TCA Press Tour: Martin Short and Lily Tomlin talk 'Damages'

FYI: Comedian Lily Tomlin is mildly obsessed with FX's legal drama "Damages." So much so, she's not averse to hounding the series' star Glenn Close at parties (without success; Close said she "never lets the secrets out") or executive producer Todd Kessler at photography shows for any info on the series.

"I was a fan for the show from day one," Tomlin said via satellite from Florida at the Television Critics Assn. panel promoting the show. "It's the only show I've ever run home to see no matter what."

Now the viewer will become a participant. Tomlin will appear in six episodes as the monetary matriarch Marilyn Tobin. The comedian joins a list of actors appearing this season, including Keith Carradine, Michael Gaston, Campbell Scott and Martin Short.

This season, Patty tries to recover millions of dollars lost in investor funds from Wall Street tycoon-con artist Louis Tobin (Len Cariou), who insists he's not hiding money. Short, who joins the drama as a series regular, plays the Tobin family's attorney Leonard Widmore.

Short's recent credits include "The Santa Clause 3" and "Jiminy Glick in Lalawood," and his addition to the legal drama's lineup might appear unusual. But he isn't concerned his comedic persona will be distracting to viewers.

"I think of myself as a character actor," Short said via satellite from New York. "And you play a character in a sincere fashion."

Still, for Emmy Award-winning Close, the presence of the comedians on set took a bit of getting used to.

"My first scene with Martin and Lily ... I'm deposing of Lily's character," Close said. "It was a very surreal experience, having watched them my whole career and loving them."

The third season premieres Jan. 25 at 10 p.m.

-- Yvonne Villarreal

'Breaking Bad' gets badder in third season [Updated]

Walter White, the tortured chemistry teacher turned meth dealer at the center of AMC's groundbreaking drama "Breaking Bad," will undergo a major transition when the series returns in March for its third season.

"He's a different person than the milquetoast that he was in the pilot," said Bryan Cranston, who has won two consecutive Emmys for outstanding lead actor in his portrayal of White. "We're getting closer," Cranston said, to creator Vince Gilligan's plan of "turning this guy ... from Mr. Chips to Scarface." 

Added Gilligan: "We're taking Walter from Point A to Point Z." He said several key revelations from the show's last season, in which Walter's wife (Anna Gunn) confronted him about her suspicions regarding his illegal activities, would play a significant role in the upcoming season.

Another major transition revolves around Cranston -- he is directing the show's season premiere, the second time he has helmed an episode of the series.

[Update Jan. 20 11:32 a.m.: An earlier version of this post said that Bryan Cranston was directing his first episode of "Breaking Bad." Cranston, in fact, also directed the second season premiere.]

-- Greg Braxton

Photo: Bryan Cranston. Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

Sex has a leading role in 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand'

"Spartacus: Blood and Sand," the new Starz drama about the Roman Republic's most fiery rebel, is already raising some eyebrows among TV insiders who say there's a lot of sex alongside the blood and sand.

In fact, some television writers are saying the series -- which stars Andy Whitfield, Lucy Lawless and John Hannah and  features plenty of action and bloody battles -- also has some of the steamiest sex scenes ever in a television series.

The distinction seems to delight Steven S. DeKnight, the head writer and one of the show's executive producers. "Sex and violence!" he quipped.

But DeKnight said the scenes are not pornographic and are always character-motivated. "There's always something these characters want, like power. Every sex scene has a purpose."

Lawless added that the scenes are very well planned out, and there was no "skin on skin" during filming. "What you think you're seeing, you're not," she said.

-- Greg Braxton

Photo: Lucy Lawless as Lucretia in "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." Credit: MCT

TCA Press Tour: Filming apocalyptic drama 'Survivors' was 'depressing' for actors

While apocalyptic blockbusters like "2012" are only too happy to dispense with most of mankind in explosive fashion, BBC America's "Survivors" serves as a more intimate take. 

The series picks up just as a deadly virus has wiped out 99% of the human race and follows the drama surrounding those who survived. Executive producer Adrian Hodges said it was closer in tone to Cormac McCarthy's bleaker than bleak novel-turned Viggo Mortensen movie "The Road" than any other contemporary End Times films.

While there is a parallel story addressing the mystery behind the lab responsible for the virus, " 'Survivors' is overwhelmingly a character piece based on the whole way we as human beings would respond in this situation," Hodges said. "Recovering from the catastrophe...and the human drama that comes from that is very much the backbone of the piece."

The actors said the serious nature of the project took its toll. "Thinking about everyone I knew being dead, everything I'd ever known missing, no infrastructure in society, no electricity, no gas...I found meditating on that actually quite depressing," said one of the series stars Paterson Joseph.

Julie Graham, who plays a woman desperately searching for her son, agreed that the isolation was "was very hard to switch off at the end of the day."

But while the premise is frightening, "there is a lot of hope as there as well. Beacons of hope everywhere represented by characters, by situations, by human relationships. That's what the human race is good at. In the face of adversity, humantiy comes through." So the finish product is also "quite uplifting."

-- Denise Martin

Photo credit: BBC America

TCA Press Tour: 'iCarly' meets 'Victorious'? Nickelodeon says it will happen

Get ready for the tween mother lode.

Dan Schneider, creator of Nickelodeon's hit comedy "iCarly" and the upcoming performing arts high school series "Victorious," said a crossover event is in the offing.

"Both casts are very excited about that possibility, so now it's up to me to come up with something good," he said.

The last time Miranda Cosgrove, who plays Carly, and "Victorious" star Victoria Justice went head to head -- in the boxing ring for the "iCarly" special event "iFight Shelby Marx" -- a big 8 million viewers showed up.

"Victorious" centers on a girl who's talent for singing is discovered by chance, landing her a spot among the diverse group of kids who attend Hollywood Arts, a performing arts high school. Just don't compare it to "Hannah Montana."

"'Victorious' isn't about being famous," Justice said. "The goal isn't to become the next Britney. The kids who go to the school go because they love to sing" or act or be creative.

"Our show is also angst-free, by the way," said Nickelodeon head of programming Margie Cohen.

In other "iCarly" news, Nickelodeon also announced that Cosgrove will release her first solo album this April.

"Victorious" premieres March 27.

-- Denise Martin

Photo: Cast members of "Victorious." Credit: Nickelodeon

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TCA Press Tour: MTV revives career of cult star-debauched puppet Warren the Ape

Warren the Ape, longtime sidekick of Greg the Bunny, is happy someone's finally giving him his due.

"'Greg the Bunny' in 1999? Canceled. 'Greg the Bunny' on Fox in 2002? Canceled. 'Greg the Bunny.' IFC. 2005. Canceled! So finally someone figured out the problem was the bunny, which I've been saying all along," Warren told reporters Friday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour.

To help MTV move beyond reality shows, Warren, it seems, has been recruited to take MTV back to its subversive roots.

"Warren the Ape," in fact, is a parody of reality shows, a behind-the-scenes peek revolving around a D-list, often-debauched, out-of-work celebrity puppet attempting to get back into Hollywood's good graces.

As Warren put it, it's "Breaking Bonaduce" meets "The Muppet Show."

"If the Osbournes have taught me anything, it's just that you have to be ready to embarrass yourself and good things come," the puppet said. "We [puppets] don't just count to 10 in Spanish.... It's not all 'Cookies are a sometimes food.'"

And those Sesame Street puppets aren't what they appear either. "They've been defanged and domesticated. Don't go bringing your kids to set, those guys will go for the eyes."

"Warren the Ape," created by Sean Baker, Spencer Chinoy and Dan Milano, will premiere in June.

-- Denise Martin

Photo credit: MTV

TCA press tour: Ricky Gervais finds comedy gold in a round-headed minion

Just a few days before he hosts the Golden Globes, Ricky Gervais appeared at TCA with his longtime collaborator, Stephen Merchant, to discuss their upcoming 13-episode HBO series, “The Ricky Gervais Show.”

The series is actually an animated comedy based on their very popular podcasts, which feature loose, wacky conversations among Gervais, Merchant and their oddball pal, Karl Pilkington. Gervais and Merchant said that they met Pilkington some years ago while hosting a radio show; he was “this round-headed minion” sent to work for them who turned out to be “comedy gold.”

Gervais coined the awkward phrase “realanimation” for the format, which Merchant further explained: “It’s not a scripted show, these are real conversations we had with Karl. … It’s all the ramblings of an idiot.”

Although Gervais and Merchant frequently insult Pilkington, Gervais insisted that the show’s appeal lies with this unique fellow. “He sees the world through different eyes. … But he’s got an opinion on everything and it’s a funny one -- because it hasn’t been heard before! I can’t get enough of Karl. He’s a comedy genius, whether he knows it or not.”

Asked if he’d consider doing a cutting-edge late-night talk show, Gervais referred to the existing cutting-edge host whose show he appeared on last night: Conan O'Brien. “I thought Conan was amazing. I thought his monologue was one of the funniest and most biting I’d heard on a chat show for years.” 

As for future plans, Gervais offered: “We might do something with the American 'Office' next season. But that's in our heads at the moment." He said that versions of both “The Office” and “Extras” are spreading across the globe, making the comedy duo of Gervais and Merchant into a kind of franchise --  just like “Ronald McDonald and the Grimace.” Yes, just like that.

"The Ricky Gervais Show" premieres on HBO Feb. 19.

-- Joy Press

Photo credit: HBO

TCA press tour: Al Pacino takes on Dr. Jack Kevorkian for HBO

When he agreed to play Jack Kevorkian in the HBO  movie “You Don’t Know Jack,” Al Pacino was not just taking on a living person who is familiar to many of us from the nightly news. He was also slipping into the skin of one of the most controversial figures of our era.

Kevorkian is the most public face of the assisted suicide movement, and this movie focuses on him as a crusader who is willing to sacrifice everything for his beliefs. “We didn’t set out to do a movie about assisted suicide,” writer Adam Mazer pointed out. “We wanted to make a movie about Jack Kevorkian.”

Sitting on the TCA panel in sunglasses and goatee with hair raffishly spiky, Pacino teased, “Come, you’ll like it!” as his costars Susan Sarandon and Brenda Vaccaro tripped over themselves to explain why they loved working on it so well.
“People who dedicate their complete lives to the absence of anything else in their lives are really fascinating people,” Sarandon said.

Pacino said he was offered the chance to meet Kevorkian, but he turned it down. “I felt with Jack, the script was so complete in its portrait, and I had so much research,” he noted, also pointing out that the Kevorkian he plays in the film is a much younger man. But he seemed ambivalent now about that decision: “Why I didn’t take access to him is a question, and I don’t know why I didn’t.”

When asked about the movie’s title, Pacino insisted that it is apt, “because you don’t know this guy. Hopefully, in the movie, you still don’t. He is more than meets the eye, and that’s part of the appeal for us… It’s a portrait of a zealot I don’t think we see that often."

"You Don't Know Jack" is scheduled to premiere on HBO this spring.

— Joy Press

Photo credit: HBO

TCA press tour: Unlocking the tales of 'Prison Wives'

There are Stepford Wives. Trophy Wives. How about Prison Wives?

Investigation Discovery’s “Prison Wives” is a 13-part docu-series -- premiering Feb. 14 -- that gives viewers a glimpse into the lives of women (and a man) who have found love with people in prison. Each episode chronicles the daily life of the spouse living outside of prison and explores the dynamics the couple face in trying to maintain their relationship.

And each couple’s story is different: from Latoya Marion, married to Cornelius Marion, who is two decades into serving a life sentence without parole for armed robbery and grand theft auto, to Tim McDonald, a retired airline captain married to Deion Harris, who is serving a life sentence without parole for felony murder.

So why, given the circumstances, would they risk being judged by television viewers across the country?

“We are judged,” McDonald said. “Of course we are judged. We are judged as clearly as our spouses were judged, and we go through it every day. … We accept that. “

Networks under the Discovery umbrella aren’t new to documenting the unusual and extraordinary lives of people — just look at TLC on any given night.  But president and general manager of Investigation Discovery Henry Schleiff was quick to point out that the series isn’t trying to chronicle the bizarre for the sake of viewership.

“They’re not car accidents,” Schleiff said. “These are stories of people truly struggling under very difficult circumstances to maintain a relationship. … I think that interesting; I think that’s an aspect worth exploring. I think it’s a valuable part of exposing our audience to the justice system.”

--Yvonne Villarreal

Photo: Latoya Marion does research at the Law Library to learn about how she can fight her husband's case. Credit: Investigation Discovery.

 

TCA Press Tour: Stephen Hawking's celestial TV journey on Discovery

Who would have thought that one of the world's most famous living scientists finds time to take in a little television? Whether it's crime dramas or "The Simpsons," Stephen Hawking tunes in. He'd even like to participate in a certain popular dance reality competition.

"I'm still waiting for my invitation to 'Dancing With the Stars,' " Hawking joked via a taped message.

Until then, he's part of the upcoming Discovery Channel special "Into the Universe With Stephen Hawking."

"Although I cannot move and I have to speak through a computer, in my mind I am free," Hawking explains in a preview for the special.

The four-hour event, which takes place over three nights, features computer-generated effects and digitally enhanced NASA footage as questions such as "How did our universe begin?" and "Could alien life be found in distant planets?" are explored through the physicist's vision of the universe.

Cable rival History Channel has a similar program, "The Universe," which wrapped its fourth season last fall and also explores the mysteries of the universe.

"People will be hooked by the amazing graphics and storytelling," Hawking said of the Discovery special.

It will air in the spring.

— Yvonne Villarreal

TCA Press Tour: ABC's 'Happy Town' is like -- and not like -- 'Twin Peaks'

I must say, it's pretty bold of ABC to bill "Happy Town" as "From the network that brought you 'Twin Peaks.' "

More verbiage from the trailer: "In Happy Town, every smile hides a secret. ... It's almost too perfect. There has been a murder. The past has come back to haunt this quiet town."

And in Happy Town, the Magic Man is the new Bob.

Series executive producers Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg say their show is "much more the real world" than David Lynch's seminal 1990 series about murder in a quirky small town.

"We certainly have surreal moments, but it's very grounded," Appelbaum said.

"Happy Town" begins when a small-town deputy arrives in Haplin, "Happy Town," Minn., to investigate a new spate of crimes. But his world is turned upside down when he learns of the town's real and longtime threat: a mysterious villain known as the Magic Man.

Appelbaum and Rosenberg's previous series collaborations include ABC's short-lived "Life on Mars" and the critically panned small-town drama "October Road."

Rather than compare "Happy Town" to "Twin Peaks," Rosenberg said he'd much prefer the "Happy Town" tagline to read "October Road: Where [expletive] happens."

Pointing to the room of TV writers and critics, Rosenberg recalled the negative reviews for "October Road." "We were treated like Michael Vick."

In all seriousness, Rosenberg said it seemed like a good time for a spooky show like "Happy Town" to succeed. Scary series are "either forensic porn ... or vampires," he said.

And again, unlike "Twin Peaks," the producers plan on resolving a whole lot of the mystery -- and fast.

"I think audiences can tend to be frustrated if every episode is entirely enigmatic," Rosenberg said. "Our mantra was to answer questions."

Spelled out further, Appelbaum said: "We will answer the question of who is the Magic Man by the end of the first season. To us, that's playing fair with the audience. It's a shocking revelation. ... It will turn the show on its head in a great way."

"Happy Town" stars Geoff Stults, Sam Neill, Lauren German, Steven Weber, Amy Acker, Sarah Gadon, Robert Wisdom, Jay Paulson and Ben Schnetzer.

ABC has not scheduled a premiere date.

-- Denise Martin

Photo credit: ABC

TCA Press Tour: ABC's 'The Deep End' reboots the legal show, says series creator

David Hemingson's most recent work has been consulting on the crime drama "Lie to Me" and co-executive producing the comedy "How I Met Your Mother."  But its his new series, "The Deep End," a sort of "Grey's Anatomy" set in the world of law, that is "the story most near and dear" to his heart.

"The Deep End" is a retelling of his own history as a young attorney -- and a reboot of the legal drama at large.

Paying due respect to "Perry Mason" and the work of Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, Hemingson said there has never been a show "told from the perspective of newly minted lawyers. These kids that have come out of law school and their confronting of the reality of their practice for the first time."

Also distinguishing it are the "interpersonal aspects, the sexiness," the twentysomething point of view.

The first episode follows five associates thrown into their first caseloads at Sterling, a powerful Los Angeles firm. One is given an impossible pro bono case, another is asked to get a client to sign with the firm under false pretenses. They're guided by a reluctant mentor and the firm's warring partners. Matt Long, Billy Zane, Clancy Brown, Norbert Leo Butz, Leah Pipes, Tina Majorino, Ben Lawson, Nicole Ari Parker and Mehcad Brooks star.

"When I look at the pilot, this was the beginning of my sentimental, my moral education," Hemingson said. Like Dylan [Long], in the first episode, Hemingson too showed up to his first day of work as an attorney "bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and told I was in fact 10 days late." A Columbia grad, his law career didn't last long. "The law for me was something I came to with very high expectations. The big-firm practice pointed me to do something else, but I left with a lot of anecdotes and friendship."

"The Deep End" premieres on ABC Jan. 21 at 8 p.m.

-- Denise Martin

Photo credit: ABC