Bill’s TV TALK Mailbag ~ TV TALK with BILL CUSHING

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By: Bill Cushing – Oct. 2017

From time to time, my column will feature questions asked by readers regarding the world of TV. Feel free to email me with any questions you may have about TV at BillsTVTalk@gmail.com, and I’ll do my best to answer you and may feature your question in a future column. Here’s what we got!

I finally caught up and finished the new Twin Peaks revival. While it was confusing at times, I found it fascinating to watch and enjoyed the return of all my favorite characters. What’s next for the series? – Sandra from Salisbury

Sandra, I’m glad you enjoyed it. It wouldn’t be Twin Peaks if it wasn’t confusing. I found it hard to follow at times myself, but overall a fun experience and one that fans of the original should definitely not miss. This was always intended as a one season revival, so currently there are no plans for any further episodes. But for what it’s worth, Showtime was very pleased with it and said the door is always open to David Lynch and Twin Peaks if he wants to make more.

The season premiere of This Is Us was a real tear-jerker, I loved it. What can we expect for the rest of season 2? – Jo-Ann from Methuen

Jo-Ann, while we finally learned how Jack died in the premiere, there is still a lot about Jack we haven’t learned. He will still continue to be a big part of the show. This season will explore Jack’s youth and his terrible relationship with his father. The producers are in the process of casting an actor to play a younger version of Jack.

Please give me some scoop on the second season of Stranger Things!! It’s my favorite and I can’t wait for it to come back! – David from North Andover

Season 2 of Stranger Things will delve more into the government conspiracy part of the story. Executive Producer Ross Duffer said “We wanted to explore the idea of how they could keep something like this covered up, and what happens if you’re not able to keep a lid on this.” You can also expect a lot more 80s nostalgia this season, including a plethora of references to the movies of the summer of ’84. This season will take place in the fall of that year.

I was completely stunned by the death of Linda on Blue Bloods. I never saw it coming. What’s the story behind it? – Laurie from Haverhill.

You weren’t the only one, Laurie. Fans of the show felt shocked and blindsided by the premiere. This was just simply a case of Amy Carlson, who played Linda, wanting to move on. Her contract was up at the end of last season and it was her decision not to renew it. The fallout from Linda’s death will resonate for the rest of this season.

I am a big fan of Survivor and I still enjoy it very much, but how has it been able to last so long in such a competitive TV landscape? I wonder how long it will be around. – Chris from Woburn

As a big fan of the show myself, I get asked this question quite a bit. Survivor is now in its 35th season on CBS. How is it still “surviving” you ask? One reason is that it still does very well for CBS in the ratings, averaging almost 9 million viewers a week. That is nothing to sneeze at in this day and age of a million channels and streaming services. Another big reason for its longevity and success lies in its ability to reinvent itself every single season while retaining elements of the original formula. They also have a great host, Jeff Probst, who is much more than that. He’s a huge part of the show. For example, he keeps the action going with his tribal council questioning and has been at the center of many big moments, particularly castaway Jeff Varner outing tribemate Zeke Smith as transgender at tribal council last season. Don’t worry Chris, I don’t see Survivor going anywhere anytime soon.

Ok everyone, that’s it for this month. Keep those questions coming!

Bill Cushing
Bill Cushing

If you have any questions about TV you can email me at BillsTVTalk@gmail.com. I will answer all of your questions and will feature some of the questions I receive in a future Mailbag column.
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