Disney TV chief Walden steers company to historic Emmy gains

[September 13, 2024]  By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Emmy Awards, the highest honors in television, had evolved into an annual battle for bragging rights between two prestige-TV powerhouses - HBO and Netflix. This year, Walt Disney is the company expected to land on top.

Under the leadership of veteran television executive Dana Walden, Disney was propelled to front-runner status by three of the most-nominated series of the year, "Shogun," "The Bear" and "Only Murders in the Building."

The entertainment giant has a head-start going into Sunday's Emmy ceremony, which will be broadcast live on Disney-owned ABC. Disney collected 51 awards at last weekend's Creative Arts Emmys, a record for the company. "Shogun," the FX political thriller that takes place in feudal Japan, won 14 honors and is the favorite to claim Sunday's top prize, the best drama trophy.

FX's dark comedy "The Bear" about a family-owned sandwich shop aspiring to Michelin star greatness as a high-end restaurant, is seen as the likely winner of best comedy, according to awards watchers. The show garnered 23 nominations -- a record for a comedy series.

Industry observers see Disney's 183 Emmy nominations this year as evidence of the company's creative resurgence, in living rooms as well as in movie theaters, where two Disney films, Pixar Animation's "Inside Out 2," and Marvel's "Deadpool & Wolverine," broke box office records this summer.

Disney CEO Bob Iger laid the groundwork for the television group's revival with the 2019 acquisition of most of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox. That $71 billion purchase brought a talented stable of television executives to Burbank, including Walden, the former co-chief executive of Fox Television Group, and John Landgraf, head of FX Networks, known for critically acclaimed, boundary-pushing shows.

"With Disney, it definitely helps that they own so much. That helps them boost their nomination numbers," said Joyce Eng, senior editor at the awards publication Gold Derby. "If Disney didn't own Fox, we wouldn't be talking about 'The Bear' and 'Shogun's' nominations."

Landgraf credits Walden with championing "Shogun," an expensive period drama set in 17th-century Japan, where the ruler dies and leaves an heir who's too young to assume power, setting in motion a political power struggle. The actors are not well known to American audiences and more than half the dialogue is in Japanese.

"It was a big bet, and I needed her support in order to make it," said Landgraf, who said he would not be discussing FX's creative accomplishments this year "without both Bob and Dana. Both of them had a really, really big hand in the events that allowed this to happen. I'm proud of our creative partners, but what enabled it was the right creative leadership."

Pixar toys from Mattel are pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., February 21, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

Disney's Emmy moment burnishes the reputation of Walden, who is among the internal candidates being considered to succeed Iger as chief executive. In addition to her television portfolio, Walden shares oversight of the company's global streaming business with Alan Bergman. The executives are co-chairmen of Disney Entertainment.

Walden emerged as a top creative executive at Fox, where she oversaw development and production of a string of popular shows, including "24," "Glee," "Homeland," and "This Is Us."

"She's got great instincts and great taste," said Peter Roth, former president of 20th Century Fox Television who gave Walden her first job in programming. "She is the real deal. And by the way, that's the reason she has such extraordinary relationships, because these producers know that she is the real deal."

Walden is known for her ability to deliver high-level insights that help refine projects, a trait that has endeared her to top creative talent, including prominent showrunners like "This Is Us" creator Dan Fogelman and "Glee"'s Ryan Murphy, who are making shows for Disney.

One high-level producer recalled how Hulu's acclaimed comedy series "Only Murders in the Building" was originally pitched as featuring three older actors. Walden suggested casting a younger performer, a recommendation that led to the successful pairing of former Disney Channel star Selena Gomez with veteran comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short, the producer said.

"One thing that writers have told me, even writers who don't love notes, is when they are stuck or blocked, Dana takes the time to help them through it and always makes the script or project better," said William Morris Endeavor co-founder Rick Rosen, who worked with Walden on numerous successful television shows, including "24" and "Homeland."

"Dana is, without question, one of the best creative executives in the business," Rosen said.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Kenneth Li and Sandra Maler)

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