‘The Red Line’ has made its one trip for CBS
Q: What happened to “The Red Line”? It just disappeared. – Alice Larson, DeLand, Fla.
A: CBS intended the Noah Wyle-starring drama to be a limited “event” series, so all of its eight produced episodes aired over consecutive Sundays in April and May, two episodes per night. The network did have an option to continue the franchise, presumably with a different story, but it decided not to exercise that despite the considerable producing cred of Greg Berlanti and Ava DuVernay. The program’s less-than-strong ratings undoubtedly were a big factor.
Q: It’s interesting to see Mischa Barton as part of the cast of “The Hills: New Beginnings,” and it made me think that I haven’t seen her do much acting lately. What has she been doing professionally? – Amber Kay, via e-mail
A: The past several years largely have been a combination of stage work, independent films and “Dancing With the Stars” for her. Her movies have leaned largely toward horror and suspense, by her professed preference, with such titles as “The Basement” and “Ouija House” included; thanks to her residual fame from the series “The O.C.” (which inspired MTV to develop both “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” and “The Hills”), the makers of such relatively small films undoubtedly have been happy to have Barton both present and promotable. Barton also had the role of Shelby in a production of “Steel Magnolias” that toured Ireland and marked the first time she had done live theater in a while. And in 2016, she competed in the spring season of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” staying in the contest for a month before she and partner Artem Chigvintsev were eliminated.
You taped most of “Bring the Funny” before it premiered. Did it fulfill what you’d hoped for?
Oh, yeah, absolutely. It was intriguing from the get-go. We wanted a super-duper-diverse squad (of judges), and we have a wonderful host in Amanda Seales, so we were ready to start runnin’ and gunnin’.
What do you look for in comics who appear on “Bring the Funny”?
You’ve got to please the room that you’re performing in front of, and audience reaction is key. For any performance, it’s critical to have volume be the main thing that people are reacting with. For a $250,000 grand prize, you have to blow the roof off the place.
Does watching comics compete on “Bring the Funny” bring back memories of your own auditioning for “Saturday Night Live”?
It’s similar, because you don’t have a lot of time to make a first impression. And even if it goes great the first time or the second time, you don’t have that many other chances, so it all feels very dire and critical. I’m sure it’s very nerve-racking and stressful for the performers, so yeah, I can relate to that.