Jon Brockett and Jen Coyne-Hoerle want to make something clear: They love Bridgerton. Everything about Bridgerton. The third season, Penelope, Colin, Lady Featherington, Lady Bridgerton, Lady Bridgerton’s boyfriend…the whole cast, really.
But they won’t lie: The day they found out that Bridgerton was nominated for the SAG Award for best ensemble, Coyne-Hoerle immediately called Brockett. “Bleeeeh!” she cried.
Brockett and Coyne-Hoerle are the executive producer and supervising producer, respectively, of the Screen Actors Guild Awards. They do lots of things in their roles: Brockett oversees all show operations; Coyne-Hoerle oversees ticketing. But the most important part? Crafting an enjoyable, watchable program. This boils down to three main factors: a) a great host and comedic bits b) good speeches by the winners, and c) the seating chart.
Yes, the seating chart. While the Academy Awards have the movie industry sitting in rows at the Dolby Theater, and the Emmys have half the television industry jammed into seats at the Peacock, the Screen Actors Guild has silver and small screen actors—just actors and their plus-ones—placed around 12-person tables at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall. During the live broadcast, cameras pan all around them, and the tiniest moments they capture can make the show: Jessica Chastain stumbling and being steadied by Courtney B. Vance, Pedro Pascal getting drunk at his table and admitting it on stage, Timothée Chalamet intensely (like, really intensely) studying the program and getting memed for it. By all accounts, the actors have a nice time. When Julia Louis-Dreyfus had to miss the SAG Awards in 2018 while undergoing chemotherapy, she reminisced about sitting with her Veep cast: “Miss being at the table with you all. How was the chicken?” she tweeted.
Along with the telecast’s director (Sandra Restrepo this year), Brockett and Coyne-Hoerle are two of the masterminds who make it possible. “What we try to do is just create a vibe, because ultimately, this is like a reunion on steroids,” says Brockett. After all, the SAG Awards are one of the few ceremonies that recognize complete ensembles.
Which brings us back to Bridgerton. There are 41 single-billed people on that show, and each gets a plus-one. That’s 82 hypothetical seats. “We’re thrilled for their nomination, but the sheer volume of them…” Brockett says, trailing off.
