Articles by Ryan Berenz

About Ryan Berenz

Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.

Discovery Channel Alaskan Bush People recap: Lost Footage

August 6, 2015 Ryan Berenz

2015 NFL Preseason TV schedule

August 5, 2015 Ryan Berenz

Download, view and print the entire 2015 NFL TV Schedule with regular-season and playoff games on CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN and NFL Network. From start to finish, the 2014 NFL season was not a good one. Whether it was ongoing issues about concussions and player health, domestic violence incidents involving high-profile players Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice, and Super Bowl XLIX MVP Tom Brady’s involvement in the “Deflategate” scandal that will cause him to miss four regular-season games in 2015 [Update: Nope], the NFL received a lot of unwanted attention. The league would like to keep our eyes focused on […]

IFC’s “Documentary Now!” is history as it never was

August 1, 2015 Ryan Berenz

As Comedy Central’s Drunk History revolutionized the way we look at the past, IFC’s Documentary Now! (Thursdays beginning Aug. 20) hopes to alter how we remember some of history’s most important documentary films. Former Saturday Night Live castmates Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and Seth Meyers are the creators of this new six-part comedy series that spoofs famous documentaries like Grey Gardens, Nanook of the North and Reportero. Each installment has the appearance and tone of a serious documentary (they even got Helen Mirren to introduce each episode!). But the seriousness ends when Armisen and Hader appear onscreen as parodies of eccentric […]

#TCA15: Meet Emily Beecham, The Widow of AMC’s “Into the Badlands”

July 31, 2015 Ryan Berenz

AMC’s upcoming drama series Into the Badlands (premiering Nov. 15) is a genre-bending martial arts, sci-fi action odyssey about a distant future in which the only inhabitable lands are in the former American Midwest, and they’re governed by seven feudal Barons who control vital resources. In the series, Emily Beecham plays The Widow (it’s not just a scary name!), one of the Barons of the Badlands. She controls the oil, and her ambitions disrupt the tenuous peace among the Barons. The Widow has the look of a Steampunk Southern belle with a twist of The Matrix warrior/dominatrix and two deadly daggers as her weapons of choice. “My character […]

“Blunt Talk” releases the full comic force of Sir Patrick Stewart

July 31, 2015 Ryan Berenz

Whether he’s on the bridge of the USS Enterprise as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, leading heroic mutants as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, or performing on the classical stage, Sir Patrick Stewart is an imposing presence, bringing gravitas and authority to his roles. Providing the voices of Stonecutter Number One on The Simpsons and CIA deputy director Avery Bullock on American Dad!, and guest-starring as a slightly off-kilter version of himself on Ricky Gervais’ Extras, Stewart proved he can take that gravitas and flip it on its head. Stewart makes his biggest flip […]

The nasty and delicious of Craig Robinson’s “Mr. Robinson”

July 31, 2015 Ryan Berenz

It turns out that Craig Robinson’s (The Office) new NBC comedy has more in common with its star than just a name. In Mr. Robinson, Robinson plays a musician who substitute teaches a Chicago high-school music class to pay the bills. “I came up in Chicago, taught in Chicago, and I have a band named The Nasty Delicious,” Robinson says of the similarities between him and his character. “And of course I’ve got a crush on [costar] Meagan Good. That’s all real life.” The rest, Robinson says, is the imagination of writers and executive producers Mark and Robb Cullen. Mr. […]

#TCA15: HBO’s “Westworld” looks crazy, good

July 30, 2015 Ryan Berenz

At the TCA Summer Press Tour, HBO previewed some of its upcoming new and returning programs. Here’s a rundown of the shows and premiere dates: HBO Back on Board: Greg Louganis (Aug. 4) Four-time Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis may be the greatest diver ever, but his greatest impact may come from being one of the first openly gay athletes in America. This documentary looks at the successes and struggles Louganis faced then and still faces now. Show Me a Hero (Aug. 16, 23 & 30) This miniseries dramatizes the bureaucratic battle that took place in Yonkers, N.Y., over the […]

#TCA15: Who let the freaks out? Todrick!

July 29, 2015 Ryan Berenz

MTV unleashes the freaks! Todrick Hall @toddyrockstar lights it up at #TCA15. pic.twitter.com/1nvu7Hx4iB — Channel Guide (@ChannelGuide) July 29, 2015 On a Wednesday morning at the TCA Summer Press Tour, there’s nothing that will wake a person up faster than “Who Let the Freaks Out?” I grew up in the 1980s, and it was my understanding that the freaks came out at night, not at 9am on a Wednesday. So I had to pose the question to YouTube star Todrick Hall, who is getting his own MTV series premiering Aug. 31. ME: Hi, guys. Good morning. First question, who did let the freaks […]

#TCA15: Netflix is the Happiest Place on Earth

July 28, 2015 Ryan Berenz

A reporter today at the TCA Press Tour mentioned that Netflix seems like the “happiest place on Earth” for someone to work in the entertainment business. Ratings? Netflix don’t need no stinking ratings! They don’t care, and they’re certainly not giving any kind of ratings/audience numbers to the press. Netflix can defy the TV space/time continuum! You don’t have to edit shows to fit a certain length. You’re not beholden to timeslots or seasons, or commercial breaks or live sports events preempting your shows. If someone wants to watch every episode of a show in a single sitting, they can […]

Discovery Channel Alaskan Bush People recap: Never Give Up

July 25, 2015 Ryan Berenz

Do the Alaskan Bush People get paid? We asked! Read our interview with the Brown family. In the Season 2 finale* of Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People “Never Give Up” (July 24), the Browns encounter obstacles on the way to completing their first cargo haul job on the Integrity. The family finds something shocking when they return to their home. *There’s a “Lost Footage” special on July 31 and a season recap episode on Aug. 6. We’ll try to cover those in some way. Stay tuned. Alaskan Bush People Season 1 Recaps: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 […]