While MODERN FAMILY was busy stealing the spotlight, a little show called SUBURGATORY was quietly winning hearts with its tale of a father in need or parental guidance and a daughter who’s not quite as worldly as she thinks herself to be who go from city slickers to suburban dwellers. To find out what changes will hit the neighborhood in Season 2, we went to creator and executive producer Emily Kapnek!

Did the show’s success catch you off guard?
EMILY KAPNEK: I’m naturally a very pessimistic person and always much morecomfortable operating from a place of being prepared to fail versus being prepared to succeed, so it was a very pleasant surprise. When we premiered to pretty good numbers, I took my manager’s advice to keep my eyes on my own paper, focus on the work and try not to pay too much attention to everything happening around me, because it can
be fleeting as we all know.

How will the fact that Tessa (Jane Levy) spent her summer in New York impact her feelings toward Chatswin when she comes back home?
KAPNEK: It was  a lot of fun for her to get to sort of dip her toe back into the New York City life, but I think more important than the landscape is the blossoming interest in her mom. This is all sort of her grandmother’s master plan, which is to reintroduce Tessa into their world. That will culminate with Tessa finally getting to meet her mom around the holidays. Ultimately, I think that one of the things that we’ve been keen on is getting to a place where Tessa gets to sample New York yet realize that maybe Chatswin is home. That lets us do a great story, where she comes back to suburgatory on her own terms, not thinking of it as exile anymore, but maybe that she belongs here.

What made you decide to dive into the mystery around Tessa’s mom so early in the show’s run?
KAPNEK: It seemed like a natural thing for the show. Tessa is a girl whose mom is absent, yet she’s in a town that’s run by moms. Inevitably, it has to take a toll on Tessa who has been so emotionally strong and upright. It just seemed like a great progression for her character to actually start to show her feeling and to have some of them bubble to the surface. Plus Jane is such a great actresses.

It looked like Tessa and hunk-next-door Ryan were headed for a relationship toward the end of last season. Will that continue?
KAPNEK: We love her chemistry with Ryan. I don’t know if we’re going to jump full-fledged into relationship mode with them, but we have a lot of Tessa/Ryan storylines where he’s sort of trying to endear himself to her, and you get the sense that she’s trying to warm up to him.

What about George and Dallas… will Season 2 finally see them become more than flirt buddies?
KAPNEK: Things are really heading the direction of George and Dallas this season. They both had dating stories last season with Wilmer Valderrama’s character for her and Alicia Silverstone, who was a good love interest for George. But really, George and Dallas are starting to realize that maybe they’re cut out for each other even though it seems so unlikely and so improbable. So we’ve been having a lot of fun growing that potential.

SUBURGATORY airs Wednesdays at 9:30PM on ABC (CityTV in Canada). Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv

What’s the only downside to starring on a hit television show where anything can and usually does happen? Well, if you’re REVENGE’s Gabriel Mann — who last season helped turn Nolan Ross into one of the year’s most buzzed about new characters — it’s that keeping your job becomes somewhat of an understandable priority. Luckily for this inquisitive TV Addict, what Mann lacks in actual answers when it comes to what the future holds for Emily’s right-hand Mann (See what we did there?!) during REVENGE’s second season he more than makes up for with some seriously fun ones. See for yourself, after the jump.

One of the great aspects about serialized storytelling is that it affords an actor to play many different shades of the same character over the run of a series. That being said, what shade of Nolan should fans be prepared to see this year?
Gabriel Mann: The Nolan shade this year is bigger, badder, tougher… not trying to get kidnapped, tortured and tied up again. I think he might have taken a few hits from what happened at the end of last season and has decided to make some rather drastic changes.

Creator Mike Kelley likes to say that as the show continues, Emily won’t be the only one out for revenge. Will Nolan’s story this year give him more to do than simply being at Emily’s beck and call?
In terms of Nolan’s character, what you’re going to start to see this year is what his life is like outside of the world of Emily: The world of NolCorp… maybe secret family members! Mike’s [Showrunner Mike Kelley] intentions this year is to really take the cast of characters we have and give them as much juice as possible. As to whether that means somebody is going to not make it, very likely! Will that be me, possibly, I don’t know. I’m having a great time on the show and am not quite ready to give up the Hamptons just yet, but anything can happen.

How do you think Fauxmanda’s pregnancy will affect Nolan’s friendship with Jack?
Nolan is not a Fauxmanda fan and she’s moved back in. That will very much change his relationship with Jack. I’d like to think that we make it through because he’s kind of my best guy friend. But I have a feeling it’s going to get really ugly this year. I will continue to try to give him my own best/wort advice and where that leads is probably somewhere terrible.

Thanks to Nolan’s relationship with Emily’s Dad, he has always seemed to know more about Emily’s family than, well Emily. How much does he know about Emily’s mom?
All I can say is that I feel like there’s a hand he has not dealt yet. I’ll leave it at that!

And finally, the biggest shocker from the first two episodes of REVENGE’s second season has to be Nolan’s new ‘do! Did you have to get approval for the haircut from the show. what’s the story behind it?
I will say that a comment from Deadline Hollywood about Nolan having the most ridiculous hair on television… Look bottom line, I just wasn’t getting the kind of dates I wanted with the hair! It was amazing, the day of the haircut I had a great night that night and I’ll just put it this way: It’s amazing what a haircut can do! Did I ask permission from the show? I don’t know, you’ll have to ask production. I think that had I come back with dreadlocks that might have been a little bit confusing, but considering that we’re going to continue to evolve the characters, Nolan included, it felt natural. I mean look at the way the guy dresses, nothing is every going to stay the same on this show and I think the hair is part of that. That said, if you don’t see me past episode three or four the hair cut was a really really bad idea. You can quote me on that!

REVENGE airs Sunday at 9PM on ABC (CityTV in Canada) and stars Emily Van Camp, Josh Bowman, Christa B. Allen, Charlotte Grayson, Madeleine Stowe, Henry Czerny, Ashley Davenport, Nick Wechsler, Gabriel Mann and Connor Paolo. Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv

Looks like the supernatural baddies of Mystic Falls won’t have Elena to push around anymore… or at least, doing so won’t be so easy now that she’s a bloodsucker! With that shocker, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES took things to a whole new level. So what happens next? Let’s ask executive producer Julie Plec!

So has having Elena become a vamp been in the cards all along?
JULIE PLEC: It was three years in the making, in that we knew when we started the series that we’d get there eventually. At one point, we thought we wouldn’t get there until Season 5, and then at one point contemplated getting there by the end of Season 2! We began Season 3 knowing how we were going to end it, so all the choices we made and everything that we did was all trying to very gently and quietly tee that up and put Elena in a situation where that was the biggest move that could happen in her life.

Is moving forward terrifying, given what a game changer this is?
PLEC: It’s exciting, because it’s fresh, you know? It gets us jazzed every day, because we don’t feel like we’re just retreading the same old stuff. It’s daunting, because we think it’s awesome, but if nobody else likes it, there is nothing we can do. We have put the show on this course, and there’s no going back. So if it gets rejected, then we’re going to have to take a beat and think about what we’ve done. That said, I think people will like it, because it’s still Elena. It’s just Elena with a dozen, two dozen more layers to herself.

You’ve thrown everything but the kitchen sink at Nina Dobrev (Elena). How is she handling playing yet another version of the same character?
PLEC: Nina is nothing if not a total champion, and she loves to be challenged as an actress. So far, so good! She’s finding all the nuances in the character that are different than Katherine and different than the human Elena. A lot of actors during Season 4 of a TV series don’t necessarily get to wake up and be somebody new, so I think she’s very excited about that.

So how does Elena being a vampire impact her relationships with the Salvatore brothers?
PLEC: Ultimately, the pitch of the show back in the beginning was a love triangle between two vampire brothers and their love for the same girl, so it’s certainly something we’re not going to just lock up in a briefcase and put away. It’s always going to be there. What’s great about turning Elena into someone “new” is that it takes where she was with Damon and Stefan and puts it in a blender and spins it around. We don’t really know what’s going to come out of that. Because this is a new person, we don’t know how she’ll connect with them and how they’ll react to the changes in her. It adds a lot of fun, new dynamics to this triangle. 

One of the highlights of last season was Joseph Morgan as Klaus. A lot of people were surprised he managed to survive. Is there a danger of falling in love with your villain and, by keeping him around, turning him into less of a threat?
PLEC: With Joseph, certainly our intention was to kill him. And then we changed our minds because he’s so good, and we felt it was too soon to say good-bye to that character. So a lot of what you’re going to be seeing at the beginning of Season 4 is him at his most devilish and darkest. He is such a magnificent, nasty villain! The last thing we want to do is cut his legs out from under him, so we’re going to get to see some of nasty Klaus in action.

With Matt Davis’ Alaric and Ganiel Gillies’ Elijah gone, any plans to bring characters in to fill the void?
PLEC: Well, the good news is that both of them have the ability to return to our show at any time in their contracts. They love us, and we love them so much. With Alaric being dead, of course, we won’t see much of him. But we’ve definitely got some new faces. Some of them are more mysterious, some of them are younger. There’s a new character named April who is a high school student that returns to town after a couple of years away and kind of lands right in the middle of everything. And then there’s a new vampire hunter named Connor who comes to town. He’s no Alaric. He’s a hardcore, humorless, take-no-prisoners, get-it-done character, and he’s a bit of a threat for our heroes. More so than they expected to come across! 

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES fourth season kicks off on Thursday October 11th at 8PM on The CW (9PM on CTV Two in Canada)

Direct from the pages of our brand new, just released, first annual, Fall TV Preview eBook appropriately titled “Thank Goodness It’s Fall” comes a closer look at NBC’s latest attempt to rekindle that ER magic with CHICAGO FIRE.

Premieres: Wednesday, October 10 at 10 p.m. on CBS (Global in Canada).
In A Nutshell: Executive producer Dick Wolf — he of LAW & ORDER fame — takes a shot at the territory trod by shows like EMERGENCY and RESCUE ME.
Names You’ll Know: Taylor Kinney (THE VAMPIRE DIARIES), David Eigenberg (SEX & THE CITY), Lauren German (HAWAII FIVE-0), Merle Dandridge (SONS OF ANARCHY) and Jesse Spencer (HOUSE M.D.) are just some of the familiar faces populating Chicago Firehouse 51.
What They Say: “This is not fire of the week,” swears Wolf. “It’s a character study about people who do jobs you can’t pay people to do.”
What Others Say: The Huffington Post’s Laura Prudom writes that it “boasts a great cast, but they’re all too busy talking in leaden, clichéd Procedural Speak, so there’s no joy, humor or personality. Based on the pilot, I’d say skip it, but I want to give it another episode in the hope it loosens up.”
What We Say: Maybe if it actually were a fire-of-the-week show, there’d be more intensity to it. As it is, we have a good cast basically going through the motions. We meet a lot of people very quickly, and unless you happen to recognize them from a previous role (it’s easy to spot Kinney, as he’s the one stripped down regularly), the faces, names and personal traumas can sort of blend together. There may be a good show in here somewhere, but right now, it’s all smoke, no fire.

For more great reviews, exclusive interviews with some of your favorite showrunners and actors, as well as printable calendars and Emmy ballots, please consider supporting theTVaddict.com by checking out our First Annual Fall TV Preview eBook.>>

 
The one theme reinforced by all them is that Oliver is not only seeking vengeance, but redemption.  A man who seeks only to kill is but half a man.  To regain his life, Oliver must also find a way to reconnect with those around him.  Living in solitary isolation for five years may have stripped away pieces of his life and chipped away at his soul, leaving him damaged, but not lost.  Oliver just needs to find a way to make his life whole again, while finding a way to punish those who so richly deserve it.  
 
That difficult balance and internal struggle is what makes ARROW so compelling. Stephen Amell’s portray of Oliver Queen as The Green Arrow seeks to ensnare us with the complexity and turmoil of the question:  Who is Oliver Queen?  Is he a man? A hero? A vigilante? Or is he something else entirely?  And what masks must he wear to find those responsible and once he does, what is the best punishment for each? For some, death is too lenient.  For others, perhaps they have suffered long enough.  Yet shall the weight of being judge, jury and executioner be a price too high for Oliver Queen?
 
To find out these answers to such difficult and thought-provoking questions, be sure to tune in for the premiere of ARROW on Wednesday, October 10th at 8PM on the CW (CTV Two in Canada).  Not everyone who wears a mask is to be feared; some are to be celebrated.

Direct from the pages of our brand new, just released, first annual, Fall TV Preview eBook appropriately titled “Thank Goodness It’s Fall” comes a closer look at ABC’s musically-infused nighttime sudser NASHVILLE.

Premieres: Wednesday, October 10 at 10PM on ABC. (CTV in Canada).
In A Nutshell: Hitching her metaphorical wagon to bitchy rising star Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) may be the only chance fading country queen Rayna James (Connie Britton) has of saving her career.
Names You’ll Know: Britton (AMERICAN HORROR STORY, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) continues to prove herself one of the small screen’s best assets; Panettiere does more with a simpering look than many can do with a page of bitchy dialogue; Jonathan Jackson (GENERAL HOSPITAL) gets a shot at primetime fame; and Powers Boothe (HATFIELDS & MCCOYS) does the kind of malevolent manipulations his characters do best.
What They Say: Executive producer R.J. Cutler hopes the fact that the show has a lot of moving parts will help it appeal to a wide range of viewers. “There’s music, there’s drama, there’s family story, you’re in the music business world, you’re in the political world. But at the core of it are these relationships, and they drive through everything.”
What Others Say: “While not as ostentatious and prurient with its drama,” writes TVLine.com’s Matt Webb Mitovich, “NASHVILLE should prove an able heir to relocated REVENGE’s Wednesday time slot.”
What We Say: It’s ironic that ABC, which has all but turned its back on soaps in daytime, continues to crank out fantastic primetime sudsers such as this offering, REVENGE, GREY’S ANATOMY and others. This one’s got it all: sex, politics, romance and more, all served up by seasoned actors who give the whole thing more heft than it might otherwise have. It’s too bad that we join Rayna and Teddy’s marriage in what appears to be the final stages of collapse, because while that makes for good drama, it’s tough to care a whole lot about the demise of a relationship that we have no investment in. But Panettiere is clearly having a blast shaking off her good-girl image, and Britton’s Rayna is a fantastic portrait of a life in crisis.

For more great reviews, exclusive interviews with some of your favorite showrunners and actors, as well as printable calendars and Emmy ballots, please consider supporting theTVaddict.com by checking out our First Annual Fall TV Preview eBook.>>

Direct from the pages of our brand new, just released, first annual, Fall TV Preview eBook appropriately titled “Thank Goodness It’s Fall” comes a closer look at The CW’s latest take on an iconic DC superhero with ARROW.

Premieres: Wednesday, October 10 at 8 p.m. on The CW (CTV Two in Canada).
In A Nutshell: After being shipwrecked on a deserted island for five years, wealthy playboy Oliver Queen returns with a desire to reconnect with his family, right his father’s wrongs and generally make the world a better place… beginning with his crime-ridden hometown of Starling City.
Names You’ll Know: CW mainstay Katie Cassidy (MELROSE PLACE, SUPERNATURAL) gives the usually thankless role of would-be girlfriend to the superhero some much-needed spunk, while Susanna Thompson (KINGS) is perfectly cast as the Medea-like matriarch of the Queen clan. Relative newbie Stephen Amell, meanwhile, proves he’s more than just a pretty face with a killer body by portraying three different stages of Oliver’s tale: his pre-island party-boy existence, his struggle to survive on the island, and his current double life.
What They Say: Of the fairly dark vision of the tale being told, executive producer Mark Guggenheim says, “We are certainly exploring the nature of vigilantism,” adding, “One of the things you will see… is that the Arrow… always gives the bad guy the opportunity to do the right thing, and that’s certainly one of the moral guidelines we’re establishing. But also, when he kills, he will kill for necessity, for a reason. It’s not random violence, and he will also have characters sort of coming into the universe that are questioning those moral judgments.”
What Others Say: Forget the critics. When ARROW was screened during Comic-Con in July, the show was greeted with wild applause from the very people who are both its target audience and, more often than not, the harshest critics of the genre.
What We Say: Perhaps because of the involvement of executive producer Greg Berlanti (EVERWOOD, POLITICAL ANIMALS), the dark drama is far more layered than one might expect. While SMALLVILLE gave its budding Superman a family and friends, ARROW’s Queen clan is much more fleshed out. This is emotionally complex, compelling stuff that has more in common with modern graphic novels than the comic books of old. The pilot does an admirable job of balancing action sequences (of which there are several), romance (the seeds for a juicy triangle are planted) and the kind of dysfunctional family drama one might expect to find on a show like REVENGE. If the episodes to come can deliver on the promise of the pilot, this could be the best superhero adaptation to ever hit the small screen.

For more great reviews, exclusive interviews with some of your favorite showrunners and actors, as well as printable calendars and Emmy ballots, please consider supporting theTVaddict.com by checking out our First Annual Fall TV Preview eBook.>>

Direct from the pages of our brand new, just released, first annual, Fall TV Preview eBook appropriately titled “Thank Goodness It’s Fall” comes a closer look at CBS’ latest procedural with a twist, VEGAS.

Premieres: Tuesday September 25 at 10PM on CBS (Global in Canada).
In A Nutshell: A good man tries to prevent his town and his family from being corrupted by the growing influence of money and the Mob in his community. Unfortunately for him, his community happens to be Las Vegas, circa 1960.
Names You’ll Know: Dennis Quaid (In Good Company) and Michael Chiklis (THE SHIELD) are perfectly cast as local sheriff Ralph Lamb and gangster Vinnie Savino, respectively. Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) is the assistant district attorney you just know is gonna get caught between them.
What They Say: Addressing the question of whether VEGAS is or isn’t a procedural, executive producer Cathy Konrad says, “Although I enjoy a procedural now and then, we paint with a bigger palette.” Fellow executive producer Greg Walker adds, “We have, I don’t want to say the crime of the week, [but] we have an investigation for the team… interwoven with this larger canvas.”
What Others Say: According to Brian Ford Sullivan of TheFutonCritic.com, “It just doesn’t feel like the home run that it should be considering the auspices involved in front of and behind the camera.”
What We Say: Like fellow CBS newbie SHERLOCK, VEGAS does a great job of immediately setting up its premise. A low-flying plane carrying visitors to Sin City upsets the herd of cattle being handled by Lamb and his boys. There are fantastic performances all around, but for a show that’s supposedly not a procedural we dive into the first case awfully quickly. BOARDWALK EMPIRE comparisons are tough to avoid, and that show captures its environs far better than does VEGAS. Then again, given CBS’ notoriously-older-skewing audience, what doesn’t work so well might not matter. The combination of pre-technology crime scene investigations and nostalgia may be exactly what those viewers are looking to fall asleep in front of.

For more great reviews, exclusive interviews with some of your favorite showrunners and actors, as well as printable calendars and Emmy ballots, please consider supporting theTVaddict.com by checking out our First Annual Fall TV Preview eBook.>>