A Big Day and Night for the Cast of Will & Grace

L-r, Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally
and Sean Hayes perform at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton
at the home of  Michael Lombardo and Sonny Ward in L.A.

Yesterday, more than ten years after Will & Grace aired its series finale, turned out to be a big day for the beloved cast.

For one thing, news broke early in the day that NBC is interested in reviving the show, reportedly for a ten-episode season, which would effectively be the show's ninth.  And then last night, the cast was already scheduled to reunite for a special fundraiser for the Hillary Clinton campaign, held at the Los Angeles home of former HBO president Michael Lombardo and his husband, Sonny Ward.

Just before their surprise for the fans in attendance -- a musical performance about Clinton and Trump to the tune of West Side Story's "Gee, Officer Krupke"-- I asked Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally about the reports of a revival.  "We have no idea what's going on with that stuff," Megan said -- and indeed each cast member agreed, the project is in such early talks, the cast is unaware of the chances of the revival actually happening.  (Fingers crossed!)

Perhaps this is finally one good thing that has arisen from the vicious election cycle we've been subjected to for the past year (other than the possible fragmenting of the Republican Party, and its hopeful reorganization into something more inclusive and excluding the hateful alt-right.)  The renewed ardor for the groundbreaking and influential 1998-2006 sitcom comes after the cast reunited in secret last month, to tape a special ten-minute episode in character [see clip below], where they debated the virtues of the two candidates.  The project was filmed hush-hush, and incredibly, on the exact Will Truman living room set used by the series; it had been in storage at the show co-creator Max Mutchnick's alma mater, Emerson College, in Boston, and was shipped back to LA in time for the taping.

Below, a clip from the 1961 film version of West Side Story.  Picture brilliant spoof lyrics -- which today on Twitter Eric McCormack attributed to Randy Rainbow -- about Trump and Clinton.  One chorus became just "little hands, little hands, he has little hands...", so it's designed perfectly to get under Trump's skin.  And of course, the number ends not with "Officer Krupke, Krup You!" but "Hillary Clinton, we're with you!"

After the performance, Debra Messing spoke eloquently to the crowd about how she's so passionate about the Clinton campaign that she took a few months off from acting to concentrate on her activism.  And then, the four actors stepped down into the crowd, obliging us fans with photos.  Let's hope this is far from the last time we see them all together!  NBC, make it so!

A Peek into the Future on Pure Genius

Benevolent billionaire James Bell (Augustus Prew)
recruits Dr. Walter Wallace (Dermot Mulroney) to
join the Bunker Hill team in Pure Genius.

“In a lot of the medical shows we’ve seen and loved over the years, it’s all about the problems,” says Dermot Mulroney, who plays maverick surgeon Dr. Walter Wallace in the new Thursday-night drama Pure Genius.  “Our show is all about solutions.”

Created by Jason Katims, the man behind the acclaimed TV versions of Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, Pure Genius is a cutting-edge medical drama set at Silicon Valley’s fictional Bunker Hill Hospital, which has been endowed by billionaire genius James Bell (Augustus Prew) and charged with using emerging technology to treat the trickiest of diagnoses – at no charge.  Recruited after failing to save a patient in his native Ohio with a risky operation, Mulroney’s Dr. Wallace journeys west to join Bell’s staff, which already comprises the best-of-the-best:  physician Dr. Zoe Brockett (Odette Annable), idealistic neurosurgeon Talaikha Channarayapatra (Reshma Shetty), gang member-turned-med technician Dr. Malik Verlaine (Aaron Jennings), Ivy League-educated neurologist Dr. Scott Strauss (Ward Horton) and 3-D printing programming whiz Angie Cheng (Brenda Song.)

“The show is set essentially ten minutes in the future,” explains Prew, adding that “because much of the technology it shows” – like ingestible monitors and virtual-reality patient environments, depicted in just Pure Genius’ pilot episode – “actually exists.”  In fact, Dr. Wallace himself is partly based on one of Pure Genius’ real-life medical consultants, Dr. Brennan Spiegel, a surgeon at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital.  “Dr. Spiegel’s specialty is infiltrating medicine with technology, finding new ways and inventing new devices to track and monitor patients,” says Mulroney.  “I’m sure you’ll see his influence in my character, because when I met him, I noted how his body moved, and how he uses medical tools.  I tried to pick up a feel for the guy, and put it into the part.”

Amid today’s debates over privatization versus more government-sponsored initiatives like Obama-care, Pure Genius taps into “a very important part of the zeitgeist right now,” Prew enthuses.  “What if you could have the best minds in technology and medicine paired together?  How could we make the healthcare system better?  How could we change lives?  The show is about what could be, and we’re hoping to spur change.”

Mulroney, too, expects Pure Genius to bring an inspiring dose of optimism to our screens each week.  “There’s a little magic” in the show, he admits, because not all of the Bunker Hill doctors’ innovative moves are yet completely possible.  “But that’s one of its great appeals.  You’ll say, ‘Is that really happening?’ And instead of saying ‘No,’ we’ll get to say ‘Not yet.’”

Thursdays at 10 PM Eastern

Begins October 27

Joel McHale heads for The Great Indoors

Joel McHale (Center) and the cast of The Great Indoors

Mike Gibbons got the idea for the new sitcom The Great Indoors while working as the head writer for The Late Late Show with James Corden.  Working “with a bunch of millennials,” the fortysomething Gibbons soon discovered that in their eyes, “40 is the new 80.”  At one point, as he attempted to reimburse the show’s writers’ assistant for the group’s lunch order, “I reached for my wallet, and he recoiled,” Gibbons remembers.  “It’s not like I was going to write him a check – I had cash.  And still, he made a face.  Cash – legal tender -- was now inconvenient?  And by the way, just by the fact that I carry a wallet at all, he assumes I keep pictures of my grandkids in there.”

As his proxy on The Great Indoors, Gibbons recruited former Community star Joel McHale, who responded to the pilot script’s generational warfare.  “I’m a big fan of workplace sitcoms, and always wanted to do one with a live audience,” McHale avows.  “When this great cast came together, I knew this would work.”  McHale plays grizzled adventure reporter Jack Gordon, called in from the field and now stuck at a desk amid Outdoor Limits magazine’s decidedly indoorsy staff of tech-addicted twentysomethings: deadpan social media expert Emma (Christine Ko), hipster-lumberjack Mason (Shaun Brown) and sensitive nerd Clark (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). And if that weren’t enough to provide Jack constant conflict, he now finds himself reporting to a new boss – and his old flame – Brooke (Susannah Fielding) and Brooke’s dad, the publication’s larger-than-life founder Roland, played by the venerable British actor/comedian Stephen Fry.

As Chris Williams, whose character Eddie is both Jack’s favorite bartender and his sole peer and confidant, notes, the show is about “bridging the gap between older and younger, and finding a way to understand each other.  As my character and Joel’s are finding out, our age is old school now – although I like being old school.”  His young co-star Brown agrees, calling The Great Indoors “very relevant, tapping into the sense of guilt [the younger set has] about missing connections with people, and being so buried in our phones and social media that we miss what’s happening around us.”

As Gibbons is quick to point out, The Great Indoors “is not just picking on millennials – who won’t mind anyway, because according to them, they don’t watch TV.”  Besides, he adds, with technology uniting us all, both he and Jack are actually “much closer to the millennials than we care to admit.  I’m addicted to my phone.  I’m constantly binge-watching shows digitally.  Quite honestly, too often I’m thinking I’m the center of the universe.  All of that, we all share.  I think the audience overall will relate, because in the end we all have those ‘millennial’ qualities.”

Thursdays at 8:30 PM

Begins October 27

The Real O'Neals gain steam in season 2

The cast of ABC's The Real O'Neals: (l-r):
Jay Ferguson, Mary Hollis Inboden, Noah Galvin,
Martha Plimpton, Bebe Wood, Matt Shively

After returning earlier in October for its second season, tonight ABC’s The Real O’Neals presents its first Halloween episode (9:30 Eastern/Pacific) – and its central character Kenny O’Neal’s (Noah Galvin) first Halloween after coming out to his family.

As the ABC comedy, which premiered at midseason earlier in 2016, continues to get stronger in this second year, I spoke with its three executive producers during the season 2 premiere screening at Los Angeles’ Paley Center for Media about how far the show has evolved, and what we can expect in episodes to come.

Must-Hear TV:  What is special about The Real O’Neals that drew you to the pilot script and to the show?

Casey Johnson:  Initially we were really excited about the idea of telling a real coming-of-age story for a gay teenager in today’s America.  That seemed really exciting to us, especially on network television.  It hadn’t been done before, so we were thrilled about that.  Also, the story about a divorce happening in real time.  We felt like that hadn’t been seen either.

MHTV:  Is there anything in the second season – whether it be guest stars or storylines -- that you wanted to get to in the first season that we’ll see now?

David Windsor:  Well there are definitely some guest stars.  In the season premiere episode, we had Jane Lynch, RuPaul, Lance Bass and Tyler Oakley.  And later on, a couple of episodes later, we have our chefs. 

The Real O'Neals executive producers (l-r):
Casey Johnson, David Windsor, Stacy Traub

Stacy Traub:  We have Alex Guarnaschelli, Toni Lofaso and Graham Elliot.  It’s a Chopped fantasy, kind of “Kenny’s Kitchen Nightmares.”  That was really fun, recreating a cooking show.

DW:  We’re still trying to get Jesus back for a role.

CJ:  He’s busy

ST:  We have Robbie Rogers and Gus Kenworthy, the silver medalist.  And we’re definitely going to have Tim Gunn back.  He’s shooting Project Runway right now, but as soon as he’s done, he tells us he’ll come back.

MHTV:  What did you learn from season 1 that affects season 2?

CJ:  I think one of the things we’re doing – we talk about season 1 with Kenny about being gay in theory, and now we’re talking about him being gay in practice.  And what does that mean in the world?  What does his first gay Halloween look like, when he wants to dress as Beyonce?  How does Eileen feel about that now that she knows he’s gay?  We’re going to have Kenny get a boyfriend this year and watch the steps of that relationship.  We’ll see what that means for Kenny, and what it means for the rest of the family.

MHTV:  Did you have any trepidation about doing that on network TV?

DW:  ABC has always been really supportive of everything we wanted to do.  We never ran into any roadblocks with them.  They were always encouraging of going further and further.  So if we had any fears, they was put down right away.  We were given a green light to move forward with those stories.

MHTV:  What can two teen boys do on television on a date?  Can you suggest that they fool around?  How far can they go on network TV?

ST:  Well we’re not there yet, but there’s definitely lots of kissing.  Yes, Kenny is tippy-toeing into the relationship, but we’re not going to shy away from it.  We’re going to be real, and teenagers fool around.  So we’ll get there.

MHTV:  The election will be over just a month into your season, and you’ll go well beyond that.  But has anything about this political climate seeped into the show?

CJ:  It hasn’t seeped in directly.  We don’t make any direct commentary at all.  But I think our show has always been about love and acceptance.  So if people see that as a commentary on our world today, that’s our point of view. 

ST:  We tried to stay away from politics, just because it’s so timely and you don’t know exactly when the episode is going to air.  Or who’s going to win.  So it’s in the world, but not directly discussed.

MHTV:  Do you have any casting for any of Kenny’s boyfriends or dates?  And does Noah have any input?

DW:  Well, we brought in a few guys for Noah to read with.  They were all really incredible, and we wanted to make sure that they had really good chemistry.  So we cast Sean Grandillo, who is an amazing theater actor.  He was in Spring Awakening.  He and Noah actually knew each other and had a friendship before the show even started, so the chemistry just kicked off right away.

CJ:  We introduce him in our Christmas episode, where Eileen is the choirmaster for the St. Barkley’s choir.  And it builds to this beautiful scene with a Christmas song/pop song mashup that Noah sings with Sean.  And it’s really really beautiful. 

MHTV:  I would hope that would the kind of thing that would win over early critics, such as from Catholic groups.  Have you heard that they have come around to understanding that the show is loving and supporting, and far from sacrilegious?

DW:  I think there’s been no reaction, which is a better reaction.  Matt Shively [who plays older brother Jimmy] was saying today on another panel that we were on that the Catholic League, for example, softened a little bit.  I think they finally saw some episodes and were like, “Oh, okay.  Well, maybe that’s not as outrageous as I was thinking before.”

CJ:  The feedback we’ve gotten directly are from Catholic people we know and who are in our lives.  Just the feedback from them saying, “This seems like our lives, this seems like my family.”  That’s really gratifying for us.  Because that’s what we’re trying to do.

Matt LeBlanc returns to Multi-Cam Sitcoms as a Man with a Plan

When Matt LeBlanc decided to return to network TV in a multicamera sitcom – and then said sitcom landed a plum Monday night berth, near his former Friends co-star Matthew Perry’s The Odd Couple – the whole thing “felt like coming home again.”

Matt LeBlanc with his new TV wife, Yes, Dear's Liza Snyder,
in CBS' new sitcom Man with a Plan.

Now, more than a decade after last playing the perennially single Joey Tribbiani, LeBlanc is Adam Burns, a Pittsburgh contractor who agrees to spend more time raising his kids – manipulative pre-teen Kate (Grace Kaufman), middle son Teddy (Matthew McCann) and brand new kindergartener Emme (Hala Finley) -- when his wife returns to work.  “Picking them up from school, making their lunches in the morning – Adam realizes straightaway on the first day that he hates all that,” LeBlanc explains.  “It becomes a big point of contention between him and his wife, and that’s where the comedy is.”

Created by former That ‘70s Show showrunners Jeff and Jackie Filgo, Man With a Plan is the first chance the actor, a real-life father of two adult sons and a 12-year old daughter, has had to play both a dad and a spouse.   “Being a parent is a really fun thing, and I’ve had a great time doing it,” LeBlanc says.  “I think if you have a funny bone, and can laugh at your kids, that’s a fun place for a show to be.”

LeBlanc says he’s proud of the healthy and supportive marriage with wife Andi (Liza Snyder) at the center of the show – and yet, Adam still feels the need to scheme behind her back with two newfound confidants and co-conspirators, fellow parents Lowell (Matt Cook) and Marie (Jessica Chaffin).  It turns out, the trio is able to come up with some unorthodox methods to control today’s entitled, unruly spawn.  “We live in a very politically correct world, especially regarding parenting,” LeBlanc explains.  “At school, other parents have so many rules, specifying that everything has to be non-GMO and organic.  I had none of that growing up, and I’m sure neither did Adam.  So Adam is a little less PC than most guys – and I’m ready to have fun watching him fumble his way through that world.”

Mondays at 8:30 PM Eastern

Begins October 24

"CBS Daytime #1 For 30 Years" exhibit at the Paley Center

Last night in Beverly Hills, the stars of CBS' five daytime programs -- The Talk, The Price Is Right, Let's Make a Deal, The Young and The Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful -- came together to celebrate the opening of the latest exhibit at the Paley Center for Media.

As detailed in the press release at the bottom of this post, the exciting new exhibit at the Paley contains artifacts and fun photo-ops from all five of the shows -- and last night, stars of each one were having fun with the displays, taking their own souvenir shots.  Many of mine, some with the casts, are below, to give you an idea of the colorful props you'll find at the museum on Beverly Drive.  Also, in the below press release, check out the dates for special in-person panel discussions with the stars of the shows, to be held at the museum.

The exhibition opens tomorrow, October 12, and runs through November 27.

A vignette from the long-running soap, The Young and The Restless

A chance to sit around the already iconic table
at The Talk

A fashion runway out of The Bold and the Beautiful

Try your luck on the Price Is Right wheel

A bench dedicated to the late Y&R matriarch Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper)

The B&B family tree

The Price Is Right's showcase showdown

The Talk sent over props and costumes from the
show's six-plus seasons.

One of five Plinko chips use in the famed
game on The Price Is Right

Bob Barker's skinny microphone
from The Price Is Right

Advertising for B&B's businesses

B&B's Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) poses
with the ad for his publishing company.

Laurette Spang-McCook and B&B's Pamela Forrester (Alley Mills),
with a cardboard Eric Forrester (John McCook)

My moment in the Showcase Showdown
with The Price Is Right host Drew Carey

CBS Daytime president Angelica McDaniel, with (r)
The Price Is Right's Drew Carey and
Let's Make a Deal's Jonathan Mangum

Y&R's Kate Linder, paying tribute to Esther's old boss,
Katherine Chancellor

Y&R's Kate Linder, in the Katherine Forrester tribute

Y&R's Kate Linder and B&B's Alley Mills

L-R:  B&B's Obba Bobatunde and Alley Mills, and Mills' husband,
Orson Bean, The Talk's Sheryl Underwood, Y&R's Kate Linder,
B&B's Reign Edwards

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Oct. 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Paley Center for Media is excited to announce that the new exhibit, CBS Daytime #1 for 30 Years, will make its debut at the Paley Center on October 12, 2016. The exhibit, created by CBS Daytime to commemorate 30 years of the Network's daytime programming being rated #1, will feature sets, props, and costumes from Let's Make a Deal, The Price Is Right, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Talk. In addition, the Paley Center will host four consecutive weeks of panel events featuring the talent and creative teams from the CBS Daytime lineup. 

Visitors to the exhibit will have the rare chance to immerse themselves in the world of CBS Daytime, viewing sets, costumes, and props from their favorite shows, as well as engaging in special interactives. Included in the exhibit: the "Big Wheel" from The Price Is Right; the "Car Pong" game and the Zonko, Zurtle, and Zonkey mascot costumes from Let's Make a Deal; a replica of Victor Newman's office and the Chancellor Park set from The Young and the Restless; the fashion runway from the opening credits of The Bold and the Beautiful, in addition to five memorable wedding dresses and wardrobe from international location shoots; the original host table from The Talk and the costumes each host wore for the 2015's Daytime Emmy-winning episode "Rocktober Halloween Spectacular." 

"The Paley Center is thrilled to host the debut of this incredible exhibit," said Maureen J. Reidy, President & CEO of The Paley Center for Media. "The television shows from CBS Daytime have enthralled generations and we're so excited that our visitors will have the once-in-a lifetime opportunity to see all the iconic sets, props, and costumes from all their favorite shows up close, as well as have the opportunity to learn the creative process behind these shows from their favorite stars during our special panel discussions."
"This is the perfect way to celebrate CBS Daytime being #1 for 30 years and the rich history of our iconic shows. Our passionate and dedicated fans have invited us into their homes for decades and this exhibit at the Paley Center offers a unique, hands-on opportunity for viewers to interact with and experience the shows they know and love," said Angelica McDaniel, Executive Vice President, Daytime Programs, CBS Entertainment. 

The four weeks of panels will include lively and entertaining discussions with the talent and producers from the CBS Daytime line up including:

Thursday, Oct. 20:            CBS Daytime Game Shows panel

Wayne Brady, Host, LET'S MAKE A DEAL; Drew Carey, Host, THE PRICE IS RIGHT; Dan Funk, Executive Producer, LET'S MAKE A DEAL; Mike Richards, Executive Producer, THE PRICE IS RIGHT & LET'S MAKE A DEAL

Wednesday, Oct. 26:      THE TALK panel 

Hosts Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Aisha Tyler, and
Sheryl Underwood

Thursday, Nov. 3:             THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL original full script reading & panel 

Bradley Bell (executive producer and head writer), Darin Brooks, Scott Clifton, Don Diamont, Katherine Kelly Lang, John McCook, Alley Mills, Karla Mosley, Heather Tom, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Jacob Young

Thursday, Nov. 10:          THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS original full script reading & panel 

Lauralee Bell, Peter Bergman, Eric Braeden, Sharon Case, Eileen Davidson, Amelia Heinle, Christian Le Blanc, Joshua Morrow, Greg Rikaart, Kristoff St. John, Melody Thomas Scott, Sally Sussman (head writer), Mal Young (executive producer)

CBS Daytime #1 for 30 Years will be open at the Paley Center's Beverly Hills location (465 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210) from October 12- November 27, 2016.  For more information about this exhibit please visit paley.me/cbsdaytime, and follow the Paley Center on Facebook and Twitter@PaleyCenter for more updates.

# # #

About CBS Daytime

CBS Daytime has been #1 for 30th consecutive years, one of the longest winning streaks in television history. The lineup features a balance of dramas, game shows and talk, including television's #1 daytime program and longest-running game show THE PRICE IS RIGHT, the #1 daytime drama THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, Daytime Emmy-winning THE TALK, the world's most-watched serial THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, and LET'S MAKE A DEAL, which has awarded more than $50 million in cash & prizes.
About The Paley Center for Media
The Paley Center for Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with locations in New York and Los Angeles, leads the discussion about the cultural, creative, and social significance of television, radio, and emerging platforms for the professional community and media-interested public. Drawing upon its curatorial expertise, an international collection, and close relationships with the leaders of the media community, the Paley Center examines the intersections between media and society. The general public can access the Paley Archive – including special African-American, Hispanic, and LGBT collections – and participate in programs that explore and celebrate the creativity, the innovations, the personalities, and the leaders who are shaping media. Through the global programs of its Media Council and International Council, the Paley Center also serves as a neutral setting where media professionals can engage in discussion and debate about the evolving media landscape. Previously known as The Museum of Television & Radio, the Paley Center was founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, a pioneering innovator in the industry. For more information, please visit paleycenter.org

Golden Girls Cafe in NYC -- Latest Update

Rue McClanahan's Emmy Award for The Golden Girls,
soon to be moved upstairs into a spotlight in the
completed Rue La Rue cafe in Washington Heights.

Last week in NYC, I was happy to get the chance to meet up with Michael J. La Rue, Rue McClanahan's friend and the executor of her estate who, along with Rue's artist son Mark Bish, is about to open "Rue La Rue" cafe in the city's Washington Heights neighborhood, in tribute to the actress.

Although no longer with us, Rue will greet each visitor to
Rue La Rue cafe, via her star embedded in the cafe's threshold.

Michael took my husband Frank DeCaro and me on a walk-through of the cafe space, which is sure to delight Golden Girls fans from the moment they cross over the Hollywood Walk of Fame-type star which Michael has had made for the restaurant's threshold.  Inside, you'll find a display of Rue's Golden Girls Emmy in one corner, costumes from that show and from Maude in another.  As Michael tells me in the video below -- where we peek at just a fraction of Rue's personal and household treasures to be displayed on site now or rotated in later -- the woman was a pack rat when it came to clothing; but now, that's a boon to fans, who will have the chance to commune with some of Blanche Devereaux's stunning, handpainted silk nightgowns up close.

Michael tells me in the video below that the cafe is set to open soon -- meaning sometime soon this fall.  But an exact date has not yet been announced.  Check out the goodies we uncover below -- and stay tuned to this blog for opening date info as soon as it's available!