With the second installment of “Outtakes,” I’ll keep the intro short: I’m still figuring things out while adjusting and tweaking what goes into the newsletter. But know my goal is to share a mix of what I’m writing about—but also what I’m obsessed with.
That said, let’s kick things off with The White Lotus.
While I was dying to spoil things about Murray Bartlett’s amazing performance as hotel manager Armond, who spends most of his time going face-to-face with manboy and worst guest ever Shane (Jake Lacy), I resisted as much as I could.
Sadly, I didn’t reconnect with Bartlett about his demise in the season finale, but I did get to talk to Fred Hechinger, Hollywood’s newest “that guy,” about playing Quinn and the character’s decision to stay behind in Hawaii.
“A really amazing thing happens, which is something outside of himself surprises him and opens him up to a new way to approach life,” the actor said of Quinn’s exposure to the native rowers training for a Molokai. He later said of the finale, “Sometimes you’re just pulled towards something… It was just like, ‘You have to go.’”
We also briefly talked about his portrayal of Seth Warshavsky in the upcoming limited Hulu series, Pam & Tommy, which recounts the events surrounding the release of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s unauthorized sex tape.
Lily James and Sebastian Stan star as the couple while Hechinger takes on the role of the 25-year-old internet pornographer, who ended up with a copy of their tape and debuted it online. When describing Warshavsky, the actor says he’s “a guy who is very successful but one that a lot of people do not like.” Hmmm… you don’t say!
While we didn’t have time to get deeper into the project, the conversation overlaps with my excitement for several new and upcoming non-fiction and true-crime series, including Impeachment: American Crime Story (FX), Dopesick (Hulu), The Crown season 5 (Netflix), which recently debuted images of Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki as a forlorn Prince Charles and an unhappy Princess Diana, as well as the The First Lady (Showtime), and the two HBO projects, The White House Plumbers and The Staircase.
The first two, Impeachment and Dopesick, premiere this fall, and I can’t wait to dig into them more. In the meantime, enjoy this who’s who of the ACS season 3 cast. And trust me when I say Beanie Feldstein, everyone’s favorite Funny Girl, is a breakout here.
Quick Takes:
I spoke to Q-Force creator Gabe Liedman about making a funny, sexy animated series about LGBTQ spies
I also quickly chatted with Aaron Tveit about his bloody American Horror Stories roles and returning to Broadway with his Tony-nominated performance in Moulin Rouge
Finally, I served up exclusive previews of some other upcoming Netflix reality series: Titletown High, a real-life take on Varsity Blues starring the Wildcasts of Valdosta High School, and Metal Shop Masters, the streamer’s latest, fiery reality competition