Fall TV premiere dates inch closer – and You’re the Worst is back tonight! – and so plenty of behind the scenes promo is occurring. Plus fabulous guest stars, guest directors and one show is almost forever finished shooting.
A lot of beard to kick off this week’s Insta highlights with Kristofer Hivju and Michael Fassbender. Future Fassy in Game of Thrones possibilities are probably low, but this wouldn’t be his first HBO venture as he was in a couple of Band of Brothers episodes.
Welcome back my fave screechy teen on a prestige drama and it looks like Whitney’s going all domestic goddess in a cat covered apron in season 3 of The Affair.
Eva Longoria is directing an episode of Jane the Virgin this season and everyone is very pleased with this. Also the amount of Brett Dier popping up in these shots would suggest Michael is not going to be dearly departed.
While we won’t get to see the final season of Girls until early next year, the show is currently wrapping up and these final days are getting the Instagram treatment.
BrainDead continues to be my favorite show of the summer, but the last two weeks have been lacking any Gustav so hopefully the next episode will rectify this.
There is a lot of TV to be watched right now (#PeakTV) and like many I am in the process of compiling end of year lists (and as I have done in previous years I will be doing my ‘best of’ in a variety of ways) while trying to remember everything that I have watched this year. So this is a preview of what is to come in the following month and hopefully it will jog my very full TV related memory of anything I might miss.
So in no particular order here is what I am thankful for when it comes to TV in 2015:
The Hollywood Reporter TV Actress roundtable participants look like this and not this.
Comedy shows that explore a broad range of topics which not only make me laugh until I cry, but also invoke full on Claire Danes level of cry face. I am mostly looking at you You’re the Worst.
While I’m on the subject of comedies that make me misty eyed; Parks and Recreation ended this season on a high with an episode that pivoted on the Six Feet Under model and caused just as many tears.
Cable shows are embracing male nudity beyond just butts (special shout-outs to The Leftovers and The Affair) and all this after the The Comeback had a whole episode dedicated to skewering cable on this issue.
And that every episode is a lesson in tension and an exploration on marriage and identity. It was my number one show in March and it still is in November (spoiler alert).
That Agent Carter got a second season and I now own the same lipstick as Peggy Carter.
The master class in acting delivered by Carrie Coon and Regina King on The Leftovers and for every insanely wonderful thing this show is doing. Also for Justin Theroux’s ability to look bewildered and devastated at any given opportunity.
The Villanueva women.
Getting to see Tatiana Maslany take on even more characters and make me forget she is playing everyone in a scene. And this wave.
Kroll Show going out on a high and creating this incredible universe where so many characters overlapped and intersected. And because I can’t say “Oh, hello” without wondering if there is too much tuna and I sometimes inadvertently say ‘Ameezing’ like I’m on PubLIZity.
The 12 Angry Men episode of Inside Amy Schumer.
Rob and Sharon on Catastrophe (even if the amount of things Sharon says that are like me is reaching a worrying level).
Shows that take will they/won’t they situations and turn them into yep they will. Oh hey there Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
All of Lady Gaga’s costuming on American Horror Story: Hotel.
Fargo indulging my love of all things 1970s clothing.
Daenerys’ dragon necklace.
The brief but amazing turn by Birgitte Hjort Sørensen on Game of Thrones.
Oscar Isaac’s mustache/dad jeans and all the Bruce Springsteen used throughout Show Me a Hero. And, how the thought of this show hits me like a gut punch.
Every beautiful/fucked up thing they got away with on Hannibal this season.
The range in costume design and shows covered on here includes everything from period to contemporary to fantasy; I am thankful there is a vast amount to discuss and get inspired by.
Season 2 of Transparent is almost here!
The list is long and there are probably some very obvious things I have missed. I will get mad at myself later, but for now Happy Thanksgiving!
If you’re looking for Thanksgiving episodes to watch maybe take a rewind and watch these offerings from Felicityand Dawson’s Creek.
Plenty of singing and dancing from this week’s TV Instagram highlights. Plus costuming sneak peeks and more shows going back into production while others are coming to an end. Ah the cycle of TV (and especially cable shows).
Queen of Dubsmash Hayley Atwell with co-star Enver Gjokaj doing the impossible and making “Uptown Funk” feel fresh again. She isn’t wrong about those hips.
Tatiana Maslany switched out her fantastic ruffled Roksanda ruffled jumpsuit (stay tuned for Look of the Week) for something a little more comfy post panel and Donnie himself, Kristian Bruun captured the look.
Alison Bennett wrote last week’s episode of You’re the Worst and the end of “Side Bitch” was just as emotionally devastating as the Gretchen’s trip in the middle of night a couple of weeks ago. Luckily for us Paul himself Allan McLeod has a bunch of sweet photos to soften the blow.
Of course the ChumHum office has a slide. Cush Jumbo’s video also indicates that Lucca Quinn will be sticking around, much to our delight and one of The Good Wife’s most challenging clients will be making an appearance.
The Americans won’t be back until the start of 2016, but in the meantime the Russian contingent are sharing some set photos and once again Nina has some fantastic knitwear.
It may not be a Mindy Project behind the scenes picture and yet it still makes the TV Insta cut as this scene made me laugh a whole bunch. And I continue to have Mindy pajama envy.
The Affair is not what you would describe as a light show, but there were plenty of laughs to be had at the PaleyFest New York panel this week. Showrunner Sarah Treem and the cast discussed the new season including how adding Helen and Cole’s points of view has expanded the world of the show by offering up four different takes of the overarching story. The general conceit is touched upon with the idea that there is no one ‘true truth’ being offered up and instead we are now getting four different versions of one affair and its impact.
Plus find out which actor gets the most shit in real life about their character (spoiler alert – it is Dominic West).
The new POVs mean we get to move beyond the central love story and Dominic West mentions how in the first season Noah and Alison were falling in love and so generally they were on the same page. With Helen and Cole their feelings toward this relationship come from a place of betrayal and so their versions are in contrast; sometimes wildly so as we saw in the mediation and when Cole returns some of Alison’s things. It is no longer a case of spot the difference with clothes, hair style and tone, but a completely different take on an experience.
These extreme differences worked better for me in the second episode in the Cole/Alison encounter because there was a lot of wish fulfillment from Cole’s view; it was all about reconciling this relationship ending in a cordial manner and accepting that it is over. For Alison, Cole is menacing and a bit of a dick; this justifies her decision to leave. The box (which I’m guessing belonged to their child) is absent in Cole’s story and his day was already pretty bleak without this reminder.
Degrees of favorability come up and how generally the best version of a character is in their own story. This isn’t always the case with Joshua Jackson pointing out Cole’s day involves cocaine, drink driving and an aggressive run in with his brother. He also mentions a random blow job, but this scene didn’t make it into the second episode and this is one of the many jovial moments from the panel. While I don’t need The Affair to become all laughs all the time, it would be good if they could inject a sprinkling of the humor as this is a group of actors who have really great chemistry off screen as well as on. From this panel I know I need some more scenes between Cole and Helen; evidence in the photos below.
And here’s another because this panel really is delightful (plus I am weak when it comes to Joshua Jackson in a sweater).
The Affair is a show that I find really interesting and infuriating at times in part because of the narrative structure and the storytelling device. This season is already more in the interesting column over infuriating as a result of the new perspectives and giving Maura Tierney and Joshua Jackson more to do. Ruth Wilson also points out that Alison’s sadness has been dialed back a bit this year (“for you guys as much as me”) and while some of the standout scenes dealt with Alison’s all consuming grief, this is a welcome move.
Prior to this discussion the PaleyFest audience have just watched the third episode (airing Sunday 18) so there are a couple of ‘huh?’ moments in what they are referencing, but nothing particularly spoilery. Dominic West discusses the challenges of underwater acting so I will be keeping an eye out on his facial expressions during that scene.
At the end the cast are asked which of the other characters they have previously played would they like to see spend a day in The Affair universeand both Ruth Wilson and Maura Tierney come up with funny answers. But I don’t want to spoil it so just watch the panel here for that and enjoy the rest of this lighthearted affair (I will see myself out).
So many fall shows are on the horizon and there are plenty of countdowns to premiere dates on Instagram from a variety of sets and editing bays including Jane the Virgin, Empire, The Mindy Project and Black-ish.
Playing House is pure lady friendship happiness and Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham blew the first whistle at the Los Angeles Derby Dolls bout last weekend. Here they are clutching their whistles and Parham’s Johnny Depp tee (from Clashist) is a good reminder of his pre-Pirates persona.
Plenty of casts from fall shows have returned to set for their new seasons so while we have to wait until September to see the fruits of their labor, it is maybe time to infer things from the behind the scenes sneak peeks. Plus reunions, cute outfits and TV watching faces.
Belfast airport is the place to spot Game of Thrones cast members as production of season 6 begins and sadly the wait for viewers is going to be a little longer than fall. Daenerys has been reunited with Missandei by a nice selection of mugs and it is no big surprise seeing Emilia Clarke and Nathalie Emmanuel heading back even if their characters are currently separated. All eyes are on another person who happened to make his way to Belfast.
Robbie Amell (who has just be cast in the new X-Files revival along with Lauren Ambrose!) and Victor Garber are back on the set of The Flash, but it’s Grant Gustin’s hoodie over his new Flash suit that I am distracted by. Maybe Barry should rock this look.
In less vague costume news Bellamy Young shows off the mostly colorful Manolo Blahnik heels with a dash of Kate Spade during a ball gown fitting with Scandal costume designer Lyn Paolo. Fancy pants party scenes are a favorite.
Puppies! Continuing to look like a very happy place to work is the Orange is the New Black set and it was a good week for the Netflix show as they received four Emmy nominations including Best Drama Series.
Where he also got to hang out with Kumail Nanjiani and I am thrilled Nanjiani is going to be in an episode. If you haven’t listened to his podcast The X-Files Files and you’re currently rewatching before the revival then I definitely recommend you do.
Bad form at this end as I didn’t know Joshua Jackson was on Instagram (in my defense he hasn’t posted that much before this week and I am far too distracted by Diane Kruger’s excellent feed). He’s making me long for a beach trip as a result of showing off the beautiful locations they use on The Affair. There is also a shot of something a bit more intimate that he has to wear on this show.
A couple of weeks ago Showtime released a first look at the new season of The Affair which teased plenty of angst, smooches and a super beardy Joshua Jackson. In that post we discussed the pre-season Emmy interview with Maura Tierney where she mentioned that the number of perspectives would be shifting from the original two with Noah and Alison and expanding to four; adding Cole and Helen to the this narrative device.
At the time I was thrilled by this news and I still am because my main issue with The Affair’s first seasonwas that I didn’t find Noah and Alison’s relationship all that compelling. And it didn’t help when the season finale dipped into the absurd with explosive confrontations and Noah’s arrest.
The new season 2 key art pulls away from the isolated Noah/Alison pairing used for season 1 and physically inserts Cole and Helen into the image as they stare out at us while their exes remain oblivious. The tagline also suggests that just because there are more viewpoints things will not become any clearer. Oh and did I mention Joshua Jackson’s beard? Okay, I did.
Along with the new artwork Showtime has released a couple of new preview videos which hint at a whole host of conflicts born from this affair; families torn apart and the murder Noah has been accused of committing. From these videos alone I’m feeling a lot more hopeful as to the direction season 2 is going in and I’m particularly excited about the prospect of a lot more Maura Tierney and Joshua Jackson.
Going behind the scenes on the photo shoot with the four core cast and Ruth Wilson asks “Are we doing Friends or are we doing angry friends?” and now I really want to see them sipping milkshakes together or hanging out by a fountain. Plus there are the usual talking heads reminding us where we left off and what is to come.
Basically I am anticipating this new season way more than I thought I would be after I watched the season 1 finale.
A whole lot of celebrating going on this week with both Pride and the Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality across all 50 states. Plus reunions, returning to work, lipstick inspiration and a dream holiday location.
The Orange is the New Black cast partied at New York Pride on the Netflix float and there is some excellent cross show promotion from Danielle Brooks; I really need this vest top in my life.
All the Looking and Patrick/Kevin related feelings from this photo. I know Kevin is ultimately bad for Patrick, but I can’t help but ship them a teeny tiny bit.
Tracee Ellis Ross looked stunning at the BET Awards including this excellent lip color and now we know what shade/brand it is – Nars ‘Damned’ lip pencil. Also giving a much closer look at all the amazing jewelry she accessorized her first outfit of the night with.
Yesterday we posted the new teaser for The Affair and Julia Goldani Telles gives us a glimpse of this idyllic location. A vacation in a place like this (but with far less drama and anguish) would be wonderful.
Rounding things off with patchwork style jeans which Diane Kruger is pulling off (she is a magical fashion unicorn) and the all important Love Wins message.
The Affair is currently shooting its second season and just in time for maybe Emmy nominations – it did win the Golden Globe after all – a teaser for the new season has been released. In it there is plenty of smooching, crying, yelling and some very disheveled looks.
The amount of viewpoints is expanding from two (Alison and Noah) to four (Helen and Cole join the mix) and this is a good thing because at times during the first year I found it hard to find myself too engaged by the central pairing.
My issue isn’t that they are having an affair (it is in the title of the show after all) or that they didn’t have good chemistry, but I just didn’t care all that much for them as a couple. Out of the pair Alison is by far the most compelling as Noah’s story borders on mid-life crisis cliche and it is his scenes with Helen that really hit some incredibly devastating notes.
By opening up the different viewpoints it takes some of the attention away from Alison and Noah and will give Helen and Cole more depth. Maura Tierney and Joshua Jackson both delivered last season while being on the periphery and I am forever in awe of everything Maura Tierney does as she can sell heartbreak with just a look. Now their characters will hopefully become more than just props in the central love story and we will get to see how they view Alison and Noah.
Memory is a big factor and how it can vary from person to person and it will be interesting to see how Helen and Cole’s version mirror or deviate from the kind of experience we have already witnessed.
Playing with perceptions of behavior and costume is one of The Affair’s strengths, which goes beyond spot the difference and reveals a whole lot about these characters and how they see the world. By throwing in two more POVs it will expand this further and this is why I am excited for the new season.
From the teaser you can see that things are going really well for a brief moment, but there is going to be a whole lot of confrontations with the exes, tears in the shower and a really striking blue dress from Helen. Oh and that pesky court related business.
Watch the teaser for season 2 of The Affair, which will return in the fall.
Plus here is the always delightful Maura Tierney discussing the expanding viewpoints and Emmy related thoughts with Goldderby.
This is the one I have been waiting for and every year the drama actress roundtable is the highlight of The Hollywood Reporter’s Emmy series. It might be a premature declaration as there are still more discussions to come as part of this season, but I am pretty confident in this assertion after reading the transcript and watching the clips which have been made available prior to SundanceTV airing it in full come August (Update – you can now watch the full discussion at the end of this post). I do want to point to the comedy actress chat as another enlightening and fascinating entry into the roundtable Hall of Fame. And now there is another group to add to my boozy lunch wish list.
The line-up is entirely different to last year (sometimes there are repeats) with Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Honourable Woman), Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder), Taraji P. Henson (Empire), Jessica Lange (American Horror Story), Ruth Wilson (The Affair) and Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex). Gone are the questions of ‘how do you balance work and family?’ and instead there is a strong focus on their work from the shows they are currently on to past experiences. There are four Oscar nominees among these women (some multiple) and a two time winner showing the caliber of talent television attracts particularly when it comes to complex roles for women. A mixture of cable and network with ages ranging from 32 to 66 shows how well television caters to a range of experiences.
As the cover so boldly states there is a focus on race, sex, age and nudity with the latter coming up on multiple occasions. Lizzy Caplan and Ruth Wilson joke about the name of their network – “Showtits” – and sex plays a big part in both Masters of Sex (it is in the title after all) and The Affair. Sex isn’t just there for sensationalism or to be gratuitous; it is worth noting that both shows have a female showrunner with Caplan going so far as pointing out that Michelle Ashford is kinda prudish and those scenes can be hard for all involved.
How to Get Away with Murder is Viola Davis’ first starring role on prime time and she talks about her initial concerns when she took the project on including her appearance. There is one point which really sticks with me and is worth quoting in full exemplifying why this roundtable series strikes a chord:
“I’ve been doing this for 27 years. I’ve performed in basements, churches, off-Broadway. I want the work to reflect my level of gifts and talent. I don’t want it to reflect my color, my sex or my age. That’s what I want most.”
The comedy actresses talked about bad auditions and incidents earlier in their careers where they maybe tried to adjust their look for an audition. This is something Maggie Gyllenhaal discusses in terms of her appearance and how she has been judged in the past in terms of being ‘sexy.’ Gyllenhaal also mentions her interest in nudity and what she looks for in a sex scene.
Cookie Lyon has made such a huge impact on the TV landscape this season and Taraji P. Henson jokes “I hate that bitch. She’s stolen my identity! My friends don’t want to talk to me unless it’s about Cookie.” I’m only halfway through Empire but within the first few minutes of seeing this character on screen it was love. Henson also reveals who she sometimes channels when she is playing Cookie and the answer is not who you might expect. There are no boundaries when it comes to want roles Henson wants to play “I want to play a superhero. I want to be a Bond girl. I want to play a man. I want to play a white woman. I want to play everything I’ve never played before.”
There are more clips to watch here before the full thing becomes available in August.
In terms of the styling of the group it turns out I wasn’t proved wrong after all with an explosion of sparkle and while Ruth Wilson is the lone person in print (a beautiful Erdem frock), there is some color with Viola Davis’ Lanvin and range of styles suiting the wearer in question. Lizzy Caplan’s Donna Karan ensemble is reminiscent of her Donna Karan Atelier Emmy stunner from last year (Caplan also chose this designer when she wowed at the Met Gala last month). During the chat Caplan wears an oversized tuxedo jacket and looks super cool while doing so. Excellent lipstick game from all the ladies with Caplan’s fuchsia reminding me of my new favorite lip color. And now if you will excuse me I will be drawing hearts around this entire conversation.
Check back for more Emmy related discussions in the weeks/months to come.
Update! Watch the full uncensored Emmy Drama Actress roundtable below.
TV Ate My Wardrobe 
