Emmy FYC: Best Actress in a Drama Series

Team Experience is sharing FYCs as the Television Academy votes on Emmy nominations (voting closes on June 24th). Here's J.B...

Last year's winner Claire Foy can't repeat (as Emmy likes to do) because she didn't have a TV show this year.I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Emmy category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.  As someone who worships at the altar of dramatic actresses, it’s my favorite category, and therefore necessarily the one that causes me the greatest anguish. Sometimes, this category shocks and delights (as it did in 2014, when Lizzy Caplan was nominated for her wonderful work on Masters of Sex, or 2016, when Tatianna Maslany took home the trophy for her dynamic performance in Orphan Black). But more often, as of late, anyway, I’ve been left wounded by egregious snubs and unwelcome surprises on nomination morning and Emmy night.

For example, I like Claire Danes, but did she really need a SECOND Emmy for her performance on Homeland, at the expense of Elisabeth Moss, who somehow never won for her iconic role on Mad Men? If Moss had won for Mad Men perhaps voters could have skipped her in turn for Claire Foy in The Crown, thus clearing the way for Keri Russell in 2018, whose turn as Elizabeth Jennings in The Americans is maybe the greatest dramatic performance of the decade. Keri’s loss, in particular, I still haven’t fully recovered from.

So, to any Emmy voters out there who have realized the error of their ways and are looking to make amend: You CAN’T! You’ve made bad choices, the consequences of which we all will have to live with! Know that. BUT, if you are looking to get on the right side of history this year, start by considering the following four names on your ballot for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series...

Click to read more ...

Big Little Lies MVPs: Episode 2.2 "Tell-Tale Hearts"

By Spencer Coile

After a compelling season opener, Big Little Lies is back to remind viewers why its viewership only continues to rise. Renata’s husband, Gordon, is arrested and jeopardizes her wealth and self-worth. Per Nathan’s request, Bonnie’s mother (Crystal Fox) arrives on the scene to shake her daughter out of her funk. Meanwhile, Celeste and Jane disclose to their respective families how Perry connects them - much to the chagrin and denial from Mary Louise. Not to mention, Ed finds out about Madeline’s affair with the theater director and concludes their marriage is over. Oh yeah, and Perry had an older brother who died years ago.

A lot of drama was covered in the second episode, so buckle up for...

Top 10 MVPs of Big Little Lies. Episode 2.2 “Tell-Tale Hearts”

Click to read more ...

Emmy FYC: Kristin Scott Thomas in "Fleabag"

Team Experience will be sharing FYCs as the Television Academy votes on Emmy nominations over the next two weeks. Here's Ben Miller...

I have an appreciation for a skilled performer’s ability to shut up.  Watch the scene in Doubt between Viola Davis and Meryl Streep.  Once Davis gets going, Streep knows to step aside and let Davis do her thing.  Fleabag creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge does the same thing with Kristin Scott Thomas in her standout scene in the third episode of Fleabag’s (pretty much perfect) second season.

After chasing down Thomas’ Belinda to take back an award, the main character spends some time drinking and flirting at a bar, listening to Belinda speak about the patronization of women in business.  Then comes the speech --sit back and enjoy...

Click to read more ...

Big Little Lies MVPs: Episode 2.1 "What Have They Done?"

by Nathaniel R

The first season of Big Little Lies won 8 Emmys, 4 Golden Globes, and 2 SAG Awards and, most importantly, the hearts of actressexuals everywhere. It would be foolish to expect the possibly unneccessary Season 2 to deliver at quite the same level. But for now, just one episode in, it more than satisfied, if only for the chance to see these exceptionally well-drawn characters again. 

The first episode begins with the new school year and charts the after-effects of Perry's (Alexander Skarsgård) death. The death has (mostly) been deemed an accident  but "the Monterey 5" (Kidman, Witherspoon, Woodley, Dern and Kravitz aka Celeste, Madeline, Jane, Renata and Bonnie) are still the talk of the town. To add to the combustible mix of those five strong personalities, now closer friends due to their shared tragedy/lies, Perry's mother Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) is making everyone uncomfortable not just with her questions about the death of her son, but the brusque manner in which she delivers them.  As with season 1, we'll conquer each episode in list format. Herewith...

Top 10 MVPs of Big Little Lies. Episode 2.1 "What Have They Done?" 

Click to read more ...

FYC: "Counterpart"

Team Experience will be sharing FYCs as the Television Academy votes on Emmy nominations over the next two weeks. Here's Abe Fried-Tanzer...

Last year, Counterpart won exactly the number of Emmy Awards it was nominated for – one. Its Main Title Design victory, while deserved, is hardly indicative of its tremendous quality. Starz has struggled generally to find a footing in the non-technical categories, earning only Best Limited Series mentions in the past decade, for The Pillars of the Earth and The White Queen. Golden Globes enthusiasm for Outlander, Boss, and Blunt Talk didn’t translate to Emmy love, and so there’s little hope that Counterpart, which was cancelled back in February by Starz, will break through in the way it should this year.

Season two represented the opposite of a sophomore slump for this sci-fi political thriller. The ideas presented in season one were expanded upon and the show transformed into something completely different. What initially began as a showcase of an incredible two-handed performance from Oscar winner J.K. Simmons as the same man from two different worlds turned into so much more, with his two starring characters shying away from the spotlight as other players came into focus...

Click to read more ...