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In this special edition episode of Talking Madonna with Erik and Abdi, we look back at the Queen of Pop's 14 studio albums and curate a perfect record from them. Not a traditional 'greatest hits' by any means, but featuring one song from each album, single or album track, plus three 'bonus tracks' from individual singles, soundtracks or other greatest hits albums.

It's been a minute. The AwardsWatch Emmy podcast return and at the top asking how my guests, Kevin Jacobson and Amanda Spears, have been coping as we enter the 5th month of sheltering in then out then in place and how it's changed or altered their lives. We then go into the realistic chance of what the Primetime Emmy telecast might actually look like with the Television Academy already canceling the Governor's Balls and turning the two-night Creative Arts Emmys into virtual events. We tackle the Comedy, Limited Series and Drama categories (about an hour each) including all acting. So much to unpack here with the newly expanded categories (eight in series and supporting roles for drama and comedy) and how the the loss of Game of Thrones opens up the race tremendously. Does that mean a long-standing bystander like Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul) finally gets in or was she never that close to begin with? What does Lead Actor in a Drama Series look like, which has been on a clear path of rewarding only first and last season performances with wins? How will Apple fare in its first Emmy season with The Morning Show and Defending Jacob? Watch out for full written predictions including writing and directing throughout this week. There is a slight glitch between 1:54:00-1:54:15 while Amanda is doing her Supporting Actor in a Drama Series predictions that couldn't be fixed in editing. This podcast runs 3h 5m 50s with intro and outro. Opening: Pose opening (FX) Closing: Schitt's Creek main and end title medley (by Maribeth Solomon and Geek Music)

What if you had the chance of opting into a second life after death?  In the Amazon original series Upload, Robbie Amell plays computer programmer Nathan Brown, a handsome but self-centered computer programmer who dies under suspicious circumstances and finds himself in Lake View, a utopian virtual after-life.  As Nathan acclimates himself to his new existence, he befriends Nora Antony (Andy Allo), his virtual handler. Nathan and Nora grow closer as they work to solve the mystery surrounding Nathan’s untimely demise. Upload is a sweet and whimsical comedy, with profound observations about technology, love, class and the meaning of life.  Amell, who’s made the sci-fi genre his playground with roles on Netflix's Code 8 and the CW series' The Tomorrow People and The Flash was immediately drawn to creator Greg Daniel’s futuristic vision in Upload. Amell shares "When Greg and I talked about the script and the show he said if this digital after-life was created by people then it would have the same problems the real world has with division of wealth and income inequality.” Amell also shares his audition process in landing the role of Nathan, why fans are rooting for Nora and Nathan to be together and why the idea of a virtual afterlife appeals to him. 

Patti LuPone’s been busy. Between starring in the new Ryan Murphy Netflix show Hollywood, performing in Zoom concerts, giving no-holds-barred interviews in her signature outspoken fashion and giving us regular video updates from her basement, there’s no question that 2020 – coronavirus be damned— has already been Patti LuPone’s year. But to many of us, EVERY year is Patti’s year. My love for the legendary diva spans decades of seeing her perform in countless shows and settings, including an evening almost 10 years ago when I got to see her sing at a Barnes and Noble in New York City to promote her deliciously honest memoir. Watching LuPone in that intimate setting solidified my love and admiration for this woman and was an evening I’ll never forget (partly because I was also seated right next to the late, great Zoe Caldwell— but that’s a story for another day.) So you can imagine how thrilled and honored I was to get a chance to talk to her briefly in the midst of her busy quarantine schedule. Patti filled me in on the challenges of trying to stay productive while stuck at home, chatted about the current state of the arts in general and theatre in particular, filled me in on how she prepared to play a female studio executive in 1947 Hollywood, and, yes, gave me some insight into those basement videos that have turned her into a full-blown Twitter legend.

In this era of quarantine it's time for some levity. Kevin Jacobsen and Amanda Spears return for this podcast, covering the Comedy categories and it's a bit of a Schitt fest. With so many contenders not in the race this year, like Veep, Barry and Russian Doll, everything is much more open than usual. Plus, how will the extended Emmy voting period and inability to host FYC events impact this year's awards? We cover Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Lead Actor, Lead Actress and Comedy Series where, in many races, looks like Schitt's Creek vs The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in nearly all but Lead Actor. Dan Levy vs Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein vs Annie Murphy and Catherine O'Hara vs Rachel Brosnahan. But what about Merritt Wever in Run? Is the final season of Modern Family rearing its ugly head? We close with an interesting conversation on the theory of 'vote-splitting,' which I generally don't believe is a real thing, or at least used correctly as a descriptor. But between Kevin, Amanda and myself - and using last year's Drama Directing race as an example - I think we land on a mutual understanding.  This podcast runs 1h 29 with music. Opening: Theme from The Good Place by Geek Music/Symphonic Distributor Closing: End theme from Schitt's Creek by Maribeth Solomon

Last week, Kevin Jacobsen, Amanda Spears and I tackled the Limited Series categories for the year's Emmys but today it's all about the DRAMA. Starting with Supporting Actor first, we look at the likely returning nominees like Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul), Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid's Tale) and David Harbour (Stranger Things) as well as who could break in for the first time like Josh O'Connor for The Crown, Kieran Culkin for Succession and Tom Pelphrey for Ozark. With Game of Thrones gone, that opens up a whopping four spots in Supporting Actress, which finds HBC (Helena Bonham Carter) as HBIC for The Crown, with the newest winners here - Julia Garner in Ozark, Thandie Newton in Westworld and Ann Dowd in The Handmaid's Tale - ready to give her chase. Plus, Big Little Lies is now here so you know what that means: Meryl Streep and newly minted Oscar winner Laura Dern. Can Better Call Saul's Rhea Seehorn finally catch a nom here? Lead Actor could be a wild set of nominees with two of its most recent winners - Billy Porter in Pose and Sterling K. Brown in This Is Us - on weirdly shaky ground. Could Succession pull double duty and get both Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong in? Perennial nominee Bob Odenkirk is in for Better Call Saul, Jason Bateman is surely a lock for Ozark and b's Tobias Menzies seems safe too. Can Al Pacino break in for the critically divisive Hunters? Is there a world were former winner and Oscar winner Rami Malek makes one final nomination for Mr. Robot? Emmys: Lead Drama Actress is a winners circle but who will come out on top? There isn't going to be a more bloody fight this season than Lead Actress in a Drama Series (which Kevin breaks down here) with Oscar winner Olivia Colman in The Crown, previous Emmy and new SAG winner Jennifer Aniston in The Morning Show and last year's surprise winner here, Jodie Comer in Killing Eve (which premieres late in April). Then you still have Emmy favorite Laura Linney (in her best season of Ozark), previous winner here Elisabeth Moss in The Handmaid's Tale (and having a great year in film). What about previous winners in their final seasons like Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder) and Claire Danes (Homeland)? Can Sarah Snook sneak in for Succession or is this the wrong category for her? Emmys: Who will make the cut for Best Drama Series? We end with Drama Series, another category looking for a brand new winner now that four-time champ Game of Thrones is gone (check out Amanda's breakdown here). Will HBO's Succession take the crown or will it be, well, The Crown? How will previous nominees like Pose and Westworld fare here? Can Big Little Lies make the jump from Limited Series to Drama Series successfully and will Apple TV+ score its first series nod with The Morning Show? All of these questions and more are answered in this 33rd Emmy podcast, which runs 1h 23m 45s with music. Opening: Theme to Succession by Nicholas Britell Closing: Theme to The Crown by Hans Zimmer

Podcasting in the time of corona. The AwardsWatch Emmy Podcast returns and this week I am joined by Kevin Jacobsen and Amanda Spears to talk about the Limited Series categories and the state of television in the ever-changing landscape the coronavirus pandemic has created.  We open by talking a bit about our own personal experiences with the outbreak, the lockdowns and our existential thoughts. My sincere apologies for any of my coughing that comes through, I've been battling a severe dry cough (no fever!) and did the best I could to stifle it.  Even with the new season of Fargo out of the mix (production had to halt because of the virus and it won't make its April debut), the Limited Series races are jam packed with great content, most especially the lead actress and supporting actress categories. Full of Oscar winners and nominees, Emmy winners and nominees, both are set to be the most exciting of the season.  This podcast runs 47m 15s with intro and outro. Opening: The trailer for HBO's Watchmen Closing: "New York City By Day" by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

That's that, the Oscar nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards are in and Joey Moser from Awardsdaily and I have some words to say about them.  From Joker's 11 nominations to the dearth of non-white acting nominees to no female director nominees there's a lot we have to talk about. Is the Academy regressing? Why are there so many 'dad' movies in Best Picture this year? Is it all bad? Definitely not. Some strides were made even as setbacks were like a tidal wave over them.  We try and end on a positive note of our favorite nominations of the morning (Parasite! Honeyland x2! Great short noms!) and include some words of wisdom and advice from a snubbed contender to help right the ship.  This podcast runs 1h 10m with music. Opening: John Cho and Issa Rae intro to the morning's Oscar nominations Closing: "New York City by Day" from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan by Thomas Newman

In what might be the wildest Golden Globes in a while, with so many categories open and without a true frontrunner, returning guest Kyle Buchanan of the New York Times and I try to figure out who's going to win this Sunday and who might go home empty-handed.  There's a lot of Oscar talk in this podcast too, especially as this shortened season pushes everything so much closer together. Oscar nomination voting just kicked off yesterday so we could the impact of this Sunday's Globe winners felt when Oscar noms are announced on January 13th.  Kyle and I do agree on a few locks of the night, like Brad Pitt for Supporting Actor, but we differed on who's going to take Best Actor - Drama...well, at first. I've been in the Adam Driver seat all pre-season but, as often happens during a good podcast, I have gone over to the dark side and wound up agreeing with Kyle that it's probably Joaquin Phoenix's to lose. Especially if Joker is going to give us an upset in Motion Picture - Drama... Amazingly, Best Motion Picture - Drama might be the most open category and we make the case for almost any of the five nominees to be able to win.  Support for this podcast comes from NEON, presenting PARASITE, the film that the New York Times has called “the movie of the year.” Featured on over 100 Top 10 lists, Parasite is nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, seven Critics Choice Awards and three Golden Globes Awards. Visit www.neonguilds.com to find screenings. This podcast runs a zippy 48m with music. Opening: “Modern Fashion” by AShamaluevMusic Closing: “New York City By Day,” by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

The Oscar shortlists dropped earlier this week in nine categories: Original Score, Original Song, Makeup and Hairstyling, Visual Effects, Documentary Feature, International Feature Film, Documentary Short Subject, Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film. On this podcast, my guest Will Mavity of Next Best Picture and discuss the first six of those shortlists, identifying the biggest surprises and the biggest snubs but also the bigger picture (and potential) what it means for a film like Parasite to get into Original Song or 1917 to make the cut in both Visual Effects and Makeup & Hairstyling. We also give our predictions in each category. This podcast is sponsored by Amazon Studios and their films Les Misérables, which made the Oscar shortlist for International Feature Film and One Child Nation, which made the shortlist for Documentary Feature. This podcast runs 1h 32m with music. Opening: “Modern Fashion” by AShamaluevMusic Closing: “New York City By Day,” by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

On this 76th Oscar podcast I welcome Variety's Awards and Features Editor Jenelle Riley, a first time guest, to discuss the upcoming Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for film. While we don't really get into line by line predictions, Jenelle and I dig into the recent National Board of Review and New York Film Critics Circle wins, including The Irishman breaking from the pack early, but also the stealth contenders we're seeing come out of these announcements. Namely, Richard Jewell and Knives Out. We talk a bit about potential 'controversies' this year but highlight and recognize that no amount of internet chatter keeps voters from voting what they want to vote for.  We close with a bit of hopedicting and, wonderfully, we have the same single pick. #NominateNaiNai This podcast runs about 52m with music. Intro: "Modern Fashion" by AShamaluevMusic Outro: "New York City By Day," by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

With the Creative Arts swinging big for Game of Thrones, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Chernobyl, will the Primetime Emmys follow suit? In this final Emmy winner prediction podcast, Amanda Spears and I delve into all Drama, Comedy and Limited Series categories with our winner predictions plus the spoiler in those categories. Even with Game of Thrones as the obvious winner for Drama Series (can you imagine the upset if it lost?) where else will it win? It's at 10 Emmys from the Creative Arts, just two away from the all-time record of 12 for a single season (a record owned by GOT itself, twice) so breaking that record should happen. But, by how much? Creative Arts Emmy Award Winners – ‘Game of Thrones’ leads with 10; ‘Chernobyl 7,’ ‘Maisel’ with 6 Comedy is a fight between Barry, Fleabag, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Veep. Barry picked up two wins at the Creative Arts (yet lost stunts and sound editing, strangely), Fleabag snagged the casting award (a huge get) and Veep went 0/4. Its chances of taking the crown back from Mrs. Maisel seem like a pipe dream at this point. Limited Series categories at the Creative Arts loved Chernobyl, giving it seven big wins. When They See Us, only managed a single win but it was for casting, a good bellwether for Sunday. There is a lot of history to be made if the series and its creator/director Ava DuVernay win. She's the frontrunner for writing and directing right now, making her first African-American woman to achieve that if she does. This podcast runs 1h 14m with music. Opening: Main title of Game of Thrones Closing: Trailer for season two of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel featuring the song "Get Happy"

It's crazy but this is our first Oscar podcast of the 2019/2020 awards season! With Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Telluride and Toronto behind us the Oscar season prospects are coming into view. Some things that looked strong in spring and now wilting in the fall, while others have emerged as frontrunners. I am joined (for the first time) by AwardsWatch's own Mina Takla. Mina hit Cannes and TIFF for AW this year, knocking out over two dozen fantastic reviews and providing a much-needed looking at the non-English language selections that 2019 has to offer. TIFF 19 Wrap-Up: From jokers to popes and birds to hustlers, here are the Best Films and Performances of the Toronto International Film Festival In this podcast, we begin discussing Mina's experience at TIFF and the films and performances he liked the best. We end that section talking about the Grolsch People's Choice winner Jojo Rabbit and its runners-up Marriage Story and Parasite, which propels us into the Oscar conversation. We cover Best Picture, Best Actor (with a focus on Joaquin Phoenix and Adam Driver), Best Actress (with a focus on Renée Zellweger and Cynthia Erivo), Documentary Feature and dabble in the supporting categories, as well as the historical potential of the Best Director category having more than woman director and/or two Asian directors with Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) and Lulu Wang (The Farewell) both in contention, on our way to closing out with the huge success and awards potential of Hustlers and the potential for Jennifer Lopez. My apologies in advance for some of the audio. Something's a bit buggy with my side of the recording (and yes, that clickety-clack is me) lately and I'm still working it out. Thank you for your patience! This podcast is 1h 17m with music. Opening: "Over the Rainbow," from Roadside Attractions' Judy, sung by Renée Zellweger Closing: "New York City By Day," by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

The Creative Arts Emmys, a two-night affair celebrating the technical achievements of the television season such as lighting, editing and cinematography, are this weekend - September 14th and 15th. I am joined by returning champ Amanda Spears on the Creative Arts Emmy winner prediction podcast. The Creative Arts Emmys are also the home of five of the biggest awards of the Emmys: the four Guest Acting categories and Reality/Competition Host. We start the podcast analyzing the guest categories (Can Bradley Whitford win again? Will Adam Sandler be an Emmy-winning actor? Will Phylicia Rashad finally take it?) and that Reality/Host contest. RuPaul Charles stands a very good chance of tying Survivor's Jeff Probst for a 4th win here for RuPaul's Drag Race. We also tackle categories that are often bellwethers for what is going to happen the week after at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Namely, the Casting categories. Casting for a Limited Series is going to be a tough fight between Chernobyl, Fosse/Verdon and When They See Us, one of many between these three nomination giants. Casting for a Drama Series should easily go to Game of Thrones as part of its inevitable sweep (keep an eye out for a GOT article from Amanda, who correctly predicted it would hit 32 nominations, on its potential wins). But it's Casting for a Comedy Series that gives us trouble. Veep won this three times in a row on its way to Comedy Series wins. In its absence last year, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel won. But we also have huge Emmy hits Barry and Fleabag. Who will win and will that win correlate to a Comedy Series win? The four costume categories (Contemporary, Period, Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Variety, Reality or Competition) and several music categories (Music & Lyrics, Main Title Theme, Score for Series and Limited Series) make up the rest of our Creative Arts Emmy winner predictions. We'll be doing a Primetime Emmy winner predictions podcast just after the Creative Arts Emmys are held this weekend. This podcast runs with music. Opening: HBO's Chernobyl, episode "Please Remain Calm" Closing: "Mein Herr" from FX's Fosse/Verdon

With the Drama and Comedy categories under our podcast belts, returning guest Amanda Spears and I tackle the Limited Series/TV Movie nominees with our ranked predictions. The top three nomination getters - Chernobyl, Fosse/Verdon and When They See Us - take up quite a bit of oxygen in every race, going up against each other in virtually every category. Will there be a sweep or will the three split categories across the board? Will Ava DuVernay make Emmy history? What to do with Supporting Actress. Will it be Patricia or...Patricia? Amanda and I go toe to toe on whether Arquette or Clarkson will be triumphant here. But maybe there's a spoiler lurking... This podcast runs 1h 21m 55s with music. Opening: "Big Spender" from Fosse/Verdon (FX) Closing: Trailer for When They See Us (Netflix)

After a spirited debate on the Drama categories for this year's Primetime Emmy Awards, Amanda Spears and I return to tackle Comedy and it's a much more open race across the board than their more serious counterparts. While Game of Thrones is the clear frontrunner and runaway winner in many categories over in Drama, the Comedy side is rich with major contenders and no clear shot at who's going to end up on top. The return of Veep, for its final season, is surely a serious threat to take the crown back from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, who triumphed during Veep's hiatus and sits at a field-best 20 nominations, but we also have Barry, a big winner last year with double the noms this year, and the return of Fleabag, the cult hit that turned into a pop culture phenomenon this spring. Emmy Podcast #27: Winner predictions in the Drama categories While it doesn't seem to leave much room for the other nominees, there stands a chance for Schitt's Creek stars Eugene Levy or Catherine O'Hara to surprise - especially O'Hara who, back in the tape-based era, could probably run away with this with her submission "The Crowening." Veep's Julia Louis-Dreyfus stands in her way though, looking for her 9th career win, which would break her tie with Cloris Leachman as the female actor with the most Emmy wins. JLD has never lost here for Veep yet, a six-year streak. Speaking of Schitt's Creek, late in the podcast (just before we reveal out Comedy Series winner predictions), Amanda has a special announcement to share.  With music this podcast runs  Opening: Theme to Veep by Rupert Gregson-Williams Closing: Ending theme to Schitt's Creek (composer unknown)

With all of the episodes submissions in for Drama Series and individual performers, the first Emmy winner prediction podcast is here, tackling the guest, supporting and lead acting acting categories as well as the big one itself. I am joined once again by Amanda Spears, who correctly predicted the path for Game of Thrones to earn its historic and record-breaking 32 Emmy nominations this season. While it's kind of a forgone conclusion that the incest and dragons page-turner will triumph in Drama Series, there's a lot of room for spoilers, upsets and surprises in the acting categories. Can Peter Dinklage make history and win his fourth? Will Pose's Billy Porter be the first out, queer, black man to win Lead Actor in a Drama Series? Will Lead Actress go to Killing Eve's Jodie Comer or Sandra Oh? Or is Emilia Clarke going to fly in destroy their chances? All these questions and more get answered. With music, this podcast runs 1h 16m 38s with music. Opening: Into to FX's Pose Closing" "Home," sung by Mj Rodriguez, Billy Porter and featuring Our Lady J from FX's Pose

Is Game of Thrones running away with the Drama Series Emmy win? All signs point to yes but that doesn't mean there isn't a conversation to be had about this year's drama races.  I am joined once again by Amanda Spears to break down Drama Series, Lead Actor and Actress and Supporting Actor and Actress (guest, writing and directing categories will be tackled later).  In this podcast we tackle if GOT can break NYPD Blue's all-time record for most nominations by a show in a single season, how the acting races could play out for Killing Eve's Jodie Comer, Pose's Billy Porter and the Emmy fate of This is Us and House of Cards and much more. This podcast runs 56m 30s with music. Opening: The theme from Game of Thrones by Ramin Djawadi Closing: "New York City By Day,' by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

We're right in the middle of the Emmy voting period for the 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards, making it high time for an Emmy podcast. Returning champion Amanda Spears and I discuss the likely nominees, if When They See Us can dominate the acting categories, how Deadwood, Chernobyl, Fosse/Verdon and Sharp Objects will fare and if there's any room for major surprises.  This podcast runs 57m 10s with music. Opening: Trailer for When They See Us (Netflix) Closing: "New York City By Day," by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

In our first Emmy podcast of the 2018/2019 season, I am joined by Amanda Spears, who has been detailing her Emmy predictions here over the last few weeks. In this episode we tackle the Comedy Series categories and the battle that seems to be between Veep's final season and the second season of the history-making winner from last year, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Will this focus on only these two shows (and their acting components like Julia Louis-Dreyfus vs Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein vs Anna Chlumsky) make room for a surprise third to come in and shock? We look at the possible demise of the regular networks in the top category, with ABC's black-ish barely hanging on and NBC's The Good Place possibly coming in to take its place in the final lineup of seven shows. Netflix has been enormously successful at the Emmys...with nominations. With so many comedies, new and previously established for it to push, how many can it realistically get in? 2? 3? 4?? And can it ever win? I know I say at the beginning of the podcast that we'll be doing both Comedy and Drama categories but I decided to split them up so Drama cats will be coming soon. This podcast runs 1h 7m 45s with music. Opening: "Change for the World" by Charles Bradley from HBO's Barry Closing: "New York City by Day" by Thomas Newman from the original motion picture soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan