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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 16, 2021 4 By Kyla Brewer TV Media N eedless to say, television sleuths have evolved over the years. Gone are the days when hard-nosed in- vestigators doggedly pursued criminals and wrapped up cas- es week after week. Today's TV detectives are often portrayed as complex and vulnerable, and an acclaimed actor is set to bring one such character to life this spring. Kate Winslet ("Titanic," 1997) stars as Mare Sheehan, a small-town Pennsylvania de- tective who struggles to keep her own life from falling apart as she investigates a shocking murder in "Mare of Easttown," premiering Sunday, April 18, on HBO. The seven-episode series exposes the dark side of the close-knit community as Mare searches for the killer while facing her personal demons. Mare is well known in the community for a fateful cham- pionship-winning shot during a basketball game 25 years earlier, but she obviously does not feel like the hero everyone seems to think she is. "Doing something great is overrated," Mare says in the official trailer, "because then people expect that from you — all the time." It is clear that her character is dealing with some heavy stuff from her past, but if any- one has the acting chops to tackle the part, it's Winslet. However, that doesn't mean she would ever want to take on such a role in real life. The actor reportedly worked with Penn- sylvania police departments, including the real Easttown's, for months in preparation for the series. According to In- diewire.com's Ben Travers, dur- ing a virtual presentation pro- moting the new series during this year's TCA winter press tour, Winslet admitted that she wouldn't make a great detec- tive, though she did joke that she would be good at the cof- fee breaks and the after-work beers. "I don't think I have the mental stamina that is re- quired," Winslet said. Playing a tortured modern- day detective might be against type for Winslet, who is well known for her period pieces. At the age of 20, she earned her first Academy Award and Gold- en Globe nominations for "Sense and Sensibility" (1995). Global stardom soon followed, thanks to her role in the block- buster "Titanic" (1997), which she followed up with critically acclaimed period pieces "Quills" (2000) and "Iris" (2001). Winslet's other credits include the contemporary sci- ence-fiction romance "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004), the romantic drama "Revolutionary Road" (2008), the biographical drama "Steve Jobs" (2015) and the Divergent film franchise. Her role in "Mare of East- town" is Winslet's first televi- sion role in a decade. During her last prime-time outing, also for HBO, she portrayed a di- vorced mother who goes into the restaurant business and strives to win her daughter's respect in the 2011 miniseries "Mildred Pierce." Her work on the project netted her both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. In- terestingly, her "Mare of East- town" co-star Guy Pearce ("L.A. Confidential," 1997) also won an Emmy for his role as dashing playboy Monty Be- ragon in "Mildred Pierce." Winning combination Pearce and Winslet team up again in "Mare of Easttown" as Pearce takes on the role of creative writing professor Rich- ard Ryan. Those familiar with Winslet's work might also recognize James McArdle, who recently co-starred with the actress in the film "Ammonite" (2020). McArdle plays Deacon Mark Burton in "Mare of Easttown." Other high-profile stars in the cast include multi-Emmy winner Jean Smart ("Fargo") as Mare's mother, Helen. In a departure from typical on- screen mother-daughter rela- tionships, Helen and Mare do not get along. Young Austra- lian actress Angourie Rice ("The Nice Guys," 2016) plays Mare's teenage daughter, Siobhan, while David Denman ("The Office") stars as Mare's ex-husband, Frank. Neal Huff ("The Wire") portrays Mare's cousin, Father Dan Hastings, while Julianne Nicholson ("The Outsider") appears as Mare's best friend, Lori, and Joe Tip- pett ("Rise") appears as Lori's husband, John. Evan Peters of "American Horror Story" fame portrays county detective Colin Zabel, who is brought in to help Mare with the case, though they of- ten butt heads. Acclaimed stage actor John Douglas Thompson also makes a few appearances as Mare's boss, Chief Carter. Cailee Spaeny ("Pacific Rim: Uprising," 2018) appears as Erin McMenamin, a lonely teen living with her volatile father, Kenny, who is portrayed by Pat- rick Murney ("Seven Sec- onds"). Sosie Bacon ("Here and Now") also appears as Carrie Layden, a recovering ad- dict. The new series boasts a ver- itable television dream team in front of and behind the camera. While Winslet's career thus far has allowed her to show her range as an actor, she'll still be navigating new waters in "Mare of Easttown." The series marks her first proj- ect as an executive producer, and she's in good company as just one of many executive producers involved in the proj- ect. "Mare of Easttown" cre- ator and writer Brad Ingelsby ("The Way Back," 2020) will also be an executive producer as well as the project's show- runner. The program's director, Craig Zobel ("The Hunt," 2020), will be an executive producer, too. Other executive producers include Paul Lee ("Dickinson"), Mark Roybal ("Stoker," 2013), Gavin O'Connor ("The Accountant," 2016) and Gordon Gray ("Sec- retariat," 2010). Boasting a cast and crew with proven track records, HBO's latest dramatic offering has the potential to make its mark in the prime-time realm. As the murder mystery unfolds, watch Mare do her best not to unravel in "Mare of East- town," premiering Sunday, April 18, on HBO. coverstory Kate Winslet stars in "Mare of Easttown" Under pressure: Kate Winslet is prime time's latest troubled detective By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Is the show "The Cool Kids" available to watch on any service? I loved that show and suddenly it was no longer on air. A: "The Cool Kids" were very suddenly uncool in Fox's eyes — the show was unceremoniously canceled just ahead of the network's spring presentation to advertisers in 2019. It was part of the annual culling of shows just prior to the events (which take place at the same time for all four big networks) that has come to be known as the "broadcast bloodbath." Fortunately, coolness is in the eye of the beholder, and a few digital video-on-demand services — including Amazon Video and YouTube in the U.S. and Google Play in Canada — are making the show's lone season available for rent/purchase. Forgive the use of the slash there. Renting and purchasing are, of course, very different things, but in the digital-video business, they tend to be lumped together in opposition to streaming. Streaming is the better-known digital option — the one of- fered by Netflix, Hulu and others — where you pay a subscrip- tion fee and watch as much as you want. It encourages binge- watching and thereby became more of a cultural phenomenon (as well as a drastically different way to consume media — renting and buying episodes is more familiar to those who re- member the Blockbuster days). Of course, if you plan to rewatch all 22 episodes of "The Cool Kids" more than once, then buying it from one of the ser- vices mentioned above is worth the individual investment. And there are good reasons to rewatch it, such as its cast — David Alan Grier ("In Living Color"), Vicki Lawrence ("The Car- ol Burnett Show"), Martin Mull ("The Ranch") and Leslie Jor- dan ("Call Me Kat") — and a premise that appealed directly to people over 50; an underserved age group, to put it mildly. The four of them starred as a gang of rowdy retirement community residents who get into high jinks — a pretty sim- ple but delightful premise. Q: I've been rewatching "CSI: Crime Scene Investiga- tion" and I noticed that the coroner, Dr. Robbins, always walks around with a cane or crutches. Is that part of his character? He is very convincing. A: He's convincing because that part of Robert David Hall's performance is not acting. Hall, who played Dr. Al Robbins in more than 300 episodes of the beloved procedural drama (the third-highest episode count of anyone in the cast) actually has two prosthetic legs (like his character) and walks with a crutch. Hall is an advocate for disabled people and laments the fact that, while he has had great success as an actor and has even been able to incorporate his disability into the roles he plays, many disabled people face discrimination. However, he's pleased to have provided a positive example — one seen by millions — of what a disabled person is capa- ble of (with his character just as hyper-capable in his field as the other geniuses). "Hopefully people can see me and see that I'm not sitting around moping with my head in my hands," he told OnMil- waukee magazine in 2006. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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