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Cold Case Cast Catch-up – October 2017

The recent changing of the clocks may have left us confused as to what time of day it is but it is definitely the last day of October.  That can only mean one thing: the latest Cold Case Cast Catch-up.  Read on.

Danny Pino (Scotty Valens in CC) is returning to the works of writer/producer Kurt Sutter.  Before taking the role we know Danny for best he had a five episode run in the gritty drama series The Shield.  Kurt, who wrote many episodes of The Shield and produced even more, went on to create the motorcycle gang-based show Sons Of Anarchy.  It has been three years since SOA, starring Charlie Hunnam (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) and Katey Sagal (Married With Children), ended but now plans are afoot, afoot I tells ya, for a spin-off series called Mayans MC.  A pilot was shot last year but they are re-shooting it with significant changes to the cast and story.  Danny is said to have taken a lead role in this new version for the FX network which takes place within the same universe but some time after the end of SOA.  James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) is co-starring.

With that out the way we can get to the usual meat in these monthly articles:  the continuing efforts of Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller in CC) to put dozens of other performers out of work :-)

I think I missed this particular news from very late in September, but it is not as though we’re often short of things to say about Tracie.  Last December’s round-up of CCCC-up round-ups was the last time we mentioned the movie The Basement, a horror film about a serial torturer/killer and kidnapped musician.  Mischa Barton (Notting Hill) stars as the wife of the missing tune-smith.  A trailer was released a month ago and the news broke that the film would receive a world première at the Shriekfest Film Festival in Hollywood in early October.

Speaking of horror films, it seems to be the season, a whole two years ago I posted about a new short film called No Touching starring Zoë Bell (Raze).  They were running a Kickstarter campaign to raise (raze?) money for the project.  Exactly what happened after that I’m not sure but just a few days ago the 10 minute long film was published on YouTube HERE.  Tracie has a small role alongside lead Zoë, with whom she has worked in several films.

Lifetime network’s series UnReal gives its fans a bit of hard time.  The third season renewal was swift but the actual production and release were delayed.  In June we covered the news of a ‘early 2018’ debut for the next run with Tracie receiving a recurring role.  Now it has been narrowed down to late February 2018.  On top of that good news for the die hards is evidence that the fourth season is already being filmed.  Tracie posted a photo on social media last night of herself on the set of UnReal for the filming of season 4.  No doubt that will be broadcast sometime in the mid-2020s :-)

A further social media posting by Tracie last week strongly suggests that she will be in an upcoming episode of the CBS drama Wisdom Of The Crowd.  Jeremy Piven (Mr Selfridge) stars in the new show about a tech pioneer who has developed a computer tool to solve murders.  Sounds a bit like Person Of Interest crossed with Minority Report.  More news on Tracie’s guest appearance at a later date.

In July the stage musical Falsettos, which Tracie starred in earlier this year, was recorded for showing in cinemas across the country.  Last Friday the performance was broadcast on the PBS network.

31st October 2017 | Category: Danny Pino, Other Cold Case Cast & Crew, Tracie Thoms | Leave a comment

Cold Case Cast Catch-up – February 2017

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February is a tricky one.  Always shorter than any other month and at the time of year when a lot of stuff isn’t happening besides award shows.  But I think we can put together a reasonable a few bits of news for this, the lstest look at the careers of the Cold Cast cast that aren’t Kathryn.

For what’s seemed like years I’ve been posting about John Finn (John Stillman in CC) being in the new CBS legal drama Doubt.  Major changes to cast and crew but the whole thing in, well, doubt.  John’s continued appearance in cast list looked, well, doubtful.  Especially as he wasn’t included in press releases for the first couple of episodes.  Finally Doubt hit the small screens in America early this month.  John was definitely in the première episode.  No doubt.  He played the father of a man with mental health issues on trial for murder.  I’m not sure John actually spoke a word in any of his very brief appearances, primarily in the background in court.  This is legal drama after all.  Anyway, the whole show has been thrown in, well, doubt now as after broadcasting just two episodes (of the 13 filmed) it has been pulled from the schedules.  The ratings did not live up to expectations.  The unbroadcast episodes could see the light of day over the quieter summer months or be consigned to the shelf forever.  A second season is, to say the least, doubtful.  Sorry.

The big news for our small band of castmates is Danny Pino (Scotty Valens on CC) getting a new gig on an co-production between NBCUniversal International Studios, RTL in Germany, and France’s TF1.  Gone is a 12 part drama about a woman who was abducted as a child and joins her FBI rescuer Frank Booth in a team investigating similar cases.  Danny goes from Kat to Kit as he is Agent John Bishop working along side Kit Lannigan (Leven Rambin, True Detective).  Chris Noth (Mr Big in Sex And The City) is Frank Booth.  I don’t know what the international production element means for the series as it seems to be US set.  It is based on a book called One Kick by Chelsea Cain.  Kit is known as Kick.  Expect a release in the 2017-18 winter.

We can’t seem to go through one of these with out mentioning Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller in CC) so I’ll just drop in that the Netflix TV series Love is due to return next week and has already been given a third season.

28th February 2017 | Category: Danny Pino, John Finn, Other Cold Case Cast & Crew, Tracie Thoms | Leave a comment

Cold Case Cast Catch-up – December 2016

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Predictably enough this is going to be a round-up of round-ups, with anything new we can find added as well of course.  Let us take a look at the careers of the wider Cold Case cast in 2016,

It is almost a cliché that Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller in CC) goes first.  It would be wrong not to though most of the time.  She makes the word prolific look like it isn’t trying hard enough.  Tracey featured in every one of these CCCC-ups in 2016.  There has been films (both short and long) and series (TV and web-based), as well as stage shows and one-woman events.  There are 18 items alone in Tracie’s IMDb actress category with ‘2016’ against them.  Some of them won’t be seen until next year.  Some the 2015 dated items crossed over in to this year.  It is hard to keep track of them all but I tried.

The most obvious to mention about are Tracie’s guest starring roles in various TV shows.  Netflix dramedy Love, Hulu-bound The Mindy Project, and CBS’s BrainDead (more on that later) all benefited from her presence.  Tracie was a regular in Love and had single episode roles in the other two.

Film-wise there was Equity (female-led drama set around high-finance) and The Watcher, which after a lengthy post-production period fetched up on the Lifetime network and then Netflix.  Horror flick The Basement starring Mischa Barton (remember her?) is a notable entry for next year.  No doubt there will be plenty more besides that.

Currently Tracie is appearing in the Falsettos musical, a sound-track CD was recently released for those unable to attend in person, and is gearing up for a couple of nights in her one-woman show in mid-January when the run ends.

As Lilly’s partner in anti-crime Danny Pino (Scotty Valens in CC) is probably the next most recognised character from CBS’s Cold Case so we’ll look at his 2016 next.  After CC Danny fetched up in another cop drama, this time NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.  He did three seasons as Nick Amaro until they just decided the role should end.  2016 saw Danny ‘do a Tracie’ by having a recurring guest starring role in ABC’s Scandal.  He was really doing the network rounds.  Scandal is set in the world of politics and Danny’s Alex Vargas was a campaign manager involved in four episodes towards the end of the show’s 5th season.

Danny then returned to CBS and crossed the swamp to head the sci-fi-ish-comedy-drama BrainDead.  This time as Luke Healy, a not entirely honourable Senator from a family with political history.  The show told of an alien parasite taking control of leading political figures.  Luckily it is all fiction.  Politicians could never become mindless idiots with no thought for their electorate… It was a funny, clever, and entertaining show so of course it was cancelled after just one short (13 episodes) season.  It was worth watching for the opening titles which combined the ‘previously on…’ element with a humorous song.  Look out for Danny’s co-star the great Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane) in the upcoming 3rd season of Fargo.

There is no word yet on any upcoming projects for Danny to take us into 2017.

Heading back to the top in CC squad seniority stakes brings us to John Finn (John Stillman in CC).  2016 primarily consisted of a couple of guest starring roles in TV dramas Elementary (the US Sherlock show) and The Good Wife (which ended in the summer).  Unlike network hopper Danny all these shows have been on CBS.  Nearly on CBS in 2016 was another drama called Doubt.  After various re-thinks they’ve finally decided air the legal drama Doubt from mid-February 2017.  What is still very much in doubt is John’s presence in the show.  He was one of the original cast members, albeit in a likely small role, but the show has undergone significant changes since then with no further mention of John.  However, a couple of weeks ago a lengthy promo video was released and John appeared very briefly towards the end.  There is still a possibility that the footage used was from the first pilot and won’t be broadcast so we’re none the wiser.  Doubt stars Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy), Dulé Hill (Psych) and Laverne Cox (OITNB).

Mr Finn also has a couple of films lined up for release in 2017.  Gifted (Chris Evans and Jenny Slate) and Finding Steve McQueen (Forest Whitaker and Rachael Taylor).  Gifted is about a man bringing up his young niece who turns out to be genius.  John’s role was not clear previously but a recent trailer shows him as a lawyer in a custody battle over the girl.  It all looks very heart warming and life affirming.  Release date is set for April.  Finding Steve McQueen does not appear to involve Steve McQueen.  Instead it is about a group of bank robbers in the 1970s who steal $30m of apparently illegal contributions to Nixon’s political campaign.  John is FBI Deputy Director W Mark Felt.  This is all based on real events.

Covering Thom Barry (Will Jeffries in CC) in 2016 was easy because there was little to it.  The much delayed Eddie Murphy vehicle Mr Church finally hit cinemas in September.  It didn’t hit very hard and limped along to some very small box office takings.  Thom’s role was small.

Thom’s short film Casting got longer but not released.  2017 is possible.  Another project Phoenix 454 was announced but little more heard since.  Thom’s role does look more significant in this one.

Which leaves us with everybody’s favourite (unless you prefer one of the others) Jeremy Ratchford (Nick Vera on CC).  We didn’t manage to squeeze much wordage from Jeremy’s career in 2016 either.  Like most of the rest of the CC cast Jeremy did have some small guest starring roles though.  Back in March it was on the comedy Workaholics.  In November it was in cop drama Chicago P.D.  There is a film on the horizon called Small Time Crime that is currently in the no-man’s-land of ‘post production’.  It may see a 2017 release.

That’s it for the main cast but we do occasionally stretch our remit to include other significant figures connected with Cold Case.  Chief amongst those are creator Meredith Stiehm and writer/producer Veena Sud.

Veena Sud had a movie she wrote and directed released in 2016.  It was called The Salton Sea and involved a woman (Jamie Anne Allman, The Killing) blackmailed by a hitchhiker (Diarra Kilpatrick, Private Practice) over a possible hit-and-run.  More recently it was announced that Veena would be taking the producer/writer reins again on a new Netflix drama called Seven Seconds.  It is based on a Russian movie of all things about a senior police officer involved in the death of a child.  Regina King (Southland) recently joined the cast.  No news yet on a release date for the 10 episode drama.

Happy New Year to everyone connected to Cold Case.

31st December 2016 | Category: Danny Pino, Jeremy Ratchford, John Finn, Other Cold Case Cast & Crew, Thom Barry, Tracie Thoms, Veena Sud | Leave a comment

Cold Case Cast Catch-up – October 2016

Happy (is that right?) Halloween everyone.

It’s the end of the month so it is time to update ourselves on the on-going careers of the rest of the Cold Case cast.

I say on-going careers but we’ll start with a brief pause in one.  As suspected in the previous update it was announced that the TV comedy drama series BrainDead, which starred Danny Pino (Scotty Valens in CC) as a senator, will not be on the receiving end of a season two order.  That’s a shame because it was a very good show made even better by the fun and inventive ‘previously on…’ songs at the beginning of each episode.  As things stand there is no news on Danny’s next project, though based on history something will be announced within hours of this post being published.  Look for CCCC-up November 2016 for that news :-)

Last month I covered Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller on CC) treading the boards again in a revival of the musical Falsettos.  The Broadway show had its public opening last Thursday (27th Oct) night at the Walter Kerr Theatre.  Tracie plays Dr Charlotte and stars alongside Stephanie J. Block, Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells, Anthony Rosenthal, Brandon Uranowitz, and Betsy Wolfe.  Good news for those that would like to experience the show but can’t make it to New York: the day before the première it was announced that a double-CD recorded by the cast will be released.

Before raising the rafters Tracie must have filmed a role in new movie The Basement, a horror/thriller starring Mischa Barton (The O.C.), Cayleb Long (Ascent To Hell), and Jackson Davis (Lonelygirl15).  It involves the kidnapping of a rock star by a serial killer.  Tracie is ‘Lauren’.  No release date beyond ‘2017’ has been issued.

Back in August I reported that the film The Watcher would be broadcast by the Lifetime network in October.  It was.  Next month it is due to be available on Netflix.  In the film Erin Cahill (Jen the Pink Power Ranger) and Edi Gathegi (The Blacklist) have bought their dream home together.  Turns out to be more of a nightmare.  Tracie is ‘Amanda’.

In mid-November Tracie must be getting a day off from her work in Falsettos.  Where as most of us would take the opportunity to spend the whole day sleeping, that’s not Tracie’s way.  She’s going to spend the 24 hours making another play, from scratch.  Its another in the ’24 Hour Plays’ series which happen in various parts of the country during the year.  This is Broadway’s annual version.  A whole load of actors with a bunch of writers and  directors will put on 6 short plays.  It is all in aid of raising money to help aspiring young actors, writers, producers, and directors learn their craft.

Occasionally we veer off the Cold Case cast theme a little to encompass some other significant people involved in the show.  One of those is Veena Sud who was a writer and producer on many episodes.  Veena went on to have much success in those same roles with the America version of The Killing.  Now she has a new drama in the works for Netflix.  It is called Seven Seconds and is based on a Russian movie called The Major.  A senior member of the police service accidentally kills a boy whilst driving his car.  Abusing his position he covers the crime up to save himself.  The 10 part drama series transplants the story to Jersey City and includes the all too familiar element of tension between a predominantly white police force and the black populus.  David Lyons (Game Of Silence) and Beau Knapp (The Nice Guys) are set to star.

31st October 2016 | Category: Danny Pino, Other Cold Case Cast & Crew, Tracie Thoms, Veena Sud | Leave a comment

Cold Case Cast Catch-up – September 2016

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These short months are a pain! :-)  I have to get this written in less time.  Let’s take a look at the continuing careers of the Cold Case cast for September.

Like the tense thrillers made there, Hollywood can take a long while to build up the tension before an explosive burst of energy with everything happening at once.  It’s been over five years since the film Finding Steve McQueen (albeit with a different name then) made some significant steps towards becoming a reality, but in the last couple of months it all kicked off.  As I type the film is being made in Atlanta, Georgia.  Travis Fimmel (Vikings), Rachael Taylor (Jessica Jones), Forest Whitaker (The Last King Of Scotland), and William Fichtner (Prison Break) lead the cast in a based-on-true-events movie about the attempt to steal $30m from a secret fund held by President Richard Nixon.  Cold Case star John Finn (John Stillman in CC) will play W. Mark Felt.  Not a name I was familiar with but he is certainly a very famous man.  He was the Deputy Director of the FBI in the early 1970s and saw all the compiled information on the Watergate scandal.  In 2005 it was revealed that Felt was in fact the informant to the journalists Woodward and Bernstein, who referred to him as ‘Deep Throat’.  No release date has been set so far, presumably it will be next year at the earliest.  Kate Bosworth (Still Alice) was due to star but as I was compiling this piece it was announced that Rachael would be taking the ‘Molly Morphy’ (not a typo) role instead.

Slipping out a few months earlier than expected and with little fanfare the Eddie Murphy vehicle Mr Church was apparently released a couple of weeks ago.  Thom Barry (Will Jeffries in CC) has a small role as ‘Frankie Twiggs’.  Eddie is Mr Church, a cook taken on by a dying woman (Natascha McElhone, Californication) to look after her and her daughter (Britt Robertson, Under The Dome).  It was only supposed to be for a few months but continued a lot longer than that.  A schmaltz-fest no doubt.

This series of posts could be easily be renamed ‘What’s Tracie Been Up To This Month?’ due to the sheer volume of content she provides on a monthly basis.  The woman’s a one person entertainment industry.  Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller on CC) regularly makes guest star appearances on TV shows; takes roles in films, both long and short; and in amongst all that she finds time for singing engagements.  For the past few weeks Tracie has been in New York rehearsing for a production of the musical Falsettos.  It is a revival of a show that premièred on Broadway in 1992.  The opening night for previews of the new production was just last night (28th September) with the show due to open for general audiences towards the end of October at the Walter Kerr Theatre.  The run is planned to end in the new year.  Break a leg Tracie.

Which just leaves me to crowbar in another mention of the CBS TV series BrainDead.  The show came to an end, probably for good, a couple of weeks ago with a double helping.  The ending gave a possible opening for a second season with the character Danny Pino (Scotty Valens in CC) played taking a job on Wall Street.  No scope for skewering those in power there…  The season 1 (aka the complete series) DVD is expected to be released in early December in the US.

30th September 2016 | Category: Danny Pino, John Finn, Other Cold Case Cast & Crew, Thom Barry, Tracie Thoms | Leave a comment
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