Explosive finales, memorably intimate moments, and, yes, wigs—Vanity Fair takes you behind the scenes of this year’s best TV. Just in time for Emmy nominations, directors, actors, showrunners, and composers from The Good Place, Schitt’s Creek, Normal People, and more share the secrets to getting each scene just right.
Photo: media.vanityfair.com
Daisy Edgar-Jones, Paul Mescal, and director Lenny Abrahamson take us behind the scenes of a memorably intimate moment in Hulu’s adaptation of Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel. As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into some of the shows that struck us most, …
Already a rising star thanks to Big Little Lies, she’s finally at center stage. As the television landscape grows ever vaster, actors otherwise sidelined have gotten a chance to strut their stuff at center stage, on their very own series. This spring perhaps no one got a juicier opportunity to do …
To prepare to play the late royal on Netflix’s sumptuous period drama, Bonham Carter sought out the source herself—via a medium. As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into some of the shows that struck us most, and asking actors and creators how the season’s …
What does she think her wily character would do during quarantine? “Probably self-isolate at some family compound that had cute staff and an extra house for Tom to be exiled to.” Shiv Roy’s name is no accident. The only daughter in a family of squabbling men, she holds and wields power with unique …
The breakout star of Netflix’s Cheer shares some motivating “mat talk” for enduring the pandemic and reveals what’s next for Navarro’s cheerleading squad. In the Netflix docuseries that follows the cheer squad of Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, 20-year-old Harris became a breakout star for his …
Catherine O’Hara’s performance on the dearly departed comedy was a career-topping triumph—and now feels like an allegory for our altered times. V.F. photographed her with a drone, and talked to her about her early friendship with Gilda Radner, flubbed auditions, and the curative power of …
How would her wildly driven character survive quarantine? “Ruth would read 48 Laws of Power and rewatch Scarface.” Forget the money-launderers and murderers. When Ozark debuted in July of 2017, the most memorable crime was Julia Garner blithely walking away with the show. Garner’s character, Ruth …
A television show’s vision begins taking shape long before the actors learn their lines, let alone speak them. V.F. talks to experts in design, makeup, writing, and more. A television show’s vision begins taking shape long before the actors learn their lines, let alone speak them. V.F. talks to …
The cast and creators of the beloved comedy series open up about David and Patrick’s heartwarming wedding. As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into how some of this season’s greatest scenes and characters came together. You can read more of these close looks …
The star and executive producer of the bawdy historical comedy on boundaries, blood, and bare bottoms. As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into some of the shows that struck us most, and asking actors and creators how the season’s greatest scenes and …
Zoë Kravitz, Pamela Adlon, Patrick Stewart—and nine more of TV’s most arresting actors—share their screens, stories, and stay-at-home secrets in a portfolio directed by Jackie Nickerson. In 1999, when The Sopranos electrified pop culture, people wondered if TV could maybe someday be as engrossing and …
There’s more to watch than ever, but series have fewer episodes—and fewer seasons—to prove themselves. Friends and Lost might not happen today. What if “The One Where Monica and Chandler Sleep Together” didn’t exist? Okay, fine, there’s no Friends episode with that name; the prosaic title of the …
Meghan Markle’s old day job Suits is just one of many series moving into the great streaming library in the sky. To all of them, V.F. says: Thank you for your service, and see you in the good place. ARROW (The CW) Once upon a time, Greg Berlanti took little-known DC Comics hero Oliver Queen and …
From the Magazine June 2020 Issue The actor on her favorite props from the dearly departed NBC sitcom. June 10, 2020 More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
Watchmen, The Plot Against America, Hunters, and more explore the worst mankind has to offer. Before the coronavirus, the greatest threat to our sense of normalcy was Donald Trump. The president’s fickle governance, racist language, and childish way of punishing his perceived enemies aroused both …
The ’90s hunk turned superhero turned Disney prince has gradually become a prolific character actor: “I’m not interested in just playing the same old guy.” James Marsden was in the only place he could be. Not in his acting career, which has been fruitfully darting this way and that for years—quite …
The actor takes us inside that cliff-hanger finale and explains how the show’s best scene came to life. As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into how some of this season’s greatest scenes and characters came together. You can read more of these close looks …
The original-music-and-lyrics Emmy category may be the only place where a Zoom seder can compete with a jazz song 13 years in the making. As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into how some of this season’s greatest scenes and characters came together. You can …
On this week’s Little Gold Men podcast, a final For Your Consideration pitch for the most Emmy-worthy shows and performances of the year. As you read this, the voters in the Television Academy have their ballots for this year’s Emmy Awards in hand—a little later than expected, but more or less on …
The actor breaks down the eye damage, multiple wigs, and impromptu mud baths behind TV’s most popular new hero. As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into how some of this season’s greatest scenes and characters came together. You can read more of these close …
In an exclusive video, the Oscar-winning composer performs the theme of the Star Wars series. A lone figure steps through the door, settles in to his shadowy surroundings, and finally draws his weapon as the action begins. Within the world of The Mandalorian, it’s the masked hero pulling out his …
Showrunner Liz Tigelaar brings us behind the scenes of an explosive finale, revealing the way Washington shocked Witherspoon off camera. As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into how some of this season’s greatest scenes and characters came together. You can …
“I was up for the challenge of just diving into that.… It can be a little bit awkward, but it’s what the show is all about.” As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into some of the shows that struck us most, and asking actors and creators how the season’s …
The musical series about revealing hidden feelings through popular songs reached a heartbreaking crescendo in its finale, set to Don McLean’s “American Pie.” As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into how some of this season’s greatest scenes and characters …
Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck talk about the anti-feminist’s campaign against the ERA—and the day Blanchett suggested the song “Little Weaver Bird” for the finale. As Emmy nominations approach, Vanity Fair’s HWD team is once again diving deep into how some of this season’s greatest scenes and …
