Naomi's Turn: Exploring Her Role on "Gypsy"

By Spencer Coile 

With many actresses making that giant leap from the large to small screen in recent years, it is not shocking that Naomi Watts has followed suit. Armed with a megawatt smile and acting chops utilized by some of the industry's most prolific directors, it almost felt like a no-brainer that Watts would eventually find herself as the glue that holds a series together.

Gypsy, unfortunately, was not met with the critical fanfare many expected, considering the quality of its leading actress. With some calling the series "boring," and others arguing that the writing does a major disservice to Watts, perhaps you are intrigued. Is it worth watching at all? In an attempt to avoid the standard "binge model" of television viewing, I only watched the first episode of Gypsy -- to guage its effectiveness as a psychosexual drama and whether or not Watts' capabilities would be better served elsewhere.  

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FYC: "The Good Place" for Best Comedy

Team Experience are sharing their Emmy hopeful favorites. Here's Sean Donovan...

The Good Place was one of the quietest critical successes of the 2016/2017 television calendar, amassing a small but loyal band of followers. They attended to every minuscule detail of the show’s terrifically nuanced mythology. Yet, of all the Emmy FYCs The Film Experience has been doling out these past two weeks, this feels like one of the farthest reaches. The Good Place is perfectly in the lane of a future cult classic. But that's the problem. To become a true cult classic, your greatness must somehow allude the powers that be at the time. 

For the uninitiated, The Good Place follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) who, following her sudden death in the pilot, finds herself in the afterlife, specifically the carefully non-denominational “Good Place,” presided over by cheerful architect Michael (Ted Danson)...

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Emmy FYC: Difficult People, Season Two

By Spencer Coile 

Emmy season is a treacherous time. With so many scrambling to campaign for their favorites, it is incredibly easy to get lost in the mix of all the names and shows being talked about. Difficult People, however, is not  a show that should merely be talked about. Much like its leading characters, it requires heavy shouting. 

Wannabe actor/comedians and best friends Billy and Julie (played by Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner respectively) are two of the most wretched, vile, and selfish people to hit the televisual landscape in recent years. They attempt to cloy and scratch their way to the top. Season two of Difficult People is practically breathtaking in how quickly paced it is, and it should also go without saying that it is utterly hilarious... 

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Emmy FYC: Eva Green and Christian Camargo, "Penny Dreadful"

Team Experience shares their dream Emmy nominations. Consider it an FYC as nomination ballots are out...

by Dancin' Dan

Showtime's now cancelled gothic horror show Penny Dreadful has never been one to receive much awards love, even when it should have been (has there been a better villain on any television show in recent memory than Helen McCrory's Evelyn Poole in the show's second season?). Part of this had to do with timing: Airing always began around June, near the time the Emmy nominations for the previous season were voted on, meaning that by the next nominating period, it was long forgotten. The other part is the nature of the show itself. Emmy has rarely favored genre shows, much less ones as bloody and occasionally over-the-top as this.

Sadly this has meant that the series's leading lady, Eva Green, has been ignored despite giving the most committed, most fearless, and best performance on television...

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Emmy FYC: Master of None, Season Two

By Spencer Coile 

The first season of Master of None was met with universal acclaim from critics and audiences. Telling the quasi-autobiographical story of Dev (Aziz Ansari), the series follows this wannabe actor and his numerous friends as they gallavant through New York City, eating pasta and searching for love. What made the first season of Ansari and Alan Yang's concoction so fascinating was the way in which they infused elements of culture, race, and sexuality into their storylines. The dialogue was unique to many other shows with similar plotlines; there was a level of specificity and a lived in quality that surpassed more traditional sitcoms.

Master of None recently returned to Netflix and met no sophomore slump. The second season has not only matched the quality of the first but surpassed it. How well does this bode for the series' Emmy chances?

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