CATEGORIES

Be (Slightly) Funnier

Humor is a muscle we all have, and flexing it often helps in any life situation.

The Boo Crew

This Ghosts story tells how the new CBS comedy came together brilliantly in spite of the ghastly pandemic.

Survivor – Carrying The Torch

After a 16-month COVID-induced hiatus, the groundbreaking reality series Survivor is finally ready to don its buffs again. For its 41st season, 18 brand-new contestants will be marooned on the island of Fiji and will attempt to outwit, outlast, and outplay each other forthe $1 million prize and, if they strategize correctly, the chance to etch their names in Survivor lore. But first: Let’s hear from host Jeff Probst, meet the new cast, and get up to speed with a highlight reel of memorable players, twists, romances, and more. In the words of Probst, come on in, guys!

What Happens In Vegas

Mandeep Dhillon, Jorja Fox, and Paula Newsome are solving crimes, changing the game, and kicking ass in CSI: Vegas.

SCI-FI TV PREVIEW

The coming months will bring a treasure trove of new movies, series and returning favorites

Everybody's Talking About Jamie

Halloween Kills isn’t the only project of hers that’s slaying.

The Xanax of Stand-Up

Nate Bargatze’s humor is slow, inoffensive, even soothing. And he’s one of the hottest acts in comedy.

How I Fell for Formula 1

Netflix got Americans like me to finally care about auto racing. The NFL might want to take notes.

Jessica Chastain and Liv Ullmann – Same Role, 48 Years Apart

Jessica Chastain reprises Liv Ullmann’s part in the Ingmar Bergman classic Scenes From a Marriage. Their approaches couldn’t be more different.

ANN CLEEVES

British author Ann Cleeves has an affinity for remote areas and how these isolated regions affect her characters.

CARLENE O'CONNOR

“Anyone can play Snow White. It takes real talent to play the Wicked Witch.”

Mystery Scene MISCELLANY

FIRST USE OF FINGERPRINTS

PANIC ATTACK

The newest entry in my Pittsburgh set series of thrillers is called Panic Attack. It’s the sixth book featuring Daniel Rinaldi, a psychologist and trauma expert who consults with the Pittsburgh Police.

LAIDLAW'S LEGACY

During the pandemic, Ian Rankin stepped away from Rebus and into the shoes of friend and literary hero, the “Godfather of Tartan Noir” William McIlvanney.

Adrienne Warren Stands Up

She opened in Tina so badly hurt she could barely walk. Then came another mountain to climb.

HILARY DAVIDSON

Call it The Case of Life Imitating Art.

Thomas Walsh - The Unusual Suspect

Any paternity test on the sub-genre of police procedural will identify the DNA of Ed McBain and Lawrence Treat, as well as the 1948 movie The Naked City and the radio and TV series Dragnet…and of course Thomas Walsh.

S.A. COSBY

In Razorblade Tears, two aging men—one Black, one white, both with criminal pasts—join forces to seek revenge for the murders of their gay sons. The themes of fathers and sons and toxic masculinity will be familar to fans of Cosby’s 2020 breakout Blacktop Wasteland.

VIPER'S NEST OF LIES

A slip of the tongue is a dangerous thing. Not only does it expose indiscretions, it also can lead to murder. The latter especially applies to me.

6 New Writers to Watch

Wiley Cash’s debut, A Land More Kind Than Home, about the bond between two brothers landed on the New York Times Best Sellers List and received the Crime Writers’ Association Debut of the Year.

The Big Leap

FIFTEEN MINUTES IN, this lively, endearing but unsentimental drama about the goings-on at a reality TV show called The Big Leap will have you jumping for joy. Here’s the pitch: Amateur dancers are selected by audition, then rehearse to perform a modernized Swan Lake while also letting cameras film them offstage and at home in Detroit. (The series, shot in Chicago, is inspired by an actual 2014 U.K. reality show, Big Ballet.) The underdogs who make the cut all hunger for some kind of second chance, while savvy executive producer Nick Blackburn (Scott Foley) just wants rating gold.

ORDINARY JOE

IN EVERY EPISODE of this ultimate “what if?” series, we’ll watch earnest Joe Kimbreau (Watchmen’s James Wolk) live out the three paths he could’ve chosen when he graduated college: What would’ve happened if he’d become a nurse, a cop or a rock star? Ten years later, “The guy who’s Bono-famous and has a charcuterie platter waiting for him is going to be different from the guy who’s working a 10-hour shift and then gets a beer at the corner bar,” says Wolk.

FALL PREVIEW CSI: VEGAS Grissom and sara are the season's winning pair

Power up your remote! The new TV season shines bright with electric performances (Jeff Daniels! Jessica Chastain! Michael Keaton!) and memorable returns, starting with our favorite Sin City couple…

OUR KIND OF PEOPLE

POWER, PRIVILEGE, AND secrets from the past heat up this titillating family drama set in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, the real-life playground of the Black elite. Based on Lawrence Otis Graham’s bestseller Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class, the show stars Chicago Med’s Yaya DaCosta as Angela Vaughn, a new arrival to Martha’s Vineyard enclave— whose mother was once a maid on the island.

American Rust

MURDERS AND SMALL towns make for riveting television (see: Mare of Easttown, Broadchurch), and American Rust, based on the Philipp Meyer novel, is a worthy addition to this very specific genre. Set in fictional Buell, Pennsylvania, the nine-episode drama centers on a conflicted chief of police Del Harris (Jeff Daniels), who considers crossing morality lines after the son of the woman he loves, Grace Poe (Maura Tierney, The Affair), is linked to a homicide.

“JUST LIVE”

What’s next for Morgan? On set exploring the fate of our favorite Fear characters as we head into Season 6

WORLD BEYOND

Which of the Endlings will survive the series’ final installment?

THE NEXT GENERATION

The new Walking Dead: World Beyond spinoff introduces four sheltered Nebraska teens and the high-tech, highly suspect Civic Republic Military

THE DEAD PHENOMENON

The zombie apocalypse might have ended civilization on The Walking Dead, but it also inspired a fresh new world of undead entertainment

RICK TURNS IN HIS BADGE

Andrew Lincoln ends a nine-season run as The Walking Dead’s hardened but heroic leader. Will we survive?