Before I begin
this week, a reminder. If you remember my reaction when the nominations came out
this summer, I was particularly infuriated by many of the nominated series and
actors. In the intervening months, however, I have gotten the chance to see
several of the major nominees and I have done, if not a 180, then a least a
135.
Don’t get me
wrong. I’m still infuriated that White House Plumbers and The Patient
were completely shut out, that Black Bird and George & Tammy were
not nominated for Best Limited Series and that Love & Death was
basically ignored. But I have seen most of the major nominees in limited series
and acting and I am now mostly inclined to agree with many, if not all, of the
choices. It has helped that in the last few weeks, both the Golden Globes and
the Critics Choice awards have managed to nominated several of the shows and
actors that I thought were unjustly ignored in several of 2023’s limited
series.
So without
further ado, here are my predictions for Best Limited Series.
Beef (Netflix)
Odds: 16-5. Pro: As
the top ten lists of 2023 come out, Beef has been prominent as one of
the best shows of the year. And having seen the entire series, it is hard to
dispute any of those arguments. It has been justifiably praised by critics for
being one of the few series to deal entirely with the Korean experience in
America, but I was instantly drawn to it because of how universal the themes in
this show about how rage can drive you to the worst aspects in your natures and
how it can poison every aspect of your life. I never had much use for Steven
Yeun or Ali Wong before Beef came out: now I recognize the incredible
talent both have and they are the leads of what is one of the most remarkable
ensembles of the entire year. As the series unfolded what became incredibly
clear was not only how alike our two protagonists were but how sad it was they
were truly the only person who could understand the other and only when they were
trying (usually pathetically) to wreck the others’ lives. This is a triumph on every
single level and more than deserves to take the prize for Best Limited Series. Con:
There has been some controversy involving one of the actors in the cast and
as much as the reverence for the series was great, the final episode was
considered a disappointment by some. That might be enough to work against it.
Daisy Jones
& The Six (Amazon): Odds:
4-1. One
of the most anticipated limited series of the year had been the incredible retelling
of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best selling novel about how one of the most memorable
rock groups of the 1970s was founded and then broke up after its greatest
triumph. The show is more than worthy of
the hype and has been one of the limited series of 2023 that has dominated
every awards groups nominations of the year. The Golden Globes and the Critics
Choice have nominated it for Best Limited Series. With one of the best casts of
underrated actors and actresses, including Riley Keough in the title role, Daisy
Jones is a wonderful saga of sex, drugs, rock and roll, and the secrets
that come both along the way – and exists in future generations. It could pull
off an upset. Con: There isn’t really anything working against Daisy
Jones the same way there is any of the other nominated series. The thing
is, can that be enough to pull it ahead of what is by far the overwhelming favorite?
Fleishman is
in Trouble (FX
on Hulu) Odds: 9-2. Pro: When the nominations came out in July, having
watched just two episode I thought that this was one of the most overrated
limited series all year. And it took until the final two episodes to truly
understand what Tiffany Brodner-Aker was trying to tell in her adaptation of
her best-selling novel. But when I did, I finally managed to recognize what so
many critics and people saw in the work about the dissolution of a forty-year
old marriage, the story of being a parent in this millennia and that there are
two sides to every story – and that sometimes we are not capable of seeing
them. The final moments of the series were probably the most uplifting
conclusion of all five nominated series and I’m genuinely more impressed by it.
Against: It’s still by far the most erratic of the five nominated series
in tone and it’s definitely far more off-putting in its approach until we get
to the final two episodes. It’s going to take a lot for the Emmys to give it
the grand prize.
Monster: The
Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix) Odds: 39-10. Pro: I wasn’t even
going to watch this series until the strikes in Hollywood and so many
other factors finally forced me to in October. And once I did, I finally began
to realize that so many people have been getting it wrong. Dahmer is not
a series glamorizing one of the most horrific serial killers in history,
quite the opposite. Evan Peters work in the title role is horrifying because
there is no moment when he remotely seems like a human being or even a passing
imitation of one. The series is as brutal a picture of the failures in law
enforcement not only for the victims of Dahmer’s crimes but in society’s decision
to completely glamorize the monster and do everything in its power to forget
the victims of his crimes. There has never been a more powerful argument for ‘defund
the police’ than what we see in this series and particularly in the penultimate
episode. I imagine few people will want to watch Dahmer, but the world
should because of what society has decided to get wrong about our serial killer
culture. Before the nominations I acknowledged Dahmer would be nominated
but I was not at all happy about it. Now I know the Emmys made the right
choice. Con: This is by far the most controversial of all five nominated
series, mainly because of how creator Ryan Murphy seems to have acted without
getting the permission of the victim’s families before filming it. When you add
the fact that this is a series that the Emmys really seemed reluctant to give
recognition to under any circumstances, I don’t think it will prevail.
Obi-Wan
Kenobi (Disney
+) Odds: 9-2. Pro: What
a difference twenty years makes. This was one of the most anticipated series of
2023 (which if you remember the prequels really says a lot about the change in Star
Wars fans.) With Ewan McGregor reprising the role that brought him both
fame and infamy, this was by far one of the most watched series of the five
streaming ones in this group. Con: There was controversy about this selection
from everyone you can imagine. Setting aside all of the trolls who hated
certain characters on the show, Obi-Wan’s nomination is by far the
emptiest of the nominated series. It did not receive any nominations for acting,
writing or directing. And if you compare it to so many of the series which did
dominate those nominations – Black Bird, Welcome to Chippendales, Tiny Beautiful
Things - this nomination is one
of the most bizarre in Emmy history. I realize the Emmys wants to seem hip, but
they more than demonstrated it with the nominations they gave for The Last
of Us and House of The Dragon. Hell Andor more than fills in
the Star Wars quota for the year. This series has no hope of getting a
win.
Prediction: Easiest one
of the night. Beef takes this in a walk; it’s only a question of how
many of the cast take trophies as well.
Tomorrow I deal
with Best Actor in a Limited Series/TV Movie. This is a better group than I
said last summer.
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