‘Squid Game,’ ‘Succession,’ ‘Ted Lasso’ Vie for Emmy Awards

This image released by HBO shows Brian Cox in a scene from "Succession." (HBO via AP)
This image released by HBO shows Brian Cox in a scene from "Succession." (HBO via AP)
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‘Squid Game,’ ‘Succession,’ ‘Ted Lasso’ Vie for Emmy Awards

This image released by HBO shows Brian Cox in a scene from "Succession." (HBO via AP)
This image released by HBO shows Brian Cox in a scene from "Succession." (HBO via AP)

Emmy Awards host Kenan Thompson and the ceremony's producers are promising a feel-good event — a phrase not applicable to several of the top nominated shows.

The best drama contenders include the violently dystopian "Squid Game," bleak workplace satire "Severance" and "Succession," about a powerful and cutthroat family. Even comedy nominee "Ted Lasso," the defending champ, took a storytelling dark turn.

But after several pandemic-constrained awards seasons, Monday's 74th Primetime Emmy Awards (airing 8 p.m. EDT on NBC, streaming on Peacock) will be big and festive, executive producers Reginald Hudlin and Ian Stewart said.

They're actually taking a page from last year's scaled-down ceremony and its club-style table seating for nominees.

"They had a ball. They had a party. They celebrated themselves," Stewart said, recalling a comment made by actor Sophia Bush at the evening's end: "Oh, my God, I actually had fun at the Emmys."

The tables will be back and again reserved for nominees — and their "significants," Stewart said — but there will be some 3,000 other guests seated traditionally in the temporarily reconfigured 7,000-seat Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

"When the nominees are having a great time that translates on screen," Hudlin said, citing the "passionate, touching" speeches delivered by winners.

Thompson, the veteran "Saturday Night Live" cast member taking his first turn as Emmys host, said he wants to enjoy the ceremony and make sure others do.

"This should be a night of appreciating artistry and creativity and removing the stress of it all out. I get it — it sucks to lose, and everybody’s picking outfits and trying to do the red carpet thing," Thompson said. "But at the same time, it’s an awesome thing to be in the room on Emmys night, and I don’t want that to get lost in the stress."

He doesn't expect anything mirroring the Will Smith-Chris Rock confrontation that cast a shadow over the Oscars earlier this year, Thompson said.

Although HBO's "Succession," which won the best drama series award in 2020, and "Ted Lasso" from Apple TV+ are considered the frontrunners for top series honors, there's potential for surprises. Netflix's "Squid Game," a global sensation, would be the first non-English language drama series to win an Emmy.

On the comedy side, ABC's acclaimed newcomer "Abbott Elementary" could become the first broadcast show to win the best comedy award since the network's "Modern Family" in 2014. It's also among the few contenders this year, along with "Squid Game," to field a substantial number of nominees of color.

At the Emmy creative arts ceremonies held earlier this month, the mockumentary-style show about educators in an underfunded Philadelphia school, won the trophy for outstanding comedy series casting. "Succession" won the drama series casting award.

"The Crown," last year's big winner, wasn't in the running this time because it sat out the Emmys eligibility period. The dramatized account of Queen Elizabeth's reign and family life will return for its fifth season in November, as Britain mourns the loss of its longest-serving monarch who died Thursday at age 96.



US Singer Chris Brown in London Court on Assault Case

US singer Chris Brown was released on a £5 million bail by a UK court and allowed to continue his international tour. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
US singer Chris Brown was released on a £5 million bail by a UK court and allowed to continue his international tour. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
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US Singer Chris Brown in London Court on Assault Case

US singer Chris Brown was released on a £5 million bail by a UK court and allowed to continue his international tour. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
US singer Chris Brown was released on a £5 million bail by a UK court and allowed to continue his international tour. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

American R&B singer Chris Brown, the former boyfriend of superstar Rihanna, was due to appear in court Friday in London on assault charges.

Brown was freed from UK custody last month on £5 million ($6.7 million) bail after his arrest in the northwestern city of Manchester, AFP said.

Under the terms of his bail, which would see him forfeit the £5 million guarantee if he failed to return for court proceedings, the Grammy-winning Brown, 36, was given the go-ahead to continue his scheduled international tour, which began on June 8 in Amsterdam.

The star, who had a troubled relationship with Barbadian singer Rihanna, is currently performing the UK leg of his tour, with his next date in London on Saturday.

Concerts are also scheduled in France, Portugal and the US later in the year, before the tour wraps up in Memphis in mid-October.

The star is charged with "grievous bodily harm with intent" in relation to an assault in which the victim was allegedly struck several times with a bottle before being pursued, punched and kicked.

The alleged incident took place at a nightclub in Hanover Square in London on February 19, 2023 while Brown was touring in the UK.

Police detained him in the early hours of May 13 at a five-star hotel in Manchester after he reportedly flew in by private jet.

Judge Tony Baumgartner, at Southwark Crown Court in London, last month ordered that he could be freed on bail, and also stipulated that he should surrender his passport if he is not travelling.

He is required to live at a specific address known to the court and is not permitted to visit the nightclub were the alleged assault took place or contact the alleged victim, Abraham Diah.

Co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu, a 38-year-old US national, has also been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent.

Brown is known for mid-2000s hits such as "Kiss, Kiss".

He rose from a local church choir in Virginia to sudden fame with his rich R&B voice and later rap, but his reputation has been tarnished by the allegations of abuse.