Entertainment NOW

Entertainment Now | May 16 - 22, 2020 By Rachel Jones TV Media T hey're playing a dangerous game, and it's hard to tell who is hunting whom — a new episode of "Killing Eve" airs Sunday, May 17, on AMC. This wildly popular crime drama is pushing its way to the top of everyone's watchlist, and after the shocking and devastat - ing loss of a character earlier in the season, fans are champing at the bit to find out what happens next. When we first meet Eve Po- lastri (Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anat- omy") in Season 1, she is a CIA agent stuck behind a desk. Her life is lacking the thrill and ex- citement she dreamed of when she joined the agency. To make up for the void she's feeling, Eve takes a special interest in fe - male serial killers, becoming particularly preoccupied with whom she believes to be a killer as yet unknown to the CIA, one who has been operating under the radar. After some exciting twists, Eve becomes responsible for hunting down the notorious Villanelle, played by Jodie Com - er ("The White Princess"). Villanelle is a high-class assas- sin who relishes the luxuries that her violent work affords her. As Eve becomes obsessed with catching her, Villanelle becomes equally obsessed with Eve. Con- nected by a mutual passion for the twisted, they enter into a confusing relationship character- ized by mutual respect, wacky obsession and mistrust. The show also stars Fiona Shaw ("Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," 2001) as Carolyn Mar- tens, who leads the Russian divi- sion of MI6, and Danish actor and director Kim Bodnia ("Nefar- ious," 2020), who plays Vil- lanelle's handler, Konstantin Vasiliev. So far, "Killing Eve" has also showcased a few interesting guest stars. We have seen talent- ed actors and actresses, includ- ing Susan Lynch ("Monroe"), Ju- lian Barratt ("The Mighty Boosh"), Emma Pierson ("Abso- lutely Anything," 2015) and Shannon Tarbet ("Beast," 2017). The show has also included Da- vid Haig ("Downton Abbey," 2019), who has had a long and successful career both on stage and on screen. All of these ap- pearances have added to the sto- ry's strong and compelling char- acterization. Like other top-tier shows air- ing right now, "Killing Eve" was derived from a popular novel, the 1998 thriller "Codename Vil- lanelle." Written by Luke Jen- nings, a British journalist and author, the book is actually a collection of four novellas that were originally released as eb- ooks between February 2014 and June 2016. His writing has been lauded and his style has been compared to that of Ian Flemming, the famed author of the James Bond novels. In fact, the assassin Villanelle has been compared to Bond, thanks most- ly to her tongue-and-cheek atti- tude and love for the lavish. Producers of the show knew whom they wanted to play Eve right from the start, and their casting of Oh was the perfect choice. Her down-to-earth perfor- mance allows us all to relate to her search for meaning in her life. It's true that the concept of a fe- male killer has been done before, most recently with Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson, "His Dark Materi- als") in BBC's "Luther." But "Kill- ing Eve" brings some compelling and previously untapped angles to the role of the assassin Villanelle. The show itself is uniquely femme powered, managing to keep pal- pable tension while having both leading roles be women. Beyond just Oh and Comer's performanc- es, the show gets much of that power from its female writers. Phoebe Waller-Bridge — the creator and star of "Fleabag," and arguably one of the best screenwriters of our time — was the first to put her spin on Jen- nings' novel as head writer for the first season of "Killing Eve." There has been a new head writ- er for each season, which goes a long way to keeping the story feeling fresh and new. It's no surprise that "Killing Eve" has received critical ac- claim, especially with how popu- lar it has become with viewers. The popularity of the show was driven in large part by word of mouth, with each fan gushing about the series to their friends to create a snowball effect. Not long after the show's release, it was named the Best Show of 2018 by Time magazine. In 2019, Comer was named Best Leading Actress by the British Academy Television Awards. The show also received the Peabody Award in 2019, and Sandra Oh won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. And fans have latched on to their own favorite aspects of the women who run this drama se- ries. Eve's Korean cooking has become an example of zen-like stress relief for viewers. And the audience is keeping count of their favorite Villanelle kills, which is definitely something you don't see with other crime shows airing these days. The interaction between Eve and Villanelle is hypnotic and fresh. Their intense focus on one another creates a relationship that walks a fine line between vengeful rage and sexual tension. The writers have done a brilliant job at touching a flame to the spark of passion that drives them both to their own ends. You won't want to miss a sin- gle second of the current season. Be sure to watch the newest in- stallment of the epic saga "Kill- ing Eve" on Sunday, May 17, on AMC. And if you want to catch up on previous seasons, you can find them on Hulu. Sandra Oh in "Killing Eve" It's a thin line: The love and hate of 'Killing Eve' returns on AMC 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" Moore's Home Health 5 x 2"

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