Author Archive

Sci-Fi Preview: J.J. Abrams Lures Us to the Scariest Town Ever With ‘Castle Rock’

Welcome to Castle Rock, Maine, scariest small town in the USA and the setting for a new Hulu thriller that’s got us hooked.

The sleepy, creepy New England locale, a hub for supernatural goings-on, is the creation of horror writer Stephen King and the familiar backdrop to some of his most gruesome page-turners, including Needful Things (stolen souls) and Cujo (a murderous dog that put us off Saint Bernards forever). Now King has turned over the mayorship to Castle Rock creators and executive producers Dustin Thomason and Sam Shaw, with input from auteur of eerie J.J. Abrams (Lost).

The tale centers on divorced dad and dedicated Texas death-row attorney Henry Deaver (André Holland, The Knick), who reluctantly returns to his hometown after an anonymous call from a whistle-blower at Shawshank State Prison: An inmate there has asked for Henry. The seeming innocent is a newly incarcerated, sunken-eyed young man (Bill Skarsgård, aka evil clown Pennywise in the 2017 flick based on King’s It) who refuses to say much, not even his own name. Dubbed The Kid, he is a stranger to Henry… but the lawyer takes the case anyway.

Also in this issue:

• Sci-Fi Preview: The farewell season of Game of Thrones, Doctor Who‘s first female Doctor, Outlander‘s trip to America, the last Sharknado and a roundup of highly anticipated new projects in the realm of TV sci-fi and fantasy.
• Making It: Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman chat about their crafty NBC reality series. Plus: Would they be game for a Parks and Recreation reunion?
• Plus: What makes a summer show sizzle; Senior Critic Matt Roush dissects this year’s Emmy nominees; Lori Loughlin on why she loves being a Hallmark heroine; Sharp Objects‘ Patricia Clarkson and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

Kevin Hart: 10 New Reality Shows That Have Us Fired Up

You might not think a new summer game show called TKO: Total Knock Out — where contestants run a goofy, fun house-like obstacle course while being pummeled with silly-looking foam projectiles by their opponents — embodies the power of positivity. But with comedy superstar/actor Kevin Hart running point as host, it sure does.

“TKO is about real people wanting to get the best out of themselves,” says Hart, the star of box-office hits including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and the Ride Along franchise, and whose comedy show, The Irresponsible Tour, is selling out venues worldwide. “It’s amazing energy,” he adds. “I feed off that. I love inspiration and motivation. I want to set up an obstacle course in my backyard now!”

We sat down with him at the Los Angeles headquarters of his Hartbeat Productions (where he arrived with armloads of envelopes and FedEx packages after stopping to pick up the office mail) to learn more about the wacky competition and how it became Hart’s happy place.

Also in this issue:

• Red-Hot Summer Reality: Shark Week celebrates 30 years; Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman get crafty with Making It; Zachary Quinto helms In Search Of 2.0 and a WWE power couple lets the cameras in.
• Trial & Error: Lady, Killer: NBC’s laughfest tackles a new murder case in Season 2 with Kristin Chenoweth as an East Peck socialite.
• Suits: Katherine Heigl jumps aboard the USA drama as a no-nonsense lawyer.
• Plus: Our dream Emmy nominations, a first look at Better Call Saul, Code Black‘s final call and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

Tom Selleck Exclusive! ‘Blue Bloods,’ His Thoughts on the ‘Magnum’ Reboot and More

If he weren’t an imposing 6-foot-4, you might almost pass the guy with the salt-and-pepper scruff wearing a checked shirt, jeans and workaday boots and not realize he’s Tom Selleck, one of TV’s most enduring icons.

The only celebrity tell: a vintage Rolex Daytona watch he bought himself when his current hit, Blue Bloods, tied his first, Magnum, P.I., in total episodes aired. “An acting coach I had used to say, ‘You’ve got to celebrate your wins,'” he recalls. “This is a win.”

The self-described “worker bee” is a man of many wins. Twelve days before he turned 73 this January — an age he says wife Jillie Mack Selleck had to prompt him to remember — he received a prestigious Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award honoring his 50-year body of television work. That level of achievement must have seemed impossible back in 1970, when the handsome up-and-comer appeared in his first commercial. Selleck had no lines in the spot for Safeguard soap with Teri Garr and Penny Marshall — but he did lather up onscreen.

He also sold Pepsi, cars, and cigars, often alongside sexy actresses. As for a 1977 Close-Up toothpaste campaign, “The dialogue was humiliating!” Selleck recalls. “A stewardess comes up and I say, ‘After this flying delicatessen, my fiancée may give me back the ring!’ I blew on my hand, smelled my breath and said, ‘I’d better brush my teeth.’ I thought it was stupid, but they used me in national commercials that paid 10 grand each time they ran.”

Today, Selleck has come to L.A. from his ranch an hour or two away to share his infectious passion for the medium — but before digging in, he wants to address this fall’s Magnum reboot, starring Jay Hernandez and produced by Peter Lenkov, who reworked Hawaii Five-0 and MacGyver. (Selleck had tried unsuccessfully to do a movie version with writer Tom Clancy attached in the early 1990s.)

Also in this issue:

• Big Brother: Revisiting the top moments from the past 20 seasons of the CBS reality hit.
• July 4th Programming: Your best bets to stay cool in front of your TV on the national holiday.
• The New Evel Knievel: Daredevil Travis Pastrana attempts the famed stunt performer’s most terrifying motorcycle jumps on live TV.
• GLOW: Netflix’s series is back in the ring with fiercer fights for round two.
• Sharp Objects: From the writer of Gone Girl, this dark HBO series starring Amy Adams is brimming with family drama and mystery.
• Plus: A tribute to Anthony Bourdain, specs on car-related programs for gearheads, Christian Borle drops by Younger and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

Kevin Costner: The Star Rides Again in the New Modern-Day Western ‘Yellowstone’

Kevin Costner is about to cowboy up — yet again — for Yellowstone, a big-budget drama about bloody land battles and backstabbing sibling rivals in the present-day, fast-changing new American West.

The leading man and Oscar-winning director of Dances With Wolves and Emmy-winning star of Hatfields & McCoys lassos his first regular series role as proud, stubborn widower John Dutton, a sixth-generation cattleman and billionaire. He has four adult children who get along like a herd of wild stallions and a Montana ranch the size of Rhode Island that’s about to become a war zone.

“It’s an R-rated Bonanza,” says series creator, writer and director Taylor Sheridan, whose films Wind River, Hell or High Water and Sicario also grapple with the human toll of clashes over physical and cultural borders. “It’s like [classic Western director] John Ford came back from the dead and decided to make a TV show.”

Also in this issue:

• Finale Burning Questions Answered: From The Blacklist‘s fiery coda to that Killing Eve shocker, we examine five of our favorite season enders.
• Shades of Blue: Jennifer Lopez shares intel on the final round of the NBC cop drama.
• Denis Leary: The Animal Kingdom actor looks back at his career highlights — Remote Control, firehouse drama Rescue Me and more.
• Plus: A guide to the World Cup, how to stream TV and movies for free, why we love The Great British Baking Show and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.