You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: Was the last season the final one for “Ray Donovan” or is it coming back? The way the last season ended seemed as if the show might be over.
A: The fifth season of the Showtime series certainly hit some hard notes at the end. But there is a 12-episode sixth season planned for air this fall. Susan Sarandon, who recurred as studio head Sam Winslow last season, will be back, this time as a series regular. And the show’s location will shift from Los Angeles to New York City. Showrunner David Hollander some time back said, “New York is exciting. Fashion, media, finance, theatre, culture. It’s going to present new challenges for Ray Donovan, which mean new opportunities for us as dramatists.”
Q: Is there another “Poldark” season in the near future?
A: There is. PBS’s “Masterpiece” will begin showing the British drama’s fourth season on Sept. 30. Be careful if you go searching for information online, since the season has already aired across the pond and has what one report called a “heart-rending” finale. But that’s not the end of the line, since a fifth season is reportedly in the works for telecast in 2019.
Q: What happened to Shalita Grant on “NCIS: New Orleans”?
A: The actor who played Sonja Percy on the CBS drama has left; her last new episode aired in April. According to Variety, Grant and the series “mutually agreed” on her leaving. When her departure was announced in January, her manager told the entertainment publication that it was “just time for a change. This is about moving on to the next great thing.” You can see what she’s up to these days on Twitter, as @ShalitaGrant.
Q: What happened to “Mozart in the Jungle”? We started watching because everyone was raving about it. It was a great show and won a Golden Globe. Will anyone pick it up?
A: The comedy based on Blair Tindall’s memoir, and made for streaming on Amazon.com, was cancelled after four seasons and a total of 40 episodes. The Hollywood Reporter said the cancellation came from a new boss at Amazon who want to “shift away from niche indie projects and deliver broader, big-budget swings in an attempt to land the next ‘Game of Thrones.’ The four seasons of “Mozart” are still on the Amazon site. I do not know of any plans to make more.
Q: Could you please tell me if “Mom” is coming back?
A: The CBS comedy starring Anna Faris and Allison Janney begins a new season Sept. 27. Janney, by the way, recently received her second Emmy nomination as lead actress in a comedy for her work on the show. She has won two previous Emmys for “Mom” as supporting actress — because, well, the Emmys can be weird. She has seven Emmys total, along with an Oscar (as supporting actress, for “I, Tonya”).
Q: A movie was made based on a novel written by Frederick Forsyth in collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber called “Phantom of Manhattan.” The movie was shown on TV about 10 years ago but to my knowledge it hasn’t been rebroadcast. Any reason why information about this movie isn’t available?
A: It is, but under a different name. Forsyth first wrote a sequel to “The Phantom of the Opera” for Webber, who had had a huge success with “Phantom.” But their collaboration stalled. Forsyth used his ideas in a 1999 novel called “The Phantom of Manhattan.” Webber later returned to the project with other writers, calling it “Love Never Dies.” That production’s website lists Forsyth as one of the collaborators, but he has reportedly indicated he deserved more credit than he received. In any case, “Love Never Dies” premiered in 2010 and a production was filmed in 2012. The film has reappeared on TV from time to time, and it is on DVD and Blu-ray.
