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Pushing Daisies Delightfully Teases Season Two at Comic-Con

BuzzSugar — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:00:00 -0700

Daddy issues, daughter issues, mommy issues, half-brother issues - there's going to be a lot of family drama when Pushing Daisies returns in October, the show's cast and crew revealed over the weekend at Comic-Con. But fans of the whimsical series need not despair: If anything, the Daisies folks promised, the show is overall lighter and even more delightful this year.

Creator Bryan Fuller and executive producer Barry Sonnenfeld also revealed the first footage from season two - after a brief snafu in which the video for the pilot started playing instead, prompting the two to run out to the podium early to apologize - and teased what's going on in the land of Coeur d’Coeurs when we return Oct. 1. To hear about what's coming up (plus some other highlights and a ton of pictures from the panel), just read more.

First, some hints about season two:

There have been a few changes in the living arrangements: Chuck is moving out of Ned's place and into Olive's. Olive, meanwhile, will spend a few episodes at a nunnery for an as-yet-undisclosed reason. (I saw the nunnery set on my Pushing Daisies set tour at TCA, and it's truly spectacular! As soon as Warner Bros. posts its photos, I'll be writing more about that.)
The aunts will be getting out more this season, including a trip to the Pie Hole (which understandably creates a lot of problems for Ned) and to visit Olive nunnery. The season two footage showed some hilarious shots of Aunt Vivian with a new color-coordinated eye patch in the nunnery's official blue.
In case the very thought of Olive at a nunnery raises some Sound of Music thoughts in your mind, you're not alone: Olive does, in fact, sing in the first episode - and from the footage, it looks to be a classic "the hills are alive" moment.
Emerson's quest for his daughter will be a major plot point: Fuller said Emerson wants to publish a pop-up book called Lil' Gumshoe that would essentially deliver the directions for his daughter to find her way back to him.
Among the many new characters we'll be meeting: Emerson's mother, Ned's half-brothers, and Olive's new pet, a potbellied pig named Pigby. The show will also introduce Dwight Dixon, a man who has history with both Chuck's father and Ned's father. While they wouldn't name names, the producers said they're expecting some more stage actors and singers - Broadway friends of Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene - to make an appearance.
Also, we'll get to meet Young Olive and Young Emerson! In general, Fuller said, the second season will really embrace the ensemble nature of the show.
There will be many new contraptions to enable Ned and Chuck to show some affection, including a device that will allow them to spoon! (Aww!)
A special note for Wonderfalls fans: Fuller wants to put some kind of Wonderfalls tie-in in the new season.

And now, some highlights from the panel itself:

First Chi McBride and then Kristin Chenoweth made their entrances by running past the front of the crowd, slapping hands. I was only a few rows back, but I could still just barely see Kristin's blonde head bobbing as she made her run.
I couldn't believe I hadn't heard this story before this weekend, so maybe it'll be new to some of you, too: Bryan Fuller explained that the origins of Pushing Daisies came from an idea he had for Dead Like Me if the show had gotten a third season. That show's main character, George, took people's souls when she touched them, so Fuller thought about introducing a romantic foil for George who could give people their souls back with a touch of his own.
One fan asked Fuller why, after Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me both had cynical main characters, he decided to have Chuck and Ned embody all that's good with the world instead of sarcasm and wisecracks. "We have Emerson Cod for that," Fuller said.
Another fan asked Kristin Chenoweth if she'd indulge the crowd with a little song - and she obliged with a lovely version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," to wild cheers and applause. I'll try to post the audio of her performance later on, but for now, just trust me: It was gorgeous. (Barry Sonnenfeld even pulled his own mini video camera out of his pocket to capture it.)
Speaking of singing, Fuller also said he'd like to do a full musical episode at some point. He said he figured out the musical element to the show only after ending up with a cast full of talented singers and said he didn't purposefully look for actors who could sing - but, lucky for us, he got them anyway.
Sonnenfeld still holds a joking grudge against Anna Friel for convincing one director that it would be fine to have Ned and Chuck playing a hand-slapping game in the background of some Pie Hole scenes. "It's basically Russian Roulette!" Lee Pace said.
Sonnenfeld was also getting a kick out of teasing Chenoweth about her popularity. "You all love Kristin," he said at one point. "She's like a perfect short person."

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Anna Friel Returns In Pushing Daisies

PopSugarUK — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:00:00 -0700

One of my favourite new shows from the US is Pushing Daisies which will start over here soon on ITV. The cast, including our very own lovely Anna Friel, got together for Media's 25th annual Paley Television Festival in Hollywood at the weekend. The show's about a man called Ned who discovered as a boy if he touches someone who (or something that) is dead they'll come back to life, but if it's for longer than one minute, someone else in the vicinity will die to take their place.

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Friel plays his momentarily-dead childhood crush, Chuck. Oh, and if Ned touches someone who he's brought back again, they'll die. Forever. It's a bittersweet fairytale plot that gets all the more interesting when a grumpy Private investigator learns of Ned's skill and exploits it to solve murders and pick up the rewards. There's so much more to the programme (for one, the beautiful cinematography), and I'd highly recommend you watch when it starts in the UK. Of course, I'll have updates for you before the date.

You should definitely check out the trailer below, just read more

Speaking of US TV, Dirty Sexy Money starts over here on Friday, and I recommend you start, and stick with, that show. It's comic and complex and I'll have more about it for you later in the week!

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ABC Pushes Daisies & Lots of Beautiful Women in Some Club that May Include The Simpson Sisters

PopSugar — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:54:40 -0700

Yesterday kicked off the ABC TCAs and although we have to wait until the end of November to check out Cashmere Mafia, the network has plenty of other new shows that are bound to be big hits. Pushing Daisies might be my favorite new show this season (sorry Chuck). The fairy tale-like show is brought to us by Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) and Bryan Fuller (Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls). The show is so beautiful to watch I could not take my eyes off the screen. Lee Pace is the adorable main character that can bring people back to life by touching them, but he can kill them just as quickly with a second touch. He resurrects his childhood sweetheart and the two have this untouchable (literally) loving romance. It's so sweet and only was a small part of such an entertaining show. Click here to watch a clip and be mesmerized by the beauty.

The Women's Murder Club based on the popular James Patterson books is another show with a beautiful foursome but this time they're solving crimes in SF. I am not normally into formulaic cop-like shows but this one was very entertaining and everything about Angie Harmon is gorgeous, especially the way she talks about her family. She said:

"My husband is the most brilliant father on the planet... I actually have him more now at home than I did when he was playing....it's just all worked out really, really beautifully. The whole show coming into my life, and I know that my time with my girls is going to be fine and my husband is great, and he's happy with is job and where he is. So my family is in a really good place right now. I'm really thankful to be here."

She spoke really passionately about her new role and her home life so now I am a huge fan. Oh and did I mention Joe Simpson is an executive producer on the show? Well he is and he was asked if his daughters will guest star. Make sure to check out his response so read more

Joe's response to if his famous daughters will guest star was, "It's not in the plan, but you never know what tomorrow holds. That's not how we ever started this show, with the girls in mind at all so -- but I would never say never because the girls like to be where things are successful. So if we were asked, we will see." It would certainly be an interesting role for Jess or Ashlee.

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Images include Paula Newsome, Aubrey Dollar, Angie Harmon, Sarah Fain, Joe Simpson, Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Bryan Fuller, Bruce Cohen, Kristin Chenoweth, Barry Sonnenfeld, Chi McBride, Swoosie Kurtz, and Ellen Greene.

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Pilot Watch: "Pushing Daisies"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 04:30:00 -0700

The networks have announced their fall schedules, but which of the series will actually be worth watching? Throughout the summer, as I watch the pilots, I'll be posting my first impressions. Note that a lot can change before a show actually makes it to air, so these aren't comprehensive reviews, just quick thoughts on how the shows look now. Today's installment: ABC's "Pushing Daisies."

What's it about? A man who can bring people back to life with a single touch resurrects his childhood sweetheart - but if he touches her again, she will die for good.

Who's in it? Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth, Swoosie Kurtz, Chi McBride

The good: Everything. OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but this is my favorite pilot so far. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, the pilot thrusts us into Lee's colorful, quirky world, populated by crazy aunts, seemingly immortal dogs, and a restaurant called the Pie Hole. The show comes from the mind of "Dead Like Me" and "Wonderfalls" writer-producer Bryan Fuller, and the show bears his signature surrealistic stamp. ABC is marketing the show as a "forensic fairy tale," and I think it's a perfect description; the show feels like the strangest fable you've ever heard. The dialogue is quick and smart, so full of subtle puns that I wanted to watch the pilot again to make sure I caught them all.

The bad: I'm scared for this show. Fuller has worked on a couple of critically acclaimed series that haven't caught on with the public, and I'm afraid this might be so out there that it won't ever break out of "cult hit" territory. The pilot felt like a movie, and I'm not sure that the show will be able to hit that same level of production and storytelling each week - though I can't wait to watch the cast and crew give it a shot.

Will I watch? Yes, yes, a million times yes. Maybe my hopes are too high, but I thought the pilot was one of the more creative and well-constructed pieces of television I've seen this year.

To watch a preview for the show and check out a gallery of photos, read more

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Get a Sneak Peek of ABC's New Shows

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 May 2007 23:30:03 -0700

ABC isn't giving us quite as extensive a sneak peek of its fall lineup as NBC did for its new shows, but we can still get a taste: In addition to a ton of photos of the new shows and their casts, ABC's put up brief video clips of its pilots. You can see the whole batch of them together, or you can just click on the name of the show in this list to go directly to that show's clip: "Sam I Am," "Cavemen," "Carpoolers," "Pushing Daisies," "Private Practice," "Dirty Sexy Money," "Big Shots," "Women's Murder Club," "Cashmere Mafia," "Eli Stone," and "Miss/Guided."

It's not easy to judge a show from a minute of video, but I'm going to try anyway. "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Pushing Daisies" grabbed me the most, "Miss/Guided" could either be wonderful or awful, "Eli Stone" is worth watching for the George Michael cameo, "Big Shots" is "Sex and the City" for dudes (but does star geek-wonderful Joshua Malina, so points for that), and "Cavemen" ... well, at least it made me chuckle, which is more than I can say for "Carpoolers."

I have tons of pictures of the new shows - and really, you've got to see the crazy "Cavemen" makeup and the fanciful world of "Pushing Daisies" - so to take a spin through, read more

"Cavemen"

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"Dirty Sexy Money"

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"Private Practice" (more photos here)

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"Big Shots"

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"Pushing Daisies"

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"Sam I Am"

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"Carpoolers"

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"Women's Murder Club"

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"Eli Stone"

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"Cashmere Mafia"

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"Miss/Guided"

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All photos copyright 2007 ABC, Inc.