2016 Emmys Nominations

Anthony Anderson and Lauren Graham announced the nominations for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards live via webcast and chat from the Wolf Theatre at the Academy's newly-opened Saban Media Center.  Game of Thrones scored the most nominations with 23 for the show's sixth season followed closely by The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story which received 22 nominations. One of the most surprising, but also most deserving, entrants to the Drama Series category was The Americans which also received nominations for its lead actors Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell.

Full List of Nominees can be found here.

Outstanding Comedy Series 
Blackish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep

Outstanding Drama Series 
The Americans
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Carcs
Mr. Robot

Outstanding Limited Series
American Crime
Fargo
The Night Manager
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Roots

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Idris Elba, Luther
Cuba Gooding Jr., The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Felicity Huffman, Americn CrimeAudra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grille
Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Lili Taylor, American Crime
Kerry Washington, Confirmation

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy 
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Will Forte, Last Man on Earth
William H. Macy, Shameless
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy 
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Laurie Metcalf, Getting On
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep
Matt Walsh, Veep

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy 

Niecy Nash, Getting On

Allison Janney, Mom
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Judith Light, Transparent
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent

Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kit Harrington, Game of Thrones
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Lena Hedley, Game of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL

Outstanding Reality Competition
The Amazing Race
American Ninja WarriorDancing With the Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef
The Voice

Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Late Late Show with James CordenReal Time With Bill Maher
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 


The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards are set for September 18th and will air live on ABC.

Television Critics Association Awards Nominations

(USA | FX)

The Television Critics Association has announced the nominees for the 32nd Annual TCA Awards and leading the nominations are USA Network's Mr. Robot and FX's The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story with four nominations each.   Followed by The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Netflix's Master of None, FX's The Americans, and Lifetime's UnREAL which each three nominations a piece.  

In terms of the networks, HBO came out on top with 12 nominations followed closely by FX/FXX which received 11.  More first-time nominees are being recognized this year than ever before in TCA history.  Similarly, all of the slots in the Outstanding New Program Category come from smaller networks as opposed to the larger networks such as ABC and HBO.  

The 32nd Annual TCA Awards will be held on Saturday, August 6, 2016, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel during the Television Critic Association's summer press tour.  As previously announced, Jane the Virgin star Jaime Camil will host the ceremony.  

See a full list of nominees here. 

The 2016 Tony Awards

The American Theatre Wing's 70th Annual Tony Awards, held at the Beacon Theatre and broadcast live on CBS, were hosted by James Corden.  In light of the horrific events in Orlando earlier in the day, the show was dedicated to those affected by said events.  

The cast of Hamilton opened the show in the best way possible: with a song about the night's host, James Corden in a spoof of their opening number.  James Corden made a few jokes and then had his own musical number about his love of the theatre that did last for quite some time. It concluded with all of the musical acting nominees on stage with the message "this could be where you belong."  

  
Hamilton was the night's biggest winner taking home 11 awards including Best Musical, Best Costumes, Lighting, Choreography to Andy Blankenbuehler, Orchestrations to Alex Lacamoire, Direction to Thomas Kail, Featured Actress in a Musical to Renee Elise Goldsberry, Featured Actor in a play to Daveed Diggs, Score and Book to Lin-Manuel Miranda whose his speech, in the form of a sonnet, was inspiring, and Leslie Odom Jr for Best Lead Actor.  The Color Purple won best Revival of a Musical and Cynthia Erivo took home Best Leading Actress for her role in the show. 

At the age of 62, Jayne Houdyshell won her first Tony Award for The Humans.  The show also won Best Featured Actor for Reed Birney, Best Scenic Design of a Play for David Zinn and Best Play. Frank Langella won Best Lead Actor in a Play for The Father.  

Arthur Miller's The View from the Bridge won Best Revival of a Play and Best Direction of a Play to Ivo van Hove.  Lead Actress in a Play went to Jessica Lange for her role in Long Day's Journey Into Night. The show was also awarded best Lighting Design to Natasha Katz.   David Rockwell took home the award for Scenic Design of a Play for She Loves Me.

Alex Brightman and the kids of School of Rock performed "You're in the Band."  Those kids really do rock and they play those instruments live 8 times a week.  The cast of Shuffle along showed off the exquisite tapping showcased in the show and made me realize I need to see it! The cast of She Loves Me performed a medley of "Ilona," "She Loves Me" and "Vanilla Ice Cream."  James Corden showed a priceless video of Josh Groban in his high school production of The Fiddler on the Roof followed by the cast of Fiddler on the Roof sang "Sunrise, Sunset" followed by an excellent dance number!

Steve Martin, Edie Brickell introduced the cast of Bright Star performing "If You Knew My Story." Cynthia Erivo and the cast of The Color Purple sang a medley of "Mysterious Ways" and "I'm Here." The cast of On Your Feet performed a medley from the show with Gloria Estefan.  Deaf West's Spring Awakening Broadway cast performed a medley of "Momma Who Bore Me," "Bitch of Living".  The company of Hamilton sang "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)." The cast of Waitress sang "Opening Up" then Sara Bareilles started "She Used to be Mine" and Jessie Mueller finished it once she changed costumes. Bebe Neuwirth performed a tribute to Chicago for its twentieth anniversary.  The cast of Hamilton  closed the show, after winning Best Musical, with "The Schuyler Sisters."

Throughout the night, some of the nominees performed bumpers outside during the broadcast. The first performance was Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sara Bareilles, Edie Brickell, Steve Martin and Lin-Manuel Miranda singing "Tomorrow" from Annie, with ALW on tambourine.  Other performances included: the cast of Shuffle Along sang "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" from Guys and Dolls,  Alex Brightman and the kids of School of Rock singing "The Phantom of the Opera," the cast of Fiddler on the Roof singing "No Business Like Show Business" from Annie Get Your Gun,  the cast of She Loves Me performed "Cabaret" and the cast of Hamilton singing "No Day But Today."

A full list of tonight's winners can be found here. 

2016 Tony Award Nominations

This morning, Tuesday, May 3, Nikki M. James and Andrew Rannells announced the 2016 Tony Award Nominations live from the Paramount Hotel's Diamond Horseshoe in New York City. 

Productions that opened during the 2015 - 2016 Broadway Season on or before the April 28 cut-off date are eligible for Tony Awards this year. The 70th Annual Tony Awards, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing,  will take place on June 12 at the Beacon Theatre.  The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS at 8/7c.  

Hamilton made history this year for most Tony nominations ever with 16, beating the previous record holders The Producers (2001) and Billy Elliot (2009) which received 15 each in their respective nomination years.. 

This year's Tony nominees are: 

Best Musical
Bright Star 
Hamilton
School of Rock - The Musical
Shuffle Along
Waitress

Best Play
Eclipsed
The Father
The Humans
King Charles III

Best Revival of a Musical
The Color Purple
Fiddler on the Roof
She Loves Me
Spring Awakening 

Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller's The Crucible 
Arthur Miller's The View from the Bridge
Blackbird
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Noises Off

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Laura Benanti, She Loves Me
Carmen Cusack, Bright Star
Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple
Jessie Mueller, Waitress
Phlillipa Soo, Hamilton

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Alex Brightman, School of Rock - The Musical
Danny Burnstein, Fiddler on the Roof
Zachary Levi, She Loves Me
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Leslie Odom, Jr., Hamilton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Jessica Lange, Long Day's Journey Into Night
Laurie Metcalf, Misery
Lupita Nyong'o, Eclipsed
Sophie Okonedo, Arthur Miller's The Crucible
Michelle Williams, Blackbird

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Gabriel Byrne, Long Day's Journey Into Night
Jeff Daniels, Blackbird
Frank Langella, The Father
Tim Pigott-Smit, King Charles III
Mark Strong, Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton
Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me
Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
Adrienne Warren, Shuffle Along

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Brandon Victor Dixon, Shuffle Along
Christopher Fitzgerald, Waitress
Jonathan Groff, Hamilton
Christopher Jackson, Hamilton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Pascale Armand, Eclipsed
Megan Hilty, Noises Off
Jayne Houdyshell, The Humans
Andrea Martin, Noises Off
Saycon Sengbloh, Eclipsed

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney, The Humans
Bill Camp, Arthur Miller's The Crucible
David Furr, Noises Off
Richard Goulding,King Charles III
Michael Shannon, Long Day's Journey Into Night

Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, Spring Awakening
John Doyle, The Color Purple
Scott Ellis, She Loves Me
Thomas Kail, Hamilton
George C. Wolfe, Shuffle Along

Best Direction of a Play
Rupert Goold, King Charles III
Jonathan Kent, Long Day's Journey Into Night
Joe Mantello, The Humans
Liesl Tommy, Eclipsed
Ivo Van Hove, Arthur Miller's The View From the Bridge

Best Book of a Musical
Steve Martin, Bright Star
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Julian Fellowes, School of Rock - The Musical
George C. Wolfe, Shuffle Along

Best Original Score
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Bright Star
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Slater, School of Rock - The Musical
Sara Bareilles, Waitress

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Sheldon Harnick & Marshall W. Mason

Regional Theatre Award
Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, NJ

Isabelle Stevenson Award
Brian Stokes Mitchell

Special Tony Award
National Endowment for the Arts
Miles Wilkin

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Seth Gelblum
Joan Lader
Sally Ann Parsons


A full list of this year's nominees can be found here. 

88th Annual Academy Awards

The Oscars are the biggest event of the awards season, and to many the biggest night of the year! However, this year the show was surrounded by controversy after all of the nominees in the acting categories (as well as almost every category) were entirely white for the second year in a row.   It will be interesting to see how #OscarsSoWhite affects the ratings and to see what steps the Academy will hopefully take in the coming years to ensure that the nominations are representative of the excellent work being done by wonderfully talented people of color. 

Chris Rock took the stage to host the Academy Awards for the first time.  His opening number was understandably focused on the "Oscars So White" controversy but he handled it very well and it was pretty excellent. It was pervasive throughout the whole show in multiple jokes and bits including Black History Minute with Angela Bassett and Stacey Dash coming out on stage. 

Some of the more interesting events that took place during the awards included: Chris Rock's daughters bringing out Girl Scout Cookies and selling them to the nominees, Buzz and Woody from Toy Story handing out the Best Animated Feature Award, and Lady Gaga's incredibly powerful performance of "Til it Happens to You" introduced by Vice President Joe Biden 

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role went to Mark Rylance, for his role in Bridge of Spies. Alicia Vikander won the Oscar for Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in The Danish Girl. Leonardo DiCaprio won Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his role in The Revenant, his first Oscar.  Brie Larson won an Oscar for Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Room.

Inside Out won for Best Animated Feature Film. Original Screenplay went to Josh Singer and Todd McCarthy for Spotlight while Adapted Screenplay went was presented to Charles Randolph and Adam McKay for The Big Short.  

Mad Max: Fury Road garnered the award for Production Design, Costume Design, Best Make-Up and Hair Styling, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing Whiplash won for Sound Mixing and Film Editing, and Interstellar took home the award for Visual Effects.  Ex Machina took home the award for Best Visual Effects. The Revenant won for Cinematography and Director for Alejandro G. Inarritu.  Spotlight was awarded Best Picture of the Year.

A full list of winners can be found here.

Red Carpet Fashion

 

Cate Blanchett looked stunning in an Armani Prive gown. 

(PC: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

Brie Larson wowed in a blue Gucci gown. 

(PC: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

Saoirse Ronan looked elegant in an Emerald Calvin Klein gown.

(PC: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

Charlize Theorn looked incredible in red. 

(PC: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

Jacob Tremblay is the most adorable person on the red carpet by far in an Armani tuxedo. 

(PC: Steve Granitz/WireImage)

Oscar Nominations 2016

And the nominees are:

This past year saw its fair share of amazing films made, from some of the big blockbuster hits of all time to smaller indie projects. The Oscars race is a difficult thing as accolades do not singularly determine a film's worth, and many great films have gone, and will go, unrecognized. All of the films in the Best Picture category deserve their spot there, and yet there are many more films that could easily have been one of the eight nominees.

Leading the nominations is The Revenant with 12 nominations followed by Mad Max:Fury Road which received ten nominations.

See a full list of nominees here.

BEST DIRECTOR

Adam McKay, The Big Short

George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Slyvester Stallone, Creed

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There


Watch the Oscar race conclude on Sunday, February 28 live on ABC.

Golden Globe Awards 2016

The 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards were broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel and produced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Dick Clark Productions.  Ricky Gervais returned as the host, haveing last hosted the 2012 telecast.   He delivered his monologue while sipping a beer and his opening poked fun at many recent events including Caitlyn Jenner, Jeffrey Tambor in Transparent, Jennifer Lawrence addressing the wage gap, and The Martian being nominated as a comedy. 

Heading into the awards, Carol led the way with the most film nominations, five, followed by The Revenant, Steve Jobs, and The Big Short each received four nominations. Netflix had a network high of eight nominations.  Going in to the show, there were very few clear winners, and there were many surprises in the winner's list. 

Matt Damon took home Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical for The Martian and the film won for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical.  Best Screenplay was presented to screenwriter Aaron Sorkin for Steve Jobs and Kate Winslet also won Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for the film.  The Revenant won Best Motion Picture - Drama, Alejandro G. Inarritu took home the award for Best Director for the film, and Leonardo DiCaprio was awarded Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for the film, causing us to wonder if this will finally be his Oscar year.  Sylvester Stallone took home Best Supporting Actor for Creed.  Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical for her role in Joy. Brie Larson took home Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for Room.  Inside Out won for Best Motion Picture - Animation, and with this win it is thought that it will most likely take home the Oscar in a few weeks as well.  

Wolf Hall took home best Miniseries or TV Movie.  Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries went to Oscar Issac for Show Me a Hero.  Jon Hamm won Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama for his role in Mad Men.   Lady Gaga won Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie for AHS:Hotel. Mr.Robot took home the award for Best Television Series -Drama and Christian Slater won Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or TV Movie for the show.  Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama went to Taraji P. Henson for Empire.  Maura Tierney won Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series or TV Movie for The Affair with her first Golden Globe nomination. 

Rachel Bloom won Best Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend while Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle took home the award for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical and Gael Garcia Bernal also took home the award for the Best Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical for the show. 

Denzel Washington was presented with the Cecil B. Demille Award for Lifetime Achievement by Tom Hanks. An incredibly deserving recipient who thanked the people who helped him get to where he is today including his family.

A full list of winners can be found here.

Red Carpet Fashion

Cate Blanchett is a work of art in Givenchy. Her dress was not as traditional of a style as many of the looks this year, but she was a vision on the red carpet. 
(photo cred: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

Viola Davis looked stunning in Marchesa Spring 2016.  

Saoirse Ronan looked elegant in a white YSL gown. 

Brie Larson sparkled (quite literally) in Calvin Klein.