Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
STARS ON SCREEN
Don’t touch the dial: Whatever happens, don’t change the station. “Channel Zero” may not be a spot on most old-style TV dials, but if you can find it, you’re in for a scare.
The Syfy horror series found critical acclaim with its first two seasons, and with its eighth coming soon, there are even more creepy terrors to be found. While no release date for the third season of “Channel Zero” had been announced as of press time, it’s expected to arrive sometime early this year.
For those who haven’t yet taken the petrifying plunge, “Channel Zero” is definitely a show that’s a bit outside of the norm. Like “American Horror Story” or “Fargo,” the series is an anthology, with each six-episode season being a more or less self-contained story. The first season, subtitled “Candle Cove,” tells the story of a group of adults, including child psychologist Mike (Paul Schneider, “Parks and Recreation”), who all have memories of a creepy TV show that they watched as children that may have driven one of them to commit murder.
“No-End House,” the second season, starred Amy Forsyth (“Defiance”) and Aisha Dee (“Chasing Life”) as friends who become trapped in a supposedly haunted house that turns out to be something far worse, and the upcoming third season, “Butcher’s Block,” stars Olivia Luccardi (“Orange Is the New Black”) as a young woman who discovers something terrifying that’s preying on the residents of the city she’s just recently moved to.
“Channel Zero’s” stories aren’t just plucked out of the minds of Hollywood script writers. They’re based on a genre of fiction that’s popular online called “creepypasta.” These stories are often depicted as being true, and some of the gruesome tales have taken on a life of their own, such as the story of the Slender Man, which has inspired video games, an HBO documentary and, sadly, even an attempted murder.
The next creepypasta tale takes to the screen early in 2018 with “Channel Zero” on Syfy.
Criminally good: Anthologies really are everywhere on TV right now, and one of the most critically loved returns with a new story this week. “American Crime Story’s” first season, “The People v. O. J. Simpson,” won two Golden Globe Awards and an incredible nine Primetime Emmy Awards for its mesmerizing reenactment of the events surrounding that famous murder trial.
It’s been nearly two years since that first season, but the second is finally ready for prime time. “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” premieres Wednesday, Jan. 17, on FX, with a new case, a new cast of characters and some fine actors lined up to portray them.
Gianni Versace was a famous Italian fashion designer who was murdered outside his Miami Beach home in 1997, sending shockwaves through the global fashion industry. In “American Crime Story,” he’s played by Venezuelan actor Édgar Ramírez (“Zero Dark Thirty,” 2012), with Penélope Cruz (“Murder on the Orient Express,” 2017) in the role of his sister Donatella.
Of course, every crime story needs a criminal, and for this anthology that’s serial killer Andrew Cunanan, played by former “Glee” star Darren Criss. Pop star Ricky Martin, Annaleigh Ashford (“Masters of Sex”), Mike Farrell (“MASH”), Jon Jon Briones (“Las Vegas”) and Nico EversSwindell (“Grimm”) help round out the cast.
For “American Crime Story,” this second season has been a long time coming. With the smash success of the first anthology, three more seasons were quickly greenlit, with the second originally planned to focus on the aftermath of 2005’s devastating hurricane Katrina. That story has been pushed back to the third planned season, with the fourth one slated to re-enact the Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton sex scandal.
Its first season was a hit with critics and audiences alike, and its second is finally here. “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” premieres Wednesday, Jan. 17, on FX.
Out with a laugh: It’s the beginning of the end for “Portlandia,” but there are still plenty of laughs left in the celebrated sketch comedy series. Its eighth and final season premieres Thursday, Jan. 18 on IFC.
The comedy stars Carrie Brownstein (“Transparent”) and Fred Armisen (“Saturday Night Live”) in a variety of different roles as they poke fun at the people, the culture and the locations around Portland, Oregon, a city in which they’ve both lived.
For the final season, a huge host of guest stars is lined up to help skewer the city. Big names including Terry Crews (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), Rashida Jones (“Parks and Recreation”), Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”), Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) and David Wain (“Childrens Hospital”) are all helping with the send-off, joining Brownstein and Armisen in portraying a wide range of eccentric and hilarious characters.
Since its premiere in 2011, “Portlandia” has won four Emmys and milked a lot of laughs from a beautiful city. The final season gets underway Thursday, Jan. 18, on IFC.