Today's Entertainment

August 06, 2017

The Brainerd Dispatch - Today's Entertainment Magazine

Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/858331

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 1 of 19

2 • August 6 - 12, 2017 • Brainerd Dispatch By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media W ho knew rich and glamorous celebrities had so many hush-hush problems? Well, maybe they do in real life and maybe they don't, but they sure keep "Ray Donovan's" eponymous anti-hero busy. Last season's finale episode included some uncommonly high notes for Hollywood's problem solver and his rather dysfunctional family, but those sweet moments are fleeting. Catch the season 5 premiere of "Ray Donovan," airing Sunday, Aug. 6, on Showtime. Among the fictional elite, Ray Donovan (Liev Schreiber "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," 2009) is the guy you call if you need an unsa- vory problem dealt with quickly and quietly. A native of South Bos- ton, he pulled himself up from his blue-collar roots to mingle expertly with the glitterati as he goes about his shady work mak- ing their problems discreetly dis- appear. He's a firm family man at heart, though the various and sundry members of the Donovan clan are constantly clashing against one another. The new season sees Ray turning his attention back to his celebrity fixer firm, after sea- son 4 shifted focus to an ongoing crime plot line. A major client this year is played by a major talent: look for Oscar winner Susan Sara- ndon ("Thelma & Louise," 1991) in a recurring role in season 5. Things were looking good for the Donovans at the end of last season. Ray avoided prison, and we were even granted an unusual- ly lighthearted scene of him play- ing video games with his kids. His wife, Abby (Paula Malcomson, "Deadwood"), announced that her cancer is gone, and that she wants the two of them to make a fresh start, while his daughter, Bridget (Kerris Dorsey, "Brothers & Sisters"), was accepted into NYU. Don't assume the good times will carry on throughout the new season, though. The cast and showrunners aren't saying much about what happens this season, but, as Schreiber told Collider, "It's a very dark year for Ray." He ex- panded on this in a promo clip: "Fairly early in the season, something very profound and big has changed in Ray's life — some- thing I think is going to really shock a lot of people — and the impact of that on this family, and Ray himself, is pretty heavy." Schreiber, a presence both on the stage and screen, has earned a good deal of recognition for his role over the past four seasons. He's received four Golden Globe nods and three Emmy nomina- tions, the most recent of which could very well turn into a win in September. It's not just Schreiber who has seen success from the show. "Ray Donovan" opened to record- breaking numbers, becoming Showtime's biggest premiere of all time. It's won a Critics' Choice Television Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy, among its many nominations, and aver- aged 1.2 million viewers last season. The well-known cast is one major draw of the show, with Schreiber being just one of a number of big- name actors. Oscar winner Jon Voight ("Mission: Impossible," 1996) plays Mickey Don- ovan, Ray's abusive fa- ther who turns up in the first episode after 20 years in prison. Though murderous, self- ish and contemptible, Mickey is also charismatic and charming, and the character is a real fan favorite. Eddie Marsan ("Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell") and Dash Mihok ("The Day After Tomorrow," 2004) play Ray's two brothers, Ter- ry and Bunchy Donovan, who both have their own personal struggles to deal with throughout the series. Pooch Hall ("The Game") rounds out the family as Daryll Donovan, Ray's half-brother and Mickey's son from an affair, who now works for Ray. Each season has seen its share of talent among the guest stars and supporting cast as well. The likes of Elliott Gould ("Ocean's Eleven," 2001), Hank Azaria ("The Simpsons"), Ann-Margret ("Grumpy Old Men," 1993), Ian McShane ("Deadwood") and Lisa Bonet ("The Cosby Show") have graced the roster of supporting cast members, and there are some big names on deck for season 5 as well. The biggest of these is surely the ubiquitous Sarandon. The award-winning acting power- house has held well over 100 roles between TV and film since launch- ing her career in the early '70s, and the list of accolades attached to her name is dizzying. She's sure to be another feather in "Ray Donovan's" already well- feathered cap this season. She joins the cast as mogul Samantha Winslow, the legendary head of a motion picture studio, who em- ploys Ray's "fixing" services. "Susan Sarandon plays some- one who Ray comes to work for, who has a very, very, very pro- found effect on shifting Ray's life," Schreiber revealed in the Collider interview. Sarandon added to this in a Showtime promo: "They both are kind of outside the law, and so, she has a secret that brings Ray into her life." "We're really dependent on sto- ry being generated by guest stars," showrunner David Hollander told the Hollywood Reporter. "There is no big bad guy that Ray has to fight year in and year out, and there is no procedural element of whodunit. So we use new charac- ters to bring in what we feel the zeitgeist is." See what else season 5 has in store when "Ray Donovan" returns Sunday, Aug. 6, on Showtime. Susan Sarandon joins a darker season 5 of 'Ray Donovan' Cover Story this week Paula Malcomson stars in "Ray Donovan" Conan Over the weekend, Los Angeles experienced a massive heat wave. Some people were so desperate for air conditioning they actually went to see the new Transformers movie. At this weekend's G20 summit, President Trump and Vladimir Putin had a private 2.5-hour meeting. It's probably not a good sign that it ended with Putin handing Trump a single red rose. President Trump is being criticized now for allowing his daughter, Ivanka, to sit in for him at the G20 summit. At a press conference today, the White House press secretary's 8-year-old daughter said, "It's no big deal." The Late Show With Stephen Colbert We learned yesterday that, on June 9 of last year, Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer after being promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton. ... The meeting took place at Trump Tower, and included Jared Kushner and then-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort — and proves that at least some in the campaign were willing to accept Russian help. So it's not a smoking gun, but it IS a gun meeting with a Russian bullet about their mutual desire to smoke. Jimmy Kimmel Live The president wasn't alone at the G20 summit. His wife, Malaria, and his daughter, Ivanka, were with him. At one point, Ivanka sat in for Donald Trump during a meeting with world leaders ... of course, Twitter went nuts, and that's the only thing he reads. He got very defensive. He wrote: "If Chelsea Clinton were asked to hold the seat for her mother, as her mother gave our country away, the Fake News would say CHELSEA FOR PRES!" Which is very silly. Especially because if Hillary Clinton was president, she wouldn't let anyone sit in that seat. Late Laughs 001610337r1 Kinship Partners OFFICES IN: Brainerd, Pequot Lakes, Crosby & Staples 218.829.4606 Toll Free 877.730.5437 S E A M L E S S "EXPERIENCE THE ADVANTAGE" Advantage Seamless, Inc. 218-270-2663 or 888-570-5778 WWW.ADVANTAGESEAMLESSGUTTERS.COM THE BEST DEFENSE IN GUTTER PROTECTION AMERICA'S FIRST HIGH FLOW SYSTEM™ S E A M L E S S COUPON 12% OFF (on total value of $2,500 or more) *** Must do entire home. Must book project by 8/31/17 *** Call 1-888-570-5778. Must present coupon at the time of consultation. We will match any competitor coupons. Cannot be combined with other offers. Full Home Seamless Gutter and Valor System 001612983r1

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Today's Entertainment - August 06, 2017