Is HBO's The Pitt about to dominate the Emmys?

0:00Tonight's Emmy Awards could tell us a lot about where television is headed next. We have HBO's The Pit, leading all nominees, Apple TV Plus chasing what could be its biggest Emmy night ever, as well as plenty of new stars looking to break through. Tonight we'll find out which shows and streaming services are shaping television. Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Exorb. I'm Dana Taylor. Here to dish on all things Emmys with me is USA Today Senior Entertainment correspondent Ralphie Averset. It's always good to have you here Ralphie. Thanks Dana. HBO's The Pit, intersting night as the nomination leader with 25. Is this already the defining TV story of the year and also what would a pit sweep actually mean for television? Well I think it potentially could be after this evening for sure.

1:00Obviously there are already in the mix of filming season three of this hit HBO series also. And it really in so many different ways highlighting the plight of first responders and healthcare workers. Obviously you talk about Noah Wilde as well and kind of his resurgence and his comeback. And then there's so many other like ancillary stories, whether it's a tall Anderson who had stopped by USA Today, the autistic actress who earned an Emmy nomination, whether it's Taylor Deerden as well, the neurodivergent actress who also earned an Emmy nomination. Catherine Llanassa who I've gotten to know a little bit now since her nomination last year, she won last year her first ever Emmy. This long career that she's had where she really grinded, she really struggled. She told me about how her husband would stay up with her at midnight. They'd be doing self tape auditions in the living room, not that long ago mind you. And now she's really this celebrated actress that's continuing to receive roles that the

2:05self tape audition days I'm pretty sure are done for Ms. Llanassa. And you know, again, we talk about the different storylines. Catherine, I think is kind of leading this group of actresses who let's face it. These women who are not in their 20s or 30s. They have a difficult time finding work in Hollywood and when they do, they're usually pigeonholed into certain roles. And Catherine's kind of leading this new movement where that no longer isn't the case. I mean, certainly again, you know, as far as women in Hollywood, I think there is still some work to be done, but it's been great to see actresses like herself have this kind of success. So yeah, for so many reasons, the pit has been a huge story and certainly could be even more of a big story after tonight with its 25 nominations. Apple TV has a shot at its biggest any year to date, both Lito's Bay and Puribus are contenders. See that free times fast. Is Apple having a Netflix or HBO moment? Where do they land in that conversation now?

3:07I mean, I think they're right there with them. And you got to remember, too, you even go back to past Emmys with Severance and with the studio and with Ted Lasso. I mean, Apple TV, Apple TV, plus they've been really in the mix. You know, I look at it as far as just from a live TV perspective, you know, we've seen HBO Max and obviously they're different because they're a part of Warner Bros. Discovery for now. Okay, we get that. Netflix obviously has certainly gone into live as well. But I think when you're talking about the overall streamers, that's probably the one piece of the puzzle that Apple TV is still trying to nail down. We've seen them go into the sports rights universe, obviously with Major League Soccer, which they kind of redid that and took that package off of a paywall now Friday night baseball. They have a baseball package as well with MLB. We'll see if they can get into maybe the NFL front as well as some of these other contracts expire and the NFL looks to continue its TV rating dominance. But no, once again, shown here with this Emmys, the aforementioned shows that you talk

4:11about, they have a lot of star power and they have shows that are that are critically acclaimed, including one that still has a 100% rotten tomato rating as well. Pluribus. Okay. What is Bay racked up an impressive 19 nominations? Does that signal changing audience taste? I mean, it's a strange show. And do they have a shot at pulling off an upset tonight? Well, all right. As far as the upset, I'm not 100% sure. As far as audience tastes, I do think it signals a change in audience taste, but not necessarily from a genre standpoint. I've talked about this with so many different content creators, whether it's authors who have their works adapted for television or directors or actors or so on and so forth. And the common thread that I hear from everybody is that they just enjoy so much the flexibility that streaming gives them. You know, they're not pigeonholed into a certain amount of time and a certain block and you

5:12got to hit these marks and you have to run so many episodes to cover a fall season or a spring season or both. And obviously then the release of the show is pigeonholed into a certain time. All of that is pretty much out the window with the streamers. You're really just talking about a budget and then however they seem fit. If it's a limited series, it's a limited series. If it's multiple seasons and obviously there's audience support for that, there's multiple seasons. So I think that's the biggest change is that and certainly we saw this, especially during COVID and maybe a little prior to that when it came to binge watching. But I think now we're also seeing these different creatives kind of really think, excuse the cliche, but outside of the box and the streamers kind of afford them this opportunity where they could do that and still be financially supported. Okay, we have to talk about hacks and Jean Smart. Does she win one more out the door? Yes. Yes.

6:13That one, that prediction I have no problem giving you. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, again, you talk about actors, actresses who we have love to celebrate at these award shows and Jean Smart's right up there. You talk with her colleagues at hacks and they, they sing her praises as well. They love working with her. And I do think that that's important, especially when you're number one on the call sheet. This is a conversation that I have with a number of leading actors and actresses. You know, you got to set the tone on set. And when you're on a TV show like this, which has been on for a number of seasons and then obviously you're a part of all of these awards campaigns and you're getting together for those as well. You do really become a family and Jean has certainly led that family if she's the matriarch. So be it. She is the matriarch. Yes, I do think she gets one out the door though for the show. Of course, we're not, we're not setting Jean in the retirement yet if she doesn't want to. Just as far as the final season of hacks. Most newer as Olivia Benson from Law and Order SVU, but tonight she's running the show. It's already been a big year for Mariska Hargote. Hasn't it?

7:13Are you talking about the fact that she took a night off from Broadway to go to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey's wedding? What are we now? I'm just, I'm just joking. Of course, it does seem like, you know, especially being here based in New York that it has been a great year. Again, we mentioned Mariska's run on Broadway. Obviously her nicks fandom. We saw her court side for pretty much that entire playoff run. Her and Jalen Brunson just announced as he'll be the first guest host of Saturday Night Live, the new season. That's coming up and obviously their relationship. Well documented, law and order SVU and let's go ahead and throw the Emmys right into the mix as well. She is such a beloved figure. And so I am very curious to see how she's going to open the show. What kind of host she's going to be and how she's going to be received. My guess, if you ask for a prediction, you didn't. I'll give it to you anyways, Dana. I think that I don't think she's going to be too political. I don't think she's going to be too polarizing.

8:14That said, I do think she will be well received at the end of the night. So most of the Emmys are going to be handed out tonight, but there have been some early winners. So I'm going to far seems to be the posthumous Emmy for Rob Reiner, his role in the bear. Any other early winners you want to talk about? Shanley Woodley is certainly one and that was, I saw that all over my social feeds. Sabrina Carpenter is another and the third bad bunny and the halftime show of course as well. So we'll give you those three right there. I think that were cool and it was nice to kind of see the creative Emmys get more of a light shine down it. Jimmy Kimmel also who is in the headlines. He also won for Best Game Show host for who wants to be a millionaire. So you know that, that'll be another interesting part of the primetime Emmys to see the late nighthouse as well in addition to SNL, John Oliver, you know, all of those folks. It's always nice to catch up with them on the right carpet and we'll see who comes home

9:15with hardware after tonight. Well, you're usually the person that I look for on the right carpet. I want to see what you're wearing. Tonight it's going to be Zendaya. I want to see what she wears. You've worked enough of them to know that there's always one celebrity that everyone crowds around as we head into tonight. Who's that person and why? Well, look, Zendaya, we talk about people who've had quite the years, quite the summers. Zendaya, I mean, with the Odyssey and with the new Spider-Man and with this, you know, like I, we could say they're married now, right? Have we like all but confirmed that? I mean, her stylist did. That's the thing when you bring up Zendaya, I mean, her stylist has become as much, maybe not as much of a star as her, but certainly a bold face name, law, roach. And so people will be crowding around Zendaya. They're going to be crowding around law as well, especially if Zendaya's got a train and he's following her, you know, down the carpet as he did, by the way, as I watched him do at the Odyssey premiere.

10:15So yeah, look, you know, the Emmys do like to on occasion, throw it back and kind of get a number of, you know, cast members from past popular shows together. So it'll be interesting to see the manner in which they do that this evening. But look, yeah, Zendaya absolutely, Mariska Hargote, the host I think as well would be another off the top of my head and we'll go from there. This is a bigger industry question for you, but from prestige dramas like The Pit, to horror comedies like Beef, what kind of TV is winning right now? I do think that comedy still plays well. I think people want to laugh, especially in this day and age. You know, and certainly if it's comedy that isn't necessarily touching on any political notes or any notes that maybe hit too close to home for fractured relationships, we'll call them. So I think that certainly works. And I do, you know, see again, as we talk about kind of how these creatives through

11:17streaming are able to kind of expand their horizons a little bit and not necessarily be restricted by what they used to be restricted for when it came to, you know, cable television or broadcast television. And I do think genre bending certainly has become popular as well. Limited series, again, we talk about binging those seem to also hit because they're so digestible compared to a series that, you know, maybe has five seasons and it's a little daunting to start at the top. So yeah, those are the trends certainly that jump out for me as we look ahead to the Emmys tonight. While few versus a senior entertainment correspondent for USA Today, always love having you on. Thank you, Ralphie. Thanks, Dana. Be sure to like and subscribe to the excerpt to stay connected. I'm Dana Taylor. Thanks for listening. Every great company has a story.

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