Awards season has exploded onto the scene with enough star power to light up Times Square — and honestly, who doesn’t love a good dose of Hollywood glamour? Between the Creative Arts Emmys and Toronto’s latest cinematic spectacle, the entertainment world is serving up drama both on and off screen.
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards — think of it as television’s dress rehearsal before the main event — delivered some genuinely surprising moments this year. Apple TV+’s “The Studio” (that delightfully sharp workplace comedy everyone’s been buzzing about) nabbed the Casting for Comedy Series trophy. Not to be outdone, Netflix’s “Adolescence” claimed its own victory in Limited Series casting, though HBO Max’s “The Pitt” might’ve stolen the whole show with an unexpected win in drama casting that had industry insiders reaching for their martinis.
Speaking of unexpected… Shawn Hatosy’s acceptance speech for Outstanding Guest Actor was pure gold. The veteran actor, clearly caught off guard, dropped an unfiltered “Holy S—” that had the audience howling. Sometimes the best moments in Hollywood are the ones nobody rehearsed.
Then there’s Rian Johnson’s latest masterpiece making waves up in Toronto. “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” premiered at the Princess of Wales Theatre — because where else would you debut a film that’s practically dripping in star power? The red carpet looked like someone had emptied out the Chateau Marmont’s most exclusive guest list: Daniel Craig, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis… the list goes on.
Craig, ever the charmer, couldn’t resist a quip about the cast size. “Putting this many stars into one film is literally like herding cats,” he mused, while Jeremy Renner (still riding that new-cast-member high) compared his casting to a lottery win. Though let’s be real — the lottery’s the one that got lucky here.
Johnson’s taken his mystery franchise down a darker path this time around. The film weaves through church corridors and existential questions like a noir detective through rain-slicked streets. “We’re going to go by way of Poe into some John Dickson Carr,” Johnson explained, proving that even three films deep, this series refuses to get comfortable.
The release strategy’s particularly interesting — a limited two-week theatrical run starting November 26 before hitting Netflix. It’s the kind of hybrid approach that’s become increasingly common in 2025, as studios try to keep both traditional cinema buffs and streaming devotees happy. Rather like trying to please both your vegan friends and your carnivorous relatives at a dinner party, really.
Back in Emmy-land, the tea leaves are starting to form some fascinating patterns. That Limited Series casting award? It’s been practically joined at the hip with the main category winner for five straight years — a correlation that would make any statistician weak at the knees. The comedy category’s playing harder to get, though. Recent years show that a casting win doesn’t guarantee the big prize like it used to.
As the industry holds its breath for the main Emmy ceremony, “Severance” sits pretty with its 27 nominations. But don’t sleep on “The Pitt” — with that surprise casting win and 14 nominations, it’s giving serious dark horse energy. After all, in Hollywood, sometimes the best stories are the ones nobody saw coming.
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