AWARDS SEASON | CREATIVE ARTS EMMYS WINNERS
The 75th Creative Arts Emmy took place over 2 days! Our predictions are in bold, the ones we correctly identified as winners are in bold italics and winners that we didn’t predict are in italics.
Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series
Kevin Hart - Die Hart 2: Die Harter (The Roku Channel)
Tim Robinson - I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson (Netflix)
Ben Schwartz - Die Hart 2: Die Harter (The Roku Channel)
Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series
Nathalie Emmanuel - Die Hart 2: Die Harter (The Roku Channel)
Jasmine Guy - Chronicles of Jessica Wu (Tubi)
Paula Pell - Die Hart 2: Die Harter (The Roku Channel)
Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary - Wendy O'Brien and Chris Gehry (ABC)
Jury Duty - Susie Farris (Amazon Freevee)
Only Murders in the Building - Bernard Telsey, Destiny Lilly, and Tiffany Little Canfield (Hulu)
Ted Lasso - Theo Park (Apple TV+)
The Bear - Jeanie Bacharach, Mickie Paskal, Jennifer Rudnicke, and AJ Links (FX)
Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Bad Sisters - Nina Gold and Lucy Amos (Apple TV+)
Succession - Avy Kaufman (HBO Max)
The Crown - Robert Sterne (Netflix)
The Last of Us - Victoria Thomas, Jennifer Page and Corinne Clark (HBO Max)
The White Lotus - Meredith Tucker, Barbara Giordani and Francesco Vedovati (HBO Max)
Yellowjackets - Junie Lowry Johnson, Corinne Clark, Libby Goldstein and Jennifer Page (Showtime)
Outstanding CasTing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Beef - Charlene Lee and Claire Koonce (Netflix)
Dahmer - Robert J. Ulrich, Carol Kritzer and Eric Dawson (Netflix)
Daisy Jones and the Six - Justine Arteta and Kim Davis-Wagner (Prime Video)
Fleishman is in Trouble - Laura Rosenthal and Jodi Angstreich (FX)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story - Wendy O'Brien (The Roku Channel)
Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming
Blindspotting - Routines: "The History" / "San Quentin Blues" (Starz), Jon Boogz, Choreographer
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies - Routines: "New Cool" / "Hand Jive" / "The Boom"(Paramount+), Jamal Sims, Choreographer
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies - Routines: "Pulling Strings" / "Hit Me Again" / "High Rollin" (Paramount+), Jeffrey Mortensen and Louise Hradsky, Choreographers
Schmigadoon! - Routines: "Bells and Whistles" / "Good Enough to Eat" / "Bustin' Out" (Apple TV+), Christopher Gattelli, Choreographer
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Routines: "Trash Man" / "Dream Kitchen" (Prime Video), Marguerite Derricks, Choreographer
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A NARRATIVE CONTEMPORARY PROGRAM (ONE HOUR OR MORE)
The Last Of Us • Infected • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog John Paino, Production Designer Don Macaulay, Art Director Paul Healy, Set Decorator
Poker Face • The Orpheus Syndrome • Peacock • T-Street, MRC Television, Animal Pictures
Judy Rhee, Production Designer Martha Sparrow, Art Director Cathy Marshall, Set Decorator
Succession • America Decides • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Stephen H. Carter, Production Designer Molly Mikula, Art Director George Detitta Jr., Set Decorator
Ted Lasso • Sunflowers • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television Paul Cripps, Production Designer Iain White, Art Director Kate Goodman, Set Decorator
Wednesday • Wednesday's Child Is Full Of Woe • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production Mark Scruton, Production Designer Adrian Curelea, Art Director Robert Hepburn, Set Decorator
The White Lotus • Ciao • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District Cristina Onori, Production Designer Gianpaolo Rifino, Art Director Letizia Santucci, Set Decorator
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A NARRATIVE PERIOD OR FANTASY PROGRAM (ONE HOUR OR MORE)
Daisy Jones & The Six • Track 10: Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide • Prime Video • Hello Sunshine, Amazon Studios Jessica Kender, Production Designer Brian Grego, Art Director Lisa Clark, Set Decorator Andi Brittan, Set Decorator
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities • Netflix • Netflix / Double Dare You Tamara Deverell, Production Designer Brandt Gordon, Art Director Shane Vieau, Set Decorator
House Of The Dragon • The Heirs Of The Dragon • HBO Max • HBO in association with 1:26 Pictures, Bastard Sword, and GRRM Productions Jim Clay, Production Designer Dominic Masters, Art Director Claire Nia Richards, Set Decorator
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel • Susan • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Bill Groom, Production Designer Neil Prince, Art Director Ellen Christiansen, Set Decorator
Perry Mason • Chapter Eleven • HBO Max • HBO in association with Team Downey and AMBEG Screen Products Keith P. Cunningham, Production Designer Ian Scroggins, Art Director Halina Siwolop, Set Decorator
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A NARRATIVE PROGRAM (HALF-HOUR)
The Bear • System • FX • FX Productions Sam Lisenco, Production Designer Eric Dean, Art Director Emily Carter, Set Decorator
How I Met Your Father • The Reset Button • Ride Or Die • Daddy • Hulu • 20th Television Glenda Rovello, Production Designer Conny Boettger-Marinos, Art Director Amy Beth Feldman, Set Decorator
Only Murders In The Building • Sparring Partners • I Know Who Did It • Hulu • 20th Television Patrick Howe, Production Designer Jordan Jacobs, Art Director Rich Murray, Set Decorator
Schmigadoon! • Famous As Hell • Apple TV+ • Broadway Video / Universal Television in association with Apple Jamie Walker McCall, Production Designer Ryan Garton, Art Director Gregory Clarke, Art Director Carol Lavallee, Set Decorator
What We Do In The Shadows • The Night Market • FX • FX Productions Shayne Fox, Production Designer Aaron Noël, Art Director Kerri Wylie, Set Decorator
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A VARIETY OR REALITY SERIES
A Black Lady Sketch Show • Peek-A-Boob, Your Titty’s Out • HBO Max • HBO in association with For Better or Words, Inc., HooRAE, 3 Arts Entertainment and Jax Media Cindy Chao, Production Designer Michele Yu, Production Designer Lizzie Boyle, Set Decorator
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver • Museums • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sixteen String Jack Productions and Avalon Television Eric Morrell, Production Designer Sabrina Lederer, Art Director
Queer Eye • Speedy For Life • Netflix • Scout Productions Inc. and ITV Entertainment LLC for Netflix Thomas Rouse, Production Designer Tyka Edwards, Art Director
RuPaul's Drag Race • Blame It On The Edit • MTV • World of Wonder Gianna Costa, Production Designer Brad Bailey, Art Director
Saturday Night Live • Host: Steve Martin & Martin Short • Host: Jenna Ortega • NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video Akira Yoshimura, Production Designer Keith Ian Raywood, Production Designer Andrea Purcigliotti, Production Designer Danielle Webb, Set Decorator
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna • FOX • Jesse Collins Entertainment, DPS and Roc Nation Bruce Rodgers, Production Designer Shelley Rodgers, Art Director Lindsey Breslauer, Art Director Maria Garcia, Art Director Lily Rodgers, Art Director
Carol Burnett: 90 Years Of Laughter + Love • NBC • Silent House Productions Tamlyn Wright, Production Designer Travis Deck, Art Director
Encanto At The Hollywood Bowl • Disney+ • Fulwell 73 Productions Misty Buckley, Production Designer Joe Celli, Art Director Raquel Tarbet, Set Decorator
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards • CBS • Fulwell 73 Julio Himede, Production Designer Kristen Merlino, Art Director
The Oscars • ABC • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Misty Buckley, Production Designer Alana Billingsley, Production Designer John Zuiker, Art Director
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Black Bird • Hand To Mouth • Apple TV+ • Apple Studios Natalie Kingston, Director of Photography
Boston Strangler • Hulu • 20th Century Studios Ben Kutchins, Director of Photography
Dead Ringers • One • Prime Video • AnnaPurna Pictures, Amazon Studios Jody Lee Lipes, ASC, Director of Photography
George & Tammy • Stand By Your Man • Showtime • MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Freckle Films, Blank Films Inc, Mad Chance, Brolin Productions, Aunt Sylvia's Moving Picture Company Igor Martinovic, Director of Photography
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities • The Autopsy • Netflix • Netflix / Double Dare You
Anastas Michos, ASC, GSC, Director of Photography
Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour)
Atlanta - Christian Sprenger (FX)
Barry - Carl Herse (HBO Max)
How I Met Your Father - Gary Baum (Hulu)
Only Murders in the Building - Chris Teague (Hulu)
Schmigadoon! - Jon Joffin (Apple TV+)
The Mandalorian - Dean Cundey (Disney+)
Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour)
Andor - Damián García (Disney+)
House of the Dragon - Catherine Goldschmidt (HBO Max)
The Crown - Adriano Goldman (Netflix)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - M. David Mullen (Prime Video)
The Old Man - Sean Porter (FX)
Wednesday - David Lanzenberg (Netflix)
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM
100 Foot Wave • Chapter VI - Force Majeure • HBO Max • HBO Presents, Topic Studios, Library Films, Amplify Pictures Antoine Chicoye, Cinematography by Mikey Corker, Cinematography by Vincent Kardasik, Cinematography by Alexandre Lesbats, Cinematography by Chris Smith, Cinematography by Laurent Pujol, Cinematography by João Vidinha, Cinematography by Michael Darrigade, Cinematography by
Secrets Of The Elephants • Desert • National Geographic • Oxford Scientific Films LTD and Earthship Productions for National Geographic Toby Strong, Director of Photography James Boon, Director of Photography Bob Poole, Director of Photography
The 1619 Project • Justice • Hulu • Onyx Collective, Lionsgate Productions in association with One Story Up Productions, Harpo Films and The New York Times Jerry Henry, Director of Photography
Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy • Calabria • CNN • CNN Original Series, RAW Andrew Muggleton, Director of Photography
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio C. Kim Miles, CSC, ASC, MySC, Director of Photography Clair Popkin, Cinematography by Julia Liu, Cinematography by
The Territory • National Geographic • National Geographic Documentary Films Presents a Documist and Associação Jupaú Film in association with Time Studios, Xtr, Doc Society Climate Story Fund / A Production of Protozoa Pictures, Passion Pictures, Real Lava Alex Pritz, Cinematography by Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wa, Cinematography by
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A REALITY PROGRAM
The Amazing Race • Series Body Of Work • CBS • WorldRace Productions, Inc. Joshua Gitersonke, Director of Photography Bryan T. Adams, Camera Kathryn Barrows, Camera Josh Bartel, Camera Kurt Carpenter, Camera David D'Angelo, Camera Matthew Di Girolamo, Camera Adam Haisinger, Camera Robert Howsam, Camera Kevin Johnson, Camera Jay Kaufman, Camera Ian Kerr, CSC, Camera Daniel Long, Camera Lucas Kenna Mertes, Camera Ryan Shaw, Camera
Alan Weeks, Camera
Deadliest Catch • Call Of A New Generation • Discovery Channel • Original Productions, LLC for the Discovery Channel David Reichert, Director of Photography Charlie Beck, Director of Photography Bryan Miller, Director of Photography Todd Stanley, Director of Photography Shane Moore, Director of Photography Nathan Garofalos, Director of Photography David Arnold, Director of Photography
Life Below Zero • The Pursuit • National Geographic • BBC Studios Danny Day, Director of Photography Simeon Houtman, Director of Photography Jason Hubbell, Director of Photography Ben Mullin, Director of Photography Zach Vincent, Director of Photography
Survivor • Series Body Of Work • CBS • MGM Television Peter Wery, Director of Photography Scott Duncan, Director of Photography Russ Fill, Director of Photography George Andrews, Camera Tim Barker, Camera Marc Bennett, Camera Paulo Castillo, Camera Rodney Chauvin, Camera Chris Ellison, Camera Nixon George, Camera Matthias Hoffmann, Cinema Toby Hogan, Camera Derek Holt, Camera Efrain "Mofi" Laguna, Camera Ian Miller, Camera Nico Nyoni, Camera Paul Peddinghaus, Camera Jeff Phillips, Camera Nejc Poberaj, Camera Daniel Powell, Camera Louis Powell, Camera Jovan Sales, Camera Erick Sarmiento, Camera Dirk Steyn, Camera John Tattersall, Camera Holly Thompson, Camera Paulo Velozo, Camera Cullum Andrews, Camera Christopher Barker, Director of Aerial Photography Granger Scholtz, Director of Aerial Photography Nic Van Der Westhuizen, Aerial Camera Operator Dwight Winston, Aerial Camera Operator
Welcome To Wrexham • Do Or Die • FX • Boardwalk Pictures Alastair McKevitt, Director of Photography Craig Hastings, Director of Photography Leighton Cox, Director of Photography Jason Bulley, Director of Photography
OUTSTANDING PERIOD COSTUMES FOR A SERIES
The Crown • Mou Mou • Netflix • Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television for Netflix
Amy Roberts, Costume Designer Sidonie Roberts, Associate Costume Designer Christof Roche-Gordon, Costume Supervisor
The Great • Choose Your Weapon • Hulu • Civic Center Media, MRC Sharon Long, Costume Designer Claire Tremlett, Assistant Costume Designer Basia Kuznar, Assistant Costume Designer Anna Lau, Costume Supervisor
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel • Susan • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Donna Zakowska, Costume Designer Katie Hartsoe, Assistant Costume Designer Ben Philipp, Assistant Costume Designer Amanda Seymour, Assistant Costume Designer Claire Aquila, Costume Supervisor Marie Seifts, Costume Supervisor
Perry Mason • Chapter Ten • HBO Max • HBO in association with Team Downey and AMBEG Screen Products Catherine Adair, Costume Designer David J. Matwijkow, Assistant Costume Designer Nanrose Buchman, Costume Supervisor
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story • Crown Jewels • Netflix • A Netflix Series in association with shondalandmedia Lyn Elizabeth Paolo, Costume Designer Laura Frecon, Co-Costume Designer Jovana Gospavic, Assistant Costume Designer Alex Locke, Costume Supervisor
OUTSTANDING PERIOD COSTUMES FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story • Please Don't Go • Netflix • Ryan Murphy Productions for Netflix Rudy Mance, Costume Designer Monica Chamberlain, Assistant Costume Designer Desmond Smith, Assistant Costume Designer Suzy Freeman, Costume Supervisor
Daisy Jones & The Six • Track 8: Looks Like We Made It • Prime Video • Hello Sunshine, Amazon Studios Denise Wingate, Costume Designer Derek Sullivan, Costume Supervisor
George & Tammy • We're Gonna Hold On • Showtime • MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Freckle Films, Blank Films Inc, Mad Chance, Brolin Productions, Aunt Sylvia's Moving Picture Company Mitchell Travers, Costume Designer Mitchel Wolf, Assistant Costume Designer Laurel Rose, Assistant Costume Designer Aileen Abercrombie, Assistant Costume Designer Susan Russell, Costume Supervisor Charles Carter, Costume Supervisor
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities • Dreams In The Witch House • Netflix • Netflix / Double Dare You Luis Sequeira, Costume Designer Ann Steel, Assistant Costume Designer Heather Crepp, Costume Supervisor
Welcome To Chippendales • Leeches • Hulu • 20th Television Peggy Schnitzer, Costume Designer
Derek Bulger, Assistant Costume Designer Julie Heath, Costume Supervisor
OUTSTANDING FANTASY/SCI-FI COSTUMES
Hocus Pocus 2 • Disney+ • Walt Disney Pictures Salvador Perez, Costume Designer Elizabeth Shelton, Assistant Costume Designer Gala Autumn, Costume Supervisor
House Of The Dragon • The Heirs Of The Dragon • HBO Max • HBO in association with 1:26 Pictures, Bastard Sword, and GRRM Productions Jany Temime, Costume Designer Katherine Burchill, Assistant Costume Designer Paul Yeowell, Assistant Costume Designer Rachel George, Assistant Costume Designer Joanna Lynch, Costume Supervisor
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power • A Shadow Of The Past • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Kate Hawley, Costume Designer Libby Dempster, Assistant Costume Designer Lucy McLay, Assistant Costume Designer Jaindra Watson, Assistant Costume Designer Pip Lingard, Costume Supervisor Jenny Rushton, Costume Supervisor
The Mandalorian • Chapter 22: Guns For Hire • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Shawna Trpcic, Costume Designer Elissa Alcala, Assistant Costume Designer Julie Robar, Costume Supervisor Julie Yang Silver, Costume Supervisor
Obi-Wan Kenobi • Part I • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Suttirat Anne Larlarb, Costume Designer Stacia Lang, Assistant Costume Designer Lynda Foote, Costume Supervisor
What We Do In The Shadows • The Wedding • FX • FX Productions Laura Montgomery, Costume Designer Barbara Cardoso, Assistant Costume Designer Judy Laukkanen, Costume Supervisor
OUTSTANDING CONTEMPORARY COSTUMES FOR A SERIES
Emily In Paris • What's It All About... • Netflix • MTV Entertainment Studios, Darren Star Productions, and Jax Media for Netflix Marylin Fitoussi, Costume Designer Herehau Ragonneau, Assistant Costume Designer Daniela Telle, Associate Costume Designer Marie Fremont, Costume Supervisor
The Last Of Us • Endure And Survive • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog
Cynthia Ann Summers, Costume Designer Kelsey Chobotar, Assistant Costume Designer Rebecca Toon, Assistant Costume Designer Michelle Carr, Costume Supervisor
Only Murders In The Building • Framed • Hulu • 20th Television Dana Covarrubias, Costume Designer Abby Geoghegan, Assistant Costume Designer Kathleen Gerlach, Wardrobe Supervisor
Succession • Church And State • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Michelle Matland, Costume Designer Jonathan Schwartz, Assistant Costume Designer Mark Agnes, Wardrobe Supervisor
Wednesday • Wednesday's Child Is Full Of Woe • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production Colleen Atwood, Costume Designer Mark Sutherland, Co-Costume Designer Robin Soutar, Assistant Costume Designer Claudia Littlefield, Costume Supervisor Adina Bucur, Costume Supervisor
The White Lotus • That's Amore • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District
Alex Bovaird, Costume Designer Brian Sprouse, Assistant Costume Designer Margherita Zanobetti, Costume Supervisor
OUTSTANDING CONTEMPORARY COSTUMES FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
BEEF • The Birds Don't Sing, They Screech In Pain • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production Helen Huang, Costume Designer Austin Wittick, Assistant Costume Designer YJ Hwang, Assistant Costume Designer Mark Anthony Summers, Costume Supervisor
Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas • NBC • Warner Bros. Television in association with Magnolia Hill Productions and Sandollar Productions Provi Fulp, Costume Designer Jose Ramos, Costume Supervisor Steve Summers, Dolly's Wardrobe by
Fleishman Is In Trouble • Me-Time • FX • ABC Signature Leah Katznelson, Costume Designer Angel Peart, Assistant Costume Designer Katie Novello, Assistant Costume Designer Deidre Wegner, Assistant Costume Designer Anne Newton-Harding, Costume Supervisor
Swarm • Honey • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Dominique Dawson, Costume Designer Brittny Chapman, Assistant Costume Designer Mashal Khan, Costume Supervisor
The Watcher • Welcome, Friends • Netflix • A Netflix Series / Jam Tart Films / Prospect Films / Ryan Murphy Television Lou Eyrich, Costume Designer Rudy Mance, Costume Designer Catherine Crabtree, Assistant Costume Designer Zakiya Dennis, Costume Supervisor
Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Emily in Paris (Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
P-Valley (Starz)
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
The Last of Us (HBO Max)
The White Lotus (HBO Max)
Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
American Horror Stories (FX)
Emily in Paris (Netflix)
Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+)
The Last of Us (HBO Max)
The White Lotus (HBO Max)
Wednesday (Netflix)
Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes
Hocus Pocus 2 (Disney+)
House of the Dragon (HBO Max)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+)
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Jon Bernthal - The Bear (FX)
Luke Kirby - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Nathan Lane - Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Pedro Pascal - Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Oliver Platt - The Bear (FX)
Sam Richardson - Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Murray Bartlett - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
James Cromwell - Succession (HBO Max)
Lamar Johnson - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
Arian Moayed - Succession (HBO Max)
Nick Offerman - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
Keivonn Montreal Woodard - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Becky Ann Baker - Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Quinta Brunson - Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Taraji P. Henson - Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Judith Light - Poker Face (Peacock)
Sarah Niles - Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Harriet Walter - Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Hiam Abbass - Succession (HBO Max)
Cherry Jones - Succession (HBO Max)
Melanie Lynskey - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
Storm Reid - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
Anna Torv - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
Harriet Walter - Succession (HBO Max)
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul • Saul Gone • AMC • High Bridge, Crystal Diner, Gran Via Productions and Sony Pictures Television Skip Macdonald, ACE, Editor
The Last Of Us • Endure And Survive • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog Timothy A. Good, ACE, Editor Emily Mendez, Editor
Succession • America Decides • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Jane Rizzo, ACE, Editor
Succession • Connor's Wedding • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Bill Henry, ACE, Editor
Succession • With Open Eyes • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Ken Eluto, ACE, Editor
The White Lotus • Abductions • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District
Heather Persons, ACE, Editor
The White Lotus • Arrivederci • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District
John M. Valerio, ACE, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A MULTI-CAMERA COMEDY SERIES
Call Me Kat • Call Me Consciously Uncoupled • FOX • That's Wonderful Productions, Sad Clown Productions and BBC Studios in association with Warner Bros. Television and FOX Entertainment
Pamela Marshall, Editor
How I Met Your Father • Daddy • Hulu • 20th Television Russell Griffin, ACE, Editor
Night Court • Pilot • NBC • After January Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television Kirk Benson, Editor Chris Poulos, Editor
The Upshaws • Duct Up • Netflix • Savannah Sweet Productions and Push It Productions for Netflix Russell Griffin, ACE, Editor Angel Gamboa Bryant, Editor
The Upshaws • Off Beat • Netflix • Savannah Sweet Productions and Push It Productions for Netflix Angel Gamboa Bryant, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA COMEDY SERIES
Barry • wow • HBO Max • HBO in association with Alec Berg and Hanarply Franky Guttman, Editor Ali Greer, ACE, Editor
The Bear • System • FX • FX Productions Joanna Naugle, Editor
Only Murders In The Building • The Last Day Of Bunny Folger • Hulu • 20th Television Peggy Tachdjian, ACE, Editor
Ted Lasso • Mom City • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television A.J. Catoline, ACE, Editor Alex Szabo, Editor
Ted Lasso • So Long, Farewell • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television Melissa McCoy, ACE, Editor Francesca Castro, Additional Editor
What We Do In The Shadows • Go Flip Yourself • FX • FX Productions Yana Gorskaya, ACE, Editor Dane McMaster, ACE, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
BEEF • Figures Of Light • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production Nat Fuller, Editor Laura Zempel, Editor
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story • The Good Boy Box • Netflix • Ryan Murphy Productions for Netflix Stephanie Filo, ACE, Editor
Ms. Marvel • Generation Why • Disney+ • Marvel Studios Nona Khodai, ACE, Editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE, Editor
Obi-Wan Kenobi • Part VI • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Kelley Dixon, ACE, Editor Josh Earl, ACE, Editor
Prey • Hulu • 20th Century Studios Angela M. Catanzaro, ACE, Editor Claudia Castello, Editor
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story • The Roku Channel • The Roku Channel, Funny or Die, Tango Entertainment Jamie Kennedy, ACE, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR VARIETY PROGRAMMING
A Black Lady Sketch Show • My Love Language Is Words Of Defamation • HBO Max • HBO in association with For Better or Words, Inc., HooRAE, 3 Arts Entertainment and Jax Media Stephanie Filo, ACE, Supervising Editor Malinda Zehner Guerra, Editor Taylor Joy Mason, Editor
Carol Burnett: 90 Years Of Laughter + Love • NBC • Silent House Productions Mike Polito, Offline Editor Timothy Schultz, Offline Editor
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah • Jordan Klepper Shows Trump Supporters January 6th Hearing Clips • Comedy Central • Central Productions, LLC Storm Choi, Editor Eric Davies, Editor Tom Favilla, Editor Lauren Beckett Jackson, Editor Nikolai Johnson, Editor Ryan Middleton, Editor Mark Paone, Editor Erin Shannon, Editor Catherine Trasborg, Editor Einar Westerlund, Editor
History Of The World, Part II • III • Hulu • 20th Television and Searchlight Television Angel Gamboa Bryant, Editor Stephanie Filo, ACE, Editor Daniel Flesher, Editor George Mandl, Editor
Saturday Night Live • HBO Mario Kart Trailer (Segment) • NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video Ryan Spears, Editor Christopher Salerno, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM
Moonage Daydream • HBO Max • Neon Presents, Universal Pictures Presents, BMG, Live Nation Productions, Public Road Productions Present, in association with HBO Documentary Films Brett Morgen, Editor
100 Foot Wave • Chapter III - Jaws • HBO Max • HBO Presents, Topic Studios, Library Films, Amplify Pictures Alex Bayer, Editor Alex Keipper, Editor Quin O'Brien, Editor
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields • Hulu • ABC News Studios, Bed By 8, Matador Content, Drifting Cloud Productions David Teague, Supervising Editor Sara Newens, Editor Anne Yao, Editor
The 1619 Project • Justice • Hulu • Onyx Collective, Lionsgate Productions in association with One Story Up Productions, Harpo Films and The New York Times Ephraim Kirkwood, Editor
Jesse Allain-Marcus, Additional Editor Adriana Pacheco, Additional Editor
Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy • Calabria • CNN • CNN Original Series, RAW Liz Roe, Editor
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio Michael Harte, ACE, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A STRUCTURED REALITY OR COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race • Body Of Work • CBS • WorldRace Productions, Inc. Eric Beetner, Editor Kevin Blum, Editor Trevor Campbell, Editor Kellen Cruden, Editor Jay Gammill, Editor Katherine Griffin, Editor Jason Groothuis, Editor Darrick Lazo, Editor Ryan Leamy, Editor Josh Lowry, Editor Paul Nielsen, Editor Steve Mellon, Editor
Queer Eye • Speedy For Life • Netflix • Scout Productions Inc. and ITV Entertainment LLC for Netflix Toni Ann Carabello, Lead Editor Nova Taylor, Editor Jason Szabo, Editor Widgie Nikia Figaro, Editor Sean Gill, Editor Kimberly Pellnat, Editor
RuPaul's Drag Race • Wigloose: The Rusical! • MTV • World of Wonder Jamie Martin, Lead Editor Paul Cross, Editor Ryan Mallick, Editor Michael Roha, Editor
Survivor • Telenovela • CBS • MGM Television Bill Bowden, Supervising Editor Evan Mediuch, Supervising Editor Francisco Santa Maria, Editor Plowden Schumacher, Editor Andrew Bolhuis, Editor Jacob Teixeira, Editor James Ciccarello, Editor
Top Chef • Body Of Work • Bravo • Magical Elves Steve Lichtenstein, Lead Editor Ericka Concha, Editor Blanka Kovacs, Editor Eric Lambert, Editor Matt Reynolds, Editor Jay M. Rogers, Editor Brian Freundlich, Additional Editor Brian Giberson, Additional Editor Malia Jurick, Additional Editor Brian Kane, Additional Editor Daniel Ruiz, Additional Editor Anthony J. Rivard, Additional Editor Annie Tighe, Additional Editor Tony West, Additional Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR AN UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM
Deadliest Catch • Call Of A New Generation • Discovery Channel • Original Productions, LLC for the Discovery Channel Rob Butler, Supervising Editor Isaiah Camp, Supervising Editor Alexandra Moore, Editor Alexander Rubinow, Editor Ian Olsen, Editor Hugh Elliot, Editor Joe Mikan, Additional Editor
Life Below Zero • A Storm To Remember • National Geographic • BBC Studios Michael Swingler, Editor Tony Diaz, Additional Editor Matt Edwards, Additional Editor Jennifer Nelson, ACE, Additional Editor Tanner Roth, Additional Editor
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked • The Daytona Wind 2 • MTV • World of Wonder Matthew D. Miller, Lead Editor Kellen Cruden, Editor
Vanderpump Rules • Lady And The Glamp • Bravo • Evolution Media Jesse Friedman, Editor Tom McCudden, Editor Ramin Mortazavi, Editor Christian Le Guilloux, Editor Paul Peltekian, Editor Sax Eno, Editor Robert Garry, Editor
Welcome To Wrexham • Do Or Die • FX • Boardwalk Pictures Mohamed El Manasterly, Editor Curtis McConnell, Editor Michael Brown, Editor Charles Little, ACE, Editor Bryan Rowland, Additional Editor
OUTSTANDING EMERGING MEDIA PROGRAM
For All Mankind Season 3 Experience • Apple TV+ • Apple TV+ in association with Tall Ship Productions Apple TV+ Tall Ship Productions Antibody Elastic
Gorillaz Presents • Google • Nexus Studios, Google, Eleven Management Nexus Studios Google
Eleven Management
MLK: Now Is The Time • Oculus • Time Studios, Meta, Flight School Studio Amy Seidenwurm, Executive Producer Ian Orefice, Executive Producer Matthew O'Rourke, Producer/Executive Producer Sulivan Parker, Producer Limbert Fabian, Director
The Notorious B.I.G. Sky's The Limit: A VR Concert Experience • Facebook & Meta Horizon Worlds • A Gunpowder & Sky Production Gunpowder & Sky The Notorious B.I.G. Estate Alex Coletti, Executive Producer Elliot Osagie, Executive Producer
You Destroy. We Create | The War On Ukraine's Culture • Meta Quest TV • NowHere Media, Meta Quest VR for Good NowHere Media
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A VARIETY SERIES
America's Got Talent • Episode 1717 • NBC • Fremantle and Syco Entertainment Noah Mitz, Lighting Designer Will Gossett, Lighting Director Ryan Tanker, Lighting Director Patrick Brazil, Lighting Director Jay Koch, Lighting Director Matt Benson, Lighting Director Scott Chmielewski, Lighting Director Kevin Faust, Video Controller
American Idol • Top 20 • ABC • Fremantle and 19 Entertainment Tom Sutherland, Lighting Designer Bobby Grey, Lighting Director Nathan Files, Lighting Director James Coldicott, Lighting Director Hunter Selby, Lighting Director Scott Chmielewski, Lighting Director Luke Chantrell, Video Controller Ed Moore, Video Controller
Dancing With The Stars • Semi Finals • Disney+ • BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions Noah Mitz, Lighting Designer Michael Berger, Lighting Director Patrick Brazil, Lighting Director Andrew Law, Lighting Director Matt Benson, Lighting Director Matt McAdam, Lighting Director Luke Chantrell, Video Controller
So You Think You Can Dance • Starry Starry Night • FOX • The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC) and Dick Clark Productions (DCP) Robert Barnhart, Lighting Designer Matt Firestone, Lighting Director Pete Radice, Lighting Director Patrick Boozer, Lighting Director Jeff Behm, Lighting Director Christopher Gray, Video Controller
The Voice • Live Finale, Part 2 • NBC • MGM Television and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon and ITV Studios The Voice USA, Inc. Oscar Dominguez, Lighting Designer Ronald Wirsgalla, Lighting Director Erin Anderson, Lighting Director Andrew Munie, Lighting Director Jeff Shood, Lighting Director Daniel Boland, Lighting Director Terrance Ho, Video Controller
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Encanto At The Hollywood Bowl • Disney+ • Fulwell 73 Productions Al Gurdon, Lighting Designer Harry Forster, Lighting Director Bobby Grey, Lighting Director Darien Koop, Lighting Director James Coldicott, Lighting Director Chris Hill, Video Controller Ed Moore, Video Controller
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards • CBS • Fulwell 73 Noah Mitz, Lighting Designer Andy O'Reilly, Lighting Director Patrick Boozer, Lighting Director Ryan Tanker, Lighting Director Madigan Stehly, Lighting Director Bryan Klunder, Lighting Director Erin Anderson, Lighting Director Will Gossett, Lighting Director Matthew Cotter, Lighting Director Terrance Ho, Video Controller Guy Jones, Video Controller
2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony • HBO Max • A Tenth Planet Production
Allen Branton, Lighting Designer Darren Langer, Lighting Director Felix Peralta, Lighting Director Kevin Lawson, Lighting Director Alex Flores, Lighting Director Bianca Moncada, Lighting Director Chuck Reilly, Video Controller Guy Jones, Video Controller
75th Annual Tony Awards • CBS • White Cherry Entertainment Robert Dickinson, Lighting Designer Noah Mitz, Lighting Director Harry Sangmeister, Lighting Director Tyler Ericson, Lighting Director Richard Beck, Lighting Director Jason Rudolph, Lighting Director JM Hurley, Video Controller Ka Lai Wong, Video Controller
The Weeknd Live At SoFi Stadium • HBO Max • HBO Jason Baeri, Lighting Designer Joe Bay, Lighting Director Kille Knoble, Lighting Director Mark Butts, Lighting Director Loren Barton, Lighting Director
OUTSTANDING MAIN TITLE DESIGN
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities • Netflix • Netflix / Double Dare You Mike Schaeffer, Creative Director Chet Hirsch, Director David Rowley, Art Director Akshay Tiwari, Designer
Hello Tomorrow! • Apple TV+ • MRC in association with Apple Ronnie Koff, Creative Director Lexi Gunvaldson, Editor Christoph Gabathuler, 3D Artist Juan Monasterio, Animator Lindsey Mayer-Beug, Illustrator Fernando Lazzari, Animator
The Last Of Us • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog Andy Hall, Creative Director Nadia Tzuo, Creative Director Gryun Kim, 3D Artist Min Shi, Designer Jun Kim, 3D Artist Xiaolin (Mike) Zeng, Designer
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Katrina Crawford, Director Mark Bashore, Director Anthony Vitagliano, Creative Director Fernando Domínguez Cózar, Animation Director
Wednesday • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production Aaron Becker, Creative Director Joseph Ahn, Designer James Ramirez, Animator Lee Nelson, Animator Eric Keller, 3D Artist Hsien Lun Su, Animator
The White Lotus • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District Katrina Crawford, Director/Creative Director/Photographer Mark Bashore, Director/Editor Lezio Lopes, Illustrator Cian McKenna, Animator
Outstanding Motion Design
Ms. Marvel (Disney+)
Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
A Small Light: "What Can Be Saved" - Ariel Marx (National Geographic)
Hocus Pocus 2 - John Debney (Disney+)
Ms. Marvel: "Time and Again" - Laura Karpman (Disney+)
Prey - Sarah Schachner (Hulu)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story - Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson (The Roku Channel)
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)
Andor: "Rix Road" - Nicholas Britell (Disney+)
Succession: "Connor's Wedding" - Nicholas Britell (HBO Max)
The Last of Us: "Long, Long Time" - Gustavo Santaolalla (HBO Max)
The White Lotus: "In the Sandbox" - Cristobal Tapia de Veer (HBO Max)
Wednesday: "Woe is the Loneliest Number" - Danny Elfman and Chris Bacon (Netflix)
Outstanding Music Supervision
Daisy Jones & the Six: "Track 8: Looks Like We Made It" - Frankie Pine (Prime Video)
Stranger Things: "Chapter Nine: The Piggyback" - Nora Felder (Netflix)
Ted Lasso: "So Long, Farewell" - Tony Von Pervieux and Christa Miller (Apple TV+)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: "Four Minutes" - Robin Urdang (Prime Video)
The White Lotus: "Bull Elephants" - Gabe Hilfer (HBO Max)
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
Andor - Nicholas Britell (Disney+)
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities - Holly Amber Church (Netflix)
Ms. Marvel - Laura Karpman (Netflix)
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Howard Shore (Prime Video)
Wednesday - Danny Elfman (Netflix)
Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics
Ginny & Georgia: "Hark! Darkness Descends!" - "Marriage is a Dungeon" by Lili Haydn and Ben Bromfield (Netflix)
Ted Lasso: "Mom City" - "Fought and Lost" by Tom How, Sam Ryder, and Jamie Hartman (Apple TV+)
Ted Lasso: "So Long, Farewell" - "A Beautiful Game" by Ed Sheeran, Max Martin, and Foy Vance (Apple TV+)
The L Word: Generation Q: "Questions for the Universe" - "All About Me" by Heather McIntosh, Allyson Newman and Taura Stinson (Showtime)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: "Susan" - "Your Personal Trash Man Can" by Curtis Moore and Thomas Mizer (Prime Video)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story: "Now You Know" by Al Yankovic (The Roku Channel)
Outstanding Period and/or Character Hairstyling
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Outstanding Period and/or Character Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
Daisy Jones & the Six (Prime Video)
House of the Dragon (HBO Max)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Outstanding Period Costumes for a Series
Perry Mason (HBO Max)
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Great (Hulu)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Outstanding Period Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
Daisy Jones & the Six (Prime Video)
George & Tammy (Showtime)
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (Netflix)
Welcome to Chippendales (Hulu)
OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (ONE HOUR)
Andor • The Eye • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. David Acord, Co-Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer Margit Pfeiffer, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Richard Quinn, Dialogue Editor Jonathan Greber, ADR Editor J.R. Grubbs, Sound Effects Editor John Finklea, Music Editor Shaun Farley, Foley Editor Shelley Roden, Foley Artist John Roesch, Foley Artist
The Boys • The Instant White-Hot Wild • Prime Video • Sony Pictures Television, Amazon Studios
Wade Barnett, MPSE, Supervising Sound Editor Chris Kahwaty, MPSE, Dialogue Editor Ryan Briley, Supervising ADR Editor Jeffrey A. Pitts, Sound Efffects Editor/Sound Designer Pete Nichols, Sound Effects Editor Christopher Brooks, Music Editor James Howe, Foley Editor
House Of The Dragon • The Black Queen • HBO Max • HBO in association with 1:26 Pictures, Bastard Sword, and GRRM Productions Al Sirkett, Supervising Sound Editor Tim Hands, Dialogue Editor Adele Fletcher, Supervising ADR Editor Paula Fairfield, MPSE, Sound Designer David Klotz, Music Editor Timeri Duplat, Music Editor Mathias Schuster, Foley Editor Barnaby Smyth, Foley Artist Paula Boram, Foley Artist
The Last Of Us • When You're Lost In The Darkness • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog Michael J. Benavente, Supervising Sound Editor Joe Schiff, Dialogue Editor Christopher Battaglia, Sound Designer Chris Terhune, Sound Designer Mitchell Lestner, Sound Effects Editor Jacob Flack, Sound Effects Editor Matt Yocum, MPSE, Sound Effects Editor Maarten Hofmeijer, Music Editor Randy Wilson, Supervising Foley Editor Justin Hele, Foley Editor David Aquino, Foley Editor Stefan Fraticelli, Foley Artist Jason Charbonneau, Foley Artist William Kellerman, Foley Artist
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power • Udûn • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Robert Stambler, MPSE, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Damian Del Borrello, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Ailene Roberts, Dialogue Editor Stefanie Ng, Dialogue/ADR Editor Paula Fairfield, Sound Designer Chris Terhune, Sound Editor James Miller, Sound Editor Michael Baber, Music Editor Jason Smith, Music Editor Amy Barber, Foley Editor Jonathan Bruce, Foley Artist
Stranger Things • Chapter Nine: The Piggyback • Netflix • Monkey Massacre Productions & 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix Craig Henighan, MPSE, Co-Supervising Sound Editor William Files, MPSE, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Jill Purdy, Dialogue Editor Lee Gilmore, Sound Effects Editor Ryan Cole, MPSE, Sound Editor Korey Pereira, Sound Editor Angelo Palazzo, MPSE, Sound Editor Katie Halliday, MPSE, Sound Editor David Klotz, Music Editor Lena Glikson-Nezhelskaya, Music Editor Ken McGill, MPSE, Sound Effects/ Foley Editor Steve Baine, Foley Artist
OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (HALF-HOUR) AND ANIMATION
Barry • wow • HBO Max • HBO in association with Alec Berg and Hanarply Sean Heissinger, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Matthew E. Taylor, Co-Supervising Sound Editor John Creed, Dialogue Editor Rickley W. Dumm, MPSE, Sound Effects Editor Deron Street, Sound Editor Clay Weber, Sound Editor Michael Brake, MPSE, Music Editor Darrin Mann, Foley Editor Alyson Dee Moore, Foley Artist Chris Moriana, Foley Artist
The Bear • Review • FX • FX Productions Steve "Major" Giammaria, Supervising Sound Editor Evan Benjamin, Dialogue Editor Jonathan Fuhrer, Sound Effects Editor Annie Taylor, Foley Editor Chris White, Foley Editor Leslie Bloome, Foley Artist Shaun Brennan, Foley Artist
The Mandalorian • Chapter 24: The Return • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Matthew Wood, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Trey Turner, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Brad Semenoff, Dialogue Editor David W. Collins, Sound Designer Luis Galdames, Sound Effects Editor Stephanie McNally, Music Editor Nicholas Fitzgerald, Music Editor Joel Raabe, Foley Editor Shelley Roden, Foley Artist
Reservation Dogs • This Is Where The Plot Thickens • FX • FX Productions Patrick Hogan, Supervising Sound Editor David Beadle, Sound Editor Sonya Lindsay, Sound Editor Michael Sana, Sound Editor Daniel Salas, Sound Editor Amber Funk, Music Editor Lena Krigen, Foley Editor
What We Do In The Shadows • The Night Market • FX • FX Productions Steffan Falesitch, Supervising Sound Editor Chris Kahwaty, MPSE, Dialogue Editor David Barbee, MPSE, Sound Effects Editor Steve Griffen, Music Editor John Guentner, Foley Editor Sam Lewis, Foley Editor Ellen Heuer, Foley Artist
OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story • God Of Forgiveness, God Of Vengeance • Netflix • Ryan Murphy Productions for Netflix Gary Megregian, MPSE, Supervising Sound Editor Borja Sau, Dialogue Editor Bruce Tanis, MPSE, Sound Effects Editor David Klotz, Music Editor Sam Munoz, Foley Editor Noel Vought, Foley Artist
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities • The Autopsy • Netflix • Netflix / Double Dare You Nelson Ferreira, MPSE, Supervising Sound Editor Jill Purdy, Dialogue Editor Paul Davies, Sound Designer Bernard O’Reilly, Sound Effects Editor Paul Germann, Sound Effects Editor Tom Jenkins, Sound Editor Robert Hegedus, Music Editor Rose Gregoris, Foley Editor Goro Koyama, Foley Artist
Mrs. Davis • Mother Of Mercy: The Call Of The Horse • Peacock • Warner Bros. Television, Little Bug, White Rabbit Bryan Parker, Supervising Sound Editor Kristen Hirlinger, Dialogue Editor Nathan Efstation, Dialogue Editor Roland Thai, Sound Designer Matt Decker, Music Editor Sam Lewis, Supervising Foley Editor Sam Munoz, Foley Editor Ellen Heuer, Foley Artist Nancy Parker, Foley Artist
Obi-Wan Kenobi • Part VI • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Matthew Wood, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Trey Turner, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Angela Ang, Dialogue/ADR Editor Ryan Cota, Dialogue/ADR Editor Jon Borland, Sound Designer/Sound Effects Editor Tim Farrell, Sound Effects Editor Michael Levine, Sound Effects Editor Ramiro Belgardt, Music Editor Nicholas Fitzgerald, Music Editor Thom Brennan, Foley Editor Ronni Brown, Foley Artist Sean England, Foley Artist
Prey • Hulu • 20th Century Studios Chris Terhune, Co-Supervising Sound Editor William Files, MPSE, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Jessie Anne Spence, Dialogue/ADR Editor James Miller, Sound Designer Diego Perez, Sound Effects Editor Lee Gilmore, Sound Effects Editor Christopher Bonis, Sound Effects Editor Daniel DiPrima, Music Editor Stephen Perone, Music Editor Leslie Bloome, Foley Artist Shaun Brennan, Foley Artist
OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A NONFICTION OR REALITY PROGRAM (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
Love, Lizzo • HBO Max • Warner Music Entertainment and Live Nation Productions, Atlantic Film Productions in association with Boardwalk Pictures and Diamond Docs Vanessa Flores, Sound Editor Jessie Brewer, Sound Editor
Moonage Daydream • HBO Max • Neon Presents, Universal Pictures Presents, BMG, Live Nation Productions, Public Road Productions Present, in association with HBO Documentary Films John Warhurst, Co-Supervising Sound Editor / Music Editor Nina Hartstone, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Jens Rosenlund Petersen, Dialogue Editor Samir Foco, Sound Effects Editor James Shirley, Sound Effects Editor Elliott Koretz, Sound Effects Editor Amy Felton, Sound Effects Editor Louise Burton, Foley Editor Brett Morgen, Music Editor
100 Foot Wave • Chapter V - Lost At Sea • HBO Max • HBO Presents, Topic Studios, Library Films, Amplify Pictures Max Holland, Dialogue Editor / Sound Editor Eric Di Stefano, Sound Effects Editor / Sound Designer Kevin Senzaki, Sound Designer
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio Michael Feuser, Dialogue Editor Rich Bologna, Sound Effects Editor Wyatt Sprague, Sound Effects Editor Heather Gross, Foley Editor Bill Bernstein, Music Editor
Welcome To Wrexham • Do Or Die • FX • Boardwalk Pictures Will Harp, Dialogue Editor Jon Schell, Sound Effects Editor Shaun Cromwell, Sound Effects Editor
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (ONE HOUR)
Better Call Saul • Saul Gone • AMC • High Bridge, Crystal Diner, Gran Via Productions and Sony Pictures Television Larry Benjamin, Re-Recording Mixer Kevin Valentine, Re-Recording Mixer Phillip W. Palmer, CAS, Production Mixer
The Last Of Us • When You're Lost In The Darkness • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog Marc Fishman, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Kevin Roache, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Michael Playfair, CAS, Production Mixer
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel • The Testi-Roastial • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Ron Bochar, Re-Recording Mixer Mathew Price, CAS, Production Mixer Stewart Lerman, Scoring Mixer George A. Lara, Foley Mixer
Stranger Things • Chapter Nine: The Piggyback • Netflix • Monkey Massacre Productions & 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix Craig Henighan, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer William Files, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Mark Paterson, Re-Recording Mixer Michael P. Clark, CAS, Production Mixer
Succession • Connor's Wedding • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Andy Kris, Re-Recording Mixer Nicholas Renbeck, Re-Recording Mixer Ken Ishii, Production Mixer Tommy Vicari, Scoring Mixer
The White Lotus • Arrivederci • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District
Christian Minkler, Re-Recording Mixer Ryan Collins, Re-Recording Mixer Vincenzo Urselli, Production Mixer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
BEEF • The Great Fabricator • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production Penny Harold, Re-Recording Mixer Andrew Garrett Lange, Re-Recording Mixer Sean O'Malley, Production Mixer
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story • Lionel • Netflix • Ryan Murphy Productions for Netflix Laura Wiest, Re-Recording Mixer Jamie Hardt, Re-Recording Mixer Joe Barnett, Re-Recording Mixer Amanda Beggs, Production Mixer
Daisy Jones & The Six • Track 10: Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide • Prime Video • Hello Sunshine, Amazon Studios Lindsay Alvarez, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Mathew Waters, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Chris Welcker, Production Mixer Mike Poole, Music Mixer
Obi-Wan Kenobi • Part VI • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Danielle Dupre, Re-Recording Mixer Scott Lewis, Re-Recording Mixer Bonnie Wild, Re-Recording Mixer Julian Howarth, CAS, Production Mixer
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story • The Roku Channel • The Roku Channel, Funny or Die, Tango Entertainment Tony Solis, Re-Recording Mixer Richard Bulloock, Production Mixer Brian Magrum, ADR Mixer Phil McGowan, Score Mixer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (HALF-HOUR) AND ANIMATION
Barry • wow • HBO Max • HBO in association with Alec Berg and Hanarply Elmo Ponsdomenech, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Teddy Salas, Re-Recording Mixer Scott Harber, CAS, Production Mixer Aaron Hasson, ADR Mixer
The Bear • Review • FX • FX Productions Steve "Major" Giammaria, Re-Recording Mixer Scott D. Smith, CAS, Production Mixer
The Mandalorian • Chapter 24: The Return • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Scott R. Lewis, Re-Recording Mixer Tony Villaflor, Re-Recording Mixer Shawn Holden, CAS, Production Mixer Chris Fogel, Scoring Mixer
Only Murders In The Building • The Tell • Hulu • 20th Television Penny Harold, Re-Recording Mixer Andrew Lange, Re-Recording Mixer Joseph White Jr., CAS, Production Mixer Alan DeMoss, Scoring Mixer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A VARIETY SERIES OR SPECIAL
Bono & The Edge: A Sort Of Homecoming With Dave Letterman • Disney+ • Disney+ Presents an Imagine Documentaries, Tremolo Productions and Worldwide Pants Inc. Production Phil DeTolve, Re-Recording Mixer Brian Riordan, Re-Recording Mixer Alastair McMillan, Music Mixer
Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium • Disney+ • Disney+ Presents in association with Rocket Entertainment / A Fulwell 73 Production Michael Abbott, Broadcast Production Mixer Eric Schilling, Music Mixer Matt Herr, FOH Mixer Alan Richardson, Monitor Mixer
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards • CBS • Fulwell 73 Thomas Holmes, Production Mixer John Harris, Music Mixer Eric Schilling, Music Mixer Jeffery Peterson, FOH Production Mixer Ron Reaves, FOH Music Mixer Mike Parker, FOH Music Mixer Andres Arango, Monitor Mixer Eric Johnston, Supplemental Mixer Christian Schrader, Supplemental Mixer Kristian Pedregon, Re-Recording Mixer Juan Pablo Velasco, Playback Mixer Aaron Wall, Playback Mixer
Saturday Night Live • Co-Hosts: Steve Martin & Martin Short • NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video Robert Palladino, Production Mixer Ezra Matychak, Production Mixer Frank Duca Jr, FOH Production Mixer Caroline Sanchez, FOH Music Mixer Josiah Gluck, Broadcast Music Mixer Jay Vicari, Broadcast Music Mixer Tyler McDiarmid, Playback Mixer Christopher Costello, Monitor Mixer Teng Chen, Supplemental Mixer William Taylor, Supplemental Mixer Geoff Countryman, Supplemental Mixer Devin Emke, Post Audio Mixer
Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert • Paramount+ • EP-PIC Films & Creative and MTV Entertainment Studios Bob Clearmountain, Music Mixer Ollie Nesham, Audio Engineer Darrell Thorp, Audio Engineer Chris Kalcov, Audio Engineer Steve Massey, Audio Engineer Eduardo Puhl, Audio Engineer Will Langdale, Audio Engineer Antony King, FOH Audio Mix Engineer Ian Beveridge, Monitors Audio Mix Engineer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
Moonage Daydream • HBO Max • Neon Presents, Universal Pictures Presents, BMG, Live Nation Productions, Public Road Productions Present, in association with HBO Documentary Films Paul Massey, Re-Recording Mixer David Giammarco, Re-Recording Mixer
100 Foot Wave • Chapter V - Lost At Sea • HBO Max • HBO Presents, Topic Studios, Library Films, Amplify Pictures Keith Hodne, Re-Recording Mixer
The Sound Of 007 • Prime Video • MGM Richard Davey, Re-Recording Mixer Jonny Horne, Production Mixer Simon Norman, Production Mixer Francesco Corazzi, Production Mixer
Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy • Calabria • CNN • CNN Original Series, RAW Matt Skilton, Re-Recording Mixer Christopher Syner, Production Mixer
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio Skip Lievsay, Re-Recording Mixer Benjamin Berger, Production Mixer Martin Kittappa, Production Mixer Lily van Leeuwen, Production Mixer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A REALITY PROGRAM (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
The Amazing Race • The Only Leg That Matters • CBS • WorldRace Productions, Inc. Jim Ursulak, Lead Production Mixer Troy Smith, Re-Recording Mixer The Production Mixing Team, Production Mixer
Deadliest Catch • Call Of A New Generation • Discovery Channel • Original Productions, LLC for the Discovery Channel Jared Robbins, Re-Recording Mixer
RuPaul's Drag Race • Wigloose: The Rusical! • MTV • World of Wonder Erik Valenzuela, Re-Recording Mixer Sal Ojeda, Re-Recording Mixer David Nolte, Production Mixer Gabe Lopez, Music Mixer
The Voice • Live Top 10 • NBC • MGM Television and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon and ITV Studios The Voice USA, Inc. Michael Abbott, Production Mixer Randy Faustino, Broadcast Music Mixer Tim Hatayama, Re-Recording Mixer
Welcome To Wrexham • Do Or Die • FX • Boardwalk Pictures Mark Jensen, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SEASON OR A MOVIE
Andor • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Mohen Leo, Visual Effects Supervisor TJ Falls, Visual Effects Producer Richard Van Den Bergh, Special Effects Supervisor Neal Scanlan, Creature Effects & Droid Supervisor Liyana Mansor, Lead Visual Effects Editor Scott Pritchard, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Joseph Kasparian, Hybride Visual Effects Supervisor Jelmer Boskma, Scanline Visual Effects Supervisor Jean-Clément Soret, Colorist
House Of The Dragon • HBO Max • HBO in association with 1:26 Pictures, Bastard Sword, and GRRM Productions Angus Bickerton, Visual Effects Supervisor Nikeah Forde, VFX Producer
Thomas Horton, VFX Producer Sven Martin, VFX Supervisor Mark Spindler, VFX Co-Supervisor
Mark Dauth, Virtual Production Supervisor Sebastian Meszmann, VFX Producer Mike Bell, VFX Supervisor Tobias Graa Winblad, VFX Producer
The Last Of Us • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog Alex Wang, Overall Visual Effects Supervisor Sean Nowlan, Overall Visual Effects Producer Joel Whist, Production SFX Supervisor Stephen James, Visual Effects Supervisor, DNEG Nick Marshall, Digital Effects Supervisor, DNEG Simon Jung, Visual Effects Supervisor, WETA FX Dennis Yoo, Animation Supervisor, WETA FX Espen Nordahl, Visual Effects Supervisor, Storm Studios Jonathan Mitchell, Visual Effects Supervisor, Distillery FX
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Ron Ames, VFX Producer Jason Smith, VFX Supervisor Nigel Sumner, VFX Supervisor, Industrial Light & Magic Ara Khanikian, VFX Supervisor, Rodeo FX Dean Clarke, SFX Supervisor Ken McGaugh, VFX Supervisor, Wētā FX Tom Proctor, VFX Supervisor, DNEG Greg Butler, VFX Supervisor, Method Studios Joe Henderson, Visualization Creative Supervisor, The Third Floor, Inc.
The Mandalorian • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Grady Cofer, Visual Effects Supervisor, Production Abbigail Keller, Visual Effects Producer Paul Kavanagh, Animation Supervisor, Production Cameron Neilson, Assoc. Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Fisher, Special Effects Supervisor Hal Hickel, Animation Supervisor, Production J. Alan Scott, Legacy Effects Supervisor Victor Schutz IV, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Bobo Skipper, Important Looking Pirates Visual Effects Supervisor
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SINGLE EPISODE
Five Days At Memorial • Day Two • Apple TV+ • ABC Signature in association with Apple Eric Durst, VFX Supervisor Matthew Whelan, VFX Supervisor Danny McNair, VFX Producer Goran Pavles, VFX Supervisor, Stormborn Studios Rafael Solórzano, VFX Supervisor, El Ranchito John MacGillivray, SFX Coordinator Viktor Muller, VFX Supervisor, UPP Manuel Tausch, VFX Supervisor, Stormborn Studios Gonzalo Escudero, VFX Producer, El Ranchito
The Nevers • It's A Good Day • Tubi • HBO, Mutant Enemy Productions Johnny Han, Visual Effects Supervisor Jack Geist, Visual Effects Producer Damon Fecht, Visual Effects Editor Alexandre Prod'homme, On-Set VFX Supervisor Emanuel Fuchs, Visual Effects Supervisor Gaia Bussolati, Visual Effects Supervisor Ed Bruce, Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Ali Harding, Visual Effects Artist Takashi Takeoka, Visual Effects Artist
Shadow And Bone • Rusalye • Netflix • 21 Laps Entertainment and Chronology for Netflix Ante Dekovic, VFX Supervisor Helen Jen, VFX Producer Richard Macks, VFX Production Manager Gergely Galisz, On-Set VFX Supervisor Juri Stanossek, VFX Supervisor Adam Balentine, VFX Supervisor Jane Byrne, VFX Supervisor Håvard Munkejord, VFX Supervisor Angel Rico, VFX Supervisor
Ted Lasso • Mom City • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television James MacLachlan, On-Set VFX Supervisor Bill Parker, Compositing Supervisor Lenny Wilson, CG Supervisor Gretchen Bangs, VFX Producer Brian Hobert, Compositing Lead Sherry Li, Compositing Lead Kenneth Armstrong, Compositing Lead Ying Lin, Compositor Neil Taylor, CG Modeler
The Umbrella Academy • Marigold • Netflix • UCP for Netflix Everett Burrell, Senior VFX Supervisor Phillip Hoffman, VFX Producer Dave Axford, On-Set VFX Supervisor Maria Satzetaki, VFX Coordinator Sophie Vertigan, Special Effects Coordinator Jeff Campbell, VFX Supervisor Laurent Spillemaecker, VFX Supervisor Chris White, VFX Supervisor Ryan Freer, VFX Supervisor
Wednesday • A Murder Of Woes • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production Tom Turnbull, VFX Supervisor Kent Johnson, VFX Producer Jesse Kawzenuk, VFX On-Set Supervisor Oana Barden, VFX Coordinator Craig Calvert, VFX Supervisor Ed Englander, VFX Supervisor John Coldrick, VFX Supervisor Brodie McNeill, VFX Supervisor Jason Troughton, Special Effects Supervisor
OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL DIRECTION AND CAMERAWORK FOR A SERIES
American Idol • Season Finale • ABC • Fremantle and 19 Entertainment Charles Ciup, Technical Director David Bernstein, Technical Director Bert Atkinson, Camera Danny Bonilla, Camera Mike Carr, Camera Kary D'Alessandro, Camera Keith Dicker, Camera Curtis Eastwood, Camera Jimmy Garcia, Camera Bruce Green, Camera Nathanial Havolm, Camera Ron Lehman, Camera Bettina Levesque, Camera Adam Margolis, Camera Rob Palmer, Camera Brian Reason, Camera Daryl Studebaker, Camera Damien Tuffereau, Camera Easter Xua, Camera
Dancing With The Stars • Finale • Disney+ • BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions Charles Ciup, Technical Director David Bernstein, Technical Director Bert Atkinson, Camera Terry Clark, Camera
Karyn D'Alessandro, Camera James Garcia, Camera Nathanial Havholm, Camera Mark Koonce, Camera Tim Lee, Camera Ron Lehman, Camera Bettina Levesque, Camera Dave Levisohn, Camera Adam Margolis, Camera Derek Pratt, Camera Brian Reason, Camera Philo Solomon, Camera Daryl Studebaker, Camera Marc Stumpo, Camera Damien Tuffereau, Camera Cary Symmons, Camera
The Masked Singer • New York Night • FOX • FOX Alternative Entertainment Christine Salomon, Technical Director Cary Symmons, Camera Bert Atkinson, Camera Brett Crutcher, Camera Kary D'Allesandro, Camera Jimmy Garcia, Camera John Goforth, Camera Sean Flannery, Camera Bettina Levesque, Camera Adam Margolis, Camera Mark Koonce, Camera Daryl Studebaker, Camera James Sullivan, Camera Rob Palmer, Camera
The Problem With Jon Stewart • Trump Indicted • Apple TV+ • Busboy / EDEN in association with Apple Dave Saretsky, Technical Director Marc Bloomgarden, Camera Franco Coello, Camera Nick Fayo, Camera Kevin Murphy, Camera John Pry, Camera Tim Quigley, Camera Rich York, Camera
The Voice • Live Top 10 Performances • NBC • MGM Television and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon and ITV Studios The Voice USA, Inc. Allan Wells, Technical Director Danny Bonilla, Camera Mano Bonilla, Camera Martin J. Brown Jr., Camera Robert Burnette, Camera Suzanne Ebner, Camera Guido Frenzel, Camera Alex Hernandez, Camera Scott Hylton, Camera Kathrine Iacofano, Camera Scott Kaye, Camera Steve Martynuk, Camera Jofre Rosero, Camera Nick Tramontano, Camera Dann Webb, Camera
OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL DIRECTION AND CAMERAWORK FOR A SPECIAL
The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna • FOX • Jesse Collins Entertainment, DPS and Roc Nation Eric Becker, Technical Director David Alfano, Camera Rob Balton, Camera Danny Bonilla, Camera Kary D'Alessandro, Camera Keith Dicker, Camera Sean Flannery, Camera Kevin French, Camera Shaun Harkins, Camera Helena Jackson, Camera Tayler Knight, Camera Toré Livia, Camera Allen Merriweather, Camera Eann Potter, Camera Jofre Rosero, Camera Keyan Safyari, Camera Casey Roche, Camera Christopher Rybitski, Camera Rod Wardell, Video Control
Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium • Disney+ • Disney+ Presents in association with Rocket Entertainment / A Fulwell 73 Production Emmett Loughran, Technical Director Robert Del Russo, Camera Mark Britt, Camera David Driscoll, Camera Tim Farmer, Camera Pete Forest, Camera Andrew Georgopoulos, Camera Pat Gleason, Camera Bruce Green, Camera Shaun Harkins, Camera Jay Kulick, Camera Kevin Murphy, Camera Lyn Noland, Camera Jimmy O’Donnell, Camera Rob Palmer, Camera Jesse Placky, Camera David Plakos, Camera George Prince, Camera Mark Renaudin, Camera David Rudd, Camera Austin Rock, Camera Keyan Safyari, Camera Ed Staebler, Camera Rob Vuona, Camera Mark Whitman, Camera Rich York, Camera Jeff Lee, Camera Michael Taylor, Camera Brian Lataille, Camera Loic Maheas, Camera Chris Schuster, Camera
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2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony • HBO Max • A Tenth Planet Production Toby Santos, Technical Director Danny Bonilla, Camera Kary D'Alessandro, Camera Keith Dicker, Camera Dave Eastwood, Camera Guido Frenzel, Camera Andrew Georgopoulos, Camera Jeff Johnson, Camera Zac Jones, Camera Brian Lataille, Camera Dave Levisohn, Camera Sean Mark Mckelvey, Camera Steve Martyniuk, Camera Rob Palmer, Camera Dave Plakos, Camera Dave Rudd, Camera Dylan Sanford, Camera Matt Trujillo, Camera Roy Walker, Camera Andrew Waresewski, Camera Easter Xua, Camera
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Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.
THE HEAT | DANIEL AUUSTIN
This month, one of our favorite shows came back for its second season, HBO's Rap Sh!t which follows the journey of Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion) as they navigate the music industry. Their relationship and journey is loosely based on City Girls. We learn about the music scene in South Florida, the Haitian community and what they do in order to survive along their ride to the top! One of the main characters, Maurice is played by Daniel Augustin who we have enjoyed in ABC's Grey's Anatomy and Hulu's How I Met Your Father! We wanted to find out more about this entertainer, how he approaches his craft, and what we can expect from this season of Rap Sh!t.
ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s so good to sit down with you as I have been a fan of your work and I love your character Maurice in Rap Sh!t and of course, the show is amazing! So I’m excited to talk with you!
DANIEL AUGUSTIN: Thank you so much! Thank you so much for saying that! It’s very exciting to hear and I’m excited to talk to you guys too!
AM: It’s clear that you’re definitely an entertainer. You’re an actor, director, producer, and a musician. When did you realize that you wanted to be in this industry?
DA: I think that I realized that I wanted to be in this industry before I knew how to be. That was around the time when I was watching Hannah Montana.
AM: Oh!
DA: The TV show, yeah! I didn’t know how to be an actor at that time because all I could do was the community acting in South Florida. South Florida didn’t have anywhere near the industry. I think in South Florida there were some Nickelodeon shows, but nothing along the lines of what I was seeing on Hannah Montana. I remember Hannah Montana’s (Miley Cyrus) brother on the show whose name was Jackson (Jason Earles) - I remember hearing he was 28/29/30 and he was playing her high school brother. I remember thinking how many opportunities must come from being able to portray characters at different ages. I just remember watching that show and that it sparked my imagination as to what’s possible and to no longer seeing what I see on TV as solely impossible.
AM: Right.
DA: I mean, she was even doing a bunch of stuff like being dressed up and nobody knowing that it’s her and all she’s doing is just wearing a different wig! That show did a lot for me and I think that at the time that that came out, I was probably 14/15 and that’s when I felt that I wanted to do it. Before that, watching people like Martin Lawrence (Martin, Boomerang, Bad Boys franchise), Jamie Foxx (Ray, White House Down, The Amazing Spider Man 2), Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie franchise, Respect, Air), and Will Smith (Men in Black franchise, Suicide Squad, King Richard) in their sitcoms that they had at the time – those guys raised me essentially and I think that that’s where I found my sense of charisma and playfulness with people. But I don’t think that it was until I saw the Hannah Montana show that I started to think that anything could kind of be possible. This guy is 29 years old and he’s playing someone in high school! That’s when I started to think about how I could go about doing this.
AM: That’s really cool and it’s interesting to see where inspiration can come from.
Earlier this month, you released Movie. Why did you want to take on this project?
DA: Movie means a lot to me because I have not been releasing music in years. I started releasing music when I was maybe 10 years old. So I think I stopped around 2018 as I had made a very hard pivot towards film and TV so I have not been recording, I have not been writing, and I hadn’t really been finding my way to sonics in the way that I would as a recording artist. I was very excited about doing this because when the SAG strike happened, I wasn’t nervous about anything, but I thought about how much control of my career that I don’t necessarily have per se. I don’t want to feel like I don’t have control of my life. So I started to pivot and focus on writing again and I started to focus first on screenwriting. I wrote a pilot, I wrote about my old high school football coach and I’m writing a feature film with my wife, Sh’Kia Augustin that we’re collaborating on. But there was still something that I didn’t feel like I was activated in a very theatrical way and in a way that moves through my body. So, I started to team up with the guys – a majority of those that I did when I was young. So I started in a Christian rap group called Mav-7 and I started reaching out to those guys that were in that group. Alvin Lewis is the main one who is servicing as all forms of A&R, helping me find music/songs and people to work with. Steven Guy, Channel Aria Sound, that’s just 3 names off the top and these guys were helping me craft my sound again. They were helping me craft stories and they were helping me see myself in an entertaining way that amused me and in a way that I felt would be entertaining to others and that I would want to be behind it.
I think that the strike had a lot to do with it and it offered me a lot of time to actually find another form or way to express myself.
AM: You also released Kinfolk: The Series which is 6 episodes and is also your passion project. It was also recognized and selected in Tribeca’s 2022 Creator Market, what led to that coming about?
DA: Kinfolk is another form of taking control of my career. I didn’t film it and you know work on it just to take control of my career. I started as a production assistant and I learned so many skills as a production assistant. I think I started in 2012 working at this small production company called As Seen On TV. They do these smaller commercials for products that you’ll see in Walgreens and Walmart. The commercials will go on late at night, but this gentleman, Laszlo Rain, he would do such an amazing job at making sets to make it look like it was a much bigger professional production. I was always enamored at that and I was always enamored at the magic behind what it took to make it look good. As an actor, I see the part that I play, but there are so many parts that go into the process.
Around 2010, Kanye West had come out with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album that he did and I also remember High School Musical. High School Musical really changed the way that I saw creativity as a whole. From that point on, I wasn’t the guy that was just making the songs, I wasn’t the guy that was the actor, I wanted to turn my songs into a script. So it went from, I want to make music and to feel the rhythms – it turned from that to wanting to be able to turn this into more of a narrative. My wife and I, who was my girlfriend at the time, she helped me get my first camera. It was a Canon 5D Mark III. We bought that camera and we started shooting. I still didn’t know that I wanted to do all of this stuff yet because I wasn’t good at it. I wasn’t good at directing, I wasn’t good at editing, I wasn’t good at coloring, I was bad at it – I was bad at all of that stuff actually.
But we just kept doing stuff, kept shooting stuff and people kept asking me for stuff. They’d say that they had a wedding on Fri and if I could help them, and I would. That would allow me to have a new lesson on a Fri that I hadn’t expected to get. So upon doing Kinfolk, I think that that was a culmination of a lot of different years of being creative and just just being in front of the camera. That’s not to say that being in front of the camera is not creative. But you see how much more creativity goes into pre-producing a project and then the post-production of a project. I think that by doing pre-production, post-production, and feeling the sense of gratitude for completing the project, I started to really feel like I was more than the person who waits to be picked and on set. A lot of the people that I worked with on set, those actors would tell me how much they appreciated the opportunity because a lot of those people were those that were super talented, but they weren’t booking stuff. Booking is not that simple. It’s hard and it feels like a lottery sometimes. It feels like you’re just not going to win! Upon working with other people and other actors, who just really want to be able to go out and do this, I started to appreciate it more because I think that I started to get more value out of my days because I was able to service more people than myself as opposed to just waiting for an audition. I know I started to appreciate that process more and more and I think that that’s where it all started.
AM: That’s really interesting and because of that, you and your wife, have your production company Augustin Productions. What are the kinds or types of projects that you’re looking to do under that company?
DA: Right now, all of the projects, when I think about it they’ve all been in alignment with very family oriented stories or family away from family kind of stories. I think that that’s what I have been coming to terms with – how much is family really part of all of our lives. Kinfolk in particular is so family centric, but aside from that, I worked on a short film that I believe made it to the Toronto Black Film Festival called TIFI {LITTLE GIRL} in creole Tifi means girl. It’s about this young girl and her family. This young girl wants to play soccer. So I think that if I can tie it into one word – cultural. Augustin Productions works on projects that have very cultural and specific minded objectives and narratives. I don’t know if that makes sense on how I just phrased that – but it makes sense to me – very cultural.
AM: No, I definitely get where you’re going with that and how the work ties itself into that category.
DA: I like that it’s family and culture based. In Kinfolk, we don’t have any Haitian characters in there, but there’s a lot of things that I think that Haitian families can relate to even though that story has more African American in it than anything else. So I think that the culture always stands firm more than anything I’m directing, shooting, editing, but also there’s family tied into it very heavily which I think helps people relate so much more when they’re watching.
AM: As an actor, what are you looking for when you’re thinking about accepting a role and what’s your creative process when you are becoming that character that you will portray?
DA: What I’m looking for – when I’m looking at a role, it’s how can I actually add value to the role? I’m looking to see where I can actually add that kind of value because I can see who the person is on paper. But when I start to speak for the person, the paper can only serve as a blueprint now. So I tend to look for everything that’s not on the paper. The paper serves solely as a blueprint, but that blueprint tells me things that sometimes, you can’t fit on the page. So I start to make choices for the actor that I believe and the writers may change some things and they’re more than welcome to – I just start to make choices for the actor based on what the blueprint tells me. If the blueprint says this character is going to say this in this scene, I’m going to take that to mean that they said that, but there is a reason why they said that, and that’s not necessarily off the page. So I’m looking to see if what they have given the actor can lead to images in my head. If it doesn’t lead to images in my head, then there might be somebody else who is best served for that role. Because I need to be well informed in how I can bring something to that role almost like a BYOB. I’ve got to bring my own bottle and food to the party. So I’m looking for something that will let me know what ingredients that this character may need so that I can sizzle off the page.
As far as how I prepare, a lot of times I think that I lead in with some kind of music. Like after I read the role, I almost always can have a soundtrack in mind. Preferably, it’s something without words, I always try to have a soundtrack in mind and I just let it play as I start to prepare. So there’s 2 types of preparation. There’s the audition and then there’s on set. If it is an audition, I’m still going to have music playing while I’m preparing, just because it almost feels like that music speaks to the character and what I’m about to do as well.
So for my role on Rap Sh!t – for that role, before I even did the audition, I had the music going in the background just playing and it was probably a very specific song based on where that person is in their life. The character Maurice, where he was in life at the beginning of the show in Season 1 is not where he is going to be in Season 2. In Season 2 by the finale, he will have gone through stuff that I don’t think that people would have assumed would be what he is going through.
So for the first season, all the songs that I was listening to were so so flirty, playful, seductive, and sensual. But in Season 2, I get into a lot more. So on my way to work, if we’re shooting in Culver City in LA or if we’re in Miami and I’m on the plane, I already have a playlist prepared to have him start to speak to me and to speak for me and these people have already gone through all of these things. One of the songs in particular, I hope it doesn’t give away any information -
AM: ooo
DA: I’ll give you 2 songs. 1 song that I would always listen to on the way to work was Michael Franks’, When Sly Calls, that’s a jazz sound. The other is The O’Jays’ Back Stabbers.
AM: Ok now!
DA: Haha so I listen to those songs on the way to work. These people have lived through that stuff already so by the time that I get into work, I feel like I have downloaded some energy before I come into work. Because what’s going to go on the screen, can’t be what’s on the page. Because on the page is literally my blueprint and for me to come in and color things onto the page so that we can fill the page with more than that black ink, I need something else that has been downloaded into my system that I can now give and bring to this party. I need to be able to bring my own bottle, to bring my own food, and I think that I get that a lot from music! I do other things too. I study in a very particular way as I’m sure that every actor does, but I kind of always have music in the background playing when I’m studying. So even when I put the script down for a second, I’m catching this person’s energy and it’s staying with me when I’m on set. It’s not just me, it’s kind of like, you know the work is us, but it’s bigger then us too.
AM: I love how you’re using music in that way!
I love this show, I’m such a huge fan of it from the words, the characters, the visuals and more! Of course, as we all watched the series finale of HBO's Insecure, to know a few months later that we could get excited about her newest project, Rap Sh!t the anticipation was real! What drew you to this series initially?
DA: Well initially, it was the fact that it was based on Miami – that was 1. He’s Haitian – that’s 2! He wasn’t Haitian at first as it just said, that he was either Haitian or Hispanic when I first saw the breakdown. Haitians are a huge part of the culture in Miami so that drew me in heavily. Lastly, and there’s more than this, but my character starts off working at a hotel in Miami. When my parents first came to South Florida from Haiti, they both came from Haiti, they were immigrants, and they both worked at hotels in Miami. My dad was a concierge and when I saw that role with him being a concierge, it was like a spiritual connection for me in a sense where it was just something small and cute that I can appreciate about this character because a majority of times, usually not everything connects.
Sometimes, you’re trying to see where you can connect this or that. I had a character on How I Met Your Father who moved to Australia. I had never been to Australia, so that was something for me that for me to be able to connect with it, I was watching documentaries of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef and stuff like that! When I saw those things and that he was Haitian, living in Miami, and a concierge, automatically it started to sit very well with me.
AM: Wow!
DA: There’s so many other things in it that are icing on the cake for me! But him being Haitian and from Miami was great! I’m from Fort Lauderdale, but we’re neighbors and that was something for me that was very very special to see. I don’t see that on every audition. There are definitely more Haitian roles and I’ve seen that uptick in the past over the past or 3 years for Haitian roles and Haitian representation. But, seeing Issa Rae’s name, I’ve always been a fan of hers especially just based on how she uplifted her community, she’s done so much creatively speaking, and how she has done so much for independent creators. I’ve always been a huge fan of hers so seeing that she was behind this and HBO – I’m a huge huge huge fan of this as well. So seeing all of these things was like, alright it’s such an alignment that for me to be able to have this role it’s just one of my most proudest achievements of my life to date.
AM: How would you describe Maurice?
DA: I would describe Maurice as indescribable, but I will still explain that. I feel like he’s all of us in a way as he’s very human individual, he’s just also a very, by any means necessary kind of guy at the same time. In spite of his by any means necessary approach, he’s able to be playful and fun. He’s flirty and supportive. I think that he’s one of the most diverse characters I’ve seen on screen because I think that there’s so much to unpack as it pertains to his character, his culture, how he communicated with women, because I think that when people talk nowadays and they talk about dating, they tend to talk about how difficult dating is. But I don’t think that it is difficult, just because it’s hard, it’s difficult because we’re not all good communicators, we don’t always know what we want, and sometimes when we do feel that we know what we want, it’s not very clear. I feel like he’s misunderstood, but he’s one of the most supportive individuals that I have seen on screen, almost to a fault.
AM: For those that may need a refresher where did we leave Maurice last season and depending on how much you can tell us, where do we pick up with him again heading into this season as it just started earlier this month?
DA: Last season, he was bathed in mystery. The season ends off with him essentially letting Shawna know that they need to cool off and they need to lay low because they got caught and they’re in trouble, but he’s playing it off like it’s ok. Because I think that he has been in these kinds of scenarios before.
Me personally, I have experienced a lot of what Maurice has experienced because when I was younger, I had a lot of friends that were in what you say in creole, the jwett – it’s a play, it’s a game and so I was on the outside looking in for some of it, but when I didn’t have a 9-5, I had friends that were doing what Maurice was doing and they would try to pull me in and sometimes, they’d get me to come in because I was trying to figure out how to pay bills or how to pay for studio sessions and so on and so forth. So, I’ve been in the situation where Maurice has been in where you’re in trouble, but you have to have confidence that you’re not in trouble so that you can actually get out of trouble.
So he’s been in a headstrong space where he’s seemingly way too cool about it and I think that it is creating an unease for Shawna because of how cool he is about it, she doesn’t necessarily know how to be easy because she doesn’t know and hasn’t had the kinds of experiences that he has had. He ends up letting her know that they’re in trouble, that she is ok, that nothing is wrong, and nothing is going to happen. Ultimately, when she goes back to work, something has happened, the cops come, and they want to speak to her. She doesn’t know how to handle it and she doesn’t know how to be cool and she runs. The season ends with her trying to run off from the police! We end up leaving it off in this space that is a bit open ended and we don’t know what is going on with Maurice and Shawna and she doesn’t know what happened nor does she know what is happening between the two of them.
Essentially I think that Shawna is going to continue to be left in that space of not knowing what is happening more that anybody. For Season 2 as we continue, I think that we’re going to play more of a game of that space and not knowing with Maurice. It’s a mystery and sometimes it’s going to be poured onto Shawna and I think that they are going to go back and forth and so I don’t want to say too much!
AM: Oh wow! We’ve been watching a few seasons and of course, we’re hooked and can’t wait to see how the season continues to evolve and unfold! When it ended last season, I wanted to know what was going on and thankfully we’ll get more answers over the next few weeks and I know our readers will feel the same way!
DA: Yes! It’s going to be a seesaw of emotions in Season 2!
AM: When you’re not on set, how do you take time for yourself to relax or to indulge in self-care?
DA: Man, man – how do I? When I’m not on set, lately what it’s been is that I have been doing therapy lately. That’s been very useful for me to figure out what self-care even looks like? So that’s been one of the things because sometimes, even when I’m not on set, I’m still working on stuff! I’m still writing scripts and I have been doing that a lot. I’ve been working with script consultant, out in London, by the name of Dominic Morgan, very helpful. I’ve been working with a script consultant here in LA called Pilar Alessandra and her program is called On The Page. It’s hard for me to call that self-care, but I have been trying to figure out too – what self-care even is.
Some of the other things that I have been doing self-care - wise is I have been watching more documentaries lately and reality TV as opposed to narratives. It’s just so I can cool off a bit on all of the story stuff that I am constantly involved in. Just so that I can have a bit more fun with it. I’ve been recording again. That’s been a lot of fun and I flew out to South Florida and recorded a lot of music with Alvin Louis and Steven Guy.
And there’s been yoga -
AM: Nice!
DA: There’s been creating even though that’s not necessarily a super chill thing to do. It does feel like self-care to me because it makes me feel like I am taking care of myself creatively and professionally as well. Last one that I will add to that is reading! I’ve been doing a ton of reading!
AM: Are there any upcoming projects that we should keep an eye out for that you will be releasing soon that you’re able to share?
DA: Oh wow, so, there definitely is. There’s some stuff that has happened that I have not been allowed to talk about!
AM: As always is the case!
DA: Yeah, so I’m trying to see if I can sneak something off about it. Let’s just say, there’s going to be something going on in the near future where it will be super hero related. I’m not saying that I will be a superhero.
AM: Okay.
DA: But it is something superhero related in the pretty near future. I just don’t have control over dates. I did just release a music video for Movie and that one was just one part of what I will be sharing with fans. There’s going to be some BTS coming out about that and also a ton of other videos that I shot. 2 more videos here in LA that were directed by Jacob Rink and I shot 2 videos in South Florida. So there is going to be a lot of music and I’m trying to see if the feature film that me and my wife are writing, I wish that I could talk about it, but I’m scared to say what the topic is of the film as I think that it is so synonymous with all of us here. For that one, I’m trying to see if we will be able to self-produce it and to shoot it on our own. I don’t know if we are going to be able to self-produce it just yet, but that’s a goal as well. So right now, I’m going to say that those are the main things that are on the forefront of my mind – music, self-produced content and a superhero thing that I am holding out for that I am hoping will come out soon. I look forward to be able to talk about that and I would also like to be able to say a Rap Sh!t Season 3!
AM: We are all hoping that there will be a Rap Sh!t Season 3! It’s been fun over the years to see you on Grey’s Anatomy as well as How I Met Your Father! In terms of you and this show, I’m always a fan of the concepts that are talked about, looking at how people navigate getting into the music business, learning more about the vibe of South Florida and anything that is missed from the show, catching up with Jessie Woo and Zach Campbell on Chat Sh!t fills in the rest of the gaps I enjoy hearing immediately after I have watched!
DA: Yeah!!!!!
AM: So I definitely hope there are more seasons to come and you continue to do what you’re doing!
DA: Thank you, I appreciate you for saying that!
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 158 - 162 Ben Cope | PG 165 + 166 Alicia Vera/HBO Max | PG 169 + 170 Erin Simkin/Max |
Read the NOV ISSUE #95 of Athleisure Mag and see THE HEAT | Daniel Augustin in Mag.
MELODIES OF LIFE | TOBY GAD
We're heading towards the end of the year which always makes us think of our favorite songs! This month, we caught up with Toby Gad a Grammy-winning, multi-platinum songwriter/producer who has written some of our favorite songs from Beyoncé's If I Were a Boy, Fergie's Big Girls Don't Cry and Demi Lovato's Skyscraper to name a few! We wanted to know more about how he got into the industry, his passion for songwriting, collaborating with fellow entertainers and his legacy project, Piano Diaries!
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you first fall in love with music?
TOBY GAD: First it’s so great to be able to talk with you and thank you for having me! I started with music when I was maybe 5/6/7 years old? My parents had a jazz band and probably when I was already in my mother’s womb, I heard all of these jazz songs that they did. They had a very limited repertoire so I always felt that one day I wanted to be able to write different songs because by age 3 I knew all 30 of the songs that they played!
AM: I love that!
How do you feel that your parents influenced you as jazz artists. My great-uncle was the late tenor saxophonist, Joe Henderson -
TG: Yes! Amazing amazing saxophonist!
AM: I love jazz, I love a lot of the elements of it. How did it influence your music?
TG: My mother always listened to Keith Jarrett, the piano player.
AM: Love Keith Jarrett!
TG: The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett is probably the one record that I have listened to most in my entire life. It’s accompanied me my entire life and it always makes me feel like home. It’s such a great record and just how Keith Jarrett just improvises. He used to start concerts by just playing one note and then taking it from there without making any plans. He’s just very intuitive and just playing in the moment and I just thought that that was so special. I try – I mean, I’m not that good on the piano. I try to do it myself too sometimes and I lose myself in the piano playing. It’s just such a beautiful feeling when you just watch your hands take you places and explore.
AM: We saw Keith Jarrett a few years ago at Carnegie Hall here in NY and you’re right!
TG: I was there too! I saw him also in Carnegie!
AM: Yes! It was such an amazing show and I felt that I barely breathed during that concert, it was transformative! It was so beautiful and I’m so glad that I had a chance to see him because I had never seen him in person but have heard his records. Such a genius!
When did you realize that you wanted to work in the music industry?
TG: My brother and me, we always had ambitions. At first we emulated our parents and they rehearsed in the living room and when they were done, we would take over the instruments and pretend that we were musicians too. Then I think at the age of 6 or 7, we started to have our own set of a few Rock & Roll songs and we would play them in the intermissions of our parent’s jazz band. When our parents went back onstage, we went through the audience and collected money. That was our first experience of, “wow, we can actually make money with this.”
AM: Exactly!
You’re a music producer, you’re also a songwriter, what’s your creative process like and where do you start in terms of creating a song?
TG: It's very much lyric driven. It's always collaborative. I usually start with a conversation with the artist and see where they are at that time in their life. Are they heartbroken, are they in and out of love, angry, happy? What’s the mood of the day? And out of that conversation, sometimes, quite often something sticks – some line.
Like with BC Jean, when she said, because she was angry at someone, she said, “if I were a boy, I would kick his ass” and I was like, “what did you just say?” She said, If I Were a Boy (editor’s note: originally performed by BC Jean and later that year performed by Beyoncé) and I said let’s get back to the studio now and write this song. That’s often how it happens.
AM: Wow!
What do you love about being a songwriter?
TG: Well, it’s the feeling of coming full circle. Like you do something that starts so small with an artist and you record it and then if you’re lucky, it travels around the world. Then you hear it on the radio wherever you go. That is an incredible feeling when people know you by your song. It’s amazing and I love that.
AM: How do you get inspired and where does that part kick off for you?
TG: It’s always the artists that inspire me. If I know that I am going to work with someone, like recently I worked with James Arthur and Tom Walker and those are voices that I love. I love listening to their voices and working with them, I really looked forward to it and it inspired me to really work hard and to create some good music for them.
AM: You’ve had so many accomplishments from 3 Grammy Awards, Grammy nominations, and so many people that you have worked with. What do you look for when it comes to collaborating with an artist? Are there certain things that a person or group has to have in order to go forward?
TG: It's always important to me that the artists are kind of their own boss, they have something to say, they are driven to collaborate and to write their own lyric with someone like me. It’s very important that the artists are part of the creative process and that the music that they record somehow feels a bit autobiographical. Then of course, the voice. I love great voices. I worked with Celeste recently and there are just some singers who I could hear it day and night.
AM: I mean, when I was prepping for the interview, realizing the work that you have been on from Big Girls Don’t Cry, If I Were a Boy, I Do – these are songs that I really love! What have been some of your favorite projects that you have been part of?
TG: I think that Love Song to the Earth has been a song that we did for the Paris Climate Accord and that was a song that just meant a lot to me. At my heart, I’m an environmentalist as well. I care for the planet a lot and that was a little contribution that we could do and I wrote the song with Natasha Bedingfield, John Shanks, and Sean Paul. We got more and more artists on it and by the end, we got Paul McCartney on it as well. Jon Bon Jovi as well as a number of other big name artists wanted to be on this song too. So that was a great experience!
AM: Well, you have worked with a number of artists, but you have also crossed over into a number of genres in music. Does the process change for you when you’re working on an EDM song versus a pop song?
TG: I think that for me the core is that you can always play it on the piano. A lot of good EDM songs start with a good vocal and from there you can explore all different directions. Now, with Piano Diaries, it’s stripping these songs back down to the bones and it’s just for the vocal performance and the really marvelous piano and maybe a little string accompaniment and then the remixes which go all kinds of places and I just have fun with them. But I think that all of these songs at their core, if you can just play them at the piano, that’s great!
AM: What led you to want to create Piano Diaries and to embark on this legacy project?
TG: Well most of my career has been next song, next artist, next session and trying to get a hit, hit, hit! This is the first time in my life that I feel like I can take a breath, look back, and reflect a little bit. I’m happy to rediscover these songs, but I feel that I wanted to record them in a way – how I hear them today and with artists of today, but then I also want to hear the bones of it. For people to be able to hear how it could sound stripped down and just let the lyric carry it. Then of course, to have fun with these new originals and then make crazy remixes.
AM: I love that! I mean, what is it like to work on something that obviously we already know what it’s like, but now having to reimagine it? Is that stressful or is it almost like a sense of freedom?
TG: There’s a real challenge for the original version with piano vocal to create something that feels new.
AM: Yeah.
TG: And to make sure that the singers perform it in a way that feels very original. Like for instance, the next single, Skyscraper, will be with an artist, Camylio a Universal Republic artist with a very strong voice and he sounds so different from the Demi Lovato version, but he kills it.
The current single, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Victoria Justice has such a beautiful soft voice on it that sounds so different from how Fergie sang it when we did that song back then.
AM: I can imagine that that is such an interesting process.
What was it like working with Victoria Justice on that?
TG: Victoria and I, we go way back! Back when she had this very popular television show, Victorious, we had a song, All I Want is Everything that we wrote and she was 17 years old. Ever since, every few years, we would get together and write more songs. We did a song, Girl Up, to empower young females around the world for the United Nations. Love Song to the Earth, she was part of that. So over the years, we kept in touch and she’s such a precious soul and I love her. We actually, it wasn’t just the song, we spent days together just having fun climbing mountains, going surfing, and going through Downtown LA and we filmed a lot of that and put it on social media so we have 30 or 40 little clips on TikTok and Instagram of us talking, asking each other questions, and doing fun things together.
AM: You have your own record label, Kite Records, can you tell me about that?
TG: Well, about 10 years ago, I started Kite Records and we had several records out. But back in the day it meant that you had an imprint and that the record company takes over. But now, it’s such a new perspective that you can do so much on social media and on your own. I couldn’t wait to restart the label and to hire a few new amazing people. Now in the first 2 days we have almost 70,000 streams which I think is incredible that we can achieve that on our own! I’m so happy about this!
AM: That’s amazing!
Obviously you’re focused on Piano Diaries, but are there other projects that are coming up that you would like to share with our readers to know about?
TG: There is a Christmas single, LITTLE HOUSE IN THE SNOW, that came out on Nov 24th with Marisha Wallace, she is a musical star and I am working with her on an Etta James musical that is still going to be a year or two in the making. We decided to do a Christmas song. We’re promoting it in London, there will be shows in the Royal Festival Hall on Dec 15th and 17th and we’re performing with an orchestra. We get to do this song and there are a few TV and radio performances alongside that and that’s also on our label. So I’m very excited about this! Marisha is such a great singer!
AM: That’s fantastic and I can’t wait to hear more about the Etta James musical as I’m such a fan of her music.
When you’re not producing, writing, or doing other projects, how do you take time for yourself?
TG: That’s a learning process and I think that I am getting better with it after all of these years. I love surfing! Right now you can see where we are.
AM: Um that’s an amazing view! We just had Laird Hamilton and Gabby Reece as our OCT ISSUE #94 cover!
TG: I saw that! Incredible! I’m such a fan of Laird Hamilton and I think that it’s remarkable that early on, he decided that he never wanted to compete, he just wants to have his own experience with the gigantic waves out there with the natural forces. I have a lot of respect for this man!
AM: Do you go to Nazaré and surf big waves?
TG: Ha! I think that the biggest wave that I surfed was maybe 6 – 8 ft! To me that is very big!
AM: We also had Kai Lenny for our MAY ISSUE #89 this year as well on our cover who is also known for surfing those really epic waves! Watching him on HBO's 100 Foot Wave was insane! There’s no way I could do that, but watching him do it is so impressive!
TG: Kai Lenny is such a trailblazer with all of the other things like Foiling, Wing Folling and what he does at Nazaré is unbelievable! He does back flips on those 100 foot waves!
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Toby Gad
Read the NOV ISSUE #95 of Athleisure Mag and see MELODIES OF LIFE | Toby Gad in mag.
BINGELY STREAMING
DONYALE LUNA SUPERMODEL
HBO Original
Max
When we look back at the first Black Supermodel, many of us think of Beverly Johnson; however, in HBO's Donyale Luna Supermodel, we are introduced to the first, who covered Harper's Bazaar Magazine, was in a number of campaigns, shot by leading photographers, and jetsetted throughout Europe when she realized that making it here in the US as a Black woman from Detroit wouldn't be a reality for her.
She lives a life as a model and creative who simply wanted to find a place that she could call home, be accepted, and shine in her own skin. Throughout the documentary we learn about her life, her iconic poses, and luminaries in the industry talk about those who opened doors for her as well as those that kept it shut. The importance in reclaiming this history so that more can be aware of her story is one that we truly enjoyed in this documentary.
LOVE IS BLIND
Netflix Series
Netflix
We love a good social experiment and we're back in the pods for the 5th season of Netflix's Love is Blind, we see another round of those who are looking to find their match without seeing one another. They're able to date in pods, talk about their interests, and what a life would be like together, and then if they get engaged, they only see each other when they accept!
Afterwards, they go on a vacation where all the couples are able to begin their lives and then they go
home so that they can see whether they can continue to be with one another as well as to meet their families. In the end, they will see if love is blind if they end up getting married and avid viewers of the show always like seeing the after show as well as another episode that shows what happened with those involved! It kicks off on Sept 22nd with initial episodes and over the 3 week period, additional episodes will be available on Fri.
EXPOSED: COVER UP AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Wondery
Spotify
When you go to a trusted OB-GYN at Columbia University, you expect a higher level of care. But hundreds and possibly thousands of women were allegedly assaulted by Dr. Robert Hadden and although many tried to be heard, it seemed like he wouldn't be held accountable until the survivors engaged in a decade-long fight for justice.
In Wondery’s Exposed: Cover Up at Columbia University, medical journalist Laura Beil shares their stories, what they endured, the cover-up, and how the women got their power back.
Read the SEP ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see BINGELY STREAMING in mag.
THE SKILL OF IT ALL | ELIZABETH BEISEL
As we're less than a year away from Paris 2024, avid readers know that we enjoy chatting with Olympic athletes whether they're still competing or have retired from competing, but are still in the community. We caught up with 3X Olympian (Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016), 2X Team USA Swimming Medalist, and Team US Olympic Team Captain, Elizabeth Beisel. Known for the individual medley as well as the backstroke, we wanted to find out about her Olympic experience, the importance that surfing has as a sport as well as a skill that has served her, how she works with USA Swimming Foundation to ensure that the next generation is able to swim and potentially be able to become athletes in the sport as well! She also talks about the importance of representation and inclusivity in the sport. In addition, we find out what she has been up to, her partnership with Dermasport, embracing her second passion as a violinist, and more.
ATHLEISURE MAG: I’m so excited to be able to talk to you as I enjoyed watching you during your Olympic journey and watching you compete and I know our readers are going to love to know more about your passion for the sport, competing, and what you’re up to now!
ELIZABETH BEISEL: Thank you for having me and I just want to say that it’s an honor to talk with you as you’re a bad ass!
AM: Amazing and thank you!
When did you first fall in love with the water?
EB: Honestly, 6 months old! I went to the Mommy and Me classes at the YMCA. I grew up in Rhode Island which is the Ocean State. So luckily, my mom and dad had the means to put me into the YMCA Mommy and Me classes and introduced me to the water at an early age. I swear that I was the only baby there that wasn’t screaming bloody murder! I love the water! I would only sleep if I was in the water that day. Like it became a thing. I think from the beginning, I was in love with the water and that never left me. I did other sports and other activities growing up, but I think that stuff happening in the water was where I was most comfortable and passionate. So, that was pretty much my entire life!
AM: I love hearing that!
EB: It’s great!
AM: You specialized in the backstroke and are known for your individual medley. What was it about these specialties that you wanted to compete in them?
EB: So, a lot of swimming, you don’t necessarily get to choose the event, the event chooses you. What you're good at is what you morph into. For me, I was one of those swimmers with the individual medley which is all 4 strokes in one race (Editors Note: the medley includes the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle). So I had pretty solid strokes across the board. But backstroke is definitely the one that I excelled in the most. So, since a young age, I kind of always swam all 4 strokes and then I really of honed in on the middle distances which is where my body thrives. I’m not necessarily a long distance swimmer, but I definitely have no sprint fibers in me. Like, I cannot run fast in a sprint, I can’t swim fast, it’s just who I am. I really found that happy medium in the 400m races and it really was just a matter of, “oh wow, I’m really good at these strokes,” in these events compared to everybody else. Why don’t I start focusing on these in practice and swimming on them more in meets. It’s kind of a snowball effect.
AM: I love hearing that as we have interviewed a number of Olympic swimmers and I have never asked how they chose that particular one. But I like that you’re saying that it kind of finds you.
EB: Yeah, trust me, if I had my choice, I’d be swimming a 50 free and be done in 20 seconds, but my body is not made for that!
AM: You’re a 3X Olympian, you have 2 Olympic medals, you’ve served as the Olympic Swimming Captain. What was your Olympic experience like for you and what did you love so much about it?
EB: I think that each Olympic experience was super different and for many different reasons. You know, my first one I was 15 and my last one I was 23. So that’s a completely different human! It was such an honor to be able to reach the pinnacle of the sport that I loved so much and be able to compete in it at that highest level for our country. I remember watching the Olympics when I was 7 years old on TV and having that be the first moment where I really grasped what the Olympics were and how monumental they were in my sport. I knew that I wanted to do that one day. That was my goal and I knew that I was going to make it happen. I’m just a small town kid from Rhode Island, I didn’t grow up in a family of Olympians and swimmers. I’m just like a lot of us where you have a dream. Maybe the fact that I was 7 years old and that kids have that beautiful way of just thinking nothing is impossible, I kind of went for it. I was like, “yeah, why not me? Of course!” It ended up being such an incredible experience and standing up on the podium, winning Olympic medals for your country and doing it alongside your teammates is so special. I have met the best people through my life in the sport of swimming. I think we’re forced to be pretty humble because, well, swimming is not an A-list sport. It’s not football, it’s not soccer, it’s not baseball. So we have once every 4 years to kind of shine at the Olympics and then nobody really cares about what we’re doing. We don’t make any money so it’s really a group of people that do it because they love it. I think that breeds a certain type of person and archetype. It’s just like the blue collar hardworking type of people that are really in it because you love it, not for the money, or the fame, or any thing like that. It’s just, “yeah, we love to swim.” Longwinded answer – Olympics are amazing!
AM: So, we always love knowing how athletes stay fit and obviously, you’re in the water which is a huge part of it. What are the workouts that you do in and out of the water when you’re training or even now when you’re doing what you do?
EB: I try to lift weights twice a week. I know that that doesn’t sound like much. When I was swimming, I was lifting 2-3-4 times a week depending on where we were at in the season. Towards the end of my competitive swimming career, I started implementing yoga and I’m now a certified yoga instructor, I love it that much. What I found while I was an athlete and now, and I still consider myself an athlete even though I am not actively competing, is that I leave yoga feeling so calm and like it’s almost like it’s opened up my body obviously, and my mind as well. I see things clearer, I think clearer, and it’s super relaxing. I’m kind of a 1 million miles a minute type of person so I need an outlet and something to force me. Because I’m not going to do it at home. I know myself. I’m not going to put on the meditation and do it at home. I wish I could. But I need to go somewhere and have somebody leading me and once I discovered yoga, not only did it help me athletically because you need to be stretching and you need to be opening your body and your muscle tissue. It helps with recovery a lot, but my mind too. It helps me slow down and shut off and just give myself that parasympathetic nervous system a break. So I would say yoga, lifting, and then I try to walk. It sounds simple, but I think that walking is good and I like to multitask and if I have calls, I will do it when I’m walking. So just nothing crazy to be honest and I think that’s the thing about Olympians, people probably think that we’re doing this out of the box really fancy stuff and it’s like, “no, we do the exact same thing that you guys do, we just do it 40 hours a week.” Instead of you doing it on the weekend or an hour here or there. But yeah, it’s just taking care of my body or anybody’s body is when you’re going to feel better. So that’s why I move now, because it makes me feel good.
AM: It’s so funny because I have probably been doing yoga for the last 15/20 years or so and once I went to my 40’s I went from a love/hate relationship to desperately needing it because like you said, it’s calming your mind down and having someone else stopping me and forcing me to do the things that I do. Hot yoga is my jam!
EB: Same! Oh my God! Give me a hot power vinyasa and I’m good!
AM: Same! I get so happy with it, it breaks me down, and I can quiet everything around me and I so appreciate it now versus in my 20’s I was like this is something to do for my mobility and flexibility. Now it’s like, no I need it.
EB: Exactly, this is like water and I need it.
AM: So you partnered with Dermasport. Can you tell me about the brand and why it was synergistic with you to work for them?
EB: Ok. So Dermasport is a skincare brand so it’s face wash, moisturizer, eye cream, and SPF. It’s designed by swimmers for swimmers. Right off the bat, synergy. Throughout my entire swimming career, I was always struggling to find – especially sunscreen, I was swimming at the University of Florida and I ended up swimming there for 8 years.
That’s 8 years of swimming under the sun outside and I really struggled finding a sunscreen that wouldn’t smudge my goggles and I know that that sounds crazy, that would stay on during the entire practice, would protect my skin, and on top of that, the chlorine itself is so bad for your skin. It strips away every good oil and thing that you have on your face. So I was struggling to find a post swim face wash that really felt like it got everything off. Not only the residue of the sunscreen, but also the chlorine that had seeped into my skin. Once Dermasport came out and approached me, and sent me samples for me to try out, I tried it out for a good 2 months indoor and outdoor swimming. I knew that this was the stuff. It was like I was the one going to them asking them that if they wanted me to do anything, to let me know. I think another thing is that element of protecting your skin. I lost my dad to cancer 2 years ago, although it wasn’t skin cancer, it was a huge wake up call for me being like, you’re healthy until you’re not. You’re cancer free until you’re not so what am I actively doing that’s preventative and ways that I can alleviate the possibility that I don’t ever end up having cancer. So sunscreen has been like, it doesn’t matter if it’s a cloudy day, if it’s the dead of winter, it’s part of my morning routine now. So it just really hit a lot of the elements that I am really passionate about in my life and so it was kind of one of those things where I was like the universe just bestowed this upon me and I thought it was beautiful.
Of course, since retiring from competitive swimming, I really started to surf a lot now that I have time in my life to do things. It’s mineral based, the packaging is either recyclable aluminum or post consumer recycled bottles so I feel good about it across the board. It’s the best!
AM: That’s amazing!
What’s your discipline in surfing? What are you doing in surfing? Are you doing wake boarding or looking for the ultimate big wave?
EB: Well, I interviewed Carissa Moore once so you and I have that in common!
AM: Yup!
EB: I’m sure you had the same experience, she was the nicest person in the world!
AM: She was our FEB ISSUE #85 this year and it was on Super Bowl Sunday and we had a huge tie zone difference and she was the loveliest person.
EB: Exactly and I was in Tokyo for the Olympics 2 summers ago and I was working with NBC and of course it was surfing’s first time in the Olympics. Carissa wins and part of my job was interviewing the athletes after they won. Carissa was not in a rush, she never made me feel like I was annoying her and trust me, the amount of press that she did on that day, like she did not need to talk to me. She was just phenomenal and she was beautiful and lovely as a human!
I have been doing it for a few years now and it’s been really awesome because I love learning new things. I took to surfing easily because of my paddle strength and my arms. So I’m getting better I did a surf trip in the Maldives for a month in April and the thing is with anything, if you’re not doing it consistently, you’re not going to be better. Here where I am in Rhode Island, we get Hurricane Season waves in the fall and then nothing for 10 months. So, I’m trying to go on more trips to get better, but the camaraderie, the culture, I just love it! It’s amazing.
AM: Do you think that you’ll go to Nazaré?
EB: Ha! I’ll watch! Listen, I love to live my life and be alive! Like you know what’s even crazier Kimmie? The tow people with the jet ski! They have to be equally trained, if not more! You know, it’s unreal!
AM: HBO's 100 Foot Wave, but you see it and you’re like, holy shit!
EB: I know right?
AM: What does your partnership look like with Dermasport? Are there events coming up or is it just organic integration?
EB: A lot of it is organic. Obviously I have been sent the product as I need to use it in order to talk about it. We’re going to do some appearances at a lot of Masters meets so that is basically older swimmers just because I feel that those are really the people that are tuned into taking care of their skin and their health whereas kids may be a little harder. Mom says use your sunscreen and the kids are like, “but I’m invincible, why do I need that?” And then, just like genuinely and organically posting about it. I’m at the point in my life that if something doesn’t align with me, I don’t give it my time. We have too many things going on in our lives and so this is one of those things like I said earlier where it just hits every pain point in my life that I am genuinely passionate about – swimming, being in the ocean, surfing, and being in the sun. I’m a lifeguard too and I sit in the sun for hours throughout the day. My connection to cancer and so it’s a really genuine partnership. I’m so excited to be involved.
AM: So tell me about Block Cancer. Why did you want to launch this, what is this lifestyle brand, and what can we expect to see from it?
EB: I’m so excited! It launched July 19th. So I’ll give a quick backstory. When my dad was going through his diagnosis and treatment, I was going through all of the books and cancer had never touched my family. I didn’t know what to do and I was super green in that world and all the things I read said to give something to your loved ones to look forward to. So I thought that I had this amazing swimming platform and there’s an island off the coast of Rhode Island, that only 2 people have ever swum to and no female had ever done it. So I was like, “this could be something cool.” I could share my updates with dad and we called it Block Cancer because the island is called Block Island. It’s like a play on words.
Unfortunately, I did the swim, but my dad passed away before I could complete the swim. I know that he knows that I did it because I fully believe that he was there that day. But after the swim, we were like we had this modest and humble goal of raising $5,000-$10,000 and we raised $665,000 all going to in lab cancer research. That was my thing.
I didn’t want to be funding the renaming of a hospital wing, that’s not my jam. If there's no funding there's no research, no research, there’s no cure. So how can I bridge the gap between the oncologist and the researchers and actually making some progress. So after completing the swim, sitting on it for a little bit, digesting what had happened with my dad and all that stuff – I was really looking to relaunch it and I didn’t really know what that looked like. What it turned into being organically was this collaboration of creatives all designing really cool designs for Block Cancer and selling the merch and donating 90% of the net profits to a non-profit that I have worked with my entire life that funds lab research. It is 100% going to in lab research and I get to be apart of the vetting process and the grant writing process so it’s really really awesome. It’s not just hoodies, hats, and bracelets, but it’s also chemo hats, scarves, port shirts, and cancer care packages. I wanted to do something that really put the cancer patient first. I have also compiled resources like cancer diagnosis resources, grief resources, and when you get a cancer diagnosis, what the hell do you do? What questions do you ask, who do you go to and what do you do when you lose somebody?
For the past year and a half, I’ve been compiling all of that, putting it together and it’s just been this real passion project. It’s never felt like work. It’s a way for me to stay connected to my dad. Actually, Dermasport to bring it back in, we’ve been in talks to have the sunscreen be sold on Block Cancer and maybe a portion of the net-profits go to the Block Cancer Fund. It makes sense right? You use sunscreen and it protects you in skin cancer. Again, Dermasport fit in seamlessly to this beautiful passion project that I am working on and it felt like this beautiful symbiotic relationship. It’s all good stuff and I’m so excited! I have literally, my eyes are all over the place the place – I’m not a website builder, but I have done all this work myself because I don’t have an investor. I don’t have 15 grand to pay for a website developer. So it’s been actually great because I have learned a ton. I've learned skills that I otherwise wouldn't have had.
AM: That’s great, because when you do all of the stuff, as you bring people on, you know exactly how long it takes, what it is – because when you can do it yourself, the person who you bring on who definitely has the skills to be able to do that should be above and beyond what you can do.
EB: Of course! Yes, absolutely. I think that the website came along great.
AM: What other projects are you working on beyond Dermasport and Block Cancer? Are there other things that we should keep an eye out for?
EB: Actually, super exciting news! So I mentioned earlier that I did other activities growing up. So I grew up playing the violin. That was actually my equal love to swimming. But it always had to take a backseat to swimming because I would always choose swimming. So violin is beautiful because it is something that you can always do for the rest of your life. So I’m in a band called Laden Valley and we’re developmental, super early in our stages. But we got asked to play Newport Folk Fest – we’re a folk band.
AM: That’s huge!
EB: Yeah! Huge like Brandi Carlile, Paul Simon, we’re the opener on Fri of Newport Folk Fest and this is like – if this goes well, in the folk world if you’re playing Folk Fest in Newport, you’re doing well!
AM: Oh I’m well aware, that’s why I perked up!
EB: Yeah and we’re very excited, I got all of my outfits planned and I’m like, what are we wearing? So it’s me and 3 other guys and so I’m picking the outfits and the color scheme and they all have can match me.
AM: That is so exciting congratulations!
EB: Yeah and it’s one of those things where this – I don’t want to jinx it. But I truly believe that maybe it could be something, but we will see! It’s by far the biggest crowd that anyone of us have performed in front of. I think it’s 8,000-10,000 people, but for us, it’s like huge and it’s so exciting!
AM: That’s exciting! The Newport Folk Festival is amazing and I knew what it was as soon as you said it as they don’t let just anyone play it. This year it’s Lana Del Rey, Jon Batiste, Maggie Rogers, that’s amazing.
You do so much! How do you give back to the sport that you originated in and how do you give back to the youth that is coming up?
EB: Yeah, so I’m an ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation and that’s the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming so what we are trying to do is save lives and impact communities. Saving lives is – ok we know that swimming is a fun sport and we get to win Olympic medals and stuff, but at the end of the day, nobody gets into the sport of swimming to become an Olympian. They get into the sport because it’s purely a skill. It’s a life saving skill, but if you come from a socioeconomic background, culture, or city where swimming isn’t really a part of your life or the people that you’re surrounded with – you’re not going to learn. Formal swimming lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%.
So it’s like, I don’t know if you heard the story of the quarterback a couple of weeks ago that drowned in the NFL. But what I try to tell people is listen, the water does not discriminate, it doesn’t care if you’re an Olympian, it doesn’t care if you’re an NFL quarterback, it doesn’t care if you’re a 5-year-old. You can drown. So what we do is basically go around the country on a tour and it’s every May. We provide grants to local Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA’s and we’re like, “here’s $15,000. We ask that in the next year you provide transportation to kids that cannot afford swimming lessons. You bring them from school to the YMCA or the Boys & Girls Club whatever it is and you get them in the water and you teach them how to swim.” I kind of call myself the out of town hero right? We go there and it’s inner city kids in Detroit or in Chicago. They have never seen a pool before, we make it all shiny and fun for them, but it’s like there’s some follow up here. We’re kind of the catalyst and you just have to continue it. So that’s been really rewarding to give back to the sport. At the end of the day, those Mommy and Me Classes that I took with my mom, they’re weren’t about me winning medals. Not at all! They were for me to learn how to swim and to be safer around the water.
That's been the way that I have given back in the past few years since being done.
It’s awesome because it’s also a diversity thing. You watch the Olympics, there is 1 Black person on the Olympic Swim Team. There’s 1.
AM: Yup.
EB: Like, what a microcosm of society right? Because that is what swimming looks like. So, it’s like, we’re trying to come in and we have Cullen Jones – have you ever met Cullen Jones (2G, 2S)?
AM: No, I have not, but I want to!
EB: He was literally my first friend on the National Team. He’s my big brother. I cannot say enough good things about him. Cullen, the first Black person to win an Olympic Gold medal in swimming, to break a world record, the first of everything! He’s kind of like the face of this tour. To be able to do this on the road with him and to watch, because I can say something, but I’m white. It’s not going to resonate as much as when he does it. Watching I get chills, watching him talk to an entire auditorium of kids who honestly may not even know what the Olympics are, but he gets through to them because he can relate to them and they go into a pool and they’re inspired to learn how to swim. That’s what it’s all about. It’s so incredible! So, I mean that this is a 100 year project!
AM: Oh yeah! That’s why representation is so important you have to have what needs to be reflected and if you have 1 maybe you get 4 and then 10. Like you said, it’s going to be 100 years for sure.
EB: Yeah, it’s always safer around the water. It’s never completely safe as I said earlier, you, me – no one is completely safe. Being around and having that impact on the sport and who it is accessible to is like – that is way more than any Olympic medal – it’s saving lives.
AM: Can you tell me about the Lead Sports Summit and what your involvement is with them?
EB: So Lead Sports Summit was founded by one of my best friends on the Olympic Swim Team, Kara Lynn Joyce (4S). She saw a need for a summit for just women and female young teenage athletes. So 13-18 and she gets the all-star team from the Olympic Team. The heavy hitter names that you watch on NBC at the Olympics come to Lead Sport Summit and we have breakout groups, we have panels, we have really open and honest discussions and we give these teenage girls a safe place to talk about stuff that maybe they are dealing with on their team, in school, with relationships at home, it’s a judgement free zone. It’s cool because I think there is an element of humanizing Olympians and what we do. Maybe it’s inspiring because of what we do. It’s like, “oh wow, I was putting Katie Ledecky (7G, 3S) on this pedestal and I thought that she was untouchable, but now that I have met her, spent time with her, and I know she has dealt with the same issues that I have dealt with – now this scary thing that felt impossible is possible! It is something that I say to Kara all the time that she needs to have one just for adults because I would go. I tell her too that by the end of the weekend, I have cried 48 times and I feel that I have gotten more out of it then the actual teenage girls did! Also, I’m not in the social media world that they are in. You and I did not grow up with those same pressures.
AM: Exactly.
EB: So it’s super eye opening to hear them talk openly about the pressures that they feel from social media and society. It gives me chills and makes me say, how can we help? It’s an incredible event and it’s over Labor Day Weekend every single year. Kara is opening it up to other sports now and it’s taking on a life of its own which is really beautiful and I will be at the one in DC which is over Labor Day Weekend this year.
AM: That's fantastic!
EB: Yeah and I think that it’s sold out. Which doesn’t surprise me as it’s done that every single year. It really is worth every single penny. It’s the best!
AM: I love that when people empower and infuse people. Even if something is for a lower age group, I always say that I feel like we’re adulting while we are dealing with our own traumas that are unresolved.
EB: Yes! There’s some stuff that happened to me 15 years ago that I should probably figure out!
AM: Without a doubt!
IG @ebeisel34
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Elizabeth Beisel
Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see THE SKILL OF IT ALL | Elizabeth Beisel in mag.
WHERE'S THE LINE | SEPIDEH MOAFI
This month we caught up with Sepideh Moafi who embodies her characters and really makes us see the world through her eyes and the storylines that they are involved in where it's thrillers such as USA's Falling Water, dramas that include HBO's The Deuce and Showtime's The L Word: Generation Q, and shows that look at our relationship with technology and who has the power to use them in our lives in her latest limited series, FX Class of '09!
You can currently binge the entire season of 8 episodes now on Hulu which looks at a group of FBI agents as we see them going through the academy in the past, in their present day in their career and in the future. We wanted to know more about how Sepideh came to being an actor, how she approaches her roles, and her thoughts on the paradigm between technology and humans intervention and those who decide how this is instituted.
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize you wanted to be an actor?
SEPIDEH MOAFI: I think I was about 23. I graduated from San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a Vocal Performance major at 21 and had started my career as an opera singer. While opera was (and still is) my first passion and finding my voice as a singer completely changed my life, I was becoming more and more curious about theater and exploring the full potential of characters without having to worry about hitting that high C, for example. I enrolled in a straight acting class with Bobby Weinapple in San Francisco (he taught an acting for singers class that I had taken at the conservatory) and he said I had “it”, whatever “it” means. I decided to audition for some plays and started booking roles like Juliet in Romeo & Juliet and Luisa in The Fantasticks, so I decided to apply to grad school on a whim and ended up getting a full scholarship plus grants to UC Irvine’s MFA Acting program. So I went.
AM: I have been a fan of your work from Notorious, Falling Water, The Deuce, The L Word: Generation Q, and currently The Class of 09! You always play characters that are dynamic and continue to reveal themselves in various ways. What are you looking for when you decide that you want to play a character?
SM: Thank you for your kind words. I think the reasons for taking on a part have changed for me throughout the years. I was more character driven before, now I think I’m more story driven. At first I was just so eager to do anything I could get my hands on. I even loved getting to play characters who seemed pretty two dimensional on the page because that meant I got to find the things that many people may overlook or miss and bring all of the complexity and nuance and heart to these characters and make them feel like full, multi dimensional human beings. Taking on any character allows you to gain insight and empathy for a range of personality types — people that are similar to you, people who think completely different from you — you get to explore a variety of career paths and life choices that maybe you’ve never imagined before. Acting is a beautiful way to explore humanity and empathy, and I feel so lucky to be able to learn and grow so much from my work.
I fortunately haven’t had to deal with typecasting; most of the characters I’ve played both on stage and screen are completely different from one another and their racial backgrounds aren’t necessarily specified. I remember having a long conversation with Remi Aubuchon (24, Stargate Universe, Silo), the show runner for Falling Water after I got cast. He gave me the choice to change my character’s last name (Alex Simms) to an Iranian last name if I felt compelled. I thought about this deeply. Representation is so important, but I kept asking myself if it would be more impactful to change her name to say, Alex Mohammadi or keep it as Alex Simms. I spoke to friends who encouraged me to change the name to a Persian last name, but my mom's words echoed those in my gut. She said I should keep it as it because we need to be able to separate our judgements and assumptions about who a person is, their background and what they look like based on their name. So I kept her name Alex Simms.
Something that has changed is that the more political I’ve become and the more humanitarian work I’ve done throughout the last decade, the more important it has become for me to be part of projects that I feel align with my politics and core belief system. We need healthy, accurate stories and representation of women, the LGBTQIA+ community, people from the SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) region, and all marginalized communities but not with a superficial, checkbox approach to diversity. My face on screen makes a statement whether I like it or not, so I’d rather take control of that to make statements I can get behind. It’s important that whatever project I decide to do doesn’t play into toxic narratives about marginalized people and doesn’t veer from the kinds of stories and representation I want to support and think we need more of.
AM: How do you approach getting into character to bring their authenticity forward?
SM: I think different characters require diff kinds of preparation. For example, for Lauren McCauley in Black Bird, I spent a good two months doing research by reading, listening to podcasts, watching documentaries, reviewing documents from the real life case, speaking to various FBI agents on a regular basis, and reading the script every day. I quickly discovered that there’s no way in hell I could be an FBI agent in real life (I find it too difficult to control my emotions!), so the extensive research helped me acquire the confidence I needed to step into her shoes. Dennis Lehane’s (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Bloodline) brilliant script gave me everything I needed to play her, the research just helped me gain the confidence I needed in order to embody her truthfully. For Gigi in The L Word: Generation Q, I did speak to a few of my real estate agent buddies to gain some insight into her day to day work life, but that was kind of the extent of the research. I think every character prep is different. I remember doing so much prep work for Niki in The Killing of Two Lovers but once I got to set with our director Robert Machoian (Mother Mother, Strong Enough, The Foundry) and opposite actors Clayne Crawford (CSI, 24, Graceland), Chris Coy (The Deuce, The Peripheral, Accused) and the kids, I felt like all that prep went out the window. One could argue the prep was there as my foundation but I honestly felt like I was in a trance for the entirety of that shoot. The energy on set was abundant and infectious; we were like animals in the jungle playing with abandon. No matter what, I always start with the words in the script and my gut response to them. From there, I identify the tone, the world in which the character lives (their socioeconomic status, their relationship to their ethnicity and background, their gender, etc.) and that usually informs what type of work and research is needed. My only goal is to give all of myself to every role. If by the end of a film or show or play there’s still something in the tank, I haven’t done my job.
AM: What drew you to want to be involved in Class of '09 and what do you think about the past, present and future format of the show?
SM: There are a number of reasons why I was drawn to this show. The character being able to explore the breadth of anyone’s life over the span of multiple decades is a fascinating, eye and heart opening endeavor. This character, Hour, specifically being from a family that had to flee Iran felt resonant to me and her constant grappling with the dilemma of identity and belonging. The themes of the show — exploring AI, technology, surveillance, the fragility of humanity, and this dance between security and liberty. And lastly the cast, I felt very lucky to be able to have this unique experience with some of my favorite actors and human beings. We formed life long bonds (we’re still constantly texting on our group text!)
AM: We've been watching this every week and really enjoy seeing how everyone is connected with one another and how they evolve over various periods of time. What are the takeaways that you want viewers to walk away with after watching this series?
SM: Class of ‘09 is a limited series so the story is contained within eight episodes. But I hope this encourages the audience to probe at these deeper questions around the nature of security, surveillance, and willingly or unwillingly living in a technocracy. Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers, said “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” We are seeing increasing manifestations of major technological companies abusing their power with impunity and stealing our identities for profit. We’ve seen fuller expressions of this abuse in countries like China, Russia, Israel. We must always remember that our elected officials work for us and we cannot forget that it is our job to hold our elected officials and these major corporations accountable so that we don’t continue on this fast track towards a surveillance state.
AM: Are there upcoming projects that you're working on that you would like to share that we should keep an eye out for?
SM: Yes! There’s a film coming out called I’ll Be Right There with Edie Falco (The Sopranos, Impeachment: American Crime Story, Avatar: the Way of Water), Jeannie Berlin (The Night Of, Succession, The Fablemans), and Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, The Handmaids Tale, Get Out). I actually had the chance to work with Edie on one of my first jobs after getting my MFA. I booked a guest star role on Nurse Jackie a couple of months out of school and I flipped out because Edie was one of the reasons I decided to pursue acting. I remember telling myself to wait until the end of the episode with her to confess how big of a fan I was. I lasted about three hours before I exploded into tears and gushed about how much I loved and admired her. I felt like I totally humiliated myself but she was (and still is) one of the most gracious, humble, down to earth actors I’ve ever met. I’m part of an HBO Max animated series called Scavengers Reign coming out later this year too. I’ve wanted to be part of an animated project my entire life so this was one of those moments where the kid in me couldn’t believe it. Aside from that, there are a couple of other projects I’m developing, but I start work on a film called Wild Berries which will actually be my first Persian language speaking film, opposite award-winning Iranian actor Shahab Hosseini (The Salesman, Residents of Nowhere, Nargesi). It’s pretty much a two-hander so I’m very excited to dive into this world with Shahab and our director Soudabeh Moradian (Polaris, The Amber Thief, In Between).
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 98 + 101 9LIST STORI3S, PG 128 + PG 131 FX/Class of 09
Read the JUN ISSUE #90 of Athleisure Mag and see WHERE’S THE LINE | SEPIDEH MOAFI in mag.
BINGELY STREAMING
BLACK MIRROR
Netflix Series
Netflix
It's been awhile but Black Mirror is back with 5 new episodes that let you think about connectivity, technology, interpersonal relationships and so much more! This season we're left with wondering about the extent of privacy and how by giving it out, we may be allowing more access to who we are then we ever thought! We also look at how much our love for True Crime may uncover secrets and behaviors that we never thought that those who we know have! It also makes us think about how the act of assisting someone or giving time to others can have adverse affects. We found that we were able to binge all the episodes in one weekend day and left our screens wondering about these themes as well as hoping that there would be another season to keep us pondering soon!
AND JUST LIKE THAT
Max Original
HBO/Max + Spotify
Fans of Sex and the City were treated to And Just Like That last year which picked up with the our favorite ladies of NYC. We returned to them last year in new circumstances as well as bringing in new friends to shake up what we knew about them and to diversify their lives!
This month, the second season is back with more stories to tell, more challenges to take on, and to to continue to strive to live their best lives with an array of nuances!
As you know, this show also has a podcast companion series which takes us into the writer's room to talk in depth about each episode as well as to talk about how they approached writing the episode, whose personal experiences it was based on and how it ties into art, styling and more. Episodes of this spin-off series drop weekly and if you missed anything, you can catch up on Max for this series as well as Sex and the City. Also listen to the podcast show on your favorite platforms.
HIDDEN SIGNAL:EVERGREEN
QCODE
Spotify
We're enjoying another immersive audio drama from QCODE has been released and it takes us to the end and possible beginning of the world in Hidden Signal: Evergreen. Hidden Signal is an Anthology for QCODE and Evergreen focuses on a hand selected team of the world's greatest minds who are trapped in a subterranean biosphere. They realize that on Earth, an asteroid has destroyed the surface and that they are tasked to create a new society. Mistrust abounds among the group and the line between hero and villain is not easily seen in this fictional podcast. With so much uncertainty, can they come together and trust one another?
Read the JUN ISSUE #90 of Athleisure Mag and see BINGELY STREAMING in mag.
AWARDS SEASON | CREATIVE ARTS EMMYS NOMINATIONS
The 75th Creative Arts Emmy announced the nominees for this awards show that takes place over 2 days! Our predictions are in bold, the ones we correctly identified as winners are in bold italics and winners that we didn’t predict are in italics.
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A NARRATIVE CONTEMPORARY PROGRAM (ONE HOUR OR MORE)
The Last Of Us • Infected • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog John Paino, Production Designer Don Macaulay, Art Director Paul Healy, Set Decorator
Poker Face • The Orpheus Syndrome • Peacock • T-Street, MRC Television, Animal Pictures
Judy Rhee, Production Designer Martha Sparrow, Art Director Cathy Marshall, Set Decorator
Succession • America Decides • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Stephen H. Carter, Production Designer Molly Mikula, Art Director George Detitta Jr., Set Decorator
Ted Lasso • Sunflowers • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television Paul Cripps, Production Designer Iain White, Art Director Kate Goodman, Set Decorator
Wednesday • Wednesday's Child Is Full Of Woe • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production Mark Scruton, Production Designer Adrian Curelea, Art Director Robert Hepburn, Set Decorator
The White Lotus • Ciao • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District Cristina Onori, Production Designer Gianpaolo Rifino, Art Director Letizia Santucci, Set Decorator
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A NARRATIVE PERIOD OR FANTASY PROGRAM (ONE HOUR OR MORE)
Daisy Jones & The Six • Track 10: Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide • Prime Video • Hello Sunshine, Amazon Studios Jessica Kender, Production Designer Brian Grego, Art Director Lisa Clark, Set Decorator Andi Brittan, Set Decorator
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities • Netflix • Netflix / Double Dare You Tamara Deverell, Production Designer Brandt Gordon, Art Director Shane Vieau, Set Decorator
House Of The Dragon • The Heirs Of The Dragon • HBO Max • HBO in association with 1:26 Pictures, Bastard Sword, and GRRM Productions Jim Clay, Production Designer Dominic Masters, Art Director Claire Nia Richards, Set Decorator
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel • Susan • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Bill Groom, Production Designer Neil Prince, Art Director Ellen Christiansen, Set Decorator
Perry Mason • Chapter Eleven • HBO Max • HBO in association with Team Downey and AMBEG Screen Products Keith P. Cunningham, Production Designer Ian Scroggins, Art Director Halina Siwolop, Set Decorator
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A NARRATIVE PROHRAM (HALF-HOUR)
The Bear • System • FX • FX Productions Sam Lisenco, Production Designer Eric Dean, Art Director Emily Carter, Set Decorator
How I Met Your Father • The Reset Button • Ride Or Die • Daddy • Hulu • 20th Television Glenda Rovello, Production Designer Conny Boettger-Marinos, Art Director Amy Beth Feldman, Set Decorator
Only Murders In The Building • Sparring Partners • I Know Who Did It • Hulu • 20th Television Patrick Howe, Production Designer Jordan Jacobs, Art Director Rich Murray, Set Decorator
Schmigadoon! • Famous As Hell • Apple TV+ • Broadway Video / Universal Television in association with Apple Jamie Walker McCall, Production Designer Ryan Garton, Art Director Gregory Clarke, Art Director Carol Lavallee, Set Decorator
What We Do In The Shadows • The Night Market • FX • FX Productions Shayne Fox, Production Designer Aaron Noël, Art Director Kerri Wylie, Set Decorator
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A VARIETY OR REALITY SERIES
A Black Lady Sketch Show • Peek-A-Boob, Your Titty’s Out • HBO Max • HBO in association with For Better or Words, Inc., HooRAE, 3 Arts Entertainment and Jax Media Cindy Chao, Production Designer Michele Yu, Production Designer Lizzie Boyle, Set Decorator
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver • Museums • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sixteen String Jack Productions and Avalon Television Eric Morrell, Production Designer Sabrina Lederer, Art Director
Queer Eye • Speedy For Life • Netflix • Scout Productions Inc. and ITV Entertainment LLC for Netflix Thomas Rouse, Production Designer Tyka Edwards, Art Director
RuPaul's Drag Race • Blame It On The Edit • MTV • World of Wonder Gianna Costa, Production Designer Brad Bailey, Art Director
Saturday Night Live • Host: Steve Martin & Martin Short • Host: Jenna Ortega • NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video Akira Yoshimura, Production Designer Keith Ian Raywood, Production Designer Andrea Purcigliotti, Production Designer Danielle Webb, Set Decorator
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna • FOX • Jesse Collins Entertainment, DPS and Roc Nation Bruce Rodgers, Production Designer Shelley Rodgers, Art Director Lindsey Breslauer, Art Director Maria Garcia, Art Director Lily Rodgers, Art Director
Carol Burnett: 90 Years Of Laughter + Love • NBC • Silent House Productions Tamlyn Wright, Production Designer Travis Deck, Art Director
Encanto At The Hollywood Bowl • Disney+ • Fulwell 73 Productions Misty Buckley, Production Designer Joe Celli, Art Director Raquel Tarbet, Set Decorator
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards • CBS • Fulwell 73 Julio Himede, Production Designer Kristen Merlino, Art Director
The Oscars • ABC • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Misty Buckley, Production Designer Alana Billingsley, Production Designer John Zuiker, Art Director
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Black Bird • Hand To Mouth • Apple TV+ • Apple Studios Natalie Kingston, Director of Photography
Boston Strangler • Hulu • 20th Century Studios Ben Kutchins, Director of Photography
Dead Ringers • One • Prime Video • AnnaPurna Pictures, Amazon Studios Jody Lee Lipes, ASC, Director of Photography
George & Tammy • Stand By Your Man • Showtime • MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Freckle Films, Blank Films Inc, Mad Chance, Brolin Productions, Aunt Sylvia's Moving Picture Company Igor Martinovic, Director of Photography
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities • The Autopsy • Netflix • Netflix / Double Dare You
Anastas Michos, ASC, GSC, Director of Photography
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM
100 Foot Wave • Chapter VI - Force Majeure • HBO Max • HBO Presents, Topic Studios, Library Films, Amplify Pictures Antoine Chicoye, Cinematography by Mikey Corker, Cinematography by Vincent Kardasik, Cinematography by Alexandre Lesbats, Cinematography by Chris Smith, Cinematography by Laurent Pujol, Cinematography by João Vidinha, Cinematography by Michael Darrigade, Cinematography by
Secrets Of The Elephants • Desert • National Geographic • Oxford Scientific Films LTD and Earthship Productions for National Geographic Toby Strong, Director of Photography James Boon, Director of Photography Bob Poole, Director of Photography
The 1619 Project • Justice • Hulu • Onyx Collective, Lionsgate Productions in association with One Story Up Productions, Harpo Films and The New York Times Jerry Henry, Director of Photography
Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy • Calabria • CNN • CNN Original Series, RAW Andrew Muggleton, Director of Photography
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio C. Kim Miles, CSC, ASC, MySC, Director of Photography Clair Popkin, Cinematography by Julia Liu, Cinematography by
The Territory • National Geographic • National Geographic Documentary Films Presents a Documist and Associação Jupaú Film in association with Time Studios, Xtr, Doc Society Climate Story Fund / A Production of Protozoa Pictures, Passion Pictures, Real Lava Alex Pritz, Cinematography by Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wa, Cinematography by
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A REALITY PROGRAM
The Amazing Race • Series Body Of Work • CBS • WorldRace Productions, Inc. Joshua Gitersonke, Director of Photography Bryan T. Adams, Camera Kathryn Barrows, Camera Josh Bartel, Camera Kurt Carpenter, Camera David D'Angelo, Camera Matthew Di Girolamo, Camera Adam Haisinger, Camera Robert Howsam, Camera Kevin Johnson, Camera Jay Kaufman, Camera Ian Kerr, CSC, Camera Daniel Long, Camera Lucas Kenna Mertes, Camera Ryan Shaw, Camera
Alan Weeks, Camera
Deadliest Catch • Call Of A New Generation • Discovery Channel • Original Productions, LLC for the Discovery Channel David Reichert, Director of Photography Charlie Beck, Director of Photography Bryan Miller, Director of Photography Todd Stanley, Director of Photography Shane Moore, Director of Photography Nathan Garofalos, Director of Photography David Arnold, Director of Photography
Life Below Zero • The Pursuit • National Geographic • BBC Studios Danny Day, Director of Photography Simeon Houtman, Director of Photography Jason Hubbell, Director of Photography Ben Mullin, Director of Photography Zach Vincent, Director of Photography
Survivor • Series Body Of Work • CBS • MGM Television Peter Wery, Director of Photography Scott Duncan, Director of Photography Russ Fill, Director of Photography George Andrews, Camera Tim Barker, Camera Marc Bennett, Camera Paulo Castillo, Camera Rodney Chauvin, Camera Chris Ellison, Camera Nixon George, Camera Matthias Hoffmann, Cinema Toby Hogan, Camera Derek Holt, Camera Efrain "Mofi" Laguna, Camera Ian Miller, Camera Nico Nyoni, Camera Paul Peddinghaus, Camera Jeff Phillips, Camera Nejc Poberaj, Camera Daniel Powell, Camera Louis Powell, Camera Jovan Sales, Camera Erick Sarmiento, Camera Dirk Steyn, Camera John Tattersall, Camera Holly Thompson, Camera Paulo Velozo, Camera Cullum Andrews, Camera Christopher Barker, Director of Aerial Photography Granger Scholtz, Director of Aerial Photography Nic Van Der Westhuizen, Aerial Camera Operator Dwight Winston, Aerial Camera Operator
Welcome To Wrexham • Do Or Die • FX • Boardwalk Pictures Alastair McKevitt, Director of Photography Craig Hastings, Director of Photography Leighton Cox, Director of Photography Jason Bulley, Director of Photography
OUTSTANDING PERIOD COSTUMES FOR A SERIES
The Crown • Mou Mou • Netflix • Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television for Netflix
Amy Roberts, Costume Designer Sidonie Roberts, Associate Costume Designer Christof Roche-Gordon, Costume Supervisor
The Great • Choose Your Weapon • Hulu • Civic Center Media, MRC Sharon Long, Costume Designer Claire Tremlett, Assistant Costume Designer Basia Kuznar, Assistant Costume Designer Anna Lau, Costume Supervisor
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel • Susan • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Donna Zakowska, Costume Designer Katie Hartsoe, Assistant Costume Designer Ben Philipp, Assistant Costume Designer Amanda Seymour, Assistant Costume Designer Claire Aquila, Costume Supervisor Marie Seifts, Costume Supervisor
Perry Mason • Chapter Ten • HBO Max • HBO in association with Team Downey and AMBEG Screen Products Catherine Adair, Costume Designer David J. Matwijkow, Assistant Costume Designer Nanrose Buchman, Costume Supervisor
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story • Crown Jewels • Netflix • A Netflix Series in association with shondalandmedia Lyn Elizabeth Paolo, Costume Designer Laura Frecon, Co-Costume Designer Jovana Gospavic, Assistant Costume Designer Alex Locke, Costume Supervisor
OUTSTANDING PERIOD COSTUMES FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story • Please Don't Go • Netflix • Ryan Murphy Productions for Netflix Rudy Mance, Costume Designer Monica Chamberlain, Assistant Costume Designer Desmond Smith, Assistant Costume Designer Suzy Freeman, Costume Supervisor
Daisy Jones & The Six • Track 8: Looks Like We Made It • Prime Video • Hello Sunshine, Amazon Studios Denise Wingate, Costume Designer Derek Sullivan, Costume Supervisor
George & Tammy • We're Gonna Hold On • Showtime • MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Freckle Films, Blank Films Inc, Mad Chance, Brolin Productions, Aunt Sylvia's Moving Picture Company Mitchell Travers, Costume Designer Mitchel Wolf, Assistant Costume Designer Laurel Rose, Assistant Costume Designer Aileen Abercrombie, Assistant Costume Designer Susan Russell, Costume Supervisor Charles Carter, Costume Supervisor
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities • Dreams In The Witch House • Netflix • Netflix / Double Dare You Luis Sequeira, Costume Designer Ann Steel, Assistant Costume Designer Heather Crepp, Costume Supervisor
Welcome To Chippendales • Leeches • Hulu • 20th Television Peggy Schnitzer, Costume Designer
Derek Bulger, Assistant Costume Designer Julie Heath, Costume Supervisor
OUTSTANDING FANTASY/SCI-FI COSTUMES
Hocus Pocus 2 • Disney+ • Walt Disney Pictures Salvador Perez, Costume Designer Elizabeth Shelton, Assistant Costume Designer Gala Autumn, Costume Supervisor
House Of The Dragon • The Heirs Of The Dragon • HBO Max • HBO in association with 1:26 Pictures, Bastard Sword, and GRRM Productions Jany Temime, Costume Designer Katherine Burchill, Assistant Costume Designer Paul Yeowell, Assistant Costume Designer Rachel George, Assistant Costume Designer Joanna Lynch, Costume Supervisor
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power • A Shadow Of The Past • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Kate Hawley, Costume Designer Libby Dempster, Assistant Costume Designer Lucy McLay, Assistant Costume Designer Jaindra Watson, Assistant Costume Designer Pip Lingard, Costume Supervisor Jenny Rushton, Costume Supervisor
The Mandalorian • Chapter 22: Guns For Hire • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Shawna Trpcic, Costume Designer Elissa Alcala, Assistant Costume Designer Julie Robar, Costume Supervisor Julie Yang Silver, Costume Supervisor
Obi-Wan Kenobi • Part I • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Suttirat Anne Larlarb, Costume Designer Stacia Lang, Assistant Costume Designer Lynda Foote, Costume Supervisor
What We Do In The Shadows • The Wedding • FX • FX Productions Laura Montgomery, Costume Designer Barbara Cardoso, Assistant Costume Designer Judy Laukkanen, Costume Supervisor
OUTSTANDING CONTEMPORARY COSTUMES FOR A SERIES
Emily In Paris • What's It All About... • Netflix • MTV Entertainment Studios, Darren Star Productions, and Jax Media for Netflix Marylin Fitoussi, Costume Designer Herehau Ragonneau, Assistant Costume Designer Daniela Telle, Associate Costume Designer Marie Fremont, Costume Supervisor
The Last Of Us • Endure And Survive • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog
Cynthia Ann Summers, Costume Designer Kelsey Chobotar, Assistant Costume Designer Rebecca Toon, Assistant Costume Designer Michelle Carr, Costume Supervisor
Only Murders In The Building • Framed • Hulu • 20th Television Dana Covarrubias, Costume Designer Abby Geoghegan, Assistant Costume Designer Kathleen Gerlach, Wardrobe Supervisor
Succession • Church And State • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Michelle Matland, Costume Designer Jonathan Schwartz, Assistant Costume Designer Mark Agnes, Wardrobe Supervisor
Wednesday • Wednesday's Child Is Full Of Woe • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production Colleen Atwood, Costume Designer Mark Sutherland, Co-Costume Designer Robin Soutar, Assistant Costume Designer Claudia Littlefield, Costume Supervisor Adina Bucur, Costume Supervisor
The White Lotus • That's Amore • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District
Alex Bovaird, Costume Designer Brian Sprouse, Assistant Costume Designer Margherita Zanobetti, Costume Supervisor
OUTSTANDING CONTEMPORARY COSTUMES FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
BEEF • The Birds Don't Sing, They Screech In Pain • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production Helen Huang, Costume Designer Austin Wittick, Assistant Costume Designer YJ Hwang, Assistant Costume Designer Mark Anthony Summers, Costume Supervisor
Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas • NBC • Warner Bros. Television in association with Magnolia Hill Productions and Sandollar Productions Provi Fulp, Costume Designer Jose Ramos, Costume Supervisor Steve Summers, Dolly's Wardrobe by
Fleishman Is In Trouble • Me-Time • FX • ABC Signature Leah Katznelson, Costume Designer Angel Peart, Assistant Costume Designer Katie Novello, Assistant Costume Designer Deidre Wegner, Assistant Costume Designer Anne Newton-Harding, Costume Supervisor
Swarm • Honey • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Dominique Dawson, Costume Designer Brittny Chapman, Assistant Costume Designer Mashal Khan, Costume Supervisor
The Watcher • Welcome, Friends • Netflix • A Netflix Series / Jam Tart Films / Prospect Films / Ryan Murphy Television Lou Eyrich, Costume Designer Rudy Mance, Costume Designer Catherine Crabtree, Assistant Costume Designer Zakiya Dennis, Costume Supervisor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul • Saul Gone • AMC • High Bridge, Crystal Diner, Gran Via Productions and Sony Pictures Television Skip Macdonald, ACE, Editor
The Last Of Us • Endure And Survive • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog Timothy A. Good, ACE, Editor Emily Mendez, Editor
Succession • America Decides • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Jane Rizzo, ACE, Editor
Succession • Connor's Wedding • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Bill Henry, ACE, Editor
Succession • With Open Eyes • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Ken Eluto, ACE, Editor
The White Lotus • Abductions • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District
Heather Persons, ACE, Editor
The White Lotus • Arrivederci • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District
John M. Valerio, ACE, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A MULTI-CAMERA COMEDY SERIES
Call Me Kat • Call Me Consciously Uncoupled • FOX • That's Wonderful Productions, Sad Clown Productions and BBC Studios in association with Warner Bros. Television and FOX Entertainment
Pamela Marshall, Editor
How I Met Your Father • Daddy • Hulu • 20th Television Russell Griffin, ACE, Editor
Night Court • Pilot • NBC • After January Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television Kirk Benson, Editor Chris Poulos, Editor
The Upshaws • Duct Up • Netflix • Savannah Sweet Productions and Push It Productions for Netflix Russell Griffin, ACE, Editor Angel Gamboa Bryant, Editor
The Upshaws • Off Beat • Netflix • Savannah Sweet Productions and Push It Productions for Netflix Angel Gamboa Bryant, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA COMEDY SERIES
Barry • wow • HBO Max • HBO in association with Alec Berg and Hanarply Franky Guttman, Editor Ali Greer, ACE, Editor
The Bear • System • FX • FX Productions Joanna Naugle, Editor
Only Murders In The Building • The Last Day Of Bunny Folger • Hulu • 20th Television Peggy Tachdjian, ACE, Editor
Ted Lasso • Mom City • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television A.J. Catoline, ACE, Editor Alex Szabo, Editor
Ted Lasso • So Long, Farewell • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television Melissa McCoy, ACE, Editor Francesca Castro, Additional Editor
What We Do In The Shadows • Go Flip Yourself • FX • FX Productions Yana Gorskaya, ACE, Editor Dane McMaster, ACE, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
BEEF • Figures Of Light • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production Nat Fuller, Editor Laura Zempel, Editor
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story • The Good Boy Box • Netflix • Ryan Murphy Productions for Netflix Stephanie Filo, ACE, Editor
Ms. Marvel • Generation Why • Disney+ • Marvel Studios Nona Khodai, ACE, Editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE, Editor
Obi-Wan Kenobi • Part VI • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Kelley Dixon, ACE, Editor Josh Earl, ACE, Editor
Prey • Hulu • 20th Century Studios Angela M. Catanzaro, ACE, Editor Claudia Castello, Editor
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story • The Roku Channel • The Roku Channel, Funny or Die, Tango Entertainment Jamie Kennedy, ACE, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR VARIETY PROGRAMMING
A Black Lady Sketch Show • My Love Language Is Words Of Defamation • HBO Max • HBO in association with For Better or Words, Inc., HooRAE, 3 Arts Entertainment and Jax Media Stephanie Filo, ACE, Supervising Editor Malinda Zehner Guerra, Editor Taylor Joy Mason, Editor
Carol Burnett: 90 Years Of Laughter + Love • NBC • Silent House Productions Mike Polito, Offline Editor Timothy Schultz, Offline Editor
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah • Jordan Klepper Shows Trump Supporters January 6th Hearing Clips • Comedy Central • Central Productions, LLC Storm Choi, Editor Eric Davies, Editor Tom Favilla, Editor Lauren Beckett Jackson, Editor Nikolai Johnson, Editor Ryan Middleton, Editor Mark Paone, Editor Erin Shannon, Editor Catherine Trasborg, Editor Einar Westerlund, Editor
History Of The World, Part II • III • Hulu • 20th Television and Searchlight Television Angel Gamboa Bryant, Editor Stephanie Filo, ACE, Editor Daniel Flesher, Editor George Mandl, Editor
Saturday Night Live • HBO Mario Kart Trailer (Segment) • NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video Ryan Spears, Editor Christopher Salerno, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM
Moonage Daydream • HBO Max • Neon Presents, Universal Pictures Presents, BMG, Live Nation Productions, Public Road Productions Present, in association with HBO Documentary Films Brett Morgen, Editor
100 Foot Wave • Chapter III - Jaws • HBO Max • HBO Presents, Topic Studios, Library Films, Amplify Pictures Alex Bayer, Editor Alex Keipper, Editor Quin O'Brien, Editor
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields • Hulu • ABC News Studios, Bed By 8, Matador Content, Drifting Cloud Productions David Teague, Supervising Editor Sara Newens, Editor Anne Yao, Editor
The 1619 Project • Justice • Hulu • Onyx Collective, Lionsgate Productions in association with One Story Up Productions, Harpo Films and The New York Times Ephraim Kirkwood, Editor
Jesse Allain-Marcus, Additional Editor Adriana Pacheco, Additional Editor
Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy • Calabria • CNN • CNN Original Series, RAW Liz Roe, Editor
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio Michael Harte, ACE, Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A STRUCTURED REALITY OR COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race • Body Of Work • CBS • WorldRace Productions, Inc. Eric Beetner, Editor Kevin Blum, Editor Trevor Campbell, Editor Kellen Cruden, Editor Jay Gammill, Editor Katherine Griffin, Editor Jason Groothuis, Editor Darrick Lazo, Editor Ryan Leamy, Editor Josh Lowry, Editor Paul Nielsen, Editor Steve Mellon, Editor
Queer Eye • Speedy For Life • Netflix • Scout Productions Inc. and ITV Entertainment LLC for Netflix Toni Ann Carabello, Lead Editor Nova Taylor, Editor Jason Szabo, Editor Widgie Nikia Figaro, Editor Sean Gill, Editor Kimberly Pellnat, Editor
RuPaul's Drag Race • Wigloose: The Rusical! • MTV • World of Wonder Jamie Martin, Lead Editor Paul Cross, Editor Ryan Mallick, Editor Michael Roha, Editor
Survivor • Telenovela • CBS • MGM Television Bill Bowden, Supervising Editor Evan Mediuch, Supervising Editor Francisco Santa Maria, Editor Plowden Schumacher, Editor Andrew Bolhuis, Editor Jacob Teixeira, Editor James Ciccarello, Editor
Top Chef • Body Of Work • Bravo • Magical Elves Steve Lichtenstein, Lead Editor Ericka Concha, Editor Blanka Kovacs, Editor Eric Lambert, Editor Matt Reynolds, Editor Jay M. Rogers, Editor Brian Freundlich, Additional Editor Brian Giberson, Additional Editor Malia Jurick, Additional Editor Brian Kane, Additional Editor Daniel Ruiz, Additional Editor Anthony J. Rivard, Additional Editor Annie Tighe, Additional Editor Tony West, Additional Editor
OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR AN UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM
Deadliest Catch • Call Of A New Generation • Discovery Channel • Original Productions, LLC for the Discovery Channel Rob Butler, Supervising Editor Isaiah Camp, Supervising Editor Alexandra Moore, Editor Alexander Rubinow, Editor Ian Olsen, Editor Hugh Elliot, Editor Joe Mikan, Additional Editor
Life Below Zero • A Storm To Remember • National Geographic • BBC Studios Michael Swingler, Editor Tony Diaz, Additional Editor Matt Edwards, Additional Editor Jennifer Nelson, ACE, Additional Editor Tanner Roth, Additional Editor
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked • The Daytona Wind 2 • MTV • World of Wonder Matthew D. Miller, Lead Editor Kellen Cruden, Editor
Vanderpump Rules • Lady And The Glamp • Bravo • Evolution Media Jesse Friedman, Editor Tom McCudden, Editor Ramin Mortazavi, Editor Christian Le Guilloux, Editor Paul Peltekian, Editor Sax Eno, Editor Robert Garry, Editor
Welcome To Wrexham • Do Or Die • FX • Boardwalk Pictures Mohamed El Manasterly, Editor Curtis McConnell, Editor Michael Brown, Editor Charles Little, ACE, Editor Bryan Rowland, Additional Editor
OUTSTANDING EMERGING MEDIA PROGRAM
For All Mankind Season 3 Experience • Apple TV+ • Apple TV+ in association with Tall Ship Productions Apple TV+ Tall Ship Productions Antibody Elastic
Gorillaz Presents • Google • Nexus Studios, Google, Eleven Management Nexus Studios Google
Eleven Management
MLK: Now Is The Time • Oculus • Time Studios, Meta, Flight School Studio Amy Seidenwurm, Executive Producer Ian Orefice, Executive Producer Matthew O'Rourke, Producer/Executive Producer Sulivan Parker, Producer Limbert Fabian, Director
The Notorious B.I.G. Sky's The Limit: A VR Concert Experience • Facebook & Meta Horizon Worlds • A Gunpowder & Sky Production Gunpowder & Sky The Notorious B.I.G. Estate Alex Coletti, Executive Producer Elliot Osagie, Executive Producer
You Destroy. We Create | The War On Ukraine's Culture • Meta Quest TV • NowHere Media, Meta Quest VR for Good NowHere Media
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A VARIETY SERIES
America's Got Talent • Episode 1717 • NBC • Fremantle and Syco Entertainment Noah Mitz, Lighting Designer Will Gossett, Lighting Director Ryan Tanker, Lighting Director Patrick Brazil, Lighting Director Jay Koch, Lighting Director Matt Benson, Lighting Director Scott Chmielewski, Lighting Director Kevin Faust, Video Controller
American Idol • Top 20 • ABC • Fremantle and 19 Entertainment Tom Sutherland, Lighting Designer Bobby Grey, Lighting Director Nathan Files, Lighting Director James Coldicott, Lighting Director Hunter Selby, Lighting Director Scott Chmielewski, Lighting Director Luke Chantrell, Video Controller Ed Moore, Video Controller
Dancing With The Stars • Semi Finals • Disney+ • BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions Noah Mitz, Lighting Designer Michael Berger, Lighting Director Patrick Brazil, Lighting Director Andrew Law, Lighting Director Matt Benson, Lighting Director Matt McAdam, Lighting Director Luke Chantrell, Video Controller
So You Think You Can Dance • Starry Starry Night • FOX • The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC) and Dick Clark Productions (DCP) Robert Barnhart, Lighting Designer Matt Firestone, Lighting Director Pete Radice, Lighting Director Patrick Boozer, Lighting Director Jeff Behm, Lighting Director Christopher Gray, Video Controller
The Voice • Live Finale, Part 2 • NBC • MGM Television and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon and ITV Studios The Voice USA, Inc. Oscar Dominguez, Lighting Designer Ronald Wirsgalla, Lighting Director Erin Anderson, Lighting Director Andrew Munie, Lighting Director Jeff Shood, Lighting Director Daniel Boland, Lighting Director Terrance Ho, Video Controller
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Encanto At The Hollywood Bowl • Disney+ • Fulwell 73 Productions Al Gurdon, Lighting Designer Harry Forster, Lighting Director Bobby Grey, Lighting Director Darien Koop, Lighting Director James Coldicott, Lighting Director Chris Hill, Video Controller Ed Moore, Video Controller
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards • CBS • Fulwell 73 Noah Mitz, Lighting Designer Andy O'Reilly, Lighting Director Patrick Boozer, Lighting Director Ryan Tanker, Lighting Director Madigan Stehly, Lighting Director Bryan Klunder, Lighting Director Erin Anderson, Lighting Director Will Gossett, Lighting Director Matthew Cotter, Lighting Director Terrance Ho, Video Controller Guy Jones, Video Controller
2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony • HBO Max • A Tenth Planet Production
Allen Branton, Lighting Designer Darren Langer, Lighting Director Felix Peralta, Lighting Director Kevin Lawson, Lighting Director Alex Flores, Lighting Director Bianca Moncada, Lighting Director Chuck Reilly, Video Controller Guy Jones, Video Controller
75th Annual Tony Awards • CBS • White Cherry Entertainment Robert Dickinson, Lighting Designer Noah Mitz, Lighting Director Harry Sangmeister, Lighting Director Tyler Ericson, Lighting Director Richard Beck, Lighting Director Jason Rudolph, Lighting Director JM Hurley, Video Controller Ka Lai Wong, Video Controller
The Weeknd Live At SoFi Stadium • HBO Max • HBO Jason Baeri, Lighting Designer Joe Bay, Lighting Director Kille Knoble, Lighting Director Mark Butts, Lighting Director Loren Barton, Lighting Director
OUTSTANDING MAIN TITLE DESIGN
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities • Netflix • Netflix / Double Dare You Mike Schaeffer, Creative Director Chet Hirsch, Director David Rowley, Art Director Akshay Tiwari, Designer
Hello Tomorrow! • Apple TV+ • MRC in association with Apple Ronnie Koff, Creative Director Lexi Gunvaldson, Editor Christoph Gabathuler, 3D Artist Juan Monasterio, Animator Lindsey Mayer-Beug, Illustrator Fernando Lazzari, Animator
The Last Of Us • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog Andy Hall, Creative Director Nadia Tzuo, Creative Director Gryun Kim, 3D Artist Min Shi, Designer Jun Kim, 3D Artist Xiaolin (Mike) Zeng, Designer
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Katrina Crawford, Director Mark Bashore, Director Anthony Vitagliano, Creative Director Fernando Domínguez Cózar, Animation Director
Wednesday • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production Aaron Becker, Creative Director Joseph Ahn, Designer James Ramirez, Animator Lee Nelson, Animator Eric Keller, 3D Artist Hsien Lun Su, Animator
The White Lotus • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District Katrina Crawford, Director/Creative Director/Photographer Mark Bashore, Director/Editor Lezio Lopes, Illustrator Cian McKenna, Animator
OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (ONE HOUR)
Andor • The Eye • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. David Acord, Co-Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer Margit Pfeiffer, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Richard Quinn, Dialogue Editor Jonathan Greber, ADR Editor J.R. Grubbs, Sound Effects Editor John Finklea, Music Editor Shaun Farley, Foley Editor Shelley Roden, Foley Artist John Roesch, Foley Artist
The Boys • The Instant White-Hot Wild • Prime Video • Sony Pictures Television, Amazon Studios
Wade Barnett, MPSE, Supervising Sound Editor Chris Kahwaty, MPSE, Dialogue Editor Ryan Briley, Supervising ADR Editor Jeffrey A. Pitts, Sound Efffects Editor/Sound Designer Pete Nichols, Sound Effects Editor Christopher Brooks, Music Editor James Howe, Foley Editor
House Of The Dragon • The Black Queen • HBO Max • HBO in association with 1:26 Pictures, Bastard Sword, and GRRM Productions Al Sirkett, Supervising Sound Editor Tim Hands, Dialogue Editor Adele Fletcher, Supervising ADR Editor Paula Fairfield, MPSE, Sound Designer David Klotz, Music Editor Timeri Duplat, Music Editor Mathias Schuster, Foley Editor Barnaby Smyth, Foley Artist Paula Boram, Foley Artist
The Last Of Us • When You're Lost In The Darkness • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog Michael J. Benavente, Supervising Sound Editor Joe Schiff, Dialogue Editor Christopher Battaglia, Sound Designer Chris Terhune, Sound Designer Mitchell Lestner, Sound Effects Editor Jacob Flack, Sound Effects Editor Matt Yocum, MPSE, Sound Effects Editor Maarten Hofmeijer, Music Editor Randy Wilson, Supervising Foley Editor Justin Hele, Foley Editor David Aquino, Foley Editor Stefan Fraticelli, Foley Artist Jason Charbonneau, Foley Artist William Kellerman, Foley Artist
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power • Udûn • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Robert Stambler, MPSE, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Damian Del Borrello, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Ailene Roberts, Dialogue Editor Stefanie Ng, Dialogue/ADR Editor Paula Fairfield, Sound Designer Chris Terhune, Sound Editor James Miller, Sound Editor Michael Baber, Music Editor Jason Smith, Music Editor Amy Barber, Foley Editor Jonathan Bruce, Foley Artist
Stranger Things • Chapter Nine: The Piggyback • Netflix • Monkey Massacre Productions & 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix Craig Henighan, MPSE, Co-Supervising Sound Editor William Files, MPSE, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Jill Purdy, Dialogue Editor Lee Gilmore, Sound Effects Editor Ryan Cole, MPSE, Sound Editor Korey Pereira, Sound Editor Angelo Palazzo, MPSE, Sound Editor Katie Halliday, MPSE, Sound Editor David Klotz, Music Editor Lena Glikson-Nezhelskaya, Music Editor Ken McGill, MPSE, Sound Effects/ Foley Editor Steve Baine, Foley Artist
OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (HALF-HOUR) AND ANIMATION
Barry • wow • HBO Max • HBO in association with Alec Berg and Hanarply Sean Heissinger, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Matthew E. Taylor, Co-Supervising Sound Editor John Creed, Dialogue Editor Rickley W. Dumm, MPSE, Sound Effects Editor Deron Street, Sound Editor Clay Weber, Sound Editor Michael Brake, MPSE, Music Editor Darrin Mann, Foley Editor Alyson Dee Moore, Foley Artist Chris Moriana, Foley Artist
The Bear • Review • FX • FX Productions Steve "Major" Giammaria, Supervising Sound Editor Evan Benjamin, Dialogue Editor Jonathan Fuhrer, Sound Effects Editor Annie Taylor, Foley Editor Chris White, Foley Editor Leslie Bloome, Foley Artist Shaun Brennan, Foley Artist
The Mandalorian • Chapter 24: The Return • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Matthew Wood, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Trey Turner, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Brad Semenoff, Dialogue Editor David W. Collins, Sound Designer Luis Galdames, Sound Effects Editor Stephanie McNally, Music Editor Nicholas Fitzgerald, Music Editor Joel Raabe, Foley Editor Shelley Roden, Foley Artist
Reservation Dogs • This Is Where The Plot Thickens • FX • FX Productions Patrick Hogan, Supervising Sound Editor David Beadle, Sound Editor Sonya Lindsay, Sound Editor Michael Sana, Sound Editor Daniel Salas, Sound Editor Amber Funk, Music Editor Lena Krigen, Foley Editor
What We Do In The Shadows • The Night Market • FX • FX Productions Steffan Falesitch, Supervising Sound Editor Chris Kahwaty, MPSE, Dialogue Editor David Barbee, MPSE, Sound Effects Editor Steve Griffen, Music Editor John Guentner, Foley Editor Sam Lewis, Foley Editor Ellen Heuer, Foley Artist
OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story • God Of Forgiveness, God Of Vengeance • Netflix • Ryan Murphy Productions for Netflix Gary Megregian, MPSE, Supervising Sound Editor Borja Sau, Dialogue Editor Bruce Tanis, MPSE, Sound Effects Editor David Klotz, Music Editor Sam Munoz, Foley Editor Noel Vought, Foley Artist
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities • The Autopsy • Netflix • Netflix / Double Dare You Nelson Ferreira, MPSE, Supervising Sound Editor Jill Purdy, Dialogue Editor Paul Davies, Sound Designer Bernard O’Reilly, Sound Effects Editor Paul Germann, Sound Effects Editor Tom Jenkins, Sound Editor Robert Hegedus, Music Editor Rose Gregoris, Foley Editor Goro Koyama, Foley Artist
Mrs. Davis • Mother Of Mercy: The Call Of The Horse • Peacock • Warner Bros. Television, Little Bug, White Rabbit Bryan Parker, Supervising Sound Editor Kristen Hirlinger, Dialogue Editor Nathan Efstation, Dialogue Editor Roland Thai, Sound Designer Matt Decker, Music Editor Sam Lewis, Supervising Foley Editor Sam Munoz, Foley Editor Ellen Heuer, Foley Artist Nancy Parker, Foley Artist
Obi-Wan Kenobi • Part VI • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Matthew Wood, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Trey Turner, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Angela Ang, Dialogue/ADR Editor Ryan Cota, Dialogue/ADR Editor Jon Borland, Sound Designer/Sound Effects Editor Tim Farrell, Sound Effects Editor Michael Levine, Sound Effects Editor Ramiro Belgardt, Music Editor Nicholas Fitzgerald, Music Editor Thom Brennan, Foley Editor Ronni Brown, Foley Artist Sean England, Foley Artist
Prey • Hulu • 20th Century Studios Chris Terhune, Co-Supervising Sound Editor William Files, MPSE, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Jessie Anne Spence, Dialogue/ADR Editor James Miller, Sound Designer Diego Perez, Sound Effects Editor Lee Gilmore, Sound Effects Editor Christopher Bonis, Sound Effects Editor Daniel DiPrima, Music Editor Stephen Perone, Music Editor Leslie Bloome, Foley Artist Shaun Brennan, Foley Artist
OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A NONFICTION OR REALITY PROGRAM (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
Love, Lizzo • HBO Max • Warner Music Entertainment and Live Nation Productions, Atlantic Film Productions in association with Boardwalk Pictures and Diamond Docs Vanessa Flores, Sound Editor Jessie Brewer, Sound Editor
Moonage Daydream • HBO Max • Neon Presents, Universal Pictures Presents, BMG, Live Nation Productions, Public Road Productions Present, in association with HBO Documentary Films John Warhurst, Co-Supervising Sound Editor / Music Editor Nina Hartstone, Co-Supervising Sound Editor Jens Rosenlund Petersen, Dialogue Editor Samir Foco, Sound Effects Editor James Shirley, Sound Effects Editor Elliott Koretz, Sound Effects Editor Amy Felton, Sound Effects Editor Louise Burton, Foley Editor Brett Morgen, Music Editor
100 Foot Wave • Chapter V - Lost At Sea • HBO Max • HBO Presents, Topic Studios, Library Films, Amplify Pictures Max Holland, Dialogue Editor / Sound Editor Eric Di Stefano, Sound Effects Editor / Sound Designer Kevin Senzaki, Sound Designer
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio Michael Feuser, Dialogue Editor Rich Bologna, Sound Effects Editor Wyatt Sprague, Sound Effects Editor Heather Gross, Foley Editor Bill Bernstein, Music Editor
Welcome To Wrexham • Do Or Die • FX • Boardwalk Pictures Will Harp, Dialogue Editor Jon Schell, Sound Effects Editor Shaun Cromwell, Sound Effects Editor
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour)
Better Call Saul • Saul Gone • AMC • High Bridge, Crystal Diner, Gran Via Productions and Sony Pictures Television Larry Benjamin, Re-Recording Mixer Kevin Valentine, Re-Recording Mixer Phillip W. Palmer, CAS, Production Mixer
The Last Of Us • When You're Lost In The Darkness • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog Marc Fishman, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Kevin Roache, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Michael Playfair, CAS, Production Mixer
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel • The Testi-Roastial • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Ron Bochar, Re-Recording Mixer Mathew Price, CAS, Production Mixer Stewart Lerman, Scoring Mixer George A. Lara, Foley Mixer
Stranger Things • Chapter Nine: The Piggyback • Netflix • Monkey Massacre Productions & 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix Craig Henighan, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer William Files, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Mark Paterson, Re-Recording Mixer Michael P. Clark, CAS, Production Mixer
Succession • Connor's Wedding • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions Andy Kris, Re-Recording Mixer Nicholas Renbeck, Re-Recording Mixer Ken Ishii, Production Mixer Tommy Vicari, Scoring Mixer
The White Lotus • Arrivederci • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District
Christian Minkler, Re-Recording Mixer Ryan Collins, Re-Recording Mixer Vincenzo Urselli, Production Mixer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
BEEF • The Great Fabricator • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production Penny Harold, Re-Recording Mixer Andrew Garrett Lange, Re-Recording Mixer Sean O'Malley, Production Mixer
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story • Lionel • Netflix • Ryan Murphy Productions for Netflix Laura Wiest, Re-Recording Mixer Jamie Hardt, Re-Recording Mixer Joe Barnett, Re-Recording Mixer Amanda Beggs, Production Mixer
Daisy Jones & The Six • Track 10: Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide • Prime Video • Hello Sunshine, Amazon Studios Lindsay Alvarez, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Mathew Waters, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Chris Welcker, Production Mixer Mike Poole, Music Mixer
Obi-Wan Kenobi • Part VI • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Danielle Dupre, Re-Recording Mixer Scott Lewis, Re-Recording Mixer Bonnie Wild, Re-Recording Mixer Julian Howarth, CAS, Production Mixer
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story • The Roku Channel • The Roku Channel, Funny or Die, Tango Entertainment Tony Solis, Re-Recording Mixer Richard Bulloock, Production Mixer Brian Magrum, ADR Mixer Phil McGowan, Score Mixer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (HALF-HOUR) AND ANIMATION
Barry • wow • HBO Max • HBO in association with Alec Berg and Hanarply Elmo Ponsdomenech, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer Teddy Salas, Re-Recording Mixer Scott Harber, CAS, Production Mixer Aaron Hasson, ADR Mixer
The Bear • Review • FX • FX Productions Steve "Major" Giammaria, Re-Recording Mixer Scott D. Smith, CAS, Production Mixer
The Mandalorian • Chapter 24: The Return • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Scott R. Lewis, Re-Recording Mixer Tony Villaflor, Re-Recording Mixer Shawn Holden, CAS, Production Mixer Chris Fogel, Scoring Mixer
Only Murders In The Building • The Tell • Hulu • 20th Television Penny Harold, Re-Recording Mixer Andrew Lange, Re-Recording Mixer Joseph White Jr., CAS, Production Mixer Alan DeMoss, Scoring Mixer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A VARIETY SERIES OR SPECIAL
Bono & The Edge: A Sort Of Homecoming With Dave Letterman • Disney+ • Disney+ Presents an Imagine Documentaries, Tremolo Productions and Worldwide Pants Inc. Production Phil DeTolve, Re-Recording Mixer Brian Riordan, Re-Recording Mixer Alastair McMillan, Music Mixer
Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium • Disney+ • Disney+ Presents in association with Rocket Entertainment / A Fulwell 73 Production Michael Abbott, Broadcast Production Mixer Eric Schilling, Music Mixer Matt Herr, FOH Mixer Alan Richardson, Monitor Mixer
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards • CBS • Fulwell 73 Thomas Holmes, Production Mixer John Harris, Music Mixer Eric Schilling, Music Mixer Jeffery Peterson, FOH Production Mixer Ron Reaves, FOH Music Mixer Mike Parker, FOH Music Mixer Andres Arango, Monitor Mixer Eric Johnston, Supplemental Mixer Christian Schrader, Supplemental Mixer Kristian Pedregon, Re-Recording Mixer Juan Pablo Velasco, Playback Mixer Aaron Wall, Playback Mixer
Saturday Night Live • Co-Hosts: Steve Martin & Martin Short • NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video Robert Palladino, Production Mixer Ezra Matychak, Production Mixer Frank Duca Jr, FOH Production Mixer Caroline Sanchez, FOH Music Mixer Josiah Gluck, Broadcast Music Mixer Jay Vicari, Broadcast Music Mixer Tyler McDiarmid, Playback Mixer Christopher Costello, Monitor Mixer Teng Chen, Supplemental Mixer William Taylor, Supplemental Mixer Geoff Countryman, Supplemental Mixer Devin Emke, Post Audio Mixer
Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert • Paramount+ • EP-PIC Films & Creative and MTV Entertainment Studios Bob Clearmountain, Music Mixer Ollie Nesham, Audio Engineer Darrell Thorp, Audio Engineer Chris Kalcov, Audio Engineer Steve Massey, Audio Engineer Eduardo Puhl, Audio Engineer Will Langdale, Audio Engineer Antony King, FOH Audio Mix Engineer Ian Beveridge, Monitors Audio Mix Engineer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
Moonage Daydream • HBO Max • Neon Presents, Universal Pictures Presents, BMG, Live Nation Productions, Public Road Productions Present, in association with HBO Documentary Films Paul Massey, Re-Recording Mixer David Giammarco, Re-Recording Mixer
100 Foot Wave • Chapter V - Lost At Sea • HBO Max • HBO Presents, Topic Studios, Library Films, Amplify Pictures Keith Hodne, Re-Recording Mixer
The Sound Of 007 • Prime Video • MGM Richard Davey, Re-Recording Mixer Jonny Horne, Production Mixer Simon Norman, Production Mixer Francesco Corazzi, Production Mixer
Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy • Calabria • CNN • CNN Original Series, RAW Matt Skilton, Re-Recording Mixer Christopher Syner, Production Mixer
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio Skip Lievsay, Re-Recording Mixer Benjamin Berger, Production Mixer Martin Kittappa, Production Mixer Lily van Leeuwen, Production Mixer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A REALITY PROGRAM (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
The Amazing Race • The Only Leg That Matters • CBS • WorldRace Productions, Inc. Jim Ursulak, Lead Production Mixer Troy Smith, Re-Recording Mixer The Production Mixing Team, Production Mixer
Deadliest Catch • Call Of A New Generation • Discovery Channel • Original Productions, LLC for the Discovery Channel Jared Robbins, Re-Recording Mixer
RuPaul's Drag Race • Wigloose: The Rusical! • MTV • World of Wonder Erik Valenzuela, Re-Recording Mixer Sal Ojeda, Re-Recording Mixer David Nolte, Production Mixer Gabe Lopez, Music Mixer
The Voice • Live Top 10 • NBC • MGM Television and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon and ITV Studios The Voice USA, Inc. Michael Abbott, Production Mixer Randy Faustino, Broadcast Music Mixer Tim Hatayama, Re-Recording Mixer
Welcome To Wrexham • Do Or Die • FX • Boardwalk Pictures Mark Jensen, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SEASON OR A MOVIE
Andor • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Mohen Leo, Visual Effects Supervisor TJ Falls, Visual Effects Producer Richard Van Den Bergh, Special Effects Supervisor Neal Scanlan, Creature Effects & Droid Supervisor Liyana Mansor, Lead Visual Effects Editor Scott Pritchard, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Joseph Kasparian, Hybride Visual Effects Supervisor Jelmer Boskma, Scanline Visual Effects Supervisor Jean-Clément Soret, Colorist
House Of The Dragon • HBO Max • HBO in association with 1:26 Pictures, Bastard Sword, and GRRM Productions Angus Bickerton, Visual Effects Supervisor Nikeah Forde, VFX Producer
Thomas Horton, VFX Producer Sven Martin, VFX Supervisor Mark Spindler, VFX Co-Supervisor
Mark Dauth, Virtual Production Supervisor Sebastian Meszmann, VFX Producer Mike Bell, VFX Supervisor Tobias Graa Winblad, VFX Producer
The Last Of Us • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog Alex Wang, Overall Visual Effects Supervisor Sean Nowlan, Overall Visual Effects Producer Joel Whist, Production SFX Supervisor Stephen James, Visual Effects Supervisor, DNEG Nick Marshall, Digital Effects Supervisor, DNEG Simon Jung, Visual Effects Supervisor, WETA FX Dennis Yoo, Animation Supervisor, WETA FX Espen Nordahl, Visual Effects Supervisor, Storm Studios Jonathan Mitchell, Visual Effects Supervisor, Distillery FX
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power • Prime Video • Amazon Studios Ron Ames, VFX Producer Jason Smith, VFX Supervisor Nigel Sumner, VFX Supervisor, Industrial Light & Magic Ara Khanikian, VFX Supervisor, Rodeo FX Dean Clarke, SFX Supervisor Ken McGaugh, VFX Supervisor, Wētā FX Tom Proctor, VFX Supervisor, DNEG Greg Butler, VFX Supervisor, Method Studios Joe Henderson, Visualization Creative Supervisor, The Third Floor, Inc.
The Mandalorian • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd. Grady Cofer, Visual Effects Supervisor, Production Abbigail Keller, Visual Effects Producer Paul Kavanagh, Animation Supervisor, Production Cameron Neilson, Assoc. Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Fisher, Special Effects Supervisor Hal Hickel, Animation Supervisor, Production J. Alan Scott, Legacy Effects Supervisor Victor Schutz IV, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Bobo Skipper, Important Looking Pirates Visual Effects Supervisor
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SINGLE EPISODE
Five Days At Memorial • Day Two • Apple TV+ • ABC Signature in association with Apple Eric Durst, VFX Supervisor Matthew Whelan, VFX Supervisor Danny McNair, VFX Producer Goran Pavles, VFX Supervisor, Stormborn Studios Rafael Solórzano, VFX Supervisor, El Ranchito John MacGillivray, SFX Coordinator Viktor Muller, VFX Supervisor, UPP Manuel Tausch, VFX Supervisor, Stormborn Studios Gonzalo Escudero, VFX Producer, El Ranchito
The Nevers • It's A Good Day • Tubi • HBO, Mutant Enemy Productions Johnny Han, Visual Effects Supervisor Jack Geist, Visual Effects Producer Damon Fecht, Visual Effects Editor Alexandre Prod'homme, On-Set VFX Supervisor Emanuel Fuchs, Visual Effects Supervisor Gaia Bussolati, Visual Effects Supervisor Ed Bruce, Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Ali Harding, Visual Effects Artist Takashi Takeoka, Visual Effects Artist
Shadow And Bone • Rusalye • Netflix • 21 Laps Entertainment and Chronology for Netflix Ante Dekovic, VFX Supervisor Helen Jen, VFX Producer Richard Macks, VFX Production Manager Gergely Galisz, On-Set VFX Supervisor Juri Stanossek, VFX Supervisor Adam Balentine, VFX Supervisor Jane Byrne, VFX Supervisor Håvard Munkejord, VFX Supervisor Angel Rico, VFX Supervisor
Ted Lasso • Mom City • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television James MacLachlan, On-Set VFX Supervisor Bill Parker, Compositing Supervisor Lenny Wilson, CG Supervisor Gretchen Bangs, VFX Producer Brian Hobert, Compositing Lead Sherry Li, Compositing Lead Kenneth Armstrong, Compositing Lead Ying Lin, Compositor Neil Taylor, CG Modeler
The Umbrella Academy • Marigold • Netflix • UCP for Netflix Everett Burrell, Senior VFX Supervisor Phillip Hoffman, VFX Producer Dave Axford, On-Set VFX Supervisor Maria Satzetaki, VFX Coordinator Sophie Vertigan, Special Effects Coordinator Jeff Campbell, VFX Supervisor Laurent Spillemaecker, VFX Supervisor Chris White, VFX Supervisor Ryan Freer, VFX Supervisor
Wednesday • A Murder Of Woes • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An MGM Television Production Tom Turnbull, VFX Supervisor Kent Johnson, VFX Producer Jesse Kawzenuk, VFX On-Set Supervisor Oana Barden, VFX Coordinator Craig Calvert, VFX Supervisor Ed Englander, VFX Supervisor John Coldrick, VFX Supervisor Brodie McNeill, VFX Supervisor Jason Troughton, Special Effects Supervisor
OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL DIRECTION AND CAMERAWORK FOR A SERIES
American Idol • Season Finale • ABC • Fremantle and 19 Entertainment Charles Ciup, Technical Director David Bernstein, Technical Director Bert Atkinson, Camera Danny Bonilla, Camera Mike Carr, Camera Kary D'Alessandro, Camera Keith Dicker, Camera Curtis Eastwood, Camera Jimmy Garcia, Camera Bruce Green, Camera Nathanial Havolm, Camera Ron Lehman, Camera Bettina Levesque, Camera Adam Margolis, Camera Rob Palmer, Camera Brian Reason, Camera Daryl Studebaker, Camera Damien Tuffereau, Camera Easter Xua, Camera
Dancing With The Stars • Finale • Disney+ • BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions Charles Ciup, Technical Director David Bernstein, Technical Director Bert Atkinson, Camera Terry Clark, Camera
Karyn D'Alessandro, Camera James Garcia, Camera Nathanial Havholm, Camera Mark Koonce, Camera Tim Lee, Camera Ron Lehman, Camera Bettina Levesque, Camera Dave Levisohn, Camera Adam Margolis, Camera Derek Pratt, Camera Brian Reason, Camera Philo Solomon, Camera Daryl Studebaker, Camera Marc Stumpo, Camera Damien Tuffereau, Camera Cary Symmons, Camera
The Masked Singer • New York Night • FOX • FOX Alternative Entertainment Christine Salomon, Technical Director Cary Symmons, Camera Bert Atkinson, Camera Brett Crutcher, Camera Kary D'Allesandro, Camera Jimmy Garcia, Camera John Goforth, Camera Sean Flannery, Camera Bettina Levesque, Camera Adam Margolis, Camera Mark Koonce, Camera Daryl Studebaker, Camera James Sullivan, Camera Rob Palmer, Camera
The Problem With Jon Stewart • Trump Indicted • Apple TV+ • Busboy / EDEN in association with Apple Dave Saretsky, Technical Director Marc Bloomgarden, Camera Franco Coello, Camera Nick Fayo, Camera Kevin Murphy, Camera John Pry, Camera Tim Quigley, Camera Rich York, Camera
The Voice • Live Top 10 Performances • NBC • MGM Television and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon and ITV Studios The Voice USA, Inc. Allan Wells, Technical Director Danny Bonilla, Camera Mano Bonilla, Camera Martin J. Brown Jr., Camera Robert Burnette, Camera Suzanne Ebner, Camera Guido Frenzel, Camera Alex Hernandez, Camera Scott Hylton, Camera Kathrine Iacofano, Camera Scott Kaye, Camera Steve Martynuk, Camera Jofre Rosero, Camera Nick Tramontano, Camera Dann Webb, Camera
OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL DIRECTION AND CAMERAWORK FOR A SPECIAL
The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna • FOX • Jesse Collins Entertainment, DPS and Roc Nation Eric Becker, Technical Director David Alfano, Camera Rob Balton, Camera Danny Bonilla, Camera Kary D'Alessandro, Camera Keith Dicker, Camera Sean Flannery, Camera Kevin French, Camera Shaun Harkins, Camera Helena Jackson, Camera Tayler Knight, Camera Toré Livia, Camera Allen Merriweather, Camera Eann Potter, Camera Jofre Rosero, Camera Keyan Safyari, Camera Casey Roche, Camera Christopher Rybitski, Camera Rod Wardell, Video Control
Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium • Disney+ • Disney+ Presents in association with Rocket Entertainment / A Fulwell 73 Production Emmett Loughran, Technical Director Robert Del Russo, Camera Mark Britt, Camera David Driscoll, Camera Tim Farmer, Camera Pete Forest, Camera Andrew Georgopoulos, Camera Pat Gleason, Camera Bruce Green, Camera Shaun Harkins, Camera Jay Kulick, Camera Kevin Murphy, Camera Lyn Noland, Camera Jimmy O’Donnell, Camera Rob Palmer, Camera Jesse Placky, Camera David Plakos, Camera George Prince, Camera Mark Renaudin, Camera David Rudd, Camera Austin Rock, Camera Keyan Safyari, Camera Ed Staebler, Camera Rob Vuona, Camera Mark Whitman, Camera Rich York, Camera Jeff Lee, Camera Michael Taylor, Camera Brian Lataille, Camera Loic Maheas, Camera Chris Schuster, Camera
Encanto At The Hollywood Bowl • Disney+ • Fulwell 73 Productions Christine Salomon, Technical Director Shanele Alvarez, Camera Dominic Bendijo, Camera Bonnie Blake, Camera Danny Bonilla, Camera Kary D’Alessandro, Camera Sean Flannery, Camera Shaun Harkins, Camera Charlie Henry, Camera Cory Hunter, Camera George Reasner, Camera Jofre Rosero, Camera David Rudd, Camera Ryan Schultz, Camera Aymae Sulick, Camera
2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony • HBO Max • A Tenth Planet Production Toby Santos, Technical Director Danny Bonilla, Camera Kary D'Alessandro, Camera Keith Dicker, Camera Dave Eastwood, Camera Guido Frenzel, Camera Andrew Georgopoulos, Camera Jeff Johnson, Camera Zac Jones, Camera Brian Lataille, Camera Dave Levisohn, Camera Sean Mark Mckelvey, Camera Steve Martyniuk, Camera Rob Palmer, Camera Dave Plakos, Camera Dave Rudd, Camera Dylan Sanford, Camera Matt Trujillo, Camera Roy Walker, Camera Andrew Waresewski, Camera Easter Xua, Camera
The Weeknd Live At SoFi Stadium • HBO Max • HBO Toby Santos, Technical Director Brandon Smith, Technical Director Scott Acosta, Camera Dominic Bendijo, Camera Manny Bonilla, Camera Mano Bonilla, Camera Justin Danzansky, Camera Austin Ellsworth, Camera Chris Ferguson, Camera Jeremy Freeman, Camera Andrew Georgopoulos, Camera Randy Gomez, Camera Jonny Harkins, Camera Shaun Harkins, Camera Travis Hays, Camera Coy Hunter, Camera
Oliver Lanzenberg, Camera Ron Lehman, Camera Andrew McMillan, Camera Dee Nichols, Camera Connor O’Brien, Camera Josh Perry, Camera Rob Pittman, Camera Keyan Safyari, Camera Daniel Schade, Camera Austin Straub, Camera Josh Turner, Camera Justin Umphenour, Camera Joe Victoria, Camera Vince Warburton, Camera Drew Welker, Camera
Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.
THE CLIMB | CASE WALKER
We always like to find out more about those on our favorite shows! For fans of HBO Max's The Other Two, you know that this show is about siblings Cary Dubek (Drew Tarver) who is trying to obtain better auditions and Brooke (Heléne York) who is trying to get her life together in general! Their brother, Chase, known as Chase Dreams (Case Walker), becomes an internet senation overnight. The show illustrates how they navigate their realities!
In this month's issue, we sit down with Case to talk about his character who will be back for it's 3rd season on May 4th on the streaming platform. He shares similarities and differences between himself and this character, how he became attached to the show and how he has enjoyed the process. He also talks about Monster High which will be out this fall.
In addition to his love for acting, he is also an avid rock climber and talks about how he is just as passionate about doing this sport, taking on the challenges that come along with it as well as a bucket list of locales that he would like to go to in his travels to do this activity that he is so proud of.
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you wanted to be an actor?
CASE WALKER: I realized that I wanted to be an actor, probably when I was 8 years old and I realized that I could play characters and that that would entertain people. It got me hooked!
AM: How did The Other Two Come about? I’ve enjoyed watching this show, but for our readers that aren’t familiar, tell us about this.
CW: The Other Two was a project that I went out for I think 7 years ago now, maybe longer or earlier. I just went out for an audition, my dad took me out across LA and we went in like the usual kid actor would and it just really worked out! I connected with the casting director and I connected with Chris Kelly (Saturday Night Live, Crashing, Broad City) and Sarah Schneider (Saturday Night Live, Master of None, Goodnight, Sweet Prince) in the last audition. It worked out and it’s been amazing ever since.
AM: That’s amazing! You play Chase Dreams. Who is he and are there similarities and differences between yourself and the character that you play?
CW: Chase Dreams, well, he has grown a lot over the show. Early on, we were very similar in the 1st and the 2nd season. It paralleled a little bit to my life as a child actor in LA and going through the motions of the industry. This season, Chase gets to mature quite a bit. We jump a little bit into the future and Chase is older going through what I would say are adult challenges than he has ever gone through. Which is very similar to what I have gone through as well even in this season which is really fun!
AM: That’s great! The show obviously has an incredible cast with yourself, Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live, White Lotus, Divorce), Ken Marino (Party Down, Black Monday, Veronica Mars), Wanda Sykes (Black-ish, Bad Moms, Curb Your Enthusiasm) along with former SNL writers Chris and Sarah. What is it like being on this show and what have you learned?
CW: Yeah, I’ve learned so much working on this show. All my co-stars have not only been friends and companions to me, but also talking to me so much about acting and especially how to operate on set and how to be on a television show to work together to produce art. I’ve also learned so much from them on the comedy side as well. They’ve just been amazing mentors, friends, and co-workers - all of the above.
AM: It’s always great when you have that dynamic in the chemistry. Are you able to tell us about the upcoming 3rd season and what we can expect?
CW: I can share a little bit. This season is a big jump from where we last were. It’s totally different and it’s bigger. I would say that it’s a lot bigger if you can believe it. Everyone, I would say this season – every character is kind of going through their own challenge. We’re a little bit more separate and individual this season and of course, as we always do, we end up back together as a family through all of our conflicts and challenges in the industry. It’s really fun to see how we all get through this season! There are some crazy things that happen and Chase goes through a lot of stuff! I personally felt that I was going through a lot of different sketches this season a little bit because you’ll see that Chase has a few things that are going on this season to solve his situations. It will be really fun to watch for sure.
AM: Looking forward to catch that! Are there other projects that we should keep an eye out for that you’re involved in?
CW: I worked on another project that’s a live action musical, the 2nd version of it called Monster High. It’s totally different than The Other Two which is going to be a blast and it will be out this fall!
AM: It’s always exciting to have something that’s ahead of you!
When you’re not on set, we know that you’re an avid rock climber. How did you get into this sport?
CW: Rock climbing, I got into it because my big brother was really into it. He had been doing it for a few years and as a little bro does, I kind of followed him into it. Then I stopped for a few years and then around COVID, I completely fell in love with it – especially outdoor bouldering. I’ve kind of run with it since then.
AM: You mentioned that your brother was a huge influence, but there are so many outdoor sports that you could have done, what is it about this specifically that you really love about it?
CW: I would describe bouldering and rock climbing as probably one of the most full value sports. While I’m in NY, I can train at the climbing gym nearby and find a community there and then when I’m home in Colorado, I can do a lot of outdoor bouldering. I can go to the Alpine or the Front Range. When I was in Canada filming, there was climbing everywhere. It’s a beautiful sport where you can do it a little bit, you could do it a lot, you can go outside and you can be inside and there's just this awesome community behind it. I find it to be one of the best sports in the world, it’s my favorite.
AM: Do you have a bucket list of locations that you would go to specifically around the world to continue to boulder or rock climb out there?
CW: Totally, yeah! There’s a bunch. There’s a place called Rocklands in South Africa that’s incredible, there’s a place called Fontainebleau in France which is amazing and it has a fun name – these are all just obviously legendary international bouldering spots. Where I’m at in Colorado, it’s a bucket list for a lot of people! So I just got to get a lot more boulders on my checklist here and I’ll definitely make my way to Spain and France and all of the above!
AM: When you’re climbing, how do you prepare? What are the things that you’re looking for to ensure that you’re having a good climb?
CW: To prepare for climbing, especially when you’re taking it to a whole other level, you really have to invest a lot more than you expected to it. So, it’s really mental, it’s emotional sometimes and obviously, it’s physical. A lot of people don’t grasp the mental aspect of it often times when you’ve spent a lot of time on a project which is what we call it. Like spending multiple days. It really does take a lot of mental focus and figuring out data. When I’m climbing, I just really try to be present because sometimes you can think about getting the route done or just overthinking it. At the end of the day, it’s really just about getting outside, climbing and having a great experience. When you do what we call a complete boulder or a complete climb, it’s a reward and it’s really fun. Really, climbing is just about climbing and being able to get out there and to challenge yourself.
AM: Have you ever done it competitively? Will we see you trying to go to the Olympics?
CW: You know, I have a friend who’s in the Olympics and he was one of our Olympians and I have a ton of friends in Colorado who obviously go to the National Team Trials. There’s actually a pretty big separation between outdoor bouldering and what we call comp style or competition style climbing. They kind of have a middle ground, but you end up training one or the other. I’ve been pretty focused on the outdoor stuff, but I also do a few competitions here and there! Just not maybe on the Olympic level!
IG @casewalker
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 92 -94 HBO Max/The Other Two | PG 97 Rocky Holloway | PG 98 Cooper Doe |
Read the APR ISSUE #88 of Athleisure Mag and see THE CLIMB | Case Walker in mag.
BINGELY STREAMING
BEEF
Netflix Series
Netflix
BEEF is a must-binge that's perfect to enjoy over the weekend. All 10 episodes of this dark comedy starring Steven Yeun (Nope, Everything All at Once, Okja) and Ali Wong (Birds of Prey, American Housewife, Love, Victor) shows us what happens when a beef takes over your life and how it can completely change everything that you thought you knew about yourself and those around you! It even looks at how a beef can cross gender, class, and other demographics.
FIRED ON MARS
HBO Max Original
HBO
When you've gotten through a number of series on a designated streaming platform, you're always looking for the next item that you'll want to watch. We just found out about Fired on Mars, an animated workplace comedy on a Martian tech company which focuses on a guy who leaves Earth to work on Mars with a number of his colleagues from his office as well as others who are there to populate the planet. We watch him go about his job as a Graphic Designer and how he spends his days there while communicating with his girlfriend who works at the same company who is back on Earth. We can see that she is slated to be there at some point down the road.
As he navigates his days and nights, we also see that a new planet doesn't change the state of office politics, interesting coworkers and the need to fit in. One day, the world that he continues to adjust to is drastically altered and he is forced to try to find a new way to be involved in this new environment as well as to stay connected to the love of his life on Earth.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
FX/Hulu Originals
Hulu
There's nothing like a classic retold and when it comes to FX and the way that they retell Charles Dickens pieces, we couldn't wait to see how this would be done with Great Expectations a 6-episode limited series.
The adaptation is written by Steven Knight (Spencer, See, Peaky Blinders) who is also an Executive Producer alongside Tom Hardy (Venom franchise, Legend, Inception), Ridley Scott (Kaleidoscope, House of Gucci, The Last Duel), Dean Baker (A Christmas Carol, Taboo, Driven to Extremes), David W. Zucker (Still Missing Morgan, Kaleidoscope, The Good Fight) and Kate Crowe (The Third Day, A Christmas Carol, Taboo).
This new look at this beloved classic brings us an orphan named Pip (Fionn Whitehead) who grew up as a blacksmith's apprentice. Suddenly, he receives a windfall from an unknown benefactor that allows him to travel to London and enter high society. His journey includes love, Miss Havisham (Olivia Colman) and more!
Read the APR ISSUE #88 of Athleisure Mag and see Bingely Streaming in mag.
BINGELY STREAMING
SELLING THE OC
Netflix Original
Netflix
We have enjoyed Selling Sunset which follows the Oppenheim Group as they make major sales, peek into their lives and more. In this series, we've known that there would be an expansion which takes us to Selling the OC with their new office in Orange County. We continue to follow Jason and his brother/partner Brett Oppenheim as they have a new realtors that will be part of this office. We know that this month, we'll be bingeing this episode to get to know the new cast as well as to see if there will be an overlap with the LA cast!
THE REHEARSAL
HBO Max
HBO
We've all had an experience where there is a conversation that we need to have and we run a few scenarios in our head to see how we will do it. In The Rehearsal, Nathan Fielder takes anything that you may have done to the next level by rehearsing every interaction that one may have to approach a certain event from creating exact replicas of the space that the encounter will take place, documenting and creating conversation maps so that the person can anticipate what will happen and doing copious run throughs. Although we can question Nathan's episode, we see how committed he is to this school of thought as we see that he does the same thing in preparing to talk to those that he is about to help!
The lengths that he goes through to become his subjects in order to understand them and the environment that they live in is next level! You can binge the entire season as in this case, seeing is believing! WIth Season 2 already greenlit, we wonder what he will tackle next and what boundaries he will push, how many actors he will swap in and out in order to rehearse a situation so that the subject can carry out what they need to do!
CHAT SH!T
Max Original
Spotify
We're still bummed that HBO's Insecure is over, but we were excited to hear that Issa Rae had another show on deck that releases weekly on HBO Max called RAP SH!T! We leave LA and head to Miami where we enjoy hearing Miami area artists, see how our two main characters evolve into a rap duo, we have mirror girl rap moments and enjoy watching them navigate their lives as well as the music industry!
CHAT SH!T is the companion podcast hosted by Zach Campbell and Jessie Woo who give clarity to each episode, give us insight into Miami, the Haitian community and provides hot takes on what takes place in the episodes.
Read the AUG ISSUE #80 of Athleisure Mag and see Bingely Streaming in mag.
BIG DIVA ENERGY | BIG FREEDIA
Hip hop has a number of sub genres that we can enjoy when we're at our favorite club, dance festival, studio class or just hanging out at home. We've been long time fans of Bounce, a New Orleans sound that make it impossible to not dance to. A number of people are associated with this sound as well as popularizing it!
In this month's issue we catch up with Big Freedia, the Queen Diva who is known for Bounce music. Whether it's watching her successful show Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce which gave access to her life on tour as well as just navigating the industry, watching performances or even seeing her in shows as HBO's Treme, guest judging on Rupaul's Drag Race All Stars or this season's P-Valley on STARZ - the focus to push New Orleans as well as this genre is always at the forefront of her efforts. Without a doubt, she is known for her Big Diva Energy whether she's in the studio or outside of it. We wanted to take some time to find out about what The Queen of Bounce is working on, collaborating with Beyoncé and partnering up with No Kid Hungry to combat food insecurity among children!
ATHLEISURE MAG: You’re known for popularizing the hip hop genre, bounce music. Can you tell us more about what this is and its link to New Orleans?
BIG FREEDIA: Bounce music is a fast-paced call and response style of hip hop that was born in New Orleans in the late 80s and popularized globally in the mid-late 90s with Cash Money Millionaires (Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, Lil Wayne).
AM: You were sampled on Beyoncé’s Formation, but what was it like to collaborate with her on Break My Soul and the video?
BF: Working in any capacity with Beyoncé is incredible. I am always – and still have to pinch myself to see if this is really happening!
AM: New Orleans means a lot to you and you recently partnered with No Kid Hungry X Williams-Sonoma in creating a spatula where proceeds will go to providing funds for children to reduce food insecurity.
Why did you want to participate this year and why was it important for you to be involved?
BF: I feel very strongly about helping the kids of New Orleans. When you don't have enough food, you can’t focus on school or develop properly. So, to me, this is a way to get them the food they need–and help them early.
AM: When you’re not working how do you take time for yourself to recharge your batteries?
BF: To recharge, I have to have nothing on my calendar! I love to cook, hang out with my friends and family.
IG @bigfreedia
PHOTOGRAPHY | PG 136 - 137 Nelson Cosey | 9DRIP PG 60 - 61 Brad Hebert, PG 61 + 63 Nelson Cosey |
Read the AUG ISSUE #80 of Athleisure Mag and see BIG DIVA ENERGY | Big Freedia in mag.
AWARDS SEASON 2022-2023 | 74TH EMMY WINNERS
Tonight, Kenan Thompson hosted the 74th Annual Emmys on NBC. We always like getting in on the fun by predicting who we think will win in the category. Names in bold are our predictions. Those that are bold and in italics are those that we predicted correctly and those that are only italicized are the ones that did win the award.
DRAMA SERIES
“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“Euphoria” (HBO)
“Ozark” (Netflix)
“Severance” (Apple TV+)
“Squid Game” (Netflix)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“Succession” (HBO)
“Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
COMEDY SERIES
“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
“Barry” (HBO)
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“Hacks” (HBO)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
LIMITED SERIES
“Dopesick” (Hulu)
“The Dropout” (Hulu)
“Inventing Anna” (Netflix)
“Pam and Tommy” (Hulu)
“The White Lotus” (HBO)
LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)
Brian Cox (“Succession”)
Lee Jung-jae (“Squid Game”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Adam Scott (“Severance”)
Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”)
Laura Linney (“Ozark”)
Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”)
Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”)
Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”)
Zendaya (“Euphoria”)
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
Bill Hader (“Barry”)
Nicholas Hoult (“The Great”)
Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”)
LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”)
Kaley Cuoco (“The Flight Attendant”)
Elle Fanning (“The Great”)
Issa Rae (“Insecure”)
Jean Smart (“Hacks”)
LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Colin Firth (“The Staircase”)
Andrew Garfield (“Under the Banner of Heaven”)
Oscar Isaac (“Scenes From a Marriage”)
Michael Keaton (“Dopesick”)
Himesh Patel (“Station Eleven”)
Sebastian Stan (“Pam and Tommy”)
LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Toni Collette (“The Staircase”)
Julia Garner (“Inventing Anna”)
Lily James (“Pam and Tommy”)
Sarah Paulson (“Impeachment: American Crime Story”)
Margaret Qualley (“Maid”)
Amanda Seyfried (“The Dropout”)
VARIETY TALK SERIES
“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)
“Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC)
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
COMPETITION PROGRAM
“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Nailed It!” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)
TELEVISION MOVIE
Chip ‘n’Dale: Rescue Rangers (Disney+)
Ray Donovan: The Movie (Showtime)
Reno 911!: The Hunt For QAnon (Paramount+)
The Survivor (HBO/HBO Max)
Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (The Roku Channel)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patricia Arquette (Severance)
Julia Garner (Ozark)
Jung Ho-yeon (Squid Game)
Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets)
Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)
J. Smith-Cameron (Succession)
Sarah Snook (Succession)
Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nicholas Braun (Succession)
Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)
Kieran Culkin (Succession)
Park Hae-soo (Squid Game)
Matthew Macfadyen (Succession)
John Turturro (Severance)
Christopher Walken (Severance)
Oh Yeong-su (Squid Game)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
Janelle James (Abbott Elementary)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)
Juno Temple (Ted Lasso)
Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Carrigan (Barry)
Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)
Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso)
Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso)
Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary)
Henry Winkler (Barry)
Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Connie Britton (The White Lotus)
Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus)
Alexandra Daddario (The White Lotus)
Kaitlyn Dever (Dopesick)
Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus)
Sydney Sweeney (The White Lotus)
Mare Winningham (Dopesick)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus)
Jake Lacy (The White Lotus)
Will Poulter (Dopesick)
Seth Rogen (Pam & Tommy)
Peter Sarsgaard (Dopesick)
Michael Stuhlbarg (Dopesick)
Steve Zahn (The White Lotus)
GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Hope Davis (Succession)
Marcia Gay Harden (The Morning Show)
Martha Kelly (Euphoria)
Sanaa Lathan (Succession)
Harriet Walter (Succession)
Lee You-mi (Squid Game)
GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Adrien Brody (Succession)
James Cromwell (Succession)
Colman Domingo (Euphoria)
Arian Moayed (Succession)
Tom Pelphrey (Ozark)
Alexander Skarsgård (Succession)
GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jane Adams (Hacks)
Harriet Sansom Harris (Hacks)
Jane Lynch (Only Murders In The Building)
Laurie Metcalf (Hacks)
Kaitlin Olson (Hacks)
Harriet Walter (Ted Lasso)
GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jerrod Carmichael (Saturday Night Live)
Bill Hader (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
James Lance (Ted Lasso)
Nathan Lane (Only Murders In The Building)
Christopher McDonald (Hacks)
Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso)
VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO/HBO Max)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
VARIETY SPECIAL (LIVE)
The 64th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
Live In Front Of A Studio Audience: The Facts Of Life and Diff’rent Strokes (ABC)
The Oscars (ABC)
Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent (NBC)
Tony Awards Presents: Broadway’s Back! (CBS)
VARIETY SPECIAL (PRE-RECORDED)
Adele: One Night Only (CBS)
Dave Chappelle: The Closer (Netflix)
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (HBO/HBO Max)
Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special (Netflix)
One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga (CBS)
HOSTED NONFICTION SERIES OR SPECIAL
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (Netflix)
The Problem with Jon Stewart (Apple TV+)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)
VICE (Showtime)
The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Disney+)
COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls (Prime Video)
Nailed It! (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)
HOST FOR A REALITY OR COMPETITION PROGRAM
Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness (Queer Eye)
Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman (Making It)
Nicole Byer (Nailed It!)
Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary (Shark Tank)
Padma Lakshmi (Top Chef)
RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race)
Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.
AWARDS SEASON 2022-2023 | 74TH EMMY NOMINATIONS
This morning JB Smoove (check out his interview with us here as well as his 9PLAYLIST) and Melissa Fumero announced the nominations for the 74th Annual Emmys. The awards show will take place on NBC on Sept 12th. We have a few of the categories that you’ll see televised on the big night, but you can see the complete list of all nominations here. We always like getting in on the fun by predicting who we think will win in the category. Names in bold are our predictions. On the big night, those that are bold and in italics are those that we predicted correctly and those that are only italicized are the ones that did win the award.
DRAMA SERIES
“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“Euphoria” (HBO)
“Ozark” (Netflix)
“Severance” (Apple TV+)
“Squid Game” (Netflix)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“Succession” (HBO)
“Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
COMEDY SERIES
“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
“Barry” (HBO)
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“Hacks” (HBO)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
LIMITED SERIES
“Dopesick” (Hulu)
“The Dropout” (Hulu)
“Inventing Anna” (Netflix)
“Pam and Tommy” (Hulu)
“The White Lotus” (HBO)
LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)
Brian Cox (“Succession”)
Lee Jung-jae (“Squid Game”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Adam Scott (“Severance”)
Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”)
Laura Linney (“Ozark”)
Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”)
Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”)
Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”)
Zendaya (“Euphoria”)
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
Bill Hader (“Barry”)
Nicholas Hoult (“The Great”)
Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”)
LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”)
Kaley Cuoco (“The Flight Attendant”)
Elle Fanning (“The Great”)
Issa Rae (“Insecure”)
Jean Smart (“Hacks”)
LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Colin Firth (“The Staircase”)
Andrew Garfield (“Under the Banner of Heaven”)
Oscar Isaac (“Scenes From a Marriage”)
Michael Keaton (“Dopesick”)
Himesh Patel (“Station Eleven”)
Sebastian Stan (“Pam and Tommy”)
LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Toni Collette (“The Staircase”)
Julia Garner (“Inventing Anna”)
Lily James (“Pam and Tommy”)
Sarah Paulson (“Impeachment: American Crime Story”)
Margaret Qualley (“Maid”)
Amanda Seyfried (“The Dropout”)
VARIETY TALK SERIES
“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)
“Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC)
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
COMPETITION PROGRAM
“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Nailed It!” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)
TELEVISION MOVIE
Chip ‘n’Dale: Rescue Rangers (Disney+)
Ray Donovan: The Movie (Showtime)
Reno 911!: The Hunt For QAnon (Paramount+)
The Survivor (HBO/HBO Max)
Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (The Roku Channel)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patricia Arquette (Severance)
Julia Garner (Ozark)
Jung Ho-yeon (Squid Game)
Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets)
Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)
J. Smith-Cameron (Succession)
Sarah Snook (Succession)
Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nicholas Braun (Succession)
Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)
Kieran Culkin (Succession)
Park Hae-soo (Squid Game)
Matthew Macfadyen (Succession)
John Turturro (Severance)
Christopher Walken (Severance)
Oh Yeong-su (Squid Game)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
Janelle James (Abbott Elementary)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)
Juno Temple (Ted Lasso)
Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Carrigan (Barry)
Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)
Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso)
Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso)
Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary)
Henry Winkler (Barry)
Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Connie Britton (The White Lotus)
Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus)
Alexandra Daddario (The White Lotus)
Kaitlyn Dever (Dopesick)
Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus)
Sydney Sweeney (The White Lotus)
Mare Winningham (Dopesick)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus)
Jake Lacy (The White Lotus)
Will Poulter (Dopesick)
Seth Rogen (Pam & Tommy)
Peter Sarsgaard (Dopesick)
Michael Stuhlbarg (Dopesick)
Steve Zahn (The White Lotus)
GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Hope Davis (Succession)
Marcia Gay Harden (The Morning Show)
Martha Kelly (Euphoria)
Sanaa Lathan (Succession)
Harriet Walter (Succession)
Lee You-mi (Squid Game)
GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Adrien Brody (Succession)
James Cromwell (Succession)
Colman Domingo (Euphoria)
Arian Moayed (Succession)
Tom Pelphrey (Ozark)
Alexander Skarsgård (Succession)
GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jane Adams (Hacks)
Harriet Sansom Harris (Hacks)
Jane Lynch (Only Murders In The Building)
Laurie Metcalf (Hacks)
Kaitlin Olson (Hacks)
Harriet Walter (Ted Lasso)
GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jerrod Carmichael (Saturday Night Live)
Bill Hader (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
James Lance (Ted Lasso)
Nathan Lane (Only Murders In The Building)
Christopher McDonald (Hacks)
Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso)
VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO/HBO Max)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
VARIETY SPECIAL (LIVE)
The 64th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
Live In Front Of A Studio Audience: The Facts Of Life and Diff’rent Strokes (ABC)
The Oscars (ABC)
Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent (NBC)
Tony Awards Presents: Broadway’s Back! (CBS)
VARIETY SPECIAL (PRE-RECORDED)
Adele: One Night Only (CBS)
Dave Chappelle: The Closer (Netflix)
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (HBO/HBO Max)
Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special (Netflix)
One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga (CBS)
HOSTED NONFICTION SERIES OR SPECIAL
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (Netflix)
The Problem with Jon Stewart (Apple TV+)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)
VICE (Showtime)
The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Disney+)
COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls (Prime Video)
Nailed It! (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)
HOST FOR A REALITY OR COMPETITION PROGRAM
Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness (Queer Eye)
Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman (Making It)
Nicole Byer (Nailed It!)
Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary (Shark Tank)
Padma Lakshmi (Top Chef)
RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race)
Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.
STORING SEEDS | JB SMOOVE
We're all about big energy while keeping it real and J.B. Smoove is both of these! You know when you see him on the stage or on your screen that he's going to make you laugh, think and give you his philosphy on life and how to approach it - all while rocking great style. We've enjoyed seeing him in a number of films from Pootie Tang, Barbershop: The Next Cut, the Spider-Man franchise and more. He's also been in numerous TV series from The Last O.G., Woke and of course Curb Your Enthusiasm. He's someone that you see everywhere and yet he aligns perfectly with the projects that we see him in.
We had to check in with him to find out about his journey from being a standup comedian, SNL writer and performer, actor and more. He talked about how he honed his skills, how he navigates his career and what he has coming up.
ATHLEISURE MAG: What was the moment that you realized that you wanted to be an entertainer?
J.B. SMOOVE: You know, I’ve always been the one – some people have a high threshold for pain, I think that that’s what it is. In simple terms, I think that I have this thing and feel for people when I know that people need laughter and they need communication. They need all these fun things that make life easier.
I remember one time that I missed my flight because somebody stopped me and I could tell that this dude needed somebody to talk to about his dreams and I missed my damn flight! I felt like, damn I’ll get the next one. In that moment, it just felt like something was - like sometimes you just have to talk people off the ledge in some sense you know? It’s their life, it’s their everything, but sometimes what you provide for people is something that you can’t buy. I think that shows that you’re a real person and it shows you that you can reach out and touch that person. What I promote is real!
You know how fans get, sometimes they don’t believe that you are who you are or who they think you are, or who they perceive you to be by what you do on camera. You know how it is. Nowadays, the world is faster, people promote certain things, but that’s not who they are. They do things to be accepted, to be liked, to be all these things and it’s not real and it doesn’t come from a real place. I think for me and my upbringing from where I started from is something that I can appreciate more. I’m talking about the days from pulling over and having to make a phone call at the phone booth! Those days, it was more hands on – you know what I mean? There’s automatic transmission and then there’s manual – I’m a manual dude! I got to switch gears for myself. I need to know when to slow down and when to hit the brake! Sometimes I don’t brake at all! Most of the time, I’m just changing gears because brake means that I’m going to stop. When you’re changing gears, I’m just navigating through it! You know what I mean? It’s different!
AM: And it is different!
I think that you have such an authenticity about you and that’s why people love being able to see you. It’s great to see you popping on screen in your shows or starting up my Mon with your podcast. I know that when I hear you, I’m going to get you as an authentic full experience!
JBS: Yes indeed! And that, you know to answer the question – that is something that I do from the heart and for the love of what I do! For the love of being in the moment, for the love of something to hold onto that knowledge and to hold onto that laughter! Holding onto things that makes me happy – it’s the ability to benefit the world or the people who also want to do what I do or just want to be inspired. I do think that it applies to every walk of life no matter what your occupation is or what your dreams are, the same process applies. Come early, stay late, be courteous to people, respect their dreams and what they're trying to do – don’t waste their time, don’t waste your time. There are certain things that will apply always. I think that is the core of growth and the core of achieving your dreams. What I want to do is to be consistent. I want to give this laughter away whether you’re paying me or if you’re not paying for it. I don’t get paid if I stop and talk to someone for half an hour and miss my flight. I can’t say, “oh I got paid for that so it’s ok I missed the flight.” No, I’m doing that because I felt something for this person in that moment that they needed this quick little talk and it’s free.
AM: How did you hone your craft?
JBS: You know, being in real situations. Real situations are a comedian's food. That’s our food. Real situations, you can elaborate on real situations and make them funny. You can take pain and make it funny. You can take funny and make it funnier. So you know, it’s all in the construction of the joke, the construction of the situation, the construction of the scene – you know? That is where it comes from. I always say that anyone can tell a joke if I have to use what I do for a living. Anybody can tell a joke, but not everyone can sell a joke. Everybody can’t sell it – you can tell it – but everybody can’t sell it!
AM: I am the worst joke teller because I forget the parts, I have to stop and reset it – so I definitely can’t sell it.
JBS: Oh yeah, that’s true!
AM: I remember when I first saw you for Def Comedy Jam as a standup comedian and then you went onto SNL as a writer and a performer! What was that experience like?
JBS: To me it was great. But again, you gotta make decisions on your movement because when I started on Def Comedy Jam and I was on BET and did all of these TV shows, guest-starring, touring in colleges, those road gigs, tours and all of the things that I have done, making the decision to move to LA, doing all of that stuff and making the decision to go on Cedric the Entertainer Presents, getting on Lyricists Lounge Show – doing guest spots on TV shows, doing my first CBS deal – all those things I’ve done.
Then to sit there and say, “ok I have this audition for SNL.” My second time auditioning for SNL actually. I did it twice. I was going for cast member. For me, you sit there and you say, I’m going in for cast member and I didn’t make the show as a performer but I ended up making the show as a writer. Even when I got the offer for a writer, I was in the middle of a deal for a host of stuff of my own so I had to say do I put myself on hold to work on Saturday Night Live? So I sat and thought about it and decided that it would look great on my resume so I said, as more of a business move. I know that the percentage of shows that actually air are so small and back then it was REALLY hard! Back then we didn’t have streaming services. We didn’t have Netflix and Hulu and Amazon. We didn’t have any of this stuff. It was just regular TV, HBO and Showtime. We had the premium channels but those opportunities, we didn’t have as big of a chance to get someone to air. I had to sit there and say, “ok. If I put this to the side and do this, how can I make this work for me?” I said, I will do this and then figure it out later. But this is going to look great on my resume – SNL.
So I came to SNL and when I got here, I ended up doing sketches, I ended up being a writer on the show, I ended up doing monologues on the show and ended up doing all these amazing things for the show and doing warmups for my 3 seasons. So I ended up doing a lot of stuff and that was 4 different checks – that’s a NY hustle right there! But that’s also being someone who has different skills – who can be a utility person – 4 things at the same time. That helps me and shows how I can be versatile. I can do 4 jobs at once.
For me, it worked out perfect. I had the chance to be JB, I had a chance to be someone who's able to do all of these amazing things and at the same time, it allowed me to work and build my resume and network with these amazing guest stars of the show. So it was definitely a process. I can’t say that it was easy – it was hard work because you’re talking about someone going from being a standup comedian to being a writer. I wasn’t a traditional writer. I improvise a lot in my standup so for me it made more sense to take it, do all of my skills under one roof. I did 3 seasons over there and it looks great on my resume, so it served its purpose doing it that way.
None of those other opportunities went away, the opportunities for TV shows were still there, the opportunities for movies were still there and I was still able to leave there and do a bunch of movies – The Sitter, Hall Pass, Date Night all in a row. I got a chance to do all of that stuff and when I was working over at SNL, I did Conan O’Brien. Conan O’Brien’s show, he was still at NBC at that time and I did his show as a sketch artist 10 times. So I had a chance to get from behind the desk typing jokes, go downstairs on the elevator and do a sketch with Conan and then get back in the elevator upstairs to finish working. I got a chance to do so many things while I was over there. Again, it wasn’t easy and it was humbling in some sense. You’re in control on stage but you’re not in control on this show which is live TV. Everything is just fast. You have to sit there and write all night long for these sketches and it’s humbling because it’s like your trying out for the cheerleading team or the football team and you go in the hallway and they put the list up of who made the team. There was a piece of paper in the hallway that said whose sketch made it and you had to read that list on the wall and you’d say, "damn, I didn’t get it."
AM: Oh wow that happened every week!
JBS: It was an amazing experience and I wouldn't change that for anything in the world. I would have rather taken this process that I have already completed rather than this fast and quick process that these young people are doing now. I had more time to smell the roses.
AM: I’m a huge fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm, you joined it in the 6th season and I know that the 12th season is coming back, how did you get attached to the show and how involved are you in creating and evolving the character of Leon Black?
JBS: Oh man! My wife told me that I was going to be on the show. We would watch the show, we loved the show and even when I was on SNL, we would talk about the show on our writing days. One day I said, that I would love to be on the show and man I got the opportunity. I always say that one thing has to step out of the way in order for something else to come through. I didn’t get renewed for my 4th season of SNL and I literally went from coming to LA for a friend’s memorial – my friend Oji Pierce who composed and produced This is How We Do It and I was there for his memorial service. I make moves because I trust my process and I trust my talent. I know I always bounce back from things. I had actually fired my agent – I fired every damn body! I knew that once I fired them, I wasn’t going back to SNL.
The agents are the ones that fight for you and keep you hired. They are the ones that call and make it go. I said, well if I fire my agent who I am not happy with, I know for a fact, that I will not get spoken about and they’re not going to push to keep me on the show if they’re not getting paid to do what they do. So I said, “well, I’m going to see what happens.” I fired them and I knew I wasn’t going back and for a fact that with no one there to speak for me, there was no way that I was going to be able to stay at SNL.
So I took that chance, I rolled the dice and I took that chance. Low and behold, I didn’t get renewed. I was out on the road for a month doing standup. Oji passed away, my wife already told me that I was going to be on Curb Your Enthusiasm and I got a phone call of my friend passing and I went to LA for one day. I signed with a new agent before I went to LA, went to meet them when I got to LA and one of the agents said, “man, I have an audition for you – how long are you in town?” I told them that I had come into town for 1 day to pay respects to my buddy and I was going back tomorrow.
He said he had an audition for me and I asked him what it was for and he said, Curb Your Enthusiasm. I said, “get out of here, you have to be kidding me!” I went on the audition and you know, I did what I did well which is improvise which takes these scenes and make them my own. Let me do what I do because I’m going to do what I do! Me and Larry hit it off in the audition. We hit it off to the point where we were in there laughing our butts off and having a good time. We became friends that day. I left there and said to myself, if someone gets that job, God bless them, but me and that man had a great time! That leads to me being on the greatest improvised show to me in TV history.
So, my process is, I’m an improv guy. I have been improvising my entire life and I think that that’s a life choice too. Improvising gives you the ability to change your mind in the moment where no one will ever know that you changed your mind! Improvising will give you the ability to sway someone in a different direction. Improvising gives you a way of reading energy and reading their body language – all of these great things that you can do by knowing the process and being able to improvise. It pays off in life, it pays off in acting, it pays off in real estate sales if you’re a realtor. You can be anyone you want, but if you improvise just a little bit, it allows you to pick up little nuances about people that you can use to your advantage.
I think that that’s what helps me so much having to improvise in my standup career so much. It really allowed me to take that skill and to use that 1 little improv class that I took that summer before I started doing standup. I would tell anyone that they should take improv – I don’t care what you do. That allowed me to really hone in on my acting skills and to get in the moment which makes my standup shows so different. I’m literally listening to what this particular audience is laughing at which is what I apply to Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Whatever is working for my character and sometimes, I don’t know what I will do with my character. Sometimes I don’t know. Sometimes I just go with what the scene is and I take that. Sometimes what I do is, I will decide in the moment if I want to have Larry’s back or if I want to go against Larry. I decide right there, do I want to be on Larry’s side or will I go against him – what is the better argument here? I really decide in the moment and it gives me the upper hand and let’s me drive that. It also lets me give him something new that he doesn’t know about the character every time I work with him. That way, I create these forks in the road – these branches to the character. My character has never been defined. We still don’t know where the hell he came from – so for me to be able to make that up over the 6 seasons that I have been there is great! I can still tell people a little more that they need to know about Leon which makes it fun!
AM: You have been in so many series and films from Spider-Man movies, co-hosting – what do you look for when you’re sent projects and what goes into your decision on whether you’re going to participate in something?
JBS: I go by this, which works for me: I read the script of course. If they specifically call for me, I’m kind of past the audition process at this point because I am established all these years. I get offers for things and I can say yay or nay to the offer. Once in a while, I have to read for something – once in a while. It could be something very specific or something that is outside of my lane and it’s to show that I can do something if it’s a drama or something like that. If I meet a director or a producer and they ask for me specifically and they say that they want me to make my character my own, that is the most precious words that I can hear for an improv guy or a guy that they can trust to do that character. When they say, “make the character your own JB. We love your voice and your sensibilities and we love what you do and we want you to be that character and vice versa.” So I’m like cool, let me make it my own and I take that character and I make them my own. This happens in movies, in TV, in commercials, in animations – it doesn’t matter. They let me do me and if it’s animations, I say let me see the character so I can see who it is and then I can take that character and then I can make that character my own.
AM: You also have Four Courses with JB Smoove, why did you want to do this?
JBS: You know what. I love talk shows and I love talking to friends and I’m good at it. I love to sit there and kick it and have a convo with people and that is what makes interviewing people so fun. I’m curious of the process. I’m curious about your path and I’m really engaged. I love to laugh and I love the stories. I love to tell stories and I love to be interviewed while I’m interviewing – you know what I’m saying? I think that’s fun. I love to be interviewed while I’m interviewing.
AM: Last year when May I Elaborate? first came out, I knew I would be obsessed with it. I love hearing you and Miles Grose talking back and forth about various topics and it was a great way to start my day. Why did you want to create this podcast show?
JBS: You know what? It was one of those things where everybody was doing podcasts. I knew that if everyone was doing podcasts, I had to do something that was funny, insightful and I like to give what I call, broken wisdom sometimes! I feel like there’s more than 1 way for you to be able to get it. For some people, you have to shake it out of their ass and then you have to shake it into them and then shake whatever the issue is out of them at the same time. I think of that tough hard love in a funny way and in a way that makes sense to people. I’m giving it to you in a way that is like a friend. I’m not a doctor, I don’t know it all, I know a lot about everything and a little bit about nothing. You need that balance! You have to tell people sometimes that, “I’m not sure but God damn, I know you got to give it to them like that and here’s what I would do.” I can’t say it’s going to work, but this is what I would do and this is how to get the process started. You sometimes have to get out of your own fucking head. If I can get you out of your own head, I’m halfway there! That’s the block right there. You’re like a controlled schizophrenic – you are battling yourself in your own head. Different versions of you don’t know how to handle certain things. So you’re stuck in a certain place and you just need to find some kind of way to talk to the right person in your head to get it moving in the right direction.
AM: With the 2nd season dropping last month, what can we expect for the season going forward? Last season was really long as it was everyday which was great. This season, the format is a little different with it being on Mon and you guys have more personalities that are joining you each week like Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Nealon and Randall Park. What can we look forward to?
JBS: In the 1st season, we did almost 190 episodes! Which is crazy! So, we will more than likely maybe transition this amazing podcast into possibly an animated version – we’re not sure yet. We think that the wisdom is funny enough and the visuals that I give Miles and that Miles gives me, you always want to see it and I think that there is a funny way to present this show.
It’s so funny, we got nominated for a podcast award but guess what? We didn’t get nominated in the comedy category. We got nominated in the inspirational and religious category which is crazy! We got nominated with all the gurus and people who are speaking real shit. We’re taking real things and just elaborating on them in a funny way and we get put in that category instead of a comedy one which is nutso! It’s a little bit flattering in some ways to be nominated with all of these amazing people who are really speaking truth to the world. But it’s also like, damn, is what we’re saying not funny or are we ambidextrous - we’re left and right-handed? Can we do both? We have found a way to do both!
Without Miles, Miles is the glue. He is the voice of reason. He is the funniest dude ever. He does the research, I elaborate and he pulls me back. So, we have something that works well and yes, we’re not sure what we’re going to do with the show yet. We have so many ideas on our slate that it’s unlimited amount of ideas that we have that we can do and we haven't locked in what we’re going to do with May I Elaborate?, but we’re not locked out of it either. So, we’ve done a lot of episodes. For this type of show, we’re not just turning it on and talking. You have to do a little research and it takes a lot of time and looking at the perfect quote and affirmation and using it to our advantage.
AM: For last season, it was just the perfect show especially in the midst of the pandemic. To be able to have those lighter moments that would come in and to start the day off with that, it allowed us to have some laughs before we delved into the work here at Athleisure Mag whether it was booking, virtual shoots, meetings etc and it created a part of the day that we looked forward to. That was definitely special but in general. I’m always excited to hear what you will elaborate on?
JBS: Yes and we’re looking forward to doing in some capacity – anything that we can do to help people and to keep things fresh and fun. As little work as possible, but as much of a reward as possible.
AM: You have also had amazing partnerships whether it’s with Crown Royale, Caesars or JUST Egg to name a few. What do you look for when it comes to brand alignment that wants to connect with you? How do you decide what you want to lend your brand to?
JBS: I kind of go with the notion of to talk about what I know about – that way I’m not ever in a weird position. I’m a vegan so I love the JUST Egg relationship that we have. I entertain a lot so I did love my Crown Royale campaign. Every campaign I have ever done, I have always found a way to make it something that I love and that I can put a lot of energy into it and I use it. We were doing this branded entertainment with these companies for years before anybody was really doing it. I did a Mountain Dew campaign years ago – Mountain Dew White Out campaign – you name it. This Caesars one is just another one that I love. I love taking on characters. I like characters. I grew up in the age where commercials were about the characters – the “Where’s the Beef” lady, I love commercials man –
AM: The “Time to Make the Donuts” man.
JBS: Oh yes – time to make the donuts! I love that stuff! I always loved characters and reoccurring cool characters.
AM: We love your Caesars Sportsbook one. Like you said the fact that it’s characters, but also – we love football. We’re in NY, but also – I love football. We’re in NY, but I’m originally from Indiana so when you had the Mannings – that was exciting and then of course, Halle Berry in the commercial! How did this come back with you partnering with them and what will you do with them in terms of ongoing work?
JBS: Well, I actually did a commercial years ago a with a director. The commercial never made it to air, but what happened was, the director remembered me and he loved the commercial even though it never aired and he reached out. He said he was doing a campaign with Caesars and he didn’t see anyone else being Caesar but me! He liked my voice, my delivery and he knew it would be fun. He said he couldn’t imagine anyone else embodying this emperor than me. He said that he thought that it would be amazing and wanted to know if I wanted to do it and I thought it sounded hilarious. He said if we were going to do it, we were going to start the campaign and he had already sold me to Caesars and let them know that they would be blown away by me and that I was his guy. He told them that no one would be able to do this better than JB.
Now that goes back to what we were talking about – coming early, staying late, being courteous, not being a diva – all those things. I’m a seed planter. This is another version of planting seeds for later. I’m the squirrel who has those acorns and buries them for winter. That’s why my phone rings constantly. I’m always planting seeds and I have tons of seeds still planted. My phone rings and it keeps going and that’s why it keeps ringing because I have already planted these seeds and relationships that I have built already. That’s how I keep busy. People say all the time, “man, you’re everywhere – but you don't see everything at one time.” Everything is spread out over time because I have planted seeds and projects and it’s going to come out at this time and then this project over here will come out after this project at this time. My visibility is always up there and that’s the fun part.
AM: You’re an Emmy award winner, author, comedian, actor, producer, podcast host - you do so many things. What else do you want to add to your portfolio that you have yet to do?
JBS: I know at some point, I will get behind the camera and direct something. We started a brand new company called Alternate Side Productions, we’re going to build an amazing brand, an amazing company which will be off the hook. We’re going to do some amazing projects under the JB Smoove banner with brand and style and the things that we love to do. We’re going to build that and I’m going to put a lot of people to work. I think that that’s what needs to be done to build a production company. I want to drop some amazing products in the vegan lane. I’m a vegan. That’s going to be another thing. I have been doing the vegan thing for a long time. A lot of people are just jumping on the bandwagon, but you know, I let them do what they do. I’ve been vegan for awhile and I have been harping on this for awhile now and linking myself with other vegan products. A lot of people are just getting onto it and you know, it’s all good. I’m already established in this lane so it’s another thing and extension of what I do. It’s also another extension of caring about people’s health and my own health.
AM: What led you to want to become a vegan?
JBS: Well my wife has been a vegan for forever. My wife is a musical artist and has been a vegan forever and hasn’t had meat in something like 27 years. So, she was a vegetarian for awhile, then a vegan and now she is a raw vegan which is a whole other level. She’s doing that now, but I’m a straight vegan. I’ve been part-time/full-time for a long time. I was part-time vegan and full-time carnivore for awhile. Now, for the past 4 years, I have been a straight vegan and it’s been great.
AM: As you say, you’re always planting seeds. Do you have upcoming projects that you are able to share that we should keep an eye out for?
JBS: Not right now. The main thing I’m working on right now is of course, you know that Curbed got greenlit for season 12, I have a bunch of animated shows coming out, I have the new season of Woke out right now and I’m recording something right now for a video game. I’m also recording 2 other animated shows at the same time. I’m also building this company. I’m resuming my standup tour and I’m also doing a special and hoping that I can get it done by the top of the year. There’s a bunch of cool things that I am working on and I’m very happy with my process. I like to be the steady tortoise sometimes – I don’t need everything at one time, I still love my private time so that I can RV. I still love to do all the fun things that I love to do. As I said, my wife is also out there doing her thing with her new studio. We’re doing so many cool things and also we’re building some companies outside of entertainment. Yeah we’re just doing cool stuff and things that are off our interest list.
AM: You have great style that's well accessorized. As a stylist in addition to my role as a Co-Founder and Style Director at Athleisure Mag, how do you define your style and would you ever create your own clothing/accessory line?
JBS: I love style! I grew up in an era where you build your outfits from the shoes up. You get a nice pair of reliable comfortable shoes because the first thing people do is look down at your feet and then they work their way up to your eyes.
I do have some amazing things coming out. I’m working on a watch, I’m working on a hat line and some amazing bracelets. I’m working on a few amazing things. Yes, all of these things I plan on dropping before the new year and this is going to be some amazing accessories. Apparel is a little hard, but accessories are something that I love and I love things that I consider conversation pieces. A conversation piece will get you in the door and you can meet your new boss. It just takes the interview and this changes the meeting and the relationship and takes it to something different. It gets you in differently.
I tell young people all the time, create a conversation piece whether it's a rose or a flower in your lapel – something that people look at and think, “wow, I like his style. I like what he represents.” That is the #1 thing – a shiny pair of shoes, a pocket square – something amazing on you to create and allow people to keep their eyes on you. It creates that question of, what kind of rose is that, what kind of pocket square – who made that tie? All these things are things that people look at and allows them to reaffirm who you are!
AM: I couldn’t agree more – statement pieces are so essential!
With everything that you have done, what do you want your legacy to be?
JBS: I just want to be known as a chance taker. I believe in getting as many at bats as possible. Get as many swings at the ball as possible. I have always been one where I have had some stumbles, but I have a bad memory of those stumbles. I tell people all the time that life keeps going – it keeps moving. To be free of mind and to be free to take as many swings as possible and to know that you can change your mind. Take as many swings of the things that you want to do in this life as possible. The more swings you get, the more hits you get. If you’re sitting on your hands, you can’t get the swings! I always say, get those swings in, figure out your progress, figure out what you want to do and keep swinging at it. I want to be known as chance taker, a guy that always walks on a tightrope with no net. I always feel like I got good balance. With good balance, you never worry about falling - you know what I mean? If you worry about falling, you worry about standing up.
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 30 - 31 Harrison O'Brien | PG 33 + 43 Noemad | PG 34, 50 + PG 73 - 75 9DRIP Storm Santo | PG 36 - 40 Curb Your Enthusiasm HBO/John P Johnson | PG 44 - 47 Luis Ruiz | PG 49 The Last O.G. TBS/Cara Howe |
Read the MAY ISSUE #77 of Athleisure Mag and see STORING SEEDS | JB Smoove in mag.
ATHLEISURE MAG | #77 MAY 2022
In this month’s issue, our cover story is with international superstar EDM DJ/Producer duo Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike. We talk about their love for music, how they got into the industry, their creative process and upcoming projects that span Dimitri appearing in Jurassic World: Dominion and the latest collab with Mike in his BLACK BANANAS X GREEN ROOM. We catch up with Emmy Award winning comedian, actor, animation voice actor and host of his podcast – May I Elaborate? JB Smoove. We talk about how he got into the industry, how he honed his craft via improv, being on SNL for 3 seasons, the upcoming 12th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and more! Apple TV+’s Physical will drop it’s 2nd season next month. We talk to 2 of its stars, Rose Byrne and Dierdre Friel about what we can expect. STARZ’s P-Valley is also back for its 2 second season and we caught up 4 of the castmembers (Elarica Johnson, Parker Sawyers, Shannon Thornton and J. Alphonse Nicholson) to talk about how they got into the industry, catching us up on season 1, what we can expect for season 2 and additional projects coming up. Mark Indelicato is back for season 2 of HBO’s Hacks and Prime Video’s With Love. We talk about the impact of the success of his character in Ugly Betty, his process to approaching his roles, his shows and more. We also talk with swimsuit model and Netflix’s Grace and Frankie star, Brooklyn Decker. We talk about how she transitioned from modeling to acting, the final season of this iconic comedy and more.
This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from EDM DJ/Producer Hardwell as well as Lost Frequencies. Our 9DRIP comes from our cover, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike and Curb Your Enthusiasm’s JB Smoove. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from WTA tennis star Ajla Tomljanovic and celebrity hair stylist, Andrew Fitzsimons. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from EDM duo SOFI TUKKER.
Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack shares Indian restaurant, aRoqa in NYC’s Chelsea. This month’s Athleisure List comes from Pikes Hotel in Ibiza and Pause Studio in LA. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.
Read the MAY ISSUE #77 here.
IT'S ALL JUST STORY | RODNEY BARNES
This year when the NBA unveiled their 75th Anniversary Team of retired and active players, it included 17 members who played for the Lakers which includes the Showtime era of the 70/80s with players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. To understand the importance of this era and what it did to how we enjoy the game, and how it moved the game forward in terms of commerce and making players brand, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty illustrates the dynamics at play.
We talked with Rodney Barnes, who has written for STARZ Heels, STARZ American Gods, Everybody Hates Chris and more. He shares how he got into the industry, the positions he has held, his approach to his work, being the Executive Producer and writer for Winning Time, Zombie Love Studios and his passion for comic books and graphic novels.
ATHLEISURE MAG: You’ve worked in various positions in the entertainment industry as a Production Assistant, showrunner, Executive Producer and an award-winning screenwriter. With all of these roles, what was the moment that you realized that you wanted to work in this industry?
RODNEY BARNES: I was going to Howard University and I was in the School of C (Howard University Cathy Hughs School of Communication) and I was working at Georgetown Law Center as a campus cop at night and I found out that the movie The Pelican Brief was coming to my job to film some scenes. So I was really excited because it’s one thing to go to school for this and it’s another thing to actually be able to see it up close. So I signed up for all of the overtime details and I got them all. I started watching the movie being put together and it was so exciting! So I met a guy and he was the PA, he was a Key Set PA. So I asked him how I could get a job doing what he did. He said that that weekend, they had some big scenes that were taking place at the Washington Monument and that if I wanted to come and do it for a day, they'd be happy to have me.
So I did it and it was the most exciting, fun and best $100 that I ever made in my entire life! It was something about it that felt right. I felt more purpose in doing that and being close to this thing that I wanted to be close to then I did doing anything else that paid a lot better. I quit my job at Georgetown and started working as a PA full time.
AM: What a story, we always tell people that we embrace the multi-hyphenate. As someone who has worked in a number of roles and continues to do so from writing and producing, when did you know that you wanted to take on these areas and what the specific area was that you wanted to start in first? Or was there just a confluence that took place to make all of this come together?
RB: I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I knew what I didn’t know. I knew that I didn’t understand how any of this worked and I had a very fundamental understanding of what writing was and telling stories. Quite frankly, emotionally and psychologically, I wasn’t mature enough or evolved enough to be able to take on the big job. So, working as a PA, I look at it as being an apprentice. I had an opportunity to meet people, to sort of find my tribe, to figure out the psychology of how it would work and to just get my legs under me which was a bit like bootcamp. It was always writing, but I had to build up to the idea of being able to take my shot at it because it just felt too big.
AM: What do you think was the biggest thing that you learned from being a PA that has helped you with your career or was it just being able to see all the parts that were moving and to be able to understand how they connect?
RB: There was that. I think that the thing for me was that I always had this idea that everybody in Hollywood must be a genius and I haven’t met a genius yet. But, what I have met are some folks that have worked really really hard at their craft. It sort of demystified the entire process for me in being able to see it up close and to be able to observe. I wouldn’t say that I was a vital part although I know that some people would disagree. It was sort of the type of thing where getting to know people as friends and mentors even though that’s a problematic word as no one put their arm around me and said, “son this is what you do.” But they allowed me to be in their circle and to be able to see how the sausage is made. I got an opportunity to be able to just see things up close and to decide whether or not I could do it, if I wanted to do it and the closer I got to the thing that I wanted, the better that things got for me, but I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it if I hadn’t been a PA.
AM: From a screenwriting aspect, you have written a number of things. I loved your work in American Gods which I loved that show and obviously Winning Time and then you look at shows like Everybody Hates Chris. How do you get inspiration to write and then where do you start from when you’re trying to put words to paper to create these worlds for us?
RB: I never looked at it from a place of inspiration because if I need the emotional investment to do it, then I’m not going to be inspired some of those days and I’m still going to have to do it. For me, the difference was, approaching every day like I’m at work which was no different then when I was at Walmart or Target or any of those places that I worked at along the way. I had to get up, I had to work, I didn’t feel like it and then somewhere midday or so, it got a little bit better and then a little bit better. I sort of approach writing in the same way. I have a lot of resistance on the days that I don’t feel like doing it, but it needs to be done because I have a deadline. 78% of the time, I’m able to be disciplined and I’m able to get it done and the other times, I might go to the movies, sit and watch a game or do something else when I’m supposed to be writing. But I think it’s more of a discipline of doing the thing than an emotional component to it. There are days where I feel it and if I'm writing something like a horror driven thing like in my graphic novels, I'm enjoying it a great deal so it’s easier to do, but whether I feel it or I don’t feel it or am some place in between, I still do it.
AM: Just to circle back to American Gods, one of my minors in college was Classical Civilization so it covered mythologies of the world in addition to Greece and Rome and included African and Asian nations. So when I watched it, I loved seeing all of these stories that came to life. What was it like writing for that?
RB: It was great! The best thing that came out of it was my relationship with Orlando Jones (Sleepy Hollow, American Gods, The Good Lord Bird) who played Anansi/Mr. Nancy on our show. I had a similar thing as you, I didn’t do it in college but I studied a lot of different types of mythology and some of these characters like Anansi and Bilquis and others, you don’t really get to hear a lot about them. Because of comic books, you get Thor and Zeus, Odin and Hercules and those guys but oftentimes, Gods of color don’t get a lot of love. Even when they do, it’s in secondary roles. Working for American Gods and I’m a huge Neil Gaiman fan. So to be able to play in that sort of world and get some genre credits under my name was great as I have a comic book company and I also tell a lot of genre driven stories so being able to legitimize that beyond wanting to do it was always something that I wanted to do.
AM: It was such a phenomenal series. I remember seeing the episodes and being able to see some of these characters that I had read about being brought to life so fully, it kept me glued and it was truly incredible.
So as a screenwriter, what is that process like in terms of getting attached to a project and how does one pitch themselves to get into this work?
RB: Well my agents do a lot of my pitching. They typically open doors, but I’d say that about 75% of the work that I get, outside of the things that I create, really comes from via word of mouth. Right now it’s a good time because of Winning Time and people seemingly are enjoying it and you get a lot of offers to do things because they like it which I am grateful for and it is a blessing. More often than not, it’s about putting yourself in the right position you know? People know that I write graphic books and comic books so whenever a project like that comes around and it seems like they can use a writer like me, oftentimes, they’ll call or not so much now because I have been doing it for awhile but maybe 7 or 8 years ago, if it was something that I had heard about that was coming down the pike, I would tell my agents to keep an eye out on it and then see if maybe they could get me up there to be considered.
AM: Is it a different flow for you when you’re writing for the BET Awards or the Oscars – is there a different approach because it’s a live audience or a different format then just a show or even the comic books?
RB: Not really, I look at all of it like it’s story whether it’s writing a joke, Chris Rock or one of his specials or whoever I’m working for for the Oscars or an awards show. Even a joke is a story. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. Whether I’m telling a funny story or a horrifying story or a dramatic story, at the end of the day, it’s all a story. So, I approach it all the same way. The biggest thing for me is really understanding who’s going to be interpreting the words. Like, I work a lot with Chris Rock, and I know him really, really well so if I’m going to pitch something to him, I incorporate that knowledge into the pitch. Like, I can sort of filter myself and know that he wouldn’t like this or he would really like that part. In writing the shows, I have built a great relationship with a lot of our cast and so, I try to write to their strengths as well as to the story that I am trying to tell. When I am saying that I’m writing to their strengths, I'm talking dialogue. There is a cadence to how people talk and if you can make it easier for them to interpret the words, I think that they become more comfortable with it so it's really more so about having familiarity with it for the task at hand.
AM: Also in your body of work, you have been a co-producer and a producer in shows like Heels, Winning Time and Wu-Tang: An American Saga. We’ve had a number of WWE wrestlers as our cover and shared their stories so seeing Heels was another show that we enjoyed. When did you realize that you wanted to add these roles into your body of work and how does that change your perspective especially when you're also writing the show as well?
RB: Well it’s funny, those titles of producing can mean a lot of different things. Earlier in my career, say on My Wife and Kids, when I was a producer, it wasn’t really a lot more to do than sitting in a room and writing. It’s sort of like the government, government jobs they have G-1, G-2 as you work up and it’s sort of like that in television in writing as well. If you do it long enough, you start out as a staff writer and then you move up to a story editor and then an executive story editor and then you go up through the WGA (Writers Guild of America) classifications that go with moving up. But then, in certain gigs like in Everybody Hates Chris, I was in the writer’s room and wrote a number of episodes, but I also produced the voiceover that you would hear in every show. So I would write the lines and go with Chris Rock and go record the lines together and then I would place them in the show in editing. So, to me that was actually the beginning of actually producing and so on different shows, that idea of what a producer means is something different.
On Winning Time, I actually work with the actors whether it’s working on set with their lines, working with the director to see whether or not a shot is sort of lining up with how we saw it when we were writing the show – it can mean a lot of different things. There are some shows where I have been an EP and it didn't mean anything more than just writing a show and putting it together or on some shows I'm actually tangibly doing something different. On American Gods, I wrote and also worked on the set with the actors and the director as well and putting it all together. On Heels, not so much. Marvel's Runaways – not so much. But it’s different with each one, so it’s a classification that comes with being a TV writer and as the responsibilities go, it has more to do with what that show requires.
AM: When I first heard about Winning Time last fall, I knew I was going to love it, I remember as a kid in 1986 loving this team even though I grew up in Indiana and it continues even though I live in NY now. So seeing this story, hearing about this story and getting this inside scoop of what was going on has made it really enjoyable to watch. How did you get attached to this project and what made you want to be involved?
RB: Max Borenstein (Kong: Skull Island, Worth, Godzilla vs Kong) who is our showrunner and the other Executive Producer as well, he and I have been writing together for about 10 years and when Jim Hecht (Fairly OddParents, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild) first optioned the book, he got the book to Adam McKay (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Vice, Don’t Look Up), and he got it to HBO and they said they would do a pilot I believe, I don’t know if the project was picked up then. They hired Max, Max called me and I said yes that I would want to be a part of it. That’s how it started.
AM: It’s an incredible cast and I love McKay films and the people that are in it. In terms of writing this where you had Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, how much source material did you have as I know players of that time as well as the franchise didn’t reach out to you on this. How did you coalesce these things all together to create this story and to provide that insider feel?
RB: Well we were really fortunate that book. So we studied a lot of books and Rick Fox, former Laker was our technical advisor, we talked to a lot of folks who were around the team at that time who worked for the organization, YouTube – we did a lot of research everywhere – articles anything that we could find. We sort of incorporated into the narrative and some stuff we had to tie in together for dramatization purposes.
AM: Obviously with the people that were involved, John C Reilly (Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Anchorman II: The Legend Continues), Jason Clarke (Brotherhood, Chappaquiddick, Silk Road), Rob Morgan (Stranger Things, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Don’t Look Up), Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother, Dispatches from Elsewhere, Hotel Artemis) and Adrien Brody (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Peaky Blinders, Succession) etc, there are actors in there where there is a lot of secret sauce. You have actors who were athletic but didn’t play basketball and having to do so for this role, having Quincy Isaiah play such a key and iconic person who was new to this platform, how did all of this come together to get that energy, to make an audience believe that these people who be playing this game even though they didn’t necessarily have this background?
RB: Francine Maisler (Uncut Gems, Being the Ricardos, Dune) is our casting director and she did a great job finding folks. Sometimes you get lucky like in the case of Quincy who is from Michigan and was an athlete – a football player. He had to lose 80lbs or so to come down to being able to have a Magic Johnson-like look. Solomon Hughes who plays, Kareem Adbul-Jabbar is an educator, is 7-feet tall, plays jazz and he played basketball on a professional level before. You just get lucky sometimes. I think that that’s across the board in finding people that not only have the talent but also the emotional stuff.
If you think about our players, they have to learn how to play the game because some had never played the game before, they had to be convincing to learn how to play a particular way that their character played, they had to go through physical training everyday and then they had to learn their lines and then they had to act. So there would be times when they would have to come from training, be on set, leave their work, leave set and go and play basketball everyday for however long – for a year or so. Then there is the training that went into it before hand and always having a good attitude about it as they were going. We got really really fortunate to find the folks that we found.
AM: When did you realize that you were going to be Maurice?
RB: I’ll tell you when I was working, Max was working on a movie called Worth in NY that’s on Netflix now. I was working on the first season of Wu-Tang: An American Saga. I was in Staten Island, he was in Manhattan. We would meet on the weekends and we would go over it with Jim Hecht and Rebecca Bertuch (Worth) and we would work on putting the show together. Every now and then, this name would pop up, Maurice, Maurice, Maurice – like who the hell is Maurice? Oh, you’re going to see and it was like an inside joke. They knew that I didn’t know. When we were officially on board and we started in the writer’s room in LA, we had all the pictures up of the actors on the wall and then there was a picture of me. I was like, “why is my picture on the wall?” They said, you’re going to play Maurice and I was like, “oh, ok – haha Maurice.” So Max actually wrote Maurice’s lines and the only scene that I had at one time was the scene with Pat Reily where I don’t let him in The Forum. I thought, “ok, I can do that, I’ve been a security guard my whole damn life!” I know how to say you can’t come in. You don’t even need to even write out the lines just let me stand there and I know how to not let you in some place. Then, all of a sudden, I started seeing Maurice pop up in other scripts! He's like a leprechaun where he sort of shows up in different places and I'm like, "why am I popping up?” and then I had a walk and talk which is very difficult as an actor because you have to walk, you have to think and you have to move which was in episode 5 where I had that scene. I was nervous about that scene. Actually, I messed up the scene that is on. I messed up a line but Gabby Hoffman (High Maintenance, Girls, Transparent) who plays Claire Rothman is so great, you would never know because she kept going and I kept going and so that was it and they cut and we went on with the day – but I messed up.
It's cool, the network likes it, everyone likes him and I think that Maurice is going to come back and probably say more words.
AM: We always like when he pops up!
RB: Well, thank you! As long as I stay big and relatively menacing and intimidating, Maurice will probably be around.
AM: What has been your biggest takeaway of being part of this particular project, seeing it come together and the reception of people loving this?
RB: Anytime you work hard at a thing for a long time that is intended to entertain people, you always want that to land the way it is intended so that people are entertained. I think that we’ve got a great reception and that people really seem to like it and it’s sort of gratifying because I and a lot of people give a lot when you do these sort of things and it’s not easily assembled. For me certainly being able to talk about African American culture as it pertains to sports in a way that is sort of elevated is always an honor. It’s a good thing.
AM: Well, you guys have been greenlit for a second season. What does that look like, what do you want to tackle – will it continue with these same players or will it be another part of Laker history or even another time in NBA history for a Winning Time situation?
RB: As of the moment, the plan is to continue on in the same narrative and to just keep telling the story as we have been. Even now, when we first started the process before, we were going in the third or fourth iteration of what you see on screen now – we were going to go a lot faster. Then, the decision was made during COVID to slow down the process of storytelling and we had to go back to the drawing board a couple of times to slow it down. I say all of that to say that you never know. We could speed up a couple of seasons, we can keep going the way that it is, but I think that the plan for now is to continue going in the direction that it is.
AM: One of the things that I enjoy especially with a lot of the HBO shows is that there is a companion podcast and literally, I can’t wait until Mon to listen to the show which drops right after the episode airs on Sun. I listen to JB Smoove and then I listen to your podcast. It’s great to get your insights, what’s going on – the Rob Morgan episode was really great to hear. Every episode is great as there are so many tidbits that can be enjoyed. How did you get attached to hosting this podcast and how much input do you have over who ends up being on the episode with you?
RB: Very similar to how I became Maurice. Somebody thought that it would be a good idea to have me do it and my first reaction was, I have never done a podcast before and they were like, “oh you can do it.” I think that I tried to back out a couple of times and they were like no just give it a shot. I think that I got better as time went on which is sort of the course of life, the more you do it, the better you get at the thing that you do. But, it also helps that I know everybody. Everybody that I have had on so far whether it was Snoop Dogg, Rob Morgan or Quincy, or Max or whoever, I know them. It’s like having a conversation with someone who is a friend and not so much like talking to someone who is a stranger.
They always ask me who I would like to have on and I try to spread it around between the cast members, but also the people behind the scenes. I had Todd Banhazl (Janelle Monae: Dirty Computer, They Call Me Magic, Hustlers), I had Max, I had Jim Hecht, Rebecca, I had Sarah Scott (Pam & Tommy, The Offer, The Flight Attendant) our intimacy coordinator. I had Idan Ravin whose the basketball coordinator. I had our director Salli Richardson (The Chi, Altered Carbon, The Wheel of Time) and Tanya Hamilton (Big Sky, The Deuce, Snowfall). I try to mix it up where you have one of the cast members and then someone who is a technical part of the team so that for people who are interested in being part of the business as one time I was, you can actually hear some of what they do and realize that there are a number of jobs besides the big 4 or 5 at producer, director, writer. There are a lot of other things to be done and some things may spark to someone and hopefully that podcast can help a little bit.
AM: We love seeing the birth of the NBA as we know it today as this entertainment platform with next level dancers, club lounges and had this came together with Dr. Buss. This has become the standard for what it means to go to a NBA game. Being able to hear more about Jack McKinney and his time with the Lakers. I knew he was a coach for the Pacers, but I didn’t know about his backstory. What is it that you want audiences to walk away with after watching this season or subsequent seasons?
RB: Always with our show, we have what you know and the thing that you can Google and find out. Who won the game, who lost the game and those types of things. But there’s also those things that you didn’t know. Like in the case of Jack McKinney, a lot of people had forgotten not just him, but the accident that he was in – the basketball accident and how that changed the course of the Lakers coaching dynamic. So, being able to tell some of those stories and show the Shakespearean dynamic of the coaching system with Paul West head and Pat Riley, most people know Pat Riley being the Lakers coach and they sort of identify with just him, but there were other guys too.
I think that the other side of that coin is Spencer Haywood who was a big part of NBA free agency and a lot of how we look at basketball today in the fact that we can look at James Harden and see him go from team to team to team or LeBron just being able to go to the Heat and all of that – a lot of that has to do with Spencer Haywood and going to court to battle for free agency rights for players. When I was growing up watching the NBA, I’m from Maryland so we had the Bullets, now the Wizards. Usually if a player got drafted, he played with one team for his entire career. It was big news when a player would move from one team to another.
Now, when you look at the change and the evolution both in the style of play when you look at the Showtime offense of Jack McKinney that evolved and to Spencer Haywood’s contribution, that you see in these 2 gentleman, it has a lot to do with the way that the game is played and it’s rarely recognized over the course of history. Anytime we can incorporate things that folks don’t know, it’s always a treat!
AM: Usually, when an episode concludes, we’re usually Googling about 4 things! It becomes a great way to understand how far the game has come in really such a short period of time and how things are so different and the shoulders that people stood on to get to where we are now.
RB: Exactly.
AM: Where did your love for comic books come from. You have Killadelphia that you’re writing, Marvel, Star Wars universes and Lucas Film Studios – where did this come from?
RB: The only inciting influence that I can find in my mind and my heart was that my mother was a school teacher. Before computers and all of that stuff, she would go to the public library to do her lesson plans and she would bring me. There was always this area where you would have kids like in a pen, your Cat in the Hat, Curious George books etc. I had no interest in any of those books because under those books was a box and in that box was comic books. I knew exactly where it was and I don’t think that they ever changed them in all the years that I went. I would just sit in the corner and read them for hours. It sort of became a thing where it was infectious you know? The moral throughline and some of the stories were more evolved than what my 5 or 6 year old mind could handle but I was intrigued by that idea. Then later, people would give them to me and my grandfather would call them funny books back then. They would give me a stack of them and it was a way to keep me quiet. Later on, when I would have odd jobs, I would buy them. This was during a period of time where you could get comic books anywhere – the convenience store, liquor store, virtually any place that had a spinner rack full of comics. Now, you have to go to a comic shop on Wed to get them. But back then, they were readily available and they were only 20 cents or a quarter. Now they’re $4 if not more.
It was just a love that just evolved along with my life. In the beginning, it was mostly about the art and the story. Then in my teen and later years, there were guys like Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing) and Grant Morrison (Doom Patrol, New X-Men, Fantastic Four 1234) and Frank Miller (Daredevil, The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City), they sort of made it like literature and evolved into something that was more serious and that kept me involved and then later television and film like most people. So there has always been this relationship.
When I was younger, I tried to write comics professionally, but couldn’t find a way in. Like a lot of things that I’m sure people feel with television and film, it’s a tough nut to crack. But even more so back then, there weren’t a whole lot of African American characters and there wasn’t a big indie space when I was coming up. It was just Marvel and DC and every once in a while there’d be a new company that would pop in. They didn’t have the same distribution chain as DC so you were relegated to those 10 characters maybe if there were 10. I think that a lot of times, companies back then felt like unless you were writing for a character of color, what’s the point of hiring this person? So for me, I wanted to take a shot at writing a comic so when I was on the show Runaways which was a Marvel show, they liked my work and I sort of leveraged the appreciation of my work to say, “hey if you guys have any relationship with Marvel Publishing, I’d love to write a comic book.” They gave me Falcon. I quickly realized that I had no idea what the hell I was doing or how to write a comic book. I just took my shot. It was received ok-ish. Then again like the podcast, I kept doing it again and again and again and I got better and better and better at it and then I had the idea for Killadelphia and started a whole new thing. Now I write 10 books a month and I have my own company and it’s taken on a life all of it’s own.
AM: Which is amazing and I know in looking at your IG, you were talking about The Mandalorian which I’m a fan of. You have a project coming out in June – can you tell us more?
RB: Yes, it’s June the 22nd, The Mandalorian adaptation of the TV show and it’s the first adaptation that Marvel and Lucas Film have done with a project. It’s basically straight adaptation of that story. They don’t let you deviate too far from the story because it’s Star Wars cannon and you can’t really interfere or add new things because it’s connected to the television show. So I basically do my version of the television show would be.
AM: It’s still very cool though!
RB: Yes, it’s an honor to play in that space.
I just finished IG-88 Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters and I did Lando Double or Nothing earlier. I love to play in the space. I have a Luke Cage short that’s coming up and maybe a Luke Cage miniseries coming up for Marvel. So anytime you get to play in that space, it’s always fun because it’s such a big fan base that you get to connect with that many people is always an honor.
AM: You created Zombie Love Studio which deals with creating original graphic novels and things of that nature, what are some things coming out of there that you want to highlight?
RB: The first book is Blacula, a reboot of the Blacula character from Blaxploitation era in Oct/Nov which should be dropping then. I also have another book, Florence and Normandie and alien attack story that takes place on the corner of Florence and Normandie famous because of the Rodney King riots that started from there. I’m writing that with Xzibit. I have Tales from the Crip with Snoop Dogg which is the Crip Keeper. I have a book called Crownsville which is set in one of the first black mental asylums in America that’s a ghost story.
There's a bunch of other things that we’re developing that are moving along. There aren’t enough hours in the day, but I’m really excited about it all and it’s coming together slowly but surely.
AM: The depth of what you’ve done is truly phenomenal. What are things on your bucket list that you have yet to do or areas that you want to put into that body of work that you haven’t but that you’re still interested in tackling.
RB: Well certainly, developing the Zombie Love books and Killadelphia and things like that into my Substack page where I do 4 of the books. 3 that are connected to the Killadelphia world which is the book that I do at Image. There are 3 books that I do at Image, Killadelphia, Nita Hawes’ Nightmare Blog and Monarch an alien attack miniseries that I am doing. My Substack page has 3 other series, Johnny Gatlin who is a gun slinger in hell and hell is like the Wild West. 20 Degrees Past Rigor which is a zombie story set in Flint, Michigan where zombies are connected to the polluted waters of Flint. The Butcher of Black Bottom which is a serial killer story set in 1920’s Black Bottom section of Detroit. Then there’s Elysium Gardens which is in the back of Killadelphia which has an ongoing story on a Substack page. So, there are those books as well. There’s a lot of stuff and next, I hope to adopt a lot of those things into other forms of media whether it’s animated, live action or television or those kinds of things.
AM: Because you have so many projects that are just in constant rotation, how do you deal with the overlap? Do you have to be at a certain point before you take other things on – do you slice it up like a pizza and mix it the best that you can?
RB: Ha! That’s basically it. I try to tackle each thing as the day comes at me. I usually get up at 4 in the morning and then I start writing and I get the comic book stuff done in the morning. Then I tackle my day jobs like Winning Time or anything else that I have in front of me and I take it as the day comes. Whoever is yelling the most that is owed the thing to them – so yeah! Whoever’s voice is the loudest at the moment!
AM: I think that the time that we’re living in right now, although there is still a need for a lot more representation, to think of myself now versus the younger me who wouldn’t have thought to know that there would be an Ava Du Vernay (A Wrinkle in Time, Queen Sugar, Girls Trip), yourself, Shonda Rhimes (Bridgerton, Inventing Anna, Grey’s Anatomy) all these people that are moving storytelling forward. How important is it for you to reflect that in your work and to have POC be able to see themselves as well as for others to understand why they need to be an ally and to make these spaces more open?
RB: Well I think it’s important because the world doesn’t connect in the same way anymore like physically. We don’t talk to each other the way that we used to and it wasn’t perfect back then either. It’s more important than ever to be able to tell stories that have a ring of truth or some semblance of honesty. That way you get to see people as they are good, bad and indifferent more so than as a caricature or something that feels contrived in some way. I think that a lot of the biases that we hold with each other comes from those depictions. I know since 1619, a concerted effort was made speaking directly to African American culture to make us less than human. There’s one idea of being less than human, but you have to reinforce that on a regular basis. So you either make them caricatures or villains – one extreme or the other. If that idea has the ability to sort of ferment for 400 years or more then you’re at a place where it almost becomes truth because you’re so used to seeing that be the case.
So when you have this culture that is fighting for a slice of the pie or some semblance for respect and dignity, living in a culture and you’re sort of burdened by living with that depiction. It's really a hard thing to overcome because then even the culture itself starts to believe it – is this who I am and some people do. That can be problematic in its own way because you start to devalue yourself and people who look like you.
So I think that the more folks that can get in for various gender, sexual orientation, race or whatever it may be – to be able to speak to your truth in an honest way cannot only help you and the group that you’re in but also people outside of that group so that they have a better understanding of who you are and the struggle that you navigate just to be a human being and to have a human experience.
AM: Who are 3 people that you feel were profound, instrumental or helpful to be in your career?
RB: Damon Wayans (My Wife and Kids, Lethal Weapon, Major Payne) is always first! He was the first person that gave me an opportunity to work on a television show. Were it not for him, I wouldn’t be here. Don Reo (Everybody Hates Chris, Two and a Half Men, The Ranch) who was the showrunner and creator with Damon on My Wife and Kids. He helped take whatever raw ability I had and allowed me into a space in a way that pushed me to a space where I was able to see for myself what I had to do. I’m eternally grateful to him as well. I have to say that there is a tie for number 3 Allen Hughes (Dead Presidents, Menace II Society, The Book of Eli) of the Hughes Brothers, a director. He helped me to bridge art and commerce. He gave me an opportunity to write in a different type of way and helped me find my way of doing art. He was very supportive in that. Then, Max Borenstein who is our showrunner on Winning Time who sort of did the same thing but in a different way. There’s a push sometimes that you need to get out of where you have been to where you want to be and Max was very helpful in being able to push me. Beyond him pushing me, was me pushing me as well. There are a lot of other people and if you had given me 10 or 20, I could have continued on with other people who have helped me even if it was just survival – that’s important as well. So when it comes to writing and being a professional writer, those people come to mind.
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 78 Warrick Page/HBO MAX | PG 81 - 85 STARZ/American Gods | PG 87 + 88 STARZ/Heels | PG 91 -102 HBO MAX/Winning Time |
Read the APR ISSUE #77 of Athleisure Mag and see IT’S ALL JUST STORY | Rodney Barnes in mag.
THE LEGACY CONTINUES | TITUS WELLIVER
We've been fans of Prime Video's Bosch where we follow along as Harry Bosch solves a number of cases regardless of how many feathers he ruffles in the process. On May 6th, the story continues on Amazon FreeVee with Bosch: Legacy. We see how Bosch continues to fight for victims as his daughter Maddie Bosch continues to walk in her father's steps and how he will reconnect with former nemesis, Honey Chandler.
We enjoy the way Titus Welliver leans into his characters and draws us in. Whether it's his work in ABC's Lost, FX's Sons of Anarchy, HBO's Deadwood and countless other TV shows and movies, we know that Titus is going to leave quite a memory with us in the characters that he plays.
We talked with him about becoming an actor, working in the industry and taking on Bosch which comes from a series of books written by Michael Connelly.
ATHLEISURE MAG: What was the moment that you realized that you wanted to be an actor?
TITUS WELLIVER: Oh boy, you know, I think I was born acting. I don’t know about that, I think it’s difficult or I can say, it was right after I realized I didn’t want to be a firefighter or a policeman anymore like all little boys do.
Actually, there was a filmmaker named Rudy Burckhardt and he made some films and he asked me to be in a film of his when I was about 5 and it was a very simple little bit where I played a little boy that had a shiny penny in his pocket and he was walking down a road. He had a hole in his pocket and he lost the penny and the penny was stolen from him by this stingy old man. I remember sort of thinking that it was kind of fun, but I didn’t really consider it any further than that. I did some little bits in school plays and things like that.
I really was initially trained to be a painter – a fine artist, that’s really what I wanted to do. But I always had an interest certainly in film and I watched a lot of television. I was spending a summer with my mother – she was living in Boston, but I didn’t go to school there so I didn’t have any friends there and I didn’t know any kids there. She was living in an area where there just wasn’t that kind of accessibility and I was sort of left to my own devices which meant I was just going to the Cineplex – to the movies all day long. She signed me up at a place called The Actors Workshop in Boston and I was 14 years old. I was reluctant, I wasn’t a camp kid, I liked sports camps and things like that. I went and after the first day, I came back to my mother and asked her if I could do more days of that. I ended up doing 5 days a week and it was a professional school for both adult and kid actors. I did that and I spent the summer doing that, but I still stayed on the trajectory that I was going to go to art school and I painted and I studied and studied.
I did a few productions in high school and enjoyed doing that and after a year of art school, I was left kind of cold to a certain degree and I had a conversation with my father who very directly said to me, “you know, when you’re not thinking about girls and drinking beer, what do you think about?” I said, “I think about acting.” My father said, “so not painting?”and I said no. He told me that I needed to be an actor. That was kind of it!
AM: What’s your process like when you’re thinking of attaching yourself to projects? We’ve enjoyed seeing your in Deadwood, Sons of Anarchy and of course Bosch – what are you looking for?
TW: Well, when you’re starting out, it’s about paying your bills, but also gaining experience. I mean, I did a lot of teeny tiny parts in plays, in short films and things because I was just trying to learn and gain that experience. So there’s that, but I think that more then anything, it starts with the writing. I've read a lot of bad scripts and I have acted in a few. But when the material is good, then it’s on! Then you realize that you’re in the presence of some material that’s going to challenge you and also that it will hopefully teach you something. Because I always say, I like to be in a constant state of learning and getting better. I think that with time, age and experience, the hope is that we evolve and certainly as artists, otherwise, you get kind of bored and you go and do something else. I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate that I have worked with great writers, producers and directors over the years – David Milch (Deadwood, NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues) and Steven Bochco (NYPD Blue, Doogie Howser, M.D., Brooklyn South) to name a few and here I landed with Michael Connelly (The Lincoln Lawyer, The Dark Hours, The Poet) and Eric Overmyer (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, The Affair) and Tom Bernardo (Bosch, Bosch: Legacy) – a very gifted and dynamic group of people. To be given the opportunity to play this very iconic character, he’s kind of like Santa Claus for an actor, he goes down the chimney every time that I go to work and it’s nice.
AM: We’ve been a fan of Michael Connelly books for a number of years so when Bosch went to Prime Video it was exciting and then that you were going to play the title character, we knew that it was going to be so good. How did that come together for you to be part of this?
TW: Well, I was initially sent the script and I read it very quickly. I had only read one of the Bosch books many many years prior to. Unbeknownst to me, my younger brother had read and re-read the books and to this day possesses a kind of encyclopedic knowledge of Bosch as well as everything that Michael has written.
Through a series of mishaps, I kept trying to meet with Michael and the meetings kept getting pushed off and I was shooting Transformers: Age of Extinction which had me traveling all over the place in Chicago, Michigan and then Hong Kong. We just kept missing. I got a call a couple of months later from my manager who told me that I had a little window and Michael Connelly was in town and I would be able to meet with him. At that point, I thought that that boat had sailed as it had been a couple of months that had passed. I went in and met with him and the producers and the director and I was – as my grandmother would say, I was blessed at that moment. I left that audition feeling good, but you know, I have been doing this long enough and have enough humility to know that that’s all you can do. I got the call from my manager that I had been cast as Bosch and to say that I was thrilled was an understatement. It was just more realized after the first day of shooting that I knew I was part of something that was different. I’ve played other cop characters and I’ve done lots of procedural cop shows. Look, when you’re doing something from the ground up, it’s tricky but, when you have source material, like Michael Connelly’s books, you have to work really hard to mess it up. You know, in less capable hands, it could be very very messed up. The temptation to sex things up for a lack of a better word – to have him wearing Brioni suits, driving a fast car and jumping in and out of bed like James Bond, I was relieved that there was never any kind of consideration to do anything because I have always felt that if it ain’t broke, there’s no need to fix it.
Because of the ways that Amazon and the executives work which is at the beginning of the studios, they have a prime directive which is to get the material, but then to delegate the process to the creative people and not to micromanage. They delegated to people that they knew that they trusted. They really did that and they stood behind the show. When we needed things, they always showed up. Because we had such a great group of writers and producers, we were excited by the acceptance and the invitation into people’s homes for the show and the success of the show. But I think that we always felt that it speaks back to what I said in evolving and learning. I felt that the show just continued to get better and better and here we are now in Bosch: Legacy which is a continuation of the work we have been doing for all of these years.
AM: For those who might need a refresher, where did we leave Bosch in season 7 and where do we pick up with him again as we continue his saga in Bosch: Legacy?
TW: Well, Harry’s you know in the last season of Bosch, he’s so completely fed up and disenfranchised that he gives his badge to the Chief of Police and says he’s done. There’s a great line that Irving (Lance Reddick – Bosch, John Wick franchise, The Wire) says to him in that moment, he says, “who are you gonna be if you’re not a cop and you don’t have a badge, who are you going to be?” Harry says, “I guess we’ll find out.” In the final scenes for a little Easter egg scene, we find Harry filling out his paperwork to become a private investigator.
We pick up a little over a year later after that season and Harry is working as a private eye, but he’s doing divorce cases and things here and there. It’s not like he’s got this bustling business and Maddie (Madison Lintz – The Walking Dead, Bosch, Bosch: Legacy) has joined the force and has been on the force for awhile. She’s still working with a training officer, so she’s a boot and she’s trying to find her own legs, but she’s Harry’s daughter and it’s really in her DNA, she carries a lot of the work ethic and the same characteristics and has the same moral compass as well as independent thinker which places her at odds, but she’s out there doing it. We find Chandler (Mimi Rogers – Mad Men, Bosch, Bosch: Legacy) sort of reeling from the very serious PTSD from almost being killed and the person who orchestrated her attempted assassination and Maddie’s looks like he’s going to go free.
You find that everybody is in these states of being kind of fractured and broken. You know, Harry is untethered, he's kind of wandering and he's always been a kind of an isolated character, but he's more isolated than ever now. Maddie, as she’s navigating it, she’s also trying to come into her own because Harry’s legacy has cast a very, very big shadow and that’s not all great! Harry’s reputation was one of being a closer and a great detective, but he pissed a lot of people off because he was a very direct guy and not exactly user friendly. The name Bosch on her uniform is not necessarily a great thing and she doesn’t use her father’s reputation as commerce within the department. So we find these characters really navigating things at the same time and interacting so it doesn’t necessarily feel like it’s a triptych, everything intertwines. But it’s also not like you have Maddie, Chandler and Harry having dinner at the house together – it’s not contrived like that. They’re all living their different lives and they’re all finding their way.
AM: How excited are you in being able to continue this story?
TW: I’m very excited and the idea when we were shooting the final season of Bosch, there was a heaviness for everyone involved. We had become very very close like a family as productions do and we were all invested and were very, very connected and committed to our characters and to the show and so when the opportunity presented itself that we would continue, obviously with a smaller ensemble cast and the ability to focus more on 3 central characters, but still bring in the characters that people know and love that populate the Harry Bosch universe – it’s a thrill! I’m very excited for the show to come out there because the fans of the show that have been so incredibly supportive over the years are really eager and hungry and they want to see what it’s going to be like. I have confidence that we will meet and surpass their expectations.
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT | PG 46 - 51 + 55 Prime Video/Bosch | PG 52 Amazon FreeVee/Bosch: Legacy |
Read the APR ISSUE #77 of Athleisure Mag and see THE LEGACY CONTINUES | Titus Welliver in mag.
BINGELY STREAMING
JULIA
Max Original
HBO Max
We have watched PBS' The French Chef, watched Julie & Julia and have read a number of books. There is so much to learn about Julia Child's story and HBO Max's Julia delves in by covering the beginning days of her public access TV show off the success of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
We see her creating her show behind the scenes, brokering a deal to even getting it on air, innovations that were created for this show that have become staples on our favorite shows and more. We learn the process of writing cookbooks, what's involved in testing recipes as well as what it's like working with publishers. We also meet culinary figures like James Beard as well as known writers like John Updike.
In addition to looking at the beginnings of celebrity chefs and the kinds of portfolios that we have come to know about them, we watch Julia navigate these spheres that didn't have a rule book, the importance of working with friends and family in order to get to where she got to and the importance of her legacy. We highly suggest listening to the official companion podcast, Dishing with Julia after each episode hosted by Kerry Diamond of Cherry Bombe.
THE ULTIMATUM: MARRY OR MOVE ON
Netflix Original Series
Netflix
We enjoyed seeing Love is Blind which hosted and executive produced by Nick and Vanessa Lachey. They're back with a new show, The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On where couples who have dated for 2 years call an ultimatum where they get married or they go their separate ways. We hear from each couple on which one made the ultimatum or why they feel they need more time.
The couples meet one another, spend time to see who they want to live with for 3 weeks, then they connect with their significant other for 3 weeks and then a decision is made. This is yet another social experiment that delves into interpersonal relationships and is worth continuing to the reunion show as well.
POWER: DON KING
Somethin' Else
Spotify
We enjoyed POWER by Somethin' Else where they focused on The Maxwells as well as Hugh Hefner. Season 3 focuses on boxing promoter Don King from his early days, handling the careers of Muhammad Ali, Roy Jones Jr and Mike Tyson, his fall from the sport and how his business models have found their way to UFC as well as content creators who have found their way to the sport.
Read the APR ISSUE #76 of Athleisure Mag and see Bingely Streaming in mag.