You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: Is there anything in the news about a new season of “Dark Winds”? At the end of the last episode, all of the heroes are literally riding off into the sunset.
A: AMC Networks recently announced plans for a third season of the drama based on the novels by Tony Hillerman, “with a target premiere date of early 2025.” One AMC executive said “there is so much storytelling yet to come.”
Q: We recently watched the first season “The Firm” TV series from 2012 on Prime Video. Now we are looking for Season 2 and cannot find it.
A: The drama inspired by John Grisham’s novel of the same name was canceled after a single season on NBC. Ratings were not good and the star, Josh Lucas, was miserable. In a 2012 interview with IndieWire, he said, “it was always very safe, very beige, very middle-of-the-road corporate mentality that drove it. No matter what Juliette Lewis, myself, or any of the actors, creatively did, it did not matter. In fact, our influence was thoroughly and completely dismissed. So it was a very heartbreaking experience because you’re locked into something you disagree with on a daily basis.”
Q: I am wondering if “World on Fire,” a World War II drama that aired on PBS early in the pandemic, will be returning for another season.
A: I’ve had many questions about the drama’s return since the first season aired in the U.S. about three-and-a-half years ago. But I can finally tell you that, after the six-episode second season was shown overseas this past summer, it arrives on PBS’s “Masterpiece” on Oct. 15. “Masterpiece” says “season 2 picks up in late 1940. ‘World on Fire’s’ return will take viewers from the war-torn streets of Britain deep into Nazi Germany, the resistance within occupied France, and the brutal sands of the North African desert—where troops struggle to adapt to a very different kind of combat.”
Q: Recently my husband and I discovered reruns of “Monk” which we thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, only one season was available where we watched it. Do you know if additional seasons will be shown in the future?
A: One place to find it is on Peacock, which lists all eight seasons. The seasons are also on Prime Video and DVD. Earlier this year a new movie, “Mr. Monk’s Last Case,” was announced with production to begin in May. But it appears that it has been delayed by the Hollywood strikes.
Q: There was a kids show in the early ’50s, just when people were starting to get their first TVs, where you put a piece of paper (wax, I think) over the screen, and you drew things according to the instructions by the narrator. Am I remembering this correctly?
A: Pretty much. “Winky Dink and You,” which originally aired in 1953-57, has been called TV’s first interactive show. Viewers could buy a plastic piece (called a “magic window”) to stick on their TV screens, along with crayons for drawing and a cloth to wipe the plastic, says the book “Total Television.” The host, Jack Barry, would then make suggestions for drawing items on the screen — and remind the little viewers to erase when they were done.
Tribune News Service
