| | | | What's news: Superman: Legacy lands a Barry star. HBO's Casey Bloys discusses the challenge of celebrating Emmy noms amid the labor standoffs. Huw Edwards was named by his wife as the accused BBC staffer. HBO renews We're Here but with a new trio of drag performers. Tom Cruise's M:I 7 is off to a running start. — Ryan Gajewski |
SAG-AFTRA Strike Likely as Contract Deadline Passes ►"The companies have refused to meaningfully engage." Though officially the nail-biter continues, a SAG-AFTRA strike appears almost certain. After the union's deadline for the expiration of its film and television contracts package passed on Wednesday at midnight with no deal reached with studios and streamers, its negotiating committee unanimously voted to recommend that its National Board call a strike. This decision clearly suggests a strike is imminent, but the National Board will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. PT to officially decide whether to call a work stoppage. The story.
—"An unparalleled ability to successfully transform Disney." The Bob Iger era at Disney will continue beyond its scheduled end date. The Walt Disney Co. says that the venerable CEO has signed a contract extension, one that will keep him at the helm of the media and entertainment giant through 2026. The decision by the board was unanimous and cited the need to transform the company and to execute a transition plan, "which remains a priority for the board," Disney said. The story.
—Meet your Metamorpho. After finding his Clark Kent and Lois Lane, James Gunn is moving furiously to populate Metropolis with a bevy of other DC heroes for Superman: Legacy. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Anthony Carrigan, fresh off an Emmy nomination for his standout work on HBO's Barry, landing the role of classic DC character Metamorpho, aka archeologist-turned-hero Rex Mason. He joins the feature that will formally launch DC's new universe under filmmaker Gunn and his DC Studios co-boss, Peter Safran. The story.
—"Doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being." Huw Edwards — one of the most recognizable faces on British TV and the host of the BBC's flagship News at Ten program — has been revealed as having allegedly paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos. Edwards was named by his wife, Vicky Flind, in a statement issued on the veteran BBC presenter's behalf. The BBC said the Metropolitan Police had completed its investigation into Edwards and would take no further action. The story. |
2023 Emmy Nominations Revealed ►A good day for the Roys. Nominations for the 2023 Emmy Awards were announced Wednesday, with Succession leading the way for the second straight year. The final season for the drama series earned 27 nominations, followed by 24 for The Last of Us and 23 for The White Lotus — all three of which are HBO titles.
Also earning double-digit tallies this year were Ted Lasso (21), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (14), The Bear (13), Beef (13), Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (13), Wednesday (12), Barry (11) and Only Murders in the Building (11). The nominations.
—Snubs and surprises. Harrison Ford was widely expected to land his first Emmy nomination this year, thanks to roles in Shrinking and 1923. Instead, he was among the snubs, along with Love & Death's Elizabeth Olsen, the popular series Yellowstone and the stars of SNL and House of the Dragon. On the positive side, Welcome to Chippendales and Jury Duty were among the programs to surprise pundits by receiving plenty of voter love. The story.
—Leading the way, again. HBO is once again the leader among Emmy nominations — though it's a little closer than it was a year ago. The premium cable outlet and sibling streamer Max gathered 127 nominations, which is 13 fewer nods than the two platforms combined to receive in 2022. Netflix placed second with 103 nominations, while Apple TV+ nabbed 50. The scorecard.
—Rings wasn't too powerful. Fantasy dramas made a surprisingly strong showing in this year's Emmy nominations. HBO's House of the Dragon and The Last of Us and Disney+'s Andor all landed a nomination for outstanding drama series, Netflix's Wednesday was nominated for outstanding comedy series, and Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi earned a nomination for outstanding limited series. However, it wasn't the best day for Amazon's expensive The Rings of Power. The story. |
Analysis: Handful of Shows Dominate Despite Voting Changes ►Taking stock of the picks. THR's awards expert Scott Feinberg writes that, along with some curveballs, the 2023 Emmy nominations unfolded largely as he expected. The big wild card in this year's voting was whether or not a rule change implemented since last year's voting would keep a small handful of shows from once again utterly dominating the acting nominations, as had been the case in the years since 2017. Did it work? Not really. Still, Feinberg is encouraged by multiple aspects of this year's results. The analysis.
—"We don't get these from executives." THR's Mikey O'Connell chats with HBO and Max chair and CEO Casey Bloys about his team leading the way among platforms. Bloys discussed the challenging nature of celebrating amid the ongoing labor standoffs and shared his appreciation for the creatives involved. The interview.
—"We're fighting for our art." For THR, Esther Zuckerman interviews Abbott Elementary standout Sheryl Lee Ralph about her Emmy nomination and the SAG-AFTRA negotiations. Says Ralph: "I know what it's like to work just long enough to be able to survive on unemployment to the next job." The interview. |
THR Critics: Emmy Voters Struggle to Broaden Their Horizons ►"I'm not surprised, but I am disappointed." THR's TV critics Daniel Fienberg and Angie Han debate the nominations and vent about the most egregious absences. As they note, the dominance of Succession, The White Lotus and The Last of Us revealed the voters' ongoing tradition of loving a handful of shows but failing to recognize the breadth and depth of the medium. The critics' conversation.
—Ready to feel like an underacheiver? Keivonn Montreal Woodard broke the hearts of The Last of Us fans, and now he's breaking a record. The 10-year-old newcomer picked up an Emmy nomination for guest actor in a drama series, making him the youngest ever to be honored in the category. Woodard — who is deaf — played a young deaf apocalypse survivor named Sam. The story.
—Music to their ears. Rihanna could score a touchdown at the 2023 Emmy Awards: The pop star is nominated for her explosive Super Bowl performance, where she debuted her baby bump and broke the internet. Among the other musicians to land nominations are Jay-Z, Ed Sheeran, Elton John, Selena Gomez and more. The story.
More 2023 Emmy noms coverage…
—Listen to 50-plus Emmy nominees' Awards Chatter podcast episodes
—Watch the 30 Emmy nominees featured on THR's award-winning Roundtables from this year
—"Weird Al" Yankovic ebulliently reacts to his first Emmy nomination
—Barack and Michelle Obama each nab Emmy nominations
—Ray Liotta receives posthumous Emmy nomination for Black Bird
—Jenna Ortega makes history with first nomination
—Why The Idol, Silo and Outlander weren't eligible for Emmys |
TV Review: 'Justified: City Primeval' ►"Carves out new and distinctive terrain." Daniel Fienberg reviews FX's Justified: City Primeval. The eight-part sequel series sees Timothy Olyphant return as Raylan Givens in the Elmore Leonard adaptation. The review.
—"There's a great six-episode season of Project Greenlight here." Daniel Fienberg also reviews Max's 10-episode revival of Project Greenlight, which initially debuted back in 2001 and ran for four seasons. The new iteration of the filmmaking reality show includes mentors Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani and Gina Prince-Bythewood. The review.
—Dead set on a big opening. THR's Pamela McClintock reports that Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One, starring Tom Cruise, has started off its box office run in North America with a franchise-best $7 million in Tuesday previews. Hopes are high Dead Reckoning, Part One will reverse a summer slump at the box office, with the Paramount and Skydance tentpole tracking to open to a franchise-best $90 million or more in North America alone. The box office report.
—New season, new trio. HBO has renewed its docuseries We're Here for a fourth season, and it will star a new trio of drag queens. Former RuPaul's Drag Race champions Sasha Velour and Jaida Essence Hall and Canada's Drag Race winner Priyanka will front season four, which is set to begin filming later this month. The story.
In other news...
—Barbie won't be banned in Philippines, but the controversial map scene might get blurred
—Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James among big winners at 2023 ESPY Awards
—Nicolas Cage plays a beach bum-turned-assassin in The Retirement Plan trailer
—Lionsgate, Starz take new step toward separation
—Reese Witherspoon says she "didn't have control over" sex scene in Fear with Mark Wahlberg
What else we're reading...
—Vulture's team offers four theories as to what the Barbie movie is really about [Vulture]
—Hilary Rose has strong feelings about Netflix's Harry & Meghan being seen as award-worthy nonfiction [The Times]
—Jessica Gelt questions whether Tom Cruise, Oppenheimer and Barbie can save the summer box office [LAT]
—Michael Schulman writes that Netflix's Orange Is the New Black signaled the rot inside the streaming economy [New Yorker]
—Luke Winkie asks the important question in light of the trailer for Ridley Scott's film: Was Napoleon actually hot? [Slate]
Today...
…in 2001, MGM unveiled Legally Blonde, which starred Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Harrison Ford (81), Sharon Horgan (53), Ken Jeong (54), Patrick Stewart (83), Michael Mando (42), Aya Cash (41), Kenny Johnson (60), Tom Kenny (61), Kari Wahlgren (46), Colton Haynes (35), Cameron Crowe (66), Didi Conn (72), Fran Kranz (42), Cheech Marin (77), Philip Barantini (43), Daphne Reid (75) |
| Milan Kundera, the Czech novelist who combined sexual and real-life politics in his writings and rose to global fame with The Unbearable Lightness of Being, died Tuesday in Paris. He was 94. The obituary. |
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