This story about Mo Amer, Jessica Williams, Helen Mirren, Aminah Nieves, Brandon Sklenar, Delroy Lindo and Mayan Lopez originally appeared in the Race Begins issue of TheWrap awards magazine.
Freshman series play a vital role at the Emmys, which can start to feel like a “been there, did that” parade as the same shows take home awards year after year. Five new shows broke into the Outstanding Comedy and Drama Series categories last year, and here are some of our favorites of the many hoping to accomplish the same feat in 2023.
Hollywood might not have seemed fated for Mo Amer, a Palestinian American standup who, after fleeing Kuwait (where he was born), settled in Houston, Texas. He is a natural storyteller, and his semi-autobiographical Netflix series “Mo” proves that he is exactly where he belongs.
TRAINING GROUND “It was a big focus for me to just hone my craft in stand-up, and when the time is right, you can bring that TV show or movie to life. And through that training, all those years spent on the road and working from the most remote pubs to London’s Royal Albert Hall, all played a really key role for me in making a successful TV show: being able to of being agile, the wow factor, the storytelling, the understanding of what it takes.”
BEING A “DIVERSE” VOICE “There’s an irritation that comes with it, but telling these stories (outcasts, immigrants) is incredibly important because it’s also so much fun, so universal. When I’m done with the show, I’ll go ahead and show you what else I can do, what other stories I can tell. I feel like I can step up as myself. A lot of people spend most of their lives not being themselves, and I just want to be me and the most honest part of me.”
COMING CLOSE TO HOME “I’m already so emotionally attached to the material that I don’t even realize the depth of emotion I have until I’m there. Especially the stuff about my father (dying) being real to my life and realizing that I didn’t cry well in my real life. We shot the scene and I had a real nervous breakdown which, let me tell you, makes you feel very self-conscious! Handkerchief anyone? It’s just one of those things that happens by being in the moment and really feeling it.” —benjamin lindsay
“Shrinking” brought Jessica Williams (who plays Gaby) home, literally. After stints on “The Daily Show,” “2 Dope Queens,” “Love Life” and more kept her in New York City, the 33-year-old Los Angeles native returned to co-star with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford ( Paul). in the comedy created by Segel, Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence.
THE FORCE “I was really excited to work with Harrison. I was very excited to work with Jason Segel, and Harrison was an asset. I tried to learn more about him as a person, so I watched a lot of interviews. And then once I initially got used to his face, especially on set and settled into, ‘Oh, that’s Harrison Ford,’ I was able to separate that and go, ‘OK, this is my boss, Paul, and this is our relation.’ But being Harrison Ford helps inform Gaby’s relationship with Paul, who is sort of a mentor who can be a bit grumpy.”
IN TREATMENT “The way ‘Shrinking’ helps people perceive therapists a little differently, I was really interested in that concept. I have been doing therapy for a long time and I don’t know the life of my therapist. With Gaby, we wanted her to feel really relatable in that way so that people were like, ‘Oh, I want to find a therapist like that.'”
MOTHER LOVE “My mom sent me a really nice text after watching the show and she said, ‘I love you on this show.’ She’s seen it all, but she said, ‘I like that you make everyone else look good, too.’ She feels great to be able to support Jason and support Harrison and Christa (Miller) and Michael Urie and everyone who has partners in every scene.” —benjamin lindsay
Paramount+’s smash hit “1923” is both a prequel to Taylor Sheridan’s wildly popular series “Yellowstone” and a follow-up to the Emmy-nominated “1883.” Follows Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and his wife Cara (Helen Mirren) as they encounter various forces that threaten their land, and their family, while also dealing with changing times, as the Old West ushers into the century. xx.
UNDER THE SHEETS “I had to be in bed with him, you know,” Mirren said of those scenes with Ford. “I’m laying there and I’m thinking, I’m in bed with Harrison Ford. She was so excited, I can’t tell you. I had to pretend to be cool. Do not tell him. Promise me.”
PROCEED WITH CAUTION “Getting the first script and even auditioning is heavy,” said Aminah Nieves. “To go back into that (oppressed Native American) life so deeply was very scary because I wanted to honor our communities to the best of my ability and all indigenous communities around the world.”
MISTAKEN IDENTITY “This gentleman is coming,” Brandon Sklenar said of his first meeting with his legendary co-star. “I had no idea who he was. Jump over the door. And within two seconds I’m like, ‘Shit, it’s Harrison Ford.’ He said: ‘Are you the tamer of stars? How are the actors? I told him, ‘I’m an actor. I play Spencer Dutton. Then he looked at me with that classic Harrison Ford smile and said, ‘Very good. Nice to meet you.’ He is genuinely a shining example of how you can be.” —drew taylor
In “Unprisoned,” the new Hulu comedy series from Onyx Collective, Delroy Lindo stars as Edwin, a man recently released from prison trying to heal past wounds, his own and those of his estranged daughter Paige (Kerry Washington), and come back . at his feet. Created by Tracy McMillan, the series explores the complexity of family ties.
A FRESH TAKE “Tracy and Kerry said they both wanted to change the perception of what a formerly incarcerated person looks like. And that was a particular element that resonated for me, and the notion of this family trying to repair itself, trying to reconnect the relationship.”
MEETING WITH KERRY WASHINGTON “I met her in the initial Zoom conversation about this project. I appreciated that there was an opening that we shared in our initial conversations. As for Kerry’s awareness as an actor, I saw it in ‘Ray’ and ‘The Last King of Scotland.’ In fact, I didn’t see ‘Scandal’. I know ‘Scandal’ was a huge, huge, very popular hit. Maybe it’s scandalous that I didn’t see it.”
THE TO TAKE “I hope people are surprised by this family trying to repair itself. I hope there is an aspect of redefining what people think about people who have been incarcerated and that, in turn, causes people to re-examine what they may feel about not only people who have been incarcerated, but families as well. of those who have been incarcerated, the fact that so many people are impacted by the fact of incarceration. The fact that it disproportionately affects people of color. And I hope that sensitivity to challenges will increase.” —Rachel “Rocky” Harris
Following her parents’ divorce, Mayan Lopez spent years separated from her father, comedian and actor George Lopez. The route to reconciliation came through “López vs. Lopez,” the NBC sitcom in which the two play versions of themselves, fictional but facing real family issues.
ORIGIN STORY “I had just finished Second City Conservatory in Chicago and still wanted to be creative. My dad and I weren’t really talking to each other at the time, and sometimes the only way we could communicate was through comedy. Someone made a TikTok about past transgressions in (my) family, and I was like, ‘I’m going to say something about it.’ What would get people’s attention? I twerked upside down on a wall. And (showrunner) Debbie Wolf saw it and thought, ‘This is a show.’”
THE BIGGEST PHOTOGRAPH “Two years ago we didn’t really talk, and now we’re on camera helping families. People have asked me, ‘Did you know what you were signing up for when you did this project?’ I don’t think we did. But I knew that our relationship means something that is bigger than ourselves, and we can help a lot of people and make people laugh.”
THE NEPO LABEL “They call me (nepo baby) all the time. Actually all the time. I am incredibly lucky and I know that she had the doors open for me, absolutely. But when I went to college, I auditioned for all these improv groups and they didn’t come to me. They’re like, ‘You’re George Lopez’s daughter, you’re going to succeed.’ And I say, ‘I’m trying to learn.’ I have had to work hard not to be what everyone expects me to be. I hope I can conquer you, and if not, I wish you the best. —elias gil
Read more of The Race Begins issue here.
