‘Succession’ Director Mark Mylod on Potential Spinoffs, That Awful Milkshake and The Shot That Still Haunts Him

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The CrimeCon Clue Awards will return for a second year with a new streaming partner — Law&Crime’s YouTube, Facebook and TikTok accounts — on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. ET.

One of the mysteries from Succession is finally getting resolved by series creator Jesse Armstrong. The fourth and final season of the HBO drama had a moment that was up for debate among the die-hard fans of the show.

Michaela Zee Jesse Armstrong has settled the debate over whether Logan Roy crossed out or underlined Kendall’s name in the fourth and final season of “Succession.” In Episode 4 of the series’ final season, titled “Honeymoon States,” the Roy family and friends gather at the home of Waystar Royco CEO and patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) to mourn his death. At the wake, Frank (Peter Friedman) discovers an undated document that names Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) as his father Logan’s successor.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large This is it! This year’s Emmy voting is over, ending what was a rather muted Phase 2. We’ve noted the limited number of Phase 2 FYC events due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes (as well as the inability of nominated talent to participate in any press that they hadn’t already completed pre-strike).

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Variety legend Tim Gray, who first joined Hollywood’s dominant trade publication in 1981, has departed after 42 years to start a new chapter with the Golden Globes organization as executive vice president. Gray, who will also serve on its board, will work closely with Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne to evolve the entity — which was formed in June, when Dick Clark Prods. and Eldridge Industries acquired the Golden Globes’ assets, rights and properties from the now-defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Amazing Race” executive producers Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, along with host/EP Phil Keoghan, had already shot a Season 35 of “The Amazing Race” last year, and it was mostly edited and ready to go. But then came a detour: Early this winter, CBS approached both “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” about expanding to weekly 90 minute episodes for fall 2023. Rather than try to retroactively try to pad an additional half hour on to those already-shot episodes, van Munster, Doganieri and Keoghan decided to hit the road again and take full advantage of filming supersized installments.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has tapped broadcast journalist icon Dan Rather, as well as veteran network correspondents John Quiñones and David Martin to be inducted into its annual Gold Circle honor society. NATAS’ 2023 Gold and Silver Circle inductees will be recognized at the 44th Annual News & Documentary Emmys on Sept.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Because I doubt even Netflix saw this coming. “Suits,” which starred Patrick J. Adams, Gabriel Macht and Gina Torres as lawyers who filed suits while wearing stylish suits, was always a solid player for USA.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Mary Lou Belli knows she’s the longshot to win the Emmy for outstanding comedy director, and that’s fine with her. After all, she’s up against some marquee names, including Tim Burton (“Wednesday”), Bill Hader (“Barry”) and Amy Sherman-Palladino (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”).

Sophia Scorziello editor Los Angeles-based pubcaster KCET has revealed its student finalists and episode line up for the 24th season of Fine Cut Festival of Films, an annual showcase and celebration of Southern California’s young filmmakers. The series of six, one-hour blocks on KCET will broadcast collections of short films from the student finalists beginning at 10 p.m. PT on Sept.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer and Oscar-winning director/producer Barbara Kopple are this year’s recipients of the 44th annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards lifetime achievement honors, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was set to announce on Tuesday. The News & Doc Emmys take place over two days next month in New York: Blitzer will receive his honor at the news ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 27, and Kopple’s Emmy will be presented at the documentary ceremony on Thursday, September 28.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large For those of us who write about the industry, it’s been a bit of a challenge finding ways to still cover the Emmy Awards, especially as Phase 2 voting got underway on Aug. 17. My colleague Emily Longeretta, who oversees our special Emmy extra editions, has gotten creative in turning some of our podcast interviews into stories, for example, and relying on other approaches to covering nominated shows and talent.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large One of my favorite categories this year, however, is lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie. And here’s the top reason: This is the only acting category this year that features not a single previous Emmy winner among its nominees. As a matter of fact, half of them have never been nominated at all.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Jo Koy is extending his relationship with Netflix, signing a deal to bring his next two stand-up comedy specials to the streamer. The specials will mark Koy’s fifth and sixth with Netflix; first up, the next one will tape at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on November 10 and 11, with an expected 2024 premiere. Art & Industry is producing that special.

Emmy-winning producer and director Mark Mylod has been with Succession for all four seasons, as has composer Nicholas Britell, who won an Emmy for the iconic theme of the series marking the three-time Oscar nominee’s first TV show. However, it was the stunner of a Episode 3 in the series’ final season, “Connor’s Wedding,” that was unlike anything they had tackled before on the show, and it presented unique challenges.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Making “Daisy Jones & the Six” was more than just another show for Scott Neustadter and Lauren Neustadter: It was a family affair. Scott and his writing partner, Michael Weber (both Oscar nominated via their screenplay for the film “The Disaster Artist”), received an early copy of the “Daisy Jones” manuscript, written by author Taylor Jenkins Reid, before it even found a publisher. Neustadter, a music junkie, immediately fell in love with the script, and knew the perfect home for it: Reese Witherspoon’s company Hello Sunshine — where his wife, Lauren, had just joined as president of film and television.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Perhaps it’s coincidence, or serendipity, but two of the best-reviewed shows on television happened to both return at the same time with new seasons last week — and both put Native storytelling and Indigenous characters front and center. FX’s “Reservation Dogs” and AMC’s “Dark Winds” have a few things in common — starting, of course, with Zahn McClarnon, who stars as Navajo tribal police officer Joe Leaphorn in “Dark Winds” and recurs as Officer Big in “Reservation Dogs.” And both also share acclaim from viewers and critics: “Reservation Dogs” sports a 99% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ reviews aggregator, while “Dark Winds” boasts a remarkable 100% ranking.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large In a previous column I made a strong case for moving the ceremony to November, when at least the Emmys wouldn’t feel too stale or crash into Oscars season. But since Fox is moving forward with January, the silver lining is that there’s a lot more time — five months, as a matter of fact — for producer Jesse Collins Entertainment, along with Fox and the TV Academy, to figure out how to make this major Emmy anniversary a show to remember. Much of that will come down to who hosts the telecast.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Keeping that in mind, there I was once again backstage last year in the press room when I realized that no one else was going to ask a similar question to the “Ted Lasso” cast and producers. Having won back-to-back Emmys for outstanding comedy, “Ted Lasso” was on a roll. And yet, there were already signals that “Ted Lasso” might wrap after a third and final season.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Emmys officially have a new date: Fox and the Television Academy were set to announce this morning that the 75th Emmy Awards will shift to Monday, January 15, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.