In the Running: Emmy Contenders in Conversation With The Ankler is a special digital issue featuring Ankler Media awards editor and Prestige Junkie host Katey Rich’s chats with top talent from Disney networks and streamers, including ABC, Disney+, FX and Hulu. In the Running is presented by Disney.
Sterling K. Brown knows it’s a privilege to work on a show as good as Paradise. As he revealed recently to Prestige Junkie host Katey Rich, he has actor friends who’ve confided to him that the scripts for their shows sometimes need a little extra work. “My scripts are really good. They’re really nice,” he tells them. “You should come play over here.”
Paradise is one of several acclaimed Disney Entertainment Television shows featured in the pages ahead as part of our special series, In the Running: Emmy Contenders in Conversation With The Ankler — a celebration of the innovative storytelling, searing performances and unforgettable moments across a groundbreaking year on ABC, Disney+, Hulu and FX.
Katey’s insightful chats — which took place the same day as Disney’s Toast to TV event at Soho House Holloway in West Hollywood, hosted by Dana Walden, president and chief creative officer of the Walt Disney Company — included sit-downs with Brown and his Paradise co-stars Shailene Woodley and Thomas Doherty; Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson plus fellow cast members Tyler James Williams, Chris Perfetti and William Sanford Davis; Deli Boys actress Poorna Jagannathan; The Testaments stars Ann Dowd, Chase Infiniti and Lucy Halliday; The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox star Grace Van Patten, creator and executive producer K.J. Steinberg and executive producer Monica Lewinsky; Wonder Man co-creators Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest; and Welcome to Wrexham creators and executive producers Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds.
Last year, Disney was recognized with 137 Emmy nominations across its portfolio of brands, including a 2025 broadcast-network high of 38 for ABC — and the expectation is that the company will once again be a force during this year’s race, with returning nominees like Brown, Brunson and Welcome to Wrexham joining new series including Wonder Man and The Testaments, a sequel to the Emmy Award-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale.
“It’s a great pleasure, and it’s an honor to do it,” The Testaments star Ann Dowd, an Emmy winner for the mothership series, told Katey. “It honestly is a privilege.”
We at The Ankler feel the same about shining a light on the work of such talented artists. Special thanks to photographer Austin Hargrave, who captured their striking portraits, and the Ankler team behind the scenes: Jennifer Laski, executive producer of brand experiences; Hanna Hensler, director of events and marketing; design director Kelsey Stefanson; deputy editor Christopher Rosen; and lead video editor Sebastian Doughty. — The Editors
