Salli Richardson-Whitfield Makes Dual Emmy History
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- Salli Richardson-Whitfield became the first woman to receive two nominations in the drama series directing category at the same Primetime Emmys, for the penultimate episode of HBO's 'Task' and the Season 3 finale of 'The Gilded Age'
- At last year's Emmys, Richardson-Whitfield became the first Black woman ever nominated for directing a drama series — a milestone she told Variety she 'shouldn't be' the first to reach at this point
- Her nominated 'Task' episode centers on an on-foot woods pursuit between FBI agent Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo) and Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey), built as a 20-minute sequence HBO drama chief Francesca Orsi demanded be 'the best wooded scene and fight scene I've ever seen in my life'
- For 'The Gilded Age' finale, Richardson-Whitfield intercuts two simultaneous high-society balls using extensive storyboards taped to the wall, planning camera movements and 'dress swirls' to bridge the two social circles
- 'Task' Season 2 will feature an all-female directing lineup with Richardson-Whitfield returning; Season 1 was directed by only her and Jeremiah Zagar
- She got her first directing shot on Syfy's 'Eureka' in 2011, when creator Matt Hastings walked off set after an hour and told her 'You got it' — she describes it as sink-or-swim but says she understood the assignment
- She named a dark dramedy like HBO's 'Hacks' as her ideal next genre to tackle, saying she wouldn't do 'my sitcom half-hour multicam anytime soon'
Why it matters: Richardson-Whitfield now holds two categories' worth of 'firsts' in the Emmy drama directing race — and as executive producer on both shows, she has unusual creative control over each series' visual identity rather than being a hired-gun director. Her commitment to an all-female directing lineup for 'Task' Season 2 signals she's using her platform to reshape hiring patterns, not just collect trophies.
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