Awards HQ June 13: Netflix Last Minute FYC; Music Supervisors Gain Respect; ‘Maisel’ Pop Up; Peabody Winners

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Greetings from Variety Awards Headquarters! Today is June 13, 2022, which means it’s now 3 days until Emmy nominations-round voting begins on June 16 and 14 days until Emmy nomination round voting ends on June 27. From there, it’s 29 days until Emmy nominations are announced on July 12; then 60 days until final round voting begins on August 12, followed by 76 days until final round voting ends on August 22. Then comes the finales: It’s 82 days until the Creative Arts Emmys kicks off its two-night event on September 3; and then it’s 91 days until the 74th Emmy Awards takes place, live on NBC, September 12.

This is becoming a habit, writing *yet* another edition of AWARDS HQ written high in the sky, this time as I hop up to Banff, Alberta, Canada, for the return of the annual Banff World Media Festival. I love this event, there’s truly nothing like heading to the Canadian Rockies to talk TV. (The forecast unfortunately calls for rain throughout the week, but that’s not going to damper my excitement!) I’ll be interviewing Pearlena Igbokwe, the chairman of Universal Studio Group, and also chatting with the creatives behind Peacock’s “Rutherford Falls” and conducting a showrunner’s panel with the producers of “Yellowjackets,” “American Auto” and “The Cleaning Lady.”

Of course, we’re coming off a crazy news week that saw the shocker firing of Disney General Entertainment chairman Peter Rice and the ascension of Dana Walden to the top gig there; as well as — on the same day, no less — news that Sony Pictures Television president Jeff Frost was also exiting his gig. Hey, let’s calm it down a bit this week, shall we? There’s Emmy voting to be had!

That’s right! The moment we’ve all been waiting for… finally starts this Thursday. Phase 1 reaches its apex, as voting finally begins. The FYC campaigns wind down, and the moment of truth begins…

… As we wait for nominations to happen next month. But for now, the excitement is growing, and as voting begins on Thursday, I’ll be treating you with a second AWARDS HQ this week. That’s how much you all mean to me. Now, let’s get going!

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Reach Michael on Twitter @franklinavenue or email mschneider@variety.com

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With Emmy voting on the way, Netflix has partnered with a number of local businesses to offer up beverages tied to some of its key Emmy contenders. Some of the stunts, which started this weekend, will continue through the end of Emmy voting on June 27.

That includes, as seen above, a “Squid Game” takeover at Carrera Cafe (8251 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles). Now through the end of voting, the “Squid Game” takeover include coffee sleeves, “Squid Game” themed latte art, and a hand painted wall for photo opps.



Meanwhile, in Santa Monica, La La Land Kind Cafe (1426 Montana Ave #1, Santa Monica) has partnered with Netflix to celebrate both “Queer Eye” and June Pride month. The drink of the month is the Rainbow Latte (Fruity Pebbles on top of La La froth, honey, organic espresso or matcha, milk).

Then, this upcoming weekend, at the Larchmont Farmers Market (209 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles), “Ozark’s” Snell Farms takes over. Netflix and Bee Green Honey have created Bee Green Honey “brought to you from the Ozarks.” The first 200 customers will receive a complimentary jar of “Snell Farm” honey along with other “Ozark”-branded swag.

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Whenever I start to dream about being a music supervisor and imagine how cool that job must be, I then remember every single conversation I’ve ever had with a music supervisor: Universally, they all tell me the same thing: The job is not fun. Or easy. Or anything that you think it is.

It’s been so misunderstood that in recent years showrunners have been allowed to submit their names, along side their actual music supervisors, in the Emmy category honoring their work. That finally changes this year, and it’s quite a victory for them. But as music supervisor Jen Malone tells me, they still aren’t feeling the respect:

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She says there are still some false impressions about her field. “There’s legwork and nuances and special skills to be able to get the songs that the director and the music supervisor collaborate on, and what the director ultimately picks,” she says. “The other misconception is that we sit around and listen to music all day. That is definitely not our job. We have to look over every single aspect, whether that’s creating original music for the show, creating an original song, creating an original soundtrack, putting together artists and songwriters.”

Budgets have ballooned for prestige TV, but music teams are usually the first to feel the pinch when dollars are cut. “When special effects goes over budget, or production design, they come take money out of the music budget,” Malone says. “And then we are left to be extremely creative. Music is so important and so high- profile right now, but budgets are not matching that, and it makes our job much more difficult.”

Read it all here.

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“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is coming to Los Angeles. A new two-day pop-up based on the Amazon Prime Video series takes place this weekend, June 18 and June 19.

Titled “Making LA Marvelous,” the pop-up event will feature sets inspired by the recent fourth season of the comedy series, including a recreation of Susie Myerson’s office from the show (inspired by the set designed by acclaimed production designer Bill Groom), as well as areas inspired by real-life New York locations like the Lower East Side’s Russ & Daughters deli and the Blue Note Jazz Club.

The Russ & Daughters pop-up will pass out appetizers, while the Blue Note club will feature hourly performances inspired by the jazz music of the ’60s. Other highlights from the pop-up include a magician, mahjong tables and a photo both inspired by Coney Island.

Admission is free. Proof of full vaccination OR negative test within 48 hours is required to attend. For more information and to RSVP, visit: http://www.makinglamarvelous.com

“Making LA Marvelous” takes place at 8175 Melrose Avenue on June 18 and 19 from noon to 8 p.m.

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On this week’s Awards Circuit Podcast roundtable (scroll down!), my colleague Clayton Davis makes the bold prediction that “Abbott Elementary,” “Black-ish” and “Ghosts” might all land nominations in the outstanding comedy race. That would be quite a comeback story, and I like the narrative that would come with it. Could it happen? What say you? Click on the box below.



Meanwhile, here are the results from last week’s poll. What should we do with Variety Talk? No one still really knows! But here are our results:

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Peabody Awards are given in the categories of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth and public service programming, and were founded in 1940 at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. Here’s this year’s complete list of 30 winners.

Institutional Winner
Fresh Air with Terry Gross

Career Achievement Award
Dan Rather

Peabody Award for Journalistic Integrity
TV Rain/Dozhd

Arts
“Summer of Soul (…Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” (Hulu / Searchlight Pictures / Onyx Collective)

Entertainment
“Bo Burnham: Inside” (Netflix)
“Dopesick” (Hulu)
“Hacks” (HBO/HBO Max)
“Reservation Dogs” (FX)
“Sort Of” (CBC/HBO Max)
“The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime Video)
“We Are Lady Parts” (Peacock and Channel 4)
“The Wonder Years” (ABC)

Documentary
“Exterminate All the Brutes” (HBO/HBO Max)
“High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America” (Netflix)
“In the Same Breath” (HBO/HBO Max)
“Mayor” (PBS)
“Mr. SOUL!” (PBS)
“My Name is Pauli Murray” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Philly D.A.” (PBS)
“A Thousand Cuts” (PBS / GBH / Frontline)

Podcast/Radio
“Finn and the Bell” (Rumble Strip)
“Southlake” (NBC News)
“Throughline: Afghanistan: The Center of the World” (NPR)

News
“The Appointment” (ABC News)
“Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol” (The New York Times)
“Escaping Eritrea” (PBS / GBH / Frontline)
“January 6th Reporting” (PBS NewsHour)
“NBC Bay Area: ‘The Moms of Magnolia Street’ & ‘No Man’s Land: Fighting for Fatherhood in a Broken System’” (NBC Bay Area)
“Politically Charged” (ABC15 Arizona)
“PRONE” (KUSA)
“‘So They Know We Existed’: Palestinians Film War in Gaza” (The New York Times)
“Transnational” (Vice News Tonight)

The announcement of this year’s 30 winners ran throughout last week. A unanimous vote by the Peabody Awards Board’s 19 jurors is necessary for include on the final lists, which is how the 60 nominees are culled from over 1,200 entries. Among the selections are stories from underrepresented groups that encompass a wide range of issues, including the Jan. 6 insurrection, access to abortion, trans rights and the continuing struggle for criminal justice reform.

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Variety’s “A Night in the Writers Room” returned to an in-person event this year, and it was a huge success, boasting three panels geared toward comedy, drama and limited series showrunners. It was the cream of the crop on stage. I grabbed comedy, and it was a tremendous conversation with Chris Miller (“The Afterparty”), Dave Burd (“Dave”), Greg Daniels (“Upload”), Hayden Schlossberg (“Cobra Kai”), Issa Rae (“Insecure”), Jenny Bicks (“Welcome to Flatch”), Joe Port (“Ghosts”), Meredith Scardino (“Girls5eva”), Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Saladin K. Patterson (“The Wonder Years”) and Tracy Oliver (“Harlem”). .



Meanwhile, Variety’s Emily Longeretta moderated the drama panel, with Max Borenstein (“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”), Thomas Schnauz (“Better Call Saul”), Jason Katims (“As We See It”), Jenny Lumet (“The Man Who Fell to Earth”), Chris Mundy (“Ozark”), Rasheed Newson (“Bel-Air”), Clyde Phillips (“Dexter: New Blood”) and Nichelle Tramble Spellman (“Truth Be Told”).



And Variety’s Joe Otterson took on the limited series producers: Maggie Cohn (“The Staircase”), Drew Crevello (“WeCrashed”), Danny Strong (“Dopesick”), Molly Smith Metzler (“Maid”), Nikki Toscano (“The Offer”), Patrick MacManus (“Dr. Death”), Dustin Lance Black (“Under the Banner of Heaven”) and Robbie Pickering (“Gaslit”).

Other dispatches from the campaign trail last week:



FX’s “Impeachment: American Crime Story” held an FYC event on Friday, June 10, at Disney’s FYC Fest held at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Guests viewed a screening and panel featuring showrunner/EP/writer Sarah Burgess, producer Monica Lewinsky, actress/EP Sarah Paulson, actress/producer Beanie Feldstein (via video), and actresses Annaleigh Ashford, Margo Martindale, Judith Light and Mira Sorvino.



Discovery+ celebrated Pride at this year’s Tribeca Festival with a conversation with the stars and producers of “Generation Drag,” “Trixie Motel” and “Book Of Queer.” Above, here’s Kathleen Finch, chairman and chief content officer, US Networks Group, Warner Bros. Discovery; Trixie Mattel, “Trixie Motel,” and Jane Latman, the president, Home & Food Content and Streaming, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.



ABC’s “Women of the Movement” FYC event included a post-screening Q&A With creator, EP, showrunner Marissa Jo Cerar, EP/director Gina Prince-Bythewood, EP Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter (virtual), and actors Adrienne Warren, Tonya Pinkins, Cedric Joe, Chris Coy, Carter Jenkins and Julia Mcdermott.



Netflix hosted an evening celebrating the music from “Arcane,” featuring an live in-person performance by Sting.



“Black-ish” FYC panelists included EP Courtney Lilly, EP/star Anthony Anderson, producer and star Tracee Ellis Ross and actors Marcus Scribner and Miles Brown with moderator Vivica A. Fox.



Netflix’s Variety Storytellers panel featured Creator, Writer, Director, Executive Producer Hwang Dong-hyuk (“Squid Game”), Creator, Writer, Director, Executive Producer, Showrunner, Actress Natasha Lyonne (“Russian Doll”), Creator, Executive Producer, Writer, Director Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer (“Stranger Things”), Executive Producer, Director John Wells (“Maid”), Director, Executive Producer SJ Clarkson (“Anatomy of a Scandal”) and moderator Jenelle Riley.



“Yellowjackets” stars Ella Purnell, Melanie Lynskey, Sophie Nélisse, Samantha Hanratty, Christina Ricci, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis and Sophie Thatcher at the Showtime FYC event.

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“Legendary,” the HBO Max Original ballroom competition series emceed by veteran voguer and “Pose” actor Dashaun Wesley, has garnered a 91% certified fresh critics score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The show has run for three seasons with celebrity judges Leiomy Maldonado (“Pose”), Jameela Jamil (“The Good Place”), Law Roach (“America’s Next Top Model”) and Grammy-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion. The show is produced by Scout Productions; we asked Scout’s David Collins, Co-Founder & Executive Producer; Michael Williams, Co-Founder & Executive Producer; and Rob Eric , Chief Creative Officer, to fill out our Showrunner Seven.

Sum up your show’s pitch in one sentence.
This ain’t Madonna’s Vogue…this is a gravity-defying dance competition where winning will make you LEGENDARY.

What’s an alternate title for your show? 
SHAWAM!

What do we need to know before tuning in? 
It’s called a dip not a death-drop.

Give us an equation for your show. (Blank plus blank minus blank times blank, etc.)
The Met Gala times “So You Think You Can Dance” plus “Game of Thrones” = “Legendary”

What’s the best thing someone said about your show?
“A mind-boggling fantasia of ingenuity and beautiful queer culture.”

If you could work on any other series on TV, what would it be?
“House of Dragons.” We love a house filled with fire.

Finish this sentence: “If you like _______, you’ll love our show.”
Champagne.

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As a show based on a true story, “The Dropout” doesn’t have a ton of twists. But few moments on television this year were as unexpected or as jaw-dropping as the scene where Elizabeth Holmes (Amanda Seyfried) enters Sunny Balwani’s (Naveen Andrews) office dancing to the 2011 Lil Wayne hit “How to Love,” during the show’s fifth episode, “Flower of Life.” In an interview with Variety for “Making a Scene,” presented by HBO, series creator Elizabeth Meriwether revealed the origins behind the instantly viral scene.

“I originally wrote this to be a sex scene between them, for legal reasons we just decided not to do that, but I wanted this moment of connection or closeness,” Meriwether said. “Dancing to hip-hop was I guess, the thing she did when she thought no one was looking. So you see that in the early episodes, and it felt like a kind of secret language between them.”

Meriwether was joined by Seyfried, Andrews and episode director Francesca Gregorini to discuss the making of the “How to Love” scene with Variety’s Meredith Woerner and Michael Schneider. The four talked to Woerner and Schneider about the evolution of the scene and the process of shooting the cringe-inducing moment of intimacy between the two scammers. Watch above or click here.

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Anyone who’s watched “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” has has been well aware of the erosion of women’s rights, and how this right-leaning Supreme Court was ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, despite it being the law of the land for nearly 50 years. Nonetheless, when word of an impending verdict came out, it was still shocking. “Full Frontal” happened to be on hiatus that week, giving the show time to prepare its reaction.

“I feel like the tagline to our show should be ‘predicting the overturn of Roe since 2016,’” Bee says. “Because we really have. But it’s not a joke. We’ve covered it so much through the years, we’ve talked about it so much always with an eye to, this is a real war against women. It’s a real backlash against people who are female. And I really feel it. And we’re all so sad. I’m actually glad that we didn’t have to do a show that exact week. But of course we’re covering it, among other things.”

Bee spoke to Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast about hosting a topical show in an era where the news is so bleak. She also talked about the adjustments her show made during the pandemic, some of which have become permanent. And we talk about the segments she’s been most proud of over the past year, including deep dives on women’s health and gun safety. Listen below!



Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, is your one-stop listen for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each week “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much, much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post every Thursday and Friday.

Read more here.

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Clayton Davis reports:

Netflix’s “Murderville” is angling for major Emmy attention with the streamer submitting the show for consideration in the variety sketch series categories, where it would potentially face-off against the likes of “A Black Lady Sketch Show” and reigning champ, “Saturday Night Live.” However, Variety has learned exclusively that the Television Academy deemed the Krister Johnson-developed show a comedy series, where it will now compete with shows such as “Abbott Elementary,” “Ted Lasso” and its streaming counterparts “Cobra Kai” and “The Chair.”

Along with vying for attention for outstanding comedy series, star Will Arnett, who plays the clumsy and hilarious detective Terry Seattle, will submit for lead actor (comedy). Three of the guest detectives have been submitted for guest actor (comedy): Conan O’Brien, Marshawn Lynch and Kumail Nanjiani. While other guest actors Annie Murphy, Sharon Stone and Ken Jeong have not been submitted by Netflix, each has other chances at nominations for their own television works. Murphy with the AMC drama “Kevin Can F**k Himself,” Stone as a guest actress (comedy) for HBO’s “The Flight Attendant,” and Jeong in supporting actor (comedy) for Netflix’s “The Pentaverate” and for hosting Fox’s “I Can See Your Voice.” Recurring cast members Haneefah Wood, Lilan Bowden and Philip Smithey have not been submitted for acting categories.

While it can be argued that the murder-mystery show doesn’t quite fit the bill of a variety sketch format, the issue lies in what the TV Academy has allowed into the category in the past. The 2022 official ballots have yet to be released and will be revealed on Thursday, June 16, when the nomination voting period opens. However, Variety has been keeping track of the various submissions. With the ousting of “Murderville” in this race, a minimum of 11 series are expected to be long-listed.


Read more here.

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Local cable news upstart Spectrum News 1 has taken the crown for the first time ever in Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards nominations. The outlet, which just launched in 2018, pulled 23 nominations this year, up from 19 last year. That puts it head of public broadcaster KCET, which was in second with 15 nominations (down from 23 last year).

The Television Academy announced this year’s L.A. area Emmy noms on Tuesday. Among commercial broadcasters, Disney-owned KABC-TV was tops with 14 noms (up from 12 nods), then Fox-owned KTTV with 11.

There was a sharp decline in Spanish-language nominees for some reason this year. TelevisaUnivision’s KMEX and Telemundo’s KEVA tied at 8 each — way down from last year’s 21 for KVEA and 16 for KMEX.

As usual, all stations that enter are immediately nominated in the daily morning newscast (4 a.m. to 11 a.m.), daily daytime newscast (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.), and daily evening newscast (7 p.m. to 12 a.m.) categories.

Last year, KCET won the most Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards, also wound up taking home the most (for the fifth year in a row), with nine, followed by KVEA and Spectrum SportsNet, both of which landed six. Other big winners included KTLA-TV, which was named best morning newscast (between 4 a.m. and 11 a.m.) and evening newscast (between 7 p.m. to midnight).

For 2022, Television Academy announced 121 nominations in 35 categories for the 74th Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards, which will be held on Saturday, July 23, 2022, at the Television Academy’s campus in North Hollywood. Eligibility for this year’s L.A. Area Emmy Awards was between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2021.

One winner was already named on Tuesday: Spectrum SportsNet LA won the Emmy for sports series—programming (live broadcast) for “Access SportsNet Dodgers,” which was the only nominee in the category.

The Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards honor locally produced programs in the categories of crime and social issues, culture and history, the arts, human interest, sports, the environment, and live and breaking news coverage.

Click here for this year’s nominees.

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Variety’s “Actors on Actors” returns with some of the biggest names of the 2022 TV Emmys race for Season 16, with a lineup that includes Zendaya, Andrew Garfield, Jeremy Strong, Jennifer Aniston, Viola Davis, Anne Hathaway, Sebastian Stan and Sandra Oh.

The 13 one-on-one conversations will begin airing June 7 on Variety.com and our social media channels, with the official “Actors on Actors” magazine hitting newsstands last Wednesday. This is the first time in more than two years that “Actors on Actors” has been conducted in person, with previous seasons going virtual due to COVID-19.

The conversations will also be compiled into four episodes that will debut on PBS SoCal June 17 at 8 p.m. PT. All episodes will stream on pbssocal.org and the free PBS app following their premieres.

This year’s “Actors on Actors” pairings include:

Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”) with Sebastian Stan (“Pam & Tommy”)

Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”) with Adam Scott (“Severance”)

Viola Davis (“The First Lady”) with Samuel L. Jackson (“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey”)

Zendaya (“Euphoria”) with Andrew Garfield (“Under the Banner of Heaven”)

Anne Hathaway (“WeCrashed”) with Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)

Courteney Cox (“Shining Vale”) with Faith Hill (“1883”)

Tom Hiddleston (“The Essex Serpent” and “Loki”) with Lily James (“Pam & Tommy”)

Jung Ho-yeon (“Squid Game”) with Sandra Oh (“The Chair” and “Killing Eve”)

Christina Ricci (“Yellowjackets”) with Sydney Sweeney (“Euphoria”)

Jared Leto (“WeCrashed”) with Amanda Seyfried (“The Dropout”)

Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”) with Jean Smart (“Hacks”)

Cynthia Nixon (“And Just Like That” and “The Gilded Age”) with Bowen Yang (“Saturday Night Live”)

Josh Brolin (“Outer Range”) with himself.

Check out all of this year’s Actors on Actors stories and videos here.

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We’ll dive into a different category each week to examine Clayton Davis‘ Emmy predictions. This week, he writes about supporting actor in a drama:

Four wins in a row for VH1’s drag competition program, with RuPaul making history last year as the most awarded person of color at the Emmys. A frontrunner once again for its 14th season, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is something you can expect to see, especially with those prominent personalities on the stage once again.

“The Circle,” hosted by the wonderous Michelle Buteau, is as popular as ever, with the fourth season bringing the first LGBTQ winner with Frank Grimsley and the fan-favorite “Bru” Brubaker. Netflix may be able to squeak this one out.

Fifteen Emmy wins later, the CBS competition show “The Amazing Race,” celebrated over two decades of memorable TV continues to be an Emmy darling, and there’s no indication it will stop anytime soon.

Nineteen seasons later, Bravo’s culinary contest has impressive numbers, with Padma Lakshmi continuing to gain industry respect. Look for the love for “Top Chef” to continue as it ventures into its 20th season.

Thirteen women competing to be dancers for music sensation Lizzo’s world tour brought the fierce confidence we like to see on television but are never afforded the opportunity. So Amazon Prime has mounted a loud campaign to get “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” recognized, and they might succeed.

It’s been six years since the TV Academy recognized the once-dominating singing competition “American Idol.” In its fifth-year revival on ABC, can the charms of judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, with seasoned host Ryan Seacrest, bring it back to the Emmys?

While singing competition shows have struggled with ratings and TV Academy voters, NBC’s 21st season of “The Voice” was still as big as any other program with coaches Kelly Clarkson (winner with contestant Girl Named Tom), John Legend, Ariana Grande and Blake Shelton. After missing out in 2020, it returned with a nom last year and could pop up again.

The voguing competition series “Legendary” on HBO Max missed out in this category for its inaugural season but did pick up a pair of creative arts noms. As more discover it, there’s a chance to show up unexpectedly.

Once one of the biggest shows on television after premiering in 2019, the charm for “The Masked Singer” subsided significantly this year when the producers decided to cast none other than controversial politician Rudy Guiliani, which produced one of the lowest-rated episodes of the series’ history. The TV Academy may pass on the Fox program altogether.

The bake-off competition series “Nailed It” is popular on Netflix, with host Nicole Byer bringing the laughs and charm to each episode. It’s been nominated in this race before, and this looks like an easy pickup for a nom.

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



Read more here.

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The stars of Apple TV+’s comedy whodunit “The Afterparty” still laugh at how wrong their friends and family members were in guessing the show’s killer.

“My brother said Tiffany,” says star Sam Richardson, referring to Tiffany Haddish, who plays the police detective investigating the crime. “He was like, ‘Oh, interesting. She knows all the clues!’ And I’m like, that’s what a detective does.”

Haddish said friends were sending her direct messages, also asking if her character did it. “They were like, ‘no, you did it. Tiffany. I know you did it!’ I’m like, sure.”

Ben Schwartz says his father thought it was the child of the characters played by Ike Barinholtz and Zoë Chao. “He thought was the kid. He said it the whole way from the first episode,” Schwartz says. “A bunch of people in the beginning said it was me, and then they lost that and they went somewhere else. A lot of people thought it was Zoë.”

Adds Richardson: “I think a lot of Walt [Jamie Demetriou] earlier, like right up until Walt’s episode. I think Walt was a great red herring, verybody had their theory that it was like kind of hidden right in plain sight, but like, but obvious enough so people would bite on to Walt. My dad guessed Mr. Shapiro.”

Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast recently spoke with “The Afterparty” stars Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson and Ben Schwartz about shooting this very unique show. Spoiler alert if you don’t know the ending to Season 1, as it is discussed heavily — as is whether that murderer will show up in Season 2.

But first, our Awards Circuit roundtable is back, and discussing the Emmy comedy and limited series categories and much more. Listen below!



Read more here.

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Feel free to send your burning Emmy questions and suggestions to mschneider@variety.com, and your hot tips as well!  Thanks for reading.

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