Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Stars on screen
Jackson thrills: It’s a spooky time of year, and things are about to get a whole lot more ... thrilling. Michael Jackson’s estate has teamed up with CBS to craft a Halloween treat that wraps the late pop star’s music in a sweet animated special that premieres Friday, Oct. 27.
The hour-long “Michael Jackson’s Halloween” features a spookily good cast of actors lending their voice talents to the animated characters. It follows Victoria (Kiersey Clemons, “Extant”) and Vincent (Lucas Till, “MacGyver”), a pair of millennials who meet on Halloween night and end up at a spooky inn called This Place Hotel, located at 777 Jackson St.
Of course, it’s no ordinary hotel. With the dog Ichabod at their side, the duo ends up having a magical adventure together, with Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory”), Lucy Liu (“Elementary”), Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”), Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) and George Eads (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) voicing the many characters they meet along the way.
Since Jackson’s tragic passing in 2009, the “King of Pop” has maintained a special place in the public consciousness.The 2009 documentary “This Is It,” which showcased the artist’s preparations for the concert series that was canceled due to his death, was a smash hit with audiences despite accusations that it was made to profit so soon after Jackson’s passing.
“Michael Jackson’s Halloween” proves that the late, great Michael Jackson remains very much in the public consciousness.The animated musical premieres Friday, Oct. 27, on CBS.
Nineteen reasons to watch: One of the biggest — and scariest — shows on TV is back, and just in time for Halloween. “The Walking Dead” returns to AMC for an eighth season Sunday, Oct. 22, with a cast that’s packed with stars.
The zombie apocalypse series, which is based on a series of comic books by the same name, pulls in viewership numbers that were previously unprecedented for a cable network, so a new season is kind of a big deal. For this eighth outing, there aren’t any new faces in the starring lineup per se, but three previously recurring actors have received promotions to series regular status.
That brings the show up to a whopping 19 — that’s right, 19 — series regulars. Katelyn Nacon (“T@gged”), who plays Enid, Steven Ogg (“Westworld”), who plays the psychopathic Simon, and Pollyanna McIntosh (“The Woman,” 2011), who plays Jadis, the leader of the Scavengers, have all seen their names jump up in the credits to more prominent positions.
The Oct. 22 premiere is also more than just the start of a new season: It also marks a significant milestone for the series as its 100th episode. While there might not be many reasons to celebrate during a zombie apocalypse, this level of success just might be one of them. Sadly, this season also brings with it some tragic baggage. During filming in July, a stuntman was killed in a fall, shutting down production for several days.
It’s one of the biggest and most popular shows on television, and much like its characters, “The Walking Dead” continues to thrive. Season 8 of the undead drama premieres Sunday, Oct. 22, on AMC.
Another chance for Love: A favorite TV movie from the 1970s might be getting a second chance at a series. “Get Christie Love,” starring Teresa Graves (“Old Dracula,” 1974) as titular police detective Christie Love, was a big hit as a TV film in 1974, although the subsequent TV series that spun off of it never really went anywhere.
Well, some Hollywood movers and shakers are working hard to bring Christie Love back. Prolific producer Debra Martin Chase and veteran actor Vin Diesel (“The Fate of the Furious,” 2017) have teamed up to make the project a reality, and they’ve brought in former “The Good Wife” producer Courtney Kemp Agboh to serve as showrunner.The series is still in very early production at ABC and doesn’t yet have any actors attached to it; the network has ordered a pilot but hasn’t yet committed to a full series.
Love herself — whoever ends up playing her — is a black, female CIA agent who heads an elite team. She’s no pencil-pusher, though; Love is the queen of going undercover, able to transform herself into whomever she needs to be to get close to her targets and get the job done. The original “Get Christie Love,” despite its short life on ABC, nonetheless holds the distinction of being the first hour-long drama to star a black woman in the lead role.
Reboots of classic shows are very much in demand this season, with new iterations of “Miami Vice,” “The Jetsons,” “Starsky and Hutch” and “True Lies” among the many classics getting a fresh coat of paint.