Kanye West shuns spotlight closing iHeartRadio festival

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2015 38

A model presents the creation from British designer Julien Macdonald during the Spring / Summer 2016 London Fashion Week in London yesterday. (See more on Page 39)

Emmys celebrate TV’s best, but are viewers overloaded?

he Emmy Awards tonight will celebrate the best of survive. And once viewers subscribe to these pay channels, the hundreds of television shows flooding US air- Quality over quantity? he added, they usually stay. Twaves, in what many critics have called the small Sensing the winds of change, acclaimed film actors- But he also notes that shows do not necessarily need to In this image released by HBO, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen screen’s “golden age.” But have audiences reached satura- from Kevin Spacey on Netflix’s “House of Cards” to Viola be ultra-sophisticated to be good. “There are a lot of high- appears in a scene from “Game of Thrones. Clarke is nominated for an tion point? Is there, in fact, too much good TV? Davis on ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder”-have quality shows that are less artistically ambitious but very Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for her “We’re in this insane expansion-it’s getting a little crazy,” flocked to the small screen. This in turn has not only boost- well-executed like ‘Empire,’ which was a very good show,” role on the show. — AP photos Tom Nunan, a professor at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film ed the quality of the shows on offer, but also increased the Thompson said of Fox’s breakout hip-hop family drama. and Television, told AFP. “I’m a freak addict of these shows diversity of the projects that are developed for TV. For Nunan, the biggest issue is not the fear that the era but even I can’t keep up.” According to industry experts, At this year’s Emmys, the shows nominated range from of good TV shows will suddenly disappear. It’s figuring out about 400 television shows will be on offer this year in the epic fantasy saga “Game of Thrones” to stylish 1960s drama how to watch them all. “People are trying to keep quality,” United States, up from 371 last year and roughly double “Mad Men” to ensemble comedy “Modern Family” and he said. “I just think it’s getting more and more difficult to the 213 from five years ago. Amazon’s transgender dramedy “Transparent.” “Mad Men” find time to watch the shows.” — AFP “This is simply too much television,” John Landgraf, is seen as one of the best shows in a triumphant era in tele- head of the cable channel FX Networks, said recently, vision that has included mob classic “The Sopranos,” cop sparking gasps in the industry. “My sense is that 2015 and saga “The Wire” and crime drama “Breaking Bad.” 2016 will represent a peak in US TV, and afterwards we’ll “This is the most exciting period I’ve ever seen in televi- see a decline.” The production of television series shot up sion, and it’s probably the most exciting place to be if in the last 15 years as cable channels joined traditional net- you’re a storyteller,” actor Ron Perlman, star of Amazon’s works in offering original programming. new series “Hand of God,” said recently at a meeting of TV Streaming services such as Amazon, Netflix and Hulu critics. Robert Thompson, a professor of television and pop In this image released by AMC, Jon have since arrived on the scene with their own offerings. culture at Syracuse University, said he believes web Hamm portrays Don Draper in a scene “There are 60 channels who buy or commission scripted providers like Netflix and Amazon will continue to grow from “Mad Men.” Hamm is nominated content,” Nunan said. “It is a strange confluence of new thanks to their ability to take more risks artistically, com- for an Emmy Award for outstanding platforms along with overwhelming buying capability.” pared to traditional TV channels that rely on advertising to lead actor in a drama series.

In this image released by ABC, Viola Davis appears in a In this image released by Comedy Central, Amy Schumer In this image released by HBO, Julia Louis-Dreyfus In this image released by Fox, Taraji P Henson appears in a scene from “How To Get Away With Murder.” Davis was appears in a scene from her comedy series, “Inside Amy appears in a scene from “VEEP.” The series was nominated scene from “Empire.” Henson was nominated for an Emmy nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding lead Schumer.” for an Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series. Award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series. actress in a drama series.