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September 27 - October 3, 2021 Page 3 ACROSS 1. Actress on "Mom" (2) 10. Role on "The Waltons" 11. Campbell or Judd 12. "Madam Secretary" star 13. __-T; "Law & Order: SVU" actor 14. Best athlete on the team, for short 16. "__ __ Luck" 18. "The Money __"; Tom Hanks film 20. Miss in M"'alaga: abbr. 21. "My Two __" (1987-90) 22. Ted Danson series 23. Mailman's beat: abbr. 24. Harness strap 25. Crematorium shelf sup- plies 27. Ted Cruz or Rand Paul: abbr. 28. "America's __ __" 32. "__ to Me" (2009-11) 33. "Grumpy __ Men"; 1993 movie 34. Denver or Barker 37. Blossom & Doogie Howser 39. "Let's Make a __" 40. Role on "Chicago Fire" (2) DOWN 1. "How I __ Your Mother" 2. Wrath 3. Sara, for one 4. "Life __ Pieces" 5. Suffix for differ or insist 6. Dundee denials 7. Word in the title of How - ie's game show 8. Acting awards 9. "The Gay __"; Astaire/ Rogers movie 13. Prefix for regular or ra- tional 15. __ __ a good word for; recommends 16. Cream cartons, often: abbr. 17. "__ Man"; 1988 Hoff- man/Cruise film 18. "The Rat __" (1966-68) 19. "The Bourne __"; Matt Damon movie 21. Narcotic 24. Q-U connection 26. "Man of __"; 2013 Hen- ry Cavill film 29. __ Anderson 30. "Or __!"; ultimatum words 31. Josh Duhamel's state of birth: abbr. 34. Classic sitcom aunt 35. Granola bit 36. Lunch order, for short 38. Verdugo's initials 39. "__. Phil" Solution is on page 2. CoverStory By Jay Bobbin After "Chicago P.D." and "Homicide: Life on the Street," Jon Seda didn't ex- pect his career to go into a sinkhole. That's not even a figure of speech: His character is among those who fall in when a sizable chunk of Los Angeles literally opens up in "La Brea," a NBC adven- ture-drama series premiering Tuesday, Sept. 28. Those who are forced to take the plunge find themselves in primeval surroundings, while others who have remained above ground try to deter - mine what happened and how to reunite with those they apparently have lost. Natalie Zea ("Justified"), Eoin Macken ("The Night Shift"), Zyra Gorecki and Jack Martin play members of a family separated by the phenomenon, while Seda portrays an ex-Navy SEAL turned thoracic surgeon who's thrust into the land beneath L.A. "I've been really fortunate in my career to play different types of characters," the pleasant Seda reflects, "so when this opportunity came up, I knew it really was something different. "I hadn't been thinking about doing something like this, but it was something I could enjoy wholeheartedly. To me, it's the epitome of a Hollywood project ... almost like watching a 'Star Wars' movie that takes you away on an adventure. I thought, 'Wow! I definitely have to grab onto this.' I lived in L.A. for about four years, but I was more worried about earthquakes. I never really thought about sinkholes." One of the ironies of "La Brea" is that while its setting is very American, it's actually being filmed in Australia. Seda has worked there before — when he made HBO's 2010 limited series "The Pacific" — and he says, "The landscape is amazing. It adds so much, especially since with 'La Brea,' you have the sinkhole and this crazy world that we find our - selves in. A lot of the same crew members worked on 'The Pacific,' so we've been doing a lot of reminiscing." Still, working in Australia means a long separation for Seda (who terms himself "an East Coast kind of guy") from his U.S.-based family, under - scored by the quarantining that's required for internation- al travel now. "That's the tough part," Seda allows. "The pilot was filmed in Vancouver, and I thought even that was a stretch (distance-wise). Then the pandemic happened and delayed things for a while, and when this came back around and it was moving from Vancouver to Australia, I had to talk with my wife about it. We're a really close family and we went over it, with the possibility that we might not see each other for six months. Our kids are old - er now, so we decided, 'We'll handle it. We'll make it work.' It's been tough, but we all make sacrifices." The identity of the featured celebrity is found within the answers in the puzzle. In order to take the TV Challenge, unscramble the letters noted with asterisks within the puzzle. InFocus "Home Sweet Home" (NBC — series premiere, Oct. 15) Filmmaker Ava DuVernay ("Selma," "Queen Sugar") is the creator behind this new "social experiment" series, which follows two families from completely different walks of life as they accept the challenge to explore a world outside their own, by effectively switching lives with each other. At the end of each episode, the two featured families reunite to share the fresh perspectives and eye-opening insights this experience has given them. Jon Seda discovers a world beneath Los Angeles in 'La Brea' Advertise Here! (574) 533-2151

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