Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Stars on screen
Grim in ‘Gotham’: Just when it was starting to feel safe enough to go out after dark again, Gotham City’s cast of villainous rogues is set to stage a comeback.
“Gotham,” Fox’s dark drama about the shadowy origins of Batman’s greatest enemies, returns from its midseason break Monday, April 24, at a pivotal time for a young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz, “Touch”).
Not only has this season been building up to him finally donning the Caped Crusader’s iconic mask and cape, but one of his greatest enemies finally makes an appearance.
Ra’s al Ghul, the enigmatic leader of DC Comics’s League of Shadows/ League of Assassins, makes his shadowy presence known, with Alexander Siddig providing the latest take on the iconic villain.
The English-Sudanese actor has been a television presence for decades. Most recently he starred in “Game of Thrones” and “Peaky Blinders,” and he’s also had parts in “24,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”
Originally focusing on rookie police officer James Gordon’s (Ben McKenzie, “The O.C.”) fight against Gotham City’s insidious crime lords, “Gotham’s” plot has gradually ramped up the villainy over its three seasons, with many of Batman’s most infamous foes terrorizing the city. The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor, “Another Earth,” 2011), The Riddler (Cory Michael Smith, “Olive Kitteridge”) and Catwoman (Camren Bicondova, “Battlefield America,” 2012) are all active in the city’s streets.
While not as well known to wider audiences as some of Batman’s other foes, Ra’s al Ghul has been making a splash on-screen a lot in recent years. He was the main villain in 2005’s “Batman Begins,” played by Liam Neeson (“Schindler’s List,” 1993), and was played by Matt Nable (“Riddick,” 2013) in CW’s “Arrow.”
“Gotham” returns with a new villain in a new episode airing Monday, April 24, on Fox.
Valley boys: One of HBO’s most critically acclaimed shows is back for another hotly anticipated season. No, it isn’t time for “Game of Thrones” quite yet, although the action in this series can also get pretty cutthroat.
“Silicon Valley” returns for a fourth season on the premium channel starting Sunday, April 23, as the Pied Piper team prepares to take their company in yet another new direction.
Starring Thomas Middleditch (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” 2013), T.J.
Miller (“Cloverfield,” 2008), Josh Brener (“The Internship,” 2013), Martin Starr (“Superbad,” 2007) and Kumail Nanjiani (“Franklin & Bash”) as a group of California techies, the series peels back the veneer on the state’s legendary tech start-up culture with hilarious effect.
By the end of the third season, Pied Piper — the company founded by the main characters — had yet again run into trouble, and was focused on reinventing its flagship software.
The new season opens with a bang, with Pied Piper’s inventor, Richard (Middleditch), resigning from the company, not knowing that the rest of the team was already plotting to get rid of him despite his impressive technical savvy.
Created by Mike Judge, who is best known for animated comedies “King of the Hill” and “Beavis and Butt-Head,” “Silicon Valley” has won two Emmys, has twice won the Critics’ Choice TV Award for Best Comedy Series, and has been nominated for two Golden Globes.
The award-winning comedy returns to HBO Sunday, April 23.
Life after ‘Bones’: After 12 seasons, procedural crime-fighting drama “Bones” has wrapped up for good, and one of its leads has already moved on to his next big project.
David Boreanaz has boarded the cast of an as-yet-untitled drama pilot at CBS, replacing Jim Caviezel (“Person of Interest”), who was originally slated to headline the project before parting with the series over creative differences.
The pilot focuses the camera lens on the lives of a group of elite Navy SEALs as they plan, train for and execute some of the most dangerous missions that their country can ask of them.
Boreanaz’s role is as the leader of his team, and he is joined by Max Thieriot (“Bates Motel”), Jessica Paré (“Mad Men”), A.J. Buckley (“CSI: NY”), Neil Brown Jr. (“Straight Outta Compton,” 2015) and Toni Trucks (“Franklin & Bash”).
Boreanaz’s addition to the cast of the untitled show adds a certain level of star power to the venture. Although it was his long-running role as the handsome Agent Seeley Booth in “Bones” that brought him to his widest audience, by the time he landed that role, he already had a legion of fans, thanks to his starring roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and its spinoff, “Angel.”
He’s been a leading man since his “Buffy” days, and it looks like that streak may continue uninterrupted. More information about Boreanaz’s new project — including its name — is forthcoming as pilot season ramps up.