Regardless of Chuck’s inten-
tions, he’s revealed himself to be
the grand puppet master, which
brings up the question of free will.
Which of their decisions have been
their own and which have been
God’s not-so-divine intervention?
Did Sam choose to say “Yes” to
Lucifer all those years ago? Does
Dean really love bacon cheese-
burgers?! “God’s been pulling the
strings behind the scenes, and now
Sam and Dean are really trying to
break free for the first time in their
lives,” says co-showrunner Andrew
Dabb. And they’ve got 20 episodes
to do just that, because the world
isn’t the only thing that’s ending.
The show is too. “Every day is a lit-
tle sad,” Collins says. “Every ‘last’
that we tick off is a little sad.” But,
as Padalecki puts it, “We are carry-
ing on like we’ve always carried on,
just trying to do the best job we can
to bring Sam and Dean to life and
help tell their story, and we’ll do
that until [shooting wraps on]
April 2.” —SAMANTHA HIGHFILL
TURAL
T
HURSDAY
new headmaster after a
lengthy search headlined by
Caroline Forbes,” explains Plec.
“She has chosen a very
well-respected, extremely
experienced, and beloved man
from England.” Denisof reveals
that his character “arrives from
a larger supernatural world that
exists far beyond the gates of
the school and brings with him
a clear and very different point
of view.” Plec says he also brings
a resemblance to another fic-
tional character: “The students
jokingly call him Gary Poppins.”
—SAMANTHA HIGHFILL
Carol’s
Second Act
fall
tv pre
view
2019
PATRICIA HEATON
may have two hit comedies
(Everybody Loves Raymond,
The Middle) and two Emmys
under her belt, but that didn’t
make it any less scary to
headline Carol’s Second Act—
a multicam sitcom about
a 50-year-old divorcée who
embarks on a new career in
medicine. When Heaton
showed up to tape the first
episode, opposite Kyle
MacLachlan (who plays her
new colleague Dr. Frost)
and Ashley Tisdale (Carol’s
daughter Jenny), she was
unexpectedly jolted by the jit-
ters. “Being back in front of a
studio audience after nine
years is scary,” the actress
admits. “I’m having actor’s
nightmares of not knowing my
lines. It feels very new.” But
that’s what made Heaton, the
mom of four grown sons, the
perfect choice to play Carol.
“I’ve had the privilege of
playing a mother in different
stages of life,” says Heaton,
who is executive-producing
the sitcom with her husband,
David. “Carol is an empty
nester who’s creating a sec-
ond act for herself and
discovering her true passion.
That’s really exciting.” Well, not
all of it: Heaton candidly
admits that, at 61, it’s a lot of
work “to keep yourself pre-
sentable” in front of the
camera. “I’m talking to the
young people out there,” she
says with a wink. “Just eat
everything you love, and a lot
of it, because around 45
you’re going to have to cut it.”
—LYNETTE RICE
New Comedy � SEPT—26 � 9:30 pm � CBS
↑ Carol (Patricia Heaton) with fellow intern Daniel (Jean-Luc Bilodeau)
EW ● COM OCTOBER 2019 85
SONJA FLEMMING/CBS
