Emmy Watch: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

By Abe Friedtanzer

Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple in "Ted Lasso"

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series may actually be the most competitive Emmy category this time. At the very least it's the one with the largest number of high-caliber candidates who deserve a spot. The list of returning possibilities is about as short as in any other category this year. Two-time winner Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live) is angling for her eighth consecutive bid. Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live) was nominated last year, and Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live) is a previous honoree who could return again. Though it’s not technically for the same show but for the same role, Laurie Metcalf (The Conners) is a past nominee, and a three-time winner. There’s also Bette Midler (The Politician), who earned her show’s only major nomination last year as a guest and is now eligible here. Let’s go over the rest of the field…

Click to read more ...

Emmy FYC: The directing of “The Handmaid’s Tale”

by Juan Carlos Ojano

It’s probably an odd thing to say that I love The Handmaid’s Tale so much, given how challenging it can be for its audience. I even wonder why I love it sometimes. There is never an episode of the show that can be considered easy. And yet, there is also something deeply cathartic about watching its main character June (Elisabeth Moss) as well as the other characters survive, persevere, and even fight the institutionalized misogyny in the Republic of Gilead.

One thing that I always go back to is the top-notch filmmaking in the show...

Click to read more ...

1946: Margaret Rutherford in "Blithe Spirit"

Each month before the Supporting Actress Smackdown, Nick Taylor suggests alternatives to the actual Oscar nomination ballot.

by Nick Taylor

For me, Dame Margaret Rutherford sits alongside the likes of Judi Dench and Edith Evans and (insert your favorite British actress/Mark Rylance here) as quintessential examples of British thespians transitioning to remarkably rewarding screen careers later in life, long after establishing their bonafides onstage. What’s recognizable about their screen presences is seemingly integral to every role, though they’re rangier in affect and character-building than one might give them credit for. They almost always deliver, and even when they don't, there's still enough happening in their work for a desperate viewer to latch onto. It takes talent for Rutherford to be compelling enough in The VIPs that you wonder if her performance deserves to be in a better film instead of scraped with the rest of the heap.

It’s also worth noting for the context of Blithe Spirit that Noël Coward wrote the role of Madame Arcati specifically with Rutherford in mind...

Click to read more ...

Juneteenth is finally an official US holiday. Will we get more movies about it?

Following recent voting in Congress, Juneteenth is finally a federal holiday. It's been too long in coming. And speaking of since this is a film site ... Have you caught up with last year's Miss Juneteenth yet? It's so good and Nicole Beharie is just perfect in the leading role, as a former beauty queen who has to learn to let go of trying to strictly mold her daughter into a new version of herself. She won the Gotham Award and was a medalist here at TFE as well. For our money she was better than the bulk of Oscar's acting nominees last season...

Click to read more ...

Tweetweek Tussauds

In an effort to love Twitter again, despite its toxicity, we must savor Tweets that are enjoyable and share them. After the jump Mandy Patinkin, Liza Minnelli, In the Heights, Mare of Easttown, and more... 

jean smart played her own wax replica in hacks? emmy NOW pic.twitter.com/C6bpg35ca3

— character actress georgie rae (@georgie_rae_) June 15, 2021

Click to read more ...