Emmy Magazine Features

An actor-producer who knows how good guys can stray to the dark side, Bryan Cranston confronts a new crisis of conscience in Showtime’s Your Honor .

The Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to television with WandaVision  the new Disney+ series that places a super-powered Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany in the suburbs of classic sitcoms.

Like clans that ban politics at holiday dinner, cable’s Christmas movie makers are going for the greater good. Forget the usual one-upsmanship — they’re focused on inclusion.

In 10 seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David — as a most uncivil version of himself — has upended every social interaction with insult and injury. To mark the comedy’s 20th year, some of the show’s principals reflect on Curb’s flagrant humor and 20 terrific episodes.

With five nights of socially distanced shows, the Creative Arts Emmys made the best of a very different year.

“What could go right?” joked Jimmy Kimmel at the start of the first virtual Emmys. A lot, it turned out. From an almost-empty arena, the 72nd awards proved the pandemic was no match for ingenuity — and the need for humans to connect.

Step into our virtual photobooth!

As an actress, Kate Mara thrives on tough and troubling roles, like her upcoming lead in A Teacher. As a producer, she’s assuming some control “over the roles I get to play and the people I get to work with.”

"She’s the first and only actor I wanted,” says the showrunner of Nat Geo’s Genius: Aretha. And just like that, Cynthia Erivo — the feisty phenom who wowed in Harriet and belted her heart out on Broadway — became the Queen of Soul. “She’s tiny, but she’s got so much power,” says the director of Harriet . “She’s a force of nature.”

Now soaring to new altitudes, Kaley Cuoco stars in — and executive-produces — The Flight Attendant for HBO Max. But she’ll always cherish her long run on The Big Bang Theory, as well as that too-brief time on 8 Simple Rules with John Ritter, who taught her leadership and respect on the set.

When he read The Good Lord Bird, Ethan Hawke felt the pull of history, and it led him to his starring role as abolitionist John Brown. “A large portion of this country doesn’t want to talk about the Civil War being about slavery,” Hawke says. But “with love and wit,” the Showtime series takes up this “serious American conversation” about life and liberty.

The magnetic, empathetic S. Epatha Merkerson forms bonds and finds laughs on every set, all the while impressing with her true-to-the-core performances. No wonder Dick Wolf has kept her on the call sheet for more than 20 years.

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