Jim's Notebook: Open to Psych, The Walking Dead, Cult and More!

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This week’s notebook comes from sunny Miami Beach where I’m on location for the upcoming USA series Graceland, created by White Collar’s Jeff Eastin.

But I’ve got more from my Walking Dead/Steven Yeun chat... as well as scoop on why real life is reflected in the The CW’s Cult... along with love talk for Parks and Recreation’s Leslie & Ben... as well as Gus on Psych Season 7.

And I’m still looking for your comments as to how you’re keeping up with all the TV that is on these days. Let me know, while also chiming in with what just sits collecting dust on your DVR.

THE WALKING DEAD As Glenn continues to be put through the emotional wringer on the show, how has Yeun handled the overwhelming fame that comes with AMC’s hit zombie series? “I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to something like that What is great is that whatever your situation is in terms of how new or odd it is, the through-line is that they all watch the show and they dig it. If that’s the case, then it’s fine with me. It’s great.” 

Talking to us from bustling New York City, the actor said he walked around the city and “people will double take and stop you on the street and it won’t be ‘Hey, let’s take a picture of that guy.’ It’s ‘I love your show’ or ‘I love your character’ and when you hear that stuff it’s awesome! It’s the greatest thing because they’re validating a lot of the hard work that we’re doing. I’m still getting used to it but I’m socially a little shyer than most people.”

Yeun, who grew up in Michigan, credits growing up in the Midwest with helping him stay grounded: “One of the things that the Midwest taught me is that humility will find you one way or another, so it’s on you whether you want it now or later when you don’t’ expect it.”

Glenn vs. Michonne

CULT If you watched the new CW series this week, you can see the show definitely is saying something about the fandom around popular TV shows. In fact, creator Rockne S. O’Bannon told me the idea for Cult begin with his sci-fi series Farscape.

“Looking at that phenomenon and how close some of the actors got to some of the people who'd made contact to them…the Internet is kind of instant access. You don't know if the person you're interacting with is next door or across the planet, you know it's totally anonymous. It's a real interesting kind of confluence of the difference...kind of scary elements, and then if the thing that was drawing them was this TV show with some edge.”

And if you think the appeal of the show within a show is just fandom, expect more to unfold: “There may be something else to it,” O’Bannon said. “Initially the intent is really that it's Billy and his kind of powers of kind of enthralling people with his personality and message and all of that.”

PARKS AND RECREATION Last night you saw the marriage finally happen between Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt - and Amy Poehler couldn’t be happier with the path this couple has taken on the sitcom.

“What I love about Parks is that if you care about this couple, you’ve got to see over the past couple years so much change happen with them and it’s really satisfying the show hasn’t killed us with low expectation and will they/won’t they - which I love. And I love that Parks continues to let characters change and actually have things happen, like life goes on in the world, like what happens in the real world. So that part is satisfying because I know that Mike [Schur, Exec Producer] and the writers always kind of write and then just try to figure what’s going to happen later.”

Are you happy Leslie and Ben have finally tied the knot?

PSYCH On the popular USA series, which returns next Wednesday with Season 7 (and is already renewed for season 8), Gus is finally going to get some more romantic action. Actor Dulé Hill, for one, isn’t surprised when talking about his alter ego:

“In my mind, Gus is perfect as a boyfriend,” he said on a press call earlier this week with series creator Steve Franks. “He’s had a lot of time to think about it, a lot of time to do different charts and do different research about what qualities women look for in a boyfriend and made sure that he has is list and he’s checked it twice. So he’s ready to take the plunge.”

Always tongue in cheek, Hill added: "Now I don’t know what his girlfriend may think about him, but I think from Gus’s side he’s perfect.

That’s a wrap for this week! Anything else you’re dying to know about your favorite show? Leave a comment here or you email me directly at jim@jimhalterman.com. And remember: follow @TVFanatic for all your TV scoop!

Jim Halterman is the West Coast Editor of TV Fanatic and the owner of JimHalterman.com. Follow him on Twitter.

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Parks & Rec Quotes

Leslie: I know you're not gay.
Tom: No, I'm not.
Leslie: But you're effeminate.
Tom: What?
Leslie: Well, you're wearing a peach shirt with a coiled snake on it.
Tom: That's because it was featured in Details magazine, and it's awesome.

Look, Tammy and I don't work. We are oil and water. Or oil and TNT and C4 and a detonator and a butane torch.

Ron