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Quibi Submitting 19 Series For Primetime Emmys; Director Veena Sud Explains Creative Challenges On Breakout Series ‘The Stranger’

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UPDATE: Quibi has added one more series to be submitted for Emmys it’s Elba Vs Block, to compete in Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Category. Show stars Idris Elba and Ken Block as they go head to head to see who’s best behind the driver’s seat.

EXCLUSIVE: Quibi has firmed the list of 19 shows, and the accompanying stars and filmmakers it will submit for the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards. Deadline has the whole list of shows that fall into the short form comedy and drama categories, as well as Short Form Nonfiction/Reality, and Variety series. Quibi launched in April, and has found that a venture meant to generate content designed to be consumed in short bites by people on the go, has been challenged by landing right in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic that has rendered the world to a state of not going anywhere. That will pass, but Quibi has no shortage of programming that will vie for nominations.

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What has it been like for a filmmaker accustomed to the feature and TV platforms to tailor content for a disruptive new service? “It was a lot of fun, creating this, and having done a few projects in those other platforms, to be given a new toy, a new sandbox has been a joy and it’s exciting to be in the awards space with this new toy,” said Veena Sud. After creating The Killing and the Emmy winner Seven Seconds, she is the showrunner, writer, director and EP of The Stranger. The thriller stars Maika Monroe as a young rideshare driver who picks up a mysterious passenger from a tony Hollywood Hills address (Dane DeHaan), only to find that he is a sociopathic murderer who over the course of 12 harrowing hours leads her on a deadly cat and mouse game through the seedy underbelly of L.A., with a convenience store clerk (Avan Jogia) her only ally. Here is the trailer:

Sud told Deadline that the Quibi format is “the perfect hybrid of film and a TV show, with longform story telling meeting the need to move things along propulsively. Jeffrey Katzenberg gave me all kinds of freedom, but the one non-negotiable thing was that no segment be over ten minutes, at the outer limits. Many are a lot less, cut at the most natural breaks.” Among the visual challenges, she said that the storytelling on-the-go format meant mastering a whole new form: “Neither I nor any of the other directors was aware how we all hold phones to watch programming, and that is vertically. The challenge is to make sure that vertical space feels like more, without cheating on the information. I baked it into the story of The Stranger, as the characters move through interesting physical spaces. That’s why he’s always chasing her. You are thinking left and right, deep into the screen. I made infinity lines, like super long hallways in apartment buildings, in the gas station the way the rows of snacks are closer together. There are always lines to give the feeling of space for the viewer.”

Here are all the Quibi shows that are being submitted for Emmy nomination consideration:

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN SHORT FORM COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES

Anna Kendrick, Dummy

Jasmine Cephas Jones, #FreeRayshawn

Kaitlin Olson, Flipped

Kether Donohue, Royalties

Maika Monroe, The Stranger

Nicole Richie, Nikki Fre$h

Sophie Turner, Survive

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN SHORT FORM COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES

Christoph Waltz, Most Dangerous Game

Corey Hawkins, Survive

Dane DeHaan, The Stranger

Darren Criss, Royalties

Laurence Fishburne, #FreeRayshawn

Liam Hemsworth, Most Dangerous Game

Stephan James, #FreeRayshawn

Will Forte, Flipped

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE

Meredith Hagner, Dummy

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC & LYRICS

Nikki Fre$h

Royalties

OUTSTANDING SHORT FORM COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES

50 STATES OF FRIGHT: A horror anthology featuring the scariest stories from every state in the country.
Executive Producer Sam Raimi brings each terrifying tale to life.

DUMMY: Cody needs a friend. She meets one in Barbara. Only problem? Barbara is a sex doll with an appetite for adventure. And, well, sex.

#FREERAYSHAWN: Rayshawn Morris finds himself in an all-day standoff with New Orleans police.
Desperate to protect his family, while proving his innocence, he turns to social media to clear his name with the help of one sympathetic cop.

KIRBY JENNER: Kirby Jenner shows us his reality as a member of the world’s most famous family.

MOST DANGEROUS GAME: A man (Liam Hemsworth) desperate and in debt. In a dystopian thriller where the hunter turns out to be the hunted. Game on.

NIKKI FRE$H: Nicole Richie spreads her message of environmental love through her new musical persona, “Nikki Fre$h,” a trap music artist who makes eco-conscious choices while dropping sick beats and performing in over the top music videos.

RENO 911!: The deputies of the Reno Sheriff’s Department are still in the line of duty. And they’re
ready to do what it takes to keep this city safe.

SURVIVE: Jane wants to end it all. Then a plane crash almost ends it for her. Now she’s crawling from the wreckage with Paul, the only other survivor, and a new drive to stay alive.

THE STRANGER: Clare picks up her rideshare passenger, Carl E. It’s a story of boy meets girl, but in this case he relentlessly stalks and tries to murder her.

WHEN THE STREETLIGHTS GO ON: A double-homicide in a small midwestern suburb rattles the lives of a group of teenagers and sends investigators searching for answers in the fall of 1995. A meditation on growing up, the passing of time, and the insidious violence that lurks in the suburbs.

OUTSTANDING SHORT FORM NONFICTION OR REALITY SERIES

BLACKBALLED: The series highlights the five days during the 2014 NBA playoffs, when Doc Rivers, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and the LA Clippers led an unprecedented movement of athletes to hold racism accountable.

CUP OF JOE: Joe Jonas has toured the world as a pop star. Now he’s ready to explore it as an average Joe.
As he journeys through eight cities worldwide, celebrity friends will help him experience them as a local.

DISHMANTLED: Take two blindfolded chef contestants. Blast a dish into their face. Then make them recreate it for celebrity judges to win a cash prize. Did we mention it’s hosted by Tituss Burgess?

GAYME SHOW: Glitter. Rainbows. Grand entrances. Matt Rogers & Dave Mizzoni host as two straight contestants compete in a series of physical, mental, and performance challenges to test their gay knowlege. Who will reign forevermore as “Queen of the Straights”?

I PROMISE: An intimate look inside the highs and lows of year one at LeBron James’ I PROMISE School,
serving the most at-risk students and families in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

MURDER HOUSE FLIP: An unconventional home renovation show that takes on the country’s most infamous homes: ones known for the mysterious murders within their walls. Designers Joelle and Mikel remove the stains of the past and make once morbid homes marvelous.

NIGHTGOWNS: The stage awaits. Sasha Velour and her cast members are preparing for the biggest drag showcase of their lives. Expect heart, humor, and a hell of a lot of glamour.

THANKS A MILLION: Big names. Big money. Big Giving. Celebrities kickstart a chain of kindness, each
gifting $100,000 to an unsuspecting individual who have had a positive impact on their lives — with a catch. Watch as the “pay it forward” chain unfolds.

OUTSTANDING SHORT FORM VARIETY SERIES

PUNK’D: Punk’d is back! And no one is safe! The iconic series returns with Chance the Rapper as host
— masterminding the biggest pranks behind the scenes. The biggest stars are about to learn what happens if their fates were up to Chance.

 

 

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