Hollywood Q&A
Q: I was sorry to see that Louis Gossett Jr. died. How many TV series did he do? – Steve Eagle, Johnstown, Pa.
A: He did quite a bit of guest-star work throughout the 1960s and 1970s, encompassing shows from “The Partridge Family” and “Good Times” to “The Rockford Files” and “The Six Million Dollar Man,” before scoring huge attention — and a Primetime Emmy Award — for ABC’s 1977 television milestone “Roots,” which was a limited series (or, in the terminology of that time, a “miniseries”), but a series nonetheless. After that, Gossett spent a season as the mentor to the title character in NBC’s “The Powers of Matthew Star” (1982-83), then played a crime-solving anthropology professor in five “Gideon Oliver” films for an “ABC Mystery Movie” anthology in 1989. He went back to the miniseries format in CBS’s “Return to Lonesome Dove” in 1993 and did two “Ray Alexander” mystery movies for NBC in the mid1990s, then recurred on the CBS sci-fi show “Extant” in 2014-15 and on “Stargate SG-1” in 2005-06, when it was on what now is Syfy. Following another recurring role in the third and final season of Sundance TV’s “Hap and Leonard” (2018), Gossett had his last continuing television part in HBO’s “Watchmen” (2019), as the ex-superhero grandfather of the lead female character who was played by Regina King (“Shirley,” 2024).
Q: Why do so many characters in the firehouse seem to be coming and going on “Chicago Fire” these days? – Brian Lawrence, via e-mail
A: We suspect it’s largely due to the producers’ quest to find what feels like the right mix, something that isn’t always easy to achieve — especially after losing such long-timers as Kara Killmer’s Sylvie Brett and Alberto Rosende’s Blake Gallo (not to mention, earlier, Jesse Spencer’s Matt Casey). It’s a measure of giving the character his or her own personality, and fitting that among the other established figures can be tricky.
Rome Flynn stayed only for six “Chicago Fire” episodes as Jake Gibson, and Jocelyn Hudon entered the show immediately afterward as Brett’s paramedic successor Lyla Novak … who initially seemed a bit too man-crazy for her own good, but soon proved her professional mettle by helping to defuse a tense situation involving an armed teenager. Michael Bradway has also just been added to the cast as fireman Jack Damon, and more changes may be yet to come when the 13th year begins next season.
Q: What sort of work did Mayan Lopez do before she began acting with her father George on “Lopez vs. Lopez”? – Judy Shepard, Modesto, Calif.
A: She has said that she wanted to be in the entertainment field since childhood, with one of her goals being to perform with Chicago’s famed Second City comedy troupe — and she eventually got to do that. Her dad also helped get her start, since she appeared in a couple of episodes of his “George Lopez” series that ran from 2002 to 2007. She’s noted that her parents resisted letting her get into show business at a young age, but she was determined to pursue such a career. Mayan began doing TikTok videos several years ago, and that’s how “Lopez vs. Lopez” came about, since one of the themes of those postings was her estrangement from George and the reasons for it. A producer saw it and helped develop what became the father and daughter’s NBC series, on which they both serve as executive producers as well as stars, and Mayan maintains that doing the show with George has helped to heal their relationship.
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