Interview with Abe: Zoe Lister-Jones

I've been a big fan of Zoe Lister-Jones for years and loved the chance to speak with her again, this time about Roku's “Slip” and her other recent projects for Awards Radar. Watch my conversation with her below!

What I'm Watching: Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul: Season 3, Episode 8 “Slip” (B+)

This episode proceeded along pretty slowly, as some of this show’s hours this season have thus far, but there’s an undeniable intentionality to it that resounds well. It’s easy to forget that Jimmy is a con artist, and that even though the music store owners were being rude and unfriendly to him, they’re the ones being scammed. Jimmy basically forced them into agreeing to a free commercial and now he wants to charge them $6500 for follow-up work that they don’t really need since they’ve already aired a successful commercial. The quickness with which he plopped himself on the floor to extort them by making them think that he was injured was incredible, and he did that again later when he destroyed the community service supervisor and enjoyed a satisfactory moment of relaxation after his big victory. Jimmy is isolating himself more and more as he lets his cons take over, and he even tried to distance himself from Kim, who is more than happy to be associated with him even though it’s never done her much good. We saw the beginnings of Chuck, newly inspired to get better, ready to suffer another major defeat thanks to Jimmy’s latest slanderous effort, and I’m not eager to see that play out. As Nacho made a big move against Hector, we saw a quiet deal being bartered between Gus and Mike, one that’s sure to take center stage as the series progresses. Gus refusing to take anything from Mike was dignified, and I can see how the two will work well together.

What I’m Watching: Boss

Boss: Season 1, Episode 4 “Slip” (B+)

Just as Tom is taking measures to make sure that he’s able to keep a handle on his behavior by monitoring himself via his computer camera, he makes an enormous mistake which he’s not going to be able to talk his way out of, no matter how hard he tries. He did do a good job of controlling his mumbling and taking a moment, but reversing his decision negates that stealthy move. It seems that anyone that comes into contact with Tom isn’t safe, as his drug dealer gets busted and then released, only to be shot for the potential damage he might do to the mayor. It’s nice that Emma is willing to have a relationship with her father, on her own terms, and it’s awfully convenient that she is able to get him the drugs he needs, procured by Darius, who himself is considering the changes he’s making in his life for the girl he likes. Tom preempting Sam’s big article by admitting the presence of toxic waste and pinning it on his father-in-law sure got the newspaperman all riled up, but he seems to have stumbled upon something just as juicy following his research involving sick children. Meredith knows there’s something up with Tom, but she’s also fighting her own personal battles, as evidenced by her breakdown at the end with her father. Ben is doing a superb job of handling himself with multiple assaults, coming from the likes of the anonymous farmer and his number one opponent in the gubernatorial race, who tries to get him to reconsider running since he could feasibly lose. Turning the cameras off during the key moment didn’t sit well with Kitty, and she didn’t buy his excuse about doing the right thing either, mainly because the two of them just can’t stop having sex nearly everywhere they go, even if they do have one meeting in public to keep their passion tempered ever so slightly.