Monday, June 24, 2019

My Picks For This Years Emmys: Best Limited Series


As opposed to last season, its been a far superior year for Limited Series. And unlike the last four years, there is no clear frontrunner for the title. I’m never sure exactly how many nominees are in this category (they’ve varied from five to six), but I’m going to go to the maximum, mainly because there are so many good choices.

Chernobyl (HBO/Sky)
I was slow to be won over by this series, thinking it was just another overblown docudrama from the British HBO collaborations. But the more I watched this limited series, the more it came to appeal to me. Looking at what was the greatest nuclear disaster in history from the perspective of a Soviet Union more interested in keeping face in the Cold War than saving lives of its citizens, this took the perspective from a bureaucratic perspective, and a simple search for truth to something that became increasingly powerful by the last episode. I’m well aware that it was fictionalized, but the overall message was still crystal clear, and these days, it seems more powerful than ever.

Escape at Dannemora (Showtime)
Showtime has always been the poorer cousin of HBO in so many ways, especially when it comes to limited series. But in this dark look at the real life prison break in upstate New York, director Ben Stiller (yes, that one) gave us an unflinching yet somehow sympathetic look at three very desperate people – two convicts determined to escape, and the dress shop runner (Patricia Arquetter’s absolutely incredible role) whose own empty life led her to do something not even she was willing to acknowledge. One of the great triumphs of 2018, it demonstrated a realistic look at one of the more bizarre prison breaks in history. There’s no way the incredible cast and behind the scenes talent can be regulated to the second string of last year.

Fosse/Verdon (FX)
The title pair were two of the biggest forces in Broadway – one a visionary choreographer, the other an iconic performer. But the two of them needed each other in a way that they never quite acknowledged to themselves.  Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams gave two of the greatest performances this year as an eternally depressed success, and the woman behind him who has never gotten the credit she deserved for helping him. The tragedy of their lives was that they couldn’t work without the other, and yet they couldn’t live with each other. Anyone who thinks that they know about Broadway needs to see to this series.

Sharp Objects (HBO)
It’s been nearly a year since this slow-dripping limited series premiered on HBO, but its impossible to forget its power. Set around the story of an emotionally and physically damaged fortyish reporter (Amy Adams in one of her greatest roles) and one of the most twisted mother figures ever to come out of HBO (Patricia Clarkson adds to her great series of character roles), this twisted mystery had shocking moments even to those who had read the novel. Gillian Flynn managed to take a brief book and adapt it to a seven week series without seeming padded, and with an ending that will leave people reeling just when they think they’ve gotten to the safety of the credits.

True Detective (HBO)
The premieres of so many brilliant series over the last several months have diminished the possibilities of the third season of this series capturing many Emmy voters hearts. But consider: the third installment not only gave what everyone thought was a destroyed franchise new life, it actually managed to reveal the potential this series showed in its debut, but never quite delivered on. Led by an exceptional cast from Mashehera Ali on down, it managed to handle its triple based chronology so well that it actually managed to tell a complete srory for once. Of all the HBO limited series up for nomination this year, this one gave the greatest rewards, and I hope voters remember that.

A Very English Scandal (Amazon)
Russell T. Davies has gone into even more remarkable directions in TV ever since he left Doctor Who in 2010, and I think the medium is richer for it. Never was this more clear in a limited series that would’ve been perfectly suited for PBS had it not been for the very adult subject matter. Wryly comic and very dark at the same time, this series featured Hugh Grant giving arguably his greatest performance, and is yet another incarnation of the best British based TV can offer.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Good Omens (Amazon)
There were a lot of moving and powerful limited series, but how doing something completely out of character for this category: give a nomination to a rollicking comedy? And not one about a figurative apocalypse, but the actual apocalypse? Good Omens was even more beloved in some circles than Catch-22, and Amazon has delivered one of the greatest delightful and fun series in the history of television? The only regret I have is that Terry Pratchett didn’t live to see his masterpiece paid tribute, but his co-writer Neil Gaimann more than delivered. With all the jokes left in, and a brilliant cast led by Michael Sheen and David Tennant as an angel and a devil who’ve misplaced the Antichrist, this is an accomplishment for eternity. And Frances McDormand may have been an unlikely choice for the voice of God, but still the perfect one.




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