Category Archives: Profiles

Mike’s Fate and Other Season 3 Secrets from the ‘Graceland’ Set

Graceland - Season 3

As USA’s drama Graceland returns Thursday night (at 10 p.m. ET) for Season 3, the show’s fans have just one question: did Mike Warren (Aaron Tveit)—who had flatlined at the end of Season 2, after corrupt FBI agent Sid (Carmine Giovinazzo) cut off his air supply at the hospital—survive?

The answer seemed obvious to me—of course Mike wasn’t going to die, because a show that needs all the viewers it can muster would never jettison its most popular actor (Tveit has spawned hundreds of stories like this; the internet can’t get enough of him)—but when I recently visited the show’s Fort Lauderdale set, Tveit was nowhere to be found.

No, that doesn’t mean that he’s off the show. More likely, the network figured that the best way to keep his fate quiet was to keep him far away from reporters.

However, the rest of the cast—Daniel Sunjata (who plays FBI Special Agent Paul Briggs), Vanessa Ferlito (FBI Agent Charlie DeMarco), Brandon Jay McLaren (U.S. Customs Agent Dale Jakes), Serinda Swan (DEA Agent Paige Arkin) and Manny Montana (FBI Agent Johnny Tuturro), whose characters work undercover and live together in a Southern California beach house—were all on hand and ready to talk. Together, they shared seven big secrets about Season 3 of Graceland:

1) Yes, Mike is back.

Tveit’s on-set absence aside, there’s no doubt that he is still part of the cast, and is prominently featured in the Season 3 key art.

Graceland key art

While USA wants to keep the details of his fate under wraps until Thursday’s premiere, consider this: the show hasn’t suddenly taken a supernatural turn (so Mike isn’t a ghost), nor has it gone the Lost or Orange is the New Black route (i.e. heavy flashbacks). So, that leaves only one clear answer as to whether he survived.

Stil, Tveit’s costars insist they weren’t sure if he would ultimately be a part of Season 3 or not. “I personally didn’t know,” says Sunjata. “They certainly left it so ambiguous, even to us, that it was a big question mark hanging in the air, even to us. And then we finally found out the capacity in which — especially in the season premiere — that he would in some sense be back, that was a surprise too.”

2) This season is all about atonement.

As the one who tipped off Sid about Mike’s location in the Season 2 finale, Paige will have to answer for her actions this year. But she’s not the only: atonement is a key theme of Season 3. “Everyone in the house has atonement to do, has sins that they have to atone for, and karma, chickens that come home to roost – quite literally. There were some chickens in the last scene!” says Sunjata. “Everyone’s got some sins to atone for. Everybody’s trying to even the scales.”

But in doing so, they seem to be only making things worse: “There’s a lot of blood this season. There’s been some spillage of the sangre,” says Sunjata.

3) The infamous tape looms large this year.

Graceland - Season 3As part of the aforementioned atonement, Briggs is still haunted by the existence of a tape which recorded his killing FBI Agent Juan Badillo (in sort-of self-defense) back in in Season 1. “This has been a dangling plot thread from season one that fans have known was going to come back,” says Sunjata.

After two seasons of lurking in the background, it finally does. “First episode, the tape is back front and center, and it’s used as leverage in a big way,” says McLaren. “And that leverage is exercised for the entire season.”

4) The whole gang is finally back together.

While the events of Season 2 served to drive the six housemates apart (often literally), this year is about reestablishing the group. “They’re trying to bring the house back, because the fans love that. They like seeing us together,” says Ferlito.

“We do come back as a unit in Season 3,” says McLaren. “I think everyone realized after the events of Season 2 that we do need each other. If we’re all islands in the house, bad things typically happen. So there’s a concerted effort this season to try and come back together and be there for one another.”

While Jakes moved out of the house at one point last year, “everybody’s in the house” this season, says McLaren (providing another clue as to Mike’s fate). “We’re all working on a big thing.”

That “big thing” is this season’s major story arc, about the Armenian Mafia. “Briggs goes undercover and it has something to do with the Armenian Mob and ends up needing the help of his housemates in order to get certain things done,” says Sunjata.

5) Charlie is still pregnant—for now.

Graceland - Season 3Charlie discovered she was pregnant at the end of Season 2, and as of the first few episodes, she still is. “It hasn’t really hit her yet. It’s still very early on. She’s still in the house and still running around with crazy people,” says Ferlito. “She’s just out of control” as she tries to enact revenge on the money launderer who nearly killed her” and her unborn child.

Ferlito estimates that Charlie is about two and a half months pregnant. “ Everyday I’m like, “Am I losing the kid? What’s up? What’s going to happen?” she says. “I could make it through the whole season [without showing]. We could show up Season 4 with the baby—or not.”

6) Briggs and Charlie are on the outs.

While Briggs is the father of her baby, Charlie can’t forgive him for his Season 1 deceptions, which came to light last year. “Briggs and her, obviously they’re struggling. I don’t know if they can ever mend that, what happened between them. How can she ever trust him?” says Ferlito. “We’re not on good terms right now. I’m like, Jesus Christ, will I ever get to make out with Daniel Sunjata again? It’s just unfair!”

Ferlito hopes they patch things up, and not just so she can kiss Sunjata. “Charlie and Briggs, I think it’s real what they have,” she says. “I think Briggs and Charlie will always be in each other’s lives. It’s hard not to write that for us, because we really love each other in real life. We’re really good friends.”

7) Season 3 will go out with a bang.

While the season is just getting under way tonight, some of the actors are already anticipating what’s to come as the year wraps up.

“If Season 3 finishes the way they’re talking about it, it’s going to blow people’s minds,” says Montana. “Because when I heard, I was like, ‘How are we going to do that?’ But I loved it.”

“There’s stuff happening towards the end of the season that will forever change the dynamic of the house,” adds McLaren. “If what happens is meant to happen, Season 3 will be nuts!”

Roma Downey’s Journey From TV Star to Subtly Superpowered Producer

Roma Downey

As a sidebar to my Mark Burnett cover story in this week’s Adweek, I also spent time with his wife and producing partner, Roma Downey, who talked about transitioning from starring in Touched by an Angel to producing faith-based projects like A.D. The Bible Continues, The Bible and next year’s Ben-Hur reboot alongside her husband. As I wrote,

Downey and Burnett have proven to be an ideal match in business as well as in life, perfecting their own version of good producer/bad producer. “My husband is great at kicking doors down, and sometimes that’s an extraordinarily useful skill. But sometimes a gentle knock on the door is the preferred method of entry,” Downey explains. “And so we’re a good team. Mark is very noisy, and I have a much quieter approach.”

They are quite a formidable duo, and it was a pleasure spending time with them.

Roma Downey’s Journey From TV Star to Subtly Superpowered Producer

How the Reality TV King Created 11 Popular Shows and Counting

Mark Burnett cover

I don’t start at Adweek until Monday, but in the interim I’m back in this week’s issue with my second cover story: an interview with Mark Burnett, TV’s most powerful producer, who is responsible for Survivor, The Voice, Shark Tank, Celebrity Apprentice, A.D. The Bible Continues and many, many more shows. As the British Burnett points out to me, “there’s two things that built America: the Bible and free enterprise. And now I do both. I do A.D. and I do Shark Tank.”

He also knows what viewers want to watch. In the past month alone, his shows have won the night in adults 18-49 (the most important demo for advertisers) on Sunday (A.D.), Monday (The Voice), Tuesday (The Voice), Wednesday (Survivor) and Friday (Shark Tank) — that’s five nights and three different networks.

I’d previously spoken with Burnett for my Parade cover story on Shark Tank, but this time around we talked about all of his shows, his upfront memories (he was on the cover of Adweek’s upfront issue, after all), his surprising OTT plans for his own version of Netflix and the career path not (yet) taken:

“If I wasn’t doing what I’m doing, I would honestly love to run an ad agency. I love the idea of making commercials. I love the idea of winning. Imagine if you’re clever enough to create a campaign and stuff flies off the shelves. That’s why I love The Apprentice. I’d love to be more in the advertising business.”

With more than a dozen shows under his domain, plus movies like next year’s big Ben-Hur reboot, how does Burnett stay focused on a single project when so many others demand his attention?

“It’s not always easy to do, but the correct way to approach everything is like we’re sitting here right now: This is it. So whatever I’m working on is where my focus is. And I can work on three things in a day, but when I’m there, I’m there. The definition of a loser is someone who takes a nap and then feels guilty about it. Do what you’re doing. If you’re going to take a nap, take a nap. If you’re going to work, work.”

And yes, we also talk about that epic beard of his. It was a fantastic, illuminating interview, so I hope you read the rest of it.

How the Reality TV King Created 11 Popular Shows and Counting

Fox is Rebuilding Its Slate, One Hit at a Time

dana walden

Dana Walden received a baptism by fire when she and Gary Newman took over as co-chairmen and co-CEOs of Fox Television Group last summer. But after enduring a brutal fall, the network is back on trick thanks to Empire, one of the biggest new hits in decades. Walden sat down with me for this Adweek profile about her rollercoaster first year on the job. She talked to me about the good, the bad and — going to back to last fall — the ugly:

Yes. Going in, Gary and I always anticipated that this was going to be a really tough fall. We were encouraged by Gotham, encouraged by Sunday night. I felt like our job as the new leaders was to stay focused on the positive momentum and point to things that establish what we wanted to do in the future. That was a far better approach than being mired in how demoralizing the overnights can be.

And now that Empire’s ratings keep soaring (seven consecutive weeks of ratings increases and counting!), she says the show’s success has restored her faith that mass hits are still possible:

Yes. I’ve had so many conversations with my peers at other networks in broadcast and cable, and over and over again the sentiment is, this is just great for the business. It has sent a wave of enthusiasm and optimism through our business that you can create a scripted show, something that’s not a live event, and you can still eventize it in a way that a lot of people are going to make it appointment watching.

Walden also talked about juggling her network and studio hats, Empire’s second season order, standing by Backstrom, taking a big swing with The Last Man on Earth and how Empire has affected her thinking about what shows to pick up next season.

Fox Is Rebuilding Its Slate, One Hit at a Time

Everything is Awesome, Especially Chris Miller’s Plans for the Next Three ‘Lego’ Movies

chrismillerphillord

The Lego Movie was an unexpected smash last year, grossing $468.8 million worldwide and captivating parents and kids alike — everyone, it seems, except Oscar voters (grrr). A year later, the film’s writing-directing duo, Chris Miller and Phil Lord (who also wrote and directed 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street), are tripling down on their “Everything is Awesome” gamble, overseeing not one but three different Lego Movie sequels and spinoffs.

First up is Ninjago, a spinoff based on Lego’s popular Masters of Spinjitzu line of sets, which will be out Sept. 23, 2016. That will be followed on May 26, 2017 by a Lego Batman spinoff, with Will Arnett returning as Batman, directed by Chris McKay. Finally, 2018 will bring The Lego Movie Sequel, directed by Community and The Mindy Project director Rob Schrab, with Miller and Lord producing and writing the script.

legomovie.tif

I spoke with Miller (above, right) — who along with Lord (left) is also  executive producing the innovative, hilarious new Fox comedy, The Last Man on Earth, debuting March 1 — for my recent Adweek cover story on the not-so-funny state of broadcast comedy. (“To do something that’s going to get people’s attention,” he told me of Last Man on Earth, “my theory is you have to do something that feels unique and special and gets people talking: ‘Did you see this thing?’ We wanted to do something that didn’t feel like anything you’ve seen before, because otherwise, what’s the point?”) But he also talked to me at length about how he and Lord were able to successfully rebrand a pair of beloved franchises, and how they’ll (hopefully) do it all over again with the upcoming three Lego films:

Between Lego Movie and the Jump Street films, how were you able to take these brands that people have known and loved for years, and…
And make something new out of them? Well the first thing is to take it very seriously and to think about whatever you’re talking about and find the love and the joy in it. And to try and be smart about it, and not just do the most common denominator. When we were doing The Lego Movie, our big fear was it was going to feel like a giant toy commercial. And that was the last thing we wanted to do, ever. So I think by making it feel like it was just a piece of personal expression that was using the bricks as a medium to tell a story made it feel like oh, this is something that somebody made, not something that came from corporate, on high.

I feel like people can sniff that stuff out. When a corporation is trying to make a viral video, and everyone in it is drinking Dr. Pepper or something, you’re like, ‘Oh, you’re trying to sell me Dr. Pepper here, man!’ And people don’t like to feel like they’re being sold something. So we just don’t ever let a choice be made for that reason. Then in the end, it ends up being, you know, good!

After you pulled off 21 Jump Street, did that make tackling Lego Movie less daunting?
That was a crazy risk, obviously, turning that into a weird, self-aware comedy. That was mostly born out of our embarrassment about knowing that rebooting television shows is a morally bankrupt approach to making movies. But we loved the concept of guys getting a second chance to go back to high school and I enjoyed the original show, so it seemed like it was mostly us apologizing. Like, “We know this is a crazy idea for a TV show, but we know it and we’re trying to make it good. So just be on our side on this!” So one of our things is trying to get the audience on your side and going, “Hey, we’re all in this together, let’s have a good time.”

How do you replicate your Lego Movie success with the next three films?
Yeah, there’s three so far. The key is hiring different filmmakers for each one who can make the tone their own. They can’t all feel like the same exact thing. So, the Ninjago one has a very distinct tone of its own. It feels like a comedy Kurosawa movie or something. And the Batman one has got some of the most crazy action you’ve ever seen. Each one has its own voice and it feels true to the thing that we made, but it also feels like again it’s a filmmaker making something and using this as a medium to tell a fun story.

You talked before about being worried The Lego Movie would seem like a commercial. It would seem that’s even more of a concern now.
That’s the danger there, exactly!

Because now, Lego is probably saying to you, “Come up with this so we can sell even more Legos!”
Exactly. Part of doing Lego 2 was saying, we want to make everybody nervous again like they were the first time. We want to make the Lego group nervous, and we want to make Warner Bros. nervous. And if we’re not making them nervous, then we’re not pushing it far enough and we’re not doing our job.

Coif and Dagger

Americans wigs Emmy mag

Adweek wasn’t the only print publication I appeared in this week; I also have two stories in the new issue of Emmy magazine. In the first piece, I wrote about The Americans, my favorite show of 2014, and the show’s ace hair department head, Peg Schierholz, who crafts the wigs used by stars Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell in their many onscreen aliases.

Click below to read the full story, and see a sampling of Schierholz’s best work:

Peg Schierholz Emmy mag

You can find more information on Emmy’s February issue, and purchase a copy, here.

Even though I write primarily online these days, there’s still nothing like seeing your name, and story, in print! So between the new issues of Adweek and Emmy, this has been a fantastic (and nostalgic) week.

Jon Cryer on ‘Two and a Half Men’s’ ‘Absolutely Crazy’ Series Finale

jon cryer adweek

While I’ve written dozens of stories for Adweek’s site since last fall, I hadn’t yet written anything for the actual magazine — until today. I made my Adweek print debut in the best and biggest possible way: with a pair of cover stories tied to Thursday’s Two and a Half Men series finale.

Jon Cryer Adweek cover

In the first story, I spoke with Jon Cryer about the show’s shrouded-in-secrecy, “absolutely crazy” final episode, and the big question everyone is asking: will Charlie Sheen be a part of it? Here’s what he told me:

I can honestly say I don’t know because there were chunks of the finale that I was never allowed to read. Nobody got any piece of the script that they didn’t 100 percent need, so I have not read the final tag of the show. They didn’t even tell me they were shooting it! They shot it on another stage. I’ve said in the past, the amount of bridge-repairing necessary to make that happen, I thought was incredibly daunting and unlikely, but stranger things have happened in show business.

Cryer also talks about weather the Charlie Sheen tsumani, how Ashton Kutcher stepped in and revitalized the show, what’s next for him and how playing Pretty in Pink’s Duckie helped prep him for life after Two and a Half Men.

In addition to following the link and reading the whole story, make sure you pick up this week’s issue!

Jon Cryer on Two and a Half Men’s ‘Absolutely Crazy’ Series Finale

Vince Gilligan on Ending ‘Breaking Bad’ and the Perils of Spinning Off ‘Better Call Saul’

better call saulAfter a couple of months, I’m back at The Daily Beast with this fantastic chat with Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, who created the new Breaking Bad spinoff, Better Call Saul. I had a fantastic chat with them about the new show, the perils of spinoffs, the paralyzing fear of trying to come up with a proper Breaking Bad ending and, unexpectedly, O.J. Simpson.

While Gilligan was certainly entitled to a nice, long hiatus after wrapping one of the greatest TV shows in history, the Breaking Bad creator was back at work on Saul barely a month later. As he told me,

“It’s like that old thing about if the horse throws you, you’ve got to get back up on the horse or otherwise you’re never going to ride it again,” says Gilligan. “Breaking Bad was so beyond any wildest dreams I could’ve imagined that if I’d had more time to sit on my hands and contemplate it, I’d probably sit around and double- and triple-guess every subsequent new idea I had for a program and say, ‘You know what, it’s not as good as Breaking Bad; I’d better wait for something that is as good.’ Suddenly, it’s 15 years later and it’s like, ‘People magazine has photos of the old guy who used to do Breaking Bad. Whatever happened to him?’ It’s better to get back up on the horse.”

It was such a pleasure speaking with Gilligan and Gould, and that interview is packed with terrific detail from them. In even better news, I’m happy (and relieved) to report that Better Call Saul is no Joey: it’s much more ambitious and rewarding, and is a worthy companion to Breaking Bad.

Vince Gilligan on Ending ‘Breaking Bad’ and the Perils of Spinning Off ‘Better Call Saul’

Scott Foley: ABC Dropped Me From ‘Scandal’ — Four Years Ago

SCOTT FOLEY

Scott Foley will never forget the day that Shonda Rhimes broke the news to him that he no longer would be on Scandal.

Relax: Foley’s Jake Ballard isn’t going anywhere when the ABC drama returns Thursday night after a two-month hiatus. Instead, the actor was recalling the moment four years ago when ABC decided he was the wrong actor to play “gladiator” Stephen Finch (portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick in the first season), even though Rhimes had already promised him the part.

“I had read the Scandal pilot script very early on in the process and really wanted to be a part of it,” says Foley. “I went through the process and ABC didn’t think I was the right choice for it. It was probably one of the hardest phone calls that Shonda’s had to make, to me at least. Saying, ‘Hey, I know I said you had this role…but you don’t have this role any more!’”

Of course, Rhimes and Foley had the last laugh, as the actor ended up on Scandal anyway, in a much juicer, higher-profile role, while Cusick quietly disappeared from the series after Season 1. “Thank God I didn’t get it!” Foley says now. “Shonda, true to her word, got me on the show and found a great role and has really turned this character, with the ‘meet cute’ that Olivia and Jake had in a coffee shop, into a really important, viable part of the story. …Everything always works out!”

ABC’s scandalous Scandal behavior wasn’t the only juicy revelation that Foley shared with TV & Not TV as he prepared for the show’s midseason return on Jan. 29:

His wife hates Scandal spoilers. Lots of people press Foley for Scandal intel, but not his wife, Marika. “This is the first job I’ve ever had where I can’t run lines with her. I can’t tell her anything. She won’t let me! And it’s hard, because I have a lot of lines,” says Foley. “Shonda does a great job, unlike other shows, of giving you things to say and really strong, tough dialogue, and I have, for 12 years now, the night before, always been able to run my lines with my wife. I can’t do that on this. She doesn’t want to know anything. She gets mad when I say, ‘Babe, just this once!’ She won’t do it.”

He’s addicted to HGTV — and Downton Abbey. The passion that Scandal fans have for his show is rivaled only by Foley’s devotion to all things HGTV. “I’m a big HGTV watcher,” he says. “I have my cable box turned to HGTV so when my cable turns on, it’s on HGTV. Property Brothers, Fixer Upper, Income Property, House Hunters, Love It or List It…I’m pretty handy!”

The actor is also savoring the chance to catch up on the new season of Downton Abbey with his wife, Marika. “Downton Abbey’s back, and I’m very excited,” he says. “Given our schedule, we’ll usually sit down and watch two or three episodes at a time. We’ll probably watch it all in a week and a half. We like to hold out, though, because once it’s gone, you’ve got to wait another year. It’s like Orange is the New Black!”

Raising three kids is overwhelming. As the father of a two-month-old newborn, son Konrad, Foley realizes he may be in over his head now that he has three kids, all under 5. “I only have three, but I recently read that someone with four kids said, ‘Imagine drowning, and then someone throwing you a baby,’” he says. “And I thought, that’s right! I kind of feel like I’m drowning right now!”

He doesn’t miss filming love scenes with a pregnant Kerry Washington. Shooting Scandal last season proved to be a challenge for the cast and crew, who had to disguise the fact that star Kerry Washington was pregnant in real life — but not on the show. “It was so strange,” says Foley. “They did such a good job last year of not really having to deal with it. Look, it was obviously a presence in every scene we did, but the only times I really thought about it was the love scenes we would have, which made it a little awkward.”

But not any more: “Having her back in full force this year, and having her around and able, it’s a blessing for the show,” says Foley.

Check back Thursday, when Foley teases Scandal’s big return, and Jake’s frantic search for the now-missing Olivia Pope.

Larry Wilmore on How He Landed ‘The Nightly Report’ and What He Learned From Jon Stewart

larry wilmore

While at winter press tour, I sat down with Larry Wilmore to talk about his succeeding Stephen Colbert as Comedy Central’s new 11:30 p.m. late-night host for this Adweek profile. His new show, The Nightly Report with Larry Wilmore, kicked off this week. But as Wilmore told me, the show was originally supposed to be called The Minority Report with Larry Wilmore before Fox began developing a series based on the 2002 Tom Cruise film:

We made the call on the field, so to speak, before it really got too late. Part of our constructing the show was understanding how the audience sees content these days. They see it through social platforms—Twitter, Facebook—so your show has to live in those environments. And it was becoming very difficult to operate in those environments and having to use The Minority Report with Larry Wilmore as a complete tag all the time. We were being confined legally by doing that in all forms of everything, and it was becoming a nightmare. And I thought, “Guys, I don’t want it to be March and we have to change our name, after we’ve already been on.” I said, “Let’s just do it now, before it really came to a head.” It was in late October or early November, so there was still enough time. But the show didn’t change, only the name did.

Wilmore also talked about stepping down as Black-ish showrunner to take the Comedy Central job, how TV has changed since he launched The PJs and The Bernie Mac Show and how John Oliver’s recent late-night success has emboldened him.

Larry Wilmore on How He Landed The Nightly Report and What He Learned From Jon Stewart