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Exclusive: U.S. and UK management and production firm 42 has hired Anonymous Content partner Alex Goldstone as a manager.

All of Goldstone’s existing clients have moved over to 42 with him, including Chris Provenzano, Daisy Gardner (Single Drunk Female), Daniel Syrkin (Tehran), Doug Miro, WGA nominee Evan Dunsky (Nurse Jackie), Tony nominee Heather Hach (Legally Blonde: The Musical), Emmy-winner and Oscar nominee Jeff Blitz, Kyrre Johannessen (The Girl From Oslo) and Samantha Corbin-Miller.

Goldstone began his career in production at Phoenix Pictures, before making the move into literary management. He joined Anonymous Content as a manager/producer in 2008, where he was elevated to partner in 2022. He was most recently an executive produced on three seasons of Alena Smith’s Dickinson for Apple TV+, for which he won a 2020 Peabody Award.

He was born and raised in London, England, but...

The Justified sequel Justified: City Primeval‘s new trailer finds Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) reluctantly working on a case in Detroit. Raylan would rather be on the road with his daughter and heading back home, but instead, he’s pulled into the hunt for a psycho killer.

Joining three-time Emmy nominee Timothy Olyphant for the limited series are Aunjanue Ellis as Carolyn Wilder, Boyd Holbrook as Clement Mansell, Adelaide Clemens as Sandy Stanton, Vondie Curtis Hall as Marcus “Sweety” Sweeton, and Marin Ireland as Maureen Downey. Norbert Leo Butz is Norbert Beryl and Victor Williams plays Wendell Robinson.

Timothy Olyphant’s daughter Vivian makes her onscreen debut as Raylan’s daughter, Willa.

The sequel reunites the Justified team, with Dave Andron and Michael Dinner serving as showrunners. Andron, Dinner, Olyphant, Graham Yost, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Taylor Elmore, Chris Provenzano, V.J. Boyd, and Elmore Leonard Estate’s Peter Leonard executive produce.

Timothy Olyphant has brought his cowboy hat to the mean streets of Detroit as deputy U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens to cross paths with a violent, sociopathic killer 15 years after he left the hollers of Kentucky in FX’s original Justified drama, as revealed in the official trailer for FX’s Justified: City Primeval, which dropped Wednesday.

The series revival, based Elmore Leonard’s novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit, has Givens on a collision course with Clement Mansell — aka The Oklahoma Wildman — a desperado played by Boyd Holbrook, who’s already eluded a Motor City police task force.

“I see you near my daughter again, I’ll kill you,” Givens tells Mansell at one point in the trailer after seeing him with his daughter, Willa Givens, played by Vivian Olyphant.

“Not if I see you first,” Mansell responds with his own taunt as he licks his wounds after a beat-down.

Timothy Olyphant offers salvation as Raylan Givens, close to a decade since “Justified” concluded in 2015.

Olyphant reprises the role of the Elmore Leonard protagonist in new series “Justified: City Primeval,” based on novel “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit.”

Per the official description, having left the hollers of Kentucky 15 years ago, Raylan Givens now lives in Miami, a walking anachronism balancing his life as a U.S. Marshal and part-time father of a 15-year-old girl. His hair is grayer, his hat is dirtier, and the road in front of him is suddenly a lot shorter than the road behind.

A chance encounter on a desolate Florida highway sends him to Detroit. There he crosses paths with Clement Mansell, aka The Oklahoma Wildman, a violent, sociopathic desperado who’s already slipped through the fingers of Detroit’s finest once and aims to do so again. Mansell’s lawyer, formidable Motor City native Carolyn Wilder,...

“Justified: City Primeval,” the long-awaited spinoff to FX’s Western drama, finally has a premiere date. Ahead of Fox’s upfront, the network announced that “City Primeval” would premiere on July 17. Additionally, FX announced the premiere dates for “What We Do in the Shadows” Season 5, “Reservation Dogs” Season 3 and “Archer” Season 14.

First premiering in 2010, “Justified” quickly became a critical darling. Throughout the series’ run, Walton Goggins’ portrayal of Boyd Crowder was nominated for eight Emmys, and both Margo Martindale and Jeremy Davies won Emmys for their performances. The series followed deputy U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), a tough lawman who administered his own brand of justice throughout Appalachia.

Now this beloved universe is expanding thanks to “Justified: City Primeval.” The continuation will follow Raylan Givens after his Kentucky days as he helps raise his daughter. His life will change when he’s forced to go to Detroit to...

Click here to read the full article.

Production of FX’s Justified: City Primeval was interrupted again Monday by a violent incident from outside the show’s set.

The series was filming in Chicago’s South Loop area Monday night when someone threw what police described as an “incendiary device” toward the set. The device didn’t explode, according to a report from Wls-tv, and no one was hurt. Police are investigating the incident, but no arrests have been made as of publication time.

The Monday incident happened three weeks after two vehicles carrying people shooting at one another crashed through barricades on the Justified set as it filmed on the city’s West Side. No cast or crew members were hurt in that incident either, but filming paused for several days.

“We took a break and made sure everyone was ok,” FX chairman John Landgraf told reporters last week.

Click here to read the full article.

Production on FX’s Justified revival was stopped this week when two cars whose occupants were shooting at one another crashed through barricades on the show’s Chicago set.

Justified: City Primeval was filming Wednesday night in Douglass Park on the city’s West Side when the two vehicles broke through the perimeter. No cast or crewmembers were hurt; star Timothy Olyphant was among those at the location.

Production shut down following the incident and remained on pause Thursday and Friday. Filming is slated to resume next week.

The Hollywood Reporter has contacted Chicago police about the incident and will update this story with any information from the department.

Justified: City Primeval is the second series to be affected by gun violence this week. Early Tuesday, Johnny Pizarro, a crewmember on NBC’s Law & Order: Organized Crime, was shot and...

Justified creator Graham Yost led the series’ creatives reunion panel at Atx Festival on Saturday afternoon where fans were treated to secrets from the writer’s room. Joining Yost for the special celebration were executive producer and director Michael Dinner and writer/producers Taylor Elmore, Dave Andron, Chris Provenzano, Benjamin Cavell, Ingrid Escajeda, VJ Boyd, and Wendy Calhoun.

The series, following lawman Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), ran for 6 seasons on FX from 2010 until 2015. Earlier this year, a limited series sequel Justified: City Primeval was announced by the network which is currently three weeks into production.

“One of our biggest secrets was our partner FX. We pitched the show to 8 places and we were really fortunate 6 were really interested so it came down to FX and HBO,” recalled Yost. “HBO is one of my favorite pitching stories because I was pitching my heart out and they were giving me nothing back.

FX has rounded out the cast of its Justified sequel.

Aunjanue Ellis (Lovecraft Country), Marin Ireland (Sneaky Pete), Boyd Holbrook (Narcos), Adelaide Clemens (Rectify), Norbert Leo Butz (Bloodline), Vondie Curtis-Hall (For the People), Victor Williams (The Affair), and Vivian Olyphant have all joined the cast of the limited series.

Justified: City Primeval is the name of the new series that was formally picked up by FX in January.

Thankfully, Timothy Olyphant is on board to reprise his iconic role as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens.

This new series is based on the City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit novel by the late Elmore Leonard.

"Having left the hollers of Kentucky eight years ago, Raylan Givens now lives in Miami, a walking anachronism balancing his life as a U.S. Marshal and part-time father of a 14-year-old girl," reads the logline.

"His hair is grayer, his hat is dirtier, and...

The “Justified” revival at FX is filling out its main cast with the addition of eight new actors.

Along with returning star Timothy Olyphant, the series will also star: Aunjanue Ellis, Boyd Holbrook, Adelaide Clemens, Vondie Curtis Hall, Marin Ireland, Norbert Leo Butz, Victor Williams, and Vivian Olyphant.

Olyphant will once again play the role of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. The limited series is officially titled “Justified: City Primeval.” It is inspired by the Elmore Leonard book “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit.” Leonard created the character of Givens, who appeared in several of the author’s novels and the novella “Fire in the Hole,” the latter of which served as the basis for “Justified.”

The show picks up with Givens eight years after he left Kentucky behind. He now lives in Miami, a walking anachronism balancing his life as a U.S. Marshal and part-time father of...

Quentin Tarantino’s next project may not be his final film, but rather a move into TV.

Deadline has reported that the auteur is currently in talks to direct “one or two episodes” of FX’s upcoming limited series “Justified: City Primeval,” with Timothy Olyphant reprising his role as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens.

IndieWire has reached out to FX for comment.

Tarantino’s attachment to the “Justified” revival seven years after the series wrapped would reunite the “Kill Bill” director with his “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” performer, as well as author Elmore Leonard. Tarantino’s 1997 film “Jackie Brown” is based on Leonard’s novel “Rum Punch,” and Tarantino has also previously optioned several Leonard titles, including the western “Forty Lashes Less One.”

“Justified: City Primeval” uses Leonard’s 1980 novel “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit” as source material, centering the story on Leonard’s Givens character.

FX...

Quentin Tarantino is in early talks to helm one or two episodes of “Justified: City of Primeval,” the limited series revival of the FX drama starring Timothy Olyphant, Variety has confirmed.

The “Justified” revival was ordered in January, with Olyphant set to reprise his role as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. The new series is inspired by Elmore Leonard’s novel “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit.” Leonard created the character of Givens, who is featured in several of his books including “Fire in the Hole,” which “Justified” was based upon.

Tarantino and Olyphant worked together on the director’s most recent film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” with Olyphant playing James Stacy. Tarantino is also a known fan of Leonard’s work, having adapted his novel “Rum Punch” into his 1997 film “Jackie Brown” and optioning a few more of the author’s titles.

According to the show’s logline,...

Exclusive: Deadline hears that Quentin Tarantino is in early talks to direct one or two episodes of Justified: City Primeval, the FX limited series that reunites Timothy Olyphant with his six-gun as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. No one was commenting.

While most felt like Tarantino’s next turn behind the camera would be his final feature film, there is a lot of symmetry here. Tarantino and Olyphant worked together on the director’s most recent film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. There also is the filmmaker’s devotion to Elmore Leonard, who created the Givens character. Tarantino adapted the Leonard novel Rum Punch into Jackie Brown. He optioned several Leonard titles during his career and has talked about possibly directing one of his Westerns, Forty Lashes Less One. The limited series is using as source material another Leonard title, the 1980 novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit, subbing...

FX is bringing one of its most beloved series back to the air.

The team from the award-winning drama series Justified is reuniting for the FX limited series Justified: City Primeval, with Timothy Olyphant reprising his iconic role as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in a new tale inspired by City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit, the epic crime novel by the late, great Elmore Leonard.

The news was announced today by Eric Schrier, President, FX Entertainment.

Dave Andron and Michael Dinner are Showrunners, Writers and Executive Producers, with Dinner directing.

Olyphant is the star and Executive Producer in the project.

Graham Yost, Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly are Executive Producers, alongside Peter Leonard, Taylor Elmore (Writer), Chris Provenzano (Writer).

“Justified was one of the most critically acclaimed shows of the past decade and an adaption of Elmore Leonard’s work that was so colorfully brought to life by Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens,...

A revival of “Justified” has been ordered to series at FX, with Timothy Olyphant set to reprise the role of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens.

Variety exclusively reported that the project was in the works in March 2021. The new iteration of the drama series is inspired by the Elmore Leonard novel “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit.” Leonard created the character of Givens, who appeared in several of the author’s novels and the novella “Fire in the Hole,” the latter of which served as the basis for “Justified.”

Officially titled “Justified: City Primeval,” the new show picks up with Givens eight years after he left Kentucky behind. He now lives in Miami, a walking anachronism balancing his life as a U.S. Marshal and part-time father of a 14-year-old girl. His hair is grayer, his hat is dirtier, and the road in front of him is suddenly a lot shorter than the road behind.

Fox announced that lawyer, journalist and former “The View” co-host Star Jones has been appointed judge of the first-run syndicated series “Divorce Court,” starting in September.

As television’s longest running court show, “Divorce Court” dates back to the late 1950’s, when actors used to reenact actual divorce proceedings. Today, the program features real people and real cases — ranging from divorce court proceedings to other domestic disputes.

Judge Faith Jenkins will continue through the end of Season 23 and Jones will join for Season 24. Jones, a former assistant district attorney in New York and former legal correspondent on NBC’s “Today Show,” “Nightly News” and more, said that she will “offer the parties before ‘Divorce Court,’ as well as viewers, a no-nonsense approach to the law and a decision driven by my proven legal expertise, compassion and empathy, personal experiences and hard-earned common sense.”

“Divorce Court” is produced by Lincolnwood Productions...

The key auspices behind FX’s long-running drama Justified have reunited for another series adaptation of an Elmore Leonard property.

A drama based on Elmore’s novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit is in early development at FX from Justified developer/executive producer Graham Yost and executive producers Michael Dinner, Dave Andron, Chris Provenzano, Sarah Timberman & Carl Beverly of Timberman/Beverly and Sony Pictures Television.

Justified was based on Leonard’s Raylan Givens stories, particularly Fire in the Hole, with Timothy Olyphant starring as the U.S. Marshal on the series. City Primeval does not feature the character but the idea is for the TV adaptation to incorporate him, with Olyphant potentially reprising his role.

I hear Olyphant, who recently returned to the FX fold with a starring role on the latest season of Fargo, is in talks to join the project.

Set in Detroit, the City Primeval novel...

After six successful seasons on FX, the “Justified” gang is getting back together.

Variety reports that the creative team behind “Justified” is developing a new series based on the Elmore Leonard novel “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit,” with a possibility that Timothy Olyphant will reprise his Emmy-nominated role as lawman Raylan Givens. The new series is being executive produced by “Justified” creator Graham Yost, with “Justified” writers and executive producers Michael Dinner and Dave Andron set to co-write, executive produce, and serve as co-showrunners. Dinner is also onboard to direct.

As the project is still in the early stages of development, there is currently no deal in place for Olyphant’s involvement. If he were to sign on, it is unclear whether he would return in a supporting or leading capacity.

“Justified” centered on Olyphant’s Raylan Givens, who appeared in several of Leonard’s novels as well as...

FX is developing a new series from the “Justified” team to be based on another Elmore Leonard novel, “City Primeval,” with Timothy Olyphant potentially returning as Raylan Givens, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.

The project is in the early stages of development. “Justified” creator Graham Yost will serve as executive producer, with writers and executive producers Michael Dinner and Dave Andron tapped to co-write, executive produce and serve as co-showrunners.

Olyphant played Givens in “Justified,” which was based on Leonard’s novels centered around the character, primarily “Fire in the Hole.” The series ran for six seasons from 2010 to 2015. Givens does not appear in Leonard’s “City Primeval,” which was first published in 1980. Olyphant could also appear in the series as another character instead of Givens.

“City Primeval” follows a killer named Clement Mansell, otherwise known as the “Oklahoma Wildman,” and the Detroit homicide detective, Raymond Cruz,...

The team behind “Justified” is reuniting to develop an FX series based on the Elmore Leonard novel “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit,” with Timothy Olyphant potentially returning as Raylan Givens, Variety has learned exclusively.

“Justfied” creator Graham Yost will serve as executive producer, with “Justified” writers and executive producers Michael Dinner and Dave Andron onboard to co-write, executive produce, and serve as co-showrunners. Dinner will also direct. Chris Provenzano, Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly of Timberman-Beverly, VJ Boyd, and Taylor Elmore will all return as executive producers. Peter Leonard of the Elmore Leonard Estate will executive produce in association with MGM. Walter Mosely will serve as a consulting producer, as will Ingrid Escajeda. Eisa Davis will produce. Sony Pictures Television will serve as the studio, as they did on “Justified.”

According to sources, as the project is in the very early stages, nothing is set in stone as of yet,...

FX is getting some of the Justified band back together — including, possibly, lead actor Timothy Olyphant.

The Disney-owned cable outlet is in early development on a drama based on Elmore Leonard’s novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit. Leonard’s novella Fire in the Hole served as the source material for Justified, which ran from 2010-15.

Michael Dinner and Dave Andron, both veterans of that series, will adapt the novel and serve as co-showrunners; Dinner is also attached to direct. They’ll executive produce with Justified creator Graham Yost, Chris Provenzano, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, VJ Boyd and Taylor Elmore — all of ...

FX is getting some of the Justified band back together — including, possibly, lead actor Timothy Olyphant.

The Disney-owned cable outlet is in early development on a drama based on Elmore Leonard’s novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit. Leonard’s novella Fire in the Hole served as the source material for Justified, which ran from 2010-15.

Michael Dinner and Dave Andron, both veterans of that series, will adapt the novel and serve as co-showrunners; Dinner is also attached to direct. They’ll executive produce with Justified creator Graham Yost, Chris Provenzano, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, VJ Boyd and Taylor Elmore — all of ...

Following the success of past reunions for “Gilmore Girls,” “The West Wing,” and “Battlestar Galactica,” the Atx TV Festival is readying multiple anniversary panels for its 2020 lineup, along with more special screenings and industry-focused discussions.

In honor of the 10th anniversary of its premiere, the “Parenthood” gang is getting back together, including cast members Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Monica Potter, Erika Christensen, Mae Whitman, and Craig T. Nelson. Creator and executive producer Jason Katims, long a fan-favorite at the Austin-based festival for his role in “Friday Night Lights,” is also scheduled to participate in the panel with fellow writer and E.P. David Hudgins. In addition to a conversation about the series’ enduring legacy, the cast will perform a live script reading of one of the series’ episodes.

The festival is also honoring another 10th anniversary in Atx-favorite creator Graham Yost’s “Justified,” bringing together the prolific writers’ room behind...

The Producers Guild of America hands out its awards on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. That is the night before the Screen Actors Guild does the same. Unlike, the latter, which will air on TNT and TBS, the PGA ceremony is not televised. However, it is an equally important stop on the road to the Oscars.

The PGA Awards has an enviable track record at presaging the eventual Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards. The guild and the academy have agreed on 19 of the most recent 28 Best Picture champs. Last year, all nine Oscar nominees for Best Picture numbered among the 10 PGA contenders; only “Deadpool” was snubbed by the academy. The PGA prize went to “La La Land” while the Oscar was (eventually) won by “Moonlight.”

Discuss All the Oscar contenders with Hollywood insiders in our notorious forums

Nominees for the 29th annual edition of the PGA awards in the three film...

Elmore Leonard proved to be a rich mine of material for FX’s Justified, which spun six great seasons out of his short story “Fire in the Hole.” Now Justified executive producer Chris Provenzano is looking to dip back into the Leonard oeuvre for a new project. Provenzano is working on a new AMC series called Gunsights, […]

The post ‘Justified’ Exec Producer Bringing Elmore Leonard’s ‘Gunsights’ to TV appeared first on /Film.

With Justified recently concluded on FX, Chris Provenzano, whose position on the acclaimed crime drama rose from executive story editor to executive producer over the course of six seasons, is looking to another Elmore Leonard property for his next project. Provenzano has struck a deal with AMC that will include him developing Leonard’s Western novel Gunsights for the network.

Leonard, widely considered to be one of the best Western writers of all time, penned Gunsights in 1979. The novel, set in 1893, focuses on two men, Brendan Early and Dana Moon, who meet first as allies working as a lieutenant and scout for the 10th Cavalry, tracking down renegade Apaches and scalp hunters. Years later, though, the pair find themselves on opposite sides of the fierce Rincon Mountain War, with Early working for a mining company that’s determined to drive Moon and his people off their long-held Arizona land.

There...

Chris Provenzano, who over Justified‘s six-season run rose from executive story editor to executive producer, has designs on maintaining storyteller Elmore Leonard’s presence on TV.

RelatedJustified Series Finale Post Mortem: Show Boss Talks Big Twists, Easter Eggs, a Near-Resurrection and More

Our sister site Deadline reports that as part of an overall deal with AMC, Provenzano is developing a small-screen adaptation of Gunsights, a Western that Leonard wrote in 1979.

Set in 1893, the novel follows Brendan Early and Dana Moon, who years prior worked together as a lieutenant and scout for the 10th Cavalry, where they tracked...

"Justified" executive producer Chris Provenzano has signed an overall deal with AMC to develop Elmore Leonard's 1979 novel "Gunsights" into a drama series.

Provenzano certainly has experience with this. Leonard's novella "Fire In The Hole" formed the basis for FX's "Justified" series which has been regularly touted as one of the finest shows on TV in the past decade.

"Gunsights," considered Leonard’s final Western novel, is set in 1893 and centers on two former partners - scout Dana Moon and Army man Brendan Early - who are now on the opposite sides of a conflict between a mining company and a scattering of settlers on an Arizona mountainside: Apaches, Mexicans, and former 10th Cavalry regulars.

This would mark a return to AMC for Provenzano where he got started as one of the original writers on the first season of "Mad Men". The project would also fill in the hole left...

Justified executive producer Chris Provenzano has signed an overall deal with AMC. Under the pact, he already is working on a drama series project, an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 1979 novel Gunsights. This makes it a nice continuation for Provenzano, who spent the last five years on FX drama Justified, based on Leonard’s novella Fire In The Hole. Considered Leonard’s final Western novel, Gunsights, set in 1893, centers on two tough men and friends, scout Dana Moon and…...

With "Justified" over (here's my series finale review), I got on the phone with showrunner Graham Yost to discuss why certain characters lived, others died, and which characters (Mags? Quarles?) he might have brought back under different circumstances, all coming up just as soon as I come back here with a jackhammer... I want to start with the hat, because I know it was one of the few significant creative disagreements you ever had with Elmore (Leonard). At what point did you decide you wanted Raylan to end the series wearing the smaller Stetson that met with his approval? Graham Yost: Pretty early on in the season, we knew we wanted to create a character who really modeled himself after Raylan to one degree or another, and he would get a hat, and Raylan would end up with the bad guy's hat. It's still not a perfect match for what Elmore wanted,...

Justified, Season 6, Episode 12: “Collateral”

Written by Chris Provenzano and VJ Boyd

Directed by Michael Pressman

Airs Tuesdays at 10pm Et on FX

“I don’t give a shit about the Ballad of Boyd Crowder. I’ll be dead and gone’n that song gets sung.” – Boyd Corwder

As could reasonably be expected, “Collateral” hones in on Boyd Crowder, the man who should not be. It’s fascinating now to recall that Boyd wasn’t even supposed to survive Justified‘s pilot, “Fire in the Hole.” In Elmore Leonard’s original story, Boyd died. In the original conception of the series, Boyd died. At some point between Graham Yost watching Walton Goggins’ first dailies and the series getting picked up, all concerned decided that Goggins was simply too good to let go of, and here we are, one week from the series finale, and 76 episodes later, Boyd’s still kicking.

Justified, Season 6, Episode 8: “Dark as a Dungeon”

Written by Chris Provenzano and VJ Boyd

Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Airs Tuesdays at 10pm Et on FX

Mind what you wish for. One of the weaknesses of the last season and a half of Justified has been its lack of focus on its ostensible hero: Raylan Givens. Sure, Timothy Olyphant has received no shortage of chances to crack wise and gun down baddies, but since the end of the fourth season, which saw him literally kick back near the freshly interred corpse of his asshole father Arlo, we’ve spent next to no time alone with Raylan, and the lack of Winona has meant that there’s been no one left on the series who knows how to cut through his taciturn ways – or even care enough to try.

So it’s encouraging when “Dark as a Dungeon” opens with Raylan,...

Justified, Season 6, Episode 4: “The Trash and the Snake”

Written by Chris Provenzano and Ingrid Escajeda

Directed by Adam Arkin

Airs Tuesdays at 10pm Et on FX

When it comes to planned-in-advance TV endings, in general, you can do it straight, or you can do it serpentine. Do it straight (Breaking Bad, The Wire) and you guarantee a high degree of fan contentedness, though usually at the cost of spontaneity. Do it serpentine (Lost, Battlestar Galactica, The Sopranos) and you run the risk of pissing off a large percentage of the fanbase, though you’ll have the side-benefit of being debated into eternity. On occasion, a series finds a way to split the difference and reaps incredible rewards. Justified seems destined to opt for the former route. While it’s supplied some artful twists and surprise developments in the past, it’s never been a series built on narrative trickery or hifalutin thematic development.

Written by Chris Provenzano and Ingrid Escajeda – Directed by Adam ArkinSeeing someone get blown to bits on Justified is never not-funny, and once again it was Boyd (Walton Goggins) and Wynn (Jere Burns) who were showered with blood and guts.The dearly departed was the Wiz (Jake Busey), one of Wynn’s loopy connections who was trying to show the boys how military-grade explosives work so that he can break into Avery Markham’s (Sam Elliot) vault below The Portal. Wynn’s associates and connections have always led to hilarious (and ghastly) results and we also learned he was a decorated surfer in […]...

Justified isn't ordinarily the sort of show to hand you a theme on a platter, but we're deep into the final season now, and things are getting deeper and darker by the week, so it makes sense that the series would want to frame its endgame. Written by Chris Provenzano and Ingrid Escajeda and directed by Adam Arkin,the title of this one is "The Trash and the Snake," a phrase that occurs in a scene that falls right before the opening credits. Raylan and his old boss Art — who was sidelined by gunshot wounds sustained last season but has been a handy, hard-boiled wisdom dispenser, warns Raylan that his increasing fascination with weed dealer Avery Markham is causing him to lose focus on nailing Boyd. Raylan responds by saying if your mama tells you take out the trash "and you see a copperhead on the way out, you don't...

A review of tonight's "Justified" coming up just as soon as I confuse Occam's Razor with Thor's hammer... "Didn't your momma ever tell you that there's always another snake?" -Art With "The Trash and the Snake," I'm tempted to bust out the old dayenu gimmick (last applied to this show with season 4's "Decoy") and be done with it, because this episode was oveflowing with moments and character interactions that on their own would have been enough to make a memorable episode. This one was so much fun — so full of all the people, things and events that have made "Justified" such a blast for so long — that it feels like it went past the legal limits for entertainment on a Tuesday night. Or, it did until Avery Markham and his people pay enough money to get an episode this good legalized right along with marijuana in the fine state of Kentucky.

The premiere of Justified's sixth season is proof of how the awareness of death can focus the mind. Because this is such a densely packed and intricately structured episode, all built around the idea of old ways fading and a fearsome future looming, I'm going to focus on that notion in this recap; for a more general look at the series, with some previews of characters and situations to come, you can read my season-six piece here.After a lackluster fifth season that often seemed to be spinning its figurative wheels like a pickup in a muddy ditch, the final leg of Justified episodes begins with a chapter that moves with a purpose. Written by Michael Dinner, Fred Golan, and Chris Provenzano, and directed by Dinner (one of Justified's filmmaking MVPs), "Fate's Right Hand" presents every major character with a choice of moving forward or staying put. Moving...

Justified, Season 6, Episode 1: “Fate’s Right Hand”

Written by Michael Dinner, Fred Golan and Chris Provenzano

Directed by Michael Dinner

Airs Tuesdays at 10pm Et on FX

Justified has looked and felt a little different with each new season, so it should perhaps be less surprising in retrospect that its fifth season was, once again, something new: a letdown. The series’ incredible writing team has been articulating variations on a narrow set of very old themes so gracefully for so long that, if anything, they deserve immense credit for their unlikely four-season streak of greatness. It wasn’t that the Crowe-family-centric fifth season was bad, per se – one could easily stitch together a potent highlight reel – it was more that it finally felt like the series was simply spinning its wheels for the first time. It’s the job of the series’ sixth and final season, then, to right...

FX's "Justified" is usually one of my favorite shows on television, but the just-completed fifth season was my least favorite stretch of the show. The Crowe family never clicked for me as major villains the way the show's other big bads have, a lot of time was spent on the bleakness of Ava's life in prison and Boyd's struggles to become a heroin trafficker, and at a certain point I was just waiting for the show to kick off the Raylan vs. Boyd endgame that will be the subject of the final season next year. As I usually do at the end of the season, I got on the phone with "Justified" showrunner Graham Yost, who was good-natured (and good-humored) about discussing a season he knows hasn't been the series' most popular, and who explained some of the ways plans changed over the course of the season. When exactly was...

Justified, Season 5, Episode 12: “Starvation”

Written by Chris Provenzano

Directed by Michael Pressman

Airs Tuesdays at 10pm Et on FX

- Watching a season of Justified expand and contract its narrative can be a thing of beauty, even when it feels like the show isn’t necessarily at its best. “Starvation” continues down the sullen path of Season 5, a year that’s seen Raylan grow increasingly distant amidst a particularly nasty and bleak set of circumstances, but does so in a way that honors its main character’s histories and relationships. For longtime viewers, it’s a welcome sign of things likely to come. Probably. - I complained last week that the season had really begun to lose sight of Raylan as a character, and that this absence had led to the season feeling somewhat unmoored. “Starvation” doesn’t quite fix that – not yet – but there are indications that the...

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t watched this week’s episode of Justified, “Starvation” written by Chris Provenzano and directed by Michael Pressman, stop reading now. As he’ll do throughout the season, showrunner Graham Yost takes us inside the writers room. And bonus, he offers a few teases for the April 8 season finale.

Entertainment Weekly: Last episode had a physical bomb; this one had emotional ones. Let’s start at the beginning. The episode opened with Wynn lying to cartel muscle Alberto and claiming he’d killed Boyd.

Three things: When we get toward the end of the season,...

The explosives have begun to go off in the “Year of the Crowes” FX’s Justified with just two episodes left. Art Mullen’s (Nick Searcy) been shot and his deputies need to step up while he lies on a hospital bed in critical condition. Raylan Given’s (Timothy Olyphant) struggle with the Crowe family reached the point of no return, as has the partnership between Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) and Wynn Duffy (Jere Burns). Oh and Ava (Joelle Carter) has just asserted herself as an alpha in the prison system and builds her own criminal rep. Five years in, Justified continues to help lead the pack of superb television and as always there are plenty of cogs in motion, and we’ve got Executive Producer/Showrunner Graham Yost on board to talk about this current and next year’s final season, how their writer’s room is unique, and...

Justified, Season 5, Episode 8: “Whistle Past the Graveyard” Written by Chris Provenzano Directed by Peter Werner Airs Tuesdays at 10pm Et on FX - Take what you can get: “Whistle Past the Graveyard” doesn’t fix what’s wrong with Season 5 of Justified, but it at least has the decency to provide a few jolts of the series’ trademark wit, character, and crackerjack pacing, which is a little more than could be said of last week’s outing.

The three main stories of the season represented this week (Art’s relationship with Raylan isn’t referenced) could not feel more segregated right now, which will probably be rectified before long, but it remains a persistent thorn in the side. The fact that series pro Chris Provenzano (“Raw Deal,” “Decoy”) takes the reigns this week but can’t marshal a whole lot of forwardmomentum is a troubling sign. Of the three,...

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t watched this week’s episode of Justified, “Whistle Past the Graveyard” written by Chris Provenzano and directed by Peter Werner, stop reading now. As he’ll do throughout the season, showrunner Graham Yost takes us inside the writers room.

Entertainment Weekly: Did you know at the start of the season that Wendy (Alicia Witt) was the mother of Kendal (Jacob Lofland), not his sister?

Graham Yost: Absolutely no idea.

Really?

It’s like last year when we were talking, and you said, “Did you know that Shelby was gonna be Drew Thompson?” and I said,...

Justified, Season 5, Episode 5: “Shot All To Hell” Written by Chris Provenzano Directed by Adam Arkin Airs Tuesdays at 10pm Et on FX - Ask and ye shall receive. The first four episodes of Justified‘s penultimate season were mostly fine, but felt a little compromised and slight compared to past seasons, which tended to at least throw in a couple of fun standalones (or near-standalones) while the major elements of the season were moved into place. As it turns out, Justified was saving its energy for “Shot All To Hell,” an incredibly eventful and brutally efficient outing that drastically alters the series’ wider landscape. It’s the most memorable episode since “Decoy,” and that’s saying something. (Chris Provenzano, who gets the teleplay credit this week, happened to co-write that episode, too.)

Just to emphasize how great “Shot All To Hell” is, and how its developments utterly contradict most...

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t watched this week’s episode of Justified, “Shot All to Hell” written by supervising producer Chris Provenzano and directed by Adam Arkin, stop reading now. As he’ll do throughout the season, showrunner Graham Yost takes us inside the writers room.

Entertainment Weekly: When I was on set in November for a piece in EW, I asked Timothy Olyphant about it being a violent season ahead, and he joked that the show had too many characters so people were going to have to go down. Is this episode setting the tone for the remainder of the season,...

Of all the canards foisted upon and between culture fans in 2013, there was none more dubious than the notion that the supposed “battle” of television vs. film had come to an end, with the former declared the victor. Besides the fact that comparing such disparate mediums is a fool’s errand at best, both are such vast and complicated enterprises that any pitched battle likely only pits narrow conceptions of each against the other. (Strawman vs. strawman, the most popular form of discourse on the Internet.) The simplest way to invalidate the entire argument quickly: where films only have to be taken on their own terms as one complete work, TV series need to be considered in at least three contexts: by episode, by season, and by the overall run of the series.

With several shows ending their runs this year, including Breaking Bad, Dexter, Southland, Spartacus, and The Killing (up until its latest resurrection,...

There is so much great content published every week here at Sound On Sight, that even we have trouble keeping up. So, every Sunday, we drop a list of popular articles posted by our hard working, and extremely talented staff.

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5 Mind Boggling Casting Decisions (that nearly happened)

Casting sometimes is fate and destiny more than skill and talent, from a director’s point of view. – Steven Spielberg Ah, the joys of hindsight, such as they are. It is so easy…

Ricky D’s Favourite Cult Films #28: ‘Wild at Heart’ and the best David Lynch characters

Wild at Heart Directed by David Lynch Written by David Lynch 1990, USA David Lynch evokes a surreal world in Wild at Heart, a film brimming over with explicit sex, murder, rape, eccentric kitsch and…

Wild Rover One-Shot: On Alcoholism and Monster Slaying

Wild Rover & The Sacrifice Written and drawn by Michael Avon Oeming With...

Justified, Season 4, Episode 11: “Decoy”

Written by Graham Yost and Chris Provenzano

Directed by Michael Watkins

Airs Tuesdays at 10pm Et on FX

Some of you multiplex-frequenters might have checked out Kim Jee-woon’s The Last Stand this past January, in which a seemingly unstoppable cartel badass has to make his way through a sleepy border town guarded by Deputy Sheriff Arnold Schwarzenegger in order to escape safely to Mexico. Despite having about one thirtieth the budget and half the runtime of that sorry effort, “Decoy” manages to take a classic Western template – the armed standoff – and pack it in with far more thrills, tense setpieces, incredible performances, and winning dialogue. This is one for the books.

TV is a medium defined by its limitations. 22 or 44 minutes to tell a story. Minimal budget. Contracts to honor. Content restrictions. Episode orders. Fan service. “Decoy” is Justified‘s version of going “all out,...

With Justified winding down to its season finale in two weeks, it hasn’t lost the high-octane momentum of last week’s amazing episode with “Decoy“ continuing to plow along full steam ahead – an apt metaphor, given that Rachel and Shelby/Drew got the hell out of Harlan on the coal train by the episode’s end. Again, this episode upholds Justified’s high standard for the most clever, well-written dialogue on television (this episode was written by showrunner Graham Yost and Chris Provenzano) and at the helm of director Michael Watkins, had a consistently swift and exciting pace, cutting between various high-tension locations and groups of characters. Each character also got their moment in the spotlight – Raylan and Boyd being clever and badass! Tim’s sardonic wit! Colton’s tortured-ness! Art being Art! Johnny’s bleeding heart! Ava being one tough cookie! – which is a difficult feat to accomplish, given...