If Variety Had an Emmy Ballot 2023: We Love ‘Jury Duty’ and ‘Vanderpump Rules’ and Yes, ‘The Bear’ is a Drama

pretty little liars — Ashley Benson is engaged!The 33-year-old actress is set to tie the knot with 43-year-old boyfriend Brandon Davis after less than a year of dating, as evidenced by the massive diamond engagement ring she showed off in Instagram Story posts on Thursday. In one photo re-shared from Davis' Story, Benson has the sparkler on her lefthand ring finger.

K.J. Yossman Warwick Davis-led animated series “Moley” has been picked up by Peacock for its U.S. launch. The show, which also stars Gemma Arterton (“Prince of Persia”), Jessica Henwick (“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”), Julie Walters (“Harry Potter”), Richard E Grant (“Loki”) and Stanley Tucci (“The Devil Wears Prada”), is produced by Two Daughters Entertainment. “Moley” follows an optimistic young mole (voiced by Davis) who lives in MoleTown, a secret city buried deep under Windsor Castle in England. With his charming manner and magic book, the adventurous Moley finds himself on a new caper in each episode – and often gets himself into a pickle. Luckily his friends Mona Lisa (Arterton) and Dotty (Henwick) are there to help, accompanied by Uncle Mishmosh (Tucci) and mom Mrs Mole (Walters).

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor A mass exodus of Black women from senior leadership posts across Hollywood during the last few weeks is raising questions about the depth of the film and television industry’s commitment to diversifying the top ranks of the entertainment industry. The high-profile departures have sparked outrage on social media, with mounting concerns that major studios are only performing lip service after pledging to elevate more people of color to positions of influence. In the last month, six Black women executives in prominent leadership roles have abruptly left their positions in the studio system. Many oversaw DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) departments, putting them on the frontlines of larger effort to change corporate cultures and hiring practices. The exits include Karen Horne, who led DEI efforts at Warner Bros. Discovery and Jeanell English, executive VP of impact and inclusion at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The other prominent executives are Netflix’s Vernā Myers, the streamer’s first head of inclusion; Disney’s LaTondra Newton, chief diversity officer and senior VP; and another Warner Bros. executive, Terra Potts, VP of worldwide marketing. On Monday, Joanna Abeyie, the BBC’s creative diversity director, joined their ranks. And even though the steady stream of departures is alarming, multiple industry sources tell Variety that more BIPOC executives are expected to join them in the coming weeks.

Cynthia Nixon is worried about what “Sex and the City” fans will think when Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones finally makes an appearance in “And Just Like That…” season 2.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Jeanell English, executive vice president of impact and inclusion, is exiting her role at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. English was promoted to the newly created role in July 2022 by Academy CEO Bill Kramer. In her role, she led the Academy’s initiatives to address underrepresentation across the industry and the talent development programs such as Academy Gold. Over the past year, she’s been a key figure in major initiatives and changes across the organization including developing the infrastructure for the Academy’s inclusion standards and enabling a path for community, advocacy, education and empowerment amongst its members and staff. She also designed and implemented the Academy’s first mid-career talent development program, the Academy Film Accelerator, which advocates for the careers of filmmakers from underrepresented communities.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Love stories, period dramas, the origins of sneakers and an explosion of multiverses are among the standout movies from the first half of 2023 that could have the legs to make it to next year’s Oscar ceremony. As we enter the midpoint of the calendar year, we turn our attention to which films seem worthy of Academy recognition, based on critical acclaim and buzz surrounding contenders. The list considers films that have had theatrical releases and standouts in 19 of the 23 Oscar categories.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The casual Oscar observer might wonder how some of the 398 new members invited to join the Academy’s ranks qualify for the honor that includes Oscar voting rights. From Taylor Swift to Warner Bros-Discovery CEO David Zaslav, it’s not always obvious how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decides who to invite as next year’s class of new members. Oscar winners are automatically invited to join the ranks after their big moment, so Billie Eilish was therefore eligable after she won the Oscar for the James Bond song “No Time to Die” (2021) with her brother Finneas.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Austin Butler, Ke Huy Quan, Keke Palmer, NT Rama Rao Jr and music superstar Taylor Swift are among the 398 artists and executives invited to join the membership of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. If all of this year’s invitees accept membership, it will bring the total number of overall Academy members to 10,817 (up from 10,665 last year), with 9,375 eligible to vote (a decrease from 9,665 due to deaths, retirements and moving to emeritus status) for the 96th Oscars, set to take place on March 10, 2024. The 2023 class is 40% women. 34% belong to underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 52% hail from 51 countries and territories outside the United States. There are many recent Oscar nominees among the invitees, such as Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”), Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”). The list also includes many of the 95th ceremony’s winners, such as Ke Huy Quan (supporting actor for “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) cinematographer James Friend (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) and composer and songwriter M.M. Keeravani and Chandrabose (“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”). Even the dynamic “RRR” lead acting duo of Ram Charan and N. T. Rama Rao Jr. have also been extended invitations, along with the film’s production designer Sabu Cyril and cinematographer K.K. Senthil Kumar.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks and Carol Littleton will receive honorary Oscars at this year’s Governors Awards, announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In addition, the Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Awards. The four statuettes will be presented at the 14th annual ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, in Los Angeles. “The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honor four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans,” said Academy President Janet Yang. “Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting. Mel Brooks lights up our hearts with his humor, and his legacy has made a lasting impact on every facet of entertainment. Carol Littleton’s career in film editing serves as a model for those who come after her. A pillar of the independent film community, Michelle Satter has played a vital role in the careers of countless filmmakers around the world.”

“Sex and the City” fans have been waiting for Kim Cattrall’s return, so it’s no surprise Sarah Jessica Parker has been asked about it in every interview recently, especially given the pair’s infamous feud.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the newly elected Board of Governors for the 2023-2024 year. Elected to the board for the first time are acclaimed actor Lou Diamond Phillips, screenwriter Dana Stevens, executive Hannah Minghella, costume designer Daniel Orlandi and more. Among the newly elected is technology executive Wendy Aylsworth, who will represent the brand new Production and Technology Branch. Aylsworth, who also serves on the Board of Governors for the Television Academy, spent more than two decades at Warner Bros. and became the first woman president of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The decision to realign “variety talk” and “variety sketch” this year into “talk” and “scripted variety” didn’t do much to change that. If anything, it further narrowed the field, as perennial variety talk winner “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” has now been kicked over to scripted variety. As a result, my colleague Clayton Davis counts only 14 series eligible for the outstanding talk nomination. And it’s not much better in scripted variety, where just 10 shows appear to be eligible.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor New voting methods will likely yield surprise Emmy nomination inclusions (and exclusions) this year. There could also be historic representation in several areas, with ethnicity, age and decades-old records shattered. HBO is no stranger to setting Emmy records. The fantasy epic “Game of Thrones” currently holds multiple records, including the most overall nominations for a drama series at 161 across its eight seasons. The network is celebrating its 50th anniversary and a new Max branding — so naturally, it wants more. If the early projections are accurate and it lands four drama series noms — “House of the Dragon,” “The Last of Us,” “The White Lotus” and last year’s winner, “Succession,” — HBO would tie the record for most series noms by a network in a single year, held by NBC since 1992.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Academy’s Board of Governors has approved new theatrical release requirements to be eligible for the best picture Oscar beginning at the 2025 ceremony. In addition to the one-week qualifying run in one of the six U.S. markets, beginning with movies released in 2024, a film must meet additional areas regarding its theatrical release to be nominated and win the highly coveted best picture statuette. They include: These standards resulted from numerous conversations with distributors of varying sizes, in addition to studying historical data. The Academy has been vocal about its belief that a healthy theatrical environment is vital to the success of Hollywood.

Naman Ramachandran The performance show “Tarantino Live” has officially been updated based on Quentin Tarantino’s last film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” for its London run. For The Record, the production company behind the rock musical (whose repertoire includes shows based on the works of John Hughes, Baz Luhrmann, the Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Robert Zemeckis and Garry and Penny Marshall) has also revealed plans for a U.S. tour in 2024. “Tarantino Live: Fox Force Five and the Tyranny of Evil Men” — its full title — combines Tarantino’s most iconic film scenes with live rock ‘n’ roll renditions of songs pulled from their soundtracks, merging the worlds of Hollywood and musical theater into a 360-degree live-concert experience.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Pedro Pascal is charming, funny and incredibly talented. His resume thus far includes notable films and television series such as HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Lionsgate’s “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” During his interview, I referenced his 2020 cover story. In that story, he said he couldn’t believe Patty Jenkins cast him in “Wonder Woman 1984” without auditioning. Then something happened that you don’t typically see. When asked what it feels like to be a role model to young Latinos, LGBTQ and Hollywood dreamers everywhere who yearn to sit in the same position he finds himself in, his usual charisma and confidence melted away.

Tom Cruise hit the red carpet at the world premiere of his new movie Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and critics released some glowing reactions to the film after the big event.

Sarah Jessica Parker has broken her silence on Kim Cattrall's And Just Like That. . .

Sarah Jessica Parker has broken her silence on Kim Cattrall’s “And Just Like That…” cameo.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday. Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below: