At TCA summer press tour in July/August, I spent a lot of time speaking to the stars of fall’s most anticipated series — including several of my favorite freshman shows, like The Blacklist, Masters of Sex and Brooklyn Nine-Nine — for this Parade roundup of Fall’s Top 10 New Shows. Look for more extended Q&As with each star in the weeks ahead.
I had big problems with tonight’s Season 6 premiere of Sons of Anarchy; specifically the school shooting that closed out the episode, which to me was the first time that the show, which always pushes the envelope, finally went too far. I first saw the season premiere during TCA summer press tour, and at the time, creator Kurt Sutter insisted that he wasn’t doing the school shooting to be sensational, explaining that sets everything in motion this season. As I wrote at The Daily Beast,
So a few weeks later, when FX sent out the season’s first three episodes, I watched them with Sutter’s words in mind. Judging the first three episodes as a whole, he’s right: the school shooting isn’t just a gratuitous jolt, as it seems to be in the premiere. Instead, it’s far more damaging to the series and its characters.
I had to admit that this review got away from me a bit, and I don’t think I did a great job articulating my issues (in other words, kind of like what happened to Sutter himself in this episode). And I think it’s best for all involved if step away from writing about the show going forward. Some shows are just no longer worth the headache…
Why ‘Sons of Anarchy’s’ Controversial Season Premiere Twist was a Mistake
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.
Yesterday, I spoke to Elisabeth Moss about her favorite Mad Men moments as Peggy Olson. But Moss received an second Emmy nomination, best actress in a movie/miniseries, for her haunting turn as police detective Robin Griffin in Top of the Lake. In the second part of our Daily Beast chat, she talked about how she pulled off four of the role’s most daunting aspects, including her toughest scene: where Robin opens up about being raped as a teenager.
I did it the same way that I did it in the audition. Sometimes scenes just click and they make sense to you. For some reason, you don’t feel like there’s any other way to do that scene. So I did in the audition, and obviously they liked it, I guess. Then we did a lot of rehearsal, improv, and a lot of talking about the script and everything, but never ever touched that scene. Because there was a sense of, we understood it, and sometimes you don’t want to fuck with it too much. You’ve really got to be careful, so we never talked about it and never rehearsed it. From the audition to filming the scene, I never said those words.
Elisabeth Moss Reveals 4 Tough Challenges in Making ‘Top of the Lake’
I’m helping The Daily Beast talk to many of this year’s Emmy nominees about the moments that got them nominated. I was lucky enough to land a dual nominee — Elisabeth Moss — for a two-part feature.
In the first part, which posted today, Moss talked about her best actress in a drama series nomination for Mad Men, and shared her all-time favorite Peggy Olson moments from the show’s six seasons, including this one from possibly its best episode, Season 4’s “The Suitcase”:
It’s hard to pick a scene from that episode because they were all really special to me. But I love the scene in the bar, when they finally talk about what happened with the baby and him visiting her in the hospital. They kind of talk around it, but they talk about it more than they ever have. He says, “Do you ever think about it?” and she says, “Playgrounds.” I just love that line, and it was such a simple way of summing up exactly where she is on having a child and giving it away. It’s also the kind of moment you can only get after four seasons, which is something I love about doing a TV series. That scene means nothing without four seasons of buildup. It’s a great payoff for the characters and the audience.
Look for the second part of our chat tomorrow, focusing on Top of the Lake.
Emmys 2013: Elisabeth Moss on Peggy’s Best ‘Mad Men’ Moments
For whatever reason, I have a knack for spotting minute details in Homeland screeners. That skill came in handy as I watched an early screener of Season 3, and noticed what seemed like a reference to Mandy Patinkin’s famous line in The Princess Bride scribbled in Carrie Matheson’s notes. She writes, “You killed my son — prepare to die!” I caught up with showrunner Alex Gansa at TCA summer press tour and asked him about the reference for a new Daily Beast item.
Was the Princess Bride reference intentional? “Of course it is!” Homeland executive producer Alex Gansa tells The Daily Beast of its inclusion early in Season 3. “We didn’t expect to use it so prominently. But the fact is that it looks so great, the physical representation of her mania, right there on the page. So there it is, right in front of your eyes.”
Gansa also told me who came up with the idea — and what Patinkin thinks about it.
Revealed: Behind ‘Homeland’s’ Surprising ‘Princess Bride’ Connection
Well, I’ve never done this before! Today, I did my first quick-turnaround piece for The Daily Beast, as I reacted to today’s Emmy nominations. I focused on the Good (House of Cards, Top of the Lake, Louis CK), the Sad (Tatiana Maslany, The Americans) and the Ugly (The Good Wife). As I wrote about The Good Wife’s snub,
The broadcast networks’ last great hope for Emmy drama recognition fell even further out of favor with voters, as it was unable to claw its way back into the Outstanding Drama category, where it was shut out last year as well. Adding insult to injury, Juilanna Margulies, who won Lead Actress just two years ago, wasn’t nominated either.
I’m glad I had the opportunity to do an Emmy reaction piece, and can only hope that The Americans and Tatiana Maslany make it onto next year’s ballot instead…
Emmy Nomination Surprises and Snubs: House of Cards, Orphan Black and More
Emmy nominations are coming out Thursday morning, and I made my case at The Daily Beast for why Mandy Patinkin’s name absolutely must be on the supporting actor in a drama ballot, especially after he was criminally overlooked last year.
Included in my five reasons why he must get an Emmy nomination:
Patinkin imbues Saul with a hulking presence that fills entire rooms. Saul may be a man of few words, but Patinkin makes each of them count. Near the end of the Season 2 finale, after a horrifying twist I won’t spoil here, he calls Carrie’s cell phone in a desperate, seemingly futile attempt to locate her. His words are simple. “Carrie, it’s me. I’m looking for you. Please call me back.” But Patinkin packs more desperation and anguish into them than you’d find in a five-minute monologue.
Don’t screw this up again, Emmy voters!
Give Mandy Patinkin an Emmy Nomination for ‘Homeland,’ Already!
I’m still not sure why I stuck with Dexter after the show hit rock bottom in Season 6, but the show managed to crawl its way back to respectability last season. That trend continues as the show returns for its eighth and final season. As I wrote at The Daily Beast,
Now Dexter enters its final season with a largely confident run of early episodes that prove Season 7’s rejuvenation was not just a final gasp of breath.
It could still all unravel, but this early episodes give me hope that Dexter knows what it’s doing as it prepares to say farewell.
‘Dexter’ Season 8: The Serial Killer Drama Still Has a Few Twists Left
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?