After a bit of a hiatus, I returned to Parade to put together a Fall TV Preview, which was one of my first stories for them last year. My take on this shows are how they managed to be both fresh and familiar — and have a lot in common with some of your favorite shows.

When I filed, I didn’t know that this would be my very last Parade story. But sadly, the magazine was sold last week and the entire editorial staff, including all my favorite editors, was laid off as editorial operations move from New York to Nashville

I’ll miss you Parade; it’s been fun!

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At Parade, I spoke with Karl Urban about his new Fox sci-fi drama, Almost Human. He told me how the show’s executive producer, J.J. Abrams — who is also his Star Trek director — convinced him to sign on:

He said, “If you accept this, I will rename Star Trek Into Darkness [and make it] Star Trek: Bones Saves the Galaxy.” [Urban plays Bones in Abrams’s Star Trek films.] I upheld my end of the bargain, so the ball’s in J.J.’s court for the third film!

Almost Human‘s Karl Urban: This Futuristic Reality Is Just Around the Corner 

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At Parade, I spoke with Adelaide Kane about her new CW period drama, Reign. She tells me that the show’s critics need to get over themselves:

I find it incredibly frustrating that people harp on the fact that we’re not historically accurate. We’re not trying to make a documentary; it’s supposed to be fun! It’s not the History Channel!

Reign‘s Adelaide Kane Takes on Mary, Queen of Scots: ‘It’s Fun — Not the History Channel!’ 

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It’s been a rough year for Will Arnett, whose last show, Up All Night, was imploding just as his marriage to Amy Poehler was doing the same. But he’s bounced back with a new CBS sitcom, The Millers. And as he tells me in this Daily Beast profile, he couldn’t be happier:

“I’m really, really lucky,” says Arnett, 43. “The opportunity to make a really funny multicam with these people, on CBS, at this time in my life after having a few years of crushing schedules, on a schedule that’s a lot more civilized where I can take my kids to school every day, that is a fucking godsend. I have nothing to complain about.”

Arnett talks about the past, present and future of Arrested Development (and defends Season 4), gives some insight into what happened to Up All Night and also talks about a pair of upcoming films that should make him World’s Coolest Dad to his two sons. Millers creator Greg Garcia and his costar Margo Martindale also talk about him.

Will Arnett on ‘The Millers,’ ‘Arrested Development’ and More

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With the new TV season about to kick off, I looked at 16 returning second-year series, and predicted which ones will surge in Season 2, and which will slump. As I wrote at The Daily Beast,

A show’s second season is often its make-or-break year. After a season’s worth of growing pains and tweaking under its belt, will the series make the leap and fully realize its potential, as Scandal and New Girl gloriously did last year, or will it hit the dreaded sophomore slump and watch that initial promise implode, as was the case with Revenge, Up All Night, and Smash?

Maybe I’ll check back at the end of the season and how my predictions held up.

Sophomore TV Shows: Which Will Surge and Which Will Slump?

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At Parade, I spoke with Tom Mison about his new Fox supernatural drama, Sleepy Hollow. He talked about how often the Headless Horseman, who figures prominently in the pilot episode, will be making return appearances:

It’s like in Jurassic Park, where you’ve got the T-Rex—that’s the Headless Horseman—and the T-Rex can roar and do his thing and leave. You know he’s going to come back, and you’ll love it when he’s back, but [in the meantime] we can battle raptors and the things with the fans on their side. Sleepy Hollow: It’s like Jurassic Park! There you go!

Tom Mison Takes on the ‘Iconic’ Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow 

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At Parade, I spoke with Sophie Lowe, the star of ABC’s Once Upon a Time spinoff, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. She told me about her approach to playing Alice:

She’s becoming a woman just like I am, so I’m trying to use my own experiences and make it really truthful. I feel like we’re growing up together. But I can’t really fight like she can!

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland‘s Sophie Lowe: ‘I Always Wanted to Be Alice’ 

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At Parade, I spoke with Michael J. Fox about his new NBC sitcom, The Michael J. Fox Show. He talked with me about how different NBC is now than during his Family Ties days in the ’80s:

I mean, I have NBC beach towels from 1984. So that’s kind of au courant again, which is kind of amazing. I’ve been made to feel that that can actually mean something to NBC, and that means something to me. Certainly I’d like to have an opportunity to help turn the tide at the network. If that doesn’t happen, I’m not going to blame myself, but I’d like to be a part of it.

How Michael J. Fox’s Real Family Life Has Been Worked Into His New Show 

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At Parade, I spoke with Andy Samberg about his new Fox sitcom, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He told me that he never thought he’d play a detective on a series:

I didn’t even think I’d ever play a detective in a sketch! In my time on [SNL], if there was ever a detective in a sketch it was going to be Bill [Hader] or Jason [Sudeikis]. So it’s awesome.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Andy Samberg: ‘I Didn’t Think I’d Ever Play a Detective, Even in an SNL Sketch’ 

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At Parade, I spoke with James Spader about his new NBC drama, The Blacklist. He told me that his character, Raymond “Red” Reddington, might turn out to not be as bad as he first appears:

I think there’s no question that the audience is going to be wrong about things, [and that] a presumption is going to turn out to be just that. Hopefully just when you’re starting to feel comfortable, he’s going to make you feel very uncomfortable in a startling way. But the opposite is true as well, I think.

James Spader on His Blacklist Character: ‘He’s Going to Make You Feel Very Uncomfortable’ 

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