Kerry Washington Renews Overall TV Deal With ABC Studios

Kerry Washington has renewed her overall TV deal with ABC Studios for three more years.

Washington and her Simpson Street production company will work on projects for broadcast, cable and streaming. Pilar Savone continues as Simpson Street’s executive vice president of production and development.

“Since its inception, Simpson Street has focused on using art and entertainment to amplify the human experience and weave narratives that honor our unique differences while connecting us through our shared humanity,” said Washington. “I’m so proud of the foundation we’ve laid, and I am excited to extend our partnership with Jonnie Davis and the extraordinary team at ABC Studios who have shared in our vision from the very beginning.”

Also Read: 'Little Fires Everywhere': AnnaSophia Robb and Tiffany Boone on Playing Young Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington

Washington and Simpson Street are coming off multiple Emmy nominations Tuesday for Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere” and Netflix’s film “American Son,” for which Washington both starred and executive produced. She also got an executive producer nomination for ABC’s special “Live In Front of a Studio Audience.”

“Kerry has so much in common with her iconic character, Olivia Pope–she’s brilliant, talented and makes everything better,” said Jonnie Davis, President, ABC Studios. “From ‘Scandal’ to ‘Little Fires Everywhere,’ we’re consistently impressed by her incredible talent both in front of and behind the camera. She’s built a powerhouse team at Simpson Street, headed by the remarkable Pilar Savone. We’re proud and grateful they have made ABC Studios their creative home.”

Simpson Street recently put a series into development with Hulu, “Number One Chinese Restaurant,” an ensemble drama about a Chinese family’s obsession over legacy, power and money adapted from Lillian Li’s novel by the same name. The project has attached writer/director Jessica Yu, and Lillian Li to the drama about a beloved go-to restaurant inhabited by waiters and kitchen staff who have been fighting, loving, and aging within its walls for decades. When disaster strikes, this working family’s controlled chaos is set loose, forcing each character to confront the conflicts that fast-paced restaurant life has kept at bay.

Emmy Nominations 2020: Snubs and Surprises, From Bob Odenkirk to Baby Yoda (Photos)

Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.
Surprise: "What We Do in the Shadows" FX's series adaptation of the vampire mockumetary from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi only secured two below the line nominations for its first season, but it's second outing scored big with eight nominations, including an Outstanding Comedy Series nod.
FX
Surprise: "The Mandalorian" Drama heavyweight "Game of Thrones" was out of the running this year, leaving room for a new series to sneak in among a slew of past nominees like "Better Call Saul," "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Crown." But instead of Apple TV+'s "The Morning Show," voters went with a different new streaming service, nominated Disney+'s "The Mandalorian."
Disney+
Snub: Bob Odenkirk, "Better Call Saul" Odenkirk has been a perennial nominee in the lead actor category since 2015, but this year the "Better Call Saul" star was overlooked in favor of a pair of actors from "Succession" and "The Morning Show" star Steve Carell.
AMC
Snub: Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale" Moss won the award for lead actress in a drama series in 2017 and has been nominated numerous times in the past, but, like "This Is Us" star Mandy Moore and "How to Get Away With Murder's" Viola Davis, failed to make the cut for the most recent season of "Handmaid's Tale."
Hulu
Surprise: Zendaya, "Euphoria" In a category comprised mostly of returning players, dark horse candidate Zendaya managed to sneak a lead actress nod for her role on the HBO drama "Euphoria," slipping in alongside fellow category newcomer Jennifer Aniston of "The Morning Show."
HBO
Snub: "Big Little Lies" HBO's Liane Moriarty adaptation was the belle of awards season in 2017, all but sweeping the limited series categories with its roster of big-name stars including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. But Season 2's move to the drama series category hurt the show, leaving "Big Little Lies" with only two nominations for supporting stars Laura Dern and Meryl Streep.
HBO
Surprise: "The Masked Singer" Fox's absurdist singing competition finally became too big for Emmy voters to ignore in Season 2, shaking up the Oustanding Competition Program category with 10-time winner "The Amazing Race" ineligible this year.
Fox
Snub: "Westworld" Turns out "Westworld" wasn't the "Game of Thrones" successor HBO hoped iy would be, earning only two acting nods for its third season, for supporting actors Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright, and missing out on the marquee drama series category entirely.
HBO
Snub: Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever, "Unbelievable" For much of the voting period, the two stars of Netflix's harrowing "Unbelievable" seemed like locks for lead actress in a limited series nominations, but neither made the cut in a crowded category, not even TV Academy darling Merritt Wever, who has twice before pulled out a surprise upset on Emmy night.
Netflix

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”Better Call Saul“ and ”The Handmaid’s Tale“ leads miss out, while ”What We Do in the Shadows“ sneaks in

Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.

View In Gallery

Emmy Nominations 2020: Snubs and Surprises, From Bob Odenkirk to Baby Yoda (Photos)

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