Blueprints: "The Americans"

Jorge continues to look at the pilot episodes for the Best Series contenders of this year’s Emmys. 

The Americans did a lot of things at once. It was a spy show, a family drama, a heavy exploration of the human psyche, a look into a broken marriage, and a workplace series, all neatly tied into one disguise-heavy package. That multi-tasking is what made it one of the greatest shows in the so-called New Golden Age of Television. 

The series premiered in 2013, and ended this spring after six seasons, so the pilot may be a bit removed from our collective memories. But let’s take a look at the very first sequence of the entire show, anyway. It immersed us immediately in the world of these people, no explanations given, and put us on high gear from the get-go...

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The Link With Two Brains

• Vulture Kathleen Turner in conversation, dishing on Burt Reynolds, William Hurt, Eileen Atkins and more. I had no idea that she didn't like Elizabeth Taylor! That's insane but Turner is always good for a blurb. So frank and funny. 
• Parade 10 Steve Martin quotes to brighten your day on his birthday
• Variety Ruby Rose is the latest actress to quit her social media after online trolling. This time a bizarre she's not gay enough to play a gay character or some nonsense (even though she's been out for years!). When will the madness end and why do we live in such a mean world?

 

• MNPP the trailer to Gaspar Noe's latest provocation, Climax
• Slate a round up of all the shark jokes people made while reporting on The Meg
• Film School Rejects Netflix's original film slate for the last few months of this year. It's stacked. 
• Variety an update of sorts on that Fan Bingbing rumor we told you about. Is China banning her from acting for 3 years?
• Variety should the Emmys have even more categories? Acting categories too often combine very disparate skills.
• /Film Neill Blomkamp (District 9) is directing a sequel to Robocop, ignoring the other sequels apparently, and he wants Peter Weller to return as star. 
• Variety Instant Family, a comedy starring Rose Byrne and Mark Wahlberg moved up from 2019 to a November bow this year
• i09 Jeff Goldblum jigsaw puzzles!
• Coming Soon Train to Busan, the Korean zombie hit, is getting a sequel 

Exit Video
It's another teaser for Matthew Weiner's new series The Romanoffs. I'm soooo excited for this because I love Weiner AND I have no idea what to expect really even after watching this. Looks like the kind of show that might have instant takes which prove incredibly wrongheaded once you see the show develop. 

Blueprints: "GLOW"

As we steamroll towards Emmy season, Jorge will be diving into the pilot episodes for some of the Best Series nominees from now until the ceremony on September 17. This week, he steps into the ring for some gorgeous lady wrestling…

If a TV show has the Jenji Kohan seal (either as a creator or as an executive producer), there are several things you can expect from it: biting satire that effortlessly moves from dark comedy to emotional drama, a focus on female stories, and large ensembles.

GLOW, Netflix’s second big collaboration with Kohan after Orange Is the New Black (though here only in a producer capacity) is a perfect embodiment of these traits. Let’s take a look at how writer-creator’s for the hit comedy, Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, introduce and establish the main characters that we will be following in this journey of self-empowerment and risky physical maneuvers...

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Blueprints: Emmy Nominees for Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special

Jorge has been taking a look at the Emmy history for this year’s writing nominees.  

Let’s take a look at the various shows that made up the six nominees for Writing in a Limited Series, TV Movie, or Dramatic Special. Even with the longest title in the writing categories, which aim to include made-for-TV films or broadcast theater performances, all of the nominees are from a limited series with multiple episodes (even Black Mirror, where every episode is self-contained, is part of a larger anthology). Some series submitted the entirety of their episodes, while others only a single standout episode (I ignore the specific rules, but I assume it has something to do with overall series length).

Since we’re huge fans of statistics here, let's take a look the elevator pitches and Emmy history stats after the jump…

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50 Kristins for Kristin's 50th

by Jorge Molina

Today, Tony, Emmy and Grammy-winner (that’s right, she only needs an Oscar to EGOT; get on it, Hollywood) and human ray of sunshine Kristin Chenoweth turns 50 years old. To honor her career, her legacy, and that impossibly high pitch matched only by her charisma, let’s take a look at 50 roles and appearances that she has gifted the world in almost three decades of work, in no particular order:

1) Her Broadway debut in an adaptation of Moliére’s Scapin as Hyacinth in 1996. 

2 & 3) Her two most iconic Broadway roles: A featured Tony-winning turn as Sally in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown in 1999, and the Best Actress Tony-nominated performance as Glinda, the Good Witch in the world phenomenon that was Wicked in 2003.

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