Emmys

Kieran Culkin and wife Jazz Charton made good on their Emmys pact, recently welcoming their third child, according to the former’s “Succession” co-star.

Oscar and Emmy winner Culkin’s on-screen sister Sarah Snook, also an Emmy-winning actor, announced the arrival of the couple’s newest child while speaking to Access Hollywood on Monday. “I met the little baby, it’s so cute,” she said during the premiere of Peacock’s “All Her Fault.”

“They’re very happy and so cute,” she added.

A representative for Culkin did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation. Charton, a contributor for the Financial Times, has not yet publicly addressed the arrival of their littlest one.

“A Real Pain” star Culkin, younger brother of “Home Alone” star Macaulay Culkin, tied the knot with Charton in 2013. They share two children, Kinsey Sioux and Wilder Wolf, and lovingly teased a plan to grow their family during the 75th Emmy Awards in January 2024.

Culkin, 43, famously used part of his acceptance speech for the lead actor prize to remind Charton, 37, of the deal they had struck prior to the ceremony. As he acknowledged his wife and children, Culkin declared, “I want more.”

“You said ‘maybe,’ if I win! I love you so much,” he told Charton from stage.

Charton confirmed that baby No. 3 was on the way in late September, sharing a cheeky Instagram post that also tapped into her well-documented fan love for “Matrix” star Keanu Reeves. “Saw Keanu Reeves on broadway and now I’m 9 months pregnant,” she captioned her post, which featured photos of her baby bump, “This is very on brand for me.”

She revealed she was expecting amid the debut of Reeves and longtime “Bill & Ted” collaborator Alex Winter’s production of “Waiting for Godot.” She quipped in her caption that she had “made a deal with this baby to let me make it to this [show] before labor, not sure what it wants in return but I’m CLEARLY a woman of my word.”

Snook, the first to break the couple’s baby news, has remained close to her “Succession” co-star since the hit HBO drama concluded two years ago. Culkin and Snook respectively starred as Roman and Shiv Roy, two of numerous potential — ahem — successors to media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox). “Succession” aired from 2018 to 2023 and won a total of 19 Primetime Emmy Awards, including acting prizes for Culkin, Snook and co-stars Jeremy Strong and Matthew Macfadyen.

With the arrival of Culkin and Charton’s third child, it’s clear that the “Succession” legacy now extends past powerhouse performances, viral memes and memorable lines. Anyone got a ludicrously capacious baby bag?

“The Pitt” may not be set in Los Angeles, but its cast and creatives are proud that it’s filmed there.

HBO Max’s hour-by-hour look at an emergency room shift in a Pittsburgh hospital took home the Emmy Award for best drama series on Sunday, and its cast and creatives dedicated their recognition to healthcare workers. Once they got backstage, they advocated for something else: increasing production in Los Angeles.

Speaking to press after the series’ big win, creator R. Scott Gemmill and star and executive producer Noah Wyle said they believe filming locally is important for the entertainment industry in Los Angeles as production rates have declined over the past several years because of a confluence of issues, including the pandemic, the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023 and more attractive tax incentives in other states and countries.

Both “The Pitt” and “The Studio,” which won the top prize in the comedy category, are shot in L.A., but the latter is actually set in the city, centering on a fictional Hollywood studio and satirizing the entertainment industry.

Gemmill, who was also a producer on “ER,” said he feels pride in knowing “The Pitt” serves as an example of a series that was successfully filmed in L.A. “When we get casting, I think they get like 3,000 submissions for each role,” he said. “That’s how hungry the people are that work in Los Angeles, so just the fact that we can do our small part is really important, but I hope other producers take note.”

Wyle, who won two Emmy awards, one as an executive producer on the series and one for lead actor in a drama, echoed Gemmill’s comments and said he attended the ceremony in July where Gov. Gavin Newsom signed California’s film tax credit boost into law. It will increase the cap on California’s film and TV tax credit program to $750 million, up from $330 million. Wyle said he gave a speech at the event, sharing his experience filming locally.

“I talked about our special effects coordinator on our show, whose name is Rob Nary, whose father was a special effects coordinator, whose grandfather was a special effects coordinator,” Wyle said. “I said it to highlight the fact that there’s generational talent in this city that’s worked in this industry for over 100 years. When you shoot a show here, you get the benefit of three generations of talent. You get a Rob Nary. You can put up a soundstage in another state, but they don’t come with Rob Narys.”

While production in L.A. overall is still on the decline according to the nonprofit organization FilmLA, which tracks production in the Greater Los Angeles region, television is serving as a bright spot. From April through June, TV production saw an increase of 17% compared with the same time period last year, with 2,224 on-location shoot days. That’s the highest total since early 2024, though it is still 32.6% lower than the five-year quarterly average, FilmLA said in a report published this summer.

Overall, on-location shoot days from April to June decreased 6.2% compared with the same time period last year.

Paul Audley, FilmLA’s president, responded to the Emmy wins for shows that shoot in town, saying in a statement to The Times that the organization “thanks them for choosing to film locally, and for helping to make Los Angeles the entertainment capital of the world.”

“These productions not only highlight the overwhelming talent that this region is known for, but productions like these employ hundreds of film industry workers and contribute to a strong and thriving economy,” Audley said. “Filming locally supports our communities, small businesses, and workers across every corner of the film industry.”

Stephen Graham was presented with the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his role in Netflix’s Adolescence.

Stephen Graham couldn’t help but get emotional during his Emmy acceptance speech as he stated “this kind of thing doesn’t happen to a kid like me”.

Adolescence became an instant global success when it was dropped on Netflix earlier this year, telling the story of a teenage boy accused of fatally stabbing another child.

Graham portrayed Eddie, the father of said teenager Jamie Miller, portrayed by 15-year-old Owen Cooper who has become the youngest male actor to win an Emmy.

When the 52-year-old took to the stage himself to claim his award for Outstanding Lead Actor, he touched upon his past before becoming an actor.

Graham shared: “This kind of thing doesn’t happen to a kid like me. I’m just a mixed race kid from a block of flats in a place called Kirkby.

“So for me, to be here today, in front of my peers and to be acknowledged by you is the utmost humbling thing I could ever imagine in my life, and it shows you that any dream is possible.”

While Graham was born in Kirby, Lancashire, he has both Jamaican and Swedish heritage on his father’s side.

His biological grandfather was part of the Windrush generation who moved to the UK from Jamaica in the 1960s but died before the actor was born.

Graham previously opened up on experiencing bullying when he was younger, telling Desert Island Discs: “I’m mixed race and that was kind of frowned on in those days.

“There were times growing up when I was slightly unsure where I fitted in. That n-word popped up when I was younger.”

Graham also spoke about how it was his step-father Mike Fazakerley, who he affectionately calls Pops, helped him through this difficult time.

He added: “He [Mike] helped me see who I am and what I am is good enough.

“He helped me find my own way and I got that sense of self in many respects from my mother, finding your own way.”

Adolescence proved to be the overall winners of the night at the Emmy this weekend with the show taking home six awards.

This included accolades for both Graham and Cooper’s performances, as well as for Limited or Anthology series, and Outstanding Supporting Actress for Erin Doherty.

Adolescence is available to watch on Netflix

The Emmys ceremony was about more than just glamour and excellence in television. The current heated political climate and the attack on cultural institutions on and off screen was also a flash point, even though much of it was bleeped for viewers.

During her acceptance speech after winning supporting actress in a comedy series, Hannah Einbinder of “Hacks” proclaimed, “F— ICE” at the end of her speech, denouncing the crackdown on immigrants across the country by the federal government.

Einbinder also mentioned Palestine in her speech and was among several actors, filmmakers and others who wore pins calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Megan Stalter, another “Hacks” cast member, carried a bag pinned with a note that said “Cease Fire.”

When the writing staff for HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” took the stage after winning for writing for a variety series, senior writer Daniel O’Brien said he and his colleagues were happy to be in the company of writers of late-night comedy “while it’s still the type of show that is allowed to exist.”

Television Academy President Cris Abrego paid tribute to the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, which was presented with the Governors Award last week during the Creative Arts Emmys. When he noted that CPB’s federal funding had been shut down by Congress and that CPB would shut its doors, the comment elicited a loud “boo” from the audience.

Hannah Einbinder, who won an Emmy for supporting actress in a comedy series, in the trophy room at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. She referenced ICE and Palestine in her acceptance speech.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

“CPB has been the backbone of American public media, giving us everything from ‘Sesame Steet’ to ‘Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood’ to ‘Finding Your Roots,’” he said. “In many small towns, those stations were not just a cultural lifeline to small towns across the nation, but an emergency alert system that families could count on.”

He continued, “When division dominates the headlines, storytelling still has the power to unite us. Television and the artists who make it do more than address society — they shape our culture. At times of cultural regression, they remind us of what’s at stake.”

Before presenting the award for talk show, Bryan Cranston took a swipe at West Point’s recent cancellation of the Sylvanus Thayer Award to Tom Hanks, who has been a frequent critic of President Trump. Although a reason for the cancellation was not given, the move was seen by pundits to be politically motivated.

Cranston said in his remarks that the hallmark of an exceptional talk show was to have intelligent conversations with a variety of guests, “from the learned and inspirational Neil deGrasse Tyson, to the degenerate and woke Tom Hanks.”

The award went to “Late Night With Stephen Colbert,” which CBS is ending next year at the conclusion of its season. Although the cancellation was attributed to financial considerations, Colbert’s harsh criticism of Trump has also been blamed for the termination.

During his acceptance speech, Colbert said the show had initially been about love, but had evolved into a show about loss: “Sometimes you only know how much you love something when you get a sense you might be losing it.”

He also said he hoped the show’s end would not bring an end to the late-night talk show tradition.

ERIC Dane did not appear at the Emmy Awards despite a scheduled appearance.

The Grey’s Anatomy alum, 52, had been previously announced as a presenter for the swanky TV ceremony on Sunday, September 14.

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Eric did not provide an explanation for his sudden absence.

The awards ceremony was expected to be Eric’s first major event since he opened up about his health battle in June during an appearance on Good Morning America.

Eric first announced his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as ALS, in April in an interview with People.

“I have been diagnosed with ALS,” the TV star shared. “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.”

Eric shares two children, Billie Beatrice, 15, and Georgia Geraldine, 13, with his wife, Rebecca Gayheart.

‘IT’S SOBERING’

He has since been more vocal about how the disease has significantly impacted him mentally and physically.

During a sit-down with Diane Sawyer on GMA, Eric revealed his left arm is the only one functioning, as his right had “completely stopped working.”

“I feel like maybe a couple more months and I won’t have my left hand either. It’s sobering,” the Euphoria star said at the time.

Eric explained that he first noticed something wasn’t right after experiencing “weakness” and “fatigue” in his right hand.

Although he at first brushed it off, chalking the symptoms up to “texting too much,” it soon worsened leading him to see numerous specialists.

After nine months, Eric received the heartbreaking diagnosis that he had the incurable disease.

“I will never forget those three letters,” the Borderline star said.

“It’s on me the second I wake up. It’s not a dream.”

Eric then admitted that he feared the moment he loses cognitive function in the rest of his body.

“I’m worried about my legs,” he revealed.

The Last Ship star experienced a terrifying incident a couple of months earlier when he needed to be rescued by his daughter after suddenly losing the ability to swim during a boat trip.

“When I jumped into the ocean that day and realized I couldn’t generate enough power to get myself to the boat. I thought, oh god. I’m not safe to be in the water,” Eric, who was a competitive swimmer and athlete in high school, said.

“She dragged me back to the boat. I was breaking down in tears. I made sure she got back in the water and continued snorkeling with the guide. But I was heartbroken.”

Despite the long road Eric has ahead of him, he’s determined to battle the disease head-on.

“I just don’t feel like in my heart this is the end of me. I’m fighting as much as I can,” the Countdown star declared.

ALS, additionally referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a common degenerative neurological disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

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Television’s biggest night is here and with it comes some of the best red carpet fashion of awards season.

This year’s Emmy-nominated stars include the always stylish Kristen Bell (“Nobody Wants This”), Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”), Keri Russell (“The Diplomat”), Carrie Coon (“The White Lotus”), Cate Blanchett (“Disclaimer”) and Michelle Williams (“Dying for Sex”). Meanwhile, Adam Brody (“Nobody Wants This”), Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”), Colman Domingo (“The Four Seasons”), Bowen Yang (“Saturday Night Live”), Sterling K. Brown (“Paradise”), Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”) and Javier Bardem (“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”) are among the men who are sure to impress. Here’s hoping that host Nate Bargatze dresses as George Washington at one point in the night to revive his hit “Saturday Night Live” sketch “Washington’s Dream.” Hollywood (and red carpet) veterans Kathy Bates, Jean Smart, Catherine O’Hara, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Harrison Ford, Martin Short and Gary Oldman may school them all on sartorial taste.

The 77th Emmy Awards will be broadcast from the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live at 5 p.m. Pacific on CBS. Apple TV+’s “Severance” leads all nominees this year with 27, followed by HBO’s “The Penguin” with 24.

Here are the best looks from the 2025 Emmys, updating live:

Taylor Dearden

Taylor Dearden steps out of “The Pitt” and on the red carpet.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Jackie Tohn

Jackie Tohn wows at the Emmys.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor are back in black at the Emmys.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Jeannie Mai

Jeannie Mai hits the Emmys red carpet.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Krys Marshall

“Paradise” actor Krys Marshall stuns in a strapless Sebastian Gunawan gown.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Walton Goggins and Nadia Conners

Walton Goggins and his wife Nadia Conners share a sweet moment on the red carpet.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Phaedra Parks

“The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Phaedra Parks waves hello.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Zuri Hall

Zuri Hall stuns in a metallic burgundy dress.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Kit Hoover

“Access Hollywood” host Kit Hoover is effortlessly chic on the red carpet.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Haley Kalil

Social media influencer Haley Kalil is serving looks.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Derek Hough

Leave it to “Dancing With the Stars” judge Derek Hough to bust a move on the red carpet.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Justine Lupe

“Nobody Wants This” star Justine Lupe sparkles in Carolina Herrera on the Emmys carpet.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Shanina Shaik

Shanina Shaik looks chic in a black long sleeve Carolina Herrera gown.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Bresha Webb

Bresha Webb, one of the hosts of E!’s Emmys red carpet live show, arrives in style.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Jackie Chan wielding panda bear plushies at the 89th Academy Awards. Brad Pitt serving duck face at the 92nd. Anya Taylor-Joy’s otherworldly hair flip just last year. These are some of the most iconic Glambot videos shot by director Cole Walliser, who has been operating E!’s high-speed red carpet camera, a staple of awards season, since 2016.

It was a much different entertainment landscape then, before #MeToo and #AskHerMore, the latter of which Walliser says he’s inoculated from by virtue of the slo-mo clips the Glambot generates. “For better or worse, it doesn’t allow me to ask more!” he chuckles from his Venice Beach office six weeks out from this year’s Emmys, which will be Walliser’s 10th, though he admits he’s ignorant of the nominees. “I try to stay tuned out to who’s nominated and who’s coming because I don’t want to get nervous,” he tells The Envelope.

Walliser, whose résumé includes music videos for Pink, Katy Perry and Tinashe and commercials for CoverGirl cosmetics, saw early on with Glambot that celebrity culture was poised to break out beyond red carpet telecasts and tabloid magazines: “If I look forward five years, what’s the climate going to be?” he recalls thinking. “It was very clear that it was going to be more on socials. So I thought, ‘If I start now I can be [ahead] of the curve.’”

Nor is he concerned about the growing presence of influencers in the awards space, whether in the form of now-regular campaign stops like “Hot Ones” and “Chicken Shop Date” to the red carpet itself. After all, Glambot is the ultimate short-form content, coming in at one second apiece, and helped pave the way for such successors.

“Part of what people gravitate to with the Glambot is the candid [nature of it],” Walliser says. “There’s a barrier that is broken down that people seem to enjoy.”

It took him a few years to arrive at the synergy between slow-motion clips and behind-the-scenes content that gives the Glambot a second life on social media during the six months outside of the awards season churn.

“It happened organically,” Walliser says, when he asked his assistant to be prepared to take a photo of him and Chan, whom Walliser grew up watching in Vancouver, if the opportunity arose. Ultimately, “it didn’t feel right, so I didn’t ask for a picture.” But unknown to Walliser, his assistant had been surreptitiously filming footage of Walliser directing Chan. He asked her to do it a few more times with other big celebrities. “Seeing how it works in real time was kind of interesting, so I cut it together and put it [online].

“It wasn’t until the 2020 awards season that I really dialed into what the behind-the-scenes content would be,” he continues. “Then the pandemic hit, so I was at home editing my footage and putting it on socials, and that’s when it exploded.”

Now the rise of TikTok and influencers has changed celebrities’ relationship with social media and the entertainment ecosystem at large. The Glambot remains, but it jostles for red carpet real estate alongside streamers and indeed celebs themselves, revealing their looks on Instagram or filming “Get Ready With Me” videos for fashion glossies like “Vogue” and “Elle.”

Does Walliser think the Glambot will go the way of “E! News”?

“Until celebrities are doing their at-home Glambots as good as I am on the red carpet, there’s still job security!” he says with a laugh. Still, the collaboration function on Instagram has been a godsend. “There was a switch when [celebrities] started going, ‘How do I get this? I want to post it.’”

Walliser’s employer’s flagship pop culture program was canceled last month after 32 years on the air, which he calls an “entertainment tragedy.” But whether exemplified by media companies’ pivot to video, then back to print, then back to video again, or broadcasting conglomerates’ mergers and spin-offs, Walliser believes the show, or at least the service it performs, could make a comeback.

“I think at some point we’re going to revalue these information curators that we trust and love because there’s too much content to do it on our own,” he says.

In the meantime, Walliser exudes serenity as he warms up for the Emmys before the hectic triple whammy of the Golden Globes, the Grammys and the Academy Awards in the new year: “I don’t have a life until after the Oscars.”

Until then, he’ll be hoping to capture the bold-faced names who’ve so far eluded the Glambot, including Rihanna, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Cooper and Beyoncé. There’s always a chance — Bey’s Christmas Day NFL halftime performance is nominated for four Emmys.

Although Walliser doesn’t know that.

The 77th Emmys nominations have been announced and given the state of just about everything, it’s easy not to care.

Our president is dismantling large portions of the federal government and offering new tax breaks to folks like those portrayed behaving badly in “The White Lotus.” Flash floods, a potential measles epidemic and ongoing bloody wars in Ukraine and the Middle East seem to echo the pre-apocalyptic drumbeats from “Paradise.”

Masked federal ICE agents, who look like they could be part of the Federal Disaster Response Agency from “The Last of Us,” roam the streets of Los Angeles, arresting people who might not have the right documentation and taking them to detention centers that appear to be right out of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Television itself is in a state of free fall, with streaming prices rising even as the number of new series sharply declines, and though “The Studio” makes it seem as if L.A. remains the geographic center of the entertainment business, the city’s increasingly empty soundstages and unemployed production workers tell another story.

So given that many Americans might very well agree to work for “Severance’s” sinister Lumon Industries if it guaranteed a decent paycheck and healthcare benefits, it seems impossible to gin up excitement about how many nominations HBO/Max, Netflix, Apple TV+ or any other entertainment conglomeration with an obscenely overpaid CEO received this year.

Except, you know, Jeff Hiller, whose amazing midlife breakout role as nakedly sincere Joel in “Somebody Somewhere” finally got the nomination it deserved. Or Jenny Slate, who deftly spun plates of hilarity, humanity and pathos in “Dying for Sex.” Stripped of his good looks and seductive accent, Colin Farrell still managed to mesmerize in “The Penguin,” which not only resuscitated an exhausted genre but took it to a new level of storytelling.

From its 15-year-old star to its risky single-shot direction and unsettlingly resonant themes, the limited series “Adolescence” was as close to perfection as a piece of television gets. Jean Smart (“Hacks”), Kathy Bates (“Matlock”) and Catherine O’Hara (“The Studio”) continue to prove the absurdity of Hollywood’s traditional sidelining of women over 40, while “Abbott Elementary” reminds us just how good a traditional broadcast comedy can be.

Artistic awards of any kind are inevitably absurd — how does one relatively small group of people decide what is “best” — and given the amount and diversity of television, the Emmys are more absurd than most.

According to Television Academy Chairman Cris Abrego, this was a record-breaking year in terms of voter turnout. Even so, it’s difficult to see categories dominated by one or two shows and not wonder how much TV the voting members managed to watch. If it were just a question of judging shows on submitted episodes, there would be no need for pricey FYC campaigns after all.

But the Emmys matter because television is art. And art matters. Even if it involves complaining about how ridiculous this year’s choices are, the nominations give us an opportunity to talk about art — what touched/impressed/moved/changed us, or not. What comforted us, disturbed us, made us laugh or look at things just a little differently and why.

That’s important, especially now when so much is in a constant state of upheaval, when everywhere we look people are questioning the future of democracy, civilization, the planet. Television can be used as an escape from “real life” — and heaven knows we could all use some of that — but it’s existence, and our appreciation of it, is very much part of that real life.

Art is a hallmark of civilization. It’s proof that we have evolved beyond the basic instincts of survival, that we understand the necessity of stories, images and music, and that we encourage their creation and appreciate the existence of even those things we personally do not perceive as great or even good.

Even as Peak TV gives way to the age of contraction, television remains one of our most universally experienced art forms. At its most basic level, it’s about curiosity — we watch television, whether it’s “Slow Horses,” “The Pitt” or “The Traitors” — to see what other people are up to, what they feel, say and do in a wide variety of circumstances and if we would feel, say or do something similar.

So yeah, the Emmys are not as important as ICE raids, flash floods, children dying of measles or the vanishing social safety net. When climate change has made the world so hot that the World Cup is under threat, it’s easy to consider conversations about why “Squid Game” or the final season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” received no major nominations, or how academy members could nominate Martin Short and not Steve Martin for “Only Murders in the Building,” a complete waste of time.

Until you consider the alternative. Because the day we stop celebrating and arguing about art is the day we’ll know the bastards have won.

Every year, Emmy prognosticators weigh the chances of TV’s newcomers. But what about newcomers that are also old-timers?

Whether you prefer to call them remakes, revivals or reboots, reimaginations of beloved movies and TV shows are all the rage: Think of CBS’ “Matlock,” which swapped in Academy Award winner Kathy Bates for Andy Griffith as a charming lawyer who gets things done in the legal system; Peacock’s “Bel-Air,” which turned a multicam sitcom into a drama; or HBO’s “Perry Mason,” which was less about the courtroom than Mason as private investigator.

When it comes to awards season, though, reboots aren’t such a hot commodity. Max’s “Gossip Girl,” Paramount+’s “Frasier” and ABC’s “The Wonder Years” came and went with no wins, and continuations like NBC’s “Law & Order” and “Will & Grace,” Fox’s “The X-Files” and CBS’ “Murphy Brown” have generally not received the same love from voters as their original runs.

Not all reboots fizzle at the Emmys, though. Here are six examples of rethinks that not only brought back beloved series from the graveyard but made them award-worthy all over again.

‘Shōgun’ (2024-present)

Emmy wins: 18

Anna Sawai in “Shōgun.”

(Kurt Iswarienko / FX)

With 26 nominations and an astounding 18 wins, the premiere season of “Shōgun” is the first Japanese-language series to take home an Emmy for drama series. In addition to the top prize, the adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 historical novel won awards for stars Hiroyuki Sanada (lead actor, drama) and Anna Sawai (lead actress, drama) plus a raft of below-the-line Emmys. The original miniseries’ take on Clavell’s story of colonialism and war in medieval Japan didn’t do so badly, either — in 1980 it scored 14 nominations and won three Primetime Emmys, including one for limited series.

‘Queer Eye’ (2018-present)

Emmy wins: 11

“Queer Eye” cast members Antoni Porowski, left, Tan France, Jeremiah Brent, Jonathan Van Ness and Karamo Brown.

(Netflix)

The fixer-upper series featuring five gay men zhuzhing up the lives of more staid straights was a phenomenon when it originally aired between 2003 and 2007 but was comparatively overlooked by the Emmys, picking up a win for reality program in 2004 plus three other nominations. Meanwhile, Netflix’s reboot — featuring makeovers of more than just straight guys, and a less snarky sensibility — has earned 11 Emmys to date, including six wins for structured reality program (2018, 2019-23).

‘Westworld’ (2016-22)

Emmy wins: 9

Thandiwe Newton and Aaron Paul in Season 4 of “Westworld.”

(John Johnson / HBO)

“Westworld” stands out on this list because it reimagines a feature film, not an earlier TV series — in this case, the 1973 movie written and directed by Michael Crichton and starring Yul Brynner. The film scored no top-line awards or nominations, but the HBO reboot, which premiered in 2016, landed 54 Emmy nominations and nine wins across its four-season run, including a 2018 trophy for Thandiwe Newton (lead actress, drama) for her performance as the series’ cunning madam, Maeve Millay.

‘One Day at a Time’ (2017-20)

Emmy wins: 3

Justina Machado, left, and Isabella Gomez in “One Day at a Time.”

(Ali Goldstein / Netflix)

The story of a single mom raising her growing daughters earned three nominations during its original run from 1975 to 1984, including one in 1982 for star Bonnie Franklin (lead actress, comedy); director Alan Rafkin and supporting actor Pat Harrington won. The Netflix reboot, which recast the Romanos as the Cuban American Alvarez family and shifted the action from Indianapolis to L.A., was nominated for each of its four seasons and won two, as well as a special Television Academy Honor.

‘Battlestar Galactica’ (2004-09)

Emmy wins: 3

Michael Hogan as Col. Saul Tigh, left, Edward James Olmos as Adm. William Adama, Mary McDonnell as Laura Roslin and Jamie Bamber as Lee “Apollo” Adama in the TV movie “Battlestar Galactica: Razor,” part of the popular Sci-Fi Channel franchise.

(Carole Segal / Sci-Fi Channel)

In the decades between the original 1978-79 “Battlestar” and the full-throttle reboot, science-fiction storytelling on the small screen advanced at lightspeed, which may have helped the latter last far longer than the original. The story of human refugees fleeing space colonies destroyed by Cylon robots (who were now on their tail) earned the original series three nominations and two Emmy wins in below-the line categories. The reboot ended up with three Emmy wins of its own from 19 nominations, though all the wins were for special effects and sound editing. (A 2003 backdoor pilot became a three-hour miniseries and also earned three Emmy nominations.)

‘The Conners’ (2018-25)

Emmy wins: 1

Maya Lynne Robinson, left, Jayden Rey, Michael Fishman, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara and Lecy Goranson in “The Conners.”

(Robert Trachtenberg / ABC)

Let’s call this one an unplanned reboot. After ABC canceled its 2018 “Roseanne” revival due to star Roseanne Barr’s public flameout, the quick-thinking network teed up “The Conners,” which follows the titular family after its matriarch’s untimely death. Falling somewhere between a traditional revival and a full-on reboot, “The Conners” hasn’t matched the original “Roseanne’s” Emmy haul, which included 25 nominations and four wins (three for Laurie Metcalf and one for Barr). But the series, which recently concluded its own seven-season run, has performed solidly with voters, earning six nominations and one win in 2021 for editing in a comedy series.

The Emmys’ limited series/TV movie acting categories have come to represent some of the best and most-talked-about shows on television, and this year’s crop of contenders is no exception.

The seven actors who joined the 2025 Envelope Roundtable were Javier Bardem, who plays father, victim and alleged molester Jose Menendez in Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”; Renée Zellweger, who reprises her role as the British romantic heroine in “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy”; Stephen Graham, who co-created and stars in “Adolescence” as the father of a teenage boy who commits a heinous murder; Jenny Slate, who plays the best friend of a terminally ill woman in FX’s “Dying for Sex”; Brian Tyree Henry, who portrays a man posing as a federal agent in order to rip off drug dealers in Apple TV+’s “Dope Thief”; Elizabeth Banks, who takes on the role of an estranged sibling and recovering alcoholic in Prime Video’s “The Better Sister”; and Sacha Baron Cohen, who appears as the deceived husband of a successful filmmaker in Apple TV+’s “Disclaimer.”

The Times’ news and culture critic Lorraine Ali spoke to the group about the emotional fallout of a heavy scene, the art of defying expectations and more. Read highlights from their conversation below and watch video of the roundtable above.

The 2025 Limited Series / TV Movie Roundtable: Elizabeth Banks, left, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jenny Slate, Javier Bardem, Brian Tyree Henry, Renée Zellweger and Stephen Graham.

Many of you move between drama and comedy. People often think, “Drama’s very serious and difficult, comedy’s light and easy.” Is that true?

Banks: I think the degree of difficulty with comedy is much higher. It’s really hard to sustainably make people laugh over time, whereas [with] drama, everyone relates to loss and pining for love that’s unrequited. Not everybody has great timing or is funny or gets satire.

Henry: There’s something fun about how closely intertwined they are. In my series, I’m playing a heroin addict running for my life, and I have this codependency with this friend … There’s a scene where I’ve been looking for him, and I’m high out of my mind, and I find him in my attic, and all he’s talking about is how he has to take a s—. And I’m like, “But they’re trying to kill us.” You just see him wincing and going through all these [groans]. It is so funny, but at the same time, you’re just terrified for both. There’s always humor somewhere in the drama.

Banks: There’s a reason why the theater [symbol] is a happy face/sad face. They’re very intertwined.

Renée Zellweger of “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.”

Renée, with Bridget Jones — how has she changed over the last 25 years and where is she now with “Mad About the Boy”?

Zellweger: Nobody’s the same from one moment to the next, one chapter to the next and certainly not from one year to the next. It’s been a really interesting sort of experiment to revisit a character in the different phases of her life.

What I’m really grateful for is that the timing runs in parallel to the sort of experiences that you have in your early 20s, 30s and so on. With each iteration, I don’t have to pretend that I’m less than I am, because I don’t want to be the character that I was, or played, when she was 29, 35. I don’t want to do that, and I certainly don’t want to do that now.

So it was really nice to meet her again in this place of what she’s experiencing in the moment, which is bereavement and the loss of her great love, and being a mom, and trying to be responsible, and reevaluating what she values, and how she comports herself, and what’s important and all of that, because, of course, I relate to that in this moment.

Stephen, “Adolescence” follows a family dealing with the fallout of their 13-year-old son being accused of a brutal murder. You direct and star in the series. What was it like being immersed in such heavy subject matter? Did it come home with you?

Graham: We did that first episode, the end of it was quite heavy and quite emotional. When we said, “Cut,” all of us older actors and the crew were very emotional. There were hugs and a bit of applause.

And then everyone would be like, “Where’s Owen?” [Cooper, the teenage actor who plays Graham’s character’s son]. “Is Owen OK? Is he with his child psychologist?” No, Owen’s upstairs playing swing ball with his tutor. It was like OK, that’s the way to do this — not to take myself too seriously when we say, “Cut,” but when I am there, immerse myself in it.

Let’s be honest, we can all be slightly self-obsessed. My missus, she’s the best for me because I’d phone her and say, “I had a really tough day. I had to cry all day. My wife’s died of cancer, and it was a really tough one.” She goes, “The dog s— all over the living room. I had to go shopping and the f— bag split when I got to Tesco. There was a flat tire. They’ve let the kids out of school early because there’s been a flood. And you’ve had a hard day pretending to be sad?”

Bardem: I totally agree with what Stephen says. You have a life with your family and your children that you have to really pay attention to. This is a job, and you just do the job as good as you can with your own limitations. You put everything into it when they say, “Action,” and when you’re out, you just leave it behind. Otherwise, it’s too much.

Certain scenes, certain moments stay with you because we work with what we are. But I think it doesn’t make you a better actor to really stay in character, as they say, for 24 hours. That doesn’t work for me. It actually makes me feel very confused if I do that.

On the show “Monsters” I tried to protect Cooper [Koch] and Nicholas [Alexander Chavez], the actors who play the children, because they were carrying the heavy weight on the show every day. I was trying to make them feel protected and loved and accompanied by us, the adults, and let them know that we are there for them and that this is fiction. Because they were going really deep into it, and they did an amazing job.

Elizabeth Banks of “The Better Sister.”

Elizabeth, in “The Better Sister,” you portray Nicky, a sister estranged from her sibling who’s been through quite a bit of her own trauma.

Banks: I play a drunk who’s lost her child and her husband, basically, to her little sister, played by Jessica Biel. She is grappling with trauma from her childhood, which she’s trying not to bring forward. She’s been working [with] Alcoholics Anonymous, an incredible program, to get through her stuff. But she’s also a fish out of water when she visits her sister, who [lives in a] very rarefied New York, literary, fancy rich world. My character basically lives in a trailer park in Ohio. There’s a lot going on. And there’s a murder mystery.

I loved the complication … but it brought up all of those things for me. I do think you absolutely leave most of that [heaviness] on set. You are mining it all for the character work, so you’ve got to find it, but I don’t need to then infect my own children with it.

Sacha Baron Cohen of “Disclaimer.”

Sacha, you have played and created these really gregarious characters like Ali G or Borat. Your character in “Disclaimer,” he’s not a character you created, but he is very understated. Was that a challenge?

Cohen: It took me a long time to work out who the character was. I said to [director] Alfonso [Cuarón], “I don’t understand why this guy goes on that journey from where we see him in Act 1.” For me it was, how do you make this person unique?

We worked a lot through the specificity of what words he uses and what he actually says to explain and give hints for me as an actor. A lot of that was Alfonso Cuarón saying, “Take it down.” And there was a lot of rewriting and loads of drafts before I even understood how this guy reacts to the news and information that he believes about his wife.

Jenny Slate of “Dying for Sex.”

Jenny, “Dying for Sex” is based on a true story about two friends. One has terminal cancer, and the other — your character — supports her right up until the end. Talk about what it was like to play that role in a series that alternates between biting humor and deep grief.

Slate: Michelle Williams, who does a brilliant job in this show, her energy is extending outward and [her character] is trying to experiment before she does the greatest experiment of all, which is to cross over into the other side. My character is really out there, not out there willy-nilly, but she will yell at people if they are being rude, wasteful or if she feels it’s unjust. [And she’s] going from blasting to taking all that energy and making it this tight laser, and pointing it right into care, and knowing more about herself at the end.

I am a peppy person, and I felt so excited to have the job that a lot of my day started with calming myself down. I’m at work with Michelle Williams and Sissy Spacek and Liz Meriwether and Shannon Murphy and being, like, “Siri, set a meditation timer for 10 minutes,” and making myself do alternate nostril breathing [exercises].

Brian Tyree Henry of “Dope Thief.”

Brian, many people came to know you from your role as Paper Boi in “Atlanta.” The series was groundbreaking and like nothing else on television. What was it like moving out of that world and onto other projects?

Henry: People really thought that I was this rapper that they pulled off the street from Atlanta. To me, that’s the greatest compliment … When I did “Bullet Train,” I was shocked at how many people thought I was British. I was like, “Oh, right. Now I’ve twisted your mind this way.” I was [the voice of] Megatron at one point, and now I’ve twisted your mind that way. My path in is always going to be stretching people’s imaginations, because they get so attached to characters that I’ve played that they really believe that I’m that person.

People feel like they have an ownership of who you are. I love the challenge of having to force the imaginations of the viewers and myself to see me in a departure [from] what they saw me [as] previously. Because I realize that when I walk in a room, before I even open my mouth, there’s 90 different things that are put on me or taken away from me because of how I look and how I carry myself.

Javier Bardem of “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”

Javier, since doing the series are you now frequently asked about your own opinions on the Menendez case? The brothers claim their father molested them, and that is in part what led to them murdering their parents.

Bardem: I don’t think anybody knows. That’s the point. That was the great thing about playing that character, is you have to play it in a way that it’s not obvious that he did those things that he was accused of, because nobody knows, but at the same time you have to make people believe that he was capable.

I did say to Ryan [Murphy] that I can’t do a scene with a kid. Because in the beginning, they do drafts, and there were certain moments where I said, “I can’t. It’s not needed.” The only moment that I had a hard time was when [Jose] has to face [his] young kid. It was only a moment where Jose was mean to him. That’s not in my nature.

Henry: I discovered, while doing my series, “My body doesn’t know this isn’t real.” There’s an episode where I’m shot in the leg, and I’m bleeding out and I’m on all this different morphine and drugs and all this stuff, and I’m literally lying on this ground, take after take, having to mime this. To go through the delusion of this pain … in the middle of the takes, it was just so crazy. I would literally look at the crew and say, “Somebody hug me! Somebody!”

Stephen, that scene where you confront the boys in the parking lot with the bike, I was just like, “Oh, my God, how many times did he have to do that?” This kid gets in your face, and I was like, “Punch the kid!” My heart went out to you, man, not just as the character but as you being in there.

Graham: Because we did it all in one take, we had that unique quality. You’re using the best of two mediums. You’ve got that beauty and that spontaneity and that reality of the theater, and then you have the naturalism and the truth that we have with film and television. So by the time I get to that final bit, we’ve been through all those emotions. When I open the door and go into [Jamie’s] room, everything’s shaken. But it’s not you. It’s an out-of-body experience and just comes from somewhere else.

Bardem: Listen, we don’t do brain surgery, but let’s give ourselves some credit. We are generous in what we do because we are putting our bodies into an experience. We are doing this for something bigger than us, and that is the story that we’re telling.

What have been some of the more challenging or difficult moments for you, either in your career or your recent series?

Zellweger: Trying not to do what you’re feeling in the moment sometimes, because it’s not appropriate to what you’re telling. That happens in most shows, most things that you do. I think everybody experiences it where you’re bringing something from home and it doesn’t belong on the set. It’s impossible to leave it behind when you walk in because it’s bigger than you are in that moment.

Banks: I would say that the thing that I worked on the most for “The Better Sister” was [understanding] sobriety. I’m not sober. I love a bubbly rosé. So it really did bring up how much I think about drinking and how social it is and what that ritual is for me, and how this character is thinking about it every day and deciding every day to stay sober or not. I am also a huge fan of AA and sobriety programs. I think they’re incredible tools for everybody who works those programs. I was grateful for the access to all of that as I was making the series. But that’s what you get to do in TV. You get to explore episode by episode. You get to play out a lot more than just three acts.

Stephen Graham of “Adolescence.”

Stephen, about the continuous single shot. It seems like it’s an incredibly difficult and complex way to shoot a series. Why do it?

Graham: It’s exceptionally difficult, I’m not going to lie. It’s like a swan glides across the water beautifully, but the legs are going rapidly underneath. A lot of it is done in preparation. We spend a whole week learning the script, and then the second week is just with the camera crew and the rest of the crew. It’s a choreography that you work out, getting an idea of where they want the camera to go, and the opportunity to embody the space ourselves.

Cohen: That reminds me of a bit of doing the undercover movies that I do because you have one take. … I did a scene where I’m wearing a bulletproof vest. There were a lot of the people in the audience who’d gone to this rally, a lot of them had machine guns. We knew they were going to get angry, but you’ve got to do the scene. You’ve got one time to get the scene right. But you also go, “OK, those guys have got guns. They’re trying to storm the stage. I haven’t quite finished the scene. When do I leave?” But you’ve got to get the scene. I could get shot, but that’s not important.

Henry: There’s a certain level of sociopathy.

Slate: I feel like I’m never on my mark, and it was always a very kind camera operator being like, “Hey, Jenny, you weren’t in the shot shoulder-wise.” I feel like such an idiot. Part of it is working through lifelong, longstanding feelings of “I’m a fool and my foolishness is going to make people incredibly angry with me.” And then really still wanting to participate and having no real certainty that I’m going to be able to do anything but just make all of my fears real. Part of the thing that I love about performance is I just want to experience the version of myself that does not collapse into useless fragments when I face the thing that scares me the most. I do that, and then I feel the appetite for performance again.

Do you see yourself in roles when you’re watching other people’s films or TV show?

Graham: At the end of the day, we’re all big fans of acting. That’s why we do it. Because when we were young, we were inspired by people on the screen, or we were inspired by places where we could put ourselves and lose our imaginations.

We have a lot of t— in this industry. But I think if we fight hard enough, we can come through. Do you know what I mean? It’s people that are here for the right reasons. It’s a collective. Acting is not a game of golf. It’s a team. It’s in front and it’s behind the camera. I think it’s important that we nourish that.

Henry: And remember that none of us are t—.

Bardem: What is a t—? I may be one of them and I don’t know it.

Graham: I’ll explain it to you later.

Hailing from some of today’s funniest TV series, six actors gathered recently for an uninhibited conversation about what it takes to make people laugh at The Envelope’s Emmy Roundtable for comedy actors.

In Netflix’s “Running Point,” Kate Hudson plays Isla, a woman who becomes pro basketball’s first girl boss when she takes over the family franchise. In ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” Lisa Ann Walter portrays Melissa Schemmenti, a tough grade school teacher in Philly’s underfunded public education system. With Hulu’s “Mid-Century Modern,” Nathan Lane takes on the role of Bunny, an aging gay man who brings together a chosen family when he invites two friends to reside in his Palm Springs home. “Hacks” co-creator Paul W. Downs does double duty as Jimmy, the manager to legendary comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) in the Max series. Bridget Everett, creator of HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere,” plays Sam, a cabaret singer who moves back to her family’s sleepy Kansas town to take care of her dying sister. And David Alan Grier stars as Dr. Ron, a devoted physician and cranky veteran who’s seen it all in the overrun ER of a small-town hospital in NBC’s “St. Denis Medical.”

The talented group spoke with The Times about their respective shows, typecasting and the risks one takes to make great comedy. Read on for excerpts from our discussion — and watch video of the roundtable above.

The 2025 Emmy Comedy Roundtable: Kate Hudson, left, Paul W. Downs, Bridget Everett, Nathan Lane, Lisa Ann Walter and David Alan Grier.

The best comedy pushes boundaries, which means it can also skirt the edge of offensive. How do you know if you’ve gone too far, or haven’t pushed it enough?

Downs: In the “Hacks” pilot, Jean Smart’s character, Deborah Vance, says there is no line. I think there’s nothing off limits, because it’s really about execution and thoughtfulness. The thing that makes edgy comedy not funny is when it causes harm, when it’s something that’s punching down, when it’s not something that can bring people together. That, to me, isn’t worth it. But there’s nothing that’s too taboo, because that’s what comedy is for. It’s to examine things, explore things, get close to the edge.

Everett: I think that comedy is about making people feel good. I want to make people feel joy. So as long as I’m not hurting anybody’s feelings, I think everything’s on the table.

Grier: I don’t think you know the edge and that’s why it’s dangerous. I’ve done things where I thought, “This is too much,” and things where I thought, “We didn’t go far enough.” So you have to play that game. My intention is never to anger and offend, but you do have to put yourself in that position and take a chance, especially with comedy. You can prescreen it, but who are you prescreening it to? Sixty-year-old white women? High school kids? You have to take a chance.

Kate Hudson of “Running Point.”

Hudson: I’m not a stand-up [comedian], so it’s fun to watch people walk that line. It’s exciting. What are they going to say? Is it going to be offensive? Is it not? Is it going to be brilliant? That’s part of what’s fun about being an audience of adult comedy. But I don’t like mean comedy. It’s really hard for me to see. I’ve been asked to do roasts a million times, and I just can’t do it. It just doesn’t move me in any way.

Lane: I was asked. This was the biggest mistake of my life. … A Friars [Club] Roast that was going to happen. [Jerry Lewis] was going to be roasted. And Richard Belzer said to me, “Oh, Nathan, would you be a part of it? Would you do it? It would mean a lot to Jerry.” And I’m like, “Oh, yeah, sure. I’ll do the roast.” And then I’m suddenly there and I’m sitting next to Paul Shaffer and Jeff Ross, who apologized in advance for what he might say. And I realized then that, “Oh, you’re not getting up and just roasting this person. You’re attacked. You’re on the dais.” So I thought, “Oh, what have I gotten into?” And I had asked them, “Please let me go first.” And I had worked out jokes. I had a couple of writers help me, and there was an initial joke, which was, “The only reason I agreed to do this was because I thought by the time it happened, Jerry would be dead.”

Walter: I’m on a show that’s got a lot of kids, and families can watch it together, which was [creator] Quinta Brunson’s intention. But there are things that the kids won’t get and that adults get. Melissa Schemmenti gets bleeped out regularly because she curses. She’s South Philly! As a comic, I only am interested in edge, that’s where I want to live … It’s easier to make a point and get ears when you’re making people laugh. And we do that on the show quite frequently. They’ll do a storyline about the school-to-prison pipeline, but it’s not ham-fisted, it’s not preachy. It’s edgy and it’s all within jokes. Anytime you’re making people laugh, I think you can say whatever you want.

What’s the strangest or most difficult skill you’ve had to learn for a role?

Hudson: In “Almost Famous,” [director] Cameron [Crowe] wanted me to learn how to roll cigarettes fast with one hand. And so I was learning how to roll, and I got really good at it really fast. And then when we were doing camera tests, I was doing it and I was smoking. And he was like, “No.” And I was like, “What? I just spent months trying to learn how to do that!” Then I started rolling my own cigarettes and got into a really bad habit and then spent years trying to quit.

Paul W. Downs of “Hacks.”

Downs: On “Broad City,” I had to learn and do parkour. It’s high skill level and high risk. You know, when you jump off buildings and roll around … [leap] off chairs and over fire hydrants. I did it, but not a lot of it ended up onscreen. Just the most comedic moments. I jumped between buildings and they didn’t even put it in!

Lane: When I did “Only Murders in the Building,” they said, “So you have a deaf son and you’re going to have scenes with him in ASL [American Sign Language].” It was challenging. I had a coach and I would work with him. And the wonderful young actor, James Caverly, who is Deaf … he was very supportive. If I had to become fluent, it would’ve taken six months to a year to do it well. But I had an advantage; they said, “Oh, your character is embarrassed by having a deaf son, so he didn’t learn it until later in life. So he’s not that good at it.” But it was a great thing to learn. I loved it.

Grier: I did an episode of a sitcom in which it was assumed, unbeknownst to me, that I was very proficient playing an upright bass. This is not true. I played cello as a child. I had to play this upright bass and as a jazz musician. It was horrible. Your fingers swell and blister and bleed. Of course, I went along with it because that’s what we’re all supposed to do. But by Day 4, my fingers were in great pain. I never mastered it. But I did want to ask them, “Who told you I could play?”

Everett: I did a little trapeze work, but since the knee thing, I can’t anymore … [Laughs]

Lane: This was the independent film about the Wallendas, right?

Everett: The truth is I’ve never had to do anything. Really. I had to rollerblade once in a Moby video, but that doesn’t seem like it’s going to stack up against all this, so maybe we should just move on to the next person. I would do trapeze, though. I’ll do anything. Well, not anything. Can we just edit this part out in post?

Hudson: I’m in love with you.

Walter: In a movie I did where I started out as the nosy neighbor, I found out that I was going to be a cougar assassin and I had to stunt drive a Mustang and shoot a Glock. It was a surprise. Literally. When I got to set, I saw my wardrobe and went, “I think I’m playing a different character than what I auditioned for.” … They put the car on a chain and I got T-boned. I was terrified, but then I was like, “Let’s go again!” That was the most dangerous thing until I had to do a South Philly accent as Melissa, and do it good enough so that South Philly wouldn’t kill me. That was probably more dangerous.

David Alan Grier of “St. Denis Medical.”

Let’s talk about typecasting. What are the types of roles that frequently come to you, where you’re like “Oh, my God, not again!”

Lane: Oh, not another mysterious drifter.

Hudson: Rom-coms. If I can’t get a job doing anything else, I can get a job doing a romantic comedy. When you have major success in something, you realize the business is just so excited [that] they want you in them all the time. It really has nothing to do with anything other than that. It’s something that I’m very grateful for, but you’re constantly having to fight to do different things. I’d be bored if I was constantly doing the same thing over and over again. But it’s just how the business works. Once you’re in that machine, they just want to keep going until they go to somebody else.

Walter: I can’t tell you how bored I am with being the gorgeous object of men’s desire. I named my first production company Fat Funny Friend … But as a mother of four in Los Angeles, I didn’t really have the luxury of saying, “I want to branch out.” But I did say, “Can I play someone smart?” My father was a NASA physicist. My mother was brilliant. I was over doing things I could do in my sleep, always getting the part of the woman who sticks her head out of the trailer door and goes, “I didn’t kill him, but I ain’t sorry he’s dead!” … It’s like, “Can I play someone who has a college education?” And I did, finally, but it took Quinta to do it.

Grier: I’ve found that the older I’ve gotten, the roles I’m offered have broadened. And I’ve played a variety of really challenging great roles because I’m old now. That’s been a real joy because I didn’t really expect that. I just thought I’d be retired. I did. So it’s been awesome.

Nathan Lane of “Mid-Century Modern.”

Lane: There was an article written about me, it was sort of a career-assessment article. It was a very nice piece, but it referred to me as the greatest stage entertainer of the last decade. And as flattering as it was, I can find a dark cloud in any silver lining. I felt, “Oh, that’s how they see me?” As an “entertainer” because of musicals and things [I did] like “The Birdcage” or “The Lion King.” I’d been an actor for 35 years and I thought, “I have more to offer.” So I wound up doing “The Iceman Cometh” in Chicago … and that would change everything. It was the beginning of a process where I lucked out and got some serious roles in television, and that led to other things. But it was a concerted effort over a period of 10, 15 years, and difficult because everybody wants to put you in a box.

Is it difficult in the industry to make the move between drama and comedy?

Walter: It’s a lifelong consternation to me that there is an idea that if you are known comedically, that’s what you do. We are quite capable of playing all of the things.

Grier: I remember seeing Jackie Gleason in “The Hustler.” I loved it. He was so great. Robin Williams also did serious. I think it’s actually harder when you see serious actors try to be comedians.

Downs: One of the things about making “Hacks” is we wanted to do something that was mixed tone, that it was funny and comedic but also let actors like myself, like Jean, all of these people, have moments. Because to us, the most funny things are right next to the most tragic things.

Hudson: And usually the most classic. When you think about the movies that people know generation after generation, they’re usually the ones that walk the line. And they’re the ones that you just want to go back and watch over and over and over again.

Bridget Everett of “Somebody Somewhere.”

Everett: I haven’t had a lot of experience with being typecast because I’ve been in the clubs for a long time doing cabaret. But on my show, Tim Bagley, who plays Brad … he’s been doing the same characters for I don’t know for how long. So we wrote this part for him, and one of the most rewarding things for me on this show was sitting behind the monitor and watching him get to have the moment he deserved … It’s one of the greatest gifts to me as a creator to have been part of that. It’s a whole thing in my show. We’re all getting this break together. We’ve all struggled to pay our rent well into our 40s. I waited tables into my 40s, but you don’t give up because you love doing it.

I’m sure many of you are recognized in public, but what about being mistaken for somebody else who’s famous?

Grier: I went to a performance of a David Mamet show on Broadway. I went backstage, and this particular day, it was when Broadway was raising money to benefit AIDS. There was a Midwestern couple there with their young son and they saw me, and the house manager said, “This couple, they’re going to give us an extra $1,000 if you take a picture with them. Would you mind?” I’m like, “Yeah, cool.” So I’m posing and the dad goes, “It is our honor to take a picture with you, Mr. LeVar Burton.” Now in that moment, I thought if I say no, people will die. So I looked at them and I went, “You liked me in ‘Roots?’” He said, “We loved you.” Click, we took the picture. I’m not going to be like, “How dare you?!”

Walter: Peg Bundy I got a couple of times. But as soon as I open my mouth, they know who I am. I can hide my hair, but as soon as I talk, I’m made.

Hudson: I’ve had a lot of Drew Barrymore. And then every other Kate. Kate Winslet, Katie Holmes … I’ve gotten all of them.

Walter: Do you correct them?

Hudson: Never. I just say yes and sign it “Cate Blanchett.”

Lisa Ann Walter of “Abbott Elementary.”

I’d love to know who everybody’s comedic inspiration was growing up.

Walter: My dad used to let me stay up and watch “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and “Laugh-In.” I got to see Ruth Buzzi, rest in peace, and Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin. Jo Anne Worley. All these funny women. That’s what made me think, “You can get a job doing this, the thing that I get in trouble for at school?!”

Grier: My comedy hero was Richard Pryor. I was this Black little boy in Detroit, and George Jessel would come on “The Mike Douglas Show” and he might as well have been speaking Russian. I’m like, “How can this be comedy?” Then I saw Richard Pryor, and he was the first comic who I just went, “Well, this guy’s hilarious.”

Downs: I remember one of the first comedies that my dad showed me was “Young Frankenstein.” I remember Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn. All of these women. I was always like, “They’re the funniest ones.”

Hudson: My era growing up was Steve Martin, Martin Short, Albert Brooks, Mel Brooks. But women were, for me, the classics. Lucille Ball.

Walter: There was a time when I was growing up where women really dominated comedy. They were your mom [nods at Hudson, Hawn’s daughter], Whoopi [Goldberg], Bette Midler. The biggest stars of the biggest comedies were women, and then that all went away for a really long time. I think it found its way back with Judd Apatow and then he made “Bridesmaids.”

Hudson: I tried really hard to make edgy comedy and studios wouldn’t do it. They wouldn’t. It took Judd to convince the studio system that women are ready. That we can handle rated-R. In the ’70s and ’80s, there was a ton of rated-R comedy with women. But for some reason, it just all of a sudden became like, “Oh, there’s only 1½ demographics for women in comedy.” I always felt like it was an uphill battle trying to get them made. Then I remember when Jenji [Kohan] came in with “Orange Is the New Black.” That was really awesome.

Lane: Above all, it was always Jackie Gleason for me. He was such an influence. He was hilarious, and of course, very broadly funny, but then there was something so sad. It was such pathos with him. … He was this wonderful, serious actor, as well as being Ralph Kramden.

Everett: There’s nobody that taught me more about how to be funny than my mom. She just had this way of being that I have used in my live shows. It’s led to where I am now. She used to wet her pants [laughing] so she had to put towels down on all the chairs in the house. She just didn’t care. That shows you to not care, to go out there. I live in fear, but not when I feel like she’s with me.

Grier: That’s the edge. You’re either going to weep or you’re going to [laugh] until you urinate.

Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton, who plays chain-smoking crisis manager Tommy Norris in Taylor Sheridan’s latest hit “Landman,” seems like a guy who can’t be intimidated. But get him in a room with Allison Janney and the truth comes out.

“I was afraid of you,” he tells her sheepishly on The Envelope’s Emmy Roundtable for drama actors.

“Really?” says Janney, the Oscar-, Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning performer who appears as cunning Vice President Grace Penn on the Netflix political thriller “The Diplomat.”

“The first time I met Allison, it was at another press function thing,” he says to the room. “And just seeing you, as an actor, and parts you play … But also, you have this very dignified quality about you.”

“It’s my height, I think.”

“No,” he continues. “You just have the face of someone who is powerful and really intelligent. So some idiot like me comes in, and I’m like, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t talk to her.’”

This is what happens when you gather seven Emmy contenders whose performances so convincingly shape our perceptions of who they are in real life. This year’s group also included Sterling K. Brown, who plays Xavier Collins, a Secret Service agent seeking the truth in Hulu’s “Paradise”; Britt Lower, who plays both wealthy heiress Helena Eagan and defiant data refiner Helly R. in Apple TV+’s “Severance”; Jason Isaacs, who plays Timothy Ratliff, an American financier desperately trying to keep a secret from his family in HBO’s “The White Lotus”; Noah Wyle, who plays Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, a senior attending physician at a Pittsburgh trauma center in Max’s “The Pitt”; and Kaitlin Olson, who plays the underestimated but brilliant police consultant Morgan Gillory in ABC’s “High Potential.”

Read on for excerpts from our discussion about how they tap into their layered performances, navigate the business and more — and watch video of the roundtable below.

The 2025 Emmy Drama Roundtable. Back row from left: Britt Lower, Jason Isaacs, Noah Wyle and Kaitlin Olson. From row from left: Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Janney and Sterling K. Brown.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Tell me about an “Oh, my God, did that just happen?” moment — good or bad — from your early years on a Hollywood set. Kaitlin, your first credit was “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” I can’t imagine what it’s like making Larry David laugh.

Olson: Oh, you just have to scream in his face and insult him, and then he thinks that’s really, really funny. But yeah, there were no marks and there were no lines. So I didn’t really have an “Oh, my God” moment. You just talk and shut up when you should shut up.

Isaacs: On my first day [on 1989’s “The Tall Guy”], I remember I arrived first thing in the morning. I was playing Surgeon No. 2 in a dream sequence that Jeff Goldblum was in. The director, who’s hassled and busy, he goes, “OK, we’re going to start with you. We’re coming in on the dolly. But because I’m on a very wide lens, if you could start the eyeline somewhere near the bottom of the jib and then just go to the corner of bottle, then take it to the edge of the matte box when we’re getting close.” And I went, “Right … What the f— did any of those words mean?” Jeff is just out of frame. And he’s in his underpants, and it’s a dream sequence for him. And we’re just about to go and roll the cameras, and Jeff goes, “Hold on a second.” And he stands up and he starts standing on a chair reciting Byron love poems even though he was not in the shot. I’m like, “I don’t understand what the hell is going on here.” Years later, I sat next to him at a wedding and I said, “Do you remember that night?” He went, “Yeah.”

Jason Isaacs of “The White Lotus.”

Have there been moments where you fell out of love with acting or where you felt like, “This isn’t working out”?

Janney: My career didn’t start till I was 38 or something, because I’m so tall, and I was literally uncastable. I went to the Johnson O’Connor [Research Foundation]. And I did three days of testing to see what else I could possibly do.

Issacs: What is that?

Janney: It’s an aptitude testing place. They ask you to do all this stuff, and at the end of it they say, “This is what you should be.” And they told me I should be a systems analyst. I had no idea what that was. And the next day, I got cast understudying Faith Prince and Kate Nelligan in “Bad Habits,” a play at the Manhattan Theatre Club.

Allison Janney of “The Diplomat.”

Brown: I’ve never fallen out of love with it. I was an economics major in college who wound up switching to drama. When I got out of grad school and [was] hopping around through regional theater, I wound up booking a TV show, “Army Wives,” for six years, and a few years into the show, I was like, “I think I’ve done everything that I want to do with the character.” So when they came dangling the carrot for people to reup after Season 6, I was like, “I’m curious to see what else the universe has in store.” I was able to pay off student loans. We had our first child, I had a home and I was like, “Let’s take a gamble on Brown.” I did a pilot for AMC that didn’t get picked up; then had a recurring [role] on “Person of Interest” for six episodes. I was like, “Oh, man, I got a wife and a kid and a house. Did I mess up? Should I have stayed on the show or not?”

Then I auditioned for [“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”], and I didn’t hear anything for four months. I was down in New Mexico shooting this movie, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” and I was having this really sort of morbid moment of going through my IMDb Pro account and looking at everybody who had booked all of the things that I had auditioned for. I was like, “Oh, Bokeem Woodbine booked Season 2 of ‘Fargo.’ Good for him.” And I got a call from my manager saying, “They want you to screen test with Sarah Paulson for this thing.” I was the only person that they brought in to audition for it.

Sterling K. Brown of “Paradise.”

Your series are largely confronting or commenting on real-world anxieties or subjects that are changing in our world in real time. Noah, with Dr. Robbie and what he says about what’s going on in the healthcare system — we’re seeing him cope with the aftermath of COVID-19. We’re seeing stories that are very timely about vaccinations. Talk about what was important to you with this series and what you wanted to show through these characters.

Wyle: “ER” was very much a patient-centric show in a lot of ways. And this was more of an exercise to be practitioner- and physician-centric, to really show the toll that the last five years since COVID has taken on that community. The thesis being that it is as fragile as the mental health of the people that we have in those jobs and the quality’s what we received. Even though we had to peer into a crystal ball and try to figure out a year ago what would be the topical cases of today, we were really more interested in how everybody’s coping mechanisms have allowed them to practice what they’ve been doing for the last five years. How they’ve compartmentalized the toll it’s taken on them personally, and explore that in real time. Aggregate tension on a shift where you’re just embedded with them without release. The outset was more about identifying the mental health of the practitioner than identifying the ills in society … Can I just say how effing cool it is to sit at this table with you all and be the uncool one to say that I feel like my impostor syndrome is off the rails right now?

Olson: No way.

Noah Wyle of “The Pitt.”

Hopefully you’ll all guest star on each other’s shows by the time this is over.

Janney: I would love that.

Britt, what really spoke to me about “Severance” was its exploration of grief, but within that too, there’s the corporate overreach and the work-life balance that I think all of us can appreciate. Did it show you anything about how you navigate your work-life balance or what you could do better?

Lower: The cast talks a lot about how the “Severance” procedure is kind of like what we do for a living. We go to work and put on a different outfit and assume a new identity. There were some moments where you’re walking down the corridors on the way to your job, and there’s kind of this meta quality of being inside of a show about compartmentalizing and switching into a different part of yourself. But I think it’s so relatable. I think we do that as humans. We show up differently in different spaces in our lives, whether it’s work or home or going home for the holidays, versus your baseball team. You just put on a different person really.

Britt Lower of “Severance.”

Isaacs: If I go away to do a job on location somewhere, I can actually — even at my ripe old age; I’m a father and I’m a husband — just park my life and forget that. Now I see that metaphor very clearly and it’s irresponsible. I’m so much more comfortable in the fictitious world than I am in the real world.

Do you feel like there’s a misconception that you guys are just all at the pool?

Isaacs: I’m not really an actor anymore; I just do “White Lotus” publicity for a job. And in the billions of interviews, people expect you to say, “It was a holiday. We were in this resort.” Well, we’re not really in the resort. So I’ve said a few times, “You make friends. You lose friends, romances or whatever; things happen between departments and all the backstage drama that we’re all used to.” Well, the online world went mad trying to deconstruct, trying to work out who knew who and who was [doing what]. Actually, I’m talking about all the crew and all the departments — not that it’s anyone’s business. But it’s trying to deconstruct what we all think of each other. And what happened there is so much less interesting than Mike White’s brilliant stories. You shouldn’t be interested in who went to dinner with who. I kind of wish I hadn’t opened my mouth about it, but I don’t want to pretend it was a holiday. Not just the way that the show blew up but also the level of microscopic interest in anything any of us said, tweeted, posted — there aren’t many new experiences for actors who’ve been around a long time, but this one has been shocking, and I’m quite glad that it’s abating now. I’d like to return to my normal life, but I don’t know how people who are uber-famous deal with it.

Billy Bob, how did you come to navigate it? You’ve experienced the extreme effects of that.

Thornton: You mean in the world of Hollywood and all that?

Isaacs: Do you go to the supermarket, take the subway … Do you do the stuff I do?

Thornton: It depends on what year it is. I’ve gone through times where I couldn’t go anywhere. Once my life got bigger, and that really happened with … I mean, I was a working actor doing OK, but “Sling Blade” is the one that, literally overnight, it was a crazy thing. From that point on, it’s been pretty steady. What I’ve done to not get involved in all that is I don’t really go anywhere. I’m either working or I’m at home with the family or in a recording studio or on the road. You don’t see me in the [tabloid] magazines, at the parties and all that kind of stuff.

I’ll put it this way. Right now, with “Landman,” we thought it was going to be successful. We had no idea that it was going to be like this. I mean, we’ve got fans in Iceland and stuff. I can’t go to a Walmart in Texas. It’s literally impossible. I tried it. I would walk three feet at a time. Texans, their personalities are also very big, and they don’t really come up and go, “Excuse me, mister.” It’s not like that. It’s like, “Hey man, what’s going on? Get in a picture with me.”

I’ve had a reputation — weirdo. Angelina and I were vampires. We drank each other’s blood. You look on the internet, and there’s some kind of thing you’re trying to look up and, inevitably, it’ll show something else. So you go, “I hate this. I hate the internet, but I got to see it.”

Billy Bob Thornton of “Landman.”

Isaacs: There’s no good version of you. You either look much better on the screen or much better in real life. I wanted to say [looks at Allison], because I was a huge “West Wing” fan, I did some “West Wing,” I couldn’t break out of thinking that Bradley [Whitford] and Janel [Moloney] were, in fact, Josh and Donna. Did people think you were that political? People assumed you were that character?

Janney: I’ve been such a disappointment for people who think that I am C. J. [Cregg, her character on “The West Wing”], because I couldn’t be less like her. I’m not that person who’s able to verbally cut someone down in the second that she needs to. It was so great to play her, but I remember when they had the Democratic National [Convention] in California and there were more people who came up to me and asked me, “After this is over, will you come work for us? Will you come to…” I’m like, “You don’t understand. I’m so not like that.” And now on “The Diplomat,” playing the president of the United States and the smartest person in the room, it’s so much fun for me to play those kind of women because I’m not [like that]. I mean, I’m not an idiot, but I know nothing about being in the world of politics or being manipulative.

Kaitlin, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is in its 17th season now. You’re on “Hacks.” When you’re signing on to something like “High Potential,” what factors do you consider when thinking about how long you want to commit to something?

Olson: I don’t ever want to play a character that starts to get old to me. “Sunny” doesn’t feel like that to me because it’s a satire and the world’s always providing us with new content. And we do eight to 10 episodes a season. So it’s 17 seasons, which is insane, but it’s not even 20 episodes. It’s so much fun, which is the reason I’m not sick of that character yet. But I feel the same way as you, [Allison], when I’m playing characters who are super-smart, and then I have to talk about it, I just go into panic mode.

How has it been getting into Morgan’s head?

Olson: I love the other characters that I play, but there’s heart to this, and she’s a good mom and she is very insecure but puts on a big show. I love that she’s scrappy and has to figure it out, and she trusts that she will and doesn’t rely on anybody else to help her figure it out. The most important thing are her kids. I think she’s just fascinating to play.

Kaitlin Olson of “High Potential.”

What’s the most impressive skill you picked up on the job? Noah, you know I’m going to start with you. You went to medical boot camp. You’ve done really well with sutures. You can intubate any one of us, I think.

Wyle: I’ve never performed one.

Isaacs: The night is young.

Wyle: I wish everybody an opportunity to slip into a role that you have such great muscle memory with from another aspect of your life when you play a musician or when you do circusing or whatever. When you do something you’ve done for so long, and then you get to do it again, it is just amazing how much it’s in your body and how you don’t have to worry about that stuff. There was a moment earlier where Sterling choked on the grape in the greenroom. I was so ready to intubate him, even if it wasn’t necessary.

Thornton: I went to air-traffic control school for “Pushing Tin,” so I can still say, “Delta 2376, turn left, 20-0-4-0” and “Clear the Alice approach one-four right, call the tower one-eight-three,” because you just don’t forget it. That’s not air-traffic control, that’s just a line. With Noah, he learns this skill that he has been doing over the years, and that kind of knowledge is invaluable. Anytime you have stuff to do, without just acting, like you’re doing busy work — you’re, like, here’s how you do an appendectomy — and you learn and when you’re picking up the right tools, you’re saying the right stuff, you’re making incisions — that stuff you’ve got to learn.

Isaacs: One of the great privileges of being an actor that maybe doesn’t show up onscreen is you get to walk in people’s shoes. I shadowed heart surgeons and plastic surgeons and politicians and criminals and soldiers, and it’s just an amazing privilege to be in people’s lives and talk about it. And there may be some tiny bit you pick up for the screen.

The panel was flabbergasted when Britt Lower wasn’t nominated for her work in the first season of “Severance”; they have her near the top of the Round 1 list this time. But she may be in for misery as Kathy Bates barely edged her out for the No. 1 spot for her unique spin on “Matlock.”

“Fun fact: It’s been a full decade since an actress on a broadcast TV show won in this category (Viola Davis, for ABC’s ‘How to Get Away With Murder’),” says Kristen Baldwin. “Kathy Bates could (and should) break that dry spell.” Glenn Whipp agrees, quoting Bates’ character: “‘There’s a funny thing that happens when women age … We become damn near invisible.’ Unless, of course, you’re Kathy Bates, in which case, you become the odds-on favorite to win a third Emmy.”

But “while she missed out last time around,” writes Trey Mangum, “Britt Lower is also a top pick here.” Even “Matlock” booster Matt Roush says, while Bates’ performance requires constant trickery, “Don’t count out Britt Lower (‘Severance’) as the equally two-faced Helly R./Helena Eagan, a role with an even higher degree of emotional difficulty.”

At No. 3 is Bella Ramsey, stepping into the solo spotlight in one of TV’s buzziest shows. “‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 shifts its focus to Ellie, and Bella Ramsey has shined as they move from angsty young adult to goofball with a crush to grief-stricken warrior driven by revenge,” says Tracy Brown, also praising Ramsey’s featured guitar-and-singing skills.

More predictions: Drama actor / Drama series

1. Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
2. Britt Lower, “Severance”
3. Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
4. (tie) Lashana Lynch, “The Day of the Jackal”
4. (tie) Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”
6. Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”
7. Kaitlin Olson, “High Potential”
8. Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters”
9. Keira Knightley, “Black Doves”
10. Zoe Saldaña, “Lioness”

Los Angeles Times

Lorraine Ali

1. Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin”
2. Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex”
3. Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer”
4. Julianne Moore, “Sirens”
5. Kaitlyn Dever, “Apple Cider Vinegar”

“Apart from Kathy Bates, the three names at the top of my list — Sharon Horgan as the eldest Garvey sibling in ‘Bad Sisters,’ Britt Lower as the duplicitous Helly R. in ‘Severance’ and Melanie Lynskey as the coldblooded butcher/soccer mom Shauna in ‘Yellowjackets’ — all delivered strong performances in their returning series.”

Entertainment Weekly

Kristen Baldwin

1. Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
2. Britt Lower, “Severance”
3. Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”
4. Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
5. Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”
6. Keira Knightley, “Black Doves”

“Fun fact: It’s been a full decade since an actress on a broadcast TV show won in this category (Viola Davis, for ABC’s ‘How to Get Away With Murder’). Kathy Bates could (and should) break that dry spell with her delightful turn as the folksy-fierce Matty Matlock in CBS’ legal drama. Meanwhile, Keira Knightley deserves a nod for the suspenseful spy thriller ‘Black Doves’ (even if it is more of a comedy than a drama).”

Los Angeles Times

Tracy Brown

1. Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
2. Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
3. Britt Lower, “Severance”
4. Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”
5. Kaitlin Olson, “High Potential”
6. Angela Bassett, “9-1-1”

“‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 shifts its focus to Ellie, and Bella Ramsey has shined as they shift from angsty young adult to goofball with a crush to grief-stricken warrior driven by revenge. Plus, they’ve shown that they’re just as proficient with a guitar as they are with weapons.”

Shadow and Act

Trey Mangum

1. Lashana Lynch, “The Day of the Jackal”
2. Kaitlin Olson, “High Potential”
3. Zoe Saldaña, “Lioness”
4. Britt Lower, “Severance”
5. Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”
6. Kathy Bates, “Matlock”

“The more time goes on, the more it seems like Kathy Bates will likely receive an Emmy nomination for a broadcast television show, and honestly, she has a great shot at winning. And while she missed out last time around, Britt Lower is also a top pick here.”

TV Guide

Matt Roush

1. Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
2. Britt Lower, “Severance”
3. Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
4. Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”
5. Keira Knightley, “Black Doves”
6. Helen Mirren, “MobLand”

“Even if the voters pass on ‘Matlock’ as a series, they’ll have a harder time ignoring Kathy Bates as the crafty lawyer playing a long game. Don’t count out Britt Lower (‘Severance’) as the equally two-faced Helly R./Helena Eagan, a role with an even higher degree of emotional difficulty.”

Los Angeles Times

Glenn Whipp

1. Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
2. Britt Lower, “Severance”
3. Lashana Lynch, “The Day of the Jackal”
4. Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
5. Keira Knightley, “Black Doves”
6. Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters”

“‘There’s a funny thing that happens when women age,’ Kathy Bates’ protagonist says early on in the ‘Matlock’ reboot. ‘We become damn near invisible.’ Unless, of course, you’re Kathy Bates, in which case, you become the odds-on favorite to win a third Emmy.”