Who will win the Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Comedy?

By Spencer Coile 

It really is a blessing and a curse when the Television Academy gives us eight nominees for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - a trend they can’t seem to depart from. It’s a blessing because we see a rich field of actresses getting their dues. Yet it’s a curse because, more than any other category this past decade, the previous year's winner seems to repeat at least once. Between McKinnon, Allison Janney for Mom, and my arch nemesis Julie Bowen for Modern Family, the winner pool isn’t as rich. 

With last year’s winner Alex Borstein still very much a part of the conversation, are we going to see another repeat victory? 

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Fleabag: Season 2

By Spencer Coile

Rather than beat around the bush, let me just come right out and say: Fleabag is a miraculous piece of television. Its first season, an adaptation of the stage production by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, debuted on Amazon Prime back in 2016. It followed the titular Fleabag (played by Waller-Bridge), a foul-mouthed, lying, sexually insatiable cafe owner in London coming to terms with her best friend’s death. With few friends, she’s prone to stealing, sleeping with assorted men, and antagonizing her family, including her godmother-turned-stepmother (Olivia Colman) - all the while breaking the fourth wall and speaking to us, her audience. It was an uncomfortable yet poignant six episode run, but Fleabag’s story wasn’t quite over.

Waller-Bridge, notable for her recent involvement with Killing Eve, is back for one final season with her plucky anti-hero. And rather than just be a continuation of the first season, Fleabag returns to Prime with a second season so stunning and so deeply personal, you may have no choice but to see it to believe it. So, rather than a review, let’s consider this a celebration of Fleabag...

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Podcast: Reflecting on the big show. Plus "Greta"

with Nathaniel R, Murtada Elfadl and Nick Davis

 

A week after the Oscars we reflect on the big night. Which wins will age well? Was this a fluke year or telling for the future? Should actors speak out on their problematic films? As an after-dinner mint, we nibble on Neil Jordan's stalker thriller Greta with Isabelle Huppert and Chloe Moretz. 

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Reflecting back on Oscar Night.

Best Dressed Best Actress? (...and a look at the whole decade, too)

Mandatory Red Carpet Lineup Poll!

polls

P.S. In case you've forgotten about our Oscar doll fantasy (You haven't, right?) the whole collection is embedded after the jump. Just think - there's only one more Oscar season to go to complete the decade in film !!! Then we can do all sorts of silly stuff with statistics...

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Team Experience Oscar Reax Pt 1: Joy, Horniness, Good Speeches

As is our practice we polled the team and a few friends shortly after the Oscars to get their takes. We hope you'll answer the same questions in the comments!  

OSCAR NIGHT QUESTIONNAIRE Pt 1

1. Which moment filled you with the most joy?
2. Which moment made you horniest?
3. Which speech was your favourite?
4. Which gown left you gagging? 

Our answers are after the jump...

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On Glenn Close's Oscar Curse

by Nathaniel  R

At this point in her long and celebrated career, Glenn Close surely has reason to wonder. Consider it a reverse Sally Field: 'You don't like me? You really don't like me?'

There are many familiar time-tested ways to win an Oscar and Glenn Close has tried them all. She's tried the debut performance that makes everyone's jaw drop with 'who is THAT?' wonder (World According to Garp). She's tried being the actor who becomes a kind of symbolic representation of an entire film and cast (The Big Chill). She's tried having the necessary momentum, twice actually, with three consecutive supporting nominations ending in The Natural  early in her career, and then two consecutive lead nominations a few years later (ending with Dangerous Liaisons). She's tried having the kind of blockbuster zeitgeist hit that can carry you to win even when you aren't deserving though she certainly was (Fatal Attraction)...

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