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Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Countdown' makes Los Angeles a prominent character — and it's in danger
It's just another day on location in Los Angeles for actor Jensen Ackles as he frantically weaves in and out of clusters of traffic on Wilshire's Miracle Mile to stop some villainous happenings in his new Prime Video action series 'Countdown,' which drops its first three episodes Wednesday. Locked into his valiant character, L.A. Det. Mark Meachum is the kind of person who will do anything to catch the baddies, even if that means driving up the sidewalk on Wilshire to get where he needs to be. For Ackles, an acting veteran with nearly 30 years of TV experience that has ranged from portraying teen angst on 'Days of Our Lives' to chasing demons for 15 seasons on 'Supernatural,' to his most recent turn as superhero Soldier Boy on 'The Boys,' shutting down Wilshire isn't the biggest surprise in his latest show. Instead, he's more blown away that the L.A.-set series is shooting in, of all places, Los Angeles. 'A lot of times, shows are shooting other places [as a stand-in] for other places, and it's rare when you're shooting in a place that is supposed to be that place,' he says. And in 'Countdown,' which follows a task force consisting of members from various law enforcement agencies that are brought together after the murder of a Department of Homeland Security agent, it's Los Angeles that is in serious danger. In fact, that initial crime is just the tip of the iceberg once a potential Chernobyl-like event in L.A. is uncovered. 'I would describe it as terrifying and with a potential to affect millions for years to come,' says executive producer and showrunner Derek Haas. 'I was thinking about smuggling channels into the United States and how these corridors have been used for both illegal narcotics and human trafficking. I thought it would be interesting if a bad player used these established channels to smuggle something much, much worse into the country.' That threat is the throughline for the bulk of the season, with Ackles' Meachum working alongside Drug Enforcement Administration agent Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho), FBI agent Keyonte Bell (Elliot Knight), LAPD agent Luke Finau (Uli Latukefu), FBI agent Evan Shepherd (Violett Beane) and special agent in charge Nathan Blythe ('Grey's Anatomy' and 'Euphoria's' Eric Dane). Together, Haas explains, the team attempts to 'identify the mastermind behind the threat while at the same time working to discover the delivery system for that threat. There are twists and turns and missteps and victories along the way as the plan grows into focus.' All this action makes L.A. a prominent cast member, something Haas knows a thing or two about, having created NBC's long-running 'Chicago Fire' and helping to develop spin-off series 'Chicago P.D.' and 'Chicago Med.' The Dallas-born producer has spent the last 26 years living in Los Angeles (he'd travel to Chicago during his tenure on the Windy City shows) and knew the city would lend itself well to this project at a time when L.A. isn't the first choice for filming these days. 'The fact that you can go in any direction and there's something different and interesting to see and to shoot in L.A. is appealing, but it feels like Hollywood has moved away from it,' he says. In fact, according to a report released in April by the nonprofit organization FilmLA, on-location production for film, television and commercials in the Los Angeles area was down 22% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period a year prior. Looking at just television production, the numbers dropped by 30.5% in the first quarter compared with 2024. Also, while some productions were temporarily halted during the fires in January, the report did not conclude that the fires had a lasting effect on overall production. The proposed increase of state tax incentives to be more competitive with other states could help the number of productions grow. 'I will make my pitch that we need more tax credits and rebates so we can get more production here because the 'Countdown' crew was nonstop excellent throughout,' Haas says. He also made a point of making sure the show was constantly shining a spotlight on often-overlooked parts of L.A.. 'I didn't want it to be guys in suits in mansions or walking around in Beverly Hills,' Haas says. Instead, he took the cast and crew to film in areas like Koreatown, Reseda, Huntington Park and Chinatown. 'Usually, you don't see the L.A. that I know, going as far as way up in the Deep Valley and then all the way down to Orange County, so I wanted to show that and go this way and that way,' he adds. The show's first season hit so many locations that it reminded Ackles, who lived in L.A. for 18 years earlier in his career, just how sprawling the city actually is. 'We're doing a massive shootout of the Port of Los Angeles down in Long Beach. I'm up in Palmdale at a decommissioned prison having a prison-yard brawl and a speed chase over 6th Street Bridge downtown,' he says. 'I feel like if anybody really wants to get a sense of the city, film a television show there. That is the quickest way to learn your way around.' Camacho, a Chicago native who moved to L.A. 15 years ago, says filming the show shifted her perspective on not just the myriad locations but also L.A. residents. 'To have the viewpoint of just playing in the streets of L.A. and shooting, it was so magical,' she says. 'There's so much diversity in its people but also the landscape, the natural beauty in all the neighborhoods. It was so, so exciting.' Haas intentionally zeroed in on L.A.'s eclectic neighborhoods in the scene locators glimpsed throughout the series, which let viewers know what part of town the action is taking place. It's a device he feels is reflective of how longtime L.A. residents see their fair city. 'If you meet somebody here, you're like, 'What part of L.A. do you live in?' And they say a neighborhood like Pasadena or Echo Park, so I thought that would be an angle we hadn't seen before on these shows,' Haas says. That said, Haas knew highlighting the City of Angels with car chases and shootouts for the sake of plot works with movies but not potentially long-running TV shows. 'You have to give the audience reasons to care,' he says. In fact, storylines ranging from health issues, parenting, family relationships and sexual tension between characters are what 'gives you a second gear in every action sequence,' he says. That sexy heat can be seen between partners Meachum and Oliveros, for example, since they butt heads initially but soften toward each other over time. 'Their relationship definitely gets a little complicated, but we like complicated,' teases Camacho. And like the forceful and determined 'Countdown' task force working against nefarious threats, the same can be said about Los Angeles, which faced horrific fires earlier this year and now is battling an aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence. 'Everybody thinks of L.A. as this glamorous town when you're looking from the outside in, but it's got character and salt and grit as well as any town,' Haas says. And it may always be a city of dreamers, but Camacho says there's much more to L.A. than that. 'You see the insistence, you see the resilience and you see the love and there's so much of that here,' she says. 'It's so inspiring and really beautiful to witness.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Days of Our Lives' Eric Martsolf on Brady's Parenting: "He Allows Tate to Make His Own Decisions"
Days of Our Lives' Eric Martsolf on Brady's Parenting: "He Allows Tate to Make His Own Decisions" originally appeared on Daytime Confidential. Days of Our Lives vet knows a thing or two about parenting young men, given he has twin sons that are teenagers in real life. But just as any real parent faces joy and struggles with their child, his character, Brady Black, has also had ups and downs while parenting teenage Tate (). But Brady's own parenting philosophy is rather similar to Martsolf's. Martsolf told Soap Opera Digest: They've played it really wise in the sense that Brady doesn't force his opinions and his morals on his son. He guides him, but he allows Tate to make his own decisions at the end of the day. And that's something I balance with my sons as well. You can't be too overbearing. You can't be a helicopter parent. You can only guide the horse to the water, but you can't make him drink it. And that's exactly how he's playing it, which was always reminiscent of the way Drake [Hogestyn, ex-John] played it with me. He'd always have that reassuring hand on the shoulder and say, 'Hey kid, I trust you to make the right decision.' He'd always leave you with your own thoughts. So you were able to make your own decision, but your father's voice was always there. This story was originally reported by Daytime Confidential on Jun 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Days of Our Lives' Star Colton Little Reflects on Pride Month Wedding & Representation
'Days of Our Lives' Star Colton Little Reflects on Pride Month Wedding & Representation originally appeared on Parade. Days of Our Lives fans have a reason to celebrate this upcoming week as super spy couple Paul Narita (Christopher Sean) and Andrew Donovan (Colton Little) are set to tie the knot. After three years or romance, a spinoff appearance, and even navigating a heartbreaking funeral, the couple is set to say their vows this Tuesday. Now, Colton Little reflects on what it's been like joining the show, the emotional wedding scenes and where does his character go from here. Little recently spoke with SoapHubin reference to the upcoming storyline. Originally he didn't expect to be asked back to the show. The actor shared, 'When I joined the show three years ago I was coming on for five episodes of Beyond Salem 2, and I had no idea or intention or belief that my character would continue on after that and so getting to join the mothership at all let alone have a three-year span of developing these characters and their romantic relationship and now getting to sort of cement that in soap history with a gay wedding especially coming during the month of Pride which is incredible timing it's an honor and it was surprising to me as I'm sure it is going to be for a lot of fans or it was when that news was announced.' 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 Discussing the tone of the upcoming wedding itself, the actor shared, 'I think that it was trying to strike that balance of you know honoring the mood that Salem was in post funeral. But also realizing that this is a time of celebration, and John and Marina are love, on that show they represent love, they represent love in all of its different facets. So knowing that we could kind of take that and build upon it and have our own experience with our own wedding and being surrounded by people that we love and that love us that was the tone that was the mood.' The actor continued to reflect on his current story trajectory, sharing, 'Paul and Andrew from the start were sort of an island with each other. They went on this mission in Hong Kong and it was all action and spy drama and all of this happening you know three years ago. So now it's kind of nice because again we have each other, and a lot of our love story takes place offscreen, and so they sort of continue with that theme of us enjoying being around each other. There's a little bit of fraternization with Paul and some of his family members and honoring who he is as a character, as well Andrew and his family, so we both get our private moments and we both get our moment together, and then the beautiful wedding of course.' Sharing what the role of Andrew means to him, Little said, 'Young Colton who grew up in conservative smalltown Nebraska never thought that as a gay man in my private life I would be able to see this on television. Let alone actually be a part of creating this. Being part of that representation for someone else out there watching. I've had a chance to meet so many fans over the last three years who've come up to me and said "Your character has given me the like the bravery or the peace of mind to be able to come out to my family or they've allowed me to see myself reflected on screen." And I think that that's the biggest honor of all.' Discussing where his character goes from here, Little shared, 'I think a lot of people know by now, Shane is present at the wedding, which was such an incredible experience to get to work with Charles Shaughnessy finally after so long, and there are some really cool conversations that happen in regards what comes next for Black Patch what comes next with the ISA and Andrew and Paul are both part of privy to that conversation.' Days of Our Lives streams weekdays on Peacock. 'Days of Our Lives' Star Colton Little Reflects on Pride Month Wedding & Representation first appeared on Parade on Jun 21, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Post
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Days of Our Lives' cast shot funeral for Drake Hogestyn's character while actor was dying of cancer
When life imitates art. While Drake Hogestyn was dying of pancreatic cancer last year, the 'Days of Our Lives' cast and crew filmed his character John Black's funeral as they prepared to also say goodbye to the actor himself. Hogestyn's family, according to Variety, agreed to executive producer Ken Corday's plan for the actor's on-screen send-off. Advertisement 8 Drake Hogestyn in 'Days of Our Lives.' Peacock 'Drake, as the consummate storyteller that he is, said, 'Absolutely. You gotta tell the story,'' Eric Martsoff, who played Hogestyn's son Brady, told the outlet in an interview published Monday. 'Drake knew what he was facing,' Martsoff, 53, continued. 'He understood that this is a story fans would want to be told. So Drake graciously said, 'Yes, let's do it.' But knowing that this man was on the planet, and we were literally taping his funeral and his death, that was hard. It was really hard.' Advertisement 8 Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) next to a dying John Black. Peacock 8 Deidre Hall as Dr. Marlena Evans Black and Drake Hogestyn as John Black. Black's funeral scenes airing this week were shot over three days in September. The following weekend, Hogestyn passed away at age 70. 'There was literally zero acting going on during those three days,' Martsoff said. 'Everyone was holding hands to the point where our hands were getting white.' Advertisement 8 Drake Hogestyn in 'Days of Our Lives.' ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection On the June 2 episode of the soap opera, Black was injured in a lab explosion as he tried to help Steve (Stephen Nichols) discover a drug to save Bo (Peter Reckell). He later flatlined in a hospital with his wife, Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall), close by his side. Black's body was completely covered in gauze to sidestep the fact that the character was no longer being played by Hogestyn. 8 John Black's death scene in 'Days of Our Lives.' Peacock Advertisement Martha Madison, who played Black's daughter, Bella, told Variety the 'Days' team felt a 'responsibility' to honor the character the right way. 'The fact that we were losing Drake at the same time, it was very hard on us emotionally, as we're losing someone we really love,' the 47-year-old actress explained. 'We didn't really have to perform. It wasn't like we were having to dig for anything. It was just all right there.' Madison also noted that shooting Black's funeral scenes was the cast's way of saying goodbye to Hogestyn. 8 The cast of 'Days of Our Lives.' 8 Mary Beth Evans and Drake Hogestyn at the 50th Daytime Emmy Awards in 2023. Getty Images 'None of us were able to really see him or be with him towards the end. This was our opportunity to do it as a family, and do it together,' she shared. 'And I thought it was so beautifully written — all of the flashbacks and really honoring his whole 40-year career on that show,' Madison added. 'It was all just very special.' 8 Drake Hogestyn, Deidre Hall in 'Days of Our Lives.' ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection Advertisement The show's official Instagram page announced Hogestyn's heartbreaking passing on September 28, just one day before his 71st birthday. 'It's with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Drake Hogestyn,' the statement read. 'He was thrown the curveball of his life when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but he faced the challenge with incredible strength and determination.' Hogestyn joined 'Days of Our Lives' in 1986. He appeared on the hit soap opera for 38 years and filmed over 4,200 episodes.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Days of Our Lives' Filmed John Black's Funeral While Actor Drake Hogestyn Was on His Deathbed: ‘He Understood That This Is a Story Fans Would Want to Be Told' (EXCLUSIVE)
'Days of Our Lives' fans, get out a box of tissues, because you are going to need them this week. Beginning Monday, the citizens of the mythical town of Salem, Ill., lay to rest and mourn the death of John Black, who succumbed to injuries in a lab explosion. Although that in itself is worth plenty of tears, it's the passing of Drake Hogestyn, who played him for 40 years, last September at 70 from pancreatic cancer that adds the real heartbreak to this already emotional scenario. To add even greater pathos, John's death and subsequent funeral were shot while Hogestyn was still alive as he was dying. Executive producer Ken Corday approached Hogestyn's family and got permission to bring John's story to an end this way, and they signed off on it. 'Drake, as the consummate storyteller that he is, said, 'Absolutely. You gotta tell the story,'' Eric Martsoff, who played his son Brady, tells Variety. 'Drake knew what he was facing. He understood that this is a story fans would want to be told. So Drake graciously said, yes, let's do it. But knowing that this man was on the planet, and we were literally taping his funeral and his death, that was hard. It was really hard.' More from Variety Billy Flynn on His 'Days of Our Lives' Exit After 10 Years and Moving to 'Young and the Restless': 'It Made Me the Person I Am Today' (EXCLUSIVE) Francisco San Martin, 'Days of Our Lives' and 'Jane the Virgin' Actor, Dies at 39 Mark Withers, Television Actor on 'Dynasty,' Dies at 77 The filming of his funeral took three full days, and Hogestyn died the following weekend. 'There was literally zero acting going on during those three days,' Martsoff says. 'Everyone was holding hands to the point where our hands were getting white.' Martha Madison, who played John's daughter, Belle, said it was all very real for the cast and crew. 'For us, it felt like our responsibility and an honor to do it the very best that we knew how,' she says. 'The fact that we were losing Drake at the same time, it was very hard on us emotionally, as we're losing someone we really love. We didn't really have to perform. It wasn't like we were having to dig for anything. It was just all right there.' In a way, it was a beautiful release for everybody on set those days, because of the collective sentiment of, 'We Love you, and we're gonna miss you.' Madison says, 'None of us were able to really see him or be with him towards the end. This was our opportunity to do it as a family, and do it together. And I thought it was so beautifully written — all of the flashbacks and really honoring his whole 40-year career on that show. It was all just very special.' In these exclusive videos, John's family gathers to pay their last respects at his funeral. There, Marlena (played by soap legend Deidre Hall) flashes back to her and John's wedding where she says they think of their family as a garden: 'Each child is unique, beautiful, cherished in their own way.' The couple symbolically builds a 'bouquet' of their family, with each child represented by a flower. Back in present day, each of their children lay their flower beside candles and a memorial photo as a sign of their eternal love. Speaking about Hogestyn brings Madison to tears: 'I just looked up to him so much, and I admired everything about him — his deep commitment to his work and to his family, his joy and playfulness and his ability to bring people together.' Her voice cracks. 'I just admired him so much, and I don't think that he was even aware of the impact that he was having on all of us.' Among the speeches eulogizing John is Marstoff's Brady, who says that his father could be summed up in one word: eyebrow. 'My dad had many, many skills — spy craft, martial arts, baseball. But I think the use of his eyebrow was perhaps his single greatest asset, not only was it effective, but extremely versatile.' Anyone who has watched 'Days of Our Lives' knows exactly what he's talking about: Hogestyn had an ability to raise one eyebrow to express everything from curiosity to consternation. 'Eric's speech that he gives at the memorial is both touching and funny, and I think that is something that Drake, as a person, would enjoy,' Madison says. 'I don't think that he would want us sitting around crying all day, even though people like me couldn't stop. I think he would want this to feel more celebratory, because he was very celebratory of his own life and how lucky he was to have this beautiful job and beautiful family. I think he would want us to honor that. I think that's what you see in Eric's monologue. It's really perfect.' Marstoff says he 'lost a father figure' when Hogestyn died. 'Drake and I were buddies. He usually started the day with a story. He just had so many life experiences. I mean, he was a Yankee at one point, for God's sake!' he says, referring to Hogestyn's pre-acting career as a professional baseball player. 'Fans should tune in because we're going to say goodbye to one of the most iconic men ever to hit daytime television. He was the epitome of a soap opera star on and off the stage, and the man deserves eyeballs, and he deserves that tribute.' Best of Variety 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'
