In today's episode, Fifth Season co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graham Taylor talk "Severance" and what its Emmy noms haul means for the business. And TV editor Michael Schneider has a big idea for the new Emmy Awards TV contract.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Thursday, September eleventh, twenty
twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am co
editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in
LA He's in New York, and Variety has reporters around
the world covering the business of entertainment. In today's episode,
(00:30):
we'll hear from Chris Rice and Graham Taylor. Those two
are co CEOs of Fifth Season, the production banner behind
the Apple TV Plus drama Severance, which lapped the field
this year with Emmy nominations. And we'll hear from Variety
Television editor Michael Schneider on why he thinks the Television
Academy should stop thinking about the wheel and start thinking
(00:52):
about a roadblock when it comes to the Emmys. Mike
will explain before we get to that. Here are a
few headlines just in this morning that you need to know.
Francis Canal Plus is really going forward on its expansion plans.
The company has hired Paul Gilbert to serve as Senior
VP of English Language Series based in London. He's the
(01:12):
former commissioning editor of Sky Studios. Netflix has ordered an
animated comedy from Ricky Gervase. Ali Kats is described as
a slacker sitcom that follows the trials and tribulations of
a group of feral British cats from all walks of society.
It's got a six episode order. Harbor View Equity Partners
(01:33):
has led a thirty million dollar investment in Lion Forge Entertainment.
Lion Forge is the production banner behind the HBO Max
animated series Ayanu, and it specializes in kids and family entertainment.
All of these stories and so much more can be
found on Variety dot com. Right now, Now we turn
(01:56):
to conversations with industry leaders and Variety journalists about new
us and trends in show business today. Our guests are
Graham Taylor and Chris Rice, the co CEOs of fifth Season.
We discuss what all those Emmy nominations mean to them
as a business and what's next for the busy banner.
Graham Taylor and Chris Rice, thank you so much for
(02:16):
joining me, Thank you for having us. Thank you. We're
talking via video call, but of course you all are
just across the courtyard from the Variety building. We do
share a common building here in West La so Hey neighbors.
Very belated congratulations on that boat load of Emmy nominations
that you got this year for Severance twenty seven leading
(02:38):
the pack. What was that like?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I think probably surreal, Maybe felt like a moment in Severance. Yeah,
obviously we'd hoped for some love, but hadn't imagined what happens.
You know, twenty seven is an unimaginable number for us,
I think, so we were extremely pleased and extremely grateful
and happy for all the incredible people who make the show.
(03:02):
Just an incredible assemblage of craftsmen and women, kind of
mind blowing dream team of creatives that together have managed
to weave a special and unique voice Graham.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
In a world where I think, certainly Chris and I
and our colleagues like we long for, strive for and
pursue original storytelling, it's nice to see that embraced and
supported by critics and fans, and certainly my status saw
my twelve year old daughter's soccer team. I've definitely gotten
up one notch. They make me carry the tent a
lot less.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
But let me ask you, from a hard nosed business
perspective at the nomination stage. Does that outpouring of nomination
change anything per Severance as a business. Does it allow
you to license it for more money in other territories.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
It's unquestionably concrete for us as a business because I
think Fifth Season from the day one, has been trying
to build a place as the home for the best
creatives to come with truly original stories and make films
and TV shows that feel authored and original and unique.
(04:15):
And to have such success with one of them obviously
helps drive people to be in business with us and
helps create a place that hopefully the best people want
to come and work, and that for us is everything.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Quite a calling card. Let me ask a very specific
question Severance as a business property for fifth Season. Obviously
it's a very expensive show and Apple pays the license fee.
Are you able to license that in other markets? Is
Severance able to become a really strong ongoing business for
fifth Season versus a more traditional streaming deal where they
(04:56):
pay you upfront and they have the license for a
very long time.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I think the interesting thing to look at, right, I
think even on any of these shows where we're licensing
that first streaming window is looking at what the value
of our retain rights. What's going to be the value
of linear television and est and DVD and merch and
all the things that we do hold back from the
streamers and sometimes will work to exploit those rights with them,
or it'll be interesting to see as the world opens up,
(05:23):
particularly linear in every territory around the world, what is
the appetite and the business around those rights. I think
it's going to be a fascinating thing to watch.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
After season two. I would imagine you'd have a merchandise
opportunity with some very fancy marching band uniforms.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Yeah, working on it.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Let me ask you about the business around series in
the old days that everybody was shooting for er and
law and order beyond the air. As long as you
can to mass as many seasons and episodes for a
show like Severance, if it goes for seasons, five seasons,
even six seasons, can that be a very healthy business
for you over the long.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
I think both both can be true, right, which is
the four or five six seasons of a streaming show
is very valuable and creates a lot of economics. But
that is kind of apples to oranges to the economics
of the Seinfelder Friends or shows like that. They're that
historical opportunity for syndication, not that there's no upsides when
(06:22):
something's really successful. Again, when one's a bigger studio, one
can retain will rights, monetize those rights through our range
distribution businesses. There are obviously other models out that, having
come out of independent film for one hundred and fifty years,
that still is a business of anomalies of a half
dozen that actually really kind of breakthrough. One of the
(06:43):
things I do love about this new era of let's
call it streaming television is I love to call it
six to ten hour format of storytelling creatively, so longer move.
It's really interesting to see what these filmmakers can create
and achieve in that sort of banned of keeping things compelling.
And by the way, it mainly have two seasons of
(07:04):
a life that's interesting to tell creatively, or three or
four or five to me as part of the excitement
of how do you break in, how you break those
stories and let them live and breathe.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
The company started out as it in depor content, became
fifth season a couple of years ago. What has been
the best advantage to be able to really build this
company from scratch. What have you been able to do
in the design of the company that is an advantage
over an established studio.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
For me personally, having had experience on the other side,
is I always found it frustrated when dealing with studios
where it felt like they were highly siloed. Movie people
didn't talk to TV people, and it very much felt
like a lot of independent contractors. So I think it
was really important to us that it's a highly collaborative,
highly entrepreneurial environment where people are empowered. You've had to
(07:54):
find great people and you've really got to trust them
and empower them.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Both Graham and I started off koreas as produce as
Ben went to work inside a talent agency, not as
agents necessarily, but as business builders and support for talent,
building their projects and financing them and distributing them. And
I think during that phase we saw how a good
(08:18):
experience for talent, for lawyers, managers, agents, kind of everyone
in that ecosystem, what a good experience was and what
a bad experience was. That was always central to how
we built Endeavor content. And then fifth season was trying
to be a place that would give a good experience
to all the creative participants, and that became kind of
(08:41):
central as a philosophy to our company. I think that
helped us to maybe be a bit more nimble and
do deals in ways that were just slightly different from traditional.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Christ and Graham. Thank you so much for taking some
time out. I know this is a busy week for you.
You have the high class problem of a lot of
events to attend. Let me ask you TV or film
anything coming up for fifth season that you'd like to
point out.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
We have Chief of War running right now on Apple Episodes.
Another episode drops later this week, which.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Varieties Aramade Tanubu gave a rave review to.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
It is a fantastic show. I think again speaks to
kind of originality. You've not seen anything like this before.
We've got Savants coming out on Apple TV Plus with
Jessica chen Ding. We have the incredible East of Eden
next year on Netflix, which we're really excited about. His
and Hers also on Netflix. So we've got a great
(09:41):
raft of TV shows being made, and we've got a
fantastic group of movies.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Post including Yan Kamasa's The Anniversary coming out through the
lions Gate which is spectacular. So we have a lot
coming down the pike.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Chris and Graham, thank you so much for your time.
I will see you in the Emmy swirl cheers. And
now here's Michael Schneider. He's got a big idea for
how the Emmy Awards should negotiate their next TV rights deal.
I think it's an idea whose time has come. Hello
Michael Schneider, Thanks for joining me.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Absolutely happy Emmys.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
This is your busy season. You've been on several times
this week.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Indeed, I wanted.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
To talk to you about your award circuit Emmy column
that you wrote last week. You made a forceful argument
for a significant change in the way the annual Emmy
Awards telecast is carried to the masses every year. Tell
us why you think it's time that the Emmy really
changes up their game in the way that they licensed
the Awards telecast itself to networks.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Sure, sure, so. As a quick primer for folks right now,
and this is the way it's been since nineteen ninety five.
The Emmys actually are on a rotating wheel in that
every year a different network runs the Emmys cycle of
four networks, ABC, NBCCBS, and Fox, and they take turns
running it that way, it's fair that way, everyone has
(11:07):
a piece of the Emmys. But that was fine back
in the pre streaming era, where first off, people were
pretty much just watching broadcast TV, so there was a
good chance that they would run into the Emms and
watch it. But in this era, where there are so
many different streamers, so many different ways to watch TV,
there's just no reason to tune into a single network
(11:27):
carrying the Emmys unless you're a super fan of award shows.
So my ideal was the Wheel had its day. But
with the Wheel deal expiring next year, NBC has the
Ememes next year, CBS has it this year. After that
that the deal is up, and the TV Academy, actually
starting next week after this year's ceremony, can start shopping
(11:51):
around a new deal. So, rather than renewing this Wheel
deal the way it is now or just finding an
exclusive part which never really works because then you're relegating
the Emmys to just one home and none of the
other outlets have any skin in the game and no
reason to support the Emmys, why not give everyone the
(12:12):
Emmys and follow a model that has actually been done
pretty effectively with charity events through the years. Well, usually
when there's another big disaster, there's a charity event that
comes after, and every network, every streamer will then run
that charity event. It's called a roadblock. Why don't we
do that with the most important broadcast of the television year,
(12:34):
which is greating itself.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Roadblocks, especially in southern California are never welcome, but in
this case, an airwaves roadblock for a couple hours a night,
one night a year. Your argument just made a lot
of sense to me as I was proofing it, but really,
as you think about it, because everybody's everybody is invested
in getting people excited about the medium. In the past,
(12:58):
the largest network in the past, the broadcast networks, the
big four that carry it. Those networks, if you've been
paying attention, have not been front and center in the
Emmy race, which is another reason why Kathy Bates snagging
that Emmy nomination for her work in Matlock is a
big deal for CBS. Did you workshop that at all
in terms of talking to people, because again, as you say,
(13:20):
roadblocks are well known. The Stand Up to Cancer Telethon
has recently been one of those things where you know
virtually everybody can get behind and donate an hour of
time to this most worthy cause. And it really makes
a difference. If you're a viewer and you're flipping around
and you see the same thing on one channel, you're
going to pay attention to that because it's that's unusual.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
And so yes, I actually did run this by Maury McIntyre,
who's the CEO of the TV Academy, and he said
he was game. He liked the idea. So I hope
that maybe I've sprinkled some ideas for the TV Academy
as they sit back down with their network partners and
start hashing out whatever this new contract's going to look like.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Before I let you go, I won't ask you for predictions,
but any thoughts on things that you think people should
watch on Sunday night as we get ready for the
big show.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
I think the big question is going to be the
pit versus Severance. We saw some interesting signs over the
Creative Arts weekend. Severance got six awards, the Pitcot two,
but the Pitcot one of the most important ones, which
was casting for a drama. And as we know that
that acting community is huge, one of the largest voting
bodies at the TV Academy, so that could be a
(14:31):
sign that we may be heading towards a pit victory,
but who knows.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Yeah, I mean, you know, there's great stories either way.
But Michael, thank you. It's going to be a busy weekend.
Very curious to see what happens on the other side
of it.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Here we go.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
As we close out today's episode, I want to take
a moment to remember that this is September eleventh. The
passage of time has eased the pain of that day
for many us, but an event like the shocking murder
on Wednesday of conservative activist Charlie Kirk brings it all back.
Nine to eleven was an act of stunning political violence.
(15:12):
We don't know yet all the circumstances around the killing
of Kirk, but we do know that the political rhetoric
in this country has been ratcheted to the bursting point,
as was the case with nine to eleven. As a nation,
we need to look inward and ask ourselves how we
got here. A thirty one year old man died senselessly
(15:33):
and tragically yesterday. Twenty four years ago today, nearly three
thousand people died senselessly and tragically by extremists who believed
America was evil Let's never forget how hete stoked by ideology,
changed our lives forever. We'll close with a cliff from
(15:55):
the twenty twenty four nine to eleven remembrance ceremony in
Lower Manhattan, with the reading of the names of all
of those who died when the World Trade Center towers fell.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Gordon m Amath and amiro Abod, Marie Rose Abod, Andrew Anthony,
ABOUTE Vincent Paul, ABOUTE. Lawrence Christopher, Abel, Alana Abraham, William F. Abrahamson,
(16:27):
Richard Anthony, Assito, Heinrich Bernard Ackerman.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Thanks for listening. This episode was written and reported by
me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions from Michael Schneider. It was
edited by Aaron Greenwald Stick's Nick's hick Picks. Please leave
us a review at the podcast platform of your choice,
and please tune in on Monday for another episode of
Daily Variety.
Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Thursday, September eleventh, twenty
twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am co
editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in
LA He's in New York, and Variety has reporters around
the world covering the business of entertainment. In today's episode,
(00:30):
we'll hear from Chris Rice and Graham Taylor. Those two
are co CEOs of Fifth Season, the production banner behind
the Apple TV Plus drama Severance, which lapped the field
this year with Emmy nominations. And we'll hear from Variety
Television editor Michael Schneider on why he thinks the Television
Academy should stop thinking about the wheel and start thinking
(00:52):
about a roadblock when it comes to the Emmys. Mike
will explain before we get to that. Here are a
few headlines just in this morning that you need to know.
Francis Canal Plus is really going forward on its expansion plans.
The company has hired Paul Gilbert to serve as Senior
VP of English Language Series based in London. He's the
(01:12):
former commissioning editor of Sky Studios. Netflix has ordered an
animated comedy from Ricky Gervase. Ali Kats is described as
a slacker sitcom that follows the trials and tribulations of
a group of feral British cats from all walks of society.
It's got a six episode order. Harbor View Equity Partners
(01:33):
has led a thirty million dollar investment in Lion Forge Entertainment.
Lion Forge is the production banner behind the HBO Max
animated series Ayanu, and it specializes in kids and family entertainment.
All of these stories and so much more can be
found on Variety dot com. Right now, Now we turn
(01:56):
to conversations with industry leaders and Variety journalists about new
us and trends in show business today. Our guests are
Graham Taylor and Chris Rice, the co CEOs of fifth Season.
We discuss what all those Emmy nominations mean to them
as a business and what's next for the busy banner.
Graham Taylor and Chris Rice, thank you so much for
(02:16):
joining me, Thank you for having us. Thank you. We're
talking via video call, but of course you all are
just across the courtyard from the Variety building. We do
share a common building here in West La so Hey neighbors.
Very belated congratulations on that boat load of Emmy nominations
that you got this year for Severance twenty seven leading
(02:38):
the pack. What was that like?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I think probably surreal, Maybe felt like a moment in Severance. Yeah,
obviously we'd hoped for some love, but hadn't imagined what happens.
You know, twenty seven is an unimaginable number for us,
I think, so we were extremely pleased and extremely grateful
and happy for all the incredible people who make the show.
(03:02):
Just an incredible assemblage of craftsmen and women, kind of
mind blowing dream team of creatives that together have managed
to weave a special and unique voice Graham.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
In a world where I think, certainly Chris and I
and our colleagues like we long for, strive for and
pursue original storytelling, it's nice to see that embraced and
supported by critics and fans, and certainly my status saw
my twelve year old daughter's soccer team. I've definitely gotten
up one notch. They make me carry the tent a
lot less.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
But let me ask you, from a hard nosed business
perspective at the nomination stage. Does that outpouring of nomination
change anything per Severance as a business. Does it allow
you to license it for more money in other territories.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
It's unquestionably concrete for us as a business because I
think Fifth Season from the day one, has been trying
to build a place as the home for the best
creatives to come with truly original stories and make films
and TV shows that feel authored and original and unique.
(04:15):
And to have such success with one of them obviously
helps drive people to be in business with us and
helps create a place that hopefully the best people want
to come and work, and that for us is everything.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Quite a calling card. Let me ask a very specific
question Severance as a business property for fifth Season. Obviously
it's a very expensive show and Apple pays the license fee.
Are you able to license that in other markets? Is
Severance able to become a really strong ongoing business for
fifth Season versus a more traditional streaming deal where they
(04:56):
pay you upfront and they have the license for a
very long time.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I think the interesting thing to look at, right, I
think even on any of these shows where we're licensing
that first streaming window is looking at what the value
of our retain rights. What's going to be the value
of linear television and est and DVD and merch and
all the things that we do hold back from the
streamers and sometimes will work to exploit those rights with them,
or it'll be interesting to see as the world opens up,
(05:23):
particularly linear in every territory around the world, what is
the appetite and the business around those rights. I think
it's going to be a fascinating thing to watch.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
After season two. I would imagine you'd have a merchandise
opportunity with some very fancy marching band uniforms.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Yeah, working on it.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Let me ask you about the business around series in
the old days that everybody was shooting for er and
law and order beyond the air. As long as you
can to mass as many seasons and episodes for a
show like Severance, if it goes for seasons, five seasons,
even six seasons, can that be a very healthy business
for you over the long.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
I think both both can be true, right, which is
the four or five six seasons of a streaming show
is very valuable and creates a lot of economics. But
that is kind of apples to oranges to the economics
of the Seinfelder Friends or shows like that. They're that
historical opportunity for syndication, not that there's no upsides when
(06:22):
something's really successful. Again, when one's a bigger studio, one
can retain will rights, monetize those rights through our range
distribution businesses. There are obviously other models out that, having
come out of independent film for one hundred and fifty years,
that still is a business of anomalies of a half
dozen that actually really kind of breakthrough. One of the
(06:43):
things I do love about this new era of let's
call it streaming television is I love to call it
six to ten hour format of storytelling creatively, so longer move.
It's really interesting to see what these filmmakers can create
and achieve in that sort of banned of keeping things compelling.
And by the way, it mainly have two seasons of
(07:04):
a life that's interesting to tell creatively, or three or
four or five to me as part of the excitement
of how do you break in, how you break those
stories and let them live and breathe.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
The company started out as it in depor content, became
fifth season a couple of years ago. What has been
the best advantage to be able to really build this
company from scratch. What have you been able to do
in the design of the company that is an advantage
over an established studio.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
For me personally, having had experience on the other side,
is I always found it frustrated when dealing with studios
where it felt like they were highly siloed. Movie people
didn't talk to TV people, and it very much felt
like a lot of independent contractors. So I think it
was really important to us that it's a highly collaborative,
highly entrepreneurial environment where people are empowered. You've had to
(07:54):
find great people and you've really got to trust them
and empower them.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Both Graham and I started off koreas as produce as
Ben went to work inside a talent agency, not as
agents necessarily, but as business builders and support for talent,
building their projects and financing them and distributing them. And
I think during that phase we saw how a good
(08:18):
experience for talent, for lawyers, managers, agents, kind of everyone
in that ecosystem, what a good experience was and what
a bad experience was. That was always central to how
we built Endeavor content. And then fifth season was trying
to be a place that would give a good experience
to all the creative participants, and that became kind of
(08:41):
central as a philosophy to our company. I think that
helped us to maybe be a bit more nimble and
do deals in ways that were just slightly different from traditional.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Christ and Graham. Thank you so much for taking some
time out. I know this is a busy week for you.
You have the high class problem of a lot of
events to attend. Let me ask you TV or film
anything coming up for fifth season that you'd like to
point out.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
We have Chief of War running right now on Apple Episodes.
Another episode drops later this week, which.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Varieties Aramade Tanubu gave a rave review to.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
It is a fantastic show. I think again speaks to
kind of originality. You've not seen anything like this before.
We've got Savants coming out on Apple TV Plus with
Jessica chen Ding. We have the incredible East of Eden
next year on Netflix, which we're really excited about. His
and Hers also on Netflix. So we've got a great
(09:41):
raft of TV shows being made, and we've got a
fantastic group of movies.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Post including Yan Kamasa's The Anniversary coming out through the
lions Gate which is spectacular. So we have a lot
coming down the pike.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Chris and Graham, thank you so much for your time.
I will see you in the Emmy swirl cheers. And
now here's Michael Schneider. He's got a big idea for
how the Emmy Awards should negotiate their next TV rights deal.
I think it's an idea whose time has come. Hello
Michael Schneider, Thanks for joining me.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Absolutely happy Emmys.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
This is your busy season. You've been on several times
this week.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Indeed, I wanted.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
To talk to you about your award circuit Emmy column
that you wrote last week. You made a forceful argument
for a significant change in the way the annual Emmy
Awards telecast is carried to the masses every year. Tell
us why you think it's time that the Emmy really
changes up their game in the way that they licensed
the Awards telecast itself to networks.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Sure, sure, so. As a quick primer for folks right now,
and this is the way it's been since nineteen ninety five.
The Emmys actually are on a rotating wheel in that
every year a different network runs the Emmys cycle of
four networks, ABC, NBCCBS, and Fox, and they take turns
running it that way, it's fair that way, everyone has
(11:07):
a piece of the Emmys. But that was fine back
in the pre streaming era, where first off, people were
pretty much just watching broadcast TV, so there was a
good chance that they would run into the Emms and
watch it. But in this era, where there are so
many different streamers, so many different ways to watch TV,
there's just no reason to tune into a single network
(11:27):
carrying the Emmys unless you're a super fan of award shows.
So my ideal was the Wheel had its day. But
with the Wheel deal expiring next year, NBC has the
Ememes next year, CBS has it this year. After that
that the deal is up, and the TV Academy, actually
starting next week after this year's ceremony, can start shopping
(11:51):
around a new deal. So, rather than renewing this Wheel
deal the way it is now or just finding an
exclusive part which never really works because then you're relegating
the Emmys to just one home and none of the
other outlets have any skin in the game and no
reason to support the Emmys, why not give everyone the
(12:12):
Emmys and follow a model that has actually been done
pretty effectively with charity events through the years. Well, usually
when there's another big disaster, there's a charity event that
comes after, and every network, every streamer will then run
that charity event. It's called a roadblock. Why don't we
do that with the most important broadcast of the television year,
(12:34):
which is greating itself.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Roadblocks, especially in southern California are never welcome, but in
this case, an airwaves roadblock for a couple hours a night,
one night a year. Your argument just made a lot
of sense to me as I was proofing it, but really,
as you think about it, because everybody's everybody is invested
in getting people excited about the medium. In the past,
(12:58):
the largest network in the past, the broadcast networks, the
big four that carry it. Those networks, if you've been
paying attention, have not been front and center in the
Emmy race, which is another reason why Kathy Bates snagging
that Emmy nomination for her work in Matlock is a
big deal for CBS. Did you workshop that at all
in terms of talking to people, because again, as you say,
(13:20):
roadblocks are well known. The Stand Up to Cancer Telethon
has recently been one of those things where you know
virtually everybody can get behind and donate an hour of
time to this most worthy cause. And it really makes
a difference. If you're a viewer and you're flipping around
and you see the same thing on one channel, you're
going to pay attention to that because it's that's unusual.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
And so yes, I actually did run this by Maury McIntyre,
who's the CEO of the TV Academy, and he said
he was game. He liked the idea. So I hope
that maybe I've sprinkled some ideas for the TV Academy
as they sit back down with their network partners and
start hashing out whatever this new contract's going to look like.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Before I let you go, I won't ask you for predictions,
but any thoughts on things that you think people should
watch on Sunday night as we get ready for the
big show.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
I think the big question is going to be the
pit versus Severance. We saw some interesting signs over the
Creative Arts weekend. Severance got six awards, the Pitcot two,
but the Pitcot one of the most important ones, which
was casting for a drama. And as we know that
that acting community is huge, one of the largest voting
bodies at the TV Academy, so that could be a
(14:31):
sign that we may be heading towards a pit victory,
but who knows.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Yeah, I mean, you know, there's great stories either way.
But Michael, thank you. It's going to be a busy weekend.
Very curious to see what happens on the other side
of it.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Here we go.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
As we close out today's episode, I want to take
a moment to remember that this is September eleventh. The
passage of time has eased the pain of that day
for many us, but an event like the shocking murder
on Wednesday of conservative activist Charlie Kirk brings it all back.
Nine to eleven was an act of stunning political violence.
(15:12):
We don't know yet all the circumstances around the killing
of Kirk, but we do know that the political rhetoric
in this country has been ratcheted to the bursting point,
as was the case with nine to eleven. As a nation,
we need to look inward and ask ourselves how we
got here. A thirty one year old man died senselessly
(15:33):
and tragically yesterday. Twenty four years ago today, nearly three
thousand people died senselessly and tragically by extremists who believed
America was evil Let's never forget how hete stoked by ideology,
changed our lives forever. We'll close with a cliff from
(15:55):
the twenty twenty four nine to eleven remembrance ceremony in
Lower Manhattan, with the reading of the names of all
of those who died when the World Trade Center towers fell.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Gordon m Amath and amiro Abod, Marie Rose Abod, Andrew Anthony,
ABOUTE Vincent Paul, ABOUTE. Lawrence Christopher, Abel, Alana Abraham, William F. Abrahamson,
(16:27):
Richard Anthony, Assito, Heinrich Bernard Ackerman.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Thanks for listening. This episode was written and reported by
me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions from Michael Schneider. It was
edited by Aaron Greenwald Stick's Nick's hick Picks. Please leave
us a review at the podcast platform of your choice,
and please tune in on Monday for another episode of
Daily Variety.
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