Kathryn Morris UK

Cold Case Cast Catch-up – November 2016

Nearly done for the year. But before we get to December we have to close out November with the latest look at the on-going careers of the rest of the Cold Case cast. The ones that aren’t Kathryn that is.

We don’t often get to post about Jeremy Ratchford (Nick Vera on CC) so I try to give him top billing when the chance arrives. There he is above, eyes drilling in to you. Two weeks ago Jeremy had a guest starring role in the TV series Chicago P.D. The show is one of the more recent creations by the prolific Dick Wolf and his production company. Dick has been involved in crime-based TV since Hill Street Blues and was responsible for Law & Order and its various spin-offs. Now he his adding to his collection with the Chicago set. Chicago Fire has begat both Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. already there could well be another, Chicago Justice, on the way next year. Jeremy was Jim in episode 7 of season 4, titled ‘300,000 Likes’, of P.D. which aired on the 16th of November.

Another of our less regular regulars is Thom Barry (Will Jeffries in CC). Back in August I reported on Thom appearing in a short film called Casting. At the time I questioned whether a 20 minute film could be called a short. It’s more of a medium. IMDb is now reporting the film is 39 minutes long making it what? A medium plus? The film is about the horrific and all too common world of human trafficking. The official website now has an actually short trailer. No change to the vague 2017 release date beyond a claim of ‘coming soon’.

At this point I’d normally be quietly thanking Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller on CC) for being so active, giving me plenty to talk about and preventing more than a few of these posts saying just ‘nothing to report’. This month we need to be saying Get Well Soon instead. Tracie, as reported in the past two CCCC-ups, is busy starring in the musical Falsettos which must be curtailing her TV and film work. However, Tracie recently hurt both her ankles putting her out of action. Stephanie Umoh is standing (sorry Tracie!) in for her on the boards. In mid-January (the 11th & 14th to be precise) Tracie is doing one of her one woman shows at the Feinstein’s/54 Below venue in New York. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Also last month I mentioned a new Veena Sud (writer and producer on many episodes of CC) project called Seven Seconds for Netflix. Since then additional cast members have been announced. Raúl Castillo (Looking) and Zackary Momoh, a British actor currently to be seen in the movie A United Kingdom.

Cold Case Cast Catch-up – October 2016

Happy (is that right?) Halloween everyone.

It’s the end of the month so it is time to update ourselves on the on-going careers of the rest of the Cold Case cast.

I say on-going careers but we’ll start with a brief pause in one. As suspected in the previous update it was announced that the TV comedy drama series BrainDead, which starred Danny Pino (Scotty Valens in CC) as a senator, will not be on the receiving end of a season two order. That’s a shame because it was a very good show made even better by the fun and inventive ‘previously on…’ songs at the beginning of each episode. As things stand there is no news on Danny’s next project, though based on history something will be announced within hours of this post being published. Look for CCCC-up November 2016 for that news

Last month I covered Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller on CC) treading the boards again in a revival of the musical Falsettos. The Broadway show had its public opening last Thursday (27th Oct) night at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Tracie plays Dr Charlotte and stars alongside Stephanie J. Block, Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells, Anthony Rosenthal, Brandon Uranowitz, and Betsy Wolfe. Good news for those that would like to experience the show but can’t make it to New York: the day before the première it was announced that a double-CD recorded by the cast will be released.

Before raising the rafters Tracie must have filmed a role in new movie The Basement, a horror/thriller starring Mischa Barton (The O.C.), Cayleb Long (Ascent To Hell), and Jackson Davis (Lonelygirl15). It involves the kidnapping of a rock star by a serial killer. Tracie is ‘Lauren’. No release date beyond ‘2017’ has been issued.

Back in August I reported that the film The Watcher would be broadcast by the Lifetime network in October. It was. Next month it is due to be available on Netflix. In the film Erin Cahill (Jen the Pink Power Ranger) and Edi Gathegi (The Blacklist) have bought their dream home together. Turns out to be more of a nightmare. Tracie is ‘Amanda’.

In mid-November Tracie must be getting a day off from her work in Falsettos. Where as most of us would take the opportunity to spend the whole day sleeping, that’s not Tracie’s way. She’s going to spend the 24 hours making another play, from scratch. Its another in the ’24 Hour Plays’ series which happen in various parts of the country during the year. This is Broadway’s annual version. A whole load of actors with a bunch of writers and directors will put on 6 short plays. It is all in aid of raising money to help aspiring young actors, writers, producers, and directors learn their craft.

Occasionally we veer off the Cold Case cast theme a little to encompass some other significant people involved in the show. One of those is Veena Sud who was a writer and producer on many episodes. Veena went on to have much success in those same roles with the America version of The Killing. Now she has a new drama in the works for Netflix. It is called Seven Seconds and is based on a Russian movie called The Major. A senior member of the police service accidentally kills a boy whilst driving his car. Abusing his position he covers the crime up to save himself. The 10 part drama series transplants the story to Jersey City and includes the all too familiar element of tension between a predominantly white police force and the black populus. David Lyons (Game Of Silence) and Beau Knapp (The Nice Guys) are set to star.

Cold Case Cast Catch-up – September 2016

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These short months are a pain! I have to get this written in less time. Let’s take a look at the continuing careers of the Cold Case cast for September.

Like the tense thrillers made there, Hollywood can take a long while to build up the tension before an explosive burst of energy with everything happening at once. It’s been over five years since the film Finding Steve McQueen (albeit with a different name then) made some significant steps towards becoming a reality, but in the last couple of months it all kicked off. As I type the film is being made in Atlanta, Georgia. Travis Fimmel (Vikings), Rachael Taylor (Jessica Jones), Forest Whitaker (The Last King Of Scotland), and William Fichtner (Prison Break) lead the cast in a based-on-true-events movie about the attempt to steal $30m from a secret fund held by President Richard Nixon. Cold Case star John Finn (John Stillman in CC) will play W. Mark Felt. Not a name I was familiar with but he is certainly a very famous man. He was the Deputy Director of the FBI in the early 1970s and saw all the compiled information on the Watergate scandal. In 2005 it was revealed that Felt was in fact the informant to the journalists Woodward and Bernstein, who referred to him as ‘Deep Throat’. No release date has been set so far, presumably it will be next year at the earliest. Kate Bosworth (Still Alice) was due to star but as I was compiling this piece it was announced that Rachael would be taking the ‘Molly Morphy’ (not a typo) role instead.

Slipping out a few months earlier than expected and with little fanfare the Eddie Murphy vehicle Mr Church was apparently released a couple of weeks ago. Thom Barry (Will Jeffries in CC) has a small role as ‘Frankie Twiggs’. Eddie is Mr Church, a cook taken on by a dying woman (Natascha McElhone, Californication) to look after her and her daughter (Britt Robertson, Under The Dome). It was only supposed to be for a few months but continued a lot longer than that. A schmaltz-fest no doubt.

This series of posts could be easily be renamed ‘What’s Tracie Been Up To This Month?’ due to the sheer volume of content she provides on a monthly basis. The woman’s a one person entertainment industry. Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller on CC) regularly makes guest star appearances on TV shows; takes roles in films, both long and short; and in amongst all that she finds time for singing engagements. For the past few weeks Tracie has been in New York rehearsing for a production of the musical Falsettos. It is a revival of a show that premièred on Broadway in 1992. The opening night for previews of the new production was just last night (28th September) with the show due to open for general audiences towards the end of October at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The run is planned to end in the new year. Break a leg Tracie.

Which just leaves me to crowbar in another mention of the CBS TV series BrainDead. The show came to an end, probably for good, a couple of weeks ago with a double helping. The ending gave a possible opening for a second season with the character Danny Pino (Scotty Valens in CC) played taking a job on Wall Street. No scope for skewering those in power there… The season 1 (aka the complete series) DVD is expected to be released in early December in the US.

Cold Case Cast Catch-up – August 2016

August is getting a double Thoms up in KM UK’s latest look at the continuing careers of the wider Cold Case cast.

Thom Barry (Will Jeffries in CC) is very much the sleeping giant of this regular feature. We don’t get to talk about him much as we’d like to in these monthly round-ups. So, when we do we try to give him top billing. Thom has been cast in a short film called Casting in the role of ‘Casting Director’. At 20 minutes it is quite long for a short. A medium? The description of the plot is short though: “A young, innocent girl is lured into a dark world.” With that title and Thom’s character name I think we can assume it is related to the business called show. You may not want to hide behind the couch for this one as it might be part of the set. Notably amongst the cast is the Irish pop star Samantha Mumba (The Time Machine). She’s done a bit of acting before but with her character down as ‘Samantha Mumba’ her Thespian skills may not be required. The release date is also short: 2017.

July’s update was lacking a key bit of news regarding our other featured star of the month: Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller on CC). Tracie’s web series Send Me, which is about people going back in time to witness slavery first hand, has been nominated for an Emmy award. The organisation has started to recognise works released like this. The nod is for Tracie herself in the ‘Outstanding Actress In Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series’ category. Congratulations to her and the rest of the team involved.

Previously we’ve mentioned The Watcher (nee Raven’s Watch), a thriller starring Tracie, and it receiving a festival release in October. As well as that it will be broadcast by the Lifetime network in the US in the same month, and Netflix in November. The cast includes Erin Cahill (the 1919 Francis Stone in Cold Case episode ‘Torn’), Obba Babatundé (Dr. Octavius Leroy in CC‘s ‘Shuffle, Ball Change’), John Billingsley (George Marks in CC‘s ‘The Woods’ and ‘Mind Hunters’), and Denise Crosby (Star Trek: The Next Generation).

I’m sure this segment has been called ‘brain dead’, especially with all the mentions of the TV show BrainDead in recent months. Danny Pino in a lead role was the initial excuse for that but the Sunday before last (21st August) saw Tracie in a guest starring role as a private investigator digging up dirt for a senator. BrainDead is not expected to get a second season so make the most of the final three still to come.

Let’s end with a quick short. In August 2015’s CCCC-up I mentioned a short film starring Tracie called Injection. Well, the film was screened at the Oregon Short Film Festival yesterday (30th Aug). It may have been the première, it is not clear. What is clear is that the film is up for three awards, though Tracie is not up for Best Actress or Support Actress. The movie is about a woman receiving a mysterious package and her quest to discover what the contents is. Julie McNiven (Mad Men) stars with Jim Beaver (Supernatural), and David Blue (SGU Stargate Universe), amongst others.

Cold Case Cast Catch-up – July 2016

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July, July, July… Where did you go? It only seems like 4 weeks ago when we had our June Cold Case Cast Catch-up looking at the work of Kathryn’s fellow cast-mates from the long-running police procedural.

Errr… Things weren’t looking good for a bumper crop this month but as usual Tracie Thoms (Kat Miller on CC) rides in to the rescue, which is why she gets pride of place above again.

After a few months on the festival circuit Equity, the female lead drama about corruption in the world of finance, gets a more general US release this very day (29th July). It may not be a wide release though. Breaking Bad‘s Anna Gunn heads the cast alongside (co-creator) Sarah Megan Thomas and Carrie Preston (True Blood). Tracie has a small role with the name Melanie. Some blokes get a look in too with James Purefoy (Rome) and Nate Corddry (Mom) co-starring.

That could well have been it for the month but a scroll down Tracie’s filmography on IMDb brings up something I’ve never heard of before: Living With Models. It appears to be a sort spoof with elements of Lost and The Hunger Games. Tracie is listed as “Hatch Girl” in three episodes of this, the third season. From a brief glimpse of her in the trailer (here on YouTube) she’s definitely in more more of a Lost-based element. All the episodes of season were released on the 20th of June and are available via the Living With Models website.

John Finn (John Stillman on CC) is one of our more irregular regulars on in the CCCC-up. We last mentioned a new movie he is starring in called Gifted way back in October 2015. At the time we had the plot line and cast members but no date for the release. Now it is pencilled in for April of 2017. Chris Evans (the Captain America one, not the ex-Top Gear presenter one), Jenny Slate (Married) and Octavia Spencer (The Help) lead the cast.

What is also down for 2017 but may not include John is the TV series Doubt. It is almost certainly headed for a 2017 broadcast now and in the past couple of weeks the initial episodes titles have been made known. It is still not clear if John’s “Don” has made it through the (pun slightly intended) trials of getting the show to the screen.

Which leaves us with Danny Pino (Scotty Valens on CC), which I’m sure would be more than OK with many of you. The TV series BrainDead returned after a brief hiatus and did so in a new time slot of 10pm on Sunday, following a repeat of the Tea Leoni vehicle Madam Secretary. It’s politics night on CBS! The show continues with its mix of drama and sci-fi, with political manoeuvring and brain eating parasites taking control of people. The ‘previously on…’ section continues to delight with its funny song especially written for each episode.

Which brings us back to where we started: Tracie Thoms. In piece written exclusively by me exclusively for KM UK I passed on the news I found elsewhere that Tracie would be guest starring in BrainDead. Well I’m doing it again. Just a couple of days ago the press release for episode 9, which has one of the wickedly long titles the show has become known for, “Taking on Water: How Leaks in D.C. are Discovered and Patched” had evidence that it contain traces of Tracie. It is due to air on the 21st of August.