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Color Page 2 • Terre Haute Tribune-Star • September 10 - 16, 2023 Premiering Sunday, Sept. 10, on AMC and AMC+, "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon" sees the return of Norman Reedus ("The Boondock Saints," 1999) as on- screen anti-hero Daryl Dixon. Created by David Zabel ("ER"), "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon" is the fifth spinoff from the flagship series, hereaf- ter referred to as TWD, and takes place after TWD's 11 seasons of horror. And while viewers have already gathered their fair share of Daryl details since his first appearance in TWD's Season 1 episode "Tell It to the Frogs," audiences have never seen the troubled "walker"-fighting hero quite like this. "Daryl Dixon" follows the titular char- acter as he "washes ashore in France and struggles to piece together how he got there and why" (per AMC). According to the official synopsis, "[T]he series tracks his journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home," noting that as "he makes the jour- ney ... the connections he forms along the way complicate his ultimate plan." The title of this latest TWD spinoff was announced in October 2022, which is also when filming began in Paris. De- spite AMC's initial desire to produce a series that followed another TWD charac- ter, Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride, "The Mist," 2007), the network eventually landed on "Daryl Dixon" as a result of scheduling conflicts with McBride. That said, McBride is expected to reprise her role as Carol in at least one of the pre- miere season's six episodes. In fact, as mentioned by Vanity Fair writer Derek Lawrence in his November 2022 article titled "Norman Reedus Un- packs the Walking Dead Finale and His 'F—-ing Great' Spin-Off," Daryl himself made a nod toward his own future series in the final episodes of the flagship series' finale. "It's not like we're never gonna see each other again," Daryl tells Carol in an intimate scene toward the end of 'Rest in Peace,'" Lawrence writes, noting Carol's response: "I'm allowed to be a little sad. You're my best friend." And while we have no idea what may be in store for Carol, fans can certainly expect more "Daryl Dixon" beyond the first six episodes. Just last month, AMC announced that the series had already been renewed for a second season. Also joining the cast for Season 1 is French actress Clémence Poésy, known for her roles in films such as the Harry Potter franchise (beginning in 2005), "In Bruges" (2008) and "Tenet" (2020), among others. Poésy plays Isabelle, a French woman with a dark Parisian past and a connection to a "progressive reli- gious group." She joins forces with Daryl on his journey. Scored by an ethereal rendition of Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune," the trailer juxtaposes the violence TWD fans have come to expect with the peace and serenity that accompanies a French mon- astery garden. It just so happens that in this very monastery is where Daryl learns of his next adventure. And without giving anything away, suffice it to say that "The Last of Us" fans may wish to tune in. When discussing the dawn of "Daryl Dixon" with Lawrence during an inter- view that occurred pre-WGA/SAG-AF- TRA strike, Reedus shared some of his excitement for the spinoff. "It's so beautiful, it's so moving," Reedus began, "but it's like [Daryl] got swept away in a tornado and woke up in this foreign land and doesn't understand anything. There's French people speaking French, obviously, and part of the story is being confused with what's around him, trying to figure out what they're saying, is this going to be a fight, are we going to get along?" Despite the "epic" nature of the new series (and, of course, the Walkers), Ree- dus insists that the entire experience will feel very different from "The Walking Dead." "It's a different story, it sounds differ- ent, it feels different, it looks different," Reedus mused three weeks into filming in late 2022. "It's exactly what I was hoping to do. Like, I could not be more happy with what we're getting." coverstory BY DANA SIMPSON Louis Puech Scigliuzzi and Norman Reedus in "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon" Dixon days: Daryl dominates new 'Walking Dead' series Of the films that the late director William Friedkin was known for, "The French Connection" particularly endures for a number of reasons … not the least of which is one of the screen's greatest car pursuits, which Friedkin ad- mitted he shot in a renegade style that only enhances its impact and legend. Turner Classic Movies shows the picture Thursday, Sept. 14, to lead a memo- rial salute to Friedkin, who died in August. He won an Oscar for the fact-inspired 1971 police thriller (named its year's best picture at the awards), as did Gene Hackman as "Popeye" Doyle, a tough New York detective determined to get the goods on a seemingly untouchable international drug smuggler (Fernando Rey). Roy Scheider also attained stardom as Doyle's partner, and while there's much else to recom- mend about the movie, the chase that puts a wild-driving Doyle on the trail of an overload train is a highlight that's hard to beat. (TCM has scheduled a second Friedkin tribute night, including "The Exorcist," for Nov. 26.) Gene Hackman in "The French Connection" "The French Connection" drives William Friedkin's talent home classiccorner BY JAY BOBBIN "The Adventures of Superman" (Heroes & Icons, Sunday, Sept. 10): Before the 1950s series turned a bit more light and comical under different producers (and in color), the first-season episode "Drums of Death" was a good example of how foreboding the stories it presented could be. Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) and Perry White's sister (veteran character actress Mabel Albertson) vanish while investigating a voodoo cult in Haiti, sending Perry (John Hamilton) and Clark Kent (George Reeves) on a quest to find them. "Freaky Friday" (Freeform, Monday, Sept. 11): Filmed a cou- ple of times previously and again since, this fanciful body-switch comedy has served the Disney studio well, including in this 2003 version. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are quite enjoyable as the mother and daughter who magically make the exchange, a therapist and a would-be musician who each get a new and quite deep understanding of the other by walking in their shoes, quite literally. Mark Harmon and Chad Michael Murray also appear. more retro rewinds