For Your Consideration: Ineligible Emmys strategies
A THR article caught my attention today, pointing out the obvious strategy of Widow’s Bay releasing its last few episodes after Emmy nominations had closed, thereby keeping it fresh in mind for voters as they consider the earlier episodes.
Keep in mind that the show is being submitted as a comedy, so it won’t be up against proven award winners like The Pitt. I guess it is as much a comedy as The Bear is…
Voters will, of course, have the finale in mind as they cast ballots this week (voting ends on Monday). This is nothing new: Take The Bear, which technically won the top comedy-series Emmy for its first season — yet Academy members had just watched the beloved second season as they cast their final votes. (The second season then, ironically, lost, as voters had the divisive third season fresh in mind.) Widow’s Bay has similarly carved its own runway. None of its competitors are on the air right now, and some — like returning players The Bear and Nobody Wants This — haven’t shown new episodes since 2025.
What caught my interest in the article is the way it is framing it around a win for supporting actor K Callan. I’ve loved K Callan since discovering her as Martha Kent in Lois & Clark in the early 90s and have always been enthused watching her in countless guest roles in the years since.
What is surprising to me is that she wasn’t originally cast to have her absolutely knockout performance delivered in Widow’s Bay’s season finale (an episode that is technically not eligible for these Emmys, but may still see her score a win regardless).
Off the strength of this episode, it will have a nomination for Callan at the top of mind for many voters:
“If I’m being totally honest, we cast K before the finale was written, off of taped sides for the first few episodes where she had a couple lines and acts as a comedic sidekick — I could tell that she was a good actor, but it was more about timing and just making those scenes work,” says Murai, who directed both the pilot and the finale. “By the time the finale came, we didn’t know what she was going to do with a seven-page scene with Matthew on a couch — and it was kind of mindblowing just to watch her go toe to toe with him. She was asking a lot of questions and busting Matthew’s balls, and it was kind of an incredible thing. Katie and I looked at each other like, ‘Thank God we picked K. This would not have worked at all with somebody else.’”
Some voters who’ve just watched the episode and have yet to cast their votes surely now have Callan top of mind. Many have probably worked with her over the years. And there’s good news for them: Callan is indeed on the ballot for comedy supporting actress. Whether they take the technically ineligible finale into consideration as they make their final choices is, ultimately, at their discretion.
The screen format battle for your attention
Since the mainstream adoption of television, cinema has been in a constant fight for viewers attention. In the 50s, cinema differentiated itself with the introduction of big widescreen formats like CinemaScope's 2.35:1 (combatting TVs boxy 4:3 ratio). Technological innovation, such as improved sound and gimmicks like 3D have been introduced over time.
And I note that 3D is almost entirely a gimmick when not employed by James Cameron.
In the last couple of years there has been a rapid embrace of IMAX, driving considerable interest in cinema exhibition again. This is at a time where viewer interest has never been more divided, with deep on-demand TV and movie libraries, video games, and addictive phone use all fighting for our attention. It’s also worth considering just how good the home theatre experience has become for many people (with large TVs and surround sound setups in dedicated rooms).
It’s exciting to see that there’s genuine competition taking place in cinemas to drive viewers. IMAX has been king these last few years, but ScreenX is making a bigger play.
Timed with the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (almost certainly the biggest movie release of the year), it will launch a large format program called “Shot For ScreenX.”
If you’re not familiar with ScreenX, it has a central movie screen with two additional screens running down the left and right sides of the movie auditorium.
It boasts 140 locations across the US and Canada. Here in Australia there is a rollout underway as well. This past week Hoyts announced a ScreenX screen in Sydney’s Broadway complex, but there are a handful around the country. I checked it out last year to see Captain America: Brave New World at Event Cinemas Campbeltown and thought it was fun, but I’d still opt for a huge IMAX screen over it.
As per Variety:
The program is called “Shot for ScreenX” and will be deployed on the company’s immersive 270-degree cinemas. Designed specifically for the company’s screens, the multi-projection format will expand select scenes of a film beyond the traditional frame and onto the sides of the auditorium walls to create a panoramic viewing experience. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” marks the first time that CJ 4DPlex collaborated with the filmmakers from production through distribution to curate imagery and aspects designed specifically for ScreenX.
“CJ 4DPlex and their team came to the set to actually shoot the footage that you will experience on screen in the wings of the chosen scenes of our film,” said Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” “This is a first. It’s something truly unique that nobody has experienced before –you’re going to love it.”
Looks like I have an excuse to go and see Spider-Man: Brand New Day a second time…
Corrections Dept
Yesterday, in a mad scramble to get the newsletter out in the morning, I made two not insignificant errors.
New late night show Outside Tonight launches in a few hours from now. Not yesterday. I was led astray by a bad blurb I found online.
I made reference to the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as the fourth and final season of the show. There’s actually a truncated six-episode final season of Strange New Worlds which will cap off the series. That season has already been filmed.
Shout out to Trek fan and ABW reader ‘FB’ for reaching out.
News Desk
Jeremy Clarkson has revealed he has been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Read: Deadline
Netflix, less invested in the Duffer Brothers business with those guys setting up a film over at Paramount, has cancelled their TV show The Boroughs after just one season. Read: Variety
New BBC chief Matt Brittin has advised staff, via email, that the BBC will put in place a savings plan to slash £80M from commissioning over the next two years. The plan will involve a review of the BBC’s “broadcast TV channels and radio network portfolio as audiences move online.” Read: Deadline
CNN host Kara Swisher on plans to leave CNN if the merger goes through: “Let me try to outline it: I don’t want to work for the Ellisons, and I don’t want to work for their handpicked minions because I think they’re incompetent.” Read: Mediaite
Paramount refused to run a commercial criticising the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery from the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Read: Wired
Grand Theft Auto V players who have the game on PS4 or Xbox One will be able to upgrade to the PS5 or Xbox Series X version at no additional cost. Read: Polygon
Gen Z political commentator and Scott Jennings agitator Adam Mockler is launching a long-form debate show on YouTube today, titled The Adam Mockler Debate Show. Read: Deadline
As a fan of sandwiches, I was enthused to see the launch of The Great American Sandwich Show on YouTube this week. Details at THR.
Trailer Park
The Westies debuts on MGM+ July 12.
The Westies is a gritty and kinetic crime drama centering on New York City's infamously violent Irish gang of the same name. The series is set in the early 1980s when the construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center on the Westies' home turf in Hell's Kitchen promises a financial windfall. Despite being outnumbered fifty-to-one by the Five Families of the Italian Mafia, the Westies' legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente. But internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI's ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia.
Susana & Elvira: No Plan B debuts on Netflix July 12.
After a fallout abroad, two former best friends reluctantly reunite to plan a high-profile wedding for the hottest artists in town - with no backup plan.
A Shop For Killers returns for season 2 on Disney+ in July.
The Welcome Table debuts June 23 on HBO Max.
From Oscar-nominated director Josh Fox, the film tells the story of climate migrants across six continents, centering the voices and experiences of survivors on the front lines of the climate crisis.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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