Awards

Sometimes, the laugh’s on us. Last year, at the start of Emmy campaign season, most pundits believed it would be a race to the finish between Amazon Prime Video’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” which had won in 2018, and the final season of HBO’s “Veep,” a three-time winner itching to take back its crown. But

There are plenty of superstars on television, but only a few icons. Let’s make it clear: Rita Moreno is one of those icons. My generation first knew her as the lady who screamed “Hey you guys!” at the start of PBS’ “The Electric Company.” My parents, of course, knew her as the spitfire in 1961’s

Between 2008 and 2018, four documentary directors focused their lenses on a quartet of formidable women. Women who are remarkably similar, yet incredibly different. Who defy patriarchy and inspire change. Women whose names are Dr. Amani Ballour, Hillary Clinton, Ursula Kroeber Le Guin and Michelle Obama. While Clinton and Obama, two former first ladies, are

As the national conversation changed dramatically in the past four years, centering the importance of amplifying underrepresented voices and cultures, it altered the context of pop culture, as well. Many unscripted programs rose to the challenge by continuously casting more inclusively — whether it be a particular season’s contestants, episode-specific subjects or series-long hosts. Through

Tyler Perry and his Perry Foundation will be honored by the Television Academy as the recipient of this year’s Governors Award, which will be handed out during the Primetime Emmys televised event on Sunday, Sept. 20. Perry is the first individual to receive the Governors Award since 2014; last year, the Academy opted not to

A sci-fi/fantasy or dystopian project has won the drama series Emmy for the past five years in a row: Namely, HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has won four times, except for 2017 when Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” took home the grand prize. This year, return nominees “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things” are joined on

Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman have been in each other’s orbit for the better part of three decades, and have also worked together on films including “The Break-Up,” “The Switch” and “Horrible Bosses” franchise. Both started in the business very young yet proved to have the ability not only to maintain longevity as performers and

The second season of “Succession” opens on Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) emerging from the warm waters of an Icelandic spa. Kendall has just begun a much-needed stint in rehab, away from his poisonous family, when he is called back by his father and plunged once again into the media dynasty rat race.HBO’s “Succession” is one

Patti Lee first got her start in the business as an electrician and worked her way up the ranks to gaffer and lighting director before moving into the camera department, so her view as a cinematographer now comes with a full-360 understanding of the technical elements necessary to capture a perfect shot. The two-time Emmy

The Mother — that role that was once cautioned against for young actors — is far more realistic than it used to be. This year’s crop of comedy actress Emmy nominees plays an array of characters that embrace the authenticity of motherhood as a piece (not entirety) of the female experience, relegating June Cleaver archetypes

Laura Linney and Kerry Washington are no strangers to multi-tasking. The Emmy-nominated performers (Linney with her second consecutive lead drama actress nod for Netflix’s “Ozark” and Washington entering the lead limited series/TV movie actress race with Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere”) not only starred in multiple projects this past television season, but they also pulled double

“The first Black female self-made millionaire. A successful doctor also dealing with a full house. An artist who steps in to take care of a friend’s kids when she thinks she’s going to jail. A Satmar woman secretly educating herself and eventually breaking out on her own. This year’s lead actress nominees portray a breadth

Emmys’ song category (officially original music and lyrics) embraces a wide spectrum of tunes, from amusing late-night trifles to powerful concluding anthems. This year the Television Academy’s voting members chose seven worthy songs penned by Oscar winners, Grammy winners and more. The Black Godfather(Netflix)When Clarence Avant’s daughter, Nicole, asked songwriter Pharrell Williams to consider writing

In preparing to tell a story set in the world of a morning news show, executive producer and director Mimi Leder and production designer John Paino traveled to New York to visit some of the real-life counterparts to what would become the titular “The Morning Show” at Apple TV Plus. They learned of a crucial

The lead drama actress category may wind up being one of the most exciting competitions in this year’s Emmy race. Part of that comes from the unexpected surprise of Zendaya’s nomination for “Euphoria.” Although it was a possibility, the fact that Television Academy voters — who often seem late to the party (and still are

Arguably the most forward-thinking jazz artist of his generation, Los Angeles saxophonist and composer Kamasi Washington has never hesitated to step outside his comfort zone. He’s logged studio time with Kendrick Lamar and St. Vincent, and performed onstage with Lauryn Hill and Snoop Dogg. But he’s most famous as the visionary bandleader behind sprawling albums

Lucy and Ethel. Mary and Rhoda. Laverne and Shirley. Patsy and Edina. Abbi and Ilana. Television comedy has boasted plenty of amazing duos over the years, and now you should add another one to the mix: Jen and Judy, the lead characters of Netflix’s “Dead to Me.” Television Academy members are on board, having included

It seems like it was a lifetime ago, but it was only last year that the busiest Emmy campaign season ever kept us out virtually every night of the week. That included seeing Bruce Springsteen and David Letterman onstage at the Netflix “FYSee” space, interacting with “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” exhibit during Amazon Prime Video’s

Dime Davis already made Emmy history with her nomination in the variety series directing category for the freshman season finale of HBO’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” which she also co-executive produces. (She is the first Black woman to break onto this ballot.) If she picks up the statue in September, she will break another

How vicious is the Roy family from HBO’s “Succession”? Brian Cox, who plays powerful patriarch Logan Roy, and Jeremy Strong (as his son Kendall Roy) managed to help push out two mainstays in the Emmys’ lead drama actor category this year: Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”) and Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us”). Odenkirk was nominated

When it comes to the Emmys’ lead comedy and drama actor categories, the majority of men of color nominated fall into an interesting theme: They’re involved in storytelling about different kinds of families that are historically underrepresented on television. They are Black (Anthony Anderson, ABC’s “Black-ish”), Black and blended (Sterling K. Brown, NBC’s “This Is

When Archie (Jeremy Pope) is threatened with being removed from his own screenplay because making a movie written by a Black screenwriter would “sink the studio” in Netflix’s “Hollywood,” he responds with as much composure and restraint as he can muster. But given that the show is set in the 1940s, when Black individuals had

Although Netflix’s seven-episode limited series “Hollywood” took an alternate history approach to the types of movies being made — and the people allowed to make them — in its plot, nuances and visual details in the story had to pull directly from the reality of the post-World War II era. This included everything from production

As a kid obsessed with not just television, but also the business of television, I was enamored with “SCTV Network” from the first time I saw it. Not only was it wickedly sharp — even to an 8-year-old — but its depiction of a faux television network, and the eccentric characters who ran it —

As a reliance on established intellectual property has engulfed the industry as a whole, the 72nd annual Primetime Emmy Awards have also put a spotlight on adaptations, reboots and brand extensions. Examples abound, from HBO’s graphic novel adaptation “Watchmen” to Netflix’s interactive “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” movie “Kimmy vs. the Reverend” and “Breaking Bad” stand-alone follow-up

Eugene Levy has been a consistent part of popular culture for more than forty years, spanning multiple comedy franchises from “SCTV” in the 1970s and 1980s, all the way up to Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek,” the Emmy-nominated comedy hit that recently ended its run after six seasons. Now, the accolades are following. Levy just earned

The Television Academy has finally revealed its plans for the Creative Arts Emmys. Normally a two-night event the weekend before the Primetime Emmy ceremony, this year the awards will be handed out virtually over four days, and with a fifth show telecast on FXX. The virtual 2020 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which focus on artisans’

The Television Academy’s willingness to nominate a number of newcomers has shaken up the majority of the key races. Here, Variety breaks down the early odds in 14 categories at the 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Drama SeriesWith last year’s winner (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”) no longer in the running, there was a big vacant

The Emmys documentary categories aren’t often at the top of many people’s lists of highly anticipated categories, but this year, things look a little different. The 2020 documentary and nonfiction series nominees are anchored by a trio of buzzy shows that center around three polarizing figures and have sparked more controversy and conversation during the

Five months into the coronavirus pandemic, and Television Academy voters already seem to be over the plethora of remotely produced content created during, and in response to, the new social-distancing health and safety guidelines. Only one such program, Food Network’s “Amy Schumer Learns to Cook: Lunch Break and Pasta Night,” scored a nomination at the