SciFiAndTvTalk

Catching Up With Let The Right One In's Jacob Buster

Jacob Buster as Peter Logan in Let The Right One In - "What's Done In The Dark." Photo by Francisco Roman and courtesy/copyright of Showtime.

Most parents always try to do what they believe is best for their children. Sadly, things do not always work out how they hope. This is true of not one but two families in Showtime’s Let The Right One In. This psychological horror drama TV series, which was inspired by a novel of the same name by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, introduces viewers to Arthur Logan, a terminally ill scientist whose young son Peter was turned into a vampire. Arthur has spent the past 10 years trying to find a cure for Peter’s condition, but his good intentions only end up inflicting more pain on his son. No stranger to TV watchers, moviegoers, and bibliophiles, these sharp-toothed, blood-drinking denizens of the night have sent shivers up peoples’ spines for decades. From Nosferatu to Dracula, most of these fictional vamps have been adults, so actor Jacob Buster jumped at the opportunity to play a younger version of such a legendary antagonist. It was a first for him in more ways than one.

“Living in Utah, auditioning is always a bit interesting for me because I have to put myself on tape, and before COVID that wasn’t really typical,” says Buster. “When I got the [audition] sides for Let The Right One In, I did a tape and sent it off. I was working with my brother in the food industry, specifically hosting at a restaurant, when I got a callback for the series. I quickly asked for the day off, went home, did another tape, sent it in, and not long after I got a call telling me I had the job.

(L-R): Jacob Buster as Peter Logan and Madison Taylor Baez as Eleanor Kane in Let The Right One In - "Stargazers." Photo by Francisco Roman and courtesy/copyright of Showtime.

“One of the biggest things that stuck out for me when I was cast on this show was having to move to New York alone at the age of 18. That was a big jump for me. I had been used to having my family around when I was working, so not having them around was initially a bit challenging for me and took a little getting used to. Luckily, the cast as well as crew were very welcoming, and I was so grateful for that. I have to say, though, that when we began filming, any loneliness I might have felt was a huge help to me as an actor because Peter was such a lonely character having been isolated from other people for so long. Being able to identify with him in that way made it easier for me dive into the role,” enthuses the actor.

Peter Logan is not the only young person who is suffering a fate worse than death in Let The Right One In. Ten years ago, Mark Kane’s (Demian Bichir) daughter Eleanor (Madison Taylor Baez) was also turned into a vampire while she and Peter just happened to be attending the same summer camp. Having remained physically unchanged, the 12-year-old girl can only venture out at night and is kept alive thanks to Mark’s efforts to obtain human blood on which she can feed. Eleanor and her father have returned to New York where Mark is desperate to also find a cure for her condition. Meanwhile, across the country, Peter’s sister Claire (Grace Gummer) returns home and is shocked to learn after all these years that her brother is still very much alive, despite their father Arthur’s (Zeljko Ivanek) story to the contrary. As Claire does her best to support as well as comfort Peter, the two siblings quickly reestablish their bond and, not surprisingly, this impacts the Logan family dynamic.

(L-R): Grace Gummer as Claire Logan and Jacob Buster as Peter Logan in Let The Right One In - "What's Done In The Dark." Photo by Francisco Roman and courtesy/copyright of Showtime.

“As a character, Peter still has a childlike wonder to him in that he hasn’t really been able to have a lot of the experiences that other people have had,” notes Buster. “So he views the world in a very different way, which has obviously been influenced by the fact that he’s a vampire. However, looking ahead, now that he’s been reunited with his sister, Peter is starting to see his life in a new way and he’s finding a renewed sense of humanity, which I think will be very interesting to see develop as the story continues to unfold.

“When it comes to Peter and his sister Claire, she’s almost like a mother to him. They’re very close and their relationship, although already being a tightknit one, has further grown since she’s come home. As far as him and his dad, that’s a difficult one. Peter’s father has devoted the last 10 years or so to his son and tried to give him back some of the life that he had. However, it’s hard to forgive his dad for a lot of the things that weren’t so great while he was growing up. As a result, Peter can sometimes come across as maybe a little self-centered and selfish, but you can understand why. His relationships with the people around him really reflect who Peter as a person and, again, how he grows as the series progresses."

(L-R): Jacob Buster as Peter Logan and Nick Stahl as Matthew Dean in Let The Right One In - "Stargazers." Photo by Francisco Roman and courtesy/copyright of Showtime.

Arthur Logan’s attempt to cure for son’s vampirism results in Peter being severely burned over most of his body. This gave Buster the opportunity to work behind prosthetics for the first time. “The make-up process slowly got faster as the season went on, but in at the beginning it took about three hours to put on and one-and-a-half hours to take off,” he explains. “A good portion of my [work] day was spent sitting in the make-up chair having the prosthetics glued on and then painted so they would all blend together. It was very constricting and itchy, but that’s how Peter would feel if he was truly burned and in that state.”

At the time of this interview (mid-November), the actor has to respond carefully when asked if he has a favorite Let The Right One In episode. “I really love episode eight; I wish I could talk about many of the scenes, but I can tell you I’m excited for that one to air,” he says. “As far as the episodes that have already been shown, I really enjoyed episodes two and three and the scenes with Peter and his sister. You get to see them smiling and making jokes, which gives Peter the chance to sort of step back from all the pain he’s recently gone through and view his life as an opportunity and a gift as opposed to something he must endure.”

Jacob Buster as Peter Logan in Let The Right One In - "Outings." Photo by Francisco Roman and courtesy/copyright of Showtime.

Along with a number of made-for-TV movies, the actor’s other TV work include roles in Ballers, Colony, The Thundermans and Suits while Storm Rider and Just Let Go, which earned him the Best Actor Under 18 award at the Film in Utah Awards, are among his feature film credits. To this day, Buster’s very first time acting in front of the camera remains a memorable experience. “It was called Heaven Under a Table, and it was a short film for a college student’s project,” he recalls. “I played a young boy whose father, an astronaut, passed away, so my character created this outer space world underneath a tablecloth where he’d go to be with his dad again. The whole story kind of revolved around that and I was pleased to be a part of it.”

Prior to Let The Right One In, Buster first worked in genre TV when cast in the series regular role of Charlie Bowman opposite Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies in the Sci-Fi TV series Colony. “That was a fun one,” says the actor. “My character was emotionally traumatized and kind of kept to himself, but I loved Colony because there was so much humanity in it. Like Let The Right One In, that show was Sci-Fi, but also rooted in reality. I love how Sci-Fi can be bigger than life, but at the same time make emotions really pop out in the stories being told. Colony definitely did that, and I was so happy to be a part of it.”

 Steve Eramo

Xena: Warrior Princess's VFX Team Reunites For 25th Anniversary

L-R: Kevin Kutchaver, Andy Clement and Bryan Blevins at Creation Entertainment's A Salute To Xena: 25th Anniversary Convention.

Emmy Award winning Visual Effects Artist and all-round Digital Guru Kevin Kutchaver presented a very special panel entitled “An Inside Look at the VFX Featured Within the TV Series Xena: Warrior Princess - in which he was reunited with two additional members of the Visual Effects Team for that iconic show: Andy Clement and Bryan Blevins - on Nov. 19 at the LAX Hyatt Regency Hotel. The session was a highlight of Creation Entertainment's A Salute To Xena: 25th Anniversary convention, in which several thousand Xena fans attended the weekend-long event. In addition to the Kutchaver/VFX session, the con also featured live appearances by every major cast member from the series, along with photo and autograph opportunities, and the sale of hundreds of memorabilia items. 

During the VFX presentation, Kutchaver, Clement and Blevins displayed numerous clay-sculptured models and “maquettes” – and explained how they had had to devise new methods by which to digitize those props into computers. “Back in 1995, 96, 97, we literally had to invent new ways to tell ‘Xena’s’ stories,” Kutchaver said. “As visual effects work had just started to move to the desktop, it was literally like the wild west of computer technology. People have since asked us, ‘Why weren’t ‘Xena’s’ episodes shot in HD?’ to which I always reply, ‘Because HD wasn’t even invented yet!”

Kutchaver recounted how he was walking once with Rob Tapert, who was, at the time, the executive producer of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, for which Kutchaver’s company, Flat Earth Productions, was providing VFX. “I remember Rob saying to me, ‘I have this idea for, like, a female Hercules character, what do you think?’ to which I replied, ‘Rob, that’s a terrible idea!’ Fortunately, Rob didn’t listen to my bad advice!”

Xena sorts out one of her enemies in Xena: Warrior Princess.

“I owe my VFX career to Kevin Kutchaver,” added Blevins. “He gave me my first big break on Hercules and Xena when he owned Flat Earth Productions. We had to create A LOT of digital effects for those shows under very tight budgets and quick deadlines. In the early days of Xena, each episode had only a few VFX shots, but by the end of the last season – well, there were 500 shots in the very last episode!”

“You don’t get anything on screen that feels more organic than when you sculpt a physical maquette and then digitize it,” added Andy Clement. “I did sculpting on a lot of creatures for Xena, along with a good deal of 3D animation work. In the early days of computers, it could take a VERY long time to map and grid each of the physical models and maquettes. Then rendering them took forever. But as Xena’s seasons progressed, so did computers and the software, which helped speed things up.”

“In retrospect, we really had a great time doing Xena," Kutchaver notes. “Both Hercules and Xena were huge hits for Universal Television and Rob Tapert’s company, Renaissance Pictures, and Rob was interested in putting as much as he could into every episode. Each season we’d get a fairly locked budget, and we’d say, ‘Well, what do we HAVE to do this week? What does the story call for? And what, given our talents and our tech, can we do to make those FX look as realistic as possible?’ I’m proud to say we never gave up, even with those limited budgets and ungodly deadlines. I like to think we played a nice role in TV history with the hundreds and hundreds of creative images we contributed to Xena: Warrior Princess.”

L-R: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys), Kevin Kutchaver, and Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess).

One of Hollywood’s most in-demand Visual Effects Artists, Kevin Kutchaver has worked on countless feature films and TV series during the course of the past 40 years. Early in his career, he was involved in creating, designing and producing FX for such blockbuster motion pictures as Return of the Jedi, Ghostbusters II, both Addams Family films, all three RoboCop movies, and the comic book inspired, Hellboy.

Kutchaver was one of Hollywood’s leading originators of desktop visual effects work for television with Babylon 5. He then became one of the co-founders of Flat Earth Productions, which created and produced six-years-worth of visual effects for two of the world’s biggest-ever syndicated TV series: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. 

Currently, Kutchaver is a Senior VFX Artist for Warner Bros. Television for the hit shows The Flash and DC's Legends of Tomorrow. A 2005 Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Visual Effects for his work on the TV show Lost, Kutchaver also won the Arkin Medo Award for Photographic Excellence in 1979 and was nominated in 2007 by the Visual Effects Society for “Outstanding Supporting VFX in a Broadcast Program” for his work on Alias. For more, please CLICK HERE

Something nasty this way comes for our heroine Xena.

Andy Clement is a Special Makeup Effects and Digital Artist who is well-known for his work on The Boys, Deadpool, Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Disaster Artist, as well as for his years working on Xena: Warrior Princess as a model maker and digital animator. He is the founder of the special effects company Creative Character Engineering, which provides practical makeup, suits and digital effects to movies, TV shows, and multi-media projects. For more, please CLICK HERE

A highly accomplished 3D Animator, 3D Digital Supervisor and 3D Digital Artist, Bryan J. Blevins worked on the hit TV series Xena from 1996-1998, as well as on such other popular films and TV projects as Blade, Jimmy Neutron, Scooby Doo and Hellboy. His other work has included VFX on commercials for Mucinex, Keebler, and Campbells. Blevins’ current projects include Young Jedi Adventures, Puppy Dog Pals, and Miles from Tomorrowland for Disney Junior.  For more, please CLICK HERE  

ABOUT “XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS”: The series was an American fantasy television series filmed on location in New Zealand. The series aired in first-run syndication from September 4, 1995, to June 18, 2001. Critics praised the series for its strong female protagonist, and it has since acquired a strong cult following. Writer-director-producer Rob Tapert created the series in 1995 under his production company, Renaissance Pictures, with executive producers R. J. Stewart and Sam Raimi. 

The series narrative follows the character of Xena (played by Lucy Lawless,) an infamous warrior on a quest to seek redemption for her past sins against the innocent by using her formidable fighting skills to now help those who are unable to defend themselves. The show was a spin-off of the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. In its second season, Xena became the top-rated syndicated drama series on American television. For all of its six years, the series remained in the top five. Xena aired in more than 108 countries around the world in syndication, and in 2004 and 2007, it ranked #9 and #10 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever. The title character also ranked #100 on Bravo's 100 Greatest Ever TV Characters. “Xena's” success has led to hundreds of tie-in products, including comics, books, video games and fan conventions.

The Walking Dead Live: The Finale Event AND MORE! (AMC)

Last evening, AMC Networks celebrated the legacy of the global hit series The Walking Dead with The Walking Dead Live: The Finale Event at The Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles. Hosted by Talking Dead’s Chris Hardwick, The Finale Event featured a special live pre-show from the red carpet and supersized after-show looking back at some of the most iconic moments from the show, with past and current cast and other special guests. The Finale Event also provided first-looks at new series in the Walking Dead universe, including a teaser for The Walking Dead: Dead City, starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and photos from The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, starring Norman Reedus. 

Check out two clips below from The Walking Dead: Dead City as well as photos from The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon AND photos from The Walking Dead Live: The Finale Event.

 

 

Norman Reedus stars as Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Photo by Christine Ramage and copyright of AMC.

More zombie goodness in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Photo by Christine Ramage and copyright of AMC.

Norman Reedus stars as Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Photo by Christine Ramage and copyright of AMC.

All the stars came out to celebrate The Walking Dead Live: The Final Event. This photo and all those below by Christine Ramage and copyright of AMC.

Slow Horses - Season Two Premieres In December (Apple TV+)

Starring Academy Award winner Gary Oldman, Slow Horses season two is directed by Jeremy Lovering and finds long-buried Cold War secrets emerge which threaten to bring carnage to the streets of London. When a liaison with Russian villains takes a fatal turn, our hapless heroes must overcome their individual failings and raise their spy game in a race to prevent a catastrophic incident.

Slow Horses is a darkly humorous espionage drama that follows a dysfunctional team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping-ground department of MI5 known un-affectionately as Slough House. Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but irascible leader of the spies, who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes as they frequently find themselves blundering around the smoke and mirrors of the espionage world. The ensemble cast includes Academy Award nominee Kristin Scott Thomas, BAFTA Scotland Award winner Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, Freddie Fox, Chris Reilly, Samuel West, Sophie Okonedo, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Kadiff Kirwan and Academy Award nominee Jonathan Pryce.

The series is produced for Apple TV+ by See-Saw Films and adapted for television by Will Smith (Veep). Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Douglas Urbanski, Gail Mutrux, Will Smith, Jane Robertson and Graham Yost serve as executive producers on the series. Saul Metzstein is set to direct the third season.

Season two will premiere on Apple TV+ with two episodes on Friday, December 2 followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday through December 30. 

Echo 3 New York Premiere Photos (Apple TV+)

(L-R): Mark Boal (Creator, Director), Luke Evans, Jessica Ann Collins and Michiel Huisman attend Apple TV+’s “Echo 3” Premiere at Walter Reade Theater on November 16, 2022 in New York City. Photo courtesy/copyright of Apple TV+.

Last night at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center in New York, N.Y., Apple TV+ held the world premiere event for Echo 3, the highly anticipated new original action-packed thriller, from two-time Academy Award-winning creator Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty). The series will premiere with the first three episodes on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 on Apple TV+, followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday through January 13, 2023.

 

(L-R): Peter Traugott, Juan Pablo Raba, Mark Sourian, Maria del Rosario, Luke Evans, Mark Boal (Creator, Director), Jessica Ann Collins, Pablo Trapero, Martina Gusmán, Valerie Mahaffey, Michiel Huisman and James Udom attend Apple TV+’s “Echo 3” Premiere at Walter Reade Theater on November 16, 2022 in New York City. Photo courtesy/copyright of Apple TV+. 

 

Starring Luke Evans, Michiel Huisman and Jessica Ann Collins, Echo 3 is an action-packed thriller set in South America that follows Amber Chesborough (Collins), a brilliant young scientist who is the emotional heart of a small American family. When Amber goes missing along the Colombia-Venezuela border, her brother, Bambi (Evans), and her husband, Prince (Huisman) – two men with deep military experience and complicated pasts – struggle to find her in a layered personal drama, set against the explosive backdrop of a secret war. Echo 3 also stars Martina Gusman as “Violetta," a prominent political columnist. The series features James Udom, Maria Del Rosario, Alejandro Furth, Juan Pablo Raba and special guest star, Bradley Whitford. Echo 3 is also based on the award-winning series When Heroes Fly, created by Omri Givon, and inspired by the eponymous novel by Amir Gutfreund.

 

(L-R): Luke Evans, Valerie Mahaffey, Michiel Huisman and Dominic Fumusa attend Apple TV+’s “Echo 3” Premiere Reception at Lincoln Ristorante on November 16, 2022 in New York City. Photo courtesy/copyright of Apple TV+.

 

Attendees at the red carpet premiere included creator, showrunner and director Mark Boal, series stars Luke Evans, Michiel Huisman, Jessica Ann Collins, Martina Gusmán, James Udom, Valerie Mahaffey, Juan Pablo Raba and Mariana Novak, as well as executive producers Pablo Trapero (who also directs four episodes), Jason Horwitch, Mark Sourian and Peter Traugott. 

 

(L-R): Jessica Ann Collins, Mark Boal (Creator,Director), Mariana Novak, Pablo Trapero and Martina Gusman attend Apple TV+’s “Echo 3” Premiere Reception at Lincoln Ristorante on November 16, 2022 in New York City. Photo courtesy/copyright of Apple TV+.

 

Echo 3 is produced for Apple TV+ by Keshet Studios, the US production arm of Keshet International. Filmed in Colombia with English and Spanish dialogue, the series is showrun by Boal, who also serves as a director and executive producer alongside Keshet Studios’ Peter Traugott, Jason Horwitch, Omri Givon, Eitan Mansuri, Jonathan Doweck, Mark Sourian, Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, and Karni Ziv. Pablo Trapero directed four episodes including the pilot and serves as an executive producer. 

Legion of Super-Heroes Coming On Digital & Blu-Ray In February 2023

Supergirl ventures to the 31st century to find answers to her present-day dilemmas, only to encounter new problems and an old enemy in Legion of Super-Heroes, an all-new, feature-length DC Universe Movie coming to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray+Digital, Blu-ray (Canada only), and Digital starting February 7, 2023 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Check out the trailer below!

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, the action-packed Legion of Super-Heroes will be available on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (USA $39.99 SRP; Canada $44.98 SRP), Blu-ray+Digital (USA $29.98 SRP), Blu-ray (Canada $39.99 SRP) and Digital ($19.99). The Blu-ray+Digital features a Blu-ray disc with the film in hi-definition and a digital version of the movie. The 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack features an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc in 4K with HDR, a Blu-ray disc featuring the film in hi-definition, and a digital version of the movie.

Welcome to the 31st century and the Legion Academy, where a new generation hones their powers with hopes of joining the Legion of Super-Heroes. Devastated by tragedy, Supergirl struggles to adjust to her new life on Earth. Taking her cousin Superman’s advice, Supergirl leaves their space-time to attend the Academy. There, she quickly makes new friends, as well as a new enemy with old ties: Brainiac 5. But a nefarious plot lurks in the shadows – the mysterious group known as the Dark Circle seeks a powerful weapon held in the Academy’s vault. Find out if the budding heroes can rise to the challenge in this all-new DC Universe Movie!

Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) and Harry Shum Jr. (Crazy Rich Asians) lead a star-studded cast as the voices of Supergirl/Kara and Brainiac 5, respectively. Darren Criss (Glee, The Assassination of Gianni Versace), Matt Bomer (Doom Patrol, White Collar) and Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, The Boys) reprise their roles in this ongoing Justice League continuity as Superman, The Flash and Batman, respectively.

The remainder of the robust Legion of Super-Heroes cast features Cynthia Hamidi (FBI) as Dawnstar, Gideon Adlon (Blockers) as Phantom Girl, Ely Henry (Players, Smallfoot) as Bouncing Boy, Robbie Daymond (Critical Role) as Timber Wolf & Brainiac 4, Yuri Lowenthal (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Spider-Man) as Mon-El, Eric Lopez (Young Justice) as Cosmic Boy & Chemical King, Darin De Paul (Mortal Kombat Legends franchise) as Brainiac & Solomon Grundy, Ben Diskin (Muppet Babies) as Arms Fall Off Boy & Brainiac 2, Victoria Grace (Pacific Rim: The Black) as Shadow Lass, Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect franchise) as Alura, Daisy Lightfoot (Avengers Assemble) as Triplicate Girl, and Zeno Robinson (Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons) as Invisible Kid & Brainiac 3.

Jeff Wamester (Justice Society: World War II) directs Legion of Super-Heroes from a screenplay by Josie Campbell (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power). Producers are Jim Krieg (Batman: Gotham by Gaslight) and Kimberly S. Moreau (Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Butch Lukic (Batman: The Long Halloween, Superman: Man of Tomorrow) is Supervising Producer. Sam Register is Executive Producer.

Legion of Super-Heroes – Special Features

4K, Blu-ray and Digital

The Legion Behind The Legion (New Featurette) – It took a heroic effort from a legion of writers, artists, animators and filmmakers to bring Legion of Super-Heroes to life. In this featurette, filmmakers and stars give us a deep dive into the making of the movie, from the original story idea through character development and final animation.

Meet the Legionnaires (New Featurette) – There are dozens and dozens of Legion members, many of whom are featured in Legion of Super-Heroes. Who made the cut, and why? Lucky for us, the filmmakers are here to introduce us to each one - and give us some background on who they are, and why they’re important to the movie.

Brainiac Attack: The Intellect Behind the Super-Villain (New Featurette) – In Legion of Super-Heroes, Brainiac 5 proves himself to be the pinnacle of all Brainiac iterations, but how did he become that way? In this featurette, filmmakers explain what we should we know about the 4 Brainiacs who came before him, and how – and why – Brainiac 5 chose his own path.

Down to Earth: The Story of Supergirl (New Featurette) – Supergirl’s narrow escape from Krypton and her arrival on Earth is just the beginning of our story (literally). In this featurette, filmmakers explain why they chose to center Legion of Super-Heroes on Supergirl, what the backstory is between her and Superman at the start of the movie, and what exactly is going on between her and Brainiac 5.

Spend some time with the expansive canon of popular DC Universe Movies, DC Animated Movies and many other animated DC films and television series by checking out HBO Max!

Gangs of London - Season Two Premieres This Week (AMC +)

The return of the critically acclaimed original series Gangs of London, starring Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (Humans, Mr. Malcolm’s List), will debut its highly anticipated second season on Thursday, November 17th on AMC+, AMC Networks’ premium streaming bundle, with two episodes. Following the premiere, one episode of the eight-part season will debut Thursdays on AMC+. Check out the trailer!

In the second season, a new, darker era of chaos and turbulent power struggles comes to London. One year after the death of Sean Wallace and the violent reckonings of season one, the map and soul of the city has been redrawn – the surviving Wallaces are scattered, the Dumanis broken and estranged, and ex-undercover cop Elliot Finch (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) is now being forced to work for the Investors. As the Investors look down on a city sliding into chaos, they decide enough is enough and bring in reinforcements to restore control. Old favorites and new players fight back against the new order, forcing sworn enemies to work together and family members to betray each other.

Returning cast includes: Dìrísù, Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You), Lucian Msamati (His Dark Materials), Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones), Orli Shuka (Save Me), Pippa Bennett-Warner (Harlots), Brian Vernel (Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens), Narges Rashidi (Under the Shadow), Asif Raza Mir (Daaman) and Valene Kane (The Fall). Joining the ensemble cast for season 2 include Waleed Zuaiter (Baghdad Central), Jahz Armando, Fady El-Sayed (Baghdad Central), Salem Kali (Un Prophète) and Aymen Hamdouchi (SAS: Red Notice). 

Gangs of London is created by Gareth Evans and his creative partner Matt Flannery. Gangs of London is a Pulse Films production in association with SISTER for Sky Studios and AMC. Lead Director for Season 2 is Corin Hardy, with Tom Butterworth as the lead writer. Executive Producers are Thomas Benski, Jane Featherstone, Tom Butterworth, Corin Hardy, Helen Gregory, Gareth Evans, and Matt Flannery. Series Executive Producer is Hugh Warren. Season 2 is directed by Corin Hardy, Marcela Said and Nima Nourizadeh. The series is written by Tom Butterworth, Lauren Sequeira, Danusia Samal, Rowan Athale, Meg Salter and co-written by Steve Searle.

Good Neighbor - The Villains Of Valley View's Kayden Muller-Janssen

(L-R): The Villains of Valley View's Lucy Davis, James Patrick Stuart, Kayden Muller-Janssen, Isabella Pappas, Malachi Barton and Reed Horstmann. Photo courtesy/copyright of The Disney Channel.

It always helps to have an open mind when strangers move into your neighborhood. That proves to be a tall order, though, for a teenager named Hartley in The Disney Channel’s The Villains of Valley View. Before her grandmother Celia took in the Madden family as her new tenants, she should have asked for references. The family’s patriarch, Vic Madden a.k.a. Kraniac, is a mad scientist and genius inventor whose wife Eva/Surge can manipulate electricity. They and their superpowered children - daughter Amy/Havoc and sons Colby/Flashform and Jake/Chaos – are former members of the League of Villains. The Maddens are forced to go on the run after Vic is passed over for promotion to Chief Commander, and Amy butts heads with the league’s leader, Onyx. They end up in the town of Valley View, Texas, but getting used to life in the suburbs proves to be quite a challenge. Luckily, The Maddens have Hartley to help show them the ropes, and she is eager to lend a hand, as the actress who plays her, Kayden Muller-Janssen explains.

“I like to describe Hartley as a giant ball of sunshine,” says Muller-Janssen. “When she walks into the room, you can just feel the positivity and energy that she has for everyone. Hartley is a real people pleaser; she doesn’t like to lie and likes to help her community. When my character meets The Maddens, it’s very much a game changer. Yes, they’re villains, but at the same time, Hartley likes to see the good in everything and everyone. She really wants to help The Maddens be a normal family while also letting them stay true to their villainous selves. I think the big struggle for me with Hartley has been not making her come across as too good, do you know what I mean? We all have our flaws and aren’t perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, and I wanted to make Hartley just like you and me. Other than that, she reminds me a lot of my younger self, so it hasn’t been too hard to connect with the character.”

What was The Villains of Valley View audition process like for Muller-Janssen? “I’d been auditioning for Disney ever since I began acting,” she says. “As soon as I received the [audition] sides for Hartley and read them, I thought, ‘Wow, this is a really cool character,’ so I put together a self-tape and sent it right in. A week or so later, I got a callback, which ended up being a chemistry read with my castmate Isabella Pappas [Amy], and a short time later I found out I got the job. Not long after, I flew out to Los Angeles, shot the pilot with my castmates, and then we waited and crossed our fingers that the show got picked up for an entire season.

“This is my first big role, so I was super nervous when I met everyone I’d be working with. They’re all very well-known as well as established in the business, so it was a bit intimidating at first, but right from the start, everyone was so nice and really took me in. They showed me the ropes and I learned a great deal. I can’t say it enough, that this is a dream come true for me. The chemistry amongst the cast, especially between me and Isabella, who, like our characters, have become good friends off-screen, is terrific. I think that really shows in the pilot and continues throughout the rest of the season.”

In Finding Another Dimension, the opening episode of The Villains of Valley View, The Maddens settle into their new suburban digs, much to the chagrin of Vic’s (James Patrick Stuart) and Eva’s (Lucy Davis) daughter Amy, who longs to return to her family’s villainous roots. Hoping to distract her, Amy’s older brother Jake (Reed Horstmann) tries to get her sister to befriend their neighbor Hartley, but an argument between the two siblings results in them accidentally transporting Hartley to another dimension using one of their father’s inventions. Amy succeeds in saving Hartley, but in the process, reveals her superpowers along with The Maddens’ true identities and that they, are in fact, hiding out in Valley View. Luckily for the young supervillain, Hartley promises to keep their secret and that decision not only impacts her life, but also Amy’s.

“Hartley’s most important relationship is with her new best friend Amy,” notes Muller-Janssen. “The two of them have some wonderful moments where they both teach each other something. I think that Amy helps my character get out of her shell, try new things, and explore her ‘evil’ side. Meanwhile, Hartley helps Amy realize what it’s like to be a normal teenage girl and maybe consider others before she jumps into action and makes decisions that might result in bad consequences. They’re complete opposites but balance one another out. My favorite season one episode is number 12, where Amy and Hartley are sitting on the front porch and singing this song together after another whirlwind adventure.

“When it comes to The Maddens as a family, Hartley does her best to help them stay hidden and make sure that no one figures out that they’re supervillains. At the same time, she lets them spread their wings and shows them what it’s like to care for one another and experience what it’s like to be a typical suburban family. Hartley loves getting to hang out with villains and being dragged along on all these crazy adventures. Sometimes she can’t be good and must make some bad decisions to protect the people she cares about, namely her grandmother Celia [Patricia Belcher] and The Maddens. I’m hoping that in season two, we get to see Hartley’s storyline further develop, but this year I’m thrilled to see her becoming more confident and not letting others step over her and take advantage of her kindness.”

Although she was an avid sportsperson growing up, it was the performing arts that finally won Muller-Janssen over when she was deciding on a profession. “It was an instant connection,” notes the actress. “I was around eight years old when I told my Mom I was really interested in acting and singing. I began doing theatre, specifically musicals, which opened the door to exploring TV as well as feature films, and I met my agent while at summer camp. This industry has always been endlessly exciting for me, which was something I didn’t always feel with sports while growing up.

“Singing was my first love before I got into acting. Growing up I was bullied, and singing was my only friend and only way of coping with how I was feeling. When I picked it along with acting as my career paths, it was perfect because they kind of go hand in hand. Singing is such a big part of who I am as person, and I recently released my first EP. I’ve been recording in the studio since I was 13, so a number of these songs have been in the making for almost five years. To be able to share them with others and hearing that people are enjoying them is a blessing. I’m so happy that these songs that have helped me, can hopefully help someone else, or at least give people some pleasure while they’re listening to them,” she enthuses.

Steve Eramo

Catching Up With Devil in Ohio's Tahmoh Penikett

Tahmoh Penikett as Malachi Dodd in Devil in Ohio. Photo by Ricardo Hubbs and copyright of Netflix.

As Constable Ray Chase he helped crack unresolved or “cold” cases in the Canadian TV police crime drama Cold Squad, suited up as Lieutenant Karl “Helo” Agathon to protect the last survivors of humankind from a threat of its own making in the Sci-Fi series Battlestar Galactica, and jaunted through time – ending up trapped in 21st century Toronto – as a dimension-travelling wizard called Alar of Caer Caladh in the miniseries Riftworld Chronicles. No matter what the story, from fantasy to period drama and even the occasional foray into horror with the cult classic Trick ‘r Treat, actor Tahmoh Penikett draws upon his years of experience in the business to deliver a convincing performance that is guaranteed to not only grab the attention of but also hold the interest of audiences. A graduate of the Victoria Motion Picture School and former student of the Lyric School of Acting in Vancouver, the native Canadian can currently be seen playing Malachi Dodd in the Netflix miniseries Devil in Ohio. It was a role that he was attracted to for a variety of reasons.

“I wasn’t given a great deal of context concerning this character in my initial audition,” recalls Penikett. “I don’t even think I was told that Malachi was a cult leader, but rather that he was a charismatic religious leader of some sort. Up to that point I’d only ever played a priest one other time during my career, which was in a very small independent film, but Malachi was quite different and unique. Again, he was charismatic as well as practiced and confident. I could tell all that from the excellent writing of Daria Polatin, who I wasn’t familiar with at the time, other than seeing her name as executive producer/showrunner on the project.

“They sent me two [audition] sides; the first was Malachi giving a sermon to his community, and the second was a scene involving him and his son, which I connected to right way. It wasn’t very long, but it was a tense exchange with a 19-year-old being slightly admonished by and then shown some love by his father. With help from a buddy of mine, I recorded both scenes on a self-tape and sent them in [to the show’s producers]. They liked what I’d done and just had a few notes. They wanted another tape with those adjustments, which I did, and I think it was in the subsequent callback that they shared with me that Devil in Ohio is based on a true story and a novel of the same name by Daria Polatin involving a Satanic cult in Ohio during the 90’s. I went out, bought a copy of the book, and read it in one day. Not only did I get an excellent sense of how capable Daria Polatin is as a writer, but that this was also an intriguing, scary and very contemporary story. From there I had a couple of more auditions and eventually got the gig,” he enthuses.

L-R: Malachi Dodd (Tahmoh Penikett) and Peter Mathis (Sam Jaeger) in Devil in Ohio. Photo by Ricardo Hubbs and copyright of Netflix.

The focus of Devil in Ohio is teenager Mae Dodd (Madeleine Arthur), the survivor of a bizarre cult who carries with her a lasting memory of that experience, specifically, a pentagram carved into her back. She is under the care of a psychiatrist, Dr. Suzanne (Emily Deschanel), who takes the girl into her home for a few days. It is not long before this mysterious stranger starts to weave her way into the life of the doctor’s fifteen-year-old daughter Jules (Xaria Dotson), doing everything from wearing the girl’s clothes to vying for the attentions of Jules’ boyfriend. There appears to be no line that Mae will not cross in her efforts to turn her life into a mirror image of Jules’. Meanwhile, as much as Mae might want to leave the cult behind, it remains within a stone’s throw and very much a danger. Not surprisingly, Malachi has a huge role to play in his community’s ongoing interest in Mae.

“I think you learn early on in the show that Malachi is connected to some more than questionable actions as a parent,” notes Penikett. “However, you’re not given the whole story, which makes you curious about what would drive someone to do this, and even more curious about the community that my character comes from. Slowly, all the pieces start falling into place regarding this community and its religion, social views, how it conducts itself, and the way it treats its children. When you’re finally introduced to Malachi, you can see that he's dealing with multiple struggles as both a community leader and a parent. He’s not just this nefarious bad guy that you’ve been hearing about. Malachi is a multi-layered individual, as are we all, and he's trying to address a variety of issues as, again, a leader, a father, and human being. As the story continues to unfold, you get to see different sides of him and are given glimpses of his strength as well as charisma, and, alternately, his weakness and desperation.

“Acting-wise, for me, the trickiest thing about this role was that they really spread my scenes, out,” continues the actor. “I’m always astounded by the first AD [assistant director], who must take all the different departments and various logistics into consideration when putting together a [shooting] schedule. Unfortunately, it can be really challenging for an actor. Most actors want to get in there and have a few scenes every day or a few days of work in a row to find their feet and really get into their role. In this instance, though, just because of the schedule – which was no one’s fault – I was brought in on the first day of shooting for one quick scene, and then wasn’t needed back on set for two-and-a-half-weeks. I filmed another scene, and then didn’t return for another three weeks.

L-R: Malachi Dodd (Tahmoh Penikett) and his son Noah (Keenan Tracey) in Devil in Ohio. Photo by Ricardo Hubbs and copyright of Netflix.

“So you lose momentum a bit, which was challenging for me at times, even being a veteran in this business. I sometimes felt like I was almost starting over, at least during the initial two or three times I was on set. I’m not a lazy performer by any means. If I’m given the time, I can get a little obsessive about prepping for a role, and with this project I was given the time, so I looked at it as an opportunity and went for it. Part of my reason for doing that was because of the big gaps between filming my scenes. Whenever I was in front of the cameras, I wanted to make sure that I was as prepared as possible.

“One of my favorite scenes is where Malachi is in church and delivers this very impassioned sermon to his entire flock. It was something that I worked on a lot and really looked forward to doing. The art department and set dec did an incredible job of converting this barn into a church, and to get up in front of all these people and shoot a scene where I was the main focus was exhilarating. It's part of why we as actors do what we do. The reason I connected to this scene and was so excited about it, was that it was a version of the audition scene that got me this job. It was also one of the last scenes I filmed for the show, so it felt like a culmination of everything I had done and remains a very cherished memory for me.”

While Malachi’s relationships with his two children may not be ideal, both are important to the character and help define who he is. “Viewers will see that Mae is everything that Malachi is, and maybe even more,” muses Penikett. “There has been a dynasty of men who have inherited this cult/community, and it includes not only Malachi’s father, but his grandfather, too. There are generations of them; Malachi was raised to follow in their footsteps, as is, he’s hoping, his son. However, in Mae we see her extreme intellect along with drive and the hunger for something more. There is a strength in her that questions the way that this community conducts itself, which in Mae’s eyes, isn’t right. That’s a challenge to Malachi, not to mention terrifying to him as well, but I hope you will also see the love that he has for his daughter.

Malachi Dodd (Tahmoh Penikett) and Sheriff Wilkins (Bradley Stryker) in Devil in Ohio. Photo by Ricardo Hubbs and copyright of Netflix.

“My character also has a very clear and close relationship with his son Noah [Keenan Tracey], which probably wasn’t easy for him to establish given the dynasty that Malachi comes from. They’re very old and hardhanded with their views and the way they conduct themselves, as his father was with him, and his grandfather was to his father. Noah will hopefully inherit the throne, and Malachi works with him and is hard on him in ways that he hopes will unsure that his son has the strength and fortitude to take his seat when he’s gone.

“Another interesting relationship that Malachi has is with Sheriff Wilkins, played by Bradley Stryker, who’s a good friend of mine. The sheriff is Malachi’s righthand man; he goes out and takes care of business for my character, no matter how serious the business. Malachi has tremendous trust in this man, and I would say that Wilkins feels the same way towards my character. The sheriff has a reverence as well as sense of loyalty and duty to his leader that I think is quite compelling to watch.”

2022 has been a busy year for Penikett. In addition to Devil in Ohio, he guest-starred in the first-ever NFT (non-fungible token)-integrated live-action Sci-Fi series GenZeroes as well as played Major Stevens in the feature film Bones of Crows and Jacob Cardinal in the upcoming Rehab. “My best buddy Aleks Paunovic, who I’m so proud of and has had so much success in this business over the years, is wearing the executive producer hat in GenZeroes, and he’s quite good at it,” praises the actor. “He has an amazing team around him, and Aleks, being such a loyal person to the [acting] community, reached out to several of us Vancouver actors about the project. We all came together to film multiple scenes of this fascinating idea of an alternate future, and I had a blast. I had the pleasure of working not only with some amazing new talent in Vancouver, but also people who I’ve known for years and worked with before like Kandyse McClure [Lt. Anastasia Dualla in Battlestar Galactica] and another old friend of mine, [stunt actor/coordinator] Kimani Ray Smith, who was directing. My character of Ranger was in many ways written for me, and I hope we have the chance to tell more of this story.

“Bones of Crows is an excellent project that’s important to Canada, and one that the world needs to hear. Marie Clements is from the Metis indigenous Nation, and a well-respected playwright/director/producer/performer of the highest caliber. She wrote this story, which is set over many decades in one family’s life. Many people are aware of the Navaho code talkers and how essential their work was to us winning World War II. What a lot of people don’t know is that the Allied forces also used Cree, which is another indigenous language, to the same effect, and that story really hasn’t been told. The shameful side of it is that a lot of these indigenous heroes returned home after the war and weren’t even given their veteran’s pay. They were disgraced and forgotten about by the government. The indigenous in Canada weren’t even given the right to vote until 1967, and yet the nation had no problem institutionalizing their children so that they never saw their families. This was done with help from many different churches in North America. The government seized these children and sent them to residential [boarding] schools where they were, unfortunately, sexually, physically, and psychologically abused for most of their childhood. They were then sent home broken shells. The damage that was done will go on for generations. This movie really touches on that; it’s something that all Canadians need to see, and I would argue Americans, too, and I’m incredibly proud to be a part of it.

“As for Rehab, I shot that about a year-and-a-half ago and it should be coming out soon. It was written by another friend of mine, Andrew Genell, a very gifted Sto:lo Nation indigenous writer. I star in the film with such talented people as Jennifer Podemski and Eric Johnson as well as some amazing young indigenous performers, who have some terrific opportunities ahead of them, so I can’t help but give a shout out to this project.”

Steve Eramo

New Action/Sci-Fi Novel TimeLock By Father And Son Writing Team Howard Berk and Peter Berk

Award-winning publisher IngramElliott is excited to release a boldly original new novel – TimeLock, written by father and son Howard Berk and Peter Berk. An award-winning novelist and film and television writer, Howard Berk’s credits include Columbo, Mission: Impossible, The Rockford Files, and the feature film, Target, starring Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon.

Set in a near future defined by terrifying new technology, rampant crime, prison overcrowding and an unbalanced Governor likely to become our next President, TimeLock is the first in an ambitious series of action and sci-fi short fiction designed for quick reading and ideal translation into film or television. A fast-paced thriller with romance and humor that evokes such films as The Fugitive, In Time, and Logan’s Run, TimeLock revolves around a highly controversial cellular acceleration process that instantly ages prisoners the total number of years of their sentence. In other words – three strikes and you're old . . . very old. Just one problem – what happens if you're innocent?

Falsely convicted of murder, 23-year-old Morgan Eberly is sentenced to be aged 40 years in a TimeLock capsule. When a riot interrupts his processing halfway through, Morgan – suddenly a middle-aged man of 43 – manages to escape. With powerful forces on his trail, Morgan enlists the help of the initially-resistant Janine Price, the FBI agent who arrested him. Together, they investigate the murders of ex-prisoners who were transformed by TimeLock and soon discover why Morgan is certain to be the program’s next victim. Can Morgan and Janine unlock the truth about TimeLock before it's too late?

TimeLock will be sold in print and e-book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, and anywhere books are sold. For the latest updates, events, and reviews, connect with the authors on Facebook and Instagram @timelocknovel and follow the TimeLock book page at www.ingramelliott.com/timelock.

From The Page To The Screen?

Given IngramElliott’s mission to bring great stories to light in print and on-screen, the company will be actively exploring opportunities to develop TimeLock and its sequels as feature films or limited series. As it happens, TimeLock was in fact first written as a screenplay before being more recently novelized. At present, a total of five TimeLock novels are planned. Details about “TimeLock 2: The Kyoto Conspiracy will be announced shortly.

About The Authors

An award-winning novelist and screenwriter, Howard Berk’s credits include memorable episodes of such classic TV series as Columbo, (including By Dawn’s Early Light, for which guest star Patrick McGoohan won an Emmy), Mission: Impossible, The Rockford Files, The Fall Guy, The New Mike Hammer and The Contender, starring V and The Beastmaster lead Marc Singer. Howard Berk also wrote the feature film, Target, starring Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon.

Peter Berk has written four novels, an entertainment industry non-fiction book co-authored by Eight Is Enough star Dick Van Patten, three TV pilots and a dozen screenplays, including several with his father which became the basis for the TimeLock series of novellas.Commenting on the publication of TimeLock, Peter Berk said, “My father was the best writer I’ve ever known. I’ll forever cherish the countless hours we spent writing together and now I can honestly say that thanks to the IngramElliott team, bringing so many of the projects my dad and I wrote together to fruition in this series of novellas is easily the most gratifying work I’ve ever done in my life.”