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Kumail Nanjiani was just Emmy nominated for outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for his searing dramatic performance in the Hulu limited series “Welcome to Chippendales.” But the news came at a peculiar time, as the Emmy nods were announced the day before SAG-AFTRA went on strike, joining WGA members on the picket line.

“I was extremely surprised,” Nanjiani told Variety that morning, during those last moments before SAG-AFTRA members were no longer able to talk to press about their projects. “And also thrilled because my co-stars Juliette Lewis and Annaleigh Ashford and Murray Bartlett were recognized. And our costume designers. So, it’s been this pretty good morning … on the eve of a historic strike.”

Nanjiani spoke to the Variety Awards Circuit podcast about his nomination, what convinced him to do “Welcome to Chippendales” and his sheer ubiquity on the screen. But first, on the Awards Circuit Roundtable,...

“Law & Order” fans, you have Rob Lowe to thank for the entire franchise. As does Dick Wolf’s bank account. At least, Lowe says this, with his tongue a bit in cheek (but also with some accuracy). As the star of Fox’s “9-1-1: Lone Star” and Netflix’s “Unstable” recently told Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast, Lowe starred in Wolf’s 1988 feature flop “Masquerade.” It was just the kind of movie disappointment that would have sent Wolf back to TV — and two years later, “Law & Order” premiered. “I remember him saying to me how frustrated he was in the movie business, that he was going to write a pilot,” Lowe said. “And he wrote ‘Law and Order.’ And the rest is history. You’re welcome. Yeah, I’m happy to provide the bomb that powers your rise to dominance.”

Lowe’s not asking for credit — well, Ok,...

On Sunday, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” appeared to be everything, everywhere, all at once. The film, of course, dominated the 95th Oscars with seven wins — including best picture. Virtually all the stars received wins, on what was truly a historic night.

And an emotional one. As the opening clips of this week’s Variety Awards Circuit Podcast illustrates, family was on the minds of this year’s winners. Listen to our Mega Roundtable edition, in which Clayton Davis, Jenelle Riley, Jazz Tangcay and myself recount the show and dissect the winners — from Jimmy Kimmel’s excellent monologue to how every single category panned out:

Big wins from the likes of Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser and Michelle Yeoh meant many tears were shed — sure, on stage, but also in the audience.

Funny I should mention SXSW, as its unlikely march to the big Oscar wins started...

The Fab Five hosts of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated “Queer Eye” often hear from audiences and contestants how the show changed their lives. But the show also changed the life of host Karamo Brown, helping him reconnect with his estranged father after 18 years.

Brown, along with Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk and Jonathan Van Ness, joined senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay on the Awards Circuit podcast to share his story. Listen below:

“My father and I have not talked for 18 years, and we recently connected,” Brown says. During a family vacation, his father sat down to watch the sixth season of the series. Episode 2 features Angel Flores, a 22-year-old transgender powerlifter and Olympic weightlifting coach who lacks confidence in herself. She turns to the hosts hoping they can help. She also has an emotional conversation with her father about what it means to be trans.

“My father is a Caribbean man. The...

On “Only Murders in the Building,” Steve Martin plays Charles-Haden Savage, the former star of popular crime drama “Brazzos.” The inspiration for playing a washed-up TV star, Martin tells Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, “comes from worry. I think about actors who’ve had these hits, they’re on TV for eight years. And then they don’t really work that much again, because they’re maybe too identified with the part. And I’ve always been curious about that life.”

Martin remembers, in particular, an actor he spotted at an HBO Comedy Festival party. The man, who had starred in a hit show, hadn’t worked in about ten years. But Martin, standing about 20 feet away, got curious as he saw the actor speaking, very animated, to a ski instructor.

“So I go over and I say, ‘I’ve got to ask you, what are you talking about?’ And the actor turned to me,...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Emmys Collective

Visit each category, per the individual awards show from The Emmys Hub

To see old predictions and commentary,...

Sacha Baron Cohen is having a good week; the star of both “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” went into the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night with acting noms for both films and a nod for “Borat” for best picture – musical or comedy. He walked away with two trophies for his work on “Borat.” And he’s nominated for two SAG Awards for “Chicago 7,” both in the supporting category for portraying Abbie Hoffman and for his work in the ensemble.

It’s all a bit overwhelming for the actor; on the day he spoke to Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast in February, he was coming off a 48-hour period where he had just landed all the accolades, and was still processing it. Listen below!

Discussing his “Chicago 7” cast mates, Cohen said, “I sent them all an email today, saying that it’s slightly ironic that...

By Seth Metoyer, MoreHorror.com

Hotel Arthritis is an upcoming raunchy horror/comedy from Director Jason Lockhart.

There's something not quite right in the retirement home and inevitably -- somebody starts killing old people.

Watch the trailer below the official details.

From The Press Release:

Hotel Arthritis - Somebody is killing Old People!

Veteran star-studded film “crosses the line” in all the right ways, pushes into controversial territory of what is wrong and funny

It's not often that one is able to see a collection of iconic stars in such a different light, but Hotel Arthritis provides just that opportunity. The film finds ways to “push the boundaries” of what is wrong and what is funny by meshing the bizarre with the fun, the old with the young, and the comedy with its horror.

Hotel Arthritis is a comedy/horror ready for its cult audience about a group of retirement...

Check out the official trailer for Jason Lockhart’s upcoming Hotel Arthritis movie. It is not often that one is able to see a collection of iconic stars in such a different light, but Hotel Arthritis provides just that opportunity. The film finds ways to “push the boundaries” of what is wrong and what is funny by meshing the bizarre with the fun, the old with the young, and the comedy with its horror.

Hotel Arthritis is a comedy/horror ready for its cult audience about a group of retirement home residents living in fear of a masked killer who stalks the halls of their creepy home.

“The colorful characters are what drives the film in this story. We’re meant to laugh with them and at them, both through their daily routines and alongside their nightmares.”

says director, Jason Lockhart.

Not restraining to a politically correct sense of humor,...