Entertainment NOW

2 • July 16 - 22, 2023 Entertainment Now By Jay Bobbin TV Media T o those who enjoyed the initial drama, a sequel to it is likely to seem quite "Jus- tified." Timothy Olyphant returns in the further adventures of lawman Raylan Givens as the FX series "Justified: City Primeval" debuts Tuesday, July 18, with the first two of its eight episodes. Set 15 years after "Justified" ended, the saga adapts another story by Elmore Leonard ("City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit") and newly fac- tors Givens into it, with the U.S. marshal living in Miami after his time in Kentucky. A situation that develops in Florida leads him to Detroit and a vicious felon known as the Okla- homa Wildman (played by Boyd Holbrook, previously of "Narcos"), whose lawyer (Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis, "King Richard," 2021) has her own reasons for wanting to help her client elude the scales of justice. With Olyphant also an execu- tive producer of the show along with author Leonard's estate, "Justified: City Primeval" includes Adelaide Clemens ("Rectify"), Vondie Curtis-Hall ("The Recruit"), Marin Ireland ("Hell or High Wa- ter," 2016), double Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz ("The Girl From Plainville"), Ravi Patel ("Animal Control) and Vivian Oly- phant — the star's daughter, who plays Givens' offspring — among additional cast members. They're new to the "Justified" world, as is actress Ellis, who felt she couldn't go wrong with material that originally came from the mind of Leonard. "I just had a general familiar- ity with 'Justified,'" she says. "I knew it was an Elmore Leonard adaptation, and I was interested in that because I'm a big reader. Then, when I started working on this, I watched (the original show) and got to see Tim being 'that guy.' It was one of those things where you feel a character was written for somebody, even if the author did not have that person in mind. "There was a great singer named Phyllis Hyman, and Duke Ellington's granddaughter says that she believes he wrote his songs for Phyllis Hyman even be- fore she was born," Ellis explains. "There also are acting roles like that, and I just feel that Tim is the person who was meant to walk in these boots." Much of the appeal for Ellis in playing attorney Carolyn Wilder in "Justified: City Primeval" came from what she defines as "taking that 'Justified' world and putting it inside Detroit and seeing those worlds collide. (Givens) certainly is a fish out of water there, and I love how Carolyn is very confronta- tional with him. She says, 'I know how you've been doing things, but you can't do them here … not in my town, and not with me.'" Still, there's room for Carolyn to have her own development arc. "There's the world of justice and the world of law, and sometimes those don't meet," Ellis reasons. "I think Carolyn is one of those people who feel that justice isn't necessarily found in a courthouse or a legislative building. You have to find it where you can find it, and I think that's what makes her and Raylan kindred spirits. She does things that are necessary, but she still has to find her footing and be true to herself." Most of Ellis's scenes in "Justi- fied: City Primeval" are with Olyphant, but she also enjoyed sharing on-camera moments with co-star Curtis-Hall ("I just think he's one of the best actors who has ever acted"). For as many strong women as she has portrayed, she found Carolyn a unique role, maintaining that she has little desire "to pull from other parts. Particularly for a woman on television, there's an expectation that you fall in line within particu- lar roles, but I wanted something new and something I had to grasp as I went along." The making of "Justified: City Primeval" had an alarming interruption when several cars involved in a shootout reached a Chicago location where film- ing was underway. (Security was enhanced following the incident.) Ellis recalls, with evident relief, that she "had just left to go to an- other location. I was so upset and so angry, and just scared to death for everybody I worked with. They were literally running for their lives. It was terrifying." Following her appearances in such other series as "Lovecraft Country," "When They See Us" and "True Blood" – and movies in- cluding "Ray," "The Help" and "If Beale Street Could Talk" – Ellis is having a very visible professional year. The existing two seasons of the former AMC drama series "61st Street," in which she ap- pears, have been picked up for upcoming telecast on The CW. She also plays Mama in the film of the stage musical version of "The Color Purple," slated for release on Christmas Day. "I like being able to jump into different worlds, not just different characters," Ellis says, "and that's what I appreciate about 'Justified.' There's world-building there, and that happens a lot with something that is adapted from a novel, because that's what authors do. They can take the space and time to develop a world." Cover Story Vivian and Timothy Olyphant in "Justified: City Primeval" A familiar path: 'Justified' returns with 'City Primeval' sequel Farmers Insurance 2 x 2 Letters & Numbers Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every row,every column, and every 4x4 box contains the digits 1 through 9 AND the letters A-F. Solution on page 12.

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