Mrs. America
#FIRSTLOOK: 2020 PRIMETIME EMMY AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED
Nominations for the 72nd annual Primetime EMMY Awards were announced today, with SUCCESSION, WATCHMEN, SCHITT’S CREEK and MRS. AMERICA leading the way. This is a first for Canada and the Cast of SCHITT’S CREEK with all four of its stars being nominated. It hasn’t yet been confirmed how the show will be presented in terms of a virtual or in-person format.
Nominees in major TV Series, Movies and Mini-Series are below:
Drama Series
“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“Killing Eve” (BBC America/AMC)
“The Mandalorian” (Disney Plus)
“Ozark” (Netflix)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“Succession” (HBO)
Comedy Series
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“Dead to Me” (Netflix)
“The Good Place” (NBC)
“Insecure” (HBO)
“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Schitt’s Creek” (Pop TV)
“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
Limited Series
“Little Fires Everywhere” (Hulu)
“Mrs. America” (Hulu)
“Unbelievable” (Netflix)
“Unorthodox” (Netflix)
“Watchmen” (HBO)
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)
Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”)
Steve Carell (“The Morning Show”)
Brian Cox (“Succession”)
Billy Porter (“Pose”)
Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”)
Olivia Colman (“The Crown”)
Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”)
Laura Linney (“Ozark”)
Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”)
Zendaya (“Euphoria”)
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”)
Don Cheadle (“Black Monday”)
Ted Danson (“The Good Place”)
Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”)
Eugene Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”)
Ramy Youssef (“Ramy”)
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate (“Dead to Me”)
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Linda Cardellini (“Dead to Me”)
Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”)
Issa Rae (“Insecure”)
Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”)
Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jeremy Irons (“Watchmen”)
Hugh Jackman (“Bad Education”)
Paul Mescal (“Normal People”)
Jeremy Pope (“Hollywood”)
Mark Ruffalo (“I Know This Much Is True”)
Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Cate Blanchett (“Mrs. America”)
Shira Haas (“Unorthodox”)
Regina King (“Watchmen”)
Octavia Spencer (“Self Made”)
Kerry Washington (“Little Fires Everywhere”)
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Giancarlo Esposito (“Better Call Saul”)
Bradley Whitford (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”)
Mark Duplass (“The Morning Show”)
Nicholas Braun (“Succession”)
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”)
Matthew Macfadyen (“Succession”)
Jeffrey Wright (“Westworld”)
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Laura Dern (“Big Little Lies”)
Meryl Streep (“Big Little Lies”)
Helena Bonham Carter (“The Crown”)
Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Fiona Shaw (“Killing Eve”)
Julia Garner (“Ozark”)
Sarah Snook (“Succession”)
Thandie Newton (“Westworld”)
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”)
William Jackson Harper (“The Good Place”)
Alan Arkin (“The Kominsky Method”)
Sterling K. Brown (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Tony Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Mahershala Ali (“Ramy”)
Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”)
Dan Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”)
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Betty Gilpin (“GLOW”)
D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place”)
Yvonne Orji (“Insecure”)
Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Marin Hinkle (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live”)
Cecily Strong (“Saturday Night Live”)
Annie Murphy (“Schitt’s Creek”)
Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Dylan McDermott (“Hollywood”)
Jim Parsons (“Hollywood”)
Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend”)
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“Watchmen”)
Jovan Adepo (“Watchmen”)
Louis Gossett Jr. (“Watchmen”)
Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Holland Taylor (“Hollywood”)
Uzo Aduba (“Mrs. America”)
Margo Martindale (“Mrs. America”)
Tracey Ullman (“Mrs. America”)
Toni Collette (“Unbelievable”)
Jean Smart (“Watchmen”)
Reality Competition
“The Masked Singer” (FOX)
“Nailed It” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)
Variety Sketch Series
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
“Drunk History” (Comedy Central)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Variety Talk Series
“Daily Show with Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” (TBS)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
“Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
The 2020 Primetime Emmys air on ABC Sunday, September 20, 2020, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
(Photo credit: ABC)
#FIRSTLOOK: WHAT TO WATCH MAY 2020 – “DEAD TO ME”, “THE WRONG MISSY”, “THE LOVEBIRDS”, “MRS. AMERICA”, “LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE”, “YOU DON’T NOMI”, “HOLLYWOOD”, “NEVER HAVE I EVER”, “THE ASSISTANT” + MORE
While we always feel like we’re running out of things to catch-up on, we’re always proven wrong. Lots of great stuff for you to stream or see on-demand or digitally right now and here are some recommendations!
DEAD TO ME SEASON 2 (NETFLIX)
We adored Season One of this darkly-funny Thriller-Comedy Series. While it takes a bit longer to get into it again here in Season Two, the powerful chemistry between a perfectly-paired Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini who reprise heir roles as Jen and Judy, reminds us once again why we fell in love the first time. The Duo cope with their dark secret and grief in their own different ways, navigating on their own terms, until things reach a boiling point as Steve’s (James Marsden) disappearance must be accounted for. We wonder what happens if the dark truth ever comes to light. Believe me, there’s plenty still to go on for a third season and we loved that Marsden resurfaces in the least likely plot twist ever!
MRS. AMERICA (HULU)
I cannot possibly praise this Series any more than I continue to on Social Media. This Toronto-made Series set in the ’70s, follows closely two sides of the Equal Rights Movement and all the key figures involved. The one side who wants to preserve a woman’s right to stay at home, led by Phyllis Schlafly (Cate Blanchett). The other side progressive, trying to get the ERA ratified, led by among others the likes of Gloria Steinem (Rose Byrne). Each week in this nine-episode Series focuses on a different central character as the fight progresses and believe me, this is like a Master’s Class in acting with standouts including Sarah Paulson as Alice Macray, Margo Martindale as Bella Abzug, Tracey Ullman as Betty Friedan, Uzo Aduba as Shirley Chisholm and Ari Graynor as Brenda Feigen-Fasteau. This Series mesmerizes and enrages us at once, which is what it is supposed to do as America is “made great again” right now. Most of all, Blanchett once again is phenomenal, tough as nails with the occasional glimpse of vulnerability. In fact, we love to hate Phyllis as she is undeniable. We cannot keep our eyes off of Byrne. Please God, let there be a Season Two! You can catch this on F/X Wednesday nights at 10 PM in Canada, or download off Apple or Google Play Store, where you would be ahead a few weeks if you pay as little as $2.99 per episode. Worth every penny.
THE LOVEBIRDS (NETFLIX)
We were willing to pay to see this in theatres, however COVID-19 brought Paramount‘s The Lovebirds straight to us on Netflix sooner. Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani are fantastic together in this Adventure-Comedy. The Film centers around Leilani (Rae) and Jibran (Nanjiani) who start off falling blissfully in love. Cut-ahead a few years, they are feuding and on the verge of contemplating a split. They find themselves at the center of a homicide investigation and are on-the-run from the police landing in all sorts of unpredictability, including the threat of getting bacon grease poured allover them, to a sex cult gathering. The laughs are endless with Leilani‘s no-nonsense approach and Jibran‘s hilarious curiosities about the world popping-up at the most tonally-inappropriate moments. This was loads of fun and cute!
LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE (HULU/AMAZON PRIME)
Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon. Mic drop. You can’t go wrong with these two together acting and now producing. Witherspoon as an Executive Producer, continues to deliver us compelling stories in the female voice, tracing back to GONE GIRL, BIG LITTLE LIES to THE MORNING SHOW. Little Fires Everywhere, adapted from Celeste Ng’s best-selling Novel, is no different. Set in the mid-90s, Elena (Witherspoon) once was an emerging Reporter and now a mother with a picture-perfect home. Mia (Washington) and her daughter Pearl (Lexi Underwood) arrive in Elena‘s town and she offers help renting-out her property to them and welcomes them into her home. From here, some dark secrets which Mia is harbouring from her past are uncovered, which not even her daughter knows about. This is an interesting study about race and class at a time we might have had less awareness, but also, the great divides that can occur under one roof even. Tensions mount when we realize Elena and Mia‘s worlds intersect on a deeper level and they find themselves on two sides of the matter while their families become intertwined.
THE WRONG MISSY (NETFLIX)
We admit we couldn’t stop giggling at its Trailer and THE WRONG MISSY really turned out to be just right for us! We needed a good laugh. The Comedy is a throwback to the ’90s and the many over-the-top Physical Comedies which defined that era in Film. David Spade and Lauren Lapkus are delightfully-funny as an odd couple. Spade’s Tim is level-headed and believes he knows exactly what he wants in life until he mistakenly invites the wrong girl he went on a disastrous date with, to a business trip on a resort. Missy (Lapkus) is in-your-face, overbearing and way aggressive, but before he knows it, she might just be exactly what he needed! We could watch this many times. It’s ridiculous and we all need a bit of that. We need more Lapkus!
YOU DON’T NOMI (levelFILM)
Since surfacing in 1995, Paul Verhoeven‘s Showgirls has gained cult status, but not quite for the gritty Drama it was intended to be. I for one, love it! It is a visual spectacle full of senselessness which keeps us guessing why things happen or their exact significance. Jeffrey McHale’s YOU DON’T NOMI takes a look at how Showgirls, while panned universally, has found new life being appreciated for its unintentional humour and we trace its journey from a theatrical release to now even its star Elizabeth Berkley embracing its new life recently despite distancing herself from it for many years. We get lots of insight from Adam Nayman, Author of It Doesn’t Suck: Showgirls, who sheds some light onto why the Film has been misunderstood. He went from fearing cease and desist orders from MGM, to being welcomed to commentate on the Film’s re-release now that the Studio has come also to embrace the repurposing of the NC-17 Film. We missed this at Inside Out last year, and enjoyed catching-up on this, available June 16, 2020 on-demand and digitally.
THE ASSISTANT (levelFILM)
Official Sundance selection THE ASSISTANT from Director/Writer Kitty Green gives us an intimate glimpse into a day in the life of a young and recently-hired Assistant to a powerful Executive. Ozark‘s Julia Garner stars and once again is superb here. What makes the Film interesting is that even without us ever seeing the said Executive on-screen, what we makes this compelling is how her Co-Workers and even Human Resources act and react with misconduct being so deeply-institutionalized in this workplace. Even when Garner’s Jane tries to do the right thing, she isn’t supported and that makes this Film heartbreaking as surely this can’t be altogether untrue in the real world we live in. This is available now digitally and on-demand.
BECOMING (NETFLIX)
If like me you’re fascinated by Michelle Obama, this is a Documentary for you. BECOMING traces Michelle Obama‘s rise as one of the most powerful thought leaders and personalities in the world as she promotes her eponymous Memoir on-the-road. We get insight from those around her who work closely with her and the relationships she has with them. President Obama also appears to speak as a doting husband and even her brother Craig Robinson comments what it’s like being overshadowed by his little sister, when she was the one living in his shadows growing-up. The Film only gets as personal as it wants to, which is unfortunate, but we still get a good snapshot of this great woman and while being adored widely, how even she has her share of naysayers.
TOO HOT TO HANDLE (NETFLIX)
I honestly despised this show and pretty much all the contestants, but miraculously I made it through. I don’t mind a bit of shallow, mindless fun once in a while, but it should come with purpose or us being able to witness real growth for these self-proclaimed “10 out of 10s”. The nine-episode Reality Series puts a bunch of “hot” singles together on a resort where they are to abstain from sex. Some succeed and some just basically suck! They did whip-up a follow-up episode catching-up with the contestants to see how they are doing during COVID-19 and if these relationships formed during taping are lasting. Just checking. Yep, still can’t stand them.
HOLLYWOOD (NETFLIX)
In a similar vein to Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, TV legend Ryan Murphy re-invents a moment in Hollywood’s Golden Age. The seven episode Mini-Series centers around some of the complicated relationships a group of young actors have as they set-out to stamp a name for themselves in Hollywood in the early ’50s. The Series is hyper-sexualized and some my take offence to this angle in its tone as it’s only mid-way through the Series that our attentions are taken away from this. Everything culminates in Awards Season as a fictional Film named Meg is created, defying conventional casting at the time, making us wonder what Hollywood today would’ve been if its predecessors had dared to defy convention. While HOLLYWOOD takes a few too many liberties, none can take anything away from some of its fantastic performances from the likes of Darren Criss as aspiring Filmmaker Raymond Ainsley, Dylan McDermott as Gas Station Owner/Pimp Ernie West, Laura Harrier as Actress Camille Washington, Holland Taylor as Studio Executive/Actor Mentor Ellen Kincaid, Jim Parsons as Talent Agent Henry Willson, Patti LuPone as the Studio Head’s Wife Avis Amberg and David Corenswet as aspiring Actor Jack Castello.
NEVER HAVE I EVER (NETFLIX)
Toronto’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan makes a star-marking turn in this Mindy Kaling-produced and co-written Coming-of-Age Series. We meet 15-year-old Devi (Ramakrishnan), who is both coping with losing her ability to walk and also the loss of her father Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy). We meet also her mother Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan), whom she has a strained relationship with. Devi is eager to shed her geek status and garner the attention of her crush Paxton (Darren Barnet) and also contend with her arch nemesis Ben (Jared Lewison). While over much of the ten episodes, Devi grates on our nerves with her teen angst and sexual frustration, the Series does become something deeper as a contemplation of loss, plus its emotional aftermath and also what it means to grapple with your identity when your family are immigrants. We applaud Kaling for giving a voice to kids who don’t always feel like they fit in.
Coming to Netflix later this week are eagerly-anticipated SPACE FORCE starring Steve Carell and JEFFREY EPSTEIN: FILTHY RICH. THE HIGH NOTE starring Dakota Johnson also will see a digital/on-demand release. Reviews to come.
#TIFF19: DEV PATEL, TILDA COBHAM-HERVEY, ALEX WOLFF, DANIELLE MACDONALD, MORFYDD CLARK, JOSEFINE PETERSEN + MORE IN TORONTO FOR TIFF
TIFF ’19 is only a day away and the star sightings already are beginning in Toronto!
See some of the names we saw arriving in-town!
Danielle MacDonald (Patti Cake$, Bird Box) at #TIFF19 with Helen Reddy Biopic, I Am Woman.
Past TIFF attendee Adam Brody (Shazam!, The O.C.) in Toronto filming Cate Blanchett-directed series Mrs. America.
Alex Wolff (Hereditary, Jumanji: The Next Level) at #TIFF19 with Bad Education, Human Capital and Castle in the Ground. We spotted his Co-Star Keir Gilchrist just the other night!
Dev Patel (Hotel Mumbai, Lion) at #TIFF19 for The Personal History of David Copperfield.
Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Hotel Mumbai), who happens also to be the partner of Patel, at #TIFF19 for I Am Woman. She plays Helen Reddy.
Morfydd Clark has a big #TIFF19 starring in both The History of David Copperfield and Saint Maud, the latter which she has the titular role.
Norwegian star Josefine Petersen has been named one of #TIFF19‘s Stars. She also stars in Disco.
Matty Cardrapole (Stranger Things) at #TIFF19 for I Am Woman.
We’ll be up and at it the next bit for the Festival, check regularly on this link with rolling updates for our latest capsule reviews of the Films of TIFF ’19 and sightings!
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#SPOTTED: ELIZABETH BANKS + GINA RODRIGUEZ IN TORONTO FILMING “MRS. AMERICA” + “AWAKE”
It was a star-studded weekend indeed in Toronto and adding further to it all were a couple stars we spotted returning back to the City to work! Gina Rodriguez (Jane The Virgin) stars in Netflix Thriller AWAKE. The Series centers around a global event which wipes out all electronics, leading to people not being able to sleep and the chaos that results from this. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Barry Pepper, Shamier Anderson and Gil Bellows also star, and the Product wraps end of September. We’ve always remembered Rodriguez to be incredibly-kind in our travels to New York seeing her there and also back here when she came to TIFF with Deepwater Horizon! And newsflash! She hasn’t changed.
We love Elizabeth Banks so much and were so surprised to see her back in town to work on F/X Mini-Series MRS. AMERICA, directed by Cate Blanchett. The Series documents an Activist’s fight against the Equal Rights Movement and boasts an incredible Cast led by Blanchett, also starring Tracey Ullman, John Slattery, James Marsden, Rose Byrne, Sarah Paulson, Uzo Aduba and several more, including Banks. We are so stoked to see Banks’ take on Charlie’s Angels (out November), which she helmed. She also continues to be an amazing Horse Racing ambassador and we hope to see her at the Breeders’ Cup this Fall if she’s done work on Mrs. America! We are so delighted to hear she loved going to Saratoga as a kid. And we just returned from our first trip there a couple weeks ago!
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#SPOTTED: STARS BACK IN TORONTO FROM SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2019
It was a gruelling weekend temperature-wise in Toronto but these lucky stars escaped the humidity, appearing at San Diego Comic-Con! Like all good things, the fun must come to an end and they returned back to the City to continue work on their respective projects.
Amazon Prime‘s THE BOYS comes out of Comic-Con with a lot of buzz and while the first season still hasn’t premiered on the streaming service, it already has been green-lit for a second season in Toronto. Production already began in June and wraps this November. We spotted several of its stars including Chace Crawford, Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Tomer Capon and Nathan Mitchell. The Series premieres July 26, 2019.
Chace Crawford
Antony Starr
Karl Urban
Erin Moriarty
Nate Mitchell
Tomer Capon
Wynonna Earp‘s Kat Barrell also was spotted returning back to Toronto, along with Star Trek: Discovery’s lead actress, Sonequa Martin-Green. The Series wraps production February 2020.
Kat Barrell
Sonequa Green-Martin
Rachael Harris, who has had turns on New Girl and The Good Wife, returns to Toronto to work on the ninth and final season of SUITS. Filming wraps late August.
Rachael Harris
Also seen was Mad Men‘s John Slattery, who is in-town filming F/X Mini-Series Mrs. America, directed by and starring Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett. It wraps in November.
John Slattery
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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