explaining this to a
friend of mine – and across the table, I was listening. I go,
‘Henry, that’s a show. We should make that a show.’ We
were busy making ‘Brotherhood,’ so we didn’t just then.”
Page 14 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
Continued on next page
STORY
Pictured: Will Yun Lee (left), Lizzie Brochere and David Ajala
Continued from previous page
The idea was revived when Masters was discussing
possible projects with Hurd. “I tossed the script her way,”
he recalls, “and she said, ‘I love this. I want to be a part of
this.’ And two weeks later, Henry died. He had an aortic
rupture, and I lost my partner on this show, and I lost my
brother. And I didn’t touch the script for a year, and then I
said, ‘I have to finish it.’ So I went back with Gale and did a
small polish based on that script we wrote in 2008.”
The three central figures of “Falling Water” are: Tess
(played by Lizzie Brochere, previously of “American Horror
Story: Asylum”), who starts the series by painfully giving
birth ... supposedly; investment-bank problem “fixer” Burton
(David Ajala, “Black Box”), haunted by a vision of falling
from a building; and Taka (Will Yun Lee, “True Blood”), a
police detective who’s the caregiver to his catatonic mother.
And all of the imagery they dream is marked by running,
bubbling or falling water.
“It’s going to be rooted in reality,” Ajala promises of the
show. “It’s three characters who have a very simple yet
profound experience with their dreams. I think once you
have a foundation of solid, real people that you can relate
to, that’s the seed to sow for storytelling on so many
different levels. That’s the exciting thing. It feels like we’ve
sown some really solid seeds that are going to bear some
very juicy fruits.”
Also integral to the plot of “Falling Water” is tech wizard Bill
Boerg (Zak Orth, “Revolution”), whose dedication to dream
research gives him a natural interest in Tess. And with a
real – or surreal – connection to Burton is his sometimes
lover, a Woman in Red (Anna Wood, “Reckless”) who may
exist only in his dreams.
Clearly, “Falling Water” sets up plenty of mystery, but
Masters vows it will be satisfied for viewers sooner than
later. “We are not a show that’s going to hold back our
answers,” he says, “because we think the people (in it) are
interesting enough to keep you watching ... because there’s
always more road for them to travel. I’m not interested in
keeping secrets from the audience. I think by the end of the
first season, all the questions you have, you will have all
the answers.”
Click on icon for more!
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 15
STORY
Freeform’s
‘Ben & Lauren’
looks at life after
the final
‘Bachelor’
rose
By George Dickie
Ben Higgins recalls the best advice he ever received as
for how to proceed with his life after “The Bachelor.”
“The best advice that I got was from (host) Chris
Harrison,” says the 27-year-old software salesman from
Indiana and the titular “Bachelor” from this year’s Season
20 of the unscripted ABC series.
“(Harrison says), ‘You can use this for two things. Some
people come into this show wanting it to change their
life. They want fame, they want to find love, they want
everything to change by doing the show.’ He goes, ‘Those
people will ultimately be very disappointed.’ He goes,
‘What people who do it well do is they come and they do
this show just to enhance the life they already had. And
so if it’s to find love, that enhances it. If it’s to have better
opportunities, it enhances it that way. But don’t expect
change in this because you’ll fall short.’ And so, I think
honestly I really took that to heart.”
And in the short term, both seem to have come to
Higgins: a relationship with the mate he selected on “The
Bachelor,” Lauren Bushnell, and a series about their
new life together, “Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?”
premiering Tuesday, Oct. 11, on Freeform.
The hourlong series looks at what happens after the final
rose is presented and day-to-day life sets in. For Higgins
and Bushnell, that means getting to know each other
better and preparing for their upcoming wedding. It also
means dealing with family and friends and coping with
the notoriety – both wanted and unwanted – that being
on a popular network reality series brings. And then there
are the past “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” fan favorites
who visit and offer their own advice on life after the show.
One is Chad Johnson, the former Season 12
“Bachelorette” villain who earned a quick plane ticket
home from Harrison this past summer when he made fun
of contestant Sarah Herron’s missing arm on “Bachelor
in Paradise.” He visits to go on a camping trip with the
happy couple.
“I think you’re going to see Chad in a way that maybe is
illuminating,” Higgins says. “You know, Lauren and my life
is not as dramatic as a lot of other people’s and so we
invited Chad on to hang out with us because we didn’t
want to put him in a situation that was dramatic or forced
or too hard. So I think you’re going to see Chad in a
different kind of environment.”
Meanwhile, Higgins is happy with his “Bachelor”
experience and has his own advice for future contestants.
“I would say be yourself, be yourself as much as you
can, to stay grounded, to be excited because it is a cool
opportunity,” he says. “It’s an exciting time. But through
all that, you were cast or chosen to be on the show for a
reason and just continue to be that person you were way
before the show ever started.”
Click on icon for more!
Page 16 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
STORY
Oscar
winner
William Hurt
wages a legal
war in Amazon’s
‘Goliath’
By Jay Bobbin
William Hurt’s career isn’t just about movies these days.
Though he has continued his film work lately in “Captain
America: Civil War” and “Race,” the “Kiss of the Spider
Woman” Oscar winner also has had television runs on
“Humans” and “Damages.” He brings his talents to another
medium again as a law-firm titan in the new Amazon drama
“Goliath,” which begins streaming all of its 10 episodes
Friday (Oct. 14). Developed and executive-produced by
David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro – who also worked
together on “The Practice” and “Boston Legal” – the series
also stars fellow Academy Award recipient Billy Bob
Thornton as a now-downtrodden ex-partner of the firm,
who challenges it and the former ally played by Hurt in a
wrongful-death case.
The show’s title invokes the biblical battle of the seemingly
outmatched David and the mighty Goliath, to which Hurt’s
character refers directly as his new alter ego represents the
stronger opponent. “We didn’t have our first scene together
until late in the series,” Hurt says of Thornton, “and that was
a very big (filming) day for me. He carries a much bigger
load in the show, but I still think I carry a load, and there’s
lots more dimensionality that comes from the character.”
While his presence looms large in “Goliath” even when
he’s not on the screen, the very analytical Hurt reasons,
“You can’t play presence. You can’t really play things
like gravitas, unless there’s a reason to see it. You can
ratchet a person’s ego up or down any time you want to.
You can play people who don’t have a lot of muscle, a
meeker person. It’s not hard.”
The “Goliath” cast also includes Olivia Thirlby, Maria
Bello, Molly Parker, country music’s Dwight Yoakam,
Sarah Wynter (“24”), Tania Raymonde (“Lost”) and Ever
Carradine. Between the time production began last
fall and resumed early this year, much was retooled,
according to “The Big Chill” and “Broadcast News”
veteran Hurt – “especially” his role.
“It gave me a lot of freedom, having a ‘mask,’ ” he
reflects. “Once there’s a concept, I’m a little bit freer.
And once I start smelling the theme of a scene, then I
get even more free. In theater and stage, you can really
start taking off because there, you can pursue a dialect
and a physical form. For me, once I start moving into
physiological business, I’m automatically looser. Throw
me a bone, and I’ll catch it.”
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 17
SPORTS
Vladimir
Tarasenko:
Russian
with the
Blues
continued on next page
Full Name: Vladimir
Andreyevich Tarasenko
Born: Dec. 13, 1991
Birthplace: Yaroslavl, Russia
Height/Weight: 6-foot/219pounds
Team: St. Louis Blues
Position: Right Wing
No.: 54
Honors & Achievements:
Silver medalist, World
Championships, 2015; Gold
medalist, World Juniors, 2011
Page 18 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
SPORTS
By Dan Ladd
It’s no coincidence that since
Vladimir Tarasenko arrived in St.
Louis the Blues have been in
the Stanley Cup Playoffs each
season. Getting into the finals
has been a different story. A new
journey begins as the 2016-17
NHL Season gets under way for
Tarasenko and the Blues who open
on the road against the Chicago
Blackhawks Wednesday, Oct. 12
on NBCSN.
A first round draft pick by the Blues
in 2010, Tarasenko made the big
league squad in 2012. Along the
way the young Russian had a solid
junior career that included a gold
medal at the 2011 World Junior
Championships. His impact with
the Blues continued to grow and
last season he was the team’s
leading scorer with 40 goals and
34 assists while playing in all 80
regular season games.
Tarasenko has a rich family history
in hockey. His father, Andrei,
was once the leading scorer in
the Russian Hockey League and
also represented his country
at the 1994 Winter Olympics in
Lillehammer, Norway. Like his
father, Tarasenko too has played
for his country at both the 2014
Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia
and this year’s World Cup of
Hockey.
VladimirTarasenko
A critical season lies ahead for
Tarasenko and the Blues where he
is now an alternate team captain.
The team has finished either
first or second in the Western
Conference Central Division in
each of the last five seasons but
has come up short in the playoffs.
Last season they fell to the San
Jose Sharks in the conference
finals.
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 19
JAY BOBBIN's Theatrical movie review
MOVIES
Tom Hanks
is ‘Sully’ in Clint Eastwood’s pilot portrait
Our Take
And then, there’s
the drama of the
NTSB hearings
afterward, also
featuring fine work
by Aaron Eckhart
as Sully’s copilot. That phase
of the story is as
much as part of
the saga as the
actual landing of
the plane, and it
gives the film a
place to go after
its handling of the
immediate crisis’
resolution. (Katie
Couric notably
turns up as
herself, and in an
interesting way.)
“Sully” is one of
those movies
you go into
knowing the
ending, if you’ve
paid attention to
news stories of
the last several
years – so the
challenge is in recreating a familiar
slice of history
in a compelling
manner, and
director Clint
Eastwood
achieves that in
several ways.
Above all, he
needs to have the
right actor as pilot
Chesley “Sully”
Sullenberger, who
performed the socalled Miracle on
the Hudson by
landing a damaged passenger jet (birds had struck it in
flight) and maneuvering it so that he saved everyone on
board. Tom Hanks, sporting Sully’s trademark white hair
and mustache, is a perfect choice for the part ... adding
his own basic decency and quiet heroism to that of the
man he’s playing.
Then there’s the re-creation of the air crisis itself, one of
the best dramatizations of such a situation lately, ranking
with those generated by director Robert Zemeckis in
both “Cast Away” (also a Hanks project) and “Flight.”
Eastwood doesn’t often go for scenes that involve
special effects, but they’re absolutely necessary here,
and these are tense and top-notch.
Sullenberger’s
story is completely
made for screen
treatment – the
movie is based on his autobiography – and it comes
at an interesting point in time, when tales of genuine
American heroes aren’t exactly bountiful. It may be as
divisive a time as the country ever has had, so the timing
of “Sully” is sure to benefit the film beyond it being a
well-crafted picture ... which it is, and that’s no surprise
with Eastwood at the helm. He’s an artist who always
has valued a person’s independent-minded triumph,
making him ideal to call the shots here.
“Sully” comes in at just over 90 minutes, making it one of
Eastwood’s tightest movies as a director. But the fact that
it is so tightly told, along with having an MVP named Tom
Hanks as its lead, is what gives it much of its impact.
Page 20 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
MOVIES
JAY BOBBIN's DVD Digest
Top Pick
DVD
“GHOSTBUSTERS”
An all-female team of spectre fighters – played by Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones
and Kate McKinnon – is “who ya gonna call” in this update of the classic mix of laughs and scares.
Surprisingly, the often risque actresses and director/co-screenwriter Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids”)
keep things pretty tame, at least in the theatrical version (there’s added footage in the home video
release) ... but the result still is entertaining enough, with plenty of the requisite special effects. Chris
Hemsworth supplies male eye candy as the ladies’ receptionist, and if you’re hoping for cameos by
original cast members, you won’t be disappointed. DVD extras: three “making-of” documentaries;
audio commentary by cast and crew members; photo gallery. ››› (PG-13 and unrated versions: AS)
(Also on Blu-ray and On Demand)
upcoming DVD releases
“ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING
GLASS” (Oct. 18): Alice (Mia
Wasikowska) returns to Wonderland
to help the depressed Mad Hatter
(Johnny Depp). (PG: P, V)
“LIGHTS OUT” (Oct. 25): A woman
(Teresa Palmer) fears her younger
brother is facing the same terror that
made her question her sanity. (PG13: AS, P, V)
“CAFE SOCIETY” (Oct. 18):
Woody Allen’s comedy-drama
follows a 1930s East Coaster (Jesse
Eisenberg) to Hollywood and back;
Blake Lively and Kristen Stewart also
star. (PG-13: AS, P, V)
“BATMAN: RETURN OF THE
CAPED CRUSADERS” (Nov. 1):
This new animated feature boasts
the voices of 1960s “Batman”
television-series stars Adam West,
Burt Ward and Julie Newmar. (PG:
AS, V)
“INDEPENDENCE DAY:
RESURGENCE” (Oct. 18): Twenty
years later, aliens invade Earth
again; Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman
return, and Liam Hemsworth joins
the cast. (PG-13: P, V)
“BILLIONS: SEASON ONE” (Nov.
8): A federal attorney (Paul Giamatti)
sets his sights on the hedge-fund
king (Damian Lewis) who employs
the lawyer’s wife (Maggie Siff). (Not
rated: AS, N, P)
Pictured: Johnny Depp
Family Viewing Ratings
AS Adult situations
P Profanity
V Violence
N Nudity
GV Graphic Violence
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 21
FAVORITE SHOWS
Sullivan Stapleton stars
in “Blindspot”
ABC’s Martha Raddatz is a
co-moderator of the second
Presidential Debate
SUNDAY
9 p.m. on ABC CBS FOX PBS CNN
CNBC CSPAN
Presidential Debate
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton
and Donald Trump meet in their
second of three scheduled debates,
a town-hall event televised from
Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Representatives of two networks —
Martha Raddatz of ABC and Anderson
Cooper on CNN — share the
moderating duties, an indication that
the debate will be shown by multiple
broadcast and cable outlets. Half
of the questions will come from the
anchors, and half from the audience.
New
Lesley-Ann Brandt
stars in “Lucifer”
MONDAY
9:01 p.m. on FOX
Lucifer
Murders shown in videos posted on
social media indicate a serial killer is
loose in the new episode “Sin-Eater.”
Lucifer and Chloe (Tom Ellis, Lauren
German) try to stop the perpetrator
before other, similar homicides can
occur. Lucifer’s mother (Tricia Helfer)
resurfaces in the guise of Charlotte.
Struggling with being powerless,
Amenadiel (DB Woodside) seeks
Linda’s (Rachael Harris) counsel.
Robin Givens guest stars. Lesley-Ann
Brandt also stars. New
Page 22 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote October 9 - 15, 2016
TUESDAY
8 p.m. on ABC
The Middle
With one more season beyond this
one, this sitcom will tie the run of
star Patricia Heaton’s long-lasting
“Everybody Loves Raymond” ... but for
now, it starts its eighth round with “The
Core Group.” Axl (Charlie McDermott)
introduces his girlfriend April (guest
star Greer Grammer, whose father
Kelsey starred with Heaton in “Back
to You”) to Frankie and Mike (Heaton,
Neil Flynn), but they’re unsettled by
one rather unusual trait she has. Eden
Sher also stars. Season Premiere
New
continued on next page
FAVORITE SHOWS
WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. on NBC
Blindspot
An attempt on the life of a politician
during a rally clues Weller (Sullivan
Stapleton) and his comrades into
the assassination scheme, and
the mobsters behind it, in the new
episode “Condone Untidiest Thefts.”
A federal marshal (guest star Trieste
Kelly Dunn) assists in the effort
to prevent another such attack.
Jaimie Alexander, Rob Brown,
Archie Panjabi, Ashley Johnson and
Michelle Hurd also star. New
THURSDAY
8 p.m. on CW
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
Vandal Savage is no longer a
problem for the heroes as the
adventure series’ second season
begins with “Out of Time,” but there
are other reasons for them to
protect mankind. First, they have
to reunite: The Legends have been
separated — prompting historian
Nate Heywood (Nick Zano) to locate
them and draw them back together,
with assistance from Oliver Queen
(guest star Stephen Amell in his
“Arrow” role). Their new mission
involves genius Albert Einstein.
Season Premiere New
9 p.m. on CW
Supernatural
With the new episode “Keep Calm
and Carry On,” the Winchester
brothers begin their 12th season of
fighting ... well, what else but the
supernatural? The story picks up
the threads left from the Season
11 finale: Dean (Jensen Ackles)
is stunned to have an encounter
with his mother Mary (guest star
Samantha Smith), while Sam
(Jared Padalecki) simply struggles
to survive after being wounded
by Toni, the so-called Woman of
Letters. Season Premiere New
FRIDAY
8 p.m. on NBC
Caught on Camera With Nick Cannon
If anything has a lens and you’re in
front of it, be careful: You could end up
on this show. The series that compiles
video from a variety of sources starts a
new season, with “America’s Got Talent”
host Cannon introducing footage culled
from personal phones, camcorders
(yes, those still exist) and security
cameras. The themes range from
amusing to alarming, and it’s a good
bet most people would rather be on
the “funny” end of that scale. Season
Premiere New
SATURDAY
8 p.m. on HBO
Movie: Joy
Director and screenwriter David O.
Russell reteamed with his good-luck
charm, actress Jennifer Lawrence, for
this overlong yet generally well-received
2015 biographical comedy-drama about
self-made millionaire and entrepreneur
Joy Mangano, who invented the Miracle
Mop. Lawrence won a Golden Globe
Award and snagged an Oscar nod
for her performance; Robert De Niro,
Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Isabella
Rossellini and Bradley Cooper also are
featured. Premiere
Get ready for the Halloween season!
SUNDAY 9 p.m. FOOD
Halloween Wars
In the new episode “Haunted Motel,’’ the five remaining teams compete
to create delicious Halloween displays that capture the scariest haunted
roadside motel ever seen. Actor and horror movie icon Sid Haig, who has
appeared in such films as Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake of “Halloween’’ and
“The Devil’s Rejects,’’ is guest judge and helps panelists Shinmin Li and Don
Mancini decide which team is eliminated from the competition.
TUESDAY 9 p.m. FOX Scream Queens
The Halloween murders generate concern that leads to an interrogation of
Hester (Lea Michele) and a survivor of the killings (guest star Alec Mapa) in
the new episode “Handidates.’’ Chad (guest star Glen Powell) points to Brock
(John Stamos) as being the culprit. The condition of one patient (guest star
Cheri Oteri) impacts Chanel No. 3 and Cassidy (Billie Lourd, Taylor Lautner).
Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis, Abigail Breslin and Keke Palmer also star.
SATURDAY 9 p.m. SYFY Stake Land 2
In this new 2016 sequel to the well-received 2010 post-apocalyptic vampire
horror movie “Stake Land,’’ Connor Paolo and Nick Damici reprise their roles
as Martin and his mentor, known as Mister. Damici, who co-wrote that first
film, is solo screenwriter on this follow-up, which opens several years after the
events of the original. In the ensuing years, vampires have evolved and laid
waste to Martin’s community, driving him into the badlands. Laura Abramsen,
A.C. Peterson and Steven Williams co-star.
October 9 - 15, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 23