Kathryn Morris UK

Is it really a month since the previous CCCC-up?  Well, yes and no.  A quick extra update in early October means it is only 3 weeks.  This, however, is the real deal.  Welcome to the proper October 2014 round-up of news about the cast members of Cold Case that aren’t Kathryn.

We’ll start off with the basis for that special additional entry: John Finn (Lt. Stillman in CC).  The Irish drama An Bronntanas (aka The Gift) débuted on the TG4 network last week.  Hopefully those of you that wanted to see it got to do so.  It was a good week for John fans as he made a surprise guest appearance on the hit new US drama series Madam Secretary the previous Sunday.  The show stars Teà Leoni (Bad Boys) as Elizabeth McCord, the US Secretary of State of the USA.  Hilary Clinton held the position a few years ago.  It is in many ways the second most powerful job after President.  We’re used to seeing John as the strong silent type that you know will ultimately do the right thing, even if it means taking one for team.  He is often cast in a roles that involve wearing the uniform of a senior member of the armed forces such as a General on shows like NCIS.  For Madam Secretary though, he was different.  As US peace envoy Allen Bollings, John got to play a more ambiguous character.  He still had that air of a military man and you would think as a negotiator of peace deals there would be little scope for a bad side to emerge.  But it did.  Allen did not do as instructed by Secretary McCord and was not exactly brokering peace.  Allen had is own agenda.  John does quietly angry very well.  Hostilities nearly broke out with the middle east as a result.

I don’t watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (aka SVU), the long running drama series that Danny Pino (Scotty Valens in CC) joined after Cold Case ended, so I can only go by what I’ve read.  It seems that in the early stages of the current 16th season Danny’s Det. Nick Amaro has been getting amorous with Det. Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish).  Scotty finally bagged the blonde cop that many thought he should have done many years ago 😉  Speaking of Amaro, he’s going to be branching out from New York-set SVU with a guest appearance in the new-ish show by SVU creator Dick Wolf.  The title Chicago P.D. probably tells you most of what you need to know about the programme that recently started its second season in the US.  Danny/Nick is down for episode 7 which is due to air on November 12th.  Scotty was the only CC character to cross-over into another show with a less than satisfying guest role in CSI: New York.

As usual we could write a book, or at least a lengthy post, just about Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller in CC) and her work since our last CCCC-up.  The play Lost Lake, which is due to première on the 11th of November at the Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, has been in previews for the past few days.  Lost Lake stars John Hawkes (The Sessions) and Tracie.  She’s a mother who has taken her children away on a much needed holiday.  He’s the owner of the the cabin by the lake they stay in.  In addition to all that Tracie is due to star, as the lead no less, in a new web series currently under development called Send Me.  It’s a drama about a university lecturer (Tracie) that has the power to send people back in time to see the slave trade in action.  As is often the case these days funding is being sort for the project from the general public.  You can find more details and a link to their Indiegogo page on the website.  Coming up in December (January in the UK) is the release of a new movie adaptation of the musical Annie.  In the past few days details of the soundtrack have been revealed.  Tracie is not specifically listed as a singer but there’s little doubt she’ll be making her presence felt aurally in the larger ensemble pieces.  Whilst most of the songs are sung by cast members Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Bobby Cannavale, and Rose Byrne; Australian pop/jazz singer Sia and Beck also feature.  The  soundtrack is due to be available a couple of weeks before the film.

More next month.