New York Post, Thursday, December 3, 2020
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everybody, which makes Michael’s
job, when he has to hide things and
be secretive and tell lies, way
harder. [The series] was going to
[be set in] Chicago... but I decided
to move it to New Orleans. Cultur-
ally it’s an interesting and complex
place, full of history, with a real mix
of different types of people.
“I had 10 years in that [legal jus-
tice] environment watching people
like Michael... and understanding
those pressures and strains,” Moffat
says. “At any moment in the crimi-
nal justice system you have choices
and options — there’s more drama
in this genre than anywhere else.”
“Your Honor” also explores the
repercussions that Rocco Baxter’s
death has on his family, not only on
his father but his vindictive mother
(Hope Davis) and his good-natured
sister (Lilli Kay). Meanwhile,
there’s growing resentment be-
tween Michael and Adam, who is
overwhelmed by guilt and wants to
confess despite his father’s edict
that he stick to the coverup story —
or risk death at the hands of the
vengeful Baxters.
“We’re making sure that right
from the start we’re telling the audi-
ence that Jimmy Baxter is not one-dimensional,” says Moffat. “His
daughter is a lovely person and he
loves her. Why wouldn’t he? But it’s
true at the same time to be a terri-
ble person who’s suffering and in
pain — it’s possible for that to exist
in all of us when we’re put under
stress, and that duality makes for
much more interesting television.”
Into this roiling mix are thrown a
falsely accused suspect (Lamar
Johnson); Nancy Costello (Amy
Landecker), a tenacious New Or-
leans cop growing increasingly sus-
picious of Michael; and Charlie Fi-
garo (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), Michael’s
best friend who’s running for
mayor.
“I think what Peter wrote is an au-
thentic look at the conditions of, not
only the American judicial system
but the penal system — which is not
an equal opportunity system and
where the rich have the advantage
over the poor,” says Cranston.
“Over the 10 episodes the depic-
tion of that is very honest, some-
times in a brutal way, but this is life
in America.
“It was incumbent on Peter as a
writer, and us collectively as story-
tellers, to be able to honestly em-
brace it for its apparent ugliness.”It really
happened
“Heaven’s Gate:
The Cult of
Cults,” premieres
Thursday on HBO
Max. It’s about
the bizarre UFO
cult led by “Do”
and “Ti” whose 39
members
committed suicide
in 1997 to get to
“The Next Level”—
including the
brother of ”Star
Trek” co-star
Nichelle Nichols.By MICHAEL STARRS
HOWTIME’S new drama
“Your Honor” posits the
ternal grey-area moral di-
lemma: how far will a par-
ent go to protect their child
— even under the most
brutal of circumstances?
The answer for respected New
Orleans judge Michael Desiato
(Bryan Cranston): too far.
After his teenaged son, Adam
(Hunter Doohan), accidentally
mows down joyriding motorcyclist
Rocco Baxter — the son of ruthless
local mob boss Jimmy Bax-
ter (Michael Stuhlbarg)
— Michael concocts
an elaborate cov-
erup that quickly
cascades out of
control.
“Michael has
no intention of
being a crimi-
nal,” says Cran-
ston, who spoke
to The Post along
with series creator
Peter Moffat about
“Your Honor,” pre-
miering Sunday at 10 p.m.“This falls into his lap immedi-
ately and he makes a decision...
with repercussions that are great
and numerous,” says Cranston. “It’s
a very animalistic response. Sure,
Michael has regrets — my God, a
ton of regrets — and anxiety over
the decision he’s made. He’s an-
guished and spinning plates and
trying to cope with what he’s doing.
“It’s never clean, and that’s what
makes good drama,” Cranston says.
“It’s a very exciting and compelling
spiral of events played out in 10 epi-
sodes.”
The English-born Moffat (who
created the BAFTA-win-
ning “Criminal Jus-
tice,” adapted as
HBO’s “The Night
Of”) is a former
barrister with a
keen sense of
Michael’s des-
perate coverup
amidst the ten-
tacled New Or-
leans justice sys-
tem.
“The criminal
justice system there
is interesting,” Moffat
says. “Everbody knows‘Singer’
takes 5
Fox has
renewed “The
Masked
Singer” (that’s
Crocodile,
above) for a
fifth season
with host Nick
Cannon that
will air next
year. It’s
currently in its
semi-final
round and airs
Wednesdays at
8 p.m.anchor drop Julianna Margulies (right) is joining the Season 2
cast of “The Morning Show” on Apple TV+ According to Variety, she’ll play
Laura Peterson, an anchor at UBA News. The series stars Jennifer Aniston,
Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup and Steve Carell.
Hunter
Doohan (far left)
and Bryan Cranston
as Adam and Michael
Desiato in “Your Honor.”
Below: co-stars Hope
Davis and Michael
Stuhlbarg.True
lieS
Holt on for more
Lester Holt anchors Thursday’s
“Dateline” (10 p.m. on NBC)
featuring the heads of
Pfizer, Moderna and
Johnson & Johnson in
a joint interview to
discuss the
“Race for a
Vaccine.”TV Thursday
Bryan Cranston in
‘Your Honor’: how a judge
descends into the
moral abyss
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