The Cooler gang jumps back into the Emmy® race to release their 2017 Emmy wish list. Plus, Bill Maher, House of Cards, and Wonder Woman in TV Tidbits.

Monday, June 12, marks the beginning of the 2017 Emmy voting window. This 2-week period ending on June 26 provides members of the Television Academy the window in which they select nominees for the 2017 Emmy cycle. Nominees will be announced July 13. So, this week at the Water Cooler, we’re providing members of the Television Academy a few candidates to catch up on before voting begins in our 2017 Emmy Wish List. These selections aren’t our official predictions, of course. We simply want to identify a handful of significant performances or series that we think deserve serious consideration. Do you have an actor or series you’d like to see nominated? Be sure to sound off in the comments section and share your opinion!

Our weekly TV Tidbits segment kicks off with the controversy surrounding Real Time with Bill Maher host Bill Maher. Maher used a racially insensitive word during a conversation with Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska. We look at the conversation itself, Maher’s response, and whether or not this impacts his 2017 Emmy campaign. Speaking of 2017 Emmy, House of Cards launched as the final major entry into the current Emmy eligibility window. However, with series-low Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes scores, are there precedents for entry into the Outstanding Drama Series race? Finally, Megan and Joey give their opinions on Wonder Woman.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the television we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on iTunes!

14:08 – TV Tidbits
51:02 – 2017 Emmy Wish List
57:10 – Flash Forward

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The Cooler gang takes a break from the Emmy race to preview 2017 Summer movies. What titles most excite or inspire dread as we kick start the season?

This week at the Water Cooler, we’re backing away a bit from the Emmy cycle. Since Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, we thought we’d take a look at 2017 Summer movies. Over the past few months, we all at one time or another lamented on the state of Summer films. For every potential quality film like the Cannes award-winning The Beguiled, there seem to be 10 films like The Mummy, the Emoji Movie, or the seemingly fifteenth Transformers sequel. We spin through each week and discuss the season’s highs and lows. It’s a “Cruel Summer” indeed.

Our weekly TV Tidbits segment focuses on catching up with a handful of recent television series. We discuss Showtime’s return to Twin Peaks, Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Clarence previews Netflix’s House of Cards return. We also talk about the renewal of HBO’s Veep and Silicon Valley and the news that Silicon Valley co-star T.J. Miller will not return for the fifth season.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the television we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on iTunes!

08:29 – TV Tidbits
51:02 – 2017 Summer Movies
1:44:58 – Flash Forward

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Jalal Haddad joins the Cooler gang to look at the 2017 Drama Emmy races. Which series will fill slots left behind by Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey?

This week at the Water Cooler, we’re completing our deep-dive into the top contenders in the three main Emmy races: Drama Series, Comedy Series, and Limited Series/TV Movie. We’ve covered Limited Series and Comedy Series in two previous podcasts. This week, we’re wrapping things up with a new look at the 2017 Drama Emmy races.

Unlike the Comedy races, throngs of new contenders threaten to take spots from perennial favorites. Who stands to benefit from the absence of Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey? Will Mr. Robot repeat in this year’s race? How far will Stranger Things or This Is Us go? Will The Handmaid’s Tale ride a wave of political relevance and critical acclaim to overcome its late entry into the race? Will House of Cards overcome comparisons to the Trump administration to remain relevant in the Emmy race? We cover these topics and more with Awards Daily’s own Emmy expert Jalal Haddad.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the television we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on iTunes!

05:11 – TV Tidbits
10:34 – 2017 Drama Emmy Races
1:10:55 – Flash Forward

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Yvonne Strahovski, star of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, guests on a special edition of the Water Cooler Podcast to discuss “A Woman’s Place.”

Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale took the Emmy world by surprise when it premiered in late April. It stormed into the race with its expertly directed and acted take on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel. Star Yvonne Strahovski made a strong impression early in the series. However, Emmy watchers raved about her breakout episode in this week’s “A Woman’s Place.” There, the series further explored the tumultuous relationship between Strahovski’s Serena Joy and her husband, Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes). The episode offered an extended look at life before the series’s cataclysmic revolution. Strahovski’s performance in “A Woman’s Place” ranks among the best we’ve seen all year as she draws fascinating contrasts in this complex woman.

Yvonne Strahovski joins this special edition of the Water Cooler Podcast to chat about her series performance. We discuss how she connected with the dark material. She explains what dominates Serena’s emotions in Gilead. She also shares her thoughts on how Gilead changed Serena.

Join us at the Water Cooler with The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Yvonne Strahovski.

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The Cooler gang looks at the 2017 Comedy Emmy races and wonders where all the heat is? Will anyone rise to challenge Veep and Julia Louis-Dreyfus?

This week at the Water Cooler, we’re continuing our deep-dive into the top contenders in the three main Emmy races: Drama Series, Comedy Series, and Limited Series/TV Movie. Up next are the Comedy Emmy races. Is there anything to get excited about this year? Aside from the assured new blood of FX’s Atlanta, it seems to be business as usual at the Television Academy where the Comedy Emmy races matter. We discuss who leads (Veep) and who will be left out (Divorce? Modern Family?). We also highlight some deserving dark horse candidates that the Television Academy should consider when voting in June.

TV tidbits looks at the massive number of recently announced live television musicals from NBC and FOX. What events will match the quality of The Wiz or Grease: Live? What will become the next Peter Pan? Then, ABC dropped the ax this week on some Awards Daily favorite shows and some favorite punching bags. We talk about what series fell and whether or not the cancellations were deserved. Finally, in film news, Amy Schumer returns to the big screen with Snatched, a mother-daughter adventure comedy co-starring Goldie Hawn. Was this a good move for Schumer?

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the television we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on iTunes!

03:47 – TV Tidbits
51:56 – 2017 Comedy Emmy Races
1:38:42 – Flash Forward

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The Cooler gang takes an in-depth look at the 2017 Limited Series Emmy Race which is shaping up to be Emmy Feud: Feud and Big Little Lies.

This week at the Water Cooler, we’re kicking off our deep-dive into the top Emmy contenders in the three main Emmy races: Drama Series, Comedy Series, and Limited Series/TV Movie. We’re starting with the most fun of all – the Limited Series/TV Movie races. OK, who’s kidding. It’s really the Limited Series Emmy race that’s heating up conversations this year. We look at the contenders in all major categories, debate who currently sits on top, and spot any potential spoilers along the way. Spoiler alert: it’s all about FX’s Feud: Bette and Joan and HBO’s Big Little Lies.

Before that, our TV Tidbits segment looks at a few recent headlines as the worlds of politics and television again intersect under the Trump administration. First, is Stephen Colbert really in hot water over his recent Trump remarks? Does he deserve to be? Second, are the major networks really violating the Trump administration’s right to free speech by banning his “Fake News” ads? Finally, Trump jokes from late-night comedy shows are at record levels according to a recent study. What does this say about America right now? Is this a good or a bad thing? TV Tidbits continues with a look at NBC’s new Tina Fey/Robert Carlock-produced comedy Great News, and more outfits are stepping up to produce even more streaming content. Will you watch?

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the television we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on iTunes!

10:42 – TV Tidbits
46:27 – 2017 Limited Series Emmy Race
1:34:28 – Flash Forward

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The Cooler gang predicts the 2017 Tony nominations, discusses Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and previews Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 3.

This week at the Water Cooler, we’re taking a break from the Emmys to shuffle, step, kick-ball-change our way into the Tony awards. The American Theater Wing announces the 2017 Tony nominations on Tuesday, May 2. Unlike last year’s Hamilton dominance, the field of Tony contenders remains wide open. Most categories have two or three locks, but the real challenge lies within filling those third and fourth slots. We look at the contenders and step through a few categories in our first attempt at negotiating Broadway’s Emmys.

Before we tackle that, we review Hulu’s big Emmy contender The Handmaid’s Tale, starring Elisabeth Moss as Offred, the titular handmaid. After last week’s discussion of the novel, we discuss the television adaptation. We talk about what it gets right and what changes from page to screen that didn’t work. Plus, we discuss whether or not this series will allow Hulu to break into major Emmy consideration. In our TV Tidbits segment, we briefly cover the recently announced Roseanne revival, the Orange Is the New Black Season 5 hack, preview Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 3, and review Oprah Winfrey’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the television we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on iTunes!

06:21 – TV Tidbits
37:27 – The Handmaid’s Tale
1:01:50 – 2017 Tony Nominations
1:52:50 – Flash Forward

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This week, the Cooler gang hits the books again in our latest Water Cooler Book Club. We discuss Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

This week at the Water Cooler, the Water Cooler Podcast book club continues with Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale. This novel tells the story of Offred, a handmaid who exists solely to bear children in Gilead, a future New England.  We discuss our reactions to the novel and its themes. We also discuss the unavoidable parallels and resonance to modern day politics. Then, next week, we’ll continue The Handmaid’s Tale discussion with Hulu’s adaptation. The critically acclaimed television series premieres three episodes on Wednesday.

But before we dive into the Handmaid, we review the titles we’re most anticipating from the upcoming Cannes film festival. We also cover some higher profile changes in the Emmy race including the last-minute entry of Bloodline Season 3 and the final placement of Big Little Lies‘ Shailene Woodley.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the television we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on iTunes!

05:41 – TV Tidbits
51:48 – The Handmaid’s Tale
1:23:38 – Flash Forward

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This week, the Cooler gang reviews the Netflix young adult adaptation 13 Reasons Why. Plus, two hot film trailers and big changes to Emmy categories!

This week at the Water Cooler, we’re looking at the recent Netflix young adult phenomenon 13 Reasons Why. Based on the novel by Jay Asher, 13 Reasons Why illustrates the aftermath of a teen girl’s suicide and the cassette tapes she leaves behind to explain her reasoning. Naturally, 13 Reasons Why received a controversial reaction with many praising its acting and direction. Detractors criticized the glossy treatment of mental health issues and bullying. We dive into the series, cover our reactions, and talk about whether or not it’s OK for the series to be an entertainment. Does it necessarily have to start a conversation? Plus, will Emmy pay any attention?

Before that, our weekly TV Tidbits kicks off with a discussion of the recent Emmy category shifts and their impact on the Awards Daily TV Emmy Tracker. Then, we take a look at a recent controversy on Survivor, Jimmy Fallon on SNL, Netflix’s MST3K reboot, and developments in the film world with the premiere of two hot trailers: Oscar-bait Detroit and a little tiny film called Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the television we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Remember next week marks the latest Water Cooler Book Club with Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Post your questions and topics for discussion here or tweet them to us directly @awardsdailyTV.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on iTunes!

05:08 – TV Tidbits
48:43 – 13 Reasons Why
1:16:24 – Flash Forward

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