Category Archives: Favorites

The Great Marriage Behind ‘The Good Wife’

good wife robert michelle king

I’ve read plenty of interviews with The Good Wife’s powerhouse showrunners Robert and Michelle King talking about their sensational series, but none that focuses on how they’ve successfully pulled off being married to their job, and each other. So I profiled them for The Daily Beast and talked about that very subject, including their biggest work fight:

But that was far from the duo’s biggest—and oddest—clash. “I think the biggest creative argument we ever had was whether U.S. should be abbreviated with or without periods within a script,” says Michelle. “I mean, it gets down to that level! I think it went on for two days, and I could not tell you which of us had which position or where it landed.” Adds Robert, “Which is the advantage of [being on a] network. There are so many decisions that have to be made, you can’t really fight over one for very long.”

It was a delight spending time with these two, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next.

The Great Marriage Behind ‘The Good Wife’

The Biggest TV Drama in America Gets No Attention

ncis-biggest-drama

During TCA winter press tour, I had an opportunity to speak with NCIS showrunner Gary Glasberg for this Quartz story about how his show is one of the biggest on TV, yet receives on a fraction of the media attention and respect paid to all of the other shows it soundly trounces each week.

At this point, the show’s producers are resigned to NCIS’ fate as the Rodney Dangerfield of TV shows (i.e. gets no respect). “I try to stay really focused on the fact that as much as I would love for our cast and crew to get some attention, at the end of the day it just doesn’t seem to be in the cards,” the show’s executive producer and showrunner Gary Glasberg tells Quartz. “And I have to appreciate at the end of the day that although they haven’t gotten that kind of attention, that 20 million people every week are watching. The fact that I’m getting 20 million viewers in this landscape is kind of crazy.”

Glasberg also talked about the show’s success around the world — and how much longer he expects the run to last.

The biggest TV drama in America gets no attention

Disney’s Brilliant Plot to Buy All of American Pop Culture

star wars atlantic

Here’s something unexpected. Quartz’s sister publication, The Atlantic, picked up my Quartz story from this morning on why Disney is buying all our favorite childhood icons, and republished it on its own site. Unfortunately I don’t get paid a second time for the story, but at least I can say now that I’ve been published by The Atlantic!

Disney’s Brilliant Plot to Buy All of American Pop Culture

Why Disney Keeps Buying All Your Favorite Childhood Icons

qz-why-disney-keeps-buying

It’s taken some time, but I feel like I’ve finally found the sweet spot for making entertainment news palatable to Quartz readers. My latest Quartz story was the best example of that yet, as I reflect on why Disney keeps snapping up everyone’s most beloved childhood icons like Star Wars and the Indiana Jones films:

Disney’s decades of cultivating its own franchises–via movies, TV shows, its theme parks and of course, incessant merchandising–has given it a viable blueprint as it seeks to make the most of its new purchases.

It’s so rewarding to discover that I’ve finally cracked the code on these Quartz stories, which have been both great fun and highly educational to write.

Why Disney keeps buying all your favorite childhood icons

‘Homeland’s’ Tracy Letts, Writer of ‘August: Osage County,’ Says Oscar Mania is Frustrating

tracy letts

It’s not often that I feel like I’ve unearthered tons and tons of new material from a subject, but that’s exactly what happened when I spoke with the brilliant Tracy Letts for this Daily Beast profile about his role on Homeland (he plays Sen. Andrew Lockhart), and the upcoming movie August: Osage County, which he adapted from his Pultizer-winning play. He was full of great stories, and didn’t pull any punches, like when he talked about the Oscar buzz surrounding August:

However, Letts is upset that the early reaction to August has been almost entirely in terms of its Oscar potential. Though he says “I hope it wins everything,” Letts admits that the awards season mania is “beyond frustrating. Man, this obsession with the Academy Awards in particular, who fucking cares? It drives me nuts. How the fuck are you going to compare Gravity with August: Osage County? Could you have two pieces any more different in every conceivable way? They’re both in color and they both have George Clooney involved with them [who is a producer on August], and that’s it. So I don’t know how or why you’re supposed to compare these things.”

He also talked about getting married in the hospital after emergency gall bladder removal, a story that seems like it should be a part of whatever he writes next. Also, Homeland showrunner Alex Gansa tells me about wooing Letts for his first role in front of the camera since 2006.

Homeland’s Tracy Letts, Writer of ‘August: Osage County,’ Says Oscar Mania is Frustrating

Merritt Wever on ‘Nurse Jackie,’ ‘New Girl’ and More

merritt wever

I profiled another Emmy nominee for The Daily Beast. This time it was Merritt Wever, who steals Nurse Jackie as quirky nurse Zoey Barkow. She also has a memorial guest arc on New Girl as Schmidt’s former and now current girlfriend.

Wever is very shy and uncomfortable about discussing herself, but her Nurse Jackie costar Edie Falco has no such qualms singing her praises:

Wever, 32, might not be comfortable in the spotlight, but her dynamic performances simply cannot be ignored. “She is such a unique talent,” says Falco. “Every time she’s onscreen, she’s predictably unpredictable. She embodies everything that I love and that makes me proud to be working in this industry.”

Her New Girl boyfriend Max Greenfield also raves about Wever’s brilliance in the profile.

Merritt Wever on ‘Nurse Jackie,’ ‘New Girl’ and More

‘Smash’ Ends Its Run: What Happened to This Once Promising Show?

Smash

I had such high hopes for Smash — as did NBC. But the show is now a shell of the powerhouse pilot that premiered the day after the Super Bowl last year. As it limps to its season finale Sunday, I reflected on its sad demise for The Daily Beast:

Smash, on life support for much of the season after viewers rejected all its new organs, finally draws its last breath Sunday. NBC is dumping the two-hour season finale—now officially a series finale—over Memorial Day weekend, one final indignity to a show that appeared to be overstuffed with promise and talent and managed to squander away almost all of it. Twice.

Well, at least we’ll always have “Let Me Be Your Star.” And scarves. Lots and lots of scraves.

‘Smash’ Ends Its Run: What Happened to This Once Promising Show?