If ‘Ordinary Joe’ looks familiar, he should
Q: I’ve been seeing ads for the new show “Ordinary Joe,” and the actor who stars in it looks like the same one who played Bob Benson on “Mad Men.” Is it? – Penny Goldman, via e-mail
A: It is. James Wolk is the performer in question, and he actually has three roles in one in the NBC series that’s slated to premiere Sept. 20. The drama has a concept like that of the Gwyneth Paltrow movie “Sliding Doors,” showing the multiple ways the same person’s life could have turned out if they had just done one thing differently. In-between “Mad Men” and “Ordinary Joe,” Wolk has had several other series including “Lone Star,” (which somewhat famously aired only two episodes before Fox pulled it), “The Crazy Ones,” “Zoo,” “Goliath,” “Tell Me a Story” and “Watchmen.”
Q: Since the on-camera cast is new, why was Kristen Bell brought back as the voice of “Gossip Girl” for the remake? – Cindy Paul, Columbus, Ohio
A: The executive producers – who are the same ones on the new HBO Max version as on the original series – likely felt that Bell’s distinctive sound was hard to match or beat for that particular part, plus they knew how it was to work with her from having done it before. And as for Bell, as she told us recently, it’s one of the easiest jobs she’s had in her career since she doesn’t have to spend extra time getting her hair and makeup done. It’s all about her voice, which she’s also exhibited in cartoon voice-overs she’s done, so she can look however she wants while recording her lines.