TWO LOCAL WRITERS DEBUT ON TV SERIES
Two TV series debut this week featuring the writing of Western Pennsylvania natives.
Mt. Lebanon native Terri Minsky, best known for creating Disney Channel’s “Lizzie McGuire,” returns to the Mouse House with “Andi Mack” (8:30 p.m. Friday).
Charleroi native Brian McGreevy, who grew up in Swissvale and Edgewood, adapted “The Son,” based on Philipp Meyer’s novel, for AMC and SundanceTV (9 p.m. Saturday).
‘Andi Mack’
A coming-of-age story about 13year-old Andi Mack (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), this new Disney show features a title character who learns that the family member she thought was her older sister is actually her mother. There’s a bit of a “Gilmore Girls” vibe to the relationship between Andi and her newly revealed mother, Bex (Lilian Bowden), but Ms. Minsky said the story was actually based on actor Jack Nicholson’s life story (he also learned his sister was actually his mother).
“It seemed like a simple reveal that turns a family story on its head,” Ms. Minsky said in a phone interview this week. “The most important thing to me is writing about family dynamics and as much as possible I like writing mother-daughter stories.”
Filmed in Salt Lake City, where Disney Channel produced the “High School Musical” movies, Ms. Minsky said she always envisioned the show as set in suburban Pittsburgh.
“The neighborhood they live in is Shadyside and there are references to a Shadyside Park,” Ms. Minsky said. “But there are mountains in the show. We decided to makei it Anytown, USA, but in my mind the design for the main drag is after Shadyside’s Walnut Street, and the rest of it is just suburban Pittsburgh as I experienced it.”
Andi attends Thomas Jefferson Middle School; Ms. Minsky attended Mt. Lebanon’s Jefferson Middle School.
Andi’s father — actually, it turns out, her grandfather — is named HAM after Ms. Minsky’s late father, lawyer Howard Alan Minsky. Ms. Minsky’s mother, Joan, who still lives in Mt. Lebanon, had a character named after her in Ms. Minsky’s previous series, MTV’s “Finding Carter.”
‘The Son’
Mr. McGreevy executive produced “The Son” in its early stages with writing partner Lee Shipman and has a writing credit on the series’ premiere episode. The pair previously ran the first season of Netflix’s “Hemlock Grove,” based on Mr. McGreevy’s gothic horror novel.
Pierce Brosnan (“Remington Steel”) stars in “The Son” as Eli McCullough, a sometimes brutal family patriarch who loses everything on Texas’ wild frontier, setting him on a path to rebuild with a ranching-and-oil dynasty. “The Son” also flashes back to young Eli (Jacob Lofland) and his Comanche war chief father figure (Zahn McClarnon, “Fargo”).
“I don’t think I’ve ever played a
man as complex as this and as broad [with] this emotional grandeur,” said Mr. Brosnan, who had been looking to return to his TV roots for the past few years. “It's a different landscape than when you joined TV back in the early ’80s, completely. So, it’s a different beast. And, you know, consequently for the audience, it’s exhilarating.”
Mr. McGreevy developed the series with Mr. Shipman and Mr. Meyer over several years. Mr. Meyer’s book was published in 2013, but he said Mr. McGreevy had read drafts of it in 2011. The trio met in grad school in 2005 at the University of Texas at Austin’s writing program.
“They helped me research the book,” Mr. Meyer said in January following an AMC press conference for “The Son” at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “Without these guys, there is no project, end of story, period.”
Mr. Meyer said, “Those guys both had other things to do,” and he departed “The Son” before production began with veteran showrunner Kevin Murphy (“Desperate Housewives,” “Defiance”) coming on board.
AMC declined to make Mr. McGreevy available to discuss “The Son” and Mr. McGreevy did not respond to an emailed interview request.
Kept/canceled
USA renewed “Falling Water” for a second season and “Colony” for a third.
A month after Netflix renewed “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” for a second season, The Hollywood Reporter says the streaming service also has picked up the show for a third go-around.
IFC renewed “Brockmire,” which debuted Wednesday, for a second season.
FXX canceled “Man Seeking Woman” after three seasons.
Fox News Channel canceled “Red Eye,” with the last episode airing overnight tonight at 3 a.m.
Channel surfing
Former Pittsburgher Steve Byrne (“Sullivan & Son”) stars in a stand-up special, “Tell the Damn Joke” (9 tonight), on Showtime. … Comedy Central, previous home to “That’s My Bush” during the first term of George W. Bush, will air “The President Show” (11:30 p.m. April 27) starring Donald Trump impersonator Anthony Atamanuik. … Come fall “Daily Show” correspondent Jordan Klepper will get his own 11:30 p.m. show in the time slot vacated by the canceled “Nightly Show.” … “The Peoples’ Choice Awards” will relocate from CBS to E! in 2018. ... Disney Channel ordered “Raven’s Home,” a spinoff of “That’s So Raven.” … Nickelodeon will produce a 90-minute “Invader Zim” movie. … Canceled “Masterpiece” drama “Home Fires,” airing its second and final season Sunday nights at 9 on PBS, will continue in novel form, according to England’s Radio Times. … British imports “The Halcyon,” set at a London hotel in 1940, and “X Company,” about World War II espionage, will air on cable’s Ovation in fall 2017 and early 2018, respectively. … Amazon landed streaming rights for Thursday night NFL games during the upcoming season.
Tuned In online
Today’s TV Q&A column responds to questions about “The Blacklist,” “Nashville” and “The Kennedys: After Camelot.” This week’s Tuned In Journal includes posts on “Talk Show the Game Show.” Read onlineonly TV content at http:// communityvoices.post-gazette.
This week’s podcast includes conversation about “Big Little Lies,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Legion.” Subscribe or listen to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette podcasts at iTunes or at https://soundcloud.com/ pittsburghpg.