October 2012 Archives - Channel Guide Magazine

Lizzie Brochere, Franka Potente dish on “American Horror Story: Asylum”

November 14, 2012 Channel Guide Staff 1

It’s been a fun ride so far on American Horror Story: Asylum, which succeeded immediately in making us all forget the first season’s storyline and concentrate on the madness going on at the Briarcliff institute in 1964. Yes, some actors from the original run have returned — notably Jessica Lange as Sister Jude, Zachary Quinto as Dr. Thredson, and Evan Peters as Kit Walker — but the new blood among the cast has helped set it apart. Two of those additions, Lizzie Brochere and Franka Potente, spoke with reporters recently about their roles, where the story is going, and what […]

With “Hunted,” Cinemax moves into more mature original programming

October 19, 2012 Channel Guide Staff Comments Off

When Strike Back and Femme Fatales premiered, ushering in Cinemax‘s foray into original programming, they seemed like exactly the kinds of shows Cinemax would come up with. The production values, acting and story lines were improved, but they fit right into the lineup of a network derisively (or affectionately) known as Skinemax. They took the formula of shameless titillation and added slam-bang action, with stellar results. But with Hunted, which premieres tonight at 10pm, Cinemax seems to have grown up a bit. Yes, you’ll still get some side boob (and more) here and there, but this atmospheric spy thriller is […]

“Chicago Fire” puts its title city at center stage

October 11, 2012 Channel Guide Staff Comments Off

We think it’s safe to say that Chicago is officially back on the film and television map. The city’s always been an attractive place to shoot — rich in history and architecture, and possessing an abundance of patina. But until the tax incentives put in place a few years back, it was sadly underutilized as a setting. Now the city finds itself frequently at center stage, from the hit series Boss to NBC’s burning new drama, Chicago Fire. We talked with series regular David Eigenberg (Sex and the City) and executive producer and location scout Joe Chappelle about the new […]

“Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition” recap: You Gotta Risk It For The Biscuit

October 10, 2012 Lori Acken 10

Yes, I swore I wasn’t going to do this. I swore it. I suh-wore I was done with Dance Moms and all things related to it. And yet I sat down and watched the premiere of Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition. Since I did that, here is what I saw on “Let the Dancing Begin.” First we meet Kelly, an exuberant blond from Studio City, CA, who could be Christi Lukasiak’s more salt-of-the-earth sister. Kelly says Abby Lee is her God. Which is how you know she and Christi are not the least bit related. Her equally blond daughter Jordyn is […]

Abby Lee Miller interview: Abby talks “Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition” “Dance Moms” and more

October 4, 2012 Lori Acken 13

She’s the oft-authoritarian, second generation dance teacher who a handful of Pittsburgh mothers and millions of happily scandalized viewers love and loathe — and sometimes both at once — on Lifetime’s reality smash Dance Moms. But this summer Abby Lee Miller decamped to Los Angeles to join Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin and star choreographer Richard Jackson at the judging table of Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, the new Lifetime reality contest that she executive produces with her pal, Dance Moms co-creator John Corella. “We had the idea of a competition show way before Dance Moms was ever created,” Miller explains. “This […]

HBO Ethel Kennedy documentary, interview give intimate, loving portrait of her life

October 1, 2012 Jacqueline Cutler Comments Off

HBO’s Ethel Kennedy documentary Ethel, debuting Oct. 18, is an intimate, loving portrait of the fun-loving, fearless woman, Ethel Kennedy, who was the wife of Bobby Kennedy and mother to their 11 children. It was through the urging of Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films, that documentarian Rory Kennedy, who was born six months after her father was killed, turned the camera on her mother. Now 84, Ethel, who shunned the spotlight for decades, reminisces. Rory draws on her family’s catalog of photos and home movies, interviews with her siblings, and news footage to create a beautiful portrait. The […]

“American Horror Story: Asylum” promises to bring the crazy

October 1, 2012 Channel Guide Staff 2

A quote like this could only come from talking about a show like American Horror Story. “Last year we were a sweet little family drama — albeit in which we killed off the entire family.” So says writer/producer Tim Minear of the FX series that captivated audiences with its edgy mix of scares and sex (hel-lo, Rubber Man) that got people talking about what had just happened and what could possibly come next. “This year couldn’t be more different,” Minear says. Oh, the creepiness will still be there, but instead of following the doomed Harmon family further into their afterlife […]

“The Walking Dead” brings new characters, struggles for Season 3

October 1, 2012 Channel Guide Staff 1

It’s hard to believe now, but two years ago people weren’t sure if The Walking Dead belonged on a tony network like AMC. This was, after all, the home of Mad Men and Breaking Bad, not to mention its stable of classic Hollywood films. How would some zombie show based on a (gasp!) comic book fit in? Quite well, it turns out. The Walking Dead immediately set rating records for AMC, and fan fervor has only grown, with the Season 2 finale in March pulling in a jaw-dropping 9 million viewers. The show was also one of the biggest attractions […]

Tippi Hedren and a stellar cast talk HBO’s “The Girl”

September 28, 2012 Lori Acken 1

Tippi Hedren sits on a sofa in a Beverly Hills hotel suite on a warm August day. Still exquisitely beautiful at age 82, she wears a dress of the same soft gray-green as her eyes. On her right lapel is an intricate gold and diamond brooch in the shape of three birds in flight. Behind her left shoulder is a lamp, on which is perched a faux raven. If you’re familiar with the promotional stills from Hedren’s legendary 1963 acting debut, Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, the effect is stunning. That she is here to promote the absorbing new HBO film […]

Shooter Jennings and Grace Potter talk Ovation’s “Johnny Cash: Song By Song”

September 28, 2012 Lori Acken Comments Off

Shooter Jennings could barely see over a church pew when his father, country music legend Waylon Jennings, had a falling out with Shooter’s godfather — Waylon’s manager — and asked the little boy to pick himself a new one. Shooter chose a guy who always made him feel important — his dad’s friend and sometime bandmate Johnny Cash. Meanwhile, a Vermont schoolgirl named Grace Potter who got the giggles over Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue” would rediscover the artist as a young aspiring rock star when she heard Cash’s 2003 Rick-Rubin-produced remake of the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt,” that […]