Tamara Tunie, Law & Order: SVU
A month before the new season of Law & Order: SVU (premiering tonight at 10 pm/ET, NBC) began, TVGuide.com caught up with Tamara Tunie, who plays unflappable medical examiner Melinda Warner. On the set of her directorial debut, See You in September, which is slated for a 2008 release, Tunie talked about her "day job" over breakfast.
Dealing with the deceased has never been a problem for Tunie, who was raised outside of Pittsburgh, where her father was an undertaker, so Tunie "grew up in a funeral home." "As a young adult," she says, "I helped my father by doing women's hair. I've been around dead people — it's not a big deal." Though many of her scenes take place around the victims of gruesome crimes, it never gives her the chills. "I certainly had been in a morgue before, so that wasn't new. I've been seeing
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Tamara Tunie by Virginia Sherwood/NBC Photo
Law & Order: SVU's Tamara Tunie will make her feature-film directing debut with See You in September, an indie romcom starring Justin Kirk (Weeds), Estella Warren (my occasional dream) and David Eigenberg (Sex and the City).... Also per Variety, Disney has big-screen dibs on the Brit lit hit The Dangerous Book for Boys (shop Amazon.com).... Jane Leeves (Frasier), Caitlin Wachs (Commander in Chief) and Colton James (7th Heaven) are among the cast for Endless Bummer, a 1984-set teen comedy.
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Julianne Nicholson with Justin Kirk in Flannel Pajamas
A veteran of such short-lived series as The Others, Presidio Med and last season's ADA dud, Conviction, Julianne Nicholson has finally found steady employment as Chris Noth's seemingly omniscient partner on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Before landing her breakthrough gig as Detective Megan Wheeler on the NBC stalwart, the freckle-faced beauty starred in a slew of indie flicks, including Flannel Pajamas, which opens today in New York. Reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, the film chronicles the roller-coaster romance between Nicole (Nicholson) and Stuart (Weeds'
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They shoot pot dealers, don't they? That question lingers as Season 2 of Showtime's Weeds drew to a close with a helpless, hempless Nancy staring down the barrels of not one or two but five serious pieces of firepower... never once setting down that prominently displayed can of Diet Coke. Her only possible salvation: Silas, now in possession of the final MILF weed harvest, but himself also in dire straits, with Celia and a policeman marching toward the 38-pound stash. And let's not forget poor Shane, who graduated from grade school straight into an impetuous, Cactus Cooler-fueled trip to Paraguay, with Kat (as in Krazy) behind the wheel, and Uncle Andy and Abumchuck in heated pursuit.And to think that the Weeds writers almost tied everything up in a neat bundle instead! So glad they opted otherwise, (as explained in my fresh Features Q&A with series creator Jenji Kohan).Was I entirely satisfied with the season-ending cliff-hanger? No, not entirely. I think it was a cheat to kill...
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Alexander Gould and Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
For the occasion of Weeds' season finale, which aired last night on Showtime, TVGuide.com sat down with series creator Jenji Kohan to discuss the season gone by, ask about some of the juiciest twists, and try to get a glimpse into the future. After teasing you with a craftily edited Part 1, here is the entire, unexpurgated interview, including additional questions about exactly what transpired in the shocking season-ender. (As a courtesy, I have denoted new or revised exchanges with an asterisk [*].)
TVGuide.com: You started this season with some of the characters and their stories somewhat segregated, but, ultimately, they dovetailed together. Did you ever feel that was a risky approach?Jenji Kohan: You know, we love to build an arc. When we sit down, we plan the full season out completely befor
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Alexander Gould and Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
For the occasion of Weeds' season finale, premiering tonight at 10 pm/ET on Showtime, TVGuide.com sat down with series creator Jenji Kohan to discuss the season gone by, ask about some of the juiciest twists, and try to get a glimpse into the future. Here is Part 1 of the Q&A — rendered spoiler-free through some crafty editing. The unexpurgated interview, including additional questions about exactly what transpires in tonight's season-ender, will be posted Tuesday morning.
TVGuide.com: You started this season with some of the characters and their stories somewhat segregated, but, ultimately, they dovetailed together. Did you ever feel that was a risky approach?Jenji Kohan: You know, we love to build an arc. When we sit down, we plan the full season out completely before we start to write. We f
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Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
It's enough to drive you to drugs. At the climax of the first-season finale, Weeds' pot-peddling widow, Nancy Botwin, was being seduced by a sexy new flame, Peter Scottson — who turned out to be a DEA agent. But with the Showtime series' sophomore season now underway (Mondays at 10 pm/ET), the rebellious PTA mom, played by Mary-Louise Parker, won't let that get in the way of doing whatever it takes to support her family.
"Their relationship starts to take some weird turns," says Parker, who won a Golden Globe for her role. "The producers don't necessarily tell us where we're going, but his character turns pretty dark."
That's business as usual in this black comedy set in Agrestic, a deceptively placid California suburb. Things don't get any li
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If I ever hear that anyone in the sunny suburb of Agrestic is hiding a stranger in the basement, I'm done with Weeds (Mondays at 10 pm/ET on Showtime).
But somehow I doubt that will happen. While the higher-profile Desperate Housewives stumbled creatively, its thematic sibling on pay cable has become a sharper, darker, funnier satire in its sophomore go-round.
Weeds' greatest asset remains Mary-Louise Parker as the alluringly dazed-and-confused widow Nancy Botwin, who provides for her kids by distributing marijuana to seemingly upstanding townsfolk (including Kevin Nealon as a carefree CPA and city c
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Question: Get off the pot and give me some Weeds prattle!
Answer: I hear Zooey Deschanel has been hired to play Justin Kirk's love interest in a limited Season 2 arc.
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Sarah Drew and Chris Pratt, Everwood
Nestled between the countless procedural dramas and reality shows that tend to dominate the prime-time lineup, the WB drama Everwood (Mondays at 9 pm/ET) has managed to keep viewers coming back for a weekly dose of romance and comedy. But will that loyalty be enough to secure the in-limbo fan favorite a spot on the CW lineup (to be revealed this week)? If executive producer Rina Mimoun has her way, fans will follow the Colorado kids to college next fall. Until then, the 4-year-old series is set to wrap its current run on June 5, but not before a major character says goodbye to Everwood — permanently. TVGuide.com invited Mimoun to recap the possibilities for next week's "big death," discuss upcoming guest stars, and offer, for whatever it's worth at this late date, a final plea to save the show.
TVGuide.com: Hi,
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