What to know
The Emmy nominations are here: Succession, Ted Lasso, White Lotus lead… First things first, there’s a lot of TV. If your favorite show or actor wasn’t nominated, don’t get discouraged and definitely don’t call it a “snub.” Your fav is still good and valid, I promise. For example, one of my favorites, Station Eleven, missed a Best Miniseries nomination (despite recognition in writing, directing, acting (Himesh Patel), editing, and cinematography). It’s also disappointing to see Better Things left out and Pachinko only get a title sequence nomination. There’s just too much TV and the Emmys are weird!
But they are also pretty good at honoring what’s good and what’s popular — way more so than the Oscars. Look at the top categories: Saul, Euphoria, Ozark, Severance, Squid Game, Stranger Things, Succession, Yellowjackets, Abott Elementary, Barry, Curb, Hacks, Maisel, Only Murders, Ted Lasso, Shadows, Dopesick, The Dropout, Inventing Anna, Pam and Tommy, White Lotus. All of these shows are quality and are thoroughly in the zeitgeist. Sure, there are a few misses, but it’s hard to argue with what’s represented. 🏆Here are some stray highlights from nomination day:
Squid Game made history as the first-ever non-English drama nominee 🦑
Quinta Brunson made history as first Black woman to get 3 nominations in a strong showing for Abbott Elementary 🍎
Chadwick Boseman, Jessica Walters, and Norm Macdonald were honored with posthumous nominations 🙏
Zendaya became the youngest two-time acting nominee 👏
Any actual snubs?… I think in order to call something a “snub” it had to have a shot at actually being nominated, because it’s good and popular. So I’d agree with the trades that This Is Us (especially Mandy Moore), Yellowstone, and even Sadie Sink were “snubbed.” ❌
Albuquerque to install bronze statues of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman… Known meth dealers, but OK! 🍕
Tickets to Lea Michele’s Funny Girl debut going for as much as $2,5000… Dang! Guess I was wrong to wonder if she’d be a draw. 🎟
Acting and theatrical design unions sue Broadway musical Paradise Square over $350,000 in unpaid wages… Who produced this show? Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom? 🎭
Disney+ teams with BTS for concert film, travel show, and docu-series… And here I thought BTS was broken up. 🇰🇷
Spotify buys Heardle… oh, word? 🔊
What’s new
Better Call Saul s6.2 - July 11 | AMC drama series | 🍅 100%
The Bob’s Burgers Movie - July 12 | HBO Max & Hulu animated comedy | 🍅 87%
Where the Crawdads Sing - July 15 | Drama in theaters | 🍅 41%
What to watch
Lightyear has been unnecessarily and erroneously derided. Criticized in the press for its so-called “confusing” premise, the interstellar origin story seems to have been written off by just about everybody after it underperformed at the box office. This is a shame because Pixar made a great movie. It’s a well paced, engaging space adventure with a meaningful and intriguing 3rd act turn. It’s visually stunning in places, as you’d expect from Pixar, and it cleverly echoes the themes of the Toy Story franchise that bequeathed it. Original voice actor Tim Allen recently went on record saying that this Buzz has nothing to do with his. That’s patently false. This Buzz struggles with the same issues of connection, identity, and finding a family that his Buzz did. The thematic resonance works because of how this Buzz mirrors, albeit in a more self-serious way, the Buzz we already know. Pixar deserves credit for finding and developing the humanity and deeper meaning in a movie about the spaceman based on a toy based on the spaceman. I’m not about to tell you to run out to whatever theaters are still playing Pixar’s latest —though it is worth the trip—but instead keep Lightyear on your radar when it lands on Disney+.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!