The main question out of TheWrap’s Thursday Emmy miniseries panel: What’s so appealing about the limited TV series?
For “Guerrilla” star, Freida Pinto, the appeal is a greater sense of creative freedom. Pinto, who has more experience in film than in TV, took on this project partially because she didn’t want to limit herself only to film. Said she liked being able to take the time to really develop her character over a series of episodes, and that the miniseries format was “perfect” for just that. She especially liked being able to develop a powerful female character. Pinto stars in “Guerrilla” as Jas Mitra, a fierce activist of the British black power movement of the 1970s. One of Jas’s shining moments came in a highlight clip that was shown to the audience before the panel. Jas’s incredibly empowering line was, “I’m not here to be the girlfriend or the sidekick. I am my own agent.”
Michael K. Williams, who stars in “The Night Of,” along with Riz Ahmed, echoed Pinto’s feelings. He said all characters are like “onions,” and for actors, the limited series is great, because it allows them to “peel back the layers” on those characters.
For “Genius” star Johnny Flynn, the challenge was bringing a nuanced angle to a well-known public figure. Flynn plays a young Albert Einstein in the years leading up to his landmark relativity theory. “Einstein is an incredibly famous person we don’t know personally,” said Flynn. While everyone knows about Einstein’s contributions to math and science, hardly anyone knows what he was actually like as a person. But in “Genius,” Flynn gets to explore Einstein’s character and personality and give the audience a fresh perspective on this famous public figure.
TheWrap held its miniseries panel June 8 at The Landmark Theatre in Los Angeles.