Sons of Anarchy: Charlie Hunnam Wants to Return as Jax Teller

Sons of Anarchy seemingly closed the book on Jax Teller with its 2014 series finale, but Charlie Hunnam is not ruling out a return to that world in some capacity.

The franchise created by Kurt Sutter remains alive and kicking, thanks to Mayans M.C., which recently secured a pickup for Season 5.

If you watch Sons of Anarchy online, you know Jax Teller died in the series finale, but the actor is working on ways to bring the character back.

“Since you asked, I have an idea that I’m exploring in its infancy where that could be a possibility,” he told Access Hollywood while promoting his new Apple TV+ series Shantaram.

“It would be something that I would be incredibly excited about, so we’re sort of, like I said, in the infancy of exploring the viability of the idea,” he said.

“But next time I talk to you, hopefully I’ll have more information on that.”

Sons of Anarchy was a huge hit for FX, but fans were left split down the middle about how the series ended.

It was a brutal series that ended with many of its most beloved characters dead.

It’s hard not to be a little skeptical of any sort of return, especially if it tries to retcon what was a very conclusive finale.

It’s possible that Hunnam could appear in flashbacks on an episode of Mayans M.C.

That’s probably the most likely scenario here because it might be a little too Prison Break to bring the character back from the dead.

It’s always hard to bring a character back from the dead, almost a decade after people have mourned them to the point they think they will never return.

For now, Hunnam will appear on Shantaram, which premieres its 12-episode first season on Friday, October 14.

The series follows a fugitive Lin Ford (Hunnam) looking to get lost in the vibrant and chaotic 1980s Bombay.

Alone in an unfamiliar city, Lin struggles to avoid the trouble he’s running from in this new place.

After falling for an enigmatic and intriguing woman named Karla, Lin must choose between freedom or love and the complications that come with it.

In addition to Hunnam, the series also stars Shubham Saraf, Elektra Kilbey, Fayssal Bazzi, Luke Pasqualino, Antonia Desplat, Alyy Khan, Sujaya Dasgupta, Vincent Perez, David Field, and Alexander Siddig.

What are your thoughts on a potential comeback?

Hit the comments below.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

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Netflix Confirms ‘Bling Empire’ Spinoff Set In New York

Netflix’s reality empire is growing.

The streamer has ordered a New York city-set spinoff of its Bling Empire series.

Bling Empire: New York will follow a group of wealthy, sophisticated and hilarious Asian-Americans from New York City, where the quality of real estate is measured by address, not acreage.

These include Dorothy Wang, who was a cast member of Bling Empire season two.

The news comes ahead of the third season of Bling Empire, which launches on October 5.

The original Bling Empire series launched in 2021 and was set in Los Angeles. The second season launched in May 2022.

The series is produced by Jeff Jenkins Productions with Jenkins, Russell Jay-Staglik, Elise Chung, Lenid Rolov, Ross Weintraub, and Reinout Oerlemans exec producing.

Watch a trailer for the spinoff below.

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Columbus Short’s Domestic Violence Case Dropped

The Cleaning Lady Season 2 Episode 3 Review: El Diablo Que Conoces

What’s more dangerous –dealing with the devil you know or the devil you don’t know?

During The Cleaning Lady Season 2 Episode 3, many main characters pondered that question as they experienced life-altering decisions.

Thony and Fiona exhibited feisty independence, and Arman was determined to make it himself.

Thony and Fiona are strong women, and this episode showed that neither of them let anyone push them around. We also saw again that the other cleaners are their core family.

Family isn’t always blood, and these other women have stood by Thony and Fiona more often than the elder De La Rosas have lately. It was enjoyable to see Fiona smile for a few minutes.

Samantha’s diabetic attack showed what was wrong with the health care for low-income families. Typically, insulin and diabetes medications are affordable even without insurance at some stores, but we don’t know if anyone has informed Samantha of her options.

Perhaps, Vinny wanted to make money by selling her medicine, albeit the wrong ones.

Luckily, Thony used her medical expertise to get Samantha a soda and stabilize her sugar.

The manager’s callous behavior made things worse. He didn’t care that Samantha had fainted. He only wanted them to clean the room faster.

Fiona: I quit!
Alonzo: Again? How many times does this make this month? See you tomorrow.
Thony: No, she’s not coming back, and neither am I. I quit too.
Fiona: We’re opening up our own cleaning business.
Alonzo: What makes you think you can do that?
Fiona: Because we’re badass bitches who deserve better than putting up with a jerk like you!

Those cleaning ladies respect Fiona since all of them quit with her.

That felt like a burden to her, but Thony was determined to do right for their friends.

Out of the two ladies, Thony is the idea person, and Fiona is the one who goes toe-to-toe with the people who stand in their way.

Thony realized how hard getting medication was going to be when she couldn’t get Luca’s meds either, and to make matters worse, Luca had developed a high fever.

Things need to change. It shouldn’t be this hard for Luca to live.

Thony

Naveen Andrews plays Robert Kamdar perfectly as the season’s new villain. He seems to want Arman to fail so he can collect Nadia as his prize.

At first, Arman refuses to play the game, saying he’ll pay back his loan in full.

Soon Arman realizes that non of his gun suppliers will deal with him, especially now that the FBI is watching them.

Being in debt takes a toll on Arman and Nadia’s marriage. While he’s convinced they make it from nothing again, she’s starting to panic.

Who will Arman choose when this is over? While he would do anything for Thony, including getting medicine for Luca, he still loves Nadia too.

He made promises to her, and she got him out of prison.

Unfortunately, her deal with Robert is killing them now. However she feels about Thony, they’re running out of options.

He wants to try her idea of selling medications and seeing if it brings them some cash.

Nadia: You want me to go into business with your cleaning lady?
Arman: You’re the one who ran to your ex-boyfriend for money. You had no problem doing that.

The three of them argue about which types of drugs to sell. Thony wins because she’s the only one familiar with the medicine and her clientele.

This was the strong, badass Thony we love. She returned to Vinny with the medicine and offered him a cut if he gave her his client list.

While she didn’t have a clinic set up yet, Thony sold many locals antibiotics, blood pressure meds, and other essentials while taking vitals nearby.

She’s got everything she needs for her clinic to be successful. Thony De La Rosa is on her way!

Arman and Nadia were almost $60,000 short. I noticed Thony kept money to save Chris and other money, so I’m unsure if there would have enough. She’s starting to think of herself too.

Robert isn’t someone you put off, either. When he offered to give Arman one last chance, he kept Nadia as collateral. He probably hoped Arman would fail and he could keep her.

Arman didn’t want to hurt an older man. He seemed horrified Robert sent him there, and after a fight with the son, he collected the money.

The battle is on for Nadia, and Arman still loves Thoney too. We have an exciting love square.

The only way this works is if we work together.

Arman

Security cameras are a frightening thing when used the wrong way. I hated that the motel clerk used them to locate Fiona’s license plate number and follow her.

That was nerve-wracking for a woman already on edge.

The way he threatened her and put his hands on her gave me the creeps.

You know what else I got off those cameras? Your son killing that guy. Unless you compensate me for my lost business, I will have to give that footage to the police.

Motel clerk

It made him seem like a predator she should stay far away from.

We hate Garrett. If he hadn’t made Thony spy on Mia, she would have accompanied Fiona to the motel to pay the blackmail money. Perhaps that would have prevented the unavoidable.

Understandably, Fiona wanted to protect Chris. However, snooping the video cameras and provoking the motel clerk wasn’t her best move.

She’s in a rough spot wanting to call the cops because he sexually harassed his clients, but she’d get in trouble too.

He should not have tried to attack Fiona, though. With her wielding that vase over his head, is he dead?

Over to you, Cleaning Lady Fanatics. How will Fiona and Chris get out of this now that two incidents have occurred at the same hotel?

Will Arman and Nadia survive working for Robert? Are you excited that Thony and Fiona have their own business? Chime in below in the comments.

Remember, if you miss an episode, you could watch The Cleaning Lady online via TV Fanatic.

The Cleaning Lady airs at 9/8c on Mondays on FOX.

Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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‘Dancing With The Stars’ Week 3: A “Legend” Goes Home After James Bond Night

Conrad Green, it’s so good to have you back as executive producer on Dancing with the Stars! First we get Derek Hough running around like a spy and rappelling down to the ballroom before Peta Murgatroyd helped to kick off a fiery opening number to “Live and Let Die.” Just like old times when DWTS was in its glory years on ABC.

Let’s get on with Bond night, James Bond night on Disney+.

Cheryl Ladd and Louis Van Amstel. The veteran actress thought she was a goner last week, but Goodman — bless his heart — saved her for another day. So she dug up an old photo of her and Sean Connery for inspiration so she can be “the Bond girl I never got to be” while performing a rumba. Elegant! “That was your best dance,” said judge Hough, who was particularly impressed with the graceful way she held her arms. “That couldn’t have gone better. You look absolutely beautiful, by the way. Let’s go, Cheryl!” Score: 24 out of 40

Jessie James Decker and Alan Bersten. The country star went the extra mile by dipping herself in gold for her rumba to “Goldfinger.” But some of the judges didn’t take a shine to what was otherwise a solid performance. Were they hoping she would sink to the bottom two or what? “You’ve got to work on your feet,” said judge Len Goodman. “Your footwork wasn’t great.” Score: 26 out of 40

Joseph Baena and Alexis Warr. Bummer, man: his partner Daniella Karagach was still out after testing positive for Covid before last week’s show. So Warr got another chance to dance with the bodybuilder, who showed off his strength by hoisting her over his head during their Argentine tango. “It lacked a bit of fluidity. I didn’t really like that lift, it was out of character,” said Goodman. “But the bottom line, I think it was your best dance to date.” Score: 29 out of 40

Sam Champion and Cheryl Burke. The former weatherman remembered how he and his dad didn’t talk for years after he came out of the closet. But dear ol’ dad eventually expressed pride in his son, which gave Champion the confidence he needed — like, say, for whenever he has to perform a samba in front of a studio audience (which included GMA‘s Robin Roberts). “You have this natural joy I think might have worked a little against you in this dance,” said judge Carrie Ann Inaba. “Let your body go a little more.” Score: 25 out of 40

Vinny Guadagnino and Koko Iwasaki. The Jersey party boy was sent into mini-etiquette class so he’d know how to play a sophisticate during his “Thunderbolt” rumba. Honestly, the best part of his otherwise forgettable performance was when the cameraman cut to two unrecognizable women in the audience, who were simply referred to as “Vinny’s friends.” “You do have to start getting the details,” said Inaba. “Watch the nuance of your hands, which means maybe training a few more hours. No diss, that’s totally full of respect.” Score: 23 out of 40

Trevor Donovan and Emma Slater.  The 90210 actor is getting the hang of this whole sexy dancing thing in the ballroom: he began his tango with an upstage somersault before bolting down to Slater and grabbing her neck. And did he hold up her leg later and pretend that it was a gun? By God, I think he did. “You attempted a very difficult routine,” said judge Bruno Tonioli. Score: 27 out of 40

Selma Blair and Sasha Farber. The actress admitted that her “MS leg” froze up last week during their jive. So why not make it harder and put her in a blindfold this week? Farber’s strange choice in props, aside, the actress got her sexy on by keeping those hips busy and performing the splits again. “So inspired as always. intensely romantic,” said Tonioli. “It was a bit risqué darling. I got a Nicole Kidman vibe.” Score: 28 out of 40

Jordan Sparks and Brandon Armstrong. The singer’s rumba was a little underwhelming, and her sleepy music, “Licence to Kill,” didn’t really help. “You need a quicker spot and close your feet closer together,” Hough said of her turns. “There are so many turns in all of your dances. Work on those.” Score: 29 out of 40

Shangela and Gleb Savchenko. The drag queen opened her rumba with a steamy solo before oozing into a terrific rumba to Tina Turner’s “GoldenEye.” Shangela was finally in her element under the mirror ball. “Damn girl that was fierce!” said Inaba. Score: 30 out of 40

Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart. The deaf actor was still riding high after earning his first 8 last week. But his confidence was put to the test with this week’s rumba, which isn’t so easy to count out while trying to appear mysterious and debonair. Still, the judges remain impressed by his perseverance. I mean, who wouldn’t be? “I’m gonna say, what I loved you took command of that dance. I could see you were leading that dance, you weren’t just holding on, hoping for the best,” said Goodman. Score: 31 out of 40

Heidi D’Amelio and Artem Chigvintsev. The Hulu reality star looked plum tired halfway into her Argentine tango, but her body didn’t show signs of wear. She floored the judges with her tight and sultry moves. “That was your best dance yet!” said Hough. “It was so good, so strong, it played to your strengths. That was so fantastic.”  Score: 32 out of 40

Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy.  The Bachelorette has been feeling like an imposter, especially in the face of trained dancers like Wayne Brady and Charli D’Amelio. But her cha cha was certainly skilled enough to have her perform the final number of the night. “You went for that! It had power, it had attack, it had strength,” said Hough. “Overall, great cha cha.”  Score: 33 out of 40

Wayne Brady and Witney Carson. The Let’s Make a Deal host, who isn’t exactly happy about how age is taking its toll on his increasingly achy knees, got to perform the tango to the classic Bond theme song. Quit the complaining, game show man: your moves hurt so good. “That was first ballroom dance and I was concerned how you would cope. I congratulate you. I thought you coped magnificently,” said Goodman. Score: 33 out of 40

Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas. The social media star should be feeling great after sitting at the top of the leader board for two weeks straight. But it’s not good enough! Fortunately, her skilled partner choreographed a killer rumba that ended with him drinking a toxic potion and “dying” at the end of the number. Audience members Kourtney Kardashian and hubby Travis Barker seemed to like it! “Three weeks we’ve been watching you dance and three weeks you dance fantastic. Lovely feet. Lovely legs. It had a beautiful finish,” said Goodman. Score: 33 out of 40

Bottom two couples were Champion and Burke and Van Amstel and Ladd. Tonioli, Inaba, and Hough voted to save Champion, so it was time for Ladd to go.

“Louie is the best. He was a great teacher and a lot of fun. When you are a legend, you’ve lived a long time. And I’ve had a lot of fun,” said Ladd.

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Niece of Jeffrey Dahmer’s Neighbor Thinks Memorial is Terrible Idea

Joshua Sasse On The Complexities of Monarch’s Golden Boy, Unraveling Roman Family Secrets & More!

Joshua Sasse is a charmer, and he certainly has his finger on the pulse when it comes to his counterpart on Monarch.

He’s funny, thoughtful, and undeniably passionate about his craft, which made him a pleasure to interview.

Technically, we got to have dinner with the charming and easygoing family man, thanks to the time difference. And we got the bonus of his darling son joining the conversation too, and a top-notch Trace Adkins impression.

With so many secrets and bombshells on the hottest new primetime family soap, we were excited to pick the talented star’s brain about Luke’s scandalous affair, the investigation into Dottie’s death, whether or not Luke will have his time behind the mic, and much more!

Check out our conversation below!

Luke is a naughty boy, and there are so many delicious secrets on Monarch. What was your reaction when you read that Luke was having an affair with his sister’s wife?

Yeah, it was definitely a big curveball for the character.

It was something that we debated a lot with the writers and the producers. And when something like that happens, as an actor, you always have to try and do your best to empathize with the character and the decisions they make.

Personally, as an actor, I just had to come at it from the standpoint that humans are fallible beings. Characters aren’t perfect. People aren’t perfect. And that’s part of human nature. As an actor, that’s also part of the job to show that side of it. So I had to do my best to allow him to be fallible.

Yes. Forbidden love stories, of course, are very irresistible. What is about Kayla that has Luke risking so much just to be with her? Is it just lust, or does he really love her?

Yeah. I think he really loved her and still does.

As the season progresses, it’s something that’s a very difficult pull. It is hard because he’d been raised by his mother to be family-minded and business-minded. And this crosses every single one of those wires.

It was a difficult one the whole way through, if I’m honest. It was important for me because it wasn’t just a physical event for him. It was an emotional thing. And that’s what gave it credence, in a way. It wasn’t just him acting lustfully; there was more to it.

Absolutely. We find out that Kayla is pregnant, which is such a huge bombshell. What can you tell us about that storyline moving forward?

Well, it’s going to bring up so many questions. I mean, I can’t give away too many details.

Obviously, there are really big social, and especially with what’s going on today in America, big social and legal questions will stir up. The show and FOX are intentionally trying to be current with that.

And it’s going to leave a lot of questions hanging in the air, which I think is good for the viewing public to have a heartbeat to the show that’s concurrent with what’s happening in the world. Those are the questions that we’re going to be sort of asking.

Absolutely. Luke, of course, seems to be or was a mama’s boy a bit, and now Dottie is gone, and Luke appears a bit lost. So can you talk a bit about their dynamic? What was it like working with Susan Sarandon?

Yeah, it’s funny you ask that because it’s been 30 years, nearly to the day, since my father died.

I’m sorry.

It was a long time ago.

But it’s prevalent in how a child never gets over the loss of a parent. Luke (and his sisters) –you’re going through so much quickly.

When you run a business, and your mother is a part of that business, your ability or time to grieve is set back and set to one side. And I think that’s the big thing that Luke’s playing with is that, of course, there’s all this stuff going on internally as it is with Nicky.

They’re trying to work and figure out how to get along at the same time as doing it.

It’s particularly difficult for Luke because his relationship with his father is so fractious, and he doesn’t understand that dynamic. He’s so desperate for his love, which, I think all of us have a parent that maybe we get a little bit more from in terms of love and that physical stuff. So it’s a real challenge for him to have that loss and still maintain his status.

Yeah, and speaking of Albie, I was just going to ask you about that very contemptuous relationship between the two men. But there’s also I believe he said a line at some point that he may not always know how to show it, but he does love Luke. What more can we expect from that relationship moving forward this season?

Look, I think that’s a real volcano that’s sort of rumbling and exploding as we go along because I think that’s exactly the point.

And what we’re trying to display in that culture is the ability or inability for men to show their emotions, even though especially with Albie being such a good example of somebody who has emotions clearly run really deep and is able to put that into song and put that into his art, but isn’t able to display it with the people that are closest to him.

Even when he loses his wife, he still doesn’t know how to show it to his children. As an artist, I think that’s a really interesting area to try and explore because there aren’t definitive answers, and it’s something that we all go through. So as the season unfolds, it’s something that builds and builds and builds. It’s a real sort of pregnant problem.

We have Luke making some discoveries about Dottie’s death. Can we expect some more tension between him and Nicky? Because it seems like they both know a bit about each other’s secrets. They have a lot going on. What can we expect from that?

Yeah, that all really comes to a head. There’s a lot that they don’t know as well. That’s kind of coming up in the next three to four episodes that they’re both going to discover.

What she knows and he knows will start overlapping, and that all kind of comes to a head as well. The writers try to do this sort of Jenga Tetris-like puzzle of plot. Just as one thing’s unraveling, another happens. We’re going to see how these siblings do or don’t bind together with all the stuff that’s being thrown at them.

It snowballs throughout the season. If you think it’s complicated now, it’s going to get bigger. [Laughs]

That sounds very exciting! Now, I would imagine Luke would start feeling a bit more conflicted as time goes on, he’s chasing after the truth about Dottie, but he’s aware it could reflect poorly on his family. Does conflict arise with Luke trying to protect his family and trying to know what that truth is?

I think that’s why Dottie was so intent on him having control of the business, because if he has that strength as his main thoroughfare internally, then it affects his decision-making for everything else.

And there’s going to be this conflict with if what he thinks is happening is happening, what’s he going to do? Because he’s been given the mantle for the business and the control of the family, which affects everybody’s life. What’s he going to do with the information? If he acts on it, he could potentially destroy his family, but his family is his work.

I can’t reveal anything because that’s kind of coming up in the next couple of episodes. But that is the really big problem.

And I think that’s probably, or at least that’s what we’re going to find out why Dottie gave him all this power that the rest of the family don’t know about yet. And how he wields that power is really telling about his character. We’ll find out in the next couple of episodes.

That’s interesting. It feels like he needed something of an edge because he feels like the outcast of the family a bit, presumably because he’s not as musically inclined as the others. Are we not going to see you singing at any point this season?

Oh, no, I wouldn’t say that.

Ohh! Awesome.

I think we’ll find out later in the season, but the decision for Luke to go to business school and Ivy League universities to take that path wasn’t that he couldn’t do it. It was that it was a conscious decision of his mother that somebody needed to because Albie wasn’t going to do it, and she knew neither of her daughters was.

It was a constant decision because she knew Luke was smart and he had the brains to do it. She pushed him, and we’ll find out later whether that was something he was copasetic with or not.

And certainly, Albie wasn’t, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have that in him because, as the CEO, he constantly has to judge talent, and he’s around it all the time, so he knows what’s good and what isn’t. It doesn’t mean that he can’t do it. It’s just that running a business is a full-time job.

But it’s something that, and we’ll put it this way, the door’s not closed.

Amazing. I can’t wait to see that. What exactly attracted you to this role? It’s such a fun series. A very different one from a lot of things we’ve seen currently on the air right now. But how did you get drawn into this role?

I’ve never played a character like like Luke before. There’s a side of him that is really straight, and that enticed me because I like having a challenge.

The big challenge with Luke is how you play that problem with the mother and father. If you’re really needy as a son, that emasculates you in a way. I have never done anything like this before, and I always try and pick roles that are divorced from something that I’ve done before so that it’s a new experience, and then I can challenge myself.

So that’s one thing. But I’ve never played a suit or anything similar, and there’s a control and level-headedness there. And also, the family thing was enticing to me because being a middle child and having it come from all angles was something I’ve never done before. I’m the youngest.

Oh, lucky you.

Yeah. So I got a very different upbringing. It just all felt like new territory. And it’s something that I hadn’t explored yet, and that was appealing to me.

And on top of that, I love acting in a different accent is an enormous challenge, so that was just really appealing to me. When doing a character in a different accent, your ability to play nuance is naturally impeded.

The timbre of your voice and the cadence of your speech patterns completely change, so you’re not just taking on a character; you’ve got to take on a culture at the same time. I find that challenging, and I sort of relish it. The last three jobs I’ve done have all been in different accents. It’s a lovely extra string to it that fires me up.

You do it so well!

Well, I hope so. Because if you don’t, that fourth wall is broken down.

As we were filming, Trace didn’t know I was English for the first month. He said, “Wait a minute, you ain’t from West Texas? I don’t understand.” I won’t swear, but Trace said something along those lines but with a couple of curses in there.

[Laughs] I can only imagine! You did a very good Trace impression, too.

I need to go about four octaves lower.

I know his voice is just so deep and gravelly!

It’s unbelievable. It literally shakes the glass.

Do you have any final teases for the season or final thoughts you can share with us?

I’m not really sure what I’m allowed to say without getting a phone call from FOX saying, what are you doing?

As the season progresses, we’ll slowly be leaving the wake of Dottie’s death and start moving into the next chapter of how they take the business to the next level.

And for Luke, it’s him choosing a new direction for the company. And we’ll see where the midseason changes because of the decisions that he’s making. It’s that power shift of how Nicky’s fame, she’s controlling the media, and how Luke is controlling the actual steering of the ship. And that’s all I can say, maybe a crumb of an easter egg.

—————————–

You can catch Joshua Sasse as Luke Roman in Monarch Tuesdays at 9 /8c on FOX. If you missed anything, you can watch Monarch online here via TV Fanatic.

Tune in for an all-new episode, and don’t forget to check back in with us for a full review!

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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Ryan Nobles Moves To NBC News From CNN

Ryan Nobles is joining NBC News after eight years at CNN.

Nobles will continue on the Capitol Hill beat, where he has recently reported on the January 6th Committee hearings. He also was on the campaign trail in the last presidential race, covering Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

Ken Strickland, the network’s D.C. bureau chief, sent the below memo to staffers:

All,

It’s my pleasure to introduce Ryan Nobles as our newest Capitol Hill Correspondent, beginning with us later this month. It’s an exciting time to welcome Ryan, as we enter the final midterms sprint and prepare to cover a new Congress in just a few months. 

Many of our Washington colleagues know Ryan well — he’s been a staple at CNN, where he worked for eight years both on and off the Hill covering some of the biggest political stories of the decade. His work as a Congressional Correspondent in the wake of January 6th speaks for itself — week after week, he has repeatedly broken news on the House Select Committee’s investigation and the surrounding fallout. He showcased similar diligence on the campaign trail last cycle covering Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

We already have one of the best reporting teams in the business on the Hill, led by Garrett, our Senior Capitol Hill Correspondent, along with Ali, Allie, and a terrific lineup of digital reporters, producers, and researcher. I’m confident Ryan will strengthen that operation even further and hope you’ll join me in welcoming him to the team. 

Ken

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Armor Wars: Planned Disney+ Series to Be a Marvel Movie Instead

Armor Wars is not headed to Disney+ after all, at least not as originally envisioned. Disney+ first announced the series in December 2020. and it was to star Don Cheadle reprising his role as US Air Force officer James Rhodes aka War Machine from the Iron Man and Avengers feature films. The series’ plot revolves around the fallout of Tony Stark’s tech falling into the wrong hands.

Yassir Lester, whose writing credits include Cheadle’s Black Monday series on Showtime, was hired as head writer in August 2021. He reportedly excited executives and Cheadle after he pitched them his ideas for the show.

Now comes word that Armor Wars will be a movie instead of a six-episode TV series.

Per Deadline, Lester is staying on to write the film, and a director is not yet attached to the project. At this time, it is not known when the film will release during Phase Five of the Marvel franchise.

What do you think? Did you plan to watch the Armor Wars series on Disney+? Will you watch the film on the big screen?

Check out our status sheets to track new TV series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.

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Trevor Noah and Dua Lipa Hug and Kiss Outside NYC Restaurant

The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 17 Review: Lockdown

That was one of the most packed episodes of The Walking Dead yet.

The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 17 played out like a spy thriller, with the characters in very different scenarios.

Some were battling for survival, and some were fighting politics inside an oppressed community.

“Lockdown” was one of the few times throughout The Walking Dead Season 11 that it genuinely felt like the series was ending a chapter.

It’s hard to be excited knowing that many characters survive, but this final midseason premiere upped the ante to hone in on this battle for survival.

It was strange the episode didn’t give us the resolution to the Lance cliffhanger, and it wasn’t immediately clear if the final moments of The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 16 were set in the future.

I’m going with Lance at the Commonwealth tossing a coin to assess the fate of everyone having not happened, but that also takes away from what could have been a stellar cliffhanger at the close of “Lockdown.”

Pamela: You’ve humiliated me. And yourself.
Sebastian: I told you I shouldn’t have come here.

Lance met his match in Daryl, Maggie, Mary, and everyone else. He’s hid behind his schtick that the Commonwealth is a safe haven for everyone.

That sounds like heaven to people on the road, but our survivors have come up against some terrible communities during their time on the show.

For that reason alone, they will never roll over and let someone take them out willingly.

The survivors also know that Lance would have them killed whenever they catch up with him, so there’s never going to be a point at which they ally with them.

That’s off the table now, but they will probably make a deal with Pamela.

Sebastian is a royal pain in the ass who has had everything handed to him with a silver spoon. He knows he can get away with murder, but he isn’t very good at covering up his crimes.

It was fun to see how much the people inside the Commonwealth turned on him and, by extension, his mother.

It’s always satisfying to see those types of characters get their comeuppance. Pamela was vocal about her ancestors going through rebellious phases, and maybe they’d make for a worthwhile Tales of the Walking Dead episode.

Pamela: Would you like one?
Yumiko: It’s a little early for me. Thank you. You tear-gassed my friends.
Pamela: If they were there, they were in defiance of lockdown.
Yumiko: And did it help? Did it actually make the troopers’ jobs easier outside the walls?
Pamela: It was about what could have happened. It was about safety. It always is.
Yumiko: And you don’t care that it makes you look guilty?
Pamela: If you have an accusation, Yumiko, make it.
Yumiko: Look. Can you really sit there and say there is no way your son did the things he was accused of?
Pamela: He’s always been something of a renegade, it’s true. But his grandfather and uncles were the same way, and they mellowed over time. Became leaders of men. Maybe he’s having his youthful rebellions later than most, but he’s not a murderer.
Yumiko: Pamela, I am trying to figure out how much you knew. It might be my job to defend you.
Pamela: How can I talk to my lawyer freely when she’s also friends with the most prominent journalist around?

Pamela has been in control of the narrative inside the Commonwealth for years, but now that people like Connie are in control of some aspects of the media, it makes things tricky.

To date, Pamela has gone with the flow because the chips have fallen in her favor, but it makes you wonder how far she’ll go now that everything has been called into question.

Carol bringing Lance’s involvement to her will surely go a long way to keep our heroes safe, at least for a short while.

The truth is, Lance has a way with words, and he’s tried to manipulate Pamela before. He knows she isn’t a pushover and will call him out when she sees fit, but now that she can blame him for everything, well, maybe he will take a shot at her.

Intriguingly, Carol managed to make Pamela think that they will all benefit from turning on Lance, but Lance will also be mad to know that Carol played a part in his downfall.

Carol’s back was against the wall. She’s been trying to gather information ever since her people arrived inside the compound, and it’s not a bad idea.

She knows how these communities work, so it’s always nice to see her scheming to keep everyone she loves safe.

Her shock at Negan’s arrival completely changed when he told her he was married and had a kid on the way.

Their relationship has never been strong, but they’ve come together in recent years because they both understand they need to be ruthless when the going gets tough.

From the outside looking in, they should hate each other, but they both have these shades of darkness they recognize in each other.

Negan: Hey, did I, uh… Did I tell you I got married?
Carol: Mm. Why are you telling me this now?
Negan: Well, I don’t know. Because… Because she is out there, and… she is carrying our child.
Carol: It’s gonna be okay.
Negan: Thank you.
Carol: Yeah.

It’s a spectacle watching them both on-screen because Melissa McBride and Jeffrey Dean Morgan have a chemistry that bounces off each other whenever they share the screen.

Maggie, Daryl, and the rest of the people on the road trying to disarm the soldiers and ruin Lance’s plans was gnarly because everyone was dealing with something.

Daryl had just put down his one-time lover in the name of saving Maggie, someone he’s known for years. In the moment, it was an easy decision for him to make, but one second later and Maggie could have been dead.

Maggie thanking him and recognizing the weight of his actions was beautiful because it showed that she understood what it was like losing someone she loved.

“Lockdown” clearly wanted to tug on the heartstrings with callbacks, and that’s okay because we’re on a fast-paced ride to the finish line.

Judith narrating the beginning of the episode, followed by the extended opening montage, hit me right in the feels.

Magna also hit me in the feels when she told Yumiko she would be dragging her and Tomi along if the going gets too harsh inside the Commonwealth.

Magna and Yumiko’s relationship should be strained because of how differently their lives are inside this compound, but it’s clear the message from the show is that true love prevails, even when you’re pulled in different directions.

My concern, however, is that Pamela knows Magna and Tomi are Yumiko’s weaknesses, and if things continue to fall apart, Pamela can manipulate Yumiko by promising these people safety.

Initiating a lockdown was something I never expected to see on The Walking Dead, but Pamela needs to find a way to keep these people in line.

I can’t even begin to imagine what must have been going through everyone’s minds when that happened because most of these people have spent most of their lives hiding from the undead and tyrants.

Maggie: Daryl, what y… What you did back there… I know that Leah meant something to you. I’m sorry.
Daryl: Glen would’ve wanted me to look after you. You don’t have to ever say sorry. Not to me.

“Lockdown” sent the narrative in a completely different direction. I’m cautiously optimistic this direction is necessary to give closure to the characters and arcs that won’t be spilling on to the spinoffs.

What are your thoughts on the drama surrounding Pamela and her family?

Which moment hit you in the feels the most?

Do you think there is a future inside the Commonwealth if the bad guys are taken down?

Hit the comments.

The Walking Dead continues Sundays on AMC and AMC+.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

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‘Walking Dead’ Showrunner Angela Kang On Tonight’s Premiere Of The First Of The Final Episodes, Potential Return Of Rick Grimes & Michonne, Simu Liu, & Coming To Grips With The Conclusion

SPOILER ALERT:  This post contains details of tonight’s The Walking Dead 11C midseason debut, the first of the final eight episodes of the series.

“Okay, this ends now,” exclaims murderous Commonwealth deputy governor Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton) in the first of the final eight episodes of The Walking Dead that debuted tonight on AMC. Of course, this being the zombie apocalypse series careening towards its November 20 series finale and a trio of spinoffs to come, it isn’t really over. At least not when Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) suddenly has a knife to Hornsby’s neck and ambushes the ambush.

Kicking off with new opening credits and cranking up the gore and betrayal volume, the Greg Nicotero directed, and Julia Ruchman penned “Lockdown” picked up not long after the events of April 10’s Acts of God episode. As Hornsby seeks to unleash destruction of the Survivors’ community, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) sneaks inside the Commonwealth to try to reach General Mercer and stave off a massacre. As Daryl and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) lament past losses of loved ones, a walker swarm is heading towards the Commonwealth, putting the well-armed community’s soldiers to the test. With dissent brewing within the Commonwealth due to articles detailing the crimes of the son of the Governor Pamela Milton (Laila Robbins), Carol (Melissa McBride) offers the politician a deal to save her offspring’s skin and put the bullseye on Hornsby.

Pulling from the final editions of the Robert Kirkman comics on which the show is based, the real revelation of tonight’s TWD is the clip-heavy synopsis of the series’ origins. With unceremonious commentary from the youth POV of Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming) and scenes of her long-missing father Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and more, the opening monologue hammers home a sense of back to the future – a fact exemplified all the more by the Daryl, Maggie and Negan, and Rick Grimes and Michonne (Danai Gurira) spinoffs already in the works.

With all those elements in play, long-time TWD showrunner Angela Kang sat down with me to discuss tonight’s Lockdown and the road to the series finale. The executive producer also delved into that flashback opening monologue, are Rick and Danai coming back before the series ends, meeting Simu Liu, and where she is at as it all is about to be over.

DEADLINE: That opening with Cailey telling the tale of the Walking Dead was quite beautiful, especially for a show that is often blood-soaked and mournful. It is a unique perspective of a child who has known nothing but this world of destruction and death, very much sets a tone. Why was that the opening you wanted for the first of your final episodes

KANG: I’m glad you brought this up, because I think this is one of the things that we really wound up loving a lot for this last block. We were looking to, in these final episodes, just crank up the emotional content/ What’s interesting about the Commonwealth to me, besides just kind of their particular rules of their community, is that there is this tie between past and present and future, because the Commonwealth is based on who you were in the past determines who you are now.

DEADLINE: So, what does this opening monologue tell us about the future, by looking at the past?

KANG: Our characters are reckoning with how much have we changed over time, and who do we still want to be going forward? So, it felt like it lent itself well to thinking about what the past has meant and what it is and how does that defines us going forward. We really love the idea of marrying that with a perspective that you might not expect, that sort of gives homage to the comics without being exactly of it.

DEADLINE: Was it your idea?

KANG: (LAUGHS) No, the pitch of doing montages came from Scott Gimple (EP and ex-TWD showrunner) as we were talking about what are some things that we can do?

He just had this great idea, and I loved it, and the writers loved it, and so we ran with it Truthfully, it was emotional for us to even go through all this footage and to pull together what these are and figure out what the voiceover is to tell kind of like one story. I hope the fans will embrace it, too, you know, as they’re all thinking about the legacy of this show.

DEADLINE: Lance has that “this ends now” line right towards the end of Lockdown, but then Norman’s character has a knife at his neck, flipping the script. It’s an age-old TWD move, but you guys don’t really tip your hand too much about where this is going, do you in the final block opener, do you?

KANG: No, not quite. I think in our storytelling for this, that the story’s going to unfold and unroll, and you know, there’s going to be some twists and turns.  What I hope the audience gets from this is even if they think they know exactly where they think the story’s going, maybe it takes some turns that they’re not expecting.

I hope that it’s still satisfying and surprising emotionally, but we don’t want people to know exactly what we’re planning this early in the eight, because all eight episodes still have to matter. I just hope people will watch it, and I hope that they’ll finish out these final eight with us. You know, I think everybody who worked on the show worked really, really hard. It wasn’t a singular season working during the pandemic. I’m proud of what we pulled off, and I think just there are so many great performances this season, that I don’t want people to miss out.

DEADLINE: So where are you at now? Filming finished a while back, is post-production all done?

KANG: We have finished editing, but we’re still doing lots of post-production. So, it’s really interesting because we’re far past what production was, but still actively in the process of just kind of honing it all for the viewers to have their finale.

DEADLINE: What specifically still needs to be done?

KANG: You know, what the final visuals and sound and everything is. Which means I find myself in this perspective where I’m in between being done and not done. What’s been cool, though, is as time passes and you kind of end up looking at some of this stuff with fresh eyes as you go through it, it’s just…

I’s a very emotional experience, and there are high expectations, obviously, all around. We want the fans to enjoy this final ride on the mother ship show, but you know, we can only just focus on doing our best work to try to put it all together.

DEADLINE: How do you mean?

KANG: Because, you know, at the end of the day, it’s a TV show, and you have deadlines. You’ve got to kind of like get it all done in time. So, there’s a part of me that’s just still in the day-to-day of that work, but you know, I think the pressure has been high for a couple of years now on this, and I hope it pays off by the time the 177th episode and finale airs in November.

DEADLINE: A finale that you came up with the story for, BTW. Now, certainly there was some payoff this past week with Norman getting his own Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You were there, what was that like, and what was that like for the show?  

KANG: I’m not so cynical that I think that it’s uncool to get a star. I still remember being a kid coming up to LA for the first time and walking down that boulevard and looking at these names of stars that meant so much to me as just a fan. So, I was really excited for him. I think he was excited and should be. It was really nice to see Greg’s speech and John Bernthal’s speech, and Norman was very heartfelt in the things that he said. I think he got an amazing location next to George Romero.

DEADLINE: Fitting and nice…

KANG: Exactly. You know, I told him, I’ve been to Hollywood Toys & Costumes more than anything else on this boulevard, and this is such a cool spot to be. So, you know, I thought it was really lovely and emotional, and it was great to see his family come around him. So, I give huge congratulations to Norman because I just think it’s super cool to get your star on the boulevard.

DEADLINE: In that, with Norman having his spinoff, Jeffery Dean and Lauren having theirs, and Andrew and Danai coming back for a limited series, are there people going to be coming back in the final eight episodes to say goodbye, so to speak?

KANG: I know you have to ask that. I appreciate the question, but there are some things that are just too spoiler-y, so I can’t get into it.

DEADLINE: What about for you personally? You may not be the showrunner of the Daryl spinoff, but there is still more TWD in your future.

KANG: It’s going to be fun. I’m a producer on the Daryl show and I just came off a meeting for that.

DEADLINE: And how is it going?

KANG (LAUGHS) It’s coming along. Norman’s getting really excited. It’s all rolling, and so I’m really happy to have continued involvement in that while I’m working on my other projects.

DEADLINE: In this project of TWD, what does it feel like for you in terms of the larger cultural implications. I know that a lot of people in the Asian-American and Pacific-American community who see you as a huge trailblazer, in fact a lot of people do, period.  

KANG: Oh, thank you. You know, it’s very gratifying to hear, and when I’m fortunate enough to get to meet people in the community that I don’t know, sometimes they kind of express those things to me. It means so much.

Like writers who are coming up, and that means a lot to me, because I’ve talked pretty openly about the fact that when I was growing up, I never aspired to this job because I just didn’t think it was a job that was open to me. That’s not some exaggeration for drama. It really and truly is like, oh, these aren’t jobs that people like me do. That’s what I thought as a kid.

I didn’t think that I would get to run my own show, and so, it’s inspiring for me when I see other people who have climbed that ladder and somehow made it to this position. What I want to see is just more and more voices that aren’t being heard kind of out there, because I think that it doesn’t take away from anybody’s story. It only just…it adds to the richness of the stories that are out there for everybody.

Let me tell you, a great moment for me at Comic-Con was meeting Simu Liu. I was like, you have…you know, it’s just I admire you so much, like, what you’ve done in the Shang-Chi movie. I told him, I admired how he is out there advocating for the community, and I’ve just been such a fan.

DEADLINE: What was Simu’s reaction?

KANG: Oh, he said back something like you’ve broken a glass ceiling and thank you for trailblazing it, and I was like, oh, I don’t think of myself that way. But it was so kind of him to say to me.

It’s great to feel that there’s more of us, but there’s still not enough. I think that I feel very fortunate that I got to work on a show where the values of the show are that we try to show people from all walks of life. We try to show different people meeting and connecting, because the world is so broken, that the only way forward is to connect, and that’s been a great privilege.

DEADLINE: In an offshoot of that, what is it like having this all end? Or is it really ever ending?

KANG: You know Dominic, it’s a bit like sending a kid to college. It’s so hard to even process, because I think for me and for many people who went through either all or most of this ride, it’s just like you went through a whole life stage.

I got pregnant while I was working on the show, and now my kid is 10 years old. I’ve seen other people’s kids go from little, tiny tikes to high schoolers or people graduating and going off, people falling in love on the show and getting married, and it’s all of that.

I know it’s so rare in the industry we work in to get to have an experience like that, where the people that you’re working with become kind of a found family where we celebrate these things together, where we grieve each other’s losses.

So, it’s definitely…it’s surreal, and I think I’ve had, like, a series of milestones along the way where I get to grieve one part of it, but because it’s still not completely done, I feel like there’s still one part of my heart that’s, like, in denial. It’s definitely quite the experience, and I’ll never forget these years that I’ve worked on the show, and I’ve made so many lifelong friendships here, and that’s the thing that I hold onto it.

Even as this ends, it’s something that lives on in our hearts. I hope it also lives on in the hearts of fans who really went through that same sort of life stage with us. So, I feel very grateful, and it’s been really special, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s definitely strange and surreal right now too.

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