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Emmy-winner Greg Yaitanes on Directing Cinemax’s ‘Quarry’

Emmy-winner Greg Yaitanes talks about what drove him toward Cinemax’s Quarry

Premiering Friday night, Cinemax’s Quarry offers a great deal more than the surface pretense of a straightforward crime story. Quarry is about coming back home from a war no one wanted. It’s about reconnecting with those you left behind. It’s about finding your place in a world when no one seems to want you there. Quarry is about much, much more once you look beyond its surface. It’s that level of complexity that attracted Emmy-winning director Greg Yaitanes (House) to the series.

Based on the novels by Max Allen Collins, Quarry focuses on returning Vietnam vet Mac “Quarry” Conway’s (Logan Marshall-Green) descent into crime thanks to entangling alliances with The Broker (Peter Mullan). Jodi Balfour plays Quarry’s wife Joni, and scene-stealing Peter Mullan plays fellow hitman Buddy. Thanks to Greg Yaitanes’s balanced direction as well as Michael D. Fuller and Graham Green’s intelligent script, Quarry‘s deft characterizations are nearly as engaging as its action scenes.

Yaitanes’s reputation in Hollywood speaks to both his entrepreneurial spirit (he invests in companies like Twitter) and his extensive directorial work (little shows like Lost, Damages, Heroes and others in addition to his Emmy-winning work on House). His confident hand guides his actors through shocking plot twists while keeping things consistent and grounded in reality. I had the pleasure of speaking with Greg Yaitanes about the making of Quarry and some of its more challenging sequences and characterizations.

So, I’ve seen about five episodes of the series, and I’m already taken by the surprises and plot twists Quarry offers. What attracted you to the material initially?

I was doing Season 3 of Banshee, and Cinemax approached me about this being my next project for them. I was really locked into Mac’s journey. I was intrigued by the era and the dilemmas because they were ultimately timeless. Something about it seemed to speak to issues and backdrops that are alive and present today. A polarizing war, a polarizing election, and polarizing race issues that are all permeating Quarry’s tapestry. It intrigued me to be able to tell this crime story disguised by the deconstruction of a marriage story. It just seemed to be working on a lot of levels to me.

What was the most important theme you really wanted to covey through your direction of the material?

I wanted to see the honesty of a secret within a marriage and really face how the lack of honesty is tearing this marriage to pieces.

You really must have relished the opportunity to tell a complete story yourself. It’s almost like making one big film.

Yeah, it was interesting because Cinemax had a good experience with Steven (Soderbergh) on The Knick and Cary (Fukunaga) had done all of True Detective. This was about two years ago, and it wasn’t as common as it is now. I think it’s a great shift in the dynamic of television in that TV is now truly the writer’s and director’s medium. It’s not just simply film is the director’s medium, and television belongs to writers. I think we’re now in an era of a real hybrid collaboration where you need directors to be big world builders. Given the amount of research and the amount of detail that Quarry has, to ask an episodic director to try and parachute in and absorb all of that seemed like a tall order. I did relish the opportunity because… you start to get that “runner’s high” with all that creativity swirling around you. It’s a very exciting place to live. I had a very symbiotic relationship with the crew and cast that kept feeding on itself, and I think it shows in the work.

I want to talk about two specific, challenging scenes early in the season. First the pilot episode has an incredibly amount of raw sexuality between Mac/Quarry and Joni. It makes sense given his return from Vietnam, but how did you help the actors work through what I would imagine to be a difficult scene?

Through their physical intimacy, you have a better sense of their relationship. You have that long, unbroken take when Mac comes home. We embrace the long take there and treat the writing almost like a one-act play. Through these uninterrupted scenes, the actors have the optimal experience. To be able to do that with Mac’s homecoming and reconnecting with his wife shows… they are a young couple. They don’t have much in common. They’re largely connecting through their physical attraction to each other. You see in that first scene that they barely have anything to say to each other. They don’t share children as Ruth and Arthur [Mac’s best friend/Vietnam war buddy and his wife] do. They are kind of at a loss and just fall into their very young and physical sex. What I love about that is their marriage getting put to the test by the circumstances happening around them.

There’s a dialogue with both actors and, logistically, I always rehearse those scenes well ahead of shooting so that we’re not inventing that the day of. On our own time, we started – and this is something I started doing on Banshee – working out the physicality of the scene and all the choreography. Going a step before that, it’s really in the casting. Having the conversation about how the sexuality will be approached. I like the visual approach of bearing witness to scenes like that. I don’t want to make them any more sexy or any less sexy or any more raw or any less raw than what is happening. I look for a way of shooting those scenes that is unobtrusive and allows the actors to have a lot of freedom. I just want to be able to capture the immediacy of what is happening.

So, given your approach to the sex scenes, is your approach similar to that of Joni’s episode three [particularly brutal] fight scene?

You’re hitting on exactly the right thing. There’s one degree of separation between a sex scene and an action scene in terms of what goes into it. With our action scenes, we work them out ahead of time with stunt actors. In the case of Joni’s escape, that fight sequence was designed to be a single take. I didn’t want to enhance the brutality, which lead the scene to be a continuous take. That’s probably the hardest thing Jodi did as an actress. It was physically and emotionally draining, and that take you’re seeing was the last take. She literally put it all out there for that one final take, and it was a very, very hard scene for her to do. They’re not really faking it, and that scene was probably the most intense one that we did all season.

I can’t imagine what it took for her to go through it. You can tell she’s giving it everything, and her performance coupled with the way you captured it really made the scene work.

Cool. Yeah, it’s ugly and messy. Everything about Quarry had to feel not choreographed and captured. Grounding its visual style provided that observational quality to it. I was very allergic to things feeling showy or slick or rehearsed. I’m glad that worked because there’s a lot of crazy things happening in that scene.

There’s a fantastic small moment in episode three where a lot of bad things happen to Joni, but she stops to make sure a dog has enough water. Tell me about filming that deceptively simple moment. Was that scripted?

That was a fantastic scripted moment. The dogs were scripted into a different section of the building, and it didn’t make logistic sense that she escape through the front and then walk all the way around the building back to them. It was raining that day, and we were behind. We were looking to possibly punt the scene, and you could see Jodi’s disappointment when the conversation came up. We put our heads together to see how we could possibly make it work, and it completely stayed in. I’m so glad that we talked ourselves out of the bad idea of potentially dropping it. It’s such a great unexpected beat, and I think… in the middle of all this, she still has a sense of compassion.

It’s a great moment. One more question, I was curious as to how you specifically worked with Damon [Herriman] to interpret his character’s sexuality.

One of the great things about directing is good casting. Damon was bringing about 90 percent of what you see there. Buddy’s character is one of the characters that majorly appealed to me because he’s living a triple life. He has the secret life of a hit man, but he’s also a closeted hit man only out to his mother, Naomi [Ann Dowd]. Damon really humanizes that struggle in such a beautiful way, and it’s more spending time with his thoughtfulness. I tried to stay out of the way while he was working because he has a natural sense of humor and a beautiful way about him. Damon’s work is truly phenomenal.

Quarry’s 8-episode run kicks off Friday, September 9, on Cinemax at 10 pm ET.

Kerry Washington and Taraji P. Henson Annouced as First Group of Emmy Presenters

The first group of this year’s Emmy Awards presenters, representing the entertainment industry’s biggest stars from various television program genres, has been confirmed to appear at the 68th Emmy Awards telecast.

These presenters include:

Anthony Anderson – nominee, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for black-ish (ABC)
Aziz Ansari – quadruple nominee, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Oustanding Writing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Comedy Series for Master of None (Netflix)
Kristen Bell – Good Place (NBC)
Julie Bowen – two-time Emmy winner, Modern Family (ABC)
Priyanka Chopra – Quantico (ABC)
James Corden – triple nominee, Outstanding Interactive Program, Outstanding Variety Music Or Comedy Special, Outstanding Variety Series Talk for The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
Larry David – previous Emmy winner and current nominee, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for SNL (NBC), Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Taraji P. Henson – nominee, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Empire (FOX)
Randall Park – Fresh Off The Boat (ABC)
Andy Samberg – Golden Globe winner, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)
Liev Schreiber – nominee, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Ray Donovan (SHOWTIME)
Michael Weatherly – Bull (CBS)

Produced by Don Mischer Productions, the 68th Emmy Awards will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and beginning with Countdown to the Emmy Awards.

The Emmys will air live on ABS Sunday, September 18 from 4pm ET.

Digging into Southern Neo-Noir ‘Quarry’ with its Creators

Quarry co-creators Michael D. Fuller and Graham Gordy talk about the making of their character-driven crime drama

Quarry, Cinemax’s new Southern crime drama, appears relatively straightforward based on its well constructed pilot. Premiering Friday, September 9, Quarry revolves around Mac Conway (Logan Marshall-Green), a controversial Vietnam vet who returns home in the midst of the political and social upheaval of 1972. As Mac struggles to assimilate in an environment that wants nothing to do with him, he gradually descends into a world of crime dominated by the mysterious The Broker (Peter Mullan). When Conway – or “Quarry” as he’s later dubbed – dips deeper into crime, you think you know where this is going.

But that’s the problem with taking a show at face value. A pilot only whets the appetite for the sumptuous main course ahead, and Quarry holds many surprises ahead for smart viewers.

Quarry evolves into an intense and hypnotic dive into the seedy underbelly of the Memphis crime world over its 8 episodes. As the plot unfolds, viewers meet a series of compelling characters that help color the setting in unexpected ways. Quarry explores not only the inner turmoil of the title character but also the tempestuous relationship with Joni (Jodi Balfour), his wife left at home to await his return. Credit co-creators, primary writers, and native Southerners Michael D. Fuller and Graham Gordy for transforming Max Allan Collins’s (The Road to Perdition) source material into a series that stands as one of the best new dramatic series to premiere in 2016. Quarry is a smart action series that values character over plot mechanics and boasts natural echoes of AMC’s great Breaking Bad.

Fuller and Gordy met with AwardsDaily TV to discuss their new series, its inspirations, and the daring characterizations that pepper the accomplished series.

**So how did you become familiar with the Quarry source material by Max Allan Collins?**

Michael Fuller: It’s funny. Graham and I were, again being from the South, we were always very fascinated through stories we’d heard from our own family in addition to stories we’d heard of the 70’s in the South… It was just such a cool and underrepresented time, and we started working on an original idea that we referred to as Gritty Dukes of Hazzard, and that was what we very much what we wanted to do when we started. We were thinking, “Let’s do The Sopranos in the South with Southern wild asses with little regard for each other, much less the law.” You’re always kind of looking at [intellectual property] when you’re working on new stuff, and we were looking at one series of books that wasn’t available. We happened to notice on Amazon that “Customers Also Bought” Quarry by Max Allan Collins. We were both fans of Road to Perdition the film, so we downloaded it. We felt like it was a good jumping off point. The books are told first person, so we were always very interesting in how this guy became who he was.

As you were adapting the material, did you find any particular resonance between the 1972-set story and the modern political and social era?

Graham Gordy: Yeah, Michael and I always tend to use writing as an excuse to do research, and we were fascinated by this 70’s era. There was a while where we debated if we should make this material contemporary. There is a world in which this Quarry character is coming back from Afghanistan or Iraq and sort of dealing with the situation in a contemporary setting, and then we really started researching the early 70’s and sort of going back a little further. A big part of this for us, honestly, is trying to define the 70’s were for two guys who weren’t alive in the 70’s. We have a pretty good grasp of the 1960s as being this particular time of revolution and upheaval that sort of started in November 1963 when Kennedy was shot and the Beatles came to America.

It felt like the 70’s kind of began around the same time we started this show. That hope and idealism of the 60’s and the social contract and promises that Lyndon Johnson made kind of washed up on the shore by 1972. You have this disillusionment and American soldiers coming back, so combine that with a time of great recession and the ending of a war the almost no one wanted to be a part of by the end of it. The resonance allowed us to tackle these same issues in a way we can digest it. There are certainly a lot of great books and films about this era, but we felt the additional time away from the era gave us a chance to process it in a unique way.

The two of you wrote most of the series with the exception of two episodes. Clearly you’d want Max involved in the writing, but what did you look to Jennifer Schuur (Big Love, Hannibal) to add to the material as the only female voice of the series?

MF: We had a very small writer’s room for Season 1, and Jen was someone with whom we really clicked. She’s just a really talented writer, and her mom had a very similar backstory to that of Joni in that she was a young woman of that era trying to self-actualize. She just had a tremendous amount of insight in general as a writer, and it was good to have a female perspective to make sure that we’re not being over-masculine or “testosteroney” (which is my favorite Chef Boyardee). We were all breaking the story together, but she particularly had a very strong sense of what episode 5 should be without giving too much away.

GG: She’s hilarious too. Of all the writers we talked to, she was just fundamentally hysterical.

Yeah, some sorely needed levity.

Both: Yeah. [Laughs]

Speaking of Joni, by the time we get to episode 3, she’s faced with some very intense physical challenges. Talk about the line you must have had to walk to keep that from being too intense for viewers.

MF: It was very much, in terms of writing and depicting it, we felt the audience by this point had a pretty healthy dislike for Joni… By putting her in this situation and victimizing her a bit… We wanted to see that she’s not just sitting around and waiting for Mac to ride up on his white horse. We didn’t want to punish Joni as a character, but we wanted to take the audience to a point where they see her agency in this situation and she’s able to win the audience and Mac back in a way. She’s able to be resourceful enough to get out of a bad situation. It’s a great conversation to have in terms of television shows and violence towards women, and we certainly didn’t want to be brutal for the sake of being brutal.

GG: When you see episode 4, there are great benefits and great drawbacks to writing features versus long-form television shows. Some of the greatest things that I think we see being done on the shows we love are that you see a certain characters being painted with a certain brush for an episode or a series of episodes or a season… I think nobody’s better at this right now than Game of Thrones where there’s somebody that you can absolutely despise for multiple seasons, and then you’re like “I have a begrudging affection for this person.” And then you’re like “How did this person become a hero in this story?” We wanted the audience to be frustrated with Joni at first but then understand her and sympathize with her in a way that you perhaps wouldn’t with other characters.

Well, I don’t think she’s gotten to Cersei levels yet…

GG: [Laughs] Well, just wait until she watches out of her tower fiddling while Rome burns…

Jumping from Joni to another character that surprised me, let’s talk about Buddy (Damon Herriman). Initially, I didn’t know quite how to take him, but by episode 3 he begins to come into focus. Were there particular concerns you had when conceiving him with regards to portraying his sexuality?

GG: I don’t know that there were every really any concerns. Our main goal with these characters was to base them as much as we could on actual research and make it specific to the particular time and place. We are talking about a world of criminality, but in terms of gay men in Memphis in terms of 1972, it was actually kind of shocking how much research we were able to find. We wanted to be as sensitive as possible, but we wanted to try and understand that each of these people working within The Broker’s network have their own narrative and their own reason to justify how and why they are doing this. One of my favorite parts of this that we accomplished was working out who is this character and how is he able to sleep at night considering what he does for a living, to kill people for a living. One of the things that stems from the novels is Quarry becoming assigned to this person and trying to figure out whether or not this person is good or bad. I may have gotten a little off the subject there… [Laughs]

MF: We’re definitely looking to upend expectations. We show [Buddy] as having this very definitive philosophy and world view, and then we almost immediately upend that and start to almost kind of pull him apart. When you’re living in the realm that these people are, you have to know about their defense mechanisms and their rationalizations. Then, something goes down like in episode 2 for him where he thought he had a situation under control, but his grasp on it is upended as is his entire paradigm. This type of character and the unexpected friendship between him and Mac are something that really intrigued us. These are the unlikeliest of friends, and it’s something that makes Mac more endearing because his frustrations with Buddy don’t have anything to do with his sexuality. Buddy looking to Mac for some type of camaraderie makes Mac somewhat more redeemable in a way that Mac himself might not even believe.

By episode 3, we’re introduced to Buddy’s mother, played by Ann Dowd. Their relationship is fantastic, and she’s brilliant in the role. Was this a character from the novel, or was she introduced for the show?

MF: We invented her for the show. There’s a character in the books… that Quarry mentions repeated as one of the only friends he remembers fondly. We wanted to dramatize and serialize this, and we needed to invent a backstory for him. So, what we came up with was that he had parents who loved their son unconditionally and were accepting, but his dad who, in that Southern wild-ass way, lived hard and died young. Graham and I are both close to our moms… maybe not “Naomi close” but I’m sure our moms would sew us up on the kitchen table no questions asked if we needed them to. We could not have had more dream casting in that role than Ann Dowd.

GG: Yeah, I think there’s some combination between Kathy Bates in Primary Colors and then every other Southern woman that we know or grew up with meshed in that character. There were so many times where Michael and I were like, “Man, wouldn’t it be great to just write the Buddy and Naomi half hour where they just sit around, drink martinis and talk?” Ann was amazing, and we were very proud of the exchanges we’d written for them. They felt authentic and right for the region and the time, and Ann came in and elevated it to a degree that was unbelievable. We were knocked out by her.

MF: Her chemistry with Damon was everything we were trying to construct on paper but just exponentially greater. They were an old married couple in that way that, at the time particularly in the South, you had that “Uncle Buddy” who still lived with the grandmother…

GG: The “fun uncle.”

MF: Yeah. [Laughs] It was just a dream for us. She just took it and ran with it. She’s terrific to work with and a terrific actor.

She really is. Perhaps if Quarry is your Breaking Bad, then perhaps there’s a Better Call Buddy in the future.

MF: [Laughs] That would be amazing.

GG: If there’s no Season 2 of Quarry, then Michael and I are probably just going to pitch the Buddy and Naomi Show… The sort of Dixie Mafia wild-ass who lives with his mother…

MF: Goes to estate sales with his mom…

GG: Plays bingo…

So, last question, what are your plans for the second season?

MF: This is something we’ve talked a lot about, but there’s nothing official on that end yet. Season 1 is so much about what Mac thought it was coming home to and what Joni thought she was getting back in terms of her husband. In the wake of all that without giving too much away for Season 1, how do we move on now that we’ve established those days are long gone?

Quarry’s 8-episode run kicks off Friday, September 9, on Cinemax at 10pm ET.

Flashback: Celebrating 20 Seasons of ‘South Park’

Episode 93: The Cooler gang reveals their favorite South Park episodes and tackles a little Emmy business.

September brings the 20th season of one of the longest, and most unlikely, of television’s animated series, Comedy Central’s South Park. To honor this long-running series, we kick off a special Water Cooler Flashback featuring our personal favorite episodes to highlight what we love about the series. We talk about the things that challenge us and include some specially selected clips from each episode. We also take a brief look at the 1999 feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut and what impact it had on the television series.

Then, as the Emmys are fast approaching, we make our final predictions in the Comedy and Limited Series Emmy races.

Finally, we close with the Flash Forward of what television most excites us in the upcoming week. Thanks for listening!

04:06 – Emmy Insider from Entertainment Weekly
11:52 – Our Favorite South Park Episodes
56:12 – Emmy Predix for Limited Series / Comedy Categories
1:17:02 – Flash Forward

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Emmy Tracker: Emmy Drama of the Reigning Champs vs. the Underwoods

Emmy Drama: Lead Actress

As Annalise Keating, Viola Davis has won every peer-voted award for which she has been nominated. At first glance, that makes her an obvious choice to once again take home the Lead Actress in a Drama Emmy for the second time. After years of carving out her space in Hollywood with unforgettable supporting roles in film, she is the reigning winner and likely front-runner. In addition to possibly winning an Emmy, an Oscar could be in her future for her role in the upcoming adaptation of Fences. The only thing getting in the way of her second Emmy is the lack of excitement around the second season of How to Get Away With Murder. As a Shondaland production, the show has its fans, but Emmy voters and critics largely ignored Season 2.

In what might be the closest major race of the year, Robin Wright has the chance of being the only upset of the night. The lack of enthusiasm around HTGAWM and the actor adoration for House of Cards makes this year’s lead actress race the performance race to pay attention to come Emmy night. Robin Wright has slowly been gaining momentum over the years and had an indelible arc with storylines revolving around her dying mother, a trip to Russia, manipulating her way into the VP slot, and that chilling final scene where she joins Frank in breaking the fourth wall. On top of her performance, she also directed nearly a third of the season, something a lot of actors will admire. As much as season four revolved around Claire Underwood, voters might not want to award both lead races to House of Cards and end up following their SAG choices instead (Davis and Spacey).

Wright and Davis might attract similar enough voters that they end up splitting the vote and making room for one of the biggest shocks of the night – à la Adrien Brody at the 2002 Oscars. If that’s the case an argument could be made for Keri Russell, Tatiana Maslany, and even Taraji P. Henson. After years of work on television starting with Felicity, Keri Russell might just be even more well-liked than expected. If the jury system were still in place, Tatiana Maslany would be the front-runner with countless performances that would be too good for actors to pass up. Taraji P. Henson, the most lively of any nominee, would give the best speech and after running around with cookies at the Globes a lot of voters might want it to happen again.

Current Ranking

Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder

Robin Wright, House of Cards

Keri Russell, The Americans

Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Taraji P. Henson, Empire

Claire Danes, Homeland

Emmy Drama: Lead Actor

After being enamored by Breaking Bad for so long, the acting branch has a lot of catch-up to do in the lead actor race. They started last year by finally awarding Jon Hamm after years of snubs. With Mad Men done, the most obvious performance to turn to is Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood. As a two-time Oscar winner and the SAG winner for the past two years, it’s clear he is beloved by his peers. With a southern drawl right out of a Tennessee Williams play, he gives the biggest performance, and it makes him standout even more to his peers when they sit down to fill out their ballots.

Unlike the lead actress race, the lead actor race is seriously lacking in exciting nominees. In their second seasons, Bob Odenkirk and Kyle Chandler don’t have the momentum behind their shows to pull off a win. Matthew Rhys seems to be a critical favorite, but he doesn’t seem to make himself as publicly available in interviews and press tours to get enough attention for a popular vote. Ray Donovan seems like it might have a silent majority of supporters within the Television Academy, but the show doesn’t elicit that much enthusiasm outside of its fan-base.

Of the contenders, Rami Malek seems to be getting the most buzz and visibility. He and Odenkirk are the only two nominees nominated throughout the entire TV awards year (Critics’ Choice, SAG, TCA, Golden Globe, Emmy), and he seems to have taken advantage of his new found success by getting his name out there with countless appearances. It doesn’t hurt him that the second season of Mr. Robot aired during the voting period either. In the end, a lot of voters might have trouble awarding a lead race to Malek, a relative newcomer, compared to a two-time Academy Award winner on one of their favorite shows.

Current Ranking

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Rami Malek, Mr. Robot

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Matthew Rhys, The Americans

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Kyle Chandler, Bloodline

Emmy Drama: Series

In a year where thousands of voters are merely checking off their favorite show without having to put much effort into seeking out all seven nominees, Game of Thrones, the most popular show on TV behind The Walking Dead, appears absolutely unstoppable. The HBO fantasy’s total nominations might be slightly down, but it over performed in the acting races, making the show even harder to bet against. The show does have its weaknesses, however, and if enough voters feel a Game of Thrones fatigue, as unlikely as that sounds, a couple of shows could pull off their first series win.

The acting branch loves House of Cards and nominated it more than any other ensemble for the second year in a row. The political drama’s fans were so passionate about the fourth season that that actors without any name recognition made it into the race for the first time such as Mahershala Ali, Molly Parker, and Paul Sparks. Unfortunately for House of Cards, the acting branch doesn’t hold as much power as they do at the Oscars and most of the below the line branches completely left out the new season, most notably the directing and writing branches for the second year in a row.

Downton Abbey is another industry favorite that used to carry a lot of weight in the acting branch (and still does amongst SAG voters) and could collect a sentimental vote in its final season. Unfortunately, the period piece severely underperformed in nominations, and if they couldn’t excite the Television Academy in the nominations stage it probably won’t happen when voters are tasked with choosing the best drama of the year.

The Americans, Better Call Saul, Homeland, and Mr. Robot are all easily dismissible for the simple fact that none of them were able to reap anywhere near as many nominations as the main three contenders. In fact, Game of Thrones still has more nominations this year than all four of these shows combined. Without universal support across the academy in the new voting system, the path to a win is incredibly difficult. The argument could be made that Mr. Robot and The Americans have the passion behind them but both of the fresh nominees have big obstacles to overcome. The Americans is on the radar of the entire academy now, but to actually win most of them probably need a year to fully catch up on the series, which makes the show more of a threat next year when Game of Thrones isn’t eligible. Mr. Robot is probably the most exciting choice in the group and benefits from the second season airing during the voting period, but the second season has been divisive for fans.

In the end, Outstanding Drama Series is not the category to go out on a limb in your Emmy ballots. No other show has dominated pop-culturedom in its off-air months like Game of Thrones has and from an excitement standpoint the show is an obvious choice.

Current Ranking

Game of Thrones (23 Nominations)

House of Cards (13 Nominations)

Downton Abbey (10 Nominations)

Mr. Robot (6 Nominations)

The Americans (5 Nominations)

Homeland (4 Nominations)

Better Call Saul (7 Nominations)

October 13. Netflix. ‘Mascots.’ Be there.

Fall into September Netflix Shows

September Netflix offerings include Luke Cage, the latest Marvel series

September Netflix offerings range from the “can’t miss” (Narcos Season 2) to the “just can’t” (don’t beat me up Luke Cage). All kidding aside, this month in the streaming giant provides a fairly robust variety of television to satisfy almost every palate. Take a look at a few of the more significant September Netflix offerings. These should keep you set until October brings Mascots.

Narcos Season 2 (September 2)

Netflix tried very hard to get the Television Academy excited about its critically acclaimed drug series, but some things were not meant to be. Still, Narcos provides high quality entertainment (because there’s not enough out there, right? *wink wink nudge nudge*), and Season 2 looks of similar quality.

ARQ (September 16)

I haven’t heard of this film, but here’s Netflix’s description: In a dystopian future, an engineer trapped in a house and surrounded by a mysterious gang of masked intruders must protect a technology that could deliver unlimited energy and end the wars that have consumed the world. Ok. When is Stranger Things coming back?

Easy Season 1 (September 22)

Easy is an anthology series not currently produced by Ryan Murphy. That not enough to entice you? It stars Orlando Bloom, Malin Akerman, Jake Johnson, Marc Maron, Dave Franco, Hannibal Buress, Emily Ratajkowski, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Aya Cash and Elizabeth Reaser. The 8-episode series brings Chicago to life with a story about “love, sex, technology and culture.” It also hails from Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies, V/H/S). This one feels like a Megan McLachlan special.

Luke Cage Season 1 (September 30)

Luke Cage puts Jessica Jones’s fuck buddy into his own TV show. I’m sure there are Marvel people out there who clutched their pearls at my description of this show. Such is life. Luke Cage stars Mike Colter at the titular indestructible man. Sorry but this feels a little like something we have to slog through to get to The Defenders, but I could be 100 percent wrong about this. Still, the trailer doesn’t provide much evidence to the contrary.

And the best of the rest…

Chef’s Table France, September 2

Extremis, September 13

Cedric the Entertainer: Live from the Ville, September 16

The White Helmets, September 16

Audie & Daisy, September 23

Iliza: Confirmed Kills, September 23

Longmire, September 23

Amanda Knox, September 30

6 Shows that Only Got Better in Their Second Seasons

Many TV shows come right out of the gate in their first seasons as pop culture phenomenons (see: Desperate Housewives). But then there’s the elusive second season, which is more difficult to nail down in terms of story and maintaining the energy of the first season (see: Desperate Housewives).

Here are 6 Shows that Only Got Better in Season Two:

1. The Simpsons (FOX)

It started out as a sidecar on The Tracey Ullman Show, so when the first season of The Simpsons aired in 1989, it was a bit of an experiment. The first season was an achievement in its own right, but the second season is when Matt Groening’s pointy-haired baby really found its groove, with episodes like “Bart the Daredevil,” “The Way We Was,” and of course, the first Treehouse of Horror installment. The irony of the story: Tracy Ullman only had four seasons, and The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom.

2. Breaking Bad (AMC)

Breaking Bad is the little show that could. When it started in 2008, it was released with little fanfare. But soon Netflix binge-watching became a fad, and Breaking Bad only benefited. In Season 2, many important threads are planted, ones that don’t receive a proper pay-off until the final season (the ricin!). Jesse (Aaron Paul) starts dating landlord neighbor Jane (Krysten Ritter), and it’s also when audiences first get introduced to Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) in the aptly titled episode “Better Call Saul.” Finally, probably the biggest reason why Season 2 succeeds is that we finally get a taste of just how bad Walter White can be.

3. Arrested Development (FOX)

It’s no wonder the second season of Arrested Development received more Emmy nominations than any other season. This is when Mitch Hurwitz and company were done introducing these characters and really just letting their freak flags fly. Season 2 brings us Lindsey’s infamous Slut shirt, the introduction of Uncle Jack (Martin Short) and Franklin Delano Bluth, lots of chicken dances, and subtle references to the show’s episode order being cut from 22 to 18.

4. Big Brother (CBS)

CBS’s punching bag reality competition show probably didn’t make a massive shift in overall quality into its second season, but it did make a smart shift in its overall structure. In Season 1, contestants mugged for the camera while America voted on which house guest would be evicted each week. Given the sagging ratings of this experimental season, CBS smartly chose to employ a competitive edge on the show and force the contestants to vote each other out in its second season. Coupled with smarter, more “edgy” reality casting, Big Brother managed not only to avoid cancellation after its second season, but it also extended its run, as of 2016, to 18 seasons.

5. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)

Two words: Danny DeVito. There was nothing wrong with Season 1 of FX’s “Seinfeld on crack.” Dennis, Mac, Charlie, and Sweet Dee all did fine on their own, but the added heat of DeVito in Season 2 (as Dennis and Dee’s father) definitely upped the funny factor. Want to see something especially hilarious? Watch DeVito’s Frank in his first episode, dressed in a suit and polished, and then watch a more recent episode, where he’s totally devolved into a degenerate. The more disheveled and gross he is, the longer the show has been on.

6. LOST (ABC)

Oh, if we could all go back and be a LOST fan in the second season, when there was still so much hope for answers and we were still so far away from the end. Season 2 of LOST gave us even more mystery and one of the greatest first episode cold opens ever, with the introduction of Desmond in the Hatch. We also got to meet the Tail section of the plane (that included Ana Lucia and Libby!). Go back and watch this season and pretend the writers knew what they were doing. Season 2 made it seem like they actually did.

News: ‘Stranger Things’ S2 Official, ‘Scream Queens’ S2 First Look, and More

More Stranger Things on the horizon at Netflix

Netflix officially announced a Stranger Things Season 2 today, according to multiple news outlets. The news comes as a special gift to fans of the smash streaming hit as Stranger Things reportedly ranks as one of Netflix’s highest rated series. Season 2 will see the return of leads Winona Ryder as well as the lovable, rag-tag bunch of kids from the freshman season. Eleven’s return is less certain, of course, but we will return to the Upside Down. For more information on Stranger Things Season 2, head on over to Entertainment Weekly who interviewed the Duffer Brothers after the renewal announcement.

Here’s a first look at Scream Queens Season 2

Fox’s Scream Queens remains an AwardsDaily TV obsession. Season 1 enthralled us for about six episodes until the season completely collapsed. Plus, we’d always hoped for a now-patent Scream Queens anthology series, but, against our wishes, Mr. Murphy continues the series. Scream Queens Season 2 apparently takes place in a hospital a la Halloween 2. Here’s a look at the season straight from the mouths of its tortured cast. They tease a “funnier, scarier” Season 2. Which is it, folks?

Game of Thrones casting news

Multiple outlets report today that HBO’s Game of Thrones offered a “major” Season 7 role to Jim Broadbent (Iris, Moulin Rouge!). Of course, since the show now surpasses the novels’ timeline, there are no clues as to Broadbent’s identity. The casting feels right as Broadbent often plays left-of-center characters. HBO’s Game of Thrones currently holds 23 Emmy nominations going into September’s Emmy fiesta. Season 7 returns next summer outside of the 2017 Emmy eligibility window, and Season 8 will serve as the last regular season of the series.

Jade Pettyjohn of ‘School of Rock’ Talks Emmys and Season 2

Not many adult TV comedies make me literally laugh out loud, so imagine my surprise when I counted two LOLs while watching an episode of Nickelodeon’s School of Rock, which received an Emmy nomination this year for Outstanding Children’s Program. This series is a riff on the Jack Black film, only with Tony Cavalero donning Mr. Finn’s guitar strap. For those who loved the movie, the series has a similar spirit, offering something for adults and kids alike.

I had the chance to talk with actress Jade Pettyjohn who plays Summer Hathaway on the show. We talked about what it was like to take on the role made famous by Miranda Cosgrove, her favorite classic rock music, and what we can expect for Season 2 (although like The Go-Go’s would say, her lips are mostly sealed).

Congratulations on School of Rock’s Emmy nomination. Were you surprised?

Yes, thank you! I was totally surprised in the best way. I found out through Bre [Breanna Yde] who plays Tomika on the show. She came up screaming to me because someone had tagged her in a photo on Instagram saying that we were nominated for an Emmy. So we went around the entire set screaming and telling everyone. It was super exciting.

The show is based on the 2003 film with Jack Black. Were you familiar with the movie before you took on the role?

Absolutely. It was one of my favorite films growing up. It came out when I was very young, so I kind of grew up watching it. So when I got the audition for the role, I was extra interested.

You’re the Miranda Cosgrove role, too. Was that a role you were vying for?

Yes! Totally. I think Miranda Cosgrove did an amazing job portraying Summer Hathaway. It’s a character that’s very different from my personality, but we’re also a lot alike. It’s a fun character to play for sure.

You can tell it’s a fun character. And you do a good job not mimicking Cosgrove in the role, which would be hard to do. You really make it your own and bring a fresh take on her.

I felt like it was important to put my own twist on the character. It definitely incorporates the colors and vibes of the film, but since it’s a TV series, there’s definitely more time to explore the characters.

Are you anything like your character at all? I know you’re quite musical and play the guitar. But Summer seems to be quite the opposite of you. Is it hard to be bad at music when you actually play music?

Jade Pettyjohn — Photography by Samantha Annis

Summer and I are very different. She’s tone deaf and I can sing. She doesn’t play music and I do. Things like that. But we also have similarities. She’s super ambitious and knows what she wants to do—maybe become the first female president someday! For me, it’s creating an acting and music career. So we’re both very determined and ambitious and like to get things done.

Playing music badly is very weird to me because it goes against everything I’ve been trained for! So it’s like “Wait, you want me to sing badly?” But it’s fun! It adds a human element to Summer, because she’s very good at a lot of things, so it’s nice to have something she’s not perfect in because we’re people—people aren’t perfect.

The show is a lot about music appreciation, especially classic rock. Are you a classic rock fan now because of the show? If so, what songs do you like?

I’ve grown up absolutely loving music, every kind of style. And before the show, I would go to Amoeba Music, one of the biggest record stores in Los Angeles, and pick up CDs and talk to people about what music they like. The music is actually what drew me to the project. I love classic rock. I’m a huge fan of Led Zeppelin, the Who, and the Doors. I listen to everything from punk to jazz to grunge to pop.

Personally, after watching the show, I thought it something that both adults and kids can enjoy together. Why do you, personally, think the Emmys recognized School of Rock? Is there something specific about the show that you think makes it stand out from other children’s programming?

This is Nickelodeon and Paramount’s first joint show together, which is a pretty big thing. I think that the show recognizes music and the history of music. It gets kids to express themselves through music, which I think is super important. I think it’s something kids should know, that they can pick up an instrument and play with their friends. And who knows, maybe they’ll become the next Nirvana or One Direction or whatever they want to be. The show follows these kids in this prep school, who are forced to stay in this kind of box, and Mr. Finn comes in and teaches them that they can actually be themselves, in whatever way that may be. And I’m really happy the Emmys recognized that.

Will you be at the Emmys?

Yeah, totally! I’m going to be at the Creative Arts Emmys, and I cannot tell you how excited I am! It’s been a big thing in our family to watch the Emmys, so I can’t tell you how exciting it will be to actually go to one.

The new season starts September 17, right before the Emmys actually. Can you tell us anything about what we can expect in Season 2?

Yes, I’m super excited for Season 2. Season 1, you’re getting into the main plot and developing the characters. But in Season 2, there’s more character arcs and relationships that grow, those kind of things. I don’t want to be that girl and spoil the whole thing. My character Summer goes through a lot this season, takes risks and tries things out. That’s all I’m gonna say!