Transparent

Boy, that was quick. 2016 Emmy nominees were announced this morning, and special presenters Lauren Graham and (a very excitable) Anthony Anderson wasted no time in revealing this year’s crop of nominees. While there was rightfully plenty of love to go around for dramas like The People v. O.J. Simpson and Mr. Robot, and comedy faves Veep and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, there were a few disappointments — namely, where the hell is UnREAL?! Or The Leftovers? Come on, Emmys.

Gee, isn't it nice to not have to wake up at 5:30 A.M. for the 2016 Emmy nominations? Either way, the big announcement is finally here, as presented by black-ish star Anthony Anderson and Gilmore Girls returnee Lauren Graham, so let’s find out what we're all angry about/celebrating this year at the Emmys!

That time of year is upon us again, as this coming Thursday, July 14 sees the announcement of the 2016 Emmy Awards nominations, in a field that seems tougher by each year. Favorites like Game of Thrones hit new levels of spectacle this year, while newcomers like UnREAL and Mr. Robot could split the nominations wide open.

Long before we have a chance to check in with the Pfeffermans for Transparent Season 3, Amazon is making sure Maura has plenty left to explore in her journey. The streaming service’s breakout dramedy has been granted early renewal for Season 4, well-ahead of any Season 3 premiere.

Multiple outlets have launched individual standalone options to match that of industry leader Netflix, though Amazon has consistently lagged behind for its streaming service’s tether to an overall Prime rate of $99 per year. No longer, as Amazon Prime launches a far more competitive monthly streaming subscription on par with Netflix, as well as a new Prime rate for shopping.

The real-world transition of Caitlyn Jenner understandably drew mention in the second season of Amazon’s Transparent, and a third season of the Golden Globe-winner will take things a step further in 2016. Jenner herself will appear on Transparent, but as whom?

Not even half an hour into the night, and already the 2016 Golden Globes has its winner for Best TV Series, Comedy or Musical, and it may surprise. Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle pulled off a surprising upset, nabbing the award over some stiff competition.

Too often in TV, long-gestating revivals are punchlines until they’re not, the same way Arrested Development has warmed leftover Season 5 updates since 2013. Now, we may actually have details on the proposed story, including some surprisingly topical turns for Making a Murderer, Donald Trump, and a potentially familiar role for Jeffrey Tambor!

Movies have long been a means of escapism, where one can slink away from their chaotic or mediocre lives into the anonymous oasis of a movie theater, or more often lately, into our streaming-equipped bedrooms and living rooms. I often think of Pauline Kael’s “Trash, Art, and the Movies” essay, in which she champions less prestigious pictures, the ones that make the most invigorating, lasting impressions on us, regardless of whether they’re regarded as “the best” films. “It’s the human material we react to most and remember longest,” she wrote. As much as movies enable us to escape the daily responsibilities of life, offering a chance to explore another world for a few hours, sometimes they bring us right back to ourselves. It’s when we’re left alone in the darkness to sit with ourselves that something transformative happens. It’s in those moments that a film, or even television, can lodge itself in our brains or hearts, injecting its roots until blossoming into larger revelations long afterward. Escaping through art can be the most cathartic and revealing process, where what’s on screen ends up holding a mirror back at us, perhaps seeing the things we don’t look at every day outside the theater. I like think Edward Hopper got it right. In one of my favorite paintings, Hopper’s New York Movie, a lone woman stands on the edges of a movie theater, her head down in deep contemplation as a film plays on screen. This is where the personal and the cinematic intersect.

Not only was 2015 a great year for film, but it might have been a more consistently great year for television — so much so that it was impossibly difficult to choose just 10 shows from a list that began with about 15. As such, I want to give honorable mention to a few of the series that would have been included if this were a longer list: Tina Fey’s remarkable new Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the final (half?) season of Mad Men, the incomparably hilarious and relatable Broad City, the dizzying and dangerous journey of The Jinx, another delightful season of Orange Is the New Black, the final outing of Parks and Recreation and the reliably enthralling Game of Thrones. Oh, and Difficult People! How could I forget Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner’s wonderfully biting Hulu series? See. It was an excellent year.