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Director: George
Cukor Screenplay: John
Van Druten, Walter Reisch and John L. Balderston based on the play "Gas Light" by Patrick
Hamilton
Among other classic movies, "Gaslight" was finally inducted into the National Film Registry last year. Seems fitting, that word's been omnipresent lately. It's 2020 in America, the word is used constantly in today's political climate. Hell, the band that I still can't get my tongue around to not calling them, the Dixie Chicks, released a song called "Gaslighters" earlier this year. It's, not my favorite of theirs but it's The-eh, Chickssss, so it's still pretty good. (That one gonna take some time getting used to.)
Yet, "Gaslight" is one of those terms that, I feel like gets used a lot, and usually correctly strangely enough, but I don't usually hear too many people talking about, the piece of media that the slang came from. (Hell, come to think of it, when's the last time anybody's used a gaslight? At least in the West?) Which is kind of a shame, 'cause it's actually a pretty great classic noir-era domestic thriller. One of the first great, as Emanuel Levy calls them, "Don't Trust Your Husband" movies, or, at least, one of the first great ones that wasn't Hitchcock's.
Although, it wasn't George Cukor's film either. Actually, this movie has one the strangest and surrealist behind-the-scenes origins I've ever heard about. For one, it's actually a remake. The original film "Gaslight" which was based on the hit Patrick Hamilton play "Gas Light", which is usually performed in America under different titles, most notably, "Angel Street", was originally a British film. The 1940 film, from director Therold Dickinson and starred Alton Wynbrook and Diana Wynyrd and it was a modest hit. MGM bought the remake rights, and it had a weird clause where all the original prints of the British film, were to be destroyed.
WAIT, WHAT?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, they, in order to prevent any confusion or comparison, MGM tried to destroy all copies of the British print, including the negative. They were literally trying to gaslight us into thinking that their "Gaslight" was the only "Gaslight"!!!!
Yeah, it's kinda shocking just how new a concept like film preservation actually is. Could you imagine this happening today, all the "Spider-Man" movies we'd lose every time they tried to reboot it? (Well, I'd probably in favor of that, but still....) Anyway, it didn't work, we still have the British version if you want to watch it, as of this moment, it's available on Youtube, but we're doing the Cukor version, which was originally known in the UK as "The Murder in Thornton Square", (Jees, for a story who's name has become shorthand, it's known by a lot of different names) 'cause it's the one I know best and by most accounts, it's generally accepted that it's the best filmed version of the story.
It's definitely the most iconic. Ingrid Bergman won her first of three Oscars for this performance and its still listed among her most important signature performances. The movie had seven total nominations and also won for Art Direction, not for Costumes interestingly enough, although I'm fairly positive it would've won if there was a category for it back then. I usually remember Irene's costumes first when thinking of this movie, and not just because they become integral to the plot at one point. (#Spoilers) The costumes were done mainly be Irene Maud, who usually just went by Irene. After starting out as an actress for Mack Sennett, she became one of the biggest costume and fashion designers of the time. She's kinda forgotten as we've basically written the history of Hollywood costume designing as beginning with Edith Head and everybody else for fifty years, but she was one of the biggest and most influential designers for much of the golden age of cinema, creating some of Doris Day, Lana Turner and Ginger Rogers most iconic looks, and Ingrid Bergman's outfits here.
She also, jumped out a hotel room window one day and killed herself.., apparently had quite a few issues, um, so-eh, that might also be a reason she's kinda forgotten these days.... (Looking into this movie, leads to even disturbing revelations then the film itself at nearly every turn it seems, I swear)
Anyway, the term gaslight, basically means any kind of psychological abusive brainwashing in which one person, in this case the new husband Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer) into doubting the sanity of another, in this case, his wife Paula (Bergman). Anton is actually a thief who murder Paula's aunt, a famous opera singer years ago, but what he was really after, that he didn't get was some precious jewelry that's still hidden somewhere in her old home. When the two have a whirlwind marriage and move into her London apartment, Anton begins to make Paula think she's losing her mind. Hearing footsteps in the attic and seeing the gaslights dim inexplicably every night, not realizing that her husband's the one causing all the ghostly antics. He's also making her believe that she's a kleptomaniac by moving items and stealing things and putting them in her possession. All in an effort to find these mythic jewels.
Honestly, whenever I think back on the movie, I can't believe this guy went through all this, just for a few expensive pieces of jewelry. Like, even if they are that expensive, as a MaGuffin, just find other jewels that are easier to steal. Or something else that's expensive? There's something diabolical about the logic, but the films works because it's not about the logic of the narrative, it's about how crazy he's driving his wife, who does indeed start to exhibit strange and irregular behavior. She starts acting crazy in front of crowds, she begins to become convinced that the young maid, Nancy (Oscar-nominee Angela Lansbury in her first film role) is somehow working against her. The idea is to literally drive her so mad that she'll be institutionalized, forcing him to have power of attorney over him, and he can just have the free reign to search for the jewels. It almost works until a Scotland Yard officer, Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotton) figures out something's off. Especially at that time though, that nightmarish Hell, of constantly having those around you telling you that you're crazy or hysterical, especially as a woman at that time..., this movie touches on a much more visceral nightmarish fear then I think people might realize now. Arguably, this film drifts more into horror then noir.
"Gaslight" is one of those great early domestic thrillers, something that probably has more influence over its genre then people realize. I mean, essentially, this is like, the first "Lifetime Movie"; you know, the kind where the wife/girlfriend is afraid or scared of what her husband/boyfriend will do but nowadays I don't see too much talk about the film itself. It's become so synonymous that the term is apart of the lexicon, but the movie still holds up. It's one of George Cukor's best thrillers. I tend to frame Cukor's work mostly with his comedies or musicals but the guy could and did direct nearly every genre. His main objective of course, was to simply focus his narratives more on the women then the men, he was the more feminine director of his time, as opposed to Howard Hawks's more masculine director, at least in my mind. I talked a lot about that theory of mine Canon of FIlm post on "The Philadelphia Story" which definitely makes you understand why "Gaslight" would be a project he'd be able to sink his teeth into, and arguably he led Ingrid Bergman to her best acting performance. That alone makes this a must-watch. It's also just a great classic psychological thriller, one of the best and most influential ones out there.
It's also one of the few old black & white movies my mother will voluntarily watch, so that's something, although I think a lot of that is just Charles Boyer. (Shrugs) I just thought I'd mention that, apparently he's somebody who has that way with some people, so-eh, yeah, no wonder even Ingrid found herself swindled by him.
"All things considered," is probably an appropriate and common opening for most everybody, including myself, trying to recap and evaluate this years Pandemic-infused Emmys. It's about the best way to describe it. After a fake-out where Jimmy Kimmel performed to a surprisingly believable green screen of old Emmy audience footage (I mean, I know there was CGI, but I thought there was a small audience mixed in with them, obviously I was wrong there.) and Jennifer Aniston putting out a fire in the room of TV screens that seemed like The Architect's lair from "The Matrix Reloaded" we were basically on our way. There were a few presenters at the show, some of them were obvious recorded earlier, although some were live, and then they were giving out awards to "Schitt's Creek".
And they never stopped. "Schitt's Creek" ran away with all seven Emmys tonight, and eight overall. And I mean, it won everything in Comedy Series, all four acting awards tonight, with Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy taking Leads and Annie Murphy and Dan Levy, who won four Emmys in like, fifteen minutes which ties the record overall and probably won for fastest to win four, taking Supporting Actor, as well as Writing and Directing as well. It's the first show to win all seven of those awards in the same season.
I was little perterbed that the put all the important awards in the beginnings, (Yes, the Comedy Series categories are bigger then the Drama Series ones, don't at me on this, they are.) but since there was such a sweep, I was just happy when they went to categories that weren't always predictable.
"Watchmen" didn't sweep, but it was the big winner in Miniseries/TV Movie, it won eleven total Emmys, including for Limited Series, Lead Actress for Regina King, Supporting Actor for Yahya Adbul-Raheem II, and the Writing, but Mark Ruffalo finally got his first Emmy win for "I Know This Much is True" and "The Unorthodox" won Directing. Uzo Aduba won her third total Emmy also, for "Mrs. America".
"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" won again for Variety Talk Series, as well as several other awards during the Creative Arts. They moved Variety Sketch as well as all the other Variety categories to the Creative Arts for this year, which is admittedly, probably for the best this year, but it was a big show for "Saturday Night Live", who won Sketch Series and Guest Actor and Actress for both Eddie Murphy and Kamal Maya Rudolph respectively. Rudolph in particular had a really big weekend as she won a Voice-Over Performance award as well.
Competition Series went again to "RuPaul's Drag Race", and Drama Series, as well as Lead Actor for Jeremy Strong, Writing and Directing went to "Succession", which means HBO managed to hold onto it's streak with that category, winning it's third in a row after "Game of Thrones" won it's last two seasons. Actually, this was not a good Emmys for streaming programs overall, at least not tonight. With "Schitt's Creek" giving PopTV it's first eight of nine ever Emmys this year ("One Day at a Time" won an Editing Emmy at the Creative Arts), and HBO taking most everything else of note, the only Emmys that major streaming services won were Julia Garner repeating for Supporting actress for "Ozark" it's sole win among 18 total nominations, the aforemention "The Unorthodox" Directing win, and Billy Crudup winning Supporting Actor for Apple TV's "The Morning Show", which was their first and only win at these ceremonies. Netflix did win 21 Emmys overall, mostly in the Creative Arts, and that's second behind HBO's 30, but only three tonight. Even Lead Actress in a Drama Series, probably the night's biggest upset went to HBO, with Zendaya winning for "Euphoria", becoming the youngest person to ever win that Emmy at age 24, a record that was set, just last year with Jodie Comer, who was 27...? (Holy God, she's 22 years younger then Sandra Oh! Well that puts some aspects of that show in an odd light.)
Amazon only won four awards total, all Creative Arts for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", also Guest Actress in a Drama Series went to Cherry Jones for the second year in a row, this time for "Succession" and Ron Cephas Jones won for "This is Us" for Guest Actor, which is interesting 'cause his daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones won an acting award for her Short-Form series for the Quibi show "#FreeRayshawn. That along with Eugene and Dan Levy, it was nice to see parents and kids both winning at the same shows this week. Call me old-fashioned, but I'm a sucker for sentimental Hollywood nepotism. (It's a joke; I know exactly how talented they all are, don't @ me.)
I can't just make fun of the streaming services for failing though, 2/3 of the awards last night went to like three shows, and that's becoming a bad trend. To me, it's clear this is the new popular vote process running amuck, and I hope this changes soon; we needing to have true screening panels. I know I might be in the minority on that, but seriously 7/7 "Schitt's Creek", that's ridiculous.
I will say that it was very nice to see David Letterman presenting Variety Series, for those my age, it was a very rare treat to see him at any award show, especially the Emmys, and even now that he's basically half-retired with just his Netflix interview show, it's niece to see him make an appearance, and a he was funny, and had a lovely shoutout to the late Regis Philbin.
The In Memoriam btw, was a wonderful montage with all the iconic images of the shows they worked on, that was great. I wasn't crazy about H.E.R. and her performance, bu... eh.... I seem to be the only one who stills ever fights against having major performers singing during the In Memoriams, but.... other then that, Jimmy Kimmel was good, and I've been up for too looonnnnn.....
(10 hours later)
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
(Alarm rings!)
Ugh! Oh, shit I forgot to post.
Well, there goes my claim that i usually am always meet my deadling.... Sorry for that delay, I guess I got tired after live-tweeting the show, which you can see here:
but still, not an excuse, so-eh here's eh,- here's a montage of John Oliver describing what countries are like. Let's make sure the Emmys and everything else gets back to normal.
(Sigh) I know I'm supposed to supposed to be doing these predictions. I know I usually wait until the last second, anyway but..., I gotta ask, does anybody actually care about the Emmys this year?
And, no, I don't want to hear the obnoxious, "We never care about award shows!" "They're stupid!" "They're not accurate; it's all political"..., no, none of that obnoxious, I hate award shows bullshit. I get it every year, and not one of their arguments has ever impressed me; people who complain about award shows like that are the same morons that tell pro wrestling fans that it's fake. One, you're not surprising anybody with that revelation, and two, movies and television shows are also made up pieces of bullshit, how exactly is an award show, different?! Ugh!
Anyway, I don't mean, that, don't care about the Emmys; I mean, does anybody really care, this year. 'Cause I know I don't. I'm gonna watch whatever we scrounge together for a program this year, but with everything going on, the pandemic, the moron-in-chief, protesters being attacked by cops, the fucking sky burning to death,- like, has anybody really watched or cared about any of these shows this year? Could you if you even wanted to?
Look, it's not television's fault, but I'm not gonna stretch this out, this has been a terrible year for television and I'm just tired of it all. There's like, four, maybe five really great shows here, and nothing's awful as far as I can tell, actually, but I can count on one hand the number of great shows out there right now on one hand, and some of them aren't even nominated this year.... ("This is Us" got screwed!) And we've been heading in this direction for awhile, streaming is just now an consumate growing blob of good but short-term planned series that always inevitably feel like they're lacking, even if sComedyomehow they aren't. I like the new rule changes for these Emmys, and hopefully next year's show I'll really be caring about this again, but normally, I would tell the Emmys, "Hey, it's been rough this year, you've all been pretty good, but let's take the year off on this?"
I mean, if there's ever a year to do that, shouldn't this be the year?
Oh well, we're going on anyway, and you know what, it's a distraction and we all need hundreds of those now, and better this then the VMAs. (Seriously why did they even bother with that?) And who knows, once we can all actually, mentally take a break from all our worries, perhaps some of these shows will indeed help a lot.
Alright, we're separating into genre categories, only the big ones, blah, blah, blah, predictions and preferences aren't the same thing, let's go through this:
COMEDY SERIES
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES Curb Your Enthusiasm-HBO Dead to Me-Netflix The Good Place-NBC Insecure-HBO The Kominsky Method-Netflix The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-Prime Video Schitt's Creek-PopTV What We Do in the Shadows-FX Networks
I still haven't caught "What We Do in the Shadows"; I'm still debating whether to jump the movie on my Netflix queue first or watch the TV show first. (If anybody has thoughts on it, I'll put a poll out in a few FB groups.) Gold Derby, who had the inside scoop on "Schitt's Creek" last year, and for this, they're final season, they're apparently the favorites. (Shrugs) Eh, I can't get into this show. Like, it's not bad, best comedy on TV? I think I'd literally put this seventh on the list compared to everything else. I've tried, and I love it's stars, but this is a far more forgettable show then I think people realize. Although I can say that for a few of these series this year. I like "Dead to Me" last year, but this year, but this year it got into series, and frankly, it's...- well, it's used bad ideas I've used in my writing, so I'm little ehhh-, this was a one season-idea and now that they think it's a series, issue. I haven't seen the last season of "The Good Place" yet, but I thought that would've been the favorite especially for it's final season, which was planned ahead of time, thank god, "Schitt's Creek" is the Gold Derby favorite, and I'm just go with that. Not sure what'll replace those shows next year, maybe keep an eye out for "PEN15" out of nowhere next time. Nothing else, feels like it can pull it off, with the exception of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", which in a just world should win this, and probably every Emmy category easily.
PREDICTION: "Schitt's Creek"
PREFERENCE: "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson-"black-ish"-ABC Don Cheadle-"Black Monday"-Showtime Ted Danson-"The Good Place"-NBC Michael Douglas-"The Kominsky Method"-Netflix Eugene Levy-"Schitt's Creek"-PopTV Ramy Youseff-"Ramy"-Hulu
I don't know what's weirder, that Don Cheadle keeps getting nominated for all these Showtime series that nobody else seems to watch every year, (Even though "House of Lies" was pretty good) or that he's been so busy doing these television shows so often now, that frankly I never see him in movies anymore, and I miss seeing Don Cheadle in movies. I miss that a lot. I don't know, maybe this is his year? Ramy Youseff won the surprise Golden Globe earlier; that show did over-perform, I think he's got a shot, but he's up against three actors from series that are in the Comedy Series race. I guess there is a bit of pressure to award Eugene Levy as well as O'Hara. Weirdly, he's not listed as a producer, so this would be his only shot. I think Ted Danson could play spoiler too here. A lot of people love that performance, it's their last chance to honor and they actually haven't honored him as much as you'd think over the years. Of his 17 acting nominations over the year, fourteen in this category, he's only won one career Emmy, and that was for the last season of "Cheers".
PREDICTION: Eugene Levy-"Schitt's Creek"
PREFERENCE: Ted Danson-"The Good Place"
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate-"Dead to Me"-Netflix Rachel Brosnahan-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-Prime Video Linda Cardellini-"Dead to Me"-Netflix Catherine O'Hara-"Schitt's Creek"-Prime Video Issa Rae-"Insecure"-HBO Tracee Ellis Ross-"black-ish"-ABC
I'm happy to see this bunch of nominees, there's not a bad one in the bunch. Catherine O'Hara seems to be the favorite, both on the odds and on the sentimental market. Admittedly it does feel like if she doesn't win, it's gonna be distressingly like that scene from "For Your Consideration". I think if there is a really interesting spoiler, Linda Cardellini could be this year's Jodie Comer; her role on "Dead to Me" is just as good and important as Applegate's if not moreso. Those are two TV veterans who have long not gotten their due either, so it'd be nice to see one of them win.
Mahershala Ali-"Ramy"-Hulu Alan Arkin-"The Kominsky Method"-Netflix Andre Braugher-"Brooklyn Nine-Nine"-NBC Sterling K. Brown-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-Prime Video William Jackson Harper-"The Good Place"-NBC Daniel Levy-"Schitt's Creek"-PopTV Tony Shalhoub-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-Prime Video Kenan Thompson-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC
The fact that Andre Braugher found his way back into this category after a few years missing, and nearly no other nomination ever come for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" feels like a clue to those conspiracy theorists that think that there's like, a already preplanned list out there on who to nominate and win. Or more precisely, there's an audience, they like certain shows and certain people in a certain order and they nominate accordingly regardless of whatever else is out there. There's are a few newcomers otherwise here, Mahershala Ali, Daniel Levy, William Jackson Harper, Sterling K. Brown is particularly shocking for me; I loved him on "...Maisel", but I would've sworn that if Sterling got in, then LeRoy McClain would've gotten into Guest Actor? Oh well, Brown becomes the first person ever nominated for Emmys in Comedy and Drama Series regular recurring role categories in the same year; one more accomplishment for him. Gold Derby has Dan Levy ahead, but he's got other places he can probably win. Tony Shalhoub always sneaks into SAG despite being a Supporting Role, and I think he's the favorite. I wouldn't be too shocked by Kenan Thompson though, pulling off an upset.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: Tony Shalhoub-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alex Borstein-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-Prime Video D'Arcy Carden-"The Good Place"-NBC Betty Gilpin-"GLOW"-Netflix Marin Hinkle-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-Prime Video Kate McKinnon-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC Anne Murphy-"Schitt's Creek"-PopTV Yvonne Orji-"Insecure"-HBO Cecily Strong-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC
The same way that Andre Braugher constantly being the only person ever honored for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", I'm constantly confused as to why Betty Gilpin is the only person ever nominated for "GLOW" anymore. (Seriously, how is that show constantly ignored; it's one of like, four shows I genuinely go out of my way for every time. Sorry Alison Brie and Marc Maron keep getting screwed) Anyway, Alex Borstein has won this category two years in a row, and she's the favorite to win it again. Anne Murphy is the 2nd choice according to the odds. Seems really hard to bet against her. I guess I could see Yvonne Orji sneaking in here. Maybe D'Arcy Carden if she picks the right episode; they might want to honor her also for "Barry" since that's not eligible at the moment, but I Alex Borstein's emmy until she doesn't want it anymore.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: Alex Borstein-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
The Great-Matt Shakman-"The Great (Pilot)"-Hulu The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-Amy Sherman-Palladino-"It's Comedy or Cabbage"-Prime Video The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-Daniel Palladino-"Marvelous Radio"-Prime Video Modern Family-Gail Mancuso-"Finale Part 2"-ABC Ramy-Ramy Youseff-"Miakhalifa.mov"-Hulu Schitt's Creek-Daniel Levy-"Happy Ending"-PopTV Will & Grace-James Burrows-"We Love Lucy"-NBC
This is a tricky category; I'm not sure who's the favorite. I guess I'm leaning towards the Series nominees, but we only got two, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and "Schitt's Creek" finale. This might be where they decide to award Daniel Levy. I could see something weird like the "Modern Family" finale sneaking in. James Burrows earned his 848th nomination since they added the minimum one multicam sitcom rule to the category, and it is nice to see "Will & Grace" get something again. When's the last time somebody won this category without a Series nomination? "Pushing Daisies", I think... Hmm, that was Barry Sonnenfeld, that was a big name, and a pilot.... I don't think Matt Shakman is a big enough name to pull that off? He's been around forever though, so maybe.... Eh, I'm just gonna stick with paint.
PREDICTION: "Schitt's Creek"-"Happy Ending"
PREFERENCE: "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-"It's Comedy or Cabbage"
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
The Good Place-Michael Schur-"Whenever You're Ready"-NBC The Great-Tony McNamara-"The Great"-Hulu Schitt's Creek-Daniel Levy-"Happy Ending"-PopTV Schitt's Creek-David West Read-"The Presidential Suite-PopTV What We Do In The Shadows-Sam Johnson, Chris Marcil-"Collaboration"-FX Networks What We Do In The Shadows-Paul Simms-"Ghosts"-FX Networks What We Do In The Shadows-Stefani Robinson-"On the Run"-FX Networks
So, the writers, really like "What We Do In the Shadows". Wow; it's been a long time since a series got that many nominations in this category. I was trying to find the last scenario where a comedy series without any acting nominations, just to give "WWDITS" a little hope; I thought maybe it was "Arrested Development", but no, actually it was "The Wonder Years". Yeah, that long ago, and I was actually shocked by that; I would've at least thought somebody would've been nominated for acting that year, but-eh, it won for it's debut season which was only six episodes long, so the acting noms came the next year. It did get into Writing that year? (Shrugs) Eh, I'm gonna shot here and say that "Schitt's Creek" can't win everything.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: "The Good Place"-"Whenever You're Ready"
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Adam Driver-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC
Luke Kirby-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-Prime Video
Eddie Murphy-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC
Dev Patel-"Modern Love"-Prime Video
Brad Pitt-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC
Fred Willard-"Modern Family"-ABC
By the time this blogpost is posted some of these awards, might've already been given out at the Creative Arts Emmys, which you can watch, on Youtube, literally every day, because they're spreading them out over five days this year.... (Shrugs) Whatever, fine, but some of them I think are important and big enough that they should probably be major awards anyway, so I'm gonna keep them here. Don't worry, I won't cheat on these predictions; I filled out a Creative Arts Gold Derby ballot this year to keep me honest. Anyway, Fred Willard's posthumous nomination is kinda the only one here I'm genuinely worried about. It'd be nice to see him win, but against three "SNL" performances, as well as last year's winner Luke Kirby for his wonderful portrayal of Lenny Bruce, I just don't see it. Dev Patel was also really good on "Modern Love", btw; that's a good show too, worth seeking out. It was kind of a modern-day "Love, American Style", and done by the guy that did "Once" and "Sing Street", so, really awesome. But yeah, this is an easy call and if anybody other then Eddie Murphy wins this, I'm gonna call foul.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: Eddie Murphy-"Saturday Night Live"
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Angela Bassett-"A Black Lady Sketch Show"-HBO Bette Midler-"The Politician"-Netflix Maya Rudolph-"The Good Place"-NBC Maya Rudolph-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC Wanda Sykes-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-Prime Video Phoebe Waller-Bridge-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC
This one is a little more up in the air. Wanda Sykes is listed as the favorite at 3/1 on Gold Derby, which kinda surprised me honestly, she's barely in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", even though she is very good as Moms Mabley; if she had more screen time; I'd be predicting and cheering for her. There's three nominations from the Variety sketch categories, Angela Bassett for "A Black Lady Sketch Show" being the surprise one here. I thought she might've had a better shot at Narrator this year, but she lost that one. Maya Rudolph became the first person to get two nominations in the category, one for "The Good Place" and a second for her performance as Kamala Harris, which honestly I kinda worried about; that was a vicious performance. I haven't seen "The Politician" but I can't imagine that show getting more then the nomination. I'm prediction Rudolph for "The Good Place", but I am worried that I'm predicting her for the wrong show, but....
PREDICTION: Maya Rudolph-"The Good Place
PREFERENCE: Angela Bassett-"A Black Lady Sketch Show"
DRAMA SERIES
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES Better Call Saul-AMC The Crown-Netflix The Handmaid's Tale-Hulu Killing Eve-BBC America The Mandalorian-Disney+ Ozark-Netflix Stranger Things-Netflix Succession-HBO
I did manage to watch "The Mandalorian"; I wasn't going to, but they decided to nominate the damn thing and I ended up having Disney+ that month, but it is actually pretty good. I don't know why it's nominated though. I liked it more then this season's "The Crown", which I thought was a vast downgrade from the year before. I still have to watch "Ozark" and "Succession", I'm only now getting into "Killing Eve", but I totally get why that's holding on. I'm sure it's gonna get repetitive by now, but let me be clear, this is a very weak year in the category. Even "The Handmaid's Tale", which is really one of the few really great shows on TV, it's just hard-to-watch and more depressing and annoying then it might be good, although this last season was really good, but ehh.... It doesn't seem to matter really, this seems to be "Succession"'s year. Also, why is "Stranger Things" still nominated?! (Sigh) Alright, I'm just come out and say, "Stranger Things" sucks! I'm sorry, this show barely worked it's first season and there's nothing worth watching with this afterwards. Is it this bad '80s aesthetic and nostalgia, 'cause let me tell, most of those '80s movies that they're influenced by, they sucked too, and I don't want to keep seeing it. How did this shit keep getting in, but "This is Us" suddenly falls off!? Terrible drama series year.
PREDICTION: "Succession"
PREFERENCE: "The Handmaid's Tale"
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Jason Bateman-"Ozark"-Netflix Sterling K. Brown-"This is Us"-NBC Steve Carell-"The Morning Show"-Apple TV Brian Cox-"Succession"-HBO Billy Porter-"Pose"-FX Networks Jeremy Strong-"Succession"-HBO
I haven't seen "The Morning Show yet, although I definitely want to, and I'm definitely cheering for Steve Carell to finally win something. It's long overdue. Billy Porter's back-, I gotta give "Pose" a second look; I only saw the first episode. (Shrugs) He's good; I just have a low tolerance for Ryan Murphy's bullshit, although honestly I just don't think I completely got it. Jason Bateman won for Directing in a surprise win last year, but "Ozark" is the probably the show that's the second choice for most, but two "Succession" nominees; that feels like a sign that one of them will win.
PREDICTION: Brian Cox-"Succession"
PREFERENCE: Steve Carell-"The Morning Show"
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Jennifer Aniston-"The Morning Show"-Apple TV Olivia Colman-"The Crown"-Netflix Jodie Comer-"Killing Eve"-BBC America Laura Linney-"Ozark"-Netflix Sandra Oh-"Killing Eve"-BBC America Zendaya-"Euphoria"-HBO
As much as I was saddened that Sandra Oh has been keeping up her losing streak last year, 'cause I've been following her greatness since "Arli$$" and it's just been long overdue for her to get something, as soon as I started watching "Killing Eve", I totally got why her co-star beat her last year. This is a tricky category and I'm not sure where exactly it's going. Olivia Colman is kinda the obvious pick, 'cause she wins everything, but I'll be straight, I really didn't care for "The Crown" this season. I loved the first two seasons, but I don't know, this still feels like a big downgrade to me. Not because of her, but the series just, well, it mostly just kinda slogged this year. Even the good episodes. (Then again, maybe that's just me and everything kinda did.) BTW, I'm not sure how "The Morning Show" got so many big nominations and yet didn't get into Series, that's- that's weird. I haven't seen it yet, I don't have AppleTV yet, but it looks good. Laura Linney's the favorite for "Ozark"; she does win a lot at the Emmys, even when it's not expected, so perhaps... Honestly, I'm kinda just thinking, why not take the gamble on Zendaya pulling this off, but....
PREDICTION: Laura Linney-"Ozark"
PREFERENCE: Jodie Comer-"Killing Eve"
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Nicholas Braun-"Succession"-HBO Kieran Culkin-"Succession"-HBO Billy Crudup-"The Morning Show"-Apple TV Mark Duplass-"The Morning Show"-Apple TV Giancarlo Esposito-"Better Call Saul"-AMC Matthew McFayden-"Succession"-HBO Bradley Whitford-"The Handmaid's Tale"-Hulu Jeffrey Wright-"Westworld"-HBO
I keep trying to figure out where to put a "The Morning Show" win, I feel like there's going be one in some major acting category, but I'll be damned if I can figure out where. Billy Crudup is the Gold Derby favorite, so they have it in this category, which makes sense, but this is a tough, loaded field. There's three "Succession" actors here as well, plus Bradley Whitford, who won Guest Actor for his "The Handmaid's Tale" role last year, which was also this previous season of "The Handmaid's Tale", so I'm not sure they want to give him two Emmys for the same season.
PREDICTION: Billy Crudup-"The Morning Show"
PREFERENCE: Giancarlo Esposito-"Better Call Saul"
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Helena Bonham Carter-"The Crown"-Hulu Laura Dern-"Big Little Lies"-HBO Julia Garner-"Ozark"-Netflix Thandie Newton-"Westworld" Fiona Shaw-"Killing Eve"-BBC America Sarah Snook-"Succession"-HBO Meryl Streep-""Big Little Lies"-HBO Samara Wiley-"The Handmaid's Tale"-Hulu
Boy, "Big Little Lies" really underperformed. I'm not sure why, but this is a helluva category. Thandie Newton, a past winner, Samara Wiley, won this performance in Guest Actress, two years ago, she's bumped up to regular, so two past winners there. Julia Garner, I think could play spoiler; this seems like one of the categories "Ozark" could win, other then some technical and crafts. Honestly, despite my issues with "The Crown" this year, I love Helena Bonham Carter in the show and she was the best part and the reason I will probably watch it again. Sorry, Meryl.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: Helena Bonham Carter-"The Crown"
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES The Crown-Benjamin Caron-"Aberfan"-Netflix The Crown-Jessica Hobbs-"Cri de Coeur"-Netflix Homeland-Lesli Linka Glatter-"Prisoners of War"-Showtime The Morning Show-Mimi Leder-"The Interview"-Apple TV Ozark-Alik Sakharvo-"Fire Pink"-Netflix Ozark-Ben Semenoff-"Su Casa Es Mi Casa-Netflix Succession-Andrij Parekh-"Hunting"-HBO Succession-Mark Mylod-"This Is Not For Tears"-HBO
Two "The Crown", two "Ozark" and two "Succession". nominees to sort through, plus two non-Best Drama Series nominees, who both could play spoiler. Occasionally finale and pilots always do a little better in these categories and we got the series finale of "Homeland", thank fucking Christ finally,- (Can anybody believe that that actually won Best Series in its debut season anymore; and it beat Season four of "Breaking Bad" to do it? What in the hell were we thinking?!) and curiously the season finale episdoe of "The Morning Show". In the past, when there were required screenings I might've thought "Homeland" or "The Morning Show" could pull off the upset through a split vote, but I think one of the dual nominees will win this. "Ozark" had a surprised win last year and they've always been beloved by the Directors branch and I think that's probably the one that they like more then the other two. Gold Derby has "This is Not for Tears" ahead of "Aberfan" which is the best shot for "The Crown", but I think the Directors go with "Ozark"
PREDICTION: "Ozark"-"Fire Pink"
PREFERENCE: "The Crown"-"Aberfan"
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES Better Call Saul-Thomas Schnauz-"Bad Choice Road"-AMC Better Call Saul-Gordon Smart-"Bagman"-AMC The Crown-Peter Morgan-"Aberfan"-Netflix Ozark-Chris Mundy-"All In"-Netflix Ozark-John Shiban-"Boss Fight'-Netflix Ozark-Miki Johnson-"Fire Pink"-Netflix Succession-Jesse Armstrong-"This is Not for Tears"-HBO
Okay, now the writers like "Ozark". It's good to see that they at least still like "Better Call Saul", even if it does seem keep dragging and meandering onto inevitability; it's still one of the best shows on TV. BTW, acting branch, what the hell do you have guys against Rhee Seehorn; she should've won at least one Emmy by now! Anyway, hmm, I guess this is where the split vote would help "Succession". Peter Morgan for "The Crown" could be a spoiler here, that was the best episode of "The Crown", but yeah, I think "Succession"'s the favorite here.
PREDICTION: "Succession"-"This Is Not for Tears"
PREFERENCE: "Better Call Saul"-"Bagman"
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Jason Bateman-"The Outsider"-HBO Ron Cephas Jones-"This is Us"-NBC James Cromwell-"Succession"-HBO Giancarlo Esposito-"The Mandalorian"-Disney+ Andrew Scott-"Black Mirror"-Netflix Martin Short-"The Morning Show"-Apple TV
I'm not sure why Giancarlo Esposito was the performance from "The Mandalorian" that stuck out, but okay, whatever. Most of my thoughts on "The Mandalorian" were that it was pretty good and I would've probably liked it if it wasn't in the "Star Wars" universe, and it honestly didn''t really have to be. I mean, replace Baby Yoda, with, you know, any random MaGuffin and it would've worked fine, even better probably, since I wouldn't have to fucking dive headfirst into a 50-year-old overrated-as-fuck sci-fi franchise that just never fucking dies. (And no, I haven't seen the latest movie yet, that's basically how I've always felt with "Star Wars") Anyway, it was a good story though. I think the sentimental vote will probably go to James Cromwell; "Succession"'s the only Series nominee in the category, which I just realized is weird. What the hell even is "The Outsider"? (IMDB search) Well, good cast and it's- oh dammit, another one of these series based around solving a single mystery?! Goddammit, we don't people get that those don't and have never worked as long-running drama series! (Yes, I am including "Twin Peaks" in that statement; that works the length of a movie, not for a fucking weekly series!)
PREDICTION: James Cromwell-"Succession"
PREFERENCE: Martin Short-"The Morning Show"
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Alexis Bledel-"The Handmaid's Tale"-Hulu Laverne Cox-"Orange is the New Black"-Netflix Cherry Jones-"Succession"-HBO Phylicia Rashad-"This is Us"-NBC Cicely Tyson-"How to Get Away with Murder"-ABC Harriet Walter-"Succssion"-HBO
I've heard reports that Cicely Tyson is campaigning this year, good for her. I really wish that show didn't suck. Gold Derby has Cherry Jones as the favorite among the two "Succession" nominees. She did win the category last year, but that was for "The Handmaid's Tale". Alexis Bledel has also won in this category for the series and she's back, and deservedly so. Laverne Cox has never won, and it's the last year for her too. Honestly though, I think if they're gonna give the sympathy vote to anyone, it's probably Phylicia Rashad; she's such a great beloved actress and now people can't watch most of her best work anymore. That's a real shame. Also, she deserves it anyway.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: Phylicia Rashad-"This Is Us"
VARIETY
OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK SERIES The Daily Show with Trevor Noah-Comedy Central Full Frontal with Samantha Bee-TBS Jimmy Kimmel Live!-ABC Last Week Tonight With John Oliver-HBO The Late Show with Stephen Colbert-CBS
The new rules cut these categories nominees significantly, which finally means no more James Corden, although I still think Seth Meyers is getting screwed for Jimmy Kimmel. I've softened on him over the years and he's a good host for these things. Anyway, it doesn't matter, even in a top heavy field as everyone else also keeps getting better, that means the best of the best does as well.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver"
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH SERIES A Black Lady Sketch Show-HBO Drunk History-Comedy Central Saturday Night Live-NBC
WHOA! Okay, they threw this category down into the Creative Arts. I guess, since there's only three nominees this year, since most of the other ones decided to just quit their runs that makes sense. Eh, I guess I'm kinda hoping "Drunk History" could pull off the upset now, who also got canceled right when I was finally starting to appreciate it more. I doubt it though.
PREDICTION: "Saturday Night LIve"
PREFERENCE: "Drunk History"
WINNER!: "Saturday Night Live"
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SPECIAL (LIVE) 73rd Annual Tony Awards-CBS 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards-NBC Live In Front Of A Studio Audience: "All In The Family" and "Good Times"-ABC The Oscars-ABC Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show Starring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira-FOX
Another category that once upon a time used to make the main show. I remember when the news programs were on the main show. Those "20/20" vs. "60 Minutes" battles were rough back in the day. I think they have their own Emmys now though. What did I predict for this? Eh, decent Halftime show, weak awards shows this year, eh, yeah, what the hell, let's split the vote and give it to Norman Lear.
PREDICTION: Live In Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times"
PREFERENCE: "Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show Starring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira"
WINNER!: "Live In Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times"
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SPECIAL (PRE-RECORDED) Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones-Netflix Dave Chappelle: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor-PBS Hannah Gadsby: Douglas-Netflix Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill-Netflix John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch-Netflix Tiffany Haddish: Black Mitzvah-Netflix
The separtion of Live and Pre-Recorded in the Variety Special category is kinda interesting. It basically makes this category a de facto Best Stand-Up Documentary Special category. Being a stand-up lover, I've actually seen all of these. I'm a little concerned that Dave Chappelle's gonna split his own vote, although I do that the Mark Twain Prize is finally getting recognized. I think "Sticks and Stones" is still the favorite though.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES A Black Lady Sketch Show-Dime Davis-"Born At Night, But Not Last Night"-HBO The Daily Show with Trevor Noah-David Paul Meyer-"Dr. Fauci Answers Trevor's Questions About Coronavirus"-Comedy Central Last Week Tonight with John Oliver-Paul Pennolino, Christopher Werner-"Episode 629"-HBO The Late Show with Stephen Colbert-Jim Hoskinson-"Live Show; Chris Christie; Nathaniel Rateliff-CBS Saturday Night Live-Don Roy King-"Host: Eddie Murphy"-NBC Tiffany Haddish Presents: The Ready-Linda Mendoze-"Flame Monroe"-Netflix
Who did I predict here "SNL"? Probably "SNL". When you're not sure about the Directing Variety category, it's probably a good bet to go with "SNL".Oh, and it's the Eddie Murphy show too? Then yeah, probably that one.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: Don Roy King-"Saturday Night Live"-"Host: Eddie Murphy"
WINNER!: Don Roy King-"Saturday Night Live"-"Host: Eddie Murphy"
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL 73rd Annual Tony Awards-Glenn Weiss-CBS 82nd Grammy Awards-Louis J. Horvitz-CBS Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones-Stan Lathan-Netflix Live In Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times"-Pamela Fryman, Andy Fisher-ABC Super Bowl LIV Halftime Starring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira-Hamish Hamilton-FOX
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES The Daily Show with Trevor Noah-Senior Writers: Lauren Sarver Means, Daniel Radosh, Writers: Trevor Noah, et. al.-Comedy Central Full Frontal with Samantha Bee-Writer Supervisors: Nicole Silverberg, Joe Grossman; Head Writers: Kristen Bartlett, Mike Drucker, Melinda Taub; Writers: Samantha Bee, et. al.-TBS Last Week Tonight with John Oliver-Writers: John Oliver, Tim Carvell, Daniel O'Brien, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Ben Silva and Seena Vali-HBO Late Night with Seth Meyers-Writer Supervisor: Seth Reiss; Writers: Seth Meyes, et. al.-NBC The Late Show with Stephen Colbert-Head Writers: Ariel Dumas, Jay Katsir; Writers: Stephen Colbert, et. al.-CBS
This is one of those years where this category ends up at the Creative Arts instead of the main show 'cause of a deal made out with the Writers Guild. (Shrugs) I don't get it either. It's mostly the usual suspects but I suspect "Last Week Tonight..." is firmly ahead, but "The Daily Show..." could pull this off. I thought it might go to Seth Meyers for a bit, but he didn't get into Series.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE; "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver"
WINNER!: "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver"
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones-Dave Chappelle-Netflix Hannah Gadsby: Douglas-Hannah Gadsby-Netflx John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch-John Mulaney, Marika Sawyer-Netflix Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything-Patton Oswalt-Netflix Seth Meyers: Lobby Baby-Seth Meyers-Netflix
REALITY
OUTSTANDING COMPETITION PROGRAM The Masked Singer-FOX Nailed It!-Netflix RuPaul's Drag Race-VH1 Top Chef-Bravo The Voice-NBC
It seems a little strange and weird with no "The Amazing Race" in the category. It seems like everyone's got a bit of a clean slate. Yeah, I know, they hadn't been winning in a while, but still, they won for so long and so often that they overshadow the entire category. It means something when another show actually defeats them. And the three shows that have in the past are right here. "RuPaul's Drag Race" has been the leader for the last few years. They're still winning early with some of the technical awards, RuPaul's practically a shoe-in to win for Host again, and they're a dominate 1-3 odds favorite to win the category. And yet..., I don't know, something makes me feel iffy about this favorite. "Top Chef" overperformed, moreso then they should've. The fact Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi snuck into Host for the first time in a over in a decade, and in this year where both the "Queer Eye" guys and the "Shark Tank" crew also got in no less. Also, there's that one newcomer in the category, "The Masked Singer" which caught on the most during the height of the pandemic, but I'm not sure that's a good thing or a bad thing for it.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: "Top Chef"
OUTSTANDING STRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM Antiques Roadshow-PBS Love is Blind-Netflix Queer Eye-Netflix Shark Tank-ABC A Very Brady Renovation-HGTV
Apparently, this is the first ever nomination for any program regarding "The Brady Bunch", which, yeah, sounds about right, and it still feels like one, too many. (Alright, "The Brady Brides" wasn't the worst thing. But seriously, "The Brady Bunch" has always sucked; I can't wait 'til were finally done with nostalgia for it.) I'd like to see "Antiques Roadshow" finally win this, but they seem to always be the bridesmaid. I think it's between "Shark Tank", the only previous winner in the category and "Queer Eye"? We've gotta be tired of "Shark Tank" by now, right?
PREDICTION: "Queer Eye"
PREFERENCE: "Antiques Roadshow"
WINNER!: "Queer Eye"
OUTSTANDING UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM Amy Schumer Learns to Cook: Lunch Break and Pasta Night-Food Network Cheer-Netflix Kevin Hart: Don't Fuck This Up-Netflix RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked-VH1 We're Here-HBO
I don't know what to make of this category this year. A bunch of first year nominees, and a side-reality show to the bigger reality-competition show. There's some celebrity stuff, there's a docuseries on cheerleaders that seems ot be popular and two series about drag, oddly. You know, I gotta be honest, I don't really entirely RuPaul's Drag Race. Like, I don't hate it, but, I feel like I'm missing something with it. Like, it seems like a talent show? Is it, like beauty show, or whichever has the best story.... Maybe I should jump to later seasons to try to decipher it, but it just seemed like too odd a set of criteria to be interested in, but I'm probably missing a greater context.... As to this category, eh, the one I know and like is Amy Schumer's show, I guess I'll predict that one as well.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: "Amy Schumer Learns to Cook: Lunch Break and Pasta Night"
OUTSTANDING HOST FOR A REALITY OR COMPETITION PROGRAM Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness-"Queer Eye"-Netflix Nicole Byer-"Nailed It!"-Netflix Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, Kevin O'Leary-"Shark Tank"-ABC Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio-"Top Chef"-Bravo Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman-"Making It"-NBC Rupaul-"RuPaul's Drag Race"-VH1
How did seventeen people end up nominated in this category! The "Queer Eye" crew got in for the first time; the big shock is that the "Shark Tank" crew, who had never submitted as host before, getting in. Good for them, it's not like they're rich multi-billionaire entrepreneurs who own everything; it's nice to see them get a break. (Sigh, yeah, I am so done with "Shark Tank" at this point. I mean, it's a good show, but I"m just done with it.) The only singular nominees are Nicole Byer for "Nailed It" and of course RuPaul who's tied the record with Jeff Probst for most wins in the category. I think she's gonna get it.
PREDICTION: Rupaul-"Rupaul's Drag Race"
PREFERENCE: Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio-"Top Chef"
LIMITED SERIES/TV MOVIE
OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES Little Fires Everywhere-Hulu Mrs. America-FX Networks Unbelievable-Netflix Unorthodox-Netflix Watchmen-HBO
"Watchmen" is the biggest show at the Emmys this year. It has the most nominations, it's arguably the most popular program this past year, as well as the most influential and arguably the one wth the most cultural impact and importance among the nominees. I'll get to it eventually, but per my usualy modus operandi, I don't usually watch or have too many opinions on these categories so no preferences with these picks here, just going by patterns, odds, and any other hunches and information I can get ahold of for these. That said, this feels like an easy call.
PREDICTION: "Watchmen"
OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE American Son-Netflix Bad Education-HBO Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: These Old Bones-Netflix El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie-Netflix Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend-Netflix
Well, we got a couple actual television movies and not movies that were streaming because that's just how movies are now, and then a couple movie sequels to television movies, including that's actually an interactive feature film. I actually did watch that one, and it was pretty funny-as-hell, actually. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" is generally underrated by the public and the Emmys; I never understood why it never got more love. Also, there's- whatever the hell the Dolly Parton thing is. "Bad Education" is the minor favorite, mainly because it was probably the most promoted as a TV movie, but I don't know, it got as many nominations as anything else in the category. (Shrugs) Eh, I'll just go with the one I watch, probably the best of the bunch anyway.
PREDICTION: "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend"
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE Jeremy Irons-"Watchmen"-HBO Hugh Jackman-"Bad Education"-HBO Jeremy Pope-"Hollywood"-Netflix Mark Ruffalo-"I Know This Much Is True"-HBO Paul Mescal-"Normal People"-Hulu
Mark Ruffalo is listed as the favorite at Gold Derby, which makes sense, he's long overdue, but that's also sorta exactly why I don't think he's wins, again. (Shrugs) I mean, why change tradition now. Now, who does win? Jeremy Irons seems like a safe pick here, but I don't know, he wasn't the center of "Watchmen" the way Regina King's performance is. Hmmm, I'm not sure the Academy saw "Normal People" or "I Know This Much is True", but I do think they all saw "Hollywood".
PREDICTION: Jeremy Pope-"Hollywood"
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE Cate Blanchett-"Mrs. America"-FX Networks Shira Haas-"Unorthodoz"-Netflix Regina King-"Watchmen"-HBO Octavia Spencer-"Self Made: Inspired By the Life of Madam C.J. Walker"-Netflix Kerry Washington-"Little Fires Everywhere"-Hulu
For those a little frustrated at this, Kerry Washington did indeed win an Emmy this year as a producer for "Live in Front of a Studio Audience...." so-eh, don't be too sad at her not winning this. (Sorry) Sorry, Regina King's a nominee, she wins everything automatically, and now everybody actually wants her to win.
PREDICTION: Regina King-"Watchmen"
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE Yahya Abdul-Mateen-"Watchmen"-HBO Jovan Adepo-"Watchmen"-HBO Tituss Burgess-"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend"-Netflix Louis Gossett Jr.-"Watchmen"-HBO Dylan McDermott-"Hollywood"-Netflix Jim Parsons-"Hollywood'-Netflix
BTW, I'm not exactly sure how "Hollywood" missed Series; it got twelve nominations including a lot of big ones. Even in a five-series field, it looks weird, but oh well. I guess the series branches are as sick of Ryan Murphy as I am, but everybody did see it. Jim Parsons has been labeled since the minute it hit on Netflix. Even in a loaded field against a lot of great actors, most of them from "Watchmen", plus his co-star Dylan McDermott, and surprisingly and happily-for-me, Tituss Burgess. If I had a preference for these, I'd be picking him; he's gotten robbed, but I'm not convinced enough to predict him.
PREDICTION: Jim Parsons-"Hollywood"
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE Uzo Aduba-"Mrs. America"-FX Networks Toni Collette-"Unbelievable"-Netflix Margo Martindale-"Mrs. America"-FX Networks Jean Smart-"Watchmen"-HBO Holland Taylor-"Hollywood"-Netflix Tracey Ullman-"Mrs. America"-FX Networks
This is a very interesting category, if for no other reason then the fact that there's multiple Emmy standbys who usually win by default most of the time, competing against each other. There's three from "Mrs. America" up, but it seems like Jean Smart is the favorite according to the odds. Eh, I'm just gonna go with it.
PREDICTION: Jean Smart-"Watchmen"
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE Lenny Abrahamson-"Normal People"-"Episode 5"-Hulu Steph Green-"Watchmen"-"Little Fear of Lightning"-HBO Nicole Kassell-"Watchmen"-"It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice"-HBO Marta Schrader-"Unorthodox"-Netflix Lynn Shelton-"Little Fires Everywhere"-"Find a Way"-Hulu Stephen Williams-"Watchmen"-"This Extraordinary Being"-HBO
Oh boy, three nominees for "Watchmen", but that's actually not a great sign for Directing Limited Series or Movie categories. Not only do the votes get split, but your up against other nominees like Maria Schrader who directed the whole miniseries. As well as, the sentimental vote going to the late Lynn Shelton who can spoiler here. Lenny Abrahamson is also a major film director, most known for "Room" a couple years ago, so he's also a possibility. I think "Watchmen"'s gonna falter here.
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE Mrs. America-Tanya Barfield-"Shirley"-FX Networks Normal People-Sally Rooney, Alice Birch-"Episode 3"-Hulu Unbelievable-Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldman-"Episode 1"-Netflix Unorthodox-Anna Winger-"Part 1"-Netflix Watchmen-Damon Lindelof, Cord Jefferson-"This Extraordinary Being"-HBO
Hmmm. Well, no complete miniseries up against episodes here, so need to worry about that here. There's a few big names here, but I'm just gonna presume "Watchmen''s the heavy favorite and go with it. Besides the biggest name is Damon Lindelof, so....
PREDICTION: "Watchmen"-"This Everyordinary Being"
ANIMATION OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM Big Mouth-"Disclosure The Movie: The Musical!"-Netflix Bob's Burgers-"Pig Trouble In Little Tina"-FOX BoJack Horseman-"The View From Halfway Down"-Netflix Rick and Morty-"The Vat of Acid Episodes"-Adult Swim The Simpsons-"Friinkcoin"-FOX
This was the final season for "Bojack Horseman" which I think makes that the preferred favorite at the moment. I'll be honest, unlike most, I think I'm the one person who could just never fully endorse that show. I don't hate it, but I've struggled to get through it; it's genuinely difficult for me to sit down and watch it sometimes. Not as frustrating as I think "Rick & Morty" is, which I actually find much more idiosyncratic and annoying but yeah, "Bojack...", I'll get through it one day. I appreciate it, but it's never been my favorite.
PREDICTION: "Bojack Horseman"
PREFERENCE: "Bob's Burgers"
OUTSTANDING SHORT-FORM ANIMATED PROGRAM Forky Asks a Question: What is Love?-DisneyXD Robot Chicken-"Santa's Dead (Spoiler Alert) Holiday Murder Thing Special"-Adult Swim Steven Universe Future-"Fragments"-Cartoon Network
Category cut to three due to rule changed. "Forky Asks a Question: What is Love?" is purportedly the favorite at the moment. I guess it'd be nice to see the "Toy Story" related short get in here; I think I would've preferred such a short show up, like before a film like "Mulan" in theaters, and I'm certain Disney felt that way too. I think this is "Steven Universe"'s last year though, and I'm betting the sentimental vote gets it through.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: "Steven Universe Future"
WINNER!: "Forky Asks a Question: What is Love?"
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE Hank Azaria-"The Simpsons"-"Frinkcoin"-FOX Nancy Cartwright-"The Simpsons"-"Better Off Ned"-FOX Leslie Odom, Jr.-"Central Park"-"Episode One"-Apple TV Maya Rudolph-"Big Mouth"-"How To Have An Orgasm"-Netflix Wanda Sykes-"Crank Yankers"-"Bobby Brown, Wanda Sykes & Kathy Griffin"-Comedy Central Taika Waititi-"The Mandalorian"-"Chapter 8: Redemption"-Disney+
Tricky category this year. The way "The Mandalorian" is taking all the technical awards, this feels like its best shot to win any kind of performance awards and Waititi is the odds-on favorite. Part of me also suspects this might be the best spot to award Maya Rudolph as well; it's hard for me to say if the Academy's actually watching "Big Mouth" or not, but I feel like it's either that, or they honor somebody from "The Simpsons" again.
PREDICTION: Taika Waititi-"The Mandalorian"
PREFERENCE: Maya Rudolph-"Bog Mouth"
WINNER!: Maya Rudolph-"Big Mouth"
DOCUMENTARY/NON-FICTION
OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SERIES American Masters-PBS Hillary-Hulu The Last Dance-ESPN McMillion$-HBO Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness-Netflix
Well, in the suddenly-everybody-cares-about-this-category department, the documentary or nonfiction series category is shockingly interesting now. Believe it or not, I'm the one person who hasn't gotten around to "Tiger King..." or "The Last Dance", so I strangely don't have too much of an opinion here. But as to make a prediction, I feel like "Tiger King..." is probably the odds on favorite.
PREDICTION: "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness"
PREFERENCE: "American Masters"
OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SPECIAL The Apollo-HBO Beastie Boys Story-Apple TV+ Becoming-Netflix The Great Hack-Netflix Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time-EPIX
Not sure what to say about all these doc categories. I just saw "Echo of the Canyon" literally yesterday, so I'm definitely interested in seeing "Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time" at the moment. I don't really have a preference nor have I seen any of these; I just went with the one that I heard the most about.
PREDICTION: "The Apollo"
WINNER!: "The Apollo"
OUTSTANDING HOSTED NONFICTION SERIES OR SPECIAL Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee-Netflix Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath-A&E Ugly Delicious-Netflix Vice-Showtime The World According to Jeff Goldblum-Disney+
This used to be called the "Informational Series or Special" category; I guess they wanted more clarification so these or those kinds of programs that are led by or guided by a host. "Inside the Actors' Studio" was the perennial past nominee that I always think of with this category. It's always a tough and tricky category, and one that I apparently already got wrong on my Gold Derby predictions. (Sigh) Apparently, I went with "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee"; I don't know why I did that in hindsight. That was stupid of me, I guess I thought they were trying to give it something. Oh well.
PREDICTION: "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee"
PREFERENCE: "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath"
WINNER!: "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath"
EXCEPTIONAL MERIT IN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING The Cave-National Geographic Chasing the Moon (American Experience)-PBS Moonlight Sonata: Deafness In Three Movements-HBO One Child Nation-PBS
I've seen two of these, "The Cave" and "One Child Nation" are both amazing. This is a juried prize that's honors the technical craft of documentary filmmaking that expands the craft of it, which makes this category a little tricky. but just base on my own instincts....
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: "The Cave"
LIVE-ACTION SHORT-FORM
OUTSTANDING SHORT FORM COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES Better Call Saul Employee Training: Legal Ethics With Kim Wexler-AMC.com The Good Place Presents: The Selection-NBC Most Dangerous Game-Quibi Reno 911!-Quibi Star Trek: Short Treks-CBS All Access
Gold Derby didn't put odds on these categories, but I'm gonna mention the Short-Forms; I think they're competitive and there's some interest in them. At least there would be if anybody bought Quibi. They pop up here, with "Most Dangerous Game" and "Reno 911!", which is actually the first time that show's ever been nominated. I suspect "Better Call Saul" is the favorite though, would be nice to see Rhea Seehorn finally get appreciated for something.
PREDICTION: "Better Call Saul Employee Training: Legal Ethics With Kim Wexler"
PREFERENCE: "Reno 911!"
WINNER!: "Better Call Saul Employee Training: Legal Ethics with Kim Wexler"
OUTSTANDING SHORT-FORM VARIETY SERIES Beeing At Home with Samantha Bee-TBS Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: The Movie, Sorta, Uncut Interviews-Netflix Carpool Kareoke: The Series-Apple Music Jimmy Kimmel's Quarantine Minilogues-YouTube/JimmyKimmelLive The Randy Rainbow Show-YoutTube
This category got way more compelling, especially now that it's mostly just, the variety show category in pandemic quarantine mode. "Carpool Kareoke"'s back threatening to win again, and something called "The Randy Rainbow Show". It's been nominated before, it's this weird guy who does satire song parodies.... (Shrugs) He's fine; I don't quite get why he's getting in with the rest of these nominees, but he's fine and he paid the submission fee, so sure. Gold Derby didn't put out a line on this category; I'm not sure how to rate it myself. I'm just gonna predict the one I want to win here.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: "Being At Home with Samantha Bee
WINNER!: "Carpool Kareoke: The Series"
OUTSTANDING SHORT-FORM NONFICTION OR REALITY SERIES Between The Scenes-"The Daily Show"-Comedy Central Full Frontal With Samantha Bee Presents: Pandemic Video Diaries-TBS National Geographic Presents Cosmos: Creating Possible Worlds-National Geographic Pose: Identity, Family, Community-FX Networks RuPaul's Drag Race Out of the Closet-VH1
Man, "RuPaul's Drag Race" has a lot of side shows. Then again, some of these are just-, I mean, I like "Between the Scenes" too, but it's just Trevor Noah talking during commercial breaks and somebody leaving the camera on. I guess if any of them feel relevent, then Samantha Bee's pandemic show might have the best shot here.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE: "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents: Pandemic Video Diaries"
WINNER!: "National Geographic Presents Cosmos: Creating Possible Worlds"
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A SHORT FORM COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES Laurence Fishburne-"#FreeRayshawn"-Quibi Stephan James-"#FreeRayshawn"-Quibi Christoph Waltz-"Most Dangerous Game"-Quibi Mamoudou Athie-"Oh Jerome, No (Cake)"-FX Networks Corey Hawkins-"Survive"-Quibi
Eh, I'lls ay this, Quibi did attract the biggest and best actors. It's a cheap to win an Emmy, but they probably do deserve it. 8/10 acting nominations in the Short-Form Comedy or Drama Series category are for this new upstart network that still people will watching "The Fugitive" on your phone is the key to that franchise's fifth or sixth attemtped TV reboot to finally succeed. I will make fun of this network until all its programming is finally bought out by Netflix, I swear. Anyway, tough call for me between Laurence Fishburne and Christoph Waltz; I think it's a toss-up between the show with the Series nomination and the biggest name from the show with the most acting nominations. I'm just gonna flip a coin on this one.
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A SHORT-FORM COMEDY OR DRAMA Anna Kendrick-"Dummy"-Quibi Kaitlin Olson-"Flipped"-Quibi Jasmine Cephas Jones-"#FreeRayshawn"-Quibi Rain Valdez-"Razor Tongue"-YouTube Now Kerri Kenney-Silver-"Reno 911!"-Quibi
I can't believe is when they finally decide to nominate Kaitlin Olson for something. Anyway, I think its between Kendrick and Kenney-Silver, with Jasmine Cephas Jones possibly playing spoiler. I did manage to see an episode of "Razor Tongue", it's pretty funny; I'm not sure how many voters bothered to see it though. Or see any of these, but I think they'll recognize "Reno 911!"
MISCELLANEOUS OUTSTANDING CHILDREN'S PROGRAM Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance-Netflix Star Wars Resistance-Disney Channel We Are The Dreams: The Kids of The Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest-HBO
God, how many "Star Wars" shows are there? (Sigh) Eh, no real preference here and Gold Derby didn't put up a line on it, but it's a series category, and kind of a big one, normally but, hmmm.... (Shrugs) It's adults voting on kids programs, I'm just gonna take a shot on the one that kids will probably least likely want to see. No preference here.
PREDICTION: "We Are The Dreams: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest"
OUTSTANDING COMMERCIAL Back-to-School Essentials-Sandy Hook Promise Before Alexa-Amazon Bounce-Apple AirPods Groundhog Day-Jeep (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles [FCA]) The Look-P&G
You know, I mentioned that I liked the "Before Alexa" commerical originally, but now that I look at, it's actually quite disturbing. "What did we do Before Alexa?" People! Who are now unemployed, or were slaves of some kind. Doesn't help either that Ellen and Portia are the centerpiece of it either, why do I get the eerie feeling this was her idea. Anyway, I liked the rest to varying degree. I think it's between "The Look" and "Back-to-School Essentials", the two clearly political commercials. They're both essential; I think the Sandy Hood Promise one is too powerful to ignore, and "The Look", is good, but I'm not crazy about how it filmed to a degree. The steadicam reveal shot in particular just kinda annoyed me; I also kinda just felt it was a bit, ehhh. There was something off about it for me.
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC AND LYRICS "Letter To My Godfather"-The Black Godfather-Music & Lyrics: Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo-Netflix "All For Us"-Euphoria-Music & Lyrics: Labrinth-HBO "Eat Shit, Bob"-Last Week Tonight with John Oliver-Music: David Dabbon; Lyrics: Joanna Rothkopf, Jill Twiss, Senna Vali-HBO "Build It Up"-Little Fires Everywhere-Music & Lyrics: Ingrid Michaelson-Hulu "One Less Angel"-The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-Music & Lyrics: Thomas Mizer, Curtis Moore "Memorized"-This Is Us"-Music & Lyrics: Siddhartha Khosta, Taylor Goldsmith-NBC "The Way It Used To be"-Watchmen-Music & Lyrics: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross-HBO
A record seven nomination in this category, that's continuously gotten more and more competitive over the years. When I made my Gold Derby ballot, I predicted what I thought would be the most memorable and notable of the nominees, but for this I decided to listen to all the songs outright, and if possible in context to the program they were apart of, and for the most part, these are great songs. I'm not crazy about Pharrell's use of autotune on his song; I think that made it worst, but other then that, these are good songs. I gotta watch "Euphoria" at some point just ot see what the hell is going on in that thing, Anyway, despite a loaded field, I think I still made the right call on this one.
PREDICTION/PREFERENCE-"Eat Shit, Bob"-"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver"
WINNER!: "All for Us"-"Euphoria"
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE THEME SONG Carnival Row-Nathan Barr-Prime Video Defending Jacob-Olafur Arnalds-Apple TV+ Hollywood-Nathan Barr-Netflix Unorthodox-Antonio Gambale-Netflix Why We Hate-Laura Karpman-Discovery Channel Wu-Tang: An American Saga-The Rza-Hulu
This one, I really regret voting before I heard all the nominees. It's not the greatest batch either, only "Wu-Tang..." has a song with actual lyrics, and the most of the rest are fairly classical little themes and the only one that's indistinguishable from the rest is "Hollywood". (Well, "Why We Hate" is pretty good too.) Unfortunately, I somehow picked the shortest and worst of the bunch in my opinion to win, so-eh, don't follow me on this one.
PREDICTION: "Unorthodox"
PREFERENCE: "Hollywood"
WINNER!:"Hollywood"
OUTSTANDING MAIN TITLE DESIGN Abstract: The Art of Design-Netflix Carnival Row-Prime Video Godfather of Harlem-EPIX The Morning Show-Apple TV+ The Politician-Netflix Watchmen-HBO Westworld-HBO
Honestly, I would've skipped this category here if not for Gold Derby putting a line on it. It is a favorite category of mine though. When it came to the prediction, I just went with "Watchmen", odds-on favorite. I didn't actually love it that much, but I think it will win. "The Morning Show"'s was clever, it kinda reminded me of the old Chuck Jones short, "The Dot and the Line", and anything that reminds me of that in a positive light is a good thing to me. Personally, I preferred "The Politican" and "Godfather of Harlem"'s opening the most, and if I have to narrow it down, I'd go with "The Politician" because it required more original footage to be created. I suspect it's a battle between "Watchmen" and "The Morning Show" though.
PREDICTION: "Watchmen"
PREFERENCE: "The Politician"
OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE) The Crown-Martin Phipps-Netflix Euphoria-Labrinth-HBO The Mandalorian-Ludwig Goransson-Disney+ Ozark-Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans-Netflix Succession-Nicholas Britell-HBO
Again, I wouldn't normally predict this category without a Gold Derby ballot being around and now one I even have much of an opinion on; this is mostly a category that's for the GOT followers. Also, I'm not having a preference, since I'm not gonna go through and listen to the whole scores. Ummm, that said, "The Mandalorian" and "Succession" are the favorite, mainly 'cause they're the bigger named composers. I have no preference, so I'm taking a shot wiht the new kid. I'm gonna take a shot with the new kid.
PREDICTION: "Euphoria"
OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE) Hollywood-Nathan Barr-Netflix Little Fires Everywhere-Mark Isham, Isabella Summer-Hulu Mrs. America-Kris Bowers-FX Networks Unorthodox-Antonio Gambele-Netflix
Watchmen-Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross-HBO
Eh, this is where I predicted Trent & Atticus winning. I think Nathan Barr, could spoil this for "Hollywood", but I think he's more likely to win in Theme Song. Boy Trent Reznor and Ross are suddenly shockingly close to an EGOT; he could be the first person to have an EGOT and be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Oh, btw, congrats on Nine Inch Nails finally getting inducted into that. So-eh, I hope they're getting a Broadway show going soon enough. If you're my age, that just feels so surreal.
PREDICTION: "Watchmen"
WINNER!: "Watchmen"
OUTSTANDING MUSIC SUPERVISION
Better Call Saul-Thomas Golubic-AMC
Euphoria-Jen Malone, Adam Leber-HBO
Insecure-Kier Lehman-HBO
Killing Eve-Catherine Grieves, David Holmes-BBC America
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-Robin Urdang, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Daniel Palladino-Prime Video
Stranger Things-Nora Felder-Netflix
Watchmen-Liza Richardson-HBO
I didn't even include this category in my original rundown of the nominees when they were announced; I'm genuinely a bit surprised Gold Derby put a line out on this one. Like, it is an underrated craft that should get more recognition; the Emmy category itself has only existed since 2017, so I guess I should focus on it, but I'm probably about this craft then I know about most music categories and I'm not a music guy. Basically this is when you're constructing the music to go with images, but not necessarily original music. So, mostly this is soundtrack and score essentially, and how they're used with the visuals. I think.... Something like that. Anyway, eh, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" is the slight odds-on favorite over "Watchmen", which makes sense, this was a big music year for that show. I still took a shot on "Euphoria" instead. (Shrugs) I don't know why.
PREDICTION: "Euphoria"
WINNER!: "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
Alright, I think that's the last one that's worth really discussing. Alright, let's all try to-eh, well, kinda enjoy these Emmys. Anything that hasn't been announced yet, will be announced either on the main show on Sunday, or on the rest of the Creative Arts, Saturday night on FXX, and if you want to use the and-eh, if you guys want to use these predictions for Gold Derby or some other Emmys pool of yours, go right ahead, but don't predict exactly how I do; always take one or two risks chances, even the experts rarely get everything right at these.
Oh, and if you want to catch up on all the previously-announced awards. the Academy posted parts 1-4 of the Creative Arts Emmys on their website; you can watch them there:
