The CW remade 4400, and it is not like the original show. In fact, I think it is better because the returnees have a purpose.
If you are not familiar with the show’s premise, then here is a very short description. 4,400 people were taken throughout time and returned to Earth in 2021. No one, including them, knows why. So we get to watch their journeys every Monday night on The CW.
One of the returnees is Claudette, and she is played by Jaye Ladymore. Claudette was taken in the late ’50s. She and her preacher husband were fighting for civil rights in the South. How will she adapt to living in the year 2021? That is what we tune in to see.
What I wanted to know from the actress is how did prepare to play this role? Ladymore told me on a press call; she was actually preparing for it before she got it. She explained, “So before the pandemic, I was doing theater in Chicago. And a play that I did called Too Heavy For Your Pocket by Jireh Breon Holder is about these four friends in the South in the early 1960s dealing with how they’re going to be involved in the civil rights movement. And so I had the Southern accent. I was a part of the crucial part of history where we’re trying to change things.
“And so when Claudette came, when the audition came in my inbox from my agent, I was like, I know who this woman is. I know how she speaks. I know how she thinks. And so I was kind of preparing for it before I even knew about the role.
“But it was really interesting to bring in kind of what I’ve known about the ’60s and the ’50s. And also, I’m from the South. I’m from Georgia. So I know that on a visceral level as well. So I was just really ready to dive back into somebody from that time period and from the South and really give her three dimensions and give her voice.”
Each week, her character stands out because of the voice Ladymore is giving Claudette. She plays her with such strength, as you would expect a woman from that era with her background to be.
Therefore, I can’t wait to see what she does next. Especially since she has the power to self-heal. Maybe her character can heal everyone around her, both mentally and physically.
There is so much to Claudette, and it will be interesting to see how they flesh her out with each episode. So watch every week to find out.
If you watch The CW, go get your calendars. That is because today, they announced a lot of changes to their lineup. So much so, you are going to need a calendar to know when your favorite shows are going to be back.
I am not complaining because I didn’t think Dynasty would be back until the late Spring. However, it is returning next month, so now I don’t have to wait that long to find out if Fallon lives.
I have to say; The CW is really smart. They won’t be airing repeats, and they will keep their viewers happy. That is if we can remember when the show they watch is on. That is what DVRs are for. To remind us when to watch.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2022
8:00-9:00pm PENN & TELLER: FOOL US (Midseason Return)
9:00-10:00pm NANCY DREW (Midseason Return)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2022
8:00-8:30pm WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (Original Episode)
8:30-9:00pm WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?
9:00-9:30pm WORLD’S FUNNIEST ANIMALS (Original Episode)
9:30-10:00pm WORLD’S FUNNIEST ANIMALS
SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022
7:00-10:00pm THE 27th ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS
Even though Scooby-Doo and the Gang have spent every day together for the last 52 years, The CW is giving them a reunion special tonight at 8p.
Scooby-Doo, Where Are They Now includes an interview with Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma, and how they got their jobs, and of course, a mystery for them to solve?
The star-studded special also interviews fans of the shows, gives some of the history of the beloved animated series and reveals the faces behind the voices.
It is a fun hour for anyone who has ever watched Scooby-Doo. It will leave with a grin as big as Scooby’s when he gets a Scooby treats!
Back when the 4400 aired on USA, I watched every episode. I had to know what was going to happen next for the 4400. So when I heard that The CW was bringing it back, I wasn’t sure what to think. I went in with low expectations, just in case, it was going to disappoint me like so many other remakes. Well, not only did I love it, I loved it more than the original.
Tonight at 9p, you will get to see why this remake is getting it so right.
The episode starts off with Shanice (Brittany Adebumola), a lawyer in 2005, getting ready to return to work after maternity leave. As she is driving to work, she is suddenly sucked up into the sky and then dropped back down 16 years in the future. She is not the only one; 4,399 other people from all wakes of life and different time periods are also mysteriously dropped down alongside her.
Since the government doesn’t want to freak people out, they bring them all to different shelters to find out who they are and what they are doing here now. I say now because as they do facial recognition on them, they find out they most of them are people that were reported missing as far back as 100 years ago.
Now, the government is exploring every theory, including that they might have been abducted by aliens. They also do not know if they should be afraid of these people who suddenly fell out of the sky.
Who are these people? Andre Davis (TL Thompson) is an African-American surgeon from the 1920a who served in WWI. He is going to take care of the injured like Claudette (Jaye Ladymore). She was part of the civil rights movement in Mississippi from the ’50s. She wants a World where she can be equal, and she just returned to a place that is more like it than she was alive.
Rev (Derrick A. King) is from the ’90s. He was a televangelist. LaDonna (Khailah Johnson) has only been missing for six years, so she is one of the few who understands today’s technology as she should because she was a reality star in her time. Mildred (Autumn Best) is a teen from the ’70s.
The only thing we know about Hayden (AMARR) is that he has been missing for a few decades. The only reason we only know that is because he doesn’t talk. However, he will say something at the end of the episode that will change everything.
You see, like the original, they will each have different powers. Tonight, we get a glimpse of some of them. However, we don’t know why they got them and what they are going to be used for?
There are so many questions, like why were they returned? Why these 4499 people? And so on.
But you are not supposed to answer all of those questions in the pilot. You have to answer them throughout the show’s, hopefully long, run.
Why do I like this reimagining better than the original? First off, these people seem to have more purpose to them than just being chosen. It doesn’t feel like they are random people off of the street.
Another thing I like better is that they weren’t just released back to their families or possible relatives. That is because they are all being held together. Therefore, we get to know them and see them interact with each other. I want to see them grow together. As scared as everyone is of them, they are also scared because they have no idea what happened to them and all the people they once knew.
To me, all of that is more important than the fact that they have powers. Not that I don’t like that aspect from the original show. I also wanted to get attached to the characters, and you get to do that with this version.
4400 is my favorite new drama of the season. Check it out to find out why you are going to love it as much as I do.
Burden of Truth is back for its fourth season tonight at 8p on The CW, and you don’t want to miss the final season of this underrated legal drama.
The season starts off about a year after the last one, and Joanna Chang (Kristin Kreuk) has given birth to her daughter, who still doesn’t have a name. Chang did not take maternity leave, and she is already back on a case in Millwood with her law and life partner Billy Crawford (Peter Mooney).
The two of them, with their nameless baby by their side, are trying to stop a mining company from opening up in the town. Chang is trying to help a woman keep her land that the mining company wants. The town wants the company to come because it means jobs, and they need them since Change shut down the mill in the first season.
The mining company will do anything to get that woman’s land, including intimidating anyone who tries to stop them. How far will they go?
All I will say is that Chang will be arrested, and that will play a big part for the rest of the season. If that is not enough for her, she has been acting irrationally since she gave birth. Something that will hinder everything in her life. Will it get so bad it will destroy her?
You will have to tune in to find out tonight and every Friday at 8p.
Burden of Truth is not a legal procedural; it is a legal drama. Each season they deal with a new case that plays out throughout the season with other cases linked to the main one. By the end of the season, they wrap things up in a way you never see coming. This year they had to wrap up the show, and you are going to want to see how they do it. Will Joanna, Billy and nameless get a happy ending, or is that just for fairy tales?
