My love for awards shows likely stems from the annual Oscars viewing parties my mom’s friend would throw every spring. In many ways, it was like Christmas Eve for me: an annual gathering of loved ones, everyone dressed for the occasion while enjoying themed dishes, and I got to stay up well past my bedtime. Even when I was too young to have seen many of the nominated films, I would pore over the predictions in the Houston Chronicle and my Entertainment Weekly as I decided which nominees I would put my money on (a whole $1!) when I filled out my ballot before dinner. I was usually the only kid at these celebrations, but having friends to play with wasn’t a concern. This was serious business. It was the Academy Awards!
As I grew older, my love of entertainment accolades grew beyond the Oscars to include just about any telecast where pop-culture creators are recognized. I also found other people my own age who share my passion—and now work alongside many of them in my role as editor-in-chief of The A.V. Club. Our staff meetings can quickly detour down a memory lane about that time Christine Lahti was in the bathroom when they announced her Golden Globe win, or the way Elizabeth Taylor said “Gladiator” at the ceremony three years later. We’re not narcissistic enough to think people would want to be a fly on the wall for all our meetings (not everyone gets the thrill out of discussing punctuation the way some of us do—or SEO optimization the way none of us do), but we’re hoping you may want to listen into our spirited debates about our favorite nominees and the most stinging snubs, or join us as we delve into the nitty-gritty of updated Television Academy guidelines and how, exactly, one qualifies as the Grammys’ Best New Artist.
That hope is what led The A.V. Club to create Push The Envelope, a new audio offering launching today (and available to stream below). The podcast will feature A.V. Club staff discussing the Emmys, Oscars, Grammys, Globes, and more—as well as candid conversations with celebrity guests stumping for their latest projects. If someone’s passing out trophies, we’re talking about it. Future episodes will cover everything from the VMAs and Tonys to the latest critical darlings of all forms of entertainment, but Push The Envelope kicks off with four episodes focused on the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards.
Every Friday leading up to the Sept. 20 ceremony, TV editor Danette Chavez and managing Editor Erik Adams will join me in analyzing the nominations and predicting what we can expect from the upcoming at-home telecast. Push The Envelope will also feature interviews with some of the folks you’ll see in that telecast; in our first episode, you’ll hear from The Good Place’s D’Arcy Carden and Schitt’s Creek’s Catherine O’Hara. The three episodes that follow will focus on the limited series and movie, drama, and comedy categories, and feature conversations with Uzo Aduba (Mrs. America), Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs. The Reverend), Nicholas Braun (Succession), some of the Watchmen creative team, and more.
And if the TV isn’t your thing for some reason, don’t you fret—this podcast is a year-round effort and we’ll be moving on to discuss other topics posthaste, with more celebrity guests and members of the A.V. Club staff joining the conversation. For now, we hope you’ll subscribe to Push The Envelope, available wherever you get your podcasts.