TV Talk: ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Succession,’ ‘The Bear’ win SAG Awards on Netflix

In its first streaming telecast on Netflix, the “30th Screen Actors Guild Awards” bestowed honors on the casts of 2023 movie hit “Oppenheimer” and TV’s critical darlings “Succession” and “The Bear” in an entertaining, compact 133-minute ceremony.

The telecast began with the SAG Awards’ traditional “I’m an actor” vignettes as performers detailed, with humor, aspects of their experience as working actors, from Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”) finding a dead mouse in her costume to host Idris Elba saying he got kicked out of Robert DeNiro’s office before Elba became a successful actor.

“It’s especially meaningful for us to be here, all together for this occasion, after going through a very difficult time during the strike,” Elba said, referencing last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike, which also came up later in the telecast when SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher came on stage, arms-raised, Evita-like, for a victory lap speech.

Drescher’s speech was all over the place as she slammed artificial intelligence, understandably given its potential impact on actors. But then she segued into a lecture about content, saying, “Dystopia stories can also be self-fulfilling prophecies. We should tell stories that spark the human spirit, connect us to the natural world and awaken our capacity to love unconditionally,” before jumping to commentary on female leadership. The camera cut to John Lithgow, who looked as confused as I felt.

Elba proved a charming host who made a few quips (that mostly worked) before getting out of the way for the awards presentations to commence.

If there was any disappointment, it was the repetition of winners from the recent Emmys and Golden Globes. There were few surprise winners, although Elizabeth Debicki’s lead actress drama win for “The Crown” and Pedro Pascal’s lead actor drama win for “The Last of Us” were unexpected — for viewers and the winners.

“I’m a little drunk,” Pascal said. “I thought I could get drunk. … Oh, geez Louise, I’m making a fool of myself.”

“The SAG Awards,” which celebrated Barbra Streisand with a Life Achievement Award, took a page from last month’s excellent Emmy telecast by reuniting casts from “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Modern Family,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Fly,” featuring Geena Davis and Pittsburgh native Jeff Goldblum, who bemoaned the lack of SAG Award nominations for their film until Davis reminded Goldblum the SAG Awards did not exist in 1986 when “The Fly” was released.

So how did Netflix’s “SAG Awards” differ from awards shows on broadcast networks?

Winners not played off: Music did not rise to play winners off mid-speech. Jeremy Allen White, who won best lead TV actor for his role in “The Bear,” even noted, “Wow, they give you a lot of time on this one, but that’s all I have!”

Profanity allowed (sometimes): Host Idris Elba brought up the possibility of profanity — it is Netflix, which does not have FCC rules to follow like a broadcast network — and suggested, “I don’t think we can go full ‘Succession’ level but how about ‘Ted Lasso’ level?” Weirdly, not long after that, profanity in a clip from “Ted Lasso” got bleeped but presenters and winners were not bleeped as limited series best actress winner Ali Wong, for Netflix’s “Beef,” noted her 83-year-old mother was in attendance, clad in “her pearls and her Tevas because she doesn’t give a (expletive)!”

No commercials but breaks: Even on Netflix’s ad-supported tier, the livestream did not have ads. But the show did have breaks as awards distribution paused for Tan France to interview winners backstage, which occasionally offered insights into the winners’ personalities but mostly seemed like filler, especially when they went to one of these segments when the show should have been over.

Still ran long: Slotted to run two hours, “The SAG Awards,” like broadcast network awards shows, ran long, this time by about 13 minutes.

Buffering issues: I think this was a “me problem,” not a widespread issue, but something to keep in mind while trying to stream a live show: Make sure your internet connection is stable.

While not the first entertainment awards show to stream — the Daytime Emmys have been livestreamed, and Amazon’s Prime Video has streamed and will continue to stream the Academy of Country Music Awards in May — “The SAG Awards” represent the first major entertainment awards show to stream on the biggest global streaming platform, Netflix.

“The SAG Awards” will remain available on Netflix for the next 28 days, but on-demand viewings will have commercials inserted.

“The SAG Awards” aired on Turner networks (TNT, TBS) for 25 years until 2022. Last year, the deal with Netflix closed too late for a Netflix stream, and the telecast streamed on YouTube.

“The SAG Awards” marks Netflix’s latest attempt to make inroads in the live event space, which began with “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage” in March 2023 and a technically challenged live “Love is Blind” reunion in April 2023. Netflix’s next live event is “The Netflix Slam” tennis event (Rafael Nadal vs. Carlos Alcaraz) on March 3.

Complete list of “SAG Awards” winners:

Movie cast: “Oppenheimer.”

Lead film actor: Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”).

Lead film actress: Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”).

Supporting film actor: Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”).

Supporting film actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”).

Best TV drama ensemble: “Succession” (HBO).

Best TV comedy ensemble: “The Bear” (Hulu), which includes former Pittsburgher Edwin Lee Gibson in its cast.

Lead TV drama actor: Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us,” HBO).

Lead TV drama actress: Elizabeth Debicki (“The Crown,” Netflix).

Lead TV comedy actress: Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”).

Lead TV comedy actor: Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”).

TV movie/limited series actress: Ali Wong (“Beef,” Netflix).

TV movie/limited series actor: Steven Yeun (“Beef”).

Best TV stunt ensemble: “The Last of Us” (HBO).

Best movie stunt ensemble: “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.”

More ‘Deliverance’ reshoots

Netflix originally filmed Lee Daniels’ “The Deliverance” in Pittsburgh in summer 2022 under the working title “Demon House.”

The production, starring Andra Day, Glenn Close and Mo’Nique, returned in spring 2023 for reshoots.

Now, “The Deliverance” returns for a third time for filming an additional scene March 4. Nancy Mosser Casting is seeking child stand-ins and doubles. Details/apply here.

Renewed

Paramount+ renewed its “Frasier” sequel series for a second season.

HBO renewed “True Detective” for a fifth season with “Night Country” showrunner Issa Lopez on board for a new story.

PBS’s “Masterpiece” series “All Creatures Great and Small” has been renewed for a fifth and sixth season. Callum Woodhouse will return as Tristan Farnon in season five.

Channel surfing

The Feb. 18 Penguins’ game on SportsNet Pittsburgh featuring the retirement of Jaromir Jagr’s jersey was the highest-rated Pens game in households since October 2021 and the highest-rated game among viewers ages 25-54 this season. … Fred Rogers’ Productions’ PBS Kids series “Alma’s Way” (7:30 a.m. weekdays, WQED-TV) will debut a week of new episodes March 4, including a new “My Way” live-action short featuring young breakdancing stars. … Monroeville native Rico Leon, who hosts HGTV’s “Rico to the Rescue,” will help buyers find a new home in “House Hunters: All Stars” (8 and 8:30 p.m. March 21, HGTV). … KDKA-TV held a telethon, “Cool Down for Warmth,” on “Pittsburgh Today Live” that raised $150,050 to help local families struggling with winter utility bills. … Paramount Global’s children’s-focused subscription video on demand service Noggin’, which has 2.5 million subscribers, will shutter later this year. … Disney+ will begin a crackdown on password sharing March 14 for existing subscribers. … Movie musical hit “Wonka” streams on Max on March 8.