Sean Kanan Drama Studio City Wins 5 Independent Series Awards

Taking over Il Giardino is helping make Deacon Sharpe on The Bold and the Beautiful a winner. Sean Kanan knows the feeling. The actor/producer/writer and his colleagues at Studio City scored big at the 13th Independent (Indie) Series Awards, AKA the ISAs.

Sean Kanan: All His Children

Studio City won five Indie Series Awards at a ceremony held at the Colony Theater in Burbank. The Amazon Prime series tells the story of Sam Stevens (played by Kanan), a veteran soap star who’s facing a myriad of professional and personal challenges. Kanan won for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Carolyn Hennesy (Diane, General Hospital), and B&B alumni Tristan Rogers (ex-Hunter; Scorpio, GH) and Lilly Melgar (ex-Claudia; ex-Lily, GH) won, respectively, Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series.

Studio City’s win for Best Drama Series was shared by Kanan, his wife Michele Kanan, and Timothy Woodward Jr. (who is the show’s director). “I was so happy for Lilly; she just crushed it,” raves Kanan of the actress’s turn as savvy publicist Becky Pope. “I am ecstatic. I was happy for everyone. These characters are my children. To see them embodied by these incredibly talented actors above the page is even better. It’s unbelievable. It’s like being a proud father.”

Let’s Go to the Tape

Kanan’s reel for Best Actor included a scene in which Sam’s daughter, played by Kanan’s stepdaughter Juliet Vega (Delilah), pointed out how much Sam had going for him, how his life was problem-free. “[Sam] said, ‘Oh you must be talking about my manager and best friend taking off during the biggest moment of my life or my mother, who abandoned me, or my girlfriend screwing my co-star,'” Kanan said. “‘Oh, yeah. I’m crushing it.'”

Sean Kanan: Sam’s Story

The actor points out it’s understandable that performers like Sam appear to have it all. “Celebrities, by their nature, are in the business of doing their best to appear interesting, like a shiny new penny, to the rest of the world,” Kanan offers. “We’re showing the best part of our lives — not the negative parts. The thing is, we all have problems. Everyone does.”

Kanan and the Studio City company went back into production for its second season when guidelines were more strict due to the pandemic. He applauds not only his Studio City team but also his B&B family, as the CBS soap opera was the first program to get back into production after the pandemic struck. “I thought what B&B did was incredibly innovative,” he says. “It was out-of-the-box thinking and cutting edge.”

Patrika Darbo (ex-Shirley, B&B) hosted the 13th Annual Indie Series Awards, which were handed out on April 12. Emma Sophia Demirjian served as Trophy Ambassador for the ceremony. For a complete list of winners, click here.