What's Up!

March 15, 2020

What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!

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March 15 - 21, 2020 WHATS UP! T5 BY MICHELLE ROSE TV Media What if ?: Today, we know that Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to a third presidential term in 1940, and that Pearl Harbor pushed America into war. But what if the course of U.S. history had taken a hard right turn instead? It certainly does in HBO's new alt-history drama, "The Plot Against America." Pre- miering Monday, March 16, the limited series is a ten- sion-filled reimagining of history and it stars a number of familiar faces, including Winona Ryder ("Stranger Things"). It's based on Philip Roth's 2004 novel, which depicts 1940s America as a nation turning towards fascism. And the person at the helm turns out to be a not-so-alt historical figure: aviator hero Charles Lindbergh. With his movie star looks and public sympathy over the kidnapping of his son, the real- life Lindbergh easily drew a crowd in 1940 whenever he spoke out against U.S. involve- ment in the war. But in 1941, his speech in Des Moines, Iowa, was widely condemned as anti-Semitic rhetoric. And Lindbergh, who never really concealed his admiration for Nazi Germany, instantly be- came persona non grata. Except that's not how it plays out in the HBO series. Ben Cole ("Sense8") stars as Lindbergh, who rides a popu- list wave that carries him into the White House. And under this new president, America's increasingly xenophobic poli- cies are soon aligned with those of the Third Reich. "The Plot Against America" is told from the perspective of a working-class Jewish family from New Jersey. Ryder stars as Evelyn Finkel, who catches the eye of a key Lindbergh supporter, played by John Tur- turro ("O Brother, Where Art Thou?," 2000). Zoe Kazan ("The Ballad of Buster Scrug- gs," 2018) is her younger sister, Bess, who tries to shield her family from the escalating vio- lence and persecution. Mor- gan Spector ("Homeland") is patriarch Herman Levin, who desperately tries to maintain normalcy. Jeong's next gig: "The Masked Singer" is still going strong on Fox, where Season 3 isn't scheduled to end until May 20. But it looks like its success has already prompted Fox to add another Korean musical import to its lineup. The network is producing a U.S. adaptation of the South Korean musical variety show "I Can See Your Voice," which has already been remade in about a dozen different coun- tries since its initial launch in 2015. And when it does hit the air- waves, it'll feature at least one familiar face: actor/comedian and current "Masked Singer" judge Ken Jeong, who will serve as host and executive producer. "As the smartest judge on 'The Masked Singer,' I am ex- cited to be the host of 'I Can See Your Voice,'" Jeong said in a network statement. "I know exactly what the next big Fox hit will be." At first glance, you might be puzzled by the series title — after all, how exactly can you see a voice? — but it's actually a pretty good way of describ- ing the whole concept. Essen- tially, a contestant tries to win a cash prize by guessing which singers can carry a tune and which ones are tone-deaf without ever hearing them sing. Here's how Fox explains it: "Helping the contestant navi- gate through rounds of lip sync challenges, hidden clues and true-or-false evidence will be a panel of celebrity co- medians/experts and a musi- cal superstar. In the end, the singer whom the contestant picks will reveal if they are good or bad in a duet perfor- mance with the musical super- star, resulting in an amazing musical collaboration or a to- tally hilarious train wreck." Kimmel's 'Adopted': Jim- my Kimmel's latest writing project is one step closer to becoming a TV series now that ABC has handed it a pilot order. Billed as a comedy, "Adopt- ed" is based on a true story and centers on a Green Beret who returns to Texas after his military service. Once home, the young veteran and his fam- ily find themselves struggling with the challenges of adopt- ing a 12-year-old Russian boy. Kimmel will share writing and executive producing cred- its on "Adopted" with two U.S. Army veterans: former Green Beret Shawn Vance and for- mer combat medic Daril Fan- nin. Their military back- ground and experiences previ- ously formed the basis for the Netflix series "The Green Be- ret's Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse," which was pro- duced by Peter Berg and Kim- mel's famous on-air frenemy, Matt Damon. Casting for "Adopted" is al- ready underway, but Kimmel isn't waiting idly for all the pieces to fall into place. Since signing a three-year contract extension with ABC last May, the host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" has been involved in a number of new projects for the Alphabet Network, includ- ing a third "Live In Front of a Studio Audience" special that will likely air this spring. ATV BEACH BIKING BOATING BOULDERING CANOE CAVING EQUIPMENT EXPLORE FIELDS FORAGING FOREST GEAR KAYAK KITE LAKES MARSH NATURE PARKS PICNIC PLAY RAFTING ROCK CLIMBING RUNNING SAFARI SCUBA DIVING SKIING SNORKELING SPORTS SWIMMING TENT TOP ROPE TRAILS TREKKING WALK Go Play Outside Winona Ryder in "The Plot Against America" WORD SEARCH STARS ON SCREEN Solution on page T23

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