#heather mitchell

What is home to you?

To me, it’s a place where you feel your most alive and comfortable, the place where you can be exactly who and what you are without masking at all. It’s where you can be your most relaxed and grottiest self, with no worries.

I have such a soft spot for the homes used in my favourite television shows, especially The Newsreader, and Dale’s Season One apartment is absolutely cherished by me. The gorgeous art deco flat in St Kilda East has a cosy feel, stunning French doors, and gorgeous wooden beams and finishings, not forgetting to mention the fireplaces and mirrors! It speaks a lot to his eclectic nature, and how he has slowly built up his life to where he wants it to be.

When I started the first episode of Fake (directed by our Emma Freeman), I immediately took note of how familiar and at home I felt in Asher Keddie’s character Birdie’s kitchen, and when it panned out to the rest of her apartment, I made the realisation that it’s because it was Dale’s apartment! Naturally, you can imagine that my heart leapt into my throat 😂

No wonder I felt so at home already in this show, it was because I already knew the place in which Birdie lived. Unfortunately Paramount Plus blocks screenshotting, so as an alternative I took some photos of my laptop screen with my iPad, so you can comparatively see the shared space in which both Dale and Birdie lived, 38 years apart from one another. It truly felt like coming home to the piece of media I love the most once again.

Of course, I ended up moving past the initial excitement of Birdie sharing Dale’s place, and was completely engrossed in her story of a relationship going horribly sour through deception and lies. It reminded me of how important it is for us to seek authenticity within our lives, and to keep searching for this, no matter how long it takes, or how many people we must meet, and for us to ensure that we remain true to who we are too. We can be a home for ourselves and others too.

The CW is gearing up to visit another set of vampires.  The network has ordered a pilot for ‘The Lost Boys’, based on the 1987 Joel Schumaker film.  The pilot will work from Heather Mitchell’s (’Scandal’) pitch - not the Rob Thomas (’iZombie’) decades idea that has been floating around.  Thomas will serve as an executive producer on the show.  No word on casting just yet or what direction the pilot might take.  

Sounds like the show needed to be an instant hit with, like,10 million viewers before ABC would go for a second season, which makes me wonder, why greenlight it at all? Or use soundstages instead of shooting everything on location? And why not promote it and try to recoup some of the money?

Meet the Regal Cast of the New Shondaland Drama 'Still Star-Crossed'

Shakespeare’s classic tearjerker Romeo and Juliet ends with the deaths of its lusty young lovers—and a note of hope that the grieving Montagues and Capulets might finally cease their age-old feud. But there’s no such luck in the sexy, swoony sequel Still Star-Crossed. Created by former Scandal scribe Heather Mitchell and based on Melinda Taub’s hit young-adult novel of the same name, this multiethnic, multicultural series dumps the Bard’s promising conclusion and lets all-out war erupt at Romeo and Juliet’s funeral. Soon, fair Verona is a city in crisis, yet there’s still lots of time for marvelously messy romance. “This show is for everyone who can relate to the giddy, crazy rush of first love,” Mitchell says. “And who hasn’t watched as a friend falls for the wrong person? We’ve all been a bystander at that car crash!” Here’s a cheat sheet of the power players.

Benvolio Montague Played By Wade Briggs Problem Child Romeo’s boozing, whoring cousin should be avoided at all costs—if, that is, he weren’t so damn endearing. “Benvolio is the future of the Montagues but wants nothing to do with their opulence and arrogance,” says Briggs. Benvolio also detests being forced to wed Juliet’s cousin, Rosaline (Lashana Lynch), to help foster peace. But, Briggs notes, “he’s secretly attracted to her. The sparks between them are undeniable.”

Rosaline Capulet Played by Lashana Lynch Maid in Italy Her life was shattered when her parents died and now—Cinderella style—Rosaline is forced to clean house for her posh relatives. But that’s not the worst of it. “Being betrothed to Benvolio is a nightmare,” Lynch says. “She wants Escalus, and in an ideal world she’d marry him, but if the prince is caught looking at Rosaline with even a smidgen of love, it would be a royal scandal!”

Prince Escalus Played By Sterling Sulieman So Not Ready “Escalus comes to power at a very dark moment and is trying his best to end the family war,” Mitchell says of the naive new ruler of Verona. “But will he sacrifice his personal happiness for the city he loves?” That would be yes. Escalus reluctantly arranges the marriage of Benvolio and Rosaline, even though he’s deeply in love with the bride-to-be.

Princess Isabella Played By Medalion Rahimi Rightful Ruler When the prince of Verona dies, the crown falls to his son, Escalus (Sterling Sulieman), even though daughter Isabella is the one with the chops and smarts—and knows so much more about politics and governance. Played with frustration and fire by Rahimi (The Catch), Isabella “sadly has to be OK with her lot in life,” Mitchell says. “She is a woman born in the wrong place and wrong time.”

Lord Montague Played By Grant Bowler Power Mad His grandfather tended the Capulets’ sheep. But Montague—in a cold, calculating turn by Bowler (Defiance)—has scratched his way to the top of Verona society. “Montague has a real chip on his shoulder,” says Mitchell. “He’s all about wealth and status.” And now that his beloved son, Romeo, is gone, Pop’s got a big problem with Benvolio (Wade Briggs), the new heir to the family fortune.

Lord Capulet Played by Anthony Stewart Head Life Sucks “The light went out in Capulet’s world when his daughter, Juliet, died,” says Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The poor guy is also stuck in a bad marriage to the insane Lady Capulet (Lost’s Zuleikha Robinson) and tormented by that upstart Montague. “Capulet is desperately trying to hold it all together while keeping a secret,” Head says. “He has huge money troubles.”