Archive for December, 2015

Jennifer Lopez is Back on the Block With NBC’s Shades of Blue

“I moved the body,” Jennifer Lopez whispers to Drea de Matteo on a soundstage in Queens, New York.

When J.Lo talks about a body, you’d assume she’d be referring to her own world-famous physique. But instead she’s talking about a dead one. Such is her new life now that the 46-year-old pop star has taken on the starring role of Det. Harlee Santos in the NBC drama Shades of Blue.

Moving the body sums up Harlee’s dilemma as a member of a Brooklyn unit that is both protective of the community and deeply corrupt. Life gets more complicated for her when the FBI forces Harlee to spy on her squad (while continuing to be a part of the corruption).

During a break in the shooting, Lopez heads to a red director’s chair and grabs a box of Kleenex. It’s mid-July and she’s battling a summer cold. She’s been working since 7am, and she’s only halfway through a 14-hour day. It’s clear she wants some downtime; her body language says, “Do not disturb.” But then someone forces her to change her mind.

Her producing partner, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, in an effort to praise Lopez, goes overboard. “She juggles everything; she pushes boundaries; she is a great artist, a great actor, a great friend and a great mom,” Goldsmith-Thomas, an exec producer on Shades, says. She then turns her admiration to Lopez’s 7-year-old son, Max, whom she calls a “genius” for knowing everything about the cosmos. A regular Carl Sagan of the first-grade set.

That’s when Lopez gets off the chair.

“You are talking about the same kid who comes up to me and pats my butt and breast and says “Booty? Booby? Mommy?” she says with a laugh.

Turns out Goldsmith-Thomas is not alone in her praise. “J.Lo is not at all what you might think. She’s smart, focused and really good at what she does,” says Jack Orman, a veteran writer-director-producer (ER) and another executive producer on Shades of Blue, who is sitting a few feet away. And clearly she has a sense of humor about herself.

***

For her first scripted-series gig in more than 20 years, Lopez is starring alongside Ray Liotta, who plays Lt. Matt Wozniak, the corrupt head of the squad (whose deepest secret will be revealed in the third episode), and Sopranos vet De Matteo as Det. Tess Nazario, the only other woman on the squad. They shoot on a Queens soundstage and on the streets of New York City, and they raise the same serious issues being played out in headlines—violence by (and against) cops, police corruption and racial profiling.

When Lopez brought the series to NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt, she was there solely as a producer. “I was never going to act in it,” she says, “until Greenblatt said to me, ‘How are you not starring in this? This is such a great character—you won’t even find this in film.’ And he was right.”

The megastar has become a megaproducer, sitting in on all production meetings and casting and costume sessions. “You needed a strong, tough guy like Liotta,” she says of hiring the Goodfellas star. “He delivers on all levels. He is perfect.”

Liotta almost didn’t take the part because of Lopez’s tabloid reputation as a diva. “My biggest fear was that this was going to be The J.Lo Show,” he says a few weeks later. “They are her producers. Everybody across the board is hers, and I was a little nervous about that. I still rolled the dice. I thought, What is the worst that can happen? It doesn’t work! Then I met Jen and she was open. Not like ‘This is my show,’ none of that from her. If anything, Jen was a cool chick on the set and I was the diva!”

Indeed, behind the scenes, Lopez is surrounded by family: her dad, her sister, her nieces and nephews are all on set, along with boyfriend, Casper Smart, rolling around the perimeter of the soundstage on a hoverboard.

It turns out that Jenny from the Block could just as easily have been Jenny the cop. “I really do know the world that Harlee lives in,” Lopez says. “I lived in the Bronx, and if I didn’t dream of becoming a performer and a singer and I had decided to be a cop, she is who I would be right now. I have those kinds of street smarts. I know what it’s like to walk these streets and neighborhoods.”

***

On the subway or around the streets of the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx where Lopez grew up, people can tell you about every boyfriend J.Lo has had—especially Ben Affleck. They also tell you she is their hope.

“That someone like J.Lo from the Bronx could make it to where she is now, from all her hard work, it means we could do it too; we could become like her,” says 16-year-old Chantel Lizardo, a dance major at nearby Talent Unlimited High School.

“She’s good for Puerto Ricans,” Mabel Villanueva says, outside a doughnut shop. (Lopez’s parents, David and Guadalupe, are Puerto Rican.)

“I love her because she is beautiful and happy,” Maria Tellez, who does not speak English, wrote on a pad in Spanish.

“I am lucky enough to have a global base. That’s icing on the cake,” Lopez says. “But to walk through my neighborhood and have people on the streets be so loving and embracing is, to me, the biggest success I have ever had.”

All the adoration springs, in part, from her almost fairy-tale journey. As a teenager, Lopez and her mother butted heads. Mom wanted college for her daughter; Lopez wanted to dance. So they had a falling out. “I was sleeping on a cot at a dance studio before I hit it big,” Lopez says. “My life was about pounding the pavement, breaking away from under my mom and dad’s wings and going off and flying on my own. I needed that moment.”

She moved to Los Angeles and got her first big break in 1991 as a Fly Girl on the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color. That led to her iconic lead role in the movie Selena, based on the murdered Tejano pop star. She then exploded to household-name status, thanks to the triple-platinum-selling album On the 6 and breakout roles in such films as Out of Sight and The Wedding Planner. “All my career, people have been saying things like, ‘Oh, you are starring in that?,’” Lopez says. “‘It’s not usually somebody who looks like you who can do that.’”

Greenblatt was so confident in Lopez’s appeal that he picked up Shades of Blue for 13 episodes and has scheduled it on the high-stakes battleground of Thursday night. “She came from nothing and became this global brand,” Greenblatt says. “They have to cordon off a neighborhood when we are shooting. It is hard to imagine that she is so normal, because once you go through the crazy Hollywood star system, you become something else.”

***

Shades of Blue is just part of Lopez’s exceptionally busy schedule this year. She has signed a contract at the Axis at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, where, beginning January 20, she will do 96 shows over two years for a rumored staggering salary of $26 million. She will commute back and forth to Los Angeles to work as an executive producer on the ABC Family/Freeform drama The Fosters and to judge the final season of Fox’s American Idol, which premieres Wednesday, January 6.

“She offers contestants real and valuable insight,” Idol host Ryan Seacrest says. “She shares her smart stories, her work ethic and values and her passion.” And, of course, “she has added glamour to the American Idol stage.”

With the premiere of Shades of Blue, she’s ready for the world to see her less glamorous side. That’s why she’s playing a tough cop, that’s why she’s taken charge as a producer, that’s why she is making the decisions about the tough issues the show has to confront.

“I am happy to be one of the people who are breaking the mold,” she says. “We can’t keep acting like we are in the ’50s. Women are strong. Women are bold. And now it is reflected in our art.”

Shades of Blue premieres Thursday, Jan. 7, 10/9c, NBC.

The Year in Cheers & Jeers: 2015’s Best and Worst in TV

It’s that time of year again… Here are some highlights from our annual look at the best and worst of the year in television…

Cheers to supreme diva (and our Performer of the Year) Taraji P. Henson for giving a weekly master class in attitude as Empire’s delectable Cookie, an outrageous lioness of a hip-hop heroine, dominating network TV’s biggest, boldest hit. Tossing shoes and throwing shade—we live for her Dynasty-style catfights with “Boo Boo Kitty”—this fashion-forward fox is the cat’s meow.

Jeers to TV’s big “deaths.” The Walking Dead’s Glenn (Steven Yeun) ended up surviving that zombie attack and Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow (Kit Harington) appears to be alive as well—if the HBO posters for Season 6 are to be believed. When producers toy with an audience’s emotions, their credibility as authentic storytellers is immediately jeopardized. Fool us once…

Cheers to the next generation of late night. David Letterman and Jon Stewart are irreplaceable, and their emotional sign-offs won’t soon be forgotten, but Stephen Colbert’s brainy reinvention of CBS’s Late Show and Trevor Noah’s appealing stewardship of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show haven’t missed a beat. James Corden and Larry Wilmore are terrific newbies, the Jimmys (Fallon and Kimmel) are at the top of their game, John Oliver is killing it on HBO and, soon, Samantha Bee’s new TBS series will finally bring a female POV into the mix, giving us yet another reason to stay up.

Jeers to Miley Cyrus on MTV’s Video Music Awards. Miley, honey, what’s good? You were supposed to host the show, not give it a two-hour bad touch. Go put on some clothes, remember that you have real talent, and for the love of all things holy, please stop sticking out your tongue.

Cheers to Katy Perry’s Left Shark. The singer’s performance of “Teenage Dream” at the Super Bowl halftime show was quickly upstaged by an uncoordinated backup dancer who eschewed the established choreography for an avant-garde showcase complete with wildly flailing fins. His moves missed the mark, but as far as entertainment value goes, this shark didn’t bite!

Jeers to Grey’s Anatomy for sending Patrick Dempsey’s McDreamy to an eternal dreamland in an unsatisfying exit after 11 seasons. The shocking move left Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) a widow and single mom—though does anyone ever see those kids?—and left longtime fans wondering if it isn’t time to put this ABC medical soap out of its misery.

Cheers to Viola Davis’s Emmy victory. After making history as the first black woman to win Lead Actress in a Drama (for her portrayal of complicated lawyer Annalise Keating on ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder), Davis gave a heartfelt, rousing speech that classily criticized Hollywood for not creating enough roles for women of color. To be clear: She killed it.

Jeers to FX’s fleabag American Horror Story: Hotel for making Lady Gaga look so anemic as the bloodsucking Countess. Bringing back terrifying memories of Madonna’s acting career, Gaga’s performance was all style—but what style!—and too little substance. Hotel was the most incoherent American Horror yet. We checked out early.

Cheers to The Flash and Arrow for digging deep into the DC Comics archives. Whether it’s Jay Garrick, Firestorm, Hawkgirl, Wally West or even Gorilla Grodd, the CW hits have saved the day for comic book fans who never thought they’d see these heroes and villains on live-action TV.

Jeers to The Good Wife for faking Alicia (Julianna Margulies) and Kalinda’s (Archie Panjabi) farewell. The final moment between the characters should have provided closure; instead, it fueled rumors of off-camera turmoil since it was clear the actresses didn’t shoot the scene together. Margulies blamed Panjabi’s scheduling conflicts, but Panjabi fired back, tweeting, “I was in New York ready to film the scene!” Not the kind of drama the series wanted to produce.

For more Cheers & Jeers, pick up the December 21/December 28 double issue of TV Guide Magazine, on sale now.

The Force is Strong With Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels

Siths about to get real, people!

As the long-awaited Star Wars: The Force Awakens hyperdrives into theaters this month, the action on Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels is heating up too. Just don’t call it a kids’ show.

“We do get rather dark and more serious this season, because the story has to go that way,” teases executive producer Dave Filoni. Set five years before 1977’s original, A New Hope, this CGI series about a band of do-gooders in the early battle against Darth Vader’s tyranny not only balances the grim realities of civil war with blasts of goofy humor, but it is also the network’s No. 1 show among adults 18–49 and a canon-expanding essential for everyone obsessed with that galaxy far, far away—no matter their age.

“For my generation, it’s the norm to be into Star Wars,” says Filoni, 41. “There was no such thing as a ‘Star Wars fan.’ You were just a kid lucky enough to grow up with this awesome entertainment.” Fittingly, it was Filoni’s lifelong affinity for all things Jedi that landed him within the beloved franchise’s expanded universe on TV.

“I thought it was a practical joke,” he says of the 2005 call he got from Lucasfilm Animation while working on Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. “I almost hung up on them because I thought it was my friends giving me a hard time.” Instead, Filoni was interviewed by George Lucas himself, who immediately hired him to direct Star Wars: The Clone Wars, 2008’s big-screen animated flick that takes place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. After that, Filoni transitioned to overseeing Cartoon Network’s The Clone Wars, the ongoing tale of clone troopers, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the pre–dark side Anakin Skywalker. Yet unlike the Jedi Council’s most notorious turncoat, Filoni proudly states, “Since ’05, I’ve been quite literally studying the ways of the Force year in, year out, trying to improve my skills.”

Seven years after Filoni’s first meeting with Lucas, in another corner of the galaxy, big-screen film producer and writer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class, The Martian) was earning his X-wings via a two-week powwow with a crew of writers and consultants—including Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi scribe Lawrence Kasdan—all recruited by Lucasfilm before its sale to Disney to map out the next wave of Star Wars stories. “We operated like a little TV writers’ room and just talked about what we would love to see in future Star Wars sagas,” recalls Kinberg, a creative consultant on The Force Awakens.

The confab also led to his alliance with Kiri Hart, head of development at Lucasfilm, and the birth of Rebels. “She sent me an email afterward saying, ‘We’re thinking about doing a new animated show. I know you’re excited about writing things that your kids can grab hold of, so do you think you’d be interested?’” One excited reply yes—“in all caps and with 10 exclamation points”—later and, Kinberg says, “That was the beginning.”

So, like Han and Luke before them, Kinberg and Filoni united to form what Kinberg calls “a family unit crossed with the A-Team” for Disney XD’s 2014 pilot Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion. The story featured de facto leader Kanan Jarrus (voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.), a cowboy Jedi who survived the Emperor’s Order 66 decree to kill off his entire kind; Twi’lek Hera Syndulla (Vanessa Marshall), an ace pilot of the spacecraft The Ghost and newly minted captain of the rebel cell known as Phoenix Squadron; Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar), a Mandalorian graffiti artist with mad explosives skills and a murky past; Zeb (Steve Blum), a hulking, smart-mouth alien sworn to making the Empire pay for slaughtering his species; and Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray), a teen grifter from the planet Lothal.

Currently in its wildly entertaining second season (Season 3 will premiere in 2016)—and filled with animation inspired by the original trilogy’s late conceptual designer, Ralph McQuarrie—Rebels’ deepening mythology is largely linked to the nascent Jedi powers and orphan status of the Luke Skywalker–esque Ezra.

“He’s got some more wisdom now. He knows how to use the Force a little bit,” explains Gray, teasing a “huge” upcoming storyline about Ezra’s mother and father, long believed to have been executed for speaking out against the Empire when he was 7. “This whole story with his parents has been looming over him. He’s accomplished a lot over the course of the first season and has found his own family with the rebel group,” the actor continues. “The one question that’s still unanswered for him is: What happened to his parents?” The answer to that, Gray hints, “will determine what Ezra’s fate is.”

In other major storylines this season, Kevin McKidd of Grey’s Anatomy will voice a new Mandalorian character, potentially linked to Sabine’s soon-to-be-revealed backstory (“She’s as important to the series as Ezra, as far as who this show is about,” Filoni hints). The Jedi-hunting Inquisitor known as the Seventh Sister (voiced by Prinze’s wife, Sarah Michelle Gellar) is set to cause trouble for Kanan. And Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Anakin Skywalker’s former Padawan introduced in The Clone Wars, may get the goods on her old master. Despite a handful of appearances on Rebels, the fan favorite has yet to untangle her ties to Darth Vader, nor has it been revealed why Ahsoka was never seen in the prequel films or what she’s been up to since leaving the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars. Given that we’ll definitely be seeing Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones, no less) again, along with Frank Oz’s legendary Yoda (who has previously only been heard on screen) and at least one major legacy character from the films, this could mean that we will finally have some answers about Ahsoka’s missing 15 years.

“I want to know too!” Eckstein exclaims. “I do hope that we get to explore that someday, but at least we get the story that we’re [building] to now: more Ahsoka, more Darth Vader. I can promise it’ll blow people’s minds.”

Filoni, meanwhile, is intent on not blowing any future plot twists, keeping them more guarded than plans for a Death Star. When asked what lies ahead, he simply allows that the whole Ghost crew is in for a wild ride. “The dark side is growing…and the more ripples Ezra makes, the more powerful he becomes.”

It seems the Force is strong with this one too.

Star Wars Rebels airs Wednesdays, 9:30/8:30c, Disney XD