On the last day of the biannual TV Critics Association Press Tour in Beverly Hills,, I got a chance to ask NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt and President Jennifer Salke about the outlook for faith-based programming at NBC in the wake of its cancellation of “A.D.: The Bible Continues.” Said Salke: Yes. Well, we have scripted shows definitely. And [A.D.’ producers] Mark [Burnett] and Roma [Downey] developed a pilot for us last year that dealt with faith and angels, and... Read more
There are ways to proclaim oneself a Catholic in the public sphere that are subtle (wearing a crucifix or a holy medal), stealth (wearing a scapular no one can see) and bold (like wearing these T-shirts). And then there’s saying Grace before meals, whether in a private home or in a restaurant (and that includes BBQs, fast food, food trucks and carts). I just finished a couple of weeks at the TV Critics Association Press Tour, getting a look at... Read more
There’s no substitute for putting in the work. In the season premiere of HBO’s NFL-documentary series “Hard Knocks,” this year following the training camp and preseason of the Houston Texans, defensive end J.J. Watt — recently voted by his peers as No. 1 on NFL Network’s list of the Top 100 players of 2014 – shows what it takes to be the dominant athlete he is. It helps that he’s very large (six-five, and 289 pounds), but that wouldn’t count for... Read more
New York City PBS stations THIRTEEN/WNET and WLIW21 have come together to honor one of Gotham’s signature landmarks — and a focal point for American Catholicism — with the premiere of “Treasures of New York: St Patrick’s Cathedral.” Whatever the sorry state of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the 135-year-old cathedral is a glorious testament to the Faith, especially after unveiling a bright, pressure-washed facade in December 2014 The $25M facelift (made necessary when toxins began to make the marble crack... Read more
We have an epidemic of nakedness in America. All sorts of emperors are strutting about with their whatevers hanging out, and most of the media — and a large segment of the population — is too afraid to point out the obvious. Political correctness has evolved from courtesy to tyranny, in which insupportable and impossible things are asserted every day, and too many either avert their eyes or go along just to get along. But every now and then, something strips away... Read more
This past week, I made my debut as a contributor to The Tidings, the venerable newspaper for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and for Angelus News, its online counterpart. The subject is the new animated version of Lebanese Maronite Catholic writer Kahlil Gibran’s 1923 book “The Prophet,” which premiered in selected theaters this weekend, and will roll out to more. Click here to read the whole thing, but here’s an excerpt of the piece, which includes an interview with executive producer... Read more
Once you have seen injustice, you can’t unsee it — and the knowledge places upon you the burden to respond, if only in prayer. Father Claude Williams, 34, is a parochial vicar at St. John the Baptist in Costa Mesa, California. He’s also a member of the Norbertines of St. Michael’s Abbey, an Orange County-based chapter of the The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, founded by St. Norbert of Xantren in France. Our Sunday Visitor profiled him back in January (click here... Read more
Alfred the Great, who defended his kingdom of Wessex against the Vikings in the mid- to late-800s, eventually became the first truly dominant ruler of England. A devout Catholic, Alfred had a reputation for erudition, mercy and having a level-headed nature, while improving England’s education, legal system, military and quality of life. He’s also a Catholic saint. So, you might think that a big miniseries centered on his reign would have a strong Christian flavor. Well, that depends whose point... Read more
Love these two posts from Epic Pew: 10 Things You Might Be Doing Wrong at Mass 10 More Things You Might Be Doing Wrong at Mass I agree with them all, and at one time or another, I’m sure I and every other Catholic have been guilty of one or more. But simple politeness, and whatever sense of decorum we have, prevents us from calling out our fellow Catholics during Mass. And maybe if somebody had been able to call us... Read more
British actor Hugh Dancy, who has been starring in NBC’s recently axed serial-killer drama “Hannibal,” has nabbed the lead role in “The Way” (working title), the upcoming Hulu Original drama from writer Jessica Goldberg, who’s executive-producing with Jason Katims (“Friday Night Lights,” “Parenthood”) and Michelle Lee. Dancy will play Cal Roberts, described in the press release as: …the charismatic face of The Way, entangled in a complicated relationship with two other members of the movement, Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) and her... Read more
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