Emmy Magazine Features

For the one-man writers' room known as Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders and no fewer than five new programs this year, stories often start with family and take shape organically. "It's like dreaming or playing a musical instrument — I just do it."

A theater background and ease with improv are just part of J. Smith-Cameron's toolkit for playing Gerri Kellman on HBO's Succession.

For writer Lee Sung Jin, one extended road-rage experience sparked a genre-defying exploration of class warfare and other big themes in suburban Los Angeles. Ali Wong and Steven Yeun star as opposites who both attract and repel as their conflict spirals out of control.

A dystopian saga set in a post-pandemic hellscape, populated by zombie-like ghouls, based on a video game? Yes, yes and yes. But for all its darkness and danger, the cocreators of HBO's The Last of Us, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, say the show's driving emotion is love.

In his final mission on Paramount+'s Star Trek: Picard, the actor reunites with his near and dear from The Next Generation, bringing both adventures — presumably — to a close. But a plot twist awaits loyal Trekkers, who will have much to discuss when assessing the legacy of the captain.

As the slow-burn series about the rise of crack cocaine in 1980s Los Angeles begins its sixth and final season, four of its leading lights reflect on cocreator John Singleton, how the FX drama has evolved and how current events have played a role in the production.

Less than a year after wrapping This Is Us, the actor returns with a new onscreen family in ABC's The Company You Keep — but he's still working with most of his old behind-the-scenes TV family. "When you can work with your friends ... that's the best recipe."

As fans prepare for a good cry over The Best Man: The Final Chapters, its principals cheer the beloved franchise that proved love conquers even long-standing stereotypes. "I wanted to make a universal love story," says creator Malcolm D. Lee. "People want to fall in love, feel secure, have friendships — these things are not... specifically Black."

In the new FX series Kindred, a Black woman is powerless against forces that send her hurtling through time — to the antebellum South — then back to the present day. "It's difficult subject matter," allows showrunner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a descendant of slaves on both sides of his family. "But living with it, wrestling with it — that can be productive."

A new season, a new setting, an almost all-new team. For Fox Sports, covering this year's World Cup — and the U.S. squad — has meant rethinking every aspect of production. But along with the challenges comes a charming bonus: "the Ted Lasso effect."

After initially passing on a Chippendales project, Kumail Nanjiani was drawn back to the story — now a Hulu limited series — as star and executive producer. But the real-life tale that starts in a '70s L.A. strip club (dubbed Destiny II) — where men take it off for women — is darker than you'd expect.

Meet some of the stylists and producers behind TV's fabulous food, who are planning, shopping, prepping — and making multiples of every dish.