stars on screen
Far from drifting
‘Lodge 49’ primed for second season
By Michelle Rose
TV Media
Far from drifting: “Some-
times you can’t see something
until you’re looking for it.” These
words, spoken by the charac-
ter played by David Pasquesi
(“Veep”) in “Lodge 49,” could
easily describe how the AMC se-
ries has attracted its audience.
It’s one of those shows that
you stumble upon and then won-
der why you didn’t tune in earlier.
It’s sweet, funny and serious, with
eccentric characters that are odd-
ly relatable. And it’s coming back
for a second season next month
— Monday, Aug. 12, on AMC.
“Lodge 49” wasn’t a huge
ratings winner in its freshman
year, but the character-driven
show really resonated with TV
critics. Reviewers had nothing
but praise for Wyatt Russell’s
performance as the lovable drifter
Dud — a fact that might finally
allow the actor to have his name
mentioned without a “son of
Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn”
add-on.
No big cast changes have been
announced, so we can count on
the return of regular cast mem-
bers, including Russell, Brent Jen-
nings (“All American”) and Sonya
Cassidy (“Humans”), whose
portrayal of cynical and put-upon
Liz served as the perfect foil to her
laid-back brother.
There will be at least one
new face this season: Pollyanna
McIntosh, a.k.a. Jadis in “The
Walking Dead.” The Scottish ac-
tress has landed a recurring role
as Clara, who befriends Connie
(Linda Emond, “The Knick”) at
Lodge 1 in England. McIntosh’s
most recent project showed that
she’s a triple threat — she wrote,
directed and starred in the indie
horror film “Darlin’” (2019).
As for guest stars, series cre-
ator/writer Jim Gavin suggested
in a recent interview with Enter-
tainment Weekly that we haven’t
seen the last of El Confidente,
played by Cheech Marin (“Nash
Bridges”). Just how much screen
time Marin will get this season
isn’t clear, but it does give viewers
one more reason to tune in.
24 | Screentime
Pollyanna McIntosh and Linda Emond in a scene from “Lodge 49”
A new ‘Unicorn’: This fall,
struggles with the idea of being
an Emmy nomination, is also the
Walton Goggins (“Justified”) is
a single parent, but he’s wholly
star and executive producer of
“The Unicorn.”
unprepared to re-enter the dating “Deep State,” a political thriller
Before anyone else gets the
world. Encouraged by his family
that streams on EPIX.
wrong idea, the upcoming CBS
and friends, Wade dips his toe into
What’s interesting is that “The
comedy has nothing to do with
the dating scene and is shocked
Unicorn” was originally pitched
the fabled one-horned horse.
to discover he’s a hot commodity
as a single-camera comedy. It
Instead, the title alludes to the
since he’s attractive, employed
was picked up to pilot as a multi-
second definition of the word,
and, more importantly, he has a
camera sitcom before reverting
meaning something that is rare or proven history of being able to
back to the single-cam format
unusual. And based on this, Gog-
commit. To prospective dates, that and moving ahead.
gins — or rather, his character — makes him “The Unicorn.”
And with a time-slot sand-
falls neatly into that category.
This is the second year in a row wiched between top-rated
The series is inspired by a true
that Goggins is starring in a CBS
“Young Sheldon” and “Mom,”
story. Goggins stars as a recent
pilot after last year’s adaptation
the pilot couldn’t get a better shot
widower named Wade, who is
of the James Ellroy novel, “L.A.
at finding its audience right from
slowly moving on with his life
Confidential” (the pilot was
the start.
after the loss of his wife. Wade is
passed over). The actor, whose
The cast of “The Unicorn” also
a big-hearted, devoted dad who
work on “Justified” earned him
includes Rob Corddry (“Childrens
July 3, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
Hospital”), Maya Lynne Robin-
son (“The Conners”), Michaela
Watkins (“Casual”) and Omar
Benson Miller (“Ballers”), and the
series is set to premiere this fall.
Recipe for ratings: What
happens when a famous model
falls for a bakery employee? Giv-
en the trappings of fame, it would
probably be a really complicated
love story.
ABC is prepping a rom-com
series for the 2019-20 season
titled “The Baker and the Beauty.”
And before you start drawing
comparisons to “Notting Hill”
(the film turns 20 this year), know
that the hour-long show is an ad-
aptation of a hit Israeli TV series,
which already has three seasons
under its belt.
In ABC’s version, Victor Rasuk
(“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”) and
Nathalie Kelley (“Dynasty”) will
star as main characters Daniel
Garcia and Noa Hamilton.
The son of Cuban immigrants,
Daniel still lives with his parents
and works in the family bakery
in Miami. Meanwhile, Noa is an
internationally famous model
and fashion mogul who is living
in the spotlight. A chance meet-
ing leads to sparks between the
two, and the ensuing romance
quickly becomes a tale of worlds
colliding.