It’s senior year for the Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi) at Cal U.
Freeform’s Grown-ish finally returns this Thursday! After taking some time off school to focus on being a stylist, Zoey is back to finish her final year with her friends and finally graduate. With Aaron and Zoey finally together after three years of “will they, won’t they,” the couple are trying to make it work.
Continue reading “‘Grown-ish’ Returns for Senior Year This Thursday”
“Hostile Witness” shows events from (approximately) October 3rd, 1993, 1994, and 1995. For the remainder of this recap, we will be getting into heavy spoilers; so only continue reading if you’ve seen episode 1×10 of Cruel Summer.
Continue reading “NOC Recap: The ‘Cruel Summer’ Season Finale Wraps Everything Up and Then Blows It All Up Again”
An all-new season of Freeform’s Cruel Summer is coming in 2022! The hit Freeform series was renewed for a season 2 the day of the season 1 finale and fans are hyped. The series stars Olivia Holt, Chiara Aurelia, Michael Landes, Froy Gutierrez, Harley Quinn Smith, Allius Barnes, Blake Lee, and Brooklyn Sudano. According to a press release, Cruel Summer is the network’s most-watched series ever, ranking as the No. 1 new cable drama of the year among Women 18-34, with the most recent episode delivering the drama’s biggest linear TV audience yet—surging by 31% over its premiere. In MP35, the series averages 6.8 million viewers per episode.
Continue reading “Freeform’s ‘Cruel Summer’ Has Been Renewed for a Season 2”
“Proof” shows events from (approximately) August 30th, 1993, 1994, and 1995. For the remainder of this recap, we will be getting into heavy spoilers; so only continue reading if you’ve seen episode 1×08 of Cruel Summer.
Continue reading “NOC Recap: ‘Cruel Summer’ Episode 8 Reveals Some Shocking and Interesting Missing Events to the Story”
“Happy Birthday, Kate Wallis” shows events from (approximately) August 29th, 1993, 1994, and 1995. For the remainder of this recap, we will be getting into heavy spoilers; so only continue reading if you’ve seen episode 1×07 of Cruel Summer.
Continue reading “NOC Recap: ‘Cruel Summer’ Episode 7 Changes Everything”
Nathaniel Ashton portrays Ben on Freeform’s newest hit drama. I got to speak with the actor about all things Cruel Summer, including episode 6, “An Ocean Inside Me,” so beware: we will be getting into spoilers. New episodes of the psychological thriller air Tuesdays at 10 PM EDT/PDT on Freeform and are available the next day on Hulu.
Continue reading “NOC Interview: Nathaniel Ashton Talks Being Ben on ‘Cruel Summer’”
Sarah Drew plays Cindy Turner in Freeform’s highly anticipated drama, Cruel Summer. I got to speak with the actress all about the new series and episode 6, “An Ocean Inside Me,” so beware: we will be getting into spoilers. New episodes of the series air Tuesdays at 10 PM EDT/PDT on Freeform and are available the next day on Hulu.
Continue reading “NOC Interview: Sarah Drew Talks Cindy’s Big Episode of ‘Cruel Summer’”
Barrett Carnahan plays Jeanette’s cooler older brother, Derek Turner, who stands by his sister through everything. A press release revealed that Cruel Summer marks the network’s best-ever series debut among Young Adults and scores Freeform’s most-watched series debut ever, averaging 3.81 million multiplatform viewers in the first week available. New episodes of the psychological thriller air Tuesdays at 10 PM EDT/PDT on Freeform and are available the next day on Hulu.
Continue reading “NOC Interview: Barrett Carnahan Talks Freeform’s ‘Cruel Summer’”
“As The Carny Gods Intended” shows events from (approximately) July 29th, 1993, 1994, and 1995. For the remainder of this recap, we will be getting into heavy spoilers; so only continue reading if you’ve seen episode 1×05 of Cruel Summer.
Continue reading “NOC Recap: ‘Cruel Summer’ Episode 5 is a Tangled Web of Twisted Games”
Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut plays Ashley Wallis in Freeform’s highly anticipated new drama, Cruel Summer. Ashley Wallis is Kate’s stepsister and Rod’s daughter. I got to speak with the actress all about the series and episode 4, “You Don’t Hunt, You Don’t Eat,” so beware: we will be getting into spoilers. New episodes of the series air Tuesdays at 10 PM EDT/PDT on Freeform and are available the next day on Hulu.
Continue reading “NOC Interview: Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut on Everything ‘Cruel Summer’”
Sarah Drew made her highly anticipated return to Grey’s Anatomy in episode 17×14, “Look Up Child.” Fans were thrilled to see April Kepner back on their screen after Drew’s departure in season 14. Despite April seemingly getting her happy ending with Matthew before leaving the show, many still secretly (or maybe not so secretly) hoped that before the show ended, Jackson and April would reunite and possibly end up together after everything they went through. Well, now, it’s safe to say that there is a very strong chance that Japril is, in fact, endgame.
Continue reading “Sarah Drew on Her Return to ABC’s ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and April’s Impact”
Chiara Aurelia portrays Jeanette Turner, a nerdy and sweet high schooler who wants more from life, in Freeform’s highly anticipated new drama Cruel Summer. I got to speak with the actress all about the series and episode 4, “You Don’t Hunt, You Don’t Eat,” before it aired so beware: we will be getting into spoilers. New episodes of the series air Tuesdays at 10 PM EDT/PDT on Freeform and are available the next day on Hulu.
Continue reading “Bonus Hard NOC: Chiara Aurelia Discusses Episode 4 of ‘Cruel Summer’”
“You Don’t Hunt, You Don’t Eat” shows events from (approximately) July 15th, 1993, 1994, and 1995. For the remainder of this recap, we will be getting into heavy spoilers; so only continue reading if you’ve seen episode 1×04 of Cruel Summer.
Continue reading “NOC Recap: ‘Cruel Summer’ Episode 4 Leaves Us With the Biggest Cliffhanger So Far”
Allius Barnes takes on the role of the loyal and loveable Vince Fuller — Jeannette and Mallory’s best friend in Freeform’s newest psychological thriller. I got to speak with the actor all about episode 3 of the series, “Off With a Bang,” before it aired so beware: we will be getting into spoilers. New episodes of Cruel Summer air Tuesdays at 10 PM EDT/PDT on FreeForm and are available the next day on Hulu.
Continue reading “Allius Barnes Discusses the Most Recent Episode of ‘Cruel Summer’”
“Off With a Bang” shows events from (approximately) July 4th, 1993, 1994, and 1995. For the remainder of this recap, we will be getting into heavy spoilers, so only continue reading if you’ve seen episode 1×03 of Cruel Summer. This episode also gives a warning for images of domestic violence that may be triggering so this will apply to this review as well.
Continue reading “NOC Recap: ‘Cruel Summer’ Episode 3 Brings Fireworks and New Revelations”
Cruel Summer just premiered with two back-to-back episodes — “Happy Birthday, Jeanette Turner” and “A Smashing Good Time.” While many can just chalk this two-hour introduction to the series as a way to truly get fans hooked, it seems to almost be done in a way to really drive all of the storytelling aspects that the series is doing home, basically dedicating one episode each to introducing the two main characters, which you will find yourself torn between as you are forced to pick a side.
Continue reading “NOC Recap: ‘Cruel Summer’ Will Have You Hooked With its Captivating Premiere”
Sarah Drew is making her big return to Grey’s Anatomy on Thursday, May 6 at 9/8c and ABC has released the official synopsis and some photos of April’s reunion with Jackson (Jesse Williams). The episode is titled, “Look Up Child” and will be episode 17×14. You can read more about her return here.
Continue reading “Get a First Look at April and Jackson’s Reunion on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’”
Cruel Summer premieres on Tuesday, April 20 with a special two-hour event at 9 PM EDT/PDT on Freeform. New episodes will continue to air after that on Tuesdays at 10 PM EDT/PDT. Along with Olivia Holt, the series stars Chiara Aurelia, Michael Landes, Froy Gutierrez, Harley Quinn Smith, Allius Barnes, Blake Lee, and Brooklyn Sudano.
Continue reading “Olivia Holt on Freeform’s New Psychological Thriller ‘Cruel Summer’”
A version of this interview originally appeared at Melancholyball.com.
The second season of Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger premiered last week on Freeform; graciously returning for a fresh new interview is filmmaker Jennifer Phang, who directed S2’s premiere episode “Restless Energy.” (My earlier chats with Phang on her work on Cloak & Dagger and The Expanse can be found here and here.) Continue reading “Interview With ‘Cloak & Dagger’ Director Jennifer Phang”
by Dominic Mah | Originally posted on YOMYOMF
Jennifer Phang has been busy in episodic TV, directing episodes of The Excorcist, Riverdale, Cloak & Dagger, and two episodes of The Expanse leading to its recent Season 3 finale. She also directed the independent features Half-Life and Advantageous. I got to interview her about, among other things, her work on The Expanse Season three episodes “Fallen World” and “Congregation.”
Continue reading “Filmmaker & TV Director Jennifer Phang on ‘The Expanse’ and ‘Cloak & Dagger’”
This week on Hard NOC Life, we have the honor to be joined by star of stage and screen, Javier Muñoz.
Continue reading “From Stage to Screen: Javier Muñoz is Non-Stop”
It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of Glee alum Harry Shum Jr. here at the NOC. Ever since Mike Chang graduated from McKinley High, he has built quite the career — even though we might be sad that he wasn’t cast as Iron Fist. From starring in Netflix’s Crouching Tiger sequel to headlining YouTube Red’s Single by 30, Shum has gone on to become one of the busiest young Asian American actors in Hollywood. His highest profile role yet has been as Magnus Bane on Shadowhunters, the hit adaptation of The Mortal Instruments book series. The show’s second season winter finale airs tonight at 8pm on FreeForm.
Recently, I had the chance to chat with Harry and talk about what it’s like to represent so many communities — Asian American, LGBTQ, Warlock — on genre television.
Continue reading “One-on-One with Shadowhunters’ Harry Shum Jr.”
