Television

TV Review: ‘24’ Searches For ‘Redemption’ With Prequel to Season Seven

BrianTT — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:24:46 -0700

CHICAGO – After a delay that lasted well in excess of a year, “24” returns to FOX this Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008 from 7 to 9 p.m. with a two-hour “special event” (they used to just be called “TV movies”) called “24: Redemption”.

The prequel to season seven of “24” intends to bridge the gap between day six and seven for Jack Bauer and set the plot in motion for what promises to be an interesting reboot of a show that hasn’t been on the air in almost two years.

The 2008 writer’s strike delayed the seventh season of “24” by an entire year. The show, which has never aired under anything but the George Bush presidency, now faces a brave new world when Jack Bauer starts another ticking clock in early 2009.

The writers of this prequel “event” are keenly aware that not only has their show been off the air for a lifetime in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of television but also that they need to appeal to an audience that’s preparing for the much-debated “change” that has been promised by new president elect Barack Obama.

Obama will be the man in the Oval Office for nearly all of season seven of “24”.

While it may or may not carry over to the upcoming season of the show, there’s an interesting new dynamic at play in “24: Redemption”. The trademark “torture first; ask questions later” attitude of “24” has been replaced (at least in this prequel) by a more idealistic world view with a hero who saves the day and a new president who promises change.

Thankfully, Kiefer Sutherland never looks into the camera and says: “Mr. president, yes we can.” It’s still a dark and brutal program, but there has clearly been a creative reassessment of the show. It’s the kind of self-awareness that could resurrect a series that looked like its popularity might be sliding away with Bush and Cheney’s ever-plummeting approval ratings.

Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) battles an international crisis in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
Photo credit: Kelsey McNeal, FOX Broadcasting

The sixth season of “24” ended with Jack Bauer once again alone and without support. The seventh season picks up four days later with Jack in front of a U.S. Senate subcommittee. He’s forced to answer for his controversial past conduct and “24: Redemption” is meant to bridge those two Jacks.

Robert Carlyle as Carl Benton in “24: Redemption”.
Photo credit: Kelsey McNeal, FOX Broadcasting

In the years since season six, Jack has been wandering the globe while finding himself in the fictional country of Sangala, Africa where he works with a special-ops pal named Benton (Robert Carlyle) in a boys’ school.

Of course, no one has worse timing than Jack Bauer. He just happens to be at the school on the same day that a sadistic warlord (Tony Todd) is planning a bloody coup and needs some “little soldiers” to help with the mass murder.

Jack is literally on the road out of town with a backpack over his shoulder when things get serious. He is once again drawn into an international crisis. One minute, he’s off to save the next African village and literally 10 minutes later he’s dodging a rocket launcher.

It’s the classic Bauer dilemma: help out and face the government official (Gil Bellows) trying to bring Jack back to the U.S. for justice or turn his back on innocent children. It’s no contest for our man Jack.

While “Redemption” may be a “24” with no counterterrorist unit (CTU), it hasn’t lost any of its distrust for government and its officials. Gil Bellows is definitely smarmy enough, but even he doesn’t touch just a few minutes with Jon Voight.

Voight is licking his lips at the scenery he plans to chew in season seven as an American businessman who may have ties to terrorism (and a certain bloodthirsty warlord in Sangala). All of this happens to be going down on the day that president elect Allison Taylor (the great Cherry Jones) is taking over residence in the Oval Office.

The scenes between Jones and Powers Boothe’s outgoing president Noah Daniels have a riveting parallel to reality with the two even comparing the new leader’s “idealism” and the old one’s “cynicism”. Daniels delivers the line that President Bush probably wishes he could say to Barack Obama: “Let’s talk after you’ve been sitting in my chair for a while.”

The concept of one government inheriting not only the problems but also possibly the underhanded dealings of the previous one could add a new creative energy to a show that was seriously lacking it in season six. The casting of Jones makes one wonder if the producers of “24” thought Hillary Clinton was the more likely winner on Election Day.

President elect Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones, right) meets with U.S. President Noah Daniels (Powers Boothe, left) before her inauguration in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
Photo credit: Greg Gayne, FOX Broadcasting

Jones and Boothe are spectacular, but “24” has and will always belong to Kiefer Sutherland who doesn’t miss a beat stepping back into Bauer’s well-worn shoes.

“24: Redemption” has an unusual supporting cast in that it introduces some new players for season seven, features several actors who will only be in “24: Redemption” and doesn’t include many of the regular faces (like Mary Lynn Rajskub or the returning Carlos Bernard).

That said, perhaps it’s appropriate that with the exception of Jones’ few scenes we’re reintroduced to “24” with a movie that features Sutherland front and center. If anyone is going to carry the show back from the worst season in its history, it’s going to be Jack Bauer. In the end, “24: Redemption” is really just prologue and back story for what’s to come in season seven.

However, judged as a standalone “event” (as FOX likes to describe it), it comes up a little short. The action in Sangala is too predictable (Bellows, in particular, might as well be twirling a curly-cue mustache as he’s such a stereotypically slimy bad guy) and the pile of coincidences that can sometimes bring down the show hurts the believability of the action in the nation’s capital.

The president elect’s son (Eric Lively) gets involved with the drama surrounding what’s happening in Africa in a way that doesn’t feel plausible at all (which is saying a lot for this show). The real-time structure is stretched as far as it ever has been.

While “24” has always been a program that requires an intense suspension of disbelief, “24: Redemption” seems to need more than average. For a country that recently voted for change, “24: Redemption” seems to be going in the right direction but may not have gone far enough to not look like a Bush-era relic.

“24: Redemption,” which airs on FOX, stars Kiefer Sutherland, Robert Carlyle, Cherry Jones, Jon Voight, Tony Todd, Gil Bellows and Powers Boothe. The two-hour event airs on Nov. 23, 2008 at 7 p.m. CST.

Flip through our high-quality, 22-image slideshow for “24: Redemption”.

Read our interview with “24” star Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O’Brian).

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Slideshow: 22-Image Gallery For ‘24: Redemption’ With Kiefer Sutherland

BrianTT — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:50:58 -0700

CHICAGO – This 22-image slideshow contains official press images for the new TV film “24: Redemption” (previously named “24: Exile”), which stars Kiefer Sutherland, Gil Bellows, Robert Carlyle, Cherry Jones, Powers Boothe and Jon Voight. The prequel to the seventh season of “24” airs on Nov. 23, 2008 at 8 p.m. EST or 7 p.m. CST on FOX.

“24” jump-starts its seventh season with a two-hour, real-time special movie that airs on Nov. 23, 2008. Set and shot entirely in Africa, “24: Redemption” stars Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer who is forced to battle an international crisis with mentor Carl Benton (Robert Carlyle).

Meanwhile, the U.S. prepares to inaugurate new president Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones). Set a few months before day seven will officially begin for “24,” “24: Redemption” also introduces two characters who will be integral to that season’s plot: Frank Tramell (Gil Bellows) and Jonas Hodges (Jon Voight).

You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. Unless otherwise noted on an individual photo, all photo credits for this slideshow belong to Kelsey McNeal and the FOX Broadcasting Company.

24redemption1: Captured in Africa exhibit: “24” producer Michael Klick captures Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) performing a stunt while filming “24: Redemption,” which airs on Nov. 23, 2008 on FOX. Photo credit: Michael Klick
24redemption2: Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer in “24: Redemption,” which is the two-hour special “day-seven prequel” airing on Nov. 23, 2008 on FOX.
24redemption3: Gil Bellows as Frank Tramell in “24: Redemption”.
24redemption4: Robert Carlyle as Carl Benton in “24: Redemption”.
24redemption5: Captured in Africa exhibit: Unit photographer Kelsey McNeal captures a behind-the-scenes look at Kiefer Sutherland (right) and Siyabulela Ramba (left) while filming “24: Redemption”.
24redemption6: Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland, center) battles an international crisis in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”. Robert Carlyle is also pictured on right.
24redemption7: Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) battles an international crisis in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
24redemption8: U.S. State Department officer Frank Tramell (Gil Bellows, right) tries to convince Carl Benton (Robert Carlyle, left) that Jack must return to the U.S. in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
24redemption9: Robert Carlyle as Carl Benton in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
24redemption10: Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) forms a bond with the children at an orphanage in South Africa in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”. Siyabuela Ramba is also pictured on right.
24redemption11: Robert Carlyle as Carl Benton in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
24redemption12: Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) battles an international crisis in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
24redemption13: An international crisis ensues in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
24redemption14: Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) battles an international crisis in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
24redemption15: Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) battles an international crisis in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
24redemption16: U.S. State Department officer Frank Tramell (Gil Bellows, left) tries to convince Jack to return to the U.S. in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”. Also pictured is Robert Carlyle on right.
24redemption17: Jon Voight as Jonas Hodges in “24: Redemption”.
24redemption18: Jon Voight as Jonas Hodges in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
24redemption19: President-elect Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones, right) meets with U.S. president Noah Daniels (Powers Boothe, left) before her inauguration in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”. Photo credit: Greg Gayne/FOX
24redemption20: Jonas Hodges (Jon Voight) attends the presidential inauguration in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”.
24redemption21: President-elect Allison Taylor is sworn in as president of the U.S. in the special two-hour prequel event “24: Redemption”. Photo credit: Greg Gayne/FOX
24redemption22: Captured in Africa exhibit: “24” producer Michael Klick used his infrared camera to capture Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) on the run while filming “24: Redemption”.Photo credit: Michael Klick

Read our full “24: Redemption” review by critic Brian Tallerico.

Read our interview with “24” star Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O’Brian).

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Hookup: 30 Passes to VIP Chicago Premiere of New TNT Series ‘Leverage’ With Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:32:09 -0700

CHICAGO – In a special edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, we have 30 admit-two passes up for grabs to the exclusive Chicago VIP premiere of the new TNT drama “Leverage” with Academy Award-winning actor Timothy Hutton (“Beautiful Girls”) and Gina Bellman (“Coupling”) in attendance for a Q&A.

You will also be treated to a special screening of “Leverage”. To win your free pass to the VIP “Leverage” event in Chicago courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is be one of the first 30 people to submit a comment in this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup. That’s it!

The premiere will be held on Dec. 2, 2008 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the “Leverage” trailer and poster below.

“Leverage” on TNT stars Academy Award-winning actor Timothy Hutton and Gina Bellman.
Image credit: TNT

Here is the “Leverage” plot description:

Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton stars in “Leverage,” which is a fun and fast-paced caper drama from the producer of “Independence Day”.

Hutton plays Nate Ford: a former insurance investigator leading a team of criminals who – after the score of a lifetime – decide to use their skills to help society’s underdogs.

This renegade team of modern-day Robin Hoods operates outside the law to take revenge against those who use power and wealth to victimize others.

Separately, they’re criminals with reputations for working alone. Together, they’re the perfect team to combat the corrupt and level the playing field for the little guy.

To secure your free pass now to the “Leverage” premiere in Chicago, make sure you’re logged into your HollywoodChicago.com account. If you don’t yet have one, you can quickly register here. Having an account with a valid e-mail address is required.

Then, add a new comment in the form below. In your comment, include an answer to this question:

What do you do at work and in life to get leverage?

Like all Hookups here, this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV is simple: The first 30 people to comment below win! We will be in touch with the 30 winners via e-mail to distribute your passes. “Leverage” premieres on TNT on Dec. 7, 2008 at 9 p.m. CST.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Exclusive Portrait: Food Network TV Star Giada De Laurentiis in Chicago For ‘Giada’s Kitchen’ Book Signing

HollywoodChicago.com — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:17:08 -0700

CHICAGO – Food Network television star Giada De Laurentiis recently posed for the HollywoodChicago.com lens in Chicago. This exclusive photograph was shot before her two-day Chicago book signing for “Giada’s Kitchen” on Oct. 7 and 8, 2008. This portrait is the only shot she agreed to pose for during this trip.

Our exclusive portrait of Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis in
Chicago before her Oct. 7 and 8, 2008 book signing.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Analysis: Second Season of AMC’s Hit Series ‘Mad Men’ the Easiest Sell on TV Today

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:24:24 -0700

CHICAGO – Men in three-piece suits. Smoking and drinking throughout the day in your corner office. Womanizing and objectifying every woman in the secretarial pool.

If AMC’s hit original series “Mad Men” is taken at face value, it would seem that life as an advertising executive in the 1960s couldn’t be any better. But like good advertising, the impressive series knows how to sell the image while the real substance lies underneath.

Christina Hendricks in “Mad Men” on AMC.
Photo credit: AMC

The series, which debuted in 2007, has received nothing but accolades from critics as well as numerous awards.

Christina Hendricks in “Mad Men” on AMC.
Photo credit: AMC

In addition to its two Golden Globes and a Peabody, the series was nominated for 16 Emmy Awards including being the first basic cable series ever to be nominated for best drama. GQ has said it’s “the only hour-long drama we demand you watch”.

“Mad Men” centers around Don Draper (Jon Hamm). He’s an often silent yet handsome and gifted creative director turned junior partner at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency. Draper has a beautiful wife – Betty (January Jones) – who left a career as a model to become a homemaker and mother to their two beautiful children.

On the surface, Don is the most uninteresting person in the world. He dutifully listens to his superiors. He lovingly looks after his wife and family. His day-to-day existence seems nothing more than pitching his ideas to clients and watching his back for younger guys in the firm who are gunning for his job.

As the first season progresses throughout 1960, however, layers of Draper and the other characters are pulled back. We in fact learn that Don was Richard “Dick” Whitman: the illegitimate child of a prostitute who died during childbirth.

He lived with a brother and abusive father until he apparently disappeared and reinvented himself. He makes a great effort to hide these details from his wife, co-workers and his occasional mistress. Since the inception of “Mad Men,” show creator Matthew Weiner has had a clear vision for the series.

January Jones in “Mad Men” on AMC.
Photo credit: AMC

Weiner wrote the pilot script on spec while working on “Becker” back in 2000. David Chase read the pilot and was so impressed that he was hired to be a writer on the hit HBO series “The Sopranos”. When “The Sopranos” ended, AMC picked up “Mad Men” to be the flagship for its new original line of programming.

Visually, the show is amazing to view. The colors, scenery and wardrobe give an almost fantastical look at the mod styling of the 1960s. The series immerses itself in the cultural Zeitgeist. In the first season, there is reference to Miles Davis, Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” and the Volkswagen Beetle.

Amazingly, almost everything is approached through the eye of marketing and brand image. The show starts just a few years after Vance Packard’s seminal book “The Hidden Persuaders,” which brought to light media manipulation of Madison Avenue advertising men (who themselves coined the name “Mad Men”).

The pilot focuses on clean-cut professionals redefining how to sell Lucky Strike cigarettes despite an article in Reader’s Digest that has linked them to lung cancer. Later we see Don Draper debate the merits of advertising with a beatnik. The show is impeccable with its point of view.

January Jones (left) and Jon Hamm in “Mad Men” on AMC.
Photo credit: AMC

It’s surprising that the scene featuring the men of Sterling Cooper laughing to the now-famous comedy LP “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” didn’t have them commenting on Newhart’s spot-on bit “Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Ave.”.

The biggest debate the show has started is whether its portrayal of women being marginalized in 1960 is actually still marginalizing them today.

One could argue defensibly, though, that “B”-story plotlines following Betty Draper’s hidden experimentation with psychoanalysis, a single divorced mother being shunned by the neighborhood and the start of ideas such as the female orgasm being discussed more openly starts a catalyst for the upcoming free love and women’s rights movements.

Peggy Olsen (played remarkably by Elisabeth Moss) starts season one as the new girl and lowly secretary trying to fight off advances of the executives of Sterling Cooper. By the end of season one, she has defied convention and has been promoted to copywriter.

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More writing from critic Dustin Levell.

This clearly lays the groundwork for upcoming seasons.

The show’s supposed to travel up until 1970. Season two starts on Valentine’s Day in 1962. Without doubt, season two will feature more mystery and enthralling developments set against the backdrop of the Kennedy Administration, the Vietnam War and the Cold War along with the rise of Bob Dylan and folk music.

Don Draper will no doubt explore new ways to market to a rapidly changing society while keeping things peaceful at home. Masterful writing and beautiful imagery make AMC’s “Mad Men” the easiest sell on television today.

“Mad Men,” which airs on AMC, stars Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Bryan Batt, Michael Gladis, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer and John Slattery. The second season began on July 27, 2008 and airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. CST.

By DUSTIN LEVELL
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
dustin@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: After Three Decades of Acting, G.W. Bailey Finds Home in Kyra Sedgwick’s ‘The Closer’ on TNT

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:49:49 -0700

CHICAGO – After being born and bred in Texas, G.W. Bailey scoffs at the notion of “humidity” in Chicago.

Bailey – who has a renowned career in film, TV and the stage that spans three decades – has been seen in seminal roles in “M.A.S.H.,” “Police Academy,” “Short Circuit,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “St. Elsewhere,” “The Jeff Foxworthy Show,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Mannequin,” “Happy Days,” “CHiPs,” “Newhart,” “Benson” and many more.

G.W. Bailey in “The Closer” on TNT.
Photo credit: TNT

He recently spoke with HollywoodChicago.com about his “three families”. Bailey was in Chicago on July 9, 2008 for a VIP party where the first episode of season four for acclaimed TV show “The Closer,” which stars Golden Globe winner Kyra Sedgwick, was broadcast early to Chicagoans. The inaugural episode of the new season of “The Closer” aired tonight.

Following the party, Bailey described in our interview how his personal family comes first, his non-profit work for children with cancer comes second and his “The Closer” family rounds out the trio. The show is Bailey’s longest-running TV appearance. He is currently credited with 43 episodes as Det. Lt. Provenza.

In “The Closer,” Sedgwick plays a deputy police chief who runs the Priority Homicide Division of the Los Angeles Police Department with an “unorthodox style”. The series says: “Her ability to read people and obtain confessions helps her and her team solve the city’s toughest, most sensitive cases.”

“The Closer” is currently in its fourth season. Bailey describes what we will see in the fourth season in contrast to the third.

“James Duff (the creator and runner of the writing room) likes to have a theme or arc of some concept. It’s not always that obvious. When the writers are working on a script or scene, it’s not that they have to that word in mind. Last season was ‘family,’ but that takes a lot of guises. Kyra’s effort to save my hide a couple times was ultimately to make sure the family stayed together. The family happened to be our squad.

“This season, the overall word they’re working with is ‘power’. Again, that takes on many guises. For the opening episode [of season four], there’s a villain who has returned and exercises a power over her that’s very interesting. There’s a lot of tension.”

Bailey also describes his theory of why “The Closer” – and shows like it today – are addictive and made for TV.

“It’s ultimately about writing, but people love mysteries. There’s an interesting murder or secret that she’s after. People like to follow that trail. It’s also because it’s character driven. These people come off as real people. They’re very diverse racially in their experiences and in their ages. The writers go to great lengths to give us people and not just cop No. 6 or cop No. 3.

The poster for “The Closer” on TNT.
Image credit: TNT

“I could mention some very famous shows where you can interchange one cast from another and you wouldn’t know the difference. Our folks are very specific and interesting people.

“There’s the brilliance and brain of Det. Lt. Mike Tau (Michael Paul Chan), the violence of Det. Julio Sanchez (Raymond Cruz) and the curmudgeon of Det. Lt. Provenza (Bailey) who has seen it and done it all.”

But even though Bailey has seemingly done it all over an illustrious career in acting, he’s still humbled by one person in particular on “The Closer”: J.K. Simmons (“Juno,” “Burn After Reading,” “Jennifer’s Body,” “Rendition,” “Postal,” “Spider-Man 3,” “Thank You For Smoking,” “Law & Order,” “Spider-Man 2,” “Oz,” “Spider-Man”).

“With J.K., your confidence level goes up. He’s like playing tennis with somebody. If you want to get better at tennis, you play with better tennis players.

“[Working with] J.K. is like playing with a better tennis player. You really have to be prepared and focused because he is. He doesn’t fumble through his lines. He has done his work. When he walks on that stage, he’s ready to go. Some of the best work I’ve done on ‘The Closer’ in 3.5 years I did the other day because I was in a scene with him. There’s no question about it.”

While Bailey currently calls “The Closer” home, though, he still keeps the stage close to his heart. He doesn’t often find time for it, though, and when he does he is reminded of its double-edged sword.

“I have the attention span of about a 9-year-old. I love doing different things. I love the diversity. When it has been a long time since I’ve been on the stage, I miss it desperately. If I find the time to do it, then after one week I think: ‘What in the hell did I miss about this? This is so hard and the money is so little.’ But I still miss it. There’s really nothing like it.”

Bailey describes the benefits afforded by TV work and why Sedgwick is the star of this show.

“I enjoy working for the camera. I love TV because it’s fast. You tell your story and you’re out. But I could never do what Kyra does. I’ve never, ever seen a human being do what she does on this show – just the sheer volume of work every day and on every scene. It ain’t called ‘The Provenza Show’. It’s called ‘The Closer’ and she’s the closer.

J.K. Simmons (left), Kyra Sedgwick (second from left) and G.W. Bailey (front) in “The Closer” on TNT.
Image credit: TNT

“There’s the volume of lines and not only learning them but being prepared with what to do with them.”

Bailey added: “It’s about having the confidence to arrive at 5:30 a.m. and still bring energy and focus and excitement and truth in a scene at 7 p.m. That’s enormous. If I show up at 5:30 a.m., I’m about done by lunch. But I love my guy. I get to say a few funny lines and then go to my trailer. I get to get in and get out.”

Beyond Bailey’s professional life, his non-profit work stands on its own with incomparable importance.

“I’ve been doing work with kids for cancer for 23 years. It’s certainly the important part of my life – not that entertaining people isn’t important. It is. I’m very proud of my profession. I always have have been. It’s just important in a different way.

“I have three areas of my life. The most important is my family, then there’s The Sunshine Kids family for kids with cancer and then there’s my professional family.” Bailey concluded about ‘The Closer’ by jesting: “You know, we call Kyra ‘mama’ as a nickname. I like having a good-looking, younger mama.”

Prior to his work with “The Closer,” Bailey names two particular projects as those standing the test of time with the most professional pride.

“One of the major products in TV used to be TV movies and the mini-series programs. For all practical purposes, though, those are dead now. They just don’t exist. But when they were flourishing, I was lucky enough to get to do a bunch of them. Out of those, I did one called “Doublecrossed” for HBO with Dennis Hopper. I’m certainly proud of that entire film.

“In terms of being part of creating a recurring character, though, that would be Army Sgt. Luther Rizzo in ‘M.A.S.H.’. I love that guy. I wasn’t a regular, but even as a recurring character, I loved being in arguably the greatest show in the history of television.”

“The Closer,” which stars Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, G.W. Bailey, Corey Reynolds, Robert Gossett, Jon Tenney, Anthony John Denison, Phillip P. Keene, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz and Gina Ravera, aired episode one of its fourth season on July 14, 2008 on TNT.
“The Closer” airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. CST.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Hookup: 25 Admit-Two Passes to VIP Chicago Party, Screening For Kyra Sedgwick’s ‘The Closer’ on TNT

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:05:48 -0700

CHICAGO – In this unique HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, 25 admit-two VIP passes will be given away to an exclusive Chicago screening party kicking off season four of the hit TNT television show “The Closer,” which stars Golden Globe winner Kyra Sedgwick.

To win your free VIP pass, all you need to do is be one of the first 25 people to respond. That’s it! Winners will be treated to complimentary appetizers, desserts, goody bags and an advance screening of the first episode of season four of “The Closer”.

The party will be on July 9, 2008 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Chi Bar, which is located inside the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers at 301 E. North Water St. You will also have the chance to meet one of the stars of “The Closer”: G.W. Bailey!

Directions to enter this giveaway and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

Click the image above for an even larger version.

Here’s “The Closer” plotline, according to IMDb: “Deputy police chief Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) runs the priority homicide division of the LAPD with an unorthodox style. Her innate ability to read people and obtain confessions helps her and her team solve the city’s toughest, most sensitive cases.”

To secure your VIP tickets now, make sure you’re logged into your HollywoodChicago.com account. If you don’t yet have one, you can quickly register here. Having an account with a valid e-mail address is required. Then, simply add a new comment in the form below. In your comment, include an answer to this simple question:

What was the last “deal” you closed?

This HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV is simple: The first 25 people to comment below win! We will be in touch with the 25 winners to confirm your passes.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: ‘My Boys’ Stars Michael Bunin, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott Kick Off Season Two on TBS

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:31:45 -0700

CHICAGO – “My Boys,” which is a set-in-Chicago television comedy series on TBS, recently began its second season. The popular comedy stars Jordana Spiro as P.J. Franklin. She’s a Chicago Sun-Times sports writer who filters her life through bonding with her male buddies.

Three of the “boys” – Michael Bunin (Kenny in the show), Kyle Howard (Bobby) and Reid Scott (Brendan) – were recently interviewed by HollywoodChicago.com. They discussed the similarities of the show to the life of creator Betsy Thomas, the Chicago connections and their perspective on being part of the hit TV show.

“My Boys” on TBS stars Jordana Spiro, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Michael Bunin, Jim Gaffigan, Jamie Kaler and Kellee Stewart.
Image credit: TBS

HollywoodChicago: The ensemble comedy has a long tradition in the history of the show. What template or show did the creators have in mind for “My Boys”?
Reid Scott: Out the chute, TBS wanted to pair us with “Sex and the City”. They felt it was that sensibility and demographic. More and more in interviews, though – and it’s incredibly flattering to be compared to the show – it is “Friends”.
Michael Bunin: Betsy Thomas wrote it because she is a huge Chicago Cubs fan, loves her scotch and basically wanted to capture the flip side of “Sex and the City” with a different kind of girl.

HC: What do you think has been the most authentic Chicago experience for your cast and crew?
MB: Wrigley Field – by far the most impressive thing – on so many different levels. Most of our writers and producers are from Chicago or went to Northwestern University, so they want to keep it authentic. But to be on the grass at one of the hallowed halls of baseball was a big treat.

I had a shot where I had to go into the ivy. Betsy Thomas came up to me and said: “You really have to go into the ivy on this take – really hard.” I said OK and went flying into it. Suddenly, it was like the secret service and all this security was right on me.

Betsy said: “I’m sorry, Mike. Why did you do that?” She laid it on me. Then she came up to me later and told me she thought we’d only get one chance to do it like that because of the security.

HC: Which Chicago bar is the fictional Crowley’s upon which your show is based?
MB: It’s modeled after Guthrie’s on Addison. If you look closely, the floor in both places are the same. They originally wanted to call our bar Guthrie’s, but I didn’t know if it was a right’s issue. Betsy Thomas loves Guthrie’s.
Kyle Howard: After doing several scenes on the set of Crowley’s, the writers took us over to Guthrie’s. We walked in and said: “There’s the game cabinet. Look at the tablecloths. Look at the floor.” It was like walking into the set.
RS: In the Crowley’s set, there is a picture of Betsy Thomas, her husband (Adrian Wenner) and Eric Gilliland (an executive producer of the show). All three of them are playing Jenga at Guthrie’s.

HC: Is Jordana Spiro actually like her P.J. character?
RS: Actually, she’s very “P.J.-esque”. She’s a nice girl who likes to hang with the boys, which is a daunting task.
MB: When we shot the pilot and everyone was nervous anyway, you could kind of tell that she was wondering about being in the boys’ club and how this was going to play out. By day four, she was so at ease that you knew she liked her character and liked hanging with the boys.

Jim Gaffigan, Jamie Kaler and Michael Bunin in “My Boys” on TBS.
The show also features Jordana Spiro, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott and Kellee Stewart.
Photo credit: IMDb

HC: Like the characters in the show, do you guys actually play poker together?
MB: Yeah. We have a game at Betsy Thomas’ house. It’s a game that has been going on for years, but now people from the show actually stop by and play.

When I spend the day on the set and react in character to Reid’s character (Brendan) during a poker scene, what’s really surreal is that I always say “Brendo!” Then when we play at Betsy’s house, in comes the real Brendan – who Reid’s character is based on – and we say “Brendo!” So some days I’m yelling “Brendo” for 14 hours.

HC: Do you create back stories for your characters, or because the show hasn’t been on that long, do you let it evolve through the writing?
RS: It has been a little bit of both. Because the characters are based on real people who are actually involved with the show, a lot of situations and inside jokes (which add to the ease and reality of the show) will be explained to us. But as we’ve gone on, our characters have become their own characters and rely less on the characters upon which they are based. Then we do the background work.
KH: There have been days where we read a joke, say “that would never happen” and then Betsy will say “actually, it has” and then go on to explain why.

HC: Kyle, regarding the cliffhanger from last season, when did you know your character was the one who was going to Italy?
KH: Nobody knew until a week before we shot it. I didn’t know until Reid sent me a text with “you’re on the plane, you son of a bitch”.
MB: I was in the office several times telling them exactly why I know it was going to be the Chicago Cubs character. He was the good-looking guy who dated P.J. for a few months. I was giving them the whole storyline and they were nodding their heads along with it. You saw how right I was.

Jim Gaffigan plays the character of Andy Franklin in “My Boys” on TBS.
Photo credit: IMDb

HC: Is there a different pacing between working a show with a laugh track versus one like “My Boys” without one?
RS: Yes. It’s not like I prefer one over the other because they are very different things. I did a sitcom called “It’s All Relative” and the three-camera method made it more like a play. You would get all jacked up for taping night. It was like a party.

But that is why I categorize “My Boys” as a comedy rather than a sitcom. It doesn’t rely on the broader humor of sitcoms, the pacing and even the lighting is different. But you get multiple stabs at bits because of the way it’s taped. It’s more a cerebral type of comedy that way.

HC: How much ad-libbing do you do on the show?
MB: A lot by TV standards, but when you count the actual lines, it’s more of a show that’s scripted as is. The stories are there, the characters are there and the lines are there. Sometimes at the end of a scene the camera will run and the improv coming out of it will make the show. There is a decent amount technically, but overall, it’s a small percentage.

HC: What’s it like working with comedian Jim Gaffigan?
MB: Jim Gaffigan’s autobiography would be titled “My Character Would Sit” because that’s what he directs himself to do in every scene.

HC: Are lines sometimes switched between characters depending on how a scene works?
RS: Actually, yes. It will come at the request of the actor or the producer. You hear the stories of the selfish actors, but we’re willing to pass the ball a lot. I will get a line and say: “Hey, this is a funny joke and I get it, but it will be better coming out of the other character’s mouth.”
MB: We’ve all done that on one or two occasions.
KH: I’ve never done that. (laughter)

New episodes of the second season of “My Boys” premiere every Tuesday on TBS. See here for more details. “My Boys” stars Jordana Spiro as P.J. Franklin, Kyle Howard as Bobby Newman, Reid Scott as Brendan Dorff, Michael Bunin as Kenny Morittori, Jim Gaffigan as Andy Franklin, Jamie Kaler as Mike Callahan and Kellee Stewart as Stephanie.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Hookup: 10 Passes to VIP Chicago Party, Screening For ‘The Bill Engvall Show’ on TBS to Meet Tim Meadows

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:09:41 -0700

CHICAGO – In the inaugural edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, 10 admit-two VIP passes will be given away to the exclusive Chicago opportunity to meet Tim Meadows (“Saturday Night Live,” “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” “Semi-Pro”) for the return of “The Bill Engvall Show” on TBS.

“The Bill Engvall Show” on TBS is back this summer with all-new episodes.
Image credit: “The Bill Engvall Show”

This giveaway is for an invitation-only, VIP party and screening of two episodes of “The Bill Engvall Show”. The event will take place at the Hollywood Blvd. Cinema in the Chicago suburb of Woodridge on May 29, 2008 beginning at 7 p.m. Winners are strongly advised to arrive early as the event will be overbooked and seating is not guaranteed. This is a description of the TV series:

Tim Meadows is featured in the second season of “The Bill Engvall Show” on TBS.
Image credit: IMDb

The TBS hit family comedy “The Bill Engvall Show” (No. 1 among households and people 25 to 54) is back this summer with all-new episodes. Comedian Bill Engvall (who has won over audiences with his hilarious stand-up show) brings his unique take on family and parenting to TBS for a sitcom the whole family will love.

Engvall stars as Bill Pearson: a family counselor, loving husband and father of three kids whose own family could use a little dose of counseling. Bill’s wife, Susan (played by Nancy Travis from “Becker” and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”), tries to keep the clan in line.

Their three children (Lauren, Trent and Bryan) definitely know how to manipulate them. With a humorous perspective on family life, this comedy series shows the authentic yet playful side of parenting and portrays a father who’s the heart of the family.

To secure your VIP tickets now, make sure you’re logged into your HollywoodChicago.com account. If you don’t yet have one, you can quickly register here. Next, click “Add new comment” below. In your comment, you must include an answer to this simple question:

What makes you burst into laughter?

This HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV is simple: The first 10 people to comment below win! We will be in touch with the 10 winners with digital passes.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com