TV

Ask AfterEllen.com (Jan. 20, 2009)

Want to know the status of a particular movie, TV show, or band? Wondering what a certain actress is up to these days? Send your entertainment-related questions to [email protected] – with your first name, city and country – and we’ll try to answer as many as we can.

Question: I recently watched the pilot of Nikki & Nora, and I can’t believe it wasn’t picked up for a full season. Is there any chance of it being picked up at a later date, possibly by a network that was not originally approached? Or is it lost forever?

– mustang_sally, Utah

Answer: I forwarded your question to Nikki & Nora creator Nancylee Myatt, and she confirmed that the pilot starring Liz Vassey (CSI) and Christina Cox (Blood Ties) as lesbian detectives in New Orleans is indeed dead. Warner Bros. Studios and Laura Zisken Productions (who produces all the Spiderman movies) produced/own the rights to the pilot, and they have no plans to turn it into a series.

But Liz, Christina and Nancylee are still working on projects together. Last year, Vassey and Cox starred in 3Way‘s show-within-a-show parody of Nikki & Nora called Ladycops, and Myatt recently wrote a pilot for Barry Sonnenfeld to direct called The Trackers, which stars Vassey and Cox as paranormal bounty hunters.

Nancylee’s also working on a pilot for a female buddy cop dramedy set in New Orleans, with Liz and Christina in mind. If/when there’s more news about the two reuniting on-screen, I’ll let you know.

Question: I love Christina Cox, and I was really sad when Blood Ties got cancelled. Is she going to be starring in anything else soon?

– Nadia, Indianapolis, Indiana Answer: I have good news for you – at least, if you live outside the U.S.: Cox has just landed a lead role in Defying Gravity, a 13-episode drama about astronauts on a six-year mission through the solar system. The series starts filming this month and will be airing on BBC Two in the U.K., CTV in Canada and Pro Sieben in Germany. Ron Livingston (Office Space) also stars.

I asked Christina for details about her role, and here’s what she told me:

I’m playing Jen, the mission biologist, on a long (5+yrs) multi-stop interplanetary research trip. There are 8 astronauts, 4 men and 4 women selected for the mission. The show will follow us from the selection process all the way through our journey in space, the struggles, friendships, relationships etc. There is also the mission control team in constant contact with us, monitoring us from earth. So, each episode will tell each of the characters story both through the present (the ship) and via their past experiences leading up to the launch and what might happen when you put 8 people in deep space for 6 yrs.
There’s no word yet on where it will end up in the U.S., but Christina says, “I’m just so grateful to have a place to go do my thing with such a talented group, I’m happy regardless.”

NEXT PAGE: a lesbian on Skins?

Question: I read the AE blog post about Skins maybe having a lesbian character this season – do you know any more about it?

– Lucy, Newcastle, Ireland

Answer: The third season of Skins debuts in the U.K. this week (and on BBC America in the U.S. this Spring) with an all-new cast of teenagers (except for returning character Effy), which includes quirky outsider Naomi (Lily Loveless) – who is mocked in the first episode by overconfident Katie (Megan Prescott) for supposedly making a pass at her twin sister Emily (Kathryn Prescott) in middle school. (I won’t spoil it for you, but Naomi’s response is one of the funniest lines of the episode.)

I have exclusive scoop around the show’s lesbian storyline below – click here to go to the next page if you don’t want to be spoiled. Here’s what Skins creator Jamie Brittain told us: Naomi isn’t gay – Emily is, but she’s in denial. Emily comes out over the course of the season when she falls in love with and begins dating Naomi (who is in the process of discovering whether she’s gay or bisexual). When Emily’s twin sister Katie finds out, she’s not happy about it, so Emily has to contend with that on top of the usual coming-out angst.

Skins has a history of treating gay characters and gay storylines fairly well, with only a few missteps, and Naomi and Emily are both likable characters in their own way, so I’m hoping for the best!

Question: Who would win in a fight: Angelina Jolie’s assassin character in Wanted, or her assassin character in Mr. and Mrs. Smith?

– Julie, Evanston, Illinois

Answer: Her assassin character in Wanted, obviously – she can bend bullets! But her black dominatrix outfit in Smith could beat her khakis in Wanted any day.

NEXT PAGE: Season 2 of Mistresses, and an American version?

Question: Will there be an American version of Mistresses, or were you just talking about the UK version being brought over [in the article about the cast at the TCA Winter Press Tour]?

Aya, Toronto, Canada

Question: Is Jessica still bisexual in the second season of [BBC’s] Mistresses?

Marie, Oxford, England Answer: There is indeed an American version of Mistresses in the works as a pilot for Lifetime, from writer Melissa Carter and Fox 21. Based on the BBC series, it revolves around four thirtysomething college friends (played by Camille Sullivan, Holly Marie Combs, Brooke Burns and Rochelle Aytes) and the younger sister of one of them (Sarah Glendening).

Combs’ character gave up her career to be a stay-at-home mom; Sullivan’s character is a doctor reeling from the death of a patient; Aytes is a bright and spunky soap star; and Burns plays an outspoken and sharp attorney. Glendening is the younger sister.

No news about whether any of the characters will have a lesbian affair, but if it happens (and that’s a big “if” so is whether this pilot will ever even get picked up) my money’s on Aytes’s character. It’s an unwritten rule in Hollywood that in an ensemble series in which there is only one lead gay/bi character, and only one lead woman of color, those two shall be the same person.

As for the second question about whether Jessica (Shelley Conn) has another lesbian affair in season two I’ve got the answer to that below. Click here to go to the next page if you don’t want to be spoiled. Jessica is still bisexual regardless of whether she dates a man or a woman, but in the second season, her primary relationship will definitely be with a man, according to the BBC. Jessica and her new lover Mark are in an open relationship – at least initially – so I wouldn’t rule out Jessica having a fling or two with a woman, but I wouldn’t count on it, either. If you want even more spoilers about where Jessica’s headed, read this spoiler on EurOut.org.

And in case anyone’s wondering – no, Anna Torv is not coming back for the second season.She’s got her hands full these days trying to figure out The Pattern.

NEXT PAGE: The WNBA, and Out at the Wedding on DVD

Question: How many current WNBA players are out?

– Amy, Washington, DC

Answer: Only two three who are currently active players in the WNBA: Olympic Gold Medallist Sheryl Swoopes (Seattle Storm) and Latasha Byears (Houston Comets), and Ann Wauters (San Antonia Silver Stars), who married her partner recently and came out in a Dutch interview entitled “I have a girlfriend, so what?” (thanks to AE readers mangopeach and happy phantom for the tip!). The first player to come out while active was Sue Wicks, who was out throughout her tenure in the WNBA and finished her career in 2002 as the number-eight leader of all time in shots blocked. Minnesota Lynx player Michele Van Gorp came out shortly afterwards by revealing that and her partner had entered into a civil union; she retired from the WNBA in 2005.

Rumor has it that there are perhaps one or two more queer players in the league – maybe even three! But given the pressure on players to stay closeted so the financially struggling league (the Houston Comets recently ceased operations) can lure more families to games, I suspect we’re unlikely to see that list grow substantially anytime soon.

Question: Whatever happened to that show on Logo about gays and lesbians in the military? Was a pilot ever made?

– Corinna, New York City

Answer: The series you’re referring to was a one-hour drama called The Service that Logo was considering developing a few years ago – it never made it to the pilot stage, unfortunately.

Question: Any idea when Out at the Wedding will be out on DVD?

Berry Lynn

Answer: Out at the Wedding is finally being released on DVD in the U.S. on Feb. 17, two days after it premieres on Logo’s TV channel, and a year and a half after it debuted on the film festival circuit. I watched the movie when it was making the festival rounds, and definitely enjoyed it (read our review here). There is some over-acting, and some over-the-top plot points, but Cathy DeBuono is charming as the film’s lesbian-for-hire, even if I could have done without another on-camera appearance of the Lesbian Bandanna.

NEXT PAGE: A first look on Amy Poehler’s new comedy

Question: Have you seen the pilot yet for that Office-like show starring Amy Poehler? Is it any good? I love Amy!!

– Chantal, Portland, Oregon

I haven’t seen the pilot yet, since the series doesn’t start filming until February, but I’ve read the script for the first episode, and I can already tell I’m going to dig it.

First, some background: The Untitled Amy Poehler Project (the show doesn’t have a name yet) is a mockumentary-style show created by Greg Daniels, who created the American version of The Office. Set to premiere on NBC on April 9, 2009, the half-hour comedy stars Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aubrey Plaza, and Aziz Ansara. Poehler plays Leslie Knope, the head of the Parks and Rec department in Pawnee, Indiana who takes on a project from a nurse (Jones) to turn a construction pit into a park, while trying to mentor a bored college-aged intern (Plaza). Ansari plays her sarcastic co-worker Tom.

Shot in the same style as The Office – the scenes are intercut with characters talking directly to the camera – the characters deal with petty complaints from citizens, problems with co-workers, and local power struggles. Yes, it wounds a lot like The Office set in city politics, with a female lead. But since I love both The Office and women, that works for me!

While a lot of the comedy on this show is going to come from the execution (the physical comedy, the pacing, etc.) the script itself is very amusing.

Poehler’s character Leslie is a great mix of naivete, over-confidence, ambition, and denial, as you can tell is one of her opening speeches:

Politics is changing in this country – it’s not just a boys’ club anymore. There are 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, thanks to people like Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin and me. And Nancy Pelosi. The Parks Department is the site of another one of those cracks. And over the course of my political career, I intend to go around making thousands of more cracks in things, if not outright shattering and destroying them.
And she says all this while wearing a beige pants suit.

In addition to the clever writing, I like the racial diversity of the cast; it’s refreshing and overdue.

I also won’t mind seeing the very funny Aubrey Plaza as the bored intern every week: We’ll bring you more info about the series when it becomes available.

Question: How could you??? You referred to Ellen’s wife as her roommate [in your teaser for BLWE]?? This is unbelievable!!!!

– Name Withheld

Answer: If you had read the column, you’d see it was a reference to Ellen thanking “my roommate Portia” in her People’s Choice Awards acceptance speech.

[Yes, this is really a question that was sent to the askafterellen email address, and yes, it makes me want to bang my head against the wall.]

A new edition of Ask AfterEllen.com is published every Tuesday. Have a question for us? Email it to [email protected]. For more entertainment news, read previous editions of Ask AfterEllen.com, and check out AfterElton.com’s weekly entertainment Q&A column, Ask The Flying Monkey.

Reminder: Please put the word *spoilers* in the subject headlines of any comments about the Skins or Mistresses spoilers, since these headlines show up elsewhere on the site (and obviously, don’t reveal the spoilers in the comment headlines). Those who don’t want to risk being spoiled should not read the comments.

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