What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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October 25 - 31, 2020 WHATS UP! T5 BY MICHELLE ROSE TV Media Romantic musical chairs: When it comes to producing comedies, "Saturday Night Live" creator/producer Lorne Michaels has a track record that is the envy of many TV and film producers. And when you're working on a brand new series, that kind of name recognition would likely make it much easier to attract top talent. Of course, it also helps if that comedy series has a solid premise and the hilarious Cec- ily Strong ("Saturday Night Live") as its lead. The "SNL" veteran is re- teaming with Michaels for an as-yet-untitled musical come- dy on Apple TV+. The eight- episode series will follow a couple on a backpacking trip intended to reinvigorate their relationship. While hiking, they discover the magical town of Schmigadoon, where everyone acts as if they're in a big studio musical from the 1940s. There's also a bit of a "Groundhog Day"-style twist: Melissa (played by Strong) and her pragmatic partner, Josh (Keegan-Michael Key, "Key & Peele"), are stuck there until they discover true love, whether it's with each other or with one of the other residents of the town. The project was announced earlier this year, back when it was being called "Schmiga- doon." But a few more (big) names have since been added to the cast, including Fred Ar- misen ("Portlandia"), Alan Cumming ("The Good Wife"), Jane Krakowski ("Unbreak- able Kimmy Schmidt") and Broadway powerhouse Kristin Chenoweth ("Pushing Dai- sies"). Alongside Strong and Key, fellow "SNL" alum Armisen will play the role of Reverend Layton, the town's mild-man- nered religious leader, while Chenoweth plays his med- dling wife, Mildred. Cumming will star as the town's mayor, and Krakowski's character is determined to marry the cold- hearted doctor, played by Jai- me Camil ("Jane the Virgin"). Look for this one to drop in 2021. A Dolly Christmas: Coun- try music superstar Dolly Par- ton will both star in and exec- utive produce a new holiday movie, "Christmas on the Square," which has all the ear- marks of a classic Lifetime or Hallmark movie: a small-town homecoming, a rekindled ro- mance and an angel-assisted change of heart. Except this one isn't airing on Lifetime or Hallmark. "Christmas on the Square" is set to premiere on Netflix on Nov. 22 — a date that has a special significance as it marks the one-year anniversa- ry of the previous Netflix-Par- ton collaboration, the antholo- gy series "Dolly Parton's Heartstrings," which earned an Emmy nomination this year for Outstanding Television Movie. In "Christmas on the Square," Christine Baranski ("The Good Fight") stars as Regina, a cold, rich, calculat- ing woman who returns to her hometown after her father's death. She's planning to evict everyone right before Christ- mas and sell the land to a mall developer — exactly the kind of "bah humbug" power move that would only earn praise from Henry F. Potter, the vil- lain in "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946). But, in true spirit-of-Christ- mas fashion, Regina's heart softens after reconnecting with an old flame and getting to know local residents, who are played by Jenifer Lewis ("Black-ish"), Treat Williams ("Everwood"), Josh Segarra ("Arrow"), Mary Lane Haskell ("Heartstrings"), Selah Kim- bro Jones ("Hidden Figures") and "American Idol's" Mat- thew Johnson. Votes for women: This year marks the 100th anniver- sary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted American women the right to vote, and when wom- en across the United States cast their first ballots on Nov. 2, 1920, it was the culmination of nearly a century of protests and lobbying — though the fight continued for Black women. Dig into the history of the women's suffrage movement and you'll find countless per- sonal stories of those who joined the campaign. Some of these stories provide the foun- dation for a new anthology drama currently in develop- ment over at CW. The series is titled "The Woman's Hour," and while it's based on the book "The Wom- an's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote" by author/jour- nalist Elaine Weiss, the actual script is reportedly in devel- opment. But what's interesting about this one is the partner- ship behind the series: it's be- ing produced by Warner Bros. Television in partnership with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and former first lady and secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. According to Variety, the book came to Clinton's atten- tion after Weiss noted the par- allels between her campaign in 2016 and the suffrage move- ment. Clinton then discussed the book with Spielberg, whose production company optioned the rights in 2018. Fast-forward to 2020 and now CW is onboard. Each season of "The Wom- an's Hour" will highlight those who were at the center of the movement. While Season 1 will focus on the events lead- ing up to the ratification in August 1920, future seasons will step back from that time- line to shine the spotlight on other people and events that contributed to the fight for women's suffrage. This is Clinton's first TV project as executive producer. Angelina Burnett, the execu- tive producer of AMC's "Halt and Catch Fire," is also at- tached to this one as writer, showrunner and executive producer alongside Weiss and Amblin's co-presidents, Dar- ryl Frank and Justin Falvey. ANCESTOR APPARITION BHUTA BOGEY CHINDI DEAD DEMON DEPARTED DYBBUK EERIE GHOST HAUNT IBBUR LA CATRINA LADY IN RED MANES MOGWAI MYLING MYTHS ONRYO PARA- NORMAL PHANTOM PRESENCE REVENANT SEANCE SHADE SHADOW SIHUANABA SOUL SPIRIT SPOOK STORIES VISION WIGHT WILD HUNT Spooky Specters Kristin Chenoweth to star in upcoming musical comedy WORD SEARCH STARS ON SCREEN Solution on page T23