Episode 23: Learning from the Emmys: Tracking Casting Hubs, Self-Submissions, and the Procedural Shift
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Sean Dube: Hello and welcome, I'm Sean Dube.
Patrick Quinlan: And I'm Patrick Quinlan.
Sean Dube: And this is Supporting Actors, a podcast about the art, business, and craft of acting from the perspective of two working actors.
Patrick Quinlan: Today, we're gonna talk about the kickoff to awards season: the Emmys. Take it away, Sean, I know you have a song and dance prepared.
Sean Dube: Yes, let me just cue that right up. I think it's not working. Shoot. Should we improvise? Yeah, the Emmys are the first indication of what's happening in the industry, right? For me as a performer, I find them interesting because you need to care as little about them as you do about them, in a weird way. You can learn things that actually impact the business and impact your life as a performer, but also it doesn't really matter.
Patrick Quinlan: Historically, award shows were these one big event where you had the opportunity to see actors in real life. Now we see that all the time because they do PR on podcasts and shows that pop up on your Instagram feed. We're inundated with the reality of our favorite performers and all the speculation around them, so it's not just a tune-in on Sunday to see the movie stars get made fun of. It's a weird place, and most of the country doesn't care about them.
Sean Dube: The ratings would agree with that.
Patrick Quinlan: Did you watch this year?
Sean Dube: I did not. By the time I got home from work and put our toddler down, it was just wrapping up. So we put on the conclusion of Monday Night Football, which was not very exciting either.
Patrick Quinlan: I was going back and forth, and Taylor Swift made an appearance at both events, which made for a pretty good sketch. We watched and fast-forwarded through stuff. It's three hours long, and that's not counting the fact that the Emmys started the weekend prior with the Creative Arts Emmys and a few acting awards over there. Did you have any big takeaways, or should we run through who won what?
Sean Dube: We should run through them. We're not a recap or news show, but this is useful for the sake of looking at how this informs us as actors. What information should we be taking from award shows?
Our big winners: For drama, The Pitt. Not really a surprise; everyone saw that coming. What they're doing is spectacular, and honestly, they are a pretty good model for how you can make a show affordably in Los Angeles, which is great. I would love to see more shows here so we don't have to travel every time we book something.
For comedy, Widow's Bay on Apple TV+—something that we've been advocates for and rooting for. Such a unique and original take on the horror-comedy genre. If you haven't seen it, definitely worth watching. And then limited series: DTF St. Louis on HBO Max. You want to take us into the actors?
Patrick Quinlan: Yeah. We had Noah Wyle win Lead Actor in a Drama, and Rhea Seehorn won for Pluribus. Supporting drama: Tom Pelphrey won for Task, and Allison Janney won for The Diplomat. In comedy, Matthew Rhys won for Widow's Bay, and Jean Smart won for Hacks, becoming the first actor to win for every single season of their show. Stephen Root won Supporting Comedy Actor for Widow's Bay, and Katy O'Brian won for Widow's Bay as well.
And then limited series: Matthew Rhys again—two-time winner in one night—for The Beast in Me on Netflix, and Sally Field for Remarkably Bright Creatures. She got up and made a speech that brought back her famous Oscar speech: "You like me, you really like me!" Supporting limited series the weekend before: David Harbour and Linda Cardellini both won for DTF St. Louis.
Takeaways from that: a lot of actors who have been around for a long time won awards. Stephen Root is officially the oldest actor to win that category. That's a pretty high average age—a lot of journeymen actors out there.
Sean Dube: People that have been at it for a long time. It's a good reminder that careers are made over time. You don't start in a position where you're accepting awards. The law of averages applies: you'll always have breakout people who win something at 20 and sustain it, but by and large, 80% of us build a career over a long period of time with small things that eventually accumulate into working full-time. All of these actors have been working for 30 years, and that's what it takes. There are fewer overnight breakouts than there ever were, so you have to focus on the work.
Patrick Quinlan: Matthew Rhys and Sally Field were on a TV show together, Brothers & Sisters, about 20 years ago. Award shows love makeup awards too. Better Call Saul was nominated over 50 times and never won, and now you have Rhea Seehorn winning for Pluribus. Unlike the Oscars, which can feel unbalanced, each of these categories was stacked with incredible performers where you'd be happy if two or three of them won.
Sean Dube: In spite of the economic downturn and the strikes, 2026 has been a really great year for film and television. We had a $4 billion summer at the box office for the first time since 2013. Good material is being made. People want to watch TV and movies. For me, I never saw DTF St. Louis; that was a complete surprise.
Patrick Quinlan: It's really offbeat. Steve Conrad won for Best Show too. For actors, it has incredible scenes and complicated characters. The tone is different than anything else on television.
Sean Dube: Should actors watch award shows?
Patrick Quinlan: It was an exception that I watched it. Usually I'd catch the highlights. Mariska Hargitay was a very fun host with a lot of good SVU jokes. But you shouldn't feel obligated. Some people love tuning in because it feels like you're part of the community and validating your taste, but you have to audit whether it's giving you what you want. There are things to learn, but there is also a lot of pomp and circumstance and a big Hollywood PR machine that has more to do with celebrity than what is helpful for an actor.
Sean Dube: It is a massive media push. Producers are trying to get projects seen, and studios are driving ad dollars. You have to view it as its own form of entertainment and not take it too seriously.
Patrick Quinlan: It really is like a sport. You could follow TV critics like Alan Sepinwall and get into the awards race and criticism, but at the end of the day, you just want to know enough to have a conversation on set so you're not completely in the dark.
Sean Dube: The major reason for being aware of what won is because these titles will come up constantly in the industry over the next year. You'll see breakdowns referencing them, scripts matching their tone, and pitch decks using them as comps. You immediately have a contemporary reference.
Take The Pitt: they are re-creating the procedural on streaming, and it's working. It's proving that you can tell a compelling story within the limitation of one primary location without spending $10 million an episode. As studios shift to a profit model over a growth model, they want creators who can shoot compelling TV for $5 million an episode instead of massive prestige set pieces.
Patrick Quinlan: The Pitt and Widow's Bay represent two totally different genres. On The Pitt, you have grounded work, and because of their campaign, you can watch behind-the-scenes interviews to see what those actors are doing on the day. On Widow's Bay, you have a specific filmmaking style. Hiro Murai directed; he helped create Atlanta, and whenever he is attached, it's going to have a specific visual vibe. It points you toward research you might have missed.
Sean Dube: Look at the directors and producers of the pilots. They set the tone and look for the show. As episodic production picks up this fall, knowing their past work gives you immediate context. The Emmys show what kind of choices are being rewarded. On Widow's Bay, everything is grounded in reality, but it's also very clowny. That took a deliberate choice that was supported by the director. That only happens when actors show up prepared and find character business that elevates the script.
Patrick Quinlan: There's weird stuff being rewarded. On Pluribus, some episodes are practically silent movies. If you are feeling weird in class, keep going. Casting for The Pitt also won a Creative Arts Emmy, and since they're finishing season three right now, that show will be around for a while. Apple TV+ has also officially announced itself as an awards darling.
Sean Dube: Katie Dippold, the showrunner for Widow's Bay, gave a great speech praising Apple's creative approach. Whichever platform gives their creators the most freedom generally wins awards and makes great stuff. Netflix started that way with House of Cards and Mindhunter, but now they operate almost like a content-churn social media company to keep you on the app, whereas Apple is operating with a different creative mandate.
Patrick Quinlan: When you watch the speeches, research the producers, the greenlighting executives, and the casting offices. Where are those ensemble actors coming from? That can directly inform how you target agencies or casting directors.
Sean Dube: The case against watching: it takes three hours, and it's a bit of a popularity contest. You get more value reading the winners list and watching the actual shows. Winning is an honor, but you still have to go back to work the next day.
Sean Dube: The roundtable interviews from The Hollywood Reporter or Variety's Actors on Actors are often more useful than the broadcast. You get little nuggets of process. Tom Holland had a great line once: all acting comes down to whether you are asking the questions or answering the questions in a scene. That tells you where you sit in the structure of the story.
Patrick Quinlan: One of the best stories from this Emmy cycle was the two guest performers on The Pitt who submitted themselves. HBO submitted 14 actors from the show, but Brittany Allen and Jeffrey Kober weren't included on the network's ballot. They paid the $225 entry fee to submit themselves in the guest categories.
In Brittany Allen's case, some of her scenes were cut in post-production, leaving her with under 50% screen time in the episode—which made her eligible for guest actress. Both actors had done this previously at the Daytime Emmys, and Jeffrey Kober actually won one after self-submitting. It's a reminder that even on the biggest hit show on television, actors still have to advocate for themselves.
Sean Dube: How does it feel when you see someone in your category win, or see a show you auditioned for sweep the night? For me, it can be a reminder that I'm not where I want to be yet. That's a normal, healthy feeling, as long as you don't dwell on it. It can be motivating to bet on yourself, finish a script, or find new reps. We all fantasize about winning, but even just being invited because you're in the ecosystem of 200 working actors would be incredible. I felt a little of that this morning setting up cameras for my day job—I like the work, but it's not acting.
Patrick Quinlan: There is a definite awards show hangover, like scrolling your phone for too long. But think about how many shows exist that don't have massive PR machines behind them. Scott Frank, who wrote Con Air and created The Queen's Gambit, told a story about Nicolas Cage on the set of Con Air. Cage was getting paid $20 million, but was furious because someone else had a bigger double-wide trailer. There is always someone with a bigger trailer. You have to find gratitude for what you have right now.
Sean Dube: Those feelings of frustration are irrational, but you have to feel them, name them, and get on with your life. Don't engage in habitual sorrow. Channel that energy into making something. If you want to get on season two of Widow's Bay, find the casting director, see what talent agencies they call in, and talk to your reps.
Patrick Quinlan: Every rep in town will be calling the casting offices of the big winners. Sometimes the smarter counter-programming move is to target the great shows that flew slightly under the radar. Look up the staff writers and writing assistants on those shows. When those shows wrap, those writers are looking for collaborators, launching Substacks, and developing new projects.
Patrick Quinlan: Look at Katie Dippold. She wrote the original script that became Widow's Bay 18 years ago as a writing sample to get hired on Parks and Recreation. It went through rewrite after rewrite across nearly two decades before finding its home.
Sean Dube: That's the thesis of our show: make stuff, stay engaged, and will yourself into work. Keep working, because even if you win an Emmy, you have to show up on set the next morning. As actors, we read constantly and understand story better than we give ourselves credit for. If you've been thinking about writing a scene or a short, start drafting it.
Shall we do some ad-libs?
Patrick Quinlan: Let's do it.
Sean Dube: My ad-lib this week is my motivation to wrap up: my wife made a batch of homemade light-sugar cookies tonight. I'll grab the recipe and put it up on the website.
Patrick Quinlan: I went to an Angel City FC soccer game on Friday. It ended in a 3-3 draw with tons of drama, and we got to see US Women's National Team players on the pitch. Tickets are around $25, and the atmosphere is incredible if you're looking for something fun in LA.
Sean Dube: Thank you for listening to Supporting Actors. Send us your thoughts on the Emmys at ask@supportingactors.com. Please rate, review, and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. I'm Sean Dube.
Patrick Quinlan: And I'm Patrick Quinlan.
Sean Dube: Tune in next week, when we try to put our AirPods into the opposite ears.
Do the Emmys actually matter for working actors, or are they just a three-hour public relations machine designed to sell soap?
In this episode of Supporting Actors, Sean Dube and Patrick Quinlan dissect the kickoff to awards season. Moving beyond red-carpet gossip, we analyze how major wins—from The Pitt and Widow's Bay to DTF St. Louis—signal tectonic shifts in how studios greenlight, budget, and cast television in 2026.
We break down the return of cost-effective, single-location procedurals, look at why so many journeymen actors with 30-year careers dominated the podium, and explore the fascinating story of guest actors Brittany Allen and Jeffrey Kober, who bypassed studio gatekeepers to self-submit and secure their own nominations. Finally, we tackle the inevitable "awards show hangover"—confronting feelings of career FOMO, learning how to pitch reps with contemporary show comps, and using industry buzz to build your own creative runway.
In this episode, we cover:
The Industry Weathervane: What the Emmys actually tell actors about network budgets, streamer models, and upcoming production cycles.
The Re-Invention of the Procedural: How The Pitt is proving you don't need $10M+ per episode to create award-winning drama.
Journeymen at the Podium: Why seeing actors like Steven Root, Jean Smart, and Noah Wyle win is proof of the 30-year career trajectory.
Self-Submission Blueprint: How two guest stars on The Pitt paid $225 to submit themselves and earned nominations without network backing.
The Awards Show Hangover: Dealing with the quiet grief of not being invited, avoiding "habitual sorrow," and channeling FOMO into writing.
Targeting Counter-Programming: Why pitching yourself to below-the-radar casting offices beats chasing the hottest show in town.
Timestamps
00:02 - Intro: The Emmys kickoff and why award shows both matter and don't
03:07 - The Big Winners: The Pitt, Widow's Bay, and DTF St. Louis
05:35 - The 30-Year Career: Why journeymen and veteran actors dominated the podium
08:43 - Film & TV Health Check: 2026 box office rebounds and quality television
10:26 - Should Actors Watch? PR machines, water cooler currency, and media noise
14:14 - Reinventing the Procedural: Cost limitations, single locations, and the profit model
17:40 - Reading the Pilot Blueprint: Tracking directors, showrunners, and visual tones
20:23 - Streamer Playbooks: Creative freedom at Apple TV vs. the Netflix algorithm
26:15 - Asking vs. Answering Questions: Tom Holland’s framework for scene structure
27:31 - The $225 Self-Submission: How Brittany Allen and Jeffrey Kober got nominated
31:45 - The Soap Salesman Dilemma: Managing career FOMO and the awards hangover
36:09 - Con Air & Nick Cage: Scott Frank's reminder that there's always a bigger trailer
40:15 - Targeting Casting Hubs: Reverse-engineering your reps' pitches for season two
44:14 - The 18-Year Spec: Katie Dippold and willing your own work into existence
49:03 - Ad Libs: Homemade light-sugar cookies and an Angel City FC 3-3 thriller