As a Television Academy member, I have had the privilege to meet many of my favorite actors and actresses from some of my favorite TV shows. And I only get starstruck when I meet a TV icon that I grew up watching as a child.
Such was the case, this past May, when I met legendary, four-time Emmy Award-winning actress Michael Learned (see photo above) at the Netflix FYC Emmy event for the critically acclaimed limited series “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” at Red Studios in Hollywood!
As someone who grew up in the 1970s/'80s, I remember watching her in the long-running CBS drama “The Waltons” with my family on the couch every week. So meeting her in person that evening was such a treat (thank you so much for that Harlan)! Not only was she as lovely in person as I thought she would be but when she spoke to me looked straight into my eyes and made me feel very special. Needless to say, I was thrilled! And then when she agreed to be a guest on my podcast I was on cloud nine! :)
I always knew that she was a great actress, but it was seeing her recent performance as Jeffrey Dahmer’s grandmother in Ryan Murphy’s critically acclaimed Netflix series “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” that impressed me the most this past television season! All the actors in the series were fantastic which is why it garnered 13 nominations for the upcoming 75th annual Emmy Awards this past week.
If you haven’t seen the series yet, it's the story of one of the most notorious serial killers in the United States, Jeffrey Dahmer (Evan Peters), which is largely told from the points of view of his victims. Other main characters include Dahmer’s father Lionel (Richard Jenkins), stepmother Shari (Molly Ringwald), suspicious neighbor Glenda (Niecy Nash), and grandmother Catherine (Michael Learned).
According to Wikipedia, “Dahmer received mixed reviews but was a commercial success, reaching the number-one spot on Netflix in the first week of its release. It became Netflix's second most-watched English-language series of all time within 28 days, and the third Netflix series to pass 1 billion views in 60 days. The series reached number one on the Nielsen Top 10 streaming chart in the first week of its release and placed No. 7 on Nielsen's all-time list for single-week viewership in its second week. The series received four nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, including for the Best Limited or Anthology a Series or Television Film, with Peters winning for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film.”
Aside from being nominated for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series for the Emmy Awards this year, it also earned Peters his second acting nod, this time for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Additionally, Niecy Nash-Betts and Richard Jenkins were also recognized with individual acting nominations.
Congrats to Ryan Murphy and all the actors & creative artists behind the scenes who were recognized by the Television Academy this year. I’ll see you all at the Emmy Awards!
The 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards air live on Monday, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Fox.
Listen to my fascinating conversation with actress Michael Learned by clicking on the links below. Enjoy!
Episode 21 - HERE
Episode 22 - HERE
