Archive for May, 2018

SUMMER PREVIEW: What to Watch Every Day Until Fall! Including, ‘Claws’ the Season’s Craziest Guilty Pleasure

Slay! That’s the word on the gold chain hanging around the neck of fierce salon owner/money launderer Desna Simms (Niecy Nash) as she paces the Nail Artisans shop on the Claws set in New Orleans (doubling for Manatee County, Florida). It’s also a fitting description for the hot TNT dramedy.

Produced by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, Claws defied expectations when it premiered last June by being equal parts outrageous comedy (the show’s fantasy sequences are over-the-top fun) and life-or-death drama (given the Mafia’s piece of the action, murders are commonplace).

Claws also fell in line with TNT’s successful string of edgy, female-driven fare (including Ellen Barkin’s Animal Kingdom and Michelle Dockery’s Good Behavior) and the first season, um, nailed it by averaging 5.4 million viewers per episode across multiple platforms.

“Viewers,” says executive producer Janine Sherman Barrois, “found here a group of women who reminded them of the strong, diverse women that dominate their own lives — and who yearn for the American dream just like men do.”

Those women? Frustrated Desna, stuck under the thumb of the Russian mob (more on them later), who leans on her workplace family, made up of con artist Polly (Carrie Preston), recovering alcoholic Jennifer (Jenn Lyon), steely Quiet Ann (Judy Reyes) and wild child Virginia (Karrueche Tran).

The ladies took a break from filming to chat about the new episodes, running in high heels and what real-life nail artists are saying about the show.

Also in this issue:

• Summer Preview: Scoop on the hottest new and returning series: techy Reverie; Kevin Costner vehicle Yellowstone; Julianna Margulies in Dietland; ’80s-set Pose; Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee; Stephen King-inspired Castle Rock; John Krasinski headlines as Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and more.
• New Season Sneak Peek: Magnum P.I., the revival of Last Man Standing and more to look forward to this fall. Also, a list of the shows that got axed.
• Plus: A summer premiere calendar, Ellie Kemper talks Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and the possible The Office reboot, ABC’s Sunday night game shows, the 72nd annual Tonys and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

Property Brothers: We Hit the Set for an Exclusive First Look at the New Season of ‘Brother vs. Brother’

Drew and Jonathan Scott are in the middle of a fierce debate. During a break from filming Brother vs. Brother: Jonathan vs. Drew on a mid-March afternoon in San Francisco, the HGTV stars are answering TV Guide Magazine’s question about whether they’re the “face” of the network.

“Maybe Jonathan’s the face,” quips real estate agent Drew. “My good side’s my butt.” Without missing a beat, contractor Jonathan shoots back, “You’re the butt of most of the jokes.”

Since debuting on HGTV with 2011’s Property Brothers — one of their five hit shows — the twins have attracted millions of fans thanks to their talent, good looks and friendly trash talk.

That ribbing continues on Season 6 of Brother vs. Brother, the competition that finds Drew and Jonathan each overhauling a house. Every episode, guest judges such as Property Virgins’ Egypt Sherrod decide who tackled a particular project better, with prizes at stake (think: a private tour of Alcatraz prison).

In the end, whoever sells his pad for the most profit wins — and all the cash goes to charity. “Jonathan’s been staying up till 6am planning so he doesn’t lose,” taunts Drew, last year’s victor. The Scotts let TV Guide Magazine tag along while they worked, and treated us to a glimpse inside their revamped homes. They couldn’t help but take a few digs too…

Also in this issue:

• Finale Preview: Prepare for cliffhangers and tearjerkers! We bid adieu to some series for the season (Law & Order: SVU, Gotham) and some for good (The Middle, The Americans).
• How to Watch the Royal Wedding: Our channel-by-channel guide to the networks covering Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s union from sunrise to sunset.
• Plus: Elizabeth Vargas talks leaving 20/20, Red Nose Day celebrations, Once Upon a Time‘s series ender and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘NCIS’ Star Pauley Perrette Opens Up About Leaving Gibbs & Co.

The Average American spends roughly four years at a single job. Take one look at NCIS’s Pauley Perrette and you can be pretty sure she’s not the average American. Not many women style their dyed raven hair in the pigtails and bangs she wears onscreen as forensic specialist Abby Sciuto (not to mention offscreen when the Los Angeles weather is hot and sticky).

Perrette’s 15 seasons on NCIS make Abby the longest-working forensic expert on TV and the third-longest-serving female law enforcer on primetime (behind the Law & Order franchise’s Mariska Hargitay and S. Epatha Merkerson). For nearly a decade, Perrette has scored the highest Q rating—a metric that measures a celebrity’s appeal—of any TV actress. In 2010, she ranked as high as Tom Hanks and Morgan Freeman. “We should all do a film together,” she joked at the time, “or at least get a beer.”

The point is, rather than jump ship (or, really, show) after a few seasons or a little bit of fame, Perrette stuck around. A lot of that had to do with her dedication to Abby, a character conceived by NCIS creator Donald Bellisario to A) demonstrate that women can excel at math, science and computers and handle themselves around dead bodies and B) challenge the stereotype that all tattooed goth girls dressed in black are bitchy, needle-marked perps. Abby is proper nice.

Since taking on the role, Perrette has received thousands of fan letters and Twitter messages from the young ladies she inspires. Which is one of the reasons, the actress says, it’s going to be hard to say goodbye—and why she’s already set up scholarship funds for women studying forensic science at Georgia’s Valdosta State University (her alma mater) and New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Also in this issue:

• The Pioneer Woman: Five things to know about Food Network’s Ree Drummond.
• The Handmaid’s Tale: June’s mysterious journey, and the revolt, continues in Season 2 of the Hulu series.
• Dancing With the Stars: Athletes: Former pro Louis Van Amstel picks his best ballroom-dancing bets for the condensed season.
• Chicago Fire: The mercury rises when Severide’s ex visits on the NBC drama.
• Plus: Antonio Banderas on bringing Pablo Picasso to life in Genius‘s second round, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Patrick Melrose, Michael Weatherly talks Bull and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

‘SEAL Team’: David Boreanaz and the Team Sign Up for a Second Tour

Meet Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz), head of an exclusive military team protecting the USA while raising families (and hell). On the hot, dusty L.A. set of CBS’s SEAL Team, a camo-clad Boreanaz shows us how it’s done: dodging bullets to escape a bombed-out building, then going back to make sure his guys get out alive.

Watching this scene, you might think you’ve tuned in to CNN. The sets, gear and guns are super-detailed, thanks to technical advisers who include veterans of Delta Force, Army Rangers and Tier One Navy SEALs (that’s “sea, air, land” for us civilians).

“The No. 1 thing I learned from them is that they have each other’s backs,” says Boreanaz, the square-jawed star of long-running TV hits Bones, Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. “We never leave someone behind, have passion for what we do—and we really like to have a good time.”

Also in this issue:

• Suits: See Meghan Markle in white as wedding bells are a-ringin’ in the season finale.
• Roseanne: Sara Gilbert talks the moment that sparked the comedy revival with Roseanne Barr,
• Westworld: What’s next for Maeve and Dolores as the hosts strike back.
• Plus: Stephanie March’s Alex Cabot returns to Law & Order: SVU, Michael J. Fox shakes up the Oval Office on Designated Survivor and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.