Stay Tuned

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, November 29, 2019 4 By Francis Babin TV Media I n the era of Peak TV, being wholesome and family friendly has become a disad- vantage. To succeed and be- come the next big thing, a se- ries must be gritty, dark and in- tense. Protagonists are usually brooding, damaged anti-he- roes, and antagonists are cold and brutal. When it comes to comedies and reality televi- sion, the characters, partici- pants and judges are almost always snarky, sarcastic and cynical — cable networks tell us that this is what sells. But sometimes it seems like we're starving for good, wholesome content. There have been some family-friend- ly, uplifting programs that have succeeded in the shadow of grimy, attention-garnering dra- mas. Series like "The Great British Bake Off" have become full-blown cultural sensations, producing spinoffs and inspir- ing numerous imitators. These competition series can fill us with a feeling of coziness and inspiration, and they are fun to watch with the entire family. On Monday, Dec. 2, the craft- ing competition "Making It," hosted by Amy Poehler ("Wine Country," 2019) and Nick Of- ferman ("Good Omens"), re- turns on NBC just in time for the holidays. When the DIY crafting com- petition series premiered in the summer of 2018, it proved to be a ratings success for the peacock network and was quickly renewed for a second season. Yet, as the time passed, fans became increasingly wor- ried as Poehler and Offerman's craft-off was routinely left off the schedule. It turns out that fans of arts and crafts had nothing to worry about. It seems that the long delay was simply the result of those in- volved trying to pick the per- fect time to come back. "Mak- ing It" has received a festive upgrade and is set to give us more of what made it a hit last time around. For those who did not catch the first season, the premise of "Making It" is really simple. Ar- tisans from across America are pitted against one another to try to impress the "Parks and Recreation" BFFs as well as the judges. Impressing the hosts is no easy feat, and impressing the expert judges is even hard- er. Returning for another round of judging are Simon Doonan, creative ambassador for Bar- neys New York, and Dayna Isom Johnson, Etsy trend ex- pert. The new season functions as it did before, with competitors who are well versed with paint, fabric, wood and metal facing off against one another in two challenges each episode: "Faster Craft," a timed project, and "Master Craft," a themed project. Each project tests the competitors' ability to think outside the box and puts their creativity to the test as they work with food, felt and other materials. The holiday-themed season has the artisans taking on of- fice makeovers and three-di- mensional festive creations on top of other entertaining chal- lenges. In addition to extraordi- nary fabrications that are guar- anteed to inspire, viewers at home are once again in for de- lightfully silly puns, plenty of laughs and an all-around good time with the witty hosts. Poehler and Offerman told the Hollywood Reporter, "We're sew excited to be 'Making It' again. We promise Season 2 will have you glued to your seats." If you enjoyed that word play, "Making It" is going to bring you much holiday cheer. Over the course of the sec- ond season, we will get to know and love the competitors as they share their touching and personal stories. Although the artisans are front and cen- ter, the series makes sure to give us plenty of time with our friendly hosts. Poehler is a self- proclaimed craft novice; on the other hand, Offerman is a not- ed woodworker. The comedic duo might not share the same skills, but they do share a pas- sion and love for crafts and craftsmanship. The hosts' passion for arts and crafts and a shared goal of creating a feel-good atmo- sphere was undeniable the first time around, and things have not changed since then. "We want it to be a hug of a televi- sion show," is how Offerman recalled Poehler's original pitch to the network. The first season absolutely succeeded in doing this. It also succeeded in dis- playing intricate works that serve to inspire the viewer at home. coverstory Dayna Isom Johnson and Simon Doonan from "Making It" Festive fun: Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman turn on the charm in 'Making It' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Did Richard Gere do his own tap dancing in "Chica- go"? A: Richard Gere admitted in a 2003 interview that the tap dancing sequences in "Chicago" were "humbling," but what you see on screen is all him. Gere played the prototypical sleazy lawyer Billy Flynn in the 2002 film version of the hit stage musical — a role that came with the requisite singing numbers but also featured one that was just dance. That sequence cut together scenes of Gere's character dra- matically interrogating a witness on the stand, with scenes of him on a stage, alone, tap dancing his heart out. The implica- tion is that the great lawyer's courtroom antics amount to little more than some fancy footwork for an audience. The dance parts are, admittedly, pretty brave — they are lit- erally just Gere alone under a spotlight. And they're especially brave once you know that he didn't know any tap before tak- ing the role. "I mean, I was learning from scratch to do something that is — for anyone — very difficult," he told CBS's "The Early Show" in 2003. "And something I had to get together in a few months. So that was daunting. It was deeply humbling." Q: Is Chris O'Dowd ever going to do TV again? I like him in movies, but he's never been better than he was on "The IT Crowd." A: Actually, Chris O'Dowd has been doing TV all along, but there are some reasons why you may not have known that. A lot of his TV work has been using his voice only. He narrat- ed the animated kids' series "Puffin Rock," and voiced Dr. Cockroach in the short-lived DreamWorks cartoon "Monsters vs. Aliens" (based on the movie of the same name). But his most high-profile recent TV work has been on the blink-and-you'll-miss-it, short-form series "State of the Union" earlier this year. You can be forgiven for not knowing about this one because not only is it on the slightly obscure Sundance TV channel, but the episodes are only 10 minutes long, and there have only been 10 of them. Well, so far, at least. There's been no official word of a sec- ond season, but creator Nick Hornby said he would be open to the idea. Before you get too excited, though, he said that a sec- ond season would involve different characters, and so O'Dowd would be unlikely to return. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Towne Floring 3 x 2 The Powell Company 2 x 2

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