Although we’ve seen some animated small-screen spinoffs of Star Wars, there’s never been a live-action TV series based on the franchise … until now. We’re less than three months away from the premiere of The Mandalorian, which is set in the Star Wars universe, following Return of the Jedi in the story’s timeline. Of course, given that it carries the Star Wars name and brand, Disney knows fans won’t accept a low-quality knock-off, so they’ve stocked the show with plenty of high-profile names, from showrunner Jon Favreau to a cast that includes movie veterans like Nick Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito, Werner Herzog, and Carl Weathers. When Weathers signed on to do the show, he was actually amazed that the project was being made for Disney’s streaming service instead of theatrical release. (Click on the media bar below to hear Carl Weathers)
The Mandalorian will premiere November 12 on the new Disney+ streaming service, and you can watch the new trailer right here.
When actors take roles as doctors, they’ll often shadow real doctors as they go about their work in a hospital. When they’ll be playing police officers, there’s probably a series of ride-alongs in their future. For lawyers, you can expect plenty of trips to the courthouse. But what happens when you’re going to be playing a stand-up comic? For Rachel Brosnahan of Amazon’s Emmy-winning series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, it meant spending a lot of nights at comedy clubs. And it wasn’t just her — she says she took her on-screen husband, Michael Zegen, to some of the shows as well. (Click on the media bar below to hear Rachel Brosnahan)
The third season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel premieres December 6 on Amazon Prime Video.
These days, most TV viewers know Simone Missick as the character of Misty Knight, a Marvel heroine who appeared in three Marvel Universe shows — Luke Cage, The Defenders, and Iron Fist. But now, Missick is administering a different kind of justice, playing a judge on the new CBS drama All Rise. Missick told us she wasn’t looking for such a drastic change in direction, but couldn’t resist the role when she read it. (Click on the media bar below to hear Simone Missick)
Gerard Butler is currently starring in the third Fallen movie, Angel Has Fallen. The films are serialized, with each building on the events of the movies that came before, which gives the cast and crew the opportunity to expand and stretch the characters and the series’ universe. Butler told us it’s this evolution and growth that make the series worthwhile for him, and a lot more fun and interesting for viewers, too.
Carnival Row takes place in a fantastic world of mysticism, supernatural occurrences, and good old-fashioned Victorian England. It’s an intriguing mix that had its star, Orlando Bloom, hooked as soon as he heard about it. Once he learned more about the story behind this world, he became very excited about becoming a part of it, and now he’s thrilled that he has. (Click on the media bar below to hear Orlando Bloom)
Carnival Row starts streaming next Friday (8/30) on Amazon Prime Video.
In its first three seasons, This Is Us has done something amazing — it has earned 18 Emmy nominations in acting categories alone! After being shut out in the first two seasons, Mandy Moore has joined the party, with a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. It’s obvious to anyone who watches the show that the quality of the performances is nearly flawless, but Moore told us that has more to do with the material they’re given than the actors themselves. (Click on the media bar below to hear Mandy Moore)
This Is Us begins its new season Tuesday, September 24 on NBC.
After playing a female version of Sherlock Holmes’s sidekick, Dr. Watson, on Elementary, Lucy Liu was hoping to grab another substantial role with her next series. Fortunately, an old friend — producer Marc Cherry — approached her with a role on his new show, Why Women Kill, that seemed tailor-made for her. When Cherry told her about it, she recalls, she realized she could definitely channel her inner murderer, especially if she was doing it for Cherry. (Click on the media bar below to hear Lucy Liu)
Why Women Kill is streaming now on CBS All Access.
If Good Boys sounds like a younger version of the movie Superbad, well, that’s by design. Both were produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and when the two of them came across the Good Boys script, they knew the movie would be a perfect fit for the types of movies they’ve made in the past (including Superbad). (click on the media bar below to hear Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg)
You don’t have to be a kid to appreciate The Lion King. The movie is full of messages that resonate with people of all ages and all stages of the Circle of Life. In the early ’90s, when the original film was being developed at Disney, the script really resonated with one particular middle-aged man: Elton John. He told us that when he was first approached to do the movie, he’d just gone through a time in his life where the Lion King story really spoke to him. (Click on the media bar below to hear Elton John)
You definitely won’t have any problem distinguishing Cobie Smulders’s role on the new series Stumptown from her career-defining role on How I Met Your Mother. Stumptown is most definitely a drama, with Smulders playing an army vet-turned-private investigator. She told us she wasn’t necessarily looking to go in such a different direction with her next role, but when she became aware of the character, she felt like she could live with it for a long time. (Click on the media bar below to hear Cobie Smulders)
Stumptown premieres Wednesday, September 25 on ABC.
Although we’ve seen some animated small-screen spinoffs of Star Wars, there’s never been a live-action TV series based on the franchise … until now. We’re less than three months away from the premiere of The Mandalorian, which is set in the Star Wars universe, following Return of the Jedi in the story’s timeline. Of course, given that it carries the Star Wars name and brand, Disney knows fans won’t accept a low-quality knock-off, so they’ve stocked the show with plenty of high-profile names, from showrunner Jon Favreau to a cast that includes movie veterans like Nick Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito, Werner Herzog, and Carl Weathers. When Weathers signed on to do the show, he was actually amazed that the project was being made for Disney’s streaming service instead of theatrical release. (Click on the media bar below to hear Carl Weathers)
