Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Stars on screen
Swan song: HBO’s hit psychological thriller may be coming to an end, but its third and final season is the start of something new for an HBO veteran.
Lindsay Duncan joins the cast of “The Leftovers” in time for the series’s third and final season, premiering Sunday,April 16.This isn’t the “About Time” (2013) star’s first role with the specialty channel; she played the cruel Roman matron Servilia of the Junii in HBO’s award-winning series “Rome.”
She joins “The Leftovers” as it comes off a critically acclaimed second season. The series opens three years after a global happening with shades of the rapture, when an incredible two percent of the world’s population suddenly disappeared at the exact same moment. It stars Justin Theroux (“The Girl on the Train,” 2016), Christopher Eccleston (“Doctor Who”),Amy Brenneman (“Private Practice”), Liv Tyler (“Armageddon,” 1998) and Chris Zylka (“The Secret Circle”).
While the first season was set in the town of Mapleton, New York, season 2 of “The Leftovers” moved the action to a small town in Texas that holds the distinction of being the only known place on the planet that didn’t lose anyone to the Sudden Departure.The third season finds the characters relocating yet again, this time to Australia.
The change in location also comes with a change to the show’s credits. Besides Duncan’s arrival, returning cast members Scott Glenn (“The Bourne Ultimatum,” 2007) and Jasmin Savoy Brown (“Stitchers”) have received promotions to series regulars, while Ann Dowd (“Collateral Beauty,” 2016) has bowed out for this season.
Its third season may be its last, but if “The Leftovers” lives up to the standard set by its first two seasons, there will be a lot packed into its eight episodes.The final season gets underway Sunday,April 16, on HBO.
Happy times: Jane Lynch is sticking with NBC.The Emmy-winning host of the summertime hit “Hollywood Game Night” has joined the cast of an upcoming comedy pilot with the peacock network.
“Relatively Happy” stars Jon Rudnitsky (“Saturday Night Live”) and Genevieve Angelson (“Good Girls Revolt”) as a brother and sister who end up living under the same roof for the first time in their adult lives.
Lynch’s role is as Henry’s (Rudnitsky) boss, a hard-drinking, womanizing attorney. It’s a role that was originally written with a man in mind, but casting Lynch in the role should give “Relatively Happy” a unique flavor.
Beyond “Hollywood Game Night,” Lynch’s roles include villainous cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester in “Glee” (a role that earned her an Emmy and a Golden Globe) and big-screen appearances in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005), “For Your Consideration” (2006) and “Wreck-It Ralph” (2012), among others.
Of course, “Relatively Happy” is still in the pilot stage, without a full series commitment, but with three Emmys and a Golden Globe to her name, Jane Lynch is a television force to be reckoned with. She can be seen this summer hosting “Hollywood Game Night” on NBC.
Robot in motion: USA Network has moved one of its most decorated shows — but fans needn’t worry, it’s only a short delay. “Mr. Robot” has been a darling of critics and viewers alike since its premiere two seasons ago, earning two Golden Globes and two Emmys from six nominations. For its third season, the one-time summer techno-drama moves to the fall, with its 10 episodes getting their start in October.
That’s not the only change in store for season 3:Two-time Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale (“Boardwalk Empire”) joins the cast as a series regular. He plays a used car salesman, joining series stars Rami Malek (“Night at the Museum,” 2006) and Christian Slater (“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” 1991).
In another casting change, albeit a somewhat minor one, B.D. Wong (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”) has been promoted to series regular. Since the first season, he’s recurred as Whiterose, the leader of a shadowy Chinesebased organization known as Dark Army.
The rest of the cast is also slated to return, including Carly Chaikin (“Suburgatory”), Portia Doubleday (“Carrie,” 2013), Martin Wallstrom (“Ego,” 2013), Michael Cristofer (“Die Hard With a Vengeance,” 1995), Grace Gummer (“American Horror Story”) and Stephanie Corneliussen (“Legends of Tomorrow”).