Author: Danielle Turchiano

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from the sixth episode of The Following‘s third season, “Reunion.”]

Michael Ealy‘s The Following role has been billed “a new face of evil” and audiences finally learned why during Monday’s hour.

Not only is Ealy’s Theo a skilled hacker who can (and did) plant false emails on the FBI server and mess with elevators in order to trap a victim, but he is also a hands-on criminal. After he uses his hacking skills to set a trap, he follows through personally with the murder. And between fire, firing squad and garotting, his methods may be even more brutal than followers of The Following have seen before.

Ealy entered the third season as Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) was on his way out — literally. Joe, already on death row, was desperate enough for attention as well as Ryan Hardy’s (Kevin Bacon) company that he made a deal to help Ryan get to Arthur Strauss (Gregg Henry) if Ryan would agree to keep coming back to visit him in prison until his final day.

But do Strauss’ two strongest students actually know about each other? And how do Theo’s methods compare to Joe’s? The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Ealy to find out that and more.

Read more ‘The Following’ EP on Holding Back the “Big Bad” from the Third Season Premiere

In today’s world, cyber crime may be even scarier than the thought of a bad guy in the shadows with a knife. But Theo certainly showcases the worst of both so far. What do you think sets him apart the most and makes him the most dangerous?

Theo doesn’t maintain one particular signature with which he kills; he actually embraces it all, and what differentiates him from Joe Carroll is that he does not seek the attention. The advice that Strauss gives him — to stay underneath the water — Theo actually hangs onto that. He is a narcissist like Joe, but he does not want attention or followers. He wants to do his art. (Laughs.) The majority of serial killers do seek out the attention, and to a degree they want to get caught — but because that’s not what Theo wants, it makes it harder for them to catch him because he doesn’t make mistakes.

Is it a bigger draw or a bigger challenge to try to get into that mind-set?

I struggled to relate to a serial killer. But what I could relate to was he’s someone who has a passion and a craft and he takes it very seriously. If Theo never met Ryan Hardy or any FBI agents he would be killing the rest of his life in perfect peace, like some great painter. That’s how he looks at it, and that’s how I looked at it.

Ryan is starting to catch onto him, if not catch up with him. So in saying that he doesn’t want that attention, does he have a plan for what would happen if he gets closer to exposure, or will we start to see him lose control as episodes go on?

He always has a plan. And yes, the nature of the show is that the FBI is going to be in pursuit of Theo, so that’s no big secret, so despite him wanting to remain under water or remain in the shadows, by nature of being connected to Strauss, you have to ask yourself, “How much longer can he be?” That’s his big issue. He doesn’t want to be connected to anyone because that’s how you get caught. So he’s a lone wolf; he doesn’t need anyone else; he doesn’t want anyone else around. And if you come between him and what he has to do, you will die. By the third episode of Theo’s [arc] you’ll see what exactly happens when Theo gets wind that they’re onto him. And you’ll see his backup plan.

Read more ‘The Following’s’ Sam Underwood: The “Dominoes Just Keep Falling” for Mark

He should be a lone wolf because the more others know what you’re doing, the more at risk you are of getting in trouble for it, but he did trust Strauss all those years ago.

Theo looked at Strauss as a father figure, which he never had. That becomes even clearer later on this season. Theo even says it in his first episode, “I’ve never met anyone like me before.” And that carries weight because this is the first time that someone sees Theo for who he really is and doesn’t shun him or think he’s weird. He actually gets him, and for the first time in that hospital room, it’s kind of the birth of who Theo becomes. He’s able to be himself around Strauss, and so of course he’s going to owe him; he’s going to be a student or a son.

And now there’s Daisy [Ruth Kearney], who knows too much, as well.

What I can say is as the FBI gets closer and closer to figuring out who Theo is, he becomes much more unhinged about tying up all loose ends.

Read more ‘The Following’s’ Kevin Bacon, Shawn Ashmore Break Down Season 3 Twists

Obviously Theo is very complex already, but then they threw the curve ball that he was a family man, too. How much of that duality was part of what made this role exciting to you — to be able to show these different sides of what at first glance seems like just a very bad man?

That was always there, and I was happy [it was]. In doing research on serial killers and sociopaths, what I’ve learned in essence, the fundamental thing is it’s genetic code. Despite what people may think, “Oh he’s a monster” and all these other things, he was born this way. And that was kind of my in to the character. I was really intrigued with the idea that if I was born like Theo, I would not be Michael Ealy; I would be Theo. It doesn’t matter how you look; the reality is, it’s inside you. And that is fascinating to me because I could have easily been the real-life Theo if my genetic code had presented itself as such. And that’s disturbing! Yes, as you see at the end he’s got a family, but nothing is what you think it is, and quite honestly we all have to know that [these people] are out there. They tend to blend in, and that is one of the scariest elements of the show to me! And we’re kind of showing people that they might think these people only exist in movies or on television, but [no], they’re out there, and they could have been in your lives since childhood. That’s terrifying!

Along those lines, the show has already said a couple of times that Theo was the “best” of that bunch. What does that exactly mean?

A lot of that was centered on Joe: although Joe may have been [Strauss’] most notorious student, Theo was his best because, technically, Theo stuck to the rule of thumb. That advice that Strauss gives Theo [about staying underwater], he gave to Joe. And what’s interesting about Joe is there’s a part of Theo, I think, that actually likes that Joe has done what he’s done because Joe draws attention and that enables Theo to [be]. Everybody’s focused on Joe; they don’t know Theo is a threat. He kind of needs him.

Yet if Joe heard for years that Theo was better than him, it should have made Theo his first target. Is there really no rivalry there?

Well, do you think Joe ever told Joe that he had another student? He’s a master manipulator! There’s no way he told Joe that someone else is the best student; it’s just not going to happen!

The Following airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on Fox. What do you think of Ealy’s Theo so far? Sound off in the comments below.

Twitter: @danielletbd

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from “Best Man,” The Mindy Project‘s third season finale.]

After a season of major change for Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling) — including a somewhat rocky relationship with Danny (Chris Messina), a short-term move to San Francisco, a new business and pregnancy — things couldn’t end without yet another shake-up.

“Whenever Mindy’s life seems too perfect … it’s important that we throw her a curve ball,” Kaling tells The Hollywood Reporter.

And that the show did just that.

It turned out Mindy and Danny were both having second thoughts about the future of their relationship. Danny didn’t show up to Boston to meet Mindy’s parents because he knew he didn’t want to get married again. Mindy, meanwhile, had been waiting to tell her parents about Danny until said meeting because she didn’t want to introduce them to yet another man who would be out of her life just as quickly as he came into it.

The couple was forced to confront this during a baby shower in which four of Mindy’s exes showed up — thanks to Morgan (Ike Barinholtz), who was convinced one of them was the actual father of her baby. Ultimately, they come to a compromise and Mindy opts to save the email to her parents explaining who Danny is rather than send it, while Danny hopped on a last-minute flight to meet her parents and declare his love for their daughter.

The episode left the couple in different places — and with no official fourth season order from Fox, the finale left things very unresolved should the perennial bubble series fail to earn a renewal.

“The show’s so much about the romantic sensibility and reality versus fantasy, and I feel the show is at its very best is when [Mindy’s] being tested but still manages to keep her funny disposition and romantic sensibility,” Kaling tells THR. “Danny’s this very cynical guy who has lost that but it has been reignited a bit through her, and that’s an interesting journey to watch. The last five minutes and two acts of this finale, she has changed so much to be with this guy; she’s met his family and done all of these things, but she refuses to lose this general optimism. She believes in marriage, and she believes in this institution, which a lot of people today would say is very old-fashioned, but she does not care; she still believes in it. Personally, Mindy Kaling falls more in line with Danny Castellano’s believes than Mindy Lahiri’s; this is one of those times as a writer where I just identify with him more.”

“They’re so good together in so many ways, but in this one fundamental way they’re not.”

Read more Mindy Kaling Is Having Trouble Dating Because of Her ‘Mindy Project’ Character (Video)

THR caught up with Kaling to talk about that cliffhanger, the road that got Mindy and Danny there, and what she’s thinking about a potential fourth season.

We have to start with that ending. Why did you choose to leave Danny and Mindy so unresolved, especially with the show’s future so uncertain?

I love cliffhangers. I do think it is risky to literally open the door to new characters who hopefully we are going to care about: Mindy’s parents. [But] I I just have faith we’re going to come back because I feel the love for the show with my fans [and] with the network and studio. We knew that it was a move, but I never thought it was a miscalculation; I was always excited about it. I didn’t write the finale as though it were the series finale. I just have too much faith that show will continue.

Did the fact that the show was on the bubble affect the way you structured the ending at all?

The way that I work is different from the way other people work, maybe, because I refuse to create under the assumption of failure. I don’t think you can be productive that way. It definitely doesn’t always work out that way. If I’m the creator, and I’m not thinking that we’re going to keep going because the show’s quality and because I love it and because I think it’s the funniest comedy on TV, then who else is going to think that? That’s how I feel, and that’s how I felt from the beginning. When we got picked up to pilot, and when we got the back nine, all along the way various news outlets and journalists were like, “Kiss it goodbye because you’re not going to get a second season!” But we’ve kept going, and I’ve always had faith. I feel like it’s not broken, so I don’t examine the process by which I’m hoping for another season, I just let it happen.

The finale does leave Danny and Mindy in very different places, physically as well as fundamentally. Is his action one that should be seen optimistically, because he’s literally gone the extra mile for her?

We made the decision that Danny does not go there and say, “I want to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.” We made a point of that not being the case. He does these gestures — and Danny’s such a great, romantic boyfriend because he does these gestures. Mindy has even said this season, “I don’t need big gestures, I just need us to be more similar!” (Laughs.) We left that purposely as not a proposal because I don’t think he’s changed his mind. He wants to change his behavior, but not his mind, so [hopefully] we can explore that next season because I think that’s interesting. Will Mindy completely change what she wants? Will Danny? Will neither of them?

What conversations have you had with the studio about continuing?

[Universal Television’s] Bela Bajaria has been curious as a fan as to where the show is going, and she likes to have a little bit of a heads up if we’re going to do a dramatic arc, but we’ve only spoken a couple times about what we thought — just really broad paint strokes about what next season could look like. I always go in with a general idea, but it changes so much. For instance, when Rhea Perlman came on the show in episode two this year, she was such a force, it was like, “OK, well let’s tell more about her!” Because opening her up as a character is really bringing out a side of Danny that I think is fascinating. So I’ve told Bela some ideas.

If Fox opted not to renew the show, could you see it jumping networks?

I haven’t thought that much about it. I just think there’s more stories. Obviously the person who wrote the finale that ends the way that it does has more they want to see! So, yeah I do think there’s more to tell, and I think fans would be disappointed not to see more adventures with these characters. But I came from a show [The Office] where I was on it for eight seasons, and it continued for another year after that, so I am accustomed to long runs of television shows. I would be up for that challenge.

There’s an interesting comparison between Danny and Mindy, who are left in very different places, and Peter and Lauren, who actually have resolution to their romance. Why was it important for you to have him around for the whole season in order to do this?

Peter was one of Mindy’s best friends this season and last, and it felt unrealistic that he and Mindy would completely stop communicating once he moved to Texas. He has also become one of the most romantic figures on the show, and it’s good to remind Mindy that she used to be like that, especially when she is confronted with all the challenges of her relationship with Danny.

Read more ‘Mindy Project’ Says Goodbye to Adam Pally, But Teases New Addition

What new dynamic did you want Mindy’s pregnancy to add this season?

Whenever Mindy’s life seems too perfect, I think it’s important that we throw her a curve ball. Just as she started dating Danny, she was faced with his mother. Then later, when she was succeeding with her fertility clinic, she found out she was pregnant. Life is hard for most people, and I don’t think people want to watch a TV show about a girl with perfect clothes and a handsome doctor boyfriend who isn’t dealing with big challenges

Why did you choose to have their relationship move so quickly once they were together?

Danny is 40, and my character is in her mid-30s. And also, I just wanted to surprise [the audience]. I don’t think it’s fun to watch a character where everything is going as she planned it. I don’t think you’re rooting for that person. Instead I’d rather have things being thrown at Mindy Lahiri all of the time; when one element of her life is going well, there absolutely needs to be something going wrong [elsewhere] in order for you to have empathy or to care about what happens to her.

We didn’t meet Mindy’s parents on-screen in the finale. Was it always planned to keep them off-screen?

Meeting Mindy’s parents is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. We haven’t cast them yet but I have some ideas.

If “Best Man” does have to serve as a series finale, are you satisfied with the scope of the story you got to tell overall?

I will always be proud of the show no matter what, but there are so many stories yet to be told. I haven’t thought more practically about it than that, but I think there is a committed audience of people who want to see more.

What did you think of The Mindy Project finale? Sound off in the comments below.

Twitter: @danielletbd

One of the best things to come from Lee Daniels and Danny Strong‘s hip-hop soap opera Empire was its unpredictability. The dialogue often left trails of laughs, tears and, oftentimes gasps, but there was one thing viewers could always count on: quoting lines from the show to friends and family for weeks.

To celebrate Empire’s freshman season, The Hollywood Reporter took a look back at some of the breakout drama’s best quotes from season one. Not counting song lyrics, the quotes are a combination of sincere and the salacious. And because it’s nearly impossible to pick just one of Cookie’s (Taraji P. Henson) best one-liners, we included a section called “Cookie Clips” that highlights her best quotables aside from her monologs.

“Pilot”

“I started selling drugs when I was 9 years old in Philadelphia. I did it to feed myself. But it was the music that played in my head that kept me alive when I thought I was gonna get shot. And it was the melodies that I dreamt about that kept me warm while I was sleeping in the streets. You see, music saved my life.” — Lucious Lyon

“Listen to me. You different. OK? It’s only something mama knows, but it’s gonna make life hard for you sometimes. But I want you to always remember I got you.” — Cookie Lyon

“You can fool this country you legit, but I know you ain’t nothing but a punk-ass gangsta.” — Cookie Lyon

“You know I was never into wearing all them damn weaves. Girls walking around with their scalps smelling like goat ass.” — Cookie Lyon

Cookie Clips:

“Boo Boo Kitty”

“Who stews a chicken?”

“You need to get LaCucaracha to clean up in here!”

“The Outspoken King”

“The streets aren’t made for everybody. That’s why they made sidewalks.” — Cookie

“I try to talk to my sons. I don’t think they’re listening. Maybe it’s me who’s not listening to them.” — Lucious

Cookie Clips:

“Pay that Pakistani!”

“Shut up, Dora!”

“Are you going to Ray Rice me?”

“The Devil Quotes Scripture”

“I feel responsible for my friend’s death. Because he came to me and told me he needed my help. I’ll light a match and I will burn this bitch to the ground. And I told him he got to stand on his own. I wouldn’t give you three nickels. And I’m gonna regret that the rest of my life.” — Lucious

“Just ’cause I asked Jesus to forgive you don’t mean I do.” – Cookie

“Is there a bathroom around here?” — Agent Carter
“Yeah, straight down the hall to the right. Then jump out the window. It’s straight down.” — Cookie

“Now, I know you been in jail for a minute, but do you even know what a debutante is?” — Anika Calhoun
“A boozy ho with a lot of money?” — Cookie

“My obedience is no longer for sale.” — Jamal Lyon

“False Imposition”

“You lose your soul when you feel like the world’s forgotten you.” – COokie

“I can’t make you love your mother, but you will respect her. Because she’s lived through a hell that you have to understand if your music is every going to elevate to the place of poetry where it resonates in the hearts of its listeners.” – Lucious

“He tried to out-dance me, girl, next thing I know, we have three sons.” – Cookie

“I’m not watering my music down for no tweens.” — Hakeem Lyon

“You and I always made a good team.” — Lucious

“Dangerous Bonds”

“I don’t wanna win the game. I wanna change it.” — Hakeem

“Dre, if you can’t find the money for this, I really don’t know what purpose you serve.” — Lucious

“Let’s look at it from a mathematical perspective. Your girlfriend has a girlfriend. Add that up. Two girlfriends. It’s a mathematician’s dream.” — Lucious

“Your kids ain’t real, they rich.” — Carol Hardaway

“Don’t ever underestimate me, little brother.” — Jamal Lyon

Cookie Clips:

“Name’s Cookie; ask about me.”

“What you mean by ‘you people?’ You black like me!”

“Out, Damned Spot”

“Yeah, difficult. I know that word. You see, y’all like to toss us to the side when you can’t control us anymore because you’re lazy and you don’t want to do your job.” — Cookie

Cookie Clips:

“Oh and Anika, this is an ass!”

Read more Fox Plots ‘Empire’ Season 2: Lee Daniels Courts Oprah, Pushes for Less “Opulence”

“Our Dancing Days”

“My name is Cookie Lyon. My ex-husband, Lucious, and I started this company in a little garage in one of the worst ghettos in West Philadelphia. Yeah. Some of y’all probably have a few ex-wives, so you know I’m not gonna be standing up here telling you all this mushy stuff about what a fine man my ex is. Lucious Lyon is a musical god, and he’s also a crazy son of a bitch that had a dream — still has a dream — and nobody better ever try to get in between Lucious and his dreams. We were hustlers, only choice we had, but do you know what the first rule of hustling is? You create your own customer base. Give them some of that good stuff. Make ’em want more. You see, Lucious did that with music. He created a sound. They call it the ‘Lucious Lyon sound.’ You all know it, or else you wouldn’t be here. Lucious’ music took the street mainstream, and made the mainstream feel street. Everything Lucious touches turns to platinum, and that’s a fact. He started out doing it with the music. Next he did it with over a dozen profitable entertainment and merchandise divisions. And now he’s gonna do it with your money, if you’re lucky enough and smart enough to put it in his hands. Lucious and I had three sons before he dumped me. Our oldest son Andre is the CFO of this company. He’s brilliant, and he’s gonna make every last one of you filthy rich. Our other two sons, Jamal and Hakeem Lyon, they are living proof that Empire is more than just one man’s dream. It’s a dream come true that’s ready to be passed down to the next generation, and the next and the next, and you all can be a part of it.” — Cookie

“The Lyon’s Roar”

“I’ve been with a whole lot of women, Cookie, but I was always looking for you in them.” — Lucious

“You got to understand, audiences are staring at screens all day, but if I can show a glimpse into the soul of the artist, of what it means for a man like you and I to be an artist, then I’ve taken the viewer to a place that we don’t normally see in a rock doc. And that’s what I want to do with the Legacy doc.” – Ryan Morgan

“I don’t love Jamal more than I love you. I just know him better.” — Cookie

“Tonight just made me sick — literally. So maybe you could just be a man, and get this done on your own, and not turn your wife into a geriatric whore ‘cause I am so over it.” — Rhonda Lyon

“Mom, I’m telling you right now, just be careful. You do not want to love that man. Because he’s incapable of loving anybody but himself.” — Jamal

“Don’t do it for me. Don’t do it for your mama. Don’t do it for your brothers. You do it for the sake of the music. You got to remember, that’s why God put us on this planet, Mal. Regardless of how we fight or we feel about each other or try to hurt each other, the music, man. Music, that’s forever. They’ll dance to it forever. They’ll sing to it forever. They’ll be inspired by it forever. Put the bad blood behind us. Tell your truth in the music.” — Lucious

“It was the bravest thing I’ve seen in my life.” — Hakeem

Cookie Clips:

“You want Cookie’s nookie, ditch the bitch.”

“Did you get rid of fake-ass Lena Horne?”

“Unto the Breach”

“You have to understand, when a man in my position says ‘please,’ it means something … When a man like me says ‘hear me out,’ you hear me out, ’cause your life could depend on it.” — Lucious

“You’re right about one thing. Sexual proclivity is what put us in this position. Your proclivity, and the fact that you can’t manage to simply keep it in your pants. And if the creeps and the bigots want to be over at Creedmoor, I don’t give a damn, let them. I don’t want them at my company, and neither should you.” — Jamal

“Put aside your played-out homophobia unless it’s more important to you than Empire.” — Jamal

“Piece of business advice from that Wharton education you paid so handsomely for. You pick the one who knows you’re a murderer.” — Andre Lyon

Cookie Clips:

“Bye, Felicia!”

“That’s my name, take a bite!” / “Take these cookies!”

Read more ‘Empire’ Cast, Creators Pick the Quintessential Songs of Season 1

“Sins of the Father”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with Cookie … me, Lola and Cookie, I’m going to get it right this time.” — Lucious

“She got her draws wrapped around my babies neck. And he can’t breathe.” — Cookie

“You know how God made man in his image? I’m making Hakeem in my image. God didn’t need no help, and neither do I.” — Lucious

“I don’t want you money. And as soon as I hear you’re dead, I will take the first flight back, you hear me?” — Camilla

“I’ve been with your son for 10 years, and you don’t know a damn thing about me. But just to clarify, I came from nothing, and I worked my ass off to put myself through Penn. Nothing has ever been handed to me, and I have never expected anything to either.” — Rhonda Lyon

“If you kill me, everyone in this room would applaud. You see the little pretty blonde there? She hates me. My son wants me dead because I saved him from a con artist. But the worst thing that I did– I let the mother of my children rot in jail for 17 years. So trust me, Reg, if you shoot me, you would be everybody’s personal hero.” — Lucious

“You just don’t want to die alone.” — Cookie

“Die But Once”

“Use your inside voice when you’re talking to Becky!” — Becky

“I wish he would just drop dead already.” — Cookie

“Witness as Empire becomes synonymous with American culture.” — Lucious

“I ain’t got nothing to do with that, Brother Lucious.” — Titan

“I’ll still be here when you’re dead, dad. I’ll send a prayer down to you.” — Andre 

“My father is the devil, and you just spread your legs for him.” — Andre 

“Who Am I”

“Don’t let me or anybody else ever try and control you again.” — Lucious

“Empire Entertainment is yours, Jamal.” — Lucious

“All my life, all I ever wanted was for that man to love me.” — Jamal

Cookie Clips:

“He’ll kill anybody; watch your back, baby!”

“Find yourself another snitch.”

“Tell me why I shouldn’t throw this drink in your bitch ass face.”

Read more ‘Empire’ Cast Reveals Dream Guest Stars for Season 2

What were your favorite Empire quotes? Sound off in the comments below.

Twitter: @danielletbd