Tag Archives: TCA

James Wolk on ‘The Crazy Ones,’ ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Lone Star’ and More

Leave a reply

james wolk

I first met James Wolk at a Fox event held the summer before Lone Star aired its season premiere one Monday, and its series finale the following Monday. (RIP, Lone Star!) From Lone Star to Political Animals, he keeps ending up in these terrific shows that don’t make it to Season 2 (through no fault of his own).

I profiled him for The Daily Beast before the debut of his new CBS advertising agency comedy The Crazy Ones, where even star Robin Williams agrees that Wolk steals the show right out from under him:

“Oh, he can go more than toe-to-toe, he leads the way,” says Williams. “He kicked ass. Literally, I was going, ‘Damn! I’ve got to catch up!’ Which was wonderful, because it was very freeing to know that you’ve got backup. You’ve got a riff, and somebody is just right along there with you.”

In addition to Williams, I also spoke to the show’s creator, David E. Kelley, and director/executive producer Jason Winer about Wolk. And Wolk himself reflects on his strange journey in Hollywood, and bouncing back after Lone Star’s crushing failure.

James Wolk on ‘The Crazy Ones,’ ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Lone Star’ and More

Marvel’s Next Mission: Conquer Primetime Television, and Save Disney’s ABC Network

Leave a reply

qz-marvels-next-mission

One day after making my Quartz debut, I’m back with this look at the new ABC series Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, which has the daunting task of trying to save Disney’s slumping ABC. As I wrote,

ABC hopes that S.H.I.E.L.D. will rescue the beleaguered network from its ratings doldrums—for the past two seasons, it’s been last place in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic among the four broadcast networks—and give it a legitimate chance to finally expand beyond the network’s female-skewing programming like Scandal, Revenge and Grey’s Anatomy.

I was also able to share some insight from star Clark Gregg and executive producer Jeph Loeb that I had picked up at TCA summer press tour. ABC and Marvel have a tough road ahead of them, but I wouldn’t bet against the company that racked up $1.51 billion worldwide with The Avengers.

Marvel’s next mission: conquer primetime television, and save Disney’s ABC Network

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

Leave a reply

Sleepy-Hollow-Tom-Mison

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 

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

Leave a reply

sophie-lowe-once-upon-a-time-in-wonderland

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’ 

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

Leave a reply

the-michael-j-fox-show-fall-tv

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 

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

Leave a reply

andy-sandberg-brooklyn-nine-nine

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’ 

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

Leave a reply

james-spader-parade

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’ 

Clark Gregg: ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ is the ‘World’s Greatest Midlife Crisis’

Leave a reply

clark gregg

At Parade, I talked to Clark Gregg about rising from the dead — well, at least his alter ego, Agent Phil Coulson, did — to star in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. He told me that he’s still amazed at his good fortune:

I look around at the first couple of episodes we’ve done, whether it’s the flying Corvette or the amazing plane… ABC and Marvel are giving me the world’s greatest midlife crisis, and I don’t even have to pay for it!

Clark Gregg: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Is the ‘World’s Greatest Midlife Crisis’  

Margo Martindale Goes for Laughs in ‘The Millers’: ‘It’s Fun to Be Wild Again’

Leave a reply

The-Millers-Margo-Martindale

At Parade, I spoke to one of my favorite people, Margo Martindale, about her new CBS sitcom The Millers. While most people who know her from her dramatic roles in Justifed and The Americans are surprised to see her doing a multicam sitcom, she told me that it’s a lot harder than it looks:

The thing that’s interesting to me is that so many people applaud actresses who go from comedy to drama, but they weirdly look down on actresses who go from drama to comedy. Comedy’s hard. It takes a lot of muscles to make it look easy.

Margo Martindale Goes for Laughs in The Millers: ‘It’s Fun to Be Wild Again’ 

‘Hostages’ Stars Dylan McDermott, Toni Collette Have All the Answers

Leave a reply

hostages

At Parade, I spoke with Dylan McDermott and Toni Collette about their new CBS drama, Hostages. McDermott admitted to me that he was concerned at first whether the show’s kidnapping premise could be sustained over a whole series:

It’s a concern of everybody’s, but that’s the coolest thing about the show, that people are asking that. Because it means people are paying attention. All the looming questions will be answered, and it will go on for multiple seasons because of those answers.

Hostages Stars Dylan McDermott, Toni Collette Have All the Answers