Today's Entertainment

October 18 - 24, 2021 Page 3 ACROSS 1. Actor DeLuise 4. Daughter on "7 Little Johnstons" 8. "Now You __ Me"; Jesse Eisenberg film 11. Actor Vigoda 12. Explorer Eriksson 13. Head topper 14. "American __ __" 17. Actor Somerhalder 18. Comic strip "Alley __" 19. Dow or Danza 21. "__ Team" 24. "Touched by __ Angel" 25. "Irma __ Douce"; 1963 movie 26. Setting for "The Andy Griffith Show": abbr. 27. Series for Noah Wyle 28. Actress Deborah 30. __ Nolte 32. Baseball great Mel 34. Add-__; attachments 35. "The __"; Chris Harrison's reality series 41. Sitcom alien's planet 42. "The __ Ranger" 43. "Hee __" 44. Mom on "Little People, Big World" 45. Caustic cleanser components 46. 90 degrees from NNW DOWN 1. Role on "The Conners" 2. __-Wan Kenobi 3. "__ __ Trees" (2006- 08) 4. Role on "Two and a Half Men" 5. "__ Amsterdam" 6. Actress Peeples 7. Jackson 5 hairdo 8. Walk off with 9. End of each "Old MacDonald" verse 10. Actor Robinson's monogram 15. "Dennis the Menace" star (2) 16. 1988-97 sitcom 19. "Shark __" 20. "__ and Again" (1999- 2002) 22. Baldwin, for one 23. Songbird 29. Highest-grossing film of 1976 31. "Orange __ __ New Black" 33. "To __ the Truth" 34. Raw minerals 35. Deadly viper 36. "Million Dollar __"; 2014 Jon Hamm film 37. Actress Myrna 38. "__ Life to Live" 39. Sunbather's reward 40. Lamb bearer Solution is on page 2. CoverStory By Jay Bobbin Television is bringing another band back to- gether ... or, more pre- cisely, another female singing group. Not long after Pea- cock's "Girls5eva" reunit- ed former vocal partners, so does ABC's drama series "Queens," premier- ing Tuesday, Oct. 19. Music stars Brandy and Eve play, along with Na- turi Naughton ("Power") and Nadine Velazquez ("Flight"), members of a '90s hip-hop group who try to recapture their shared former fame. Each woman walks a different path now, though, making their reunion bid shaky. Taylor Sele portrays their manager, who also han - dles the currently popular Lil Muffin (Pepi Sonuga). "I think our show is about sisterhood and family," says "Queens" creator and executive producer Zahir McGhee. "You fight with your fam- ily, and these are people that have been brought back together after a long period of time. There's always going to be argu- ments. There's always going to be a hierarchy that exists, and shifting, but we do want to be on the friendship more than rivalry or bickering or backstabbing." Since its main charac- ters' fame hails from the '90s, "Queens" invokes that decade significantly. "We've lived that time," ex-"The Talk" co-host Eve reasons. "We come from that time, so it's important for us, and there definite- ly will be moments from those times. When people listen to the music, when they see our outfits, when they see our hair, every- thing ... we want them to be transported back to that moment. It's all about the authenticity." For Brandy, who previ- ously had a healthy series run with the sitcom "Moe- sha," it's also all about getting to fulfill her major career aims. "You're born with this passion," she reflects, "and you go after the things that you dream about. I've always wanted to sing. I've al- ways wanted to inspire people, and I just felt that that was my purpose, so I went after it. And this show 'Queens,' is such a blessing, because I get to do everything that I love to do all in one show, with amazing people. I'm just so excited. I can't even believe this is happen- ing." Swizz Beatz serves as executive music pro- ducer of "Queens," and his mission is to make the show's soundtrack as vital as the drama — with each of those elements enhancing the other. Reunited singers are the 'Queens' of new ABC drama 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 "The Harder They Fall" (Netflix — movie premiere, Nov. 3) From director Jeymes Samuel ("They Die by Dawn") comes this original Western that follows Nat Love (Jonathan Majors, "Lovecraft Country"), an outlaw who reunites with his old gang when he learns the man (Idris Elba, "Luther") who killed his parents two decades ago is being released from prison. Regina King, Zazie Beetz, LaKeith Stanfield, and Delroy Lindo also star.

• Cover