Emmy Postmortem
Well the virtual curtain is drawn on another year’s Emmys, and the numbers are in. It should come as no surprise that the broadcast hit an all time low, but not for the reasons you might think. For the second year straight, the Primetime Emmy Awards viewership dropped. Nielsen numbers for ABC’s live broadcast showed 6.1 million viewers and a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49. The previous low was set a year ago, when Fox had just under 7 million viewers. I think it has less to do with the complications caused by the pandemic broadcast, and more to do with the fact that Emmy voters are choosing to recognize more obscure shows that fewer viewers watch. And that’s okay. But personally, I never did get Schitt’s Creek. See all winners here.
The Mandalorian is a Winner!
Unusual times call for unusual measures. This year, the Television Academy is handing out its 2020 Creative Arts Emmy Awards over five nights, leading up to Sunday when the big, semi-live ceremony will be broadcast on ABC with Jimmy Kimmel hosting. Wednesday’s big winner was The Mandalorian which won the Emmy for outstanding special visual effects. Netflix took the most awards (for documentary Cheer and Queer Eye). CNN won three for Apollo 11. More news to come.
The Mandalorian Season 2 Trailer is Here!
Can’t wait until October 30 for Season 2 of The Mandalorian? This is the way to a sneak peak, via the just dropped trailer:
Kevin Hart to Fill the Shoes of Jerry Lewis at a New MDA Telethon
Well this should be fun! Kevin Hart is helping to relaunch the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual telethon, previously hosted by the late comedy icon, Jerry Lewis. The last MDA telethon was broadcast in 2014, with Nancy O’Dell as host. Hart will takeover the Oct. 24 event, with Eva Longoria, Michael B. Jordan, Jack Black, Josh Gad, Usain Bolt and Jillian Mercado also set to appear at the event, which will include comedy and musical performances. More names will be revealed soon — we’ll keep you posted.
Yet Another Big Movie Star Heads to the Small Screen
Jessica Chastain is the latest esteemed movie star to take a juicy television role. She’ll play country music legend Tammy Wynette in a limited series for Spectrum Originals and the Paramount Network, which is a bit of a surprise. The drama was was originally developed as a Fox Searchlight feature film. Called George & Tammy, it focuses on the life and times of Wynette and George Jones, the country music power couple whose tumultuous relationship inspired their iconic music. The limited series is based on the book The Three of Us: Growing Up with Tammy and George, written by Wynette and Jones’ daughter, Georgette Jones. See more on The Hollywood Reporter.
Mulan is Popular With the Younger Crowd
With the swirling political issues being a bit complicated for kids to understand, it looks like Disney’s Mulan is a big hit with young audiences. An initial survey conducted by leading Hollywood research firm Screen Engine/ASI reveals that 70 percent of the Labor Day weekend audience was between the ages of 13 and 34, well above the norm for a PVOD titles (59 percent), according to data shared with The Hollywood Reporter. Total Labor Day weekend earnings have not yet been released, but we’re betting they’re high.
Can There Be a ‘Mom’ Without Anna Faris?
Michael Crichton’s ‘Spere Gets the TV Treatment from Team Downey
Michael Crichton’s bestseller “Sphere” will be the basis for a new HBO drama series, brought to life by Robert Downey Jr’s Team Downey, and Westworld executive producer and writer Denise Thé. If the story, about a team of scientists who find a mysterious object a thousand feet under the ocean, sounds familiar, that’s because the novel was adapted as a 1998 feature film starring Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone and Samuel L. Jackson. Let’s see HBO try to top that cast!
Harry and Megan Score With Netflix
It hasn’t been announced what their deal is worth, but you can bet it’s a king’s (or prince’s) ransom. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex just signed a multi-year production deal with Netflix, that could and probably will involve scripted series, docu-series, documentaries, features and children’s programming. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem wise enough to utilize some the world’s best entertainment talent that is doubtless at their disposal, for their content creation. I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with.
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Black Panther Rises on ABC
ABC showed Black Panther commercial free Sunday night, and the tribute to its late star Chadwick Boseman gave the network some of its best ratings of the summer. Yes, there were some who had not had the opportunity to see the remarkable film (my octogenarian mother among them) and this was a marvelous opportunity for them to experience just how important and entertaining the film is. Meanwhile, over on the CW, the producers involved with the Video Music Awards crushed it with a spectacle far above and beyond anything else produced during the pandemic, and the viewer numbers reflected that.
Kiera Knightley Signs On For a Streaming Series
Becoming Brit Keira Knightley has been busy lately, having just signed on to star in and executive produce a a new drama series for Apple. Called The Essex Serpent, it’s a period drama based on Sarah Perry’s Award-winning novel of the same name. It follows newly widowed Cora, played by Knightley, who relocates to a remote village from Victorian London after being released from an abusive marriage.
