What’s Lauren Graham up to?
Q: What is the talented actress Lauren Graham doing lately?
A: Graham (”Gilmore Girls,” “Parenthood”) has recently been seen on the delightful musical series “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” on NBC. The series stars Jane Levy as Zoey Clarke, who through a mishap is able to figure out people’s unspoken feelings by seeing and hearing them perform songs reflecting those feelings. Graham, billed as “special guest star” on the show, plays Zoey’s boss. You may also have heard her as the voice of Oxana Hauntley on the animated series “Vampirina” for Disney Junior. And she has written several books, such as 2018’s advice to graduates, “In Conclusion, Don’t Worry About It.”
Q: I need to know what happened to the great, great show “Get Shorty.” It ended Season 3 in Episode 7 without any explanation. This is absolutely the best show on cable.
A: The Epix comedy-drama inspired by Elmore Leonard’s novel (which also led to the movie “Get Shorty”) wrapped up its third season in seven episodes. That’s a smaller order than for the two previous seasons, which each had 10 episodes. But I’ve mentioned before that a lot of series just don’t make that many episodes anymore. Take “Fleabag,” for instance. The remarkable, multi-award-winning comedy from Phoebe Waller-Bridge has done two seasons of just six episodes each —and Waller-Bridge has said that’s the end of it.
Q: Settle a bet. An early TV show was about a society in which everyone had brain implants so they could constantly receive information. Since they were constantly bombarded with information, they didn’t have the ability to analyze or evaluate the information. I believe the flow of information was called “the stream.” The central character had suffered a head injury and couldn’t be implanted, so he was considered an enemy. Was this an “Outer Limits” or a “Twilight Zone”? Of course, such a society with people addicted to a constant information stream could never happen in reality.
A: Pretty funny ending there. The episode you remember was on “The Outer Limits” and was called “Stream of Consciousness.” But it’s not quite as old as you think. “The Outer Limits” originally aired from 1963 to 1965, then was revived in the mid-’90s. “Stream of Consciousness” premiered in 1997, during the third season of the newer “Limits.” One of the places you can see it again is on Hulu, which carries both the original “Outer Limits” and the later version.
Q: Has there ever been a married and constantly working couple of actors who were married as long and worked as much as John McIntire and Jeanette Nolan?
A: Character actors McIntire (19071991) and Nolan (1911-1998) certainly had long and successful careers that included working together and apart across a marriage that began in 1935. But there have been some other great, marriages of entertainers. For example, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara were married from 1954 until her death in 2015 with plenty of work, including many collaborations, along the way.
Q: I really enjoyed “NCIS: New Orleans.” Will it be returning this year?
A: The drama starring Scott Bakula has moved to Sundays as part of some lineup juggling by CBS. While recent telecasts are repeats, new episodes start Feb. 16.