The BEST episodes of Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter

Every episode of Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter!

The Hollywood Reporter looks at the awards seasons through the eyes of the nominees. Oscar and Emmy nominees discuss their experiences and process with each other during round-table discussions that include the actors, actresses and producers whose work has been noticed by the academies.

Last Updated: 10/31/2024Network: SundanceTVStatus: Ended
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star
9.33
3 votes

#1 - Writers

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/20/2015

Aaron Sorkin (Steve Jobs) Amy Schumer (Trainwreck) Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) Nick Hornby (Brooklyn) Emma Donoghue (Room) Meg LaFauve (Inside Out)

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star
9.00
2 votes

#2 - Reality

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/13/2015

Mark Burnett (Survivor, Shark Tank, The Voice) Julie Chen (Big Brother) Cat Deeley (So You Think You Can Dance) Nigel Lythgoe (So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol) Craig Piligian (The Ultimate Fighter) Bertram Van Munster (The Amazing Race)

Watch Now:Amazon
star
9.00
6 votes

#3 - Actresses

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/10/2016

Carey Mulligan (Suffragette) Jennifer Lawrence (Joy) Cate Blanchett (Carol, Truth) Jane Fonda (Youth) Brie Larson (Room) Helen Mirren (Trumbo, Woman in Gold) Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Watch Now:Amazon
star
8.75
4 votes

#4 - Drama Showrunners

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/30/2015

Lee Daniels (Empire: Fox) Alex Gansa (Homeland: Showtime) Michelle King (The Good Wife: CBS) Damon Lindelof (The Leftovers: HBO) Sarah Treem (The Affair: Showtime) Beau Willimon (House of Cards: Netflix)

Watch Now:Amazon
Drama Actresses
star
8.67
3 votes

#5 - Drama Actresses

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/15/2018

Angela Bassett - "9-1-1" (FOX) Claire Foy - "The Crown" (Netflix) Maggie Gyllenhaal - "The Deuce" (HBO) Elisabeth Moss - "Top of the Lake: China Girl" (SundanceTV) / "The Handmaid's Tale" (Hulu) Thandie Newton - "Westworld" (HBO) Sandra Oh - "Killing Eve" (BBC America)

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Comedy Actresses
star
8.50
10 votes

#6 - Comedy Actresses

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/10/2016

TV's leading funny ladies – Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin), Allison Janney (Mom), Niecy Nash (Getting On), Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie), Ilana Glazer (Broad City) – disclose the best advice they ever got, the moment they knew they wanted to become actors and their funniest fan interactions.

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Comedy Actors
star
8.50
4 votes

#7 - Comedy Actors

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/17/2016

Comedy masters, Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent), Aziz Ansari (Master of None), Anthony Anderson (Black-ish), Tony Hale (Veep), Jerrod Carmichael (The Carmichael Show), Rob Lowe (The Grinder), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), divulge their most embarrassing moments, who inspires them and the challenges of taking a comedic look at serious topics.

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Actresses
star
8.50
6 votes

#8 - Actresses

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/29/2017

Amy Adams (Arrival), Annette Bening (20th Century Women), Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures), Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Natalie Portman (Jackie) and Emma Stone (La La Land) talk about what inspired them to go into acting, having stage fright and what it's like working with Hollywood's best directors.

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Drama Showrunners
star
8.50
2 votes

#9 - Drama Showrunners

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/5/2018

Dan Futterman - "The Looming Tower" (Hulu) Bruce Miller - "The Handmaid's Tale" (Hulu) Peter Morgan - "The Crown" (Netflix) David Shore - "The Good Doctor" (ABC) Lena Waithe - "The Chi" (Showtime) Courtney Kemp - "Power" (Starz)

Watch Now:Amazon
Drama Actresses
star
8.33
6 votes

#10 - Drama Actresses

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/2/2015

Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex: Showtime) Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder: ABC) Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Honorable Woman: SundanceTV) Taraji P. Henson (Empire: FOX) Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: FX) Ruth Wilson (The Affair: Showtime)

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Drama Showrunners
star
8.33
3 votes

#11 - Drama Showrunners

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/24/2016

Six of television's top drama series bosses- Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot), Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey), Nina Jacobson (American Crime Story), Marti Noxon (UnREAL, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce), Melissa Rosenberg (Jessica Jones) and John Ridley (American Crime)- open up about the stories that made them genuinely nervous, diversity in Hollywood and what it takes to cast their shows.

Watch Now:Amazon
Actors
star
8.33
6 votes

#12 - Actors

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/22/2017

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Andrew Garfield (Silence, Hacksaw Ridge), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Snowden) and Dev Patel (Lion) discuss how they go about researching roles, being typecast and what it's like working with celebrated directors.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
8.33
3 votes

#13 - Comedy Actresses

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/23/2019

Regina Hall, Natasha Lyonne, Maya Rudolph, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Constance Wu discuss acting in a comedy role.

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Drama Actresses
star
8.29
7 votes

#14 - Drama Actresses

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/26/2016

Six of the year's most sought after drama actresses engage in a candid conversation about sex scenes and nudity as they get older. Sarah Paulson (The People vs O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story/ American Horror Story: Hotel), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), Kerry Washington (Confirmation/ Scandal), Constance Zimmer (UnREAL), Kirsten Dunst (Fargo), Regina King (American Crime/ The Leftovers), and Jennifer Lopez (Shades of Blue) discuss the advantages of working with female directors, the new landscape of television, and what their first big splurge was.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
8.25
4 votes

#15 - Documentarians

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/24/2016

Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine) Michael Moore (Where to Invade Next) Amy Berg (Janis: Little Girl Blue, Prophet's Prey) Kirby Dick (The Hunting Ground) Liz Garbus (What Happened, Miss Simone) Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (Meru)

Watch Now:Amazon
Comedy Showrunners
star
8.25
4 votes

#16 - Comedy Showrunners

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/31/2016

Comedy TV writer-producers including Kenya Barris (Black-ish), Marta Kauffman (Grace and Frankie), Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Alan Yang (Master of None), Nahnatchka Khan (Fresh Off the Boat) and David Mandel (Veep) talk condoms, stunt guests and what they have (and haven't) been able to get away with showing and talking about on the small screen.

Watch Now:Amazon
Comedy Actresses
star
8.20
5 votes

#17 - Comedy Actresses

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/16/2015

Lena Dunham (Girls: HBO) Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Netflix) Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live: NBC) Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin: CW) Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish: ABC) Amy Schumer (Inside Amy Schumer: Comedy Central)

Watch Now:Amazon
Directors
star
8.20
5 votes

#18 - Directors

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/15/2017

The directors of this year's most acclaimed films, Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Mira Nair (Queen of Katwe), Oliver Stone (Snowden), Denzel Washington (Fences), talk about the filmmaking process.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
8.00
1 votes

#19 - Drama Actresses

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/23/2020

Jennifer Aniston, Helena Bonham Carter, Janelle Monáe, Reese Witherspoon, Zendaya, and Rose Byrne discuss their roles as drama actresses.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
8.00
1 votes

#20 - Executives

Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/16/2020

Tom Rothman, Scott Stuber, Toby Emmerich, Donna Langley, Jennifer Salke, Jim Gianopulos, Alan Horn discuss their roles as studio executives.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
8.00
1 votes

#21 - Actors

Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/19/2020

Adam Driver, Adam Sandler, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Jamie Foxx, Shia LaBeouf discuss the craft of acting.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
8.00
2 votes

#22 - Drama Actresses

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/7/2019

Patricia Arquette, Christine Baranski, Danai Gurira, Niecy Nash, Michelle Williams, and Emilia Clarke discuss the craft of acting.

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star
8.00
1 votes

#23 - Documentary

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/24/2019

Julie Cohen, Rashida Jones, Bing Liu, Morgan Neville, E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Tim Wardle discuss documentary filmmaking.

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star
8.00
1 votes

#24 - Actresses

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/27/2019

Glenn Close, Lady Gaga, Kathryn Hahn, Nicole Kidman, Regina King and Rachel Weisz discuss the craft of acting.

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Drama Actors
star
8.00
1 votes

#25 - Drama Actors

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/8/2018

Jason Bateman - "Ozark" (Netflix) Darren Criss - "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story" (FX) Jeff Daniels - "The Looming Tower" (Hulu) / "Godless" (Netflix) Matthew Rhys - "The Americans" (FX) J.K. Simmons - "Counterpart" (Starz) Michael B. Jordan - "Fahrenheit 451" (HBO)

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