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      Mark Proksch, of ‘What We Do in the Shadows,’ Gets Into the Swing of It

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      As an “energy vampire,” the comic actor has been the most relatable menace in the FX comedy, which begins its final season.On a recent evening, the actor Mark Proksch watched as a pirate ghost cavorted on a video monitor. “I love their idea of what counts as haunted,” he said.Proksch, 46, a star of the FX supernatural comedy “What We Do in the Shadows,” knows a thing or two about haunting. He plays Colin Robinson, a vampire who shares a crumbling Staten Island mansion with three undead roommates and one human minion. Unlike his friends, Colin is a day walker, an energy vampire who feeds off others, mostly by droning on about zoning ordinances or car insurance. (Proksch, who has a gift for tedium, mostly improvises these speeches.) Onscreen, he plays blandness with such intensity that he makes apparent normalcy seem very, very weird.Proksch, who lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the TV writer Amelie Gillette, was in town to promote the comedy’s sixth and final season at New York’s Comic Con. (The first three episodes premiere Monday on FX and Tuesday on Hulu.)On a free night, he had come to the home of the pirate ghost, Shipwrecked, an ostensibly eerie mini-golf course in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. At the first hole, he hefted his club and swung at his bright green ball. A hole in one.“Well, that was thrilling,” he said dryly.Raised in a small city in Wisconsin, Proksch never planned on a career in performance. (As a child, he appeared in a community theater production of “The Music Man”; he had no lines.) Pale and unassuming, he has a way of blending into the background of any given room. “It’s that Midwestern charisma,” he joked.On the fourth hole, his ball veered around a tropical plant then was caught by a sand trap. “There’s a reason I haven’t done this in 20 years,” he said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Menendez Brothers’ Case Under Review: What to Know.

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      Prosecutors are revisiting the brothers’ convictions in the killings of their parents. It could lead to their release from prison.Over 35 years ago, Lyle and Erik Menendez — then 21 and 18 years old — walked into the den of their Beverly Hills mansion and fired more than a dozen shotgun rounds at their parents.Now, after serving decades behind bars as part of a life sentence without the possibility of parole, the Menendez brothers may be getting a chance at freedom.In early October, the Los Angeles County district attorney, George Gascón, announced that his office was reviewing the case after lawyers representing the Menendez brothers asked prosecutors to recommend a resentencing, a move that could lead to their release.The reconsideration of their life sentences comes at a time when the Menendez brothers have been thrust back into the media spotlight thanks to the revelation of new evidence, an army of social media defenders and a recent television series and documentary examining their crime and trials.Here’s what to know about the Menendez brothers’ case:What were they convicted of?In 1996, the Menendez brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing their parents, Jose, a music executive, and Mary Louise, a former beauty queen who went by the name Kitty.It was their second trial. Two years prior, a mistrial was declared after two separate juries (one for each brother) deadlocked over a verdict.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      What’s on TV This Week: ‘Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking’ and Spooky Movies

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      The comedian’s standup special airs on HBO. Various networks show horror films.For those who still enjoy a cable subscription, here is a selection of cable and network TV shows, movies and specials that broadcast this week, Oct. 21-27 Details and times are subject to change.MondayPOPPA’S HOUSE 8:30 p.m. on CBS. The father-son duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. (who have previously played father and son on the show “Happy Endings”) are back together for a new comedy about a divorced radio host, Poppa (Wayans). He has his views challenged when he starts working with a new female co-host, and is also trying to communicate effectively with his adult son (Wayans Jr.).WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS 10 p.m. on FX. The streets are lined with spooky décor, Spirit Halloween is popping up at every corner and there is a crisp in the air. That can only mean one thing — it’s time to welcome back everyone’s favorite Staten Island-dwelling vampires for the sixth and final season of this faux-documentary show.TuesdayHeather O’Rourke in “Poltergeist.”MGMPOLTERGEIST (1982) 8 p.m. on AMC. First vampires, now paranormal activity. Everything is peachy keen with this California family until ghosts start communicating with them through the television screen. When their daughter Carol Ann (Heather O’Rourke) goes missing, her family seeks out a parapsychologist and exorcist to help find her.THE EXORCIST (1973) 10:30 p.m. on AMC. Speaking of exorcism — this movie teaches us that if you find your child possessed by the devil, it’s going to be a real hassle to undo. “It establishes a new low for grotesque special effects, all of which, I assume, have some sort of religious approval since two Jesuit priests, who are listed as among the film’s technical advisers, also appear in the film as actors,” Vincent Canby wrote in his review for The New York Times.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Saturday Night Live’ Welcomes Back Alec Baldwin

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      The longtime friend of “S.N.L.” made his first appearance on the show since an involuntary manslaughter case against him was dismissed. Michael Keaton was the host.A contentious interview of Vice President Kamala Harris conducted on Wednesday by Bret Baier, the chief political anchor for Fox News, was an inevitable subject of satire on this week’s “Saturday Night Live.” The opening sketch that parodied this interview also marked the return of Alec Baldwin, a frequent “S.N.L.” guest and host who played former President Donald J. Trump in “S.N.L.” sketches during the 2016 presidential campaign and Trump’s time in office.Baldwin, who played Baier in this segment, was making his first appearance on “S.N.L.” since an involuntary manslaughter case against him was dismissed in July, following a New Mexico judge’s ruling that the state had withheld evidence in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a film there.In the sketch, Baldwin was seated opposite Maya Rudolph, in her recurring role as Harris. He introduced himself as Baier, adding, “and to clear the air, yes, I do look like someone made a businessman in Minecraft.”He said it was a pleasure to welcome Rudolph onto Fox News, to which Rudolph replied, “The pleasure is neither of ours.”Baldwin quickly posed a leading question to Rudolph — “Give me the exact number of murderers you let loose in this country,” he said — and he interrupted her each time she attempted to respond. “A million? Two million?” he asked, adding, “Ten million? Give me a number.”Rudolph boasted of her success prosecuting international drug cartels. “If I was in ‘Breaking Bad’ it would have ended in three episodes,” she said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      SNL Recap: Alec Baldwin Returns as Fox’s Bret Baier

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      The longtime friend of “S.N.L.” made his first appearance on the show since an involuntary manslaughter case against him was dismissed. Michael Keaton was the host.A contentious interview of Vice President Kamala Harris conducted on Wednesday by Bret Baier, the chief political anchor for Fox News, was an inevitable subject of satire on this week’s “Saturday Night Live.” The opening sketch that parodied this interview also marked the return of Alec Baldwin, a frequent “S.N.L.” guest and host who played former President Donald J. Trump in “S.N.L.” sketches during the 2016 presidential campaign and Trump’s time in office.Baldwin, who played Baier in this segment, was making his first appearance on “S.N.L.” since an involuntary manslaughter case against him was dismissed in July, following a New Mexico judge’s ruling that the state had withheld evidence in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a film there.In the sketch, Baldwin was seated opposite Maya Rudolph, in her recurring role as Harris. He introduced himself as Baier, adding, “and to clear the air, yes, I do look like someone made a businessman in Minecraft.”He said it was a pleasure to welcome Rudolph onto Fox News, to which Rudolph replied, “The pleasure is neither of ours.”Baldwin quickly posed a leading question to Rudolph — “Give me the exact number of murderers you let loose in this country,” he said — and he interrupted her each time she attempted to respond. “A million? Two million?” he asked, adding, “Ten million? Give me a number.”Rudolph boasted of her success prosecuting international drug cartels. “If I was in ‘Breaking Bad’ it would have ended in three episodes,” she said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘It’s Florida, Man’ Reveals the Lives Behind Bizarre News Stories

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      The HBO series uses familiar comedic actors in cheeky re-enactments of real Florida events, most of them subjects of past viral news reports.Simon Rex plays a man who survives an alligator attack in Episode 2 of “It’s Florida, Man.”HBO“It’s Florida, Man,” premiering Friday at 11 p.m., on HBO, takes a “Drunk History” approach to the intimacy and portraiture of “How To With John Wilson.” It uses familiar comedic actors in cheeky re-enactments of real events, but those events are all personal sagas; they are obscure and strange, sometimes disturbing and sometimes enchanting — and all very Florida.For example, a man named Eric had his arm bitten off by an alligator, but he believes the animal was inhabited by his dead mother’s spirit and maimed him to help set his life straight. Eric says he is indeed the “Florida man” the memes suggest.“I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed,” he says in the second episode. “But I’ll stab you with the sharpest tool.” He grins. Later, he offers some of the most sanguine enlightenment one can find on television.“Florida” is the latest show to come with a winky disclaimer about its veracity, that it’s “all true. Sort of.” It blends the docudrama format with a boppy documentary style in quick-hit, episodic tales that layer re-enactments and firsthand accounts on top of one another. The recreations highlight how much these stories, most of them subjects of past viral news reports, have taken on lives of their own. But the show’s beating heart is its real-life subjects.Each episode focuses on one wild tale. The variety is both an asset and a hiccup: The tone ranges from warmly mystical to uncomfortably blasé about domestic violence. In the four episodes (of six) made available to critics, the show’s melody is “Get a load of this!” But its harmony kicks in with cheerful depth, a curiosity about the loves and agonies that extend beyond a local news segment.Luckily, everyone seems pretty much in on the joke. The first episode, “Toes,” centers on a music lover who posts on Craigslist for odd — very, very odd — jobs. One client wants to arrange an extreme encounter and asks the man to bring a friend along, which poses a challenge. “Who is (1) free on a Thursday, and (2) is down to witness cannibalism?” the man wonders.There’s a tabloid, almost sideshow glee to some of the episodes, but then again, lots of people join the circus. One man’s Jerry Springer is another (Florida) man’s Studs Terkel. More

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      At CBS, Everything Old Is New Again, Including ‘NCIS’

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      Everything old is new again: an “NCIS” spinoff, a “Young Sheldon” spinoff, a “Good Wife” spinoff and … “Matlock”?CBS is reconvening this week, premiering a dozen of its dramas and comedies, including 10 of last season’s 15 most-watched scripted shows. You might dismiss the network’s dominance of the broadcast ratings as a case of being the top dog on a small playground, but the seven million to 10 million viewers each of those shows drew — before any streaming numbers were added — probably don’t care much about your opinion.Along with the returning CBS hits this week come two new shows, “NCIS: Origins” and “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,” and one that still feels new, “Elsbeth,” which premiered in February and is starting its second season.These additions to the schedule are nominally very different from one another, contributing to the diverse menu a big-box television outlet needs to offer: a sentimental buds-and-blood crime procedural set on a California military base (“NCIS: Origins”); a wacky-Texas-family sitcom (“Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage”); and an archly comic case-of-the-week detective series set in New York (“Elsbeth”).But their differences are less notable than the thing they have in common: Each has emerged from the CBS ecosystem, spun off from one of the network’s existing franchises. “Origins” is the sixth “NCIS” show; “Georgie” follows “The Big Bang Theory” and “Young Sheldon”; and “Elsbeth” stars a character who was introduced in “The Good Wife” and later appeared in “The Good Fight.”There are a couple of ways to look at that. You can see timidity and lack of imagination, and an overreliance on proven quantities like the sitcom mogul Chuck Lorre (“Georgie”) and the smart-drama mavens Michelle and Robert King (“Elsbeth”). But you can also see shrewd strategy at a time when seemingly unlimited choice and the associated fracturing of the audience make viewers’ desires for familiarity and comfort stronger than ever. All of the major streamers could take lessons in brand management from CBS.The network does not have a “universe” in the sense of Marvel’s crisscrossing superhero stories or the byzantine timelines of the “Star Wars” franchise. But it has a sensibility that is actually more consistent, across a variety of genres and creators. There may not be a CBS universe, but there is a CBS world, a zone with a common language and values. Traveling from “Blue Bloods” to “Fire Country” to “Tracker,” you won’t have any problems at the border.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Bruce Campbell on ‘Hysteria!’ and Why the Satanic Panic Never Ended

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      The Peacock horror comedy finds timeliness in a dark chapter of American history. “Satan was always an existential threat,” the actor said.In 1981, Bruce Campbell knocked horror fandom’s socks off as Ash Williams, the iron-jawed demon fighter in “The Evil Dead,” Sam Raimi’s outré and now-beloved film about friends who battle unholy hell at a cabin in the woods. It was, it seems fair to say, a defining role.Now at 66, after decades of swashbuckling, bone-crunching roles in cult horror films and on TV, Campbell’s life seems a bit more Mayberry. He is a grandfather who still uses AOL Mail. Later this month, he’ll host what he called a “casino-ween” party at an Elks Lodge in Ashland, Ore., the mountain town where he lives with his wife, Ida. His taste in music, he said, is “way more Lawrence Welk than you might imagine.”In some ways, his role in the Peacock series “Hysteria!,” which debuted on Friday, reflects something of this kinder, gentler new reality. As the aw-shucks police chief Dandridge, his domain is a sleepy Michigan suburb in the 1980s, a place where boring is beautiful. But this is Bruce Campbell, so of course the peace is shattered as local holy rollers blame a high school heavy metal band for inviting Satan to their town and unleashing a series of deathly evil deeds. But the devil rarely needs an invitation.“Hysteria!” is a supernatural horror-comedy, but it takes its cue from a very real and unfunny chapter in American history: the so-called satanic panic, when a flood of unwarranted accusations about cults committing ritualistic child abuse swept the country. That abuse was abetted, according to many leaders on the religious right, by satanic messaging in popular culture.Campbell stars in “Hysteria!” as the humble police chief of a town consumed by fears about Satan.PeacockBut for a series set in the ’80s, “Hysteria!” is in some ways timely. It is the latest of several popular treatments of the satanic panic in recent years — including the documentary “Satan Wants You,” the novel “Rainbow Black” and the most recent season of “Stranger Things” — as culture wars, new technologies and misinformation have helped incite a fresh wave of conspiracy theories and conservative book bans.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More