Since Casey Bloys took over HBO programming in February 2016, he and his team have been responsible for 1,208 Emmy nominations and 276 wins.
This morning, the company landed another 122 nominations, thanks to record hauls for Hacks and huge performances for The Pitt, which landed 24 and 25 noms, respectively.
HBO Max scored three of the eight drama nominees in The Gilded Age, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and The Pitt, while DTF St. Louis entered the limited series race.
There were leading acting nods for Carrie Coon, Zendaya, Mark Ruffalo, Noah Wyle, Lisa Kudrow, Jean Smart and Steve Carrell as well as a plethora of supporting nods for the cast of The Pitt, Hacks and DTF St. Louis.
Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content, was in reflective mood this morning as he and his team have been responsible for having the most Emmy nominations of any platform for seven of the last ten years and picking up seven Outstanding Drama Series wins in that time.
It comes as a critical time for the exec as HBO is set to have new owners (or a new “business daddy” as John Oliver, obviously once again nominated for Last Week Tonight, would say) in the shape of David Ellison-led Paramount and rumors of his own future have been swirling.
DEADLINE: Congratulations on 122 Emmy nominations. What’s the mood in the camp?
CASEY BLOYS: It feels very good. It’s a nice way to start a Wednesday. Lots of calls, texts and emails, it’s a fun, exciting morning.
DEADLINE: Hacks and The Pitt scoring nearly 50 nominations between them feels like the headline for HBO Max?
BLOYS: Even just pulling back a little bit even further, I’m marking 10 years in this job working with his team, so it was a really special morning, and just make me very proud of not only the artists that we work with, but how the team internally develops across the board, who they choose to work with, and not just programming, but production, business affairs, how we do business, it’s just a really nice recognition that in 10 years, I think seven of the 10 years, we have had the most nominations of any platform, and that’s against unprecedented competitions, yeah. I’m feeling very, very proud of the team this morning, and reflecting back on 10 years doing this.
DEADLINE: Over that period, I gather you’ve had 1,208 nominations and 276 wins. Those are wild numbers.
BLOYS: I think it’s a real testament to the team here and who they choose to work with and how they choose to work with them.
DEADLINE: On a more granular level, The Pitt nearly doubled the number of nominations it got last year.
BLOYS: It’s just been an incredible story from the beginning, and obviously I have to thank John and Scott and Noah for just guiding this show. I was really happy to see the breadth of performers recognized this morning. That’s one of the great things about an ensemble show, and an ensemble show set in LA. To have 15 episodes, you really get to highlight a range of actors, and to see so many people get recognized this morning, that was really, really great.
DEADLINE: Hacks has ended, but that’s one way to go out, with 24 nominations.
BLOYS: To do any show is so difficult, but to do a great show consistently for five seasons, and then to end it so perfectly, I think these nominations are just a recognition that they really, really stuck the landing.
DEADLINE: Was that the same ending that Jen, Paul and Lucia pitched to you originally?
BLOYS: Yes, they had the ending in mind from the beginning. I do think in general that it’s helpful when a writer comes in and has an idea of where they want to end the character. You don’t always have to stick to it, but I think it does help in series, knowing what the ultimate plan is. I know many showrunners that we work with have had that idea, and I think it does help guide things, but obviously in this case it was really great plan,
DEADLINE: Lisa Kudrow getting nominated for The Comeback, twenty years after her first nomination for the show, and over ten years for her second, is a nice story.
BLOYS: Valerie Cherish is a Hall of Fame HBO character. I think what she and Michael have done in terms over the course of the three seasons, and 20 years, just kind of predicting and dramatizing shifts in the industry, while also making an incredibly funny and heartbreaking and insightful show, I’m very, very proud of not just this season, but what they’ve accomplished overall.
DEADLINE: You have three shows in Outstanding Drama Series: The Gilded Age, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and The Pitt. I imagine it’s tough for you to choose one to win.
BLOYS: It is. I mean. Anytime somebody says to me, ‘What are your favorite shows?’ it very much is like your children, because each show is different. They have their unique qualities, things they’re good at, things you’re proud of. So, I’m thrilled that all of them are getting the recognition.
BLOYS: I was thrilled to see A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms break through. I don’t like lists of snubs, but it would have been nice to see Industry get some recognition, because they’re just doing fantastic work. But overall, at 122 nominations and more than anybody else, I’m thrilled and happy, and I can’t dwell on others, even if I think others deserve it.
DEADLINE: Industry is a bit of a head scratcher.
BLOYS: We’ve got another season to show to everybody, the amount of talent working on that show…
DEADLINE: Richard Gadd got a nomination for Half Man. Were you surprised the show itself didn’t get one?
BLOYS: I was hopeful because Richard is an amazing creator and performer and the show was really bold. Obviously we’re incredibly proud of it, and his performance, and Jamie Bell’s performance. It doesn’t always break your way, but it doesn’t mean we’re any less proud of it. I just think he’s a phenomenal talent.
DEADLINE: Were you surprised to get 122 nominations? Some Emmy prognosticators didn’t think you’d top the list this year.
BLOYS: Looking back, not just on 10 years, but on my 22 years being at HBO, I would say almost every year people predict a complete collapse and we quietly keep our heads down and do the work. I never go into it thinking anything is a sure thing, but I was feeling good, I was feeling good with the shows that we had submitted,
DEADLINE: Does Emmy attention change anything in terms of the shows that you might greenlight or develop?
BLOYS: It’s very important to keep in mind that Emmys are, believe me, very nice. It’s great for the for the shows to get the recognition and the performers and directors, writers, very nice to get that recognition. It is a one metric of success, but not the only one, by any means. So you can’t develop and choose shows based on what you think is going to get any nominations, because as we learn every year, nobody ever knows. Things go certain ways, shows come out of nowhere, so you really can’t do that, you just have to bet on people you believe in, guide them as best you can, and see what happens. It’s a really nice recognition for the team, but it can’t guide the shows you do.
DEADLINE: Does getting 122 nominations feel particularly sweet given all of the corporate drama that is swirling about with the Paramount deal?
BLOYS: Over the last 10 years, we’ve had seven years where we’ve had the most nominations. That’s been through two mergers, so I think it’s possible to have, whatever’s going on corporately and in the industry at large. Obviously, there’s a lot going on everywhere, but it is possible to, with the right team in place, which I believe we have, it is possible to continue to deliver.
DEADLINE: Talking about continuing to deliver, John Oliver is now up against SNL, The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show. John’s obviously cleaned up for years, it feels like it might be fun for him to have more than one winner in the Outstanding Variety Series category.
BLOYS: Yeah, I don’t really know what to expect there, because every year there’s great competition and amazing shows. I will be watching that with interest as well.
DEADLINE: His deal is up at the end of this year. Have you signed a new one with him yet?
BLOYS: We are talking to John, and would love to have that continue.
DEADLINE: Given you’ve been in this job for ten years and we’re looking back, how do you feel about these awards over that period? Are some wins sweeter than others?
BLOYS: Yeah, there are. Certainly when things are unexpected or things break through, there are nice little victories within the larger nominations, absolutely. I’m not going to tell you which ones, but certainly there are special ones.
DEADLINE: Those 122 nominations came from over 20 shows. That breadth must be nice.
BLOYS: The docs, led by Nancy and Lisa and Nina, have always delivered consistently. That has not changed, that’s pre- and post-HBO Max. I think one of the things that we’ve done consistently is across genres, it’s usually not just one show, but it’s across a bunch of different shows, it’s docs and specials, it’s dramas, comedies, alternative. It’s a real feather in our cap.
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