56 | MARCH 14 • 2024 
J
N

NEW SERIES AND A GUY 
WHO ALMOST CERTAINLY 
SAVED LOVED ONE (S)

Apples Never Fail is a 
seven-episode, limited 
series, which premieres 
on Thursday, March 14, on 
Peacock. It is based on a 
best-selling mystery novel of 
the same name by Australian 
author Liane Moriarity. 
The family seems, at first, 
to be perfect. Stan Delany 
(Sam Neill) and Joy Delany 
(Annette Benning) are ready 
to start their “golden years.” 
They have just sold their suc-
cessful tennis academy. 
They are somewhat dis-
appointed by their four adult 
children. But they seem to 
be happy to have extra time 
with their children now that 
they are retired. 
This idyll ends when 
Savannah, a young woman 
who claims she was abused 
by her boyfriend, knocks on 
the Delaneys’ door and they 
take her in. Their children 
are not as enthusiastic about 
helping Savannah as their 
parents. Shortly thereafter, 
Joy disappears. 
The most prominent of the 
four Delaney children is Amy, 
who is played by Alison 
Brie, 41. Brie is probably still 
best known for her co-star-
ring role on Glow, a Netflix 
series which ended pre-
maturely due to the COVID 
epidemic. More recently, 
she co-wrote and co-starred 
in the Amazon Prime film 
Somebody I Used to Know 
(2023), a quite popular “rom-
com.” The film was co-written 
by and directed by Brie’s 
husband, Dave Franco, 38. 
Franco has had a minor act-
ing career, and Somebody 
was his directorial debut. 
As I’ve noted before, the 

couple have the same back-
ground: Jewish mothers and 
non-Jewish fathers and they 
identify as Jewish. 
Nate Mann, 27ish, has a 
recurring role in Apples. As 
I have reported, he has a 
starring role on Masters of 
the Air, the Apple TV+ series 
about “real” WWII bomber 
pilots. He co-stars as Robert 
Rosenthal, a heroic (Jewish) 
pilot. 
While Mann has done 
several Masters interviews, 
he’s not been asked (or 
volunteered) whether he is 
Jewish. I have incomplete 
info, now, from public 
records. It appears that his 
father is Jewish, and his 
mother is not. (When I know, 
I’ll update). 
Girls on the Bus is a 
10-episode limited HBO/
Max series. It also begins 
on March 14. The series was 
co-created by journalist Amy 
Chozick, 43. The series is 
inspired by Choznick’s book 
(2018) of the same name. 
Choznick was a Wall Street 
Journal reporter (2002-08) 
and is a NY Times reporter 
(2011-to date). She rode on a 
bus with other reporters as 
she reported on the Hillary 
Clinton 2008 campaign (for 
the Democratic nomination) 
and Clinton’s 2016 presiden-
tial campaign. Choznick’s 
unhappy “Clinton experi-

ence” was the theme of her 
book. (Clinton rarely talked 
to “the girls” and “the boys” 
on the bus.)
The Max series will follow 
four women journalists in 
2024. These women have 
to face very contemporary 
hurdles, like finding the time 
to work on their social media 
postings and constantly 
chasing scoops for the 24/7 
demands of the internet.
On March 2, the CBS 
Sunday Morning program 
interviewed Dr. Drew 
Weissman, 64, a physician 
and immunologist, and Dr. 
Katalin Karikó, a biochemist. 
Both have long been affili-
ated with the University. of 
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). 
Their pioneering work 
in MRNA was the key to 
developing the COVID 
vaccines, and that work was 
honored when the pair won 
the 2023 Nobel Prize in 
Medicine. (The interview can 
be viewed on YouTube or on 
the CBS website. It is only 7 
minutes but is packed with 
good info). 
Two points Weissman 
made stuck in my mind. 
He said that the MRNA 
technology has been 
used in developing almost 
every “promising” vaccine: 
tuberculosis, malaria, HIV, 
hepatitis C and, to my 
surprise, food allergies. 

(Weissman noted that many 
parents are scared if their 
child eats a peanut). 
Weissman also said that 
politicians shouldn’t give 
people misinformation about 
vaccines and cause deaths. 
He said, “They [politicians] 
are supposed to help the 
world.” 

In 2021, the Philadelphia 
Jewish Exponent interviewed 
Weissman. His father, he 
said, was Jewish. His mother 
was Italian and wasn’t 
Jewish. He said he was 
raised Jewish; his wife, who 
was raised observant, is 
Jewish; and their children 
were raised Jewish. 
The family belongs to a 
Conservative synagogue.
However, I have to add 
that Weissman said he really 
isn’t very religious. He said: 
“I’m more of a Daoist, in that 
point of view that I think that 
Earth, nature, is the supreme 
— the main component of 
life. And that’s what needs to 
be celebrated.”
Weissman may not be very 
religious. But there is “some-
thing” in Jewish culture, 
which is highly influenced 
by Judaism, that produces 
remarkable statistics: 26% of 
the winners of all the Nobel 
Prizes in Medicine had one 
or two Jewish parents. 38% 
of American winners had one 
or two Jewish parents. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

IMDB

LARRY D. MOORE

Amy Chozick

GAGE SKIDMORE

Alison Brie
Nate Mann

