On Sunday night
the MTV Movie and TV Awards ‘technically’ took place. I say technically because
while awards were given, there is no way could mistake it for an awards show,
certainly not the ones that MTV has given.
It was an
inevitable consequence of the WGA Strike that began last week there was going
to be fallout both short term and long term. And it was almost inevitable that
awards shows were going to be part of the fallout. Drew Barrymore said three
days before the show took place that she would not be hosting. MTV said the
show would go on, which might be the dictionary definition of what happened but…
During the pandemic
many awards took place between the Emmys of 2020 and the Emmys of 2021. None of
them were entertaining but at least they fulfilled the basic principle of an
awards shows: they gave awards, there was some form of entertainment and the
winners gave speeches. Even MTV did a version of this during the winter of
2021. That’s not what happened on Sunday.
There were pre-taped
segments, awards were presented and some acceptance speeches were given but
that’s basically all we got. There were no live performances, all we got were
essentially flashbacks. It really looked like the awards show had already happened
and the viewer was seeing the aftermath.
I’m not saying
that this particularly troubled me as a connoisseur of Awards shows; I
basically record these shows and fast forward them going through the awards I
care about. In this case, however, I would have done better just looking online
for the results as far as getting anything resembling entertainment or even
something interesting happening. There was nothing resembling fun or enjoyment
here. One is reminded of the last time there was an awards show during a
writers strike when the 2008 Golden Globes happened. The awards were televised
and presented but no one was there to accept them.
On the plus side
I’m relatively sure that ‘show’ was one of the things that led to the impetus
of the studios decided to start negotiating with the writers after three months
of radio silence. The Academy Awards were a month away and the last thing Hollywood
needed was their biggest celebration to take place in an empty theater. I don’t
think the MTV Movie And TV Awards will have a similar effect on Hollywood – it has
only been a week since writers starting picketing – but as we all know Hollywood
loves its awards shows and these kind of shows don’t look good.
Anyway, here are
the result as they might very well pertain to this year’s Emmys and in some
cases they might.
The big winner
was The Last of Us which took Best Show, Best Hero and Best Duo. The
series was already a likely contender for Best Drama and Pedro Pascal now
officially moves to the frontrunners for Best Actor as does Bella Ramsey for Best
Actress.
Jennifer Coolidge
already recognized with the Comedic Genius award moves further ahead with her
receiving a prize for Best Frightened Performance. Her chances of winning a
second consecutive Emmy this year have improved with Sarah Snook of Succession
announcing she will compete in the Best Lead Actress category this year. That
doesn’t mean the competition will be any less formidable: in addition to
several of her fellow co-stars, Christina Ricci of Yellowjackets is a
near certain nominee and there are no doubt many who think that Rhea Seehorn
deserves a prize for her work on Better Call Saul. Coolidge was
extraordinary but she did win last year.
The other major
winner was for Best Performance in a Show which went to Jenna Ortega for Wednesday.
She is a dark horse in this category because it is very likely that Quinta
Brunson is the heavy favorite for Abbott Elementary she was nominated
for Best Comedic Performance) and considering her comments about writing her
own dialogue have been used as a rallying cry on the picket line that will not
make her a favorite.
The other major winner
this year Stranger Things is, of course, ineligible and I seriously
doubt Outer Banks will make it through anyone’s choices. But the other
nominees, among them Only Murders in the Building, Andor, Daisy Jones and
the Six and Yellowjackets are all going to be part of the discussion
for the next few months.
Now let’s go to
the other extreme – so to speak – and discuss the Peabodys, which announced
their winners today. I went through the nominees l a few weeks ago: here are
the ones that prevailed.
Few will doubt
that Abbott Elementary and Better Call Saul will be among the
major contenders for Emmys in both Drama and Comedy. Andor’s triumph has
cemented its place among the more likely contenders for the Best Drama
nomination. Atlanta deserves to be considered among the Best Comedy nominees
but given the lack of attention it got last year from the Emmys, it is
unlikely.
Two of the big
winners – Severance and Pachinko – are ineligible. We’re Here is
now a major contender in the reality categories. Of the remaining honorees Bad
Sisters has a slight chance of getting a nomination for Best Drama and I
see no realistic possibility for either Los Spookys or Mo.
As for the nominees
that did not receive honors, I still believe that some of the cast and writers
of both Reservation Dogs, The Patient and Somebody Somewhere are
viable contenders for Emmys.
On a personal
level, though, I am genuinely fine with all the selections the Peabodys
recognized for awards, particularly when it comes to Atlanta which will
need all the momentum it can get to return to the Emmys this fall. I thought it
was one of the best shows of 2022 and I would like to see its cast and crew at
least make one last trip before it’s over. They would likely, of course, all lose
to Abbott Elementary, but I think they’ll be ok with that.
There are quite
a few awards to come but the next major one I will be covering in depth is the
HCA TV Critics Awards Nominations on July 6th. By that time, I will
be giving my own predictions for this year’s Emmy nominations, most likely beginning
in June when the eligibility deadline has passed. Stay tuned and stand with the
WGA.
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