Dave Bernad won an Emmy Award last year for producing HBO‘s “The White Lotus” in the limited series category. He’s back this year with his second nomination for that show, only now it’s in the drama race. He also has another producing bid for Amazon Freevee’s comedy series “Jury Duty,” which puts him in a small group of people to be nominated for a drama and a comedy in the same year. Bernad is “incredibly fortunate and appreciative for the love,” he tells me. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
Bernad recalls showrunner Mike White telling him, “I think I’ve gone crazy,” on Emmy nominations morning when he saw the Sicily-set season nabbed 23 total bids, including for nine actors: F. Murray Abraham, Michael Imperioli, Theo James and Will Sharpe in Best Drama Supporting Actor, and Jennifer Coolidge, Meghann Fahy, Sabrina Impacciatore, Aubrey Plaza and Simona Tabasco in Best Drama Supporting Actress.
SEE 2023 Emmys: Complete list of nominees
“There was anxiety around, would people embrace the show [as a drama series] the way they did in the limited category?” he readily admits. “Again, we’re just incredibly grateful and surprised and appreciative of the love and support for the show.” Last year, “The White Lotus” won a whopping 10 Emmy Awards from 20 nominations.
Bernad singles out Coolidge’s character Tanya riding the Vespa as one of his greatest memories from Season 2. “I was there with her helping her through the scene,” he recalls. “Jennifer, who’s the greatest human being, really is afraid and genuinely terrified to be on boats, to be on the Vespa. There was something about the scene where she’s going through the countryside. She was squeezing Jon Gries so hard out of fear, that Jon in the scene, it’s an improv, says, ‘Tanya, you’re choking me!’ It ended up in the cut and it’s such a funny, genuine moment.”
The producer adds that “the only regret” he has about the show killing off Coolidge’s character is “not being able to spend every day with her on set.” Speaking about the SAG Award-winning ensemble as a whole, Bernad proclaims, “We were really deliberate with the casting. Everyone we cast we were fully confident they would deliver a great performance. There’s no weak link in that cast.”
Also in our exclusive video interview, Bernad teases what he can about “The White Lotus” Season 3, he explains how the concept for “Jury Duty” came about and how “there really wasn’t a backup plan” if Ronald Gladden turned out be a dud, and what it means to follow in the footsteps of David E. Kelley (“The Practice,” “Ally McBeal”), Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (“Succession,” “Dead to Me”) as producers nominated for a drama and a comedy in the same year.
PREDICT the 2023 Emmy winners through September 18
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
