Awards HQ May 23: 'Yellowstone'/'1883' Exclusive Video; Who Should Host This Year's Emmys?

Variety's Awards HQ with Michael Schneider newsletter, May 23, 2022.

Awards HQ May 23: ‘Yellowstone’/’1883’ Exclusive Video; Who Should Host This Year’s Emmys?

Helen Hunt, Daveed Diggs, Jasmine Cephas Jones and Andrew Chappelle attend as Starz hosts a special evening with the cast of Blindspotting at Hyde on Saturday May 21, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.Alex J. Berliner / ABImages

To mark the premiere of “Angelyne,” Peacock sent a fleet of pink Angelyne-branded Corvettes to drive around Los Angeles. Locations included The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Pink’s Hot Dogs, Canter’s Deli and the site of the French Quarter Market Place.
Hulu held a special FYC screening last week for “Conversations with Friends,” featuring actors Alison Oliver, Joe Alwyn, Sasha Lane and Jemima Kirke, along with EP/director Lenny Abrahamson and EP Emma Norton.
Some of the cast and crew of “Bridgerton” helped kick off Netflix’s FYSee pop-up space at Raleigh Studios. The Vitamin String Quartet opened the show, followed by the Season 2 opener screening, and then a Q&A moderated by Yvette Nicole Brown.On stage were creator/showrunner/EP Chris Van Dusen (virtually), stars Simone Ashley, Nicola Coughlan and Charithra Chandran; costume designer Sophie Canale; and composer Kris Bowers.

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WATCH MY SHOW: ‘Pam & Tommy’ Exec Producers Rob Siegel and D.V. DeVincentis Answer our Showrunner Survey

Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” stars Lily James and Sebastian Stan as “Baywatch” star Pamela Andersonand Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee as the couple meet, fall in love and then make a private recording that is ultimately stolen — becoming the first infamous viral video of a burgeoning online age.The tape was shared and played at parties like it was contraband. Dubbed VHS copies spread across the world, as it was sold and traded on the then-brand-new World Wide Web. It later inspired a whole cottage industry of celebrity sex tapes, most of which were purposely leaked — unlike this one.And yet, there remain many misconceptions about what really happened, and who was really to blame. Over time, the actual story of the tape’s theft and how it victimized both Anderson and Lee — but at very different levels — has been lost to the memory of late-night punchlines and sophomoric snickering. I asked exec producers Rob Siegel and D.V. DeVincentis to fill out our Showrunner Seven.

Sum up your show’s pitch in one sentence.“A tragicomic exploration of the first breaking of the internet, and the very human cost to its misunderstood victims.”What’s an alternate title for your show? “THAT TAPE”What do we need to know before tuning in? Only to leave behind what you think you know about Pamela Anderson.Give us an equation for your show. (Blank plus blank minus blank times blank, etc.)Love + crime + underdogs x fame ÷ shocking revelations = “Pam & Tommy.”What’s the best thing someone said about your show?“I cannot believe that this is really what happened!”If you could work on any other series on TV, what would it be?Either “The Night Stalker” or “South Park.”Finish this sentence: “If you like _______, you’ll love our show.”“If you like surprises, reversals, and an unlikely heroine, you’ll love our show.”
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Dan Rather Receives Peabody Career Achievement Award From Dolly Parton

J. Kim Murphy writes:Dan Rather has received the Peabody career achievement award, with Dolly Parton presenting the broadcast journalist with the honors. Peabody announced the news last Tuesday.“For more than six decades, Dan Rather has brought his righteous passion, his intelligence, his boldness, his humor and his commitment to the truth to the public arena,” Parton said before presenting the award to Rather. “His life’s work has been to ask the questions that matter and to tell the stories that matter.”The recipient of the career achievement award is selected by the Peabody Board of Jurors, honoring individuals who have made an impact on the field of broadcasting and digital media and contributed to the course of American culture. Past honorees include Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Cicely Tyson and Sam Pollard.Read more here.*********************************

AWARDS CIRCUIT PODCAST: ‘Bel-Air’ Star Jabari Banks’ Big Plans: Becoming a Rap Star and Eventually Opening His Own Disneyland

Jabari Banks remembers the exact date that his favorite actor, Chadwick Boseman, passed away. It was August 28, 2020, and Banks was working at a factory in Temecula, Calif., doing a temp job wrapping gutters. Yes, that is a job that Banks had just a year before getting his big break as the star of Peacock’s “Bel-Air.”But back to the factory. “My mom got me a temp job, so I flew from Philly (yes, he’s from West Philadelphia like a certain Fresh Prince you’ve heard of) to Temecula where they paid for our housing, our transportation, our food and everything. Super sketchy.” He was staying in the hotel when he got the news of Boseman’s death.“He’s such an inspiration to me,” Banks said. “That day I was like, I want to continue what he was doing for our community. I want to be an impact on the youth as like he was for me, and for so many people around me.” The next year, like serendipity, he booked “Bel-Air” on the same date.On this edition of the Variety Awards Circuit podcast, Selome Hailu and I talk to Banks about landing “Bel-Air,” and how his own story seems to mirror that of the show’s main character.Also in this episode, we chat with “Julia” star David Hyde Pierce about his HBO Max show, which chronicles the rise of TV chef Julia Child, what brought him back to TV and, of course, the legacy of “Frasier.” Listen below!
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, is your one-stop listen for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each week “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much, much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post every Thursday and Friday.Read more here.*********************************

The Best, Worst and Weirdest Moments of Upfronts Week 2022

Jennifer Maas writes:That’s all, folks. The TV industry’s return to in-person upfront presentations across Manhattan concluded Thursday with the joyful sound of Stevie Wonder rocking “Superstitution” at the CW’s New York City Center event.Among those who presented this week, during what has long been traditionally considered the broadcast networks’ time to shine in front of advertisers, were NBCUniversal, Fox Corp, Telemundo, TelevisaUnivision, Disney, YouTube, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and the CW. It was evident that NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS are no longer the only stars of the show here, and the Big Four took their place among the streamers and cable channels touted by parent companies throughout the week.Now that it’s all been said, spun and quipped, Variety‘s team of TV reporters and editors have taken a step back to assess the highs, lows and trends of upfronts week.A MARVEL-OUS MOMENTWhat does Comic-Con have that the upfronts don’t? Maybe not much after Kevin Feige appeared at the Disney upfront Tuesday for a portion of the company’s presentation that could have wowed Hall H. Feige teased Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ shows “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” “Secret Invasion,” “Echo” and the second season of “Loki,” bringing out Samuel L. Jackson a.k.a. Nick Fury and “She-Hulk” star Tatiana Maslany to help. He also revealed the trailer and premiere date for “She-Hulk” and announced the upcoming start of production on the second season of “Loki,” which he announced is the most-viewed of Disney+’s Marvel series.THE UPFRONTS OF THE MULTIVERSEAfter two years of watching virtual upfronts on their screens, media buyers returned to in-person events… to watch upfronts on their screens. Fox kicked things off with 90% of their presentation on massive displays, but others also relied heavily on screens to showcase their messages, including Paramount’s litany of pre-taped “60 Minutes” packages. Some of the biggest stars appeared remotely, such as Oprah Winfrey at WBD and Jimmy Kimmel, who was forced to give his annual roast via video after testing positive for COVID.IN-CHARACTERJust when you thought the old way of doing upfronts was over, an odd staple of the old-school upfronts returned this year: Actors from shows appearing on stage — but in character. Broadcast’s two new hit comedies were represented at their respective upfronts. In both cases — Disney with ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and Paramount with CBS’ “Ghosts” — decided to bring those shows’ stars out as the characters they play on TV — not as themselves.CW’S “SUPERNATURAL” POWERSThe CW placed three new series orders last week, with each of those projects featuring a different “Supernatural” star: prequel “Walker, Independence,” produced by “Walker” star Jared Padalecki; “Supernatural” prequel series “The Winchesters,” produced by Jensen Ackles and his wife Danneel Ackles; and DC Comics drama “Gotham Knights,” starring Misha Collins. Playing to its history and audience — and through that, its advertisers — the CW brought that trio on stage at the end of its upfront presentation Thursday, following plugs for each of their respective new series, for a little “Supernatural” reunion alongside CW boss Mark Pedowitz.“SLY” DEVILHollywood legend Sylvester Stallone came out to a roar of applause at Paramount Global’s upfront presentation Wednesday. The “Rocky,” “Rambo” and “Expendables” star was the talk of Carnegie Hall when he appeared to promote “Tulsa King,” his upcoming Paramount+ series from “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan. Sly had to do little else but stand on stage to make his many fans among the Madison Avenue-heavy crowd go wild, though he did still offer a few kind words about real-life cowboy Sheridan, the golden boy of Paramount and his prolific way with words. “I couldn’t believe it. We were on the phone on Monday. By Wednesday-Thursday we had a full script. I committed to it like that,” he said, snapping his fingers, “it was bold.”Read the full roundup here.*********************************

VARIETY COVER STORY: TV at Unprecedented Scale: How Dick Wolf Rebounded to 198 Hours of Drama a Season

By Cynthia Littleton:Dick Wolf does not take anything for granted. Not even his prowess as one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers.The lord of “Law & Order” has taken his television operations to new heights during the 2021-22 television season, which is about to conclude with no less than six Wolf-produced series in primetime’s top 10 rankings.Over a long conversation on a deck overlooking the ocean near his home in Montecito, Calif., last month, the 75-year-old writerproducer speaks at length about the changes in television and the revitalization of his Wolf Entertainment banner over the past half-dozen years. Wolf and his loyal team of producers and showrunners have come a long way since the dark day, 12 years ago this month, when NBC executives unceremoniously plucked out the jewel in his crown, “Law & Order,” canceling the show after 20 years of yeoman’s service to the network.

Wolf doesn’t hide his lingering anger at a decision he still finds short-sighted: “It was a political cancellation. It shouldn’t have gone off the air when it did,” he assures. Nor does he hide his glee at finally seeing “Law & Order” return for Season 21 on NBC earlier this year. Still, he presumes nothing when it comes to business.As his company approaches the end of a milestone season of delivering multiple drama series at an unprecedented scale, Wolf is not ready to declare that all his active series will be renewed for another year. If NBC could pull the plug on “Law & Order” just as it was poised to elbow past “Gunsmoke” as TV’s longest-running drama, then anything can happen.“The biggest miracle was getting nine broadcast series scheduled,” Wolf says in our mid-April conversation. “The bigger miracle will be getting all nine of them renewed.”Spoiler alert: The miracle happened right on cue, just as the television industry prepared to gather this week in New York for the first traditional upfronts week since the television landscape was upended by the arrival of Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+ and others.Read Cynthia’s full cover story here.*********************************

Clayton Davis’ Emmy Predictions: Lead Actor in a Drama Series – Can Lee Jung-jae Repeat His SAG Win for ‘Squid Game’?

We’ll dive into a different category each week to examine Clayton Davis’ Emmy predictions. This week, he writes about lead actor in a drama:Jason Bateman won an Emmy for directing an episode of “Ozark” in 2019 (the “Reparations” episode). However, he’s yet to win a statuette for his performance as Marty Byrde in the Netflix series that bids farewell this year. He’ll be submitting another directing episode, “A Hard Way to Go,” which will also be the submission for writing (by Chris Mundy). Could he win a pair of Emmys in the same year?It’s just the beginning of what will be a very competitive Emmy race for lead actor drama. Bob Odenkirk could rally a groundswell of support for part one of his farewell season of “Better Call Saul” from AMC but he’ll face the double dose of Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong from HBO’s “Succession.”Not to mention, Lee Jung-jae, who won the Critics Choice and SAG Award for “Squid Game” is very much on the table. It’ll be interesting to see where Adam Scott could fit into the conversation with an excellent inaugural season of “Severance” from Apple TV+.Here is Clayton’s drama actor frontrunners as of this week:

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AWARDS CIRCUIT PODCAST: ‘WeCrashed’ Star Jared Leto on Transforming Into Adam Neumann, and Why He Secretly Met the WeWork Founder

When Jared Leto took on the starring role in Apple TV+’s “We Crashed” playing Adam Neumann, he says he didn’t know a lot about the co-founder of WeWork. Neumann was often portrayed in the media as an eccentric mogul — someone who wanted to build offices on the planet Mars, often went without shoes and claimed to have close connections to political figures that gave him a voice in world events.“I didn’t really have any preconceived ideas, I just heard that he was a pretty colorful character; that he was a fascinating guy, that he was great in the room, a great salesperson,” Leto told Jenelle Riley on this edition of Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast. “And of course, then you see headlines and you know that he the built a company from nothing into a $47 billion empire, and then it all fell apart.” Listen below!
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Hollywood Critics Association’s TV Awards Continues to Separate Broadcast/Cable From Streaming; To Be Held Over Two Nights

The Hollywood Critics Association will return this summer with its second annual HCA TV Awards, taking place over two nights on Saturday, August 13, and Sunday, August 14, 2022, in Los Angeles. Nominations will be revealed July 7.One night will be devoted to broadcast and cable, and the other centered on streaming. New categories this year include writing, directing, short-form, and international series.“We are so thrilled to be hosting our second annual TV awards and look forward to having a fun and energetic celebration,” said HCA founder Scott Menzel. “Our inaugural television event was slated to take place in-person, but due to the Delta variant, we had to adjust our plans and turn it into a virtual event. It was quite a challenge, but our team put together a ceremony that we were all very proud of.”A complete list of categories for the 2nd Annual HCA TV Awards:Night One:Best Broadcast Network Series, DramaBest Cable Series, DramaBest Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, DramaBest Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, DramaBest Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, DramaBest Supporting Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, DramaBest Writing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, DramaBest Directing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, DramaBest Broadcast Network Series, ComedyBest Cable Series, ComedyBest Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, ComedyBest Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, ComedyBest Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, ComedyBest Supporting Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, ComedyBest Writing in a Broadcast Network or Cables Series, ComedyBest Directing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, ComedyBest Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Broadcast Network or Cable Live-Action Television MovieBest Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Supporting Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Writing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Directing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Broadcast Network or Cable Animated Series or Television MovieBest Broadcast Network or Cable Reality Show or Competition SeriesBest Broadcast Network or Cable Variety Sketch Series, Talk Series, or SpecialBest Broadcast Network or Cable Docuseries, Documentary Television Movie, or Non-Fiction SeriesBest Short Form Comedy or Drama SeriesBest Short Form Animation SeriesBest Short Form Documentary or Non-Fiction SeriesNight Two:Best Streaming Series, DramaBest Actor in a Streaming Series, DramaBest Actress in a Streaming Series, DramaBest Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, DramaBest Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, DramaBest Writing in a Streaming Series, DramaBest Directing in a Streaming Series, DramaBest Streaming Series, ComedyBest Actor in a Streaming Series, ComedyBest Actress in a Streaming Series, ComedyBest Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, ComedyBest Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, ComedyBest Writing in a Streaming Series, ComedyBest Directing in a Streaming Series, ComedyBest Streaming Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Streaming MovieBest Actor in a Streaming Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Actress in a Streaming Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Supporting Actor in a Streaming Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Supporting Actress in a Streaming Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Writing in a Streaming Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Directing in a Streaming Limited or Anthology SeriesBest Streaming Animated Series or Television MovieBest Streaming Reality Show or Competition SeriesBest Streaming Variety Sketch Series, Talk Series, or SpecialBest Streaming Docuseries, Documentary Television Movie, or Non-Fiction SeriesBest International SeriesBest Comedy or Standup SpecialBest Game Show*********************************

The Week Ahead

Monday, May 23, 7 p.m. ET: HBO Max’s “Julia” FYC event at WarnerMedia, 30 Hudson Yards (New York)Monday, May 23, 5 p.m. PT: Apple TV+’s “The Big Conn!” FYC panel. (Virtual)Monday, May 23, 5 p.m. PT: Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live! With Andy Cohen” FYC panel. (Virtual)Monday, May 23, 7 p.m. PT: Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” FYC event at Wolf Theatre at Saban Media Center, Television Academy 5210 Lankershim Blvd. (North Hollywood)Monday, May 23, 7 p.m. PT: Peacock and USG’s “Killing It” FYC event, at NBCU FYC House, 1717 Vine Street. (Hollywood)Tuesday, May 24, 9 a.m. PT: Variety’s Entertainment Marketing Summit at NeueHouse Hollywood, 6121 Sunset Blvd (Hollywood)Tuesday, May 24, 7 p.m. ET: HBO Max’s “The Gilded Age” FYC event, at The Whitby Hotel, 18 W. 56th Street (New York)Tuesday, May 24, 5 p.m. PT: Warner Bros. TV’s “The Waltons’ Homecoming” FYC panel. (Virtual)Tuesday, May 24, 5 p.m. PT: Apple TV+’s “Shining Girls” FYC event. (Virtual)Tuesday, May 24, 7 p.m. PT: Peacock’s “Bel Air” FYC event, at NBCU FYC House, 1717 Vine Street. (Hollywood)Tuesday, May 24, 7 p.m. PT: HBO Max’s “Hacks” FYC event, at Wolf Theatre at Saban Media Center, Television Academy. (North Hollywood)Wednesday, May 25, 7 p.m. ET: Comedy Central’s “Tha God’s Honest Truth with Charlamagne tha God” FYC event, at Red Rooster, 310 Lenox Ave. (New York)Wednesday, May 25, 5 p.m. PT: PBS’s “All Creatures Great and Small” FYC panel. (Virtual)Wednesday, May 25, 5 p.m. PT: AMC’s “Kevin Can F**k Himself” FYC panel. (Virtual)Wednesday, May 25, 7 p.m. PT: Fox’s “The Cleaning Lady” FYC event. (Virtual)Wednesday, May 25, 7 p.m. PT: Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers” FYC event. (Virtual)Thursday, May 26, 7:30 p.m. ET: Showtime’s “Dexter: New Blood” FYC event, at Metrograph, 7 Ludlow St. (New York)Thursday, May 26, 5 p.m. PT: Netflix’s “Nailed It!” FYC event. (Virtual)Thursday, May 26, 5 p.m. PT: Freeform’s “Single Drunk Female” FYC panel. (Virtual)Thursday, May 26, 7 p.m. PT: HBO Max’s “The Flight Attendant” FYC event, at Wolf Theatre at Saban Media Center. Television Academy, 5210 Lankershim Blvd. (North Hollywood)Friday, May 27, 7 p.m. PT: Netflix’s “Stranger Things” FYC event, at Netflix FYSEE at Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Avenue (Los Angeles)*********************************