Television

Ross' new film, which he wrote and directed, is about a father living with his six children in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. "The movie is about choices we make, especially as parents," he says.

Critic at large John Powers remembers TV mogul Aaron Spelling, who died last week at age 83. Spelling created such TV classics as Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Charlie's Angels, Dynasty and Melrose Place.

On HBO's comedy Veep, Tony Hale plays Gary Walsh the loyal, put-upon, anxious aide to Selina Meyer, vice-president turned president. It's a part he relates to.

On the Netflix series, Ellie Kemper plays a woman who was kidnapped by an apocalyptic Christian cult leader and was rescued after living for 15 years in an underground bunker. Now free and forging a new life in New York City, Kimmy has to make up for lost time.

The creators of The Good Wife now have a political satire that's also a science-fiction comedy.

The creator, the show-runner and the star of Silicon Valley talk about putting together the HBO comedy about the insular start-up tech world.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the remake of the 1977 mini series Roots. He says it deserves to be seen and talked about.

The creator of the ABC sitcom "black. . ish" draws on his own experience for his show about an affluent African-american family living in a wealthy white suburb. . . where their privileged children lose touch with black culture. "black. . . ish" will receive a coveted Peabody award this weekend.

Actor Gary Cole who plays a political consultant and polling expert with no people skills on the HBO show Veep, and he played an smarmy boss on the cult hit Office Space discusses his work.

For years now, The Good Wife has been the best drama series on broadcast television, last night was the show's series finale.

Comic Jerrod Carmichael is the creator and star of the NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show. On the show, he plays a character, also named Jerrod Carmichael, who debates with his family about complicated, often uncomfortable topics.

Le Carré's 1993 novel comes to life in a six-part AMC series. John Powers says the show, which jets from Egyptian streets to posh Alpine lodges, is one of the most enjoyable thrillers he's seen on TV.

Comic W. Kamau Bell finds humor in the parts of America that make him uncomfortable. Speaking to Fresh Air's Terry Gross, Bell likens his new CNN series United Shades of America to a travel show that takes him "to all sorts of different places that I [am] either afraid to go, or you wouldn't expect me to go."

At 46, former Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee says she's not very concerned with what people think of her.

"Being in my late 40s has been absolutely freeing and liberating for me," Bee tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "I'm a married woman with kids. I'm a professional. People just can't [put me] me in a tiny box that makes sense to them, so now I just don't care that much what people think of me ... and now I do my own thing."

The Food Network draws more viewers than any of the cable news channels, but Americans are actually cooking less than ever. Food-culture writer Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) ponders the phenomenon.

Duke won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Helen Keller in 1962's The Miracle Worker. She died Tuesday at the age of 69. Originally broadcast in 1988.

Ever since Everybody Loves Raymond, the actor says he has been trying to take on more dramatic roles. In the HBO drama Vinyl, he plays a record company executive who contemplates suicide.

The comic, who died Thursday, told Fresh Air that it took him years to develop a style — and then he got dumped. "That was really the beginning of the Garry Shandling dating years in stand-up."

King began acting professionally as a teen on the TV show 227. Now she co-stars in ABC's American Crime and HBO's The Leftovers. She also directs for television, but says "I absolutely love acting."

Gillian Jacobs and Paul Rust play two people on the brink of becoming a couple in Love, the new comedy series co-created by Judd Apatow, Rust and Rust's wife, Lesley Arfin.