You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: I never had a favourite actress until I saw Mare Winningham in a movie made for TV. She had parents who were deaf and I remember Sid Caesar was in it. What is Winningham doing these days?
A: The movie you remember, 1985鈥檚 鈥淟ove is Never Silent,鈥� was significant in its use of deaf actors (Phyllis Frelich and Ed Waterstreet) in major roles 鈥� and a key work for Winningham, who received the second of seven Emmy nominations to date for it. But she was a veteran singer and actress by then, having previously won an Emmy for her work in 鈥淎mber Waves.鈥� (More recent nominations include roles in 鈥淗atfields & McCoys,鈥� 鈥淢ildred Pierce鈥� and 鈥淟aw & Order: SVU.鈥� She also had an Oscar nomination, as best supporting actress in 鈥淕eorgia.鈥�) Her work is ongoing, with parts over the last several years including several installments of 鈥淎merican Horror Story鈥� as well as 鈥淕eostorm,鈥� 鈥淧hilomena,鈥� 鈥淭he Affair,鈥� 鈥淯nder the Dome鈥� and 鈥淗awaii Five-0.鈥�
Q: A year or two ago there was a show called 鈥淎merican Stuffers鈥� about a father, his two sons and wife; he was a taxidermist specializing in freeze-drying pets. Will it come back?
A: You may have been seeing repeats of 鈥淎merican Stuffers,鈥� which ended after a brief run in 2012.
Q: My daughter wants to know what happened to 鈥淥nce Upon a Time.鈥� It has not been on for several weeks now. Is it on hiatus or cancelled?
A: The fantasy drama returns to the ABC lineup on March 2. The show鈥檚 shift to Friday nights, which came with a reboot, seemingly did not help its ratings; but network executive Channing Dungey recently said delayed viewing via recording and On Demand has gone way up, indicating the fans are still there, but more are time-shifting their viewing instead of watching the show at its broadcast time. As a result, Dungey reportedly is 鈥渃autiously optimistic鈥� about the show continuing next season.
Q: Seeing Gary Sinise in the Rose Parade prompts me to ask if 鈥淐riminal Minds: Beyond Borders鈥� is returning this year. I really enjoyed that show and miss it.
A: The former 鈥淐SI: NY鈥� star, who was grand marshal in the parade, will not be making any more 鈥淏eyond Borders鈥� episodes. CBS cancelled the drama in 2017.
Q: Can you please tell me if 鈥淣ate and Jeremiah By Design鈥� is coming back on air? It is a really great show and shows a lot of heart.
A: The series with designers and husbands Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent will have new episodes on TLC beginning this spring.
Q: There was a TV show in the late 鈥�70s that each week followed three different people who bought a lottery ticket. At the end of the show only one won. The opening theme song told people don鈥檛 be afraid to dream. I would appreciate any information you can give about the show.
A: 鈥淪weepstakes鈥� was a drama airing on NBC for a few months in 1979. According to 鈥淭he Complete Directory to Prime Time and Network Cable TV Shows,鈥� each episode showed the lives of three lottery finalists for a $1,000,000 lottery prize. Edd Byrnes (鈥�77 Sunset Strip,鈥� 鈥淕rease鈥�) played the emcee of the televised lottery drawing; the rest of the cast varied from week to week. It鈥檚 not the only time a network gambled on a scripted lottery series. ABC had 鈥淟ottery,鈥� with Ben Murphy handing out prizes to sweepstakes winners, in 1983-84; in 2006, NBC tried out 鈥淲indfall,鈥� where a group of friends shared a $386 million prize. None of these shows proved to be a big winner.
