Next Wednesday (7/8) at the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre in North Hollywood, Calif., Emmy-winning actors Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear) and Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere) will announce the nominations for the 78th Emmy® Awards. Television Academy chair Cris Abrego will host the nominations ceremony which could very well see several shows in their final season add to their Emmy pedigrees–such as The Boys (Prime Video), Euphoria (HBO), Hacks (HBO Max) and Stranger Things (Netflix).
Hacks, which scored 62 Emmy nominations and 12 wins across its first four seasons, looms large for its fifth and final go-around. SHOOT’s The Road To Emmy coverage of the series dates back to an early interview with series co-creator Lucia Aniello whose work on the pilot won her comedy writing and directing Emmy Awards in 2021, and then writing and outstanding comedy series Emmys in 2024.
Stranger Things amassed 57 Emmy nominations and a dozen wins from seasons 1-4. In part 5 of this year’s SHOOT The Road To Emmy coverage, we connected with Stranger Things visual effects supervisor Betsy Patterson who shared her reflections on the show’s fifth and final season.
Euphoria has earned 25 Emmy nominations and nine wins during its first two seasons. In part 6 of this year’s The Road To Emmy coverage, cinematographer Marcell Rév. HCA, ASC shed light on his close-knit collaborative relationship with writer-director Sam Levinson.
And The Boys has garnered 12 Emmy nominations and four wins over its first four seasons. In part 6 of this year’s The Road To Emmy coverage, SHOOT touched base with specialty costume designer/associate producer Laura Jean Shannon and costume designer Michael Ground for insights into The Boys–Shannon’s perspective dating all the way back to season 1 as the first hire of series creator Eric Kripke.
New entrants
Swinging from the swan song end of the continuum to newcomers, among the notables are: Vince Gilligan’s dystopian sci-fi drama Pluribus (Apple TV); the first season of Ryan Murphy’s Love Story anthology series, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette (FX); and the limited series Lord of the Flies (Netflix), based on the classic 1954 novel by William Golding.
Pluribus is being touted as a leading Emmy contender, to the point where some projections have it garnering one of the highest nominations tallies this year–including for best drama series, directing, writing, and recognition for the performances of actors Rhea Seehorn, Carlos-Manuel Vesga and Karolina Wydra.
Another show ranking high in the nomination predictions derby is Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. Part 6 of SHOOT’s The Road To Emmy coverage featured Pepe Avila del Pino, AMC, one of three DPs on the first season of the anthology series. The contributions of del Pino included lensing the much talked-about, Gillian Robespierre-directed sixth episode, “The Wedding,” re-creating the nuptials of JFK Jr. (portrayed by Paul Anthony Kelly) and Bessette (Sarah Pidgeon).
Also prominent in this season’s Emmy conversation has been Lord of the Flies, screenwriter/executive producer Jack Thorne’s four-part limited series which debuted earlier this year on the BBC and then began streaming in May on Netflix. Lord of the Flies has already earned critical acclaim, including a Gotham TV Award nomination in the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series category. In part 1 of SHOOT’s The Road To Emmy coverage, we heard from Lord of the Flies director/exec producer Marc Munden and cinematographer Mark Wolf, BSC. (Thorne famously collaborated with writer-actor-producer Stephen Graham to create last year’s lauded Adolescence–directed by Philip Barantini and winner of eight primetime Emmys in 2025, including for Outstanding Limited Series.)
Something overdue
In addition to something old (The Boys, Euphoria, Hacks, Stranger Things) and something new (Pluribus, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, Lord of the Flies), this year’s Emmy banter includes something which many regarded as long overdue–namely the second season of The Night Manager (Prime Video).
Season 2 arrived 10 years after the first season, which garnered assorted accolades including a dozen Emmy nominations in 2016, with Susanne Bier winning for best director and composer Victor Reyes for best original score.
In part 5 of this year’s The Road To Oscar Series, SHOOT caught up with director Georgi Banks-Davies who embraced the challenge of a second season for The Night Manager. Banks-Davies had long been a fan of John le Carré whose 1993 novel “The Night Manager” was the impetus for the original series, adapted by David Farr. Furthermore, Banks-Davies was drawn to Farr–an Emmy nominee for best writing on a limited series on the strength of season 1–who agreed to take on season 2. After all, Farr had earned the trust of le Carré who passed away in 2020 at the age of 89. Now Farr was tasked with expanding on le Carré’s book for season 2, staying true to the late author’s spirit while opening up a new narrative horizon.
And it was the promise of such a new horizon that enticed Banks-Davies. Season 2 wasn’t a bid to re-create or emulate season 1. That’s a proposition which invariably fails, observed Banks-Davies. Instead Farr and the producing team, which included le Carré’s two sons, encouraged Banks-Davies to give season 2 her own perspective, to respond to the new script in “a completely fresh” manner. Plus she had the benefit of returning cast members, including Tom Hiddleston as protagonist Jonathan Pine (aka Alex Goodwin), the former British military man whom we originally encountered as the night manager of a hotel in a foreign country. Having Hiddleston–a best leading actor Emmy nominee for season 1–aboard for season 2 provided a character “stability you can push,” related Banks-Davies. It served as a foundation upon which “you can build a Jenga that can become even more precarious, picking up on a series 10 years later.”
Another opportunity particularly alluring to Banks-Davies was that she would direct all six episodes of season 2. There was no showrunner, said Banks-Davies. The series instead was built like a movie in that there would be one director, one writer (Farr) and a creative executive producer (Stephen Garrett), forming “a creative triangle.” Plus there was the benefit of having more than the two or so hours normally allotted for a movie. Instead she had a bountiful six episodes worth of storytelling time to develop characters and the narrative.
Looking back on the return of The Night Manager, Banks-Davies said the experience reinforced something she’s long known–”never underestimate how brilliant actors are. They make or break everything you’re doing. When you can create a company of supportive, trusting, vulnerable, brave actors, that’s everything. That’s your heart. You’ve always got that heart beating.”
This is the eighth installment of SHOOT’s weekly 15-part The Road To Emmy Series of feature stories, connecting with directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, production designers, VFX talent and assorted other artisans to gain insights into their work and their collaborators. Emmy nominations will be announced and covered on July 8. Coverage of the Creative Arts Emmy winners will appear on September 5 and 6, and we will report on winners at the primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on September 14.
