118 EMMY
Academy News
OpenEmotions
AtAcademyHonors,
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sparksorrowandjoy.
C
horeographerMarinda
dav i s has been told she
will probably not live
beyond age forty. She
has eight autoimmune diseases,
the result of being born heroin-
addicted to an addict mother. The
disorders have robbed her of her
ability to dance but have left intact
her creativity and spirit.
“I want people to look at me
and be able to put their own lives
in perspective,” she says. “What’s
in your way? Move it.”
Davis is featured in the
CW docuseries My Last Days,
profiling persons with terminal
illnesses who have learned to
keep living meaningfully even
as they are dying. The show was
one of seven saluted at the 12th
Television Academy Honors, which
recognizes programming that not
only entertains, but examines
important issues, informing and
inspiring viewers along the way.
Davis’s directive to move past
personal obstacles — seen in a
clip from the show — sparked one
of many emotional moments at
the ceremony, held May 30 at the
Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly
Hills and hosted by Niecy Nash. The
evening’s other honorees were:
- Alexa & Katie, a Netflix comedy
created by Heather Wordham, tells
the story of fourteen-year-old best
friends: Alexa, who has a form of
leukemia with a high cure rate, and
the always-supportive Katie. Alexa
is determined to live normally,
even while undergoing chemo and
its side effects.- A Million Little Things, a family
drama series created by DJ Nash for
ABC, follows a close-knit group of
thirty-something friends as they
cope with the unexpected suicide
of one of their own. - I Am Evidence, an HBO
documentary, looks at the
hundreds of thousands of rape kits
lying unprocessed in police storage
facilities across the country,
denying rape victims justice and
allowing their perpetrators to
remain free to attack again. - Pose, an FX series, is set in the
1980s New York underground
ballroom scene, where members
of the LGBTQ community vie in
ball competitions, cope with the
HIV/AIDS epidemic and create
their own kind of family. The
show features the largest cast
of transgender actors in regular
and recurring roles, and employs
- A Million Little Things, a family
transgender writers, producers and
directors.
- Rest in Power: The Trayvon
Martin Story, a Paramount
Network docuseries, chronicles
the events surrounding the 2012
death of Trayvon Martin, a black
teen in south Florida who was shot
and killed by Neighborhood Watch
proponent George Zimmerman
as he was walking home.
Zimmerman pleaded self-defense
and was acquitted in a case that
sparked heated discussions about
race and justice. - RBG is the first documentary
about a sitting Supreme Court
justice. Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg, now eighty-six, is only
the second woman to be named
to the country’s highest court. The
CNN doc is from director-producers
Julie Cohen and Betsy West.
—Libby Slate
Grace Park, Christina Moses, James Roday, Christina Ochoa, David
Giuntoli, Allison Miller and Ron Livingston of A Million Little Things
Julie Cohen and
Betsy West of RBG
Benjamin Crump
with Sybrina Fulton
of Rest in Power: The
Trayvon Martin Story
Ahmed Musiol and
Farhoud Meybodi of
My Last Days
Trish Adlesic and Geeta Ganbhir of I Am Evidence
Host Niecy
Nash
Eddie Shin, Jolie Jenkins, Paris Berelc, Isabel May, Tiffani Thiessen and
Emery Kelly with Finn Carr (front) of Alexa & Katie
Janet Mock, Steve Canals
and Our Lady J of Pose