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 In hindsight (such a wonderful thing) this was always going to be the first really difficult entry of the Cold Case Cast Catch-ups to fill since lockdowns started. Up until now TV shows have largely been continuing to be broadcast as normal. The main series will have filmed most of their footage for the season prior to shutting down production. It is May when those shows come to an end.
The difficulties will likely be felt as we get towards the end of the year. With production traditionally starting in the summer, so episodes to get them through to Xmas are ‘in the can’ prior to the new season premièring in the autumn/fall. Just how much can be done, even as restrictions lift? I would assume that the plotting and scripting will have continued as before, but will they need to be re-worked to take into account social distancing? Productions could try and take extreme quarantining measures but I can’t see that working outside of a few small film shoots. Certainly not for network television.
So, with all that said we really don’t have much to report at all about the on-going careers of the Cold Case cast this May of 2020, because at the moment those careers are on pause. I’ve used the ‘everyone’ banner above as it didn’t seem right to pick out an individual.
As mentioned last month, Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller in CC) was in the final episodes of the hit drama series 9-1-1, which aired in early May. It ended with Connie Britton (Spin City) returning to the show in a one-off guest star role, having played one of the main characters in the first season. That first season was quite short (not uncommon with new shows) so, as it stands Tracie has been in more episodes than one of the leads! The show also brought in Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) as another guest star. It looks like she could well return in the next season.
During these interesting times many celebrities have been doing things online to keep themselves occupied and provide everyone else with a bit of entertainment and distraction. One creative effort involved a lot of people we all see in TV shows and films but rarely know we’re seeing them: the stunt people. One of the best known female stunt performers is Zoe Bell. She took Lucy Lawless’s place in most episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess. Zoe has also made a successful switch to being the visible face of someone on screen, acting in several roles. One such part we discussed in many CCCC-ups was her lead role in the film Raze, which co-starred Tracie. Zoe, many of her fellow stunt women and lots of actresses filmed a lengthy fight scene all done with much social distancing. Each star appeared to take a punch or kick from the previous person through the camera as it were, get back up, and retaliate to the camera. This would then pass on to the next. It was known as the Boss Bitch Fight Challenge and a massive cast, each on screen for just a few seconds. Tracie, of course appeared with Zoe, Lucy, Kim Murphy (Cold Case, ‘Baby Blues’), Dayna Grant (Xena: Warrior Princess), and KT Tunstall (Cold Case, ‘Running Around’ soundtrack). And those are just the ones we can link directly to Kathryn through work. There was also Halle Berry (Catwoman), Florence Pugh (Little Women), Drew Barrymore (Charlie’s Angels), Zoe Saldana (Avatar), Cameron Diaz (The Mask), Scarlett Johansson (Lost In Translation), Margot Robbie (Birds Of Prey), Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear), Rosario Dawson (Rent), Daniela Ruah (NCIS: Los Angeles), Daryl Hannah (Splash), Rosie Perez (It Could Happen to You), Thandie Newton (West World). There are more names, but frankly I’ve padded this article enough with that lot and you get the picture. You can watch the whole five minute long video on YouTube HERE.
Tracie, later in the month took part in a script reading for the three-day long Chattanooga Film Festival. Yes, Chattanooga is a real place. Who knew? As they can’t hold a normal film festival, this one went online. Tracie and a group of other actors were in a segment called ‘Scripts Gone Wild’ and they read John Carpenter’s classic horror film The Thing. Presumably this was done via Zoom or Skype.
I did Tweet about this last week to let a few of my fellow UK residents know about this if they didn’t already. The second season of the show Mayans M.C., which stars Danny Pino (Scotty Valens in CC) in a large ensemble cast, started airing on the BBC on Sunday nights last. Two episodes are shown back-to-back each week so the 10 episodes will go by quickly. However, all 10 are immediately available on the BBC’s iPlayer platform, as is the whole of season 1 for those wanting to catch-up. This is a CC catch-up post after all!
We sometimes stretch our Cold Case cast remit to include a few other significant figures from the show. One of them is writer/director Veena Sud. Veena has been mentioned a few times recently as she created a 13-part long drama called The Stranger for the new mobile video streaming platform Quibi. The parts is a lot, however, one key feature of Quibi is that each individual video has be no longer than 10 minutes. The system and The Stranger launched in April. The reason for mentioning it again is that in the past week the show and the two leads Maika Monroe (Independence Day: Resurgence) and Dane DeHaan (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) have been put forward for the Primetime Emmy Awards. Quibi has submitted 19 shows and a number of actors for consideration. Amongst them is Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) and her show Dummy, which is difficult to describe in this forum.
We wish all the Cold Case cast and crew the best, hoping all stay safe and well and can get back to doing what they love as soon as possible.
 The lockdowns are really starting to have an impact on the business we call show, as the pre-studio closure work has been broadcast and there is increasingly nothing new to replace it with. Some formats, such as chat shows, have been able to work around the limitations but the traditional drama series really can’t. As such there is going to be little to talk about in these monthly updates as the current situation goes on. We will continue to bring you news of the other Cold Case cast members work as best we can.
In circumstances like these we need to cling on to those that we can most rely on to be there for us. For the KM UK CCCC-up that person is Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller in CC). Every month, almost without fail, she gives us something to talk about. Often multiple things. This April is no exception.
Two of weeks ago now Tracie reprised her role as Dr. Diane Lewis in the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off Station 19, which is set in a fire station. As previously reported Tracie first appeared in this ABC drama three episodes earlier. In that one Dr Diane was in pretty much every scene as show spoke to various members of the fire fighting crew. Second time around the role looks to be a little smaller.
In a couple of days (2nd of May) Tracie re-reprises her guest starring role on the show that covers multiple emergency services: 9-1-1. This episode is the penultimate in the season and is the first of a two parter to end the run. A big draw for many fans will be the return of actress Connie Britton (Spin City) who lead the first season but seemed to make an abrupt exit. Jennifer Love Hewitt (The Client List) was brought in as a new character to replace her for season two.
For a little variety Tracie also recently took part in a discussion with Mia Schachter in a podcast called ‘Share The Load’. Look for it on your podcast app of choice.
After a great showing (beards excepted) last month we have been let down by the gents this time. Instead we have to look two ladies that appear less regularly but we like to mention when we can as they played a significant role in the making of Cold Case.
Despite the issues the world faces, April saw the launch of the mobile only short form video application Quibi. Some might say this was in fact the perfect time to do so. Veena Sud (writer and director on CC and The Killing), as we’ve talked about several times before on this site, created The Stranger for the platform. Maika Monroe (Independence Day: Resurgence) is Clare, who becomes an Uber (or similar) driver in LA to make some money whilst working on becoming a writer, when she meets her latest fare played by Dane DeHaan (The Amazing Spider-Man 2). Things take a turn, and not just the car. The reception to the 13 part seems largely positive. The one rule the platform seems to have is that each video can be no longer than 10 minutes. So, The Stranger is a two hour long thriller.
To finish up this month we must make mention of Cold Case creator Meredith Stiehm. She was heavily involved in the earlier stages of the long running drama series Homeland, which just reached its series finale (not quite in the UK). Meredith wrote 10 episodes and executive produced on over 40. More recently she’s been involved in the Writers Guild Of America, who have been battling legal issues with talent agencies, and we await further news on a show called The Banker’s Wife which we’re reported on a couple of times before (here & here). As the first news broke in September 2018 and here we are not far from two years later you can see how slowly these things work sometimes.
 It’s the longest short month for a few years so let’s hope we can squeeze some leap year February news out of this one. Welcome to KM UK’s CCCC-up, looking at the continuing careers of the Cold Case cast members (and the occasional special guest) that aren’t Kathryn.
We kick-off this CCCC-up with an all-to unusual look towards Jeremy Ratchford (Nick Vera in CC). Jeremy’s in a film. A film starring Ben Affleck (Argo), Janina Gavankar (The L Word), Hayes MacArthur (Angie Tribeca), and Michaela Watkins (Catastrophe). It’s a sports movie, basketball to be precise, about an ex-player that was successful and the high school level, who becomes the coach for his old team. Hilarity ensues. Actually, probably not, but I’m sure it will be rousing and heart warming, with lots of montages and slow-mo shots. Jeremy plays ‘Matty’, of no fixed storyline. Unlike many of these posts where the film is due at {insert far away date here} this film is out in many parts of the world next week (early March 2020). The UK has to wait until late April though. Oh, yes, the name. The film is called Finding The Way Back (or maybe The Way Back in some places). You can watch a trailer HERE on YouTube.
And now we return you to our regularly scheduled programming of Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller in CC) news. Two weeks ago, Tracie did a guest spot on the NBC drama series Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For The Bone Collector. Not one I’d heard of. It’s a short series with a single story line across the season. A serial killer re-emerges and our retired hero joins forces with a young cop to track him down. Hilarity ensues. Actually, definitely not. Tracie donned an FBI jacket as Agent Cutter, in what was the 5th episode of the 10 part run.
Previosly mentioned in the August ’19 CCCC-up was the rom-com movie Straight Up. We first talked about it in October 2018. In June of last year it had a festival première but did not have a release date other than a vague ‘spring 2020’. Spring has sprung, for this film at least, as it was out in ‘select theatres’ yesterday (28th Feb). The film is about a couple of very close friends. A him and a her. The twist? Him is gay. Maybe. Hilarity ensues. In this case you hope for some com with that rom. Tracie guests as Dr Larson. Trailer HERE.
According to the latest new John Finn (John Stillman in CC) is set reappear as Earl Sutton in an upcoming episode of The Walking Dead. It’s episode 12 of the current 10th season, entitled ‘Walk With Us’, and it is due to air on the 15th of March.
To end this CCCC-up we will return to one of those occasional special guests. Recently Veena Sud (The Killing) hasn’t been so occasional though. The launch of shortform, mobile-focussed, streaming platform Quibi and Veena making a 10 episode drama series for it, has put her in our cross-hairs a few times in recent months. During one of those ad breaks during the Super Bowl, which get more attention world wide than the sport they interrupt, a very short trailer for Quibi was broadcast. It has racked up over 24 million hits on YouTube since then. A trailer for Veena’s The Stranger has only been available for two weeks and has gone over 6 million. Watch it HERE. Veena will also be on the jury at the Series Mania industry event in France in March.
 A slow start news-wise to 2020 for our Cold Case cast members that aren’t Kathryn. The KM UK January 2020 CCCC-up is looking like slim pickings. I have every faith that will change once Tracie recovers from the holidays 
For the past couple of season of The Walking Dead John Finn (John Stillman in CC) has featured as a guest star in a recurring role. John’s Earl Sutton is expected to return when TWD returns from hiatus next month. But as we know with shows like that, things can change very quickly and no-one is safe.
In the UK the big sci-fi movie Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt, became available on the home DVD and Blu-ray formats in the last few days. The US saw the release a month ago. We’ve mentioned the film and John’s role in it many times over the past year.
Towards the end of last year Apple launched their new streaming service TV+. One of the big shows on it was one called Truth Be Told. It has an all star cast of Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures), Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield), Mekhi Phifer (ER), Elizabeth Perkins (Big), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), amongst others. Our Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller in CC) was one of those others. The show was released on a weekly basis, rather than one big ‘drop’, and the final of 8 episodes saw the light of day in mid-January. Apple has announced several of their shows as being renewed. So far there is no news on Truth Be Told.
Several times in recent CCCC-ups we’ve mentioned that Cold Case producer/writer Veena Sud (The Killing) has made a 10 episode drama series for a new streaming service for mobile devices called Quibi. As we go to press (when I post this) the Sundance Film Festival has been going for a week and still has a few days to go. Quibi has been featuring at the event, they seems almost designed to be together, with previews and Q&As going on. Veena certainly took part promoting the 10-minute ‘long’ episodes of The Stranger. Quibi is expected to launch in April.
The December Cold Case Cast Catch-up is made up of two parts. Part number one is the normal monthly latest news on the on-going careers of the CC main actors. The second section will be a look back at the year of CCCC-ups.
Errr… Looks like December has been a relatively quiet month on the news front for all our regulars.
Mid-month Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller in CC) was back home in Baltimore to take part in a reading of Thorton Wilder’s short one act play The Long Christmas Dinner. The event was held in the Baltimore Center Stage theatre as part of a fund raising effort to support various programs the venue runs. Written in the 1930s the 30 minute play covers 90 years worth of Xmas dinners of a particular family. Tracie played Leonora, the wife of family member Charles. After the reading there was a discussion/Q&A with the cast and crew.
Earlier in December was the release of the Apple TV+ drama series Truth Be Told. The first three episodes ‘dropped’ on the 6th. The remaining seven have been/will be released on a weekly basis across December and January.
Some of the older people amongst you may remember the sitcom Mad About You, starring Paul Reiser (Stranger Things) and Helen Hunt (Twister). As seems to be the trend these days, the show has been revisited for a new series (crossing fingers for CC). The original ran for seven seasons and 162 episodes starting in 1992. It made the two leads into huge stars. After MAY Paul primarily stayed working in TV whilst Helen mostly shifted to movies. The new series is a continuation of the show, set all these years later. Due to its distribution not being on a major network, despite the original being on NBC, the publicity has been relatively low key. This would be why I managed to miss the fact that Tracie apparently guest starred in the second episode, released on November 20th. That’s my excuse anyway.
Anyone else want to step forward? No?
OK, then Let’s move swiftly on to the review of the year’s reviews.
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