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    Maggie Smith, Grande Dame of Stage and Screen, Dies at 89

    She earned an extraordinary array of awards, from Oscars to Emmys to a Tony, but she could still go almost everywhere unrecognized. Then came “Downton Abbey.”Maggie Smith, one of the finest British stage and screen actors of her generation, whose award-winning roles ranged from a freethinking Scottish schoolteacher in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” to the acid-tongued dowager countess on “Downton Abbey,” died on Friday in London. She was 89.Her death, in a hospital, was announced by her family in a statement issued by a publicist. It did not specify the cause of death.American moviegoers barely knew Ms. Smith (now Dame Maggie to her countrymen) when she starred in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (1969), about a teacher at a girls’ school in the 1930s who dared to have provocative views — and a love life. Vincent Canby’s review in The New York Times described her performance as “a staggering amalgam of counterpointed moods, switches in voice levels and obliquely stated emotions, all of which are precisely right.” It brought her the Academy Award for best actress.She won a second Oscar, for best supporting actress, for “California Suite” (1978), based on Neil Simon’s stage comedy. Her character, a British actress attending the Oscars with her bisexual husband (Michael Caine), has a disappointing evening at the ceremony and a bittersweet night in bed.In real life, prizes had begun coming Ms. Smith’s way in 1962, when she won her first Evening Standard Theater Award. By the turn of the millennium, she had the two Oscars, a Tony, two Golden Globes, half a dozen BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Awards) and scores of nominations. Yet she could go almost anywhere unrecognized.Until “Downton Abbey.”Ms. Smith on the set of the 1969 film “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.” She won an Academy Award for best actress for the performance.Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group, via Getty Images

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    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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    Emmy Viewership Rises to 6.9 Million Viewers

    The uptick puts the Emmys among the award shows, such as the Oscars, that have had audience gains in the past few years.For the first time in three years, viewership for the Emmy Awards has gone in an upward direction.The Emmys drew an audience of 6.9 million on ABC on Sunday night, according to Nielsen, a healthy increase following a strike-delayed ceremony in January that drew a low of just over 4 million viewers.The ratings increase finally follows a trend of other award shows, such as the Oscars and Grammys, which have had viewership gains over the past few years. And it also stops the bleeding for an event that was dangerously approaching the low ratings of the Tony Awards.Even with the increase, the Emmys has lost a substantial amount of its audience in recent years. As recently as 2018, the event regularly drew more than 10 million people.Sunday’s telecast had some advantages over the last show. The January ceremony ran head-to-head against an N.F.L. playoff game, and was on the tail end of a frenetic stretch of award shows that included the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. Sunday’s show was back in the Emmys’ traditional mid-September slot that viewers have come to expect.The Emmys has long had the unfortunate — but accurate — reputation of being numbingly predictable. Indeed, in recent years, voters have tended to shower the same show (“Schitt’s Creek,” “The White Lotus,” “Ted Lasso,” “Succession”) with award after award. But on Sunday, there was an unusual turn of events: There were numerous upsets.“The Bear” won four Emmys on Sunday but, in a big surprise, “Hacks” won best comedy. Voters gave “Shogun” best drama honors, but also delivered unexpected wins to shows like “Slow Horses” and “The Morning Show.” “Baby Reindeer” took best limited series, but “True Detective,” “Fargo” and “Ripley” also had wins on Sunday.Reviews for the telecast, which was hosted by the father-and-son duo of Eugene and Dan Levy, were decidedly mixed. The Los Angeles Times described the telecast as “casually interesting” while Variety called it “humdrum” and Rolling Stone said it was “blah.” More

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    ‘Shogun’: Here’s What to Know About the Record-Breaking Emmy Hit

    The FX epic ruled TV’s top honors, racking up 18 Emmys for its first season. Here is a brief guide to this saga of samurai warriors and star-crossed lovers.The Emmys have crowned a new overlord.“Shogun” ruled TV’s top honors, racking up a record 18 Emmy Awards for its first season — the most ever for a show in a single year — including wins on Sunday for best drama and for best actor and actress in a drama (Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai). This makes “Shogun,” created for FX by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, the most acclaimed TV show of 2024. But amid all the streaming platforms and shows out there, you can be forgiven if it flew under your radar.“Shogun” is streaming on Hulu. Wondering what all the award-winning fuss is about? Here is a brief guide to this historical epic of samurai warriors and star-crossed lovers. Soon you’ll be ready to stage an all-out assault on your next binge-watch.Where have I heard of ‘Shogun’ before?The FX series is an adaptation of the 1975 novel of the same title by James Clavell. Based on a true story and set in feudal Japan at the beginning of the 17th century, this best-selling work of historical fiction has been adapted into live-action formats twice before: first as a widely watched 1980 NBC television mini-series, then as a short-lived 1990 Broadway musical. Residents of the New York tristate area may remember this commercial for the musical; as for the book, nearly everyone has likely seen it on a family member’s bookshelf.What is ‘Shogun’ about?The first season of “Shogun” — more are in the works — centers on three characters whose relationships will determine the fate of Japan. The first is John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), a shipwrecked English Protestant and ship’s pilot, or “anjin” in Japanese. He reveals the existence of a global schism in Christianity to the island’s rulers, who have been deliberately kept in the dark by their avaricious Portuguese Catholic trading partners.Richard Chamberlain and Yoko Shimada in the 1980 version of “Shogun,” a ratings hit that was centered on Chamberlain’s character.NBCIn order to survive and to alter the balance of power in Europe, Blackthorne must make his case to Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), the man in command of the region. A member of a five-man council that has governed Japan in the name of its child ruler, Toranaga is at odds with its most powerful member, Lord Ishido (Takehiro Hira, who was a nominee for best supporting actor in a drama). The anjin and the weapons aboard his ship may provide Toranaga with the edge he needs to survive his power struggle.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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    “Shogun” Emmy Win Lifts FX Past Bigger Rivals

    The network has been a darling among critics for years. But it hit a new high on Sunday, with “Shogun” winning best drama and “The Bear” picking up several awards as well.When the “Shogun” writer and producer Justin Marks stormed the Emmys stage after his show won best drama on Sunday night, his first order of business was to pay tribute to the people who helped bring him there: the executive team at FX.How, he wondered aloud, did the network approve a show that was extremely expensive, and would be mostly subtitled in Japanese?“I have no idea why you did that, but thank you for your faith in this incredible team,” he said.For roughly two decades, that team at FX has been a darling to television critics with series like “American Horror Story,” “The Americans,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Atlanta.” But the network, with less money at its disposal than rivals such as Netflix and HBO, had never won television’s most prestigious prize, best drama, until Sunday.And that’s not all it won.“Shogun,” an adaptation from a 1975 best-selling book centered on 17th century feudal Japan on the brink of civil war, had a dominant night at the Emmys. It set a record for most Emmys won by a show in a single year, winning 18 in all. It was also the first time a foreign language show (roughly 70 percent of the show was in Japanese) had taken the best drama award that is normally the domain of shows that take place in the United States, the United Kingdom or Westeros.Hiroyuki Sanada in a scene from “Shogun.”Katie Yu/FX, via Associated PressAnother FX show, “The Bear,” won several major Emmys on Sunday night, including three acting awards. But in an upset, Max’s “Hacks” defeated “The Bear” in best comedy series.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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    Best Red Carpet Fashion At the Emmys: Jennifer Aniston, Ayo Edebiri & More

    For people who like to look at clothes, there have lately been many opportunities on red carpets and off. Movie stars were in the spotlight at film festivals in Venice and Toronto. New York Fashion Week brought industry players and followers to parties, front rows and the city’s streets. Pop stars had their night at the MTV Video Music Awards.On Sunday, it was the TV world’s turn with the Emmy Awards. The event took place less than a year since the last Emmys ceremony in January, but the shorter-than-usual interim did not affect the spectacle of the red carpet.Actresses like Selena Gomez, Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph radiated sleek sophistication in black dresses that hugged curves and showed skin. Actors like Andrew Scott, Lionel Boyce and Dan Levy, who hosted the ceremony with his father, Eugene, chose modern interpretations of classic penguin suits. Over-the-top costumes worn by a group of contestants from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” amped up the camp.The fashion on the red carpet at the 76th Emmy Awards ran the gamut, but these 16 looks were among the most notable — for good reasons and bad.Jennifer Aniston: Most Familiar!Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesA career spanning more than four decades has taught the actress, a star of “The Morning Show,” a thing or two about red carpets. Among them: It is hard to go wrong with a simple silhouette like that of her columnar, beaded Oscar de la Renta gown.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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    First-Time Emmy Winners, From Jodie Foster to Lamorne Morris

    Jodie Foster added to her awards collection while the stars of “Shogun” and “Baby Reindeer” helped propel their shows to big nights.Several familiar faces gave acceptance speeches at the Emmy Awards on Sunday night, with Jon Stewart back after a lengthy hiatus from “The Daily Show” and the restaurateurs played by Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach cooking yet again for “The Bear.”But much of the night’s excitement came from seeing newcomers take the stage. Here’s what to know about the eight acting winners who received their first Emmys.Best actress in a limited series or TV movieJodie Foster, ‘True Detective’Foster is already a two-time Oscar winner — for her performances in “The Silence of the Lambs” and “The Accused” — but she won her first Emmy for her role as a police chief in “True Detective: Night Country.” Before taking the lead role, Foster hadn’t done substantive television work since her breakthrough role in the 1976 film “Taxi Driver,” when she was barely a teenager. Her two previous Emmy nominations were for directing an episode in the first season of “Orange Is the New Black” and for a producing role in the 1999 television movie “The Baby Dance.”Best supporting actress in a dramaElizabeth Debicki, ‘The Crown’Debicki won for her portrayal of Diana, Princess of Wales, a role that earned her the first two Emmy nominations of her career. Finding her breakthrough in Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film “The Great Gatsby,” Debicki has had a career largely focused on film, including in the Christopher Nolan movie “Tenet” and “Vita and Virginia,” in which she played the writer Virginia Woolf. “Playing this part based on this unparalleled, incredible human being has been my great privilege,” she said of her role on “The Crown” in her acceptance speech.Best supporting actress in a comedy seriesLiza Colón-Zayas, ‘The Bear’Colón-Zayas has been an actress in film, TV and theater since the 1990s, often appearing in one-episode arcs in series such as “Law & Order” and “Sex and the City” and in Off Broadway plays, nurturing a close collaboration with the playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis. In Tina, a no-nonsense chef in “The Bear,” she found a true breakout role. In her acceptance speech, she thanked the showrunners for the part they played in her late-career success, saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me a new life with this show.”Best supporting actor in a limited series or TV movieLamorne Morris, ‘Fargo’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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    2024 Emmys: Best and Worst Moments From the Awards Show

    The 76th Primetime Emmys took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday night, a ceremony its co-host Dan Levy celebrated as “broadcast TV’s biggest night for honoring movie stars on streaming services.” Jodie Foster, a winner for “True Detective: Night Country,” must have felt so seen.Levy, who hosted alongside his father, Eugene Levy, presided over a generally predictable ceremony, sprinkled with a few surprises. Supporting acting awards for Liza Colón-Zayas, for “The Bear,” and Lamorne Morris, for “Fargo,” seemed to startle even the winners.The broadcast slumped in the second hour, which included a lengthy introduction to the Television Academy chair Cris Abrego and an in memoriam sequence set to Jelly Roll’s “I Am Not Okay.” (It worked better if you didn’t think too hard about the lyrics.) But it rebounded in the third, which saw substantial wins for “Baby Reindeer” and “Shogun,” which set a record for the most Emmy Awards in a single season (18). And the ceremony concluded with perhaps the night’s biggest shock: The award for best comedy went not to the heavily favored FX restaurant dramedy “The Bear” but instead to the Max showbiz sitcom “Hacks.” The 11 awards “The Bear” received are the most won by a comedy in a single season, which must be some consolation.The hosts strode into “The Bear” comedy-not-a-comedy debate early in the night. “In the spirit of ‘The Bear,’ we will not be making any jokes,” Eugene Levy said. But there were some good ones, including two — courtesy of Selena Gomez and Candice Bergen — about childless cat ladies. In a big night for diversity and kilts, these were the best and worst moment of the Emmys. ALEXIS SOLOSKIBest award trend: Sharing the wealth“Hacks” was a surprise winner for best comedy series.Mario Anzuoni/ReutersWe went into the night knowing which shows were going to dominate these Emmys — or did we? It turned out that a night of runaway winners and foregone conclusions had some surprises for us after all.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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    Ron Howard and Henry Winkler Celebrate ‘Happy Days’ at the Emmys

    Viewers loved the recreations of classic TV sets from shows like “Cheers” and “Martin” in the last Emmys telecast, in January, which is perhaps why the ceremony’s producers went back to that well on Sunday night. It included a 50th anniversary tribute to the classic nostalgia sitcom “Happy Days,” featuring Ron Howard and Henry Winkler in a replica of the show’s diner, Arnold’s.“Happy Days” debuted in January 1974 but was set decades earlier, in a warm and fuzzy version of 1950s Milwaukee. “‘Happy Days’ did not invent this kind of rosy retrospective memory,” James Poniewozik, the chief television critic for The New York Times, wrote in January. “But as a mass phenomenon, it was the show that split the atom of nostalgia and got us unstuck in time.”For the 50th anniversary of “Happy Days,” The Times convened a virtual summit of the surviving original stars — Howard, Winkler, Donny Most, Anson Williams, and Marion Ross — to look back on the show.“I thank God I was part of this ensemble,” Winkler said in that interview. “It is a gift from heaven that fell in my lap.” More