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Next year’s Emmy voters already have the unenviable task of choosing between a handful of “The Bear” performers for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, but it’s not too early to consider Doug Jones, who returned to “What We Do in the Shadows” this week for a truly impeccable turn as Baron Afanas.

Jones has played the ancient vampire ever since the pilot, when he was unrecognizably made up to look emaciated and decaying. It’s rare for any actor to be able to portray the same character in such varying physical forms, and gives Jones the opportunity to test out different vocal choices and body language, all of which pay off throughout the series. Before being accidentally fried in the sun by Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), the Baron moved with slow grace, intimidating fellow vampires not only with his age and stature but with an outward appearance...

Consider This: Conversations highlight television’s award-worthy productions through panel discussions with the artists themselves. The above video is in partnership with Amazon Prime Video, produced by IndieWire’s Creative Producer Leonardo Adrian Garcia, and hosted by TV Deputy Editor and Critic Ben Travers.

One of the innate challenges to making “The Boys” — Amazon Prime Video’s superhero satire — is making the impossible feel real.

“You try to find that grain of reality in everything, and that can be very hard to do,” VFX Supervisor Stephan Fleet said in a panel discussion with IndieWire. “You could have a sentence that’s like, ‘We want the Boys to crash into this whale, but it needs to look as real as possible’ — or, ‘We want this giant dick monster to wrap around Mother’s Milk’s neck, but it has to feel real.”

The combination of absurdity and authenticity is exactly what...

“The Boys” creator and showrunner Eric Kripke has said he wanted to use the second season of his Amazon Prime Video superhero-vigilante drama to address the white supremacy he was seeing play out on social media. Enter Stormfront (Aya Cash), a seemingly indestructible new member of the Seven who, at first, is loved for her kick-ass female energy but is soon exposed as a Nazi. In the finale episode, “What I Know,” the other women finally get a chance to express their justified anger (and provide a bit of wish fulfillment for the audience) by taking her on.

What starts as a moment for Maeve (Dominique McElligott), who previously expressed concern that nothing ever changes, to take some power back becomes the ultimate team-up between her, Starlight (Erin Moriarty) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara). Although they can’t defeat Stormfront, who eventually flies out of harm’s way, there is catharsis...

Variety and Sony Pictures Television will host a monthlong immersive experience, the Variety/Sony Pictures Television Virtual FYC House, aimed to capture the attention of TV awards voters. The interactive, 3D experience kicks off with a special preview night for a select audience and then will open to a wider audience on May 27 through June 28. The virtual event features original content, keynote conversations and panels with top contending talent from the studio. Registration entitles users to a monthlong VIP pass to visit the house throughout the month.

Programming begins with the “Actors Showcase” panel featuring David Lim (Victor Tan in “S.W.A.T.”); Deborah Ayorinde (Lucky Emory in “Them”); Hill Harper (Dr. Marcus Andrews in “The Good Doctor”); Krys Marshall (Danielle Poole in “For All Mankind”); Lamorne Morris (Keef in “Woke”); and Laz Alonso (Mother’s Milk in “The Boys”).

Next up is the “Women in TV” panel with Alison Pill (Betty...

Amazon Prime Video is pushing out a podcast series about the making of “The Boys” Season 2, taking listeners behind the scenes of the superhero spoof — including what went into creating that life-size whale.

The eight-episode podcast, aimed at both fans and Emmy voters, will be available for free on Apple Podcasts (at this link), Amazon Music, Spotify and other podcast platforms. The podcast series debuts April 15 with the first two episodes, to be followed by a weekly rollout until the final podcast episode premieres May 27.

“The Boys: The Official Podcast,” hosted by journalist Tim Kash, will feature conversations with executive producers Eric Kripke, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, along with the series’ stars and production team.

On the podcast, stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alanso, Chace Crawford, Karen Fukuhara and Aya Cash share their favorite on- and off-screen moments from Season 2, break down challenging scenes,...

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The Shannara Chronicles ends season 1 on a characteristically uneven finale. Will MTV renew the show for season 2?

This review contains spoilers.

1.10 Ellcrys

As The Shannara Chronicles reaches its finale, it’s difficult to know which version of the show will turn up. Will it be the entertaining fantasy romp with a mature edge as demonstrated in Changeling and Pykon or the cheesy and cliché-ridden mess that typified episodes such as week eight’s Utopia? Perhaps fittingly, Ellcrys provides a little bit of both but ultimately delivers more of the former, ensuring an enjoyable, if flawed, ending to a show that has attracted derision and lukewarm praise in mostly equal measure.

The episode kicks things off with a less than stellar quasi-dream sequence featuring Amberle in conversation with a manifestation of the Ellcrys tree. The scene is designed to inform viewers of something book readers will only be...