What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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September 20 - 26, 2020 WHATS UP! T5 BY MICHELLE ROSE TV Media Definition of 'Icon': They're five-time Grammy winners who dominated country music charts in the 1980s and '90s with a string of Top 10 hits (20, to be exact). And now, the story of mother-daughter singing duo Naomi and Wynonna Judd, aka The Judds, appears to be headed for the small screen. Fox is working on a new, one- hour anthology drama series that tells the true stories of mu- sic legends who have left their imprint on recording history. Appropriately titled "Icon," the series would profile a different artist each season, beginning with The Judds, who are on board as executive producers. You might be thinking that the story of these country music hit- makers is well-trodden territory, given their 2011 OWN docuse- ries, "The Judds," and the many bestselling memoirs written by mom Naomi and daughters Wynonna and Ashley, who fol- lowed her own path to stardom as an actress. But theirs is a story that transcends music genres, a story anchored by a loving but fractious family dynamic that has been tested by fame and tragedy. And quite frankly, that makes for good TV, while The Judds' catalog certainly contains enough hits to craft a killer soundtrack. The Judds stopped perform- ing regularly as a duo in 1991 fol- lowing Naomi's hepatitis C diag- nosis, and Wynonna went on to enjoy a successful solo career (she has a few concerts sched- uled in 2020). There have been a few appearances and one-off concerts, but the last opportuni- ty to see The Judds perform live was their 2010-11 Last Encore tour. And while country music's most successful duo is due to re- ceive their very own star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame next year, this new Fox anthology se- ries should be a special treat for fans once production gets un- derway — they just need to find a writer first. (Re)Animating 'X-Files': Some good news for fans of "The X-Files": Fox is reportedly considering a spinoff series that would keep the franchise alive. But wait — there are a few twists in this story. The poten- tial new series is an animated comedy titled "The X-Files: Al- buquerque." And it won't fea- ture Mulder or Scully, either: it appears actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson aren't at- tached to the project at this time. Instead, "The X-Files: Albu- querque" will follow the antics of an office staffed by misfit agents who are willing to tackle the cases that are otherwise too ridiculous, far-fetched or outra- geous for more serious agents — you know, like Mulder and Scully. The people behind this proj- ect are writers Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko, who have both worked on Netflix's "Paradise PD" and Comedy Central's "Brickleberry." They'll pen the pilot, but they'll also serve as ex- ecutive producers alongside se- ries creator Chris Carter and an- other "X-Files" alumnus, Gabe Rotter. "The X-Files: Albuquerque" is still pretty early in the devel- opment process, but if you're a fan of the live-action show, this might be the closest you'll get to a series revival (and even then, there aren't many simi- larities between the two shows). Lifting the 'Vale': Two more names have been added to the cast of "Shining Vale," and that means the Starz horror-comedy pilot is one step closer to be- coming a reality. The potential half-hour series already has two big names at- tached as series regulars: Cour- teney Cox ("Friends") and Greg Kinnear ("Little Miss Sunshine," 2006). They'll be joined by Gus Birney ("The Mist") and Dylan Gage ("PEN15"), who have been cast as siblings to complete the TV family. "Shining Vale" is based on a story co-written by "Trial & Er- ror" co-creator Jeff Astrof and "Divorce" creator Sharon Hor- gan. It's the tale of a dysfunc- tional family — father Terry (Kinnear), mother Pat (Cox), daughter Gaynor (Birney) and son Jake (Gage) — that moves from a big city to a small town, and the "horror-comedy" bits stem from the fact that their new home is the scene of some pretty terrible things. Weirdly, nobody has picked up on this — that is, no one except Pat, who isn't sure if she's depressed or possessed (it might not be clear to the viewer, either). Pat's daughter, Gaynor, is a 16-year-old who is smarter (and angrier) than everyone around her. She blames her mom for up- rooting the family; these two are always at odds despite being alike, and they'll become even more similar as the story pro- gresses. Meanwhile, son Jake has a screen addiction and simultane- ously suffers from ADHD and OCD. He's a quirky, sensitive soul, and since like attracts like, Jake draws the more kindly spir- its of those who died in the house. ANGELA ABAR CAPHEUS CARLTON CHIDI DARIUS DOC MCSTUFFINS ED GREEN GARNET HUEY FREEMAN ISSA DEE KIM PARKER LANA KANE MIRANDA BAILEY MO MONROE MOESHA NEKEISHA RAVEN BAXTER RILEY FREEMAN SAM WHITE SANDRA CLARK TAYSTEE TITUS UHURA URKEL WHITLEY GILBERT WILLONA WOODS Iconic Black Characters Wynonna and Naomi Judd will be featured in Fox's "Icon" WORD SEARCH STARS ON SCREEN Solution on page T23