You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: There was a Jay Mohr series set in the film industry. What was its name? And was the studio head on that show based on Harvey Weinstein?
A: At first, I thought you might be asking if Weinstein inspired Peter Dragon, the movie producer played by Jay Mohr on 鈥淎ction,鈥� a dark comedy that aired on Fox in 1999. After all, on the DVD of the series, Mohr himself describes Dragon as 鈥渢he absolute worst human being on the planet.鈥� But there is also a studio boss on the show, and I don鈥檛 think either he or Dragon was specifically inspired by Weinstein. Instead, the writers and producers drew on a range of stories about the movie business to create fictional characters inspired by people they knew. Including plenty of monsters.
As recent stories in the wake of the Weinstein revelations have made clear, Weinstein鈥檚 behaviour was far from unique, and hardly confined to people at the top of the entertainment (or any other business鈥�) pyramid. Maureen Ryan, the fine TV critic for Variety, pointed that out in a superb column about a TV executive鈥檚 assault of her in 2014. 鈥淭here are men at many levels in this industry (and others) who abuse their power and break people,鈥� she said.
Q: Do you know what happened to the person Meghan McCain replaced on 鈥淭he View鈥�? I have seen no mention of it anywhere.
A: You may have missed the September telecast where Jedediah Bila announced it was her last day on the show. She said she had other opportunities and was 鈥渨orking insanely鈥� on an as-yet-unnamed book set to come out in 2018. Still, her departure so early in a new TV season raised some eyebrows ? and prompted speculation that it had to do with Bila鈥檚 tough questioning of Hillary Clinton a few days earlier on the show. According to Deadline.com some 鈥淰iew鈥� staffers were 鈥渃oncerned about how Bila handled the interview.鈥�
Q: What happened to the TV program 鈥淪uperior Donuts鈥�? This was a great show with humor and real-life situations.
A: It begins a new season on Oct. 30. In addition to airing on the NFL Network, Thursday night football games have been airing on CBS in September and October and will be on NBC in November and December. That leads to shuffling of scripted programs, and delays of premieres, while the popular football telecasts fill several prime-time hours.
Q: Can you tell me what happened to 鈥淟ongmire鈥�? Did Netflix cancel it?
A: There will be a new season, the final one for the series, arriving on the streaming service on Nov. 17.
Q: Last month, TNT showed a trailer for a new series based on one of my favorite novels, 鈥淭he Alienist鈥� by Caleb Carr. There is no release date that I can find. Can you please shed some light on when this series will air?
A: It premieres on Jan. 22. Here鈥檚 what TNT says about it: Set in 1896 鈥渁midst a backdrop of vast wealth, extreme poverty and technological innovation,鈥� the psychological thriller stars Daniel Bruhl, Luke Evans, Dakota Fanning and Brian Geraghty.
Q: There was comedy running on CBS in the early 90鈥檚 called 鈥淒octor, Doctor.鈥� It starred Matt Frewer as a doctor in a group practice in Providence, Rhode Island. He also had a segment on a local news/morning show. It was one of the funniest, most off-the-wall shows I have ever seen. I would love to see it released on DVD, preferably during my lifetime. Any chance?
A: I do not know of any plans; still, there are so many channels and streaming services mining TV鈥檚 past, it may pop up somewhere. But the comedy was not a big hit, airing for just 40 episodes in 1989-91, and underdoing some changes along the way. While Matt Frewer has a following, thanks especially to playing Max Headroom, a DVD would take a sizable fan base willing to buy the thing ? as well as clearing all the necessary rights.
