cover story
ABC’s big night
Hollywood stars and action-packed drama in the Oscars and ‘Whiskey Cavalier’
By Kyla Brewer
TV Media
I
n a world of streaming and
DVRs, the Oscars is still ap-
pointment television. This year,
ABC cashes in on Hollywood’s
biggest night to launch the net-
work’s newest action-drama.
On Sunday, Feb. 24, the al-
phabet network presents the
91st annual Academy Awards,
immediately followed by a
sneak preview of the new and
very promising “Whiskey Cava-
lier.” After movie fans find out
whether their favorite stars walk
away with Oscar gold, they can
tune in to see Lauren Cohan
(“The Walking Dead”) and Scott
Foley (“Scandal”) as a couple
of secret agents out to save the
world.
Foley, who also serves as
the show’s producer, stars as
FBI super agent Will Chase,
code name: Whiskey Cavalier.
He’s one of the bureau’s best
agents, but he’s also a big softie
who’s still heartbroken over his
recent breakup. Cohan portrays
hard-as-nails CIA agent Frankie
Trowbridge, code name: Fiery
Tribune. They often clash while
leading an elite team of spies on
missions around the globe.
While the espionage thriller
features all of the hallmarks of
a typical action-drama, it has
the added bonus of will-they-
or-won’t-they tension between
Chase and Trowbridge, with
plenty of lighthearted moments
thrown into the mix. In fact, the
show has been described as a
“dramedy” by EW’s Maureen
Lee Lenker, who interviewed
“Whiskey Cavalier” creator Da-
vid Hemingson in January.
“It’s funny because I sort
of look at this show as ‘Mis-
sion: Impossible’ smashes into
‘Cheers,’ with basically Scott
Foley as Diane Chambers and
Lauren Cohan as Sam Malone,”
Hemingson said.
Chase is definitely the more
sensitive and emotional of the
two, and Trowbridge doesn’t
seem much interested in his
attempts to crack her tough
exterior, at least in the begin-
2 | Screentime
Danai Gurira as seen in “Black Panther”
ning. They work alongside an
quences and explosive special
interagency team of flawed and
effects, the show also boasts
funny fellow spies who navigate a visually stunning backdrop:
the ups and downs of friendship, Prague. That’s a far cry from the
romance and office politics. Ana
gritty settings of Cohan’s most
Ortiz (“Ugly Betty”) stars as FBI
famous gig to date: AMC’s “The
behavioral scientist Dr. Susan
Walking Dead.” The actress is
Sampson, Chase’s best friend.
best known for her role as Mag-
Cohan’s fellow “Walking Dead” gie Greene in the horror series,
alum Tyler James Williams
and interestingly, another of her
(“Everybody Hates Chris”) stars
“Walking Dead” co-stars steps
as rogue NSA analyst Edgar
into the spotlight on ABC on the
Standish, who once hacked the
very same night as the “Whiskey
State Department’s mainframe.
Cavalier” premiere.
Vir Das (“Shivaay,” 2016) plays
Danai Gurira, who plays Mi-
FBI agent Jai Datta, and Josh
chonne in “The Walking Dead,”
Hopkins (“Quantico”) rounds
could become part of Oscars
out the main cast as Ray Prince,
history as one of the stars of the
Chase’s FBI colleague.
very first superhero film nomi-
In addition to the talented
nated for a Best Picture Academy
cast, choreographed fight se-
Award, “Black Panther” (2018).
February 20, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
Gurira portrays Wakandan
warrior Okoye in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe film, which
earned seven Oscar nominations
in all, including nods for Best
Costume Design, Best Original
Score and Best Original Song.
“Black Panther” faces stiff
competition in the prestigious
Best Picture category as it con-
tends with Spike Lee’s “BlacK-
kKlansman,” the rock bio “Bo-
hemian Rhapsody,” the period
comedy-drama “The Favourite,”
the ‘60s-era drama “Green
Book,” Netflix’s groundbreaking
“Roma,” the romantic remake
“A Star Is Born” and the come-
dy-drama biography “Vice.”
Other high-profile nomina-
tions include Lee’s first nomina-
tion for Best Director for “BlacK-
kKlansman.” Pawel Pawlikowski
(“Cold War”), Yorgos Lanthimos
(“The Favourite”), Alfonso
Cuarón (“Roma”) and Adam
McKay (“Vice”) are also in the
running in the Best Director
category.
The ever-popular acting
categories feature a diverse mix
of performers. Christian Bale
(“Vice”), Bradley Cooper (“A
Star Is Born”), Willem Dafoe
(“At Eternity’s Gate”), Rami
Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”)
and Viggo Mortensen (“Green
Book”) have earned Best Actor
nods. Yalitza Aparicio (“Roma”),
Glenn Close (“The Wife”), Olivia
Colman (“The Favourite”), Lady
Gaga (“A Star Is Born”) and Me-
lissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever
Forgive Me?”) are up for this
year’s Best Actress Oscar.
“Roma” and “The Favourite”
earned the most nominations
with 10 each, followed by “A
Star Is Born” and “Vice,” which
each earned eight Oscar nods.
A full list of Academy Award
nominees can be found online at
oscar.go.com.
Tune in to ABC to watch the
91st annual Academy Awards to
find out who will walk away with
the coveted golden statuettes on
Sunday, Feb. 24. With any luck,
“Whiskey Cavalier” will benefit
from the Oscars ratings as view-
ers stay tuned to check out Foley
and Cohan in the new espionage
comedy-drama.