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2TV
SUNDAY, JULY 20, 2014
OMAHA WORLD-HERALD
Cox Communications
Omaha
Qwest Choice TV
Omaha
TV Channel
CBS
5
5
NBC
8
8
BROADCAST
CONVERSION GUIDE
& KMTV
# WOWT
! KETV
" KXVO
$ NET1
% KPTM
9
9
CW
11
11
PBS
12
12
FOX
10
10
A&E
Arts and Entertainment
38
56
AMC
American Movie Classics
45
68
AP
Animal Planet
67
44
BET
Black Entertainment Television
39
66
72
BIGTEN
Big Ten Network
80
BRAVO
Bravo TV
62
CMT
CNBC
Country Music Television
64
72
Financial News
42
22
CNN
Cable News Network
33
32
COM
Comedy Central
46
60
COX2
CTI
DISC
DISN
E!
Local
2
Community Telecast Incorporated
22
Discovery Channel
37
38
Disney Channel
48
43
Entertainment Television
41
23
ESPN
Entertainment Sports Network
31
28
ESPN2
Entertainment Sports Network 2
30
30
EWTN
Eternal Word Television Network
21
19
FAM
ABC Family Channel
40
48
FNC
Fox News Channel
58
42
Food Network
54
40
Fox Sports Network
47
33
FX
FX Networks
49
27
GOLF
Golf Channel
63
34
FOOD
FSN
HBO
HGTV
CABLE
ABC
HIST
ION
KNOW
LIFE
MAX
METRO
Home Box Office 15/300 14
Home and Garden Television
59
47
History Channel
60
61
ION Television
57
Knowledge Network
17
Lifetime Television
28
57
Cinemax 320
17
Metro 23 Television 109
Microsoft NBC
66
54
MTV
Music Television
35
67
NET2
Public Broadcasting
16
MSNBC
NICK
Nickelodeon
34
39
QVC
Shopping Channel
14
24
SCOLA
International Programming 110
SHOW
Showtime 340
SPIKE
Spike TV
29
63
SYFY
Science Fiction Channel
53
37
50
TBS
Superstation
27
31
TCM
Turner Classic Movies
55
58
TELE
Telemundo
70
TLC
The Learning Channel
25
45
TNT
Turner Network Television
36
55
TOON
Cartoon Network
51
46
TRAV
Travel Channel
56
64
TVL
TVLand
65
73
UNI
Univision
23
23
USA
USA Network
32
59
VH1
Video Hits One
50
65
WB
26
35
WGN-A
Q&A
hollywood
By Adam Thomlison
TV Media
Q: What can you tell us about Kevin
Tighe today?
A: I can say that, after a low-key couple of
years, the former “Emergency!” star’s life is
about to get a little more ... complicated.
He’s booked for a supporting role in the upcoming USA series “Complications,” the newest offering from Matt Nix, who created the
network’s biggest in-house hit, “Burn Notice.”
Needless to say, then, expectations are high.
That makes the waiting even harder, as
USA has refused so far to announce a premiere date as of press time.
Tighe will star opposite former “Vegas”
and “Terra Nova” star Jason O’Mara, with
Tighe fulfilling the supporting role, which is
nothing new to the accomplished character
actor.
The only other thing he has on the go is
an indie drama called “Spirit Water,” due out
in theaters (or at least on DVD — it is an indie, after all) in September 2015.
That said, this is a significant ramping up of
his screen work. He’s been bouncing around,
doing one-off TV spots and the occasional
low-budget film for a number of years now.
It’s a workman-like approach to acting
that is quite a departure from his debut, at
which time he seemed poised for leading
man-type stardom.
Q: My family absolutely loves “Blue
Bloods.” It has good American values,
with a family fighting for safety and justice in New York City, of all places. Will
they be back in a new season?
A: It seems likely CBS didn’t think too hard
before renewing “Blue Bloods.” The show’s
been a solid performer on a tough night, and
by CBS cop-show standards, is still in the full
blush of youth.
It will premiere its fifth season on Friday,
Sept. 26, three days after the 12th season
premiere of “NCIS” and two days before the
15th premiere of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
Though it’s never drawn the big numbers
that those two smashes have, it’s still done
well for itself. It consistently wins its time-slot
on Friday nights, and its fourth season finale
in May actually performed better than its
season 3 ender. It drew 11.78 million viewers, which is a good number for any night,
but a great number for Friday, which is traditionally a bad night for TV viewership.
The network clearly thinks it has a winning
formula here, so little will be changing for
the new season. The core cast of Tom Selleck
as the patriarch of the law-enforcing Reagan
family, Donnie Wahlberg and Will Estes as his
two cop sons, and Bridget Moynahan as his
assistant district attorney daughter, will all be
returning.
Have a question? Email us at
questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include
your name and town. Personal replies will
not be provided.
Cover Story
this week
TNT keeps audiences guessing
with ‘Murder in the First’
By Jacqui Wiens
TV Media
C
rime intrigues audiences like nothing else
on television. The wildly successful “CSI:
Crime Scene Investigation” and its various
spinoffs catapulted the genre into a new era
of popularity that has yet to subside.
The police procedural has seen some evolution since it appeared, and each new series
tries to put a spin on the basic format. Typically, each season is broken down into more
or less self-contained episodes that follow one
crime and its resolution before the next episode.
TNT is trying out something unorthodox
with its original series “Murder in the First,”
which follows the investigation of one crime
for an entire season, reflecting a more realistic time frame. Catch a new episode Monday,
July 21, on TNT.
It’s a bold move, and it seems to be paying
off for the network. The premiere episode of
“Murder in the First” drew in an impressive
4.9 million viewers over the course of two airings, making it the network’s most successful
series premiere in two years. With a score of
68 out of 100 based on critic reviews on
metacritic.com, it seems that the professional
audience is digging the format.
(On the other hand, the website had two
incredibly different viewer reviews as of press
time with one user giving the show a 10/10
and the other rating it a big fat zero with the
main complaint seeming to be prevalent nudity.)
“Murder in the First” stars Taye Diggs (“Private Practice”) and Kathleen Robertson
(“Beverly Hills, 90210”) as San Francisco homicide detectives Terry English and Hildy Mulligan. As the series opens, it is revealed that
Det. English’s wife has been suffering from pancreatic cancer and is
on death’s doorstep. Diggs
gives life to English’s struggle
to keep his emotions under
wraps in a high stress environment as the most precious
thing in his life slips slowly
away.
English’s partner, Det. Mulligan, is a divorced, single
mother trying to balance the challenges
of her demanding career as
well as the challenges of having
a preteen daughter. When Mulligan sees English
struggling with
personal problems,
she steps in and
sends him home to
his wife.
“Murder in the First” begins as English and
Mulligan head out to investigate a shooting in
a drug den in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. They eventually discover that their victim,
Kevin Nyers, is the biological father of tech
prodigy Erich Blunt, portrayed by the Harry
Potter franchise’s Tom Felton. Blunt is the CEO
of APPLSN, a Silicon Valley startup dedicated
to bringing immersive apps to the masses. The
show gives Blunt a Mark Zuckerberg vibe, and
it is quickly revealed that he is being sued for
allegedly stealing a former employee’s work.
After a meeting with the plaintiff in question, a visibly agitated Blunt returns to his private jet. When his young flight attendant
(with whom he may or may not be having an
affair) spills wine on his shirt, Blunt fires her
in a less-than-kind manner. Although he apparently had a change of heart and hired her
back, Blunt’s recently fired flight attendant is
found dead in her home, turning the detectives’ sights on the young CEO.
As the investigation continues, it seems
that Blunt is the obvious suspect. Keep in
mind, however, that the entire 10-episode
season focuses on the original murder. Many
police procedurals have proven successful in
setting up one plot line at the start of the
show, only to reveal the conclusion by the end
of the episode. “Murder in the First” will have
more room to set up and flesh out false leads
than its predecessors. Throughout production,
in fact, the actors were kept in the dark about
the eventual resolution.
Speaking with “Paste Magazine,” Tom Felton said: “I’m pleased to say that, even as the
character, I didn’t know until the very last
minute. They were very keen not to share the
information with us, and it’s definitely a ...
roller-coaster of a ride.”
That sense of never knowing whodunit
gives the show a powerful appeal. Even when
Blunt is shoved forward as the most likely
killer, he is such a charismatic character
that you don’t want to believe he killed
anyone. As more suspects are introduced,
interviewed and discarded, there will always be a nagging doubt. Did that person
do it? Did English and Mulligan just let a
murderer walk away?
The premise behind “Murder in the
First” is an exciting twist on a common
trend. It will be interesting to see
if a longer arc can capture an
audience. Tune in to TNT
Monday, July 21, to catch
a new episode and see if
you can figure out who’s
behind it all.
Tom Felton as
seen in
“Murder in
the First”