Denis Leary has booked a recurring role on the forthcoming third season of TNT’s Animal Kingdom. Meanwhile the Fear the Walking Dead‘s Mercedes Mason has booked a series-regular role in ABC’s straight-to-series light crime drama The Rookie starring Nathan Fillion.
CASUAL
The final eight episodes of the Jason Reitman comedy will air in 2018.
Season 3, Episode 13 – Casual‘s season finale is here and it’s not very good. Compared to other season finales of this show, this one falters, leaving a lot on the table and throwing a bunch more on that doesn’t really make much sense. The lack of character growth, resolving issues built throughout the course of the season and the overall tone make this episode feel more like a pilot than a season finale.
Season 3, Episode 12 – Casual gives us the weirdest episode yet, focusing on Valerie and Alex’s relationship in 1999. Though lacking plot, this episode serves as an interesting exercise to showing the genesis behind Alex and Val’s relationship. Unfortunately the episode falters after that and begins to further support a controversial taboo theory about this season’s finale.
Season 3, Episode 11 – Casual opens with a major change of pace as two (important) side characters decide to tie the knot. Leah and Leon are getting married, and we notice a sudden shift in Casual‘s narrative, from a story about hookups to a story about love. Alex and Judy are growing while Valerie and Jack are falling and Laura is abandoning her life for a dream in Sacramento.
Season 3, Episode 10 – Casual deals with a host of problems this week that all stand on emotionally shaky ground. There is a lot in this week’s episode of Casual that left me wishing things were handled differently. But hey, at least this week’s episode made me laugh.
Season 3, Episode 9 – Casual forces you to take a look at relationships. There are some stumbles along the way, but the meat of the episode, comparing Alex’s growth to Valerie’s regression, is proudly on display. Even Laura’s parts have some strong points, particularly when she asks Alex if they are “poisoned in their blood,” a strange phrase that requires quite a bit of unpacking.
Season 3, Episode 8 – Casual delivers its best episode of the season, giving an insight into each character’s motivations and personal flaws. Extremely different than last week’s episode, this week allows the characters to explore their own personal space in the world and pushes both plot and character growth forward.
Season 3, Episode 7 – This week’s episode is true “bottle episode” focusing itself on one location. Most shows have trouble with these episodes or try for something completely different, but it all came natural. Emotions played a very strong role as they always do, and the plot for this season was moved forward quite a bit, with a focus on the relationship between Valerie and Alex taking center stage.
Season 3, Episode 6 – In Casual, the moral complexities of the characters have reached a point where nothing makes sense. Valerie is selfish beyond belief and justified with every ridiculous decision she makes. Even Alex, usually a beacon of rationality is forced to contend with his new employees that report him to HR for talking to them about Hawaii.
Season 3, Episode 5 – Casual focuses on each character’s relationship pursuits and growth and it’s definitely for the better. This week allows Valerie, Alex and Laura to pursue what they want most, and have it blow up in their face as they all end up finding themselves knee deep in something else.
Season 3, Episode 4 – Casual dives deeper into the lives of their characters, but this choice leaves little in terms of plot development. Valerie, Alex and Laura are all dealing with their usual problems: Valerie is in a midlife crisis, Alex doesn’t prioritize his problems, and Laura is self-destructive. We follow them through this journey, but are left wondering why there isn’t more for us to sink our teeth into.
Season 3, Episode 1-3 – Casual introduces a trio of episodes that manages to meander throughout its own construct without ever really honing in on any one thing. You can’t help but feel like this show needs to comment more on the change in our daily lives that it does.
Stranger Things breakout star Shannon Purser is set to join Moana star Auli’i Cravalho in the NBC pilot Drama High, meanwhile It’s Always Sunny‘s Glenn Howerton is teaming up with comedian Patton Oswalt for Seth Meyers and Mike O’Brien’s untitled comedy.
Suicide Squad actor Alex Meraz joins WGN America’s Scalped, the anticipated drama series based on DC’s graphic novel, and Jeremy Luke reunites with his Magic City co-star Milo Ventimiglia on This is Us
After a long hiatus for many series, 2017 is bringing back favorites and debuting new series in a search for the next watercooler hit. The Tracking Board has you covered with a guide to every premiere and return date for Spring 2017.
If Casual was a sandwich, it would have the best bread and the worst meat. It’s been a frustrating season, with a lot to chew on, but these last couple of episodes have really delivered as a death brings the family together.
I have been very critical of Casual. When I feel it’s bad, I’ve called it out and stated my reasons. But I don’t have a vendetta or a grudge against the show, so that means that when it’s good, I also have to call it out. And this week’s episode was really good.
After a surprisingly great episode last week, Casual delivers probably its worst episode yet. Laura is the only character that shows any progression, both moral and emotional, and yet it’s relegated to such a sideline that it barely makes anything of an impact on the episode as a whole.
This was a good episode of Casual. After going through a pretty poor spell these last few weeks, Casual managed to bounce back by finally addressing all of the elephants in the tiny, tiny room. We finally received a resolution to the horrible plotline that’s been Alex and Sarah.
It’s hard to say how things are going to play out on Casual, but however it does, it won’t excuse the lack of payoff that the middle of this season has been.
Alex continues his romantic pursuit, Valerie tries to figure her life out, and Laura hopes to limit her commitments.
Valerie follows up with Jack, Laura concocts a plan, and Alex continues to try to make Sarah jealous.
Alex tries to make Sarah jealous, Valerie tries to make someone jealous, and Laura makes herself jealous.
Alex thinks his new boss and ex-girlfriend are trying to sabotage him, Laura is trying to cope with some bad news and Valerie looks for medical help.
In this week’s Casual, Instead of repairing their lives with casual sex or hopeful relationships, all of our main characters are trying to position themselves for friendship.
Valerie tries to make a new friend, Alex tries to save Snooger and Laura tries to figure out her new school life.
Casual‘s two episode season 2 premiere deals with a lot of selfish motives when Valerie tries to get Alex to stop bettering himself, and Alex makes Laura learn bar trivia.
Jordin Sparks has landed a recurring role in Time After Time, Sam Neill is a family patriarch in the sweeping family drama The Son, and Alyssa Milano is teaming up with Jason Lee again for What Goes Around Comes Around in tonight’s casting round-up!
Lando himself has joined ABC’s Dirty Dancing remake; Training Day has recruited Drew Van Acker; Georgina Haig will head to Mars for the CW; and more in today’s TV casting round-up!
