INFORMATION PLEASE
Crossing Lines aired Season 1 earlier this summer in the States and is currently being replayed on CBC. Can you tell me if there will be any future seasons?
Carol Clarke via email
Yes, there will be — at least one, anyway. Sony Pictures Television and France’s TF1 announced in August that the drama series — about an elite squad targeting crimes that cross national borders — would have a second season of 12 episodes. Stars William Fichtner, Donald Sutherland, Marc Lavoine, Tom Wlaschiha, Gabriella Pesson and Richard Flood will all be back. Carrie- Anne Moss ( The Matrix) is among the guest stars slated to appear in Season 2. As to when the new season will hit the airwaves, that was unknown at this writing.
I read your column in which a reader asked about whether the second season of Newhart was going to be released on DVD. I Googled the show and found under Wikipedia that Season 2 will be released Feb. 11, 2014, so you were right to say: Never say “never.”
Shauna Carter via email
We thank you for the update, and we thank Shout Factory for buying the rights to the hit 1980s sitcom and planning the upcoming Season 2 release. If you remember, this is the season in which spoiled rich girl Stephanie Vanderkellen ( Julia Duffy) became a regular presence at Dick and Joanna Loudon’s ( Bob Newhart, Mary Frann) Vermont inn.
Why was the return of Mike & Molly advertised as the “new” Mike & Molly? They look like the same actors and characters to me.
Donna Parsons
It’s not a matter of the actors changing in any way but the premise. By taking Molly out of her teaching job and letting her sample various professions in her pursuit of a writing career, CBS has tried to give Melissa McCarthy even more of a showcase ... quite understandably, given the movie stardom that she has developed in recent years. That still might beg another asking of why the network didn’t use the show as a season starter, given McCarthy’s popularity, but at least it’s back on air now.