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New ‘Walking Dead’ Preview Shines a Light on Negan

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New 'Walking Dead' Preview Shines a Light on Negan

"I like to help people through their weaknesses," Jeffrey Dean Morgan's smirking Savior hisses in a new look at the next 'Walking Dead.'

"A priest, a dictator and a barbed-wired baseball bat named Lucille walk into a bar…"

One can imagine Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) making some version of that exact joke in the next episode of The Walking Dead, based on the preview for the fifth installment of season eight, called "The Big Scary U." A sneak preview of the episode shines the spotlight on the King of the Saviors, currently on lockdown on the outskirts of the Sanctuary, surrounded by a horde of flesh-hungry walkers. And he's not alone: Negan holds Lucille close by, of course, but he also has Seth Gilliam's Father Gabriel for company — and the ensuing conversation is about what you would expect from Negan and the reformed priest's first meaningful interaction.

Watch the two men meet and trade stories in the clip below:

Will episode five finally pull the curtain back on Negan and turn him into something resembling a sympathetic figure? It's a tall order for the man who brutally murdered Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), so full rehabilitation feels like it's out of the question. But episode five looks poised to seize on an opportunity born from a compelling character dynamic: Negan and Gabriel, sinner and priest, their backs against the wall, perhaps for the last time. The stage is very much set for Negan to spill his guts, as it were, offloading his backstory onto a man whose profession demands he listens carefully and empathetically.

However the Negan and Gabriel situation resolves, it won't be the only story at play in episode five. In the full trailer for "The Big Scary U," we see at least two other stories running alongside one another: Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) riding deeper into their current mission, while the rest of the Saviors try to figure out their next steps from their Neganless position. It looks like Simon (Steven Ogg) is locked in on outing a mole within the Saviors' leadership, which could spell trouble for the likeliest suspect, Eugene (Josh McDermitt), even if viewers know all too well that Dwight (Austin Amelio) is the man on the inside.

Watch the preview for "The Big Scary U" below:

Follow THR.com/WalkingDead for interviews, news, theories and more season eight coverage.


Read the full article – Hollywoodreporter.com

TV

How ‘Walking Dead’ Just Set Up Its Next Glenn-Level Death

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How 'Walking Dead' Just Set Up Its Next Glenn-Level Death

The latest episode of the AMC zombie drama foreshadowed an iconic moment of brutality from the 'Walking Dead' comics.

[Warning: This story contains spoilers for season eight, episode four of AMC's The Walking Dead, "Some Guy," as well as the comics on which the show is based.]

Even though he walked away from his latest brush against the dead with his head still on his shoulders, King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) isn't out of the woods quite yet.

During the course of Sunday's "Some Guy," the Ezekiel-centric episode written by David Leslie Johnson, the King of the Kingdom nearly loses his life on numerous occasions. He's one of few survivors of the initial Saviors ambush, the vast majority of his fellow soldiers ripped to shreds with gatling gunfire. Ezekiel only makes it out of the battlefield alive after he's helped along by others, friends and an enemy alike. Due to a leg injury, Ezekiel's story nearly ends in a ravine filled with walkers; instead, his faithful tiger companion Shiva hops into the fight and loses her own life in service of the king.

Ezekiel survives all of this — and yet, don't smile: the AMC drama also included an ominous warning about Ezekiel's future, one that has already come to pass in the comic book version of The Walking Dead from Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard.

Final warning: major Walking Dead comic spoilers and graphic imagery ahead.

Earlier this season, we saw a glimpse of a possible future in which an older Rick (Andrew Lincoln) enjoys a peaceful morning with his family in Alexandria. However the show chooses to answer this set-up, the comics chart a clear path: following "All-Out War," the story leaps a few years into the future, where Rick and his allies have actualized their vision for a better tomorrow.

The initial arc following the time-jump stands out as the most peaceful period in the comics, until this brave new world comes up against a deadly new enemy: the Whisperers, a group of survivors who wear flesh suits and walk among the dead. In The Walking Dead #144, Whisperer leader Alpha asserts her dominance over Rick, first by showing him the veritable nuclear bomb of a walker herd she has at her disposal, and then with this:

A barrier built with the severed heads of Rick's friends, skewered on pikes, a testament to the raw power and barbaric nature of the Whisperers.

Even if you haven't read the Walking Dead comics, the notion of severed heads on pikes might sound nauseatingly familiar. That's because at the midpoint of "Some Guy," right before Jerry (Cooper Andrews) hacks his way through Ezekiel's captor and saves the day, the Savior threatens to sever Ezekiel's head and put it on a pike. Who knows what's going to happen in the TV version of events, but the Savior's threat could prove dangerously prophetic if the show follows the comic book path …

Ezekiel's head very much ends up on a pike, placed there by the Whisperers, the highest profile victim of this act of violence (followed closely by Rosita, played on the show by Christian Serratos), and easily the most shocking main character death since Glenn in The Walking Dead #100.

Speaking of Glenn, it's worth remembering the many ways Walking Dead laid track for Steven Yeun's memorable exit from the show. Over the years, Glenn often found himself dangerously close to a baseball bat: twice in season five, and once more in season six, right after Glenn killed a man for the very first time. While the show often diverges from the comics, it tends to offer up some version of the source material's most iconic moments — as seen in Glenn's eventual demise, his head crushed in with a baseball bat.

Like winter, then, heads on pikes are coming, all but promised in the threat to Ezekiel. Whether the king's own head ends up on one of those pikes? That's another matter altogether.

"I am aware of what happens in the comic book," Khary Payton tells The Hollywood Reporter on whether or not he's worried about meeting Ezekiel's comic book fate, as officially teased on the show. "But it's an alternate universe, No. 1. No. 2, it doesn't change the fact that I'm having a ball playing Ezekiel. If and when he reaches his demise, that's just the way this show goes. I don't take anything that is written as anything more than something on the page, until they tell me that my head is dissected, or I'm killed in a different way from the comics. Or I might just hang around as long as Morgan (Lennie James) and Carol (Melissa McBride), you know? You never know."

"Either way," he adds, "I always say this: as long as they miss me when I'm gone, I did my job."

What did you think of the latest Walking Dead comic book tease? Follow THR.com/WalkingDead for deep dives, theories, interviews and more all season long.


Read the full article – Hollywoodreporter.com

TV

Here’s What’s Happening in TV This Week

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Here's What's Happening in TV This Week

Hulu's comedy slate undergoes a major shake-up, while 'The Punisher' premieres on Netflix.

Welcome to This Week in TV. In a bid to help you prioritize among all the events, premieres, big episodes and finales, The Hollywood Reporter's eagle-eyed TV team every Monday will take a closer look at what to expect from the week ahead — and provide helpful links and context for each. Here's a handy primer for the events that will likely take over the headlines in the week ahead.

The Mindy Project Wraps Its Six-Season Run, Tuesday, 3:01 a.m.

After multiple love interests and multiple homes, Mindy Kaling's romantic comedy series says goodbye with the supersized series finale. Following the long-awaited return of Chris Messina's Danny in the penultimate episode, the final chapter centers on his mother's double mastectomy, as well as Morgan's and Tamra's looming nuptials. But will Dr. L also get a happy ending? Check back to Live Feed for a series postmortem with creator and star Kaling.

Future Man Blasts Off, Tuesday, 3:01 a.m.

Just as one Hulu comedy comes to a close, another one begins with this Seth Rogen time-travel action-comedy Future Man. The half-hour follows a janitor by day/gamer by night (Josh Hutcherson in his first TV series role) who is recruited by mysterious visitors from the future (including Happy Endings' Eliza Coupe) to travel through time in order to save the world. The series is also binger-friendly, with all 13 episodes rolling out on premiere day.

There's…Johnny Pulls Back the Curtain, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.

It's a busy week for Hulu as the streamer also unveils a second original comedy, a late-night series centered on the behind-the-scenes goings on at Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. Originally intended for an August debut on Seeso, the series comes to Hulu after the former NBC-owned streamer shuttered. But despite its bumpy path to premiere, the half-hour boasts names including co-creator Paul Reiser, and stars Tony Danza and Suburgatory's Jane Levy.

The Punisher Gets Into Gear, Friday, 12:01 a.m.

Jon Bernthal's Daredevil alter ego steps into the spotlight in this highly anticipated Marvel spinoff series. The gritty and violent adaptation of the popular comic book series centers on the former Marine as he becomes engulfed in a military conspiracy while trying to punish the people responsible for murdering his family. Deborah Ann Woll also reprises her Daredevil role, along with other castmembers including Ben Barnes and Jaime Ray Newman. Check back to Live Feed for extensive series coverage from THR's Josh Wigler.

Search Party Goes Back on the Hunt, Sunday, 10 p.m.

TBS' "ambitious" and "addictive" critical darling returns for its second season as Dory (Alia Shawkat) and her friends deal with the fallout of that surprising ending to season one. With the group's secret still looming large, their paranoia also grows and relationships subsequently "fray," according to the official season descriptor. As with the first season, the cabler will release the entire season two over Thanksgiving week, with two new episodes rolling out every night for five days.


Read the full article – Hollywoodreporter.com

TV

‘Walking Dead’: How That Savage Death Plays Out in the Comics

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'Walking Dead': How That Savage Death Plays Out in the Comics

Plus, Ezekiel actor Khary Payton reacts to losing "the embodiment of rare beauty [from] this dark, apocalyptic world."

[Warning: this story contains spoilers for season eight, episode four of AMC's The Walking Dead, "Some Guy," as well as the comics on which the show is based.]

For anyone who was wondering how The Walking Dead would be able to get away with having a tiger in the thick of the zombie apocalypse for a significant stretch of time — well, there's your answer.

The latest episode of The Walking Dead, "Some Guy," follows Ezekiel (Khary Payton) through a violent voyage of survival, losing almost everyone and everything he cares about in the name of the war against the Saviors. After already losing so many of his friends and fellow soldiers, Ezekiel witnesses the most personal death of all: Shiva the tiger, his beloved companion since his pre-apocalypse days as a zookeeper.

Fans of the show who have also read the comics entered season eight expecting Shiva's death, killed at this same point in the original "All-Out War" story arc. The two versions of the tragic event are closely aligned, albeit with some changes in the adaptation process.

For one thing, Ezekiel is on his own when Shiva dies in The Walking Dead #118. Both the show and the comics kill the king's allies in the same devastating manner, ripped to pieces with gatling gunfire. (Karl Makinen's Richard, killed last season, dies at this point in the comics.) The TV series sees Ezekiel escaping thanks to help from Jerry (Cooper Andrews) and Carol (Melissa McBride). In the comics, however, Ezekiel makes it out of the battlefield on his own, winding up in a nearby ravine…

…one that's eerily reminiscent of where Ezekiel winds up in the show. Both the comic and the AMC series arrive at the same next destination: Shiva, leaping into the fray to save the day…

…but at the expense of her own life.

The comic book version of Ezekiel recalls Shiva's death in conversation with Michonne, his love interest in the comics. Even though the show's version of Ezekiel seems destined for a romantic entanglement with Carol, what he says in the comics is instructive of what's likely ahead for the king in his next TV appearance:

For his part, as much as one can eulogize the loss of an animated character, Ezekiel actor Khary Payton spoke with THR about what he feels Shiva's death represents: the removal of a "rare beauty [from] this dark, apocalyptic world."

"That's the symbol she carries for Ezekiel," said the actor. "She's the symbol and embodiment of the Kingdom itself. Who knows how many tigers there are left in the world? At least in [the Walking Dead world], she is a rare creature. I think he felt that way about the Kingdom. It's a rare place. Seeing that symbol that got him through the early stages of the apocalypse, that was the breakdown for me. It's all she represented. I wasn't just thinking about a CGI character necessarily. I was thinking about the embodiment of this rare and beautiful thing he had willed himself into believing could happen."

Follow THR.com/WalkingDead for deep dives, theories, interviews and more all season long.


Read the full article – Hollywoodreporter.com

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‘Walking Dead’ Star on the Season’s Biggest “Gut-Wrenching” Battle Yet

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'Walking Dead' Star on the Season's Biggest "Gut-Wrenching" Battle Yet

"It tore my heart out," actor Khary Payton tells THR about the latest season eight episode.

[Warning: This story contains spoilers for season eight, episode four of AMC's The Walking Dead, "Some Guy," as well as the comics on which the show is based.]

The king is dead. Long live some guy.

But not just any some guy. He's some, terrific, radiant, humble, thingamajig of a guy, at least in Walking Dead actor Khary Payton's estimation. Payton plays Ezekiel, King of the Kingdom, his veritable crown well and truly damaged following the events of the latest episode of the series, "Some Guy." After his initial reluctance to follow Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and the Alexandrian alliance into battle against the Saviors, Ezekiel ultimately joined the cause — and now, his worst fears have become reality, as virtually all of the king's men have been killed on the battlefield, his pet tiger Shiva included.

A storyline adapted straight from Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's comics on which the show is based, episode writer David Leslie Johnson expands upon Ezekiel's pain and suffering and drags him through one of the most physically and emotionally grueling hours in recent Walking Dead history. The king's low point is easily the high point of season eight of the AMC drama thus far, thanks in large to Payton, tasked with plunging into dark depths alongside his character. As the actor tells it, tapping into Ezekiel's exhausting struggle to survive was simply a matter of channeling what he was experiencing in reality.

Read on for Payton's thoughts on the brutal Ezekiel episode, the difficulty of saying goodbye to so many cherished colleagues, the common bond between his character and his father, why he doesn't expect the king of the Kingdom to hang his head in shame forever, and more.

"Some Guy" is a difficult journey for Ezekiel as a character and you as an actor. You must be proud of this one.

It was one of my favorite experiences. And also one of my most bittersweet journeys to take, as far as just telling a journey. I said goodbye to so many people. At the same time, I was given this wonderful episode and character to play. It tore my heart out. Some of the guys we lost … because we lost pretty much everybody [from the Kingdom]. That's the thing about The Walking Dead. You get very close to these people, and then you end up having to say goodbye, and not knowing when you're going to see them again. Carlos Navarro, who plays Alvaro [one of the last knights of the Kingdom still standing, before he's also gunned down by a Savior], is one of my favorite people in the world. Besides Shiva, letting Carlos go was one of the hardest things that I've done on this show. It really did feel like all my people got ripped away from me. It was more emotional than I was expecting it to be. I've already had that feeling when Karl Makinen who played Richard and Logan Miller who played Ben [died on the show]. You think it would get easier, but it doesn't. (Laughs.)

It's an interesting parallel with Ezekiel's journey in this episode. Much as you lost many of your colleague in the making of the episode, Ezekiel loses all of these people from his life as well. The episode is aptly named, in it takes Ezekiel from being the king of the Kingdom to being just "Some Guy." Is this a permanent alteration for Ezekiel moving forward?

It definitely affects him in a strong way. I know with the title, "Some Guy," he's talking about how he's just some guy … but I would harken back to Charlotte's Web. Charlotte wrote it up there: "He's some pig." And everybody else is like, "That is some pig." You know what I mean? Ezekiel is still some guy. That is some guy! (Laughs.) He's not just some guy, no matter how he feels about it. He's fucking King Ezekiel, and there's nobody quite like him, whether you think he's too over the top or not. There's just nobody like that guy. No matter what happens, he'll never be just some guy. He just has to find his way back. That's what this show is about. It's about how much of yourself can you keep in the most dire of circumstances? We're about to find out with Ezekiel.

It's a game of high highs and low lows this week. The episode begins with Ezekiel in about as regal form as we have ever seen, delivering a rousing speech to rally the troops of the Kingdom — and then the action cuts to the present, where Ezekiel is surrounded by so much death. How much did you feel the ping-ponging from high to low?

The scene we shot of that speech and leaving the Kingdom we shot in the morning, and as the sun was going down later that day, we shot Ezekiel, Jerry (Cooper Andrews) and Carol (Melissa McBride) returning and facing all of those people he told he was going to come back with victory. The first time we shot that rousing speech, we had such an intense time that morning, and when I came back and it was just those few people huddled there looking at me? I lost it. We never got it on camera, but I bawled like an idiot when I saw those people. That's not what this was about. It needed to be a different response. Frankly, I don't know how much longer I could have cried anyway. Walking back into that situation, it was like, "I told them all it was going to be OK." There was a dude who was specified in the script, Alvaro's father. He was an extra and he kind of looked like Alvaro, and I caught his eye, and it tore me up. It was literally one of the most gut-wrenching moments.

When we catch up with the action, Ezekiel emerges from beneath a pile of bodies. How much did that help you dive into the depths of his despair?

That's one of the beautiful things about the job. Sometimes, you have to pretend like there's a tiger there because there's nothing there. Sometimes, they pile a bunch of dudes on top of you. (Laughs.) There were legs everywhere. They were like, "We can't really take the pressure off of you, man." And I was like, "That's alright. I'll just have to drag my ass out of here." It's true, it wasn't me pretending to drag myself out from under a bunch of bodies. I literally had to drag myself out from under a bunch of bodies. It was fun.

What do you make of the fact that Ezekiel only survives this situation thanks to the help of others: Alvaro, Jerry, Carol and Shiva?

You get what you pay for sometimes when it comes to people. Ezekiel put a lot of equity into holding people up and bolstering people up, and being a light when there wasn't much of one anywhere else. It reminds me of my dad, who is a cancer survivor. He's been a pediatrician in the town I grew up in for 30-something years. When he was going through his chemo, generations of people came out of the woodwork to give him support. He ended up doing really well and coming through and being able to beat leukemia. I could see 30 years of him taking care of people [coming back]. I can't walk around my hometown with my dad; he's the rock star when we're walking around. That's what happens with Ezekiel here. In the moment he needs it the most, in the moment he can't be the rah-rah rabble-rousing speechmaker, every time he got knocked down, someone was there to pick him up. I think it's a little bit of a lesson in you get what you give.

Did you feel Ezekiel's regal manner slipping away at all during this episode? He's let the facade drop with Carol previously. Did he lose it here?

For me, there's a certain point where when you're putting on a persona like that, that if you're putting it on all of the time, it's hard to turn it off. It's not like he goes back and sits in the bedroom and talks to himself like regular Zookeeper Zeke. It's become kind of habitual, that this is the way he talks. When he breaks down, it's got so much less to do with the people around him at that point, and more to do with him turning it off because the weight is too much. When he says, "I'm just some guy!" I think that's not him talking to anybody else. It's him talking to himself and feeling like everything he's ever tried to do was for nothing. That's him at one of his lowest moments.

You lost many colleagues in the making of this episode. As a character, Ezekiel also loses Shiva. Is there an emotionality involved for you in losing an animated character?

The way I justified it for me was that Shiva is the embodiment of rare beauty in this dark, apocalyptic world. That's the symbol she carries for Ezekiel. She's the symbol and embodiment of the Kingdom itself. Who knows how many tigers there are left in the world? At least in [the Walking Dead world], she is a rare creature. I think he felt that way about the Kingdom. It's a rare place. Seeing that symbol that got him through the early stages of the apocalypse, that was the breakdown for me. It's all she represented. I wasn't just thinking about a CGI character necessarily. I was thinking about the embodiment of this rare and beautiful thing he had willed himself into believing could happen.

What did you think about how Shiva's death mirrors Ezekiel's story from earlier in the episode, about how he saved Shiva once upon a time, and how he wanted to be the kind of person who leapt into danger?

It's pretty amazing work that [showrunner] Scott M. Gimple is able to fold into these stories. I know there's lots of discussion about the number of bullets people are using and things like that, devices for storytelling that people kind of laugh about and harp on. But there's some beautiful stuff here I think people are missing when they're worrying about how many bullets are left in the gun before they reload. There's some really great symmetry there. We talked about Henry V, which is one of my favorite plays, and my favorite Shakespeare play. I talked months ago with Scott about the speech that Henry V gives at the Battle of Agincourt, as his lieutenants are saying they should call back to England for more people. Henry says: "Not one more," because we're going to win this battle and they are going to wish they were here. I was talking to Scott about Ezekiel giving these kinds of speeches. He took this "not one more," and he switched it: "We will lose not one of our number." That's just brilliant. It's a different take. You take that Shakespeare, you twist it, you make it your own.

What can we expect next from Ezekiel, now that he's survived his lowest moment by far?

Falling into the hole is the easy part. Digging yourself back out of it? That's the hard part. That's the part of the journey he's on right now. Can he find his way back to being the light that he needs to be for the people around him? Despite what's happened to him, people are still looking to him — even if there are far less people! (Laughs.) There are still people looking to him. It's not about how many times you fall off, it's about how many times you get back up. He got his leg chewed up, so it's going to be hard to stand up. I think this is a process of figuring out how to do that.

Follow THR.com/WalkingDead for deep dives, theories, interviews and more all season long.


Read the full article – Hollywoodreporter.com

TV

Melissa Benoist Calls for Industry Change After ‘Supergirl’ Boss Accused of Sexual Harassment

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Melissa Benoist Calls for Industry Change After 'Supergirl' Boss Accused of Sexual Harassment

Melissa Benoist on 'Supergirl'

In this story

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The CW
Arrow
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The Flash
The Flash

"When people commit crimes or harass others, they should always be held accountable," she tweets after Andrew Kreisberg was put on leave following allegations from multiple women.

Supergirl star Melissa Benoist is calling for Hollywood to change "the norm" after series showrunner Andrew Kreisberg was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women.

"[W]hen people commit crimes or harass others, they should always be held accountable — no matter what industry they work in or how much power they wield," she wrote in a statement that was posted on Twitter on Sunday night. "I've spoke up about it in the past — publicly and not so publicly — and I'll continue to do so. All of us should, without fear or shame. We all need to hold ourselves to a higher standard."

Kreisberg, executive producer of The CW's DC Comics series, which also include The Flash and Arrow, was suspended last week by producers Warner Bros. Television Group in the wake of the allegations. Warner Bros. Television, the studio behind the Greg Berlanti-produced comic book adaptations, has launched an internal investigation into the claims leveled against Kreisberg.

Benoist noted that this isn't uncommon in the industry, which is "heartbreaking" and makes her "feel helpless." But she's still hopeful she can effect change.

"I know I'm not the only one who feels this way," she wrote. "But I'm an optimist. I believe lasting change is possible, and when people are mistreated, they should have a safe forum to speak their trust and always be heard. And so this week, I'll head back to work on Supergirl even more committed to being a part of changing the norm by listening when people speak up, and refusing to accept an environment that is anything less than a safe, respectful and collaborate space."

Benoist's co-star Chyler Leigh also weighed in with a post on Instagram. (Leigh plays Benoist's sister on the CW series.)

In her post, she quoted Maya Angelou: "Each time a woman stands up for herself, without know it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women."

She added: "Let's stand up Ladies. Lets stand up FOR each other. Let's stand up WITH each other. Let’s #createchange together #sheroes."

Arrow star Emily Bett Rickards also weighed in on Twitter on Sunday night. (Kreisberg was showrunner on Arrow until he left to do the same job on Flash full-time but remains an executive producer on the former.)

"To the men who committed harassment, who perpetuated rape culture, who turn a 'blind eye,' and complain about 'reverse sexism': you are weak and complicit," she wrote. "To the women who found the strength to speak up. To the women who supported one another and to the women finding their voice: You can. You are heroines."

Nineteen men and women, all of whom chose to remain anonymous, came forward to Variety, which first reported the allegations, to accuse the showrunner of sexual misconduct, including inappropriate touching, which took place over a period of several years. Many are current or former employees of the shows Kreisberg executive produced. Kreisberg allegedly touched people and kissed women without consent and asked for massages from female staff. None of his accusers reported the alleged behavior to the HR department, though they claim the producer fostered a "toxic" work environment in which women were evaluated "based on their bodies."

"We were recently made aware of some deeply troubling allegations regarding one of our showrunners. We have been encouraging and fully cooperating with the investigation into this by Warner Bros.," Berlanti said in a joint statement with Berlanti Productions head of television Sarah Schechter. "There is nothing more important to us than the safety and well-being of our cast, crew, writers, producers and any staff. We do not tolerate harassment and are committed to doing everything we can to make an environment that’s safe to work in and safe to speak up about if it isn't."

Kreisberg has denied the allegations. "I have made comments on women’s appearances and clothes in my capacity as an executive producer, but they were not sexualized," he told Variety.

Read Benoist's, Rickards' and Leigh's full statements below,

I am a woman who leads a shot that supports equality and feminism, empowerment and fighting for what is right. I have always tried to conduct myself this way personally, as well. Sadly, the show and my career are a part of an industry that doesn't always mirror these sentiments. This is heartbreaking, and at times makes me feel helpless. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. But I'm an optimist. I believe lasting change is possible, and when people are mistreated, they should have a safe forum to speak their trust and always be heard. And when people commit crimes or harass others, they should always be held accountable — no matter what industry they work in or how much power they wield. I've spoke up about it in the past — publicly and not so publicly — and I'll continue to do so. All of us should, without fear or shame. We all need to hold ourselves to a higher standard. So this week, I'll head back to work on Supergirl even more committed to being a part of changing the norm by listening when people speak up, and refusing to accept an environment that is anything less than a safe, respectful and collaborate space.

pic.twitter.com/bIAcZWrYOT

— Melissa Benoist (@MelissaBenoist) November 13, 2017

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— Emily Bett Rickards (@EmilyBett) November 13, 2017

“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without know it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women” – Maya Angelou @shethority Let’s stand up Ladies. Lets stand up FOR each other. Let’s stand up WITH each other. Let’s #createchange together #sheroes

A post shared by Chyler Leigh (@chy_leigh) on

Lesley Goldberg and Meena Jang contributed to this report.

Updated 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12: Added Rickards' statement.

Updated 8:17 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12: Added Leigh's statement.

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Read the full article – Hollywoodreporter.com

TV

‘Star Trek: Discovery’: The 6 Biggest Burning Questions for Its 2018 Return

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'Star Trek: Discovery': The 6 Biggest Burning Questions for Its 2018 Return

With the USS Discovery's crew lost somewhere in space after Sunday's midseason finale, THR rounds up the dangling threads remaining for the second half of season one. [Warning: This story contains spoilers for the midseason finale of Star Trek: Discovery, "Into the Forest I Go."] CBS All Access' Star Trek: Discovery took a few major steps forward during Sunday's midseason finale when the crew of the Discovery went to war with the Klingons over the planet of Pahvo. Not only was Starfleet able to crack Klingon cloaking technology, giving them the upper hand in future battles, but Admiral Katrina Cornwell (Jayne Brook) was rescued from the enemy species' ship. Additionally, Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) took his budding romantic relationship with Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to the next level. After suffering from flashbacks to his time as a Klingon prisoner, he opened up to Michael about the torture he experienced. Still, with one final spore jump leading the crew somewhere unknown, there were far more questions than answers in the Star Trek: Discovery midseason finale. Here, The Hollywood Reporter explores the biggest mysteries that will (hopefully) be addressed when the series returns Jan. 7 with the second half of its maiden voyage. Where did the Discovery warp to? The midseason finale cliffhanger saw a spore drive jump go wrong, stranding the Discovery nowhere near the starbase they were attempting to reach. The purple-colored piece of space they wound up in is littered with Klingon wreckage and is untraceable to the ship's computers. So where did the crew warp to? There are a few distinct possibilities. One is a previously undiscovered corner of the universe. If nobody has been there before, it wouldn't appear on any computer system. Then again, this could also be the proper introduction of the mirror universe. When will the show finally explore the mirror universe? It was the fifth episode of the season that first hinted the mirror universe on Discovery. After using himself to power the spore drive, it was revealed that Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and his reflection in a mirror had become disconnected. After the lieutenant walked away from his reflection, it watched him leave. Given that Stamets' first use of the spore drive teased the mirror universe, it's possible that this new technology is the key. Perhaps the final jump that sent the Discovery off-course took the entire ship there and it will be addressed when the show returns with the episode "Despite Yourself," which Star Trek: The Next Generation alum Jonathan Frakes is directing. It's worth noting that Frakes was the first person to reveal Discovery would be doing a mirror universe episode. The parallel dimension containing evil versions of familiar characters was first introduced in the original Star Trek series. What's happening to Stamets? It's obvious that he's doing major damage to himself by powering the spore drive. While his rapidly changing personality has been funny to watch, Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz) has discovered that he's doing harm to his brain's white matter. Stamets is undergoing something no other person in the universe has experienced. While it's exciting for him to be seeing the universe in a brand new way, there's a problem. Nobody's quite sure what is happening and it may be too late to find out or save him. How will Discovery wrap up the Klingon war with only six episodes remaining? While participating in a Q&A with fans in London, showrunner Aaron Harberts said each season of Discovery will be viewed as a novel. "Season one is the war novel and we won't be doing another war novel," he explained. That sounds like the show will be wrapping up this war with the Klingons by the end of this season. With only six episodes left — and the Discovery itself lost somewhere in space — how are they planning to bring such a major conflict to a close? Is Kol actually dead? As Kol's (Kenneth Mitchell) Klingon ship was completely destroyed by the Discovery, it looks like the leader of the Klingons was killed. While that would certainly help Starfleet in their mission to end the war, is he actually gone? It's not outrageous to think a heavily scarred Kol will reappear when the series returns. What is happening with Ash Tyler? This is perhaps the most fascinating question of all. As the midseason finale illustrated, there is more going on with Tyler than has been revealed thus far. Throughout the episode, he flashed back to the torture he experienced at the hands of Klingon warrior L'Rell (Mary Chieffo), which included being sexually assaulted. In the final moments of the episode, he goes to her and asks what she's done to him. "Do not worry. I will never let them hurt you," L'Rell tells Tyler. "Soon." She could be talking about almost anything regarding their horrible time together. However, there will be those who view these words as a hint about a Reddit fan theory before gaining steam with online. That theory suggests that Tyler is actually the Klingon Voq after some form of transformation, being used as a spy against Starfleet. It may sound crazy at first, but there's actually quite a bit of evidence to back it up. The biggest piece of the puzzle is that the actor credited on the show for playing Voq, Javid Iqbal, doesn't seem to exist. Iqbal is listed as the person portraying the Klingon character, yet no mention of him unrelated to Discovery can be found online. He has no prior credits on IMDb, no photos and no social media footprint. He is also the only notable member of the cast to not take part in any promotional appearances or do interviews for the series. While it's possible that he is an actor who prefers to lead an incredibly private life, it's very suspicious. Of course, it doesn't help matters that the cast and producers deflect away from the question when asked. As for how Tyler fits into the Voq mystery, Latif was originally cast to play a Klingon on the series — Kol, who Kenneth Mitchell went on to portray. It was announced in April that because of creative changes, he would instead take on the role of Tyler. For many fans, it is just too big of a coincidence. After all, what if Tyler's torture wasn't actually torture? What if, instead, it was part of a procedure to turn a Klingon into a human? At this point, it's nothing more than a theory viewers will continue to wonder about when Discovery returns. However, after L'Rell's words to Tyler in the midseason finale, the speculation is only going to be amplified. Eventually the series is going to have to address it. Given how well Tyler has fit into the Discovery crew so far though, what happens if and when he's revealed to truly be a Klingon? That might be a plot twist no viewer is going to enjoy. Star Trek: Discovery returns to CBS All Access on Jan. 7. Star Trek: Discovery
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TV

‘Outlander’ Sets Sail and Brings Drama on the High Seas

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'Outlander' Sets Sail and Brings Drama on the High Seas

Executive producer Matt B. Roberts talks with THR about the key missing scene from the book in "The Doldrums."

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from Sunday's episode of Outlander, "The Doldrums."]

Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) have been ripped apart again as Starz's beloved adaption of Outlander officially set sail during Sunday's episode.

During "The Doldrums," Jamie and Claire learned that life at sea was equally as dangerous as their time on land. With a crew near mutiny after being stuck at sea, another ship — ravaged by disease — took Claire away from Jamie after she helped eradicate the typhoid that nearly wiped out its crew. The episode ended with a shot of Claire, panicked and helpless, as she was taken further from Jamie — and despite the fact that both ships were sailing for Jamaica.

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Outlander executive producer Matt B. Roberts about what this latest split means for Jamie and Claire and why a certain fan-favorite character was left out of this episode.

The show is now out at sea, signaling a shift from Voyager's source material. For those who haven't read the book, now that Claire's been taken by this new ship, where does the story go from here?

The next episode is aboard this plague ship, the HMS Porpoise, as Claire has been taken hostage to care for the sailors. What we do there is we go back to the Artemis as Jamie is struggling to try to find a way to force the captain to follow the Porpoise, and he is actually imprisoned on the Artemis by Captain Raines.

Jamie's experience while Claire is on the Porpoise isn't told in the book. Why did you decide to tell that story?

When we start breaking stories, we always start by discussing what point of view and what perspective we're going to tell it from. As the season has gone along, you see some episodes are more heavy with Jamie stories, and the next episode is a heavier Claire story. This is one of those stories in the next episode, as it's a little heavier with the Claire story, but we still wanted to go back and tell Jamie's as well since the book just tells Claire's story. We wanted to show what Jamie was going through at the same time. We jump back to the Artemis and we created this story of how he gets imprisoned, what he does to try to get himself free so he can find his wife again. When he gets to this point of the story, he's waited 20 years to have her back and he doesn't want to lose her right off the bat. She gets taken by someone on what he thought was a deal where she was just supposed to go over, check patients and come back. But actually Captain Raines made a deal with Captain Leonard of the Porpoise and he knew all about the deal, and Jamie wasn't a party to it. They didn't even ask Jamie, and that's why he was so upset about it.

Mr. Willoughby's (Gary Young) performance of his life story for the Artemis crew plays out differently than it does in the book. Why the change?

We adjusted the story where Mr. Willoughby has to unveil his story sooner than he really wanted to. He had to distract the sailors who were out for Hayes' blood for being a Jonah, and he ended up saving his friend.

He knew the weather was about to change because he saw the pelican flying low. In the book, he jumps into the water to catch it. Will the story of him capturing and training his pelican friend Ping An be told?

Unfortunately, no. We looked into it. But finding a trained pelican is not easy. [Laughs] We definitely looked. We looked into the practical, finding a pelican, training it and having it work with the actor. We couldn't find one when we were down in South Africa. We looked into visual effects and we just didn't have the time to add in all the ships and a pelican. These are the hard choices we have to make: did we want to have Jamie and Claire on a ship, or did we want to do a pelican? We have to tell the Jamie and Claire story before we can tell the Mr. Willoughby's pelican story. We're doing two full episodes in a row on ships and that entails a lot of green screen on a back lot in South Africa and everything you see is visual effects: all the water, all the movement. We spend a lot of time on those little details.

Fergus (Cesar Domboy) revealed that the woman he's been courting is Jamie's step-daughter Marsali (Lauren Lyle). Now that Marsali has stowed away on the ship and Jamie is making her room with Claire in such close quarters despite how they feel about each other, what are you most excited for fans to see from that dynamic?

They're both feisty and they have such a great dynamic. We knew that putting them in scenes together was going to be fun to watch. Going forward, we build a relationship there where there is fire and passion for both characters. In a way, they're both right, and that's what makes a dynamic scene. There's going to be sparks and fire.

From a creative standpoint, what was the most challenging thing about taking Outlander to sea?

Being stuck on ships for two episodes, visually it's tough. You're below decks, it's dark, it's dank, there's vomit — our fake vomit actually smelled worse than real vomit, I don't know what they put in there but it was really horrid. We were in one location for a very long time, so we had to keep it fresh and keep the story moving. We couldn't let it get stale in these environments that were very stale. David Moore directed both of these episodes and did a great job keeping the camera moving and getting them up on decks with fresh air and down in the holds in the darkness. It's like 12 Angry Men where you're in a jury room for the entire movie but you're moving around and changing the angles to keep it exciting. That helps out and keeps it fresh, especially when there's so much death going on in the next episode.

What are you most excited for viewers to see from the next episode?

There's something very sweet and special about the relationship between Claire and Elias Pound [Albie Marber]. Claire essentially had to give up her own child to go back and be with Jamie, and in this moment, because she hasn't quite bonded with Marsali yet, she does become a mother figure to Elias Pound. To me, it's a really sweet and special arc.

Outlander airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on Starz.

Outlander
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TV

‘SNL’: Michael Che Calls Trump “Vain and Catty” Over Kim Jong Un Tweet

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'SNL': Michael Che Calls Trump "Vain and Catty" Over Kim Jong Un Tweet

Michael Che on 'Saturday Night Live'

But the "Weekend Update" host admitted that, this time, the president's "short and fat" tweet was "pretty damn funny."

On this weekend's Saturday Night Live, "Weekend Update" host Michael Che couldn't help but tackle the most-talked-about tweet of the night.

Only hours ahead of Saturday's show, President Donald Trump took aim at Kim Jong Un in a tweet, saying he would never call the North Korean dictator "short and fat." The post came in response to the country's foreign ministry calling Trump "an old lunatic" over his speech in South Korea.

Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2017

"A lot of times, Donald Trump goes way over the line with his tweets, but this time — that was pretty damn funny," said Che. "I mean, look at how vain and catty he is. They're like, 'You lunatic old man,' and he's like, 'Old?'"

Che then referred to Trump, 71, as "President Miss Thang" when referencing his response to last week's mass shooting in Texas.

In an effort to rally global pressure against North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Trump had said during his speech in South Korea on Tuesday, "Do not underestimate us. And do not try us. … The weapons you're acquiring are not making you safer, they are putting your regime in grave danger. Every step you take down this dark path increases the peril you face."

North Korea's foreign ministry said of the comments, "Reckless remarks by an old lunatic like Trump will never scare us or stop our advance."

Saturday Night Live
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