With Emmy nominations set to be unveiled next week (7/15), SHOOT looks back on its current “The Road To Emmy” Series of feature stories thus far, touching upon directorial debuts that could figure in the mix for recognition from the Television Academy.

Last month in two separate installments of our coverage, we delved into four notable first turns in the director’s chair: Yellowjackets (Showtime) co-creator and co-showrunner Bart Nickerson who directed the first and finale episodes of season 3; Long Bright River (Peacock) co-creator, showrunner and writer Nikki Toscano who helmed the “Hereditary” episode of the limited series; Jessica Lee Gagné, the cinematographer on seasons 1 and 2 of Severance (Apple TV+) who both directed and shot the pivotal second season episode “Chikhai Bardo”; and David Tedeschi, who had some prior co-directing gigs before bowing as a solo director with the documentary Beatles ‘64 (Disney+).

Here are highlights from SHOOT’s original coverage of these auspicious directing debuts:

Bart Nickerson
Striking a narrative balance between the past and the present–each informing the other, perhaps most profoundly in season 3–is a delicate proposition that’s been deftly handled by a Yellowjackets team headed by creators/showrunners/executive producers/writers Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson.

The latter, though, added further to the juggling act by placing another role on his multitasking plate as Nickerson made his directorial debut during season 3, helming the first episode and the impactful, eventful finale.

“Directing has always been an aspiration of mine, something I dabbled in a million years ago,”... Read More