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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 24, 2020 4 By Kyla Brewer TV Media W hile millions of TV viewers may be ob- sessed with the lat- est news or big-cat royalty as of late, discerning audiences will soon have another darkly imaginative world into which they can escape. A tale of su- pernatural forces, murder, racism and political tension is about to premiere on prime time. In 1938, the LAPD's first Mexican-American detective, Tiago Vega (Daniel Zovatto, "Here and Now"), and his partner, Lewis Michener (Na- than Lane, "The Birdcage," 1996), investigate a grisly murder in the debut of "Pen- ny Dreadful: City of Angels," airing Sunday, April 26, on Showtime. What follows is an epic story that explores L.A.'s tradition of Mexican-Ameri- can folklore, the espionage of the Third Reich and the rise of radio evangelism. While it may share a su- pernatural theme with its predecessor, "Penny Dread- ful," this new series is not a continuation of that story. It is, in fact, a whole new saga in its own right. In a March article on Entertainment Weekly's website, Rory Kinnear, who portrayed Fran- kenstein's monster in the original series, explained how "City of Angels" is con- nected to the acclaimed Brit- ish-American horror drama. "The continuity from the first iteration of 'Penny Dread- ful' to this one is the supernat- ural element in which mon- sters are present, but the main monsters are within the char- acters," said Kinnear, who re- turns to the franchise as pedia- trician Dr. Peter Craft, head of the German-American Bund in "Penny Dreadful: City of An- gels." In the new series, the super- natural is embodied by two ghostly sisters. Natalie Dormer ("Game of Thrones") plays Magda, a dangerous goddess who can take on the appear- ance of anyone she chooses. Lorenza Izzo ("Aftershock," 2012) has a recurring role as Magda's sister, Santa Muerte, the Angel of Holy Death, who is cursed to collect the souls of the departed. In an interview with ew.com in December 2019, Dormer said her character would take on different personas to ma- nipulate those around her and sow the seeds of chaos, and she promised that three of those disguises would be re- vealed to audiences through- out the season. Convinced that humanity is inherently evil, Magda is undoubtedly the agent of chaos in "Penny Dreadful: City of Angels." How- ever, there's more to the horror drama than jump scares and spooky characters. "Set in 1938, it's L.A. just be- fore the Second World War, but it's really a commentary on the day," Dormer said in a behind- the-scenes sneak peek posted on ew.com in March. As the story unfolds, viewers are introduced to a rich cast of characters connected to Mag- da, Vega, Michener and Craft. When rising tensions in the city threaten her loved ones in the season premiere, Vega's mother, Maria (Adriana Bar- raza, "Babel," 2006), asks Santa Muerte to protect her family. Mateo Vega (Johna- than Nieves, "Grey's Anato- my"), Tiago's younger brother, lacks purpose and, as a result, is easily influenced by those around him. In contrast, el- dest son Raul Vega (Adam Rodriguez, "CSI: Miami") is a community advocate and union leader. The youngest Vega sibling is Josefina (Jessi- ca Garza, "The Purge," 2018), the quiet and obedient younger sister. While Michener is deter- mined to uncover the actions of the Third Reich in Los Ange- les, LAPD Capt. Ned Vander- hoff (Brent Spiner, "Star Trek: The Next Generation") just wants clear sailing into his re- tirement. Religion also factors into the "Penny Dreadful: City of Angels" story. Radio evange- list Sister Molly (Kerry Bishé, "Halt and Catch Fire") has captivated many faithful fol- lowers thanks to her skills as an orator and singer. As Molly grapples with the demands of her complicated life, her mother, Miss Adelaide Finnester (Amy Madigan, "Roe vs. Wade," 1989), man- ages the church's finances and keeps watch over their growing religious empire. coverstory Adam Rodriguez as seen in "Penny Dreadful: City of Angels" Something wicked: Showtime presents the series premiere of 'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Did Kenny Rogers and Burt Reynolds ever do a movie together? They were around at the right time, and they seem like they would have made a good pair- ing. A: Burt Reynolds had a varied career, but enough of his mov- ies were at least country-adjacent (think 1977's "Smokey and the Bandit" and 1972's "Deliverance") that it was almost in- evitable his path would cross with one of the biggest country stars of all time. And it did, twice. You might be a little disappointed, though. There's no out- law buddy comedy or backroom-gambling caper on their shared resume, just a Rogers guest turn on Reynolds' ear- ly-'90s sitcom and a Reynolds cameo in Rogers' one and only big-screen feature. Your best bet to scratch that itch is the episode of "Evening Shade," the sitcom that starred Reynolds as a high school foot- ball coach. It's not a western romp, but it does feature Rogers playing himself (always a fun sitcom scenario) trying to keep his visit to Reynolds' small Arkansas town a secret. It meant, at least, that Reynolds and Rogers shared a fair bit of screen time. The same can't be said of their only other col- laboration, the 1982 big-screen comedy "Six Pack," which starred Rogers as a down-and-out race driver paired with six streetwise kids as his sidekicks. Reynolds just does a brief, un- credited cameo in this. Q: Are they making any more Jesse Stone movies? I miss them. A: It seems unlikely at this point, but there are reasons to hope. It's been five years since the last telefilm featuring a grim- faced Tom Selleck (which is the only Selleck we get anymore — far from the smirking, '80s version) as Jesse Stone, a big-city cop transplanted to the small town of Paradise, Massachu- setts. Prior to that, CBS had a great run of the films in the late '00s and early '10s, starting with "Stone Cold" in 2005. But after 2012's "Benefit of the Doubt," CBS dropped them. They were picked up by Hallmark, which released "Lost in Paradise" in 2015, but that's been it. However, one point of hope is that Selleck, who also co- wrote most of the films, has since said that he's writing anoth- er one. The bad news is he said that in 2017. 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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