In all the years I’ve produced interviews for the variety show “Actors on Actors,” I’ve resisted the temptation to reveal exactly how the sausages are made. For example, when a fan complains on social media that our magazine didn’t pair two actors with obvious chemistry, I’m not going to explain to X that even though we really tried, one of the actors (or both!) turned down what seemed like an undeniable idea. In some cases, the reason why the pairing did not work out is scandalous. Sometimes it’s something more mundane. But spilling the tea, even if temporarily gratifying, only serves to distract from the talented actors who actually star in our series.
Of course, the magic of Actors on Actors , which returns to CNN’s streaming platform on June 3 (along with the best season premiere of all time), comes from the right two actors talking to each other. It might seem easy in theory, as suggested by fans. But in reality, this is a very difficult series to produce. Booking an actor with Actors is like playing matchmaker with some of the most famous people on the planet. And their coffee dates require approval from a bunch of publicists and awards strategists.
So now I’m going to tell you about some stars who broke my golden rule of actors and actors and got away with it. When the lineup of episodes featuring some of the most talked about actors on TV this year is announced on Monday, one very important show will be missing from the list. Unfortunately, the actors from “Heated Rivals” were not included. And it wasn’t for a lack of trying. I enlisted all three breakout actors from the groundbreaking series about gay hockey players: the extraordinary Connor Story, the charming Hudson Williams, and the charming Francois Arnaud. As millions of Heated Rivalry superfans know, these actors have the talent to spark mass hysteria on social media and boost stardom overnight just by appearing at an event. They deserve to be included in our portfolio alongside the industry’s biggest names.
And yet they turned us down. I’m sure they would have accepted the invitation, but for one important fact. This means that “Heated Rivals” is not eligible for this year’s Emmy Awards due to technical rules. Because the show is produced by Canadian streamer Bell Media’s Crave (which airs on HBO Max in the US), the show and its stars were not submitted for consideration, and as a result, the actors are currently not campaigning. While Actors on Actors isn’t just about winning awards (Ryan Reynolds did it in two “Deadpool” movies, and more recently, “Superman’s” David Corenswet happily appeared on set), the conversation will be published in Variety early in the Emmy Phase 1 voting, so it’s the perfect time to help with the nomination process.
Perhaps the stars were worried that it would be seen as presumptuous to participate in a campaign event for an award they would never win. But the Emmy Awards need a “heated rivalry” more than the Emmy Awards need a “heated rivalry.” It’s a true hit, popular not only among its core audience but also among casual TV viewers who fell in love with its steamy romance and carefully crafted character development. The Television Academy’s exclusion of “heated rivalry” is deflating in many ways. For fashion houses to want to dress Story and Williams on the red carpet, who made headlines at the recent Met Gala. Both for the fans and for NBC, which will be broadcasting the Emmy Awards this year.
Why is this happening? As my colleague Michael Schneider explains, the Television Academy requires that shows must be backed by U.S. production dollars to qualify, narrowing down the list of potential candidates for voters. Most popular international shows (from “Adolescence” to “The Squid Game”) have gotten around this rule by adding a U.S. producer somewhere in the process before showing (or streaming), but “Heat Rivalry,” which was filmed and produced in Canada, for some reason didn’t expand its list of backers when it was sold to HBO Max. These hockey players remained north of the border and out of reach of the Emmys.
But if a show commands the attention and love of so many Americans, why does it matter where it was produced? Aren’t the Emmy Awards a celebration of what we actually watch? And haven’t we learned time and time again in Hollywood’s reinvention for the streaming age that new and important voices can come from unexpected places, and that old rules are made to be broken?
The Emmy Awards will feel strange when the show that enchanted us all gets no recognition. The famous cottage where ill-fated lovers Ilya Rozanov (Story) and Shane Hollander (Williams) confess their love is as iconic to viewers as the Central Perk coffeehouse on Friends or Carrie Bradshaw’s studio apartment on Sex and the City. (Both of those series ultimately won top Emmy awards.) “Heat Rivalry,” which became one of the defining cultural moments of the decade, should under no circumstances be left out of an awards ceremony meant to showcase the best of television. I also wish this had not been excluded from the Actor on Actor portfolio.
One can only imagine the long line of veteran actors who would have agreed to sit across from three of Hollywood’s most exciting new stars. And there would have been no shortage of award voters who would pull the lever for Ilya to take a victory lap on live TV.
Ramin Setoudeh is co-editor-in-chief and co-president of Variety magazine.
