It felt like a moment from “Severance.” That’s how Fifth Season co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graham Taylor described waking up in July to the news that the company’s Apple TV+ drama was top of the leaderboard in this year’s Emmy Awards derby.
“It was surreal. It maybe felt like a moment in ‘Severance,’ ” Rice says on the latest episode of “Daily Variety” podcast. “Obviously we’d hoped for some love but hadn’t imagined what happened. Twenty- seven [nominations] is an unimaginable number for us. So we were extremely pleased and extremely grateful and happy for all the incredible people who make the show, just an incredible assemblage of craftsmen and women.”
Taylor adds that the blossoming of “Severance” as a buzzy show in pop culture has paid big dividends for Fifth Season, as well as for him personally.
“In a world where Chris and I and our colleagues — we long for, strive for and pursue original storytelling. It’s nice to see that embraced and supported by critics and fans,” Taylor says. “And certainly my status on my 12-year-old daughter’s soccer team — I’ve definitely gotten up one notch. They make me carry the tent a lot less.”
Rice underlines Taylor’s point by stressing that two dozen-plus Emmy nominations bring more than bragging rights.
“Fifth season from day one has been trying to build a place that is home for the best creatives to come with truly original stories and make films and TV shows that feel authored and original and unique,” Rice says. “And to have such success with with one of them obviously helps drive people to be in business with us and helps us createa place that hopefully the best people want to come and work. That for us is everything.”
Taylor and Rice discuss the trajectory of Fifth Season over the past eight seasons as the company evolved from being part of Endeavor to being sold to CJ ENM in early 2022. The co-CEOs are both experienced producers and sellers, which gave them a lot of insight into how to build an effective organization.
“For me personally, having had experience on the other side, I always found it frustrating when dealing with studios where it felt like they were highly siloed. Movie people didn’t talk to TV people, and it very much felt like a lot of independent contractors,” Taylor says. “It was really important to us that it’s a highly collaborative, highly entrepreneurial environment where people are empowered. You’ve got to find great people and you’ve really got to trust them and empower them.”
Also in today’s episode, Michael Schneider, Variety‘s television editor, discusses his recent column in which he offers up a bold proposal to the Television Academy as it prepares to negotiate a new TV rights deal for the Emmy Awards. For the past 30 years, the Emmy Awards have rotated annually among ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, which has become known as “the wheel deal.” Schneider suggests a different approach for the next contract that will take effect in 2027.
“Why not give everyone the Emmys and follow a model that has actually been done pretty effectively with the charity events through the years,” Schneider says. “Usually when there’s a big disaster, there’s a charity event that comes after and every network and every streamer will then run that that charity event. It’s called a roadblock. Why don’t we do that with the most important broadcast of the television year, which is celebrating itself?”
Schneider note that he ran the idea past Maury McIntyre, TV Academy president and CEO, and got a thumbs up.
“Maybe I’ve sprinkled some ideas for the TV Academy as they sit back down with their network partners and start hashing out whatever this new contract is going to look like,” Schneider says.
(Pictured: “Severance”)
Listen to Daily Variety on iHeartPodcasts, Apple Podcasts, Variety’s YouTube Podcast channel, Amazon Music, Spotify and other podcast platforms.
