TV Talk: Former ‘Dance Moms’ star, Pittsburgh native stars in Lifetime movie; ‘The Morning Show’ returns

Viewers who couldn’t get enough of the train wreck that was Lifetime’s Pittsburgh-based “Dance Moms” likely remember Nia Sioux Frazier and her mom, Holly Hatcher-Frazier, as the most poised, sensible and seemingly stable of that show’s regulars.

Nia, who now goes by Nia Sioux, was just 9 when “Dance Moms” began. Now she’s 20, studying American Literature at UCLA and returning to Lifetime for her biggest acting role yet, starring in the movie “Imperfect High” (8 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime).

Sioux plays Hanna, a teen who moves with her mother (Sherri Shepherd) to Lakewood High School in Chicago, setting of Lifetime’s 2015 movie “Perfect High,” which “Imperfect High” is a spiritual sequel to.

Hanna, who has an anxiety disorder, finds the move stressful and while trying to fit in starts abusing prescription drugs.

“It’s really awesome to be able to get to play this kind of role, especially on Lifetime where I started out,” Sioux said in a phone interview last week from Los Angeles. “I feel like this movie is definitely something that will help a lot of families, a lot of teens, that are struggling.”

Sioux, who grew up in Churchill and attended the Winchester Thurston School and Oakland Catholic High School, relocated to Los Angeles about four years ago, though she returns home to Pittsburgh often including a trip back earlier this month. In addition to dancing and singing, she started taking acting classes at age 13 and played Emma Barber on CBS’s daytime soap “The Bold and the Beautiful” in 2018-19.

“It’s like acting boot camp where you do two episodes a day,” Sioux said of playing a fashion intern with a love interest on the soap. “My character got killed off so we’ll see if she returns eventually.”

Earlier this year, Sioux debuted the first project she’s been an executive producer on, “Dance with Nia,” streaming on Facebook.

“We highlight these incredible dancers who happen to have disabilities,” Sioux said. “The whole premise of the show is to give them that voice, that platform to really advocate and speak about their personal experiences.”

Sioux could relate to her “Imperfect High” character in some ways.

“I’ve struggled with anxiety, though not on the level Hanna does,” she said. “But I can relate to having pressure and being a teenager. … I struggle with imposter syndrome all the time even though I worked my butt off and trained for this moment. I definitely channeled that into this character.”

Sioux said she stays in touch with “the OG squad” of dancers from “Dance Moms.” She has been candid about the difficulties of her “Dance Moms” experience, but she looks back at it as a stepping stone.

“I’m always going to be grateful for it. Always,” she said. “There were tough times but overall it gave me the platform to be able to go on and do music and do acting.”

‘The Morning Show’

Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” was a mixed bag in its first season but ended on a high as Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) and Alex (Jennifer Aniston) shared their network’s dirty laundry on national TV.

Season two, streaming Friday, picks up right where things ended before jumping forward several months to reveal Alex has left the morning news show.

Certainly one of the most high-gloss soaps being made today – only HBO’s “Succession” looks more expensive – “The Morning Show” still suffers from bloated episode run times but it looks amazing and often sounds amazing. The writers, clearly taking note of actor Billy Crudup’s supporting drama actor Emmy win in 2020, give his UBA executive Cory Ellison some terrific monologues, particularly when in a showdown with the UBA board.

“Enjoy broadcasting your cave paintings to the last remaining savages who are still watching over-the-air broadcasting,” he rages. “The rest of the world? They’ve moved up to the cloud and it is (bleeping) gorgeous up there!”

The first two episodes are all about reconstituting the show’s initial set-up – getting Alex back on the morning news show, which no sane person would agree to but even though this is an attempt at prestige TV, it’s still TV. Give the show credit for addressing all the wrongs committed by the characters in season one, leading to Bradley (Witherspoon) and Alex (Aniston) in a rousing shouting match after a swanky reunited-and-it-feels-so-good dinner party.

Another great scene: Disgraced anchor Mitch (Steve Carell), while trying to enjoy a gelato in Italy, finds himself caught between two women in an amazingly scripted, substanative argument about cancel culture and generational #MeToo differences. This is one fun – and sometimes bonkers — show.

‘Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol’

Now streaming its first episode on Peacock, “Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol” is a present-day, quasi-prequel to the Tom Hanks-starring “DaVinci Code” and its sequels.

Ashley Zukerman (“Manhattan,” “Terra Nova”) takes over the Hanks role as a younger version of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who must solve a series of puzzles to save his kidnapped mentor, Peter Solomon (Eddie Izzard).

Filmed prior to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, “The Lost Symbol” begins with a kidnapper who goes through Capitol security and leaves Solomon’s cut off hand in the rotunda with clues on the fingertips that lead Langdon to a booby-trapped room in the Capitol’s sub-basement.

Viewers who can suspend their disbelief about that setup may be able to enjoy this conspiracy thriller that feels, frustratingly, like a wild goose chase.

Kept/canceled

Hulu renewed “Only Murders in the Building” for a second season; Peacock did the same for “The Amber Ruffin Show.”

Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico” will end with its third season, premiering Nov. 5.

HBO Max canceled “Genera+ion” after one season.

Channel surfing

Ross native Andy Mientus (“Smash,” “Gone”) will be in the cast of Netflix’s comic book adaptation “Grendel,” about a fencer (Abubakr Ali, who just shot Billy Porter’s film directorial debut “What If” in Pittsburgh) who joins New York’s criminal underworld. … WPXI-TV reporter Mike Holden is recovering from possible popliteal artery entrapment syndrome that didn’t allow him to walk, run or put weight on his right foot. He’s now out of the hospital and recovering at home. … Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” won best comedy, best new program and program of the year in the 2021 Television Critics Association Awards, announced Wednesday. Actress Jean Smart won for individual achievement in a comedy for “Hacks” and also received the TCA career achievement award. “The Crown” won for drama series and “Mare of Easttown” for miniseries.