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TV Media Weekly | May 14 - 20, 2016 feels appropriate to the period, but incredibly fresh as well." While Rose's work is non-fiction, the AMC series takes a number of artistic liberties with the source material to keep things interesting. Jamie Bell ("Billy Elliot," 2000) stars as Abraham (Abe) Woodhull, who reluctantly became involved in the spy ring in 1776 in Setaukut, New York, In season 3, he finds himself behind enemy lines on Long Island as he works as a top spy for Washington's Patriots. In a promo for the upcoming season, Bell talked about how Abe evolved in season 2. "With Abe, I think in the second season especially, he's willing to risk almost everything, and he paid the price," said Bell. "He was in prison for a very long time and I think that changed his mindset about a lot of things. I think his re- lationship with his father is forever fractured — I don't think it'll ever be repaired." This season promises to build up to one of the most famous mo- ments in American history as Bene- dict Arnold (Owain Yeoman, "The Mentalist") is poised to defect to the British Army. The focus seems to be squarely on Woodhull and Ar- nold as the consequences of their actions are felt on the battlefield. Now that the season is underway, the race is on to see which one of them will be discovered and pay the ultimate price. Maj. Benjamin Talmadge (Seth Numrich, "Gravity") and Lt. Caleb Brewster (Daniel Henshall, "The Snowtown Murders," 2011) also play significant roles in the series as Abe's childhood friends and fel- low spies. Talmadge serves as the leader of the Culper Ring, while Brewster risks his life as a courier between spies. Woodhull's former lover, Anna Strong (Heather Lind, "Boardwalk Empire"), works as a spy within the Culper Ring as well. This sea- son, Strong is torn between her growing feelings for Redcoat Maj. Hewlett (Burn Gorman, "Torch- wood") and her loyalty to Abe. This is another example of the series taking artistic liberties, as there's no such evidence of any romantic relationship between the real Strong and Woodhull. Strong isn't the only daring fe- male character. Mary Woodhull (Meegan Warner, "The Veil," 2016) is devoted to her husband and will do whatever is necessary to keep him alive. Wealthy Tory Peggy Ship- pen (Ksenia Solo, "Lost Girl") has been tasked with seducing Arnold to join the British cause, even though she's deeply in love with Maj. John Andre (JJ Feild, "Captain America: The First Avenger," 2011), head of British intelligence. This season, Andre must find a way to turn Arnold before he is forced to marry Shippen, the love of Andre's life. Meanwhile, Andre's ally, John Graves Simcoe (Samuel Roukin, "Bright Star," 2009), serves as the main villain of the series as his ven- detta against his old boss, Hewlett, reaches a crescendo in season 3. Perhaps even more dangerous than Simcoe is Robert Rogers (An- gus Macfadyen, "Braveheart," 1995). A mercenary who was oust- ed from his post as leader of the Queens Rangers by Andre, Rogers is bent on getting revenge this sea- son. The ensemble cast also includes Kevin McNally ("Supernatural") as Abe's father, Richard Woodhull; Nick Westrate ("Ricki and the Flash," 2015) as boarding house proprietor Robert Townsend; Idara Victor ("Rizzoli & Isles") as Andre's servant, Abigail; John Carroll Lynch ("Shutter Island," 2010) as James Rivington; and Stephen Root ("NewsRadio") as spy gadget maker Nathanial Sackett. Hopefully things will turn around for "TURN" and its cast this season — last season saw a considerable drop in live viewer- ship. While the inaugural season hovered just under 1.5 million av- erage viewers, season 2 didn't even crack a million. However, the current presidential race might just bolster enough interest in the country's political past for viewers to give it a chance. By Kyla Brewer TV Media W ith Hillary and Bernie going toe to toe and Trump facing off against Cruz, Ameri- can politics is a hot topic these days. But, while the presidential race may be dividing the country in 2016, this isn't the first time Ameri- can politics has caused a stir. A pe- riod drama whisks TV viewers back to the very beginning of American political history with the story of the spy ring that helped Gen. George Washington's rebels turn the tide of the American Revolu- tion. Now in its third season, a new episode of "TURN: Washington's Spies" airs Monday, May 16, on AMC. Like the book on which it was based — historian Alexander Rose's "Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring" — the series chronicles the story of the Culper Ring, formed by a farm- er and his childhood friends in the late 1770s. Shortly before the show's April 25 season premiere, AMC launched a tongue-in-cheek pro- mo campaign comparing today's tumultuous political landscape to that of the 1770s. In addition to key art, a "#washington1778" hashtag and other elements, the promos added Washington (Ian Kahn, "The Book," 2009) to the current race. The campaign in- cludes quotes from Washington on issues such as taxes, education and immigration. "We play off the reality of our current fractured political environ- ment by comparing today with the 1770s, when the colonies were split and warring over their rela- tionship with England," explained AMC executive Linda Schupack in a news release. "The campaign Jamie Bell stars in "TURN: Washington's Spies" What's old is new AMC's 'TURN: Washington's Spies' examines America's political history 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" 3830 S LAFOUNTAIN, KOKOMO 765-453-9125 SUN-THURS 11AM-1OPM FRI & SAT 11AM-11PM www.grindstonesrestaurantandpub.com $ 3 00 OFF $15.00 Food Purchase Expire: 05/31/16 One coupon per person, per visit. Not good with any other offer. Taxes & Gratuity not included. Must present this Coupon for discount. TV

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