Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features When series creator Tony McNamara was crafting the character of Aunt Elizabeth in Hulu’s Emmy-winning biographical comedy “The Great,” he penned it with his actor wife and fellow Aussie, Belinda Bromilow, front of mind. “I knew the character and I knew what I needed from an actor to do it,” says McNamara, a seasoned playwright and Oscar-nominated screenwriter for Yorgos Lanthimos’ piquant 2018 drama “The Favourite.” “I knew [Elizabeth] needed to have a strong dramatic voice but also be a bit idiosyncratic and have really good comic bones,” McNamara continues. “The actor needed to be able to do comedy and be able to shift gears into a darker place.

And I’d worked with Belinda before and knew that she could do that.” McNamara and Bromilow, married and parents to two children in real life, are two in a sea of artists preserving close family ties in Emmy contender series.

Other examples: “Shrinking” co-creator Bill Lawrence and Christa Miller, who plays Liz on the hit Apple TV+ sitcom; Rob Lowe and son John Owen Lowe, who co-created and star in Netflix comedy “Unstable”; and Sylvestor Stallone and daughter Scarlet Rose Stallone in Paramount+ “Tulsa King,” created by Taylor Sheridan.

But nepotism doesn’t guarantee anything in Hollywood, including a recurring role in a series. When it came to landing “The Great,” Bromilow auditioned for casting directors just like anybody else. “I wanted her to get it on our own terms and, in the end, that’s who they liked,” says McNamara. “And, I said, well, guess what?

‘The Great,’ ‘Tulsa King’ and ‘Unstable’ Casts on the Pros and Cons of Working With Family on Set

Related News