As ‘Reservation Dogs’ and ‘Dark Winds’ Return With New Seasons, Is Native Storytelling Finally Here to Stay?

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Variety legend Tim Gray, who first joined Hollywood’s dominant trade publication in 1981, has departed after 42 years to start a new chapter with the Golden Globes organization as executive vice president. Gray, who will also serve on its board, will work closely with Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne to evolve the entity — which was formed in June, when Dick Clark Prods. and Eldridge Industries acquired the Golden Globes’ assets, rights and properties from the now-defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Amazing Race” executive producers Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, along with host/EP Phil Keoghan, had already shot a Season 35 of “The Amazing Race” last year, and it was mostly edited and ready to go. But then came a detour: Early this winter, CBS approached both “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” about expanding to weekly 90 minute episodes for fall 2023. Rather than try to retroactively try to pad an additional half hour on to those already-shot episodes, van Munster, Doganieri and Keoghan decided to hit the road again and take full advantage of filming supersized installments.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has tapped broadcast journalist icon Dan Rather, as well as veteran network correspondents John Quiñones and David Martin to be inducted into its annual Gold Circle honor society. NATAS’ 2023 Gold and Silver Circle inductees will be recognized at the 44th Annual News & Documentary Emmys on Sept.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Because I doubt even Netflix saw this coming. “Suits,” which starred Patrick J. Adams, Gabriel Macht and Gina Torres as lawyers who filed suits while wearing stylish suits, was always a solid player for USA.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Hollywood Critics Association, which had recently been hit with allegations of malfeasance and accused of harboring a hostile membership environment, has completed an organizational restructuring that it believes will address those issues. The HCA was set to reveal those plans to its 180 members this afternoon, including a new name: The Hollywood Creative Alliance.

Sophia Scorziello editor Los Angeles-based pubcaster KCET has revealed its student finalists and episode line up for the 24th season of Fine Cut Festival of Films, an annual showcase and celebration of Southern California’s young filmmakers. The series of six, one-hour blocks on KCET will broadcast collections of short films from the student finalists beginning at 10 p.m. PT on Sept.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer and Oscar-winning director/producer Barbara Kopple are this year’s recipients of the 44th annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards lifetime achievement honors, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was set to announce on Tuesday. The News & Doc Emmys take place over two days next month in New York: Blitzer will receive his honor at the news ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 27, and Kopple’s Emmy will be presented at the documentary ceremony on Thursday, September 28.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Leah Remini-hosted Game Show Network series “People Puzzler” is set for off-network syndication on stations this fall. The gamer has now been cleared by Lionsgate-owned syndication distributor Debmar-Mercury in more than 90% of the country, including Fox-owned stations in the three top markets: WWOR New York, KCOP Los Angeles and WFLD Chicago.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large For those of us who write about the industry, it’s been a bit of a challenge finding ways to still cover the Emmy Awards, especially as Phase 2 voting got underway on Aug. 17. My colleague Emily Longeretta, who oversees our special Emmy extra editions, has gotten creative in turning some of our podcast interviews into stories, for example, and relying on other approaches to covering nominated shows and talent.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Mark Mylod is still kicking himself over something in Season 4 of “Succession.” The series’ final installment has been universally lauded, and the general consensus is that the HBO drama stuck the landing. But for Mylod, the executive producer/director who is once again Emmy nominated, he can’t stop thinking about something — and he won’t reveal what it is just yet. “I will do the kicking myself thing.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large One of my favorite categories this year, however, is lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie. And here’s the top reason: This is the only acting category this year that features not a single previous Emmy winner among its nominees. As a matter of fact, half of them have never been nominated at all.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Jo Koy is extending his relationship with Netflix, signing a deal to bring his next two stand-up comedy specials to the streamer. The specials will mark Koy’s fifth and sixth with Netflix; first up, the next one will tape at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on November 10 and 11, with an expected 2024 premiere. Art & Industry is producing that special.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Making “Daisy Jones & the Six” was more than just another show for Scott Neustadter and Lauren Neustadter: It was a family affair. Scott and his writing partner, Michael Weber (both Oscar nominated via their screenplay for the film “The Disaster Artist”), received an early copy of the “Daisy Jones” manuscript, written by author Taylor Jenkins Reid, before it even found a publisher. Neustadter, a music junkie, immediately fell in love with the script, and knew the perfect home for it: Reese Witherspoon’s company Hello Sunshine — where his wife, Lauren, had just joined as president of film and television.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large In a previous column I made a strong case for moving the ceremony to November, when at least the Emmys wouldn’t feel too stale or crash into Oscars season. But since Fox is moving forward with January, the silver lining is that there’s a lot more time — five months, as a matter of fact — for producer Jesse Collins Entertainment, along with Fox and the TV Academy, to figure out how to make this major Emmy anniversary a show to remember. Much of that will come down to who hosts the telecast.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Keeping that in mind, there I was once again backstage last year in the press room when I realized that no one else was going to ask a similar question to the “Ted Lasso” cast and producers. Having won back-to-back Emmys for outstanding comedy, “Ted Lasso” was on a roll. And yet, there were already signals that “Ted Lasso” might wrap after a third and final season.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large In what may be one of the most powerful and stirring episodes of the entire run of FX’s “Reservation Dogs,” the series this week took on the horror of assimilation “Indian boarding schools” — and attempt by the government in the 19th and 20th centuries to erase Native culture from the country. It’s another dark chapter that is well known by most people with Indigenous heritage, but something that most non-Natives have either never heard about, or only have a passing knowledge of it. For “Reservation Dogs” co-creator Sterlin Harjo, there was a responsibility to tell the story right.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Conners” is making its way to off-net syndication, as Tom Werner’s Werner Entertainment has stuck a deal with both Lionsgate Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury to distribute the sitcom’s first five seasons (and future seasons as well). “The Conners” will be sold for a fall 2024 launch in domestic syndication.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large HBO’s “Succession” was a critical darling, so it’s probably befitting that the show would end its run with two final lauds from the Television Critics Assn. The 39th Annual TCA Awards — which canceled its in-person event this year due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes — released its list of winners on Monday, with “Succession” grabbing the prizes for program of the year, as well as outstanding achievement in drama (an award it also won in 2022 and 2020). Other major winners included FX’s “The Bear,” which airs on Hulu.

Doja Cat has returned with a brand new single and video – watch ‘Paint The Town Red’ below.The new track is the singer and rapper’s second release of 2023, following comeback single ‘Attention’ which landed in June.‘Attention’ was her first solo offering since she released her chart-topping third studio album ‘Planet Her’ in 2021.The video for ‘Paint The Town Red’ is inspired by a trio of Doja-created paintings, and directed by Nina McNeely.Watch it below.Elsewhere since the release of ‘Planet Her’, Doja has dropped the Top 10 Billboard track ‘Vegas’ from the Elvis soundtrack and appeared on the remix for SZA’s Number One-peaking single, ‘Kill Bill’.She has also announced her first-ever North American arena tour kicking off later this year, with Ice Spice and Doechii as support – find the full schedule below and buy tickets here.The singer and rapper will kick off ‘The Scarlet Tour’ on October 31 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, with stops planned for Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Houston, Miami, Brooklyn, Toronto and many more, closing out the 24-date trek at Chicago’s United Center in Chicago on December 13.‘The Scarlett Tour’ 2023OCTOBER31 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center *NOVEMBER2 – Los Angeles, CA, Crypto.com Arena *3 – Las Vegas, NV, T-Mobile Arena *5 – San Diego, CA, Viejas Arena *6 – Anaheim, CA, Honda Center *8 – Phoenix, AZ, Footprint Center *10 – Denver, CO, Ball Arena *13 – Austin, TX, Moody Center *15 – Houston, TX, Toyota Center *16 – Dallas, TX, American Airlines Center *19 – Atlanta, GA, State Farm Arena *21 – Miami, FL, Kaseya Center #24 – Tampa, FL, Amalie Arena *26 – Charlotte, NC, Spectrum Center #27 – Washington, DC, Capital One Arena #29 – Brooklyn, NY, Barclays Center #30 – Newark, NJ, Prudential

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large (Above, Karyn Kusama with Courtney Eaton and Samantha Hanratty of “Yellowjackets” at Variety’s TV Fest in June.) Somehow, Season 2 of Showtime’s hit drama “Yellowjackets” managed to keep its sense of humor, even as the series’ story got darker and, yes, it finally went full cannibal. It’s all about balancing the tone, which is something executive producer Karyn Kusama helped set last season as director of the show’s pilot.