Lori Acken, Author at StayTuned Magazine

And Then There Were None: Lifetime airs BBC’s Agatha Christie miniseries

March 11, 2016 Lori Acken

BBC One’s hit miniseries And Then There Were None, based on Agatha Christie’s 1939 masterpiece, makes its U.S. debut Sunday and Monday on Lifetime. Boasting an international cast toplined by Game of Thrones favorite Charles Dance, Peaky Blinders’ Sam Neill, Oscar nominee Miranda Richardson and Black Sails‘ Toby Stephens, None tells the story of 10 strangers with secretive pasts who are lured to remote Soldier Island as Europe marches toward World War II. Unable to escape, hostless and each accused of a terrible crime, the castaways begin dying under curious circumstances, leaving survivors scrambling to uncover the killer among them — or […]

Kiefer Sutherland announces music tour, record release

March 10, 2016 Lori Acken

Heads up, Kiefer Sutherland fans! Turns out, Kevin Bacon’s not the only former FOX network star to turn his attention to music. The former 24 star will launch a nationwide music tour on April 14 — right here in my Milwaukee hometown — in support of his upcoming folk album Down In A Hole, due for a summer release. In 2002, Sutherland launched the Ironworks record label with his friend and music partner, Jude Cole, setting their sights on affording bigger opportunities to local talent. Sutherland left the label in 2009, returning to music in early 2015, when he reunited with Cole and began penning and […]

Better Call Saul recap Season 2 episode 4: Lies, damned lies and statistics…

March 7, 2016 Lori Acken

Welcome back, Better Call Saul fans. Time to find out some things. Like Mike’s ultimate interpretation of Nacho’s no good, very bad idea from the end of last week’s episode. Like Cliff’s interpretation of Jimmy’s no good, very bad (but very effective) idea, in the form of his Sham-gela Lansbury ad. Like Kim’s interpretation of Jimmy’s latest interpretation of a good legal idea. Like Chuck’s ability to prove a point. • Better Call Saul‘s Michael McKean: Chuck is not the bad guy • Better Call Saul‘s Rhea Seehorn: Kim knows who Jimmy is We open “Gloves Off” in the dark, […]

Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn: Kim knows who Jimmy is

March 4, 2016 Lori Acken

Better Call Saul fans are thrilled to see the splendid Rhea Seehorn logging more screen time as put-upon litigator Kim Wexler in Season 2 of the Breaking Bad spinoff, airing Mondays on AMC. As Kim — Jimmy McGill’s biggest fan, sometime lover and longtime conscience — the actress has much to do as Bob Odenkirk’s morally flexible jurist marches ever closer to becoming outright shyster Saul Goodman. “With Kim, it’s just as much about what she doesn’t say as what she does say,” Seehorn says of her no-nonsense character, “and that intelligence continues in her relationships. Kim does not love and support […]

Underground on WGN: Follow the Underground Railroad beyond the history books

March 4, 2016 Lori Acken

WGN America’s ambitious Underground hopes to move what most Americans know about the Underground Railroad well beyond some hazy recollections from history class. The rending 10-episode drama — a three-year labor of love co-executive produced by John Legend and filmed in part on the Plantation Quarters at the Louisiana State University Rural Life Museum — intertwines tales of husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and souls who feel unbearably alone into an intense examination of race, economics, cowardice and courage anchored in the moral and fiscal morass that fostered slavery in 1857 America. “One […]

Scott Foley, Katey Sagal on new season of Who Do You Think You Are?

March 3, 2016 Lori Acken

A new season of Who Do You Think You Are? premieres Sunday, April 3 at 9/8 CT on TLC. Is there a scandal in Scott Foley’s past? What gentle people can claim Katey Sagal among their own? Is Brat Packer Molly Ringwald really Swedish royalty? These celebs and others delve into the secrets hidden in the branches of their family trees during a new spring season of TLC’s popular genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? The series, executive produced by Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky and sponsored by Ancestry, has already connected a host of famous folks — including Jim Parsons, Bryan […]

Maddie Ziegler of Dance Moms joins So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation

March 3, 2016 Lori Acken

So is Abby Lee Miller proud … or jelly? (And what does this mean for Dance Moms?) FOX announced today that the Lifetime reality show’s breakout star Maddie Ziegler will join Nigel Lythgoe, Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation — which premieres Monday, May 30, at 9/8CT on FOX — features multi-talented dancers between the ages of 8-13 strutting their stuff in a variety of dance styles, including contemporary, tap, hip-hop, ballroom, animation or breakdancing. And since she’s been there, done that for […]

Better Call Saul Season 2 episode 3 — Schmaltz across Texas

February 29, 2016 Lori Acken

For my money, there is no one better at opening an episode than Vince Gilligan and company. No one. And tonight’s Better Call Saul episode “Amarillo” boasts a doozy. With Ernest Tubb crooning “Waltz Across Texas” as his accompaniment, Jimmy strikes a classic cowboy pose. You know the one. The stuff cowboy-silhouette yard art is made of. Decked in a Stetson, armadillo bolo tie and cowboy boots — apparently Wrangler does not make business suits — our guy leans against a wall that’s painted like a giant Texas flag. He’s, indeed, in Amarillo. A passenger van pulls up and the driver gets out, apologizing […]

Blindspot returns: Sullivan Stapleton says Weller’s not a jealous guy

February 27, 2016 Lori Acken

Blindspot returns with new episodes on Monday, Feb. 29 at 10/9CT. Check out Rachel Cericola’s Blindspot recaps immediately following each episode. Blindspot heartthrob Sullivan Stapleton, who plays earnest FBI agent Kurt Weller, swears he doesn’t know much more than you do about why the show’s Jane Doe chose to have her memory erased and her body inked stem to stern, and then get packaged into a duffel bag earmarked for Weller’s employer.Nor is he the least bit sure if Jane is truly Weller’s childhood pal Taylor Shaw. And, yes, he is unraveling the mysteries of Daylight and Orion right […]

Of Kings and Prophets: ABC’s epic biblical drama proves worth the wait

February 26, 2016 Lori Acken

Of Kings and Prophets premieres Tuesday, March 8 at 10/9CT on ABC. Of Kings and Prophets showrunner Chris Brancato admits that bringing a Bible-based epic to network TV — as a weekly primetime series, no less — requires guts. And enough time to do the job right. ABC’s big-budget series was already in production in South Africa when the net approached Brancato — who moved on from his acclaimed Netflix drama Narcos — to helm the show. He opted to scrap Kings’ existing pilot and start fresh, bumping the premiere from the fall 2015 schedule. Shouldering up with Kings’ creators Adam […]