Eric Winter
By Cindy Elavsky
Q: Can you please tell me when “Witches of East End” will return? Also, do you have any spoilers for me? — Gina R., via email
A: You don’t have to wait much longer. The supernatural drama that centers on the lives of the Beauchamp witches (Joanna, Freya, Ingrid and Wendy) will return for a 13-episode second season on Wednesday, July 9, at 9/8c. I spoke with Eric Winter, who plays the dashing Dash Gardiner. At the end of season one, Dash had his heart broken by Freya and his previously unknown warlock powers returned to him upon the death of his mother, Penelope (played by Virginia Madsen). Eric gave me some hints about season two, the main one being to look for a darker, ticked-off Dash this season.
“I thought that my brother and I were very underused last year. I’m happy to see that this year we are being used, I think, more correctly — you’re going to get a nice well-rounded cast and interaction of story lines now. This second season, there is a massive change in character for Dash; he does a complete 180. For me, personally, it’s a much more exciting role to play. Last year set something up, and it was needed to tell the story, but it played on long enough, and I’m excited to explore more of Dash this season.”
Eric also told me about the addition of Christian Cooke, as Fredrick Beauchamp (Joanna’s son, who until now had been in Asgard): “He definitely brings a nice strong, edgy young energy to the show. There’s a bit of tension between him and Aunt Wendy, and also in forming a relationship with his sisters. It definitely adds a nice additional layer to that family dynamic — having that male energy thrown in there out of nowhere, when they didn’t know it existed.”
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Q: Will “Downton Abbey” ever come back? — Hope M., via email
A: The popular Masterpiece Classic period drama — which airs on ITV in England and on PBS in the U.S. — will return for a fifth season in January 2015. It does air first across the pond (which should be sometime this fall), so try to stay away from spoilers, if you can, until it airs here in America.
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READERS: It’s time to announce the fate of your favorite (or not-so-favorite) Fox shows from the 2013-14 season. Keep on reading to see whether your show has been renewed or canceled (or has ended its run) for the 2014-15 season. Good news first — the renewed shows are: “American Idol,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Bones,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Family Guy,” “The Following,” “Glee,” “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Masterchef Junior,” “The Mindy Project,” “New Girl,” “The Simpsons” and “Sleepy Hollow.” Shows that have been canceled or are ending their run are: “Almost Human,” “American Dad” (which is moving to TBS), “Dads,” “Enlisted,” “Raising Hope,” “Rake,” “Surviving Jack” and “The X Factor.”
Write to Cindy at King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475; or e-mail her at [email protected].
© 2014 King Features Synd., Inc.