Chicago Sun-Times

Al Jazeera adding Chicago reporters in push to expand U.S. audience

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:03:33 -0500

LORI RACKL: The Middle East-based news organization beefs up its Chicago bureau as it prepares to turn Al Gore’s Current TV into a 24/7 U.S. news channel, Al Jazeera America, later this summer.

‘Check, Please!’ host contenders get a taste of being on camera

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:20:21 -0500

LORI RACKL: The 17 remaining finalists hoping to succeed Alpana Singh step into the studio to helm a mock version of WTTW’s restaurant review show. This part of the audition process will be made into a behind-the-scenes special airing May 17.

Wilmette’s Nico Tortorella talks about his fate on ‘The Following’

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:48:13 -0500

LORI RACKL: The New Trier grad wishes he could have stayed longer on the Fox drama, which caps off its blood-soaked freshman season Monday.

CNN stumbles against TV’s instant 24/7 rivals in race to cover Boston Marathon tragedy

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:06:03 -0500

LORI RACKL: With virtual round-the-clock coverage of the most popular show on television Friday — “Manhunt” — broadcast networks beat cable news at its own game. CNN struggled the most this week when it came to chronicling the unfolding drama in Boston, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the ratings.

Released inmate adjusts to freedom in engrossing Sundance series ‘Rectify’

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:42:55 -0500

LORI RACKL: Inspired by a succession of overturned death sentences in Illinois, the poignant story of a man set free from Death Row comes to life in “Rectify,” the beautifully paced series debuting Monday on Sundance Channel. A sneak peek screening takes place Tuesday at Music Box Theatre.

Online spoof of ‘The Bachelor’ next tears down ‘Bachelor Pad’

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 02:29:51 -0500

LORI RACKL: The husband-and-wife team behind the hilarious “Burning Love” launch their latest star-studded parody Friday on Yahoo Screen.

How Ike Barinholtz went from Windy City to ‘Mindy Project’

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:50:26 -0500

LORI RACKL: The Chicago-born comic, actor and Cub fan is a writer and — thanks to a promotion earlier this year — a series regular on Mindy Kaling’s Fox sitcom. He’d gladly sacrifice an Emmy if it meant his beloved Cubs could win the World Series.

NBC’s new ‘Hannibal’ has a look and a feel worth devouring

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:27:21 -0500

LORI RACKL: A delicious dive into the dark side, the serial-killer thriller pairs Dr. Hannibal Lecter with a tortured criminal profiler.

Single mom moves back home in a ‘topical, timely’ sitcom

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:54:12 -0500

LORI RACKL: ABC’s new midseason comedy “How To Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)” hits home with its creator, who moved back in with her parents as an adult. Starring Sarah Chalke, Brad Garrett and Elizabeth Perkins, the so-so pilot doesn’t make the most of the cast’s talent.

Devin Velez, though axed from ‘Idol,’ still feels like a winner

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:34:05 -0500

LORI RACKL: Devin Velez won’t be the next “American Idol,” but the Chicago teenager has designs on a different crown: prom king at Rickover Naval Academy in Edgewater.

‘Game of Thrones’ has roots in producer’s Highland Park childhood

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:29:54 -0500

LORI RACKL: D.B. Weiss talks sex scenes, logistical challenges and pranks on “Game of Thrones,” the HBO hit he co-created. The third season starts Sunday.

Jeremy Piven felt ‘connected’ to Marshall Field exec he plays on ‘Mr. Selfridge’

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:10:24 -0500

LORI RACKL: A sort of “Downton Abbey” set in a department store, the new PBS “Masterpiece” drama tells the tumultuous story of a Chicago retail magnate pursuing the American dream in London.

‘Mob Wives Chicago’ women pulled back in to reality TV

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 12:38:57 -0500

LORI RACKL: Now on the market is “Bo$$ Ladies,” with Leah DiSimone from the short-lived VH1 show alongside Franky Forliano, daughter of Harry “The Hit” Aleman. This series, Forliano says, will not “depict Italian people as garbage.” Staying out is another “Mob Wives” alum, Pia Rizza, who helped set up the new show.

Story of Chicago’s 19th-century power couple told in documentary

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 06:07:42 -0500

LORI RACKL: A new film on Potter Palmer and his wife, Bertha, delves into the Chicago retailer’s massive role in modern-day shopping, making it the perfect appetizer before digging into the upcoming PBS series “Mr. Selfridge.”

She’s not to everyone’s ‘Taste,’ but Chicago chef lands job anyway

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 06:26:23 -0500

LORI RACKL: The judges on “The Taste” rejected Renee Everett for the show, but Ludo Lefebvre liked her enough to hire her to work at his new L.A. restaurant.

In the beginning, ‘The Bible’ off to commanding ratings lead

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:33:34 -0500

LORI RACKL: The miniseries’ producers — “Survivor” creator Mark Burnett and “Touched by an Angel” star Roma Downey — came to Chicago to excite congregations about their faithful but “dynamic” telling of great stories from Scripture.

‘American Idol’s’ Devin Velez, singing since he was a toddler

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 06:21:53 -0500

LORI RACKL: One of “American Idol’s” youngest contestants at 18, the Rickover Naval Academy senior will perform live Wednesday for a shot at the finals. At home in Chicago, he works at Starbucks, plays in jazz band and vows to pursue music “until the day I die.”

Sign language will say it all on a ‘Switched at Birth’ episode

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:07:14 -0500

LORI RACKL: ABC Family will quietly make television history Monday when it airs an entire episode of its hit series in American Sign Language.