hollywood q&a
By Adam Thomlison
TV Media
Q: What happened to
Food Network’s new show
“The Flay List” that was sup-
posed to be premiering in
early April? I haven’t seen it
on the schedule.
A: “The Flay List” has evapo-
rated from Food Network’s
schedule like so much boiling
water.
The show has not only been
scrubbed from the network’s
schedule but also from its web-
site. There used to be a dedi-
cated page at FoodNetwork.
com/TheFlayList, but it now just
redirects back to the network
home page. That’s not a good
sign.
It’s quite a mystery. The show,
in which celebrity chef Bobby
Flay and his daughter Sophie
tour New York eateries, was
generating a good deal of buzz
ahead of its widely advertised
premiere on April 11. It was also
a big piece of the multi-year
deal that Bobby signed with the
Food Network late last year.
The show seems to have
already been filmed, since it
wasn’t yanked from the sched-
ule until shortly before the
scheduled premiere, and since
the list of featured restaurants
was released in advance.
Q: I just watched a de-
lightful British romantic
comedy called “Man Up,”
and I know I recognized the
lead actress, but I can’t think
of why. Can you help?
A: It’s possible you’ve fallen
victim to the same trick that
took in the film’s cast: you
might have an easier time plac-
ing Lake Bell if you knew she’s
not actually British.
“Man Up” (2015) stars Brit-
ish comedy wunderkind Simon
Pegg and Lake Bell, an Ameri-
can actress who does a plau-
sible English accent throughout.
It was so plausible, in fact,
that the film’s crew reportedly
didn’t know it wasn’t real.
Pegg, in an interview with
Asbury Park Press, said that
Bell kept the accent up even
off-camera during the shoot, so
that she could “improve and …
think in a British accent.” So at
the end of the shoot, when Bell
thanked and said goodbye to
12 | Screentime
the crew, they were surprised
to hear her do it in an American
accent.
But in fact, she’s best known
as an American TV actress.
Comedy fans know her as the
dreamy Donna in the two “Wet
Hot American Summer” series
(which spun off from the origi-
nal film), or as Dr. Cat Black/
Dixie Peters in another cult
favorite, the Adult Swim series
“Childrens Hospital.”
If you’re more of a drama
person, you might know her
from a very different series —
the 2005-06 NBC sci-fi mystery
“Surface.”
Q: Are there any plans
for another “Jersey Shore”
reunion season?
A: Yes there are, but a few
things will likely have to wrap
up first.
Stars Vinny and Pauly are in
the midst of their own series,
“Double Shot at Love,” in
which they try their hands at
the celeb-reality dating show
model. That will have to finish
airing on MTV before the net-
work puts on any other “Jersey
Shore”-related content.
More importantly, Mike Sor-
rentino (better known, even to
himself, as The Situation) will
need to get out of jail before
he does any substantial work
on a new series. The Situation
is in jail for tax evasion and
is scheduled to be there until
September.
However, the network and
the other Shore house dwellers
are reportedly not letting any
of this stop them from getting
started on the new season.
MTV renewed “Jersey Shore
Family Reunion” (the official
title of the reunion series) for a
third season back in December,
two months after The Situa-
tion’s sentencing.
In April, “Jersey Shore” stars
Vinny and JWoww (whose par-
ents named her Jennifer Farley,
for what that’s worth) report-
edly visited The Situation’s wife,
according to the gossipmon-
gers at TMZ. The story went on
to say that the visit was actually
being filmed for the third sea-
son of “Family Reunion.”
Have a question? Email us at
questions@tvtabloid.com.
May 22, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
STREAMING THIS WEEK
The fussy angel and insouciant demon therefore team up to prevent the
end of days. Sheen and Tennant are supported by an equally impressive
cast that includes Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), Michael McKean (“Better Call
Saul”), Jack Whitehall (“Bad Education”), Mireille Enos (“World War Z,”
2013) and Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”), with Emmy winners
Frances McDormand (“Fargo,” 1996) and Benedict Cumberbatch (“Doctor
Strange,” 2016) voicing God and Satan, respectively.
FEW OF DC UFIVERSE:
“Swamp Thing”
Marquis Rodriguez in “When They See Us”
By Jacqueline Spendlove
TV Media
FEW OF FETFLIX:
“When They See Us”
A big-name cast comes together for this four-part miniseries written and
directed by Oscar nominee Ava DuVernay (“Selma,” 2014). Streaming
Friday, May 31, it centers on the 1989 Central Park jogger case, in which
five young men — four black and one Hispanic — were wrongly convicted
of the violent rape of Trisha Meili, a white woman jogging in Central Park.
The men, who became known as the Central Park Five over the course of
the highly publicized case, were exonerated more than a decade later. John
Leguizamo (“Bloodline”), Michael K. Williams (“The Wire”), Vera Farmiga
(“Bates Motel”), Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”), Joshua
Jackson (“The Affair”) and Famke Janssen (“X-Men: The Last Stand,” 2006)
star, among others.
“Always Be My Maybe”
Ali Wong (“American Housewife”) and Randall Park (“Fresh Off the Boat”)
wrote and star in this new romcom dropping Friday, May 31. The real-life
pals play Sasha and Marcus, childhood besties who reconnect 15 years
after a falling-out, when Sasha returns to her hometown to open a restau-
rant. Romance ensues, if not right away, as the two get to know each other
again as adults living very different lives — she’s a successful celebrity
chef who’s been living in L.A., and he’s a contentedly struggling musician
still living at home and working for his dad. The comedy is a perfect mix of
Wong’s brash humor and Park’s deadpan and sweet awkwardness. Keanu
Reeves (“John Wick,” 2014) and Daniel Dae Kim (“Hawaii Five-0”) also
star.
“Historical Roasts”
“Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross (“The Wedding Ringer,” 2015) hosts this
R-rated comedy series premiering Monday, May 27. Ross welcomes fellow
comedians and A-listers to skewer famous figures from history, while don-
ning appropriate period garb. Ross has a long resume of roasting experi-
ence — he’s participated in the popular Comedy Central Roasts of William
Shatner (“Star Trek”), Bob Saget (“Full House”), Bruce Willis (“Die Hard,”
1988), Roseanne Barr (“Roseanne”) and many more. “Historical Roasts”
is based on the comedian’s live Los Angeles show of the same name that
has featured William Shakespeare, Michael Jackson, Abraham Lincoln and
many others. Keep an eye out for John Stamos (“Grandfathered”), Ryan
Phillippe (“Crash,” 2004) and Nikki Glaser (“Trainwreck,” 2015) among
this season’s guest stars.
This swampy superhero drama also has a distinct horror bent, which is evi-
dent about 20 seconds into the very creepy trailer. When CDC doctor Abby
Arcane (Crystal Reed, “Teen Wolf”) returns to her Louisiana hometown to
investigate a deadly virus, she quickly forms a connection with scientist
Alec Holland (Andy Bean, “Here and Now”). After undergoing a trans-
formation — that ever-prevalent comic book trope — Alec becomes the
man-plant hybrid known as Swamp Thing (Derek Mears, “Friday the 13th,”
2009), and Abby gets pulled along with him into a supernatural world as he
defends the town, all the while struggling to hold onto his human side. The
series, premiering Friday, May 31, has had some production issues and its
freshman run was shortened from 13 episodes to 10. Jennifer Beals (“Tak-
en”) and Ian Ziering (“Sharknado,” 2013) also star in a recurring capacity.
FEW OF HULU:
“Ask Dr. Ruth”
She’s tiny, German and vivacious, she talks openly and frankly about sex,
and at 90 years old, she’s been doing so publicly for nearly 40 years. Dr.
Ruth Westheimer, the daughter of Orthodox Jews, escaped Nazi Germany
just before the start of World War II. Forty years later, she began her rise as a
celebrity sex therapist in the United States, breaking down walls to educate
the sexually confounded masses in a time when the subject matter was still
fairly taboo. Directed by Ryan White, this documentary charts Westheimer’s
illustrious career as a sex therapist, starting with her 1980s call-in radio
show, “Sexually Speaking,” which blossomed into five television shows, 40
books and countless delightful guest appearances on various talk shows.
Without a doubt, she’s someone worth getting familiar with, and you can
stream the doc on Saturday, June 1.
“Broad City” Season 5
You can stream the fifth and final season of this much-loved comedy start-
ing Monday, May 27. Abbi Jacobson (“Disenchantment”) and Ilana Glazer
(“Rough Night,” 2017) star in the sitcom that was born of their popular
web series of the same name, and Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”)
is an executive producer. The series follows the 20-something pals’ life in
New York City, and it’s received critical acclaim — much like “Seinfeld,”
the show manages to pull great humor out of the mundane goings-on of
everyday life. The series had a good run on Comedy Central, and now you
can binge it from start to finish.
FEW OF AMAZOF PRIME:
“Good Omens”
This six-episode series is based on the comedic fantasy novel by Terry
Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, the latter of whom wrote the TV adaptation
as well, which streams Friday, May 31. David Tennant (“Doctor Who”) and
Michael Sheen (“Masters of Sex”) make a very pleasing odd couple as
Crowley, a demon, and Aziraphale, an angel. Both have lived on Earth since
the dawn of time and are pretty happy with the status quo, so they’re none
too happy to hear that the apocalypse is nigh, courtesy of an 11-year-old
boy who’s unaware that he’s the Antichrist (Sam Taylor Buck, “Medici”).
David Tennant and Michael Sheen as seen in “Good
Omens”