Experts pick the best television shows to binge as winter hits across Australia

AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE (Foxtel)

Edgar Ramirez plays murdered fashion icon Gianni Versace in this opulent drama from Ryan Murphy (The People v OJ Simpson). Penelope Cruz is sister Donatella and Ricky Martin boyfriend Antonio D’Amico but the showstopper is Glee’s Darren Criss as serial killer Andrew Cunanan.

Experts pick the best television shows to binge as winter hits across Australia

Emmy Gallery: Supporting Actors and Actresses

Ricky Martin

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story 

“What I did with ‘American Crime Story,’ I tapped into some emotions that I had no idea they even existed. I lived as Antonio. I called Penelope [Cruz] and she said, ‘Wow, Ricky, you sound very affected. And my advice is to work on letting go. Move on to the next project, Ricky. This is part of your past already.’”

Emmy Contenders: Limited Series or Movie

Darren Criss

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story 

“There are so many things that don’t belong to you. I think the thing that I really embrace is if you create anything, whether it’s a song or a character or a show or a painting or anything in life, that’s when it belongs to you, but once it’s out there for the world, it belongs to that person.”

2018 Emmy Awards: Which shows are bound to slip through the cracks?

Outstanding Limited Series

FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” and Showtime’s “Patrick Melrose” will undoubtedly lead this category in this year’s limited series nominations. They will most likely stand next to Netflix’s “Godless” and Hulu’s “The Looming Tower.”

Chances are, “Twin Peaks” will not be nominated. Though the haunting revival received grand praise, David Lynch’s awe-inspiring surrealist directing seeping through every scene, the show is not commercial enough to earn a nomination — a disappointing truth when one considers how the series withstood the test of time, capitalizing beautifully on its cult status with a cast of seasoned actors, shocking musical appearances and a series of unimaginable stories.

Steven Soderbergh-directed “Mosaic” will also miss out on a nomination for limited series. The murder mystery is made better by Soderbergh’s signature directing, simmering with suspense. While the show is not Soderbergh’s best work, it has plenty of features to still be considered a contender. Therefore, whether or not its omission from the nominations list is a snub is up to you.

2018 Emmy Awards: Which shows are bound to slip through the cracks?

Variety Announces Updated List of Panelists for A Night in the Writers’ Room

Variety is proud to announce its complete lineup for A Night in the Writers’ Room. The event, which takes place June 14th at the Jeremy Hotel, includes lively discussions with the top comedy and drama Emmy-contending writers.

Earlier this week, Variety was called out on social media for the lack of women represented on both of its comedy and drama series panels. We take conversations about inclusion in the entertainment industry very seriously, and consequently we revised our panelist line-up to include parity among female and male writers. Variety will continue to strive to do our part in contributing positively to the all-important inclusion initiative.

The full lineup listed below:

DRAMA PANEL

Salim Akil (“Black Lightning”)

Joel Fields (“The Americans”)

Soo Hugh (“The Terror”)

Andrea Newman (“Chicago Fire”)

Raamla Mohamed (“Scandal”)

Chris Mundy (“Ozark”)

George Pelecanos (“The Deuce”)

Matthew Roberts (“Outlander”)

Sarah Gertrude Shapiro (“UnReal”)

David Shore (“The Good Doctor”)

Krista Vernoff (“Grey’s Anatomy”)

Alexis Martin Woodall (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)

Variety Announces Updated List of Panelists for A Night in the Writers’ Room