New Comedy
SEPT—19 � BET+
The actress, 37, stars on
this eerie adaptation of the
podcast as a radio journalist
investigating the disappear-
ance of more than 300
people in a secretive
neuroscience research
community.
When you first listened
to the podcast, what
hooked you?
Well, number one, I thought
it was real. I’m going to out
myself and say that.
[Laughs] Sometimes news
cycles go by so quickly
[that] I thought, “Oh my
gosh, I’ve missed this!” I
called my producing partner
and said, “We have to get
involved in this! This is
crazy!” and she stopped me
and was like, “This isn’t real.”
You play a Sarah Koenig-
esque journalist with a per-
sonal tie to Limetown: Her
uncle (played by Stanley
Tucci) is one of the missing.
I think that personal con-
nection is the thread that
makes this story unique and
sets it apart from other sto-
ries about an investigation,
the trauma of when this
uncle was basically taken
from her life. What must
that feel like to go on this
quest and to have spent
your whole life defined by
this absence, this hole in
your life?
Other than Limetown, what
are your go-to podcasts?
Of course All Things Consid-
ered. I’m listening to some-
thing right now called The
Clearing, which is a true-
crime investigation kind of
thing. The Bright Sessions.
Hold on, let me look at my
list! [Switches to speaker
phone] I really like [Janet
Lansbury] Unruffled, which
is a parenting podcast.
Atlanta Monster, This Ameri-
can Life, Sword and Scale,
Embedded, Up and Van-
ished, Dirty John... I really
like podcasts. [Laughs]
—DEVAN COGGAN
Jessica
Biel
LIMETOWN’S
New Drama
O C T— 1 6
FACEBOOK WATCH
Like the 1996 Goldie Hawn, Bette
Midler, and Diane Keaton comedy with which it
shares a name, Girls Trip co-writer Tracy Oliver
says her series “follows three best friends from
college who band together after their mar-
riages fall apart, find strength in sisterhood,
and, of course, partake in a little revenge and
shenanigans.” But this time around, “we’re fol-
lowing three black women and exploring issues
specific to that community—while still telling
stories that all women can relate to.” There are
also plenty of Easter eggs for fans of the film. “In
the movie, Ivana Trump delivers the iconic
‘Don’t get mad. Get everything’ line, and in ours,
that line is delivered by the baddest basketball
first wife of them all: Shaunie O’Neal,” Oliver
says of Shaq’s ex. “Superfans will recognize at
least 10 more things from the movie.” —PG
FIRST WIVES CLUB
This eight-episode binger follows Miles
“Pudge” Halter (Charlie Plummer) as he enrolls
in boarding school to gain a deeper perspec-
tive on life. He immediately falls for confident,
mysterious, and cool Alaska Young (Kristine
Froseth). But when tragedy strikes, Miles is
forced to learn important lessons about life,
love, and the art of letting go. Hulu’s adapta-
tion of John Green’s 2005 YA novel is working
hard to right a much-maligned depiction of
the book’s version of Alaska. “Making sure that
she wasn’t going to be viewed as the ‘manic
pixie dream girl’ was hugely important to me,”
says Froseth. “The book is told from Miles’
point of view. That’s not at all what’s happen-
ing in the show. You spend so much more time
with her, so you get to really know her. She’s
so much more human—she’s not this imagi-
nary idea of a girl.” —SYDNEY BUCKSBAUM
LOOKING FOR
ALASKA
New Drama
OCT—18 � HULU
↓ Ryan Michelle Bathe, Jill Scott, and Michelle Buteau
S
TREAMING
fall
tv pre
view
2019
EW ● COM OCTOBER 2019 47
LIMETOWN
: RICARDO HUBBS/FACEBOOK WATCH;
FIRST WIVES CLUB
: BET
