The Hollywood Reporter‘s annual Emmy roundtable series proved itself a must-stop on this year’s ever-crowded campaign trail.
In fact, 22 participating performers saw their names announced Wednesday as the 2024 batch of Emmy nominations were doled out ahead of the Sept. 15 telecast. Among them: Jon Hamm, a double nominee for his roles in FX’s Fargo and Apple’s The Morning Show, along with True Detective‘s Jodie Foster (who also scored a nom for producing), Feud‘s Naomi Watts, Fellow Travelers‘ Matt Bomer, Palm Royale‘s Kristen Wiig and Saturday Night Live‘s Bowen Yang.
For perspective, six of the seven actresses featured on the starry drama actress table scored performing noms (across the limited and drama categories), and every writer-producer who turned up for THR‘s live producer roundtable saw his or her show recognized. Similarly impressive, four of the comics who appeared on THR‘s first-ever stand-up Emmys roundtable had specials nominated this go around.
Check out the full conversations below:
The drama actress roundtable featured newly minted nominees Foster, Watts, Shogun‘s Anna Sawai, Lessons in Chemistry‘s Brie Larson, Griselda‘s Sofia Vergara and The Morning Show‘s Jennifer Aniston in a candid conversation that touched on topics that ranged from method acting to aging in Hollywood.
The producer roundtable starred a sextet of producing heavyweights: Fallout‘s Jonathan Nolan, Mr. and Mrs. Smith‘s Francesca Sloane, Ripley‘s Steven Zaillian, Hacks‘ Jen Statsky, The Crown‘s Peter Morgan and True Detective‘s Issa López. The conversation, which was had before a live audience, covered everything from painful passes to on-set cavity searches.
The first-ever stand-up Emmy roundtable featured a who’s who of comedic talent, including nominees Alex Edelman (Just for Us), Mike Birbiglia (The Old Man and the Pool), Jacqueline Novak (Get On Your Knees) and Ramy Youssef (More Feelings), who also scored a nom for directing The Bear. Their hourlong conversation bounced between the existential and the absurd (fart jokes included).
The comedy actress roundtable included freshly nominated funny women Quinta Brunson of Abbott Elementary as well as Loot‘s Maya Rudolph and Palm Royale‘s Kristin Wiig. Rudolph and Wiig were also nominated for their hosting work on Saturday Night Live, which they discussed at the table. The raucous and revealing conversation also touched on ignoring industry expectations, the pressure to mine their personal lives and having to, as one participant put it, “tap dance for the patriarchy.”
The drama actor roundtable featured both Hamm and Bomer in a wide-ranging conversation, during which the actors debated such things as which stage direction was worse: a sex scene or a single tear? And, for that matter, who really listens to their agents’ advice?
