The First Lady, Ep. 1 - 'That White House'

by Eric Blume

Showtime's limited series The First Lady kicked off its premiere episode last week. It's a bit of a mixed bag out of the gate. The episode consists of several 10-minute-ish scenes covering each of our protagonists:  Michelle Obama (Viola Davis); Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer); and Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson).  A ticker on the bottom of the screen whisks us backward and forward between these women whose stories are about forty years apart from each other. 

There's not a great deal of grace in this back-and-forth execution, feeding us small glimpses of each lady in semi-satisfying increments that don't seem to have a meaningful connection between them outside of generic "I'm my own person" theme.  It's probably easiest to tackle these three stories independently, because episode one doesn't give us much of a linking thread or powerful throughline yet, and because there are pleasures to be had within the confines of this awkward setup...

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Category Analysis: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

 Team Experience is discussing all of the main Emmy categories

The 7 actresses with costars nominated don't really appear in scenes together, so here's an extra photo of the only one who is solely representing her show!

By Abe Friedtanzer

This category includes eight actresses from just three shows, which surely doesn’t represent the vast array of talented actress out there, like the 280 other eligible women who didn’t make the cut. Though it’s not exactly spreading the wealth, the nominees here are all fine actresses who do great work on television, including in this past season. There’s one clear frontrunner but it’s a formidable list, with two-time defending champ Julia Garner out of the running since Ozark, like so many other shows, didn’t release new episodes this season.

I’ll try to avoid major plot details in my analysis – but if you’d like more spoiler-filled descriptions, click on the episode titles. Let’s consider each nominee… 

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Emmy Watch: Will 'The Crown' or 'Handmaid's Tale' take up the majority of Drama Supporting Actress?

Our team is breaking down the top contenders in all the major Emmy races and highlighting some of our favorites over the next few weeks. Today, we’re looking at Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Ann Dowd ("The Handmaid's Tale") is the only former winner still eligible for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series this year.By: Christopher James

When the Emmys fall in love with a show, they really fall hard. Specifically, Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series can get filled with multiple nominees from a single show. For example, the final season of Game of Thrones in 2019 earned four nominations in this category alone (Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams). While that show is no longer on the air, The Handmaid’s Tale has also seen a large number of women nominated. Ann Dowd won the category in 2017 and the following women have been nominated for past seasons: Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel and Yvonne Strahovski. Will The Handmaid’s Tale continue to dominate this category, or will another show, like The Crown, take up the most slots?

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"The Crown" S4: An(other) Acting Showcase

by Cláudio Alves

As a staunch antimonarchist and someone who despises Thatcher and her legacy, watching The Crown's fourth season was an oft-frustrating, sometimes fascinating, exercise. Peter Morgan and his team haven't shied away from looking at the dark side of British history and this latest series is no different. However, time constraints, an episodic structure, and attempts at historical ambivalence often result in a lackluster, superficial, occasionally rushed, experience.

Still, the production values are always immaculate, and the dramatization of the 80s features some of the best costumes the program has ever shown. Nevertheless, what always brings me back to The Crown isn't its analysis of politics, its melodrama, or pretty clothes. The show's greatest strength is its cast, with the actors excelling even when their material is lacking. When faced with some of the royal family's most tumultuous years, the performers upped their game and delivered a masterclass in screen acting…

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Tweetweek: Michelle & Miscellania

For this final* edition of Tweetweek, something more focused. Every once in a blue moon (okay, totally frequently) I do a search for "Michelle Pfeiffer" on twitter just to see what people are saying. It probably won't surprise you to hear that in the Off Years of her career, which are most years given how infrequently she works, it tends to be references to Grease 2, Scarface, and her iconic Catwoman with a light seasoning of other famous movies tossed into the mix.

Lately it's been mostly mother! and we're here for the web's enthusiasm about the RePfeiffal. I mean even RuPaul felt the need to chime in. We wish his prediction hadn't felt so quickly like wishful thinking (given the cold slap of audience response to the difficult movie) but it's not for lack of a great performance!

More Pfeiffer and a few random other topics after the jump like the Kingsman  franchise, Jessica Chastain's ubiquity, and Victoria & Abdul's leading man...

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