Forging Feudal Japan: Emmy-Winning Production Designer Helen Jarvis Bringing “Shōgun” to Stunning Life

The ride is nearly complete. Four years ago, Helen Jarvis, who resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband, actor Robin Mossley, took on her first project as a production designer on the historical drama Shōgun, set in 1600 feudal Japan. The series went on to become a cultural phenomenon, breaking Emmy records for its intimate character-driven storyline, visual beauty, and moving performances, which gave us the phrases “Why tell a dead man the future,” “Flowers are only flowers because they fall,”

“Shōgun” Shows Up Big at Emmys, “The Bear” Gobbles Up 11

The last Emmys were a mere eight months ago due to scheduling delays in 2023, but last night’s gathering of TV’s biggest and brightest stars featured many of the same smiling faces and a new cadre of talented folks getting their turn to hoist up the gold.

Some of those new faces belonged to the Shōgun team, which nabbed outstanding drama, lead actor for star and producer Hiroyuki Sanada,

A Symphony of Success: Emmy Nominees Talk VFX, Composing, and Editing

We had the pleasure of hosting two panels this year—check out our first panel here— ahead of the 2024 Emmy Awards, which will be held live on ABC on Sunday, September 15, from 8-11 ET. For our second panel, our Emmy nominees came from a wide-ranging group of shows—Lessons in Chemistry‘s ace director Millicent Shelton, nominated for directing episode 6, “Poirot,” Shōgun‘

“The Bear” Emmy-Nominated Sound Team on Capturing the Chaos of the Kitchen

The first thing you might notice in Season 2 of Christopher Storer’s hit drama The Bear is how well you can hear chef-owner Carmen (Jeremy Allen White) and his team of kitchen underdogs as they set to work reopening their Chicago restaurant. Restaurant kitchens, especially those still under construction, as the Bear’s is for most of the season, are not quiet places. But no matter how prevalent the sledgehammers and steel cookware may be on screen,

“Shōgun” Stunt Coordinator Lauro David Chartrand-DelValle on Lady Mariko’s Last Stand

In part one of our conversation with Shōgun’s stunt coordinator and second unit director, Lauro David Chartrand-DelValle, he shared details about the extensive choreography training for the cast and what made Lord Toranaga’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) fighting style distinctive. Now, we turn toward Toranaga’s two allies, the “Anjin,” English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), and the woman Toranaga tasks with acting as Blackthorne’s translator, Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai).

When an assassin breaks into Blackthorne’s house to kill him in episode 2,

The Samurai Sword and the Flaming Arrow: Inside the Stunts of “Shōgun” – Part One

It has been a very busy year for stunt coordinator Lauro David Chartrand-DelValle. Not only is he on one of this season’s most-watched scripted series on broadcast—Tracker on CBS—he is also the second unit director on FX’s critically acclaimed hit, Shōgun. Still maintaining its 99% Rotten Tomatoes score after a 10-week run, the historical saga based on James Clavell’s bestselling novel is shaping up to be a frontrunner at the upcoming Emmy Awards.

Juno Temple Grabs a Spiked Bat in First “Fargo” Season 5 Teaser

Juno Temple has taken on a vastly different role from her lovable Ted Lasso character in Keeley Jones in the upcoming fifth season of Fargo. FX has revealed a new teaser for their deliciously demented anthology series, and it reveals Temple as Dorothy “Dot” Lyon, a seemingly typical Midwestern housewife who’s made some questionable decisions in her past, a past she’s tried to outrun. This being Fargo, her past is bound to not only catch up with her but surround her in the most intrusive way possible.

“What We Do in the Shadows” Costume Designer Laura Montgomery on Dressing Vampires in Flux

The undead roommates of What We Do in the Shadows embarked on journeys of rebirth in season 4 – some more literally than others – that included remodeling, reincarnating, and remarrying.  All these new endeavors gave Emmy-winning costume designer Laura Montgomery an opportunity to redefine the rules of vampire fashion.

For hundreds of years, Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Laszlo (Matt Berry), and Nandor (Kayvan Novak) have been sporting outfits from the eras they’ve loved experiencing the most.

“Great Expectations” Cinematographer Dan Atherton Goes Dark with Dickens

How dark is too dark? For fans of Peaky Blinders, the BAFTA-winning period crime series created by Steven Knight, bleak is better. In adapting Charles Dickens’s “Great Expectations,” Knight ramped up the vice and violence for a six-part FX/Hulu series running through April 23) that introduces opium, sadomasochism, attempted suicide, prostitution, F-bombs, and literal butchery to Dickens’ 19th-century novel-centered on the poor but clever orphan Pip. After being groomed by the wealthy Miss Havisham (Olivia Colman) and her chilly adopted daughter Estella (Chloe Lee/Shalom Brune-Franklin),

“Atlanta” Final Season Trailer Reveals the Swan Song of one of TV’s Most Fearless Shows

We’re nearing the beginning of the end of Donald Glover’s Atlanta, one of TV’s most consistently ambitious, relentlessly unique series of the past six years. FX has revealed the trailer for the fourth and final season, which will find the series returning to its namesake city after season three’s European sojourn.

The crew is back in their hometown—Ern (Donald Glover), Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), Darius (LaKeith Stanfield), and Van (Zazie Beetz)—after a surreal journey in Europe during Paper Boi’s international tour.

“Maid” & “Under the Banner of Heaven” Production Designer Renee Read on Building Trust

Production designer Renee Read is responsible for the look of two of TV’s most successful adaptations over the past two years. For Maid, Read was tasked with helping showrunner Molly Metzler Smith and the rest of the crew adapt author Stephanie Land’s 2019 best-selling memoir “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive.” The series is centered on Alex (Margaret Qualley), a young woman relying on the Byzantine social services complex to get her and her daughter on their feet.

American Horror Story: Apocalypse Drops Cryptic, Creepy new Teaser

When we interviewed American Horror Story: Cult‘s Emmy-nominated actress Adina Porter, she couldn’t say much about Apocalypse, save for the fact she was in the makeup chair preparing for a scene when she found out she’d been nominated for her performance in Cult. Which was to be expected; Ryan Murphy loves keeping his upcoming seasons quiet and doling out cryptic, creepy little morsels to keep fans guessing.

How Atlanta‘s Emmy-Nominated Sound Designer Crafted Horror Ep “Teddy Perkins”

Atlanta has been one of TV’s most reliably original shows for the past two years. Donald Glover’s trippy, brilliant exploration of the story of Earnest Marks (Glover) and his cousin Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry)’s attempts to make a name for themselves in Atlanta’s thriving hip-hop scene has created some of the most indelible sequences and moments in TV since the show burst onto the scene in 2016.

“People are Losing Their Minds”  in the New Fargo Season 2 Trailer

Welcome to Luverne, Minnesota, in 1979, where the folksy accent and winter hats with ear flaps makes everyone seem nice; but don’t trust their bright, friendly patter or their puffy winter gear, because Luverne is the setting for season two of Fargo. The first full length trailer is here and there is a whole lot going on, including an insanely promising cast, a murder in a diner, and a surprisingly excellent Richard Nixon impression. (For an in-depth looking on how the show is scored,