Behind the Scenes at the 67th Emmy Awards

Another year, another Emmys! Once again I was backstage for TV Guide Magazine covering the 67th annual event; here are a few of my most recent Emmy pieces:

Emmys Producer on His Tracy Morgan Surprise, HBO's Dominance, Spoilers and Why The Ratings Were Down

Emmy Ushers in a New Age with Game of Thrones, Veep Series Wins

Mad Men's Jon Hamm on Finally Winning the Emmy, and Letting Go of Don Draper

Andy Samberg Is Ready to Host the Primetime Emmys

And some pics from Emmy weekend 2015 (mostly from the press room backstage):


Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Jeffrey Tambor (Amazon's "Transparent")


Outstanding Sketch Variety Series winner Amy Schumer (Comedy Central's "Inside Amy Schumer")


Outstanding Actress in a Drama Viola Davis (ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder")



Outstanding Actor in a Drama Jon Hamm (AMC's "Mad Men")


The return of Tracy Morgan, who presented the final award


Outstanding Actress in a Comedy winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus (HBO's "Veep") with Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy winner Allison Janney (CBS' "Mom")


Outstanding Talk/Variety series "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)


Fierce rivals "Entertainment Tonight," "Access Hollywood" and "Extra" sit side-by-side in winner's row

The "Veep" table at HBO's Emmys afterparty


Jakob Dylan performs at Showtime's Saturday night party

MIKE ON KCRW: Diversity, "Downton Abbey," James Corden, Trevor Noah

On this Monday's edition of The Business, Kim Masters and I bantered about several topics including:

- It's TV pilot season, and a piece in Deadline about diversity in casting and whether or not its gone "too far" has caused quite a reaction within the industry.

- James Corden charms audiences and secures strong ratings as the new host of The Late Late Show on CBS.

- The sun will set on the game-changing historical soap-opera Downton Abbey after six seasons on PBS, but there could still be a Downton movie some time after the TV show wraps.

Listen by clicking below:





On last Thursday's Hollywood Breakdown, Kim Masters and I talked all about the end of "Downton Abbey" and the rise of James Corden:

The drama that changed the game for PBS, historical soap opera Downton Abbey, will end the series after an upcoming sixth and final season, but the impact of the show will be felt long after the Crawley family says goodbye. With its shorter contracts for actors and limited seasons, Downton Abbey changed the way television is produced, and opened the door for more international productions to find a place on American TV screens. And as Downton sees its final days, another Brit, James Corden is just getting acquainted with Americans as the new host of The Late Late Show on CBS. His debut week has seen strong ratings and brings a more British style of talk show to US shores. The show also introduces the musical and comedic stylings of Reggie Watts to a more mainstream audience.

Listen below:





On Monday's Press Play with Madeleine Brand, Grantland's Andy Greenwald and I discussed:

Comedy Central announced that South African comic Trevor Noah will replace Jon Stewart as host of the Daily Show when Stewart steps down later this year. Also, a controversial article wonders: Do actors of color have it too easy in Hollywood?

Listen below:

MIKE ON KCRW: 50 Shades of Grey, SNL40, Brian Williams and More

On this Monday's edition of The Business, Kim Masters and I bantered about several topics including:

- Jon Stewart announced his departure from The Daily Show, and he’s leaving Comedy Central with some very big shoes to fill.
- NBC has suspended Brian Williams for six months. A return after that kind of break doesn’t look promising.
- Sony’s Spider-Man will be swinging over to the Marvel universe in a new partnership that’s pushing back the release dates of other superhero movies. Former Sony chairwoman Amy Pascal will be a producer on the new Spider-Man project.
- Fifty Shades of Grey will have a huge opening over Valentine’s Day Weekend. The stars of the film are signed on for two more movies, but it’s unlikely that director Sam Taylor-Johnson will stick around after fighting with author EL James, who was given an unprecedented level of control on set.

Listen by clicking below:


Or here:





On last Thursday's Hollywood Breakdown, Kim Masters and I talked all about the "Fifty Shades of Grey" phenomenon:

Fifty Shades of Grey has already broken records, and it hasn't even opened yet. The film based on EL James' book of the same title has sold the most advance tickets ever for a Valentine's Day Weekend release. James' story originally started as Twilight fan fiction, and after her books became international bestsellers, studios went into an all-out bidding war for the film rights. Universal walked away from that war the winner, and they've given James unprecedented control for an author on a movie set. James and director Sam Taylor-Johnson had frequent clashes creating the film, stemming from James getting the final say on everything from wardrobe to dialogue to the final word of the film's last scene. While stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan have signed on to be in all three Fifty Shades movies, it doesn't look like Taylor-Johnson will be back for the next one.

Listen below:





On Monday's Press Play with Madeleine Brand, NPR's Eric Deggans and I discussed the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary special and more:

"Saturday Night Live" celebrated 40 years on the air over the weekend with an elaborate and lengthy special. Wayne and Garth were just two of the characters brought back for the reunion, which featured cast members from every generation of the show. In true SNL fashion, the broadcast was hit-and-miss. We talk about the highlights and the lowlights in our weekly television news roundup.

Listen below:

MIKE ON RADIO: Discussing Jon Stewart's Exit on Kevin & Bean

How will we survive the next election cycle without Jon Stewart? I was on the Kevin & Bean Show last Wednesday to discuss Jon Stewart's surprise announcement that he was departing The Daily Show, and what might be next. Listen by clicking below!

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