From April 2 to 10, PaleyFest returned to the Dolby Theatre for the first time in-person since 2019. The lineup featured the casts and creatives behind TV’s biggest shows, including This Is Us, Hacks, NCIS, Black-ish, Emily in Paris, Riverdale, Superman & Lois, Better Call Saul, The Neighborhood and Cobra Kai. Attendees were treated to standard PaleyFest magic: special screenings of yet-to-air episodes, heartfelt moments among cast members, behind-the-scenes secrets and more. With the 2022 edition of PaleyFest over, we’re looking back at some of its best moments.
It was a special moment to have the cast and creator of the beloved NBC series on the Dolby stage one last time before the show wraps later this spring. Chatter was filled with sentimental reflections and laugh-out-loud reactions from the cast and audience alike, but no moment was more shocking than one revelation about This Is Us’ second to last episode. No, Dan Fogelman did not give away the ending. However, we learned that upon reading the episode’s script, star Mandy Moore was so emotionally overwhelmed that she threw up.
Most of the Season 1 episodes of the HBO comedy were directed by Lucia Aniello, who created the series with Jen Statsky and husband Paul W. Downs (who plays manager Jimmy LuSaque). Aniello’s work was so outstanding that she won a Directors Guild of America award for it, and the PaleyFest audience learned that a lot of that likely had to do with perseverance. Aniello was pregnant while shooting Hacks and even went into labor, but continued to direct remotely from home. She also insisted Downs go to work and shoot his scenes instead of accompanying her while she worked through contractions.
See also: Paley Center CEO Maureen J. Reidy on the Magic of PaleyFest
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Better Call Saul is headed for its final sprint and despite being a prequel to Breaking Bad, Walter White and Jesse Pinkman (a.k.a Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul) have yet to make any sort of appearance. That is until now. During the PaleyFest discussion, co-creator Peter Gould confirmed the duo would guest star during the series’ last season, according to Variety. However, Gould was vague on any details about when or how the two would come into play.
As reported by Collider, Emily in Paris creator Darren Star announced Lucien Laviscount was upped to series regular for Season 3. This means Alfie is not going anywhere. In fact, he might have more of a presence than ever in Emily’s (Lily Collins) life and given that she still has feelings for Gabriel, things could get messy (Lucas Bravo).
Photography by: Kevin Parry for the Paley Center; Rob Latour for the Paley Center
