Skidmore-studded Emmy Awards
Skidmore College alumni often recount times when they're out and about—in a grocery store, airport, movie theater—and bump into another alum. Zazie Beetz ’13 and David Miner ’91 might do just that at the 2017 Emmy Awards.
Both are nominated for Best Comedy Series. Beetz plays Vanessa “Van” Keifer, the on-again, off-again girlfriend of main character Earn Marks, played by Donald Glover in his FX series Atlanta, while Miner is the producer of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, starring Ellie Kemper. Miner is also executive producer of Master of None, nominated in the same category.
At Skidmore, Beetz earned a BA in French but was always heavily involved in theater. Since being cast in a mainstage production in her freshman year, her career has soared. She has appeared in the Netflix series Easy, Love & Pipes, Tied Up Tied Down, and Slice, but considers Atlanta her first large role.
She is set to star as the iconic character Domino in actor-producer Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool 2, slated to premiere in 2018.
Read more about Zazie Beetz '13:
"5 Things about the Woman Behind Domino in Deadpool 2"
A Best Comedy Series win would not be the first for Beetz and Atlanta. The series was awarded Best Comedy or Musical at the 2017 Golden Globes, where Glover was won Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series—Musical or Comedy.
Listen to David Miner '91 discuss his time at Skidmore and creation of ComFest on This is Skidmore, the podcast.
At Skidmore, Miner honed his passion for comedy by developing Skidmore's first comedy group The Ad-Libs, as well as the National College Comedy Festival, or ComFest, an event that has grown to showcase comedy and sketch groups across the country at an annual show at Skidmore. Atlanta star Donald Glover performed with his alma mater NYU at the event, and would eventually work with Miner on the set of 30 Rock years later.
With a deep portfolio, Miner has a number of awards on his bookcase, including three Emmys for 30 Rock, for which Miner is executive producer. His other productions through his company 3 Arts include The Office, Everybody Hates Chris, and King of the Hill. He also produced Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn 99.
The 2017 Emmy Awards, hosted by Stephen Colbert, will air on September 17 on CBS.
