All seven of THR’s Emmy season roundtables will air on the cable channel and stream at THR’s website leading up to the Sept. 20 Primetime Emmys. It airs at 11 a.m. ET/PT on cable, and at 8 a.m. PT on satellite systems nationwide.
“I had never seen a 49-year-old, dark-skinned woman who is not a size 2 be a sexualized role in TV or film,” reveals Viola Davis of what appealed to her about the lead role in How to Get Away With Murder.
Emmy nominee Davis, 49, and five other top TV drama actresses — Lizzy Caplan, 32 (Masters of S**); Emmy nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal, 37 (The Honorable Woman); Emmy nominee Taraji P. Henson, 44 (Empire); Emmy nominee Jessica Lange, 66 (American Horror Story: Freak Show); and Ruth Wilson, 33 (The Affair) — speak candidly about everything from race, sexism and aging in Hollywood to nudity and typecasting in THR’s Drama Actress Roundtable.
For the first time, you can watch the roundtable discussion, debuting today on SundanceTV as part of the cable channel’s new original nonfiction series, Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter, produced in partnership with THR. And come back to THR.com on Monday for the full, uncensored discussion.
The series is comprised of 14 hourlong episodes, with the first of seven episodes — the Drama Actress Roundtable — kicking off Sunday, Aug. 2, at 11 a.m. ET/PT on cable systems and at 8 a.m. PT on satellite systems nationwide. New episodes will air every Sunday leading up to the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 20.
The first half of the season will present filmed roundtable panels featuring Emmy nominees and other top stars of the year’s most buzzed-about shows, including drama actors and actresses, comedy actors and actresses, creators and showrunners from both comedies and dramas, and reality show hosts and producers. Guests will discuss everything from their individual projects to their craft and true stories of the business that keep them coming back for more. The panels will present thoughtful, informative takes on the film and television industry today.
The second half of the season will broadcast in early 2016 in the run-up to the 2016 Academy Awards and feature interviews with Oscar-nominated directors, producers, actors, writers and more.
The Hollywood Reporter is well known for hosting influential and award-winning roundtable conversations with industry insiders; The Hollywood Reporter in Focus: The Wolf of Wall Street — featuring the likes of Martin Scorsese, Terence Winter, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill — won four staffers Emmy Awards.