BY DANA JACKSON
Q:Is the acclaimed series “Homicide” available to stream anywhere? I’ve looked on all the major ones like Netflix and Amazon and can’t find it. -- K.S. A:NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street” isn’t available to stream yet, but according to an article on TVLine.com, that could change soon. The series aired in the 1990s and starred Yaphet Kotto, Richard Belzer, Melissa Leo and Andre Braugher. Braugher recently passed away at the age of 61 after battling lung cancer. His untimely death has fans inquiring why “Homicide,” the show that launched his career, isn’t available to stream anywhere. In addition to its incredible acting, “Homicide” was known for its dramatic montages set to music. Securing the rights to air these songs, instead of dubbing them in with other music, has been a huge goal of NBC and Universal. It’ll be well worth the wait once the show can be seen and heard as it originally aired.
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Why isn’t the actor who played Niles in the new “Frasier” reboot? Is he going to show up anytime soon? -- K.J.
Q:A: Unfortunately, the new “Frasier” series, which is streaming exclusively on Paramount+, is missing a few memorable supporting characters. Kelsey Grammer is, of course, reprising his iconic comedy character of Frasier Crane, which he originated on “Cheers” before the character moved to Seattle and got his own series. But there’s no Niles, Martin or Daphne.
Sadly, John Mahoney passed away from throat cancer in 2018. David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves
are both alive and well, but their characters, Niles and Daphne, are not a part of the new cast. Pierce recently told the Los Angeles Times that he had several other projects in the works and that he “never really wanted to go back” to “Frasier.” He further explained that he “loved every moment” of doing the original series, but that he wanted to do other things.
Those things include co-starring in the lovely HBO series “Julia,” where he plays famed chef Julia Child’s husband, Paul, opposite Sarah Lancashire’s titular character. He’s also starring in Stephen Sondheim’s new Off-Broadway musical “Here We Are.”
If Frasier gets renewed for another season, perhaps Pierce and Leeves will pop in for a guest appearance like Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith) and Peri Gilpin (Roz) did this year.
Send me your questions at NewCelebrityExtra@gmail.com, or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.
(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc. “Barbie” (PG-13) -- The highest-grossing film of 2023, clocking in at $1.4 billion, is finally out on streaming! Margot Robbie stars as the titular character in director Greta Gerwig’s fourth feature film, opposite a very sassy Ryan Gosling as none other than Ken. The film follows Barbie in Barbieland as she experiences an existential crisis after waking up one day and no longer being “stereotypically perfect.” With the help of Ken, Barbie travels to the real world in an attempt to find the child who’s playing with her -- her “owner,” if you will -- so that she can return to her perfectly pink life. So far, its director, lead actress and supporting actor are all nominated for Golden Globes, and the film itself is nominated in the Best Motion Picture and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement categories. With the cultural movement that “Barbie” became this summer, the last nomination should be theirs for the taking! (Max)
“Saltburn” (R) -- “The Banshees of Inisherin” star Barry Keoghan jumps into the role of Oliver Quick, a misunderstood, straight-edge student at Oxford University who struggles to fit in with his classmates. After a coincidental meeting with a popular student named Felix (Jacob Elordi), Oliver becomes fast friends with Felix and eventually gets invited to spend the summer at Felix’s family estate, called Saltburn. The estate is buzzing with bizarre characters who filter in and out of the lavish property, including fellow Oxford student Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) and family friend Pamela (Carey Mulligan). As the summer comes to an end, Oliver realizes that the life he enjoyed at Saltburn is the only life he wants to live. Out now, this psychological thriller is director Emerald Fennell’s sophomore film, her debut being “Promising Young Woman,” which also features Mulligan. (Prime Video)
“Beau Is Afraid” (R) -- Directed by Ari Aster (“Midsommar”), this film features Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix -- and got Phoenix his seventh Golden Globe nomination. He plays Beau, the son of a wealthy businesswoman named Mona, who grew up to become a very anxious, accident-prone adult. Beau receives news that his mother died in an accident as he was on his way to visit her, and as if his astronomically bad luck couldn’t possibly get worse, he gets into an accident himself after hearing the news. While the date of his mother’s funeral looms closer, all of his plans to get there goes awry, and Beau surrenders to a series of trippy experiences that push him to let out the grief and guilt surrounding him. With an ensemble cast of Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane, Michael Gandolfini and more, this surrealist horror film is out now, after a disappointing box-office release.