Luke Macfarlane Talks Christmas Land, Killjoys, Mercy Street, and More [Exclusive]

19/12/2015

Photo Credit: Fred Hayes/Crown Media United States, LLC

Luke Macfarlane broke our hearts in the first season of Killjoys, but we’re thrilled they are already working on season two. The bad news? We’ll have to wait six months for those episodes. The good news? Macfarlane is back on our TVs Sunday night opposite Awkward‘s Nikki DeLoach in Christmas Land, a very sweet, fun Christmas movie for Hallmark Channel. And next month, he’s on PBS in the Civil War era miniseries/limited series Mercy Street. I jumped on the phone with Macfarlane this week to talk about his projects.

Christmas Land is Macfarlane’s second outing for Hallmark after 2014’s The Memory Book (when I interviewed him the first time), and it was a super-fast turnaround. They just wrapped filming in November and were able to take advantage of an early winter in Salt Lake City, which helped them set the tone.

Photo Credit: Fred Hayes/Crown Media United States, LLC

Macfarlane had a ball working on the movie. “My agent is really good at being in touch with the folks at Hallmark Channel. They thought of me [for this]. I did [The Memory Book] and didn’t do a terrible job, so they gave me another crack at it,” he laughs. “It’s great because the Christmas movies are a big part of the Hallmark tradition. It was an honor to be asked because it’s a whole other level of what Hallmark is known for. I jumped at the opportunity to do it.”

The movie was Macfarlane’s first time working with DeLoach and he adored her. “Nikki is really special. I did the Google thing [before we started work]. She’s so grounded and such an honest, hardworking girl,” he says. “She’s texting with her mother making sure Christmas things are arranged. She’s a great mother. I really, really, really respected her and the way she’s navigated the business as an actress. She’s great and prepared and on the point.”

He was happy they didn’t have to fake the cold weather, which made the shoot that much more special. “We were joking that you could see our cold breath so it made it especially cozy and authentic,” he says. “Most of the time, it’s fake snow and it’s the middle of the summer. We were the last one [filmed for this holiday season]. They made it work to get it done in time for Christmas.”

Photo Credit: Fred Hayes/Crown Media United States, LLC

“They did an amazing job with the location. We found this beautiful old pioneer town that became the primary setting. You never know when you read the script how they’re going to pull off this important set piece,” he explains. “It was these old facades, and with the smells, it was so cozy. It was especially exciting. The background players [in Salt Lake City] are the best I’ve ever worked with. They were so good. They had just lost Blood & Oil when we were there so there was a lot of disappointment about that.”

Macfarlane made a point to meet TV icon Maureen McCormick, who appears in flashbacks. “She was so lovely. I knocked on her trailer because we didn’t have scenes together and said hello and an hour later, we were chatting about life and family and the business,” he recalls. “She was so wonderful and kind and open-hearted. I really, really enjoyed her.”

Eagle-eyed viewers may have caught Macfarlane in a recent two-episode appearance on Supergirl, which he filmed earlier this fall before Christmas Land.  He came to that through his connection to Greg Berlanti from Brothers & Sisters. “I’d worked with Greg before and I knew some of the people peripherally from auditioning. It was interesting because of my experience on Killjoys,” he says.In a way, they’re both sci-fi shows with a strong female lead, but I’ll tell you who had a bigger budget than we did.”

“It was really impressive and massive. Beautiful, beautiful sets, hardworking cast. It’s always fun to get a little bit of a glimpse into that moment when the cast is hopeful and optimistic about the show. I got to catch up with Calista Flockhart. I’m very curious to see how it will continue to do, and on that network.”

Photo Credit: PBS

Starting next month, we can see Macfarlane in Mercy Street, a  Civil War-era drama with Josh Radnor and Elizabeth Winstead, which PBS is positioning as a pickup series for audiences anxious to fill a post-Downton Abbey void. Macfarlane plays a Chaplain, and he was happy to dive into such a historical piece.

“I’m super proud of this project. It’s produced by Scott-Free, [it has] wonderful writers. I play Chaplain Hopkins, who was a Union Chaplain who worked at this hospital,” he explains. “It’s essentially an Upstairs, Downstairs story of a hospital. Being a Civil War buff, I was very excited to live inside this world. It’s a fantastic cast. I think PBS is looking to find something that whets the appetite of the Downton Abbey audience, which they’ll be losing this year as the show goes off the air. I don’t know how official it is, but I understand they’d like to do one for every year of the war.”

Photo Credit: PBS

Mercy Street isn’t Macfarlane’s first foray into period territory. He shot a miniseries for CBC a few years back called Iron Road, about the building of the railroad. [You can now buy that on DVD in the U.S.; for a while there it was only available in Canada].

Photo Credit: Steve Wilkie/Temple Street Releasing Limited/Syfy

On a much darker note, I had to grill Macfarlane (good-naturedly, of course) about where D’avin ended up in the season finale of Killjoys, and where he’s going in season two He was tight-lipped except to say that we will learn more about Level 6. I did get him to admit that three weeks into production, he has shot footage with Aaron Ashmore and Hannah John-Kamen but he laughed that he couldn’t say whether the scenes were in the current timeline or a flashback. (Dammit!)

Macfarlane is beyond excited to be back at work. “[Season one] was such a positive experience. It continues to be. Almost our entire creative team came back, which I think is a testament to the show. It was such a great experience,” he shares. “We’re all energized by the fact that nobody’s given us fistfuls of money and [set] super-duper high expectations. It’s very fun to problem solve within the constraints [we have].”

“Michelle [Lovretta] is so wickedly talented and she ‘s doing that very clever thing of creating a universe that can speak about contemporary issues in a deep, deep way. And she continues to do that in the second season. It’s fantastic. It’s really, truly, and sincerely a positive experience.”

He didn’t know going in that Lovretta had planned to pull the trigger so early on Dutch and D’avin but he trusted her vision. “I think Michelle did this very smart thing where she wanted to get it over with. She’s not interested in love triangles. She’s bored by the idea of two guys fighting over one girl. I think she wanted to acknowledge and recognize that these are two red-blooded people so let’s get that story told.”

Photo Credit: Syfy

“I also felt like she was interested in exploring intimacy and violence and how close they can exist. It was hard to watch. When I finally saw it, [D’avin] actually hitting her was so upsetting, and the punches to the face with the sound effects were so brutal. But so much of the show is also about Dutch defining herself with these very controlling men. She’s trying to be a strong woman and still be feminine. Hannah John-Kamen is so wickedly talented. I look at her with such awe. She’s seven years younger than me. I’m blown away by her precision and focus.”

“I think Michelle’s universe and the story she is interested in telling are so smart. And everything I’ve read this year is even better. I want life to get better for D’avin. One of the joys and difficulties of having a small cast [is that] we have to continue to tell stories within our small group. I’m loving this show. I hope it goes for five years. I really, really, real do.”

Macfarlane missed out on the 2015 convention circuit because he was booked back to back between his TV work and a play, but he looks forward to doing them next year if scheduling permits. “I think it will be especially exciting to go to these things once the audience is familiar with the show,” he says. “I’m certainly open to it. Aaron says it’s a very positive experience.”

Also holding a place on Macfarlane’s dance card is the third season of The Night Shift. He hopes he can return to the show after Killjoys wraps in April. “Gabe [Sachs] has been really open with me. I love doing that show. I want to [give him a window] and come do something with Brendan. I’m pitching myself,” he says. “I love being part of the show. I know how frustrating it was for fans [that my availability impacted the story].”

As an alumnus of Brothers & Sisters, Macfarlane has done the traditional 22-episode season on a network, and he’s loving the flexibility afforded by the short seasons of his current roster of shows. I 100% prefer a ten-episode season. This year has been a testament to why I got in the business,” he points out. “I joke with my friends that I play soldiers in three different generations, one in the future, one in the past, and one in the present. That’s because of these schedules. I’m very grateful.”

Working on so many projects has also given him the opportunity to do something near and dear to him. “I’ve always known about myself that what really interests me about acting is the opportunity to meet different people. I love meeting people, and I love the different sets and seeing the way they’re unique,” he admits. “Killjoys is probably the funnest for me, because I believe so deeply in the material.”

Mercy Street begins January 17th on PBS. Killjoys and The Night Shift return in mid-2016.

Christmas Land premieres Sunday night at 8/7c on Hallmark Channel. DeLoach plays a career marketing exec who’s plan to sell her late grandmother’s Christmas-themed village gets derailed when she strikes up a friendship with the lawyer (Macfarlane) handling the estate, and she realizes what the village means to the community. Here’s a sneak peek of Christmas Land.

Source: Tv Goodness

‘Christmas Land’: Hallmark Channel’s Festive Holiday Movie Airs Sunday, Starring Nikki DeLoach, Maureen McCormick, and Luke Macfarlane

18/12/2015

Christmas Land is a festive and magical new movie slated to premiere in two days. Still plugging away at their “Countdown to Christmas,” programming event Hallmark has released a slew of incredibly heartwarming movies this season to elevate your holiday spirit. Christmas Land is about a busy businesswoman who finds out that she has inherited a Christmas-themed farm from her deceased grandmother. This holiday feature is directed by Sam Irvin and written by Robin Archer, Jay Cipriani, and Daisy Maclean. The cast stars Nikki Deloach as Jules Cooper, Luke Macfarlane as Tucker Martin, Richard Karn as Mason Richards, and Jason-Shane Scott as Mitchell. Christmas Land offers up one more treat: The Brady Bunch‘s Marcia Brady, also known as Maureen McCormick, who stars as Jules’ beloved grandmother, Glinda, according to the International Business Times.

Continue reading ‘Christmas Land’: Hallmark Channel’s Festive Holiday Movie Airs Sunday, Starring Nikki DeLoach, Maureen McCormick, and Luke Macfarlane

[PRESS] Updated with press on “Supergirl” and “Christmas Land”

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[PHOTO GALLERY] Added screencaps of “Supergirl” episode 1×07

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[PHOTO GALLERY] Added screencaps of “Supergirl” episode 1×06

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The Gay “Magicians,” Adele In New York, A Final Serving Of “The Soup”: TV THIS WEEK

14/12/2015

With the holidays getting closer, you’d think the TV schedule would slow down. But the week ahead has plenty of highlights

Monday, Syfy rolls out two new programs: At 8pm it’s the debut of a new miniseries adapting Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End, where aliens come to Earth and solve all of humanity’s problems. But at what cost? (The TV version updates the story so the problems solved by the aliens include homophobia.

Taking on a sci-fi classic like Childhood’s End is a pretty daunting task but the SyFy production has a great look, plus a cast that includes Mike Vogel, Julian McMahon, Charles Dance and Ashley Zuckerman.

At 10pm. it’s The Expanse, the network’s first space drama since Battlestar Galatica. Based on the book series by James S. A. Corey, the show is set in a near-future where humans have colonized the solar system. There’s a delicate political balance between Earth, Mars and the mining communities on asteroid belts—one that threatens to unravel after a freighter responds to distress signal.

Also at 10pm NBC adds another music special to the holiday season with Adele Live in New York City, featuring hits like “Someone Like YOu,” “Skyfall” and “Hello.”

The Magicians

Syfy

Wednesday, we’ve got one more reason to turn to Syfy with the arrivalof The Magicians, about a group of students at Brakebills University a college for magic. (think a grownup, sexy Hogwarts.) One of the leads, Eliot (Hale Appleman), is gay.

Here’s his character bio:

Acid-tongued and with a taste for the finer things in life, Eliot is one of the more established students at Brakebills. He’s got an opinion on everything and – if you ask him – it’s usually right.

Don’t let his exquisite sense of aesthetics lead you into thinking life has been easy street. As Eliot is one to remind you, magic comes from pain. And he’s a very good magician. He also makes a fantastic cocktail.

The Magicians debuts in January, but Syfy is previewing the first episode at 10pm, after Part 2 of Childhood’s End.

Idris Elba graces the small screen again on Thursday at 9pm, when Luther returns with a two-hour special. In it, Detective Luther gets one of his most chilling cases when a cannibal serial killer is on the loose.

Thursday also brings a special episode of Running Wild at 10pm, when President Barack Obama joins Bear Grylls for an adventure in the Alaskan wilderness. It’s not just survival tips that come up—the two discuss climate change and energy issues, as well.

It’s the end of an era Friday at 10pm, when Joel McHale hosts his final episode of E!’s The Soup.

Saturday Night Live

NBC

This week, Saturday Night Live celebrates the holidays with the return of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who will host the show’s Christmas episode. For Fey it’s an extra-special occasion: Her fifth time hosting SNL.

Will we see Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin or other members of the Five-Timers Club welcoming her?

Sunday at 9pm, OWN airs Oprah Goes to Broadway, offering a backstage tour of The Color Purple with appearances by the show’s stars, Cynthia Erivo, Danielle Brooks and Jennifer Husdon.

Christmas Land

Hallmark Channel

And finally, Sunday at 8pm, Hallmark brings us Christmas Land, about a young woman (Awkward’s Nikki Deloach) trying to sell off the Christmas tree farm she just inherited. But when she’s swept up with the holiday spirit, will Jules Cooper change her mind?

Out actor Luke Macfarlane co-stars as love interest Tucker Barnes, the handsome lawyer handling her late grandmother’s estate.

Source: Logo – New Now Next

[PHOTO GALLERY] Added a pic from the backstage of “Killjoys” season 2

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[PHOTO GALLERY] Added pics from “Christmas Land”

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Synopsis and video preview from “Christmas Landmark”

About Christmas Land

Jules Cooper is a successful New York businesswoman who seemingly has everything: a rapidly growing career in marketing and a handsome boyfriend named Mitchell. Jules soon learns her beloved late Grandmother Glinda has left her ‘Christmas Land,’ a magical Christmas-themed village and Christmas tree farm in the countryside. Much of Jules’s favorite childhood memories revolve around Christmas Land and the holiday’s her family spent there in her youth. Upon arriving in Christmas Land to claim the property, she meets handsome and charming Tucker Barnes, the lawyer handling the estate. Christmas Land has seen better days since Glinda’s tragic passing and Jules is forced to make many complicated decisions. Should she sell Christmas Land to real estate tycoon Mason Richards and get back to her busy city life? Or should she stay and bring Christmas Land back to its former glory? With decisions to be made in both life and love, this Christmas for Jules is sure to be both interesting… and magical.

Video Preview

Return To The Quad: Killjoys Kicks Off Filming For Season 2

03/12/2015

killjoys

Killjoys stars Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore, and Luke MacFarlane suit up in their bounty hunting gear once again as filming on the series’ second season begins this week in Toronto.

Space’s most-watched original series ever wrapped up season one with a major cliffhanger. With Westerley under attack, Dutch and John evacuate everyone they can aboard their ship Lucy. Everyone, that is, but D’Avin. Sent to help Scarback leader Alvis, D’Av picked up the trail of enemy number one—the dubious Khlyen—and ended up imprisoned by him on Arkin. In the end, we were left with a Quad on the verge of collapse and Dutch’s sworn promise to find her friend. So, where will the show go from there? This is what we know so far:

“In season two, the trio is on the move to uncover Dutch’s duplicitous and mysterious childhood mentor, Khlyen’s secret agenda. As shocking truths are revealed, Dutch, D’avin, and Johnny realize the Quad’s notorious criminals are no match for the threat within the RAC. The Killjoy’s loyalties are tested as they struggle to find the balance between politics, family, and the good of the Quad. With so much on the line, the Killjoys begin to wonder if the warrant is indeed all.”

And there’s more. Here’s what showrunner Michelle Lovretta has to say about season two: “In the debut season, we introduced the Killjoys and learned about their world, the politics of the Quad, the mysteries of the RAC, and the rich cast of characters. This season, we up the ante on the sci-fi factor, sexiness, and stakes, and answer some existing core questions while introducing new mysteries for our dynamic trio. This season promises to be a twisted romp, but the heart and soul of Killjoys remains the same—that of deep friendships and family bonds. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Excited yet? Season two of Killjoys will premiere on Space in 2016.

killjoys

Source: Space