TV power couple

Texas' famed Joanna and Chip Gaines unveil first 10 shows on new Magnolia Network

Chip and Joanna are taking over the old DIY Network.

Photo courtesy of HGTV

Chip and Joanna Gaines have the guts to take on a Fixer Upper-free future. And fans finally get to see what it looks like.

Two years after saying goodbye to the HGTV show that became a worldwide phenomenon, the Texas TV power couple is ready to unveil their cable channel, Magnolia Network. The official launch of Magnolia Network — which will take over DIY Network — has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, they announced recently.

But in an April 26 special called Magnolia Network: A Look Ahead, the couple gave viewers a sneak peek of 10 shows coming to their network, plus a few teases about how the Gaines family will be featured, too.

"The aim of our network will be to tell good stories — stories that unite instead of divide; stories that serve to inspire and uphold beauty; stories that entertain and draw out curiosities; stories that feel like home in all the ways a home should feel," they say on the network's website.

Readers of their Magnolia Journal will recognize the same kinds of inspiring stories now coming to life as series on TV. They'll focus on people who are living life passionately and authentically, the Gaineses say. They will cover topics the couple themselves are passionate about: home design, restoration, and renovation (of course!), as well as gardening, cooking, wellness, business, family, and traditions.

"We knew we wanted this to be a very well-rounded place where you could come, you feel like it's time well spent," Joanna says in the preview. "And we wanted to make sure that families found this as a time when they could come together and enjoy programming that left them feeling encouraged and inspired."

Here's a quick look at the first 10 shows they've slated:

Home on the Road
The show follows musicians Abner and Amanda Ramirez, better known together as Johnnyswim, as they navigate life on tour with their two young children and one on the way. The Ramirezes are good friends of the Gaineses (their song "Home" was the Fixer Upper theme song) and reportedly were the first to be approached about a show on the network.

Restoration Road
Fixer Upper favorite, carpenter Clint Harp, travels around the United States to help chronicle restoration of significant structures. In the preview, he visits the Philadelphia area to check out a 270-year-old inn where George Washington once stayed. He'll follow it as it's deconstructed, moved to Texas, and restored to operate as an inn once again.

Family Dinner
Celebrity chef and veteran TV host Andrew Zimmern explores life, love, relationships, and family traditions around the dinner table. "Family dinners are like church and group therapy and game night combined into one," Zimmern says. He'll engage with families about heirloom recipes, cooking through the generations, and more.

Growing Floret
Erin Benzakein, the founder of Floret Flower Farm in Washington state, embarks on a major expansion, growing her family-run, sustainable flower farm from two acres to 20. Not everything comes up roses along the way.

The Fieldhouse
Justin Bane, a former Baylor University football player whose NFL dreams got dashed due to injury, helps people navigate their own wellness journeys at his 20,000-square-foot gym called The Fieldhouse in Abilene.

Inn the Works
Lindsey Kurowski and her three siblings head up a team taking on the restoration of the 1920s-era Oak Knoll Lodge in Big Bear, California — without closing it to occupants while they do the work.

deVOL Kitchens
The design show goes inside the work of England-based deVOL — headed by Paul O'Leary and Helen Parker — as they create and build dream kitchens for clients. "I always want somebody to walk into their kitchen and feel that it's their favorite room in the house," Parker says in the preview.

The Lost Kitchen
Maine restaurateur Erin French runs her farm-to-table eatery The Lost Kitchen with a unique reservation system: potential diners must mail a postcard and be selected by French and her all-female staff. She's not attempting to serve the best meal in the world, but "I'm trying to make you feel the best feeling in the world, and there's food involved," she says.

Super Dad
Taylor Calmus, an actor-comedian and DIY guy known as "Dude Dad," guides intimidated dads through kids' projects (think backyard playgrounds) so they can "bring their kids' dreams to life and become their heroes in a whole new way," he says.

Home Work
Married couple Candis and Andy Meredith, who once starred in the HGTV series Old Home Love, take on their biggest project yet: converting a three-story, 20,000-square-foot abandoned schoolhouse into a home for their own family of nine.

The network also promises plenty of Gaines family footage. On the heels of her second cookbook release, Joanna will be cooking with friends. And Chip will get plenty more "demo day" action as they continue to take on big renovation projects around Waco.

"We're excited about what's next," Chip says in the preview. "And honestly we're excited to introduce you to more shows and more people that I hope you'll engage with just like you engaged with us in Fixer Upper."

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Movie Review

Cillian Murphy tells a local Irish story in Small Things Like These

Photo by Enda Bowe/Lionsgate

Cillian Murphy in Small Things Like These.

Last we saw actor Cillian Murphy, he was starring in the titular role of Oppenheimer, a role that would go on to earn him a Best Actor Oscar, not to mention many awards for the film itself. Instead of a big, flashy follow-up to build on that momentum, Murphy has gone in the opposite direction with the small and personal Small Things Like These.

Set in the 1980s in Murphy’s native Ireland, the film centers on Bill (Murphy), who owns a coal delivery company. One of his clients is the local convent, and during a delivery he witnesses a young pregnant woman being forced into the convent against her will by her mother. The scene triggers memories from his own childhood when he was raised by a single mother.

Every subsequent delivery to the convent has him questioning his own morality, although his taciturn nature doesn’t allow him to share his misgivings with his wife, Eileen (Eileen Walsh). With the Catholic Church an all-encompassing entity in Ireland, even if Bill wanted to help the girls who are trapped and mistreated at the convent, he’s not sure of any way to go about it.

Directed by Tim Mielants and written by Enda Walsh, the film has a slow build to it, so slow that it is a little difficult to ascertain the point of the story. The filmmakers go back and forth between scenes showing Bill as an adult and Bill as a child, and even though they each contain elements of trauma for the characters, the connection between the two timelines is not as strong as they might want it to be.

Even when it’s not part of a scene, the power of the church is the driving force of the film. Bill is clearly having a crisis of faith given his history and what he sees, but his wife seems to be willfully ignorant of any faults of the church and remains a true believer. The few segments that take the audience inside the convent are full of unforgiving nuns, with Sister Mary (Emily Watson) as their ultra-stern leader.

Given that this is an Irish film featuring all Irish actors, heavy accents accompany the majority of the dialogue, making it difficult to understand at times. This is clearly not an issue with the filmmaking and it helps with the verisimilitude of the story, but anyone who doesn’t have a lot of experience with the Irish accent may find themselves a little lost and/or disengaged with the emotions of the story.

Murphy’s role in Oppenheimer and this one don’t share much in common save for the fact that he clearly put his whole self into each of them. This is a testament to Murphy’s skills and dedication that he cares as much about an inherently local story as he did about a world-changing one. Walsh and Watson are also great as two women who have a huge influence on Bill’s outlook on life.

Small Things Like These, based on the book by Claire Keegan, is not as huge a takedown of the Catholic Church as some other films, but it’s still a searing indictment of its arcane practices. It’s one made even more effective by using a smaller story of one man’s lonely fight against injustice.

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Small Things Like These opens in theaters on November 8.

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