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Go inside Variety & CNN’s new season of Actors on Actors. |
Variety & CNN’s Emmy® Award-winning Actors on Actors is back with a fresh lineup of must-see pairings, candid revelations and the kind of insider conversations that make awards season so irresistible. By bringing together top performers for intimate discussions about craft, process and the stories behind the year’s biggest roles, the franchise has become both an industry institution and a fan obsession. In the Q&A below, CNN Correspondent and former Producer & Co-host of Actors on Actors Elizabeth Wagmeister sat down with us to share what makes this season so exciting and how this iconic franchise earned her an Emmy nomination back in 2023.
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This franchise has become a major awards season touchpoint. What do you think keeps it resonating year after year?
There is no other franchise like Actors on Actors where you get to see actors sit down with one another to discuss their craft. The series showcases the most famous people in the world in a different light than audiences are accustomed to seeing — where they can truly be themselves while sitting down with their fellow actors. Typically, we see actors on a press tour with canned answers, but this is a time for the biggest A-listers in Hollywood to share their process through a lengthy and often vulnerable conversation. Because there is nothing else like it, viewers are excited to tune in season after season.
What has made the collaboration between CNN and Variety such a strong one creatively and editorially?
Before I joined our team at CNN, I worked at Variety (and on Actors on Actors) for a decade, so I have been thrilled to see this partnership come to life. CNN is the leader in breaking news around the globe, and Variety is the leader in entertainment news, so bringing these two storied brands together has resulted in a truly special collaboration. CNN brings a global audience to what Variety has created with Actors on Actors. And it’s not just Actors on Actors: as we all saw from our Oscars red carpet special, the combination of CNN’s world-class production in live event programming paired with Variety’s strong reputation in Hollywood enabled us to bring back the live red carpet show — which is something that I grew up watching and have been missing as a viewer!
How do you think the franchise has evolved as the television awards landscape has become more crowded and competitive?
Actors on Actors has become a must on the awards press tour. In other words, if you are campaigning for an Emmy or an Oscar, you have to appear on Actors on Actors. Every studio and publicist in town is pitching their talent year-round to be part of the series. But what has happened over the years has been fascinating to watch: Actors on Actors has grown from simply being a stop on the campaign trail that was watched by cinephiles to a viral sensation that has fully permeated the pop culture zeitgeist. The celebrities (and their teams) who participate truly love to sit down with their fellow actors to discuss their craft, but they also know that they are going to get a ton of viral press. Fan accounts of Actors on Actors guess who is going to be part of the lineup each season, and content creators constantly spoof the show on TikTok. (Even SNL did an Actors on Actors skit!)
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What conversations are you most excited about this coming season?
Of course, it was thrilling to be on-set for the Friends reunion between Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow because who isn’t a fan of Friends? But I also loved watching Noah Wyle reunite with Sally Field, after they co-starred on ER when she had a memorable guest arc, which won her an Emmy. The Pitt is currently my favorite show on TV, but it was also so lovely to watch these two actors show genuine admiration for each other, 20 years after they worked together. And Scandal fans will be very excited to see Olivia and Fitz back together. (Shameless plug: Stick around to watch my YouTube interview where I asked Kerry Washington on-set if she believes she will see a female president in her lifetime.)
If you were to be featured in Actors on Actors, who would you want to have a conversation with?
Britney Spears. Now before you tell me she is not an actor, I encourage you to watch Crossroads. Throughout Britney’s entire career, she has never once done a real interview — because she grew up as a product of child stardom, where she was trained to say whatever her record label wanted her to say and then she was micromanaged throughout her conservatorship, unable to participate in a genuine interview. So, I would love to sit down across from Britney to truly hear from her in her own words, and Actors on Actors is the format that typically allows stars to open up.
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Stream the latest episodes of Actors on Actors on the CNN App.
And be sure to check out Elizabeth Wagmeister's Off The Set to get a deeper unscripted look into each episode.
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