Deadline Hollywood - Emmy Preview/Drama - 06/14/17

PRESENTS JUNE 14, 2017 EMMY PREVIEW/DRAMA

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PRESENTS

G EN ERA L MA NAG E R & C HI EF R EV ENUE O FFICE R

Stacey Farish EDI TOR

Joe Utichi C R EAT I V E DIR ECTO R

Craig Edwards

AS S I STA N T E D ITO R

Matt Grobar

DEA DL I NE CO - E D ITO RS - IN- CHIE F

Nellie Andreeva Mike Fleming Jr.

AWA R DS ED ITO R & CO LUM NIST

Pete Hammond

DEA DL I NE CO NTR IBUTO RS

Peter Bart Anita Busch Anthony D’Alessandro Greg Evans Lisa de Moraes Patrick Hipes David Lieberman Diana Lodderhose Amanda N’Duka Dominic Patten Erik Pedersen Denise Petski David Robb Nancy Tartaglione V I DEO P ROD UCE RS

David Janove Andrew Merrill

C HA I R MA N & CEO

Jay Penske

V I C E C HA I RM A N

Gerry Byrne

C HI EF OP ERATING O FFICE R

George Grobar

EX EC U T I V E V ICE PR ES ID E NT, B U S I NES S A FFA IRS A ND G ENERA L CO UNS E L

Todd Greene

EX EC U T I V E V ICE PR ES ID E NT, B U S I NES S D EV E LO PM E NT

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FIRST TAKE Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror George C. Wolfe on directing Henrietta Lacks The rich color palette of Legion Jude Law is The Young Pope

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COVER STORY Dan Fogelman reflects on the success of This is Us, with his cast.

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THE DIALOGUE: EMMY CONTENDERS John Turturro Lauren Graham & Alexis Bledel Aubrey Plaza Mandy Patinkin & Claire Danes

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S EN I OR V I C E PR ES ID E NT, FINA NCE

Ken DelAlcazar

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Laura Lubrano

V I C E P R ES ID E NT, FILM

Carra Fenton

S EN I OR ACCO UNT EXECUTIV ES , T EL EV I S I ON

Brianna Hamburger Tiffany Windju ACCOU N T MA NAGE R

London Sanders

A D SA L ES CO O R D INATO RS

​Kristina Mazzeo Malik Simmons

P RODU CT I ON D IR ECTO R

Natalie Longman

DI ST R I B U T IO N D IR ECTO R

Michael Petre

A DV ERT I S I N G INQ UIR IES

Stacey Farish

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p. 10

| Papal Law p. 12

VIEWS OF THE WORLD Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror pushes our technological revolution to its breaking point

BY MAT T GROBA R

Black Mirror has always been frightening. This is by design: Charlie Brooker’s sci-fi anthology series, which started airing in the UK in 2011, takes its creator’s patented sideways look at the technological revolution and twists it to terrifyingly plausible extremes. One critic summed it up perfectly with a faux-synopsis for a new episode: What if phones, but too much? Now he’s back, with a third season produced for Netflix and starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Mackenzie Davis and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. S

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Black Mirror often feels frighteningly prescient. Do you see the series as a document of our times?

Perhaps weirdly, I try not to think about the timeliness of the stories a lot of the time. I’m thinking about the “What if?” scenario, and in doing that, there are things that are clearly influenced by what’s going on in the world at the moment.

I was toying with an idea for this season coming up that was literally torn from today’s headlines, and I kind of thought, Well, the problem is, things are moving so quickly at the moment; who can say where we’ll be in six months? I wouldn’t want to, in a way, in case I ended up doing something that looked massively dated.

I’ve probably gone more conceptual with the next season; partly because I think the world has become so unpredictable, it would be a fool’s errand trying to see which way things are going to land.

So no chance Trump’s unique style of Presidency is going to reflect in the show?

Well, it’s an interesting one. We had kind of a dry run in the UK, because we had Brexit, so if you were one of the 48 percent who publicly didn’t vote for Brexit, you got your shot out early in 2016. That was a sort of psychological test run for Trump, I guess.

On a personal level, I thought, I TRUES ASKEW Above: Kelly Macdonald (far right) comes up against nanobees.

Below: Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis in “San Junipero”.

don’t know how much bleak nihilism I want to wallow in. So in a way, I’ve possibly reacted by tackling some slightly more esoteric subjects, because I’ve been writing this season over the last couple of months.

It’s still hard to see how that’s all going to pan out. It probably meant that I retreated slightly more into my own head, because the outside

Where does the concept of Black

plays. It was always something that

but you also get novelty, and it’s

world’s been so much more danger-

Mirror originate?

I enjoyed when I was younger, these

not a huge commitment if you’re a

ous all of a sudden.

For me, it was nostalgia. I remem-

idea-based dramas. I think it’s a

viewer. You can become commit-

When I’m not doing Black Mirror,

bered growing up enjoying shows

way in which you can explore lots of

ment phobic in this day and age—

I do comedy shows in the UK. I had

like The Twilight Zone, which we

interesting concepts, and reinvent

you can sort of think, “I’ve been told

a bit that I did in this end-of-year

had late at night in the UK. But we

the show from week-to-week—epi-

I’ve got to watch The Good Wife, and

show [Charlie Brooker’s 2016 Wipe]

also had Tales of the Unexpected

sode-to-episode, really—in the brave

there’s like 17 seasons of it. When is

where we were just commenting

[an often sinister British anthology

new world of streaming.

it too late for me to jump in? At what

on the pointlessness of satire—the

point is the amount of available

meaninglessness of it, when you’re

series from the mind of Roald Dahl],

Hopefully, you get the best of

and the BBC used to show lots of

both worlds, in that you get a lot of

footage going to dwarf my remaining

faced with what’s going on in the

one-off, weird and wonderful TV

idiosyncratic content being explored,

lifespan?”

world at the moment.

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I find it hard to fathom exactly how you would tackle that in a way that would seem more farfetched than reality, you know?

I kind of feel like you’ve got to let the skittles fall a little before going, “Okay, what’s going on here?” and then sort of tackling it.

There may be the odd reference—I’m not sure—but very oblique.

And it’s sort of early days, isn’t it, really? Surely everyone’s struggling to know quite how to deal with it. Obviously, you’ve got shows like Saturday Night Live— which isn’t shown in the UK, but we see clips of it now online. And obviously, they’ve been doing a pretty amazing job. They seem to have risen to the challenge.

Unless you’ve got that degree of week-by-week topicality, it’s hard to know how you’d tackle something this crazy.

With your Season 4 premiere date as yet unannounced, where are you in the process, and what can we expect from the next run of stories?

I can say that we’re currently shooting the fourth season in London. The one thing I can say is that it’s the same, in that it’s completely different, again. I

HELA POWERFUL The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks director George C. Wolfe describes his approach to honoring an historical figure who never lived to learn her true power

don’t think any of them are the same as any stories we’ve done before, and genre-wise, they’re

HOW DOES ONE HONOR AN

Lacks to be recognized for her

mighty different as well. I think

INDIVIDUAL swept away in

contribution.

length-wise, there’s going to be

history—who died, unaware of

“I think the way you honor

not to do that, because I don’t

more variance. That’s so bor-

the impact they would have on

people is by not beating yourself

need to contribute to that phe-

ing, though—I wish I had a better

the future of mankind? This is

up trying to honor them,” Wolfe

nomenon,” the director explains.

revelation [laughs].

the challenge director George C.

explains. “It’s doing your job,

“But also, I was very intrigued by

Wolfe faced with HBO film, The

doing the research, so that what

the collaboration between Debo-

except I think there’s quite a lot

Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

you’re doing is coming from the

rah and Rebecca.”

of stuff that’s quite out there. I

Based on the bestselling

deepest, smartest piece of who

I can’t really say much else,

“I was rigorously determined

Stepping with some reluc-

don’t know if I’ve lost touch with

book by Rebecca Skloot, the film

reality, or what. But then what

tells the true story of Lacks, an

often tends to happen is I think,

African-American woman who

becomes a character, contra-

experience—executive producer

Oh my God, this is completely and

made a radical contribution from

dicting the journalistic credo of

Oprah Winfrey nonetheless

utterly farfetched, and then reality

beyond the grave, as the HeLa cell

staying outside the story. Serving

brought everything Wolfe could

catches up, so I was consciously

was discovered within her—a cell

as a partner to Lacks’ daughter,

have asked for to the table. “Once

trying to cast further afield, I think,

type that was used to create the

Deborah (Oprah Winfrey), in

she joined, whatever hesitance

in terms of the stories we’re doing.

polio vaccine and continues to

bringing her mother’s story to the

she had, I never saw it,” he says.

And partly also because I think I

spur medical breakthroughs.

was so terrified about the state of the world, I thought, I’m going to

you are.”

explain the situation.

In Wolfe’s film, Skloot

tance into the role of Deborah—a woman so removed from her own

world, Skloot never becomes the

“She came every day to set with

While this discovery was

final word on Henrietta’s story—

a ferocity and an openness that

revolutionary, it took years for

the white woman stepping in to

was astonishing.” –Matt Grobar

entertain myself by having some kooky thoughts. ★

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CHARTED TERRITORY

Gold Derby’s Emmy Odds At press time, here is how Gold Derby’s experts ranked the Emmy chances in the Drama Series Actor and Actress races.

Get up-to-date rankings and make your own predictions at GoldDerby.com

LEAD ACTOR DRAMA SERIES

CLOCKWORK Orange Legion cinematographer Dana Gonzales explains how he arrived at the show’s rich color palette

FOLLOWING SHOWRUNNER NOAH HAWLEY

shooting. “I had lights that lit every set, and I could

from Fargo to Legion, Emmy-winning cinematog-

pretty much do any color that I wanted to in the

rapher Dana Gonzales found another platform for

world,” Gonzales adds. “There are a lot of differ-

some truly ambitious visual work. Unlike the world

ent colors in there that you’ve probably never seen

of Fargo—indebted to the framework established

before, because of the access that I had to that

by the Coen brothers in the original film—the visual

color. Literally, finding a color in seconds and saying,

world of Legion was open to experimentation.

‘Let’s make it this color.’”

With its color palette alone, Legion is unrivaled

Finding additional inspiration in Michael Wylie’s

on TV. For Gonzales, the work of defining the show’s

production design, Gonzales made most color deci-

aesthetic began with two specific inspirations: A

sions purely out of his “emotional response” to the

Clockwork Orange and Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great

material. “When you’re working with Noah, that’s

Beauty. “Both those films, stylistically, dealt with

the fun thing. You don’t know exactly where every-

color and compositions,” he says.

thing is going, but we’re able to experiment and

Given his shorthand with Hawley, the DP was free to experiment with color even moments before

interpret.” he says. “Noah is confident in pushing me to be bolder.” –Matt Grobar

CINEMAGIC The Young Pope DP Luca Bigazzi pushed visual boundaries with the high-contrast HBO limited series

real opening shot, The Young Pope

visual choice after another, Bigazzi

brings Paolo Sorrentino’s visual

focussed on a “strong, anti-TV

flair to television with effortless

contrast”, with celestial whites, “at

a sterile challenge against the old

grace, in no small part thanks to

times, blinding,” and the darkest of

outdated TV conventions, but

cinematographer Luca Bigazzi,

blacks, “to the limits of the visible.”

also wished to be a visual mode

Sorrentino’s creative partner of

and personal power.

“Ours didn’t wish to be merely

The two men have long shared

of interpreting a story that speaks

15 years (and the DP behind Dana

interest in pushing visual boundar-

about saintliness, perdition, reality

Gonzales’s Legion inspiration, The

ies, but this particular choice was

and mystery,” Bigazzi explains.

Great Beauty).

rooted deeply in the themes the

“About mysterious secrets, and

series explores, about godliness

revealed truths.” –Matt Grobar

Determined to make one bold

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1

Sterling K. Brown This is Us

7/2

2

Bob Odenkirk Better Call Saul

9/2

3

Rami Malek Mr. Robot

5/1

4

Matthew Rhys The Americans

6/1

5

Kevin Spacey House of Cards

10/1

LEAD ACTRESS DRAMA SERIES

ODDS

1

Claire Foy The Crown

7/2

2

Elisabeth Moss The Handmaid’s Tale

4/1

3

Keri Russell The Americans

5/1

4

Viola Davis How to Get Away with Murder

9/1

5

Evan Rachel Wood Westworld

11/1

SUPPORTING ACTOR DRAMA SERIES

ODDS

1

John Lithgow The Crown

10/3

2

Jonathan Banks Better Call Saul

9/2

3

Jeffrey Wright Westworld

13/2

4

Ron Cephas Jones This is Us

10/1

5

Ed Harris Westworld

10/1

SUPPORTING ACTRESS DRAMA SERIES

FROM ITS PAINTERLY and sur-

ODDS

ODDS

1

Chrissy Metz This is Us

4/1

2

Thandie Newton Westworld

5/1

3

Millie Bobby Brown Stranger Things

11/2

4

Winona Ryder Stranger Things

9/1

5

Uzo Aduba Orange is the New Black

11/1

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F O R YO U R C O N S I D E R AT I O N

OUTSTAN DIN G LIMITED SERIES THE NEW EDITION STORY O UTSTANDIN G LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES O R MOVIE WOODY MCCLAIN AS BOBBY BROWN

BRYSHERE Y. GRAY AS MICHAEL BIVINS

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE ELIJAH KELLEY AS RICKY BELL

ALGEE SMITH AS RALPH TRESVANT

LUKE JAMES AS JOHNNY GILL

WOOD HARRIS AS BROOK PAYNE

KEITH POWERS AS RONNIE DEVOE

MICHAEL RAPAPORT AS GARY EVANS

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE LISA NICOLE CARSON AS DOROTHY BELL

SANDI MCCREE AS CAROLE BROWN

A N D A L L OT H E R C AT E G O R I E S

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THE WEIGHT OF POWER Jude Law shares 10 insights into his papal journey in HBO’s The Young Pope

BY M AT T G RO BA R

1. Jude Law had wanted to work

Beauty, prepped Law for what

with Italian writer-director Paolo

to expect. “I knew that it would

Sorrentino for a while when he

be visually sumptuous. I knew

got the call to discuss The Young

there would be a certain amount

Pope—about a cocksure pontiff and

of ambiguity and poetry to his

the first American to wear the papal

storytelling. I knew that there would

robes. “I loved his work, and he

be humor and drama.” But he wasn’t

was someone I’d talked about with

prepared for the level of detail in the

anyone who would listen, really,” he

scripts for the 10 episode limited

explains. “It felt like a kind of gag

series. “As they started to arrive,

that somebody suddenly wrote to

what was really interesting to me

character, Lenny Belardo, in the

part of the evolution of it was truly

me out of the blue like, ‘Oh, Paolo

was how specific he is, both in

moment, soaking in the added

one of the best work experiences

has this piece he wants to talk to

what you’re looking at when you’re

depth a limited run offers over a

I’ve had.”

you about.’”

reading it, but also in what you’re

feature. “Lenny unfolded as this

listening to; he references all of it in

extraordinary, contradictory, deeply

4. As much as he enjoyed playing

the script.”

knotted and complex human, with

a true antihero—almost a villain at

an incredible backstory and past,

the heart of his own story—Law

2. Revisiting Sorrentino’s previous work, including This Must Be the

ROMAN HOLIDAY Main image: Pope Law. Below: Director Paolo Sorrentino.

Place and the Oscar-winning

3. The actor immersed himself

but also a present life that required

was particularly compelled by

Foreign Language hit The Great

in the challenge of finding his

all sorts of understanding. Being a

Lenny’s honesty and integrity. “I

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“I could barely move, and I have no idea how a 70- or 80-year-old chap does that, because I’m a quite healthy 44-year-old, and it was really uncomfortable.”

8. Not a single shot in The Young Pope actually takes place in Vatican City. “Getting that kind of access would have taken way too long and been far too complex,” Law reveals. Instead, the production set up shop at any number of Vatican-owned locations around Rome. “We did have access to some pretty special and private rooms around the city, and gardens that have otherwise never been filmed in before,” he says. “Rome is itself an open museum; it’s a spectacular place to live and be able to film.”

9. Law learned a lot from his fellow castmates in the series, including screen legends Diane Keaton and James Cromwell.

“With someone like Diane Keaton, who is mischievous, and inspired, and incredibly warm, for her to come on every other week is a great injection of energy, and it was the same with James Cromwell.”

10. While The Young Pope was

AFTERNOON STROLL Jude Law and Diane Keaton on set.

think there was something at the

inevitably follows. And Law found

heart that I like—that whilst he

the full papal regalia helpful in

was contradictory, he was never

inhabiting the character. “When

a liar,” Law says. “I think there was

you’re wearing very recognizable,

an element of truth, that he had

ornate, and ritualistically historical

conviction even if he changed his

garb, obviously it helps hugely to try

mind, or seemed to contradict

and get your head into a person that

himself.”

you’re playing,” he says. But he never lost sight of the human story inside

5. Law played another narcissistic

the marbled walls of the Vatican. “It

American in Italy in Anthony

was always about the people within

Minghella’s Oscar-nominated The

these great, great, great luscious

Talented Mr. Ripley, but there the

scenarios.”

similarity ends. “To be honest, other

“THE MEDIEVAL PAPAL OUTFIT I WAS WEARING WAS LIKE WEARING TWO GOLDEMBROIDERED CARPETS, WRAPPED AROUND WITH METAL, WITH A GIANT METAL CROWN ON MY HEAD.”

conceived prior to Trump’s election, Law feels that there are lessons we can take from Lenny; a Trumpian sort of figure, in his own particular way. “Given the climate that we were making it in, and given the world we now live in, I think it’s really important to show that people can burrow out to change their mind; that with an open mind, people can learn to open their hearts, too.” To the actor, the fact that the series was conceived pre-Trump is telling.

“What that should tell us, perhaps,

than two very happy experiences

7. Law’s most challenging scene

is that this kind of political

living in Italy—it’s a great country

in the series involved the same

maneuvering has always been

to live in and work in—I didn’t really

finery that helped him to shape the

there. For a writer to construct

draw any parallels,” he says. “That’s

character. “The first speech to the

this based on the past just tells

the kind of interpretation I quite like

cardinals; the medieval papal outfit

you that it’s another chapter in

audiences to make.”

I was wearing was like wearing two

which someone is playing the

gold-embroidered carpets, wrapped

people. I think that should both

6. When the Pope’s in Rome, a

around with metal, with a giant

terrify us, but also hearten us; that

good deal of pomp and ceremony

metal crown on my head,” he recalls.

it is only a chapter.” ★

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TEAM US Sterling K. Brown, Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Chrissy Metz and Justin Hartley.

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Creator Dan Fogelman talks to Nellie Andreeva about the ensemble family drama that has defined the 2016/17 TV Season PH OTOGRAPH ED BY MARK MANN EXC LU SIVELY FOR DEADLINE

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IN FEATURES, DAN FOGELMAN had written big several hits, including the blockbuster Cars franchise. In TV, he had been known for quirky shortlived half-hour comedy series with cult followings, including The Neighbors and Galavant on ABC. But after Galavant, and Fox’s Grandfathered, which he executive produced, came to a premature end in May 2016, Fogelman made a big change.

He switched studios, moving from ABC Studios/Disney, where he had been based for years, for a deal at 20th Century Fox TV. Fogelman also switched genres, venturing into hour-long drama with This is Us and Pitch, both of which went to series and earned strong reviews. While Pitch was another cult hit, This is Us was an instant breakout. The ensemble family drama, which featured no major stars and no highconcept gimmicks, made an immediate connection with fans, with its trailer amassing tens of millions of views in a matter of days. It went on to give Fogelman a giant hit, TV’s version of a feature blockbuster.

Here, Fogelman talks about the humble start to This is Us—as an unfinished feature script about sextuplets (!) titled 36—and its transformation into a TV series. He discloses the biggest change he had to make when the project went to broadcast instead of cable/streaming and lifts the curtain a bit on Season 2, Jack’s death reveal and the kind of ending he is planning for the series.

18

This is Us originated as a feature

contemplating what I might do next. I kept

script, right?

thinking up characters that reminded me

It did. A few years back I was considering it

of characters from that old screenplay,

as a next feature. I actually wrote about 75

but I didn’t like the new ideas/characters

pages. Initially it had about 7 characters all

as much as I did those older characters.

sharing the same birthday, and the reveal

And one day I just decided to open it back

at the end of the film was going to be that

up, lose some characters, and try thinking

the Jack and Rebecca characters were giv-

of it as a TV series instead of a film. And

ing birth to sextuplets 36 years earlier. Kind

suddenly I was excited to write it again, not

of a Sixth Sense-type ending with babies.

just because it could be shorter and was almost done—though that was enticing

What was the original inspiration

too—but because suddenly I didn’t need

for it?

an ending. The ending was just a begin-

There wasn’t really a ton of inspiration. I

ning, and the thing I liked most about the

wanted to sit down and write something

script—the characters—they could keep

about people; people I knew. I was in my

evolving over many, many stories. And

late 30s at the time—about 38—and I was

you could see how the family grows and

struck by how wildly different the lives of

informs itself over years and different time

my peers could be, even though we were

periods. As soon as that locked in, I knew I

all the same age. I had friends who were

was going to do it.

married, some single. Some had preteen

children, others none. Some were satis-

Did you consider making the show

fied in their careers, others less so. Some

for cable or streaming? Why was the

had experienced great loss—of parents,

decision made to go with a broadcast

of friends—others hadn’t even lost a

series?

grandparent. And I thought, I’m going to

At one point early on I did, but there didn’t

write something about all these people,

seem to be a need to. There was noth-

all exactly the same age and born on the

ing in the show—save for Jack’s ass—that

same day. Halfway through I thought, Huh,

begged for the show to be on cable. I think

maybe one story is the parents of all the

the initial script had like six “shits” and

others. Then I just sat down and wrote.

three “fucks” in it. None were spectacularly funny, none were integral to any of it.

Did you try to get it made as a movie?

Actually, there was one. In the pilot

I didn’t. One of the only times in my life I

Sterling K. Brown’s character punctu-

wrote something and just put it away. It

ates a monologue by telling his biological

wasn’t gelling for me as a film. I loved the

father that he came to see him to tell him,

characters, I loved the idea of it, but I just

“I didn’t need a fucking thing from you.”

couldn’t wrap my head around it as a film. I

I was so stressed taking “fucking” out,

struggled to find the point of the ending, or

that the speech wouldn’t have the same

even to find “the ending”. So I put it away

impact. Then Sterling comes and does

and said, “Well, shit, that was 6 months

the monologue on the day, no f-word, and

wasted.”

says, “I didn’t need a THING from you...”

and spit flies out of his mouth on “thing”

How and when did the idea come

and you feel his wound and his rage as if

about to turn it into a series?

he’s said “fucking” a thousand times over,

I’d had a TV series cancelled in heartbreak-

and I loved him more than I’ve ever loved

ing fashion as per usual, and I’d started

an actor in that moment.

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WRITE STUFF This is Us creator Dan Fogelman.

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Yeah, I guess it can be considered

death—how and when it would be

“cooler” to be on streaming or cable. And

revealed. We are sticking to the plan. I

you think of that when you are first decid-

can’t say a ton, but yes, it’s fair to say that

ing where the show should air. But I’ve got

Season 2 holds a lot of the remaining cards

a populist sensibility. I like the fact that

re: Jack’s death.

people can access this show easily—not

just emotionally, but also literally. It could

Do you have trepidations about keep-

have been on cable, yes, but it would have

ing viewers interested after that? Fans

been us trying to be cool. And when you try

tuned out of Twin Peaks once Laura

to be cool, but aren’t just naturally cool, I

Palmer’s killer was revealed. Are you

think it’s incredibly lame.

planning another mystery after that?

If Sterling taught me anything it’s that

Nah, no more “mysteries” but I think we

sometimes you can say “fuck” without

have some things in store that will keep

saying “fuck”.

people talking and on their toes.

How and why was the title changed

How far ahead have you mapped out

from 36 to This is Us?

This is Us?

No one liked 36 as a title. Most obviously,

We know a lot. Obviously we know more

because it only relates to the pilot and

specific details and storylines about Sea-

then has zero to do with the series. Also

sons 1 and 2 than we do about Seasons 3

because it’s a number. But I’d made a

and beyond—it’s impossible to really map

bunch of films and shows without a title

out an entire series when you’re doing as

and it becomes a shitshow. Everyone

many episodes as we are—but globally

pitches you titles, no one ever agrees on

I know the shape of the series, where it

a title, and you have yellow “Untitled Dan

ends, where each season goes, and what

Fogelman” signs all over town. So I put 36

the spread of the show is.

on the script but no one liked it—myself

included—and thus began the unavoidable

Do you have an end point for each

shitshow once again. There was something

character that you are building

about This is Us that felt lyrical to me. I’d

toward?

been pitching the show to people, say-

Generally speaking, yes. Characters tend to

ing, “It’s a show about people,” and, “It’s

evolve over years, and you discover things

a show about us.” Not everyone agreed

in making a show, so things will evolve. But

it was a good title, as per usual. But not

in general, yes.

everyone absolutely loathed it, which was a start. When I did my first cut, I put it in

It is a happy ending?

the title card, hoping that people would

Of course. C’mon. At the worst it will be in

like the pilot and get attached to the title

the vicinity of happy.

after seeing it in the show they’d just watched. That kind of happened... Also, I

What is the most plot-wise you can

may have just worn everyone down. I hon-

tell us about Season 2? Any major

estly can’t remember.

twists coming?

I can tell you that we really dive into

And yes, there’s something coming in

Do you have an explanation for why

the next chapters for the present day

Season 2—I’m not sure if it’s a “twist” or

the series resonated with viewers in

lives of our adult children—Kate as she

what one would call it, but yes. We’ve got

such a big way?

embarks on a singing career and plans a

something.

I don’t. If asked to pick one thing, I always

wedding with Toby, Randall and Beth as

point to the cast. It’s a win finding one

they consider adopting a child, and Kevin

Will we be crying less?

actor who can deliver both as a serious

as he takes the next steps in his acting

That, I can’t say. For now let’s say “crying

actor but also as a winning person you

career and battles some new demons

the same” and see what happens.

want to see on your TV screen every week.

in his quest to be a full, realized dude.

We lucked into finding eight.

We’ve left Jack and Rebecca in a really

In 2014, The Good Wife built its Emmy

fragile place in their marriage, so there’s

campaign around the fact that it pro-

How long before you reveal how Jack

lots to do there—and of course we have

duces a lot more episodes a year—22—

dies? Is it coming in Season 2?

the ticking clock of Jack’s death looming.

than any of the cable and digital drama

There’s always been a plan for Jack’s

So lots coming.

series in contention. It didn’t lead

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FAMILY FORTUNES Main image: Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia. Right panel, clockwise: Ron Cephas Jones & Sterling K. Brown; Chris Sullivan & Chrissy Metz; Lonnie Chavis & Milo Ventimiglia; Justin Hartley; Jon Huertas, Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore & Wynn Everett.

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to a series nomination, and it’s been

is even in the conversation. It’s a popular,

up in a banner over the bottom of our

five years since a broadcast drama

very populist show that wears its heart

TV screen, but we also get to have more

has cracked the top category. This is

on its sleeve. Those type of shows aren’t

people watching on a TV screen than other

Us produced 18 episodes, still more

often in the conversation. They are often

cable shows.

than any of the drama series currently

dismissed as light or sentimental when

touted as contenders. How do you feel

placed in a conversation against grittier,

really have a pitch. We’re thrilled to be in

about that, and what is your pitch to

darker cable shows—all of which I love.

the conversation, we’re thrilled people

Emmy voters?

So who the hell knows? In terms of

My pitch to Emmy voters is that I don’t

dig the show, and I’d be thrilled to see our

I’ve never worked on anything in film or TV

the amount of episodes, yeah, it’s not

actors get recognized because they’re

that’s really been in the conversation for

easy trying to keep quality control up for

spectacular and also happen to be really

fancy award stuff so this stuff is all beyond

18 episodes. But I’d venture to say that

nice people.

my scope of understanding. You know

it’s not easy for shorter order series to tell

how people say stuff like, “It’s an honor to

complete stories in fewer episodes. Yes,

and like it, and wanted to vote for it, I cer-

be nominated?” I’m just thrilled our show

we sometimes have Adam Levine popping

tainly won’t stop them.

Beyond that, if people watch the show,

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MANDY MOORE

MILO VENTIMIGLIA

GETTING THE PART: I was hesitant about throw-

GETTING THE PART: It was literally an audition. I

ing myself in the ring after three failed pilots, but

was close to people who were close to John Requa,

the script was undeniable. I’m a huge fan of Dan’s

Glenn Ficarra and Dan Fogelman. I walked into the

and felt certain that I was Rebecca and was dying

room, and the second I mention our mutual friend,

to be a part of it. I felt OK after my initial audi-

they’re smiling. As much as I heard great reviews

tion—which is huge for me because usually, I’m

about them, they heard also about me. I did what

super critical—but I waited a month to hear back

came out of me in regards to Jack, and I felt this

from them because I think I came in right in the

very blue-collar tie to him. It was an easy process

beginning of the audition process. I ended up being

to tap into the character. My own father is the

asked to take part in a chemistry read with a few

biggest influence in playing Jack personally. I saw

guys, but then only read with Milo in the end. Of

the same heart in Jack that was in my father. He

course, I walked away wanting to be part of the

was a man who was passionate about his family,

show even more because the chemistry with Milo

wanting to give to them, not just roof and clothes,

was so effortless and palpable.

but give them lessons to be learned for our suc-

Rebecca Pearson

Jack Pearson

cess. My father was in the printing business, grew TAKEAWAY MOMENT: Jack’s drinking in Episode

up in Chicago, went into service in Vietnam, and

2 and the fight in the finale highlight the differ-

coached little league teams. Every Friday night, he

ent colors of this woman and their marriage. It’s

was always around and present.

easy to understand the deep, kinetic love between them, but I’m happy that we have the opportunity

TAKEAWAY MOMENT: That fight in the season

to show a fully fleshed-out marriage of challenges

finale is less of a fight and more of Jack’s final mes-

and obstacles, too.

sage to his wife. Given the audience’s knowledge of his pending death, he’s not aware of that. He’s

HOW THE SHOW CHANGED HER LIFE:

laying it all out to his wife like he’s always done. The

Life feels completely different from this time last

message is that the kids will be fine, but without

year. To be a part of a project that seems to have

his wife and partner, he’s not OK. Seeing Rebecca’s

struck a chord with a broad swatch of people and

reaction there is hope, and in the landscape of

help unite us all during tumultuous times, isn’t lost

TV, this fight wasn’t as bloody as other battles on

on any of us. The job security isn’t so bad, either.

TV. In reality, those things being said, how does he

—Matt Grobar

get back on track with his wife? That’s the real life struggle. We all make mistakes and accidentally hurt people. At the end of the day, how do you direct yourself back to the joy in that partnership? In regards to the occurrences leading up to Jack’s death, people should pay more attention.

Yes, Kate has been the only one vocal about it, but what about Randall, Kevin, and Rebecca? People shouldn’t set their sight on just one view.

HOW THE SHOW CHANGED HIS LIFE: I meet a lot more people on the streets. When someone approaches me with a smile on their face, I’m grateful for the opportunity to give some positivity and therapy to people. I feel the show has opened my heart up to more humanity, to understanding that life is hard enough. We all experience difficult times and I try to be the light of hope to other people I’m around. —Anthony D’Alessandro

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STERLING K. BROWN

CHRISSY METZ

JUSTIN HARTLEY

GETTING THE PART: I met John and Glenn in

GETTING THE PART: The script was incredible

GETTING THE PART: This started before I met

New York City a couple of years ago when I was

from the moment I started it; it felt different. I des-

[John, Glenn and Dan]. I had a script in my inbox

doing the Public Theater and auditioned for

perately wanted an audition and begged my agent

from my agent and I was going to sit down and

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, and shot the movie with

for the opportunity to read for casting. This was a

spend four or five hours, and read a couple of

them. They recommended that I meet Dan. Now,

role that finally broke down the real issues behind

them. One of them was a pilot by Dan Fogelman,

if I hadn’t done the play at the Public Theater, the

weight; inadequacy, codependent relationships

and I thought, I want to read that baseball pilot

meeting wouldn’t have taken place, and I would

and living in the shadows. The callback—which I

[Fogelman’s cancelled series Pitch]. Turned out

have never been in Whiskey and met Dan. When I

didn’t think was coming—was unlike any other I

the pilot I read was This is Us, which then went

met Dan, he was cool. I felt no pressure. I was still

had ever experienced. Dan, John and Glenn really

by the name the Untitled Dan Fogelman project.

shooting The People v. O.J. Simpson, and I had been

worked with me through every scene. Glenn even

I thought it was fantastic. I called my agent and

a fan of his Crazy, Stupid, Love. So, I gushed about

asked me to grab my purse out of the lobby and

said, “You got to get me in the room.” I knew I had

his work and the pilot script, which was the best

walk into the scene through the door. It was as if

a special take on Kevin. I wanted to tap into where

thing I had read in network television. There was

they were already directing me.

he came from, and what created this mess. I went

Randall Pearson

Kate Pearson

no attachment to the meeting at the time, it was

Kevin Pearson

into the room before Glenn, John and Dan, and it

an opportunity for me to go in and tell him how

TAKEAWAY MOMENT: There’s something really

was a monologue I had to deliver about the Chal-

much I appreciate his work. When you enter into

wonderful about shooting the pilot and finding

lenger explosion, and Kevin was ready to explode

a room like that, the love of the project translates

your footing as you go. The Hollywood party in

and have a nervous breakdown. I thought Kevin

into work.

Episode 2 was a riot; have you seen Chris Sul-

was funnier than being a nut job and he had this

livan’s moves?! We worked ’til the sun came up

interesting, humorous take on his situation, like he

TAKEAWAY MOMENT: Any opportunity to work

and it was amazing. The painting episode with the

was searching for answers. I made them laugh and

with Ron Cephas Jones is true wonderment. He’s

most moving monologue featuring Justin Hart-

left the room feeling good with what I did.

such a pure, present soul. When you look in his

ley just cracked me wide open. We were sobbing

eyes, you really recognize something special. I also

at the table read. I have to say seeing Rebecca

TAKEAWAY MOMENT: That monologue about

love how Randall parents his girls and doesn’t

walk in Randall’s home with the moon necklace

the painting; even though he was trying to explain

apologize for it. It’s something I relate to as a par-

and another man—Miguel—by her side still gets

it to his niece, it was the first time that Kevin real-

ent. I have two young children myself and you pray

me. The fight scene in the finale with Jack and

ized what he was saying. He was learning as he

you’re doing right for them. Your best guess is to

Rebecca was shocking and hard to watch; even

was saying; that changed his approach from that

commit and move forward. Then Episode 15, “Jack

when you sympathize with them individually, you

point forward. He took the play more seriously.

Pearson’s Son”, was tremendous; trying to portray

see and understand people change, nobody is

When he explains the moment to his nieces, it sets

the realities of social anxiety and how debilitating

perfect and when our egos are challenged, the hurt

him on a path where he feels better; this is how he

it can be. In Episode 16, having lost my father at a

is hard to stomach.

wants to live his life. The moment that he left the

young age, it was a cathartic moment for me to

play to be with Randall; that was the only choice in

have the opportunity to say goodbye to William.

HOW THE SHOW CHANGED HER LIFE: Just

Kevin’s mind. Kevin in general is really discovering

When I was 10, I had to stay home from the hospi-

about in every way possible. From recognition to

himself, living his life as an adult.

tal when I lost my own father.

opportunities, to crying with strangers in bathrooms, living my dream daily and traveling to

HOW THE SHOW CHANGED HIS LIFE: It’s a

HOW THE SHOW CHANGED HIS LIFE: I was

places I never thought I would see.

show that even if I wasn’t on it, I’d watch every

always cognizant of the fact of the power of art

—Anthony D’Alessandro

episode. I’ve slowed things down that needed

to transform life. That’s why I got into the game in

to be slowed down in life. You tend to, in life, get

the first place, but I don’t think I had a job that has

away from your center. Especially in this business,

fulfilled all those directives as completely as This

if you don’t constantly remind yourself of the little

is Us. A number of times, people have approached

moments, you’re 50 and the kids are out of the

me, not just about how wonderful the work has

house. [The show] has helped me appreciate;

been, but how important and therapeutic it has

made me recognize the little interactions. Run-

been for them, in allowing them to deal with loss

ning into complete strangers, you suddenly have

and grief in way that helps them move forward.

something to bond with them over: the meaning

That sort of healing power in a TV show is some-

of the show. You’re friends with these people you

thing that I’ve never encountered before in a TV

don’t know because you have a common love of

show and to be part of that is a dream come true.

the show. —Anthony D’Alessandro

—Anthony D’Alessandro

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D THE DIALOGUE

EMMY CONTENDERS/ DRAMA

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John

with my feet and my makeup every day, I was there so early, and I was always the

TURTURRO

★

★

★

★

After a colorful canon of character roles, the maestro plays a washed-up Manhattan criminal attorney in The Night Of

BY A N T H O N Y D ’A L E S SA N D RO

last person to leave because of everything to take off. It’s like my attrition—you sink in. And sometimes something happens and you feel very, very free and you feel like you can do it anyway; you can do the scene ten different ways.

Was there a particular prosecutor you consulted in crafting Stone?

Kenny Montgomery, who is a star prosecutor and a defense lawyer, he really helped me a lot because he was able to delineate what he actually goes through. And even though he’s really successful, it does cost him a lot. We met a bunch of times, and he showed me films of cases, and he was able to pinpoint certain things for me. He’s like the guy maybe that Stone could be, you know?

But a lot of these people, their lives are a mess. It’s hard to have a family.

JOHN TURTURRO’S PORTRAYAL of Manhattan criminal court attorney John Stone in HBO’s The Night Of is one of the Brooklyn native’s most sublime 180-degree turns. Wrinkly clad and plagued by eczema like it’s a cross to bear, Stone is a joke among cops and his legal peers. But one night the attorney encounters Nasir Khan (Riz Ahmed), a PakistaniAmerican academic college student who has been accused of murder.

In a racially divided post-9/11 city, Stone may be Naz’s only hope for a fair trial. Based on the BBC drama Criminal Justice, The Night Of was a passion project of late Sopranos actor James Gandolfini, who both executive produced and starred as Stone in the 2012 pilot.

Sometimes people are divorced three, four times, and they’re nightcrawlers.

You don’t get material like that. I’m a big book reader so it’s like I’ve been in a lot of adaptations of books and in two hours you’re always thinking you lost this and you lost that, and in this case you didn’t lose anything.

Before earning your MFA at Yale School of Drama, when did you get

Let’s talk about how the project came

was interested, and then I asked to read all

the acting bug?

to you. I know that you starred in Spike

the episodes. It’s Richard and Steve and I

I was a little kid. I always played small

Lee’s Clockers which was also penned

thought it was like reading a novel.

parts in plays. But watching old movies I

by Richard Price.

think; watching the Million Dollar Movie,

I was also in The Color of Money, another

You completely wore this character.

watching Channel 5, watching movies

Richard Price screenplay, and I almost did

It’s like you stayed up for five days

from the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s. Yes, that’s

Mad Dog and Glory which he wrote. I’ve

straight. Did you already know this

what gave me the bug, because I never

known Richard since ’85 and I know his

Stone?

traveled anywhere, so it was a form of

books, and as far as Steve Zaillian, I talked

I know a lot of people in different

emotional traveling. In high school I used

to him about being in Searching for Bobby

professions who have tremendous abilities

to do impressions, and then I wound

Fischer and that didn’t work out schedule-

and are tremendously talented and skilled

up doing a version, not the full play, of

wise, but I really loved that film. They

and capable, and they’ve never had the

Pippin. I was obsessed with Pippin.

approached me, and then obviously I was

stomach for it, or the constitution to

really close with James [Gandolfini]; we

survive what may be in Stone’s case:

Who were you?

knew each other from the early ’90s. When

to hold someone’s life in his hands, and

The leading player; the part Ben Vereen

he was on The Sopranos, he was the lead in

maybe it didn’t work out the right way.

played. I just thought what an amazing

the film I directed, Romance & Cigarettes, and we became very good friends.

presence on stage he was. And I had the record of Jesus Christ Superstar—he

wiseass and has all this black humor and

played Judas—and then I started going

then I saw the pilot and I was like, “Oh

everything, and his body is betraying him.

to see plays. I saw a lot of great actors, I

God, I don’t know if I want to watch this,”

He’s got all these obstacles, and yet he

saw Pacino when he was really young; my

and it was a very long cut of it. James only

has this connection with this kid. And I

mother took me to see his play. So when

had one scene as Stone, the character I

think it helped that Riz and I had a nice

I saw theatre I thought, Wow, maybe this

would play. I read a couple more episodes

connection, we had an organic one.

is something I could do, because I never

I read the first couple episodes and

and then I met Steve. He was very happy I

PHOTOGRAPH BY

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But I thought there was something so human about that; a guy who’s a

Mark Mann

By the end, I had so much stuff to do

knew anyone who was in the movies. ★

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L a u re n

we’d been asked about for years—“What’s

GRAHAM ★

was gratifying.

Alexis, Rory is a practiced journalist in viewers been giving you tips?

BLEDEL ★

so to be able to have an answer for that

this iteration of the show. Have inter-

Alexis ★

going on? Is there going to be a movie?”—

★

Bledel: [laughs] It’s not a conversation that has come up a lot, but I think I have felt a sense of appreciation from journalists for the character and the story. When we pick up with her in A Year in the Life, journalism has been through a huge transition and she has been trying to spin her

The Gilmore Girls return for A Year in the Life

wheels and catch up to the way things are done now. I think she’s struggling, so peo-

BY JOE U T IC H I

ple can identify with her. But her spirit and her resourcefulness are strong. I’ve always admired that about her, and about journal-

HEN NETFLIX ANNOUNCED a return to the Gilmore Girls for A Year in the Life, a four-part series of 90-minute specials, fans of the original CW show rejoiced. The show crashed out in 2007, after a year without creator Amy Sherman-Palladino at the helm, yet it had become—and remains—a beloved classic of 21st Century feminism. At the heart of its cast, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel return to play Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, still struggling with life’s challenges and frustrations, and still bemused by the colorful denizens of the fictional Stars Hollow, Connecticut.

W

ists, because it’s not a job I could do. To go out and ask the hard-hitting questions and not be intimidated by people.

She also makes some very silly choices, which is at the heart of this show. These are our heroes, but they make mistakes, like we all do.

Bledel: Absolutely.

Graham: You can’t have 90 minutes with no conflict. That’s not a show. When you feel such a sense of ownership of these char-

Where were your minds at the end of

Even if the voice is this fast.

acters, and you’re going to enact a choice

Season 7 of Gilmore Girls, with Amy

Graham: Especially, in fact. It’s something

that is dubious, you want to feel it’s justified

having departed and the show axed?

so specific, and from the minute I first read

and that it’s part of this person’s journey. I

Lauren Graham: We didn’t know it was

it, I thought, I know what this is. It was love

always thought, Here’s a woman who’s had

the end; we shot a final season and a final

at first sight, so to get to revisit it with a

a child at 16 and she never really got to be a

episode with a lot of questions up in the

sense of appreciation was a gift.

teenager. So there’s an aspect to her that is

air, and—I’ll speak for myself—a desire to

youthful and teenage and kind of immature.

keep going, too. But it really did feel like a

Was A Year in the Life a chance to com-

There’s still this aspect of arrested develop-

different show to me. I remember being

plete unfinished business?

ment to her, and I love that.

in a scene and thinking, Something’s odd

Bledel: Yes—it was almost like getting

here. I realized I had spent a long time in

another chance at something, and how

Rory has to become the grown-up.

the scene without talking, and it just didn’t

often does that happen in life? We were

Graham: She always has been, really. And

feel the same.

also able to be very present in every

one of the things I love about this relation-

moment, which wasn’t the case with

ship is there’s no jealousy. Lorelai is such

You must have felt especially close

the original shoot. I was always trying to

an independent character, who, yes, asks

with these characters at that point.

catch up and keep up, so in this I felt more

her parents for help in certain ways, but in

Alexis Bledel: I loved my character right

capable.

certain ways, she did so much on her own

away, from reading the pilot. She was

Graham: One thing that was different

and was never a victim about it. And she

so well-written, and there were so many

for me about this, is when something has

wants that for her daughter as well, like,

layers to her experience in each episode. I

lasted this long, it’s still yours, but it also

“You don’t need a man. You don’t need

was always very proud of what she repre-

belongs to the fans of the show, and that

anything. You’re enough on your own.” Yes,

sented in the original series.

has its positives and negatives. On the

these people make mistakes, but I just

Graham: I’d never had a connection like

positive side, when we went back, people

always loved that. Of course you’re fine.

it, and I’m not sure I ever will. At my age at

would stop me in the grocery store and

Of course, you’re a career woman. That’s

that time I felt it was true love, but that I’d

say, “We’re so excited.” But there’s a pres-

a way in which I think this show has just a

get to have that three or four more times.

sure in that, too, where normally you start

feminist core, where it’s saying, “There’s

The perspective with age is how rare it is,

a new show and nobody knows what it is,

nothing lacking in your life. You’re enough.

and to really be the voice of the writer.

and nobody cares. This was something

You’re all you need.” ★

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Michael Buckner

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Aubre y

I had to make a lot of choices for myself, and I was really given a lot of freedom to

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explore, and to come up with whatever I wanted to do with Lenny.

Really, I kind of created a journey for my character that is fully focused on David Haller. He is Lenny’s everything, so that was my approach: Who am I to David, and how am I going to get what I need from him?

The Legion star on her way into the role of Lenny, who is not all she initially seems B Y M AT T G R O B A R

How much did the look of the character inform your approach?

I, like everybody else in the cast, was operating script by script. Once I started reading scenes with Lenny where she’s appearing to David, and talking to him in a different way, I made a choice that I would change my look up, and Noah let me do that. I made a decision early on that Lenny, the human, is very different from Lenny, the hallucination, if you

OR ANY FAN OF FX’S superhero series Legion who also tuned in for NBC comedy Parks and Recreation during its seven-season run, one thing should be abundantly clear. In all her darkness and playful bedevilment, the shapeshifting character of Lenny Busker seems to embody Pawnee resident April Ludgate’s highest aspirations.

Entering a superhero universe for the first time, Aubrey Plaza brought her signature style to a role that allowed her to embrace the dark side, as she took full command of the screen, and David Haller’s psyche.

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want to call it that—at least up front.

The creative team was so involved in all of that. I would go into the hair and makeup trailer on my days off for hours and hours, and do different tests on my own with them—different hair tests, and makeup tests, and wardrobe tests—and they were all game.

They were really excited to come up with these different iterations, and I think that the physical changes that happened really helped me morph into these other Lennys.

Before Legion came your way, did you

to me when I read it initially, so I went back

ever give much thought to the idea of

and reread it, and tried to imagine what that

Does any of the work you put in this

taking part in a superhero series?

could be like, and what I could do with that,

season take you back to your early days,

I honestly never thought about it that much.

and that got me really excited. Just the idea

honing your craft as an actor, building

I’m a fan of superhero stuff, and some of

that Noah would make a change like that,

characters through playful physical

it’s really good. I think I always had fanta-

and trust that I could pull it off.

expression?

sies about playing certain characters in

Totally. It felt very experimental at times,

those universes. But I never thought about

Many cast members were unaware of

and like performance art. We were forced to

it beyond that, my own delusions, weird

the season’s full story arc when they set

go back to that place, where we had to use

daydreams.

out. How much did you know about your

our imagination and just surrender to the

character’s true nature in early talks?

playfulness of it all, because we had no idea

What was the process in getting

I would say that I knew a little bit more than

what was coming. It was a very weird feeling,

involved with Legion, and what

anybody else about my character’s trajec-

to not know exactly what we’re doing, but try

attracted you to the part of Lenny?

tory. I knew the place that I would end up,

to make really bold choices.

The process was interesting because I did

but I didn’t know how I would get there. The

not audition. I met briefly with Noah, and

episodes in between were a surprise for

background is really helpful in those situa-

some of the producers and the casting

me, but I did know, ultimately, what I would

tions, because it’s all about the choices that

director after reading the script. I thought

become in the universe of the show.

you’re making. It’s not the kind of show that

the writing was really amazing, and I loved

I think that having an improv and theater

you can just show up and say your lines—you

the work that Noah had done before that,

What do you latch onto when inhabiting

have to really work, you have to rehearse.

on Fargo, so I was drawn to the project really

a character like Lenny, who is intention-

There were some times that we would

because of him.

ally a mystery for the audience to puzzle

rehearse and block scenes for an hour, which

over for most of the first season?

I’ve never done before, when we’re shooting,

for an older man, so I didn’t read the script

I approached it like I would any other role, I

because normally you just get in there and

thinking about that role. In our second meet-

think. I don’t approach anything differently

you have to shoot. The emphasis was on

ing, when it was just Noah and I, he pitched

depending on the genre, or how crazy it is,

that, on the preparation and the rehearsals,

me the idea of playing Lenny, and changing

or if it’s a villain or not. I just tried to focus on

which is my favorite way to work, so it was

it to a female. That idea had never occurred

the human aspects of the character.

perfect for me. ★

The part of Lenny was originally written

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C l a i re

He’s watched them all, and he’s very critical. He said, “This one wasn’t even close to

DA N E S

the truth; it was beyond the truth. It was just terrifyingly accurate.”

I wish we had to stretch further for material than we had to stretch this season. We were overwhelmed with frighten-

Mandy

ing choices in the real world to choose

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from. I think the genius of this season is this man who represents fake news, and the system that Max finds his way into, with Carrie’s guidance. Our team, they don’t screw around. They really research shit. This isn’t made up.

The Homeland stars on their hopes for the series’ final two seasons B Y M AT T G R O B A R

Do you have specific hopes for your characters and the series as Homeland heads into its final two seasons?

Danes: Carrie’s been on the periphery for a while now, and opted out of the intel-

N AWARDS MAGNET for Showtime throughout its run, Homeland went “beyond the truth” in Season 6, at least for actors Mandy Patinkin and Claire Danes, who have found themselves disturbed by unreal events playing out in the real world on a daily basis. To put things in perspective, as Season 6 begins, Carrie Mathison (Danes) is heading a non-profit aiding Muslim-Americans harassed by the U.S. government; and by the time the first few episodes of the season had aired, Donald Trump was sworn in as President, instituting the first of two unsuccessful travel bans and inciting further tensions around issues of race and immigration.

ligence game, and I think she’s ready to re-

What were your first impressions when

the nature of her job, and defending this

personally, deeply important to me, that

you read the scripts for Season 6?

young man, and what would happen to the

I hope the show can attend to in some

Claire Danes: It’s interesting, because the

young man. But then, as the world around

way—one, being the refugee crisis. These

writers started trying to anticipate what

us changed very quickly, they went with

are the most vulnerable people among

the outcome would be on Election Day.

the world, not with previous conceptions…

us in the world. There are over 60 million

They did an extraordinary job of creating a

Danes: …Adapted to that tack.

refugees displaced by war; right now, there

format that would sustain us throughout

Patinkin: Yeah. I like that way of not hav-

are 60,000 refugees in Greece, 7,900 in

this period. We were waiting, and at the

ing everything in front of us.

Serbia. The numbers are climbing, and

midway point [of the season], Trump was

Danes: I think it distinguishes television

there are no legal options for these people.

elected, and suddenly, the themes became

from every other medium. It’s what makes

These are the victims of the real world’s

very clear, and they pursued that. I think

it kind of radical, and risky, and fun.

crises that the Homeland world reflects on,

the season just collected momentum and

Patinkin: It’s not improvisational comedy

and almost takes a Polaroid of these days,

strength as it went along. I marvel at their

theater, but it is improvisation. We might

versus a fictional tale of it.

ability to surf these phenomena as they’re

get a call that morning, while we’re doing

occurring, almost in real time.

something, and the change goes in that

Israel, and the Palestinian crisis, because

is something that just happened an hour

for me, it’s the epicenter of the world crisis.

ago, in the world.

I don’t have the hubris to think that we’re

A

enter it, and re-engage—put her spy back on. I look forward to that, because she’s excellent at what she does, and it’s really enjoyable to play that.

Patinkin: There are a couple of things I’m hoping; one, I think will happen because it has to happen, which is the attention to the truth, and facts. Real facts—not false information, not bots, not sock puppets, but truth, which has become an essential concern all over the world.

There are two other areas that are,

I imagine a good deal of the season’s arc must have been outlined before

I hope there is a continuing attention to

going to solve the world’s problems, but we

you began shooting.

For you, what extra resonance does

have the attention of some people in the

Danes: Yeah, they have a pretty sound

Homeland—and Season 6, in particu-

world, and maybe—on purpose, or even by

sense of how we’re going to start, but

lar—take on, in light of the election

accident—something will come out in our

invariably, they get outpaced by filming,

results?

story that might strike a note with some-

and they end up writing as we film. It’s a

Patinkin: I think a character came to the

body who hasn’t been listening.

high wire act.

forefront that wiped all the rest of the

Mandy Patinkin: They stay fairly flexible,

characters away, and that was the charac-

to have a platform that this show has given

and it is fluid. They certainly have a clear

ter of truth. I got a call from a friend that

us. That’s an unbelievable gift that you

structure, where Claire would be working,

said this was his favorite season to date.

don’t get every day. ★

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One of the most extraordinary things is

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DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD EMMY SEASON KICKOFF PARTY JUNE 5 / CATCH / LOS ANGELES Top row, clockwise from left: Jon Voight; Rhea Seehorn & Michael Mando; Sydelle Noel, Aisha Hinds & Logan Browning; Patrick Fabian, Seehorn & Matt Walsh; Chrissy Metz & Justin Hartley.

This row, from left: Freida Pinto & John Ridley; Ray Liotta & Sylvia Lombardo.

Bottom row, from left: Noah Schnapp; Ben Barnes & Pablo Schreiber; Jonathan Tucker & Byron Balasco; Paul Scheer & June Diane Raphael; Evan Peters.

RE X /S H U T T ERSTOC K

See more photos from the Emmy Season Kickoff Party online at DEADLINE.COM

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FOR YOUR EMMY CONSIDERATION - OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES AND ALL OTHER CATEGORIES ®

A MASTERPIECE

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EMMY 2017 ©2017 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO ® and related channels and service marks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.

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