Outlandish twist on 'Outlander' exec's Emmy snub remarks
Breaking down Starz exec Chris Albrecht's edgy comments at the Television Critics Association meetings in L.A. on why '"Outlander" and other Starz shows got little love from the Emmys.
TV industry bigs are gathered in Los Angeles for the Television Critics Association Summer Tours, where they - the bigs - are Inclined to Make Big Pronouncements to reporters who likewise gather there.
Ellen Gray, TV critic for philly.com, the Philadelphia Daily News and the Inquirer, passed along what Starz CEO Chris Albrecht (he used to head that Emmy hog HBO, but let's not hold it against him), had to say about the Emmys' frosty shoulder for Starz shows such as "Power," "Survivor's Remorse," "The Girlfriend Experience" and, most of all (editor editorializing here), "Outlander." Which did get two Emmy nods, we must remind you. But only TWO?!!!
In this very "Outlander" Frame of Mind, let's interpret Albrecht's words (in quotes):
1. It takes a village - an armed, well-financed, fightin'-dirty kinda village. "I don't think we'll ever break through with those people on those shows. You know, I was part of the team that invented how to campaign for Emmy Awards. OK? Trust me. It's not a level playing field."
2. How 18th-century British aristocrats viewed the Highlanders? That's kinda how Emmy insiders see . . . everybody else. "It's a very distinct group of people no matter how they try to expand their membership base. I think the TV Academy should be celebrating . . . an unprecedented time in our industry. They should be finding a way to platform to diversity . . . and not have what is a continually, which, by the sheer numbers, needs to be a continually reductive process that ends up with a longer list of 'losers' and the same number of 'winners'."
3. Mark me! "I know the people that work on the shows would like to see their names included among their peers. There will be a show that comes along - we won't know which one it is, you won't know which one it is - and all of a sudden, it will be the one. And there won't be a good reason, there won't be a better reason than 'Outlander' 'Power' or 'Survivor's Remorse.' It will just be a reason, you know.
4. Just as the Jacobite Rebellion looked to France, "Outlander" and Starz turned their hopeful eyes to the French - well, the foreign press and their Golden Globes - with the same disappointing result." "The Globes, I love those people. They rarely let anybody go home empty-handed. We went home empty-handed this year. I was, like, really surprised. You know, I was, like, 'Wow. OK. That's a new one. What did that mean?' I have no idea."
And just remember, there's another season of "Outlander" coming - Sam Heughan says filming will begin in August.
So there's always the possibility...