Paul Newman Won His Only Emmy For This Acclaimed But Overlooked HBO Miniseries

It's well-known that it took far too long for Paul Newman to win an Oscar, with the screen legend eventually earning his statue in 1986 for "The Color of Money." That was easily one of Paul Newman's best movies, but he'd also done stellar work on the small screen, and it took a similarly long time for him to win an Emmy. After several nominations, the actor eventually triumphed in 2005 for his supporting performance in the star-studded miniseries "Empire Falls." Alongside Newman, the cast included Ed Harris, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Helen Hunt. Despite a stacked cast and award wins, however, "Empire Falls" remains one of several hit HBO series that hardly anyone remembers.

The two-part miniseries was written by Richard Russo, who adapted his 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. "Empire Falls" stars Harris as Miles Roby, manager of the Empire Grill diner, who has lived in the titular Maine town his entire life. Miles is divorced from Helent Hunt's Janine, and seemingly fated to manage his diner until his dying days. Despite this rather bleak situation, Miles seems mostly content, though he's unable to escape the influence of the town's wealthiest citizen, Francine Whiting (Joanne Woodward). Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Charlie Mayne, a mysterious love interest for Miles' mother, while Newman plays Miles' father, Max, an unkempt, often unscrupulous vagabond who nevertheless maintains a deep love for his son and granddaughter, Christina (Danielle Panabaker).

This was Newman's final on-screen role (he voiced several characters in subsequent projects), and it finally earned him full recognition from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The miniseries was nominated for 10 Primetime Emmy Awards, with Newman as the only winner in the Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie category.

Prior to "Empire Falls," Paul Newman had been nominated for three Emmys, once in 1981 for Outstanding Directing In A Limited Series Or A Special for "The Shadow Box" and again in 1996 for Outstanding Graphic Design and Title Sequences for "Central Park West." In 2003, he received an Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie nomination for playing Stage Manager in Showtime's "Our Town," but lost out to William H. Macy, who won for playing Bill Porter in "Door to Door." Two years later, however, Newman finally earned his first Emmy for "Empire Falls."

In 2005, the actor received two nominations, one for executive producing "Empire Falls" and the other for his supporting performance in the series. He won the latter, beating out Randy Quaid for "Elvis," Christopher Plummer for "Our Fathers," Brian Dennehy for "Our Fathers," and fellow "Empire Falls" actor Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Given his expansive filmography, there are plenty of underrated Paul Newman movies worth checking out, but "Empire Falls" is a great small-screen alternative. Those who know Newman from his "Cool Hand Luke" years will struggle to even recognize him as the disheveled Roby patriarch. But the actor is clearly having a ball playing the irascible old geezer, relishing every line he gets to snap at his on-screen son while simultaneously projecting his deep affection for him. In other words, Newman's Emmy win was well-earned.

Given the stellar cast and award wins, "Empire Falls" should probably be better remembered than it is. Unfortunately, critics weren't entirely convinced by its slow-paced small-town drama. The miniseries was directed by Fred Schepisi, who oversaw the creation of what became a three-hour movie of sorts, split into two parts. Filling that time with enough to keep critics invested proved tough, with many criticizing the pacing even while they acknowledged the quality of the performances.

Virginia Heffernan, of The New York Times, didn't seem to be a fan of Richard Russo's original novel but praised the "meticulous performances" in the TV adaptation, even highlighting "moments of light, graceful filmmaking." She did, however, also take the series to task for being "mannered, creaky, overwritten, slow, exhausting." Brian Lowry of Variety similarly lamented the series' slow pacing, but noted that Russo's script was "full of modest gems." He also suggested that "the finished product probably will be more written about than actually watched," which seems to have been mostly accurate.

John Leonard of New York Magazine wasn't much more impressed overall, and even suggested that we had "met this Newman before" in "Nobody's Fool," the 1994 comedy drama also based on a Richard Russo book. With that in mind, it seems that a less-than-fairly poor critical reaction was at least partly to blame for this miniseries following the path of its titular town and fading into obscurity. Still, while it may not be one of the best HBO miniseries ever, there are plenty of positive Letterboxd reviews that might persuade you to give "Empire Falls" a go over on HBO Max.