Awards HQ May 2: Exclusive Peacock Pop Up Details; Plus: Prime Video, Warner Bros. TV, Disney and Netflix FYC News

Listen, part of the fun of doing a weekly column is just writing what everyone is talking about. And one hot topic in business circles, and even among viewers, is just how much damn TV there is right now. There are more than A HUNDRED new and returning shows bowing in April and May. No one can watch all of that.

I like to point out the fact that Netflix’s “Anatomy of a Scandal” and Amazon Prime Video’s “A Very British Scandal” are, in fact, not the same show. And then I watch as the person I’m talking to suddenly go bug eyed in the realization that they’ve been hearing about TWO DIFFERENT SHOWS, not the same one, in recent weeks. Ha ha!

An excerpt from this week’s screed:

The real issue now is the logjam of year-round programming that truly makes it impossible to develop any sort of major awareness for new shows, particularly entrants without obvious legacy IP. Those of us covering TV have long been overwhelmed with the amount of content coming out – which is why Landgraf’s gospel earned so many followers in our field.

But now that tyranny of too much TV has trickled down to consumers, who didn’t suddenly find more hours of the day to watch all this stuff. The streaming business is experiencing its first major crisis of confidence, spurred by last week’s news of a Netflix subscriber dip (and subsequent plummet in valuation) — part of that comes from consumers who have hit a wall in how many streamers they’re willing to subscribe to, and the amount they’re eager to pay.

All of this comes, a bit ironically, during what is undoubtedly the most crowded spring in TV history. It’s no secret that not too long ago, this is when the TV season was wrapping up. Networks were prepping for summer vacation. No one in their right mind would launch a show in May, right before the off season, unless it was a turd they were trying to bury.

Read it all here.

Like everyone during the pandemic, Amazon Prime Video limited its FYC footprint the past two years, scrapping the “Prime Experience” pop-up space that it had previously held at the Hollywood Athletic Club. “The Prime Experience” is back, but Amazon is shaking this up: This year’s space has moved to an enormous estate up in the hills. It’s the kind of house you see when you look up and wonder, “who lives there??”

Well, it’s someone wealthy enough to have even built a man-made lake behind the property. And isn’t even living here at the moment, which allowed Amazon to come in and turn it into a multi-room experience touting its Emmy contenders. The large estate, including a huge backyard (and that lake!) is a nod to these COVID times and the idea that people won’t have to be cramped together the way they were at the Hollywood Athletic Club.

The Prime Experience has a theater in a massive tent built on the grounds, and also with spaced-out seating as a nod to safety. The rooms include a piano bar; a “salon and sweets” parlor where you can grab some candy and get your nails done; tarot readings; a sound bath “void” themed to “Outer Range”; a studio with tea treats themed to “A Very British Scandal”; a gallery devoted to “As We See It; and more.

Some pics from the experience:

In the “A Very British Scandal” room, which includes clues and Easter eggs from the series.

Yeah, this is just a portion of the back yard, with the lake.

The piano room features behind-the-scenes images from some of Prime Video’s contenders.

Sorry for the crooked photo, but an idea of what the back of the house looks like.

The “Behind the Scenes” bar.

Thanks to my guide on Saturday as I visited, my former boss and now Amazon awards guru Debra Birnbaum… and staff member Sammy! On the right, candy art of “Lucy & Desi,” as seen in the “salon and sweets” parlor room.

Amazon’s Prime Experience is open on the weekends over the next several weeks. Also, speaking of sweets, below is the mailer for the event, featuring even more goodies! (Only some of Prime Video’s FYC contenders are here; Debra tells me they rotated so that each recipient received a different mix of shows.)

Comedies “Insecure” and “Reservation Dogs,” as well as limited series “Dopesick” and “It’s a Sin,” are among the seven programs set to be recognized this year by the Television Academy as part of its 15th Television Academy Honors. The award showcases “exceptional television programs and their producers who have leveraged the immense power of television to fuel social change.”

This year’s honorees also include documentary/nonfiction series “Black and Missing” and “Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition,” as well as the documentary special “The Year Earth Changed.”

Among the topics this year’s honorees tackle: racism, law enforcement, addiction, AIDS, the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on nature, immigration, Native American representation, anti-Asian American hate, and the issues facing Black women.

“Insecure” and “Black and Missing” come from HBO, while “It’s a Sin” is on HBO Max here; “Dopesick” and “Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition” are on Hulu. “Reservation Dogs” is an FX series, while “The Year Earth Changed” can be found on Apple TV Plus. Read more here.

Mobile app FYCit is back for the Emmys. Launched last year by indie film producer Ryland Aldrich, the app trached Oscar and Guild season events and screenings throughout the film awards season. Now, the app, which is available for iOS and Android, is looking to do the same by collecting Emmy season events for TV Academy members.

According to the firm, the Emmys edition will include virtual events where users can directly link to from inside the app. In-person events in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and London are all included. Users will find the list of awards programs and find the venues where FYC screenings and events are being held.

“Ghosts” may be the unlikeliest comedy hit in recent CBS history. It’s a single-camera half-hour, adapted from a cult U.K. series, and it’s not from Chuck Lorre. Yet the show, which has already been renewed for a second season, is a breakout for the Eye network.

The series stars Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar as Sam and Jay, who inherit a mansion in the countryside that they plan to turn into a B&B. But when Sam hits her head in an accident, she starts to see the ghosts who inhabit the manor from different eras, including a 1700s American Revolutionary War officer (Brandon Scott Jones), a 1920s jazz singer (Danielle Pinnock), a Viking (Devan Chandler Long), a Lenape Native American (Román Zaragoza), a hippie (Sheila Carrasco), a 1980s Boy Scout leader (Richie Moriarty) and a late-’90s wolf of Wall Street (Asher Grodman).

Just like the original 2019 BBC series, “Ghosts” takes full advantage of that large ensemble, diving into each character’s backstory and the comedic give-and-take among the spooks, the “living” who can see them and Sam’s husband, who cannot.

We asked co-showrunner/executive producers Joe Port and Joe Wiseman to fill out our Showrunner Seven.

Sum up your show’s pitch in one sentence.
A young couple inherits an old mansion and the wife has a near death experience which allows her to see and communicate with the property’s deceased former residents.

What’s an alternate title for your show? 
“Our Livings.” Or “The Alberta Show” (if the Alberta character were naming it).

What do we need to know before tuning in? 
Nothing! But a little knowledge about American history and HGTV will help you get some references. Also, full disclosure: we don’t know why ghosts go through walls but don’t fall through floors – just go with it.

Give us an equation for your show. (Blank plus blank minus blank times blank, etc.)
“Ted Lasso” + “What We Do In The Shadows” x the British “Ghosts” – cool accents.

What’s the best thing someone said about your show?
That it’s appointment viewing for their entire family. And that it’s wholesome (even though it’s a lot of cocaine and orgy jokes and ghosts talking about their hope of being “sucked off”).

If you could work on any other series on TV, what would it be?
“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” so we could hang out with Larry David. We worked in a room with him for one afternoon, 17 years ago, and we still talk about it a lot. He liked a joke that Wiseman pitched and then Wiseman called his mom.

Finish this sentence: “If you like _______, you’ll love our show.”
If you like something that will make you laugh and make you think a little, and give you some feels by the end of half an hour, you’ll love our show.

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The 49th Daytime Emmy Awards return to a live, in-person format this year on Friday, June 24, airing on both CBS and Paramount+. Also, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences confirmed that, as expected, the ceremony will take place at Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif.; nominations will be announced on May 5.

The Daytime Emmys dates were part of a slew of announcements made last week by NATAS, which also revealed Lifetime Achievement Awards for PBS’ “This Old House,” soap opera icon John Aniston (“Days of Our Lives”), documentarian Sir David Attenborough, “Reading Rainbow” host LeVar Burton and journalist Judy Woodruff. Also, sports journalist Lesley Visser and tech entrepreneur Yvette Kanouff, who were originally slated to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to it, will finally receive their honors this year.

NATAS also provided more details on the launch of the Children’s & Family Emmy Award competition and ceremony, which was previously announced as part of a plan to organize the Daytime and Primetime Emmys by content genre, instead of program airtime. That included moving all children’s categories out of both events and into its own new ceremony (the first new Emmy show since 1979).

“We look forward to honoring this year’s unparalleled class of Lifetime Achievement honorees — each an icon in their craft — and couldn’t be more excited to award the first-ever Children’s & Family Emmys,” said Adam Sharp, president & CEO of NATAS.

The 2022 NATAS awards calendar kicked off on Monday night in Las Vegas, during the NAB convention, with the 73rd Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards. It was there that Kanouff, currently a partner at JC2 Ventures, received her award. (Above, guest Rich Little, who introduced a tribute to television pioneers; CBS Sunday Mornings host David Progue, who emceed the evening; Sharp.)

The 43rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards takes place on Tuesday, May 24, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York.

On June 18, the 49th Annual Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmy Awards takes place at the Pasadena Convention Center; then there’s the 49th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on June 24 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Later in the fall, after the Los Angeles-based Television Academy wraps its Primetime Emmy season, NATAS returns with the 43rd Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards, split into to sides. News categories are awarded on Wednesday, September 28, while documentary awards are handed out on Thursday, September 29. Both events are held at Palladium Times Square in New York.

The year wraps on Dec. 11 with the 1st Annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, held at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.

Tony Dalton says you’re not ready for where “Better Call Saul” goes in its final season. As the first half of the 13-episode sixth season continues, Dalton warns viewers to brace themselves.

“No matter what they think is going to happen, people have no idea,” he tells Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast. “I think that people are going to love it. This is the last season, so they pulled all the stops out. It’s all in, let’s burn the house down. Literally. They just really made sure that no stone is left unturned. There was some episodes that I read, that had me jumping up and down in the place that I got in Albuquerque. It’s super exciting to see that how it’s all going to pan out. One thing is reading it, the other thing is filming it.”

On this episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, “Better Call Saul” baddie Tony Dalton talks about the flair he brings to playing the charming but deadly Lalo Salamanca on the show, and also doing something different on “Hawkeye.” But first, our Awards Circuit Roundtable discusses the return to Emmy season and the ridiculous number of TV premieres this spring. Click below to listen:

Read more here.

Why should the streamers have all the fun? Now that events are once again in person, a number of outlets are putting together their own FYC screening series — including Warner Bros. TV Group and Disney, both of which are utilizing their own properties to hold their festivals.

Warner Bros. TV Group is launching its first ever “FYC@WB” panel series on the Warner Bros. lot, at its Warner Bros. Studio Tour Theater, between May 7 and June 18. The event, being organized in conjunction with the Warner Bros. Studio Tour and the Motion Picture & Television Fund, will be open to the public in addition to Emmy voters.

Events will both be in person or pre-taped. Here are the in-person ones:

May 7 at 5 p.m. – “DMZ”
Rosario Dawson, Ava DuVernay, Roberto Patino, Ernest Dickerson

May 12 at 7 p.m. – “Shining Vale”
Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear, Mira Sorvino, Jeff Astrof

May 19 at 7 p.m. – “Paris in Love”
Paris Hilton, Carter Reum

May 20 at 7 p.m. – “True Story with Ed & Randall”
Ed Helms, Randall Park

May 26 at 5 p.m. – “The Flight Attendant”
Kaley Cuoco, Zosia Mamet, Rosie Perez, Steve Yockey, Natalie Chaidez

June 4 at 5 p.m. – “Abbott Elementary”
Quinta Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti

June 18 at 7 p.m. “The Sex Lives of College Girls”
Mindy Kaling, Justin Noble, Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Alyah Chanelle Scott, Reneé Rapp

Meanwhile, Disney’s Disney Television Studios, FX, Hulu, Disney+ and ABC have combined forces for “Disney FYC Fest,” which takes place from June 3 to June 15 at Disney’s El Capitan Theater in Holltwood. Each event will be followed by receptions at the nearby Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where installations highlighting the shows will be showcased.

Specific panelists, moderators and event information for the Disney FYC Fest will be announced in the coming weeks; titles to be screened include “Abbott Elementary” (20th TV & ABC), “Black-ish” (ABC Signature & ABC), “The Book of Boba Fett” (Lucasfilm & Disney+), “Dopesick” (Hulu), “The Dropout” (Hulu), “The Great” (Hulu), “Impeachment: American Crime Story” (20th TV and FX), “The Kardashians” (Hulu), “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” (ABC), “Moon Knight” (Marvel Studios & Disney+), “Only Murders in the Building” (20th TV & Hulu), “Pam and Tommy” (Hulu), “Pistol” (FX), “Reservation Dogs” (FX), “Under the Banner of Heaven” (FX), “What We Do In The Shadows” (FX), “Women of the Movement” (ABC), and more.

Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton recently caught up with Walt Disney Television entertainment chairman Dana Walden, in her first major interview since the Disney acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets, to get an update on the state of the division. “The executive knew she had an enormous job to integrate two studios — 20th Television and what was then ABC Studios — in addition to steering ABC Entertainment and adding Hulu Originals soon after she started. And she knew she had to breathe new life into the young-adult-targeted Freeform at a time when linear basic cable channels face extinction,” she writes. An excerpt from Cynthia:

Walden and her boss, Disney General Entertainment Content chairman Peter Rice, have mostly stayed out of the spotlight for the past three years. Both quickly realized their work at Disney would be challenging in part because they were the only 21st Century Fox executives to move over as division heads.

But last month, Walden sat down with Variety for her first extensive interview about the inner workings of the studios and platforms she leads. The executive, who spent 26 years at Fox, climbing the ladder on the creative side from public relations executive to the C-suite, is clearly energized by the high-stakes game of playing for Team Disney in the streaming wars. At present she oversees the production of nearly 200 titles across Hulu, ABC, Disney+, Freeform and external platforms.

“It’s the most competitive time in the history of our business — it’s ridiculously competitive,” Walden observes. “It’s just a phenomenal time to be in the content business.”

The timing of Walden’s opening of the gates is no accident. Her units have been a hot streak. Hulu has enjoyed a string of buzzy originals, including “Only Murders in the Building,” “Dopesick,” “The Dropout,” “Pam & Tommy,” “The Great,” “Nine Perfect Strangers” and most recently, “The Girl From Plainville.” ABC has found the rarest of TV commodities — a breakout hit comedy — in the critical-darling school comedy “Abbott Elementary.” Onyx Collective, a new content banner designed to put Disney muscle behind projects produced by creators of color, won the feature documentary Oscar last month for its first-ever release, the Questlove-directed “Summer of Soul (… Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” from Searchlight Pictures.

Read the full story here.

ATX TV Festival will present its second annual “Breakthrough Award” to “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus” star Sydney Sweeney, the event announced last week.

Sweeney will attend this year’s festival for a featured one-on-one conversation about both HBO original series, her career, and more.

According to ATX, the Breakthrough Award “recognizes an individual whose creative voice has made a substantial and unique imprint on the current moment in TV, and whose work exemplifies the emotional, entertaining, and artistic possibilities of the medium.” The award was first presented to actor, writer, producer, and human rights advocate Angelica Ross (“Pose,” “American Horror Story: 1984”) last June.

This year’s ATX TV Fest returns to an in-person event June 2 to 5 in Austin.

Previously announced programming includes a reunion for “Scrubs” with creator/showrunner/EP/director Bill Lawrence and cast members Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, John C. McGinley, Judy Reyes, and Neil Flynn in attendance. Additionally, the festival will feature “Parenthood” and “Justified,” and more.

We’ll dive into a different category each week to examine Clayton Davis‘ Emmy predictions. This week, drama:

Netflix finally broke through with the Television Academy last year with “The Crown,” sweeping the seven major categories, including drama series. While the subsequent season films, they’re hoping to make more history with the massively popular “Squid Game.” The South Korean program would be the first non-English series to nab a drama series nomination, but that’s not all the hurdles it’ll need to clear. HBO’s “Succession” is back in the mix with its third season, and after winning Critics Choice and the SAG Award for cast ensemble, it remains a darling on the awards circuit. The bird’s eye view of the race could come down to those two programs, but there are other entities with a shot at gold.

Showtime has a new critical hit that they can put its weight behind “Yellowjackets,” while Apple TV Plus may have a stronger drama contender with “Severance” versus “The Morning Show.”

Some other freshman series circling Emmy’s wagon include HBO’s “The Gilded Age” and “Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” along with Apple TV Plus’ “Pachinko” and “Shining Girls.”

Other returning shows include HBO’s “Euphoria,” Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone,” AMC’s “Better Call Saul” and Netflix’s “Ozark,” with a long-awaited dose of “Stranger Things.”

Broadcast television will be pushing to make its impact, and the final season of NBC’s “This Is Us” has the best chance to achieve that goal.

Among the streamers trying to break through are Disney Plus with “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” while Peacock seems bullish on the chances of “Bel-Air” but might prove tricky dodging the Will Smith-Oscar-slap controversy of it all.

Here is Clayton’s drama frontrunners as of this week:

Read more here.

Apple TV+’s new series “The Essex Serpent” isn’t easy to explain in a quick pitch. The drama, led by Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes, grapples with big issues, wrapped in a story of mystery and emotion that examines love in all its forms, the battle between science and faith, and so much more.

Nonetheless, on the Awards Circuit Podcast, Variety’s Jenelle Riley asks Hiddleston to give his own synopsis, and he manages to pull it off in 35 seconds — and it’s a pretty good description that even includes the impressive phrase “Gothic opacity.”

Hiddleston spoke to the podcast about both “The Essex Serpent” and his earlier turn as the star of Disney+’s Marvel series “Loki,” as well as having a milestone birthday during the pandemic and so much more. He also took part in a quiz where the actor had to guess between the characters of Shakespeare and Marvel. Listen below!

Read more here.

Monday, May 2, 7 p.m. PT: Hulu’s “The Great” FYC event at the Wolf Theatre at Saban Media Center, TV Academy (North Hollywood)

Tuesday, May 3, 5 p.m. PT: Britbox’s “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” FYC event. (Virtual)

Tuesday, May 3, 7 p.m. PT: HBO’s “Winning Time” FYC event at the Wolf Theatre at Saban Media Center, TV Academy. Panelists include Quincy Isaiah, Jason Clarke, Adrien Brody, Jason Segel, DeVaughn Nixon, Solomon Hughes, Tamera Tomakili, Sally Field, and Michael Chiklis, plus exec producers. Moderated by me! (North Hollywood)

Wednesday, May 4, 4:30 p.m. PT: HBO Max’s “The Staircase” FYC event at WarnerMedia Hudson Yards. (New York)

Wednesday, May 4, 5 p.m. PT: Peacock’s “We Are Lady Parts” FYC event. (Virtual)

Thursday, May 5, 5 p.m. PT: SundanceTV/Sundance Now/AMC+’s “State of the Union” FYC event. (Virtual)

Thursday, May 5, 7 p.m. PT: HBO Max’s “Behind the Curtain: ‘Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known’ & ‘And Just Like That…The Documentary’” FYC event. (Virtual)

Saturday, May 7, 11 a.m. PT: Amazon’s “Saturday Morning Cartoons: ‘The Boys Presents: Diabolical,’ ‘Fairfax,’ ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’” FYC event, at the Prime Experience. (Beverly Hills)

Saturday, May 7, 11 a.m. PT: Netflix’s “Queer Eye” FYC event, at the Pacific Design Center’s Silver Screen Theater. (West Hollywood)

Saturday, May 7, 3 p.m. PT: Apple TV+’s “Tehran” FYC event. (TBD)

Saturday, May 7, 7 p.m. PT: BBC America’s “Killing Eve” FYC panel. (Virtual)

Sunday, May 8, 11 a.m. PT: Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses” FYC event, at the Pacific Design Center. (West Hollywood)

Sunday, May 8, 7 p.m. PT: Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” FYC event, at NeueHouse Hollywood. (Los Angeles)