To link, perchance to read...

• Defector "The money is in all the wrong places" fascinating piece in response to Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney and her lack of financial security despite being rich
• British GQ The Sandman and the return of the emo leading man
• Variety Keanu Reeves set to star in Devil in the White City (originally a film project for Leonardo DiCaprio) which will now be a Hulu series.

Brad Pitt's "shit list", Pac-Man, the red state/blue state prestige TV divide, Johnny Depp's (French) return and more after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Emmy Category Analysis: Supporting Actress in a Limited Series

by Cláudio Alves

If you need proof that the current Emmy voting system is broken, you need to look no further than the Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series race. Despite having seven available slots, only two shows appear in the lineup. Unsurprisingly, they are The White Lotus and Dopesick, two of the year's biggest frontrunners. Allowing voters to check an unlimited number of names on their ballots means that the most popular and acclaimed programs will dominate, no matter the specifics of the category. Unfortunately, this takes away slots to honor MVP achievements in less buzzy shows.

For predicting purposes, it also muddies the waters...

Click to read more ...

2022 Emmy Category Analysis: Drama Directing & Writing Categories

By Abe Friedtanzer

Julia Garner in the series finale of Ozark "A Hard Way To Go"

The directing and writing categories for drama this year have seven slots each and both honor the same five shows, with one additional series thrown into the writing race. It’s become increasingly rare for shows that aren’t nominated for Best Drama Series to make the cut in either category. Indeed, for the second consecutive year, none managed that feat. The only shows that managed multiple nods in either of these categories this year were Yellowjackets  with two writing nominations and Succession with 3 directing nominations. Fun trivia: Succession keeps matching its season number to its number of directing nominations (Season 1: 1 nod; Season 2: 2 nods; Season 3: 3 nods) While Succession won the directing race for season two, it has won the writing Drama Emmy for season 1 and 2 which makes it the frontrunner in each category again. But let’s look at what else is in the mix. 

Brief descriptions of the nominees below - click on the episode titles for spoiler-filled reviews…

Click to read more ...

Podcast: Emmy Noms, Voting Systems, Breakout Newbies

by Team Experience

You already read our immediate reactions to the complete Emmy nominations, and some odes to snubs. But to put the Emmy nomination week to bed, how about a podcast? Nathaniel met with Abe, Chris, Cláudio, and Mark to discuss the nominations for the 74th Annual Emmy Awards. Somehow a lot of past TV shows and Emmy history keep cropping up like Damages, Game of Thrones, Shameless, and Parks and Recreations. 

Podcast - 70 minutes
00:01 Overabundance of noms: White Lotus
07:00 Final seasons: Killing Eve, Ozark, and This is Us
11:00 Guest categories: Hacks & Succession
14:00 Hanging episodes: Stranger Things
17:00 Standout actors: Pam & Tommy, Ted Lasso, The Morning Show
23:00 Weird categorizations and awards as industry promotion
30:00 Limited vs regular: Squid Game, Pieces of Her, White Lotus
33:00 TV Movie Category - What can be done? 
37:00 Peacock, Paramount+, CBS All Access, Starz, etc...
42:00 Severance, Abbott Elementary, Yellowjackets
46:00 Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, etc...
49:00 Fav noms: Barry, What We Do in the Shadows, The Staircase
59:00 Final thoughts: Rothaniel vs. The Closer, Sydney Sweeney in Euphoria, release dates of series


You can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify or download the attachment below. 

2022 Emmy Nominations

Team Experience Emmy Reactions Pt 1: Ode to the Emmy Snubs!

We asked members of Team Experience how they felt about the Emmy nominations (podcast coming up, too). Here's how they felt about those that were missing from the list.

PERFORMERS

ERIC: It was wonderful seeing so many actors from Severance recognized, but it would have been even lovelier if they'd have made room for lead Britt Lower, who provides a perfect tension between hope and dread, and the off-center comic stylings of Tramell Tillman, the sweet-dancing supervisor. Both actors really helped to keep the show in a dangerous zone...

Click to read more ...