On newsstands September 27, 2017

Must-See TV: Our No. 1 Fall Pick ‘Will & Grace’ Returns to NBC After 11 Years Off the Air

The cast of Will & Grace is downright giddy about reviving the seminal NBC sitcom. And so, it seems, is the studio audience filling Stage 22 in Burbank. “It was like Oprah!” Megan Mullally says of the first taping in 11 years. “You’d think we’d given them cars!” Eric McCormack adds.

The excitement is no surprise. Will & Grace 2.0 is easily the most hotly anticipated show on the fall schedule. So how did this dream team get back together? Last September, the cast of the Emmy-winning hit—which explored the friendship between gay lawyer Will Truman (McCormack), his straight interior designer roommate, Grace Adler (Messing), and their pals Karen Walker (Mullally) and Jack McFarland (Hayes)—reprised their roles in a video encouraging Americans to vote. The clip went viral (it currently has more than 7.5 million views on YouTube) and, according to series creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, the pieces fell quickly into place for a revival. “It really feels like we took a month off and then just started again,” Mutchnick marvels.

But what to do about that 2006 finale in which Will and Grace became estranged for 20 years? Well, it’s scrapped. “We never would have gone in that direction if we weren’t ending the show,” Mutchnick told critics in August. That means no time apart, no spouses and no kids. Will and Grace’s apartment has had only a minor facelift, and Jack still regularly bursts in from across the hall, leaving things much the same as in the first 194 episodes (now streaming on Hulu).

Back in Burbank, the foursome are still on a high after filming their first episode, which reveals how the besties end up living together again. Messing, McCormack, Mullally and Hayes sat down to give us the scoop. Oh, honey, it’s good.

Also in this issue:

  • The Orville: Step inside the huge ship in Seth MacFarlane’s intergalactic hit.
  • Curb Your Enthusiasm: Larry David chats about his return to the HBO series, talking dirty and how he reacted to his show being leaked online earlier this year.
  • Great News: Executive producer Tina Fey joins the NBC workplace comedy for an arc as the CEO of cable news network MMN’s parent company.
  • Plus: SEAL Team star David Boreanaz looks back on his 20 consecutive years in primetime television in our guest column, the secrets behind 60 Minutes as the series turns 50, Madam Secretary delves into Elizabeth’s home life, a Real Housewives star is welcomed on The Middle, Crown Media launches a third Hallmark channel and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.
On newsstands September 13, 2017

‘Outlander’ Joins 60 Other Returning Favorites in TV Guide Magazine’s Biggest Issue of 2017

Flames leap up into the dark winter sky above a narrow cobblestone street in Old Town Edinburgh, Scotland. An out-of-breath Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) burst through the crowd of terrified onlookers and rush toward the burning building. Yes, fans, the sexy soulmates reunite—setting off serious sparks of their own—in Season 3 of Outlander. Then, of course, they get swept right back into danger.

“Their reunion is big, but so much happens to them even before that,” says a soot-smudged Heughan on set during a break in filming.

The buildup is indeed as good as the super steamy payoff. So far, the time-traveling nurse and her beloved Highland warrior have tried and failed to change history, repeatedly rescued each other from sadistic British army captain Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) and left a trail of tangled bedsheets in their wake­.

This season the canvas gets even bigger. “We cover more time periods, and there’s more complexity in sets, costume, hair and makeup,” says executive producer Ronald D. Moore. “It has such scope and spectacle.” (This from a show that in Season 2 re-created the opulent French Court at Versailles!)

The supersize production, based on the nearly 900-page third book in Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling series, is why the show’s devoted 5.2 million viewers had to suffer a 14-month Droughtlander. After shooting in Scotland on sets new (like the grimy Ardsmuir prison, where Jamie is held for treason) and old (Lallybroch), the cast and crew headed to South Africa for three months, using ships from former Starz series Black Sails, for the pair’s stormy, game-changing journey to Jamaica.

Also in this issue:

  • Outlander: The Droughtlander is over! Join us for an on-set exclusive behind Season 3 of Starz’s sexy sci-fi sizzler..
  • Television Industry Advocacy Awards: A look at the nine decorated TV stars—including Keegan-Michael Key, Regina King and Robert Herjavec—receiving top honors in 2017.
  • Returning Favorites: Read about dozens of your favorites and what new storylines are on tap, including Leah Remini joining her King of Queens hubby Kevin James on Kevin Can Wait, Supergirl has a new foe, NCIS‘s nail-biting premiere episode, Kiefer Sutherland on Season 2 of Designated Survivor, the Empire/Star crossover, the reset of The Good Place and Larry David is back to wreak more havoc on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

    • • Plus: Megyn Kelly opens up about her new morning show, we chat with new late-night star Jordan Klepper, how to watch the just-ended Twin Peaks in just four hours, American Horror Story: Cult‘s Billy Eichner shares his TV go-tos, Tom Bergeron forecasts the Dancing With the Stars Season 25 ballroom luminaries, David Bianculli weighs in on 10 years of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

On newsstands August 30, 2017

Fall Preview! A Day-by-Day Look at All of the Upcoming Season’s Hottest New TV Shows

There is a wealth of new comedies, drama, spinoffs and more, so to kick off our annual Fall Preview, here’s our own Matt Roush’s take on everything coming your way in just a matter of weeks:

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. On second thought, that wouldn’t get you very far in a fall season that feels like a time warp into TV’s past, with remakes, revivals, spinoffs and comebacks the norm. For those who regard TV as a source of comfort food, the more familiar the better, this year is a smorgasbord.

As always, some morsels are tastier than others. Consider CBS’s Young Sheldon, a promising spinoff that’s anything but a clone of the phenomenally successful The Big Bang Theory. With nostalgic Wonder Years–style narration from Adult Sheldon (Jim Parsons), this sweetly funny comedy introduces a 9-year-old savant (Iain Armitage)—as adorable as his older self is prickly. Entering an unruly East Texas high school in 1989, the primly precocious pipsqueak rattles adolescents and grown-ups who don’t know what to make of him. But his devout and devoted mom (the terrific Zoe Perry) has his back. So far, so do we.

A jubilant mother-son bond also fuels fall’s most refreshingly original comedy: ABC’s The Mayor, starring charismatic Brandon Micheal Hall as witty wannabe rapper Courtney Rose, the most unlikely politician since you-know-who. In the upbeat pilot, Courtney finds his true voice in public service after running for local office as a stunt and—to everyone’s shock—getting elected. Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) is his secret weapon, a feisty single mom helping her baby succeed at any cost.

Spoofing sci-fi classics is a popular trend this season, but Seth MacFarlane’s splashy salute to Star Trek for Fox, The Orville, can’t decide if it’s a knockabout parody or an earnest homage and fumbles at both, not as hilarious nor as exciting as it needs to be. Just as derivative but more successful because it commits to its goofiness is Fox’s X-Files–like paranormal sitcom Ghosted, which benefits from the mismatched-buddy chemistry of its geeky misfit leads, Adam Scott and Craig Robinson.

Best of this satirical lot is Hulu’s uproarious Future Man, tipping its cap to The Last Starfighter as it thrusts video-game nerd Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) into a time-tripping fantasy adventure alongside warriors from the future who can’t believe this weakling may be the savior of humanity. Young and old Sheldon would love this one.

In this issue:

  • Monday: Bobby Moynihan and John Larroquette share DNA in Me Myself & I, The Brave partners up Anne Heche and Mike Vogel, Mark Feuerstein gets personal with 9JLK and Valor suits up on The CW, and more.
  • Tuesday: Edie Falco returns to TV for a new Law & Order spinoff series, The Mayor raps its way to our hearts, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, and more.
  • Wednesday: David Boreanaz trade forensics for fatigues in SEAL Team, and Dynasty looks to the 21st century.
  • Thursday: The action thriller S.W.A.T. gets a new sheen, Kyra Sedgwick spends Ten Days in the Valley, and Will & Grace‘s besties take over primetime once again.
  • Weekend: Marvel unleashes Inhumans, Adam Scott and Craig Robinson get Ghosted, five things to know about Seth LacFarlane’s The Orville, James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal light up The Deuce and much more.

• Plus: A look at highly-competitive and hard-to-pin-down race for the 69th Primetime Emmys, new faces on Code Black and Great News, Savannah Guthrie on her TV wish list, and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.

On newsstands August 16, 2017

Sneak Peek: Fox’s ‘The Gifted’ Unveils a Whole New Mutant Tale in Their New Sci-Fi Sizzler

And you thought your family had drama. In Fox’s new sci-fi thriller The Gifted, a seemingly ordinary clan of four, the Struckers, find themselves caught up in the saga of persecuted mutants that began 17 years ago with the first X-Men film. And director Bryan Singer, who’s helmed multiple X-Men blockbusters, is part of the team helping to bring the iconic heroes to TV.

Just don’t call The Gifted an “X-Men” show, says executive producer Matt Nix (Burn Notice). “The X-Men are gone, and nobody knows where they went,” Nix explains of the series. “What’s left behind are groups of mutants that are piecemeal, doing what they can to help [fellow mutants] on the wrong side of the law get to safety.”

The Struckers fall in with these renegades after bullied teen son Andy (Percy Hynes White) develops destructive powers that go nuclear at a school dance—think Carrie with more rubble and less pig blood. The debacle forces him and gifted big sister Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind), who can move objects with her mind, to come out as mutants to parents Reed (Stephen Moyer) and Caitlin (Amy Acker).

To escape the government’s virulently antimutant laws—which would allow for agents to take Andy into custody after he used his powers—the family turns to the underground network of outlaw mutants for help. And yes, there’s a twist: Reed just happens to prosecute mutants, as he works for a Texas district attorney’s office.

“One of the things I really responded to in the X-Men comics is that they really seemed to be about something, more than just fighting,” says Nix, a longtime fan. “The characters had relationships and humanity that went beyond hitting bad guys very hard, although,” he adds with a laugh, “they did enough hitting bad guys very hard to satisfy 10-year-old me.”

Also in this issue:

  • Game of Thrones: Take a look at some exclusive behind-the-scenes pics of the explosive, riveting seventh season.
  • Star Trek: Discovery: CBS All Access unveils their long-awaited prequel, all about what happened before the U.S.S. Enterprise crew hit outer space.
  • They’re Back!: First looks at all your favorite returning shows, including Once Upon a Time‘s new direction, Superstore‘s got a new look, and Scorpion does a little song-and-dance for you this fall.
  • Ray Donovan: Season 5 has proven to be a jolting restart to our favorite Showtime brooder—a look at what’s ahead for Liev Schreiber’s grieving fixer Ray.

• Plus: Disjointed star Kathy Bates talks up having a high time in her Netflix comedy, Halt and Catch Fire has a brand-new recruit, Fargo and Legion creator Noah Hawley pays homage to Twin Peaks mastermind David Lynch, how those fancy Suits on USA’s hit drama get tailor made, David Bianculli looks at how The Fugitive made TV history, and the best of movies, streaming, sports and more.