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.

TCA: Annie Lennox brings the house down!

January 19, 2015 Ryan Berenz

The Langham Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, Calif., won’t be able to host the Television Critics Association Press Tour — or anything else, for that matter — because Annie Lennox obliterated the place. The legendary singer and musician of The Eurythmics fame performed for TV critics and PBS guests a scorching four-song set of classic jazz and blues standards — “Summertime,” “I Put a Spell on You,” “God Bless the Child” and “Georgia on My Mind” — from her album Nostalgia. Lennox then took questions from reporters gathered, discussing her approach to covering these longtime favorites, her love of Motown […]

TCA: Damian Lewis says Henry VIII more than “syphilitic, philandering Elvis”

January 19, 2015 Ryan Berenz

During PBS’ Masterpiece: “Wolf Hall” (Sundays beginning April 5) panel at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour actors Claire Foy, Damian Lewis and Mark Rylance, and executive producer Colin Callender, director Peter Kosminsky, and series executive producer Rebecca Eaton, discussed the six-hour miniseries which is a dramatic look at the adversarial relationship between Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell for the favor of King Henry VIII. It’s a story often told, perhaps Showtime’s The Tudors being the most famous onscreen adaptation of late. But this is PBS, so the sex, torture and violence won’t be quite as prominently displayed in […]

TCA: Charlie Day on Green Man, canned wine and LEGO SPACESHIPS!

January 18, 2015 Ryan Berenz

At the FX Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Charlie Day and I had an in-depth interview about subjects of the utmost importance. 1. Were you aware that canned wine is now apparently a thing? Charlie Day: [Laughs] Really!? When I was in high school, there was this kid, and I bumped into him and he was one of the cool kids. And I didn’t smoke, but he was a smoker, and I noticed he was hiding a cigarette in his Coca-Cola can so he could walk around the school and smoke a cigarette. […]

TCA: FX orders Pamela Adlon comedy “Better Things”

January 18, 2015 Ryan Berenz

At the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, John Landgraf, CEO, FX Networks and FX Productions, announced that the network has ordered the comedy pilot Better Things, created by and starring Pamela Adlon (Louie, Californiation, Bob’s Burgers) and directed by Louis C.K. In Better Things, Adlon plays an actor trying to earn a living while navigating her daughters’ lives, having fun with friends, and occasionally finding time for sex. Several other announcements, reactions, renewals, comments and more as eloquently tweeted by my fine colleagues while I was in an interview with Billy Crystal and Josh Gad (more on that later). […]

TCA: American Idol is a zombie TV show

January 17, 2015 Ryan Berenz

American Idol? That’s the show with William Hung, right? I haven’t watched the show with any regularity for nearly 10 years. I saw 10 minutes of Idol the other night and I felt relieved that I’ve missed absolutely nothing in that span. American Idol is a dead TV show that keeps walking somehow. It hasn’t produced a major superstar since Carrie Underwood in 2005, and it stopped being culturally relevant when Simon Cowell left. It set off a chain of events that somehow led to Clay Aiken running for public office. FOX can keep propping AI contestants up to sing […]

Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People recap: Welcome to Browntown

January 17, 2015 Ryan Berenz

Do the Alaskan Bush People get paid? We asked! Read our interview with the Brown family. On Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People Season 2, Episode 3, “Welcome to Browntown” (Jan. 16), the Browns set up their home site. A mishap at sea has a search and rescue team out to find two of the boys. ALSO SEE: Episode recaps, news and more from Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People Greetings, friends! I’m currently in Los Angeles covering really important stuff at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, so I’m a little behind on my coverage of the Bush People this […]

TCA: FOX announces Empire, Gotham and Brooklyn Nine-Nine renewals

January 17, 2015 Ryan Berenz

Dana Walden and Gary Newman chairman and CEO of Fox Television Group were on hand for the FOX executive session and took questions at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour. Empire and Gotham have been picked up for a second season, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine will be back for a third There have been additional cast and guest star announcements for Scream Queens. The parts of Sandy and Rizzo have been announced for the January 2016 live airing of Grease. FOX has high hopes this summer for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team making a deep run into the FIFA […]

TCA: NBC’s “The Slap” goes deeper, darker than the slap itself

January 16, 2015 Ryan Berenz

Turns out that NBC’s eight-episode event drama The Slap really isn’t about “the slap” at all. It’s about something much deeper and darker. At Hector’s (Peter Sarsgaard) 40th birthday party, his hotheaded cousin Harry (Zachary Quinto) slaps another couple’s misbehaving child. The stunning incident sets off a chain of events that divides friends and family, and uncovers long-buried secrets. Thandie Newton, Uma Thurman, Melissa George, Thomas Sadoski and Brian Cox also star. At the NBC Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, the panel downplayed the importance of the slap itself, saying that there is a ton of existing tension and […]

TCA: “Oh my gosh! Did my mom just say that?” Kate Gosselin’s kids critique her on “The Celebrity Apprentice”

January 16, 2015 Ryan Berenz

Kate Gosselin‘s kids watch her on NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice, the reality TV star says at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour. “My kids watch this, they see me in life, and just being myself is really my goal,” Gosselin says. “My little kids watch like it’s just another show,” she says. “They’re more interested as they get older. And my teenagers critique what I’m wearing, how I look and, “‘Oh, my gosh! Did my mom just say that?’” As for her flagship reality show Kate Plus 8 on TLC, the show returned Tuesday with an uptick in ratings. […]

TCA: NBC’s “Allegiance” is not “The Americans” … maybe

January 16, 2015 Ryan Berenz

NBC’s TCA panel for upcoming spy drama Allegiance (Thursdays beginning FEb. 5), starring Hope Davis, Scott Cohen, Gavin Stenhouse and Margarita Levieva, didn’t do much to quell the notion that the show is too similar to FX’s The Americans. Given the lukewarm reception to NBC’s other spy drama, State of Affairs, we’re thinking Allegiance‘s cover will get blown quickly. Now onstage at #TCA: cast of upcoming NBC spy thriller series #Allegiance, Israeli import with similarities to FX’s The Americans. — Channel Guide (@ChannelGuide) January 16, 2015 “Allegiance” EP George Nolfi says difference between this show and FX’s “The Americans” will […]