Sitcom mixes it up Saturday nights
Don’t think about it too hard, but Mixology — a clever sitcom about suburban singles connecting and hooking up at a bar — is bending the rules of traditional TV comedy. Or trying to, anyway.
The U. S. broadcast networks unveil their fall schedules starting Monday, and the betting is that Mixology is a long- shot at best for a second season. CTV has consigned Mixology to Saturday nights, which, given its premise — lonely singles trying to find their soulmates while hanging out one night with friends over drinks — is apt. The Altmanesque, real- time comedy focuses on a different couple each week. There are a dozen characters in all, including Kacey, played by Montreal’s Vanessa Lengies. Each episode revolves around a particular pairing. Mixology was made for binge viewing, because it’s in real time — the events take place over one night in a bar — and because, seen together, the episodes have a depth and resonance that’s both revealing and disarming. Ten episodes have aired; just three remain.
( Saturday, 8 p. m. CTV) I am interested in upcoming schedules for British dramas — specifically Vera and Scott & Bailey. Is there a site for such shows? Diane via email Unfortunately, we haven’t found any indication that either of these excellent series will be airing in Canada anytime soon. Our best advice would be to keep an eye on the listings for the channel you’ve seen them on in the past — a PBS affiliate, perhaps? — and let that station know you’d like to see more of them. Fortunately, you can now get the first three seasons of Vera, which stars the wonderful Brenda Blethyn as a driven detective with a messy personal life, on DVD. Seasons 1 and 2 of Scott & Bailey, which stars Lesley Sharp and Suranne Jones as the titular detectives, are also coming out on disc, but a release date hadn’t been scheduled at this writing. Does Bravo still show Inside the Actors Studio? If so, when? Kelly Smith The James Lipton- hosted series still is turning out new episodes, but they’re scheduled irregularly, or frustratingly irregularly, as some people might say. To find it, keeping a close eye on Bravo’s listings is a near- necessity; even then, the telecast dates sometimes are released so late, they don’t make the deadline for some TV listings. Two of the most recent episodes were shown on consecutive nights shortly before the Academy Awards, and they featured sessions with two of the nominees: Amy Adams ( American Hustle) and Matthew McConaughey, who went on to win best actor for Dallas Buyers Club. What can you tell me about Matthew Gray Gubler, who plays Dr. Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds? Louisa F. via email Like his Criminal Minds character, Gubler, 34, hails from Las Vegas. He studied acting at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies and film directing at New York University. He began modelling while in New York, then an internship with director Wes Anderson led to a small part in the movie The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Shortly afterward, he was cast in Criminal Minds. His other credits include the series The 4400, the Alvin and the Chipmunks movies — as the voice of Simon — and the upcoming horrorcomedy film Suburban Gothic.