Author Archive

The ’80s Issue: The Goldbergs Go Dirty Dancing

Nobody puts The Goldbergs in the corner. The 1980s set ABC sitcom is having the time of its life with this year’s big movie homage, Dirty Dancing. “My whole childhood was filtered through movies,” says series creator Adam F. Goldberg (who has based the show on his own rambunctious family). “That’s how I related to the world. For this episode, I looked to my mom. This was her movie. My memories of Dirty Dancing are me being dragged to it and her watching it over and over.”

Also in this issue, our celebration of all things ’80s:

• Soaps Hunks Everlasting: We gathered six suds stars for a candid conversation about their ’80s stardom and how they’ve managed to survive—and thrive—after all these years: Doug Davidson (The Young and the Restless), Don Diamont (The Bold and the Beautiful), Michael E. Knight (The Young and the Restless), A Martinez (Days of Our Lives), Stephen Nichols (Days of Our Lives) and Kin Shriner (General Hospital).

• John Stamos: The Grandfathered star revisits at the shows that led him to TV stardom, including General Hospital and Full House.

• Fashion Rewind: From Miami Vice to Dynasty, a look back at the iconic looks from the era of excess.

• The Ultimate ’80s TV Quiz: Never mind who shot J.R.—how many people watched the biggest Dallas episode ever?!

• Plus: Fuller House, The Walking Dead, Blindspot, Rosewood, Once Upon a Time and more.

Chicago is on Fire: NBC is Making the Windy City One Hot Property

Überproducer Dick Wolf has ignited a fiery franchise in the Windy City, spawning three intersecting series for NBC. We spent some time on the sets of Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med for a closer look at how these shows intersect to form one sprawling drama. “What Dick is doing is so brilliant,” says Oliver Platt, who plays chief psychiatrist Daniel Charles on Chicago Med. “Shows have been spun off forever, but nobody ever thought to spin shows into one living community. That’s an interesting and challenging experiment for the actors because none of us are working on just a single drama.”

Also in this issue:

• Better Call Saul: Bob Odenkirk previews Season 2 of the Breaking Bad spinoff and talks about conquering drama, comedy and psychology.

• Girls: The minds behind HBO’s millennial comedy talk about branding Brooklyn, eye-opening sex scenes and why they decided to call it quits after one more season.

• 11.22.63: James Franco goes on a harrowing time-traveling odyssey to save JFK in Hulu’s new thriller.

• Plus: New seasons of Vikings and Survivor; The X-Files reboot comes to a close, Lucifer, Shades of Blue, The Magicians and the Academy Awards.

The Walking Dead: On Set for ‘The Biggest Episode We’ve Ever Done’

The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus and Andrew Lincoln grace the cover of this week’s issue of TV Guide Magazine. The AMC zombie blockbuster is about to resume its intense sixth season with “the biggest episode we’ve ever done in terms of the amount that happens,” Lincoln (aka Rick Grimes) told us during our visit to the Georgia set last summer.

Also in this issue:

• How to Get Away With Murder: Our report from the set as the twisty TGIT hit returns.

• Fresh Off the Boat: An exclusive look at the sitcom’s upcoming Chinese New Year episode.

• Vinyl: Bobby Canavale previews his gritty new 1970s drama (from Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger) set in the world of sex and drugs and rock ’n’ roll.

• The People v. O.J. Simpson: Cuba Gooding Jr. opens up about his career and taking on “the hardest role I’ve ever had, psychologically,” in the dramatic retelling of a case that riveted the nation.

• Madoff: Richard Dreyfuss becomes the felonious financier in a bold new miniseries.

• Plus: Super Bowl 50, a Community reunion on Dr. Ken, Sleepy Hollow, Scorpion, Scandal, The Flash, General Hospital, The Good Wife’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan and more.

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.