Jisu Choi illustrates Deadline Hollywood’s 2026 Contenders Television Issue
Deadline Hollywood has been one of the main trade publications for film and television since its launch in 2006. Its Contenders Television event has become a regular stop on the awards calendar. It brings creators, performers, crafts teams, Emmy voters, and industry insiders into the same room. In awards season, that room matters. People talk. Panels happen. Shows become contenders in public.
For the 2026 program guide, Jisu Choi created the cover image. It works as a bright, detailed guide to the year’s television field. It also gives Deadline a smart visual pun: a backlot building full of backstory.
Inside Jisu’s cutaway world
Jisu treats the building like a giant dolls house. Each floor opens onto a different nominated or Emmy-winning series.
Roof / Event Stage — Deadline Contenders Television
The roof becomes the event stage, with rigging, lights, cameras, and a central panel table. This is the industry layer, where the conversations happen.Top Floor — Andor / Disney+
The top floor shows the clinical Imperial Security Bureau meeting room from Andor. It has a cold, controlled science-fiction atmosphere, with hard architecture and bureaucratic order.Middle Floor — Only Murders in the Building / Hulu
The middle floor shows Charles’ apartment and kitchen from Only Murders in the Building. It has a warmer New York interior, with colour, furniture, and character-led domestic detail.Ground Floor — Severance / Apple TV+
The ground floor shows the office world of Severance. Jisu uses pale walls, green flooring, desks, and partitions to create the stripped-back Lumon Industries atmosphere.Garden Level — The White Lotus / HBO Max
The garden level references the “Amor Fati” episode and the Thai resort setting, with palms, water, a pavilion, and a luxury-hotel entrance.Exterior / Backlot — Hollywood studio world
Around the building, crew members, scaffolding, spotlights, gates, city façades, and Deadline signage make the scene feel like a working studio lot.
The race for Television gold
The guide points to a crowded 2026 field.
Andor arrives with major craft strength.
Severance carries Adam Scott, Britt Lower, and the cold visual order of Lumon.
Only Murders in the Building remains a steady Emmy favourite.
The Testaments expands the world of The Handmaid’s Tale.
Landman brings Billy Bob Thornton into Taylor Sheridan’s West Texas oil drama.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles, with Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer, adds Apple TV+ spring heat.
Jury Duty, Love Island USA, and Fear Factor: House of Fear show how reality and variety still shape the season.
