Articles by Barb Oates

5 Questions With...

5 Questions With Meredith MacNeill Of IFC’s “Baroness Von Sketch Show”

November 1, 2019 Barb Oates 0

If you haven’t caught IFC’s award-winning, late-night satire Baroness von Sketch Show (Wednesdays), you’re missing a good time. Just starting its fourth season, the all-female comedy series features Meredith MacNeill, Carolyn Taylor, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen. MacNeill is the only star who doesn’t hail from a comedy background (her costars are Second City alums), so when she commits to a sketch — oh boy, does she commit. “For me it’s such a fun, fantastic, freeing place to play really close to where it shouldn’t work when you’re pushing it that it does,” she shares on her often over-the-top absurdities. […]

Undercover Billionaire Glenn Stearns
Interview

What You Can Learn From the Undercover Billionaire?

August 6, 2019 Barb Oates 7

There’s a lot to be learned from billionaire Glenn Stearns. Including that it doesn’t matter where you came from or what your grades were — you could still make a billion. Stearns is relaxed, humble and honest when we speak at the Beverly Hilton prior to a press panel for the docuseries Undercover Billionaire, on which he is a featured panelist at the Television Critics Association’s semiannual press tour. The eight-episode series airs on Discovery Channel Tuesdays at 10pmET/PT. Unlike most in the billionaire boys circuit, Stearns was not born into wealth — he grew up in a working-class family, […]

Interview

Interview: David Hasselhoff on Taking on Former ’80s Superstars and Cars

July 10, 2019 Barb Oates 1

There’s a lot to love about the former Knight Rider and Baywatch star David Hasselhoff, but one of our favorite things is his humble candor — he’s never been afraid to just tell it as it is. After 40-plus years in the business, the international superstar radiates positivity as he talks to us about what’s on the horizon, which includes a tour in the fall, a possible Knight Rider movie and a two-hour special on History titled Battle of the ’80s Supercars With David Hasselhoff. The special, airing Wednesday, July 10 at 8/7c, is part of History’s now annual Car […]

Interview

‘Amazing Race’s’ Phil Keoghan Answers Fan Banter With One of Reality TV’s Biggest Crossover Events

April 9, 2019 Barb Oates 2

What were you doing 18 years ago? These would be the days before Facebook and Twitter, and when TV was pretty much limited to what’s on is what’s on. For Phil Keoghan, host of The Amazing Race, he was embarking on what would become one of the longest-running careers in reality TV history. As the race-around-the-world series begins its 31st season (Wednesday, April 17 9/8c) — yes, 31st season! — Keoghan shares with us what’s in store for the new season and why fans will be excited to see the show’s newest theme that pits former contestants of The Amazing Race, […]

5 Questions With...

Paul Teutul Jr. of “American Chopper” Talks Shop, Pop and More

February 11, 2019 Barb Oates Comments Off on Paul Teutul Jr. of “American Chopper” Talks Shop, Pop and More

It’s hard to believe that it was 2003 when Discovery Channel first introduced us to American Chopper and the fascinating custom motorcycles of father-and-son team Paul Teutul and Paul Teutul Jr. During the series’ run and their follow-up Senior vs. Junior, their craftsmanship and creativity was often overshadowed by their turbulent and explosive personalities, which eventually led to a bitter estrangement and Paul Jr. establishing his own company, Paul Jr. Designs. With the passing of time and with American Chopper’s return to TV (Tuesdays on Discovery), the Teutuls continue to work on their relationship and some pretty amazing bikes. “I’ve […]

I Am the Night is directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Chris Pine and India Eisley
Drama

Wildly Addictive: TNT’s ‘I Am the Night’ — A Patty Jenkins and Chris Pine Collaboration

January 26, 2019 Barb Oates Comments Off on Wildly Addictive: TNT’s ‘I Am the Night’ — A Patty Jenkins and Chris Pine Collaboration

Revered Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has long been a connoisseur of a good story. However, never did she anticipate a story of this magnitude when she met Fauna Hodel for coffee roughly 10 years ago. At their meetup, a then 50-something-year-old Fauna unraveled a story that was truly unbelievable. If you’re not from California, chances are you won’t be familiar with the Hodel name. Fauna was the granddaughter to the infamous Los Angeles physician George Hodel, who in 1949 was accused and acquitted of molesting his 14-year-old daughter Tamar (Fauna’s mother), as well as being linked to the most […]

TV News & Program Updates

Discovery Takes Us Live To U.S.-Mexico Border in “Border Live”

December 5, 2018 Barb Oates 5

What side are you on? Where do you stand on the U.S.-Mexico border war? These are just a few of the questions explored and discussed as Discovery Channel takes us live to the border in their new six-part series Border Live beginning Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 9-11 ET/PT. The series will broadcast live each Wednesday from its New York-based studio where journalist Bill Weir tracks the action and stories as they unfold, engaging with a panel of experts and field reporters live at the border. Don’t let the title or the format of the show fool you, as this is […]