Deadline Hollywood - Emmys Nominees Part 2 - 08/17/16

AUGUST 17, 2016 EMMY NOMINEES PART 2

PRESENTS

ICE, FIRE & GOLD DAVID BENIOFF & D.B. WEISS ON THE FUTURE OF GAME OF THRONES

1 DOWNTON ABBEY SAYS GOODNIGHT MR. ROBOT TAKES THE STAGE

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WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE MAKING A MURDERER FILMMAKERS?

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CONTENTS AUGUST 17, 2 016 EM M Y NOM INEES / PART 2

P U B L I S H ER

Stacey Farish EDI TOR

Joe Utichi C R EAT I V E DIR ECTO R

Craig Edwards

AS S I STA N T E D ITO R

Matt Grobar

4-12

FIRST TAKE Kate McKinnon is having a triumphant year with SNL and more.

DEA DL I NE CO - E D ITO R- IN- CHIE FS

Nellie Andreeva Mike Fleming Jr.

EX EC U T I V E E D ITO R

Michael Cieply

AWA R DS ED ITO R & CO LUM NIST

Pete Hammond

DEA DL I NE CO NTR IBUTO RS

Peter Bart Anita Busch Anthony D’Alessandro Lisa de Moraes Patrick Hipes Ali Jaafar David Lieberman Ross Lincoln Dominic Patten Erik Pedersen Denise Petski David Robb Nancy Tartaglione

Recreating Lyndon B. Johnson in a make-up studio.

Horace & Pete heralds a new model for awards success.

Emmy-nominated DPs paint dark with light.

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COVER STORY As Game of Thrones bows out of next year’s Emmy race, it’s still the odds-on favorite this time around. Mike Fleming Jr. catches up with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

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DOWNTON OUT Julian Fellowes reflects on six extraordinary seasons.

HACK’S BACK Rami Malek and creator Sam Esmail catch up as Mr. Robot clocks nods.

EMMY HANDICAPS Pete Hammond takes a look at this year’s main show categories.

FLASH MOB Television Critics Association Awards

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CRAFTING A CONVERSATIONSTARTER The watercooler triumph of Making a Murderer.

C HA I R MA N & CEO

Jay Penske

V I C E C HA I RM A N

Gerry Byrne

C HI EF OP ERATING O FFICE R

George Grobar

S EN I OR V I C E PR ES ID E NT, B U S I NES S D EV E LO PM E NT

Craig Perreault

G EN ERA L CO UNS E L & S .V. P. , HU MA N R ES O URCES

Todd Greene

V I C E P R ES ID E NT, CR EATIV E

Nelson Anderson

V I C E P R ES ID E NT, FINA NCE

Ken DelAlcazar

V I C E P R ES ID E NT, T V ENT ERTA INM E NT SA LES

Laura Lubrano

V I C E P R ES ID E NT, FILM

Carra Fenton

ACCOU N T EXECUTIV ES , FILM & TV

Brianna Hamburger Tiffany Windju

A D SA L ES CO O R D INATO RS

​Kristina Mazzeo Malik Simmons

P RODU CT I ON D IR ECTO R

Natalie Longman

A DV ERT I S I N G INQ UIR IES

Stacey Farish 310-484-2553 sfarish@pmc.com

■ ON THE COVER: GAME OF THRONES ILLUSTRATION BY GRAHAM SMITH ■ THIS PAGE: LAURA RICCIARDI AND MOIRA DEMOS PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAN DOPERALSKI

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EMMY DPS BRING DARK VISIONS TO LIGHT

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LIVE WIRE SNL’s one-woman phenomenon Kate McKinnon talks Ghostbusting, Hillary Clinton and Justin Bieber.

BY A N T O N I A B LY T H

IF KRISTEN WIIG, TINA FEY AND

McKinnon and Lynne’s co-

AMY POEHLER have carved out

working scenario later extended

serious mainstream space for the

to the web series Notary Publix in

modern female comic, then Kate

2015. The sisters’ comedy career

McKinnon is making the most of that

choices are less surprising when

relatively-new arena. Her hilarious

McKinnon explains, “There was just

Saturday Night Live pastiche on

a lot of comedy on the TV in the

Justin Bieber in his Calvins comes

house, and my parents were both

second only to a pitch-perfect turn

very funny. I was just never discour-

as Hillary Clinton–the latter so loved

aged from doing something wacky

that Clinton should thank McKinnon

like trying to be a comedian.” Of her

for bolstering her campaign. Add

fallback dream as a child, McKinnon

to that a long list of laugh-out-loud

says, seriously, “I was going to be a

characters like Ellen DeGeneres,

still-life oil painter, and probably will

Jane Lynch and a dance-happy Ruth

return to that when they won’t have

Bader Ginsburg, and McKinnon is

me anymore.”

surely The Next Big Comedy Thing.

It’s been a fast ride. Just six years

McKinnon has previously said her zany Ghostbusters character

ago, she was working on Logo’s

Jillian Holtzmann comes fairly close

The Big Gay Sketch Show and in the

to her own personality. Was she

trenches of the UCB Theater. But this

joking? She was not. “You know, I’ve

year she snagged her fourth Emmy

been told I’m a little bit eccentric,”

nom for SNL, co-hosted the Spirit

she laughs. “They wrote this charac-

Awards with Kumail Nanjiani and

ter to be an eccentric tech nerd and

starred in the all-female Ghostbusters

I just wanted to make a character

reboot alongside Melissa McCarthy

that was so weird, but also so joyful

and Kristen Wiig—a move that set her

that you could relate to her anyway.”

household-name status in stone.

“I don’t really know what to make of it,” McKinnon says of her

The Ghostbusters remake proved somewhat controversial in that it attracted something of a

suddenly-grown starpower. “It’s very

fanboy backlash. Those who were

strange.” She pauses. “It’s been a

protective of the original male ver-

wonderful summer,” she says qui-

sion conceived by Harold Ramis

etly, as though shocked herself.

Growing up in small-town

and SNL alum Dan Aykroyd did not warm to the idea of Leslie Jones,

upstate New York, McKinnon and

McCarthy, McKinnon and Wiig

her sister Emily Lynne–now a

wielding their ghost-blasting guns in

stand-up comic–made many video

a newer, shinier format. But McKin-

sketches for their family and friends,

non brushes off the negative buzz,

inventing elaborate characters in a

saying only, “We didn’t talk about it

foreshadowing of what was to come

a lot while we were filming. It was

for them both. “I had a number of

just sort of an unfortunate thing

dreams,” McKinnon says of that

that was there in the background.

time. “It always seemed so out of

We just were having too much fun

reach that I didn’t really dare dream

with each other to really dwell on it.”

it, but I did love doing wacky char-

But if Ghostbusters was McKin-

acters and I did think that was my

non’s first go at blockbuster terri-

best skill. I thought if I could find a

tory, it’s still her take on Hillary Clin-

way to do this and make any money

ton that cemented both industry

then that would be ideal.”

and public respect for her comedy

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chops. Of meeting Clinton, who last

worrying a great deal about hurting

year joined her on SNL in the role

anybody’s feelings with her SNL

of bartender, McKinnon says, “She

impressions. “It’s something I really

was very gracious and she said that

grapple with throughout the week

she loved it. She was just very warm

leading up to the show,” she says,

and sincere and a joy to be around,

“and so whatever makes it to air, I’ve

and actually very funny, which was

thought a lot about, and done a lot

nice. I thought she did so great in

of soul searching about already. To

the sketch.”

my knowledge there hasn’t been a

Does McKinnon feel she’s lending

ton of upset about something I’ve

something important to politics? Is

done, thank god. That would really

there a bigger gratification inherent

upset me.”

in her Hillary role? “I mean, I never

Each character impres-

“I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT I WOULD GET A JOB IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. AND THEN TO HAVE ONE, AND TO HAVE SOME SMALL BRUSH WITH GREATNESS IS BEYOND MY WILDEST DREAMS.”

to be contractually attached to a hideous hand-knit sweater. “That was really a blast,” she says. “There was a scene that was shot in a car with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman and Olivia Munn, and I just looked at myself in this car with these people and I thought, What is my life? This is so cool. I can’t believe I’m here.”

McKinnon’s humility also extended to taking notes from her fellow actors. “Those two in particu-

even thought I would get a job in the

sion involves intense and careful

lar,” she says, “Jason Bateman and

entertainment industry,” she says.

preparation. For Bieber, for example,

Jennifer Aniston, were playing sort of

“And then to have one, and to have

McKinnon watched “a lot of stuff

straight man characters in this movie

some small brush with greatness

until I found something that tickled

and I just would watch them, and

is beyond my wildest dreams. To

me on a deep level. I found this one

I didn’t understand how they were

be involved in any way in politics is

music video he did that I just got

managing to be that funny. They are

just something I never, ever even

such a charge out of, so I copied a

such good actors and just a slight

dreamed of, and it has been so— yes,

lot of the moves from that and that

movement of a tiny muscle in their

gratifying is the word—to even have

became the bulk of the impression.”

face would just be the most hilari-

McKinnon’s star is only set to

ous thing. The level of subtlety and

some small part in, or a say about this very historic year.”

rise higher with three film projects

groundedness that they were doing

currently in the offing. First up is

was just blowing my mind. That was

it seems McKinnon won’t play

Masterminds, the much-delayed

very instructive to watch up close.”

favorites with her SNL characters.

Jared Hess comedy. “I wanted to do

“It’s hard to pick,” she says. “I think

it because I was a huge Napoleon

to start shooting the Lucia Aniello-

of them like my little children.” The

Dynamite fan,” McKinnon says. “I

directed Rock That Body. (“In a cou-

softness this statement implies

love Jared Hess’s movies. He’s such

seems like the real woman beneath

a weirdo and such a nice, funny guy.”

Despite the Hillary significance,

the comedy. McKinnon’s quiet,

She pauses thoughtfully, then adds

hesitant responses to interview

kindly, “‘Weirdo,’ I say in a celebra-

questions belie her boisterous

tory way; not as weird as me.”

on-screen work. In reality, she

As we speak, McKinnon is about

ple weeks baby!”) The film follows a MANY FACES McKinnon as Ellen DeGeneres, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Jane Lynch, Hillary Clinton and Justin Bieber.

Miami bachelorette party dogged by a dead male stripper. “It will be starring Scarlett Johansson,” McKinnon says. “She’s a new up-and-comer

Then there’s the upcoming

who you probably haven’t seen yet.

comes across as understated and

Office Christmas Party, a madcap

And Ilana Glazer and Jillian Bell, and

self-deprecating, confessing to

romp in which McKinnon seems

that’s going to be a damn blast.” Is she ready to get to work? “I’m never quite as prepared as I like to be or as I plan to be, but don’t tell them that.”

Despite rubbing shoulders on the big screen with the best in the business, McKinnon still cites SNL as her toughest gig to date. However, typically, she gives the most props to her co-workers. “I work with some of the funniest writers in the country,” she says. “They make it easy, but just to come up with 90 minutes of material a week is a feat, and it’s a credit to all of my colleagues.”

Having achieved her biggest childhood dream, is anything on the bucket list left undone? “I just like playing unique characters that I love,” McKinnon says. “So I’d like to do that for as long as I can; as long as they’ll let me. Then, after that, I will pick up my paintbrush.

It’s all fine.” ★

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PROGRAM OF THE YEAR TCA AWARD WINNER

22 EMMY NOMINATIONS ®

INCLUDING OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

©2016 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Bluebush Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ©2016 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved. FX and its related indicia are Trademarks of Fox and its related entities.

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CHARTED TERRITORY

Gold Derby’s Emmy Odds At press time, here is how Gold Derby’s experts ranked the Emmy chances in the Comedy and Drama Series races. Get up-to-date rankings and make your own predictions at GoldDerby.com OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

MAKING UP THE PRESIDENT

KNOWN FOR HIS CRAFTY, OSCAR-WINNING MAKEUP DESIGN, BILL CORSO HELPED TRANSFORM BRYAN CRANSTON INTO LBJ IN THE EMMY-NOMINATED HBO FILM ALL THE WAY. COMING OFF A STELLAR YEAR, with the

when I was a young fledgling wanting to be a

stupefying box office draw of Deadpool, Oscar-

makeup artist one day.”

winning makeup artist Bill Corso has gone All the

With All the Way—from HBO alum Jay

Way at this year’s Emmys, securing two of the

Roach—Corso was able to check a few additional

HBO film’s eight nominations for prosthetic and

boxes off his wish list. “I love clean character

non-prosthetic makeup. An adaptation of Robert

makeups, and I’d never done a president,” Corso

Schenkkan’s Tony Award-winning play, the film

shares. “It’s one of those things that every

stars Bryan Cranston as Lyndon B. Johnson, who

makeup artist wants to do.”

assumes the mantle of the U.S. presidency in the

With Roach’s desire to keep the camera tight

wake of the JFK assassination and boldly pursues

on Johnson’s mug, Corso took a ‘less is more’

the passage of the historic Civil Rights Act.

approach—a methodology he attributes to les-

Working twice previously with Cranston,

sons learned from Ed Wood makeup designer

Corso first met the actor in a fated encounter

Rick Baker. “Luckily for me, there were little things

many years prior. “Truth be told, I’ve known Bryan

you could do with Bryan’s face, and I just pushed

since I was 15 years old,” Corso laughs. “He was

little parts of his face in the direction of LBJ,” he

one of the first professional actors I ever met,

says. –Matt Grobar

ODDS

1

Game of Thrones HBO

4/9

2

Mr. Robot USA

10/3

3

House of Cards Netflix

16/1

4

The Americans FX

18/1

5

Downton Abbey PBS

20/1

6

Better Call Saul AMC

28/1

7

Homeland Showtime

40/1

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

ODDS

1

Veep HBO

1/2

2

Transparent Amazon

4/1

3

Black-ish ABC

11/2

4

Silicon Valley HBO

16/1

5

Master of None Netflix

25/1

6

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Netflix

33/1

7

Modern Family ABC

40/1

MAGNETIC THEATER

Louis C.K. takes on his greatest experiment to date with his self-released drama series Horace and Pete.

WITH HIS WORK ON FX DRAMA SERIES Louie, the recipient of three Emmys and 22 nominations, multithreat comedic talent Louis C.K. established himself as a risk-taking experimenter, and a force to be reckoned with. Shifting Louie into an indefinite hiatus with the close of Season 5, C.K. has since co-created FX series Baskets and Better Things—the latter to be released in September—all while successfully confronting his boldest experiment to date with his

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self-released, 10-part series Horace and Pete. With a surprise launch on January 30, C.K. managed to keep the series a total secret, with the cooperation of his actors and other inthe-know industry professionals.

Distributing the entire first season for $31 through his website, louisck.net, Louis created the unorthodox series— bitterly somber in tone and shot like a stage play—with the intent of discovering just how far a series released with no press and no promotion could

go, on the awards circuit and beyond.

The result: critical and public acclaim, and two Emmy nominations to boot, including one for multi-nominee Laurie Metcalf’s stellar, series-stealing guest appearance as Horace (C.K.)’s ex-wife. With the magnetism to woo A-listers like Steve Buscemi, Alan Alda and Edie Falco, along with Emmy voters, the series’ nominations opposite the big guns of network and streaming television reflect the exciting, everchanging tide in distribution. –M.G.

RAISING THE BAR Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco & Louis C.K. in Horace & Pete.

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18 EMMY NOMINATIONS EMMY NOMINATED ®

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

© 2015 MGM Television Entertainment Inc. and Bluebush Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved. © 2015 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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COEN-ESQUE FARGO Receiving his second nomination for Fargo—which matched its first season with 18 nominations this year—Dana Gonzales recognizes these accolades as the fruits of lessons taken from Season 1. “Season 1 was the first time a lot of us ever shot in Calgary, so there was a little learning curve there, and we made adjustments, even in our stage space,” Gonzales says.

Starting out in unsatisfying commercial work, Gonzales has found in Fargo a perfect platform for his talents—a crime drama that pulls the viewer along, on an elegantly dark journey. “With this show, you really have to play with the tone, and nuance it a

DARKNESS ILLUMINATED A selection of this year’s nominees in Outstanding Cinematography discuss television’s new, cinematic aesthetic. BY M AT T G RO BA R

little more. I always take that into account,” he says.

“There’s always an arc of tone and contrast and color in every episode.”

More now than ever, in the days of HD and home theaters, Gonzales and his peers are embracing darkness, or the absence of light, as tools to be used in the pursuit of a more compelling viewing experience. “In television, you have to think about the maximum amount of information you’re going to get out of a shot, and I think the cameras have really helped that because of the dynamic range; now, you

WITH THE RAPID PROLIFERATION of well-written, compellingly dark dramas emerging from avenues old and new, the brightest stars of cinematography have followed suit, projecting the dark side of the soul onto the screen. This year’s Emmy nominees in cinematography for single-camera and limited series have brought a new cinematic aesthetic to television, pursuing the darkest projects and the darkest images—made possible by the incredible visual range of modern camera technology—all in the pursuit of a good yarn. Below, a selection of this year’s nominees share their methodologies in bringing their dark visions to light.

can use less light. You can be more practical. And I think there’s a lot of us in television today that have really figured that out.”

Playing with contrast—the confluence of light and darkness—to great cinematic effect, Gonzales also arrived at several other techniques to augment the mood of the series. The series’ second season features frequent use of the color cyan—a specific, bluishgreen tint that was the DP’s ‘death color,’ present after the death of key characters, or in the moment of the act itself. And unlike John Bartley, who finds smoke

CHECKING OUT BATES MOTEL

scenarios in an effort to keep it fresh. A selec-

an alienating presence for the performers, Gonzales

tion of lights hang down from the ceiling of

frequently uses smoke to add depth and shape the

the soundstage, though Bartley uses them

scene. “I think with a period film, especially, because

only sparingly; the DP utilizes a large arsenal of

you’re going to give these sets a lived-in look, it’s

The X-Files, John S. Bartley is excited by the

camera filters, in contrast to many of his con-

imperative,” he says. “It just gives it life.”

challenge presented by a certain brand of

temporaries, and prefers to execute the shot

dark, complex storytelling. “With just a normal

in-camera, without leaning on the crutch of the

soap opera, that kind of stuff—that wouldn’t

post-production fix.

A thrice-nominated DP with a 1996 win for

be much of a challenge for me,” Bartley

One of the challenges Bartley has set

shares. “I like it to be difficult.” With Season

for himself in recent seasons is the use of

4 of the A&E series, the cinematographer

wide-angle lenses, which makes lighting the

found the opportunity to take more risks, as

set a more difficult proposition. “There’s just

Norman Bates slid fully into his dark destiny. “I

nowhere to get a light in,” he explains. “And

just thought, I can just push this until there’s

sometimes it gets a little frustrating—you just

nowhere else to go,” he says.

can’t find a place to put something.”

Working with long-standing, shadowy sets

Soon, Bartley will be on to new challenges,

on a Vancouver soundstage, and reckoning

as the upcoming Season 5 brings the dark tale

with the temperamental weather patterns of

of Bates Motel to a close—but the cinematog-

British Columbia in his exterior expeditions,

rapher is at peace with it all. “I quite like the

Bartley brings to bear a specific methodol-

idea that there’s a final thing to it,” he says.

ogy, continuing to experiment with lighting

“And it’ll be over in January!”

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FOR

Y O U R E M M Y C O N S I D E R A T I O N ®

3 NOMINATIONS

OUTSTANDING INFORMATIONAL SERIES OR SPECIAL OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)

‘‘VISCERAL STORYTELLING’’ AV CLUB

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©2016 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved HBO® and related channels and service marks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.

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FIRE LIGHT GAME OF THRONES

entire season at the same time, so we don’t shoot episodes in consecutive days, unlike most TV series,”

Already five weeks into prep on

Middleton says. “You are kind of

Season 7—in which he will be

watching the whole season being

shooting the season’s first and

filmed while you’re making your

final episodes—two-time Emmy

episodes.”

nominee Gregory Middleton has

Like his peers Bartley and

been entrusted with several of the

Gonzales, Middleton often finds

show’s most-discussed and most

himself shooting in the dark—all in

controversial episodes, always in

an attempt to capture “the delicate

collaboration with director Jeremy

inner workings of people”—though

Podeswa. Last year, the DP was on

the DP has his own approach to

hand for the infamous rape scene

these scenes. Middleton tends to

in Episode 6, “Unbowed, Unbent,

proceed with caution in filming the

Unbroken;” and this season, Middle-

series’ darkest scenes, with an eye

ton shot the resurrection of Jon

toward post-production. “Some-

Snow. “It’s both incredibly excit-

times when we do very dark scenes,

ing and a little bit nerve-wracking

I will slightly overcompensate and

because you’re trying to honor what

make sure that I’ve got detail in all

a lot of people have imagined,”

those areas,” the DP explains. “You

Middleton says. “That’s always a

treat digital a little bit differently

delicate thing to bring across.”

than you would film, in the context

Looking back at Episode 2, “Home”—the episode the DP

of trying to avoid digital noise.”

One of Middleton’s most chal-

submitted for Emmys consider-

lenging sequences of this season

ation—the visual foreshadowing of

was the bridge scene in Episode 2,

events to come is considerable, a

in which Balon Greyjoy is pushed to

feat which the DP attributes to the

his death. “That was an all-nighter—

vision of series co-creators David

we shot until 4:30 in the morning,

Benioff and D.B. Weiss. It’s surpris-

and it was actually shot in a storm,”

TRIAL OF THE CENTURY THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON: AMERICAN CRIME STORY

ing to note that, with a series as

Middleton laughs. “Some of that’s

popular and as sensitively handled

fake rain, but a lot of it is actually

as Game of Thrones, Middleton was

real rain, and a lot of it is real wind.

given all the scripts for Season 6

I had to change my lighting plan

The recipient of 22 Emmy nominations, The People v.

prior to shooting. “We do prep the

completely.”

O.J. Simpson is in a league of its own, and a very different animal in all regards. Shot by two-time nominee Nelson Cragg, the series takes place primarily in broad daylight, or in fluorescent-lit courtrooms—away from the shadows.

And yet, in contrast to the false advertisement of Fargo, the story is true, and the darkness all the more imposing.

With the anthology series, Cragg’s work was a process of faithful re-creation, in hopes of creating a world that felt recognizable, and reflecting authentically the period of his youth. “I had the production designers build a beautiful full ceiling in all the sets,” Cragg explains. “We always had fluorescents and real, working lights in all the sets that we controlled, so we could make them look like real spaces.”

In terms of exteriors, Cragg’s mission was to imagine the smoggy quality of the light in ’90s L.A.—a subtle difference from the Los Angeles of today. “I had to re-create that as best I could, because that was an emotion; it was a memory that everybody has,” he says.

Reflecting on his favorite image in the series, the choice was obvious. “For me, it’s definitely the iconic shot of the white Bronco cresting the hill, with the 15 police cars following,” Cragg shares. “When we shot that on the freeway, [the freeway] was closed, and it was kind of eerily silent. When we saw that car crest the hill, it gave me chills.” ★

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F O R

Y O U R

E M M Y

®

C O N S I D E R A T I O N

“FILMMAKERS MOIRA DEMOS AND LAURA RICCIARDI

HAVE TOUCHED A NERVE WITH THEIR

WILDLY POPULAR MINISERIES.” “ONE OF THE

MOST FASCINATING TRUE CRIME STORIES EVER TOLD.”

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AS GAME OF THRONES GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, SHATTERING THE AWARDS GLASS CEILING FOR GENRE TELEVISION, SHOWRUNNERS DAVID BENIOFF AND D.B. WEISS REFLECT ON THIS YEAR’S DRAMA FAVORITE WITH MIKE FLEMING JR.

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F

OR GAME OF THRONES CO‑CREATORS DAVID BENIOFF AND D.B. WEISS, a staggering 12 Emmy nominations was an apt capper for Season 6.

It was the most ambitious season yet for an HBO series that featured epic battles, bloody score-settling, shocking twists, extinguished long running characters and a major character rising from the dead (and President Obama asking if Jon Snow was really gone forever), as Benioff & Weiss invented much of the narrative after they blew past the books of George R.R. Martin. They are back in Belfast, preparing the seven episodes that will comprise Season 7, setting up a final season that will wrap up the most epic medieval power struggle ever seen on a TV screen. Because of the logistical challenge, most of this interview was done via email, and they have answered the questions together.

TOWER DE FORCE Left: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss in a rare on-set photograph appearance, captured on location for Bran Stark's Tower of Joy vision scenes in Season 6.

Right: Behind the scenes with Julian Glover, Dean-Charles Chapman & Lena Headey; Emilia Clarke as Dany.

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Early on, you described your ambition for Game of

rant, but it’s entirely possible that it was correct. South

Thrones as The Sopranos meets The Lord of the Rings

Park has maintained its high level of excellence for much

and spent years regretting that you had invoked that

longer than should be possible. Rick and Morty is one of the

watershed series and film trilogy. Many feel when

funniest, smartest things ever put on TV; every one of its

you finish, Game of Thrones will fare favorably in the

22-minute plots is more ambitious than 99% of the sci-

conversation about the most ambitious TV series

ence fiction films that will be made in the next ten years.

ever made. What in your minds is the greatest ever

Of course, these are all current shows. But like George

TV series?

Harrison once said about Beethoven, “Beethoven’s great,

David Benioff & D.B. Weiss: First of all: thank you! We

man, but he’s dead! What’s happening now?”

hope many are right, but we have to recuse ourselves from that conversation.

So, the conversation about the greatest TV series

How has throwing yourselves into an all-consuming show factored into the progression of your lives,

ever made. Man, it’d be great to say something original

including family and other professional pursuits?

here. Not to talk about the total game changer that was

Benioff & Weiss: When we pitched this show, we were

The Sopranos, or The Wire’s dead eye and ear for every

both unmarried, without children, and one of us (David)

layer of Baltimore’s dysfunctional society, or Deadwood’s

had made a 20 minute short film on which the other (Dan)

brilliant recreation of the true West, or the way Seinfeld

did craft service. We now have two wives who have chosen

both encapsulated and swallowed a culture, or Cheers or

to stay married to us for some reason. And five children,

The X-Files or I Love Lucy or The Honeymooners or any of

one of whom was born at the Ulster Hospital in Belfast,

those. Everyone always talks about those, and it’s hard to

all of whom are raised together, travel together, and speak

say anything that hasn’t been said before and said better.

their own secret language like carnies. Actually, the kids

And that’s not even touching on the cartoons. Don’t get us

do go home when school starts. And the three months or

started on the cartoons.

so during the fall school year while we’re shooting involve

Okay, fine, we can talk about cartoons if you like.

us doing a lot of flying between Belfast and Los Angeles,

Working on a drama 363 days a year really makes us

which isn’t normal, especially as far as sleep patterns are

appreciate animation. Because you know what it’s not?

concerned. But we are on set as often as possible, every

Live action drama. On which we spend 363 days a year. At

day we’re not visiting home. It felt important for us to be

least once, one of us went on a long, drunken rant about

there when we started, and it still feels important.

why Adventure Time was the best TV series ever made.

Unfortunately, we can’t remember the specifics of that

As much as we miss our families, which is a lot for those months, production can be the most enjoyable part

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While Benioff & Weiss won’t give up their secrets as they write the final two seasons of Game of Thrones, they did shed a little light on the strengths and vulnerabilities of the finalists for rule of the Seven Kingdoms.

DAENERYS TARGARYEN

Benioff & Weiss: Dany has a

boundless confidence in herself and her mission in this world. Her sense of destiny makes her a compelling, charismatic leader, a messianic figure for multitudes. She has arguably

JON SNOW

Benioff & Weiss: Jon’s honorable nature has proven a disadvantage

the cleverest advisor on the planet

in some regards: a man who plays by the rules will have a harder time

in Tyrion Lannister. She has three

defeating men and women who don’t. But Jon’s nature also provides

dragons, an army of Unsullied, and a great Dothraki horde.

What could possibly go wrong?

one of his great strengths: his ability to win others to his cause. Men who respected his courage and honesty elected him Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. The Free Folk, who had never before aligned themselves with kneelers, chose to fight for Jon Snow because they believed in him. The lords of the north named him King in the North because they realized he was their last, best chance to survive the wars to come.

The question will be whether an honorable man can overcome dishonorable enemies. As E.O. Wilson wrote, “Within a group, selfish individuals always win.

CERSEI LANNISTER

But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups of selfish individuals.” So Jon Snow better hope this is a contest between groups.

Benioff & Weiss: Cersei will do anything to win. In

the past, the only factor limiting her ruthlessness was her love for her children.

Now that her children are gone, nothing restrains her.

As she herself said, “love

THE NIGHT KING

Benioff & Weiss: Strength:

is weakness.” A loveless

He can raise the dead and

Cersei is a fearsome thing.

have them do his bidding.

Weakness: He’ll never be as funny as The Ice King.

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of the year. The Irish countryside—hills, forests, coasts—is beautiful. Spain’s castles totally make you understand why people were so hellbent on sacking each other’s castles.

Turns out castles are really enjoyable places to work. And the glaciers in Iceland are awesome in the serious oldtimey sense. There are challenges everywhere… but these are glorious places. People seek these places out just for the privilege of seeing them. Having your job take you to these places… next year we may actually take the kids out

“THAT’S BEEN REALLY HELPFUL, REALIZING THAT WHAT WE THOUGHT WE ‘NEEDED’ TO WORK EFFECTIVELY WAS REALLY JUST A KIND OF MAGICAL THINKING, AND THAT WE COULD GET WORDS DOWN ANYWHERE.”

of school for a semester and have the families travel with us, so they can all experience it too. Teach them to wield swords. It’s time. and listen to a lot of history. Not only military history, by The signature set piece for Season 6 was the Battle

any means. On the contrary, it’s nice to remember that

of the Bastards, pitting Jon Snow against Ramsay

the past did not consist entirely of people murdering each

Bolton and his army. Snow watched his brother

other to take each other’s stuff. Mostly, but not entirely.

Rickon die and angrily charged his troops into Bolton’s trap. The depiction of the formation of a back

Your background was books and features and you

wall of bodies felled by Bolton’s archers, followed by

once said early on that your unfamiliarity with

a vise-like frontal assault with shields and spears,

episodic TV sometimes left you short of scenes that

made an unforgettable visual. The famous battle of

had to be written hastily. What other learned lessons

Agincourt was mentioned as inspiration. Explain how

will help you the rest of your career?

you meld history to frame these epic battle scenes

Benioff & Weiss: One practical thing we’ve learned as

that in earlier seasons included Blackwater and

writers is how to work almost anywhere. We had specific,

Hardhome.

persnickety routines, before. This chair, this coffee mug,

Benioff & Weiss: The Battle of the Bastards started as

this time of day. When we started Thrones, it quickly

Agincourt in the first version; or Agincourt and Crecy. The

became apparent that our old ways of working would

beginning is still Agincourt-y. Not Ramsay’s specific “game”

prevent us from getting the scripts done on time, and that

with Rickon, but the basic strategic layout of the thing. The

this in itself could destroy the show. So we got better at

body pile: that’s inspired by accounts of Agincourt. When

working wherever we were, whenever we could. And that’s

we scheduled that original version, however, it ended up

been really helpful, realizing that what we thought we

being 50% more expensive and time-consuming than

“needed” to work effectively was really just a kind of magi-

what we ended up shooting. Which was itself 50% more

cal thinking, and that we could get words down anywhere.

expensive and time-consuming than what we initially

They weren’t always good words. They often needed to be

thought we could afford, and we were being generous.

rewritten, and rewritten again. But they fed the machine,

So we reconfigured it, with lots of directorial input

and kept things moving.

from Miguel Sapochnik, and chose the battle of Cannae, in which the Carthaginians lured the Romans into an

What’s the most enjoyable and challenging parts of

encirclement and massacred an almost unimaginable

working on this large a canvas, week after week?

number of them. We made the body pile the fourth wall of

Benioff & Weiss: The source of the joy and the challenge

this encirclement. The Carthaginians were mounted, how-

are the same: the opportunity to tell a story encompassing

ever, and having that many horses on top of all the other

so many characters and so many places, over such a long

horse stuff we had already was also breaking the bank. So

stretch of time. To be able to bring a world to life, and actu-

we brought the Bolton cavalry in to serve that purpose,

ally have it be a world, as in, one with different continents,

and Mig had the great idea to use their shields not only as

the one that George bequeathed to us. We try to maintain

a part of the encirclement strategy, but as a strong visual

a strong sense of forward momentum, especially at this

element as well, to help define the general geography and

late stage in the story.

layout of the battle.

And that is more about the genesis of a fake battle than anyone probably needs to know. We both do read

But even with all that, the scope of the thing gives us time to let characters spend a few minutes with each other here and there without propelling the plot forward.

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and she could be a very cruel person, but the one thing that was redemptive about her was she genuinely loved

“THERE ISN’T ANYONE LEFT WE DON’T LOVE WRITING FOR, BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN WRITING FOR THEM FOR SO LONG. WE KNOW THEM SO WELL AT THIS POINT.”

her children. Now they’re all gone, and I think that is very interesting for us. Who is she, without her children? The answer is something you’ll find out about next season.

Which characters did you find most fun to write in Season 6?

Benioff & Weiss: In the past season or two, things have finally started to contract in a very positive way. It was such an expansive world for such a long time, but things have

Dan, what is David’s great strength, have you found,

really started coming together. Obviously, we had to say

and David, please answer the same thing about Dan?

goodbye to a lot of characters and storylines we loved a lot.

Benioff & Weiss: Dan: pull ups. David: deadlift.

The ones that are left are ones we’ve been engaged in so long. Writing for Maisie [Williams] is always great, writing

Jaime returns in triumph, racing home to his love,

for Peter [Dinklage] and Emilia [Clarke] is great, especially

Cersei, only to see part of King’s Landing smoldering,

now that they’ve come together in the same storyline.

and a steely Cersei sitting on the Iron Throne. Jaime’s

Writing all the stuff for Kit [Harington] and all of the epic

glare is memorable. When you or the director told

stuff he gets to go through now. There isn’t anyone left we

him what his motivation was to focus what was he

don’t love writing for, because we’ve been writing for them

thinking, what was the message given to Nikolaj

for so long. We know them so well at this point.

Coster-Waldau?

Benioff & Weiss: We don’t remember the specific word-

Red Wedding architect Walder Frey and Ramsay

ing, but it’s definitely a moment where Jaime has to start

Bolton were two of your most deliciously evil villains,

coming to terms with how drastically and irrevocably every-

and they met their end. Your clear villain is the White

thing in his world has changed—political arrangements, his

Walker leader The Night King. Both Frey and Bolton

personal life, everything. He knew his sister was capable of

established their loathsomeness through dialogue as

big plays, but this is another level. And Cersei's look back

much as action. How much of a challenge has it been,

to him... well, he’s probably always known that she was in

writing a Night King character who doesn’t speak?

charge in their relationship. Now he really knows it.

Benioff & Weiss: We don’t think of The Night King as a villain as much as Death. He is not someone who’s like

Every time Cersei vindictively settled a score, she paid

Joffrey or Ramsay. He’s not really human anymore. Evil

a high price. In trying to get back at her daughter-in-

comes when you have a choice between that and good,

law Margaery, she empowered the High Sparrow and

and you choose the wrong way. The Night King doesn’t

his religious fanatics who put her in a prison cell and

have a choice; he was created in that way, and that’s what

forced her humiliating nude walk of shame. In the Sea-

he is. In some ways, he’s just Death, coming for everyone in

son 6 finale, she exacts unimaginable cruel revenge

the story, and for all of us.

on the High Sparrow’s tormenter Septa Unella by

In some ways, it’s appropriate he doesn’t speak. What’s

making her the plaything of her half-dead bodyguard

Death going to say? Anything would diminish him. He’s

The Mountain. So he’s not babysitting her king son

just a force of destruction. I don’t think we’ve ever been

Tommen, who jumps out a castle window to his death.

tempted to write dialogue for The Night King. Anything he

Was Cersei heartbroken? Has she got any heart left?

said would be anticlimactic.

Benioff & Weiss: We had intended the connection you just made, so we’re glad you made it. If she had been

You’ve said that Iwan Rheon was runner up to Kit

more focused on her family, and less focused on enjoying

Harington when you cast Jon Snow. He doesn’t seem

her revenge on someone who had done her wrong, then Tommen’s suicide probably never would have happened.

That’s what so much of next season is going to be about; finding out what Cersei’s mindset is, and who is she?

Cersei has certainly done a lot of horrible things in her life

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LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Theon (Alfie Allen) and Sansa (Sophie Turner) go for a swim; Ned Stark's bannermen defeat the Targaryen Kingsguard at the Tower of Joy.

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to have the heartthrob vibe, the liquid brown eyes,

what are you most excited to explore with him?

the empathy present in Harington’s character. What

Benioff & Weiss: So much of this comes down to the

did he bring to the table that made you consider him

casting. I doubt we would have cared nearly as much

for the hero role that was so opposite the villainous

for The Hound if anyone but Rory McCann was playing

character he played in Ramsay Bolton?

the part. What’s been exciting is seeing the glimmers of

Benioff & Weiss: Iwan, this interviewer here just said that

humanity behind The Hound’s scarred exterior. And then

you don’t have a heartthrob vibe. How would you reply?

seeing him shove aside those glimmers, when necessary,

What? You’re going to do what to him? But Iwan… wait,

and murk motherfuckers that need to be murked.

Iwan, not the dogs, Iwan, noooo!

Iwan Rheon is a great actor, and he’s going to go on to

Bran’s half uncle, who is half undead and who

a long brilliant career. And most of the characters he’ll play

rescued his nephew from the White Walkers, said he

will not be evil. He’s not one of those who can only play a

couldn’t go to The Wall; that it keeps out The Night

bad guy. We first saw him when he auditioned for Jon Snow.

King’s forces and isn’t just ice and rock, but contains

He was incredible and went down to the very end, in terms

spells that keep the dead North. Book fans talk about

of our pick for Jon Snow. He’s an incredibly versatile actor.

the Horn of Joramun, which the Wildlings dug for at

It was so much fun to write for him because he’s such a charismatic kid and he’s got such intelligence and a sense

one time and that has the power to destroy the wall.

Can you give us a hint where this is going?

of humor, so he never just played it like the snarling villain.

Benioff & Weiss: We don’t want to give away too much.

He put a little spin on every line and so it was great to write

There are the books, and the show, and it would be a

for him and to watch him perform, especially in these

disservice to both if we went into too much detail of, we’re

last couple of episodes. That last scene with Ramsay and

going to use this or that. We’re not using that. What’s

Sansa probably goes down as one of our favorite scenes.

laid out in this season is, very clearly, The Wall isn’t just a

To watch the two of them alone, with the dogs… He could

physical structure that is keeping the army of the dead

very well have been a boring character, because he’s so evil

out. If it were, and if the Wildlings managed to make it over,

and beyond redemption. And Iwan kept him interesting the

at least in theory someone like The Night King has so much

whole way.

more in the way of both power and troops who’ll do literally anything he says. We have been laying out the likelihood

After killing off so many fan favorite characters, what

that it’s going to be more difficult to get past The Wall than

did it mean to bring back The Hound? Why did the

that, but we wanted to put that basic prospect out there.

gruff disfigured brute make such an impression and

We’ll keep it at that for now. ★

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JULIAN FELLOWES REFLECTS ON SIX EXTRAORDINARY SEASONS OF DOWNTON ABBEY WITH JOE UTICHI, AS WE TAKE A SPECIAL LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES.

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DOWNTON OUT

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1

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SEASON 1 The cast beds in, with Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Laura Carmichael, Jessica Brown Findlay, Michelle Dockery & Dan Stevens.

SEASON 2 War came to Downton, and Brown Findlay’s Lady Sybil became a nurse (bottom right). Pictured: Jim Carter, Sophie McShera & Lesley Nicol.

JULIAN FELLOWES is preparing for

a nerve-wracking Emmy night. Sitting down for afternoon tea at a London hotel, the creator of Downton Abbey, who wrote every one of the show’s 52 episodes split over six seasons, says he much prefers an awards show at which there’s a clear favorite in one of the other nominees, so that he can relax and enjoy a stress-free evening.

Of course, Downton has been an Emmy favorite

What happens in the end with any serial drama is

going very well. You do understand why people get

there’s a limited number of things that happen to

fed up of it and beetle off to America, and it’s odd

human beings. You do start to understand why,

really. It’s like when you get a bad review, and it’s

in Dynasty, Fallon ended up going up in a rocket

angrily negative. You think, Jeepers. All you have to

ship with aliens. There are moments when you’re

say is “I don’t think the show works.” These days it’s

just thinking, “What can I make happen to them

like being stabbed to death. I don’t want to sound

now?” And I think, if you stay too long, you start to

anti-critic, because sometimes they do pinpoint

repeat. Basically: are we happily married? Do we

quite interesting things. Once or twice, you read a

like our job? Are the children doing well? Are our

review and you realize there was a weakness that

parents OK? I mean, this is all our lives. When you’ve

you hoped you’d got away with, but the critic shows

explored all of those for all the characters, then I

you haven’t. I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.

itself, clocking up 69 nominations over its run, with

think it’s time to say goodbye. And I like that it ended

Fellowes taking home two golden statuettes in 2011.

happily. I feel that if an audience has been loyal to

You wrote every single episode of Downton

And with the show taking its final bow this year,

you for six years, they deserve to go away from the

single-handedly. Was it a challenge to keep all

there’s every chance Emmy will want to take this

last episode feeling good. And Edith, especially,

those balls in the air?

last opportunity to reward a much-beloved global

deserved a happy ending. I had teased people, with

I remember I used to have a fault that I would talk

phenomenon.

the end of the series before the Christmas special—

about a character and I would think that every-

with once again, it had all gone wrong. But it came

thing I said about that character was somewhere

right in the end, and I wanted her to outrank Mary.

illustrated in the dialogue, but it wasn’t. One or two

Fellowes is used to people asking about a mooted big-screen transfer for the show, and says the creative team are all on board, if only they can wrangle

critics helped me through that.

the busy schedules of their ensemble cast. Other

Poor Mary.

projects, like an adaptation of a recently-released

Oh it’s never “poor Mary”. She would survive the 1917

always assume there was a writers’ room. It doesn’t

novel, Belgravia, and an upcoming show for NBC, The

Revolution. She’d become a Commissar.

matter how many times I say, “There was no writers’

Gilded Age, come first, and until then, Fellowes can

But it’s funny, because in America people will

room.” The next time I go on a show, I’ll be asked

only reflect on the unprecedented triumph of his

The show was always big in the UK, but the

about what it’s like in the writers’ room, and I have

last six years. And speculate about what the Crawley

American response to it must have been a

to say, “Nothing happens in it. It’s just me sat in

family home might look like in the 21st Century…

surprise.

front of the computer, typing.”

Americans are so generous about it. And they love

I don’t in any sense decry it. Someone like

For many people, Downton ended before they

you for making a show they want to watch, so it’s

Matthew Weiner runs a writers’ room, and Mad Men

were done with it. Six seasons, just 52 epi-

all positive. The characters are real to them. I think

never wavered on its incredibly distinctive style.

sodes. Why bring it to a close?

the English are a little funnier about things that are

It just never weakened. But I personally find [the D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E

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SEASON 3 The former chauffeur, Tom Branson (Allen Leech) returned to Downton (top left), having eloped with Lady Sybil, who later died in childbirth.

SEASON 4 After mourning Matthew’s death, Lady Mary met a new man, Lord Gillingham (Tom Cullen), pictured with Robert (Hugh Bonneville).

writers’ room process] a real challenge. I’m about to

feel the strain of coming up with so many

was all in her head. When she thought back over

do this much-deferred NBC series...

storylines?

the show, her head had filled in all the gaps that

When you have an ongoing series, inevitably there

we’d left. I suspect I’ll do something similar with The

This is The Gilded Age?

is an element of soap. A lot has to happen to these

Gilded Age, because it gives you a big choice over

Yes, and I’m going to do 10 or 12 episodes, and I’ll

people, whereas in real lives, a whole year can go

what you can let happen. You can explore people’s

write them myself. Then, if they want to go on with

ahead and practically nothing has happened. Then

emotional responses to all sorts of things.

it—because they may yet cancel it entirely—they’re

you get another year where your parents die, your

very likely to say, “We’ll go on, but we want 22

child is ill, the dog’s dead, you’re fired and you lose

The nature of the industry meant that you

episodes.” In which case, I’d have to have a writers’

your house. The characters have to have those

were often writing to decisions made by the

room. I think I’d ring up Matthew Weiner and take

years every year. What you’re trying to do is to keep

cast. I’m thinking, first of all, the departure of

him out to lunch, because that would be my goal: to

the dramas interesting enough so that the audience

Jessica Brown Findlay in the third season...

maintain the style and sound of the show.

hasn’t tuned in in vain—but not Fallon going up in

I was sad when Jessica left. I felt she should have

a rocket ship. There is a sort of line. I mean, it’s not

given it another year or two. It was very different

What was your process for turning around 10

really for me to say if I managed to steer it, but that

to Dan [Stevens], because Jessica, right from the

hours of television every year?

is what you’re conscious of trying to steer. I think on

start, said, “I’m doing three years, and that’s it.” We

I would write them, and then my wife, Emma, would

the whole, we managed it reasonably.

planned to kill her in Episode 5 of Season 3, so we’d

read them and tell me which bits were boring. Then

One of the things we hit on was to create a world

have three episodes to get over it. Because you can

I would send them to the producers, Gareth Neame

where big things happened, but what we always

only guarantee a cast for three years before you

and Liz Trubridge, and really, we three made the

dramatized was the effect on the characters of the

have to renegotiate. Dan only decided to leave at the

show. They would give me their notes; first general,

event; we very seldom dramatized the event itself.

read-through, by which point we’d already done all of

then another draft, then detailed notes, then

We didn’t see Matthew die, we didn’t see Anna

it. I tried to persuade him to come back and get killed

another draft. Nobody in the world would see those

raped. It didn’t matter what it was, it always hap-

in Season 4, but actually in the end, I think it did us a

scripts before the end of that process, and then

pened somewhere else, like with Greek drama.

favor, because by killing him in the last shot and then

after that process, hardly anything would change.

I had one very interesting comment from a

having a time jump of six months, it meant Mary, in

Once we were a success, which was in the first year,

woman who had seen the repeat of the previous

the next series, was just coming out of mourning, as

everybody left us alone. I’m not sure that’ll be the

week’s episode, which aired in the UK right before

opposed to having her in tears for the whole season.

same on American television. I will have to see.

the new episode. She said, “I watched Anna’s rape

Of course, the terrible thing was that, in the UK, the

on the Sunday night, and then I watched it the

final episode of Season 3 was on Christmas Day.

following week on Saturday afternoon, and you’d re-

Everyone was tucking into that one minced pie, when

would have loved to have seen the Dowager

edited it.” She said, “You took out all the violence.”

suddenly…

do battle with extraterrestrials, did you ever

Of course, we hadn’t re-edited it at all; the violence

You mentioned the Dynasty UFOs. Much as I

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6 SEASON 5 The gardens at Highclere Castle were a picturesque hangout. But Anna (Joanne Froggatt) and Bates (Brendan Coyle) had a tough year.

SEASON 6 Lady Edith’s wedding closed the series (bottom right), as the cast—including Penelope Wilton (top right, with Dockery)—started to wrap.

For the more experienced actors, too, Downton

And the thing about those women is that they were

them. It’s often down to luck, and the cleverness

was a surprise. Maggie Smith said she had

as tough on themselves as they were on everyone

of the people in charge. If they had someone in

gone her whole life without being mobbed in

else, which is why you forgave them. They weren’t

charge with a really good head for business, who

public, until she starred in Downton Abbey.

selfish in that way; they just had these incredibly

was practical and realistic and wasn’t trying to

I think Maggie had done the odd bit of event televi-

high standards that everyone had to meet.

ignore the problems, then they had a good chance

sion, but she was really known for stage and film,

of getting through.

and was regarded with awe. Television gives you an

It wasn’t just in character archetypes that the

approachability and immediacy that is a different

show felt relatable. For as different as the life-

or dislike her, is a hard worker, and she’s practical.

kind of stardom. Maggie was having to pay for that.

style was, the history didn’t seem so far away.

I think she will employ the kind of advice that she

One thing I very much enjoyed about Violet was

My own belief is that Mary, whether you like her

Gareth and I quite deliberately wanted to set it in a

needs. She would probably have opened the house

that I had, in creating her, touched on an iconic

period where the life was recognizable. I mean, not

to the public in the 1960s, as so many of them did,

figure of British families. I would go beyond, and say

that many people lived like the Crawleys did, even in

and she’d have retreated to a wing, and maybe only

America too. The amount of people who would say,

the 1920s, but it was a world of cars, not carriages,

occupied the whole house during the winters. My

“Whenever I watch your show, I think you must have

and railways, telephones, and, by the end, flying. So

own belief is the Crawleys would still be there, just

met my aunt Madge.” There was a whole genera-

much of their daily experience was not very differ-

as the Carnarvons are today [in the real Highclere

tion of women like Violet. My theory is that, when

ent from our own.

Castle, where Downton was filmed].

the men went off to war, the women had to keep the show on the road back home, and they did. As

It does make one speculate about what

And not too many generations removed. You

a result, during the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, there were

Downton Abbey looks like today. Do you have a

established in Violet that the Crawleys have a

these incredibly frightening matriarchs in all sorts of

vision in your head for what happened next to

rather long lifespan.

family situations, that everyone was half terrified of

the Crawley family estate?

Well, she does. [laughs] I mean, George [Mary’s son]

and half loved.

Far more of those houses survived than people

would have gone to the Second World War, and of

I modeled her on my grandfather’s older sister.

realize, and often with the families that were in

course the fear is that he would be killed. We know that Mary is pregnant, so there’s going to be another

“I LIKE THAT IT ENDED HAPPILY. I FEEL THAT IF AN AUDIENCE HAS BEEN LOYAL TO YOU FOR SIX YEARS, THEY DESERVE TO GO AWAY FROM THE LAST EPISODE FEELING GOOD.”

child. As for the title, I don’t know where it would go beyond George, but let’s hope he gets through the war and has children of his own. George was born in 1921, which makes him nine years younger than my father, and he only died in 1999. If he lived to the same age as my father, he’d have died in 2008, which takes us right into the modern age. ★ D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E

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However, in Season 2, we learn that’s not the case. Elliot has retreated to his bedroom in his mother’s house, having cut himself off from all technology. He’s journaling his every move, ensuring that he’s in full control of his actions and emotions, and that Mr. Robot isn’t controlling him.

Eventually, Elliot’s sister Darlene lures him back.

Not only do they have to take fsociety to its next hacking phase, but they also have to clean up their tracks, as the FBI and crackerjack agent Dom DiPierro (Grace Gummer) start sniffing them out.

If Season 1 was about revolution, Esmail says that Season 2 is “about the hangover of revolution. What I loved about Mad Men was that just about being precise on a specific day. There

change is never fast. It’s slow, and at times it’s

them a little more,” says Esmail about post-

“It’s about paring things down and focusing

aren’t these big conversations that actors feel

grueling. If you look at change in the world, it’s

production. “It’s not about changing the story. We

they need to have of, ‘Well my character wouldn’t

lumbering and slow.”

plot out the whole season in an intricate way, and

do that.’ We’re well beyond that.”

Esmail points to the Egyptian revolution as one

to change one thing would have a domino effect.”

Similar to Robert De Niro’s disturbed loner

of his inspirations for Mr. Robot. “They’re still going

But Esmail’s cast “spins my material in a whole

Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, who carried out his

through a lot of growing pains. They went through

new way from what I’ve written,” says the creator.

own sense of justice against a pimp and politician

one president and are on to their second. There’s

Their subtle, nuanced performances in Mr. Robot

on the streets of 1970s New York City, Elliot is a

not a miraculous fix to their society. That’s the

are a testment to Esmail and his Emmy-nomi-

modern day crusader in a millennial society mired

sobering part of revolution,” adds the creator.

nated casting directors Susie Farris, Beth Bowling

in the debt and greed of corporate illuminati and

and Kim Miscia’s finesse in choosing actors who

littered with dysfunctional parents. Sympathetic

get easily compromised by petty hackers, it might

are organic in their craft. Esmail “isn’t about

in his psychological suffering, and suspenseful

be hard to see these cyber criminals as the Robin

modulating or more-ism with his actors,” con-

because we’re not sure what’s real and not real

Hood types portrayed on Mr. Robot. But there’s a

firms newly-minted Emmy nominee Rami Malek,

in his timeline, Elliot has struck a chord with

cache who angle on taking down organizations for

who plays Elliot Alderson, a hacker who suffers

critics, a cult of viewers and the TV Academy, who

various socio-political reasons, i.e. Monsanto and

from a dissociative identity disorder and imagines

lauded Mr. Robot with six nominations.

Scientology. The inspiration Esmail took from these

his late father, aka Mr. Robot (Christian Slater), as the catalyst for his cyber-criminal activity.

Like the soothsayer in William Shakespeare’s

For the middle class, whose bank accounts can

hackers, as well as Occupy Wall Street protesters

Julius Caesar who screams, “Beware the Ides of

and his cousins in the Arab Spring, was their rants.

March,” Mr. Robot warns that the 2008 financial

And it’s those knock-on-society soliloquies we

Malek have from Season 1, it’s when Elliot, double-

crisis could easily rock our world once again, lest

often hear spewing from Elliot.

crossed by an imprisoned drug lord, finds his

we forget that we’re already living in a fertile envi-

girlfriend in the trunk of a car, despite what he’s

ronment where a Donald Trump-like demagogue

one-sided, and somewhat irrational,” Esmail

bargained for. In the cold light of dawn, Malek’s

could easily rise.

says. “It was always intriguing. The same thing

If there’s a favorite scene that Esmail and

Elliot stands clenching his jaw, emotionally frozen as the camera swirls around him.

At the end of Season 1, Elliot and his hacker

“My cousins’ rants would be anger-fueled,

with Occupy Wall Street. Some judged them for

group, “fsociety”, have brought the financial world

being too neo-Leftist. For me, I find people like

to its knees and put E-Corp in a near-Lehman

that interesting because there’s such a pas-

Malek explains, “I already employ an acting style

Brothers-type sling. It’s a dirty company, whose

sion, whether it’s left or right wing. We put that

that is minimal, and Sam and I came with this

factories in Bergen County, New Jersey caused

psychology into Elliot. Some people feel like we’re

idea that it wouldn’t be a melodramatic moment.

leukemia in Elliot’s father and his friend Angela’s

saying what he’s saying, but we’re not. Take a step

We already do a lot of talking ahead of time in

mother. Elliot learns by the end of the first season

back; he’s a character with all these issues.”

hotel rooms during the season, going over beats

that the guy he’s been seeing—Mr. Robot—is, in

and moments, so that we see eye to eye on the

fact, his deceased father, and as he looks at his

refers to a close friend in interviews, a person

character. So when it comes time to shoot, we’ve

family on the Times Square jumbotron, the hacker

who battles with a similar psychological disorder.

already got the philosophy out of the way, and it’s

seems to come to some sort of acceptance.

Out of respect for his friend, the creator keeps

When it came to hitting the proper tones,

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In constructing the character of Elliot, Esmail

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THE NET Rami Malek and Sam Esmail shoot Mr. Robot on the streets of New York.

Below: Christian Slater and Malek; Portia Doubleday.

his identity secret. Malek hasn’t even met him.

Speaking about his friend, Esmail says, “He’s a fan of the show. It’s flattering because it means we’re depicting it authentically. He gives me notes.

But he’s not watching the episodes as fast as he wants to; it’s too close for him.”

In going from Season 1 to Season 2, Esmail acknowledges Elliot’s abrupt emotional segue, from accepting his parents in the season finale in Times Square, to his strict attempts to purge himself of his father’s voice. As 180-degree as it might seem to the viewer, Esmail asserts that it’s the most sensible arc for Elliot. “Elliot has made this tremendously unsettling realization about himself,” says the creator. “And it takes an enormous precedence over everything else in his life, even though he’s executed this global criminal act. His dead father, the gaps in his memories; any version of this story that ignores this, despite whatever cyber mission is going on, felt dishonest to me and the rest of the writers. There’s nowhere to go but internal, first. Elliot needs to find a realization where he will proceed from.”

In the episode “eps2.2_init_1.asec” we get a sense of where Elliot would like to arrive; an end game, a place of peace and sanity. He imagines re-connecting with Angela (Portia Doubleday) who he has kept at arm’s length, making amends with those he’s wronged, seeing his sister Darlene get engaged, hanging out gleefully with the notorious Wellicks, and sitting down at the same dinner table with his friends and family. When we meet Elliot in Season 1, he’s marinating in nihilism, which isn’t unusual for someone with Elliot’s condition.

“Anyone who suffers from this debilitating mental illness goes into a downward spiral of depression, hits a paralysis point, and they can isolate themselves,” explains Esmail. Thanks to a discussion with his newfound friend Leon (Joey Bada$$) this season, Elliot is encouraged to battle through his demons and vie for his sense of bliss.

Says Esmail: “That’s what Elliot has to do: see that vision of the future he wants that’s worth going through all of this for. Not only does he want to live and continue, but he realizes that fighting Mr. Robot is a moot point and an impasse. Those two things have to be realized for Elliot to go to the next step.” ★ D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E

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CRAFTING A

CONVERSATION-STARTER Making a Murderer’s Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos tell Antonia Blyth about the decade-long creation of the docuseries that spawned a nationwide Netflix binge, a social media campaign and a slew of would-be investigators.

P H O T O G R A P H B Y DA N D O P E R A L S K I

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IN 2005, LAURA RICCIARDI AND MOIRA DEMOS

set out to make what Demos calls “a social justice film”. They were, Ricciardi says, only planning “to see how an accused was going to be treated in the American criminal justice system”.

They’d seen the case of Steven Avery in The New York Times and thought they would simply follow his trial for the murder of Teresa Halbach. They had no idea they were in for ten years of unpaid hard graft and a long-term move to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Neither could they have known their planned film would eventually become a must-binge docuseries on Netflix, and the subject of a nation’s intense obsession. As Ricciardi says, “It’s surreal. I’m still stunned.” Currently shooting Making a Murderer’s second season, Ricciardi and Demos are now set to follow Steven Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, as they appeal their convictions.

welcome to participate as long as they had some direct connection to the story and could speak from firsthand experience. So we sought pretty much universal access. We didn’t get it. Some of our most vocal critics are people who chose not to participate in the series. So it’s a little difficult now to hear them complaining about objectivity or bias when they had an opportunity to speak then and chose not to.

Avery’s new lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, has said she has a couple of other suspects in mind and new evidence. That will be the focus of Season 2?

Demos: What we took away from the incredible response to the series was a lot of people were very uncomfortable with the uncertainty we left them with and they wanted answers, which we had not been striving for in Season 1. We saw a lot of confusion about what post-conviction law is even all about. Here we have two convicted men who are claiming to be innocent; what does that mean?

Ricciardi: And they’re each serving a life sentence. I mean, Steven without the possibility of parole and Brendan not eligible for it until 2048.

Demos: So in Season 2 we saw two opportuni-

How did you keep going with this project for

How shocking was the incredible response to

ties. With Kathleen Zellner taking Steven’s case,

10 years before Netflix picked it up–without

the show?

she is certainly searching for answers. She is

knowing if you’d ever get your work shown or

Ricciardi: We were in our hotel room watching

reinvestigating the case. So you have a character,

be paid?

Good Morning America and they’re talking about

you know, who very much can embody what

Laura Ricciardi: What drove us is we really felt

Making a Murderer Season 2, and we’re just trying

many people are wanting to do, to investigate and

we had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tell

to hurry to get our gear together and get in the

search for answers. And then we also have this

the story of one of Wisconsin’s first DNA exoner-

van so we can go do it. It’s pretty surreal, you

opportunity to once again, as it’s unfolding, follow

ees who was later charged in a serious crime. He

know? It’s hard to remember that they’re talking

what post-conviction law is all about. What are

was wrongly convicted in 1985 and 20 years later

about us when they’re talking about the show

the odds that are stacked against you and what

found himself back in the system. We wanted to

we’re in the process of making.

are your opportunities?

same system, or had the system evolved over

There’s been quite a backlash from those

Have you found your filmmaking niche now in

those 20 years? He happened to be involved in

who say you didn’t present the full picture of

true crime stories?

a high profile murder case, but that wasn’t really

the case–how has that affected you?

Demos: It’s understandable people consider this

what motivated us to cover it. We asked him if

Ricciardi: There are people who have arguments

true crime—there is a crime at the center of the

he would be okay with us telling his story, and

today about whether or not we left out particular

story—but Laura referred earlier to the explora-

we went on this incredible journey with him. We

pieces of evidence. I have so many thoughts

tion of how things are covered in public and how

finished filming, for the most part, by 2007, and

about that. One is the series was not about taking

things are documented. And how that sometimes

really needed time to work with the material. We

sides, essentially, in terms of how that case would

correlates and sometimes doesn’t at all correlate

felt like giving up was not a choice; it wasn’t an

play out. It wasn’t about arguing the evidence. We

to what’s actually going on, on the ground or

option.

were trying to show that each side had their own

behind the scenes. I think we’re more likely to look

theories and each side was trying to demonstrate

at other stories like that than to particularly look

Have there been times you’ve felt uncertain

that they had evidence. It was about, let’s take

at another crime story.

about Steven Avery’s innocence?

the state’s best evidence and the defense’s best

Moira Demos: I mean, throughout, Steven has

arguments and include those. But we certainly

Ricciardi: I think people do like to have projects

been a very complex and flawed character. The

couldn’t include everything, and we certainly

fit within a certain genre if they can, and ours

story that we were telling—that we were really

didn’t leave out anything of real significance. So

certainly has fallen into that category. I guess

following at the time—it didn’t depend on his

there’s that.

I struggle with that a little bit, and part of it is

know, was he stepping back into essentially the

guilt or innocence, and it didn’t depend on the

Then the other thing about the criticism,

just my own lack of clarity about how people

verdict going one way or another. It was really to

which I think actually is quite unfair, is we cast

define true crime. I think what scares me about

witness and ask questions and explore. So the

the widest net we could conceive of. We asked

it is often people think it’s fetishizing death, or

more questions we had, or the more doubts we

everyone to sit down with us. We invited the

somehow exploiting someone’s tragedy, and

had, were just opportunities to make things richer.

state prosecutor, we even invited the judges. We

that’s certainly not at all what we were about. We

They weren’t at all problematic.

invited the jury, the Halbach family... anyone was

also never set out to investigate the crime. It was

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THE ACCUSED Scenes from Making a Murderer, featuring Steven Avery and his family and friends, through many years of struggle. Main image: Ricciardi and Demos shoot the first season.

“IT WAS ABOUT TAKING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THE AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND SEE WHETHER IT’S LIVING UP TO ITS FOUNDING PRINCIPLES.”

never a whodunit for us either. It really was about

has piles of letters from supporters. So that’s a

taking this opportunity to look at the American

positive change and helps him be patient and get

criminal justice system and see whether it’s living

through the days. I think the same for Brendan,

up to its founding principles of trying to deliver

in terms of having friends now that live all over

truth and justice. Now we have a new major

the world. He has people that he can call, he has

character, Kathleen Zellner, and she herself is

letters that he can write back to, so I think that’s a

searching for answers, but we don’t feel like we’ve

new experience for him.

taken on the role of providing answers. We’re just

Ricciardi: And it must be quite strange because

going to document someone who is searching for

I know at least Steven has asked the warden, and

them.

I think his social worker, if he could see the series, and that request has been denied. So he’s never

Can you give any sense of how Steven and

seen the series.

Brendan are doing right now?

Demos: And neither has Brendan.

Demos: I do get the sense from their mothers

Ricciardi: It’s funny, there have been a couple

and their supporters that the renewed interest in

of times now where I’ve spoken to Steven and

their cases gives them hope. Steven in particular.

he said, “Yeah, you know, the people who are

His cell used to be filled with his case files as he

writing to me tell me you did a good job with

was working on his case. Now he has a lawyer

the documentary.” So he hasn’t seen it, but he’s

so he can get rid of his case files, and now he

heard good things about it, which is nice. ★ D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E

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EM M Y H AN DICAPS / BY P ETE H A M M O N D

OUTSTANDING

DRAMA SERIES With Breaking Bad and Mad Men finally out of the way in the Outstanding Drama Series category, the field is more fluid and slightly less predictable than it has been. Although the new voting rules, allowing a wider field of Academy members to vote in the finals, tend to favor popularity, which might explain how Game of Thrones finally rose to the top last year in its fifth try. Its haul of 12 Emmys—an Academy record for a series in a single season—was so imposing, it seems like everyone else might be an underdog this time around. But there are different scenarios here, with FX’s The Americans finally making the cut after being passed over for three seasons. There is the House of Cards factor, a show that has never won despite being nominated each year; and this is a political election year, which could help. There’s Homeland, trying to come back after its only win in 2012, Downton Abbey in its final season, and AMC hoping the Breaking Bad magic rubs off on its spinoff Better Call Saul, which has now been nominated two years in a row. Finally, there is the unknown factor of newbie Mr. Robot in its first try.

OUTSTANDING

COMEDY SERIES As they did in the drama series category with Game of Thrones last year, HBO also finally broke the stranglehold of a regular victor—Modern Family, after five straight wins—with the emergence of Veep, which endured losses for three straight years before finally bagging the Comedy Series Emmy.

Much of the competition it faces this season consists of repeaters from last year, including, of course, Modern Family; HBO stablemate Silicon Valley; Amazon’s Transparent; and the Netflix hit Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. ABC, single-handedly holding up the flag for the four broadcast networks in Emmy’s top two categories by nabbing two nods for its Wednesday night comedies, got a first time nomination for second season sitcom Black-ish to go with its seventh for Modern Family. Netflix also has two chances for a breakthrough win in a top Emmy category, with Aziz Ansari’s Master of None being the only first season series to make the grade with Emmy voters in Comedy.

34

The Americans

Better Call Saul

FX

AMC

This critical favorite has been grossly overlooked for its first three seasons, and now, suddenly, it has received its first ever nomination in this category.

What gives? I think the critical fraternity practically shamed the Academy into paying attention to this show. When they finally did, voila! It helps that it had a terrific season. The drawback may be that it only has five nominations, most of them in the acting categories, so its widespread appeal across all branches is still a question mark.

After owning this category for six of the past eight years with four wins for Mad Men and two for Breaking Bad, AMC’s only hope to keep their streak is that sophomore nominee Better Call Saul is getting better as it goes on, and pleasing fans and critics who loved Breaking Bad. This isn’t always the case for spinoffs, but this show seems to be firing on all cylinders now and finding its own feet. The fact that it was nominated first time out last season shows Emmy voters are paying attention.

Black-ish

Master of None

ABC

Netflix

Last year, this smart African-American sitcom cracked the Emmy acting race with a nod for star Anthony Anderson, but nothing else. For its second season, it added Tracee Ellis Ross in Lead Comedy Actress and broke into Comedy Series to triple its number of Emmy chances.

It is movin’ on up and hoping to regain the family comedy momentum that ABC’s Modern Family had all those years. It is also the most diverse entry in a year when diversity seems to matter more than ever.

This personal comedy series from Aziz Ansari is unlike any in the category, and it scored four nominations—all seemingly for its star—on its first try. Netflix is also very good about loosening the campaign purse strings, so we can expect a big push to try and pull off an upset freshman win.

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Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

Homeland

House of Cards

Mr. Robot

PBS

HBO

Showtime

Netflix

USA

The stalwart British entry has been nominated every year of its run, or at least since Season 2, when it switched from the Miniseries contest (where it won) to Drama Series. It is still searching for its first win here, and this is its last chance. The show ended on an upbeat note, which could only make voters feel good about it, so sentiment could prevail and give it the elusive prize this final time around.

What can you say about this juggernaut? After fourconsecutive years of playing bridesmaid it finally won on its fifth try. But it didn’t just win: it crushed the competition with 12 Emmys; a gigantic haul for a Drama Series. With 23 nominations this year, it leads the Emmy parade, and there is no reason to believe that momentum is not on its side. Since the nominations, HBO has announced the show won’t be an Emmy player next season. That could give it impetus. Plus it was a killer season.

This durable drama series came out of the box with a big win in its first time ever in 2012, but it has failed to repeat, especially after a couple of spotty seasons slowed its momentum.

With only four nominations this year, it has a hill to climb to become that rare drama series that could come back and manage a bookend Emmy for that first year’s win.

A staple here ever since its groundbreaking Netflix debut in 2013. It has never won, but this is an election year, and that could mean voters are in the mood.

This, after all, is the first Presidential race that House of Cards has shared the air with, and that could get the Academy jazzed. Although sometimes sailing over the top, the show has always been true to itself, and that should count for something.

USA has finally cracked this category with the innovative and instantly popular Mr. Robot, a show right in with the times when hacking is in the headlines seemingly every day. Its intriguing lead character, played by Rami Malek—also nominated—makes this must-watch new TV, and as the only first-season series that made the cut here, it is the great mystery entry.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Veep

★

PETE’S PICK: GAME OF THRONES IS ON A ROLL.

Modern Family

Silicon Valley

Transparent

ABC

HBO

Amazon

One of the great success stories of all time in the Comedy Series category, Modern Family won this Emmy for its first five years of existence, something only Frasier managed to pull off before it. Now in its seventh season and seventh consecutive nomination, the big question is this: Are voters finally tired of it?

Although its stablemate Veep has had more overall success at the Emmys, don’t write off this critical favorite and wildly funny show, that has now earned its third consecutive Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series – and it is indeed outstanding in every respect. With 11 nominations this year, it has doubled its total from years one and two, and that means it is on a definite path forward with Emmy voters. But HBO has another dog in this hunt, and that complicates its chances.

With five wins in its first season, and another 10 nominations this year, the game-changing dramedy Transparent is obviously an instant Emmy hit. Many thought it would triumph in this category on its first time out last season, but it fell short, perhaps because the transgender storyline also sometimes heads in dramatic directions, making it more of an in-betweener.

Considering it once again has to face Veep, its chances might be better in other Emmy races, particularly for Lead Comedy Actor.

★

HBO

Netflix Netflix spent big to get this second season sitcom into the consciousness of voters and it has paid off handsomely, for two years in a row, with recognition in this category. Unfortunately, the show is already showing diminishing returns at the Emmys with its nomination total nearly sliced in half from 2015’s 7 nods to 2016’s 4.

Like House of Cards, it seems Veep, which just gets better with age, will benefit from the fact that it is an election year. And it’s all the more timely since it deals with a woman President.

After four nominations, it finally broke the stranglehold that Modern Family had on this category, and now with its fifth nod it looks to prove it is the real deal; an agent of change that had more going for it than its multi-Emmy winning cast members, most notably Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

P E T E ’ S P I C K : T H E R E ’ S N O Q U E S T I O N A B O U T I T ; I T ’ S V E E P , I N T H E Y E A R O F C L I N T O N A N D T R U M P. D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E

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EM M Y H AN DICAPS / BY P ETE H A M M O N D

OUTSTANDING

LIMITED SERIES There was a time, not long ago, when the Television Academy could barely make a category out of miniseries, or what is now called “Limited Series”.

And usually, it would be HBO dominating whatever list it had, including last year’s winner Olive Kitteridge. Now, this is one of the hottest areas of the Emmys and continues to be separated in the top program category from TV Movies. They were once combined, as they continue to be in the acting, writing and directing categories. But the field is too rich in terms of Limited Series now, so the separate program designation was adopted. And to show the degree of heavyweight competition in this category, HBO was completely shut out, with no nominations for its big 2016 hopeful, Show Me a Hero, which had won a Golden Globe for star Oscar Isaac. FX’s staple here, American Horror Story, is also AWOL in the category for the first time since its inception, but that cable powerhouse still finds it is competing against itself with the top two nomination-getters in the category, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and 2014 champ, Fargo.

American Crime

Fargo

ABC

FX

The second season Limited Series from creator John Ridley is carrying the flag for the broadcast networks with a television form they practically invented, but had abandoned in recent years. Though not a ratings juggernaut, the show, with a strong ensemble cast changing parts each season like American Horror Story, tackles controversial themes in powerful ways. But with a mere four nominations, it is falling far behind its cable competitors and looks like a longshot for victory.

With 18 nominations, the 2014 champ in this category—when it also garnered 18 nominations— has come on very strong in its second season and is breathing heavily behind FX stablemate The People v.

O.J. Simpson. With virtually a new cast, it has lost none of its punch and could repeat if only FX didn’t already have another dog in this hunt that threatens to suck the air out of the room.

★

OUTSTANDING

TELEVISION MOVIE Due to the sad state of the once vibrant television movie, the now-separate category for TV movies has largely changed the definition of what that really means, and not necessarily for the better. Last year there were nominees in the category that were essentially episodes of an ongoing series, and even one theatrical feature (Grace of Monaco) that had been sold off to Lifetime, hardly the definition of a movie made for television. HBO’s Bessie was the eventual winner, and that was almost by default, considering the “competition”. As usual, HBO is the savior of the form, and has the two highest profile nominees in All the Way and Confirmation, which they premiered toward the end of the season in order to own this category once again. BBC America’s Luther and PBS’s Sherlock are back in this race, where in past years they have been entered alternatively as either a movie or miniseries or combination of the two. Netflix’s A Very Murray Christmas seems like a variety special.

A Very Murray Christmas

All The Way HBO

Netflix Bill Murray’s satirical Christmas special is really stretching the definition of what a “television movie” has been traditionally thought to be, but this category is a grab bag for all sorts of things these days. With only one other nomination for Music Direction, this uneven but at times amusing outing for Murray and guest stars would seem the longest of shots against four dramas.

★ 36

P E T E ’ S P I C K : T H E P E O P L E V. O . J . S I M P S O N , B U T D O N ’ T B E

With a heavyweight Executive Producer in Steven Spielberg and a built-in pedigree, by way of its Tony Award-winning roots on Broadway, this film focusing on efforts by President Lyndon Johnson to pass the Civil Rights Bill is an expert adaptation of the play that inspired it. Bryan Cranston’s towering performance as LBJ leads all comers in his category and should help boost this into the winners’ circle here as well. With eight nominations, All the Way leads the TV Movie contenders.

P E T E ’ S P I C K : A L L T H E WAY S H O U L D G O A L L T H E WAY.

D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E

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SURPR

N’T BE

THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE What should win? It is always a problem at the Emmys to see so many repeat winners year after year. So I’m always up for going off the reservation, shaking things up and daring to do something a little different.

Roots

The Night Manager

History

AMC

This remake of perhaps the most famous miniseries of them all is trying to make history for History. Adapted from Alex Haley’s famous book, this version was very well received, but its chances are hampered by the fact that it received no acting nominations (unless you count its bid for Narrator) and only five other relatively minor technical nods. With no mentions for writing, directing or acting, the road will be a long one if it is to prevail here, especially in the shadow of the original.

With 12 nominations, this exquisite six-part adaptation of John le Carré’s novel would be a likely winner in any other year with lesser competition. Shot like an expansive widescreen motion picture, its intelligent script, top direction from Oscar winner Susanne Bier on locations around the world, and a remarkable cast led by Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman—all nominated— would seem to spell a real contender. Look for this to be a sleeper here.

The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story FX Perhaps the trick of this tenpart limited series was to make fresh a story everyone thought they already knew.

Seeing it all presented in a new light, that made the viewer feel they were truly a fly on the wall of perhaps the most famous murder trial of the 20th Century, has given this FX contender 22 nominations and a real shot at the crown. Instantly making the O.J. Simpson trial watercooler fodder again, this is the one to beat.

Luther

HBO

BBC America

This dramatic retelling of the hot-button congressional hearings for Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and his confrontation, alongside sexual harassment accusations from Anita Hill, is still compelling and timely stuff and has been expertly brought to the small screen. But with only two nominations, including one for star Kerry Washington, it probably falls behind HBO’s other entry, above.

Idris Elba’s compelling character continues to drive this occasional series of “movies”, although in both 2012, when the category was combined, and 2014, when it was entered as a miniseries, it does seem to be defining itself differently in various years. Its chances to break out as a standalone movie would seem to be minimal, and BBC America probably chose this category because of far less competition than in the Limited Series contest this year.

FOR COMEDY SERIES, Veep is great, and never more timely, and can’t be beat. But, going rogue, I’d love to see ABC’s Black-ish break through and make a statement. It’s a show that can be both funny and pertinent.

IN THE LIMITED SERIES CATEGORY, I very much admired what they accomplished in The People v. O.J. Simpson, but Simpson himself is so creepy. I’m also a John le Carré fan, so when an adaptation comes along firing on as many cylinders as The Night Manager does, I have to give it props—and some Emmys.

S U R P R I S E D BY A B R I T I S H U P S E T W I T H T H E N I G H T M A N AG E R .

Confirmation

IN THE DRAMA SERIES RACE, for instance, there are lots of good choices, and Game of Thrones already won last year, so enough blood and guts. I might go with Better Call Saul from AMC. I can’t think of anything more difficult than following up one of the greatest television series of all time (yes, that would be Breaking Bad), and delivering something equally compelling and yet distinct. Saul earns it on degree of difficulty, and I’m a huge Vince Gilligan fan, but wouldn’t it be equally great to see The Americans steal it away? I wouldn’t mind a bit.

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (Masterpiece) PBS A class series of the continuing adventures of Sherlock and Watson, as played

by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman—both past Emmy winners for their efforts—is now once again nominated as a standalone TV Movie, just as it was in 2014. Like Luther it was also in the combined Miniseries/ Movie category in 2012.

Voters love this show, but will they regard it in the spirit this category intends?

ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE TELEVISION MOVIE CATEGORY: All the Way deserves to win, and it will win. Over in Variety Talk Series, though, I’m sick and tired of seeing Bill Maher lose consistently over the past few decades, beginning with Politically Incorrect. He has been brilliant this election season, so I say, after 13 years of Comedy Central rule, let’s give Maher his Emmy.

FOR VARIETY SKETCH SERIES, it’s actually shocking how few times Saturday Night Live has won this thing. For sheer longevity, I say SNL. For Special Class Program, the class of this field of awards shows and football half-times is actually Fox’s Grease: Live, which shows you how you do it.

And in Reality Competition, my vote goes to The Bachelor. Oh wait… that guilty pleasure has never been nominated. I abstain out of protest.

Y. D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E

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★ | flash mob

TELEVISION CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS, AUGUST 6, LOS ANGELES

RE X /S H U T T E RSTO CK

Top row, from left: Lily Tomlin; Rachel Bloom & Aline Brosh McKenna; Jon Hamm, Matthew Weiner & Vince Gilligan; Rami Malek & Christian Slater; Noah Emmerich, Keri Russell & Matthew Rhys.

This row, from left: Cuba Gooding Jr., Ryan Murphy, John Singleton; Jane Fonda.

Bottom row, from left: Lauren Ricciardi & Moira Demos; Sam Esmail; Sarah Paulson & Holland Taylor; Lee Daniels; Samantha Bee.

38

D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E

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F OR YO UR

E M M Y® C O N S I D E R AT I O N

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

FELICITY HUFFMAN

LILI TAYLOR

REGINA KING

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

“EXEMPLARY”

“POWERHOUSE”

“FEARLESS”

Time

Screenrant

Yahoo! TV

#AmericanCrime

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F OR YO UR

E M M Y® C O N S I D E R AT I O N

O U T S TA N D I N G C O M E D Y S E R I E S ANTHONY ANDERSON

TRACEE ELLIS ROSS

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS

IN A COMEDY SERIES

IN A COMEDY SERIES

“BRING ON THE EMMYS®” LOS ANGELES TIMES

#blackish

Watch the complete second season now on iTunes.com/black- ish

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