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      Adam Scott on His First Emmy Nomination for ‘Severance’

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      Scott earned first Emmy nomination on Tuesday, for best actor in drama for “Severance.”To stay afloat and avoid disappointment, Adam Scott said he doesn’t anticipate big nominations. It’s a healthier state of mind, he said, and he’s become accustomed to not hearing his name called.“I did not think I was going to be nominated,” he said. “I was just trying to focus on everyone else and take a walk and put it out of my head.”After learning he received an Emmy nomination for best actor in the Apple TV+ drama “Severance,” Scott said it was an honor to be named next to actors like Brian Cox, nominated for “Succession,” and Jason Bateman, nominated for “Ozark.”“Severance,” which is also nominated for best drama, presents an eerie picture of workplace culture in which employees of an enigmatic, vaguely sinister corporation named Lumon Industries undergo a surgical procedure that severs their work memories from their personal memories, in an effort to keep company secrets confidential. Scott plays Mark Scout, who after losing his wife, Gemma (played by Dichen Lachman), in a car accident, substitutes monotonous shifts pocketing numbers into digital boxes at Lumon for proper healing.In a phone interview on Tuesday, Scott discussed the show’s cliffhanger ending and how he used a personal loss to build his character. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.Where were you when you first heard of the nomination?I was in the middle of walking the dogs when I got the phone call and was surprised and just couldn’t be more flattered and honored. It was really a unique feeling, to say the least.Why do you think the show was so successful?It’s a good question because when we were making it, we, if not daily, very often would stop and look at each other and just be like, “This is really [expletive] weird. Is anyone going to connect with it?” We didn’t know, and then we would just kind of shrug our shoulders and put our heads down and keep going.What were the most challenging scenes for you to film?I was going through a grieving process, because my mom had died before I went out to New York. I walked into that apartment and realized I wasn’t done grieving at all, because my family kind of cushioned me from this at home. And that’s what love is for in a lot of ways, is to help you through a process like that, and we were locked down in Los Angeles so I was able to kind of make it through. But then I got to New York six months later, closed the door and I was by myself and I realized immediately I was not done absorbing this loss. The show was right there, and so I processed my grief through the show.What does “Severance” hope to teach about how to cope with grief?For outtie Mark, that’s what the season was about: grief, and how is he going to handle it? And is he going to handle it? Or is he going to continue pushing it away? And I was asking myself the same question. So, I decided to deal with it, but deal with it along with Mark.There’s a scene where I’m on the side of the road where my wife had a car accident in the show, and we just happened to shoot that scene on the one-year anniversary of my mom passing away. It was just a sheer coincidence. But I was kind of carrying it around with me all day and trying not to kind of zero in on it. It really, again, helped me with my grieving process.What does the show aim to tell viewers about how to manage what happens at work and what happens at home, particularly amid a pandemic when many people have had to work remotely?Work is something that you do to achieve one thing or another. A job is a place where you go, if you can define it like that, and I think people started re-evaluating their relationship with those things. I think we all found out that home and your life, and your life at work, they all started to blend into sort of one thing.How did the cast and the director Ben Stiller compose the last moments of the season finale?The moment where I call Mrs. Selvig “Ms. Cobel” accidentally — while we were shooting, I remember saying to Patricia [Arquette] and Ben, “OK if we have them, if they care at this point in the final episode, if we’ve laid the bread crumbs properly, this moment is going to be so fun and so huge.”But that’s a delicate process, getting to the point where that actually has impact. It’s not easy to put it all together so that actually happens. It could just as easily be a shrug if you’re not invested in the characters or the story or whatever. So, hearing that people threw things at their television or got up and walked out of the room or just screamed at the end of Episode 9 is delightful. We really had no idea if anyone would care. More

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      Sydney Sweeney Scores Two Emmy Nods, for ‘Euphoria’ and ‘The White Lotus’

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      Sweeney discussed her first two Emmy nominations as well as some of the controversy surrounding her “Euphoria” character, Cassie.Sydney Sweeney was leaving a fitting when she found out she was nominated for two Emmys Tuesday. Speechless, the first person she called was her mother.“There weren’t many words,” Sweeney said. “It was more of crying and saying how proud she was.”The 24-year-old actress earned nominations for two HBO shows: “The White Lotus,” for supporting actress in a limited series, and “Euphoria,” for supporting actress in a drama. She attributes her success in the shows to creating elaborate books for each character that include their individual back stories and emotional memories.“I’m able to just jump into who they are, and I know how they will react to something because of what has happened in their past,” she said. “I’m able to flesh out these fully vivid characters because I’ve given them life through the work that I put into it.”As Cassie in Season 2 of “Euphoria,” her character sacrifices her friendship with Maddy (played by Alexa Demie), and employs intensive beauty routines and country-music inspired wardrobes to win over Nate (Jacob Elordi), Maddy’s ex-boyfriend. (Zendaya, who plays the troubled Rue, was nominated again for best actress in a drama.)Sweeney’s character Olivia on “The White Lotus” had it easier, vacationing with her friend Paula (Brittany O’Grady), and passing scathing judgments at a luxury resort. The limited series racked up 20 nominations, including five just in the best supporting actress category.In a phone interview, Sweeney discussed the thrill of her first Emmy nominations and what she hopes viewers will gain from Cassie’s transformative arc. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.How did you feel when you heard that you received two nominations?I was definitely in shock, because I was not expecting to get nominated, especially not for two awards. I appreciate the characters that I get to play, so the fact that people have been touched by my character — that’s what means so much to me. It’s an amazing feeling, and I’m very appreciative.Cassie underwent a significant transformation in “Euphoria” last season, going from a sympathetic character to a more questionable one as she complicates her friendship with Maddy by falling for Nate. What was that metamorphosis like for you?It was a fun challenge. I was also very nervous, because I know that Maddy’s character is such a force and people love her. You don’t want to cross Maddy, and Cassie crossed Maddy. So I was a little nervous to see how people would react.Olivia, in “The White Lotus,” was a much more comic role. Was that challenging?I was a little scared because I’ve never done something on the more comedic side, and I was going to be surrounded by such comedic geniuses. But whenever I’m scared, that means I’m going to be challenged. I’m going to try and push myself even further. So I was really excited to be surrounded by these people.Some viewers complained that “Euphoria” hypersexualized Cassie last season. What did you make of that criticism, and what do you hope people take away from the character?I hope people can look deeper inside of Cassie and see the struggles and the trauma that she has gone through, and why she is who she is. Because there’s a reason behind all of it. Does she want to put herself out there all the time? No. She does it because that’s what she thinks other people want from her, and that’s the only way that she’s going to be able to get what she wants from people.I think that shows how women feel and how they’re treated today. I hope that it raises awareness for others, and they’re more aware of how we’re being perceived, how young girls are being raised. And there’s a double side, because I also think there’s strength behind how she feels when she is naked or she’s showing her body. She communicates that way and there’s a beauty, there’s a strength and there’s a sadness with all of it. I hope people can see that. More

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      Jennifer Coolidge Wanted Out of ‘The White Lotus.’ Now She’s Emmy Nominated.

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      “It’s really an incredible surprise,” said Coolidge, who on Tuesday received the first Emmy nomination of her long career for the series.Jennifer Coolidge was beloved by comedy fans even before her breakout performance in the HBO series “The White Lotus.” A scene-stealer in hits like “American Pie” and “Best in Show,” her skills as a character actress — full-body commitment, inimitable comic timing — have sustained her through nearly three decades in film and television. But no role has been as juicy or complex as Tanya, the wealthy and bereaved resort guest she plays on “Lotus.” The ensemble limited series, created by Mike White, tied with “Ted Lasso” for the second-most nominations this year after “Succession,” another HBO show. Seven of Coolidge’s co-stars, including Connie Britton, Natasha Rothwell, Alexandra Daddario and Murray Bartlett, were also nominated.In a phone interview, Coolidge discussed why she initially tried to get out of “The White Lotus,” filming the show’s second season in Italy, and what she wants to do next. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.This is your first Emmy nomination. How does it feel?It feels great! I thought I’d already lost. Someone told me that if you’re nominated someone calls you at 5:30 or 6 a.m. So, by 7 a.m., when it didn’t happen, I was like “OK. Oh well,” and sort of let it go. Then when I got a call from my publicist saying it had happened, I was so confused. But it’s even more thrilling. It’s really an incredible surprise.You got your start on television, playing one of Jerry’s girlfriends on “Seinfeld” in the ’90s. Are you thinking about what this means in the longer arc of your career?You know, I’ve never been part of the awards seasons or anything, so you just sort of get used to that. I just thought, “Wow, that’s not my future.” In a million years, I didn’t think this would happen. I just can’t believe it. Really seriously can’t believe it.What did you make of the role of Tanya when Mike first pitched it to you?I certainly didn’t think it was going to lead to this. You know it was a huge risk for Mike to give me this big part. I’m sure he had to jump through hoops to get me approved, and that they were thinking of some more famous actresses. But he gave me this shot, and I’m thrilled because it could’ve gone a different way. I was sort of nervous about it and I tried to get out of it. I truly did. I was nervous about vain things, like not looking right and not being able to deliver somehow. I just didn’t want to fail, and I didn’t want to be the only one in the cast who didn’t pull through. But it’s a great life lesson: When you want to try to get out of something, maybe it’s the best thing you could be involved in.When you were in that phase of feeling like you wanted to get out of the role, what made you change your mind?It was this friend of mine, Chase Winton. I was in her living room and she asked me, “Are you going to go do that show in Hawaii?” I said “No, I’m not. I’m not in good shape. I look like hell.” I was eating pizzas and things through Covid, and I wasn’t … I just said, “I’ll do it another time.” And she just gave me this lecture. “Are you kidding me, Jennifer? Do you know what an idiot you’re being in this moment? I have to talk you out of making a terrible mistake.” If it hadn’t been for her, I wouldn’t have done it. I was going to tell Mike that I needed foot surgery or something, some silly excuse. But I’m so glad she talked me into it. Even if it didn’t lead to an Emmy situation, just to go do that job was such a positive thing.What was it about your friend’s lecture that broke through to you?She said, “Just own it, Jennifer, whatever you are. You’re out of shape? You’re not prepared? Just own it. Show up anyway.”Did the character feel different from roles you’ve played in the past?There are other people in my life who have given me some cool roles. But this was really on a different level because Mike knows me really well. He knew that I lost my mother in my early 30s and that it was a big deal, so he wrote this very cool part that was tailor-made for me. There’s no one cooler than Mike White. He loves actors, and he loves writing them great stuff.Have you spoken with him yet?No, he’s in Italy. I’m sure he’s getting lots of messages. But Reggie, you’re my first call.I’m honored. Can you tell me anything about the next season of “White Lotus”?I just did five months on it in Sicily. I got back like two weeks ago. I’ve been instructed that I’m not allowed to leak anything, but I have to say, from what I’ve witnessed, watching what some of the new actors are doing, people will not be disappointed. It’s a very elaborate story Mike is telling, and it was just incredible to be a part of.What do you want to do next?I would love to do a serious play. There’s some original stuff that I’ve heard might be coming my way, but it’s not confirmed yet. I’m just excited because things like this open the door for cool stuff. It’s harder to make things happen when you don’t have a lot happening. And then the minute you have a lot happening, the seas part. So who knows? The sky’s the limit. You get used to thinking in a certain way, and then something like “White Lotus” happens and you start to have bigger thoughts.After me, who’s the first person you want to celebrate with?As you and I were talking one minute ago, I got a FaceTime from Mike White. So I will be excited to call him back. More

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      Amanda Seyfried on Her Emmy Nomination for ‘The Dropout’

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      The actress received her first Emmy nomination for bringing nuance to her portrayal in “The Dropout” of the disgraced Theranos founder, Elizabeth Holmes.Even in a television season rife with grifters, poseurs and con artists, Amanda Seyfried was very good at being bad. In the Hulu mini-series “The Dropout,” she starred as Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder and former chief executive of Theranos, a once-hot health technology start-up that promised an easy method for testing blood with a single finger prick.Seyfried, a star of films like “Mank,” “Mamma Mia!” and “Mean Girls,” managed to fashion a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of Holmes, at least at the outset: She begins the series as an ambitious college student with dreams of becoming the next Steve Jobs, and we follow her on her journey as she becomes ever more ruthlessly determined to realize her all-consuming goal.When her downfall arrives, a viewer might almost — almost — feel sorry for Seyfried’s Holmes as her company collapses and she cuts herself off from former friends and colleagues. (A real-life jury, however, did not; Holmes was convicted in January on four counts of criminal fraud.)On Tuesday, Seyfried received an Emmy nomination as a lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie, the first Emmy nod of her career. She spoke by phone from the set of “The Crowded Room,” an Apple TV+ anthology series in which she will star with Tom Holland, to talk about “The Dropout,” Holmes, bad dancing and primal screams. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.This was an almost eight-hour-long story that took several months to produce. How does it feel to receive an Emmy nomination for it?I’ve been making movies since I was 17, and this was different. I almost want to say, it’s different because it was seen. A lot of times, you do things and they don’t get seen, but it doesn’t take away from the experience of making it. With this, I was getting to explore a character in a way that I haven’t before. It’s a pretty insane true story, and it was pretty well-written. I’m glad it turned out the way it did and that people like it.Were you surprised by how sympathetic your Elizabeth was, at least in the pages of “The Dropout,” when compared with what events might have suggested?I wasn’t surprised at all. There’s no point in making this show if you’re not going to try to understand this person. In order to understand somebody, you need to have empathy. It doesn’t matter who it is. Everybody’s human. Everybody’s got layers.Few of us have been in such high-stakes situations, but Elizabeth’s desperation to keep papering over one failure after another, and the escalation of that, felt palpable.During shooting, the way I was able to justify the doubling-down that she did was that she really believed that she was sacrificing in order to actually find the answer. And, quote-unquote, save the world. People are willing to overlook many, many things for the sake of the bigger picture.On a lighter note, at least, you got some opportunities to do some really bad dancing. Is that a form of acting in itself?Well, no. Picture anybody alone in front of a mirror. And then start dancing. The intimacy of being alone and the possibility of what you’re not seeing — everybody’s a 13-year-old, trying on clothes. We can all relate to that. That dancing was a direct line into Elizabeth Holmes’s identity, and it was a genius way of getting into her.The final episode has an indelible moment in which Elizabeth is outside with her dog and lets out a primal scream. You must have had to shoot several takes of that — was it grueling to do over and over?Ugh. Uh-huh. There was even the question of, do we need her to scream? Is it more like an implosion? What would that desperation look like? It was so much pressure, and I tried the scream, and the dog cowered, so we took the dog out. It was not kind to the animal. So that was pretty much the only take where you see the dog, right off the bat — the animal caregivers came over, and I said, I get it. I didn’t know what I was going to do.You can’t really explain to the dog what you’re doing.“Oh, no, we’re just acting, man. Everything’s cool.” I also get really nervous about losing my voice because I’m a singer. I was always in touch with my voice coach for anything, especially the deeper speaking. The scream, I was just like, I don’t think I can do anymore.Since finishing the show, do you feel tempted to use The Voice in real-life situations?To me, it’s an accent. For a long time, I refused to do it. And then after the trial, a couple months later, one of the doormen at the building where I’m staying, they’re like, can you do the voice? And I did it. And I was like, Hmm, it feels good. It’s done me well. More

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      Emmys Nominees 2022 Full List: ‘Succession,’ ‘Ted Lasso’ and More

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      This year’s Emmy nominees were announced on Tuesday. The 74th Emmy Awards ceremony will be held on Sept. 12.This year’s Emmy Award nominees were announced on Tuesday, with “Succession,” “Ted Lasso” and “The White Lotus” earning the most nominations. “Squid Game” earned 14 nods, the most ever for a foreign-language show.The 74th Emmy Awards will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 12 on NBC and will stream live for the first time on Peacock.[Follow live updates of the 2022 Emmy nominations here.]These are the nominees for the Emmy Awards.Best Comedy“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)“Barry” (HBO)“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)“Hacks” (HBO Max)“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)Best Drama“Better Call Saul” (AMC)“Euphoria” (HBO Max)“Ozark” (Netflix)“Severance” (Apple TV+)“Squid Game” (Netflix)“Stranger Things” (Netflix)“Succession” (HBO)“Yellowjackets” (Showtime)Best Limited Series“Dopesick” (Hulu)“The Dropout” (Hulu)“Inventing Anna” (Netflix)“Pam & Tommy” (Hulu)“The White Lotus” (HBO)Best Actress, ComedyRachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”Elle Fanning, “The Great”Issa Rae, “Insecure”Jean Smart, “Hacks”Best Actor, ComedyDonald Glover, “Atlanta”Bill Hader, “Barry”Nicholas Hoult, “The Great”Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”Best Actress, DramaJodie Comer, “Killing Eve”Laura Linney, “Ozark”Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve”Reese Witherspoon, “The Morning Show”Zendaya, “Euphoria”Best Actor, DramaJason Bateman, “Ozark”Brian Cox, “Succession”Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game”Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”Adam Scott, “Severance”Jeremy Strong, “Succession”Best Actress, Limited Series or TV MovieToni Collette, “The Staircase”Julia Garner, “Inventing Anna”Lily James, “Pam & Tommy”Sarah Paulson, “Impeachment”Margaret Qualley, “Maid”Amanda Seyfried, “The Dropout”Best Actor, Limited Series or TV MovieColin Firth, “The Staircase”Andrew Garfield, “Under the Banner of Heaven”Oscar Isaac, “Scenes from a Marriage”Michael Keaton, “Dopesick”Himesh Patel, “Station Eleven”Sebastian Stan, “Pam & Tommy”Supporting Actress, ComedyAlex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”Sarah Niles, “Ted Lasso”Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”Supporting Actor, ComedyAnthony Carrigan, “Barry”Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary”Toheeb Jimoh, “Ted Lasso”Nick Mohammed, “Ted Lasso”Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”Henry Winkler, “Barry”Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”Supporting Actress, DramaPatricia Arquette, “Severance”Julia Garner, “Ozark”Jung Ho-yeon, “Squid Game”Christina Ricci, “Yellowjackets”Rhea Seehorn, “Better Call Saul”J. Smith-Cameron, “Succession”Sarah Snook, “Succession”Sydney Sweeney, “Euphoria”Supporting Actor, DramaNicholas Braun, “Succession”Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”Kieran Culkin, “Succession”Park Hae-soo, “Squid Game”Matthew Macfadyen, “Succession”John Turturro, “Severance”Christopher Walken, “Severance”Oh Yeong-su, “Squid Game”Supporting Actress, Limited Series or a MovieConnie Britton, “The White Lotus”Jennifer Coolidge, “The White Lotus”Alexandra Daddario, “The White Lotus”Kaitlyn Dever, “Dopesick”Natasha Rothwell, “The White Lotus”Sydney Sweeney, “The White Lotus”Mare Winningham, “Dopesick”Supporting Actor, Limited Series or MovieMurray Bartlett, “The White Lotus”Jake Lacy, “The White Lotus”Will Poulter, “Dopesick”Seth Rogen, “Pam & Tommy”Peter Sarsgaard, “Dopesick”Michael Stuhlbarg, “Dopesick”Steve Zahn, “The White Lotus”Variety Talk Series“Daily Show With Trevor Noah”“Jimmy Kimmel Live”“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”“Late Night With Seth Meyers”“Late Show With Stephen Colbert”Reality Competition Program“The Amazing Race”“Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls”“Nailed It”“RuPaul’s Drag Race”“Top Chef”“The Voice”Writing for a Comedy SeriesLucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, “Hacks” (“The One, the Only”)Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary” (“Pilot”)Bill Hader and Alec Berg, “Barry” (“starting now”)Alec Berg and Duffy Boudreau, “Barry” (“710N”)Steve Martin and John Hoffman, “Only Murders in the Building” (“True Crime”)Jane Becker, “Ted Lasso” (“No Weddings And A Funeral”)Sarah Naftalis, “What We Do In The Shadows” (“The Casino”)Stefani Robinson, “What We Do In The Shadows” (“The Wellness Center”)Writing for a Drama SeriesJesse Armstrong, “Succession” (“All the Bells Say”)Dan Erickson, “Severance” (“The We We Are”)Hwang Dong-hyuk, “Squid Game” (“One Lucky Day”)Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, “Yellowjackets” (“Pilot”)Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, “Yellowjackets” (“F Sharp”)Chris Mundy, “Ozark” (“A Hard Way to Go”)Thomas Schnauz, “Better Call Saul” (“Plan and Execution”)Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama SpecialElizabeth Meriwether, “The Dropout”Sarah Burgess, “Impeachment: American Crime Story”Molly Smith Metzler, “Maid”Patrick Somerville, “Station Eleven”Danny Strong, “Dopesick”Mike White, “The White Lotus”Directing for a Comedy SeriesLucia Aniello, “Hacks” (“There Will Be Blood”)Jamie Babbit, “Only Murders in the Building” (“True Crime”)Cherien Dabis, “Only Murders in the Building” (“The Boy From 6B”)Mary Lou Belli, “The Ms. Pat Show” (“Baby Daddy Groundhog Day”)MJ Delaney, “Ted Lasso” (“No Weddings and a Funeral”)Bill Hader, “Barry” (“710N”)Hiro Murai, “Atlanta” (“New Jazz”)Directing for a Drama SeriesJason Bateman, “Ozark” (“A Hard Way to Go”)Hwang Dong-hyuk, “Squid Game” (“Red Light, Green Light”)Karyn Kusama, “Yellowjackets” (“Pilot”)Mark Mylod, “Succession” (“All the Bells Say”)Cathy Yan, “Succession” (“The Disruption”)Lorene Scafaria, “Succession” (“Too Much Birthday”)Ben Stiller, “Severance” (“The We We Are”)Directing for a Limited SeriesHiro Murai, “Station Eleven”Michael Showalter, “The Dropout”Francesca Gregorini, “The Dropout”Danny Strong, “Dopesick”John Wells, “Maid”Mike White, “The White Lotus”Documentary Or Nonfiction Series“100 Foot Wave” (HBO)“Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy” (Netflix)“The Andy Warhol Diaries” (Netflix)“The Beatles: Get Back” (Disney+)“We Need To Talk About Cosby” (Showtime)Documentary Or Nonfiction Special“Controlling Britney Spears” (New York Times Presents)“George Carlin’s American Dream” (HBO)“Lucy And Desi” (Amazon)“The Tinder Swindler” (Netflix)“We Feed People” (Disney+) More

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      The nominations are being announced right now. Here’s where to watch.

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      J.B. Smoove (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Melissa Fumero (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) are announcing the nominees virtually.Nominations for the 74th Emmy Awards are being announced, in a virtual presentation hosted by J.B. Smoove (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Melissa Fumero (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”). The presentation can be live-streamed here.Winners of this year’s Emmys will be unveiled during a prime-time ceremony on NBC and the streaming service Peacock, on Sept. 12. NBC has not yet announced a host.More than 17,000 members of the Television Academy will be able to vote for the biggest awards, including best drama, comedy and limited series. Eligible shows for this year’s Emmys had to premiere between June 2021 and May 2022. More

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      Lea Michele to Star in ‘Funny Girl’ After Beanie Feldstein’s Departure

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      The former “Glee” star will share the stage with Tovah Feldshuh, who will replace Jane Lynch as Fanny Brice’s mother, starting Sept. 6.The actress Lea Michele will take over as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of “Funny Girl” in early September, the show said Monday, after Beanie Feldstein’s abrupt announcement that she would be leaving the role earlier than expected.Feldstein wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday night that her “dream” run as Brice, a spunky stage performer who shoots to stardom with the Ziegfeld Follies, would end on July 31, instead of the previously announced date of Sept. 25. Without elaborating, Feldstein, whose performance in the role received tepid reviews, wrote that she would leave the musical early because the production had “decided to take the show in a different direction.”The show quickly signaled that it had her successor waiting in the wings, and on Monday, it was announced that Michele — who starred in the original Broadway production of “Spring Awakening” and is best known for her central role on the television show “Glee” — would be debuting in the role on Sept. 6.Until then, the actress Julie Benko, who has been playing Brice as Feldstein’s understudy, will step in. Under a new arrangement, Benko will continue to perform in the role once a week, on Thursdays, after Michele takes over.In an Instagram post after the news was announced, Michele wrote: “A dream come true is an understatement. I’m so incredibly honored to join this amazing cast and production and return to the stage playing Fanny Brice on Broadway.”The show also announced that the actress Tovah Feldshuh, who starred in the original Broadway production of “Yentl,” will be taking over the role of Brice’s doting mother, who is currently being played by Jane Lynch. The show had previously announced that Lynch would be leaving after Sept. 25, but the new announcement moved her departure a few weeks earlier. That timetable means that Michele and Lynch, who were co-stars on “Glee,” will not be performing together.Tovah Feldshuh will replace Jane Lynch in the role of Brice’s doting mother in “Funny Girl.”Tony Cenicola/The New York TimesAfter Barbra Streisand originated the role of Brice in the original 1964 production, the show evaded a Broadway revival for decades, partly because comparisons with Streisand’s star-making performance seemed hard to escape.It has been no secret that Michele — who opened each chapter of her 2014 memoir, “Brunette Ambition,” with a Streisand or Brice quote — had interest in the role. A central plotline of her character on “Glee,” a cutthroat captain of the high school glee club on which the show is based, involves playing Brice, giving Michele the chance to perform songs like “People” and “I’m the Greatest Star” during the series.The “Glee” co-creator Ryan Murphy had gotten the rights to “Funny Girl,” thinking that Michele’s character would audition for the role on the TV series and then, perhaps, Michele would star in the show in real life. In a 2017 appearance on Andy Cohen’s talk show, Michele said they had been considering collaborating on a Broadway production after the end of “Glee,” but it felt too soon because she had just performed many of the songs on the TV show.“But I feel really ready to do it now,” she said on the show, “so maybe we can do it soon.”That dream did not come to fruition — until now.Michele was 8 years old when she made her Broadway debut as Young Cosette in “Les Misérables,” but spent more than a decade focused primarily on television. Michele sang at last month’s Tony Awards during a reunion performance with other original cast members of “Spring Awakening.”In 2020 the meal-kit company HelloFresh terminated its partnership with Michele after a former “Glee” castmate, Samantha Marie Ware, who is Black, tweeted that Michele had been responsible for “traumatic microaggressions” toward her. Michele released an apologetic statement on Instagram saying she did not recall making a specific comment that Ware wrote about, but adding that she had been reflecting on her past behavior. “Whether it was my privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times or whether it was just my immaturity and me just being unnecessarily difficult, I apologize for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused,” she wrote.The current production of “Funny Girl,” which opened in April at the August Wilson Theater, has had strong ticket sales, grossing an average of about $1.2 million each week during the 14 full weeks since it started performances. The show’s only nomination at last month’s Tony Awards was for Jared Grimes’s role as Brice’s friend, Eddie Ryan, a tap-dance extraordinaire who aids Brice’s rise in show business.Grimes will continue in his role, as will Ramin Karimloo, who plays Brice’s suave love interest, Nick Arnstein. More

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      in Television

      The Explosive Ambitions of Kate the Chemist

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      The dream is Vegas.“Don’t make fun of me,” said Kate Biberdorf, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, “but it would be a live show in Vegas where it’s a science show.”That is not a typical aspiration of someone who teaches chemistry to undergraduates. For Dr. Biberdorf — better known as Kate the Chemist — that dream is part of her goal to capture the fun of scientific exploration and to entice children, especially girls, to consider science as their life’s calling.“When I’m happiest is when I’m onstage sharing what I love,” she said.She’s thinking of a big spectacle, like the long-running magic shows of David Copperfield at MGM Grand or Penn & Teller at Rio Las Vegas. “If we can convince people to go to science shows when on vacation,” she added, not entirely convinced herself.For now, her efforts have focused on television and publishing, not Vegas. Over the last few years, she has written two books of science experiments to try at home, a science book for adults and, with Hillary Homzie, a children’s book author, a series of novels starring a younger, fictional version of herself.On television, she has already become something of a contemporary update of science popularizers like Bill Nye the Science Guy or Donald “Mr. Wizard” Herbert.Perhaps you’ve seen her.Dr. Biberdorf, 36, has appeared on NBC’s “Today,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and other programs with demonstrations of color-changing chemicals, magnetic slime and, very often, chemical reactions accompanied by bright, loud bangs.During a “Today” show segment in 2019, she, along with Craig Melvin, the show’s news anchor, and Dylan Dreyer, the meteorologist, forcefully dumped buckets of hot water into liquid nitrogen, instantly engulfing them in eruptions of billowing white vapor.The three, wearing lab coats, safety goggles and protective mitts, emerged a bit frost-blasted.“You didn’t tell me it was going to blow up in my face,” Mr. Melvin exclaimed.“This is a thundercloud,” Dr. Biberdorf explained.Dr. Biberdorf has appeared on NBC’s “Today,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and other programs with color-changing chemicals, magnetic slime and bright, loud bangs.Christopher Lee for The New York TimesThe TV appearances only last a few minutes — long enough to show off some chemistry “wow” but too brief to include more than passing mentions of the how and why of what is happening.For a deeper dive into science, Dr. Biberdorf is looking to star in a television show or two of her own.One of the ideas she and her collaborators are pitching is “Science Unfair.” Imagine a reality television competition along the lines of Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America,” but with students who are bombing in their science classes.“It would be more like the kids who hate that and don’t want to do the science fair,” Dr. Biberdorf said. “We’re trying to get them together and make them do a little competition. At the end of each segment, hopefully they will now like science.”The other pitch, on the back burner for now, is “Blow My Stuff Up,” which would combine therapy and pyrotechnics to help people recovering from a failed relationship or other unhappy experiences.“There’s a therapist there as well, so they’re actually working on healing and moving forward in their lives.” Dr. Biberdorf said. Then, she would satisfyingly dispose of objects emblematic of the troubles that the people have put behind them.An episode might follow someone who had long suffered driving an unreliable, junker of a car. “They finally got a new car, they just want to blow up their old car,” Dr. Biberdorf said, “and we can do that with a bunch of pyrotechnics. So I am absolutely stoked about that.”Both of Dr. Biberdorf’s parents are psychologists, and her sister is a therapist. “It kind of brings the two worlds together,” she said.Sizzles — demo videos showing snippets of what the show might look like — have been shown to various networks.Growing up in Portage, Mich., just south of Kalamazoo, Dr. Biberdorf got hooked on chemistry because of an enthusiastic teacher in high school, Kelli Palsrok.“Honestly, ever since I was 15, I knew I wanted to be a chemist because of her,” Dr. Biberdorf said. “My dream, truthfully, is to be her for the next generation of kids.”Ms. Palsrok remembers the young Kate as “pretty much the same as she is now,” she said. “Always enthusiastic about chemistry and science. Very well-rounded student. Loved the hands-on stuff.”But the field of chemistry has not always been welcoming to Dr. Biberdorf. “You are judged on your appearance,” she said. “And I look a certain way, and I dress a certain way.”Which is to say, she wears heels, skirts and lipstick.“I lean into my feminine side,” she said. “But that’s just because I like it, and I feel like I’m at my best when I present that image.”She added, “It’s also very important for me that younger girls can see that side of a scientist.” She said women taking her college class have expressed appreciation for that.“You can look however you want and still be into science as much as possible,” Dr. Biberdorf said.But that does not fit the stereotype that many scientists have of women as scientists.“I don’t think people look at me and go, ‘Well, that’s a smart lady,’” Dr. Biberdorf said. “So I know when I’m in faculty meetings or conferences or anything like that, my first three sentences need to be articulate, accurate.”Dr. Biberdorf said she owed her passion for chemistry to her high school chemistry teacher. “My dream, truthfully, is to be her for the next generation of kids,” she said.Christopher Lee for The New York TimesAs a graduate student at the University of Texas, she studied catalysts for potentially speeding up Suzuki-Miyaura coupling, a reaction commonly used in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.There, she found that she did not like laboratory work. In addition, pure academia was a difficult place for her. “I didn’t want to be in that environment,” she said. “I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could.”Her current job at the university is as a professor of instruction — all teaching and no lab research. In 2014, when she started, she was teaching two undergraduate chemistry classes, and she went to her boss asking if she could do more.“We created an outreach program called ‘Fun with Chemistry,’” she said. “I was supposed to go to two elementary schools a semester. That was the deal.”The program turned into something much more popular, with many more schools asking her to visit. “I interacted with something like 16,000 students that first year,” she said. “It was nuts, in my opinion.”That in turn led to monthly appearances on “We Are Austin,” a morning show on the local CBS station.A few years later, a thousand miles away in Los Angeles, Glenn Schwartz, noticed. He had been Bill Nye’s publicist, but the two went their separate business ways about five years ago. Mr. Schwartz wondered: Is there another Bill Nye out there?He searched for about a year before coming across Dr. Biberdorf.“I found Kate’s website, and I looked at some video, and I simply contacted her,” Mr. Schwartz said. “Really, it was me looking around and looking for somebody like her. And then I was lucky enough to actually find her.”Mr. Schwartz, who is now Dr. Biberdorf’s manager, said she possessed a winning mix of credentials and personality. Although there are many people posting science videos on YouTube, “Kate was obviously different,” he said.He added, “The thing about being on TV is that you can’t teach somebody to be likable.”Bill Nye the Science Guy does not mind sharing the science television spotlight. “Kate is going to be Kate, and Bill is going to be Bill,” he said in an interview.Mr. Nye said their goals were the same: to intrigue children in science. “It’s the people who are watching us that we want to succeed and change the world,” he said.(Mr. Nye is still on television, too. His latest series, “The End Is Nye,” , premieres on the Peacock streaming service on Aug. 25.)Though she does not have her Vegas shows yet, Dr. Biberdorf is planning to take a road tour of chemistry demonstrations across the country next year.Christopher Lee for The New York TimesScience on television has required a sort of research very different from the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling experiments Dr. Biberdorf used to undertake. For example, she had to figure out how to blow up a cake on “The Wendy Williams Show” last year to celebrate the host’s birthday.For safety, fire, the usual sorts of explosives and toxic chemicals were not allowed in the studio.“So what did I do?” she said. “I took liquid nitrogen, put it in a soda bottle and put it in a thing, and it exploded that way. Which is a bomb. But they don’t know that. So we just didn’t use that terminology. I said it’s vapor pressure. But it’s a way to spin that, right? You have to figure out how to say things so you don’t scare people.”After a year and a half of remote teaching because of the pandemic, she returned to the lecture hall in the spring semester. “We’re able to talk a little bit about how Covid tests work,” she said. “There’s a lot of real-world applications.”She is planning a road tour of chemistry shows next year, conducting her experiments and science entertainment at performing arts centers across the country.“We’re just trying to figure out the logistics right now,” she said. For a demonstration like the exploding birthday cake, “How do I get that from place to place?” she wondered. “Am I rebuilding my exploding birthday cake every time, or what can I reuse?”If the whiz-bang of the shows can intrigue audiences, she hopes people might delve into her books, where she can provide more detailed explanations and still make chemistry interesting to people not yet familiar with the jargon.“I use as many analogies as I possibly can,” she said. “I talked about Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s marriage as a way to explain double replacement reactions. And so that’s something that works for my age group. Maybe there are people that don’t know what I’m talking about, but it’s a way to hook the millennials and then Gen Z hopefully, because we need more scientists.”She does not have her Vegas show yet, she said, but, “we have some connections with Penn & Teller.” (The magician duo, Penn Jillette and Teller, are also clients of Mr. Schwartz.)“Maybe,” Dr. Biberdorf mused, “I can kind of sneak in there somehow and do something fun with them.” More