Drama Archives - Page 128 of 200

The Following star James Purefoy: Audiences have loved violence since the advent of drama

January 21, 2013 Lori Acken

James Purefoy understands that much of the discussion about his buzzy new FOX drama The Following, which premieres tonight at 9, has been about its tipping the scales of graphic violence. Especially for a broadcast network offering. Especially with the heartrending horror of the Sandy Hook massacre still fresh in viewers’ minds. But, says Purefoy — who stars as Joe Carroll, a seductive, Edgar Allan Poe-obsessed literature professor turned serial killer turned jailed cult hero for a legion of copycat killers — our natural connection to tragedy and violence has been the backbone of drama since its advent. It’s just […]

Matthew Macfadyen hunts Jack the Ripper in BBC America’s “Ripper Street”

January 19, 2013 Channel Guide Contributor

Whitechapel, London, 1889. The time and the place are synonymous with the most infamous unsolved murder cases in history, and they’re the setting for this new series coming to BBC America’s Dramaville beginning January 19. Matthew Macfadyen stars as Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, investigator of the Ripper murders and other crimes. Alongside him is Capt. Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg), the forensic investigator whose way with an autopsy renders him invaluable to Reid’s mission as the body count on the street starts to mount. It’s a fairly remarkable series, to start, but we have to admit that we’re glad that we […]

Lifetime’s Prosecuting Casey Anthony: Are we ready to go back there?

January 18, 2013 Lori Acken

How you feel about Prosecuting Casey Anthony — whether you even choose to watch it — likely depends on how much time you spent watching the actual prosecution of Anthony, the young Florida woman acquitted of murdering her toddler daughter Caylee despite the sordid details of the case that held the nation in its thrall. Though the Lifetime film, which premieres Saturday night at 8, is culled from Florida prosecutor Jeff Ashton’s memoir Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony, much of it feels like a retread of the endless footage that permeated television from the announcement of Caylee’s disappearance on July […]

Farewell, “Fringe”: Thanks for the long, strange trip

January 18, 2013 StayTuned Staff

As Fringe airs its finale tonight, I can’t help but think back to a hot July evening in San Diego back in 2008. I was taking in the spectacle of my very first Comic-Con, and the first scheduled event was a screening of some weird new sci-fi show on FOX from hotshot producer J.J. Abrams, something that would be pushing the boundaries of network television. It starred an unknown Australian actress, Pacey from Dawson’s Creek and Denethor from The Lord of the Rings. That first episode contained a lot of what the series would go on to be known for: […]

“Hawaii Five-O” fans picked two different killers on CBS

January 15, 2013 Tom Comi

CBS allowed fans to choose the ending to last night’s episode of Hawaii Five-O, and the brilliantly-innovative move proved successful as people on the East Coast and West Coast ultimately chose different killers. As we detailed in our preview yesterday, CBS gave viewers the option of picking one of three suspects involved in the murder of a college professor. They could go to the CBS website or Twitter to vote for the victim’s boss (#theboss), teaching assistant (#theTA) or a student (#thestudent). Midway through the show, those tuning in were promoted to choose one of the three, and then the […]

“Hawaii Five-O” viewers to choose ending to tonight’s episode

January 14, 2013 Tom Comi

Fans of the hit CBS show Hawaii Five-O have nobody to blame but themselves if they don’t like the ending to tonight’s episode, because CBS is allowing viewers to determine how it will conclude. Watch the full Hawaii 5-0 episode at the CBS web site. In what CBS is calling a first in television history, everybody tuning in tonight at 10pm ET/PT will have the opportunity to choose amongst three suspects that they believe killed a university professor. The options are the professor’s boss, a student who was busted for cheating and a teaching assistant. Viewers can cast their vote during […]

“Sex and the City” fandom not required to enjoy “The Carrie Diaries”

January 13, 2013 Jeff Pfeiffer

As a straight man, I wasn’t necessarily in the primary demo that seemed to be most drawn to HBO’s famed 1998-2004 series Sex and the City, which was inspired by the writings of Candace Bushnell and followed the romantic adventures of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her gal pals in the Big Apple. I tuned in enough to be able to appreciate the writing and acting, but I didn’t fully connect with or relate to, I suppose, the women, or their glamorous Manhattan backdrop. So when I first heard that The CW was creating a series out of The Carrie Diaries — based on […]

Violence in “The Following” questioned, defended at FOX TCA panels

January 9, 2013 Jeff Pfeiffer

FOX’s new midseason thriller The Following, starring Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy, premieres Jan. 21 at 9pm ET/PT. Bacon plays a former FBI agent called out retirement to track down the serial killer he once put away, who has escaped and recruited a cult of murderous followers. Befitting its dark premise, The Following depicts some dark acts, from eye-stabbings to burnings. In our current climate where the national conversation has been turned toward looking at ways to prevent tragedies of the sort that occurred last month in Newtown, Conn., some people have suggested that television and movie violence may play a role. […]

“Justified”: 10 things to love about Season 4

January 8, 2013 StayTuned Staff

If executive producer Graham Yost’s original plans for Justified prove true, we’re entering the show’s second half of existence. Season 4 of a presumed 6 gets underway tonight at 10 on FX with a rollicking episode called “Hole in the Wall.” Typical of the laconic atmosphere the show has created, where gunplay and violence is almost always prefaced by cordial conversation, there’s not quite a clear picture of where this season is headed after the first two episodes made available for preview, but even in that sneak peek there were 10 things that make it look like Season 4 will […]

“Justified” gets mysterious for Season 4, says executive producer Graham Yost

January 7, 2013 StayTuned Staff

Many folks came up to Graham Yost while Justified was on hiatus and asked, wearily, who the Big Bad was going to be for Season 4. Margo Martindale and Neal McDonough were favorites with fans and critics alike, but it was that danger of falling into predictability — having to come up with a bigger, better, weirder villain —that prompted the executive producer and his team of writers to modify their approach. Yes, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) will still be cleaning up Harlan County, Ky. — Tuesdays beginning Jan. 8 at 10pm — but the main drama this […]