On newsstands August 16, 2018

Fall Sneak Peek: TV’s New Secret Agent Man, ‘Jack Ryan’

John Krasinski is as smooth as a stirred martini when asked about following in the footsteps of Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine as true-blue CIA hero Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. “What? There have been other people who played the role?” he jokes with mock innocence of the part that originated in a series of books written by Tom Clancy.

But Krasinski is the first to portray the character on TV. The actor, who starred on The Office for nine years before focusing on movies, most recently the hit The Quiet Place, was all in for returning to television.

“When the showrunners [Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland] told me that a series was the only way to really investigate the richness and the detail Tom Clancy wrote with, I thought, ‘That’s a really smart and cool take,’” he says. Krasinski credits his role as a former Navy SEAL in the 2016 film 13 Hours for giving him the confidence to play an action hero — and he was more than game to run, shoot and land punches again. “I thought it was alluring to be able to play in that physical world a little longer.”

Also in this issue:

• Fall Sneak Peek: First looks at new (The Rookie! The Good Cop!) and returning (Outlander! NCIS!) series.
• Stream It!: Netflix’s sci-fi mystery The Innocents; Rosanna Arquette on her sexy YouTube Premium series Sideswiped; CBS All Access’s new drama One Dollar and more.
• Plus: Star Trek news, Lethal Weapon‘s new recruit Seann William Scott, a chat with Betty White, Fear the Walking Dead‘s Maggie Grace and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

On newsstands August 2, 2018

‘America’s Got Talent’: Summer’s No. 1 Show is Going Live! Plus, Our All-New Streaming Section

It takes guts to stand onstage in a packed theater and put on the performance of a lifetime — especially when America’s Got Talent judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Mel B are ready to critique your every move. But that’s exactly what these five acts (four of them singers!) did during the Season 13 audition rounds of NBC’s talent-hunting competition.

And they all earned themselves a Golden Buzzer for it, a concept introduced in Season 9, where each judge — plus host Tyra Banks and four guest judges — chooses one outstanding performer to skip straight to the live rounds, which begin August 14. (The live-results shows kick off August 15.)

“There’s always tension when you see somebody doing something really great,” executive producer Sam Donnelly says. “It’s like, ‘Is anyone going to press the Golden Buzzer?!'”

Also in this issue:

• Stream It!: Introducing our brand new section for all your streaming needs. Includes: Ozark‘s dark second round, movies and TV coming to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and Hulu’s Casual. Plus, a guide to streaming and new movie releases calendar.
• Get Shorty: Ray Romano reveals what’s to come for his troubled movie producer.
• Better Call Saul: The transformation into Breaking Bad‘s Saul Goodman continues.
• Plus: San Diego Comic-Con photo highlights, meet NCIS‘s new Abby, a first look at Animal Kingdom‘s season ender and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

On newsstands July 19, 2018

Sci-Fi Preview: J.J. Abrams Lures Us to the Scariest Town Ever With ‘Castle Rock’

Welcome to Castle Rock, Maine, scariest small town in the USA and the setting for a new Hulu thriller that’s got us hooked.

The sleepy, creepy New England locale, a hub for supernatural goings-on, is the creation of horror writer Stephen King and the familiar backdrop to some of his most gruesome page-turners, including Needful Things (stolen souls) and Cujo (a murderous dog that put us off Saint Bernards forever). Now King has turned over the mayorship to Castle Rock creators and executive producers Dustin Thomason and Sam Shaw, with input from auteur of eerie J.J. Abrams (Lost).

The tale centers on divorced dad and dedicated Texas death-row attorney Henry Deaver (André Holland, The Knick), who reluctantly returns to his hometown after an anonymous call from a whistle-blower at Shawshank State Prison: An inmate there has asked for Henry. The seeming innocent is a newly incarcerated, sunken-eyed young man (Bill Skarsgård, aka evil clown Pennywise in the 2017 flick based on King’s It) who refuses to say much, not even his own name. Dubbed The Kid, he is a stranger to Henry… but the lawyer takes the case anyway.

Also in this issue:

• Sci-Fi Preview: The farewell season of Game of Thrones, Doctor Who‘s first female Doctor, Outlander‘s trip to America, the last Sharknado and a roundup of highly anticipated new projects in the realm of TV sci-fi and fantasy.
• Making It: Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman chat about their crafty NBC reality series. Plus: Would they be game for a Parks and Recreation reunion?
• Plus: What makes a summer show sizzle; Senior Critic Matt Roush dissects this year’s Emmy nominees; Lori Loughlin on why she loves being a Hallmark heroine; Sharp Objects‘ Patricia Clarkson and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

On newsstands July 5, 2018

Kevin Hart: 10 New Reality Shows That Have Us Fired Up

You might not think a new summer game show called TKO: Total Knock Out — where contestants run a goofy, fun house-like obstacle course while being pummeled with silly-looking foam projectiles by their opponents — embodies the power of positivity. But with comedy superstar/actor Kevin Hart running point as host, it sure does.

“TKO is about real people wanting to get the best out of themselves,” says Hart, the star of box-office hits including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and the Ride Along franchise, and whose comedy show, The Irresponsible Tour, is selling out venues worldwide. “It’s amazing energy,” he adds. “I feed off that. I love inspiration and motivation. I want to set up an obstacle course in my backyard now!”

We sat down with him at the Los Angeles headquarters of his Hartbeat Productions (where he arrived with armloads of envelopes and FedEx packages after stopping to pick up the office mail) to learn more about the wacky competition and how it became Hart’s happy place.

Also in this issue:

• Red-Hot Summer Reality: Shark Week celebrates 30 years; Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman get crafty with Making It; Zachary Quinto helms In Search Of 2.0 and a WWE power couple lets the cameras in.
• Trial & Error: Lady, Killer: NBC’s laughfest tackles a new murder case in Season 2 with Kristin Chenoweth as an East Peck socialite.
• Suits: Katherine Heigl jumps aboard the USA drama as a no-nonsense lawyer.
• Plus: Our dream Emmy nominations, a first look at Better Call Saul, Code Black‘s final call and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.