You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: Why is it that television shows that can be seen on antenna TV are not even nominated for the Emmy Awards? The only TV show not on cable, satellite TV or internet streaming that was mentioned was 鈥淪aturday Night Live.鈥� I don鈥檛 see any point of watching the Emmy Awards anymore if antenna TV shows are excluded.
A: The prime-time Emmy awards on NBC were indeed a bad night for broadcast networks such as ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC 鈥� what you called antenna TV and is also known as over-the-air TV. It was not quite as bad as you thought. The major networks won two Emmys, one for NBC鈥檚 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� as best variety-sketch comedy show, and one for variety-special directing, for ABC鈥檚 Academy Awards telecast. Other broadcast nominees included 鈥淭he Voice,鈥� 鈥淭he Amazing Race,鈥� 鈥渂lack-ish,鈥� 鈥淭his Is Us鈥� and the late-night shows from Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden and Stephen Colbert. In this year鈥檚 Creative Arts Emmys 鈥� categories with less oomph than those in the NBC telecast, awarded before the big show 鈥� broadcast winners included 鈥淪o You Think You Can Dance,鈥� 鈥淔amily Guy,鈥� 鈥淲ill & Grace鈥� and 鈥淛esus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.鈥� But it鈥檚 still fair to say broadcasters were frequently shoved aside, as Amazon鈥檚 鈥淭he Marvelous Mrs. Maisel鈥� alone received more major-category honours than the four big networks combined.
Now, considering broadcast shows still have millions of viewers, why were they overlooked? For basically the same reason the most popular movie at 2017鈥檚 U.S. box office, 鈥淪tar Wars: The Last Jedi,鈥� did not even contend for a best picture Oscar, even though the winning film, 鈥淭he Shape of Water,鈥� made about a 10th as much. Entertainment-industry awards honor the productions they feel make them look good, not the ones the audience likes best. So high-class productions, provocative ideas and content, big-name actors and massive budgets take precedence 鈥� and non-broadcast organizations are more likely to have those than their over-the-air counterparts.
Still, you embody the dilemma for industry awards shows, because you don鈥檛 want to watch a presentation of prizes to shows you don鈥檛 care about. (That said, you should care; 鈥淢rs. Maisel,鈥� for one, is really good.) Aside from adding recognizable stars as presenters (and there was a lot of that at the Emmys), the TV and movie industries have not come up with a good way to honor, on live TV, both the popular and the prestigious. The motion picture academy earlier this year announced plans to add an 鈥渁chievement in popular film鈥� category, then backed off, saying the idea needed further discussion.
Q: Will Connie Britton be back on 鈥�9-1-1鈥�? I have not seen her in the previews for the new season.
A: The former star of 鈥淔riday Night Lights鈥� and 鈥淣ashville鈥� had a one-season deal to appear as a regular on the Fox drama, and that season is done. Jennifer Love Hewitt (very visible in the promos) has joined the series as Britton鈥檚 replacement, while the makers of the drama have held out hope Britton would at least return as a guest star. Britton will be on view again in Bravo鈥檚 鈥淒irty John,鈥� a true-crime drama also starring Eric Bana, arriving later this year.
Q: Why did they change the actress playing James Franco鈥檚 girlfriend on 鈥淭he Deuce鈥�?
A: They didn鈥檛. Margarita Levieva is back for the second season of HBO鈥檚 drama, again playing Abigail Parker, the girlfriend of Vincent Martino, played by James Franco (who also plays Vincent鈥檚 twin, Frankie). What may have thrown you is the second season has major changes in clothes and hairstyles for the characters, including for Parker. That鈥檚 because the second season begins five years after the end of the first, and a lot has changed.
