"Main Titles" - An Emmy Curiousity

American Horror Story is one of the only series eligible every year in this category. It was nominated for Murder House, Asylum, and Freakshow onlyA good title sequence is a godsend to any series. The best of them convey the tone and spirit of the show but in a creative rewatchable way (my favorite of the past few years: Marvel's Daredevil). Series are only eligible for this Emmy award in their first year on television. The exception is of course anthology series which tend to change their opening credits each year. For example American Horror Story has had three nominations in this category for Murder House, Asylum, and Freakshow but was passed over for Coven and Hotel. On the odd occasion that a non-anthology totally changes their main titles they can submit again. This limitation makes the category, by default, my pet favorite. After all it's the only one that voters are forced to rethink anew each year. They can still be lazy with their votes, of course, but they can't be lazy in the exact same way that they were the year before. Progress!

Do the nominees this year make you want to watch the show? Do you think these were worthy choices or did you have subsitutes in mind? All the nominees are after the jump...

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Interview: Rising Star Boyd Holbrook ("Narcos")

Boyd Holbrook © Flaunt magazine, Fe Pinheiro, photographerI regret to inform you that I cannot begin this story with the sizzling lede I'd intended. But the redacted story, of where Boyd Holbrook called me from and the new project he's working on -- were nevertheless a good reminder that he's been an exciting talent to watch. That's not just because he's so engaging onscreen but because he doesn't want to get stuck in a rut; it's hard to guess where his creative muse will take him next.

So let's jump to our real topic. Boyd Holbrook was calling to discuss his role as DEA officer Steve Murphy in the Netflix series Narcos. The debut season was nominated for Best Drama Series at the Golden Globes and before its second season airs, it's undoubtedly hoping for Emmy to follow suit (balloting closes tomorrow). The story revolves around the drug lord Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura, Globe nominated for Best Actor) and the attempts of DEA agents Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Javier Peña (Pedro Pascal) to bring him down. Though it's somewhat of a three-lead series, Holbrook and Peña are both on Emmy's Supporting Actor Drama ballot since Escobar is the subject matter. Holbrook's character is our window to the story and a handy historical reference guide as narrator. The early episodes have to impart a ton of information we couldn't be expected to know about both Colombia and the US in the late 70s and early 80s as well as technological limitations of the time in hunting and surveillance of your prey.

I talked to Boyd about the peculiar demands of the part, half-exposition and half-character work, but we begin with what I suspect is his multi-hyphenate inner artist [Interview after the jump...]

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