Today's Entertainment

2 • December 4 - 10, 2016 • Brainerd Dispatch By Kyla Brewer TV Media A s Prince William and Kate Mid- dleton tour the globe with their little ones and Prince Harry makes headlines for his recent ro- mance, it seems a new generation of royals has revived public inter- est in the British monarchy. While Netflix's new hit "The Crown" has been praised for its realistic por- trayal of royal life, another series offers viewers a deliciously scan- dalous version. Elizabeth Hurley ("Austin Pow- ers: International Man of Mys- tery," 1997) returns as Queen Hel- ena in the season 3 premiere of "The Royals," airing Sunday, Dec. 4, on E! The fictional prime-time soap follows a corrupt British royal family that is nothing like its real- life counterpart. Hurley leads the cast as matriarch Helena, who is still reeling from the events of last season's finale. Created by Mark Schwahn, the show is loosely based on Michelle Ray's novel "Falling for Hamlet," and, in fact, each episode of the series is named for a line from Wil- liam Shakespeare's famous play about the Prince of Denmark. De- spite some initial misgivings from critics, who scoffed at the over- the-top melodrama of the prime- time soap, the series has perse- vered, and was renewed for a third season in January. Shortly after- ward, news broke that E! had signed a development deal with Schwahn, indicating network ex- ecs had faith in the series, and in him. "We love what Mark continues to do with 'The Royals'; he has a natural talent for weaving drama and pop culture and creating sen- sational characters with mass ap- peal," said NBC executive Jeff Wa- chtel when Schwahn signed on to continue with the production. Those sensational characters return in season 3, which consists of 10 one-hour episodes. The sea- son opener picks up two weeks af- ter the execution of Ted Pryce (Oli- ver Milburn, "The Descent," 2005), King Simon's (Vincent Regan, "300," 2006) murderer, who died at the hands of an angry mob. Queen Helena is left scrambling to prove that her children, Prince Liam (William Moseley, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," 2005) and Princess Eleanor (Alexandra Park, "The Elephant Princess"), are Simon's and, hence, legitimate heirs to the throne. Unfortunately for Helena and her offspring, Simon's brother — and the country's current ruler — King Cyrus (Jake Maskall, "East- Enders") is determined to make sure Helena doesn't prove the twins' paternity. At the same time, twins Liam and Eleanor have become enor- mously popular, and a #KingLiam hashtag spreads across England as the people support their hero prince. However, Liam is torment- ed by the memory of Ted's execu- tion, and copes with his anger and resentment in a dangerous way. Elsewhere, Eleanor struggles to figure out what to do about her re- lationship with Jasper (Tom Aus- ten, "Grantchester"). Although he once tried to blackmail her, she has fallen in love with him. While fans are no doubt inter- ested in what's going on with the rest of the royal Henstridge family, the real story of the season is the potential reappearance of Robert, Liam and Eleanor's presumed- dead brother. In June, news broke that Max Brown ("The Tudors") had been cast as Simon and Hele- na's eldest child, and true heir to the throne. The extent of the role is as yet unknown, but Robert's re- appearance could have big impli- cations for his siblings, mother and uncle. The whole family was dev- astated when he was reported dead in the series debut, and much of what's happened since then has been a direct result of his apparent demise. Brown is not the only new face this season. Hurley's real-life son, 14-year-old Damian, makes his professional acting debut in "The Royals" as Prince Hansel of Lich- tenstein. The cast also welcomes British actor Jules Knight ("Holby City") as Spencer, the new Lord Chamberlain. Hurley's son's debut and Rob- ert's return has had fans buzzing about the new season, and E! has taken advantage of the U.S. elec- tion year to promote the series. The show made headlines in Octo- ber with a cheeky promo for sea- son 3, in which Hurley's Queen Helena told Americans that Eng- land was ready to welcome them back following the November election. "The Royals" has amassed a loyal following of fans, more than 800,000 viewers were tuning in by the end of last season. However, the show hasn't always been a big hit with critics, many of whom panned the show from the begin- ning. Regardless of what TV critics say, "The Royals" has been rea- sonably well received by audienc- es, scoring a 71 percent Rotten To- matoes approval rating. The plot may have people divid- ed, but Hurley's performance has been almost universally praised, even by the show's staunchest critics. The actress first came to the attention of North American audi- ences as Hugh Grant's girlfriend in the early '90s, when she wore a daring black Versace dress to the L.A. pre- miere of Grant's "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994). More than just a pretty face, she quickly estab- lished herself as a leading lady, appearing in such big screen suc- cesses as "Be- daz- zled" (2000) and the Austin Powers franchise, oppo- site Mike Myers. For all her past successes, Hur- ley's biggest claim to fame may very well prove to be her role as Queen Hele- na in "The Royals," so don't miss the sea- son 3 premiere Sunday, Dec. 4, on E! William Moseley as seen in "The Royals" Long may she reign Elizabeth Hurley dazzles in soapy drama 'The Royals' Cover Story this week 501 W Washington St, Brainerd, MN 218-828-1823 Free loaner cars available with most services! www.heartlandtireservice.com www.heartlandtireservice.com INSTANT SAVINGS PLUS GREAT REBATES TIRE SAVINGS GOOD THROUGH 12/31/16 AND CANNOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER ELIGIBLE TIRE LINES... SEE STORE FOR DETAILS 001509975r1 001506799r1 11633 State Hwy. 18, Brainerd, MN 56401 218-829-3278 www.isemanhomes.com Dealer License #MD05870 You're Home Now Iseman Homes an industry leader since 1920 providing value, service, stability and quality.

• Cover