Featured Blogs:

 

Cannes Film Festival 2013

Press Tour: 'Magic City' teases James Caan's arrival and an ambitious Season 2

Mitch Glazer also promises a great Passover seder

By Daniel Fienberg Sunday, Jan 6, 2013 12:15 AM

Video Platform Video Management Video Solutions Video Player

PASADENA, CA - "Magic City" won't return to Starz until a yet-to-be-determined date in the summer, but the premium cable network unveiled the first teaser for the sultry 1950s-set Miami drama on Saturday (January 5) at the Television Critics Association press tour.
 
As you can tell from the teaser [above], a lot remains the same at the Miramar Playa, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Ike Evans trying to extricate himself from the mobbed-up grasp of Ben "The Butcher" Diamond, played by Golden Globe nominee Danny Huston. There's sex and violence and some of the most impressive production design on the small screen.
 
As you can also tell, there's a new gangster in town, James Caan's Sy Berman.
 
"[L]ast season, Ben Diamond was basically the great white shark of crime. He was the top of the food chain, had no known enemies... [F]rom
all my research and interviews, the way the mob worked, particularly back in those days, is you always answer to somebody," explained series mastermind Mitch Glazer to the assembled reporters. "And it felt like great storytelling to turn it on its head, what we’d done in the first season, in the sense that Danny’s character, Ben Diamond, was the top of, you know, power and crime in Miami, and show that he is responsible to somebody else. And, also, it gave me a chance in the storytelling to show where The Butcher came from and how he became who he became."
 
Caan joked, " I had the left-hand corner of the 'Hollywood Squares' all lined up, and then Mitch called."
 
But seriously, though...
 
"Listen, the truth of the matter is, I’m at the point where I care very much about what I do," The "Godfather" star said. "I still try to maintain a little bit of integrity. And of all of the things that I had been reading, this was easily, not only because I know Mitch and I’ve had the pleasure of watching these people work beforehand, there was something that, as an actor, I didn’t put it into any category. It was just well written, you know, and beautifully shot and something that I thought would be a lot of fun and fun in a creative way, and it was. I mean, all of these people are just great."
 
Sy Berman's arrival to threaten The Butcher's authority isn't the only thing changing as we move deeper into 1959 on "Magic City."
 
"The time and place was incredibly dynamic historically, and then once you put this family, create this family and put them — set them in motion, it gave me the opportunity to deal with what I think is, you know, one of the most important and exciting periods of America and world politics, really," Glazer said. "[I]n the spring of 1959, and there was a moment in time when Castro was coming to America and on 'Meet the Press' and looking for investors and things, you know, in America before he turned to Russia. And that’s kind of the window where we are. So it’s still a huge canvas because it was. And I love dealing with, you know, the nexus between Mafia, anti-Castro forces in Miami and this hotel family is again going to  kind of drive the show. But, I humbly think that this season is bigger and yet more intimate than last. I mean, the appetite or ambitions for this year were huge, and the storytelling takes us to Havana and to Cuba — and to Chicago
and, it’s a — it’s a large canvas but told through the eyes of this family. So it’s hopefully organic and personal and compelling but fun."
 
And what about for viewers like me, viewers fascinated by the "Magic City" depiction of the assimilated Jewish experience in the mid-20th Century? As I put it, what's in store for Jewishness in Season 2 of "Magic City"?
 
"We’ve got a great seder," Glazer cracked. "You’re going to love it, fantastic seder. Yeah, it’s assimilated Jewish experience because it was mine. And, you know, I believe that if you write the specific truth that’s true to you, you can connect on a universal level, hopefully, and so, I mean, it’s ongoing. I mean, the Arthur character is kind of a vaguely left, a religious Jew and the grandfather of the family; and Vera’s character is still kind of drawn to the family part of the Jewish culture. You know, it’s definitely part of the season, and I love writing it, and it is a great seder."
 
Spring 1959? Well, at least a Seder sounds plausibly timed.
 
We'll have to wait until summer to find out.
 
But check out the teaser.
Dan-feinberg-sm
Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
Related Searches: TCA Press Tour, Press Tour 2013, Magic City, Starz

Comments

  • Option 1

    Comment instantly as a guest Guest

  • Option 2

    Connect

  • Option 3

    Login or create a HitFix account Login Signup
  • Default-avatar

    Matt

    This is an excellent show and I just cannot wait to see the second season.

    January 6, 2013 at 2:35AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Satan_is_real_talkback_profile

    erika_herzog

    wait, this show is still on? dear lord.

    i am sorry but i watched the first episode and there was just too much Jeffrey Dean Morgan in it for me. even without Katherine Heigl bumming things out there is something just not working. beyond the fact that i get him perpetually confused with Gerard Butler (who also has become difficult to watch) i just can't take him seriously in a period role especially.

    was difficult to even get through the trailer. yikes. sorry to see Danny Huston in this mess. tv should not be such hard work, right?

    January 6, 2013 at 11:24AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Gizmo_bigger_talkback_profile

      dan Erika - "Magic City" isn't perfect. It may not even be good. But there's stuff to like here. If you like nudity and production design, I mean...

      -Daniel

      January 6, 2013 at 6:51PM EST

    • Even in the face of Mad Men and Downton Abbey, the production design is good / worth watching?!?

      Maybe I am spoiled by the above shows but with your semi-damning endorsement -- and the Jewish assimilation thing -- maybe I have been too harsh? Oy.

      My grandfather was a tin man who wore shiny suits so maybe it's a shaindle I am not watching this show. I just wish JDM was less of a barrier.

      Handwringing....

      January 6, 2013 at 7:04PM EST

    • And as far as nudity it's female nudity, right, a la Homeland? That's almost more of a negative than a plus but obviously YMMV (and does).... :-)

      January 6, 2013 at 7:06PM EST
    • Gizmo_bigger_talkback_profile

      dan Erika - There's ample man-ass, if you like that sorta thing... I think there's nuance there and I think if you watch a little from the Jewish assimilation perspective, it has some levels for appreciating...

      -Daniel

      January 6, 2013 at 7:21PM EST

    • You have made a compelling case. Thank you Daniel. The Jewish guilt is working... ;-)

      January 6, 2013 at 8:18PM EST
  • Me-by-robin-sq_talkback_profile

    fraying

    The story of '50s Jewish assimilation was also my favorite part of the first season. Thanks for asking about it.

    January 6, 2013 at 6:42PM EST Reply to Comment
    • Gizmo_bigger_talkback_profile

      dan Fraying - If I don't, nobody else will!

      -Daniel

      January 6, 2013 at 6:50PM EST
  • Default-avatar

    Linda D.

    Can't wait for this to be back on the air! It is so very real... I grew up in Miami at that time! My mother was one of those call girls involved with the "MOB" .... This was exactly they way it was then. I too could have written this story! Kudos to Mitch Glazer!!!

    January 29, 2013 at 7:17PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Kelly

    Best show on TV!!!! PERIOD!

    February 23, 2013 at 3:23PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Kelly

    Best show on TV!! PERIOD. Can't wait to see James Caan, the actors are perfectly cast.

    February 23, 2013 at 3:25PM EST Reply to Comment

News From Our Partners

Get Instant Alerts on Breaking News

Latest Posts
More Posts
Recent Activity on Facebook
Most Popular on Facebook
Top Stories From Around the Web
About HitFix

HitFix delivers the Movie, Music, TV and Awards and general entertainment news that fans care about most, without the gossip or celebrity scandal. Our nationally-recognized, tastemaker journalists provide the latest breaking news, analysis, reviews, recaps, interviews and exclusives 24 hours a day while our proprietary localized Event Calendar and mobile apps allow consumers to stay up to the minute while managing their entertainment lives. Find out What’s Next In Entertainment with HitFix.

Advertise on HitFix
Subscribe to HitFix

Get the latest headlines & updates in your inbox

Popular Topics

© Copyright HitFix.com. All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy