Last Tango in Halifax
Anyone seeking momentary relief from the dazzling darkness of the anti-hero vogue so prevalent on Sunday nights — epitomized by Breaking Bad's harrowing race to the finish line — will find a delightful tonic in PBS's Last Tango in Halifax (Sunday, check tvguide.com listings), a winning romance about two widowed seventysomethings and their supportive but screwed-up families.
Not a meth dealer (Bad), serial killer (Dexter), bootlegger (Boardwalk Empire) or brooding bully of a fixer (Ray Donovan) in sight, but life is still not without its complications in Halifax, a six-part charmer blessed with instant chemistry between the esteemed Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid (from the recent Upstairs, Downstairs remake) as Alan and Celia, lonely pensioners and former childhood pals who reconnect on Facebook after 60 years and impulsively decide to take a second chance on love.
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Chloe Bennet
Send questions and comments to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!
Question: My question is about the new Joss Whedon show that has one of the most convoluted names I've ever heard: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I am a Whedon fan to the max, having watched every episode of every TV (and Internet) show he has ever done, and enjoyed them thoroughly. I am not, however, a moviegoer nor a comic book reader. I cannot remember the last theatrical production I've seen, and the only comics I read are the Buffy/Angel follow-ups. And that leaves me concerned about S.H.I.E.L.D. Every article I read, and even the just-released preview, mentions events that happened/people who existed in one or more theatrical movies, and many articles mention future movies that will tie into the events on the show. Since I never watched those movies — and most likely won't watch the future movies — am I going to be totally lost when the television show premieres?
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Liev Schreiber
Liev Schreiber realizes it's ironic that he's chosen to meet for lunch at a downtown Manhattan café called the Smile. "Ray Donovan doesn't smile — it's not my fault!" he says with a laugh. "[Showtime president] David Nevins said to me, 'Could you maybe find a place to smile?' 'I had no idea I had permission. You want me to? I'll smile!' So you'll notice a bit more smiling."
The 45-year-old actor certainly has reason to grin these days:
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Richard Zuriff
Ray Donovan executive producer Bryan Zuriff has plead guilty to running an illegal gambling ring, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
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Emily Deschanel, Jennifer Morrison, Cobie Smulders
Every week, editors Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions tomega_scoop@tvguide.com or tweet them to@adam_bryant or @NatalieAbrams.
I'm so excited for a Bones wedding! Got any other scoop about the new season? — Melanie
ADAM: When the new season begins, Brennan is still noticeably devastated that Booth, under the duress of Pelant, called off the engagement. "Booth is not someone who sits well with unhappiness," creator Hart Hanson says. "He wants to fix things and that's what he's trying to do. His desire [is] to kill Pelant." So will he? "He's not usually like that; he's not a killer. But... Caroline and Sweets are very concerned," he teases.
Will we get a definitive explanation of the Home Office on Once Upon a Time? — Pedro
NATALIE: Yes, in the season premiere....
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Liev Schreiber
Showtime has renewed Ray Donovan for a second season, the network announced Tuesday.
"Ray Donovan is on track to be our biggest Season 1 show ever," David Nevins, Showtime's entertainment president, said in a statement.
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Liev Schreiber
He may be heating up our screens as Ray Donovan now, but a few years ago, Liev Schreiber was eating up the scenery as Sabretooth in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And it's that kind of geek cred — matched with one of the greatest speaking voices on the planet — that makes Schreiber the perfect pick to host and narrate PBS' upcoming comic-book history program Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle.
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Michael Trevino, Matthew Gray Gubler, Michael C. Hall
Every week, editors Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com or tweet them to @adam_bryant or @NatalieAbrams.
I know it's still early, but do you have any scoop on The Vampire Diaries yet? —Miguel
NATALIE: Sorry, Forwood fans: Even though Klaus decamped for New Orleans, Tyler still may not have a shot at a reunion with Caroline, who's quite popular with one particular guy at college. One problem: He's not a fan of fangs — for a very good reason.
I need some Criminal Minds scoop! — Lily
ADAM: If you didn't like Reid dating last season...
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Mike Vogel
Send questions and comments to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!
Question: I, like many others, read the novel Under the Dome and was sorely disappointed with the ending. I read an article about changes that are coming to the TV version. I was glad about that and am now going to give it a try. But I also read that it may become a series instead of a 13-episode miniseries. Is that true? I'd much rather this be a miniseries as opposed to a series lasting multiple seasons. The story doesn't really lend itself well to playing out over several years. Do you know if it will continue past 13 episodes? — Beth
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Liev Schreiber
Fixer, fix thyself. Easier said than done in the gaudy cesspool of soul-sucking mendacity we call Hollywood, where Ray Donovan plies his gruff trade as the strong and silent go-to problem-solver of the stars. Showtime's Ray Donovan (Sunday, 10/9c), the summer's best and boldest new show, is a Scandal for the serious-minded: outrageously compelling and teeming with sinister surprise, yet never seeming crazily sensational as it goes to emotional and violent extremes.
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