Why was son Ben missing on ‘Waltons’ Homecoming’?
You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: On the recent broadcast of the updated homecoming episode of “The Waltons,” son Ben was missing from the story. Was there any reason for this?
A: According to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, “The Waltons’ Homecoming” executive producer Ben Haskell said, “We made the decision to reduce it to six (children) because we had so many characters in this movie … to service that having another child was going to complicate that in the short amount of time we had to tell the story that we wanted to tell.” If The CW orders more Waltons stories, Ben will be part of them, Haskell said.
The “Homecoming” movie, by the way, is getting a replay on The CW on Dec. 11, and is streaming on cwtv.com and the CW app.
Q: I am wondering if the season finale of “New Amsterdam” is the series finale. The main character has left the hospital and is moving to London.
A: First, what you saw recently was not the season finale but what is sometimes called a midseason finale or a winter finale, a dramatic episode leading into a break during the full TV season. “New Amsterdam” is due back on the NBC schedule on Jan. 4 following the season premiere of “This Is Us.” There have been steady rumors that star Ryan Eggold plans to leave the show, but he will be around when the series resumes. Showrunner David Schulner told this to Cinemablend.com: Max Goodwin (Eggold) and Helen Sharpe (Freema Agyeman) “have their own challenges in London. Just because they’re following the joy doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. They’ve got their own challenges … but it’s certainly joyous for them. … And unfortunately, we juxtapose that joy in London with what’s happening at New Amsterdam, which could not be worse.”
Q: When will “Outlander’s” sixth season air?
A: The new season of the series based on Diana Gabaldon’s books is expected to start on March 6, 2022, on Starz. It draws on Gabaldon’s book “A Breath of Snow and Ashes.” According to several reports, the sixth season will be only eight episodes because of COVID-related production delays. But a seventh season has already been ordered.
Q: Is Benny coming back on the TV show “Bull”?
A: No. Freddy Rodriguez, who played Benny Colon, was ousted from the series last spring along with producer Glenn Gordon Caron following a workplace investigation, as EW.com reported. The details of the investigation were not released. But “Bull” has been under scrutiny for several years following actress Eliza Dushku’s accusations of sexual harassment against star Michael Weatherly. “Bull” stayed on the air, and Weatherly with it, after a network executive said Weatherly was remorseful about his conduct and had apologized.
Q: Someone wrote asking about “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” It can be found on the Decades channel Monday through Friday.
A: In a column a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Moore’s classic comedy was on Prime Video, Hulu and DVD – but several readers pointed out that I had missed its inclusion on nostalgiabased channel Decades. (It’s a big entertainment world and sometimes I get lost in it.) Decades is a digital channel often available as a secondary service from a broadcast station; besides Decades, these digital subchannels include MeTV, Grit and Laff. Your cable or satellite provider may also have them. To locate where Decades is in your area, go to decades.com/ wheretowatch.
All the puzzles on this page were prepared for publication on Saturday and ran in our digital edition. They are repeated here as a courtesy for print readers.