Tag: TNT (Page 2 of 3)

“Leverage” finishes strong

February 25, 2009 /

I wrote back in early January that “Leverage” seemed to be getting better, and then Will Harris had a chance to spend 10 minutes interviewing Christian Kane (who plays Elliot Spencer on the show), just before the two-part season finale aired.

After watching the finale, I think it’s safe to say that the show finished strong. The two-parter focuses on Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton) and his obsession with taking down the head of the insurance company (that he used to work for) that failed to pay a claim that might have saved his son’s life. We meet Nathan’s ex-wife, Maggie (Kari Matchett), and Nathan’s rival at the insurance company, Sterling (Mark Sheppard), makes for a good foil.

Sure, the gang relies on a house-of-cards type progression to get through most of their jobs, but if you don’t spend too much time thinking about how ridiculous some of these plot points are, the show can be quite enjoyable. (I especially like the budding romance between Parker and Hardison.)

The series definitely has an “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Hustle” (BBC) feel to it, though I think that it would work better as the occasional two-hour movie than it does as a television series. (However, I do applaud TNT for limiting the season to 13 episodes — I would be frightened to see what kind of filler we’d get if it ran 22+ episodes.) TNT already greenlit a second season, so new viewers can dive in without fear that it will be canceled.

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, Movies, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

10 Minutes and 10 Questions with Christian Kane

February 17, 2009 /

Tonight brings the first of the two parts of the first-season finale of TNT’s “Leverage.” We’ve commented on the show in the past here on Premium Hollywood, but after a slight false start in the early days of the series, it’s become an enjoyable blend of action, drama, and comedy that allows the viewer to escape into a world where the little guy actually gets to win once in awhile. We had a chance to talk to Christian Kane, who plays the rough-and-tumble Eliot Spencer on the show, and quizzed him about how the show’s gone for him. (We also snuck in a quick “Angel” question and checked on the status of his music career, too.)

1. If you can approach “Leverage” as a viewer rather than a fan for a second, are you surprised that “Leverage” was able to find an audience? Because a lot of series are in, out, and done in just a couple of episodes, but you guys found an audience quickly.

Yeah, we did, man. Y’know, it’s always surprising to me what works and what doesn’t work. I mean, I can’t believe that some of the stuff that’s on right now is on, and I can’t believe that “Arrested Development” ever went off the air. (Laughs) But it wasn’t surprising to know the track record of the people behind it. I mean, it was Tim (Hutton)’s first series (since “Kidnapped”), and I felt comfortable with that, but also John Rogers is an unbelievable writer, and Dean Devlin has had unbelievable success in the entertainment world, so we came in with a couple of big guns pulled out, unlike maybe some of the other people. So I felt confident in that. And then I started watching, and I got more confident. But then I remembered that, with the economy the way it is and the way the entertainment business is going… (Laughs) …it got a little bit scary for awhile, y’know, because you start thinking of stuff. But then when I went back to the economy stuff, and I went, “Y’know what? In this day and age, when The Man is sticking it to everybody, I think people are really going to want to sit back on the couch and really be part of the team and watch some people go out and stick it back to The Man.”

2. The “Ocean’s Eleven” comparisons that were being thrown around in the beginning were obviously really, really apt. Do you think the series has found its own identity yet, or is it still finding it?

Continue reading »

Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Interviews, Movies, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, Video

TNT’s “Trust Me” is struggling

February 4, 2009 /

According to Variety, the ratings for TNT’s new show, “Trust Me,” haven’t been all that good.

After enjoying a string of successful series launches, TNT is struggling with its latest entry, ad agency drama “Trust Me.”

The show, which stars Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh, scored just 1.9 million viewers in the 10 p.m. slot Monday, losing about 65% of the lead-in aud supplied by “The Closer.” The performance also represented a significant retreat from the show’s Jan. 26 premiere, which drew 3.4 million viewers.

Reviews for “Trust Me” have been mixed, with the New York Post perhaps summing up crix’ reception best: “The series isn’t bad. It just isn’t all that good.”

I haven’t watched the show, and here’s why: the initial promotion had only McCormack and Cavanagh being snarky to each other, and I had no idea what the show was about. Then the second wave of promotion showed the characters yelling at each other in an advertising setting, which wasn’t that much more appealing. I thought about recording the first episode, but never got around to it and based on the critical reception, I don’t feel like I’m missing out.

Is anyone else in the same boat? Are there fans out there that love this series or is this one of those shows that lacks a diehard fan base?

External Entertainment, External TV, News, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Old Show, New Season (sort of): “The Closer”

January 26, 2009 /

Man, I love “The Closer.”

This should be already be evident to anyone who’s read my reviews of the show’s previous DVD sets over on Bullz-Eye, but even as the show continues onward through its fourth season (tonight brings us the mid-season premiere), it continues to produce episodes which are just as strong now as when it originally premiered. Part of that comes from the fact that its structure feels a bit more free-flowing than your average drama, moving in and out of both the professional and the personal lives of Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson – played with a it-grows-on-you Southern drawl by the lovely Kyra Sedgwick – and her fiance, FBI Special Agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney). Mostly, though, it’s the combination of a diverse ensemble of actors and a writing team that makes sure to spread the storylines around the offices of the Priority Homicide Division of the LAPD.

As we return to “The Closer,” the wedding of Brenda and Fritz is coming ever closer, so Brenda’s parents – played in their usual fantastic form by Frances Sternhagen and Barry Corbin – have stopped off on their way to Hawaii to help their daughter get fitted for her dress…and find a venue for the ceremony…and pick out the cake. (If you’re surprised by Brenda’s procrastination, you clearly haven’t been watching the show enough.) As ever, however, Brenda finds herself caught up in a case, this time one with a suicide that possibly isn’t a suicide, and it takes up so much of her time that she ends up having to tell one of her patented well-intentioned lies to keep her mama and daddy in the dark. The episode features a horrifying moment that will chill longtime fans of the series to the bone, but it’s one which nonetheless manages to inspire Brenda to follow her intuition toward a break in the case that hadn’t occurred to her before.

Good stuff, as usual, which is no doubt why TNT so readily sent out an advance screener of the episode, but let me tell you in advance that you really, really don’t want to miss the February 9th episode, “Power of Attorney,” which offers an ending that will blow your freaking mind.

You have been warned.

Actors, Actresses, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

TCA Tour, Jan. 2009: “Trust Me”

January 16, 2009 /

TNT must be patting themselves on the back for being able to wrangle Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh to star in their new drama, “Trust Me.” They’re such instantly recognizable faces – McCormack for his eight seasons as Will Truman on “Will & Grace,” Cavanagh for everything from “Ed” to “Eli Stone” – that they might actually help get the show over the hump of being the first new TV series about an ad agency to appear since the debut of “Mad Men.”

“We’re prepared to deal with the ‘Mad Men’ comparisons,” said co-creator John Coveny, “because we’ve had them for the last year as we brought this to you guys.”

McCormack seemed stunned that anyone would make such a comparison. “Is anybody going to confuse the show with ‘Mad Men’? I think it’s a question that only comes up if you haven’t seen the show yet. Once you’ve seen them both, they’re very different shows.”

Despite having both been on NBC shows at the same time and both being Canadian, McCormack and Cavanagh had somehow never managed to work together prior to being teamed up for this series.

“I remember the first time we rehearsed,” said McCormack. “We literally had not met until the day we rehearsed the day before we started to shoot, and we did one of the scenes from the pilot together. Off the cuff, Tom threw some stuff in; I threw it back at him. We kind of looked over at these guys, and everyone seemed very, very pleased. It was one of those sort of, ‘Please let this work,’ and it was absolutely just a great chemistry…despite the fact that he’s a dick.”

Cavanagh sighed and shook his head. “You couldn’t end it on sincerity,” he said. “Did you see that? What does that say about you?”

Continue reading »

test

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2023 Premium Hollywood

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑