https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui1YlTPlW_8
What happens if there were parents of a boy who didn’t believe in disciplining him. The little boy is destructive and does whatever he wants. One day, when he is playing with your kid and your nephew’s kids, he starts swinging a wooden bat erratically around them. You ask his parents to control him and they barely do anything. So you grab the kid by the shoulders and tell him to listen to adults, and then he kicks you in the shin. A reaction for some might be to slap him, while others would be to just walk away.
For Harry, he slaps the kid and everyone’s lives change on The Slap because of it. The 8 part mini-series starts tonight at 8p on NBC and you don’t want to miss it.
The first episode is about Hector’s 40th party at his house and his family and friends come to celebrate it there. Hector (Peter Sarsgaard) is happily married to Aisha (Thandie Newton) and they have three kids. They have their issues, and his Greek parents are major part of them. His cousin, Harry (Zachary Quinto) is a very successful cars salesman who has a temper. He is married to Sandi (Marin Ireland) and they have a son named Rocco (Owen Tanzer). Then there is Aisha’s childhood friend Rosie (Melissa George) who treats her son, Hugo (Dylan Schombing), like a baby. Even though he is in school, she is still breastfeeding him.
When Hugo acts up the party, Harry takes things in his own hands. He slaps him and now Rosie is determined it get him arrested for the crime.
Harry’s life is being ruined because of it and so is everyone elses who was the party. Each week we will see the effects through a different character’s eyes. Things are going to get worse for them, before it gets better. For some, it doesn’t.
Each week you will ask yourself if Harry did the right thing or the wrong thing. You will ask yourself, what would you do in that situation? And you will start to have that discussion with people you know. Therefore, The Slap will get you talking.
The Slap is a remake of the Australian version and after watching two episodes of the American one and the complete Aussie one, I have to say I like the USA one better. If you’ve seen the original one on Netflix, know that this one doesn’t go in the same order. I am curious to see how else it differs. I will tell you another difference is that Hugo is so much worse in the American version.
Tune in to NBC tonight and every Thursday at 8p for a show that will be watercooler talk tomorrow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtMTVdK0gUM NBC announced today that they picked up Grimm, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Law & Order: SVU and The Blacklist for another season.
That means the future doesn’t look so bright for the freshmen dramas State of Affairs, The Mysteries of Laura and Constantine. Although, with the chances of any of the comedies getting renewed that will leave a lot of hours of programming to fill. The Voice gives them 4 hours, The Biggest Loser (not officially picked up) a fifth, Dateline gives them 6 and these 5 dramas bring it to 11 hours. That means they have 4 hours to fill, so maybe one of the frosh will graduate to its sophomore year. Which I hope it does because I am enjoying all three of them. I also hope that they still make sitcoms because I have hope they might once again have a night of Must See TV. Another possibility is that The Night Shift and Undateable could return in the fall if come back strong in a few weeks. Which will give NBC only two and half hours to fill. Still to early to tell what will happen in the fall, so until then enjoy what you have while you have it.
When it comes to dramas that were picked up, I am so happy that Grimm and Chicago Fire will be back for more. Both shows are having really strong seasons so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loOSP_D3qx0
Tonight at 10p on NBC, Chicago Fire leads off a two night event to find the arsonist who set the fire that killed Shay. Tomorrow at the same time Chicago PD concludes the investigation.
Both shows are shot in the city they are named for and the actors don’t take her for granted. Recently at the NBC TCA Winter Press Days some of the stars talked about their co-star, The Windy City.
Jesse Spencer said, “There’s so many new places that we go to. We’re all over the city. Having only been there for three years, we’re still getting to learn it.” Then he added, “We shoot in a lot of abandoned buildings. It’s not a very glamorous job, really. I’ve realized that. We’re sort of sitting in gutters for a lot of the day.” Having said that he added, “But they’re part and parcel of the show. We could never do the show anywhere else.” He explained that what you see on your TV screens is what it is because of Chi-Town herself. He made sure to acknowledge her and her people by saying, “That’s the other character in the piece. And the firemen and the police, they all inform everything we do and make it what it is.”
Eamonn Walker wanted to add, “I would turn around and say that sometimes we have seen more of Chicago than most Chicagoans because of the amount of locations that we shoot. We show the full side of Chicago.” Then he ended his thought with, “Chicago is a major character and you are getting to know Chicago through these two shows.”
Not only are we watching two compelling drama that highlight the tough jobs of firemen and policemen, we are also learning more about one of the biggest cities in the country and getting to appreciate her beauty. Even better than a lot of the people who have called her home for all of their lives.
Chicago Fire not only takes place in Chicago, it is also filmed there. Because of that, the city and their fire department are a big part of this hot drama. I spoke with Jesse Spencer at the NBC TCA Winter Press Day and he talked about that and the deep respect he has for them.
Ever since the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, the fire department there has not only become an integral part of Chicago, but also for the rest of the world. He told us that several of the firefighting instruments that the firemen use today have come out of that city. The Chicago FD is a big part of firefighters’ history and now the show is being welcomed in as part of their history.
The actors trained with them as part of their preparation for their roles on Chicago Fire. It didn’t stop with just the training for them because the firefighters are also on the set all the time. They use real firemen on the set and in scenes, and he said that some of them had an issue about the filming process. He explained when they are risking their lives to fight a fire; they do it for a few hours, go back to the station and get out of the gear. They are not used to wearing the 65lbs., yes 65 pounds, of gear for half a day. In a way, the firefighters have learned how tedious it is to work on a Hollywood production just like the actors have learned how tough, hard and rewarding a fireman’s job is on daily basis.
So what happens when they are done filming for the day? Do they go their separate ways? When I asked if he interacts with the brave men when the cameras stop rolling, he said, “We hang out. They have become our friends. We go to Blackhawks games and football games. They had a hockey game, and we went to that. It’s great.” Then he added, “They have welcomed us in. Which we are extremely grateful for that because you don’t know how they are going to react to the show that is portraying them and how it is going to be.” He ended his answer by saying, “They love the show. It is a win/win.”
Chicago Fire is a realistic portrayal of the city’s fire department and it something that Jesse Spencer takes very seriously. Because they have welcomed in the inspiration of their show into their lives, the fire department has done the same with them. How many other shows can say that? Even he couldn’t think of an answer to that question.
So watch how both of them play a role in each other’s jobs every Tuesday at 10p on NBC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFwAqYBDr2A
For the last two Decembers, NBC has done live productions of Broadway musicals. In 2013, the hills came alive with The Sound of Music and last year they decided they didn’t want to grow up with Peter Pan.
Today NBC’s Chairman of Entertainment, Robert Greenblatt, announced at the NBC TCA Winter Press Day that they have two options for their December live performance and they are The Music Man and The Wiz.
In the past, they announced The Music Man was going to be the one that would air, but they recently optioned the rights to Urban version of The Wizard of Oz.
Even though they are still 11 months away from the special, Greenblatt said, “we are actually looking very seriously at some casting options (for The Music Man.)” Then he added that the network just acquired the rights to The Wiz, and they might ease on down that road.
I am hoping they go with The Wiz because it is more modern. Well that and I like it more. I can already see Nick Cannon, Nicki Minaj, Lenny Kravitz and Taye Diggs as the leads.
Which musical would you prefer and who would you cast?
