Yes, I’m aware
the Emmys were on Monday and awards seasons seems to have ended with it, but
many of the awards we have gone through may have been devoted to this year as
last. The Golden Globes and The Critics Choice Awards gave all of the awards
they did for The Bear for its second season, not its first and Elizabeth
Debicki took both Supporting Actress awards for the last season of The Crown
rather than the one she was nominated for by the Emmys this year.
I’m also rather
painfully aware that, due to the labor stoppage, many of the major series that
have been prominent among Emmy nominations either have yet to air this year or
just as likely will not air until the end of 2024 at the earliest. So just as
with the 2021 Emmys, where Covid froze many series for an extended period, this
year’s Emmy nominations are likely to be a more eclectic mix and that’s before you consider that many
of the series that have dominated the awards for the past few years – Succession
and Ted Lasso are merely the most obvious ones – have ended their run.
So the question
becomes: what will the 2024 Emmys look like? Well, even at this point we can
make some obvious projections based on the nominations from the Golden Globe
and Critics Choice. The Morning Show and The Crown, both of which
have been major figures in their previous seasons, will likely be among the
major nominees among dramas. The Bear is the early front runner for Best
Comedy; the third seasons of Abbott Elementary and Only Murders in
the Building, will almost certainly be among the major nominees and it is
likely What We Do In The Shadows, a major contender in past years, will
return to the fold. It is clear that the early contenders for Best Limited
Series going forward will include the most recent season of Fargo and Fellow
Travelers and there are early signs that Apple TV’s Lessons In Chemistry
will be among the contenders as well.
With that in
mind it is time to take a belated look at some of the other awards groups that
have given TV nominations in the past several weeks but I have (understandably)
ignored due to everything involving the Golden Globes and Critics Choice
Awards. So in the next few weeks I will deal with some of the other major
awards shows that might help give us some direction for the next few months as
the 2024 season unfolds.
I will start
with SAG-AFTRA. I admit I am reluctant to do so considering the understandable
grudge that I fold them given so many of the shenanigans that they put all of
us through during the strikes this past year. Indeed, if you’ve read my columns
you know that I had less patience for them than I did the Writer’s Guild and
that was always on a more tentative basis. But we have to stop holding grudges
and move forward. And fortunately, there are signs in the nomination that
forgiveness might be possible.
DRAMA SERIES
ENSEMBLE
It’s been more
than a week and I’m still over the moon that SAG-AFTRA nominated The Gilded
Age for Best Drama Series Ensemble. Am I bitter that it might very well
have come at the expense of Yellowjackets? Yes. But two of the major
nominees – The Crown and Succession – have been nominated for
their final season. Yellowjackets will get another bite at the apple.
The Morning Show
and
The Last of Us are hardly surprises, though I suppose in the latter case
Ensemble includes the immense cast of Guest Actors.
MALE ACTOR IN A
DRAMA SERIES
Again I question
Brian Cox being nominated as a lead, particularly considering how small his
role in the final season of Succession was.
The rest of the
nominees are logical: Kieran Culkin and Matthew MacFayden for Succession; Pedro
Pascal for The Last of Us and Billy Crudup for The Morning Show. Crudup
has been nominated in this category before.
FEMALE ACTOR IN
A DRAMA SERIES
No real shocks
here. Sarah Snook, Keri Russell, and Bella Ramsey have been making the awards circuit
for the past few months and Jennifer Aniston has been doing the same for The
Morning Show as has Elizabeth Debicki. I can live with no one from Yellowjackets
or The Gilded Age; again, they’re both going to get another shot.
BEST COMEDY
ENSEMBLE
This is
essentially a repeat of last year’s nominees with Ted Lasso in instead
of Hacks. And considering the quality of The Bear, Barry, Abbott Elementary
and Only Murders in the Building, who can complain? I might have
wanted to see Shrinking instead of Ted Lasso, but again, it will
get another shot.
MALE ACTOR IN A
COMEDY SERIES
Jeremy Allen
White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach I have absolutely no problem with, and none for Bill
Hader for Barry. Jason Sudeikis was inevitable but I confess to being
irked to see Brett Goldstein here for Ted Lasso rather than Steve Martin
or Martin Short or Jason Segel. Seriously SAG-AFTRA, create supporting
categories.
FEMALE ACTOR IN
A COMEDY SERIES
Quinta Brunson,
Rachel Brosnahan and Ayo Edebiri are hardly shocks as they’ve basically won all
the major acting awards the last two weeks. Hannah Waddingham is riding the love
of Ted Lasso. I question Alex Borstein’s presence over Natasha Lyonne
for Poker Face. And I’m pretty sure she does too.
MALE ACTOR IN A
LIMITED SERIES
Here with the
exception of Steven Yeun (the almost certain winner for Beef) we start
to get some insight into who the nominees for Best Limited Series will be in
2024. Matt Bomer is here for Fellow Travelers and Jon Hamm is present
for Fargo. David Oyelowo received a Critics Choice nomination for his
work in Lawmen: Bass Reeves and could very well have momentum. How much
momentum Tony Shalhoub has for Mr. Monk’s Last Case is an open question
but both he and the film were nominated for Critics Choice Awards and that
might be enough to carry him.
FEMALE ACTOR IN
A TV MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Like Steven
Yeun, Ali Wong is the likely winner but her fellow nominees have an interesting
mix of the past and future.
Bel Powley, who
was nominated for many awards except the Emmy for A Small Light is
present. Kathryn Hahn, who got an Emmy nomination but got nothing from the
Golden Globes for Critics Choice is here. Brie Larson is going to be in
the hunt for Lessons in Chemistry. I am kind of stunned Uzo Aduba is
here for Painkiller instead of, say, Riley Keough for Daisy Jones and
The Six or Juno Temple for Fargo. How much of a factor she will be
in the awards hunt is impossible to say.
STUNT ENSEMBLE
IN A TV SERIES
Little shock
that The Last of Us, Barry or Beef are here; considering how much
their work relied on stunt ensembles. The Mandalorian is hardly shocking
either. I guess SAG-AFTRA loves Star Wars; I can’t understand why Ahsoka
is here ahead of The Boys which won the Emmy for Best Stunts or any
of countless other series.
Now I move on to the Spirit Awards, which I admit
is a double edged sword for me.
I have famously
been opposed to awards shows that have eliminated gender and two years ago the
Spirits did just that. They have been in my bad graces ever since, and it has
not helped that they to have moved onto streaming.
But they have
also moved into television, which I grant is a huge step forward for them. And
I feel I owe it to them to give them recognition.
BEST NEW
SCRIPTED SERIES
Beef and Jury Duty
have made the rounds and I have seen bits and pieces of Dreaming Whilst
Black. I’m A Virgo, an Amazon series by indie legend Boots Riley is almost
completely unknown to me as was Slip. I’m willing to give room for that
one, considering how big a fan I am of Zoe-Lister Jones, the creator and star
of the series.
BEST LEAD
PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Here we do see a
lot of performers who have been making the awards rounds the last few weeks:
Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, Bella Ramsey and Dominique Fishback I don’t have to
mention. I just made tribute to Bel Powley and I do give credit to them for the
nomination for Ramon Rodriguez in Will Trent. I hope this is a sign the
Emmy nomination may not be far behind. Betty Gilpin has been severely underrecognized
for Mrs. Davis so I’m glad to see her here.
Jharrel Jerome
and Zoe Lister-Jones are clearly here as part of their series, I’m A Virgo and
Slip respectively. It is likely that Emma Corrin will be among the Emmy
contenders this year for A Murder at the End of the World. Corrin and
Ramsey, who identify as non-binary, are the first nominees for whom this specific
category was designed to recognize. I’ve yet to decide if this is a good thing
or a bad thing.
BEST SUPPORTING
PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
This group is
more interesting. Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett are here for their guest
performances in The Last of Us. Jessica Williams and Luke Tennie did superb
work in Shrinking. Lewis Pullman received a nomination from the Critics
Choice Awards for his work in Lessons in Chemistry. And considered his
history with independent film, it is perfectly reasonable and actually the
right call to have nominated Benny Safdie for The Curse.
I can not
comment on most of the other performance as I know nothing about The
Changeling, I’m A Virgo or Swarm. (I admit it is odd to see Billie Eilish
nominated for the latter in this category.) But as someone who thought Rain Dogs was
a fascinating series, I’m glad to see Jack Farthing here.
I didn’t see any
of the nominated performances for Best Breakthrough Performance in a Scripted
Series so I won’t say anything. But the choice to give the Best Ensemble Cast
in a Scripted Series to Jury Duty is the right one – and makes up for
the decision of SAG-AFTRA not to nominate it for anything.
Next week I will
deal with the NAACP Image nominations and the People’s Choice Awards. I’ve
mention how good the former group have been the last few years and I’ve seen the
nominations for the latter. They’re more impressive than usual.
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