The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards are tomorrow, and if it feels too soon for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to be throwing another one of these celebrations, that’s because it is. It was a mere eight months ago that “Succession,” “The Bear” and “Beef” swept most of the major categories of the 75th Emmys. That ceremony was postponed four months because of Hollywood’s labor disputes, which leaves us with two Emmy ceremonies in one year. On the one hand, great — more to celebrate. On the other, even those of us who love to lose ourselves in the glitz and schmaltz of awards shows could use another minute to process the end of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” to get caught up on “Reservation Dogs,” to miss Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri a little, as charming as they may be.
“What even is television anymore?” my colleague Alex asked me this morning, a question that seems almost impossible to answer. I’m not 100 percent caught up on all the shows nominated for these Emmys, but that’s not because I haven’t been spending unhealthy amounts of time watching things on screens. What does it mean is that I haven’t found 10 hours to watch the first season of “Shogun,” by all accounts a very good series that I would like very much, but I have just in the past week spent at least that much time consuming an incoherent jumble consisting of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce canoodling at the U.S. Open, Donald Trump’s remarks at the Economic Club of New York, a “Gladiator”-themed Pepsi ad, plus countless movie trailers, Peloton workouts, cooking demos, fabric steamer reviews and oh god I could go on.
I’m watching stuff all the time, but very little of it leaves a mark. It’s all passive time spent with screens, ingesting information. It requires little of me intellectually, emotionally, spiritually. Just because something uses up my attention doesn’t mean I’m actually paying attention to it. A recent story in The Atlantic examined how we’ve abandoned meals for snacks. I see the same trend in my culture consumption: I’m noshing on bits of content all the time, but seldom sitting down for a full meal.
When I look over the list of the Emmy nominees, the category I am most excited about is the one honoring writing for a variety special. There are five nominees, four of which are comedy performances that I adored. Two, Alex Edelman’s “Just for Us” and Jacqueline Novak’s “Get on Your Knees,” I saw when they were performed live, in February and March of 2022, as Covid restrictions were easing and attending a show in person still felt strange and new. I was nearly delirious with excitement, over how smart and dynamic the comedians were, how electric it felt to be in an audience with other spectators. Those evenings are, in my memory, perfect: I remember arriving at the theater, finding my seat, turning off my phone for the duration of the show, going out afterward and chatting excitedly about what we’d just seen.
I don’t want to lose that appetite for full meals, for entertainment that engages my mind and heart and requires my physical presence. Streaming services invite one to graze on shows, to watch a few minutes between scrolling Instagram and working on an email. I remember, in the mid-’90s, going over to my friends’ house each week for NBC’s Thursday night Must-See TV lineup of “Friends,” “Seinfeld” and “ER.” Those evenings are still so vivid — we would all bring knitting projects to work on while we watched. It seems almost quaint now to invite people over to watch an episode of a streaming show, to create a time-restricted event out of the 24/7 banquet of watchable content. It’s so much easier to just snatch little bites where we can. But I’m interested in trying it, in adding some formality, some inconvenience to my cultural diet in the hopes of returning some meaning and magic to the never-ending binge.
For more
The Times’s full coverage of the Emmy Awards.
Where to stream the nominees.
More on Alex Edelman’s and Jacqueline Novak’s specials.
“What we have now is a profusion of well-cast, sleekly produced competence.” Our critic James Poniewozik on “The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV.”
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Film
The actor James Earl Jones, who voiced Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King,” died at 93. See his life in pictures, and read about some of his greatest roles.
“My Old Ass,” about an 18-year-old who meets her 39-year-old self (played by Aubrey Plaza) during a drug trip, is one of nine movies Times critics are talking about this week.
The disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein underwent emergency heart surgery. He has been held at Rikers Island since April.
Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” out in November, features the Colosseum filled with water and predators. The Times spoke with Scott and the movie’s production designer.
Television
Joan Vassos, a 61-year-old grandmother of three, is the star of “The Golden Bachelorette” on ABC. “I know that it’s a weird way to meet somebody,” she told The Times.
Three new cast members will join “Saturday Night Live” for its 50th season, NBC said.
Gillian Anderson plays a sex therapist on the Netflix dramedy “Sex Education.” In real life, she’s an advocate for women’s sexual health and has written a book about fantasies.
Music
Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl halftime show.
Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” was not nominated for a Country Music Award. The album had stirred debate about the historical role of African Americans in the genre.
Readers shared their songs of the summer, including some by Chappell Roan and the Cranberries. Listen to the playlist.
A singer from the band Danity Kane sued Sean Combs, known as Diddy, accusing him of threatening and groping her.
Dave Grohl, the Foo Fighters frontman and Nirvana drummer, revealed on Instagram that he had fathered a child outside his marriage.
Justin Timberlake pleaded guilty to driving while impaired after his June arrest in the Hamptons. He agreed to pay a $500 fine and serve 25 hours of community service.
Other Culture Stories
“Why Am I So Single,” a new musical from the duo behind the Broadway hit “Six,” is relatable and fun, but lacks narrative drive, our critic writes.
Glenn Lowry will step down as the Museum of Modern Art’s director next year, after 30 years in the role.
Gabriela Ortiz is Carnegie Hall’s composer in residence this season. She has spent her career channeling the sounds and sensibilities of Latin America.
A PETA activist confronted Pharrell Williams, whose Louis Vuitton collection incorporated fur. “Yes, you’re right,” Williams said, adding that he had “plans to change things.”
THE LATEST NEWS
2024 Election
President Biden angrily denounced Donald Trump’s false claim that Haitian immigrants were eating household pets. “This has to stop,” Biden said.
Trump defended Laura Loomer, a far-right activist he’s traveled with recently, but claimed he didn’t know she’d called the Sept. 11 attacks an “inside job.” Trump allies including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lindsey Graham have criticized her.
Biden is likely to delay his final decision on whether to block the sale of U.S. Steel to a Japanese company until after the election.
Pope Francis said that Trump, who opposes migrants, and Kamala Harris, who supports abortion rights, are both “against life.”
Other Big Stories
The U.S., Canada and Britain accused RT, Russia’s global television network, of working as an arm of Russian intelligence and placed new economic sanctions on it.
Boar’s Head will shut down a Virginia deli meat plant linked to a deadly listeria outbreak. The company identified liverwurst processing as the source.
Jessica Ramos, a state senator from Queens, became the latest candidate to say she would run against Mayor Eric Adams, whose administration faces multiple investigations.