Trust Me

Exclusive Portrait: Craig Ferguson in Chicago For ‘America on Purpose’ Book Signing

HollywoodChicago.com — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:23:12 -0600

CHICAGO – Craig Ferguson (comedian, actor and host of “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”) mugged for the HollywoodChicago.com lens before signing copies of his book “America on Purpose” on Sept. 23, 2009 at the Borders on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

In addition to hosting “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” on CBS, Craig Ferguson will appear in “The Hero of Color City” and “How to Train Your Dragon (both in 2010).

Ferguson has also been featured in “Trust Me,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events,” 170 episodes of “The Drew Carey Show,” “The Legend of Tarzan,” “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command,” “Freakazoid!” and “Saving Grace”. Our exclusive portrait of Craig Ferguson is below.

Craig Ferguson (comedian, actor and host of “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”)
mugs for the HollywoodChicago.com lens before greeting fans and signing copies of his book
“America on Purpose” on Sept. 23, 2009 at the Borders on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

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

TV Review: TNT‘s ‘Trust Me’ Still Needs a Little Work, But Deserves Another Look

BrianTT — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:31:53 -0600

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Has TNT’s “Trust Me” lived up to the potential of its cast, concept, or even its clever pilot? With the tenth episode of the first season - “Thanks, I Needed That” - about to air and the season finale only two weeks away, it’s time to take another look at this show and see if it’s made good use of one of the most high caliber ensembles on television.

This week’s episode picks up the battle for the Rolling Rock campaign that Sarah (Monica Potter) has arranged. Cochran’s (Greg Ellis) group and Tony’s (Griffin Dunne) group are approaching the client completely differently. Tony is sticking with the client’s reported interest in focusing on “heritage” but Cochran wants a new approach focused on being “green”.

“Thanks, I Needed That” / Ep109.
Photo credit: Karen Neal

Tony also happens to be approaching a birthday and his wife asks Mason (Eric McCormack) to produce a tribute video for a surprise party and the task trickles down to Conner (Thomas Cavanagh), who is still angry about being passed over for the promotion that his partner got weeks ago. Conner discovers something interesting about Tony’s past at the agency.

“Thanks, I Needed That” / Ep109.
Photo credit: Karen Neal

Maybe it’s the impending birthday or his generally competitive nature, but Tony refuses to give up to Cochran’s ideas about the Rolling Rock campaigns, leading to a series of fights and taking the decision on who will spearhead the campaign all the way to Denise (Donna Murphy). Because Sarah brought in the campaign, she’s stuck in the middle of Cochran and Tony, knowing that the latter has a better campaign but feeling somewhat used by both gentlemen.

Like a green-bottled beer in a crowded refrigerator of competitors, “Trust Me” is a tough sell in today’s TV market. There’s no hook. Audiences are more in love with mystery-of-the-week shows than ever and if you don’t have a sci-fi hook like a time-traveling island or a group of normal people turned heroes, it can be tough to stand out. Most shows set in the present day are either mysteries or soap operas. The workplace drama isn’t what it used to be.

Which is why you should take another look at “Trust Me”. Is it perfect? No and we’ll get to a few things that need to be worked out, but I’m awfully forgiving of this show for two reasons.

One, we need more dramatic programming that doesn’t rely on gimmicks. “Trust Me” is that rare program that features grown men and women using adult dialogue in relatable situations. Who can relate to the people on “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Lost”? Writing present-day shows with complex characters who speak like real human beings is a lot harder than it looks and the dialogue on “Trust Me” is crisp, clever, and believable.

“Thanks, I Needed That” / Ep109.
Photo credit: Karen Neal

Two, this ensemble is spectacular. Griffin Dunne is showing more life than he has in years and Eric McCormack is proving that he may be one of the best “straight men” on TV. Watching the characters like Connor, Tony, and Sarah bounce off Mason in this episode, I thought more than once about the chemistry that McCormack has with each of them. He does something very difficult - almost always playing the less “showy” role than his partner - and makes it look easy.

Now, the dialogue may be strong and the cast fantastic, but the scripts and the storytelling in “Trust Me” still needs some work. “Thanks, I Needed That” feels a bit forced in that department. Without giving anything away, a character makes a professional decision for personal reasons that I simply don’t believe would happen with millions of dollars on the line. Then again, with some of the awful commercials on the air nowadays, maybe this explains a few things. (I’m looking at you, Geico).

“Trust Me” will probably never be a smash hit. It doesn’t have the hook needed in today’s market. But this show deserves a wider audience. “Trust Me” still seems to be finding itself story-wise, but with believable characters, entertaining dialogue and excellent performances, there are enough elements in the foundation of this show to build on.

‘Trust Me,’ which airs on TNT, stars Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanagh, Monica Potter, Griffin Dunne, Geoffrey Arend, Mike Damus, and Sarah Clarke. “Thanks, I Needed That” airs on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 8PM CST.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Excellent Ensemble, Quality Writing Click on TNT’s ‘Trust Me’

BrianTT — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:17 -0700

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – We have good news for fans of “Will & Grace” and “Ed”. The stars of those two shows have been lucky enough to have lightning strike their careers again with TNT’s “Trust Me”.

Gimmicks and concepts may get an audience to tune in for a premiere episode, but television is still primarily a medium that lives and dies on the quality of its writing. Even the best ensembles will find themselves looking for other work if the writing doesn’t click. And it’s often difficult for TV stars who find success once to land another project with the same caliber of writing (ask Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett, or the cast of Fox’s “Back to You”.)

Tom Cavanagh, Monica Potter, Eric McCormack
Photo credit: Art Streiber

Referred to by its own leads as “Madder Men,” “Trust Me” is a modern take on the world of advertising, more concerned with the inter-office politics of the modern industry than AMC’s incredibly dense and riveting program. “Trust Me” focuses on Mason (“Eric McCormack of “Will & Grace” fame) and his creative partner Conner (“Tom Cavanagh from “Ed”). The two work at the ad firm Rothman, Greene, & Mohr and have formed a successful team over the years with Mason being the more intellectual of the two and Conner the emotional partner who can sweet-talk a client and close a sale.

Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanagh
Photo credit: Karen Neal

Mason, the art director, is a responsible family man with a beautiful wife named Erin (Sarah Clarke), while Conner is the impulsive, emotional, single guy. In the first episode, after the death of the creative director for the firm, Mason gets the job over Conner, creating a rift between the two. The second episode focuses on trying to satisfy a testy client.

Meanwhile, a new hire, the award-winning Sarah Krajicek-Hunter (Monica Potter) joins the team and shakes things up in her own way. It’s interesting to see creative people respond to new blood as a double-edged sword. Sarah will clearly make the company better but also take some spotlight away from Mason and Conner. That kind of conflicted dynamic happens in creative industries every day.

Rounding out the team at Rothman, Green & Mohr is the junior creative team (meaning comic relief) of Hector (Geoffrey Arend) and Tom (Mike Damus) and their often-tough supervisor Tony Mink (Griffin Dunne).

Two things stand out in the first two episodes of “Trust Me” and should allow most viewers to answer affirmatively to the ultimate question for a new series - will you keep watching?

First, McCormack and Cavanagh are surprisingly good. They’ve been underrated on television before but their chemistry here is believable and witty. Most shockingly, I had let go of “Ed” and “Will” within minutes. It can often be tough for actors to shake their previous characters but McCormack and Cavanagh do so without going too far from the kind of material that they are best at delivering. As for Potter, it looks like she’ll be allowed to develop an interesting character (and show a sense of humor she hasn’t often been able to do) and every series could do a lot worse than having talented actors like Dunne and Clarke in small roles.

Eric McCormack
Photo credit: Karen Neal

Second, the team behind “Trust Me” understands that for a show like this to work it needs to be clever, witty, and quickly paced. Created by Hunt Baldwin and John Coveny, two of the co-executive producers behind the underrated writing on “The Closer,” the first two scripts for “Trust Me” are two of the best of the massive slate of mid-season programs.

“Trust Me” is proof that knowledge of the subject matter can never be underestimated. Baldwin worked at J. Walter Thompson in Chicago on major campaigns in the ’90s and John Coveny was at Leo Burnett at nearly the same time. They both jumped from advertising to TV writing but the old axiom of “write what you know” has clearly served them well.

The first two episodes display both a knowledge about how the world of advertising works and an understanding that “Trust Me” will only succeed if we believe that these are the type of intelligent, quick-witted people who could become superstars in their industry. It is easy to do so because of the caliber of the writing.

TNT has found hit after hit with shows like “The Closer,” “Saving Grace,” and “Leverage,” but “Trust Me” has the potential to break out to an even wider audience. It doesn’t have the gravity of a show like “Mad Men,” so I don’t expect critics or award-giving groups to jump all over it, but it is something that not a lot of television is in this lackluster 2008-2009 season - consistently entertaining.

“Trust Me,” which airs on TNT, stars Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanagh, Monica Potter, Griffin Dunne, Geoffrey Arend, Mike Damus and Sarah Clarke. The premiere airs on Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 at 9 p.m. CST.

Note: HollywoodChicago.com editor-in-chief Adam Fendelman will be interviewing “Trust Me” star Monica Potter. Stay tuned to HollywoodChicago.com for that interview.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Hookup: 20 Admit-Two VIP Passes to Chicago Premiere of TNT Series ‘Trust Me’ With Tom Cavanagh

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:13:35 -0700

CHICAGO – In a special edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, we have 20 admit-two VIP passes up for grabs to the exclusive Chicago premiere of the new TNT drama “Trust Me” about a Chicago advertising agency. The series stars Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace”), Tom Cavanagh (“Scrubs,” “Ed”) and Monica Potter (“Boston Legal,” “Saw,” “Along Came a Spider,” “Patch Adams,” “Con Air”) from the producers of “Nip/Tuck” and “The Closer”.

Potter will be in attendance. You will also be treated to a special advance screening of “Trust Me,” complimentary hors d’oeuvres, soft drinks and prizes. To win your free pass to the VIP “Trust Me” event in Chicago courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is be one of the first 20 people to submit a comment in this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup. That’s it!

The premiere will be held on Jan. 22, 2008 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the “Trust Me” poster below.

“Trust Me” on TNT stars Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanagh and Monica Potter.
Image credit: TNT

Here is the “Trust Me” plot description:

Set against the backdrop of the high-pressure world of advertising, “Trust Me” focuses on Mason (Eric McCormack) and Conner (Tom Cavanagh): a pair of advertising men whose strong creative partnership has served the firm of Rothman Greene & Mohr extremely well over the years.

Mason (an art director) is a responsible, workaholic family man with a beautiful wife, Erin (Sarah Clarke, “24”), two children and an undying loyalty to the brands he helps sell.

By contrast, his writing partner, Conner, is a single, impulsive copywriter with the attention span of a teenager. Their yin-yang relationship is put to the test when Mason is named a creative director of the agency. He becomes Conner’s boss.

The series follows the changing dynamics between the two friends who are better together than they are apart.

To secure your free pass now to the “Trust Me” 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 sell yourself and get ahead?

Like all Hookups here, this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV is simple: The first 20 people to comment below win! We will be in touch with the 20 winners via e-mail to distribute your passes. “Trust me” premieres on TNT on Jan. 26, 2009 at 9 p.m. CST.

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

The Best of What’s Out There: The TV You Should Be Watching in Early 2009

BrianTT — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:08:20 -0700

CHICAGO – We were considering looking back at the best programming of 2008 when something dawned on us - a lot of it isn’t on the air right now and not yet available on DVD. We at HollywoodChicago.com believe in being productive and helpful, so why tell you something is great when you can’t even see the show?

The final season of “The Shield,” the third season of “Dexter,” the fourth season of “Weeds,” the fourth season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” the final season of “The Wire,” the second season of “Mad Men,” the entirety of “Pushing Daisies,” and the two best new shows of 2008 - “True Blood” and “In Treatment” - all rank among the best programming of 2008, but none of them are on the air right now and none are on DVD yet. What’s a TV fan to do?

Tina Fey, Jennifer Aniston, Alec Baldwin on “30 Rock”.
Photo credit: Nicole Rivelli

That’s why we’re here - to help. Instead of giving you another list of shows that you can’t even see on DVD yet, we’ve found some equivalent (or at least similar) shows currently on the air that we think you should give a chance. With dozens of new and returning shows hitting the airwaves every week, it can be hard to know what’s right for you. Let us guide the way.

First, there are a FEW of the best series of 2008 still on the air or returning soon. “Lost” comes back January 21st, 2009. Check out our review of the first two episodes for a sneak peek. The quick version? It’s real good.

The best comedy on television, “30 Rock,” is still kicking butt on Thursday nights even if we do slightly agree with the criticism that the show has gotten a bit too gimmicky for its own good recently. Hey Tina, cut out the revolving door of guest stars and get back to the characters we know and love.

“Battlestar Galactica” comes back on January 16th and, as for the best of reality TV, Jeff Probst and “Survivor” return on February 12th and Phil Keoghan and “The Amazing Race” start running again three days later, February 15th.

Finally, “Reaper” returns to The CW on March 17th. Yes, The CW can actually lay claim to one of the best shows of 2008. If you don’t believe me, catch up with the first season, now on DVD, and come back for more coverage in the coming months of one of the most sharply written and clever shows on television.

Bret Harrison and Ray Wise on “Reaper”.
Photo credit: Lionsgate

The rest of the “Best of 2008”? It’s all off the air, but we found relative equivalents for most of them. Of course, there will not be an equivalent for ABC’s great “Pushing Daisies” for a long time. Just watch season one again. It was brilliantly unique and left us way too soon.

One of the main reasons that HBO’s “True Blood” and Showtime’s “Dexter” were two of the best shows of 2008 was that there’s nothing on the air like them. What could we possibly compare to Alan Ball’s gothic vision of vampires or Michael C. Hall’s riveting performance as a serial killer with a moral code?

There are two shows coming up that seem to have that unique quality that separated “True Blood” and “Dexter” from the pack in 2008.

The first season of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” was hit-and-miss but the clarity of Bryan Cranston’s excellent performance on that show reminds us a bit of what Hall does as Dexter Morgan on the excellent Showtime drama. “Bad” returns to AMC in March.

As for “True Blood,” the show that has similar what-the-hell potential has to be Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse”. The long-delayed and controversial series starts on February 13th on Fox. Rumors of reshoots and behind-the-scenes trouble have made us nervous, but Whedon is the kind of risky TV voice that always brings the potential for greatness, kind of like “True Blood“‘s Alan Ball.

Toni Collette on “United States of Tara”.
Photo credit: Nigel Parry/Showtime

If neither “Breaking Bad” nor “Dollhouse” works for and you’re still looking for something left-of-center like “True Blood” or “Dexter,” put April 9th on your calendar. That’s when “Harper’s Island” premieres. We haven’t seen much, but the preview we did see from last Summer looked like “Gossip Girl” if one of the beautiful people from that show happened to be a serial killer offing his socialite friends on a remote island. Yeah, it looks like twisted fun.

But what should fans of the other great shows from 2008 do with their time in early 2009?

One of the best comedies of the last few years, Showtime’s “Weeds,” will be back this summer, but there’s another half-hour comedy that looks at suburbia from a different angle on the same network - “United States of Tara” - that’s currently on the air.

Featuring a stunning performance by Oscar nominee Toni Collette as a mother with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), the Diablo Cody creation fits perfectly in the Showtime milieu of characters who may look normal but live very different lives from you and me. With a dark, black streak of humor, “Weeds” has been consistently entertaining for four seasons now and, based on the promise of the first quartet of episodes, it’s not hard to see “United States of Tara” staying on the air just as long.

2009 Mid-Season TV Preview: ‘Lost,’ ‘Damages,’ ‘Nip/Tuck,’ ‘24,’ More

BrianTT — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:08:01 -0700

CHICAGO – Be honest, TV fans. Fall 2008 was lackluster at best. The TV season really starts now.

With the strike delaying production on established series and the development of new ones, many more programs are returning or premiering in Jan. 2009 than the average mid-season. It couldn’t have come at a more important time for the medium, too.

To be blunt, the first 31 days of 2009 could be one of the most important months in the history of television. It comes down to this - If established hits like “24,” “Damages,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Monk,” “American Idol,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Lost,” and “The Closer” don’t meet expectations and if a new show like “United States of Tara,” “The Beast,” “Lie To Me,” or “Trust Me” can’t take off and become an established hit, television is likely to change forever.

Sound like an exaggeration? Consider this - NBC gave up on an hour of original, scripted programming every single night. They’re so disappointed in their slate of 10 pm dramas, including failures like “My Own Worst Enemy,” that they’re handing over an hour of TV every night to talk show host Jay Leno. It’s one of the most amazing programming decisions of the last few years and proof that original television on the big networks is changing for good. Does anyone think we’re that far off from all reality and talk on the major networks with original programming relegated to pay cable, basic cable, and the internet? I don’t.

And the Leno story is only one of the biggest headlines of a season that has seen far more failures than successes. Shows that took off the post-strike period, including “Pushing Daisies” and “Dirty Sexy Money,” saw ratings decline every week before their cancellations. It feels like people left during the strike and simply never came back.

New hits? There aren’t any outside of CBS, the only network that has anything to be happy about this year with the massive success of “The Mentalist” and the continued growth of “The Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother”. More than ever, the buzz in 2008 went from the big networks to the cable box with HBO launching new hits, Showtime developing their own, and even AMC developing a reputation for quality.

We’ll get into what worked and what didn’t in our TV year in review next week at HollywoodChicago.com, but let’s look ahead before we look back. Is it too late for the broadcast networks to save this sinking ship? Are NBC, Fox, and ABC done? Will there be another “Mad Men” in the bunch of shows premiering this month? Can a series actually improve on last year’s ratings for once? Let’s hope so.

Stay tuned to HollywoodChicago.com for reviews and coverage of all the upcoming series and mark your calendar with the highlights of the coming month on the following page, in chronological order.