This Emmy Season, It’s All in the Details
Contributions below the line don’t always get the love they deserve in TV, so allow us to highlight some standouts. I’m David Canfield, here to flank some of the richly colorful behind-the-scenes stories in Vanity Fair’s TV issue. They highlight the shows we’re most excited about entering the fray this year—even as they’ve got plenty of stiff, tried-and-true competition to contend with to actually make the cut.
I spoke with production designers and showrunners on several of this past season’s most acclaimed freshman series, all of which brought viewers to the place some of us still can’t imagine returning to: the office. From the dystopian alt-reality of Severance to the dystopian reconstructed reality of WeCrashed, carefully constructed sets offer spaces for meaningful connection, subtle dehumanization, and personal crisis. As one potential first-time nominee tells me of the office he built, “It’s beautiful to look at, but it’s weird. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s comfortable—like the whole show.”
It’s no secret that a lot of these programs upping TV’s crafts game are backed by streamers, companies not only willing to spend a lot for risky storytelling, but on their look and feel as well. Look at last year’s big Emmy winners from Netflix, in The Queen’s Gambit and The Crown, and you’ll find two hits that truly dominated with voters below the line: Between them, they won a staggering 22 trophies—11 Emmys apiece. Handsome period pieces won’t be as visible this time around, though, with odd and vibrant visions finding greater play here.
In an ode to the sparkle that costume designers brought to the small screen this year, my colleague Hillary Busis covered every stop on the outfit rainbow, from Squid Game’s forest green tracksuits to Winning Time’s bright yellow jerseys to The Gilded Age’s spin on purple royalty. There are some even more stunning ones not pictured, like an ice pink formal romper on The Righteous Gemstones that “must be seen to be believed.” We’ll have cinematography features on some of the season’s most stunningly lensed episodes and seasons coming up too, as well as a deep dive into which creative-arts players deserve a closer look than they might be getting.
Oh, and speaking of rainbows—and, sure, ice pink—Awards Insider is ringing in Pride Month in historical style on Little Gold Men, as we flash back to pivotal moments in LGBTQ+ history and where they overlapped with the Oscars. On Thursday’s episode, we discuss the queer subtext of ’50s classic Rebel Without a Cause, and the groundbreaking nomination for then closeted teenager Sal Mineo. Over the next few weeks, we’ll cover everything from screwball ’90s comedies to heavy contemporary dramas.
No comments:
Post a Comment