You have questions. I have some answers, including a couple about the TV series “Mom.”
Q: My husband wants to know what happened to the kids and the ex-husband on “Mom.”
A: The CBS comedy-drama starring Anna Faris as single mom Christy and Allison Janney as her mother Bonnie has often dealt with a sprawling family, including Christy’s son Roscoe (Blake Garrett Rosenthal) and daughter Violet (Sadie Calvano), and Christy’s ex-husband Baxter (Matt L. Jones). It has more recently shifted its focus to stories about Christy and Bonnie’s recovery group, Bonnie’s relationship with Adam (William Fichtner) and Christy’s new romantic interest, Patrick (Steven Weber). (I favour stories about the recovery group.) I have been told we’ll see Baxter again this season; it’s not clear if Violet and Roscoe will reappear.
Q: My question is about Jaime Pressly on “Mom.” She appears so overweight in the show now and I want to know if she really is, or is it just good makeup?
A: In October, Pressly, who plays Jill on the series, gave birth to twins Leo and Lenon. The weight-gain story was a cover for her pregnancy (and involved what EW.com called “puffy prosthetics”). The publications noted that Pressly’s character previously had a miscarriage and was dealing with the possible loss of a foster child she had taken in. So, instead of having Jill pregnant again, the series decided to have her compulsively overeat — another kind of addiction in a show that routinely addresses the subject. After all, co-creator Gemma Baker told EW.com, “If you are dealing with addiction, it may pop up in other places.” Jill is now at a spa to help herself, while Pressly has taken a break. She’ll be back.
Now, a follow-up to an earlier question about “Rawhide.” You may recall my mention of casting changes that included the departure of Eric Fleming as trail boss Gil Favor. Hence this question:
Q: To the best of my recollections (I was in my early 20s when “Rawhide” aired), Eric Fleming drowned while filming scenes for “Rawhide” in Venezuela.
A: More than one reader brought up Fleming’s real-life death and connected it to the TV series. But Fleming had departed “Rawhide” before he died. He was making a movie, “High Jungle,” in Peru and drowned in a canoe accident while shooting a dangerous scene.
Q: I’m curious about whether some shows will be back: “Secrets and Lies,” “The Catch,” “Underground,” “Shades of Blue,” “Time Traveler” and “The Odd Couple.” There are probably more but I just can’t remember them right now.
A: That’s a lot of shows for one question. But, in the holiday spirit, here are the answers: “Secrets and Lies,” “The Catch,” “Underground” and “The Odd Couple” are done for now. “Shades of Blue,” the Jennifer Lopez police drama, has been picked up for a third season, but I have not yet seen a return date. If by “Time Traveler” you mean the NBC time-travel series “Timeless,” it is due back at some point. If you mean “Travelers,” the time-travel series on Netflix, its second season will arrive on the streaming service on Dec. 26.
“Underground,” a historical drama about the Underground Railroad, has been looking for a new home since it was cancelled in May. Singer John Legend, an executive producer of the series, said in September that “the cast, producers and our studio Sony Pictures remain committed to a future for ’Underground’ because of a belief that this story is important and invaluable.”
Correction: Because of an incorrect source, a recent Q-and-A referred to the Sisters of Loreto. The correct spelling is Loretto. My apologies.
