Add in the recent Prime Video original holiday movie “Oh. What. Fun,” also eligible this Emmy season, and that puts Pfeiffer in the unique position of having projects on three different streamers simultaneously eligible in the drama, comedy and limited series/anthology/TV movie acting categories.
“Oh wow,” she tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast, still surprised at the coincidence. “What happened?”
Here’s how it played out: At first, Pfeiffer was in discussions with Taylor Sheridan about joining his new family drama “The Madison,” about a New York socialite who drops everything and moves to her late husband’s Montana cabin when he dies in a plane accident.“
But that hadn’t gone very far in any sort of negotiations when I read this book that David had given me, and I fell in love with the character of Shyanne,” Pfeiffer says. The book was Rufi Thorpe’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” and “David” is Pfeiffer’s husband, TV producer David E. Kelley.
Pfeiffer agreed to the role, not really thinking about the commitment. “In the book, Shyanne is only in a couple of pages, and I thought, ‘It’s not going to be a big deal,’” she says.A few months later, Pfeiffer was deep into negotiations on “The Madison,” when her reps called: “They said, ‘Hey, did you tell David you would do another show?’ [I said,] ‘Oh yeah. Yeah, I did,’” she remembers. At this point, both projects were too good to pass up.
In the case of “The Madison,” Pfeiffer’s experience was similar to that of her character, Stacy Clyburn, a city dweller who’s in for a culture shock in Montana. “It was rugged, and I didn’t know how rugged it was going to be,” she admits. “I remember after the first week or so, I went into the trailer with my makeup and hair people, and I sat them down and said, ‘OK, guys, we’re camping. And it’s OK, we’re going to take care of each other!’ So we all just sort of rolled up our sleeves.”
Much like Stacy, Pfeiffer fell in love with the setting. “Montana is so beautiful that you’re willing to weather the extreme environment,” she says. “It was such a blessing to see those remarkable sunrises in the morning on my way to work, and the sunsets on the way home. And I fell in love with my ‘The Madison’ family.”
For this episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Pfeiffer talks about her busy year in TV, working with her husband David E. Kelley, and her first time in Variety. She also takes the 10 Questions quiz. But first, the Roundtable looks at the “Hacks” finale, the drama competition between “Pluribus” and “The Putt” and the latest on the Emmy race. We also answer your burning questions — call the Emmy Emergency Line at 323-617-9110! And listen below.

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