Entertainment Weekly - February 19, 2016

8/20/2019 Entertainment Weekly - February 19, 2016

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F I N A L L Y P I E C I N G I T T O G E T H E R

FEBRUARY 21

10PMHBO NOW® is only accessible through participating partners in the U.S. and certain U.S. territories. Certain restrictions apply.©2016 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO®, HBO NOW® and related channels and service marks are the property

of Home Box Office, Inc.

OR STREAM IT ON


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T H E

T O P 10 T H I N GS

W E L OV E

T H I S W E E K

FE B RU ARY 19 26 , 20 16 EW .C OM 1

Hil lary Cl inton, Abbi Jacobson, I lana G lazer, Alan Alda, and Who opi G oldberg

TV

BROAD

CITY

• W hen Abbiand Ilana return,they’re bringing a bunch ofgueststarsw ith them ,including Tony Danza,W hoopiG oldberg,Alan Alda,andH illary C linton,w ho probably heard that“Yas queen”w as popularw iththe kids.(W ednesdays,10 p.m .,Com edy Central)

Must Lıst

The

IL LU S T RAT ION B Y JOHN RITTER


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T he Must ist

3

5

4

2 E W .C O M F E B R UA RY 19 26 , 2 0 16

MUSIC

“FO R M A TIO N ”B e y o n c é

•T h e s u r p ris ep r e –S u p e r B o w lsi ngle i s everythi ngw e ’v e c o m e t o e x-

p e c t fro m Q u e e nB — t o u g h w i th th er ig h t a m o u n t o f f u na n d im m e d ia te lym e m e -w o r t h y. (S e e :“I’ve g ot h ot sau cei n m y bag.”)Thefash ion -illedv id e o i s n o t t o os h a b b y e i th e r .

BOOKS

W E S T O FE D E N

b y J e a n S t e i n•This riveting oralhi story ch roni clesth e d e v e lo p m e n t o fL o s A n g e le s ,f ro m o i lb o o m t o w n t o T in s e l-t o w n ,t o ld t h ro u g hthe stories of ivep r o m in e n t f a m ilie s .

MOVIES

TH E W ITC H

•T h e in d i e

horror renai ssancec o n t in u e s w it hthi s coloni al tale o fterrors about afam i ly li ving o n thee d g e o f th e w o o d sa n d t h e ir o n e w ic ke dnei ghb or. Ton allyand vi sually haun t-i ng,The Witch is adevilish cult classicin t h e m a kin g . R )

MUSIC

TH E S E EK E RC lo u d C u lt

•T h e M in n e s o t aroc kers’ 10 th rele aseis th e ir m o s t im m e r-sive p roject yet:astring s-he avy co n-c e p t alb u m a b o u t atragic young girlth a t co m e s w it h ac o m p a n i o n ilmstarring H o w I

M e t Yo u rM o th e r’sJ o s h R a d n o r.

2


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1 5 P O TA T O C H I P S

160 calories

N uts. Crazy.

4 9 P I STA C H I O S

160 calories

Scientific evidence suggests butdoes notprove thateating 1.5 ounces perday ofm ostnuts,such as pistachios,as partof

a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol m ay reduce the risk of heart disease. See nutrition inform ation

for fat content. © 2016 W onderful Pistachios & Alm onds LL C. W OND ER FU L, GET C RACK IN’, the Package Design

and accom panying logos are registered tradem arks of W onderful Pistachios & Alm onds LLC or its affiliates. W P14594

It’s insane that a heap ing handfulof delicious W ∑nderfulPistachios has the

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healthy and a good source of protein. W hile potato chips, w ell… aren’t. G et Crackin’


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T he Must ist

4 E W .C O M F E B R UA RY 19 26 , 20 16

6

7

8

9

10

TV

TH E M U P P E TS

•Forget the spo tty start.T h e r e b o o t h a s b e e nextensively retooled,andw h i le w e c a n ’t g u a ra n t e ea Piggy-Kerm ie rec on cili-ation,w e w ill say this:F a n s o f t h e c l a s sic w h ow e r e t u r n e d o b y t h em o c ku m e n t a ry s e rie s ’initial run should give it as e c o n d c h a n c e . Tues-da ys,8:30 p.m .,A BC )

TV

L A S T W E E KTO N IG H T W ITHJO H N O L IV E R

•It’s hard for us toget a ny shu t-eye o nS u n d a y n i gh t s w it h o u tirst bei ng treated toJ o h n O l iv e r ’s h i la r io u s l yen raging rants,sot h e r e tu r n o f h i s s h o w ’sthi rd seaso n i s a w el-c o m e o ne . Sundays,11p.m .,H BO )

BOOKS

TH E B A TTL EFO R R O O M 3 14b y E d B o la n d

•After 20 years as ano np roit execu tive,B o l a n d s w i tc h e d g e a r s tot e a c h a t a N e w Y o r k C it yh i g h s c h o o l . W it h w i t a n dh e a r t b re a k h e r e c o u n t sw h a t le f t h i m in s p i re d a n ddi si llusi oned about howt h e s ys te m c o n t in u e s tofail its students.

GAMES

F IR E W A TC H

•As H en ry (voice db y M ad M e n ’s RichSo m m er),players patrolt h e m o u n t a in s o f 19 8 9W y o m in g a n d e xp l o res c e n ic la n d s c a p e s — w it hgorgeo us art by O llyM o s s a n d J an e N g — w h ileu n c o v e r in g t h e m ys te r ie sa ro u n d h im . A c t u a ln a t u re c a n ’t c o m p e t e . M ultiplat fo rm )

BOOKS

B E R N IEb y Te d R a l l

•Arti st,bi ographer,ands yn d i c a te d c a r to o n is tT e d R a l l ,w h o p r e v i o u s lyp r o ile d E d w a rdS n o w d e n i n a s im ila rstyle,is ba ck w ith thisg r a p h i c e x a m i n a t io no f t h e p r e s id e n t ia lc a n d i d a t e ,d o n e w it ht h e c o o p e r a tio n o fS a n d e r s h im s e lf.


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®

2/21 AT10:30PM

B R IN G IT IN .

WRITTENAND DIRECTED BY JAY & MARK DUPLASS

OR STREAM IT ON


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n ew

G o b u c k mil d .

LIV E HA R D-ISH.

ThisisHenry’sHard Orange.A new,easy-to-drink adult

beverage thatpacksa deliciouslittle punch.It’shard,

butnottoo hard,because you have stuff to do tom orrow.


9/120F E B R UA RY 19 26 , 20 16 E W .C O M 7

N E W S A N D

C O L U M N S

The Must List

Ed itor’s Note

Sou nd B ites

New s & Notes

Th e B ullseye

R E V IE W S

Movies

T V

Music

Books

Jake La cy

H e’s wooed every-

one from Jenny S lateto Le na Dunham—and in th is month’sHow to Be Single,Lacy proves h e’smore t han just

a one-nigh t st and.B Y N I N A T E R R E R O

P hil C ollins

H is crazy, charmingconfessions— with

cameos from Kanye, Adele, and J. Lo’sMiami mansion.

B Y C L A R K C O L LI S

20 16 Oscar

P rev iewOur guide to who

will walk away withthe gold and why.

B Y N I C O L ES P E R L I N G

F E A T U R E S

T he Last Inv asionof Am erican Id ols As Fox’s reality juggernaut s ays

goo dbye after 15 se a-sons, a host of past alums are releasingnew projec ts hopingto g et a inal boost from th e show that

launched them.B Y E R I C R E N N E R

B R O W N

T h e 1

H ow The C W ’s sc i-i

series weathereda roc ky launc h and

bec ame an addictivedrama that t rendsaround t he world.

B Y S H I R L E Y L I

T h e W a l ki n g D e a d

Loc k your doors, loadup your crossb ow, andopen that vat of ch oc-olate pudding: TW D

is b ack, and we’ve g ot everything you needto know abou t T V’s

monster smash.B Y D A L TO N R O S S

Reg ina K ing

Th e act ress is inally get ting t he royal treat-

ment she deserves with two h it T V se ries

and a buddingdirect ing career.

B Y T I M S TA C K

F u l le r H o u s e

The stars of FullHouse

talk abou t reviving theirch aracters 20 yearslater for t he family sitc om’s spin-off.

B Y R E N N I E D Y B A L L

2 0 1 6

W

0 2 19 0 2 2 6

P H OT OG R AP H B Y D A N W I N TE R S


10/1208 EW .C OM FE B RU ARY 19 26 , 2 0 16

Our ResidentDeadHead, Dalton Ross

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER H en ryG oldb latt

SOME OF YOU may know Dalton Ross

from his Survivor recaps. Others may

fan out to him every weekday morn-

ing on EWMorning Liveon EW Radio SiriusXM

Channel 105. But I have had the honor of calling

Dalton Ross a colleague—and a friend—since I

arrived at EW in 2002. I’m in awe of his humor,

hisinsanework ethic,andtheway hedominates

every single beat he covers. TheWalking Deadis

no exception: Dalton identified the show as a

potential hit even before it debuted in 2010, and

this 25-page special is a testament to his close

relationships with the cast, crew, and creators. I

couldn’t be prouder. So I’m turning over thispage so you can get to know him a little better. H E N R Y G O L D B L A T T

ON THE COVER Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus,Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride,Steven Yeun, and Lauren Cohanphotographedexclusively for EWby Dan W inters on June 28, 2015,in Atlanta.Tobuy al l sixcovers,g o t o ew.com/thewalkingdead .

Dalton Rossas aWalking

Dead zombie;( below ) Henry

Goldblatt

HENRY How long have you

been at EW?

DALTON I’v e b e e n a t E W fo rm ore th an 16 years. I started

t h e s a m e w e e k a s Lyn e t t e

Ri ce,i n No vem be r 1999,

m a kin g m e th e o n ly s ta e r

h i re d t h a t w e e k w h o isn’t

o b s e s s e d w it h Jim B e l u s h i.

What drew you to The Walk-

ing Dead , and what do you

like about it so much evenafter all these seasons?

I’ve alw ays be en a b i g

zom bi e-gen re fan,goi ng

bac k to the c lassic GeorgeR o m e r o t ril o g y (Day ofthe

Dead :tota lly un d errate d ),

and I sti ll i nd m yself

c o n s t an t ly a m a ze d b y th e

rotti ng corpses created

by Greg Ni cotero and hi s

t e a m . T h e y a r e b lo o d y d i s -

g u s t in g ,a n d I m e a n t h a t a s

th e u l tim a te c o m p lim e n t.

Who’s your favoritecharacter?

T h e r e w a s t h is p r is o n e r

n a m e d A xe l f ro m s e a so n 3

w h o w a s a to t a l w e ird o . H e

w as a really sm all cha racter

bu t od dly fasci nating. H i s

de ath w as equally en i g-

m a t ic ,a s h e w a s m e r ril y

jo sh in g ab o u t w ith h isb r o t h e r w h e n a b u lle t o u t

o f n o w h e r e p i e rc e d h is

skull. Gon e too soo n,I say.

How about Survivor ? Who’s

been your favorite contes-tant over 31 seasons?

I r em e m b e r b e in g so e xc ite d

for Francesca before the

Re de m ption Island s e a s o n

b e c a u se s h e s e em e d t o

h a v e t h e p e r f e c t m ix o f

s a s s a n d s m a r ts …a n d t h e n

she got voted out i rst. I gotequally exci ted w hen they

b r o u g h t h e r b a c k fo r Survi-

vor:C aram oan …a n d t h e n

she got voted out i rst

a g a in ! T h a t m a ke s h e r t h e

u l tim a t e Survivorloser,

w h ic h o n ly c a u s e s m e t o

lo v e h e r t h a t m u c h m o r e.

[Edito r’s n o te :Liar,liar,pa n ts

on ire !!! Iknow for a fac t

th a t S a lly fro m S u r vivor:

Pa na m a —o rS urvivo rS a lly

Kneesocks,as she’s known

to bo th Dalton andGoo gle —is h is favo rite .]

What’s your most memora-ble EW assignment?

H a v e yo u e v e r h ad m o o n -

shine? Well,neither had

I. At least not until Kenny

C h e s ne y m a d e m e c h ug

som e i n hi s trai ler. Every-

thing after that is kind of

a b l u r— a m a g n i ic e n t b l u r.

What do you like best

about your EW Morning

Live cohost, Jessica Shaw?

My favori te thi ng about

Jessica i s that sh e a ctually

be lieves e verythi ng she

says. S h e’ll be like,“I ca n’t

w a it to w a tc h Blo o d line !”

I’ll then call her on it and

tell her there i s no chance

i n hell she ever gets around

to w atchi ng i t,and she’ll

be like,“You’re totally right.”

What do you think yournext TV obsession will be?

The Expanse on Syfy.

I checked it out after I saw

P a tt o n O s w a lt a n d R e t t a

t a lkin g i t u p . Da m n t h e m t o

h e l l f o r g e tt in g m e h o o ke d

o n y e t an o t h e r s h o w !

Anything else you wantto add?

Just that I backed Ryan

Starr i n season 1of

Am erica n Idolw h i le H e n r y

Goldblatt supported

Kelly C larkson . Gue ss

w h i c h o n e o f u s is ru n n i n g

th e m a g azin e n o w ?


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MADELINE BOARDMANThe SopranosI’m deep into The Sopranosright now. While theblood-soaked scenes requireBachelor palate cleansers,I can’t stop pulling for Tony.

CLARK COLLISThe Projection BoothAn absolute must for ilmfans, the 250-plus episodesof this weekly podcast indilm nut Mike White, his

cohosts, and pertinentinterviewees ruminatingabout the best movies evermade. And, once, Freejack.

CHRIS RACKLIFFE

House of CardsI’m currently bingeingHouse of Cards on Netlixand wishing more and morethat Frank Underwoodwere actually running forpresident this year.

KRISTEN HARDINGThe O.C.I’m re-bingeing The O.C.because I’m a suckerfor teenage nostalgiathat reminds me of myleeting youth, but also,Seth Cohen.

DAN MORRISSEYNathan for YouI watch episodes of Nathanfor You—a comedy/realityseries about an oddballGood Samaritan who goesto ridiculous lengths to help

small businesses—on acontinuous loop. It’s not abinge, it’s a problem.

NATALIE ABRAMSMarvel’s Jessica JonesAn anguished superherowith a drinking problem?Count me in. Also, thedynamic between Jessicaand Trish is the true lovestory of the show.

What are youbingeingthese days

STAFF PICKS

EDITO RIAL DIRECTO R, PEO PLE & ENTERTAINMENTWEEKLY Jess Cagle

EDITOR Henry Goldblatt DIGITAL EDITO RIAL DIRECTO R PEO PLE & ENTERTA INMENT WEEKLY Will Lee

DEPU TY EDITO R Meeta AgrawalEXECUTIVE EDITO R Sean Smith EDITO R, EW.CO MChristopher Rosen EXECU TIVE PR O DUCER,VIDEO J.J. Miller

DESIGNDIRECTO R Tim Leong PHO TOGRA PHY DIRECTO R Lisa BermanEXECU TIVE EDITOR AT LAR GE Dalton Ross EXECU TIVE PR O JECTS DIRECTO R Erik Forrest Jackson

SENIO R WESTCO AST EDITOR Danielle Nussbaum NEWS DIRECTO R Gina McIntyreDIRECTOR O F EDITORIAL O PERATIO NSAlexandra Brez

EDITORS AT LARGE Mark Harris, James Hibberd, Lynette RiceWESTCOA STSPECIAL PR O JECTS DIRECTO R Lisa Simpson Briel DIRECTO R O F A U DIENCE ENGA GEMENT C hris R ackli e

SENIO R EDITOR S Tina Jordan (Books), Bill Keith (Movies, The Must List), Kevin O’Donnell (Music), Gillian Telling (TV)DEPU TY EDITO R, EW.CO MCristina Everett SENIO R V IDEO PR O DUCER Robyn Ross DEPU TY NEWSDIRECTO R Noelene Clark SENIO R SO CIA L MEDIA EDITO R Drew Elovitz

CRITICS Leah Greenblatt, Jeff Jensen, Melissa Maerz, Chris NashawatySENIO R WRITERS N atalie A b ram s, Anthony Breznican, C lark C ollis, Darren Franich, Jeff Labrecque, Dan Snierson, Nicole Sperling, Tim Stack, Sara Vilkomerson

DIGITAL NEWS EDITO RS Jessica Derschowitz, Jessica Goodman DIGITAL FEATU RES EDITO R M ad e line B oar d m anSTAFF EDITOR S Stephan Lee, Amanda Michelle Steiner, Amy Wilkinson STAFF WRITERS Ray Rahman, Marc Snetiker

TV R ECAP EDITOR Dalene Rovenstine VIDEO PRO DUCER K r is ten H ar d ing SO CIAL MEDIA EDITO R Alex Steinman A SSISTANTSO CIAL MEDIA EDITO RS Chad Meholic, Katie MinardCOR RESPO NDENTSSamantha Highill, Joe McGovern, Kevin P. Sullivan, Nina Terrero, Madison Vain

EDITO RIAL A SSISTANTSIsabella Biedenharn, Eric Renner Brown, Devan Coggan, Dana Rose Falcone, Shirley Li, C. Molly Smith

DESIGN DEPU TY DESIGNDIRECTO R Keir Novesky AR T DIRECTO R,EW.COM Martin Schwartz SENIO R AR TDIRECTOR Dragos Lemnei

MANAGINGAR T DIRECTO R Jennie Chang SENIO R ASSO CIATE AR T DIRECTO RS Aaron Morales, Faith Stafford SENIO R DESIGNER Ruby Parra DESIGNER Carly Klaire

PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGINGPHO TOGRA PHY DIRECTO R Sarah Czeladnicki DEPU TY PHO TOGRA PHY DIRECTO R,WEST COA ST Richard MaltzPHO TO EDITOR Michele Romero PHO TO EDITOR ,EW.COM Jef Castro SENIO R A SSO CIATE PHO TO EDITOR S Natalie Gialluca, Joe Rodriguez

ASSO CIATE PHO TO EDITOR ,EW.COM Elena Noel Santos ASSISTANT PHO TO EDITOR Alison Wild

RESEARCHCHIEFO F REPO RTERS Annabel Bentley DEPUTY CHIEFO F REPO RTERSJennifer Boeth REPO RTER Maya Stanton

EDITORIAL OPERATIONS EDITO RIAL MANAGER Andrea Adams CO PY CHIEF D an M or r isseyDEPU TY COP Y CHIEF Toni Rumore COP Y EDITOR Adrienne Onofri

EW.COM CONTENT PRODUCTION SENIO R WEB PR O DUCER Jinhi Baron EW.COM FANWATCH NETWORK ASSO CIATE EDITOR Jonathon Dornbush

WEST COAST EVENTS & MARKETING EVENTSMANA GER Christy Kamimura ENTERTA INMENTMAR KETINGMANA GER Casey Armijo EVENTSCO O RDINATOR Kelsey Pennell

GRO U P P U BLISHER,PEO PLE & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY Karen Kovacs

PUBLISHER Ellie Duque

VP ,A DVER TISINGSA LESLana LoRusso ASSO CIATE PU BLISHER,MARK ETINGChristy Chapin BellinaSENIO R DIRECTO R, CO MMU NICATIO NSBeth Jacobson

ADVERTISING SALES NEWYOR K Stephanie Miness-Begnal (Director); Cora Howey, Kris-Ann Panzella, Josh Steele,

Meredith Waltman, Alison Warren (Account Managers); Nicole Mouradian (Coordinator); Carly Reynolds, Ariella Romeo (Assistants)A TLANTA Kevin Blechman (Southeast Director) CHICAGO Brian Brigman (Director); Erin Phillips (Account Manager); Maria Garza (Assistant)DETRO IT Wendy Rosinski (Director); Jenny Barger, Julia Serrels (Account Managers); Kristin Rentschler (Assistant)WESTCOA ST Melinda Carson, Virginia Harrington, Liz Worrall (Account Managers); Kimberlee Rosendo (Assistant)

NEWENGLAND WNP Media: Alex Shumway (Account Manager) DIRECT RESPO NSE Smyth Media Group

MARKETING & PROMOTION INTEGRA TEDDIGITAL MAR KETING Melinda Russell (Senior Director);Diana Bernal, Neil P. Jones, Katie Leo (Associate Directors); Callie Bearman (Senior Manager); Claudia Treacy (Associate Manager); Alesandra Ajlouni, Nicole DeGregoris (Coordinators)

CREA TIVE SERV ICESLindy Nowak (Director); Marianna Perez-Santalla (Designer) EVENTMA RK ETINGCara Gorman (Director)

CONSUMER INSIGHT Karen Bakos (Director); Kseniya Ivnitskaya (Manager) EW.COM SALES PLANNING Mary Sarro-Waite (Director);Jenny Chun, Elizabeth Jimenez, Rachel Levine, Alexandra Trust (Associate Sales Planners)

EW.COM PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Nicholas Butterworth (Head of Product); Ron Matana (Director of Product Management); Catherine Chou (Senior Product Manager)EW.COM PRODUCTION Randy Howk, Joe Rong DIGITAL AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Meagan James (Senior Manager); Sara Springborn (Manager); Krystal Lau (SEO Manager)

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION FINA NCE Wynne Wong (Executive Director); Barbra Perlstein (Director); Brad Scharff, Kerry Winn (Associate Directors);Kyle Paxman (Manager); Lauren Krakaur, Anthony Mitchell (Analysts) A DMINISTRA TIO N Paula Esposito

CONSUMER MARKETING REVENUE Amie Carbone, Melissa Cook, Jeanna Marie Diorio, Marissa Englander, Randi Erber, Holly Hilario, Crystal Hudson,Jules Knight, Meredith LeNoir, Joshua Lewis, Jessica Malloy, Steven Mastrocola, Holly Oakes, Caitlin Sweeney, Kevin Vanasse

COMMUNICATIONS Jennifer Marcus (Manager)

PRODUCTION Carrie Mallie (Senior Operations Director); Mary Michael (Senior Production Manager); Tasha Childs (Senior Operations Manager);Susan Conrad, Katherine Cox (Assistant Production Managers); Gabriella Curcio (Operations Manager); Bharath Medehal (Assistant Ad Production Manager); Shreyas Prasad (Ad Production Specialist)

PREMEDIA Richard Prue (Executive Director); Romeo Cifelli (Senior Manager); Daniel C. Thompson (Assistant Manager);Jennifer Brown (Associate); Dayle Chesler (Tablet Production Senior Associate)

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Susan Parkes-Cirignano (Senior Vice President)DIGITAL Suejin Yang (Vice President, General Manager)

FINANCE Maria Beckett (Vice President)CONSUMER MARKETING REVENUE Stephen Selwood (Senior Vice President);

Tammy Berentson (Vice President); Eric Szegda (Vice President)OPERATIONS Robert Kanell (Vice President)

STRATEGY& BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Bruce Gersh (Senior Vice President); Joseph LaFalce (Executive Director); Kristina Oliver (Director)HUMAN RESOURCES Roxanne Flores (Vice President)

LEGAL Amy Glickman (Deputy General Counsel)

TIME INC. Jeff Bairstow, Rich Battista, Colin Bodell, Mark Ford, Greg Giangrande, Lawrence A. Jacobs, Steve Marcopoto, Erik Moreno, Evelyn Webster (Executive Vice Presidents);Andy Blau (Senior Vice President & General Manager); Mark Ellis (Senior Vice President, Corporate Sales); Matt Bean (Senior Vice President, Editorial Innovation);

Steve Cambron (Vice President, Marketing & Advertising Solutions); Christine Wu (Vice President, Strategic Client Solutions); Cara Deoul Perl (Vice President, Creative Director);Caryn Klein (Vice President, Business Research & Insights); Kavata Mbondo (Vice President, Yield & Programmatic);

Lori Kaplan (Executive Oice Manager); Nancy Mynio (Vice President, Digital Ad Operations); Dan Realson (Vice President, Digital Sales)JT Kostman (Senior Vice President & Chief Data Oicer); Jeff Blatt (Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing + Revenue);

Stephanie Solomon (Vice President, Consumer Marketing + Retention); Barry Martin (Vice President, Consumer Insight)

TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT ENGINEERING Colin Bodell (Chief Technology Oicer);Alam Ali, Linda Apsley, Adam Days, Robert Duffy, Amanda Hanes, Hugues Hervouet, Simon Loxham, Leon Misiukiewicz, Keith O’Sullivan,Ben Ramadan, Ashis Roy, Eric Schoonover, Vita Sheehy (Vice Presidents)

CHIEF EXECU TIVE O FFICER Joseph Ripp CHIEF CO NTENT O FFICER Norman Pearlstine

PR ESIDENT,ENTERTAINMENT& SPO RTS GRO U P AND VIDEO Rich Battista


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T H E W E E K’S

BEST

“You havet o t a ke t h is d r e ss

back ,okay?I l o o k l i ke

a r ic h p e rs o n i nThe Hung er Games .”

—Cece (Hannah Simone),trying to return the

gaudy frock she boughtwhile drunk, on

New Girl

“Really,a lo ll ipop?

I mean , they’rea lr ea d y w e ll a w a r e

there’s an age

difference.”—Liza (Sutton Foster),

after her younger boyfriendJosh (Nico Tortorella)pulls out a pot sucker,

onYounger

TW E E TO F THEW E E KOooooooopppps.Lmao! Superbowl50(after mistakingColdplayforMaroon5) T herea lTaraji

“D i d y o uk no w m y m o m ’s

a m en d s c o m e w it ha h a p py e n d in g ?”

—Christy (Anna Faris), narcingon Bonnie (All ison Janney)

for hooking up withan ex after apologizing,

onMom

F E B R UA RY 19 26 , 2 0 16 E W .C O M 13

“I r e ad t h at K i m Ka r d ash ia na n d Ka n y e W e s t sp ra y e d ‘I h e a rt

K im’and ‘I hea r t Kanye’in g ra i t i on

t h eir n e w m a n sio n i n L .A .Th o ug h w h e n K a n ye s aw it h e s aid ,

‘H e y, w h o p u t “I h e ar t K im ”next to my “I heart Kanye”?’ ”

—Jimmy Fallon onThe Tonight Show

“W e l l, y o u k n o w ,H i lla ry’s f rom the ’90 s,

w h ic h a re v er y h o tr ig h t n o w . … T he y

remade The XFile sand Full House , a nd Id o n ’t k no w if y o u s awt his o n t he n ew s Tu e s-d a y, b u t O . J. S i m p so n

ki lled aga in.”

— oolander ’s Hansel (OwenWilson), talking politics, onSNL’s “Weekend Update”

“M c A v o y o rS tew a rt?

These t ime-lines a re soconfusing.”—Deadpool (Ryan Reyn-

olds), getting meta,inDeadpool

“Let usg o talk to th eprofessor.”

—Colossus(Stefan Kapicic)


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F r o m h a i r a n d n a i l c a re t o m a k e u p a n d f ra g r a n c e— e a c h m o n t h b r i n g s y o u t h e b e st in b e a u t y .

C ur ated b y the b eaut y ex p er ts at E S S E N C E ® M ag az ine •

P r est ig e fav o r it es an d in d e p en d e nt b ran d s w e lo v e • D e liv e re d t o y o ur d o o r m o n th ly

Q U A N T IT IE S

A R E L IM IT E D .

RE SER V E YOUR ESSENCE

BEAUTYBOX™

TODAY!

@ essencebeautybox @ essencebox@ essencebeautybox # E s s e n c e B e a u t y

V IS IT ESSENCEBEAUTYBOX.COM T O J O IN N O W

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E S S E N C E B E A U T Y B O X

© 2 0 1 5 T im e In c. E S S E N C E is a re gist er ed t rad e m a rk an d E S S E N C E B e au ty B o x is a tr ad e m ar k of E sse nc e C o m m u nic at io ns In c., in th e U .S . an d o t he r c ou nt r

A l l r e f erence d t ra d e m a rks a re t he p rope r t i es o f t he ir re spec t iv e o w ne rs . 1 5 A E B


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2 01 6

E W

02 . 1 9 02 . 2 6

FE B R U A R Y 19 26 , 20 16 EW .C O M 1 7

“H EY, DI D YOU SE E L A ST W E E K ’S

shocking episode where that superhero was killed off ?” said no

one everT hree years into an unprecedented surge of T V superdramas— ArrowTheFlashGothamDaredevilJessica JonesSupergirl Agents of SHI EL D AgentCarter— and not one comicbook hero hasgone to the great secret hideout in theskyIn factshows like CBS’TheGood Wifeand ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy have higher“hero” body counts than all t he Marveland DC shows combinedwhich is odd

TV’S SUPERHEROESCAN’T DIE

FromGame of T hrones toGrey’s Anatomydramas no longer hesitateto kill o

fanfavoritecharactersBut in comicbook show sthegood guys seemdeath

proofWill any show darepull thetrigger?By James Hibberd and Natalie Abrams

News Notes

I L LU S TR A T I O N B Y L MEUR


18/12018 E W .C O M F E B R UA RY 19 26 , 20 16

ranged from ‘You guys are great story

tellersgo with God’ to ‘Get the hell out of

myoffi ce’” hesaysEchoes SHIELD’s

Maurissa Tancharoen “Marvel cares

about their intellectual propertyso if we

wereto do itwe’d probably haveto do it in

a way that left it open for other people to

step into a role” And then she adds“Butno oneis safe”

One assumes that any character who

enjoys titlebillingis probably destined for

a longif not necessarily happy lifeyet

even most keysupportingplayers havehad

great jobsecurityso far Arrow ’s SaraLance

CaityLotz took threearrows to thechest

yet is nowstarringon Legends of Tomorrow

Legends did kill Hawkmanbut he only

appeared in two episodes Arrow ’s Arsenal

Colton Haynes seeminglysacrificed him

self for Oliver Q ueen Stephen Amellthen we learned hefaked his demise and

recentlyreturned

LikewiseGotham’s Fish Mooney Jada

Pinkett Smithan original villain created

for theserieslanded in awaterygravebut

is reported to returnExecutiveproducer

Bruno Hellerpressed about his prequel

series’ canonical block from killingnascent

icons like the Penguin Robin Lord

Tayloroncereminded thepress that his

job is to keep audiences watching even

without such moves“It’s a sad thing” hesaid“if you can only generate suspense

bykillingpeople”

Perhaps superhero taleswhich are often

loved byyounger viewersshould simply be

safer spaces fromthegrimreaperDoes any

bodyreallywant StarlingCityto beas heart

less as Westeros? “I don’t believe that

superheroes shouldn’t die” says Arrow boss

Marc Guggenheim“Theyarelivingmyths

but I likethefact that they’remortal myths”

So what you’resayingisno oneissafe?

considering that caped crusaders typically face far more lethal

threats than other characters on TV yeseven Olivia Pope

Of courseit’s acclaimed series likeThe Walking Dead andGame

of Thrones that have trailblazed the “No one is safe” creative

mantrawhich top producers all tend to agree with at least in

theory“No one is safe” SHIELDexecutive producer JedWhedon tells usSee? Comic books haveshown little restraint

when it comes to killing off iconslargely

becausetheyusually find some clever way

back to the land of thelivingSales spiked

when Superman “died” in the early

s—even though readers grumbled

when he was resurrected lessthan a year

later—and theFlash and Green Arrowhave

both experienced similar fatesSo why

haven’t the shows they’veinspired offed a

fulltimeseries regular?

In Marvel’s caseat leastchalk it up tothe notion of a shared universe where any character has the

potential to become star material Avengers director and Jed’s

brother Joss Whedon once noted he’d need a very compelling

reason to persuadeMarvel to let him blowupa main character—

even Hawkeye!—becauseeach is a“potential franchise” Case in

pointAgent Phil Coulson Clark Greggwho died in Whedon’s

blockbusteronlyto return to headlineSHIELD

Daredevil showrunner Doug Petrie says the gritty violent

Netflix hitwhich returns for its second season next monthdoes

have a license to kill major charactersthough it hasn’t yet done

so“We’vehad thoseconversationsand Marvel’s reaction has

(Clockwise fr om top left )

J ad a P i nk et t S m it has Gotham’s F ish M ooney;C olton H aynes asArrow’s A rsenal; C larkG r egg as Agents ofS.H.I.E.L.D.’s P hil C oulson

MARVEL’SREACTIO N

HASRANGEDFRO M

‘YO U GUYSARE

GREATSTO RYTELLERS

GO WITHGO D’TO

‘GETTHE HELL

O UTO F MY O FFICE.’” D A R E D E V I L S H O W R U N N E RD O U G P E TR I E


19/120

N ot ju s t an o th ercor n ch i p .

A t a st y t r i a n gl eof ov en -b a k edgoodness .N ew R I T Z T oasted C or n C h ips.O v en -bak ed w heat an d cor n w ith 3 0less fat than the lead ing cor n chip.


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BEST WORST

20 E W.C O M F E B R U A R Y 1 9 2 6 , 2 0 1 6

RESTRI CTED BLING TMO B ILE

In a send -up of “H otline B ling, corpo rate suits ask

D rake to alter lyrics: “Just ad d ‘D ev ice eligible for

u pg r ad e afte r 2 4 m o nt hs. ” T h e M C w in s w it h an

ace bit of acting: “I lov e changes!”

ULTRASOUND DO RITO S

T h e ch ip c h am p a lw ay s se em s to d e liv e r— t his

t im e q uite literally, w ith a spot -on spot about a

f et us’ p re m a tu r e c rav in g fo r N a ch o C h e es e™ .

COKE MI NI CO CACOLA

A n t- M an (P au l R u d d ) an d th e H u lk hav e a

b ig - b ud g e t b raw l ov e r a m in ia tu r e c an o f C o ke .

H as a featu re ilm e v e r been a d apte d f ro m

a S u per B o w l ad ? C an one be?

SUPER BOWL’S BESTAND WORST ADS

From Drake’s hilarious spoof to Puppymonkeybaby

the horror!).By Marc Snetiker

D u r in g a v i v id c o ur tr oo m - in -t he -sky d ream se q uence,

Will ( Josh C harles, in a m uch-

anticipated cam eo) tellsA licia (Julianna M argulies)

ho w t he ir lo ve w as fo r -b id d en, t hat t hey w e re

never m eant to be together,

so she need s to get onw it h h er d am n life .

R ight after her son Z ach says

he’s going to w o rk fo r N eil

G r oss at C hum hum and herd aughter G race says she

w ants to at tend la w school,A licia gets a call from her

m o ther - in - law J ackie , w ho

can’t apologiz e enough forh er m ed d leso m e b eh av io r

ov er the past sev en years.S he also says she’s d itching

the head band s.

T h e d r am a co m e s f ull c ir c le

w h en A lic ia, w h o e nd e d h ertor r id a ff air w ith Jason the

inv est igator ( Je ff rey D eanM organ), announces plans

to run for gov ernor, w ith her

husban d P e te r ( C h r is N o th )stand ing by her sid e. E li’s

d aughter M arissa has agreedto run the cam paign.

THE LONGEST CHASE TO YO TA

T oyota tu rne d it s P r ius f ro m a punchline

in to a w an n ab e v ir al m e m e ab o u t f ou r

t h ie v e s w h o u se th e hy b r id c a r to m a ke a

c lean (an d eco - f r ien d ly! ) geta w ay.

ENVY O ICISDIFFER ENT CO M

J u s t w h at y o u n ee d w it h y ou r s ev e n -lay er

d ip : a w a reness o f opio id - in d uce d

co nstipat ion, m ad e painful ly clear in this

u nc o m fo r tab le an d r em ar kab ly r an d o m ad .

MOVI NG DAY A PA RTMENTS CO M

E x cuse us, but so m eone acc id ental ly

g ot so m e J eff G o ld b lu m in ou r

Jeffersons th em e so n g .

DROP THE BALLS TMO BILE

T M o b ile c alls a V e r iz o n a d m isle ad in g b y allo w -

ing the k ing o f m is lead e rs, S te ve H a r vey,

to joke about his M iss U niv erse pageant gaff e.

S a d ly , he th inks w e ’re laughing w ith h im .

PUPPYMONKEYBABY MO U NTA IN DEW

I t’s a m irac le the F C C hasn’t ine d M ountain

D ew for this hellish, patroniz ing, nonsensical

m ess that, am ong other things, has totally

ru ine d puppies, m onkeys, an d babies for us.

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

1 |

2 |

3 |

H ow to E nd

The Good WifeAfter announcing during theSuper Bowl that The Goo d Wife would end in May, cre-ators Robert and MichelleKing said they’d like to pen ainale that surprises and res-onates with fans. We havethree ideas that can deliveron both. By Lynette Rice

1


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The Walking Dead © 2010 – 2014 AMC Film Holdings LLC. Artwork and Supplement ary Materials are ™ , ® and

© 2010 – 2016 AMC Network Entertainment LLC. All Rights Reser ved. Distributed By Anchor Bay Entertainment, LLC.

Fear The Walking Dead © 2015 AMC Film Holdings LLC. Artwork and Suppl ementary Materials are ™ , ® and

© 2016 AMC Network Entertainment LLC. All Rights Reserved. Dist ributed By Anchor Bay Entertainment , LLC.

“ T he gr eatest thr il ler ev er pr od uced for telev ision.”

– Entertainment W eekly

L I M IT E DE D IT I O NE X C L U S I V E

C O L L E C T I B L EL E N T IC U L RP C K G I N G

RETURN S FEB 14 SUN DAYS 9/8c

RETURN S APR 10 SUN DAYS 9/8c

H OURS OFN EVER-BEFORE-SEEN

BON US FEATURES,DEL ETED SCEN ES& COMMEN TARIES!


22/12022 E W.C O M F E B R U A R Y 1 9 2 6 , 2 0 1 6

The Grammy winner, whodied at 74 in early February

after battling Parkinson’s,helped deine funk and R&Bin the ’70s. EW looks back atsome of his best moments.

1 9 1 – 2 0 1 6

“ UH HUH YEAH” 1969

In t he lat e ’6 0 s, W h it e l ed t he

C h ic ag o g r ou p t he S alt y P e pp er s,

w h o laid th e g ro un d fo r E WF ’s

m o re r e in ed so un d . O n th is k iller

cut,White joyfully hootsand sq ueals

o v e r a r aw p ar t y- st ar t in g g r o ov e .

“SHI NING STAR” 1975

E W F ’s o nly N o . 1 sin gle o ff er s a

m a st er c la ss in r e st r ain e d f un k

r hy th m s. C h ec k o ut a 1 9 7 5 p er fo r-

m ance o n t he T V show The M i d -

n igh t Spec i al: W hite h as as m u ch

sex - go d sw ag ger as J am es B r ow n.

“SEPTEMBER” 1978

Y o u d o n’t n eed to w ait fo r th e 2 1 st

n ig h t o f S e pt em b er t o ir e u p t his

d isco c lassic : E WF ’s buoyant hit is

alw ay s a n in st an t m o o d - lif te r.

“ LET’S GROOVE” 1981

D isc o w as o n t he w ane w hen E WF

p u t o u t t his t r ac k , b u t it ’s p r o o f t h e

g en re sh ou ld n ’t h av e d ie d . T o d ay

you can hear the song’s in luence

on B r uno M ar s, D aft P unk, and m or e.

“STAND BY ME” 1985

It t akes a b alle r t o t u rn B en E .

K ing’s classic ballad into a slickly

p r od u c ed e le ct ro -f un k n um b er —

an d W hit e m o re t han d eliv er s o n

t his u p be at c o v e r f ro m h is o n ly

so lo alb u m . ( B o n us p o in ts fo r t he

ov e r - the -top key change!)

S N L Mocks the VoteDuring an election year, it’s not just the candidates who are judged by the

electorate—Sa turday Nig ht Live’s political impersonators must impress Americansas well. We spoke to three cast members playing Republican presidential hope-fuls to ind out how they prepare for the stump. By Ray Rahman

Jay P haroah

BE N CARSON

“ I d on’t ev en think it’s

really an im pr ession. It’s

just m e tr y ing to d o

the creep iest thing I’v e

ev er seen, because he’s

k in d o f cr eepy t o m e .

S o it ’s just m e d o ing an

im pression of a super-

creep. It’s m e playing

that up and hav ing fun

w ith it . A n d then you can

channel a few th ings— I

channel M r . B u rns, and I

channel a praying m antis

w it h those han d s. A n d

a sq uir rel. H is eyes are

som ething else I can use,

him looking like he’s a

trucker abo ut to fall

asleep on the r oad . L ike,

I w o uld n ’t w an t t o d r iv e

w ith that guy.

Beck Benne t t

JEB BUSH

“ H e ’s har d . H e d oesn ’t

hav e any strong , obv ious

char acteristics that you

can attach to, so I kind of

just go after the essence

o f h im . F o r m e , it ’s m o r e

im p o rt an t t o w o r k o n

how he’s being d epicted

c o m pare d t o t he o ther

G O P c an d id at es in th e

cam paign. I tuned in

to that d esperate, please-

pay-attention-to- m e

q uality. H e has these

sm all eyes that are alw ays

w id e open, but I can’t

really d o that because I

w ou ld just look c raz ie r. S o

really the only oth er thing

I can d o is w o rk on that

v ery lat sm ile. T hat sort of

a m eek sm ile, t r y ing not

t o o ff e nd ev e ry bo d y,

looking nice and pleasant,

v ery happy to be here.

Darre ll H ammond

DONALD TR UMP

“ I c reated T r um p w ith

[SN L p ro d u c er ] S t ev e

H iggins. P eople talk

d iff e r en tly d epen d ing on

h ow m an y p eo p le ar e

in th e r oo m w ith th em .

A nd n ow T r um p’s in fr on t

of la rge c ro w d s. When

they get in front o f large

c ro w d s, th ey g et m o re

anim a te d and use their

hand s m or e. A nd w ith

h im , it bec am e v e r y c lear

t o us he d oesn ’t c o m pu te

negativ ity v ery w ell.

T hat’s the other thing

about h im — h is conid ence

lev el is so high. A nd he

enjoys h im se lf ! S o w e

tr ied to c om e up w ith a

tongue-in-cheek carica-

ture of this super-p ositiv e

guy w ho enjoys being

D onald T r um p.

Earth, Wind Fir e’s

M U RI E

WH ITE


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©

M i z k a n A m e r i c a , I n

c . 2 0 1 6

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cooking tonight w ith Bertolli’s bountiful Tuscan flavors. O ur hearty sauce gives yourmeal an authentic flair by pairing full-bodied tomatoes w ith five classic cheeses:Provolone, Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina and Romano. For inspiration and recipes,

like us on Facebook or v isit V ivaBertolli.com.


24/12024 E W .C O M F E B R UA RY 19 26 , 20 16

HERE’S THETHRING ABOUTCATE

Blanche tt’s formativeperforming inluenc e was a bald, obe se

Auss ie act or namedFrank Thring (heplayed Tina Turner’s wingman in M ad M axBeyond Thunder

dom e). Sh e saw him in a theater pro-duction of TheM ikado when she was 8 or 9— whenhis fake must achefell off, Thringgrowled, “Damn th isJapanese merc han-dising!” Sh e wasmesmerized:“I certainly remem-ber t he irst t imeI saw him!” Theunpredictability he displayed onstage, she says,awakened her desireto pursue acting.

BREAK ING NEW GROUND WITHCAROL

Blanche tt’s twoOsc ar-winning roles

unde rline her rarechameleonic skills.For The A v iator(2004), sheabsorbed the he art-ach e beneath themid-Atlantic man-nerisms of actressKatharine H epburn;in Blue J asm ine(2013), her cracked-up socialite wasan ech o of A StreetcarNam ed Desire’sBlanche DuBois, whom she’d

C ate B lan chett’s

M aster C lassTh e Osc ar-winning Australian, nom inated again t his year for her turn in Carol, relec ts on a c areer fu ll offearless c hoic es and reveals some unlikely inspirations.By Joe McGovern

P A V ETH E W A Y !Hollyw ood ’s leading

w omen on the people w hoinspired them

portrayed on s tagein 2009. But the titlerole in Caroltestedher in uniq ue ways:“Sh e’s so enigmat icand mysterious and

remot e and unknow-able,” Blanc het t says. “Th e c hallenge was to m ake herrelatable andunderstandablefor people.”

LIVING BY THEROONEY RULE

At 46 , the ac tress is16 years older thanRooney Mara, who plays her loverin Carol(and alsosc ored an Oscarnom ination), but Blanche tt saysshe felt like a student ob serving Mara’snuanced perfor-mance on set.“W atching Rooney chart the [charac-ter’s] evolut ion fromthis c oltish ingénue, woefully inexperi-enced in matters ofthe heart, to the inalsc ene, where she

is so subtly but seis-mic ally shifted intothe realm of being amature woman, was really inc redib lefor me.”

FORGING HER OWN PATH

“I’ve never looked at som eone’s c areerand th oug ht , ‘That’sth e c areer I want ,’ ”she says. “But I willbeg , borrow, and

steal from anyone, whe th er it be G enaRowlands, Frank Th ring, or MissPig gy.” AndBlanch ett doesn’t stop t here. “Luc illeBall, Meryl St reep,Jane Fonda, Judy Davis, Bet te Davis—th ey’re c hanneledthrough the prism ofmy own m ash-up.”

GUIDING THENEXT GEN

Advising youngactresses, Blanch ett says, is not un likeadvising your ch il-dren. “I can only leadby example andhope that some ofth at wears off,” saysthe m othe r of four.Some wisdom she

can offer: Maintain asense of mystery anddo what feels righ t.“I certainly don’t want to know about what’s going on inpeople’s lives,” sh esays. “I want t o fallinto the charac ter.I think you shouldjust do what interes ts you at the time. The n20, 30 years on, if you’re luc ky enoug h, you c an say you’vehad a career.”


25/120


26/120

THEY’REALLTHEREFORHIM! Wellexcept

for Matthew Perrywho was rehearsing a

play in Londonbut otherwiseMatt LeBlanc

Lisa KudrowDavid SchwimmerJennifer

AnistonandCourteneyCox gatheredfor an

unprecedented postFriends meetup for

NBC’s Feb special honoring legendary

comedy director James Burrows“We’ve had

a long history togetherand for them to

show up in support in honor of me was sogreat” says Burrowswho recently directed

his th episode of TV“The casts of

Friends were mingling withT he Big Bang T he

or y andCheers andW i l l & G r a ceWhen the

camera cuts to meI’m not cryingI just got a

speck of dust in my eye” Alasthere was no

fountaindancing—James H i bber d

THEONEWHEREALMOSTEVERYONESHOWS UP

An ex clusive photo of the almost-complete cast of Friends w ith James Burrows

FRIENDS REUNION


27/120

Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore

•••For three seasons, Bates M otelfans have watc hed N orm an Bate s slowly de sc end intopsych osis. But when the A& E drama returnsMarch 7, the ch aracter will chart some dis-turbing new depths, at least when it c omesto his tendenc y to inhabit th e ch aracter of“Moth er.” For th e irst tim e, he’s dress ing likehis mother w ith his m other, their match ingrobes a sign th at the lines be tween real lifeand N orman’s fract ured psyc he are b lurring.“Th at image of th em looking at t heir relec-tions, I thinkwhat she sees is that herdreams h ave indeed bec ome a nightm are,”

says ac tress Vera Farmig a, pict ured withFreddie H ighmore, who plays N orman.“Maybe t he t ruth is th at N orman is an actualimpedime nt t o her h appiness.” Farmig apromises t hat the c oming fourth season willshow N orma “doing what she knows to b eright instead of what sh e’s c onvince d her-self to b e right .” Expec t em otion, strife, and,acc ording t o Farmiga, “a lot of libido.”— Samantha Hi ghfill

BATES MOTELG E T S C R A Z Y

G O O D

FIRST

LOOK


28/1202 8 EW .C O M FE B R U A R Y 19 26 , 2 0 16

OVE R 5 SEASONS, American Idol

has turned the nation on toscores of beloved talent, fromcountry queens (Carrie Under-

wood) to R& B balladeers(Jordin Sparks) to pop divas(Kelly Clarkson). It’s evenintroduced an Oscar winner(Jennifer H udson).But with Foxpulling the plug this year, the

future for some Idols is murky:H ow do you maintain successonce the machine that made

you a star shuts down? As the judges prepare to

crown one final winner on April7, many past champs are back

with new projects— perhaps inan effort to get maximum expo-sure from the very show that made them famous. Season 9victor L ee DeW yze dropped his

sixth studio album, Oil & Water,in February, while Kris Allen isprepping LettingYou In forMarch 18;winners like FantasiaBarrino and Taylor H icks arealso readying new albums. Evennonwinners have put out new

material: Season 8’s Danny G okey and season 5’s KelliePickler both released Christmasmusic in late 2015. “It’s probably the biggest platform in the

world for gett ing your name andmusic out,” season 10 champScotty McCreery tells EW .

T hese former I dols’strategy of pushing out new materialmakes sense. Clarkson andUnderwood aside, every Idol

winner has seen a steep declinein album sales. (Ruben Stud-dard’s 2003 debut, Soulful, sold417,000 copies it s first week;his2014 LP, Unconditional Love,moved 6,000.) So taking advan-tage of any connection they have to the show is crucial—even if they’re unaware of it.“I’m putting the music out forthe people who are connect ingto it— not because the show

is ending,” DeW yze tells EW .“That’s just coincidence.”

W hile a new release itself won’t guarantee a career renais-sance, some stars are returningto t he show to get added visi-bility. Fantasia, who released a

new single, “N o T ime for It ,”in January, and Chris Daughtry,

whose greatest-hits set is out now, have made returns thisseason, and producers are lin-ing up more surprise drop-insfrom other Idols. And as thoseappearances give former con-testants exposure, they’vealso helped this season’s searchfor a new star. “It’s raised thebar,” says Scott Borchetta, a

season 14–15 mentor andfounder of Big Machine records,

which includes Taylor Swift on its roster. “I said, ‘Do youhave what it takes to sing withN ick F radiani, Fantasia, orDaughtry?’It really helps me toadvance the process.”

So where do Idols go fromhere? Some are mapping out alternate career paths. Pickler,for instance, has ventured into

As Fox’s reality juggernaut says goodbye after 15 seasons,

a host of past alums are releasing new projects hoping to get a inal boost fromthe show that launched them. By Eric Renner Brown

T H E L A ST

I NVASI ON OF A M E R I CA N

I D O L S

O

H U D S O

N : F R E D L E E A B C G E T T Y

I M

A G E S ; C L A R K S O

N : D O U G L A S

G O

R E N S T E I N N B C N B

C U P H O T O B A N K G E T T Y

I M

A G E S ; U N D E R W

O

O

D : E T H A N M

I L L E R W

I R E I M

A G E . C O

M

; G O

K E Y : J O

H N S H E A R E R G E T T Y

I M

A G E S ; M

C C R E

E R Y : S L A V E N V L A S I C G E T T Y

I M

A G E S ; B A R R I N O : M

I C H A E L

T R A N

F I L M

M

A G I C W

I R E I M

A G E . C O M

; D E W

Y Z E : G A B R I E L

G R A M

S G E T T Y

I M

A G E S ; H I C K S : M

I K E

W

I N D L E G

E T T Y

I M

A G E S ; A L L E N : J E F F

G R O

S S N H L I G E T T Y

I M

A G E S ; D A U G H T R Y : M

I K E

W

I N D L E G E T T Y

I M

A G E S ; P I C K L E R : R I C K

K E R N W

I R E I M

A G

E . C O

M

; L A M

B E R T : F R A N K

H O E N S C H R E D F E R N S G E T T Y

I M

A G E S


29/120FE B R U A R Y 19 26 , 2 0 16 EW .C O M 2 9

reality TV. Clay Aiken ran forCongress in 2014. And Taylor

H icks has tried his hand at becoming a Las Vegas star andhas become a partner in a SAW ’sBBQ joint in Alabama. “I think

you just really have to work andreally kind of reinvent yourself,”says H icks. “Just stay out there.”

G oing forward, industry insiders note pure talent

will trump any affi liation to thefranchise. Borchetta citesDaughtry and Adam L ambert asnonwinners who’ve successfully navigated post-Idol waters.“For any art ist in today’s mar-ket, I would not advise beingreliant on any television show for the ongoing success of theircareer,” says Jan Smith, a vocalproducer who has mentoredUsher and Justin Bieber. “Ifthey continue putting great music out there and maintain-

ing t heir relevance, ‘famous’ will follow them.’” It’s a strat-egy that former Idols will abideby. “[ American Idol is] not acareer,” says McCreery, who’lladd author to his résumé withthe release of a memoir, Go Bigor Go Home, in May. “You haveto get out t here after the show and try to find your way— andmake the best music you can.”

A d d i t i o n a l r e p or t i n g b y M a d i s on V a i n

( Clockwise from top left )

Jennifer Hudson, KellyClarkson, Carrie

Underwood, Taylor Hicks,Adam Lambert, Kellie

Pickler, Chris Daughtry, Kri sAllen, Danny Gokey, Scotty

McCreery, Fantasia Barrino,and Lee DeWyze

T H E R E ’S A

H U GE SE NSE O F

GR A T IT U D E

T H A T I WA S

A P A R T O F I D O L T H A T SU CCE SS

W O U L D N’T

HA V E H A P P E NE D

T O ME

O T H E R W ISE ”

—Chris Daughtry

I L LU S TR A T I O N B Y R I C H A R D R O B E R T S


30/1203 EW .C O M FE B R U A R Y 19 26 , 2 0 16

ELI ZA TAYLOR I S USED TO BEING CAKED I N MUD OR BLOOD.

Or bot h. Dirty and disheveled is practically the 26-year-old’suniform: As Clarke G riffin, the resourceful heroine of T heCW ’s postapocalyptic thril ler The100(T hursdays,9 p.m.),Tay-lor spends hours running through the forest hunting and beinghunted. So when the product ion— now in it s third season—abandoned the wilds surrounding Vancouver, venturing for thefirst time to t he cit y streets, the actress was ready for some-thing a lit tle more civilized.

T hings didn’t quite go her way. “W ithin about 10 minutes, a

fan saw us. And then suddenly, there were 30 of them, and then60of them, holdingupsigns andscreamingandcrying,”Taylorrecalls. “T he funny thing is, we thought th is would happen.Toward the end of season 2, we reckoned we would get a lot ofnew fans, and we were right! I t just took a while for people tolet go of what they thought t he show was.”

As in, yet another doomsday drama for the One Direction set.W hen The100, a takeoff on Kass Morgan’s book t rilogy, arrivedin March 2014, it debuted during the crest of the dystopian-YA

wave. Divergenthit theaters the sameweek.T wo Hunger Gamesfilms had already been crowned box offi ce victors. So crit icsfound the premise— 100 delinquent teens are blasted off from

their spaceship sanct uary (dubbed the Ark) as the sacrificiallambs to test whether a nuclear-war-wasted E arth is inhabit-able again— dismissable. Even exec producer Jason Rothenbergadmits the earlyhoursfailedto land.“Frankly,ourworst episodesare the pilot and episode 2,” he says. “I feel like, if not for thosetwo episodes, our audience would have been so much bigger.”

But the first-time showrunner charted a new course afterreceiving a note from network president Mark Pedowitz.“I said, ‘Do not make what people perceive to be a CW -typeshow,’” Pedowitz remembers. “‘Make the version you want tomake— the darker,gritt ier version.’” And that’s what Rothen-berg did. In the fifth episode, he killed off hundreds of

B Y S H I R L E Y L I

S H I R K L E S

HOW THE CW’S SCIFI SERIES WEATHERED

A ROCKY LAUNCH TO BECOME AN ADDICTIVE

DRAMA THAT TRENDS AROUND THE WORLD.


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TERMS

TOKNOW

F L O A T

The A rk’s fo rm

of execution:Criminals are

sent through

the airlock and

released intospace

G R O U N D E R S

People w ho

survived on

Earth after theapocalypse and

belong to oneof many war-

ring clans

R E A P E R S

Di sigure d,

outcastGroundersw ho savagely

attack anyonethey meet

S K Y P E O P L E

Grounder termfor the delin-

quents w ho

dropped fromthe Ark

characters—and then twisted the knife by revealingthey had

beensacrificedfor nothing. “Mark called andwas like, ‘Amaz-

ing episode! You can go darker,’” Rothenberg says, laughing.

“I said, ‘Mark! How much darker can you get?’”

A whole lot darker, it turns out. Rothenberg transformed

The100into a grounded, gritty war drama rife with moral quan-

daries. Season 1 saw the suicide of a 12-year-old; season 2 addeda desperate doctor harvesting bone marrow from innocents.

And season 3’s new threat? A walking, talking artificial intelli-

gence named Alie (Erica Cerra), whose offer to save the world

enticessomeandterrifiesothers. “We like to set up impossible

choicesfor ourcharacters,” says Rothenberg. “How far can you

go to save your people and still be heroic?”

When viewers began catching up on the new trajectory (sea-

son 2 hit Netflix last October, months before season 3’s

premiere), the show’s popularity skyrocketed. According to

Twitter, the season 3 bow on Jan. 21 racked up roughly 10 times

as many tweets as the series premiere and saw #The100 trend

worldwide. Critics started paying attention—and respect—aswell, leading to even more viewers. “Every day I see dozens of

tweets saying, ‘I binged the whole thing in a weekend,’”

Rothenberg says. “The Netflix effect has been incredibly impor-

tant.” It was all part of the plan. “We felt the series needed a

midseason start to allow for the binges,” Pedowitz says. “That

strategy has proven to be the correct one.”

Fans aren’t just cheering the drama’s dark twists; they’re

also praising the way it’s pushingthe envelope with a diverse

cast and an openly bisexual lead, The CW’s first. Clarke’s

romance with Lexa (Fear theWalkingDead’s Alycia Debnam-

Carey), a leader of the Grounders, spawns fervent hashtagging

(the battle cry: #Clexa) in particular. “If we can take anythinggood from the apocalypse, it’s that we live in a world where

gender and sexuality and race isn’t an issue,” Taylor says.

“There’s the greater issue of survival.”

The only “problem” with the show’s newfound popularity?

Keeping up with all the attention. Star Bob Morley, who plays

Bellamy, has given up on readingeverythinghe’s sent—“I t’s

easier for me to just focus on work,” he explains—but Taylor

tracksher onlinepresence. “Insixmonths[myfollower count]

had gone up by about 50,000. That was crazy!” she says. “It’s

made me more careful. You have to censor yourself.” Good thing

the chaos of social media doesn’t exist on postapocalyptic Earth.

F E B R U A R Y 1 9 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 E W.C O M 31

Eliza Taylo r

(far left);Bob Morley

(center);Marie Av ger op ou lo s

and DevonBostick (above)

C A T E C A M E R O N T H E C W 3


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THE ARK

T he surv iv inghum ans— scientistsin orbit at the tim e

of the nuclear w ar—fused space stationsto cr eate theirpostapocalypsehom e, w here they’v eliv ed for 9 7 years.T he base’s life-support systemhas begun to fail,though, lead ing theC ouncil to send the1 0 0 d ow n to E ar th.

Ready to catch up? Hit theground running with this guideto the CW series’ irst twoseasons, streaming on Netlix.(Find new season 3 eps on Hulu.)

B I N G E

KEY PL YERS

KEY

PL CES

BELLAMY

BLAKE

BobMorley

A s the d elin-q uents’lead er, thetroublem akerbeliev es ind o ing “ w hat -ev er the hellw e w ant .”

OCTAVI A

BLAKE

MarieAvgeropoulos

T he youngerB lake sharesher brother’srecklessnessand channelsit into m akingthe m ost ofher freed omon E arth.

CLARKE

GRIFFIN

Eliza Taylor

T he reluctantheroine andm ed ic get snicknam ed“ princess” forher earnestefforts to ensure the1 0 0 ’ssurv iv al.

DR. ABBY

GRIFFIN

Paige Turco

T he A rk ’schief m ed icaloficer hasd ificultyseparatingher profes-sional andpersonalinstincts—especiallyw hen itc om es to

d aughterC larke.

MARCUS

KANE

Henry IanCusick

B ecause hefav ors prag-m atism ov e rem otion, thecouncilm antend s toclash w ithothers incom m and .

THELONIOUS

JAHA

IsaiahWashington

C hancellorJaha lead sthe A rk’sC ouncil andisn’t abov esacriicinghis people—or hisso n— f or t h egreater good .

ILLU STRATION BY M I K O M A C I A S Z E K

MOUNT WEATHER

T he d elinq uents’m ission: to testE arth’s surv ivabilityand to reach thispeak, the real-lifem ilitary base outsid eWashington, D .C .,built to house theU .S . gov e rn m ent inthe ev ent of d oom s-d ay. T he A rk lead ersbelie ve the 1 0 0 w illind supplies there.

THE GROUND

A fter nearly a centuryof rad iation, w ild lifeon E arth has m utated(think d ouble-head ed d eer, glow ingbutter lies), w hile thelack of a gov ernm enthas led w arring fac-tions of surv ivinghum ans (or G round -ers) to form . T hese

clans threaten eachot her — and the 1 0 0 .

B Y S H I R L E Y L I S HI R K L ES XP


33/120FE B RU ARY 19 26 , 20 16 EW .C OM 35

S E A S O N 1

Ifyou’re looking forallthe trapping s ofa teensoap (love triangles!clashing cliques!),you’llind them inseaso n 1’s p i l o t an ds ec o n d e p is o d e.Butstick w ith it,becau sethe f o u r t h e p i so d e —w hen one o fthedelinquen ts is nearlyhan ge d for a crim ehe didn’tco m m it—reshapes the sho w ’strajectory.Every hourafter thato nly delvesdeeper into the dark-ness: In e p is o d e 5,Ark leaders co nsidera d rastic,d ead ly m ea-sure to c onserve theirdw indling resources.A torture scene dom i-nates e p is o d e 7,w ith lines draw nbe tw een the 100 andthe G rounders.From

there,skip ah ead toe p i s o d e 11 and thetw o-par t ina le,w hich cu lm inates in am assive show d ow n .

S E A S O N 2

Sorry,speed -view ers:The secon d season isunskipp able.Mosto fthe action takes placeat the m ilitary baseinside Mount W eather,a claustrophobic hell

for a sub setof the

original100 ap tlynam ed the 48.Thoseoutside the m ou ntain

try to keep peace w iththe G rounders—a task

m ad e m ore d iicu ltno w that the teens are

no lon ger the o nlySky Peo ple: Atthe

end ofseason 1,the

Ark fell,b ringing toEarth the ad ults,w h o

are eagerto w restcontrolb ack from the

delinq uents.Butasthe w ar co ntinu es,all

ofthe survivors m ustcarry ou ta series

ofm issions.

EPISO DES 1– 5

THE MISSIO N BringClarke and the rest of the 48 home. Keep Finnfrom destroying every-thing, including himself.

Yes,ittakes a fulliveep isod es for the

action to slow dow n—and for C larke to

catch herbreath.Butbew are the Sp ace-

w alker: The escalatingthreatofthe m oun-

tain’s inhab itants—called the Mountain

Men —is nothingco m pared w ith Finn’s

state ofm ind.

WATCHFO R C ultural

artifacts,like vanG ogh’s The Starry N ight ,scatteredthroughoutMount

W eatherthatrevealw hatearthbound sur-

vivors chose to save.

EPISO DES 6– 7

THE MISSIO N Drafta battle plan againstthe Mountain Men.Learn what’s really happening in the labs.

The truth aboutMou nt W eatherloo kspainfulnow ,b ut do n’tturn aw ay: W hat hap -pen s inside thoselab s reve rberatesinto season 3.WATCHFO R H eard o f#C lexa? Episode 6 isw here itallbeg ins.

EPISO DE 8

THE MISSIO N Maintainpeace between the Sky People and the Ground-ers—no matter the cost.

Eliza Taylorco nsidersthis the ho ur that“chang ed the w h olestory forever,” an d italso ch anges C larkeforever.Yo u’llknowthe m om entw henitcom es.

WATCHFO R Scrape

you rjaw off the loo rand ob serve the

w ay C larke reach es

herd ecision —beg inn ing hertrans-

form ation into a

harden ed lead er.

EPISO DES 9 –11

THE MISSIO N InfiltrateMount Weather.

Ifyo u w eren’ta Bel-

lam y fan already,youhave to b e one now ,

as he risks everything

to get inside.(Ifyou’re

stillnot,you’re as

heartless as D r.Tsing.)

EPISO DES 12– 13

THE MISSIO N Acceptthat some sacrificeshave to happen forthe greater good.

Ifyou need a bitofa

breather,these epi-

sod es w illoffer som erelief,as they’re slow er

than the others,but

m ake sure to…WATCHFO R The c onver-sation betw een Kaneand Abby duringw hich they q uestionw h ethertheirliveshave been w o rth allthe violen ce andblood shed.

EPISODES 14– 16

THE MISSIO N

Save everyone inMount Weather.

The inalacth as ahug e im p acton

C larke’s seaso n 3trajectory.Speakingof w hich…

S EA S O N 3

P R E M I E R E D J A N . 2 1

W hen the G roundersand Arkers m eetag ain in season 3,afrag ile p eace has heldfor m on ths,butEPJason Rothenberg

THE ATTLESTAR GALAC TIC A CO NNECTIO N

K A T E V E R N O N

BSG: Messy, seductivecolonel’s wife Ellen Tigh

THE 100: Messier,mutinous Council member

Diana Sydney

R E K H A S HA R MA

BSG: Loyal chief of staff Tory Foster

THE 100: Disloyal doctorLorelei Tsing

A L ES S A N DR O

J U L IA NI

BSG: Brilli ant computerexpert Felix GaetaTHE 100: Brilliant

computer expert S inclair

E R I CA CE R R A

BSG: Human teacher,adoptive mother Maya

THE 100: Sinister AI Alie

T Y O L SS O N

BSG: Hotheaded capta in Aaron Kelly

THE 100: KindheartedGrounder healer Nyko

NGE

hints thatm ore car-

nag e is headed thesurvivors’w ay b y sea-son’s e nd .“Allof ou rstories are abouttry-ing to b uild tow ardsthat inale,” he teases.“In season 3,it’ssom ething ep ic.”Th anks to the p airofw ars in play—theIce Nation vs.the G roun der co ali-tion; the artiicial-intelligence-led C ityof Light vs.its non -believers—therew illbe blood ,but

Taylorsays the vio-lence w o n’tp lay ou tin every episod e,asG rounder politicsdom inate the story.“There’s a b itlessighting,” she says,before quickly addingthatthis do esn’tm eanC larke’s life w illg etany easier.“The g reatthing ab outC larke isthat she w illalw aysfeelthe need to pro-tectand to look afterherp eople,” Taylor

exp lains.“Itw ouldn’tbe The 100 w ithoutC larke having to m akethatkind o fdecision.”

SEASON U DE

Seasons 1 & 2

20HRS.29MINS.

For each additionalseason 3 episode

42MINS.

TOTA L R U N TIME

Marie

Avgeropoulos

If B SG fans hav e d é jàv u w hile w atching T h e 0 0, they’re notw rong. R othenberg issuch a fan of the cultsci-i series that heoften casts its alum s.H ere are iv e actorsw h o hav e had m ajorarcs on b oth series.


34/120

G EIC O has been serving up great car insurance and

S av ing P eople

M oney S ince 9 3 6... that’s before there

were color TVs.


35/120

Dead Z oneLOCK YOUR DOORS, LOAD UP YOUR CROSSBOW, AND OPEN THAT VAT OF

CHOCOLATE PUDDING: T H E W A L K I N G D E A D IS BACK, AND WE’ VE GOT EVERYTHING

YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TV’S MONSTER SMASH

E x c l u si v e d e t a i l s o n t h es h o c k i n g n e w s e a s o n

P. 8

A c a n d id t a l k w i t h t h ed i e -h a r d s t a r s

P.

T h e m o s t k i l l e rp r o p s a n d c o s t u m e s

P. 5

M e m o r i e s f r o m t h e c a s tm e m b e r s w h o b i t i t

P. 5 8


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And re w Lin co ln a nd

Chandler Riggs


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38/120

or m an R eed us is bleed ing. A n d this isn’t in thescript. We’re on a solitary stretch of road in S enoia,G a. R eed us an d A n d rew L inco ln are ilm ing a scenefo r the F eb . 2 1 ep iso d e o f The W alking Dead w herethey ind a v end ing m ac hine that ap pears to hav efallen o ff a truc k. In this particular sho t, R eed us’D aryl D ix on reaches in to pull out a can of O rangeC rush, w hich he proceed s to chug before hand ing

it to L incoln ’s R ick G r im es, w ho polishes it o ff an dthen un leashes a be lch that w ou ld g iv e ev enB ooger f ro m Revenge of the N erds a run for h ism oney. Y ou know , just tw o d u d es being d u d es—sh o tg u n n in g c a n s o f so d a in t h e z o m b ieapocalypse. B ut there’s a problem . R eed us looksd ow n to see blood on his right hand . H e’s cut a in-ger on the broken glass of the v end ing m achine.“D am m it!” T he ac to r sc ur ries to w ard th e c rew . B utinstead of rushing ov er to the irst-aid box , the m erryprankster m akes a beeline for script superv isor


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( From top right ) MichaelCud litz, Sonequa

Martin-G reen, an dNorman Reedus meet

Savior ChristopherBerry;Steven Yeun, still

al ive…for now

prepared for with a screening celebrating

another classic pair. “We sent a text message to

Robert Redford andtoldhim we were watching

ButchCassidyandtheSundanceKid all day,” says

Reedus. Adds Lincoln, “We like to call the epi-

sode ‘Butch and Sundance.’ But the producers,

after a fewdaysof filming,startedcallingit ‘Bill

and Ted’s.’ So I don’t know what they were see-

ing, but what we were filming was completely

different.”

It’s all smiles. Everyone seems so happy, as if

they do not have a care in the world. But allow

the cast and crew to enjoy this brief moment of

levity, for there is a dark cloud on the horizon

moving in fast, and that cloud’s name is Negan.

heWalkingDeadhas had its fair share of

deranged bad guys. The Governor kept

a zombie daughter and killed his own

men.GarethfromTerminusatepeople.

AndtheWolvesslaughteredothers and

mutilated themselves by carving the let-

ter W on their own foreheads. But when it

comes to villains in theWalkingDead universe,

one name stands above all the others.

Wefirstheard thenameutteredbyanefarious-

looking group that stopped Daryl, Abraham(Michael Cudlitz), and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-

Green) on the road in the prologue scene AMC

aired to tease the second half of season 6 (which

returns Feb. 14). This group is the Saviors, and

their leader, Negan, is a foulmouthed, leather-

clad lunatic who wields a barbed-wire-covered

baseball bat he affectionately refers to as Lucille.

This infamous comic-book character will

make the jump from page to screen in the sea-

son finale, and fan interest was piqued even

further when news broke that Jeffrey Dean

Morgan (who has experience with charismaticcretins from his turn as the Comedian inWatch-

men) would be playing Negan. But it’s not just

viewers who are enthused. “I ’m really f---ing

excited,” Morgan told EW in December. When

askedif hehadto practicehis swingto prepare

for a chilling scene from the comics in which

Negan lays waste to [redacted], Morgan flashed

a mischievous grin before replying, “I don’t

need to practice my swing. I grew up with a bat

in my hands.” Gulp.

But there is plenty of other stuff to get

Amy Lacy and begins dripping blood onto random spots of the pages she religiously

checks to ensure continuity. Or maybe those spots aren’t so random at all. Before

long, his masterpiece is complete. “I ’ve never made a penis in blood before,” says the

star, who will later present Lacy with a ceremonial penis cake—you can see it on

Reedus’ Instagram feed—during a lunch break.

Finally, on-set medic Tasha Wdowin intervenes to clean the wound. “I shoulddisinfect your entire body,” she jokes. (Considering what the actors put themselves

through on a daily basis—including ticks and painful chigger bites on top of all that

applied dirt and grime—that’s actually not such a terrible idea.) While Reedus is

busy cracking up with the crew, Andrew Lincoln is rocking out. Theactor is pacing

back and forth with an iPhone in his left hand and a Beats portable speaker in his

right blasting Ronnie Dawson’s 1958 rockabilly single “Action Packed.” Lincoln

bobs his head to the music while intermittently yelling out “Action packed!” at

nobodyin particular.

If this dynamic duo seem extra ebullient, it’s because after being apart for most

of the season, Daryl and Rick are back together at last. And their epic bromance will

be rekindled with this special road-trip episode, an installment Reedus and Lincoln

F E B R U A R Y 1 9 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 E W.C O M 4 1


40/120

through before we come face to face (or is it

face to bat?) with Negan. When we last left our

survivors, in the season 6 midseason finale,

Alexandria was in the midst of a zombie inva-

sion, and if you were expecting the group to all

get out safely…well, then you’ve clearly never

watchedTheWalkingDead before.

“Somepeoplearegoingtodie,”promisesexec

producer (andWalkingDead comic creator) Rob-

ert Kirkman of the midseason premiere. “That is

100 percent true.” But while death has become

somewhat commonplace in this world, exec pro-

ducer Greg Nicotero promises that the premiere

(whichhedirected) will beunlikeanythingprevi-

ously seen on the show, dubbing it “an epicman-against-the-undead battle that is unprece-

dented in the history of The WalkingDead.”

Don’t believe him? Well, feast on this: Nicotero

estimates he used more than 1,300 zombies for

the episode, shattering the previous record. “The

scale of it is astonishing,” says Lincoln. “I t’s

absolute mayhem.”

The size is not the only thing that sets the

midseason premiere apart, for unlike most of

the other assaults, this one will be happening at

night, something Nicotero says he was

“extremely passionate and adamant about. Ididn’t want it to feel like, Oh, here’s another

scene with a bunch of walkers in broad daylight

in the sun. I felt that it was very important to

introduce the spooky, nighttime bogeyman-

coming-out-of-the-dark vibe.”

But what will happen when the darkness lifts?

Lincoln teases that “there is a time jump at some

point,” so once we pick up after the zombie inva-

sion,will those whosurvivefinally beunited, or

will Alexandria remain a town divided? Kirkman

says that the incident will “solidify them all

behind Rick and wipe away the conflict that’sbeen present since Rick’s group arrived.” Yet one

can’t help but wonder how that group will view

Morgan (Lennie James) and his refusal to kill

one of the Wolves (who just took Merritt

Wever’s Denise hostage).

While much of the focus is on how peace-

loving Morgan and do-whatever-it-takes Carol

(Melissa McBride) will continue to coexist,

JamespointsoutthattheMorgan/Rickrelation-

ship is just asfraught. “That people seethemas

old friends is not entirely true to the facts,” says

James. “The first time the two of them met, Morgan stuck a gun in Rick’s face. The

second time they met, Morgan tried to kill Rick. And the last time they met was

highlighted by the fact that Rick had just put a bullet in somebody’s head. So their

relationship is a little bit more tumultuous than people remember it being.”A far happier union—and impending reunion—is the one between Glenn

(Steven Yeun) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan), who will be preparing to become par-

ents. For Glenn, that means “becoming the man that should and can raise a child

effectively in that environment,” says Yeun. As for his wife, “the pregnancy makes

Maggie more badass than ever,” says Cohan. “In the sense of she will not take no

for an answer. We’ve seen her as a woman and as a wife and as a strong female

character, but to me this is where she sort of finds herself.”

Cohan also found herself at the center of fan speculation after she cut her long hair

into a pixie ’do, raising fears that such a dramatic makeover meant Maggie would be

killed offin the back half of the season. “I had no idea there would be such a reaction,”

she says with a laugh. “My friends texted me and said it came up on their CNN news-

feed.” (For the record, it should be noted that the comic-book version of Maggie hasshort hair. Make of that what you will.)

ohan’s haircut is not the only mysterious new thing on the horizon. At

some point in the next batch of episodes we will pay a trip to the Hilltop,

a farming colony of survivors run by a man named Gregory ( 24’s Xander

Berkeley) that in the comic book is looking to set up trade with other

communities for the good of all. But will Alexandrians like Michonne

(Danai Gurira) welcome such a relationship? “The idea of meeting a

larger world and having more people to trade with is something she deeply, deeply

wants and will work for,” says Gurira. “But she’s the person who sniffed out the

Governor in five seconds. She’s going to keep her wits about her at all times.”

The Hilltop also means the introduction of another major comic-book character,and considering this is a show all about people coming back from the dead, it

should come as no surprise that his name is Jesus. (Or nickname, at least. The wise

and wily ninja-like warrior also goes by Paul Monroe.) The man who links up the

two communities of Alexandria and the Hilltop, Jesus (played byLuck’s Tom

Payne) is a potentially valuable ally…should Rick choose to trust him—an issue that

will be complicated by how the two first meet in the TV version. “What I like about

him is his control,” says Payne of his character. “He is physically and mentally capa-

ble but is careful not to reveal his strengths too quickly.”

In the comics, the Hilltop is being terrorized by the Saviors, who demand more

and more of their goods as “tribute.” Proposing a trade with the Hilltop, Rick

offersupAlexandria’smuscle(andguns) tocombattheSaviors andtheir leader in

( From left ) Reedus and Lincoln, back togetherat last;Merritt Wever with Bened ict Samuel,her captor from the Wolves;Danai Gurira on thelookout for trouble

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A nd r ew L in colnphotographedo n J un e 2 8 , 2 0 1 5 ,in A tlanta


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S I N C E S E A S O N 1 , O

N L Y S I X W L K I N G D E D C H A R A C T E R S H A V E M

A N A G E D

T O A V O

I D B E C O M I N G Z

O M B I E S N A C K S . N O W T H E A C T O

R S W H O

P L A Y

T H E M B A N D T O

G E T H E R F O R A N

E X C L U S I V

E D

I S C U S S I O N

O F T H E P A S T , T H

E F U T U R E , A N D T H E T R I C K Y A R T O F S T A Y I N G A L I V E .


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E N T E R T A I N M E N T W E E K L Y An absurd

amount of people haveperished in terri-

ble ways on this show. Why areyou guys

so lucky?N O R M A N R E E D U S That’sa good question.

There’s a certain story that we’re telling,

and part of that storyinvolves loss. I don’t

knowif there’s anythingin particular about

any of us and whywe’re still here;I think

we’rejust part of that story.

A N D R E W L I N C O L N [To Melissa McBride]

You had acloseshavein season 3.

M E L I S S A M C B R I D E I feel likeI always have

acloseshave.

L I N C O L N Yeah, but do you remember, with

Sarah WayneCallies [who played Lori]?

Shefought for you.

M C B R I D E Shedid?I didn’t hear that.

L I N C O L N Did you not know?M C B R I D E I didn’t knowthat.

L I N C O L N It was theepisodewhen Lori and

T-Dogdie. But for afewweeks it was going

to be Carol and Lori. And Sarah, in her

good graceandclass, steppedin and said,

“That’s a terrible mistake.” And so she

knewthat shewas going, but shefought for

you to stay.

M C B R I D E I did not knowthat. I’m goingto

faint. Get her on thephone!

E W That speaks to the family you guys

eath is everywhere in the zombie apoca-lypse. It explains why so many peoplehave come and gone on The WalkingDead (you can see some of those whohave gone on page 58). An actor’s life onthis show is a tenuous one indeed, butthere are six individuals who have some-how managed to beat the odds andsurvive. Andrew Lincoln (Rick), ChandlerRiggs (Carl), Steven Yeun (Glenn), MelissaMcBride (Carol), Norman Reedus (Daryl),and Lennie James (Morgan) were there atthe beginning in season 1, and their char-acters are all still alive and kicking as wenow head into the back half of season 6.

We sat down with the original six in a hotel in midtown Manhattan—where fans were lined up outside hoping to catch a glimpse oftheir favorite stars—and over the course of a relective afternoondiscussed who almost died, who was initially scared of whom,how they felt about the dismissal of the man who gave them theirjobs, dealing with Emmy snubs and viewer discontent, and howmuch longer they plan to keep battling the undead.

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havethat Sarah is not sitting there fighting

for herself to stay on the show, but she’s

fighting for another actor whom she has

respect for.

REEDUS That happens a lot on the show.

We get word of something, and everyone

rallies to change people’s minds. I t happens

all the time.EW Have there been instances where any of

youhaveseenashowrunner’s namepopup

on your phone and think you’re getting that

call telling you your time is up?

STEVEN YEUN I think that happens every

single time too.

LENNIE JAMES I got that the other day!

Exactly that. We were all out together, which

made it even more funny, and a couple of

other people had been walking off, talking

on their phones kind of heatedly in the

corners. Andthen I got a phonecall, andI

looked at my phone and it was [showrunner

Scott M. Gimple], and I was like, What?!

I called him back, and actually it was a con-

versation about somebody else, but my first

thought was“Is this theconversation where

he tells me I’m dead? Where he says, ‘Thanks

for finally coming back, but actually, we’redone with you—now move on’?”

EW Getting back to when you all lost Sarah

Wayne Callies on the show—Chandler, I

remember she felt very protective of you,

and not just as your onscreen mother but

your on-set mother as well. You were just

turning 13 at the time, so being so young,

what was that like for you?

CHANDLER RIGGS Depressing. It washard

for both me and Sarah to go through that

scene, because it was a two-day scene that

4 8 E W.C O M F E B R U A R Y 1 9 2 6 , 2 0 1 6

MelissaMcBride,

Lennie James,Reedus,

ChandlerRiggs, Lincoln,

and StevenYeun photo-

graphed atlast y ear ’s

Com ic-Co n inSan Diego


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T u r n y o u r k i t ch e n i n t o t h e f a m i l y s n a c k b a r

w i th l ig h t , f laky , b uttery lub ® S n ac k r a c k er s.

Fo r s a ti s fi e d c u s to m e r s , e v e r y t ime .


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we shot, and it just felt so repetitive, over

and over and over again. I t felt like it got

drawn out so much, but everyone’s gone

through it.

EW Andrew, what’s it been like to watch

Chandler grow from a young kid to a young

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Entertainment Weekly - February 19, 2016