Outlander, Power and more to be featured in experimental Emmy push
According to a new report from Variety, the network is partnering up with the Westfield Century City Mall on June 1 (otherwise known as the lead-up to Emmy campaign season) in order to provide what they are calling Starz FYC: Creativity, Culture, Conversations. What’s the idea here? To show off a number of brilliant behind-the-scenes crafts on their shows, including Outlander, Power, Vida, and American Gods, along with a day of panel discussions featuring some cast members and producers. The lineup of people that will be at the panels is to be determined, but information should be coming out soon. With Outlander currently filming season 5, there may be challenges in getting people over to Century City … but the network has certainly figured that out before.
What we imagine the idea to be is Starz looking to actually create an interactive ecosystem for voters rather than just show them images, sketches, or other things to illustrate the craft of an individual crew. With Outlander, it is one thing to see the world as presented on TV; it is another to get close to living in it, to imagine yourself in Fraser’s Ridge or at a fancy play in North Carolina. Some of Starz’s other programs have fantastic achievements of their own — Power is a masterpiece of mood and lighting, while American Gods captures imagination and color in ways few other shows do.
If this pop-up exhibition works to give some of the aforementioned shows further attention, it’s worthy of someone in publicity getting a gold star. It’s a great idea to shake things up after Starz routinely does fall short of some of the Emmy nominations their shows deserve. We do think that they’ve tried before to state their case, but the Television Academy just isn’t listening well enough. Consider the performances from Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe from Outlander, or from Joseph Sikora or Omari Hardwick on Power. These are people who should receive some recognition, even amidst a crowded field decorated with talent. Sometimes, it just takes one nomination to usher in others. Something needs to crack open the gate, and perhaps an exhibition like this is the right way to do that very thing.
For some Emmy coverage of our own…
If you missed it, we recently posted an Emmy Hopefuls feature all about Sam Heughan! Meanwhile, we’re going to continue to discuss possible candidates, performances, and personal favorites in early June when our Emmy polls begin. It’s a fine-tuned CarterMatt tradition!
Photo: Starz