Jeff Pfeiffer, Author at StayTuned Magazine

#TCA16: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos calls “Making a Murderer” a “remarkable turn of events”

January 17, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

You may well be among the large group of people who, since Christmastime, has been inundated with raves, opinions and theories from friends and family about the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer. Or, you yourself may be one of those people who has become addicted to the true crime series, which was filmed over 10 years and follows the story of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who served 18 years in prison for the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen, and who was exonerated in 2003. Avery was then arrested in 2005, and convicted in 2007, of the […]

#TCA16: Tyler Perry talks #OscarsSoWhite controversy

January 15, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

Tyler Perry was at the Television Critics Association (TCA) Winter Press tour on FOX day today, to discuss his role as host and narrator for the upcoming spring music event The Passion — a telling of the final days of Jesus as set to modern music, inspired by a hugely successful Dutch event. After the panel, Perry talked to a scrum of reporters and addressed one question about the controversy of no person of color being nominated for an acting Oscar this year. The Academy has historically been seen as slighting minority actors, and in recent years that has inspired the sarcastic […]

#TCA16: No Jack Bauer in new “24” event series, “diverse” lead sought

January 15, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

FOX’s executive session this morning drove home that the network is in on event series based on successful former series on the network. Coming up soon is the 6-part revisiting of The X-Files, and it was announced that there is also a Prison Break event series in the works. Dana Walden and Gary Newman, chairmen and CEOs of Fox Television Group, also announced that FOX has greenlit a pilot for a new series set in the world of 24. However, this event series — unlike the original 24 and a previous event series, 24: Live Another Day — will not star Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, and will […]

Epic adaptation of “War and Peace” simulcast across A&E, History and Lifetime

January 15, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel War and Peace always seemed like one of those books that people like to claim to have read but may not have actually done so, mainly given its formidable size, clocking in at well over 1,000 pages. If you fall into this category, you’re in luck, as a BBC adaptation of the novel — airing in the United States across the A&E, History and Lifetime networks — condenses the story into its main elements and delivers a strong costume drama the likes of which used to be featured regularly on A&E and History. (Whether or not […]

Meet the women beside the powerful men of Showtime’s “Billions”

January 15, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

Showtime’s timely new drama Billions taps into current concerns about income inequality and the tendency of some in the financial sector to not play completely by the rules when it comes to acquiring their fortunes. The fact that the series is cowritten and -executive produced by Too Big to Fail author Andrew Ross Sorkin probably plays a part in this. The show also focuses heavily on the tendency of many, especially men, in this sector to be obsessed with macho posturing and a desire to remain an “alpha,” a phrase that is uttered a number of times in the pilot […]

Patrick Warburton on The Tick revival: “I have to do it soon”

January 14, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

I talked with Patrick Warburton today at the Television Critics Association (TCA) winter press tour about his new NBC sitcom Crowded (more on that in a later post), and had a chance to also talk about his other memorable comedic work, from David Puddy on Seinfeld to Joe Swanson on Family Guy to Brock Samson on The Venture Bros. (Season 6 of The Venture Bros. premieres Jan. 31 on Adult Swim). But Warburton said that while all of those certainly have their fan bases, it is his short-lived 2001 FOX sitcom The Tick that “has this grand cult following.” Our interview was at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, and Warburton said […]

#TCA16: Another #OneChicago crossover coming in February

January 14, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

Dick Wolf, legendary executive producer of the Law & Order franchise and the recent wave of shows in the Chicago franchise — Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med — was at the Television Critics Association (TCA) winter press tour today to talk about the Chicago shows in the wake of a successful crossover among his series last week. “The crossover last week was so incredibly satisfying,” Wolf told reporters, “because I think we got new eyeballs to all three shows. Whether they’ll stay around, I don’t know, but in the two nights, the four shows, including SVU, hit on an L3 basis 49.26 million people. I don’t want to […]

Where to watch President Obama’s final State of the Union address

January 11, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

President Barack Obama will deliver the final State of the Union address of his time in office on Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 9pm ET. The Republican response to the State of the Union address will be delivered by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Here are some places to watch the 2016 State of the Union address, President Obama’s final address: ABC — ABC will offer live coverage of the State of the Union address beginning at 9pm ET. Al Jazeera America — Al Jazeera America’s State of the Union coverage will start at 6:30pm ET, with “Inside Story” anchored by Ray Suarez in […]

What’s new on Netflix January 2016

January 8, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

New on Netflix January 2016 is Degrassi: The Next Class. Keeping with the spirit of the Degrassi franchise, which has been ongoing since the ’80s, Next Class will tell the stories of “Generation Z,” and pull no punches as it does so. Also new on Netflix this month is Chelsea Does, Chelsea Handler’s (pictured) new documentary series that is comprised of four revealing, funny and introspective films (“Chelsea Does Marriage,” “Chelsea Does Racism,” “Chelsea Does Silicon Valley” and “Chelsea Does Drugs”) featuring Handler exploring topics of personal and universal fascination. Here is more of what’s new on Netflix January 2016. NEW ON NETFLIX JANUARY […]

Sarah Wayne Callies on USA Network’s “Colony”

January 8, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer

Following her stint on another post-apocalyptic TV drama as Lori in “The Walking Dead,” Sarah Wayne Callies jumps right into another dystopian world in USA Network’s thriller “Colony,” which boasts Carlton Cuse (“Lost,” “The Strain”) as one of its executive producers. While the chaos here has not been generated by a zombie apocalypse, it is still a bleak world, set in the very near future, where a force of some sort has occupied the city of Los Angeles (at the very least; we cannot tell yet from the first episode whether the occupiers control other parts of America, or the […]