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Emmy Roundtables

Spies, Killers and Internet Daddies: Pedro Pascal, Kieran Culkin and the THR Drama Actor Roundtable

It was a Saturday afternoon in late April, and the writers strike was looming, if not inevitable. Still, the six men gathered in L.A. for The Hollywood Reporter’s annual Drama Actor Emmy Roundtable showed no signs of panic. In fact, The Old Man’s Jeff Bridges and Dahmer’s Evan Peters were busy sharing breathing exercises, while […]

Comedy Brand The Second City Names Sesame Workshop Veteran Ed Wells CEO (Exclusive)

The Second City has a new CEO. The venerable improv comedy brand that launched the careers of people like Bill Murray, Tina Fey, John Belushi and Stephen Colbert and Gilda Radner, has hired Ed Wells as its new chief executive, effective this month. Wells joins The Second City from Sesame Workshop, where he was executive […]

Lizzo, Jonathan Van Ness, Padma Lakshmi and THR’s Reality Roundtable Talk Guilty Pleasures, Crying on Camera and Underboob Sweat

The level of talent (and comic timing) at The Hollywood Reporter‘s Reality Emmy Roundtable was in no short supply, but there was still a moment of giddy reverence when one particular participant entered the chat. Will Arnett (Fox’s Lego Masters), Nicole Byer (Netflix’s Nailed It! and ABC’s Wipeout), Padma Lakshmi (Hulu’s Taste the Nation and […]

“Hey, We’re Dirtbags, Too”: Amy Schumer, Selena Gomez, Tracee Ellis Ross and THR’s Comedy Actress Roundtable

“There’s this myth in Hollywood that women aren’t supportive of each other,” says Tracee Ellis Ross, and frankly, its perpetuation ticks her off. “Because we have each other’s backs, and today has been an example of that.” The Black-ish star is referencing her early May conversation with some of TV’s funniest women: Abbott Elementary’s Quinta […]

“Everyone Here Has Experienced a Crushing Humiliation”: Ben Stiller, Soo Hugh and THR’s Drama Showrunner Roundtable

“Isn’t this what we all wanted in the first place?” asked Jenny Lumet, executive producer of The Man Who Fell to Earth, near the beginning of The Hollywood Reporter’s Drama Showrunner Emmy Roundtable. “You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting an amazing human moment on TV that makes you reevaluate your whole life.” Her […]

“You Went to Therapy for That?”: Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Oscar Isaac and the THR Drama Actor Roundtable

Oscar Isaac has just flown in from New York, where the Scenes From a Marriage and Moon Knight star was enjoying some much-deserved time off, and Succession’s Brian Cox will soon head to Miami for a documentary shoot. Loki’s Tom Hiddleston is about to go back into production, and The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey’s […]

“This Is Why Women Are So Dope”: Robin Thede, Natasha Lyonne and THR’s Comedy Showrunner Roundtable

It was not by design that every participant on The Hollywood Reporter‘s Comedy Showrunner Emmy Roundtable was a woman. But, about one hour into an 80-minute Zoom over Memorial Day weekend, gender prompted a shared gripe: Female TV writers — even those as prolific as I Love That for You‘s Jessi Klein, Russian Doll‘s Natasha […]

“Cancellation’s Just to Give Boring People Something Interesting to Talk About”: Jerrod Carmichael, Danny McBride and THR’s Comedy Actor Roundtable

“These are big questions,” Jake Johnson noted, just before he got real about his Hollywood path, which at different points along the way had left him feeling underwhelmed and disillusioned. It was the Minx star’s first appearance on a Hollywood Reporter Roundtable, and he half-jokingly admitted that he’d come to it with something entirely different […]

“Whyyy Do I Do This?”: Kaley Cuoco, Jean Smart, Lena Waithe and the THR Comedy Actress Roundtable

At one point during The Hollywood Reporter‘s annual Comedy Actress Roundtable, Hacks star Jean Smart paused the rollicking conversation to poll her peers, certain they were drawn to the profession for the same reason she was. “OK, raise your hand if you were a middle child,” she said. But, to her shock, no one did. […]

“Fear and Desperation Drive a Lot of Comedy”: Bill Lawrence, Chuck Lorre, Darren Star and the Comedy Showrunner Roundtable

Showrunning isn’t for the faint of heart. And yet, for three of the six gathered for The Hollywood Reporter‘s annual Comedy Showrunner Emmy Roundtable — PEN15‘s Anna Konkle, Chad‘s Nasim Pedrad and The Upshaws‘ Wanda Sykes — it’s only half the job. “I think I’ve tried to hire all three of you individually to [star […]

“My Family Doesn’t Want to Be Overwhelmed by My Backside”: Regé-Jean Page, Chris Rock, John Boyega and the THR Drama Actor Roundtable

During the course of an hour in mid-May, five of the industry’s most talented actors, full-stop, convened for a conversation — part of The Hollywood Reporter‘s annual Emmy Roundtable series — that whipped between emotional and gut-busting with little warning. There was no subject off-limits as Bridgerton‘s Regé-Jean Page, The Crown‘s Josh O’Connor, Fargo‘s Chris […]

“How the Hell Are We Going to Do This?”: Lena Dunham, Noah Hawley, Steven Canals and the THR TV Director Roundtable

There’s nothing Zach Braff likes more than directing. It’s where he’s happiest, he says, surrounded by creative people, encouraging them to do their best work. It is also stressful — sometimes hugely so. “I read somewhere that first [assistant directors] don’t live very long, and that’s one of the reasons the DGA has such good […]