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    Kennedy Center Honorees Include Francis Ford Coppola and the Apollo

    The renowned Harlem theater will be the first institution to receive the honor. Artists being recognized are Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval and the Grateful Dead.When Bonnie Raitt heard she had been chosen as a Kennedy Center honoree, she kept asking her manager: Are they sure?Raitt, whose song “Just Like That …” beat out higher-charting pop acts last year to win the Grammy for song of the year, said the honor was a surprise because after years of recognition mostly confined to blues and Americana spaces, she did not consider herself a mainstream artist.“I don’t live by the validation of either commercial success or getting awards,” Raitt, 74, said. “But because this is such an esteemed weekend and event and process, I don’t think there will ever be anything that I receive that is as important.”“I don’t think there will ever be anything that I receive that is as important,” Bonnie Raitt said of the Kennedy Center Honors.Peter Fisher for The New York TimesRaitt will receive a lifetime artistic achievement award at the 47th Kennedy Center Honors on Dec. 8 along with the filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, the beloved rock band the Grateful Dead, the Cuban American jazz trumpeter and composer Arturo Sandoval and the Harlem landmark the Apollo Theater.The Kennedy Center Honors will be broadcast on Dec. 23 by CBS and streamed on Paramount Plus.In the past, entities such as “Sesame Street” and “Hamilton,” have been honored, but the Apollo will be the first institution to be recognized. The theater is renowned for its history as a debut venue for many Black performers at its famed amateur nights, including Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    ‘The Decameron’ Finds Fun in a Medieval Pandemic

    Set during the plague in 14th century Italy, Netflix’s “The Decameron” finds dark humor in a group of nobles and their servants trying to survive.“The Decameron,” a new limited series, opens in Florence, Italy, in 1348. As bells toll peacefully over the rooftops, a raven lands on a window ledge, and peers around inquisitively before being struck by a stone hurled by a young boy as he yells, “Food.” The raven splats to the ground, dead, not far from the body of a shoeless man, also dead. “Mom, I got a chicken,” the boy calls out. Cheery music announces a title card: “The Black Plague.”This darkly funny scene sets the tone for the show, which arrives on Netflix July 25. Loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th-century book of the same name, the show’s eight episodes tell the story of a group of nobles who attempt to escape the plague by taking refuge in a villa, some with their servants.Setting a dramedy during one of the most devastating periods in human history, estimated to have wiped out up to half of Europe’s population, might not seem like the most obvious choice, especially coming on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic, which also killed millions around the world.But on the “Decameron” set in Rome in March last year, the cast and crew appeared to be having a lot of fun.“It’s like a perfect tonic of brilliant, hilarious people,” Saoirse-Monica Jackson, second from left, said of the show. Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix“It’s been probably too fun,” said the British actor Tanya Reynolds, who plays one of the villa guests. “I feel like every night I go home and my actual torso aches, my ribs hurt because I’ve been laughing so much.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Late Night Taunts Former Critics Who Changed Their Minds About Trump

    J.D. Vance and Nikki Haley, among other Republicans at the convention, seem to have gotten over their reservations about the former president.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Walking It BackA recurring theme of this week’s Republican National Convention has been former critics of Donald Trump singing his praises, including Nikki Haley and, most notably, J.D. Vance, who accepted the vice presidential nomination on Wednesday.“Vance started by saying, ‘All that comparing-Trump-to-Hitler stuff? Full take-backsies,’” Jimmy Fallon said on “The Tonight Show.”“While speaking last night at the Republican National Convention, Nikki Haley said, ‘There are some Americans who don’t agree with Donald Trump 100 percent of the time.’ For example, all the speakers of the R.N.C. just a few months ago.” — SETH MEYERS“That’s right, Nikki Haley spoke at the R.N.C. last night and said that former President Trump has her ‘strong endorsement, period.’ And then Mike Johnson tried to have her arrested for saying ‘period.’” — SETH MEYERS“You are a total sellout with no spine. Period.” — ANTHONY ANDERSON, guest host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live”The Punchiest Punchlines (Babydog Edition)“And I think no matter what your politics, we can all agree that Babydog is fantastic. Honestly, if Republicans had nominated Babydog for president, I’d be [expletive] torn. I think even Biden would be like, ‘[expletive], maybe I should drop out.’” — SETH MEYERS on Gov. Jim Justice’s bulldog, who appeared beside him onstage at the convention“Really undercuts your message of doom when the camera cuts to a super-happy dog just chillin’ in a chair. Your words say, ‘If Biden wins, the country will be destroyed,’ but her face says, ‘I’m doing [expletive] great, no matter who wins.’” — SETH MEYERS“Why do I feel like they share a sleep apnea machine?” — JIMMY FALLON“Looks like a Friar’s Club roast on Animal Planet.” — JIMMY FALLONThe Bits Worth WatchingHowie Mandel shared his fondness for pranking Heidi Klum, his fellow “America’s Got Talent” judge, during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Wednesday.What We’re Excited About on Thursday NightSenator Bernie Sanders will appear live on Thursday’s “Late Show” after the Republican convention wraps up.Also, Check This Out“Shogun,” an FX drama, captured the most nominations, with 25.Katie Yu/FX, via Associated Press“The Bear,” “Shogun” and “Baby Reindeer” are among the television shows with the most Emmy nominations this year. More

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    Emmy Nominations Highlights: ‘Shogun’ Gets Most Nods While ‘The Bear’ Sets a Record

    The 2024 Primetime Emmy nominations were announced on Wednesday. James Poniewozik and Margaret Lyons, two television critics for The New York Times, discussed who made it and who didn’t, why Emmy categories are increasingly irrelevant and which nominations made them smile.JAMES PONIEWOZIK Happy Emmy day, Margaret! It seems like we were just talking about the Emmys — which we kind of were, the most recent awards having been handed out in January because of a strike delay.That strike pause — coupled with the recent retirement of some hall-of-fame shows like “Succession” — may have something to do with one of the larger trends this year: The cupboard feels a little bare. There’s plenty of good-enough TV (dare I say Mid?) on the prize list, not a lot of great. (Though we can discuss the exceptions: Very happy to see recognition for “Reservation Dogs.”)Still, there are simply a lot of awards, so there’s always something to talk about. It was a big year for “The Bear” in comedy (is it one?) and “Shogun” in drama series (it sure felt like a limited series when I watched it complete its story). It feels like there has been a lot more talk this year about categorization and category-gaming, but let me know how you’re feeling.MARGARET LYONS The categories are illegible and increasingly nonsensical. What do we gain by, for example, putting “Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr.” in competition with “How To With John Wilson”? The double-dipping between talk and variety is snoozy, and the category gaming for “The Bear” and “Shogun” feels if not sleazy, then at least kind of dumb! The Emmys wax and wane in terms of legitimacy, and I wonder if it’s even possible for a structured awards format like this to retain meaning when TV itself is more flexible, its genres more porous.PONIEWOZIK Yes, the way to eliminate the arbitrary category divisions would be … just not have them. Just have best series! Best cinematography! Best directing! Unless we resurrect Aristotle to sort this out, I think any proposed tweaking (sort series by run time? broadcast vs. cable vs. streaming? weight class?) would just invite other absurdities. But the Emmys exist to give out Emmys, and I assume reducing the number of them would be the Hollywood equivalent of campaigning on entitlement cuts.But whether or not “Shogun” is a drama series, it at least classed up what was shaping up to be a pretty weak category. Although I would have hoped that it would have left room for the excellent “The Sympathizer” in limited series; instead, that show got noted only for its weakest aspect, the multiple stunt-casting of Robert Downey Jr.“Scavengers Reign” was nominated for best animated series.MaxLYONS Jim, free your mind from the shackles of “best”! My dream Emmys would honor however much excellence was present in any given year. If five great dramedies blow us all away, then five great dramedies get Emmys; if everyone’s mid, we’ll try again next year. Think of it as higher but wider standards. It’ll never happen — but then again, I thought the Emmys would never wake up to Matt Berry’s performance on “What We Do in the Shadows,” and I am thrilled to be wrong.PONIEWOZIK Margaret, I just want to hear a Matt Berry acceptance speech. He doesn’t even have to win — he could give Jeremy Allen White’s if necessary!There was a lot that made me smile on this list. The gorgeous animated series “Scavengers Reign” may have been cut short on Max, but the Emmys didn’t forget it. D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai broke into the comedy acting category for the last season of “Reservation Dogs” (though Devery Jacobs should have as well). And all hail the reality-hosting nomination for Alan Cumming, a peacocking Shakespearean hoot on “The Traitors.”LYONS Along with “Scavengers,” I was jazzed to see “Blue Eye Samurai” get a nod — a gorgeous, violent historical epic that will be up against “Bob’s Burgers” because, again, Emmy categories are bad.I was also glad to see the documentary mini-series “Telemarketers” nominated; that was one of my favorites last year, a show that was about a lot of things at once without being messy or unfocused. I also loved John Early’s special “Now More Than Ever,” which is nominated for outstanding writing for a variety special — a category that also includes the Oscars.I am mystified by the lack of recognition for “The Righteous Gemstones.” Who’s missing for you?PONIEWOZIK I have some snubs too. But I believe that if I complain about what should have been on a list, I have to say what I’d take off to make room. Only life can pay for life. So: Put the inventive “I’m a Virgo” on the outstanding comedy list and cut the try-hard period satire “Palm Royale.” Sub in Jharrel Jerome of “Virgo” for any of Larry David, Steve Martin or Martin Short. (You are national treasures! You don’t need this!) Swap out the fancy mediocrity “The Gilded Age” for the bananas cringe-horror of “The Curse.”Then there are the just plain surprises. “Elsbeth” has been such a full-employment program for top-notch guest stars that I was expecting it to get multiple nods, say Linda Lavin or Jane Krakowski. And speaking of “The Curse,” no Emma Stone? Does TV awards’ deference to movie stars count for nothing anymore?Jharrel Jerome starred as a 13-foot-tall teenager in “I’m a Virgo.”Amazon Prime VideoLYONS Wild that “The Curse” came up empty and also shocking to me that “Expats” met the same fate. I thought Lulu Wang’s direction there was breathtaking.If there was a show this year that was undeniable, though, it was “Baby Reindeer,” and indeed that notched a ton of nominations.PONIEWOZIK “Baby Reindeer” was what I wanted more of this year — something that grabbed me and slapped me awake.Instead, this felt a bit like a half-season of TV, and I can only get half-passionate about this Emmy list. Like Randy Jackson of “American Idol,” I ain’t mad at it. Most of what was good got recognized. “The Bear” may be a comedy, it may be a drama — it is the savory cannoli of television — but it was one of the best shows of the season. (Keep in mind we are talking the glorious Season 2, not the step-down of Season 3.) Ultimately that’s what matters, not how you organize the menu. More

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    Emmy Nomination Snubs and Surprises: John Mulaney, Emma Stone and More

    Every year the Primetime Emmy nominations go a little more according to form, and Wednesday’s list was perhaps the most predictable yet, with only one very slight curveball in the main drama and comedy series categories (see “The Curse,” below). Here are some highlights from a very short list of notable snubs and surprises.Snub: ‘John Mulaney Presents Everybody’s in L.A.’The talk-series category went exactly as expected — the series nominations went to “The Daily Show,” “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” — which is what the category is known for. But it was particularly galling that this year, when John Mulaney’s inventive ode to Los Angeles, rendered in a classic late-night format live on Netflix, offered an attractive alternative, that the voters went with the same old Colbert-Kimmel-Meyers lineup. (The show did receive a nomination for picture editing.)“The Curse,” with Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone, was shut out of Wednesday’s Emmy nominations.Richard Foreman Jr./A24/Paramount+ with ShowtimeSnub: ‘The Curse’Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie’s dark satire on marriage, home renovation and reality TV for Paramount+ and Showtime was thought to be in the running, if only marginally, for drama series. Its stars, Fielder and Emma Stone, were also borderline favorites for acting nominations. None of them broke though, however, which is getting to be a habit for Fielder: His previous attention-grabbing, opinion-dividing series, “Nathan for You,” received no nominations across its four seasons.Surprise: ‘Scavengers Reign’Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner’s beautifully drawn, eerily calm science-fiction tale was dropped by its original streaming home, Max, and picked up by Netflix a few weeks before nominations voting ended. Did the move give it the boost it needed to grab an unexpected bid in the animated program category? While it is gratifying to see a show this unusual get a nomination, the bigger news here is a snub: no nomination for the seventh season of the two-time winner “Rick and Morty.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Where to Stream 2024 Emmy-Nominated Series: ‘Shogun,’ ‘The Bear’ and More

    Nominations for the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on Wednesday. The Emmys ceremony is planned for Sept. 15, on ABC.Nominations for the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on Wednesday. The FX drama “Shogun” had 25 nominations, the most of any series this year. The FX comedy “The Bear,” which streams on Hulu, broke the record for most nominations for a comedy series.“Only Murders in the Building” (21 nominations), “True Detective: Night Country” (19) and “The Crown” (18) also did well this year. The Netflix limited series “Baby Reindeer,” the year’s biggest surprise hit so far, earned 11 nominations.The Emmys ceremony is planned for Sept. 15, on ABC. Here’s how to watch the top nominees.Best Drama‘Shogun’The FX epic adapts the 1975 James Clavell novel. (Review)Stream it on Hulu.‘The Crown’Peter Morgan’s docudrama about the British royal family wrapped up in 2023. (Review)Stream it on Netflix.‘The Morning Show’Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon star in this glossy series set in a fictional TV network. (Review)Stream it on Apple TV+.‘The Gilded Age’This opulent costume drama is set in late 19th-century New York. (Review)Stream it on Max.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Jon Hamm Talks Emmy Nominations for ‘Fargo,’ ‘The Morning Show’

    Jon Hamm is back in the Emmy Awards saddle.Nine years after winning his first statuette for his performance as the philandering advertising executive Don Draper in the Madison Avenue drama “Mad Men,” Hamm picked up two more acting nominations on Wednesday, for his performances in “Fargo” and “The Morning Show.”The first, for lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie, was for his villainous turn as Roy Tillman, a power-hungry Christian nationalist sheriff on “Fargo,” FX’s darkly comic anthology crime drama inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers movie. The series, which was created by Noah Hawley, picked up 15 nominations for its fifth season, including best limited series.Hamm also scored a supporting actor in a drama nod for his role as Paul Marks, an Elon Musk-like, space-loving billionaire in Season 3 of “The Morning Show,” Apple TV+’s behind-the-scenes look at a fictional broadcast news program.In an interview shortly after the nominations were announced — on the way to a voice-over session in Lower Manhattan for the animated show “Grimsburg,” in which Hamm, 53, plays a small-town detective — he shared his inspirations for his characters and what he thinks of Netflix’s limited series contender “Baby Reindeer.”These are edited excerpts from the conversation.Congratulations! How did you find out you were nominated?I was walking the dog to go get coffee, and I came back and my phone had quite a few messages.Your characters on “Fargo” and “The Morning Show” both seem to have fairly clear politically charged, real-world analogues — someone like Elon Musk for Paul Marks and any number of blowhard, nationalist politicians for Roy Tillman. To what extent did you base your performances on real people?We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    How Does a Dressing Room Get Into Character?

    As a child, the actor Krysta Rodriguez would mentally rearrange unfamiliar rooms as a way of soothing herself. The fixation followed her everywhere, from friends’ houses to historical sites. She remembers visiting a clothing store in Paris with her family when she was 11 and obsessing over where she would put a bed if she lived there. “As I’m thinking about it, it was probably a control issue,” she says. “I immediately try to figure out what a space wants to be. Is it a midcentury house that got renovated in the ’90s with all this incorrect architecture? I clear it away.”Over the past two decades or so, Rodriguez, 39, has mostly channeled this aesthetic intensity into her character work, for roles on both the stage and screen (including a memorable turn as Liza Minnelli in the 2021 Netflix series “Halston”). In 2022, while appearing as Jean-Michel Basquiat’s fictional girlfriend in the Broadway play “The Collaboration,” she arranged her dressing room to look like a messy artist’s loft, filled with the kind of ratty ’70s furniture that her character would have grabbed from the streets of the East Village in the ’80s. She says the actor Nathan Lane, with whom she co-starred in “The Addams Family” musical in 2010, helped her realize dressing rooms could be taken seriously when he turned his into an extravagant lounge, complete with a full bar. She also credits the actor Michael Cerveris, who painted his walls blood red and brought in a vintage barber’s chair while starring in a 2006 revival of “Sweeney Todd.” “I try to use these spaces as a gateway,” Rodriguez says of her own dressing rooms. “I want to have some sense of the character, even if it’s not my personal style.”Nestled among framed photos of Jordan’s friends and family are mementos from previous performances, including a bobblehead doll of his character on the TV series “Supergirl.”Blaine DavisIn 2020, when acting work slowed during the pandemic, she turned her interest in interior design into a full-fledged business, renovating the homes of clients in her native Orange County, Calif., and beyond. But it wasn’t until this spring that Rodriguez decorated a dressing room for another actor. When her friend Jeremy Jordan was preparing for his leading role in the Broadway musical adaptation of “The Great Gatsby,” he asked Rodriguez to lend her design expertise. She took inspiration from the subtle details of the character’s Jazz Age world rather than creating what she calls a “Party City Art Deco theme.” Jordan’s only request was that she make the windowless room, deep within the Broadway Theater, feel cozy. Rodriguez decided to reimagine the space as a sunroom in Jay Gatsby’s Long Island mansion, with a soothing watercolor wallpaper of a Japanese maple tree, to reflect the era’s affinity for Japonisme, and a marine blue love seat whose tropical plant print pillows match a nearby bird of paradise.Jordan’s Jazz Age costumes. Linda Cho won the Tony Award for best costume design for her work on the production.Blaine DavisRodriguez sourced period photographs online to help Jordan get into character. Next to a bottle of Buchanan’s whisky — a reference to Gatsby’s love interest in the story, Daisy Buchanan — is a framed image of a champagne tower similar to one featured in the production.Blaine DavisWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More