(Sigh)
I am so sick of the Emmys that I want to vomit.
I know, everybody else, if they're angry at an awards show, it's usually the Oscars, and you know, I've never pretended they're perfect and they definitely have problems, and I don't always agree with them. hell, "Green Book" made my worst film list the year it won, a pick I got criticized for it, but I still stand by it. ("Green Book" is legitimately as bad as everybody thinks "Crash" is.) But, you know, I don't use that standard of "I have to agree with who they pick to begin with...",- like, (Blows raspberries) no, that's-, that's not the problem. Although, no, particularly in the categories I most care about, I haven't agreed with them in a long time, but it's how I don't agree.
And I,-, I just can't take it anymore; I just fucking hate how the Emmys work right now.
I'm so sick and tired of staring at the Emmy nominees every goddamn year and seeing, not the best shows being nominated, but the most popular shows being nominated. The ones I read the most about, the ones I hear the most about, the ones that are the most popular and the most watched. (Well, the ones that don't have superheroes in them, thankfully.) Starting in 2015, the Emmys got rid of the so-called "blue-ribbon panels" they had, where select voters go to screenings and receive screeners of all the eligible submissions and then nominees. I can't say I always with those picks either, again, this isn't about what I think should win, but I always at least had the knowledge that the people voting, all industry professional and theoretically anyway, voting the categories that they were professionals at. It meant that, even if I didn't agree, I could at least respect whatever decisions they made, knowing that they were at least trying to honor their best in television every year. But ever since they got rid of those panels, and the left the voting to the entire academy to vote, and basically go off of "The Honors Systems".... (Sigh) Even the shows that everybody hates and complains about, seem to not only get nominated every year, but half the time they usually sweep!
I legitimately can't tell you how much the Primetime Emmys have just depressed me over these recent years, and that's regardless of whether or not I like the choices they make. I want these award shows to at least feel like every year, they're trying to honor the best, whether that's a show that six million people have seen, or whether it's a show that six people have seen, and for all their faults, I still feel the Oscars are actually trying to do that. Maybe they aren't and it's just as much a show as anything, but it's a show that I can buy into, but I haven't believed that for the Emmys for a long, long time now.
And look, I understand some of the arguments against these voting panels, like how they can have their own voting quirks (I didn't get why they gave Tyne Daly that Emmy for "Judging Amy" either), but mainly the bigger issue now is that, well, television is so big and massive right now, that voting panels would be unreasonable and impossible these days; this isn't the era of just three networks anymore. I mean, in certain categories, there could be like, 250 nomination submissions to sort through! And yes, that is a genuine, real logistical problem with the voting panels, there.
As a counter-argument though, I DON'T CARE!!!!! Do it anyway! It was better then! It sucks now!
#BrickBackBlueRibbonPanels!!!!!! #BringBackScreenings!
#BrickBackBlueRibbonPanels!!!!!! #BringBackScreenings!
And I'm not saying we should just have voting panels only, I don't want 30 people deciding every category either. Awhile ago, I outline a proposal for a two-prong Emmy voting System that including both blue-ribbon panels and keep the vote open to the entire Academy. The link is HERE.
It's not a perfect system but it's more perfect than this one we've been using, and whether I'd agree with the results we'd get from this kind of system, if/when it gets implemented I can honestly claim that I would respects the decisions more and be happier with the Emmys overall because at least I'd feel like they made real efforts to seriously go through all of television and nomination and honor the best.
Right now though, the Emmys feel more and more like the worst popularity contest in Hollywood and all popularity contests suck!
Well, wait a minute, I can think of one way to have a Hollywood popularity contest that would be fun...!
Can we have the Emmys in the Squid Games this year?! Please!? I bet it'll increase the ratings?!
(Sigh)
Oh well... Well, now that I did get all that off my chest, we might as well look at the nominees anyway. I mean, these mostly aren't bad shows from what I can tell, and I'm not begrudging the shows for being popular enough to get noticed, and frankly these things can still be good. I hate the system that picks them right now, but let's see how well they actually did pick. We'll start with the Comedy Series categories.
2022 PRIMETIME EMMYS NOMINEES
COMEDY SERIES
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary-ABC
Barry-HBO/HBO Max
Curb Your Enthusiasm-HBO/HBO Max
Hacks-HBO/HBO Max
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-Prime Video
Only Murders in the Building-Hulu
Ted Lasso-AppleTV+
What We Do in the Shadows-FX
(Sigh)
Alright, I get it, I will get around to "What We Do in the Shadows" at some point. (Sigh) Sorry, I- the movie's still stuck on my Netflix queue and-, yeah, yeah.... I didn't think it would show up again, so I put it off again...- Anyway, uh, this is actually a very competitive category. Three former winners in the category with "Barry", "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' and "Ted Lasso", three past nominees with "Hacks" leading the way along with "What We Do in the Shadows" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," which-, just seems to always get nominated every year, whenever it decides to have a new season.... In fact, that's gotta be a record now. They got their first nomination in this category back in 2002! There can't have been another sitcom that got nominated in this category, 20 years apart! It's a bit surprising to see ABC, of all networks hold onto their nomination. "black-ish" ended, but "Abbott Elementary" takes its place, giving network it's only hope. Meanwhile, Netflix is shutout here while Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building" replaces last year's "PEN15" nomination. Despite HBO doing really well, the big shocker is "The Flight Attendant" missing the category this year, which-, I'm still in the middle of season 2, but I thought that was the best sitcom last year and still thought it was solid enough to deserve to get in again so far, even in a tough field where multiple perennial nominees came back. "Atlanta" for instance, missed for the first time it was eligible. "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", to me, is the best of this bunch, but it missed Writing and Directing nominations, somehow.... (WTF Emmys) but I wouldn't exactly rule that out either. "Ted Lasso" won last year, and gut instinct tells me that it's between that and "Hacks", but in a tough and mostly wide-open field, this is technically as unpredictable this category's been in awhile.
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Donald Glover-"Atlanta"-FX
Bill Hader-"Barry"-HBO/HBO Max
Nicholas Hoult-"The Great"-Hulu
Steve Martin-"Only Murders in the Building"-Hulu
Martin Short-"Only Murders in the Building"-Hulu
Jason Sudeikis-"Ted Lasso"-AppleTV+
"The Great" is another show that I haven't caught yet, although I've heard good things, and despite that also missing Series, got into both Lead categories. Other than that though, good luck. It's up against three former winners in the category, all of which got into Series, and it's up against Martin Short and Steve Martin for their Series-nominated show. Both of whom btw, have never won a Performance Emmy, of any kind. They have both won, but Steve Martin's only Emmy win was as a writer for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" back in 1967!!!! I'm not sure what the longest time between two Emmy wins by a person is, without another win in the middle, anyway; I'm fairly certain Betty White holds the record between a performer's first and last Emmy (Although technically her first Emmy was a L.A Area Emmy, but whatever...) but between just Emmy wins, of any kind, that'd have to be up there. Martin Short has two Emmys, one for Writing for "SCTV", back in the 1981, but he also has a Producing Emmy for that "A Tribute to Mel Brooks" special. It'd definitely be nice to see either of these television legends get a performance win. Also, weird to think that Sudeikis, last year's winner, is the only returning nominee this year. (Man, those COVID Emmys these last couple years will just look weird in the future)
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Rachel Brosnahan-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-Prime Video
Quinta Brunson-"Abbott Elementary"-ABC
Kaley Cuoco-"The Flight Attendant"-HBO/HBO Max
Elle Fanning-"The Great"
Issa Rae-"Insecure"-HBO/HBO Max
Jean Smart-"Hacks"-HBO/HBO Max
Did anybody even realize that "Insecure" had a new season? (Sigh) I do need to catch up on that one but still, I legit didn't even realize that was still a thing. Anyway, Rae and Cuoco are past nominees, joining past winners Jean Smart and Rachel Brosnahan along with Elle Fanning and Quinta Brunson getting their first nominations. Brunson's also a nominee as a writer for the "Abbott Elementary" pilot episode, so they might not need to award her here. It's hard to go against Jean Smart, just 'cause, well, it's the Emmys and they love her no matter what she's in, and "Hacks" just happens to be a great show. Wouldn't be shocked if Kaley Cuoco could play spoiler here; if they actually do watch the tapes, she's got a lot of acting in a lot of those episodes.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Carrigan-"Barry"-HBO/HBO Max
Brett Goldstein-"Ted Lasso"-AppleTV+
Toheeb Jimoh-"Ted Lasso"-AppleTV+
Nick Mohammed-"Ted Lasso"-AppleTV+
Tony Shalhoub-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-Prime Video
Tyler James Williams-"Abbott Elementary"-ABC
Henry Winkler-"Barry"-HBO/HBO Max
Bowen Yang-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC
Is this Tyler James Williams's first nomination? Wow! That's long overdue. Hey, wouldn't it be cool if he wins and Chris Rock is the present-, actually nevermind. Nope! Forget I thought that! Anyway, Williams joins Winkler, Goldstein and Shalhoub as the past winners in this category. Although, that didn't hurt Goldstein last year either as he won over multiple co-stars, including Mohammed last year. I could see Bowen Yang playing spoiler here if he picks the right episode. "SNL" kinda had a weak year this time around, only three actors across all the comedy categories. I wouldn't even be surprised if they're upset by "A Black Lady Sketch Show" in Variety Sketch this year, which is a category that's once again, has fallen to just two nominees. We'll get to that later.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alex Borstein-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"-Prime Video
Hannah Einbinder-"Hacks"-HBO/HBO Max
Janelle James-"Abbott Elementary"-ABC
Kate McKinnon-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC
Sarah Niles-"Ted Lasso"-AppleTV+
Sheryl Lee Ralph-"Abbott Elementary"-ABC
Juno Temple-"AppleTV+"-AppleTV+
Hannah Waddingham-"Ted Lasso"-AppleTV+
See this is the kind of thing I'm talking about here, the Supporting categories especially, if you're not in a Best Comedy Series nominated-series, unless that show is "SNL" or some other sketch series that gets shoved into this category, you're probably not getting nominated. In the men, the last time it happened was in 2020, with Mahershala Ali for "Ramy" and Andre Braugher for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", both of whom, just usually get automatically nominated for everything to begin with, and before that you might have to go to when the late great Louie Anderson won for "Baskets". On the Supporting Actress side, 2020 as well with Betty Gilpin for the criminally underrated "GLOW" and Yvonne Orji for "Insecure". It's nice to see Sheryl Lee Ralph nominated for the first time. Really, that's her first nomination, ever!? Wow! Yeah, glad to fix that error, what the hell!?
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Atlanta-Hiro Murai-"New Jazz"-FX
Barry-Bill Hader-"710N-HBO/HBO Max
Hacks-Lucia Aniello-"There Will Be Blood"-HBO/HBO Max
The Ms. Pat Show-Mary Lou Belli-"Baby Daddy Groundhog Day"-BET+
Only Murders in the Building-Cherien Dabis-"The Boy From 6B"-Hulu
Only Murders in the Building-Jamie Babbitt-"True Crime"-Hulu
Ted Lasso-MJ Delaney-"No Weddings And A Funeral"-AppleTV+
Okay, congratulation BET+ for your first ever major nomination in these category. It's-, it's the obligatory nomination that's required for a multicamera sitcom but still, good job. You have no shot at winning. Is it weird that the two shows with African-American casts here didn't get into Series? Eh, I probably shouldn't read into that. Anyway, I don't have much else to add at the moment here. Lucia Aniello won the category last year for "Hacks", in kind of a surprise upset over "Ted Lasso", Bill Hader has been nominated every year "Barry"'s been eligible in this category; they're more likely to give an Actor a writing award, but it's not unprecedented.
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary-Quinta Brunson-"Pilot"-ABC
Barry-Duffy Boudreau-"710N"-HBO/HBO Max
Barry-Alec Berg, Bill Hader-"starting now"-HBO/HBO Max
Hacks-Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky-"The One, the Only"-HBO/HBO Max
Only Murders in the Building-Steve Martin, John Hoffman-"True Crime"-Hulu
Ted Lasso-Jane Becker-"No Weddings And A Funeral"-AppleTV
What We Do in the Shadows-Sarah Naftalis-"The Casino"-FX
What We Do in the Shadows-Stefani Robinson-"The Wellness Center"-FX
Bill Hader's got a second shot at pulling off the rare Acting, Writing, Directing triple, although it's the other "Barry" nomination that got into Directing. That episode along with the "Ted Lasso" and "Only Murders" nominations got into both. Everyone's a Series nominee. It'd be rare for "Abbott Elementary" to get this, a network series hasn't won this category since the finale episode of "30 Rock". It looks like a four-way race right now for series between "Barry", "Hacks", "Only Murders..." and "Ted Lasso" though.
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jerrod Carmichael-"Saturday Night Live"-NBC
Bill Hader-"Curb Your Enthusiasm"-HBO/HBO Max
James Lance-"Ted Lasso"-AppleTV+
Nathan Lane-"Only Murders in the Building"-Hulu
Christopher McDonald-"Hacks"-HBO/HBO Max
Sam Richardson-"Ted Lasso"-AppleTV+
I'm really stunned Luke Kirby for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" missed this category; especially since he's won the category in the past and he's got an amazing episode this year. But instead, Bill Hader gets nominated again, this time for "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Huh, okay. Well, except for Jerrod Carmichael, the rest of the nominees are from the Best Series categories. This is Nathan Lane's 7th Guest Acting nomination, but he's yet to win. I'm also partial to Christopher McDonald getting his first nomination. He's been one of those absolutely great character actors for decades now.
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jane Adams-"Hacks"-HBO/HBO Max
Harriet Sansom Harris-"Hacks"-HBO/HBO Max
Jane Lynch-"Only Murders in the Building"-Hulu
Laurie Metcalf-"Hacks"-HBO/HBO Max
Kaitlin Olson-"Hacks"-HBO/HBO Max
Harriet Walter-"Ted Lasso"-HBO/HBO Max
It's not technically Kaitlin Olson's first nomination, she got nominated for a Quibi show a could years ago, but yeah, it does feel like it os, doesn't it, and that's just- (Sigh) well, it is what it is. I'm sure someday the Emmys will officially acknowledge "It's Always Sunny....", maybe. Anyway, she's one of four "Hacks" nominees, which is, a lot! Especially in a category usually dominated by "SNL"; how'd they get nothing here, was there not a good female host this year? Oh well. Anyway, four "Hacks", one "Ted Lasso" and Jane Lynch showing up for "Only Murders...", also snubbed from "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" oddly enough. Man, I don't get why that show has fallen even the slightest it has.
DRAMA SERIES
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul-AMC
Euphoria-HBO/HBO Max
Ozark-Netflix
Severance-AppleTV+
Squid Game-Netflix
Stranger Things-Netflix
Succession-HBO/HBO Max
Yellowjackets-Showtime
Oh, there you are. Welcome back, Showtime! You haven't been nominated here since "Homeland", but even that was considered a bit of a fluke by that show's fifth season, this is a legit show you. Too bad, everybody else is gonna kill you. I'm still a bit surprised at some of the nominations though, and what got left off. For the last season, "This is Us", just got completely taken out. "Ozark" got in for it's last season though. "Euphoria", really surprises me. I haven't seen the second season yet, but from everything I was hearing nobody was particularly fond of it, but again, it's the shows people talk about, not what's good. (To be clear, I do like "Euphoria") That's only explanation I can keep finding for "Stranger Things", because I just do not get the appeal of that show at all at this point. But the biggest story, the first foreign language series, "Squid Game" to ever get into this category. I'm late, I'm in the middle of it now, and I-, I don't normally like stuff like this to be honest, but I'm getting into it. I have to catch "Severance" and "Yellowjackets" eventually. I'm always way behind on "Succession" but I'm in the middle of that too now. It's not a bad group, but it does feel underwhelming. I'm not sure on what the favorite is right now, I might lean towards "Ozark" out of sentimentality, but keep an eye on whatever gets talked about the most....
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jason Bateman-"Ozark"-Netflix
Brian Cox-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
LEE Jung-jae-"Squid Game"-Netflix
Bob Odenkirk-"Better Call Saul"-AMC
Adam Scott-"Severence"-AppleTV+
Jeremy Strong-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
This category literally has six completely new nominees, from the year before. Obviously, Brian Cox, Bob Odenkirk, Jason Bateman and Jeremy Strong have all been nominated before. LEE Jung-jae and Adam Scott are the newcomers here. Jeremy won two years ago, but nobody else has won here. I know "Ozark" is ending, and while "Better Call Saul" is also ending, they'll have one more year to honor Odenkirk if they want to, although Bateman does have a win for Directing for "Ozark", and I don't know how much they're under pressure to award him again. If they really like "Succession" still, Brian Cox might have a better shot this year too than previously. And of course, this category has been known for newcomer spoiler winners who might pop up for one year and never again, so, "Squid Game" can't be overlooked here either.
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jodie Comer-"Killing Eve"-BBC America
Laura Linney-"Ozark"-Netflix
Melanie Lynskey-"Yellowjackets"-Showtime
Sandra Oh-"Killing Eve"
Reese Witherspoon-"The Morning Show"-AppleTV+
Zendaya-"Euphoria"-HBO/HBO Max
"Killing Eve"'s return means the return of both Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh to the category. Interestingly, Jennifer Aniston for "The Morning Show" fell out, but Reese Witherspoon, moved up to her spot. No "The Crown" this year, so Laura Linney gets her annual swan song nomination, and I suspect she's the slight favorite. She's won several Emmys before, but never as a regular lead for a series, they're in Lead for Limited Series, even her win for "The Big C" weirdly enough. It's also really nice to finally see Melanie Lynskey get nominated for something. She's been an amazing actress for decades now and it's about time she gets some credit. I mean, let's be fair, she was always the best part of "Two and a Half Men", always! Boy this "Yellowjackets" show, I haven't had Showtime in a while, what exactly is this series about anyway. (Checks IMDB, turns on trailer)!
WHAT THE FUCK!!!!! Okay, that is very disturbing, holy fuck! I was-, I was kinda hoping it was a good dramedy about former high school mean girls,- that's-eh, eh.... Wowsers! Helluva cast with this show though.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nicholas Braun-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
Billy Crudup-"The Morning Show"-AppleTV+
Kieran Culkin-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
OH Yeong-su-"Squid Game"-Netflix
PARK Hae-soo-"Squid Game"-Netflix
Matthew Macfadyen-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
John Turturro-"Severence"-AppleTV+
Christopher Walken-"Severence"-AppleTV+
Well, Billy Crudup's back, last year's winner. I'm in the middle of "The Morning Show" myself right now, and it's a pretty weird show to be honest. I'm in the middle of it but Crudup is definitely the most outlandish of the characters on the show, so I can see why he's in, but it's a weird show, and despite the amazing cast, I kinda get why it keeps getting snubbed for Series. So, in the meantime, we get the regular crew of "Succession", we get a couple interesting "Squid Game" nominees, and a show I haven't seen yet, "Severence", which also seems to have a helluva cast. Man, it's the first time Christopher Walken's gotten an Emmy nomination since, eh... (IMDB search) oh, there's a flashback to bad elementary school required reading! Do they still teach "Sarah, Plain and Tall" in school? Anyway, none of the "Succession" supporting players have won yet, but they might all cancel each other out, and who knows how much they like "Squid Game", the first foreign-language series to ever get nominations in the regular series categories.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patricia Arquette-"Severence"-AppleTV+
Julia Garner-"Ozark"-Netflix
JUNG Ho-yeon-"Squid Game"-Netflix
Christina Ricci-"Yellowjackets"
Rhea Seehorn-"Better Call Saul"-AMC
J. Smith-Cameron-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
Sarah Snook-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
Sydney Sweeney-"Euphoria"-HBO/HBO Max
Everyone here is in a show up for Series. Julia Garner's won the category the last two times she's been eligible. Somehow this is Rhea Seehorn's first ever nomination in the category; I'm not sure how that happened but glad she finally got in. Like, arguably, she should've won like twice now. I'm glad to know that Christina Ricci is still around, and creepy as ever it seems in that show- fuck! This is what you get for not recognizing how good "PANAM" was people. Patricia Arquette's a past winner, although she won in Lead years ago for "Medium". Glad to see them nominate Sydney Sweeney though; there's a lot of talent in "Euphoria" and yeah, it was definitely if Rue won last time that then somehow Cassie got overlooked, so nice rectify there.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Ozark-Jason Bateman-"A Hard Way to Go"-Netflix
Severence-Ben Stiller-"The We We Are"-AppleTV+
Squid Game-HWANG Dong-Hyuk-"Red Light, Green Light"-Netflix
Succession-Mark Mylod-"All the Bells Say"-HBO/HBO Max
Succession-Cathy Yan-"The Disruption"-HBO/HBO Max
Succession-Lorene Scafaria-"Too Much Birthday"-HBO/HBO Max
Yellowjackets-Karyn Kusama-"Pilot"-Showtime
"Succession" gets all the directing nods, but some big time names here. Lorene Scafaria, Karyn Kusama, Cathy Yan, Ben Stiller, Bateman's won this category before. There's a lot of pretty talented filmmakers here. This might be where "Yellowjackets" or "Squid Game" have the best shots at winning something too.
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul-Thomas Schnauz-"Plan and Execution"-AMC
Ozark-Chris Mundy-"A Hard Way to Go"-Netflix
Severance-Dan Erickson-"The Way We Are"-AppleTV+
Squid Game-HWANG Dong-hyuk-"One Lucky Day"-Netflix
Succession-Jesse Armstrong-"All the Bells Say"-HBO/HBO Max
Yellowjackets-Jonathan Lisco, and Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson-"F Sharp"-Showtime
Yellowjackets-Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson-"Pilot"-Showtime
Everything nominated for series, except "Stranger Things" and "Euphoria" popped up here, and "Yellowjackets" got the double nomination. Those two shows did show up in Editing, often the biggest predictor category for Series, but this could be a category that predicts the winner this year.
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Adrien Brody-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
James Cromwell-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
Colman Domingo-"Euphoria"-HBO/HBO Max
Arian Loayed-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
Tom Pelphrey-"Ozark"-Netflix
Alexander Skarsgard-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
Jesus, how many acting nominations is that for "Succession? Jesus, including three more for Guest Actress, they have 14 total! That's is a record btw. Don't really have much thought on the category itself. Although James Cromwell still getting nominated. He's 82, and I'm actually surprised he's that young in hindsight. The guy's a legend.
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Hope Davis-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
Marcia Gay Harden-"The Morning Show"-AppleTV+
Martha Kelly-"Euphoria"-HBO/HBO Max
Sanaa Lathan-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
LEE You-mi-"Squid Game"-Netflix
Harriet Walker-"Succession"-HBO/HBO Max
Not too much to add here, more "Succession". It definitely looks to repeat. Yeah, the Guest categories on both ends were kinda odd this year, in that they weren't that weird at all. Usually there's at least a few stragglers from some odder shows.
VARIETY SERIES
OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK SERIES
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah-Comedy Central
Jimmy Kimmel Live!-ABC
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver-HBO/HBO Max
Late Night with Seth Meyers-NBC
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert-CBS
Seth Meyers finally breaks into this category after years of missing out. I guess after "Conan"'s series ending that you figure somebody would get back in, like Samantha Bee, but honestly, I think this is the right call. Meyers has basically been my go-to after John Oliver for years now, it's about time he got in.
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
A Black Lady Sketch Show-HBO/HBO Max
Saturday Night Live-NBC
I was always skeptical of the sketch series boom that lead to the creation of this category, and this was why. I suspect, in a year or two, they're gonna go back and combine these categories. But since were here, (Shrugs) I'll call the upset, this was a weak "SNL" year, "A Black Lady Sketch Show" is great. I haven't seen the new season, but I saw the last one, and any show that dares to do a "227" parody in the 2020s is alright with me.
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SPECIAL (LIVE)
The 64th Annual Grammy Awards-CBS
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Fact of Life and Diff'rent Strokes-ABC
The Oscars-ABC
The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent-NBC
The Tony Awards Present: Broadway's Back-CBS
I didn't see the whole list of eligible submissions in this category, and I'm sure there wasn't a lot to choose from, but, did we really have to nominate "The Oscars" this year? Really? This year? And I'm exclusively talking about, you know who, the guy with a Producing credit on a Peacock drama, yeah that one. (I know everybody hated the hosts, but I thought they were okay, and Wanda and Amy were really good in particular, but like everything else, was just bad...). Also, while I do like those "Live in Front of a Studio Audience" shows in the past, um, "The Facts of Life" and "Diff'rent Strokes" though, um, those were lousy television shows. And I don't mean now, they were quite shit at the time. In fact, did either of those shows ever get Emmy nominations? (IMDB search) Okay, Charlotte Rae got nominated one year for "The Facts of Life", and they had two technical nominations, so that's three in eight years for them. And "Diff'rent Strokes", never got nominated for anything. Yeah, I'm gonna go out a limb and say this was a bad year for the category and they only had slim pickings to sort though. I wouldn't mind either the Tonys or the Halftime Show winning this year.
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SPECIAL (PRE-RECORDED)
Adele: One Night Only-CBS
Dave Chappelle: The Closer-Netflix
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts-HBO/HBO Max
Norm MacDonald: Nothing Special-Netflix
One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga-CBS
Oh boy, we got some stuff to talk about here. Adele vs. Lady Gage vs., um, Harry Potter? Ehh, how the hell did that one end up here. Normally, I'd try to talk about how I think Stand-Up Variety Special should be it's own category, but only two getting in here, and it's two worth talking about. Okay, I did see "Dave Chappelle: The Closer", and I'll say this, I greatly admire Dave Chappelle as a comic and even though I viscerally with a lot of his recent stances, I can respect him as one of the best and most important artists of our time. But I'm sorry, "The Closer" sucked. It's not a terrible special, in of itself, but I thought his "8:06" special was vastly better. Against him representing Netflix, is the Norm MacDonald, who passed suddenly and unexpectedly after surprising everybody with this, what turned out to be his last special. I haven't seen it; I have friends who are huge MacDonald fans, I've admired him more than I liked him, but I'll definitely see this. He was a great and unique comic and he will be missed. It's a shame that he didn't get nominated 'til after his life though.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
A Black Lady Sketch Show-Bridget Stokes-"Save My Edges, I'm a Donor!"-HBO/HBO Max
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver-Paul Pennolino and Christopher Werner-"Union Busting"-HBO/HBO Max
Late Night with Seth Meyers-Alexander J. Vietmeier-"Episode 1252"-NBC
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert-Jim Hoskinson-"Artistic Musical Performance By Chance the Rapper; Monologue: Ukraine & Russian War, January 6 Committee Evidence on Trump & Donald Jr.; Guest Beanie Feldstein"-CBS
Saturday Night Live-Don Roy King and Liz Patrick-"Host: Billie Eilish"-NBC
Colbert, what the hell's with the long-ass titles for your episode! You're a 5x week talk show, don't you just use numbers like everybody else?! Well, that's annoying. Anyway, eh, I suspect with Directing, unless it's something special, it'll go to "SNL", since they'relive, but "A Black Lady Sketch Show" or "Last Week Tonight" could steal this.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Adele: One Night Only-Paul Dugdale-CBS
Dave Chappelle: The Closer-Stan Lathan-Netflix
Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel-Bo Burnham-HBO/HBO Max
Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special-Norm MacDonald and Jeff Tomsic-Netflix
The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, And 50 Cent-Hamish Hamilton-NBC
Wow, I just realized that this is the second year in a row where no Award show popped up here, and there's only one Live Directing nomination with the Halftime Show. Both of those are shockingly unusual; this category is normally the mainstay of the Award shows, but in recent years, Variety has become much more artistically-driven. I wasn't the biggest fan of "Bo Burnham: Inside" last year, but I will say that it was a special directing achievement and he won that Emmy in a more loaded field than this. He's here again directing a different stand-up, but he's up this time against everybody else who's up for Outstanding Special. This might just be the Super Bowl Halftime's year.
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
A Black lady Sketch Show-Head Writer: Tracey Ashley; Writers: Robin Thede, et. al.-HBO/HBO Max
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah-Head Writer: Dan Amira; Senior Writers: Lauren Sarver Means and Daniel Radosh; Writers: Trevor Noah, et. al.-Comedy Central
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver-Senior Writers: Daniel O'Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf and Senna Vali; Writers: John Oliver, et. al.-HBO/HBO Max
The Last Show With Stephen Colbert-Head Writers: Ariel Dumas and Jay Katsir; Writers: Stephen Colbert, et. al.-CBS
Saturday Night Live-Head Writers: Michael Che, Alison Gates, Streeter Seidell, Colin Jost and Kent Sublette; Senior Writer: Bryan Tucker; Weekend Update Head Writers: Pete Schultz, Megan Callahan-Shah, Dennis McNicholas, Josh Patten and Mark Steinbach; Writers: Lorne Michaels, et. al....-NBC
Both Sketch series nominees showed up here, keeping out Jimmy Kimmel, and to my mind, shockingly eliminating Seth Meyers, going with Colbert instead. Seth Meyers had been a mainstay in this category, so it's definitely curious that he gets into Series the year they fall out of Writing. That's unusual. It's probably still going to John Oliver, but I wouldn't be shocked by a Daily Show upset here.
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Ali Wong: Don Wong-Ali Wong-Netflix
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Globe: Hungary for Democracy-Ian Berger, Devin Delliquanti, Jennifer Flanz, Jordan Klepper, Zhubin Parang and Scott Sherman-Comedy Central
Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel-Jerrod Carmichael-HBO/HBO Max
Nicole Byer: BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo)-Nicole Byer-Netflix
Norm MacDonald: Nothing Special-Norm MacDonald-Netflix
Well, this is usually where the stand-up will all come out and this year is no exception. Interesting that Dave Chappelle did not get in here for "The Closer" those. Norm MacDonald did, for his final posthumous nomination, along with Ali Wong, Jerrod Carmichael and Nicole Byer. Man, stand-up's literally passing me by. I always thought Ali Wong was what all the criticism I heard about Amy Schumer's stand-up not working, that it really mostly applied more to her, but I think she has gotten better. Jerrod Carmichael's also at the top of his game right now. My main experience with Nicole Byer is "Nailed It!" which,- ugh, I'm sorry, I think that show is fucking wretched, and I just do not get the appeal of it. Maybe her stand-ups better. Also in here is Jordan Klepper, and he could a little spoiler here. His "Fingers the Pulse" segments, mainly with the MAGA rallies have been big lately (Personally, I just can't watch him, but mainly I can't watch any Trump people, it makes me vomit, so kudos to him for having a better stomach than I do.) and this could be the apple in the bag of oranges. I think Carmichael and MacDonald are the early favorites though.
REALITY SERIES
OUTSTANDING COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race-CBS
Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls-Prime Video
Nailed It!-Netflix
RuPaul's Drag Race-VH1
Top Chef-Bravo
The Voice-NBC
I would've thought with the category going back to six nominees this year, that if they added a new one, "Making the Cut" would've been the easy and obvious pick, but I think after Heidi and Tim Gunn left "Project Runway" the people who would've cared about a fashion-based reality show, just don't care anymore. (I can't blame them entirely, but "Making the Cut" should've still been nominated) Instead, we get the same five as last year, along with another Prime Video series, "Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls"? I didn't check Gold Derby this year, but did anybody see that one coming? Honestly, I started to watch it, and-eh, it's pretty good. I was actually fearing that it was kind of a- weird, big girl version of "RuPaul's Drag Race". (Honestly, I've never fully gotten that show, mainly because, I don't really get the competition aspects of it. I don't know, part of me feels like I don't get Drag, but I feel like there's no real competition, it's just drag people, like,- kind of competing, but really, more just, profiling them, which, I think I kinda would prefer than this competition thing with them?) But actually, it's a dance show and it's about becoming one of Lizzo's plus-sized dancers, which, honestly it looks good. I'm gonna watch that; I tend to like professional dancers competiting shows; (Always hated "Dancing with the Stars", loved "So You Think You Can Dance?") so yeah, this is an interesting idea I can get behind. I don't know if it can win over "RuPaul's Drag Race" which has long-wrestled that perennial winner spot away from "The Amazing Race", but you know what, at least it's an interesting idea for a show. Here's to "Top Chef" possibly playing spoiler again though.
OUTSTANDING STRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM
Antiques Roadshow-PBS
Fixer Upper: Welcome Home-Magnolia Network
Love is Blind-Netflix
Queer Eye-Netflix
Shark Tank-ABC
What in the hell is the "Magnolia Network"!? Ugh, more research.... (Google search) Okay, it used to be the DIY channel, but it got taken over by the people behind "Fixer Upper" which was original on HGTV, and now it's apart of the Discovery+ lineup: I don't have that streaming service, although I have heard humor that they have foreign versions of "Top Chef" on there that I'm interested in, but, anywho, now it's the Magnolia Channel, and it's basically a home construction channel. Magnolia's a flower, why would they...- alright, whatever. Anyway, this category, it basically sucks nowadays. Well, I guess "Queer Eye", "Shark Tank" and "Antiques Roadshow" are still great, and what the hell is "Love is Blind"- a dating show about not seeing who you're going out with, hosted by,- which was one Nick Lachay? He, was-eh, not the one Jessica Simpson, but the other brother from 98°- I don't know why I remember that, or that boy band, from so long ago and not that good, but anyway, him and his wife hosting this...- Man, how are the Lachay's still famous...? I was there, they weren't even that big at the time,- even Jessica Simpson was like, third tier on the teen divas ranking...- I'm getting distracted by this way too much; these people have been famous for way too long and I just realize how disturbing it is to me. Anyway, eh, it's probably "Shark Tank" or "Queer Eye" again, but here's hoping for "Antiques Roadshow" to finally get it.
OUTSTANDING UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM
Below Deck: Mediterranean-Bravo
Cheer-Netflix
Love on the Spectrum U.S.-Netflix
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked-VH1
Selling Sunset-Netflix
I've seen a little bit of "Below Deck", it's fine. I've heard of the others. (Shrugs) Is it just me, or has reality just become incredibly uninteresting and boring, especially in these alternative categories. I hear "Cheer" is decent, but I have a hard time finding myself interested in any of these. I gave "Selling Sunset" but it mainly just felt like, a far-less interesting "Flipping Out".
OUTSTANDING HOST FOR A REALITY OF COMPETITION PROGRAM
Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness-"Queer Eye"-Netflix
Nicole Byer-"Nailed It!"-Netflix
Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary-"Shark Tank"-ABC
Padma Lakshmi-"Top Chef"-Bravo
Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman-"Making It"-NBC
RuPaul-"RuPaul's Drag Race"-VH1
Another category where there's nobody new here. I'm not sure why Tom Colicchio didn't put his name in alongside with Padma's; they've been nominated together before, and hell, last year, Gail Simmons was nominated as a host as well. I'm not sure what's going on there, but I think of at least Tom and Padma as a pair hosting, but...- I don't know. Anyway, it's probably RuPaul's again; he's won the award the last...- OMG SIX YEARS! He could win seven in a row! I mean, he is a great host, but fuck! He's also, with a combined 11 Emmys, the most-awarded African-American in Emmys history!!!! I-eh, wow! I would never guessed that, but it does make sense. Maybe somebody else should take this though, six in a row is a lot! And there's poor Amy Poehler with one, that she shares with Tina Fey, and Offerman who never got nominated for "Parks and Recreation"! Yeah, sheesh! Oh well. Reality's boring now.
LIMITED SERIES/ANTHOLOGY SERIES/TV MOVIE
OUTSTANDING LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES
Dopesick-Hulu
The Dropout-Hulu
Inventing Anna-Netflix
Pam & Tommy-Hulu
The White Lotus-HBO/HBO Max
Last year was the first time in my memory that the Emmy Awards actually closed the show out with the Limited Series category. I understood it, most of the biggest series, were indeed Miniseries that year, and I don't know but it's probably the first time they've done that, since like, "Roots", I imagine. This is an interesting crop, and the fact that Hulu in particular, is leading the nominees in the category is very interesting, but I hope we go back to either Drama or Comedy Series being the end category, though. Anyway, these are usually the last things I get to, but I'm looking forward to them still... Well, maybe not "Pam & Tommy". I think I lived through that enough without having to see it acted out, I hope. (God, will this '90s exploitative tabloid miniseries shit ever end! There better not be anything on the horizon about Joey Buttafuoco, or else, somebody's getting shot in the head! [Yeah, I dare you to say, "Too soon" on that one.])
OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers-Disney+
Ray Donovan: The Movie-Showtime
Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon-Paramount+
The Survivor-HBO/HBO Max
Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas-The Roku Channel
(Sigh)
I'm just trying to figure out if "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" is eligible as a theatrical release, for Oscars..., I don't think it is now, which, means, that I probably shouldn't review it...- I have some complicated thoughts on "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" already, and I haven't seen the movie yet,.... I might go into that some other time. Right now, I'm just look at it as, one of the four nominees that are apart of a previous franchise, and whatever Barry Levinson TV movie he made this year. Nice to see "Reno 911!..." get in, and nice to know they're doing movies again. I'm still not sure how or why "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" is still a thing. Oh, congrats on The Roku Channel by the way, they got a decent size amount of nominations this year. Good for them.
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Colin Firth-"The Staircase"-HBO/HBO Max
Andrew Garfield-"Under the Banner of Heaven"-FX
Oscar Isaac-"Scenes from a Marriage"-HBO/HBO Max
Michael Keaton-"Dopesick"-Hulu
Himesh Patel-"Station Eleven"-HBO/HBO Max
Sebastian Stan-"Pam & Tommy"-Hulu
This is a collection of actor that would make a pretty damn convincing list of Oscar nominees if you didn't tell me it was the Emmys. Only two from a Series nominee hear though, Keaton and Stan, but I wouldn't be too surprised if another name pulled it off though. Hamish Patel, in particular is in a good place to play spoiler, based on it's other nomination, it's likely that it just missed squeaking into the top category.
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Toni Collette-"The Staircase"-HBO/HBO Max
Julia Garner-"Inventing Anna"-Netflix
Lily James-"Pam & Tommy"-Hulu
Sarah Paulson-"Impeachment: American Crime Story"-FX
Margaret Qualley-"MAID"-Netflix
Amanda Seyfried-"The Dropout"-Hulu
Arguably one of the bigger underperformers in the category was "Maid", which miss out on Series, but did get Actress as well as Writing and Directing. It's up against three of the series nominee Leads, which includes Julia Garner who's won twice of "Ozark" as well as other regular contenders Toni Collette and Sarah Paulson. I could easily see Margaret Qualley play spoiler here though.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Murray Bartlett-"The White Lotus"-HBO/HBO Max
Jake Lacy-"The White Lotus"-HBO/HBO Max
Will Poulter-"Dopesick"-Hulu
Seth Rogen-"Pam & Tommy"-Hulu
Peter Sarsgaard-"Dopesick"-Hulu
Michael Stuhlbarg-"Dopesick"-Hulu
Steve Zahn-"The White Lotus"-HBO/HBO Max
"The White Lotus" and "Dopesick" take the majority of these slots. "The White Lotus" is mainly a series without a lead, so that makes sense, but "Dopesick"'s multiple nominations could lead that they're definitely the favorite for the Series win.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Connie Britton-"The White Lotus"-HBO/HBO Max
Jennifer Coolidge-"The White Lotus"-HBO/HBO Max
Alwxandra Daddario-"The White Lotus"-HBO/HBO Max
Kaitlyn Dever-"Dopesick"-Hulu
Natasha Rothwell-"The White Lotus"-HBO/HBO Max
Sydney Sweeney-"The White Lotus"-HBO/HBO Max
Mare Winningham-"Dopesick"-Hulu
And it's even more here; wow! It's pretty much a battle between these two limited series with everything else seeming as interesting also-rans. It'll be interesting to see how this'll play out.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Dopesick-Danny Strong-"The People vs. Purdue Pharma"-Hulu
The Dropout-Michael Showalter-"Green Juice"-Hulu
The Dropout-Francesca Gregorini-"Iron Sisters"-Hulu
MAID-John Wells-"Sky Blue"-Netflix
Station Eleven-Hiro Murai-"Wheel of Fire"-HBO/HBO Max
The White Lotus-Mike White-HBO/HBO Max
Well, if the recent trends hold up, then Mike White is likely to win this. Not only is he the biggest film name of the group here, but he directed hi entire miniseries while everyone else is up for directing only an episode of their miniseries. Lately, that's led to Emmy wins. Not always, but pretty much, and unless there's something really unique directing wise in one of the other nominees, this look like Mike White's to win.
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Dopesick-Danny Strong-"The People vs. Purdue Pharma"-Hulu
The Dropout-Elizabeth Meriwether-"I'm in a Hurry"-Hulu
Impeachment: American Crime Story-Sarah Burgess-"Man Handled"-FX
MAID-Molly Smith Metzier-"Snaps"-Netflix
Station Eleven-Patrick Somerville-"Unbroken Circle"-HBO/HBO Max
The White Lotus-Mike White-HBO/HBO Max
Now, for Writing, this isn't necessarily a sure thing for "The White Lotus". With the Writing category, longer doesn't always mean better, and this category is particularly known for upsets in recent. I could easily see this as a spot for "Dopesick" to win, but I could easily see this going to maybe "The Dropout", especially since this is Elizabeth Meriwether's first nomination; she's the creator of "New Girl", which was never a show I loved, but she's pretty beloved and respected in Hollywood; I could easily see this upset.
ANIMATION
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM
Arcane-"When These Walls Come Tumbling Down"-Netflix
Bob's Burgers-"Some Like It Bot Part 1: Eight Grade Runner"-FOX
Rick and Morty-"Mort Dinner Rick Andre"-Adult Swim
The Simpsons-"Pixelated and Afraid"-FOX
What If...?-"What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?-Disney+
Every so often, when I talk about the Emmys, I'd get some people who'd complain that the Emmys never honor the shows they'd watch. That's not really true usually, they don't put everything they honor on the main program, but there's very little they don't cover, and in some cases, some of the stuff they leave for the Creative Arts really should be apart of the main broadcast at this point, and I think Animated is a main one these days. And we got a couple new entries in this one too, with "Arcane" and "What If...?" I still suspect "Bob's Burgers" or "Rick and Morty" are the favorites, but maybe they'll catch up for once. (This category can be a year or two behind occasionally.)
OUTSTANDING SHORT-FORM ANIMATED PROGRAM
The Boys Presents: Diabolical-"John and Sun-Hee"-Prime Video
Love, Death + Robots-"Jibaro"-Netflix
Robot Chicken-"Happy Russian Deathdog Dolloween 2 U"-Adult Swim
Star Wars: Visions-"The Duel"--Disney+
When Billie Met Lisa-Disney+
So, two original shows that commonly pop up here, along with two side additions to popular franchises, (Hey, "The Boys" fans, this is where you pop up this time, last year was a pandemic fluke!) And one one-off original short? What's "When Billie Met Lisa"... (Disney+ search) Oh, "The Simpsons". That was weird. Short, but weird. The end credits of that were particularly disturbing. Man, I'd complain more about Disney becoming an ouroboros of itself, but it's not like they're the only ones..., lately. Ugh.
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE
F. Murray Abraham-"Moon Knight"-"The Friendly Type"-Disney+
Julie Andrews-"Bridgerton"-"Capital R Rake"-Netflix
Chadwick Boseman-"What If...?"-"What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?"-Disney+
Maya Rudolph-"Big Mouth"-"A Very Big Mouth Christmas"-Netflix
Maya Rudolph-"Big Mouth"-"A Very Big Mouth Christmas"-Netflix
Stanley Tucci-"Central Park"-"Central Dark"-AppleTV+
Jessica Walter-"Archer"-"London Time"-FX
Jeffrey Wright-"What If..."-"What If... Ultron Won?"-Disney+
Oh man, remember last year, when "Bridgerton" was a thing? Man, what happened there? Anyway, Julie Andrews is one of two nominees here that's not for an animated series, along with F. Murray Abraham. There's also two posthumous nominations here as Chadwick Boseman and Jessica Walter have passed away. Jessica Walter does have an Emmy for a miniseries back in the '70s, but Chadwick never won anything, so if they're sentimental, and there does seem to be people who like "What If...". I think Maya Rudolph, is probably the favorite, she's won the award twice in a row, could easily win it a third.
NON-FICTION/DOCUMENTARY
OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SERIES
The Andy Warhol Diaries-Netflix
The Beatles: Get Back-Disney+
jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy-Netflix
100 Foot Wave-HBO/HBO Max
We Need to Talk About Cosby-Showtime
This is why I love these categories. Wonderful interesting programs where we have The Beatles against Andy Warhol, against Kanye West, and Bill Cosby! And, a surfer. Okay! My instinct is that "The Beatles: Get Back" is probably the favorite, but I could see Cosby pulling this off as well.
OUTSTANDING HOSTED NONFICTION SERIES OR SPECIAL
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman-Netflix
The Problem with Jon Stewart-AppleTV+
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy-CNN
Vice-Showtime
Vice-Showtime
The World According to Jeff Goldblum-Disney+
It's interesting that Jon Stewart's chosen not to submit in his old category of Variety, but instead has put his show into the Nonfiction Series category. He's gonna be the most interesting show to see how he'll do; I haven't watched it beyond Youtube, but so far I've appreciated it, although I know some have found some of Jon's more libertarian stances controversial in recent years. That said, good category. Stewart and Letterman, Jeff Goldblum, weirdly enough, and Stanley Tucci's Italy show, and of course, "Vice", which for all it's faults is still quite a powerful investigative series.
OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SPECIAL
Controlling Britney Spears (New York Times Presents)-FX
George Carlin's American Dream-HBO/HBO Max
Lucy and Desi-Prime Video
The Tinder Swindler-Netflix
We Feed People-Disney+
Alright, so Brittany Spears, George Carlin, Lucy & Desi, Tinder, and the last one, is Jose Andres the legendary Spanish chef, in a documentary by Ron Howard, in his latest foray into the genre. (Ron Howard's made a lot of documentaries lately.) I don't know who the favorite here is off-hand, it's a very compelling and competitive category.
EXCEPTION MERIT IN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING
Changing the Game-Hulu
Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches-HBO/HBO Max
When Claude Got Shot-PBS
This is a strange category, that even I don't quite understand all the rules to, and there were a few technical changes this year, but basically, this is a category that is for documentaries that aired on television and were released in theaters, but were not nominated by the AMPAS for Oscars. It's-, it's weird. The loosening of some of the Academy standards actually limited this category to three nominees this year, so perhaps were starting to figure out a way, particularly with documentaries to begin avoiding this weird gray spot between television and feature film in the future.
OUTSTANDING NARRATOR
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-"Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War"-HISTORY
David Attenborough-"The Mating Game"-"In Plain Sight"-Discovery+
W. Kamau Bell-"We need to Talk About Cosby"-"Part 1"-Showtime
Lupita Nyong'o-"Serengeti II"-"Intrigue"-Discovery+
Barack Obama-"Our Great National Parks"-"A World of Wonder"-Netflix
Well, Obama does have two Grammys, and his production company does already have an Oscar, if not him. (Shrugs) I mean, he's got a great voice for narration, so I don't know why I'm surprised. Anyway, he's up against, W. Kamau Bell, for his Cosby thing, Lupita Nyong'o and David Attenborough for some Discovery+ stuff, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I swear, looking back further down the Emmy nominations can be a very joyful experience.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DOCUMENTARY/NONFICTION PROGRAM
The Andy Warhol Diaries-Andrew Rossi-"Shadows: Andy & Jed"-Netflix
The Beatles: Get Back-Peter Jackson-"Part 3: Days 17-22"-Disney+
George Carlin's American Dream-Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio-HBO/HBO Max
Lucy and Desi-Amy Poehler-Prime Video
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy-Ian Denyer-"Venice"-CNN
We Need to Talk About Cosby-W. Kamau Bell-"Part 1"-Showtime
We Need to Talk About Cosby-W. Kamau Bell-"Part 1"-Showtime
It's nice to see George Carlin's name back on the Emmys sheet. Nice to see it along side Judd Apatow too. Warhol, Beatles, Lucy, Cosby, and Stanley Tucci, and oh, by the way, Amy Poehler's here too with a nomination. This is her 21st total nomination. Only one win so far.... (Sigh). Great category though.
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM
The Andy Warhol Diaries-Andrew Rossi-"Shadows: Andy & Jed"-Netflix
How To With John Wilson-John Wilson, Michael Koman, Susan Orlean, Conner O'Malley-"How To Appreciate Wine"-HBO/HBO Max
Lucy and Desi-Mark Monroe-Prime Video
The Problem with Jon Stewart-Head Writer: Chelsea Devantez; Writers: Jon Stewart, Kristen Acimovic-"The Economy"-AppleTV+
The Tinder Swindler-Felicity Morris-Netflix
I don't know how to gage this one. I can see Jon Stewart coming in and taking this, but I can also imagine that he's the anomaly nominee her; everything else is a more traditional documentary, or a regular series.
SHORT-FORM
OUTSTANDING SHORT FORM COMEDY, DRAMA OR VARIETY SERIES
Carpool Karaoke: The Series-AppleTV+
I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson-Netflix
Late Night with Seth Meyers: CORRECTIONS-Youtube
The Randy Rainbow Show-Youtube
Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News-Paramount+
A couple years ago, they combined all the live action short-form categories together, which-, I'm not exactly sure how "Tooning Out the News" is live-action, but whatever, but it leads to some weirdness here. "Carpool Kareoke" is still around, and so it "The Randy Rainbow Show", a guy who makes some mildly amusing song parodies, two late night spinoff series, including one that's just Seth Meyers talking about supposed mistakes he made during the week, and one Netflix show, "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson" that seems almost like a real short-form series. And it's fairly popular. I'm still surprised "Carpool Kareoke..." is still going on, but who knows.
OUTSTANDING SHORT FORM NONFICTION OR REALITY SERIES
Between the Scenes: The Daily Show-Youtube
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee: Once Upon a Time in Late Night-TBS
RuPaul's Drag Race Whatcha Packin' With Michelle Visage-VH1
Saturday Night Live Presents: Stories From the Show-NBC
Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen-Bravo
As per usual, this category is populated by sideshows of already established properties. It's nice to see that Samantha Bee hasn't been completely ignored. I hate to say this, but, I love her, and I really hope at some point she does become the first woman to win the Variety Talk Series Emmy, but she should've never apologized to Ivanka for calling her cunt. It really took a lot out of her, and the more time passes, the worst that apology comes off. It's a shame, 'cause she might be the most radical and important of the hosts our there right now, but it's been hard for me to watch her since then. I'm hoping "Last Chance Kitchen" takes it this year, this was a very good year for that show.
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A SHORT FORM COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES
Anthony A. Anderson-"Anacostia"-Youtube
Bill Burr-"Immoral Compass"-The Roku Channel
Brendan Glesson-"State of the Union"-SundanceTV
Tim Robinson-"I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson"-Netflix
Ikechukwu Ufomadu-"Words With Ike (Cake)"-FX
I guess Tim Robinson is the slight favorite, seeing as he's the only one here that came from a Series nominee. I've heard of "Cake", and I think this is the first time anything remotely related to that has been nominated. I've heard it's kind of a weird show, but I'll get to it eventually. "Anacostia" BTW, is a Youtube, DC-based melodrama that's been around for six years now! Wow! Nice to see it get in here after such a long time. I'll have to check that out.
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A SHORT FORM COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES
Jacinta Blankenship-"Intersection"-Youtube
Patricia Clarkson-"State of the Union"-SundanceTV
Desi Lydic-"Desi Lydic Foxplains"-Youtube
Rhea Seehorn-"Cooper's Bar"-Youtube
Sydnee Washington-"Bridesman"-Youtube
It's be very strange for Rhea Seehorn to finally win her Emmy and it's for her Youtube side series. It's a good little show, and there's a lot of Youtube series on here actually. Some of them are their own thing, but "Cooper's Bar" is connected to AMC, "Dysi Lydic Foxplains" is from "The Daily Show", "Bridesman" is from, um, Grindr, really? (Shrugs) "Intersection" looks like far and away the most fascinating of the group, but who will win, I have no idea. Patricia Clarkson seems like a strong bet, especially since they're familiar with "State of the Union," a perennial nominee, and she's the biggest most recognizable name here.
MISCELLANEOUS/OTHER NOTABLES
OUTSTANDING MAIN TITLE DESIGN
Candy-Hulu
Cowboy Bebop-Netflix
Foundation-AppleTV+
Lisey's Story-AppleTV+
Only Murders in the Building-Hulu
Pachinko-AppleTV+
Severance-AppleTV+
Eh, I thought I was gonna start with the Interactive Program Emmys, but-um, they don't seem to have any this year. Ah, a quick double-check of the rulebook, yes, they have been eliminated and previously eligible shows have been advised to submit in other categories. Okay. As to Main Title Design, good job AppleTV+ I guess. Oh, and live-action "Cowboy Bebop" that everybody apparently hated got something. As to these nominees, I went through all of them, and they're all fairly decent. The only one I didn't love was "Foundation"; I'm kinda sick of sand effects, but I wouldn't mind any of the others win. I liked the "Candy" and "Cowboy Bebop" ones the best.
OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)
The Flight Attendant-Blake Neely-"The Reykjavik Ice Sculpture Festival Is Lovely This Time of Year"-HBO
Loki-Natalie Holt-"Glorious Purpose"-Disney+
Only Murders in the Building-Siddhartha Khosla-"The Boy From 6B"-Hulu
Schmigadoon!-Christopher Willis-"Schmigadoon!"-AppleTV+
Severance-Theodore Shapiro-"The We We Are"-AppleTV+
Succession-Nicholas Britell-"Chiantishire"-HBO/HBO Max
I always keep an eye on the music categories for the EGOT followers who like to see who can be the next to get one. Nicholas Britell for instance, is a pretty renowned composer, who's already got three Oscar nominations and already has one Emmy, but it's nice to see him got more nominations, especially for his quite special work on "Succession".
OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SCORE (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)
1883-Brian Tyler, Breton Vivian-"1883"-Paramount+
Moon Knight-Hesham Nazih-"Asylum"-Disney+
Station Eleven-Dan Romer-"Unbroken Circle"-HBO/HBO Max
A Very British Scandal-Nathan Barr-"Episode 1"-Prime Video
The White Lotus-Cristobal Tapia de Veer-"Mysterious Monkeys-HBO/HBO Max
I thought "A Very British Scandal" was last year? What am I thinking of? (IMDB search) Oh, "A Very English Scandal"...? Are these shows related or is that just a complete coincidence? (Google search) Well, it's the same producers but they're different stories. How long can they keep that up? I mean, if they're just doing England, they're screwed, but I mean I guess you could do "A Very Scottish Scandal", "A Very Irish Scandal". What would "A Very Welsh Scandal" be?
OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A DOCUMENTARY SERIES OR SPECIAL (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)
14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible-Nainita Desai-Netflix
Lucy and Desi-David Schwartz-Prime Video
Return to Space-Mychael Danna and Harry Gregson-Williams-Netflix
They Call Me Magic-Terence Blachard-Netflix
The Tinder Swindler-Jessica Jones-Netflix
Mychael Danna, Harry Gregson-Williams, Terence Blanchard, more big composer names here. I thought Jessica Jones was some Marvel character, but apparently she's a composer.
OUTSTANDING MUSIC DIRECTION
43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors-Rickey Minor-CBS
44th Annual Kennedy Center Honors-Rickey Minor-CBS
One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga-Michael Bearden and Lee Musiker-CBS
The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent-Adam Blackstone-NBC
Saturday Night Live-Lenny Pickett, Leon Pendarvis and Eli Brueggemann-"Host: Jake Gyllenhaal"-NBC
Wait there were two "Kennedy Center Honors" this year,- why was there-OH WAIT! I remember. Okay, eh, yeah, they only started introducing this category recently, which is already kinda insane, in of itself, but I don't know, I would've thought instead of just, Rickey Minor twice, they're through in Questlove or Jon Batiste for their respective late night shows. Oh well. Hey what's Kevin Eubanks been doing lately?
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC AND LYRICS
"Elliots's Song"-Eurphoria-Music/Lyrics: Labrinth; Lyrics: Muzhda Zemar-McKenzie and Zendaya-HBO/HBO Max
"I'm Tired"-Euphoria-Music/Lyrics: Labrinth; Lyrics: Zendaya and Sam Levinson-HBO/HBO Max
"Maybe Monica"-The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-Music/Lyrics: Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore-Prime Video
"Corn Puddin'"-Schmigadoon!-Music/Lyrics: Cinco Paul-AppleTV+
"The Forever Now"-This is Us-Music: Siddhartha Khosla; Lyrics: Taylor Goldsmith
Since I don't get any other time to talk about it here, it is complete and total bullshit that this is "This is Us"'s only Emmy nomination for it's finale season. In fact, considering how great this show has been, especially both the acting and writing it's stunning how badly this show has been treated by the Emmys. Unless your name was Sterling K. Brown, you got overlooked every year, and this show was so much better than that. It lasted six years, it should've won the Best Series Emmy at least 2, maybe three times, and frankly I think is gonna to in the future be recognized for having the long-lasting importance and influence that "Thirtysomething", the drama series that I always thought most compared to it, really should've had. Also, who knew Zendaya was a lyricist. She's got three nominations this year, and she's what, 24? 25? And still can play 16 for the next decade! Fuck me!
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE THEME MUSIC
Loki-Niatalie Holt-Disney+
Only Murders in the Building-Siddharta Khosla-Hulu
Severence-Theodore Shapiro-AppleTV+
Squid Game-JUNG Jae-il-Netflix
The White Lotus-Cristobal Tapia de Veer-HBO/HBO Max
Oh, I didn't know JUNG Jae-Il did the theme for "Squid Game". He was the composer for "Parasite" among other BONG Joon-Ho's work. Huh. It really is kinda freaky that South Korea was the country that broke through the language barrier, with these award shows.
OUTSTANDING COMMERCIAL
Apple iPhone 13 Pro-"Detectives"
AppleTV+-"Everyone But Jon Hamm"
Change the Ref-"The Lost Class"
Meta-"Skate Nation Ghana"
Sandy Hook Promise-"Teenage Dream"
Chevy Silverado-"Walter the Cat"
Should AppleTV+ be eligible for this category? I mean, the iPhone commercial I get, but it's a commercial for a TV channel. Shouldn't that be ineligible? I mean, the Emmys can't win an Emmy-, eh, whatever. Change the Ref btw is a non-profit political group that strives to raise awareness of mass shooting and alleviate the influence of the NRA and promote gun control and safety laws. So, two PACs, three bands knows for their work on computer or the internet, and a Chevy. (Shrugs)
Anyway, that's all the categories I think people will care about. I guess we'll see how the show will play out, and I don't have any terrible issues with the nominees themselves entirely, but still, I'm looking forward to these Emmys. I'll watch them, and definitely try to watch all these shows, but man, the Emmys have to stop becoming just, the popular-on-tv show and find a way to re-evaluate their voting systems. Look, maybe some people watch award shows just to see their favorites, I like seeing them win too, but I want awards shows that are striving to honor the best in the field, and look-, I'm not saying they correlate occasionally, but historically and traditionally, they just don't, not a regular basis anyway. It's the exception, not the rule. Often it was award honors that helped make some great shows the exception and help them get popular. I don't want the awards to just be a reflection of the general taste of the public; I don't think that should be ignored entirely, but it shouldn't just be that. There better at least variety in the winners to make me think like they're watching everything this year, that's all I'm saying.
It's a shame, before this I always though the Emmys were the most trusted and consistent of the major awards in the entertainment industry. Oh well.
No comments:
Post a Comment