The third wave of Oscar contenders is here. And beyond three upcoming films that have not screened publicly, the field is close to being set. Over the past three weeks, four films have shown their wares to varying reactions. The one to pay attention to the most, in our opinion, is “Artificial.” But let’s start with the movie cinephiles are still talking about, “Digger.”

Unless you’re living under a rock, the “Digger” discourse has flipped quicker than Tom Cruise spinning an F18 in a “Top Gun” movie.

Continue reading ‘Artificial,’ ‘Digger,’ & ‘Behemoth!’ Enter The Oscar Season Spotlight [Contender Countdown] at The Playlist.

In a day of monumental change in Hollywood, one piece of news may have slipped under your radar. Rumored for weeks, Amazon and the Television Academy put pen to paper and signed a new deal to stream the Emmy Awards. This follows almost sixty years of NBC, CBS, ABC and, eventually, FOX as rotating broadcast partners for television’s biggest night. There is no set date for the 2027 Emmy Awards, but the agreement effectively begins now.

Continue reading Prime Video Is The New Home For The Emmy Awards For The Next Six Years at The Playlist.

The best-reviewed world premiere out of the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival may surprise you. It wasn’t the latest films from Academy Award winners Sian Heder or Peter Farrelly. Nor was it Theja Rio’s “Angh,” the Platform slate prize winner with an automatic entry into the International Feature Oscar race. Instead, it was Bassam Tariq’s “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” an Orion Pictures – Amazon MGM Studios release that has become one of the best-reviewed films of the year.

Continue reading ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’: Bassam Tariq On ‘Ghost Dog’s’ Influence, Wong Kar-wai & Mahershala Ali As His Buster Keaton [Interview] at The Playlist.

In a busy fall movie season, there’s one intoxicating thriller that deserves your attention: Bassam Tariq’s critically acclaimed “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother.” Set in contemporary Houston, it follows a religious hitman, Latif (Mahershala Ali), who is on a mission to find breast milk for his baby daughter. In his crosshairs is Pastor Hwan (John Cho), who is on a mission to take out an adult porn producer (Abubakr Ali) with ties to Latif’s temple community.

Continue reading John Cho On ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’: “I’d Never Seen A Character Like This Played By A Guy That Looked Like Me” [Interview] at The Playlist.

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards were handed out in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon in a star-filled ceremony that saw Madonna take the most trophies withs seven including Artist of the Year. The top prize, Video of the Year, went to Taylor Swift for “The Fate of Ophelia.” And, yes, we’re not sure anyone would have believed the one-time anti-establishment VMAs would be broadcast on the one-time Tiffany Network, CBS.

Continue reading Taylor Swift Wins Video Of The Year But Madonna Rules The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards [Complete List] at The Playlist.

We’re now two weeks out from the initial fall festival trifecta, with the New York Film Festival set to unveil its two-week event this evening. That means it’s about as good a time as any to release our first Contender Countdown of the season, a snapshot of the Best Picture race for the 99th Academy Awards. And, yes, there is a frontrunner. And, yes, it’s the same frontrunner as it was before those festivals hit: Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.” That being said, two major contenders have a realistic shot at snatching the crown.

Continue reading ‘The Odyssey’ Is Your Best Picture Frontrunner…For Now [Contender Countdown] at The Playlist.

The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival has come to an end, but not before handing out its coveted People’s Choice Award. This audience honor has been awarded since 1978 and has signaled crowd-pleasing prestige players for most of the century. There were at least five movies that could have won this honor, but Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s Cannes winner “La Bola Negra” snatched the prize.

READ MORE: “Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo” Review: Takashi Miike Goes Full Gonzo With A Bloody, Bizarre Neo-Noir [TIFF]

The first runner-up was Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky” while Siân Heder’s “Being Heumann” effectively came in third.

Continue reading ‘La Bola Negra’ Wins 2026 Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award at The Playlist.

Monday night’s Emmy telecast was one of the smoothest awards shows we’ve seen in years, moving at a brisk pace and somehow finding itself with time to spare heading into the final award. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson even got to take their time presenting Best Comedy Series to “Widow’s Bay,” a rarity for a ceremony that usually spends its final stretch racing against the clock—the rest of the night delivered plenty to talk about, including historic wins, long-overdue victories, a genuine upset, and a surprising spreading of the wealth across the Drama categories that we rarely see at the Emmys.

Continue reading Emmys 2026 Best & Worst: Matthew Rhys Makes History, Rhea Seehorn Finally Wins & Mariska Hargitay Flops at The Playlist.

The 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards came to a close Monday night with Apple TV’s horror-comedy “Widow’s Bay” walking away with six wins during the telecast, including Best Comedy Series. The freshman show won six of the seven major comedy awards: Lead Actor (Matthew Rhys), Supporting Actor (Stephen Root), Supporting Actress (Kate O’Flynn), Directing, Writing, and Comedy Series. The lone category it didn’t win was Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, where Jean Smart prevailed for “Hacks,” making her the only performer ever to win an Emmy for every season of a television series.

Continue reading ‘Widow’s Bay,’ ‘The Pitt’ Win Big At The 2026 Emmy Awards [Complete List] at The Playlist.

Over the past few years, the Emmy nominations have been revealed and voters, consultants and television fans, have scanned the list with disappointment. Most assuming the eventual winners were obvious across the board. And, sure, there is always a category or two that seems up in the air, but for the most part, July and August have foretold a ceremony with no surprises. And then, there are actual surprises. In fact, there hasn’t been a televised Emmys this decade without at least one “upset” during the Primetime ceremony.

Continue reading Emmys 2026 Winner Predictions: ‘The Pitt,’ ‘Widow’s Bay’ &…’DTF St. Louis’? at The Playlist.

Within 24 hours, the Toronto International Film Festival’s blue carpet will be formally unveiled. Hundreds of locals will pack King Street for a chance to see or scream at a recognizable star of one movie after another. And new films such as the buzzworthy “I Play Rocky” will attempt to win the TIFF People’s Choice Award all in hopes of just gaining Oscar voters’ attention. But, as has been the case for almost two decades, a substantial number of AMPAS members have already started the race to Hollywood’s biggest night.

Continue reading ‘Wild Horse Nine,’ ‘La Bola Negra,’ Julianne Moore & Andrew Scott Dominate Telluride Oscar Buzz at The Playlist.

Watch out, “Hacks.” It looks like you’ve got serious competition for the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy Award. The second night of the Creative Arts Emmys saw Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay” take home eight trophies, including Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Betty Gilpin (her first trophy after four nominations). “DTF St. Louis” is now a surprise frontrunner for the Limited or Anthology Series Emmy after taking six Emmys to the expected frontrunner “Beef’s” three trophies.

Continue reading ‘Widow’s Bay’ Dominates Sunday Night Creative Arts Emmys 2026 As Shailene Woodley & ‘South Park’ Also Win [Complete List] at The Playlist.

The 2026 Emmy Awards are here. Well, the Creative Arts Emmy categories are, at least. The Television Academy began two nights of pre-Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies this weekend, and Bad Bunny dominated the night. “The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny” won seven Emmys, including Outstanding Variety Special (Live), which means the Puerto Rican icon is now halfway to EGOT with his first Emmy win. Bunny’s episode of “Saturday Night Live” also won Outstanding Makeup For A Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program.

Continue reading Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Dominates Saturday Night Creative Arts Emmys 2026 [Complete List] at The Playlist.

The Venice Film Festival is in full effect, and the Toronto International Film Festival is just a week away. Smack in the middle of the two red carpet wonders is the Telluride Film Festival, the annual Labor Day weekend event that brings together filmmakers, actors, cinephiles, a few billionaires (or three or four), and Oscar voters to formally kick off awards season. Oh yes, Telluride has more AMPAS members in attendance actually seeing movies than any other festival in the world.

Continue reading ‘The Debut,’ ‘Elsinore,’ ‘Tender Loving Care’ Among 2026 Telluride Film Festival World Premieres [Complete List] at The Playlist.

It may be the end of August, but Oscar season is almost in full bloom. Not only are the major festivals about to debut highly anticipated new contenders, but the International Feature Film category is locking down its submissions. In fact, some nations are picking their players significantly earlier than expected. Just today, Belgium selected Lukas Dhont’s “Coward” and South Korea chose Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love.”

READ MORE: “Coward” Review: Lukas Dhont Chronicles Love And Pain On The Frontlines Of The Great War [Cannes]

“Coward,” which saw stars Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne win Best Actor at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, was not a surprise.

Continue reading ‘Coward,’ ‘Possible Love,’ ‘Everytime’ Official Oscar Submissions As International Feature Race Comes Into Focus at The Playlist.

Tell Dr. Jack Abbot to find a hobby, and the man joins a SWAT team. That is the version of healing “The Pitt” handed Shawn Hatosy in Season 2, and it gets right to what makes Abbot such a compelling presence. He is calm enough to walk into any medical disaster and damaged enough to mistake more danger for self-care.

Hatosy has not been around the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center nearly as much as some of his castmates, but Abbot does not need much screen time to make an impression.

Continue reading ‘The Pitt’: Shawn Hatosy Teases Abbot’s Hidden Trauma, Season 3 & Why A Night-Shift Spinoff Probably Won’t Happen [Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

It’s not every day that an actor campaigns for an Emmy nominee they aren’t explicitly nominated for. For both Andrew Rannells and Allison Janney, their admiration for Jim Rash’s “Miss You, Love You” is worth the time and effort. An indie film that took a year to get in front of cameras and then another year before HBO picked it up after market screenings at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

Continue reading Andrew Rannells On That Moment In ‘Miss You, Love You’ Where He Couldn’t Stop Crying at The Playlist.

Continuing to prove that the Television Academy’s eligibility rules are outdated, the Crave Original and HBO Max pickup “Heated Rivalry” won the coveted Program of the Year honor from the 2026 Television Critics Association Awards. A nice recogonition no doubt, as the Jacob Tierney series begins production on season two this week. Arguaby the bigger TCA Awards winner was Apple TV standout “Widow’s Bay” which took three honors including Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, Outstanding New Program and Individual Achievement in Comedy for Kate O’Flynn.

Continue reading ‘Heated Rivalry’ Wins Program Of The Year, ‘Widow’s Bay’ Takes Three Trophies At 2026 TCA Awards [Complete List] at The Playlist.

Mike Makowsky was told flat out his proposed limited series about the long-forgotten assassination of a long-forgotten, barely in office U.S. president would never get made. But there was something about the story of James A. Garfield (Michael Shannon) and his obsessive assassin Charles J. Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen) that he felt needed to be told. Thankfully, he found allies in producers David Benioff and D.B.

Continue reading ‘Death By Lightning’: Mike Makowsky On His ‘Will Never In A Million Years Get Made’ Emmy Nominee [Interview] at The Playlist.

Is this 1985? Is it 1989? Is it 1990? Is it 1998? No, in a welcome surprise, Madonna leads all nominees for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards. An incredible achievement for an artist who was nominated for her video for “Borderline” at the first VMAs 42 years ago. The Queen of Pop earned 11 nominations, including Video of the Year primiarly for “Confessions II – The Film.”

Madonna has won 20 VMAs over her career, including 19 competitive and 1 honorary Vanguard Award.

Continue reading Madonna Summer Continues As Icon Leads 2026 MTV Video Music Awards Nominations [Complete List] at The Playlist.

Hollywood is a tough town. It has been for over a century. But something is reassuring about where Karolina Wydra has ended up after the journey she endured over the past few years. Before the pandemic, she’d spent over a decade booking recurring roles on shows such as “True Blood,” “Quantico,” and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” among others. Then COVID hit. She decided to have kids and, well, the industry became horrifyingly unkind.

Continue reading Karolina Wydra Lost Her Manager & Agent And Then ‘Pluribus’ Changed Everything [Interview] at The Playlist.

Based on our chat last week with Jeff Hiller, the veteran actor would lead you to believe he was somewhat unaware of what a lucky year he’s had. That may be genuine, but it may also reflect Hiller’s infectious, self-deprecating nature. Because 12 months ago he was simply celebrating just being nominated in the Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category for his acclaimed performance in “Somebody Somewhere.” To many, it was a “the nomination is the win” moment for the little gem of a show that had a small but passionate fanbase and was a critic’s favorite.

Continue reading Jeff Hiller Is Living His Emmy Life With A Second Nomination For ‘Pluribus’ And Keeping ‘Widow’s Bay’ Secrets Secret [Interview] at The Playlist.

Final Emmy voting starts on Monday, but one of the most popular shows of the past twelve months won’t be part of the mix. “Heated Rivalry” season one was ineligible due to international financing rules, but has received its flowers from other organizations. It won a prestigious Peabody Award in May and dominated Canada’s version of the Emmys, the Canadian Screen Awards. The Crave original is also up for four TCA Awards, including Program of the Year.

Continue reading ‘Heated Rivalry’ Wins Best TV Drama, Dominating The 2026 Dorian 2026 TV Awards [Complete List] at The Playlist.

By the time you read this, Charles Melton’s life may have changed forever. Granted, it’s already taken an incredible turn. Three years ago, the somewhat under-the-radar, one-time “Riverdale” cast member became a cinephile favorite in Todd Haynes’ “May December.” This year, he delivered a celebrated performance in the second season of “Beef.” A portrayal that earned him of two Emmy nominations this year. But tomorrow night, there are rumors that a big reveal will occur at the annual D23 Convention in Anaheim, California.

Continue reading Charles Melton Is Ready For That Emmy Moment And The ‘Possibilities’ Of The ‘X-Men’ at The Playlist.

The full lineup of the 2026 New York Film Festival is now complete. After announcing its main slate last week, Film at Lincoln Center has added 12 new films for its Spotlight selection, including world premieres of Tom McCarthy’s “A Statement” and Jonathan Glazer’s documentary “Joy of Joys.” Additionally, Christian Mungiu‘s Palme d’Or winner “Fjord” and Jesse Eisenberg’s highly anticipated “The Debut” are also set to screen for the New York cinephile set.

Continue reading Tom McCarthy’s ‘A Statement,’ Jesse Eisenberg’s ‘The Debut,’ Cristian Mungiu’s ‘Fjord’ Among 2026 New York Film Festival Spotlights at The Playlist.