SciFiAndTvTalk

Hemlock Grove Season Two Images - New! (Netflix)

Famke Janssen in a scene from Netflix's Hemlock Grove Season 2. Photo Credit: Steve Wilkie for Netflix.

Check out the brand-new images above and below from the second season of Eli Roth's Emmy-nominated Netflix original series, Hemlock Grove, featuring Famke Janssen (Olivia Godfrey), Bill Skarsgård (Roman Godfrey), Landon Liboiron (Peter Rumancek), Tiio Horn (Destiny Rumancek) and newcomer Madeline Brewer from season one of the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black (Miranda Cates).

Season two of Hemlock Grove premieres with ten episodes only on Netflix on Friday, July 11th at 12:01 AM PT. New showrunner/executive producer, Charles "Chic" Eglee (The Walking Dead, Dexter) joins season two of the riveting supernatural thriller, starring Famke Janssen (X-Men), Bill Skarsgård (Simon & The Oaks), Landon Liboiron (Terra Nova) and Dougray Scott (Mission Impossible II). The series also stars Madeline Brewer (Orange is the New Black), Madeleine Martin (Californication), Joel de la Fuente (Law & Order: SVU) and Tiio Horn (18 to Life).

(L-R) Madeline Brewer, Bill Skarsgard, Kaniehtiio Horn and Landon Liboiron in a scene from Netflix's Hemlock Grove Season 2. Photo Credit: Steve Wilkie for Netflix.

Hemlock Grove is a supernatural thriller which explores the strange happenings in a small Pennsylvania town. The show focuses on the unlikely friendship between the founding family's young heir, Roman Godfrey (Skarsgård), and gypsy newcomer and outsider, Peter Rumancek (Liboiron). Each holds a monstrous secret that has been unleashed. Season two continues with the town coming to grips with the shocking massacre incurred by one of its deadliest creatures. Roman and Peter are now faced with new responsibilities and the realities that come with adulthood. Roman's relationship with his mother (Janssen) is all but dead as he struggles with his unwanted Upir birthright and the disappearance of his sister, Shelley (Martin). Peter moves in with Destiny (Horn) and is forced to get a job after his mother is sent away. Meanwhile, in search of a new life, newcomer Miranda Cates (Brewer) embarks on Hemlock Grove with an unknowingly profound effect on Peter and Roman. And Norman (Scott), still reeling from the loss of his family, must face the harsh truths that are uncovered about those he still loves.

As noted above, photos by Steve Wilkie and copyright of Netflix, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

True Blood Key Art - New! (HBO)

Above is the brand new official key art for the seventh and final season of True Blood. The final season tagline, “True to the End,” will also be an online destination (http://www.truetotheend.com) that will celebrate True Blood fans’  favorite moments from prior seasons, spotlight beloved characters, spark and curate viewer discussion and send the series off in style.

True Blood begins its ten-episode, seventh and final season SUNDAY, JUNE 22 at 9:00 p.m. on HBO. Mixing romance, suspense, mystery and humor, the series takes place in a world where vampires and humans co-exist, after vampires have come out of the coffin, thanks to the invention of mass-produced synthetic blood that means they no longer need humans as a nutritional source. The series follows waitress and part-faerie Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), who can hear people’s thoughts, vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and vampire Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård). Alan Ball created the show, which is based on the bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.

Fargo Q & A with Allison Tolman

Allison Tolman as Fargo's Deputy Molly Solverson. Photo copyright of FX.

Have you ever had a nagging feeling that just will not go away? In the FX TV series Fargo, Molly Solverson has experienced just that for a number of weeks. A deputy in the small, snow-covered town of Bemidji, Minnesota, her life as well as those of several other residents are turned upside-down when a drifter called Lorne Malvo arrives in town. His words set into motion a series of events involving a mild-mannered, henpecked insurance agent, Lester Nygaard, and that lead to a series of murder.

Deputy Solverson has her suspicions about Lester and Malvo, but is having a tough time convincing her superiors of their guilt. When she teams up with Gus Grimly, a fellow officer from another precinct, the two of them dig deeper into the case with surprising results.

Relative TV newcomer Allison Tolman, who plays Molly, took some time out of her schedule last week to speak with journalists about shooting Fargo and helping bring the likeable deputy to life. The following is an edited version of that Q&A. Enjoy.

Can you tell us how you got the role on Fargo?

Allison Tolman: My background is in theater and a little bit of sketch (comedy). I was in Chicago working my day job and doing auditions, but not really booking anything. When Fargo came along, I put myself on tape and then sort of forgot about it and went about my daily life.  A few weeks later I received a call asking me to come to test for the part in New York. Five days later I got another call telling me I had the role.  So it unfolded rather quickly and was a really fast way for your life to change that much kind of overnight.

When you got that call and were offered the role, what went through your head insofar as being able to work with such an amazing cast for your first big TV role?

AT: It was certainly overwhelming, and I think that when I first got the call I was probably in shock.  Noah Hawley (series creator/executive producer) made the call, and the way he tells it, I very politely said, “Thank you,” and then had to get off the phone because I had to go back to work.  Inside I was definitely freaking out and losing my mind, but he said I was very calm and composed at the time.  So yes, it was intimidating, but luckily once I got there, everyone was so kind, patient and welcoming that I didn’t have a lot to worry about.

Molly is the one person who’s really smart and connects the dots, but yet she’s not like a real extrovert about it.  How do you approach a character like that?

AT: I think that’s one of the best things about Molly is that she’s just driven by this really strong sense of duty, and it’s not personal ambition, either. She’s not snotty about how she’s smarter than everyone else around her, and she’s not trying to one-up anybody. Molly just sees what needs to be done and feels very strongly about it being accomplished.  So she falls into that role, not because she wants personal gain or personal glory, but because no one else will do it.  I think that’s one of the most endearing things about her.

On the show you play a police deputy whose job is to sometimes question people, like Lester (Martin Freeman). What, in your opinion, is the art to a good interrogation?

AT: Learning your lines well (she jokes).  No, seriously, the way the show is written and how we tried to play it is that I think you just have to remember to listen to everything that your scene partner, or in your character’s case, your interviewee, is telling you, not just with their words, but with their body and eyes as well. In the process, you pick up on things that will help lead you to what your next question should probably be. With my character, she’s hoping that that will help her crack the case.

You’ve had some great scenes with a lot of the cast members, like Bob Odenkirk (Deputy Bill Oswalt) and Colin Hanks (Officer Gus Grimly). Do you have a favorite scene that kind of sticks out for you?

AT: Yes, it’s in episode eight and is one I got to film with Colin. The really nice thing about it is that when we played it, we had permission not to feel like we had to speak too quickly. It was okay for there to be some silence and for these two people to just exist in the same space for a little while. That scene is really special to me and was fun to play. I talk a lot in the show, including quite a bit of “police speak,” and my character has to relay a lot of facts, so for Molly to just sit there with Gus and have not much say was a joy to play as an actress.

It looks like you got to work with almost all of Fargo’s ensemble cast. Is there one person who you found especially interesting to work with?

AT: That’s a tough one. I guess for me as an actress and coming into television as a newbie, it was really fascinating to work with Martin Freeman, because of the freedom that he has when he works. He’s not afraid to do something different, so take after take after take was different. That was fascinating to someone like me who, again, is so new to TV. I can’t imagine having the confidence that Martin has to be able to just swing so wildly from one end of the spectrum to the other, which he does. I think it’s what makes him so fantastic and gives the editors such a difficult job when they’re trying to figure out what take they should use.

Playing a female officer in the Fargo TV series, were you worried about being compared to Frances McDormand (who played Marge “Margie” Gunderson in the 1996 Fargo feature film on which the TV series is based)?

AT: Yes, there was certainly fear there. I knew going in that these characters were really different (from the Fargo feature film) and that the Molly character was quite strong in her own right.  Still, it was definitely a concern of mine, and especially being a newcomer, you don’t come out the gate as, for example, a singer and try to compare yourself to Judy Garland.  So yes, it was scary for me coming into this role. I knew people associated the Molly character with Marge, and the comparisons were nerve-wracking.  However, since we started out, I think we’ve proven that our characters are different enough to allow viewers to draw parallels between them and the movie characters, but they don’t have to be pitted against each other. As such, I feel a little bit of the pressure has been taken off us.

You have such good onscreen chemistry with Keith Carradine’s character of, Lou Solverson. Can you talk about what it was like to work with him for such short scenes, but fill them with so much father-daughter emotion?

AT: In addition to being a really tremendous actor, Keith is a really wonderful man.  We had a very paternal relationship throughout filming, so it was interesting to go in and be able to play that onscreen as well.  It’s nice when you’re playing a character who does so much work, work, work, work, work, to then be able to play scenes where she gets to kind of come home, sit with a person who really knows and loves her, and to see what those interactions look like. Similarly, I felt really safe whenever I played scenes with Keith. I felt very much taken care of and knew that he was proud of the work I was doing. So it was just like shooting a scene with a (real-life) father and daughter.

Kind of building on the last question, what’s Molly’s relationship with her dad?

AT: I think she seeks out her father’s advice and listens to it. Molly doesn’t come right out and ask him, “Dad, tell me what you think about this,” but when she sits down at his counter for a cup of coffee, she knows that he’s going to tell her some sort of story that helps her try to figure out what she’s supposed to do. So I think that there’s a shorthand between the two of them that’s really nice and that really reads onscreen. Although Molly seeks his opinion and Lou gives it, he knows fully well that she’s going to do whatever she wants to do anyway.  That’s just the dance that they do, though.

How does it feel to be playing a true detective in a dynamic of a dog-eat-dog world?

AT: I think one of the best things Molly has going for her is the fact that she’s a natural detective and that her brain works in such a way.  If she had remained untested and never had this case come her way, she might never have found that out about herself. However, because this case has landed in her lap, Molly is getting to find out just how good she is at this sort of analytical detective work.  And yes, I think that it’s a really dog-eat-dog world, as well as a very brutal world that this show takes place in, but she’s so pragmatic that I think she’s able to adjust and remain emotionally detached from the things that are going on and just proceed with getting the job done.

Molly has a very methodical approach.  She takes things and looks at them and then puts them together. Every detective has a different style or approach, as do actors. So I’m wondering, what is your process like on the scale between Laurence Olivier’s, “It’s all just pretend,” to the more Stanislavski method approach?

AT: That’s a good question. I would say that I tend more towards Laurence Olivier, and that I’m able to turn things off when I’m done working.  I don’t have to live in that world.  That’s never been a problem for me. But having said that, I think that there’s certainly value to figuring out how your character thinks, how they live and how they breathe, so that when you do have to turn that on, you’re able to do so.  It is, however, difficult sometimes and depends on the kind of scene you’re playing.  If you’re playing a really emotional scene, it’s a lot harder to leave that behind and still get home that evening and be like, why am I sad? You realize it’s because you pretended to be sad all day. So you have to remind yourself that it’s not real and be able to shake it off.

Did you do any research into the job that Molly has before you started?

AT: Our still photographer onset was a policeman in Canada for 20 years, so when I first got into town I spent some time with him learning how to handle a weapon, how to search a room, and other basic sort of police observational skills that they employ when they’re on duty as well as throughout their lives. He then was onset with us every day, so if I ever had a police-related question or needed to know how something would be done properly, he was there to let me know.

Being sort of new at this, what’s the one thing or best piece of advice that you’ll take with you and that you’ve learned just as an actor?

AT: Keith Carradine said something really interesting and quite poignant to me and that has been really helpful as I’m kind of proceeding and trying to figure out what’s going to happen with the next season. He said, “You have to think of the life of a television show as being like the life of a dog.  It’s such a sweet thing to have a dog, but you know that at some point in time, that dog is not going to be with you anymore.  That doesn’t make that time any less sweet, though.  You just have to enjoy it while you have it.” That’s a really nice analogy; I just have to think of that in terms of Fargo and any project that comes my way in the future. It’s so sweet to get a job and play a role, but eventually it’s going to end, so you just have to enjoy the time that you have with it.

As noted above, photo copyright of FX, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Portrait of an Outsider - Interview with Orphan Black's Jordan Gavaris

Jordan Gavaris as Orphan Black's Felix Dawkins. Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.

Orphan Black’s resident struggling “artist” Felix Dawkins thought his days, and especially nights, were filled with more than enough excitement, but that was before his foster sister Sarah Manning breezed back into his life just over a year ago. Neither he nor Sarah realized that her surprise return would set into motion a life-and-death struggle involving several clones – of which Sarah is one- along with a mysterious corporation called the Dyad Institute that aspires to play God when it comes to the creation of life.

At the end of the show’s first season, Sarah’s little girl Kira and Sarah’s foster mother Mrs. S. mysteriously disappear, leaving our heroine at her wits end. In the season two opener, Nature Under Constraint and Vexed, Sarah sets out to find and, hopefully, rescue them. The first person she turns to for help is Felix. She eventually tracks him down at one of his favorite haunts, and together they visit one of Sarah’s clones, Alison, to obtain some much-needed “fire power.” Given events of last year, Felix is used to all the new Sarah-related drama in his life. It is no different for the actor who plays him, Jordan Gavaris, but nonetheless, it was still initially a bit daunting for him to jump back into the fray.

“We actually block-shot the first two episodes, which means we took two or three weeks and shot all the scenes for those two episodes out of order,” says Garvaris. “The very first scene we did was from episode two [Governed by Sound Reason and True Religion]. It was a relatively contained scene, but it still was really scary for me. I woke up that morning and before going to work I said to myself, ‘Oh, no, I should have been prepping weeks for this.’ However, what I discovered once we began filming was that my character was there all along. I worked really hard to establish who Felix was in the first season, and what season two allowed me to do was to ease into the skin of my character.

Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) and Felix (Jordan Gavaris) in season two's "Mingling Its Own Nature With It." Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.

“Instead of being so hyper-focused on the accent, physicality and all the other external work that I did last year to create the character, I was able to sort of push all that aside, trust that I knew it and that it was just below the surface of my skin. In doing so, I gave myself the chance to experiment a little bit more with who Felix is on the inside as a person. I was then able to realize and accept that he’s not going to be exactly the same every time I play him. Human beings are messy as a species, and by that I mean we’re really inconsistent. So this season I allowed myself to relax and enjoy the inconsistency of portraying a real human being as opposed to being so worried about nailing the character.

“Of course, it helped having John Fawcett [series co-creator/executive producer] as the director for our opening two episodes this year as well as last. Obviously, he and Graeme Manson [series co-creator/executive producer] have been around since the conception of Orphan Black, which gives him a unique insight that I don’t think other directors have. We tend to groom our characters a little bit in these earlier episodes, and because John is just as much an authority on these characters as we our, we get to have vivacious discussions on what our characters are doing, what they’re feeling, where they’re headed, what their story arcs look like for the next few episodes and what it all means. So John is a terrific director as well as really communicative when it comes to what he’s looking for and wants, which eliminates any confusion.”

Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) manages to track Kira (Skyler Wexler) and Mrs. S. (Maria Doyle Kennedy) to a safe house and subsequently escapes with her little girl. The two of them hook back up with Felix and together they leave the city to hide and figure out their next move. They end up at an old farmhouse where, much to Felix’s surprise, they meet up with Cal Morrison (Michiel Huisman), one of Sarah’s ex-lovers and Kira’s father. This unexpected family reunion becomes overwhelming for Felix, who suddenly feels totally out of place, so he decides to return home and put some physical distance between him and Sarah.

Road trip! (L-R) Felix (Jordan Gavaris), Kira (Skyler Wexler) and Sarah (Tatiana Maslany). Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.

“For me, I think thematically in season two, Felix’s journey begins with self-exploration, which is relatively apt, I would say, given the rest of Orphan Black’s themes,” notes Gavaris. “Felix needs to redefine himself because he’s been an accessory to the ‘clone club’ for an entire season. I think he’s feeling somewhat lost as well as taken advantage of and exploited, mostly by his sister. So far, Felix has said, ‘Yes,’ to everything that he’s been asked to do. He’s jumped down the rabbit hole with everybody, but at no point did anyone stop to ask him how he’s doing. As a result, he needs time to reclaim a portion of his identity. Felix has just been a tentpole for everyone else, and I think part of his journey is coming to terms with not only that but also the fact that he truly has only himself to rely on.

“Like I said, human beings are inconsistent. So along with the I-can-only-rely-on-myself type attitude, there’s also this recurring theme of, ‘We’re stronger together.’ It’s weird, you know, and there’s going to be this ebb and flow when it comes to Felix this season. Where he winds up, I can’t say, but I don’t think the audience will be disappointed,” teases the actor. “When I was recently in New York City for a BBC America fan screening of the show, I was riding in a limo for about an hour with Graeme Manson and I asked him, ‘Where is Felix going as a character?’ He asked me, ‘Well, where would you like him to go?’ It’s wonderful to feel like I’m part of the [creative] process. For me, this show offers ownership. I’ve never felt more a part of something in my life, and I think that’s something all human beings want, is a purpose. As actors, we bring that to our performances, and it’s also something that our characters want. That’s part of why Felix gets so juiced by the clone mystery. He just longs to be a part of something and have a purpose.”

In season one of Orphan Black, Felix was introduced to a number of his foster sister’s clones including homemaker Alison Hendrix, microbiology student Cosima Niehaus, and the psychotic Helena. Such interaction has become more frequent this season – with the exception of the manipulative and driven Rachel Duncan, who Felix has yet to meet – and that has been an interesting as well as challenging acting experience for Gavaris.

(L-R): Felix (Jordan Gavaris), Alison (Tatiana Maslany) and Donnie (Kristian Bruun), Alison's husband and "monitor." Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.

“There were many, many more clone scenes involving Felix in the second season, which, for me, meant getting used to the techno-dolly,” he says. “Tat [Tatiana] bore the brunt of that last year and again this season, but I got a better feel for it this year, having done far more work with multiple clones in multiple scenes. That was tricky and a real exercise in imagination because you’re reacting to someone who isn’t there. You’re basically talking to an X on the wall; I may have one Tatiana in a scene with me, but I’m also talking to two others who aren’t there.

“Tat credits a lot of being able to do that so effectively to her long-form improv training, which I didn’t have, although I did have some short term and comedic improv training. In doing those scenes, I realized that Sarah’s clones offered me an opportunity to redefine Felix. They’re different relationships that show different sides of him, and, in the process, different sides of me. I may not be playing clones, but I get to do the next best thing – I’m playing opposite one woman who is playing all these different people. That’s a cool exercise in the suspension of disbelief. I know Tatiana very well, of course, and she does an incredible job in giving me every reason in the world to believe that she’s these different women. All I’ve got to do is surrender myself to that and respond to what Tatiana is giving me in a scene.

“I have to say I really enjoyed developing the relationship between Sarah and Felix in season two,” continues the actor. “I think there’s been a great deal of growth in that relationship, where we’ve seen that Felix stands by Sarah and that he’s reliable and can be an asset to her. However, you have the flipside to that sibling relationship, which is the ugly side. There’s the matter of Sarah betraying Felix, not trusting him with this or that, or saying something to someone else that made him feel bad. We get to explore a bit more of that side in season two, which is a side I’m familiar with. Having two older sisters, I know what it’s like to be the younger brother and feel like you’re being excluded, aliened or lonely. Even when you have your entire family around you, it’s easy to still feel that way. So it was pretty neat for me getting to go down that road, instead of, again, Felix always saying, ‘Yes,’ to Sarah and to whatever she asks him to do. This time he says, ‘No,’ for just a little while, and their relationship comes to a head, which then leads to some big decisions having to be made.”

Felix (Jordan Gavaris). Photo copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.

When asked if he has a favorite episode or scene from season two of Orphan Black, the actor chooses two. “In our third episode [Mingling its Own Nature With it] we were filming on-location and not stuck in the studio,” recalls Gavaris. “We were in the country and it was a beautiful place to film. Everyone felt liberated and really open, and there’s some terrific material in this particular episode that I’m quite proud of. I think it’s the first time we witness Felix’s true vulnerability. We’ve seen it a little bit before, but this is him really stripped down to the bone emotionally.

“Then in episode eight, Variable and Full of Perturbation, there’s a very unexpected connection that my character makes and one that offered me a chance to see what Felix looks like when he’s so unsure of himself. Part of his modus operandi or makeup is his confidence. He’s very self-assured, which is something he’s had to work very hard at. Felix has been different his entire life, and in order to survive he’s had to become a confident person, which has not been easy for him. This is the first time we’ve ever seen him afraid, and not pretending, but genuinely afraid. That was another proud moment for me in the redefinition of my character and trying to make him even more of a real person. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

While Felix, Sarah and the rest of the Orphan Black characters might be caught up in bizarre and fantastical situations, it is the actors’ efforts to present audiences with real and believable characters that Gavaris feels is one of the reasons why people continue to tune in.

“The story is very well-crafted and the mystery is very intricate, which makes viewers think,” says the actor. “That’s the escapism of Orphan Black, but in addition to that, most people turn to entertainment in order to feel, and I think what really attracts them to this show are its characters. You have these really diverse characters that all represent different sides of humanity. Everyone can look at any character on Orphan Black and see a piece of themselves in that person, even Felix. You don’t have to be a theatre graduate, a rent boy or an urbanite to see part of yourself in my character. That’s what our job is as actors. We don’t go in to play a ‘type,’ we go in to play human. It’s what gives our characters resonance, and it’s what makes them truthful, when someone who’s watching can connect to them.

“So our viewers enjoy the story because it’s an escape, but they also see our characters and are able to relate to them and feel something. It’s a double-whammy, it’s the steak and sizzle, you know? As for Felix, who of us hasn’t felt like an outsider or oppressed at one time or another? Women feel oppressed when they walk down a street and they’re cat-called by someone, Men can feel oppressed if their masculinity is questioned or if they don’t confirm to a certain gender role that the Western world has constructed for us to conform to, which is just ludicrous. Any minority in the world can connect because they’ve probably felt marginalized and oppressed at one time or another. Felix is just a portrait of an outsider or an ‘alien.’ That’s why these stories resonate with those watching, because we all feel like aliens or outsiders sometimes.”

Steve Eramo

Season two of Orphan Black airs Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. EST on Canada's SPACE Channel and in the States on BBC America. Please note, all Orphan Black photos courtesy/copyright of Bell Media/SPACE.

David Tennant Stars in The Escape Artist on PBS' MASTERPIECE Mystery! in June

David Tennant as Will Burton in The Escape Artist. Photo copyright of Endor Productions Ltd. MMXIII.

David Tennant (Broadchurch, Doctor Who) stars as a defense lawyer with a perfect record of courtroom wins and a perfect family to go with it—until things go horribly wrong. Written by thriller master David Wolstencroft (MI-5), The Escape Artist airs on MASTERPIECE Mystery! in two adrenaline-fueled episodes on Sundays, June 15 and 22, 2014 at 9pm ET on PBS (check local listings).

Co-starring in this legal cliff-hanger are Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) as Tennant’s professional nemesis, Ashley Jensen (Extras) as the hero’s endearing wife, and Toby Kebbell (Wrath of the Titans) as an accused murderer who is either a persecuted misfit or a dangerous psychopath.

Critics were electrified during the show’s UK broadcast: “David Tennant is back with another brilliant, edge-of-your-seat thriller … top-notch, high-tension telly,” raved The Sun (UK). “Terrifically well done,” agreed The Guardian (London). And Time Out (London) praised Wolstencroft’s taut script as “acute and beautifully played.”

“If you’re chained up in a safe at the bottom of a shark tank,” quips a high-placed barrister in Episode 1, “you call for Houdini.” He means his wizard of a colleague, Will Burton (Tennant), ranked as the top young criminal lawyer in the UK and destined for silk—the honor of Queen’s Counsel—as soon as he finds the time to apply for it.

Will’s talent for springing clients who should be behind bars has earned him the nickname, “the Escape Artist.” Ranked as second-best barrister is Will’s perennial rival, Maggie Gardner (Okonedo), who finds herself out-argued once again on the day that the poll is released, as she sees her latest prosecution case go down in flames to a stirring defense by Will. Lost amid their intellectual one-upmanship is an appreciation for the wrecked lives they are manipulating in their courtroom games. But that is about to change.

Enter Liam Foyle (Kebbell), a reclusive bird lover who is charged with the torture killing of a female medical student. Liam’s case file is handed to Will as he is leaving on a holiday with his wife, Kate (Jensen), and their young son, Jamie (Gus Barry). At their idyllic country retreat, Will pores over the gruesome details of the crime, searching for a weak link in the seemingly ironclad evidence against Liam. As usual, he puts his family life on hold for his work.

In the ensuing legal battle, the wheels of justice turn much as he anticipates. But then strange and disturbing things begin to happen. The tables are turned—and then turned again. Will finds himself fighting fervently for a new cause that may end his career—or worse.

“Everyone deserves a defense,” he is fond of saying. Little does he know that these words will come back to haunt him.

Part One: Sunday, June 15, 2014 at 9-10:30pm ET on PBS
Star defense lawyer Will Burton finds his happy family life threatened when he takes the case of an unsavory suspect accused of a torture killing.

Part Two: Sunday, June 22, 2014 at 9-10:30pm ET on PBS
With the tables turned, Will battles for justice by fair means and foul. But can a brilliant attorney save his own skin?

The Escape Artist is an Endor production in association with Red Arrow International GMBH for BBC. It is created and written by David Wolstencroft. The director is Brian Welsh. The producers are Paul Frift and Hilary Bevan Jones. The executive producer is David Wolstencroft. The executive producer for BBC is Matthew Read.

Merlin's Eoin Macken Stars in NBC's The Night Shift Premiering May 27th

The Night Shift's Dr. T.C. Callahan (Eoin Macken). Photo copyright of NBC.

At San Antonio Memorial, the crises never stop. Check out the clip below from the season premire of The Night Shift, starring Eoin Macken as Dr. T.C. Callahan on Tuesday, May 27th @ 10:00 p.m. EST on NBC.

 

Dominion - New Trailer! (Syfy US)

Michael (Tom Wisdom) and Jeep (Langley Kirkwood) in Dominion. Photo copyright of Syfy.

God’s angels are bringing hell to Earth. Dominion premieres on June 18th @ 9:00 p.m. EST on Syfy. Check out the brand-new trailer below.

 

Spartacus To Air in Re-Runs on Syfy (US)

Continuing to expand its roster of diverse domestic and international programming, Syfy today announced it is acquiring U.S. basic cable rights to all 39 episodes (three seasons and the six-part prequel) of the popular swords and sandal series Spartacus from Starz Worldwide Distribution, the global television licensing and content syndication arm of Starz.

Spartacus will make its basic cable premiere on Thursday, June 26 at 10PM (ET/PT), rounding out the channel’s potent primetime lineup of original series Defiance at 8PM and Dominion at 9PM. Spartacus joins Syfy’s stable of acquisitions including Lost Girl, Bitten, Continuum and the upcoming The Almighty Johnsons (July), Z-Nation (Fall) and Olympus (2015).

Said Chris Regina, Senior Vice President, Programming, Syfy: “Our strategy of acquiring hit shows to complement our premium original scripted series has really resonated with our audience. With its action-soaked storylines and powerful characters, Spartacus will be a dynamic addition to our schedule.”

“Spartacus made an indelible impact on STARZ premium viewers in the United States and with audiences around the globe,” said Gene George, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Distribution for Starz. “We are very pleased to strike this accord and bring the incredible tale of Spartacus to Syfy for its viewers.”

Spartacus was inspired by the actual slave of the Roman Republic who, in 73 BC, led a slave revolt that grew to more than 120,000 fighters. Defying the Roman Republic’s legions of soldiers, they campaigned for two years through much of what is now Italy before succumbing to a much larger army. The new series told a new set of stories rich in character, action, sex and combat centered on the title character. As punishment for defying a Roman Legate, Spartacus was sentenced to die in the gladiator arena. But after surviving numerous fights, his sentence was commuted and sold as a slave to be trained as a gladiator. Spartacus was executive produced by Rob Tapert (The Grudge, Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys), Steven S. DeKnight (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Sam Raimi (Spider-Man and The Evil Dead), and Joshua Donen (The Quick and the Dead).  The lead and title character was originally played by the beloved late Andy Whitfield. Following Whitfield’s departure from the series in 2010, Liam McIntyre was recast as the title character. 

Additional cast members included: Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess) as Lucretia, who along with her husband Batiatus (John Hannah), owned the slave Spartacus and the original gladiator camp; Erin Cummings (Dollhouse) as Sura, Spartacus’ wife; Peter Mensah (300, Avatar) as Doctore;  Manu Bennett (30 Days of Night, The Condemned) as Crixus; Craig Parker (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Legend of the Seeker) as Glaber, Ilithyia (Accidents Happen), played by Viva Bianca; Nick E. Tarabay (Crash, The Sopranos) as Ashur,  Dustin Clare (Underbelly, Satisfaction) as Gannicus;  and Todd Lasance as Gaius Julius Caesar.

WE tv Greenlights New Scripted Drama "South of Hell"

WE tv today announced that it has greenlit the scripted thriller, South of Hell, from Sonar Entertainment and Blumhouse Television. South of Hell is a gripping supernatural thriller set in Savannah, GA and focused on Maria Abascal, a demon hunter whose power stems from within. The premiere episode will be directed by Eli Roth (Hostel, Hemlock Grove, The Green Inferno). WE tv has ordered eight, 60-minute episodes of South of Hell, and plans a 2015 premiere.

“As WE tv moves firmly into scripted programming, we are committed to presenting distinctive and engaging stories to today’s savvy TV audience,” said Marc Juris, WE tv’s president.  “That is certainly the case with ‘South of Hell,’ a dramatic thriller that introduces viewers to an unforgettable character, supernatural themes and the battle between good and evil.”

“South of Hell is a cornerstone production for Sonar that reflects our overall commitment to the ongoing development of quality series television,” said Sonar Entertainment CEO Gene Stein.  “We are thrilled to collaborate with WE tv and the stellar creative team attached to the project to bring this compelling story to life.”

The premiere episode was written by Matt Lambert. James Manos, Jr. (Dexter, The Shield, The Sopranos) is executive producer and showrunner. Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister) also serves as executive producer, along with Gerard Bocaccio, Stewart Till, Stein, and Roth.

Savannah, Georgia is an elusive city with many faces and the perfect home for Maria Abascal, a stunning, 30-year-old demon-hunter-for-hire.  Alongside her brother, David, she is skilled and fearless in her pursuit of the demons that live in others.  Like those that she hunts, Maria is divided within herself, struggling with her own demon, Abigail, who resides inside of her, feeding on the evil Maria exorcises from others.  Maria and Abigail share a soul and a destiny, but as Maria desperately tries to overtake Abigail, she will discover how far Abigail will go to remain a part of her.

“We can’t wait to work with WE tv to introduce audiences to this series led by an extremely talented creative team including James, Matt and Eli, whose vision we share in delivering thrilling entertainment,” said Jason Blum, CEO and Founder, Blumhouse Productions.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of South of Hell,” said Roth.  “Exorcism and possession stories have always fascinated me, and Matt Lambert has created an incredibly rich, original world in which to tell many stories of good, evil and everyone’s own personal inner demons.  I’m also honored to be working with Jim and Jason, both of whom I greatly admire.  We want to create something smart and spectacular, and we are excited to be at the forefront of WE tv’s new scripted series initiative.”

WE tv’s The Divide, a scripted crime drama, will debut Wednesday, July 16 at 9 pm ET/PT with a special two-hour premiere. The Divide is a thought-provoking and suspenseful drama that explores the personal cost of morality, ambition, ethics, politics, and race in today's justice system through the eyes of Christine Rosa played by Marin Ireland (Homeland, Boss, Side Effects), an impassioned caseworker with The Innocence Initiative, and Adam Page played by Damon Gupton (The Newsroom, Prime Suspect), an equally passionate district attorney and political rising star.

Fargo Sneak Peek - "Who Shaves the Barber" (FX)

Two new faces show up in town next week on Fargo - Agent Pepper (Jordan Peele) and Agent Budge (Keegen-Michael Key). Photo copyright of FX.

Next week on Fargo, Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) seeks answers, while Lester (Martin Freeman) finagles a few of his own. Meanwhile, Molly (Allison Tolman) and Gus (Colin Hanks( try to get past a setback in the investigation. Check out the clip below for Who Shaves the Barber, and then tune in for the entire episode on Tuesday, May 27th @ 10:00 p.m. EST/PST on FX.