How This Year’s Drama Nominees, From ‘Paradise’ to ‘The Pitt,’ Tackle Our Troubled Times
I must confess, one of the appeals of Apple TV’s Emmy-nominated “Your Friends & Neighbors” is seeing how awful it is to be that wealthy. I mean, it’s a TV show, so I’m guessing it’s actually still pretty awesome to be rich. (And if you’re still a Variety subscriber and reading this in print, there’s a good chance you made it big in entertainment and are sitting on a hefty bank account. And if so, congratulations. I still want to be you.)
“Your Friends & Neighbors” gives us a glimpse of what it’s like to be in the 1%, especially in Season 2, as James Marsden joins the cast as a billionaire with plenty of questionable morals. At a time, of course, when it seems like all we’re confronting are billionaires with questionable morals who are taking over the government, the media and everything in between.
But are they truly happy? Sure, there’s occasional nuisance — on “Your Friends & Neighbors,” it’s Jon Hamm stealing some of their loot; in real life, it’s state attorneys general trying to slow down your desire to consume as much of Hollywood as possible. But the answer is yes, yes they are.
How upside down is this world now? HBO Max’s “The Gilded Age” is actually now wish fulfillment compared to 2026. OK, so there was great inequality, rampant corruption and poverty throughout much of the country even as America boomed in the 1880s — but at least the tycoons, magnates and moguls of the era at least pretended to care about the lower class. The Carnegies, the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers all funded stuff that was good for the public, including public libraries, education, medicine, science, parks and culture.
These days, they slam rockets into the side of the moon because it sounds cool and shut down global agencies meant to save the lives of millions of people. Or they stomp their feet and whine that they’re going to leave California if they don’t get their way. That “Gilded Age” sequel about the 2020s is gonna look a lot more like a tragedy.
It turns out most of this year’s outstanding drama series nominees at the Emmys have something to say about the state of our world, and it’s pretty telling that there’s so much to talk about. In the case of Apple TV’s “Pluribus,” creator Vince Gilligan has still not confirmed if the drama is a comment on artificial intelligence, or even inspired by it. But he doesn’t have to — viewers are connecting the dots that may or may not be there, and applying their fear of AI to the show.
HBO’s “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” might not overtly look like it has something to say about our present times, but it absolutely looks at the plight of ordinary people vs. the elites, and the exploitation of the working class.
Meanwhile, Netflix’s “The Diplomat” and Apple TV’s “Slow Horses” look at the decay of our global order and a lack of moral clarity — and just look around our real world, with the current White House administration cozying up to despots and authoritarians. Who’s there even to root for anymore?
HBO Max’s “The Pitt” continues to shine a light on the plight of first responders and the difficulties that medical workers face, while also amplifying the failures of America’s broken healthcare system. And star Noah Wyle tells me he’s hearing anecdotal evidence that it’s having an effect: “An attending physician in an emergency room here in Los Angeles wanted me to know that people are being nicer, and they’re treating their nurses and doctors with more kindness and more empathy,” he says. “And he thinks that’s a direct result of the show.”
Then there’s Hulu’s “Paradise,” which starts out with an apocalyptic event brought on by climate change — in this case, a dormant supervolcano unleashed by melting ice. The show’s original idea of a peaceful city built underground to avoid the devastating global disaster is a bit far-fetched, but the causes behind a global crisis aren’t. And as we watch Europe burn this summer and face more record-breaking temperatures here in the U.S., it’s a reminder that climate change is the most important issue of our time — and one that the entertainment biz can’t ignore. Says “Paradise” writer Stephen Markley: “The biggest story to ever unfold in human history is happening right now, and Hollywood is barely breathing a word about it.”
“Your Friends & Neighbors” gives us a glimpse of what it’s like to be in the 1%, especially in Season 2, as James Marsden joins the cast as a billionaire with plenty of questionable morals. At a time, of course, when it seems like all we’re confronting are billionaires with questionable morals who are taking over the government, the media and everything in between.
But are they truly happy? Sure, there’s occasional nuisance — on “Your Friends & Neighbors,” it’s Jon Hamm stealing some of their loot; in real life, it’s state attorneys general trying to slow down your desire to consume as much of Hollywood as possible. But the answer is yes, yes they are.
How upside down is this world now? HBO Max’s “The Gilded Age” is actually now wish fulfillment compared to 2026. OK, so there was great inequality, rampant corruption and poverty throughout much of the country even as America boomed in the 1880s — but at least the tycoons, magnates and moguls of the era at least pretended to care about the lower class. The Carnegies, the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers all funded stuff that was good for the public, including public libraries, education, medicine, science, parks and culture.
These days, they slam rockets into the side of the moon because it sounds cool and shut down global agencies meant to save the lives of millions of people. Or they stomp their feet and whine that they’re going to leave California if they don’t get their way. That “Gilded Age” sequel about the 2020s is gonna look a lot more like a tragedy.
It turns out most of this year’s outstanding drama series nominees at the Emmys have something to say about the state of our world, and it’s pretty telling that there’s so much to talk about. In the case of Apple TV’s “Pluribus,” creator Vince Gilligan has still not confirmed if the drama is a comment on artificial intelligence, or even inspired by it. But he doesn’t have to — viewers are connecting the dots that may or may not be there, and applying their fear of AI to the show.
HBO’s “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” might not overtly look like it has something to say about our present times, but it absolutely looks at the plight of ordinary people vs. the elites, and the exploitation of the working class.
Meanwhile, Netflix’s “The Diplomat” and Apple TV’s “Slow Horses” look at the decay of our global order and a lack of moral clarity — and just look around our real world, with the current White House administration cozying up to despots and authoritarians. Who’s there even to root for anymore?
HBO Max’s “The Pitt” continues to shine a light on the plight of first responders and the difficulties that medical workers face, while also amplifying the failures of America’s broken healthcare system. And star Noah Wyle tells me he’s hearing anecdotal evidence that it’s having an effect: “An attending physician in an emergency room here in Los Angeles wanted me to know that people are being nicer, and they’re treating their nurses and doctors with more kindness and more empathy,” he says. “And he thinks that’s a direct result of the show.”
Then there’s Hulu’s “Paradise,” which starts out with an apocalyptic event brought on by climate change — in this case, a dormant supervolcano unleashed by melting ice. The show’s original idea of a peaceful city built underground to avoid the devastating global disaster is a bit far-fetched, but the causes behind a global crisis aren’t. And as we watch Europe burn this summer and face more record-breaking temperatures here in the U.S., it’s a reminder that climate change is the most important issue of our time — and one that the entertainment biz can’t ignore. Says “Paradise” writer Stephen Markley: “The biggest story to ever unfold in human history is happening right now, and Hollywood is barely breathing a word about it.”