Deadline’s Contenders Television, where the top networks and streamers will show off their wares and Emmy hopefuls, kicks off Saturday morning to open a full weekend of one-stop shopping for anyone interested in the best and brightest series this awards season.
No sooner had we finished six months of Oscar season, we are jumping head-first into what shows are getting the buzz on the small screen — and believe us, there is more content out there than ever. Just look at the lineup of studios and streamers participating this weekend at our panel extravaganza at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles: Peacock, Prime Video, National Geographic, Apple TV+, Netflix, Hulu, CBS Studios, Showtime, Fox Entertainment, Paramount+, AMC/AMC+, HBO Max, Starz, Sony Pictures Television, ABC, Roku, Onyx Collective and Disney+.
Over the course of two days Deadline will remind you of the breadth and depth of what we’ve been watching for the past year, and in some cases, what we are about to watch. Our Contenders events are designed to give you a taste of what is out there, and perhaps encourage you to check it all out. We do this through informed and entertaining conversations with key creatives and talent from a variety of shows (see this weekend’s full lineup and schedule below).
We will have a wide range of stars on hand this weekend, including the likes of Natasha Lyonne sporting her best Poker Face to Your Honor himself, Bryan Cranston. A small sampling of others includes Riley Keough and Sam Claflin making their first Contenders go-round with the cast of Daisy Jones & The Six, and Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn in their final Contenders appearance with Better Call Saul. Also on tap are Eugene Levy, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Kerry Washington, Taron Egerton, Evan Peters and Abbott Elementary’s creator and star Quinta Brunson. And this is just a hint of who will be appearing.
Of course we will be covering the waterfront of genres with the best in comedies, like the aforementioned Abbott Elementary as well as new hits like Shrinking, whose co-creator and star Jason Segel will be on hand; dramas from the mega-hit Yellowstone (that cast will be joining us) to Yellowjackets; and limited series including the much talked-about Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Daisy Jones, Black Bird and so many others.
Follow along both Saturday and Sunday for Deadline’s coverage, both on Deadline.com and via social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok using the hashtag #DeadlineContenders. On Tuesday, we will launch the streaming site featuring the full video from all the panels.
Deadline Contenders Television is sponsored by Apple TV+, Coverfly, Eyepetizer, Final Draft, Los Siete Misterios, Michter’s and Village Roadshow Entertainment. Partners include Four Seasons Resort Maui, The American Pavilion, Julia Wong Designs and Pampring.
Here’s the weekend schedule:
Contenders Television
In order of appearance, subject to change; all times PT
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SATURDAY, APRIL 15
7:30 a.m. – Breakfast (sponsored by National Geographic)
9 a.m. – Livestream begins/opening remarks
PEACOCK
Poker Face
Natasha Lyonne (Writer/Director/EP/Actor)
Rian Johnson (Creator/Writer/Director/EP)
Mrs. Davis
Damon Lindelof (Writer/EP)
Tara Hernadez (Showrunner/Writer/EP)
Betty Gilpin (Actor)
PRIME VIDEO
The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power
Sophia Nomvete (Actor)
Bear McCreary (Composer)
Ramsey Avery (Production Designer)
Swarm
Dominique Fishback (Producer/Actor)
Janine Nabers (Showrunner/Writer/EP)
Daisy Jones & The Six
Riley Keough (Actor)
Sam Claflin (Actor)
Camila Morrone (Actor)
Scott Neustadter (Showrunner/EP)
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
A Small Light
Bel Powley (Actor)
Joan Rater (Creator/Writer/EP)
APPLE TV+
The Reluctant Traveler
Eugene Levy (EP/Host)
Schmigadoon!
Cinco Paul (Co-Creator/Writer/EP)
Cecily Strong (Actor/Producer)
Keegan-Michael Key (Actor)
Tituss Burgess (Actor)
Kristin Chenoweth (Actor)
Jane Krakowski (Actor)
Extrapolations
Scott Z. Burns (Writer/Director/EP)
Dorothy Fortenberry (EP)
Michael Ellenberg (EP)
NETFLIX
Beef
Steven Yeun (EP/Actor)
Ali Wong (EP/Actor)
Lee Sung Jin (Creator/Showrunner/EP)
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Evan Peters (EP/Actor)
Niecy Nash-Betts (Actor)
Paris Barclay (Director)
LUNCH (sponsored by Netflix)
HULU
History of the World, Part II
Ike Barinholtz (Writer/EP/Actor)
Wanda Sykes (Writer/EP/Actor)
David Stassen (Showrunner/Writer/EP)
Tiny Beautiful Things
Kathryn Hahn (EP/Actor)
Liz Tigelaar (Showrunner/Writer/EP)
Cheryl Strayed (EP/Author)
Ingrid Michaelson (Composer/Songwriter)
CBS STUDIOS
Ghosts
Rose McIver (Actor)
Utkarsh Ambudkar (Actor)
Joe Wiseman (Co-Showrunner/Writer/EP)
Joe Port (Co-Showrunner/Writer/EP)
SHOWTIME
Yellowjackets
Melanie Lynskey (Actor)
Sophie Nélisse (Actor)
Liz Garbus (Director)
FOX ENTERTAINMENT
Animal Control
Joel McHale (EP/Actor)
Vella Lovell (Actor)
PARAMOUNT+
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies
Marisa Davila (Actor)
Cheyenne Isabel Wells (Actor)
Tricia Fukuhara (Actor)
Ari Notartomaso (Actor)
Star Trek: Picard
Patrick Stewart (EP/Actor)
AMC/AMC+
Dark Winds
Zahn McClarnon (EP/Actor)
HBO
Marc Maron: From Bleak to Dark
Marc Maron (Star/EP/Writer)
—
SUNDAY, APRIL 16
7:30 a.m. – Breakfast (sponsored by National Geographic/American Born Chinese)
8:40 a.m. – Livestream begins/opening remarks
DISNEY+
American Born Chinese
Kelvin Yu (Creator/Writer/EP)
Melvin Mar (EP)
Daniel Wu (Actor)
STARZ
Party Down
John Enbom (Showrunner/EP)
Adam Scott (Actor/EP)
Ken Marino (Director/EP)
Zoë Chao (Actor)
SONY PICTURES TELEVISION
Better Call Saul
Bob Odenkirk (Producer/Actor)
Rhea Seehorn (Actor)
Peter Gould (Co-Creator/Showrunner/EP)
A Spy Among Friends
Alexander Cary (Creator/Showrunner/Writer/EP)
Damian Lewis (EP/Actor)
APPLE TV+
The Big Door Prize
David West Read (Showrunner/EP)
Chris O’Dowd (Actor)
Gabrielle Dennis (Actor)
Josh Segarra (Actor)
Loot
Alan Yang (Co-Creator/Writer/Director/EP)
Maya Rudolph (EP/Actor)
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (Actor)
Joel Kim Booster (Actor)
Black Bird
Dennis Lehane (Showrunner/Writer/EP)
Taron Egerton (EP/Actor)
Paul Walter Hauser (Actor)
Sepideh Moafi (Actor)
Greg Kinnear (Actor)
Shrinking
Brett Goldstein (Creator/Writer/EP)
Jason Segel (Creator/Writer/EP/Actor)
Christa Miller (Actor/Music Supervisor)
Jessica Williams (Actor)
ABC
Abbott Elementary
Quinta Brunson (Creator/Writer/EP/Actor)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Actor)
Lisa Ann Walter (Actor)
Janelle James (Actor)
ROKU
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Al Yankovic (Writer/EP)
Eric Appel (Writer/Director/EP)
SHOWTIME
Your Honor
Bryan Cranston (EP/Actor)
Hope Davis (Actor)
Andrene Ward-Hammond (Actor)
Rosie Perez (Actor)
NETFLIX
Mo
Mo Amer (Creator/EP/Actor)
LUNCH (sponsored by Netflix)
FOX ENTERTAINMENT/SONY PICTURES TELEVISION
Accused
Howard Gordon (Showrunner/EP)
Marlee Matlin (Director)
Michael Chiklis (Director/Actor)
Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Actor)
PEACOCK
A Friend of the Family
Nick Antosca (Creator/Showrunner/Writer/EP)
Jan Broberg (Producer)
Lio Tipton (Actor)
Colin Hanks (Actor)
HULU
The Great
Elle Fanning (EP/Actor)
ONYX COLLECTIVE
UnPrisoned
Kerry Washington (EP/Actor)
Delroy Lindo (EP/Actor)
Tracy McMillan (Creator/Writer/EP)
PARAMOUNT+
Tulsa King
Jay Will (Actor)
Max Casella (Actor)
Garrett Hedlund (Actor)
1923
Helen Mirren (Actor)
Brandon Sklenar (Actor)
Aminah Nieves (Actor)
PARAMOUNT NETWORK
Yellowstone
Wes Bentley (Actor)
Piper Perabo (Actor)
Gil Birmingham (Actor)
Stephen Kay (Director/EP)
HBO MAX
House of the Dragon
Paddy Considine (Actor)
Ryan Condal (Co-Creator/Showrunner/EP)