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The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Stars of iconic 00s drama reuniting on different show – but there's a twist
STARS of an iconic noughties drama are reuniting on-screen nearly two decades later. Two former castmates from the beloved series are teaming up again, only this time they're swapping politics for power-coupling. 4 West Wing legends Alison Janney and Bradley Whitford are reuniting in another drama Credit: Alamy 4 They are swapping the corridors of power for domestic politics - playing a feuding husband and wife in The Diplomat Credit: Getty It's none other than The pair, who famously starred as press secretary C.J. Cregg and deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman in the iconic Only this time, they're ditching the corridors of power for domestic politics - playing a feuding husband and wife. Fans of The West Wing are already buzzing over the on-screen reunion - but seeing the duo lock horns in a rocky marriage is a far cry from their old dynamic in the beloved series. more on netflix TV royalty Alison Janney has spilled the beans on her long-awaited reunion with The West Wing co-star Bradley Whitford — and fans are in for a treat. The Hollywood duo are reuniting in season three of Netflix's hit political drama Speaking at the Las Culturistas Culture Awards in LA, Janney, 64, couldn't hide her excitement: 'I knew everyone who hadn't worked with him before was in for the treat of their lives. He's not only a brilliant actor - he's hilarious. He had the whole crew in stitches.' Showrunner Debora Cahn said the reunion has everyone on set buzzing: 'Seeing them work together again after all these years... it feels like we're doing something delicious.' Most read in Drama Season three of The Diplomat is expected to land on Netflix this autumn - and with two Emmy nods already, it's shaping up to be must-watch telly. Hit political drama The West Wing was a TV juggernaut, scooping 26 Emmys and even winning Best Drama four years in a row. The West Wing's Josh Lyman discusses nuclear war and a smallpox pandemic in season five The all-star cast, which also included The show was such a hit it raked in up to 17 million viewers per episode in its heyday and is still binged by fans nearly 20 years after it ended. Even Barack Obama was a superfan, with The West Wing praised for its feel-good, idealistic take on American politics. And with three Golden Globes and a Peabody Award under its belt, it's no wonder many still call it the greatest political drama of all time. The The Now fans are buzzing to see Allison and Bradley back in action. As it's the first time the TV favourites will have reunited on screen in years, viewers are eager to see if their chemistry is still sizzling. And with The Diplomat already a smash hit for Netflix, their reunion could send season three sky-high. 4 Fans are thrilled to see the TV favourites reunite on screen Credit: CLIFTON PRESCOD/NETFLIX 4 Hit political drama The West Wing was a TV juggernaut, scooping 26 Emmys and even winning Best Drama four years in a row Credit: Getty
Scottish Sun
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Stars of iconic 00s drama reuniting on different show – but there's a twist
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) STARS of an iconic noughties drama are reuniting on-screen nearly two decades later. Two former castmates from the beloved series are teaming up again, only this time they're swapping politics for power-coupling. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 West Wing legends Alison Janney and Bradley Whitford are reuniting in another drama Credit: Alamy 4 They are swapping the corridors of power for domestic politics - playing a feuding husband and wife in The Diplomat Credit: Getty It's none other than West Wing legends Alison Janney and Bradley Whitford - back on our screens, but with a very unexpected twist. The pair, who famously starred as press secretary C.J. Cregg and deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman in the iconic White House drama, are reuniting in Netflix's hit political series The Diplomat. Only this time, they're ditching the corridors of power for domestic politics - playing a feuding husband and wife. Fans of The West Wing are already buzzing over the on-screen reunion - but seeing the duo lock horns in a rocky marriage is a far cry from their old dynamic in the beloved series. TV royalty Alison Janney has spilled the beans on her long-awaited reunion with The West Wing co-star Bradley Whitford — and fans are in for a treat. The Hollywood duo are reuniting in season three of Netflix's hit political drama The Diplomat, with Whitford joining the cast as Todd Penn - husband to Janney's character, Vice President Grace Penn, who suddenly becomes President following a shock White House death. Speaking at the Las Culturistas Culture Awards in LA, Janney, 64, couldn't hide her excitement: 'I knew everyone who hadn't worked with him before was in for the treat of their lives. He's not only a brilliant actor - he's hilarious. He had the whole crew in stitches.' Showrunner Debora Cahn said the reunion has everyone on set buzzing: 'Seeing them work together again after all these years... it feels like we're doing something delicious.' Season three of The Diplomat is expected to land on Netflix this autumn - and with two Emmy nods already, it's shaping up to be must-watch telly. Hit political drama The West Wing was a TV juggernaut, scooping 26 Emmys and even winning Best Drama four years in a row. The West Wing's Josh Lyman discusses nuclear war and a smallpox pandemic in season five The all-star cast, which also included Martin Sheen, became household names - with fast-talking scenes and walk-and-talk moments now iconic. The show was such a hit it raked in up to 17 million viewers per episode in its heyday and is still binged by fans nearly 20 years after it ended. Even Barack Obama was a superfan, with The West Wing praised for its feel-good, idealistic take on American politics. And with three Golden Globes and a Peabody Award under its belt, it's no wonder many still call it the greatest political drama of all time. The best series on Netflix The best movies on Netflix New on Netflix: What to watch this week Now fans are buzzing to see Allison and Bradley back in action. As it's the first time the TV favourites will have reunited on screen in years, viewers are eager to see if their chemistry is still sizzling. And with The Diplomat already a smash hit for Netflix, their reunion could send season three sky-high. 4 Fans are thrilled to see the TV favourites reunite on screen Credit: CLIFTON PRESCOD/NETFLIX
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
‘Untamed' review: Eric Bana investigates a Yosemite murder as an agent for the National Parks Service
In Netflix's 'Untamed,' Eric Bana plays a rugged, no-nonsense special agent for the National Parks Service working the mystery of a woman's death in Yosemite. The six-episode series isn't doing anything new, which tends to get a bad rap these days. The streaming era has prioritized breaking from, or at least playing around with, TV norms, but these kinds of meat-and-potatoes offerings can be as satisfying as shows with wilder ambitions. That said, 'Untamed' suffers from some object permanence issues; nothing about it stayed with me after watching it. But while it was on in front of me? A good (enough) time. A lot of that has to do with executive producer John Wells, whose vast array of credits include everything from 'ER' to 'The West Wing' to 'The Pitt.' He doesn't have a recognizable style like fellow super-producers Shonda Rhimes or Ryan Murphy, but he understands television in ways that have become increasingly rare. Here he's working with show creators Ellie Smith and Mark L. Smith (the latter of whom was the screenwriter of 2024's 'Twisters'). The series opens with two climbers ascending the vertical rock face known as El Capitan. Suddenly, a woman's lifeless body comes hurtling past them from above, getting caught in their ropes and nearly taking them down with her. The circumstances of her death become the show's driving plotline. When Bana's Kyle Turner arrives at the summit on horseback, a park ranger says with a mixture of envy and annoyance: 'Here comes Gary Cooper.' Turner is haunted by past mistakes, a broken marriage, a dead son and a tendency to find solace at the bottom of a bottle. 'What's with you tonight?' someone says. 'You're extra serious even for you.' That sums up his personality. The ranger assigned to assist his investigation is a rookie and that's because Turner has burned through everyone else with his stubborn insistence on doing things his own way. When an Indigenous character shows up, it's because Turner (and Turner alone) has befriended him. These are common tropes that can be tedious in the wrong hands — the dead child has become overused as a shorthand meant to add sympathetic texture to a character's backstory — but 'Untamed' is made with enough talent and skill that these pieces feel right, instead of hacky. Credit that to Bana's performance, which doesn't belabor the guy's issues nor his stoicism. The Gary Cooper thing isn't too far off. Lily Santiago plays Naya Vasquez, the inexperienced park ranger with whom he's paired. She's from the city and therefore not thrilled with the idea of jumping on the back of a horse to explore the area for clues, but Turner won't budge. 'This park's the size of Rhode Island. It's got five separate highway entrances bringing over 100,000 people a week,' and going off the trails, on horseback, is better than going in his truck. That she will eventually come around to him, and he to her, is a foregone conclusion. Sam Neill and Rosemarie DeWitt round out the cast as the seasoned head park ranger who looks out for Turner and Turner's amiable ex-wife, respectively. The series' premise is better suited to a movie. But at six episodes, it doesn't overstay its welcome. The wide open spaces and the occasional appearance of (CGI?) wildlife are as picturesque as you'd expect — it's one of the show's selling points — although filming took place not in California-based Yosemite but in British Columbia. I suppose one soaring, mountainous forest looks like another. The park rangers are stuck wearing unflattering uniforms, but Turner has too much swagger for that and is outfitted in jeans and a sand-colored work shirt worn with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The show's subtitle might as well be 'Untamed: Eric Bana's Forearms' Where other shows try to leverage the sex appeal of their male lead by having him doff his shirt within the first 20 minutes, 'Untamed' takes a different tack, and I like it. Hollywood has never really understood the appeal of a good pair of forearms. Now's as good a time as any. 'Untamed' — 2.5 stars (out of 4) Where to watch: Netflix
Sydney Morning Herald
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Squid Game, Andor snubbed: Does anyone at the Emmys know what they are doing?
It's a familiar refrain in the world of awards nights: shocks, surprises and snubs. Every year there's a victory lap for the ones that made it - Severance, The Studio - and a lot of hand-wringing over those that did not - The Squid Game, the cast of Andor and more. Of course, they are not alone. In the history of the Emmys, the road to the chicken fricassee and lemon parfait at the Governor's Ball is littered with the corpses of the shows that never got their due, and the performances that were overlooked. The Wire? It isn't enough that it's widely considered to be the best scripted drama of all time, and consistently tops audience and expert polls, but for the duration of its run it received only two – that's correct two – nominations for an Emmy Award, and no wins. During original run of The Wire – 2002 to 2008 – the winners of the best drama Emmy were The West Wing, The Sopranos, Lost, 24 and Mad Men. All deserving winners, but was each better than The Wire? The West Wing, The Sopranos and Mad Men, perhaps, but Lost and 24? Better Call Saul (2015-2022) has more nominations than many of us have had hot dinners, but no wins. Parks and Recreation (2009-2015) was also ignored for a long time, while arguably weaker comedies got all the love. And deeper in the history books, truly groundbreaking shows, such as Good Times (1974-1979) and Oz (1997-2003) got zip. Which begs the question: does anyone at the Emmys know what they are doing? Loading If they do not, they might not be alone. Australia's Logies have, for several years, blended the everyone-knows-where-they-stand 'popular' and 'outstanding' categories into a nebulous the half-data, half-good luck moniker 'best'. It wouldn't be an issue, if it was not giving us some 1975 vibes. The Oscars aren't much better. They gave the Oscar that should have gone to Citizen Kane in 1941 to How Green Was My Valley. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial got nothing. And despite Rebecca (1940), Lifeboat (1944), Spellbound (1945), Rear Window (1954) and Psycho (1960) getting nominations, Alfred Hitchcock never won a directing Oscar.
The Age
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Squid Game, Andor snubbed: Does anyone at the Emmys know what they are doing?
It's a familiar refrain in the world of awards nights: shocks, surprises and snubs. Every year there's a victory lap for the ones that made it - Severance, The Studio - and a lot of hand-wringing over those that did not - The Squid Game, the cast of Andor and more. Of course, they are not alone. In the history of the Emmys, the road to the chicken fricassee and lemon parfait at the Governor's Ball is littered with the corpses of the shows that never got their due, and the performances that were overlooked. The Wire? It isn't enough that it's widely considered to be the best scripted drama of all time, and consistently tops audience and expert polls, but for the duration of its run it received only two – that's correct two – nominations for an Emmy Award, and no wins. During original run of The Wire – 2002 to 2008 – the winners of the best drama Emmy were The West Wing, The Sopranos, Lost, 24 and Mad Men. All deserving winners, but was each better than The Wire? The West Wing, The Sopranos and Mad Men, perhaps, but Lost and 24? Better Call Saul (2015-2022) has more nominations than many of us have had hot dinners, but no wins. Parks and Recreation (2009-2015) was also ignored for a long time, while arguably weaker comedies got all the love. And deeper in the history books, truly groundbreaking shows, such as Good Times (1974-1979) and Oz (1997-2003) got zip. Which begs the question: does anyone at the Emmys know what they are doing? Loading If they do not, they might not be alone. Australia's Logies have, for several years, blended the everyone-knows-where-they-stand 'popular' and 'outstanding' categories into a nebulous the half-data, half-good luck moniker 'best'. It wouldn't be an issue, if it was not giving us some 1975 vibes. The Oscars aren't much better. They gave the Oscar that should have gone to Citizen Kane in 1941 to How Green Was My Valley. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial got nothing. And despite Rebecca (1940), Lifeboat (1944), Spellbound (1945), Rear Window (1954) and Psycho (1960) getting nominations, Alfred Hitchcock never won a directing Oscar.
