Enlightened Perspectives: The 2018 CBS & CW TCA Winter Press Tour

Heading into CBS & CW Days for the 2018 TCA Winter Press Tour, each of the series has their own strengths straddling different elements of genre and tone from a sense of perception and perspective allowing for both enhanced conversation as well as the necessity of questions.Instinct In what is described as a “light procedural”, this fusion of drama and sardonic humor follows a serial killer with an openly gay lead in the form of Alan Cumming as Dr. Dylan Reinhart. Speaking of the character, Cumming says: “It is a co-founding character. He is a fuddy duddy professor. He drives a motorbike. He is a little on the spectrum. There is a lot going on. In terms of the marriage in the show, I was also very conscious. [I think] when we see gay characters on American television, their gayness is the prime thing.” He continues that on this show, this is the 6th or 7th most interesting thing as a state of normalcy. In terms of the costumes informing the performance, Cumming states: “Contemporary costume designers don't get the credit they deserve. The clothes [Reinhart] wears are not really my taste or my type. But I love dressing. It helps me get into that character.” As far as physical action in a character, he continues: “In the show I sometimes do open up a can of whoop ass. What's funny about stunt people is that they are inflated versions of you. My punching stunt double looks like my body type except that he is 30 years younger than me.” Finally, in speaking about the motivation of the character: “He is trying to make his father happy. His father was a big CIA guy.”Living Biblically This show involving the search for relevance by a film critic forming a “God Squad” combines story and comedy in an interesting way. Johnny Galecki, known widely as “Leonard” on “The Big Bang Theory” is an exec producer on the show and says making the show was close to his heart. Describing its inception and bringing it to the screen, Galecki states: “One of the biggest hurdles is to have the conversation. We don't often talk about it. 25% [of all Bibles] are bought in the US but I don't see anybody at a Starbucks reading one.” Galecki continues talking about the balance of their approach: “The best way to approach a conversation people are uncomfortable with is with comedy. When I started my production company, it was #1 at the top of the list to do a series about religion. My mother spent many years in the convent before she met my father.. There were a lot of elements of Catholicism [in my upbringing] but it turned into a more hippie version.” As far as challenges in this type of subject matter, he continues: “The biggest danger we want to avoid is to have a specific agenda based on our personal beliefs. I think it is very timely. But I wouldn't presume to think that any television show could answer [these types of] personal questions but that is OK to have questions.”Black Lightning The essence of a black superhero inclusive of Black Panther comes to the small screen within this new series that approaches the conflicts in a more localized basis. Showrunner Salim Akil explains the initial structure, saying: “When I started this, Jefferson is already a community based superhero. It allowed me to talk about things that were personal to me. We have a predominantly African American writing staff but the BS is that we have people who have lived this life.” Moving along in this idea of making a black urban superhero, Akil continues: “The great thing is that Warner Brothers allowed us to create our own world. We wanted people to know this family before we branched out. We are dealing with a world as real as we can do it. You have a superhero with a girl in cornrows. It is that 10 year cycle thing. We hot now. Black people...we have gone in and out of movies. I don't know if we have turned that corner but we have damn sure straightened out the curve.” Another aspect is the balance of finding ways to both explore character function and reaction. Akil explains: “There are different ways to get your message out there where you don't have to ask. When Cress [Williams (as Black Lightning)] started saying the words, he was the better part of me. I could see a reflection of what I hoped to be...the way he carried him. That is what got it for me. I also wanted Jefferson [Pierce] (Black Lightning's civilian alter ego) to have a lady in his life early on in the show. There was a moment where he would kiss this woman...and I fought for that. Literally when I saw him kiss the woman, I was like...that can't happen. It just can't. When I saw it I was almost embarrassed that I made his character do that, But he is a man in the framework of the show. And Cress brought that.”

By Tim Wassberg