When Lord Grantham goes to the bar to order drinks at the Beverly Hilton while his manservant Bates is just a few feet away and doesn’t make a move, you know it’s going to be a memorable night. And that was after Hugh Bonneville ripped open his shirt to reveal a “Free Bates” T-shirt underneath, to the delight of Brendan Coyle.
PBS’s “Downton Abbey” evening started things off with a bang at the TCA’s summer press tour beginning on Saturday, July 21– and was definitely a huge highlight of the two-week-long series of sessions, set visits and soirées. A combination of dinner, panel discussion and cocktails, the packed crowd of media heavyweights and friends of the public broadcaster reveled into the night.
Creator Julian Fellowes, executive producers Rebecca Eaton and Gareth Neame and cast members Bonneville, Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt and Elizabeth McGovern were there with the newest member of the DA family, Shirley MacLaine.
After the panel, which featured clips from the upcoming third season, MacLaine was quickly whisked away to a waiting limo. She went out on a high note after leaving the audience in stitches with her ruminations on the Masterpiece program, which has become so much a part of pop culture that it has already spawned a number of parodies, including a hilarious one on “Saturday Night Live.”
But the others stayed around and dished about the show and the huge haul of Emmy nominations that it had recently racked up. Next stop after leaving Los Angeles: they were invited to the opening ceremonies of the London Summer Olympics, naturally.
PBS continued its celebration of its programming the next night with a rousing performance by Cheyenne Jackson, who is part of the upcoming special marking the opening of Las Vegas’ Smith Centerfor the Performing Arts.
It was our first time seeing him and we fell in love with not only his musical talents, but his stage persona and banter with the audience.” I’m Laura Linney,” he said several times to loud laughter and once referred to the fact that he was married – “to a dude.”
The Smith Center special, called “From Dust to Dreams” and airing on PBS on Friday, September 21 at9 pmET/PT, looks phenomenal. Produced by 15 time-Emmy award winner George Stevens, Jr., who does the Kennedy Center Honors, it’s hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and features performances from a legendary lineup of talent from the worlds of music, television, stage and screen. Performers include Jennifer Hudson, Willie Nelson, Carole King, John Fogerty, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Joshua Bell, Arturo Sandoval and the charismatic Jackson.
Monday, the channel changed to Fox and after a day of sessions for programs including “The Mindy Project, “So You Think You Can Dance,” “The X-Factor,” “The Mob Doctor,” “Ben and Kate,” “Hotel Hell” and “Fringe,” it was time to party it up at one of LA’s hotspots, the Soho House. In recent years, Fox has held its bash by the beach – at Gladstone’s on PCH or at the Santa Monica pier– so this was a big change of venue and atmosphere.
The 360° views from the top of the building on Sunset near Doheny were particularly spectacular on a warm summer night, and so were the views of the network’s stars inside, including Kiefer Sutherland, Matthew Morrison, Seth McFarlane, Gordon Ramsay, Nat Faxon, Chris Colfer, Martha Plimpton, Cloris Leachman,Cat Deeley, Mindy Kaling and Zooey Deschanel and its rock star entertainment chief, Kevin Reilly, who has his own cadre of fans.
We were able to grab Sutherland and ask him the burning question about an upcoming “24” movie, which he said would potentially start shooting early next year. (Later during a TCA panel on “Homeland,” Howard Gordon revealed that there was a script, but not a director, and that it all depended on Kiefer’s schedule for his Fox show “Touch.”)
But back to the party, officially billed as the Fox All-Star party. Top shelf liquor and gastronomic delights like crab salad, rosemary roasted potatoes and prime rib greeted guests as the large venue quickly became crowded to capacity and the noise level ratcheted up. We’re going to rate this as the best party of TCA: best venue, best food, best drink and best vibes. I think they call it Fox attitude.
But there were many other contenders…
