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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Saturday 25 July 2020
Virus-shadowed Emmy nods could bring surprises, diversity

By LYNN ELBER ple TV's drama series "The
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tele- Morning Show" and its lead
vision has been America's actresses Jennifer Aniston
constant companion amid and Reese Witherspoon.
an unyielding virus and Likely to face them: past
whirlwind of racial reap- winners "The Crown" (Net-
praisal. flix) and "The Handmaid's
But will the Emmy nomina- Tale" (Hulu), and their re-
tions arriving Tuesday re- spective stars Olivia Col-
flect the times or retreat man and Elisabeth Moss,
to the familiar? The an- who is seeking to repeat
nouncement itself was her 2017 best-actress win.
forced to bow to health The academy's decision
safeguards, going virtual to tie the number of nomi-
and without the usual mini- nees to submissions has in-
swarm of reporters and creased the slots in some
anxious publicists on hand categories, which could
at the TV academy's Los mean newcomers like Ze-
Angeles headquarters. ndaya, star of HBO's teen-
How September's ceremo- age drama "Euphoria," are
ny airing on ABC will look brought into the Emmy fold.
is anybody's guess. As em- More than bragging rights
cee Jimmy Kimmel said in are at stake, with the bal-
June, it's unknown where, This image released by HBO shows Issa Rae in a scene from the fourth season premiere episode looning ranks of streaming
how or why it will be held, of "Insecure." services seeking awards
"but we are doing it and I Associated Press validation to lure subscrib-
am hosting it." ers. Their growth is bad news
The first major entertain- on nominations morning," The 72nd annual Emmy actor, said Deggans, who for traditional broadcast
ment awards of the pan- O'Neil said, quoting a vet- nominations, if not ultimate- also cited OWN's Black networks including ABC,
demic era clearly is a trav- eran Gold Derby prognos- ly the awards, could make coming-of-age drama "Da- CBS, NBC and Fox, largely
eler without a map. ticator. progress because of the vid Makes Man" as worthy squeezed out of Emmy rec-
"Everything is different," said Which may be a good racial reckoning that's un- of attention. ognition for scripted series
Tom O'Neil, editor of the thing. Newly expanded derway, said Eric Deggans, Ramy Youssef's series and relegated to reality
Gold Derby awards web- categories and the depar- TV critic for National Public about a millennial Mus- and talk show categories.
site. Among the changes: ture of last year's dominant Radio and author of "Race lim American earned him Last year, only "This Is Us"
"for your consideration" series winners, "Game of Baiter: How the Media a 2020 Golden Globe for and "The Good Place" —
promotional events to woo Thrones" and "Fleabag," Wields Dangerous Words to best comedy actor and a both on NBC — earned
Emmy voter support were opened the door for new- Divide a Nation." vaunted Peabody honor, best series nominations.
abandoned out of COV- comers and under-valued "A lot of Black creators are but it's hunting for its first Among limited series, the
ID-19 concerns. series, among them the in- talking up 'Insecure' now, Emmy recognition after graphic-novel inspired
With isolation-forced time clusive comedies "Ramy" hoping that the moment two seasons. HBO's "Watchmen," with
on their hands, TV industry and "Insecure." combined with the show Other likely comedy nomi- a diverse cast led by Re-
members may have been The academy has ground having a really good sea- nees include past winner gina King and a dystopian
more diligent about search- to make up in diversity. In son" will earn it deserved "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" theme that jibes with the
ing out potential nominees 2019, less than a quarter nods, Deggans said. Since from Amazon and Pop's zeitgeist, is a front-runner.
that otherwise would have of the acting bids went to its 2016 debut, "Insecure" singularly quirky "Schitt's FX's "Mrs. America" and
been overlooked. That people of color, down from has just one top Emmy Creek," which drew increas- Netflix's "Unbelievable" are
also required adjusting to more than a third of the nomination, an acting ing buzz in its final season. among other top contend-
the academy-mandated nominations in 2018. Last nomination for Black cre- The farewells of "The Good ers.
switch from series DVDs to year's ceremony proved ator-star Issa Rae. Place," "Silicon Valley" and Leslie Jones will host the
online screenings (aimed groundbreaking in one re- "Ramy" had a notable sea- one-time Emmy favorite online nominations an-
at saving resources). gard, as "Pose" star Billy Por- son, one bolstered by the "Modern Family" also are nouncement. The Emmys,
"We have to be prepared ter became the first openly addition of Oscar-winning contenders. which rotate among the
for everybody to be blown gay winner of the top dra- Mahershala Ali, a con- Top drama series contend- major broadcast networks,
away by lots of surprises ma acting trophy. tender for best supporting ers include newcomer Ap- will air Sept. 20 on ABC.q

Costas joins CNN to talk on intersection of news and sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Time to cut a conversation with Bob Costas short. The new of Harvard University was pearances on CNN before
boss — CNN chief Jeff as a researcher for NBC at he was formally signed as a
Zucker — is calling on the the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, contributor, talking about
other line. South Korea, where one the return of baseball from
Costas, who ended his 40- duty was fetching coffee the coronavirus lockdown
year hitch at NBC Sports for Costas (no sugar, just a with Michael Smerconish
more than a year ago, this drop of milk). and the involvement of
week signed on as a CNN "My relationship with Jeff sports figures in social pro-
contributor to offer com- makes me comfortable test with Don Lemon.
mentary on the intersection with the whole arrange- As those examples illus-
of news and sports. ment," Costas said. "So far, trate, his role is to opine
The two men have a long so good." when sports news moves
history. Zucker's first job out Costas made some ap- onto the front pages. q