If you have been
a long time follower of this column you know just how highly I hold in esteem
the Critics Choice nominations when it comes to television. Since their
inception in 2010, they have been the gold standard for what all other awards
shows should do when it comes to TV. If the HCA has surpassed them in recent
years, it is merely because they have broadened their scope to a degree the
Critics Choice have never fully done when it comes to television.
For the last
decade with the rise of streaming the TCA has been one of the north stars I
have had when it comes to finding TV shows that I would not have the time or
energy to find on my own. In the first two years of this decade alone, they
helped guide me to Andor, Squid Game and Yellowjackets in drama, Only
Murders in the Building and The Bear in comedy, and such brilliant
limited series as The Patient and The Queen’s Gambit in Limited
Series. They have also more often then
nodded redressed wrongs that the Emmys failed on multiple occasions by
nominating such gems as The Good Fight, Reservation Dogs and Gaslit in
just the past year. I’ve spent a lot of
time and energy in the past two years giving critics a lot of grief, so I’m
glad to know that in shows like this they gets things right.
As you are most
likely unaware unless you are a real awards junkie, the Critic’s Choice awards
gave their nominations for the best television in 2023 this morning. And in a
year that was plagued by labor stoppage as well, so many great series having
ended and a general sense the era of prestige TV is over (though I’m not
someone who thins so) I was curious to see how they’d react. And the answer
turned out to be…very well, under the circumstances.
Their awards
will puzzle some and delight others, some surprisingly so. As always the
Critics Choice awards never have the finger on the pulse of what is popular,
that is in part why I love them so much. Some of their nominations are in
recognition of the Emmys that will air the day after this year’s Critics Choice
(bizarre timing on their part); others will recognize the year that is to come.
But all of them give recognition to some of the very best that television has
to offer. The Emmys has been doing a
better job trying to adhere to them over the last few years; they’d do well to
do so this time.
I will start
with Drama which has some interesting choices.
BEST DRAMA
SERIES
Succession and The Last
of Us were going to be here. It was likely The Crown would be for
its final season and The Morning Show has been a favorite of the Critics
for a while. I’ve heard good things about The Diplomat for some time and
I’m going to be covering it for my blog later on.
The other three
choices are puzzling given the rest of the nominations. Winning Time being
chosen is odd, but it has been a favorite of the HCA last year. The odder choices
in my book are Loki and Stranger New Worlds. Perhaps my bigger
problem (by far) is that Yellowjackets was basically ignored (though not
entirely) and I’d prefer The Gilded Age or Will Trent among them.
Oh well.
BEST DRAMA ACTOR
I’m actually
overjoyed with this group. I don’t know which nomination pleases me more:
Timothy Olyphant for his reprisal of Raylan Givens in the most recent season of
Justified or Ramon Rodriguez being recognized for his superb work as Will
Trent.
They nominated
the right two leads from Succession (Culkin and Strong) and they gave Pedro
Pascal the nomination he was going to
get for The Last of Us. Tom Hiddleston is an odd choice, but he’s not a
bad one.
BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
No one from Yellowjackets?
Seriously? You guys are shamed by the HCA. That said..
Bella Ramsey,
Sarah Snook and Keri Russell did all get nominated by the Emmys. Jennifer
Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are likely to return to the forefront in the
season to come. And I will admit I’m thrilled to see Aunjanue Ellis in the hunt
for her superb work on Justified. Still, nothing for Melanie Lynskey?
BEST DRAMA
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Okay I will give
you credit for only one nominee from Succession and it’s the guy who
deserves it Matthew MacFayden. Billy
Crudup has been here before. Many thought Rufus Sewell deserved to be nominated
by the Emmys.
The others are,
in keeping with the Critics’ Choice, an eclectic bunch. Khalid Abdalla, who plays
Dody on The Crown, was a good choice. I’m not sure why Ke Huy Quan was
nominated for Loki. I think Ron Cephas Jones presence has more to do
with his passing than the actual quality of his work in Truth Be Told. I’d
honestly have preferred Alan Ruck or Dominic West here.
BEST DRAMA
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Here the Critics
are one up on the Emmys; they acknowledged Christina Ricci for Yellowjackets
something the Emmys refused to do when they fell in love with literally
every performer from The White Lotus. Elizabeth Debicki is likely to
repeat for The Crown. Nicole Beharie and Karen Pittman might follow
through for The Morning Show… but I’m not thrilled that Star Trek:
Strange New Worlds and Loki got nominated and so many of the
outstanding women from both Yellowjackets and The Gilded Age were
ignored. Oh well.
I’ll admit its
an odd mix for drama but it’s also a very interesting group given the circumstances. Tomorrow I will tackle the comedies. Spoiler
alert: I’m much happier with the choices here than many of the Emmys of the
past and I hope the Emmys next year takes them seriously.
No comments:
Post a Comment