Emmys: If ‘Shogun’ Is a Drama and ‘True Detective’ Isn’t, Does the Limited Series Category Make Sense Anymore?

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large As The CW has changed its financial model under new owners Nexstar, entertainment president Brad Schwartz has relied more on international co-productions from countries like Canada. Speaking on Tuesday at the Banff World Media Festival, Schwartz — who hails from Canada — acknowledged that in the past, Canadian acquisitions on U.S. networks have often been seen in a lesser light.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large It’s been more than a year and a half since Rob Wade took over as CEO of Fox Entertainment. On Monday at the Banff World Media Festival, Wade made his first extensive public comments about how it’s been going so far — and elaborated on any new acquisition plans he might have for the company, the fate of some of the third party shows still on his air (including “9-1-1: Lone Star”) and the decision behind his recent corporate restructuring network, studio and distribution operations into their own divisions.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Will Arnett is expanding his relationship with Fox Entertainment. The actor and comedian, who hosts Fox’s “Lego Masters,” has sealed an overall producing deal for his Electric Avenue Prods. to produce fare for the network’s in-house production company.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Legendary actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke has made history, winning the 2024 Daytime Emmy award for guest performer in a daytime drama series — via his spot on Peacock’s “Days of Our Lives.” At 98, that makes Van Dyke the oldest actor to receive a Daytime Emmy win. Van Dyke came into Friday’s 51st Daytime Emmy Awards already making a mark as the oldest Daytime Emmys nominee ever. Night one of the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards took place live on CBS on Friday, June 7, from the Westin Bonaventure hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large I can’t help admiring the sheer audacity of Aram Rappaport. He’s the creator, writer and director behind “The Green Veil,” a drama series starring John Leguizamo that debuted with two episodes at the Tribeca fest in 2022. When he couldn’t find an outlet to pick up the full series, Rappaport decided to launch his own ad-supported streaming service — dubbed The Network — from scratch.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large George Russell, one of the most prominent characters in HBO’s sprawling period ensemble “The Gilded Age,” is many things: a self-made man; a loving husband; a titan of industry. But Morgan Spector, the actor who plays George in Julian Fellowes’ fictionalized tale of 19th century New York City, is comfortable calling the character out for who he really is. “Robber baron,” Spector declares on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large ABC series “High Potential” is getting a shift at the top, as showrunner Rob Thomas has departed the project, Variety has learned. The series, which stars Kaitlin Olson, is set to air Tuesdays at 10 p.m.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large A few weeks ago, I ran into Amazon MGM Studios head Jen Salke, and we got to talking about some of Prime Video’s recent success stories. “Fallout” is at the top of that list, but the streamer has also found hits with series like “Reacher,” “Outer Range” and “The Terminal List.” Before that, it was “Jack Ryan” and, of course, the longest running of all Prime shows, “Bosch.” Salke joked that it was good to be in business with “dad TV,” but don’t laugh. It sounds a bit pejorative, but maybe these shows should wear it as a badge of honor.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Angel Studios is planning to appeal an arbitrator’s ruling that ended its relationship with the producers of faith-based TV megahit “The Chosen.” The news comes as The Chosen LLC — the company behind the production of series — announced this week that the show’s Season 4 would exclusively stream on “The Chosen” app starting with the first two episodes on June 2. In a statement, Angel Studios CEO Neal Harmon said it will “pursue the appeal provision that Angel and The Chosen agreed to as the process for resolving disagreements privately.” In a unique distribution model, “The Chosen” Season 4 was first released in theaters this February, where it scored big box office returns. But after that, the show’s TV premiere remained in limbo as Angel Studios and The Chosen LLC tussled over the season premiere plans.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large TV audiences tracked down “Tracker” in a big way this season. The freshman CBS drama, which stars Justin Hartley as a survivalist who helps law enforcement and others solve tough cases, was the 2023-24 TV season’s most-watched entertainment series. According to the Eye network, that’s the first time a first-year TV series was ranked as the No.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large A year after the Hollywood strikes turned Emmy campaigning into a bit of a muted endeavor, For Your Consideration events are back in a big way for 2024. The networks, studios and streamers have already launched a bevy of activations to celebrate their awards contenders, on top of the usual round of panels, with their stars back on stage front and center. What a difference a year makes.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Now, imagine being a critically acclaimed drama on a premium network/streaming hybrid in a season where the drama race is pretty wide open. You’ve got big stars, high production values and well-known source material. Shoo-in, right? Not if you’ve been canceled.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Alan Cumming isn’t much of a reality TV fan — so as host of Peacock’s “The Traitors,” he enjoys being a bit blind to the baggage that many of the contestants carry to the Scottish Highlands. “When I go to do ‘The Traitors, I have a crash course in reality TV stars, and random people,” he tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “I don’t know who many of the people are.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Entertainment Tonight” anchors Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner are back to once again host the Daytime Emmys, as the 51st edition of the kudocast airs live on Friday, June 7, at 8 p.m. ET (tape delayed on the west coast) from the Westin Bonaventure hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The event airs on CBS and Paramount+, marking the 18th time the Daytime Emmys has been broadcast on the Eye network.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Details follow for Season 11, Episode 13 of “The Masked Singer,” “Finale: One Mask Takes It All,” which aired May 22 on Fox. “The Masked Singer” winner Vanessa Hudgens admits she didn’t necessarily play the hiding game: At least among her friends and fans, they figured out it was her under the Goldfish costume rather quickly. “Rita [Ora] guessed it was me straight from the jump,” Hudgens said. “But she’s also my friend.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Super Bowl LVIII on CBS and “Toy Story Funday Football” on Disney+ and ESPN+ led this year’s tally of Sports Emmys winners, with three each, as announced Tuesday evening by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Hosted by The Kid Mero, the 45th annual Sports Emmy Awards featured the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Honor to sportscaster and three-time Emmy Award-winner James Brown, by Sean McManus (former Chairman, CBS Sports).

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Seth Rogen has gotten into TV in a big way: As star and EP of Apple TV+’s “Platonic,” exec producer of Prime Video’s “The Boys” franchise, animated series like “Invincible” and “Sausage Party: Foodtopia,” and his upcoming Hollywood satire “The Studio,” also for Apple. But he’s still bullish on film as well. “I think people still like movies,” he tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Mouse House is bringing its Emmy-themed “Disney FYC Fest” back for the third consecutive year, kicking things off May 29 with an preview event for FX’s “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans” and ending with “Shōgun” on June 11.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read on if you haven’t watched “Tunnel Vision,” the final episode of “CSI: Vegas” that aired on Sunday, May 19. “Things are about to go kaboom.” That’s what Beau (Lex Medlin) says on Friday night’s series finale of “CSI: Vegas” as he prepares to detonate a series of bombs. But he might be describing everyone’s minds, as the show’s characters discover midway through the episode (“Tunnel Vision”) that they’ve been chasing the wrong villain all season.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 11, Episode 12 of “The Masked Singer,” “Semi-Finals: Then There Were Three,” which aired May 15 on Fox. “The Masked Singer” revealed the latest celebrity to be revealed on Wednesday night’s quarter finals, and it was Thelma Houston as Clock. Houston, of course, is best known for her classic hit “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” For Clock, Rita Ora got it right with Thelma Houston.