The Brainerd Dispatch - Today's Entertainment Magazine
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2 F ebruary 8 - 14, 2015 Br ainerd Dispatch By Meagan Sylvester TV Media I f Paris, as author Ernest Heming- way said, is a moveable city, then New Orleans has always been a floating one. As an urban center founded by the French, ruled by the Spanish and inhabited by the Cajuns, NOLA is unlike any other metropolitan in the United States. The city's stark cultural contrast — embodied in its colonial archi- tecture, southern drawl and cob- blestone streets — shows not just in popular culture, but also in the way in which film and television producers continue to look to The Big Easy as a beacon of storytell- ing and old world charm. Enter CBS's newest spinoff of the original "NCIS" drama, set in the nation's epicenter for jazz, smoked bourbon, Mardi Gras and French Quarter crime. Be sure to catch an all-new episode of "NCIS: New Orleans" when it airs Tues- day, Feb. 10, on CBS. While the freshman drama only came to life in 2014 following the 11-year success of its parent pro- gram, the Crescent City spinoff has hit the ground running, with a sec- ond season already in the works and the numbers to back up such a quick renewal. In fact, "NCIS: New Orleans" is the season's most-watched new series and broadcast television's No. 2 drama ("NCIS" is No. 1), av- eraging 18.1 million viewers. While the program's initial success could be attributed to its colorful location on the Gulf coast, the cast also has a familiar face on set to help boost the program's already stellar ratings. Mark Harmon ("Chicago Hope," "Freaky Friday," 2003), widely known for his role as special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the original "NCIS," is one of the leading exec- utive producers on the new show, which is a little bit different from his original plan, he said during an interview with the "Sydney Morn- ing Herald" in September of last year. "It's funny to me because when I first came to 'NCIS,' I came as an ac- tor/director. That was the original plan, but I haven't directed any [epi- sodes]," Harmon said during the "Herald's" lengthy Q&A session. "To me, it's about filling your quiver with more arrows than you had yester- day, and the idea of learning from that. That's why I still enjoy so much what I do." But after fol- lowing the Na- val Criminal Investigative Services in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles for more than a decade, how are pro- ducers shaking it up to keep audi- ences from reaching for the re- mote every week? Harmon says the trick thus far has been the eccentric flavor of the city itself, noting that New Or- leans is as much a character as its top agents and the crimes that keep them on their toes. "I think what makes it unusual is what makes it potentially work. ... You have New Orleans the city, right in the middle, which has its own environment for hundreds of years — its own sound, its own feel, certainly its own smell and taste, all that," Harmon continued during the same interview. "So our job, in talking about all of this, was saying this is potentially a hugely rich opportu- nity to footprint a show and do something a little bit different." But different doesn't always prove easy, according to the pro- gram's casting director, Meagan Lewis. The people of New Orleans have an accent like no other, often varying between a southern drawl and what's known as a "port city" accent, much like Boston, Massa- chusetts, or Brooklyn, New York. "For the most part, we don't sound like Paula Deen. You can have a Yat accent. You can sound more like you're from Brooklyn than you would the South," she said during a behind-the-scenes interview with WNCT 9 News 5 in September. "With it being a port city, that's how most port cities ac- cents have evolved, whether you are in Baltimore, New Orleans, Brooklyn. They all sort of have that ring to it." And critics agree across the board that the southern flavor of the program, location and cast — starring Missouri-born actor Scott Bakula ("Star Trek: Enterprise," "Quantum Leap") as special agent Dwayne Pride — hits all the right marks, including Brian Lowry of "Variety," who says Bakula "[pro- vides] good company and justice served up faster than street ven- dor gumbo." Bakula, who plays a native New Orleanian alongside special agents Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black, "American Gothic," "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," 2006) and Meredith Brody (Zoe McLellan, "JAG," "Dirty Sexy Money"), says starring in a spinoff is a first for him, but he's ultimate- ly up for the challenge. "You're being given an audi- ence, so that's the good news," Bakula said during the interview with News 5. "The challenge is you have to earn that audience" to essentially keep them coming back, and that has proved success- ful with what the show has ac- complished in its first season. Whether you're a Mardi Gras newbie or a Bourbon Street regu- lar, "NCIS: New Orleans" has done all the right things so far in its pre- miere season. From perfectly illus- trating the colorful culture of New Orleans to raking in some of the best viewer numbers this season, the show has been a home run for CBS. Be sure to catch an all-new episode of "NCIS: New Orleans" when it airs Tuesday, Feb. 10, on the eye network. Lucas Black as seen in "NCIS: New Orleans" French Quarter crime Colorful new NCIS spinoff hitting all the right notes Cover Story this week "Your One-Stop, Locally-Owned Medical Supply Company." FREE Delivery in our service area! 8-5:30pm M-F, 9-12 Sat. 206 W. 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