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TV Premieres: The Week Of 01/14/2023 - 01/21/2023

Written by 14 January, 2023

Here is a complete list of all the new TV and streaming services premieres, finales and specials airing this week.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14TH, 2023:
Criss Angel's Magic With The Stars Series Premiere (The CW)
How To Murder Your Husband
 (Lifetime)
Magic With The Stars Spring Premiere (The CW)
71st Miss Universe Competition (The Roku Channel)
The Fire Hunter (Crunchyroll)
World's Funniest Animals Spring Premiere (The CW)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15TH, 2023:
Burned By Love (Lifetime)
Godfather Of Harlem Season Three Premiere (MGM+)
Mayor Of Kingstown Season Premiere (Paramount+)
MILF Manor Series Premiere (TLC)
The Last Of Us Series Premiere (HBO)
The Princess And The Bodyguard (UP tv)
The Way Home Series Premiere (Hallmark)
28th Annual Critics Choice Awards (The CW)
Your Honor Season Premiere (Showtime)

MONDAY, JANUARY 16TH, 2023:
Bob Hearts Abishola Spring Premiere (CBS)
Down Home Fab Series Premiere (HGTV)
Icons Unearthed Season Premiere (Vice)
Miracle Workers Season Four Premiere (TBS)
NCIS Spring Premiere (CBS)
NCIS: Hawaii Spring Premiere (CBS)
The Big Payback (PBS)
The Neighborhood Spring Premiere (CBS)
The Price Of Glee (Investigation Discovery)
Urban One Honors (TV One)

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17TH, 2023:
American Greed (CNBC)
Berlin Legal 
Series Premiere (MHz Choice)
Love After Lockup 
Season Finale (WE tv)
New Amsterdam 
Series Finale (NBC)
Night Court 
Series Premiere (NBC)
9-1-1 Lone Star 
(Fox)
Stonehouse
 Series Premiere (BritBox)
1000 Lb. Sisters Season Premiere (TLC)

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18TH, 2023:
Are You The One? Series Premiere (Paramount+)
Dirty Old Cars Series Premiere (History)
Grown-ish (Freeform)
King Shakir Recycle (Disney+)
Real Life Nightmare (Discovery+)
Sorcerous Stabber Orphen -Chaos in Urbanrama (Crunchyroll)
The Cupcake Guys Series Premiere (Roku Channel)
Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller Season Three Premiere (NatGeo)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19TH, 2023:
AlKhallat+ (Netflix)
Hush
 Season Finale (ALLBLK)
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales Of The Macabre (Netflix)
Mystic (UP tv)
Sorry About The Demon (Shudder)
That 90s Show Series Premiere (Netflix)
The Silence Series Premiere (Topic)
Web Of Death (Hulu)
Women At War (Les combattantes) (Nerflix)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2023:
Bake Squad Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
Bling Squad: New York 
Series Premiere (Netflix)
Fauda (Netfix)
Game Theory With Bomani Jones 
(HBO)
Jung-E 
(Netflix)
Kindred Spirits Season Premiere (Travel)
Mission Manju (Netflix)
Penn & Teller: Fool Us
 Season Premiere (The CW)
Real Time With Bill Maher Season Twenty-One Premiere (HBO)
Represent (Netflix)
Shahmaran (Netflix)
Shanty Town (Netflix)
Shape Island Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
The Assistant (Netflix)
The Legend Of Vox Machina (Prime Video)
The Real Friends Of WeHo Series Premiere (Bravo)
Truth Be Told Season Three Premiere (Apple TV+)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21ST, 2023:
Bad Behind Bars: Jodi Arias (Lifetime)
Love & Marriage: D.C. Season Premiere (OWN)



Last modified on Saturday, 14 January 2023 14:11

First Look: 'The Ark'

Written by 05 January, 2023

The Ark takes place 100 years in the future when planetary colonization missions have begun as a necessity to help secure the survival of the human race. The first of these missions on a spacecraft known as Ark One encounters a catastrophic event causing massive destruction and loss of life. With more than a year left to go before reaching their target planet, a lack of life-sustaining supplies and loss of leadership, the remaining crew must become the best versions of themselves to stay on course and survive. The series stars Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman, Reece Ritchie, Stacey Read, and Ryan Adams. Dean Devlin (Independence Day, Stargate) and Jonathan Glassner (Stargate SG-1) are co-showrunners and executive producers alongside Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan-Wilson of Electric Entertainment. Jonathan English of Balkanic Media and Steve Lee serve as producers.

The Ark premieres on SYFY on February 1st, 2023.


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TV Premieres: The Week Of 01/08/2023 - 01/14/2023

Written by 08 January, 2023

Here is a complete list of all the new TV and streaming services premieres, finales and specials airing this week.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8TH, 2023:
Alert Series Premiere (Fox)
All Creatures Great And Small On Masterpiece Season Three Premiere (PBS)
Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches Series Premiere (AMC+/AMC) - [photo gallery]Bob's Burgers Spring Premiere (Fox)
By The Grace Of The Gods (Crunchyroll)
East New York Spring Premiere (CBS)
Family Guy Spring Premiere (Fox)
Handyman Saitou In Another World (Crunchyroll)
In/Spectre (Crunchyroll)
Miss Scarlett & The Duke On Masterpiece Season Three Premiere (PBS)
My Sister's Serial Killer Boyfriend (Crunchyroll)
NCIS: Los Angeles Spring Premiere (CBS)
The Cube Season Two Premiere (TBS)
The Tale Of Two Outcasts (Crunchyroll)
Vienna Blood Season Three Premiere (PBS)
Weird Earth Season Premiere (Weather)

MONDAY, JANUARY 9TH, 2023:
Ayakashi Triangle (Crunchyroll)
Detectorists Special (Acorn TV)
Koala Man 
Series Premiere (Hulu)
Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari (Crunchyroll)
POV: I Didn't See You There (PBS)
Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire (Crunchyroll)
The Vampire Dies In No Time (Crunchyroll)
Vinland Saga (Netflix/Crunchyroll)

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10TH, 2023:
Andrew Santino: Cheeseburger (Netflix)
Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill 
(Crunchyroll)
80th Golden Globe Awards
 (NBC)
Here We Go (Britbox)
Inspector Rex Season Two Premiere (MHz Choice)
Le Code Series Premiere (MHz Choice)
Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don't Believe In Humanity Will Save The World (Crunchyroll)
Sex Before The Internet Series Premiere (Vice)
The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker (Netflix)

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11TH, 2023:
Brother Vs. Brother: No Rules Season Premiere (HGTV)
Celebrity Name That Tune Season Three Premiere (Fox)
Chasing Waves Series Premiere (Disney+)
Gina Yei (Disney+)
Kaina of the Great Snow Sea (Crunchyroll)
Lingo Series Premiere (CBS)
Noise (Netflix)
Sexify (Netflix)
The Connors Spring Premiere (ABC)
The Goldbergs Spring Premiere (ABC)
This Is Life With Lisa Ling Season Premiere (Discovery+)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12TH, 2023:
Accused: Guilty or Innocent? Season Premiere (A&E)
A House Divided Season Five Premiere (ALLBLK)
Christina In The Country
 Series Premiere (HGTV)
How I Caught My Killer Series Premiere (Hulu)
Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight (Netflix)
Married To Real Estate Season Two Premiere (HGTV)
The Climb (HBO Max)
The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House Series Premiere (Netflix)
The Makery (Peacock)
Married To Real Estate Season Premiere (HGTV)
One Lane Bridge Season Premiere (Sundance Now)
Taking The Stand Season Premiere (A&E)
The Climb (HBO Max)
The Traitors Series Premiere (Peacock)
Velma Series Premiere (HBO Max)
Vikings Valhalla Season Premiere (Netflix)
Walker Spring Premiere (The CW)
Walker Independence Spring Premiere (The CW)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13TH, 2023:
Break Point Series Premiere (Netflix)
Disconnect: The Wedding Planner (Netflix)
Dog Gone (Netflix)
Echo 3 Series Finale (Apple TV+)
Gold, Lies & Videotape
 (Discovery)
Hunters Season Two Premiere (Amazon)
I Don’t Like Driving (No Me Gusta Conducir) (Crunchyroll)
Servant Season Four Premiere (Apple TV+)
Sick (Peacock)
Sky Rojo (Netflix)
SpongeBob SquarePants Presents The Tidal Zone (Paramount+)
Super League: The War For Football (Apple TV+)
Suzan & Freek (Netflix)
The Big Soirée (El Gran Sarao) (HBO Max)
The Drop (Hulu)
The Fruit of Evolution 2 (Crunchyroll)
The Test (Prime Video)
Trial By Fire (Netflix)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14TH, 2023:
Crash Course In Romance (Netflix)
Criss Angel's Magic With The Stars Series Premiere (The CW)
How To Murder Your Husband
 (Lifetime)
Magic With The Stars Spring Premiere (The CW)
71st Miss Universe Competition (The Roku Channel)
The Fire Hunter (Crunchyroll)
World's Funniest Animals Spring Premiere (The CW)



Last modified on Saturday, 07 January 2023 15:21

TV Premieres: The Week Of 01/01/2023 - 01/07/2023

Written by 01 January, 2023

Here is a complete list of all the new TV and streaming services premieres, finales and specials airing this week.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 1ST, 2023:
Catfish Killer (Lifetime)
Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over
 (CNN)
Engage To Be Murdered (Lifetime)
Great Performances – From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2023 (PBS)
HGTV Dream Home 2023 (HGTV)
Kaleidoscope Series Premiere (Netflix)
Lady Voyeur (Netflix)
Manifesto Of A Serial Killer (Oxygen)
Magic Of Disney's Animal Kingdom (NatGeo)
Old Enough (Netflix)
Paul T. Goldman Series Premiere (Peacock)
Sewer Divers Series Premiere (Discovery)
The Dog Lovers Guide To Dating (Hallmark)
The Way Of The Househusband (Netflix)
Ugliest House In America Season Premiere (HGTV)
Worst Cooks In America: Viral Sensations Series Premiere (Food)
Yellowstone Midseason Finale (Paramount)

MONDAY, JANUARY 2ND, 2023:
America's Got Talent: All-Stars Series Premiere (NBC)
Antiques Roadshow Season 27 Premiere (PBS)
Fantasy Island Season Premiere (Fox)
House Of Grucci (Hulu)
Independent Lens: Children Of Las Brisas (PBS)
Quantum Leap Spring Premiere (NBC)
Street Outlaws OKC Season Premiere (Discovery)
Surviving R. Kelly Part III: The Final Chapter (Lifetime)
TMZ Presents: Lamar Odom-Sex, Drugs And Kardashians (Fox)

TUESDAY, JANUARY 3RD, 2023:
Beyond Oak Island (History)
FBI Spring Premiere (CBS)
FBI International 
Spring Premiere (CBS)
FBI: Most Wanted 
Spring Premiere (CBS)
Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr.
 (PBS)
New Amsterdam Spring Premiere (NBC)
Sometimes When We Touch (Paramount+)
The Resident Spring Premiere (Fox)
The Rookie Spring Premiere (ABC)
The Rookie: Feds Spring Premiere (ABC)
Welcome To Chippendales Season One Finale (Hulu)
Will Trent Series Premiere (ABC)

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 2023:
Abbott Elementary Spring Premiere (ABC)
American Pickers (History)
Big Sky 
Spring Premiere (ABC)
Bungo Stray Dogs (Crunchyroll)
Chicago Fire 
Spring Premiere (NBC)
Chicago Med 
Spring Premiere (NBC)
Chicago PD 
Spring Premiere (NBC)
Home Economics Spring Premiere (ABC)
How I Became A Gangster 
(Netflix)
Madoff: The Monster Of Wall Street 
(Netflix)
Married At First Sight Season Premiere (Lifetime)
NFL Tailgate Takedown Series Premiere (Food)
1000 Lb. Best Friends Series Premiere (TLC)
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test Series Premiere (Fox)
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season Premiere (Disney+)
The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague (Crunchyroll)
The Kings Of The World (Netflix)
The Lying Life Of Adults (Netflix)
The Price Is Right At Night Season Premiere (CBS)
Tomo-chan Is a Girl! (Crunchyroll)
Tough As Nails
 Season Four Premiere (Food)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5TH, 2023:
Battlebots Season Premiere (Discovery)
Call Me Kat (Fox)
Celebrity Jeopardy Season Premiere (ABC)
Christian Series Premiere (Topic)
Copenhagen Cowboy
 (Netflix)
CSI: Vegas Spring Premiere (CBS)
Death In The Dorms (Hulu)
Ghosts Spring Premiere (CBS)
Ginny & Georgia Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
Growing Up Hip Hop Season Premiere (WE tv)
Hell's Kitchen Season Premiere (Fox)
January 6th (Discovery+) - [first look video]Kold x Windy Series Premiere (WE tv)
La Otra Mirada Season Two Premiere (PBS)
Law & Order Spring Premiere (NBC)
Law & Order: Organized Crime Spring Premiere (NBC)
Law & Order: SVU Spring Premiere (NBC)
Mars One (Netflix)
Onimai: I'm Now Your Sister (Crunchyroll)
Revenger (Crunchyroll)
So Help Me Todd Spring Premiere (CBS)
Swamp People (History)
The Chase Season Premiere (NBC)
The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World (Crunchyroll)
The Parent Test Spring Premiere (ABC)
Welcome To Flatch Spring Premiere (Fox)
Women Of The Dead (Netflix)
Young Sheldon Spring Premiere (CBS)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6TH, 2023:
All The Single Ladies Series Premiere (OWN)
Ancient Aliens (History)
Blue Bloods Spring Premiere (CBS)
BMF: Black Mafia Family Season Two Premiere (Starz)
Boys In Blue
 (Showtime)
Buddy Daddies (Crunchyroll)
Cosmic Love France Series Premiere (Prime Video)
Dateline Spring Premiere (NBC)
Fire Country Spring Premiere (CBS)
Helpsters Season 3B Premiere (Apple TV+)
Lopez Vs. Lopez Spring Premiere (NBC)
Mumbai Mafia: Police Vs. The Underworld (Netflix)
Mythic Quest Season Three Finale (Apple TV+)
Pressure Cooker Series Premiere (Netflix)
Ready To Love Season Premiere (OWN)
RuPaul's Drag Race Season Premiere (MTV)
Secrets In The Building (LMN)
Shark Tank Spring Premiere (ABC)
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale (Crunchyroll)
SWAT Spring Premiere (CBS)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - Northern War (Crunchyroll)
The Mosquito Coast Season Two Finale (Apple TV+)
The Pale Blue Eye (Netflix)
The Rig (Prime Video)
The Ultimatum: France Series Premiere (Netflix)
Vesper (AMC+)
Who's Talking To Chris Wallace? Season Two Premiere (CNN)
Young Rock Spring Premiere (NBC)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7TH, 2023:
Chillin' in My 30s After Getting Fired From the Demon King's Army (Crunchyroll)
Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro (Crunchyroll)
Floribama Murders Series Premiere (Oxygen)
Reba McEntire's The Hammer (Lifetime)
Rico To The Rescue Series Premiere (HGTV)
Saving 80,000 Gold In Another World For My Retirement (Crunchyroll)
The Misfit of Demon King Academy II (Crunchyroll)
The Reincarnation Of The Strongest Exorcist In Another World (Crunchyroll)
Trigun Stampede (Crunchyroll)



Last modified on Sunday, 01 January 2023 17:04

First Look: 'Alert'

Written by 15 December, 2022

Alert is a procedural drama about the Philadelphia Police Department’s Missing Persons’ Unit (MPU). Each episode features a heart-pounding, life-or-death search for a missing person that runs alongside police officers Jason Grant (Scott Caan, Hawaii 5-0) and his ex-wife Nikki Batista’s (Dania Ramirez, Devious Maids) series-long quest to find out the truth about their long-lost son.  Alert is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and FOX Entertainment. John Eisendrath (The Blacklist) serves as showrunner and executive producer. Jamie Foxx, Datari Turner, J.R. Orci, Adam Kane and Michael Offer are also executive producers.  The series stars Scott Caan, Dania Ramirez, Adeola Role (The Blacklist), Ryan Broussard (Only Murders in the Building) and Graham Verchere (Stargirl).


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TV Premieres: The Week Of 12/25/2022 - 12/31/2022

Written by 25 December, 2022

Here is a complete list of all the new TV and streaming services premieres, finales and specials airing this week.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25TH, 2022:
Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical (Netflix)
Call The Midwife Holiday Special (PBS)
Christmas In Wolf Creek (UP tv)
Daughter From Another Mother (Netflix)
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, And The Horse (Apple TV+)
The King's Christmas Address (Britbox)
The Witcher: Blood Origin Series Premiere (Netflix)
Time Hustler (Netflix)
Vir Das: Landing (Netflix)

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26TH, 2022:
Bake It 'Til You Make It Series Premiere (Food)
Kids Baking Championship
 Season Premiere (Food)
Letterkenny Season Premiere (Hulu)
The Kwanzaa Menu Series Premiere (Food)
The Year: 2022 (ABC)
Treason Series Premiere (Netflix)
25th Annual Family Film Awards (The CW)
Wooo! Becoming Ric Flair (Peacock)

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27TH, 2022:
American Masters: Groucho & Cavett (PBS)
Chef Dynasty: House Of Fang
 Series Premiere (Food)
Chelsea Handler: Revolution (Netflix)
José Andrés And Family In Spain (Discovery+)
Ocean Emergency: Currents Of Hope (The CW)
Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns (Hidive)

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28TH, 2022:
A Night At The Kindergarten (Netflix)
Encanto At The Hollywood Bowl
 (Disney+)
FC Barcelona: A New Era (Prime Video)
Gannibal (Hulu)
Love Is Blind: Brazil (Netflix)
Money Court Season Finale (CNBC) 
7 Women And A Murder (Netflix)
Stuck With You (Netflix)
The Circle Season Five Premiere (Netflix)
The Control Room (Britbox)
The Gift: Kindness Goes Viral (CBS)
The 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors (CBS)

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29TH, 2022:
Brown And Friends (Netflix)
Coach Prime (Prime Video)
Gangs of London Season Two Finale (AMC/AMC+)
Hillsong: The Newest Revelations (Discovery+)
Popstar's Best Of 2022
 (The CW)
Restaurant Impossible Season Premiere (Food)
Restored Season Premiere (Magnolia)
Rise Of Empires: Ottoman (Netflix)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30TH, 2022:
Alpha Males (Netflix)
Artfully Designed Series Premiere 
(Magnolia/Discovery+)
Chicago Party Aunt Season Premiere (Netflix)
Handcrafted Hotels Season Premiere (Magnolia/Discovery+)
Maxine (Britbox)
Problem Spaces Series Premiere (Magnolia/Discovery+)
Secrets Of Summer 
(Netflix)
Stab That Cake! 
Series Premiere (Cooking)
They Cloned Tyrone
 (Netflix)
The Established Home Season Premiere (Magnolia/Discovery+)
The Glory (Netflix)
The Piece Maker Series Premiere (Magnolia/Discovery+)
White Noise (Netflix)
Wildcat (Amazon) - [first look video]
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31ST, 2022:
A Toast to 2022! (NBC)
Best Of Stand-Up 2022 (Netflix)
Dick Clark New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2023
 (ABC)
Lizzo Live In Concert (HBO Max)
Live To Lead Series Premiere (Netflix)
Miley's New Year's Eve Party (NBC)
New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash (CBS)
Terror Train 2 (Tubi)




Last modified on Monday, 26 December 2022 11:06

First Look: 'January 6'

Written by 21 December, 2022

Emmy and Peabody winning directors Gédéon and Jules Naudet (9/11, November 13: Attack on Paris, The Presidents Gatekeepers) examine January 6th from the unique perspective of the heroes, first responders, and survivors of the attack. It’s an apolitical story of resilience and bravery featuring DC Police Chief Robert J. Contee III, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and over 50 Senators, Representatives, staffers from both sides of the aisle, and police officers as they reveal their first-hand experience of the attack. It is the only documentary for which the Capitol and Metropolitan Police Departments granted full access to their officers.

The film also contains first-hand testimony from prominent political figures including; Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who’s historic tenure leading the House Democratic Caucus came to an end following the 2022 midterms, and Rep. Susan Wild, coming off of a surprise re-election victory in Pennsylvania’s 7th district.

January 6 premieres January 5th, 2023 on Discovery+.




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Q&A: Tristen J. Winger Talks 'So Help Me Todd'

Written by 07 December, 2022

While CBS didn't premiere a lot of new primetime shows this fall, one standout for me was the comedic drama So Help Me Todd

In the series, Marcia Gay Harden plays Margaret Wright, a meticulous, by-the-boo lawyer who hires her shiftless but glib son Todd (Skylar Astin) as her law firm's in-house investigator. His presence is disruptive to many of the firm's other lawyers, no one more so than Lyle (Tristen J. Winger), who sees Todd's employment as a personal insult to everything he has worked hard to accomplish.

In this week's episode, Lyle gets his chance to take center stage in the show when his niece and college student Angie (Djouliet Amara) is arrested as a suspect for blowing up a chemical manufacturing lab on campus. Viewers get to see a few new sides of Lyle's life and it's a nice opportunity to see more of Winger's work.

I spoke with Tristen J. Winger earlier this week and we discussed the show, the upcoming episode, and his desire to someday play a secret agent.

The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Q: Lyle is a very different role than the ones you played in Insecure or Bigger. Was that a conscious decision on your part or just a function of "this was a role that was available?"

Tristen J. Winger: I'll be very transparent about this. I had a conversation with my reps over lunch, maybe, back in February. I had a conversation with them telling them about, this is my past, I used to work for this company, I have a lot of knowledge in tech. So I would love something that kind of reflects that a little bit. And then I want to say, maybe two days later, I came to audition For So Help Me Todd and I read for Lyle. And I just thought "see, this is exactly what I was talking about. See what happens when you put into the universe what you want, it comes right at you." 

I sent in my tape and I was told a couple of days later there was going to be another audition. And I was told I didn't need to audition again, they just watched the tape again. That happened a few more times and then I found out maybe a week after I submitted my tape that I had booked the role. 

So it's very important to be intentional about what it is that you want. Because I believe we all know what we deserve. And I felt I deserved something like Lyle. And I got exactly that.

Q: So when you booked the role, and they talked to you about it, what sort of guidance did they give you about what they were looking for?

Tristen J. Winger: So I had a meeting with Scott Prendergast who was the creator of the show, and we sat over lunch for about two hours up here in Vancouver once I got here for the pilot. And I told him my ideas. I actually wrote out in my notes, I wrote myself a little journal for Lyle. And I've never done that before. I just wrote things that I felt were similar between him and I. As well as other ideas. I just thought that he feels like someone who is perpetually unimpressed. He's by the book. He's meticulous, he's used to playing it safe. He's never broken a bone. He's a rule follower, he has a system for everything. He is anti-promiscuous. He's no-nonsense. But also maybe he's a little lonely because of these boundaries that he set for himself and his work. And now he's alienated himself. And Scott's reaction was "Yeah, that's exactly it. And so it felt really good to be aligned with the person who created Lyle on this character so that I know exactly how to play him. Then I'm going in the right direction with my choices.

Q: I mentioned on social media that I was going to talk to you. And I heard from someone who said, "Look, I'm a black man in corporate America. And I recognize that persona of "I have to be together all the time. I have to be very, very insular. And I can't afford to joke around a lot of times, I can't afford to do goofball things other people do. Because I always have to be perfect." And I wonder if that was sort of the same approach you took with Lyle?

Tristen J. Winger: Absolutely. 100%. Correct. That is a subtext for everything that Lyle is presenting. Because just beyond the character choices, he's also a black man that has to work 10 times as hard to get the same money recognition as everybody else. He has worked 10 times as hard. And so because of that, when Todd comes into the office, this is a man who lost his investigator's license. But despite that, he now gets to work because his mom is a partner at this law firm, but he didn't earn this. Oh, that sets him off. That sets him off because Lyle was the person who has to work so hard. So hard for where he is. He's so poised and here comes this train wreck of a man -  this man child coming into the office here all tussled clothes and wrinkles. You know, it sets Lyle off because Todd does not have his stuff together. Lyle has everything together. Everything is organized. Everything has its place every T is crossed. Every i is dotted and he triple-checks just to make sure.



Q: Based on all of that, I wonder if this episode was a nice change. Because while I can't say Lyle exactly cuts loose, the audience does get to see some glimpses of his character that hadn't come out so far in the show.

Tristen J. Winger: Yeah, doing this episode was a ton of fun. I was very excited to learn that we were going to do an episode kind of centered around Lyle. And just playing that over the eight days of production was excellent. Playing with Marcia is a ton of fun. Playing with our guest stars in town is a ton of fun -  shout out to Juliet, who guest stars on this episode as well. So I enjoyed that and the writers and the directors as well. They all enjoyed it. We had a good time. It exceeded my expectations and I look forward to doing it again.

Q: And you got to punch somebody....

Tristen J. Winger: I got to punch somebody, Rick. I got to punch somebody.

Q: And at that point in the story, he pretty much deserved it. So you don't have to worry about anyone saying "I don't know, that might be an overreaction."

Tristen J. Winger: No, not at all. Not at all. It's clear as day he deserved that and  I hope his nose is broken.



Q: Since the episode went well, do you think this provides an opportunity for the writers and the show to build out Lyle a bit over the rest of the season? Or hopefully, seasons?

Tristen J. Winger: Absolutely. Absolutely. Because we get to, you know, we're learning little by little about life, we don't want to learn too much. Because he is someone who is private, so why dump all of this information out all at one time? When we can just deliver nuggets to the audience to garner interest in him. Because he's a mysterious man. He doesn't let people in. And to project that onto the audience, the show is not going to let too much information be available about Lyle. You'll hear a little note. There's a little bit of exposition about Lyle's life that you will learn in this next episode.

Q: I'm curious, you said that you had written out stuff about Lyle, which you've never done before. And I'm wondering how much of that mental image that you had of the character early on is matching where you experiencing with Lyle halfway through the season?

Tristen J. Winger: It's, you know, it's pretty spot on, I shared a copy of my journal that I created with our show creator, just so he can also have it and see what I was saying. And we're pretty spot on. There's some things in here that have not come out yet. But I know he is going to incorporate them into the character, because Scott also wanted this character to feel like a real person, and not just a caricature. So he wanted to incorporate some of my personal life into the character. And we're gonna get an opportunity to see that on-screen as well, at some point.

Q: Just generally speaking. As an actor, is it a different experience, being on a CBS show, as opposed to an HBO show? Maybe just from the the audience recognition of you?

Tristen J. Winger: I would say so. One of the interesting things that I realized is that the amount of people who watch network television is just massively different from the amount of people who watch cable television. I want to say it's maybe ten times as much, versus some of the shows I've been on. So having that many people watching your work at one time is incredible. It is a blessing and I am fortunate to be in this position. And that recognition is amazing.

I look different in all of my characters, so that's fun. Because people will look at me and they will stare. And I forget that I'm on TV. And they're staring and I don't know what's going on. And they'll say, "Oh, you look familiar." And I realize, "oh yeah, it's because I'm on TV." 

That's why the recognition is great. And then when people figure out that I played these other characters that they loved and didn't realize it was me is also a fun treat.





Q: I suspect as an actor, that's sort of a dream situation in that you're not seen as that x guy. You have these different roles that people don't necessarily connect.

Tristen J. Winger: Yeah, that feels amazing. To have multiple roles that people recognize. "Oh yeah, I remember when you were Vince from Bigger, or Thug Yoda in Insecure." That is very fortunate. I'm very fortunate that I'm not typecast, and there's nothing there's anything wrong with being typecast, because to be typecast means that you have a job all the time. But I'm very fortunate that I'm getting to display some range in my roles. I have so much fun playing all these different characters, and then getting an opportunity to incorporate those past characters into my current characters, when appropriate. That's a lot of fun to be able to do as well.

Q: Is there a particular kind of character that you'd like to tackle at some point? A role where you think "man, if I could get this kind of character I could just tear it up?"

Tristen J. Winger: Absolutely. The the first thing that comes to mind is a secret agent. I would love to play a 007 type. You know, I'm thinking right now, do I know any black secret agents? I can't think of any black secret agents in film or television. And I would love for that to happen.

Q: That would be great. The only one I can think of is Bill Cosby. I don't know if that counts.

Tristen J. Winger: It was a long time ago. I think it's about time, Rick. I think it's about time.


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