Q and A: Week of Aug. 19

Q: Can you tell me what Mary McCormack has been doing since “In Plain Sight” ended? — Paula S., via e-mail

A: You can catch Mary now in the independent film “Escape from Polygamy,” which premieres Saturday, Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime. Beginning Oct. 3, Mary returns to series television in the new NBC single-camera comedy “Welcome to the Family,” which also stars Mike O’Malley (“Glee”), Ella Rae Peck (“Deception”) and Ricardo Chavira (“Desperate Housewives”). “Family” gets a prime spot, airing after NBC comedy mainstay “Parks and Rec,” hopefully helping to fill the void that “The Office” has left in the network’s Thursday night comedy block.

Q: A while back you mentioned “Witches of East End” was going to be a series on Lifetime, and I wondered if you had any more information on it? I loved the book, so I am curious about the series. — Annette D. in Connecticut

A: Lifetime recently announced a premiere date for its newest drama, which features an all-star cast headlined by Emmy Award-winner Julia Ormond, Madchen Amick, Jenna Dewan Tatum and Rachel Boston as a family of witches living in the secluded seaside town of East Haven. “Witches of East End” will cast its spell beginning Sunday, Oct. 6, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Also set to star are Eric Winter, Daniel DiTomasso, Jason George and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Virginia Madsen.

As you mentioned, the series is inspired by Melissa de la Cruz’s best-selling novel “Witches of East End,” and centers on the mysterious Beauchamp family: Joanna (Ormond) and her two grown daughters: Freya (Dewan Tatum) and Ingrid (Boston), both of whom are unaware that they are witches. Freya is recently engaged to the man of her dreams, wealthy playboy Dash Gardiner (Winter), but when she finds herself inexplicably drawn to Dash’s troubled, enigmatic brother, Killian (DiTomasso), bizarre occurrences begin to manifest in her life. Joanna’s long-estranged sister Wendy (Amick) shows up, forcing Joanna to reveal to her daughters they are immortal witches who possess great untapped powers.

Q: I thought Tom Cruise was passing the “Mission: Impossible” mantle to Jeremy Renner. Now I hear Tom will star in the fifth movie. Is that true? — Gerald L., via e-mail

A: Yes and no. Tom will star in “Mission: Impossible 5,” which is scheduled for a 2015 release (most likely summer). Jeremy will be his co-star, but he was never brought on to replace Tom; he was added to the roster to partner with him. And as long as Tom keeps drinking from the Fountain of Youth, I say they should keep him on as long as they can.

Q: Is “Poltergeist” being remade? — Linley J., Harrisburg, Pa.

A: Details are sketchy about the new project, but I can tell you that an updated “Poltergeist” is in production, with Sam Rockwell in talks to co-star with Rosemarie DeWitt, according to “Variety.”

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Interview: Rachel Boston — Coming into Her Power

Last week, I interviewed Rachel Boston for my other King Features column, Daytime Dial (see interview here). We discussed her trip back to high school — via Lifetime’s original movie “Holiday High School Reunion.” In “Holiday,” Rachel starred with such industry vets as Marilu Henner and Harry Hamlin.

But Rachel is no stranger to working with Hollywood heavy-hitters. Right now she is shooting a pilot for Lifetime called “Witches of East End,” with Julia Ormond (“Legends of the Fall,” “Sabrina” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) and Jenna Dewan-Tatum (“Step Up” “American Horror Story” and wife of People’s Sexiest Man Alive, Channing Tatum). When I interviewed Rachel recently, she told me all about her exciting new project, which will hopefully have a long life on Lifetime. Rachel can’t wait for viewers to see her latest project, which is due to premiere next year.

Celebrity Extra: You are working with Lifetime again, shooting a pilot called “Witches of East End.” This intrigues me, as I’ve always been a huge fan of supernatural storytelling. What can you tell me about it?

Rachel Boston: I am working with such an amazing group of women! Julia Ormond plays my mom, and Jenna Dewan-Tatum plays my sister. As the story goes, when we were born, our mom cast a spell so we wouldn’t actually know we are witches, but we can sense that we are different. Through a chain of events, we discover who we are and how we can help protect each other and our town. Maggie Friedman wrote the script and is such an amazing voice for women. It’s also a story about intuition, trust and love, and I pray we get to tell this story for years to come.

CE: Tell me a bit about your character, Ingrid.

RB: I play Ingrid Beauchamp, and I live with my mom and sister in the small town of Fair Haven. Ingrid is a delightful soul but very insecure about certain areas of her life. She works at the library and has been hiding in her books, but she is about to have to step into her power and become the woman she is destined to be.

CE: You’re shooting in Wilmington, N.C. (whose big Hollywood claim to fame is as the location for filming “Dawson’s Creek”), which is gorgeous, especially this time of year. How has the shoot been so far?

RB: I love Wilmington! The people are so kind, and the beaches are gorgeous. We have a wonderful crew.

CE: If the show gets picked up, do you know when it will begin airing?

RB: Summer 2013!

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