If you’ve
been reading my column for the last several years you know how my reactions to
the Emmy nominations almost invariably are. I rant at the obligatory decision
to ignore superior broadcast dramas in the place of inferior streaming ones. I
howl at the decision to ignore brilliant network and cable comedies in favor of
the cut-and-paste nominations from previous years. And I rant at the ridiculous
level of choices for limited series.
And it’s
true that when the Emmy nominations came out today, they had many of the usual
flaws: Will Trent and Elsbeth were ignored, as were So Help Me
Todd and Not Dead Yet. City Primeval and Billions were
ignored in their final incarnations and such astonishing limited series as Masters
of the Air, Mary & George and Apples Never Fall were essentially
ignored. And yet having looked at the Emmy nominations for 2024 in their
entirety and having had several hours to reflect on them my reaction runs from:
“Better then I expected’ to ‘Pleasantly surprised.”
I know.
I’m as shocked as you are and I’ve been spending the last several hours trying
to figure out why I’m not disappointed, or at least not as angry as I have been
at the nominations for, I don’t know, at least as long as I’ve writing for
medium.
There are
several related factors. The first is that I knew going in this was a year of
transition for the Emmys, in part due to several critical dramas and comedies
having come to the end of their runs last year, from Better Call Saul and
Succession to Ted Lasso and Barry. I also knew that
because of the strike that crippled Hollywood last year many of the major
nominees from years past, such as Euphoria (yea!!) Squid Game,
Yellowjackets, The White Lotus and on and on, were not going to be eligible
this year. This was going to lead to opportunities for many series that
otherwise might not have a chance, and that part of my predictions were
realized in both comedy and drama.
I’ll also
admit that the existence of other awards shows, most recently the Astras, has
done much to negate the feeling that my favorite series will be recognized in
some format along with some of my favorite actors before the Emmys take place.
There’s
also the not to be ignored fact that as television enters this transitional
phase, it is opening door for diversity in ways it wasn’t even a few years ago.
Last year saw a record number of minority nominees across all categories, most
notably Asian-Americans. This year saw another rise in a different set of
minorities, including Japanese and other Asian actors and indigenous nominees.
Whatever one might say about TV going forward, it is definitely becoming more
diverse and that’s good for everybody.
And maybe
it’s the simple that fact that in the last few years I’ve come to realize that
maybe I’ve been making some bad judgments about the Emmys the whole time,
particularly when it comes to drama. Given the opportunity to see many of the
streaming series particularly during the long hiatus of the strike, I have come
to realize that many of the biggest problems I’ve had with the Emmys over the
years may very well be just that: my problems. It’s true I’ll never agree with
them when it comes to Euphoria and Ozark and I’ll go to my grave
happy I never watched an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm but I have to
admit that I’ve made some major misjudgments over years. Those of you who read
my columns last year know that I essentially spent a lot of time writing mea
culpas for my failures to recognize the quality of Succession and it’s
possible I may well have been wrong on other major series such as Downton
Abbey. (I think my position on Game of Thrones was warranted and it
looks like I’ve been proven right by history.)
Don’t
worry, I’m not going to start singing hosannahs to the Emmys as an aura of
perfection: as you’ll see they made their share of errors this year, some of
which I do find hard to forgive. But as someone whose genuinely been pleased
with the quality of the winning shows and actors over the last three years in
particular has to acknowledge that this is progress in every sense of the word.
Of course,
that’s just for this year. If I’m still happy when Euphoria and the
other HBO dramas return to the forefront next year once the strike is well and
truly behind us…well, one year at a time. Anyway here are my reactions. I’ll
start with comedy.
OUTSTANDING
COMEDY SERIES
HURRAY! Reservation
Dogs was nominated for five Emmys this year! Took you long enough, Emmys. I’ll
admit I would have wanted more, but that’s still one more then Curb Your
Enthusiasm.
No surprise
as to who the big dogs are in the nominations. The Bear leads all comers
with 23 nominations. In second place somewhat less surprisingly Only Murders
in the Building. Hacks and Abbott Elementary are more than well
represented as you’ll see below. I’m going to get Palm Royale starting
next week. I’m not shocked that What We Do In the Shadows is here; I may
have predicted it would be. No Young Sheldon or Ghosts but that’s
what the Astras is for.
OUTSTANDING
ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
So there
were six nominees after all instead of five. Good.
Well
Jeremy Allen White, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Larry David were going to
be there. I’m overjoyed that they chose to nominate D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai for Reservation
Dogs. Matt Berry for What We Do In The Shadows has been here before
and he’s probably a better choice than Kelsey Grammer or Theo James.
OUTSTANDING
LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
The three
favorites in this category: Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri and Jean Smart will be
battling it out. I’m so glad Selena Gomez is in the hunt at least. Am I upset
Devery Jacobs was ignored for her work in Reservation Dogs? Yes, but it
would be petty consider Woon-A-Tai was acknowledged. Besides it was likely that
Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig were going to be in ahead of her. Wiig and Rudolph
double dipped for their brilliant guest host appearances on SNL and they
are two of my favorites. This may be the most diverse Best Actress in a Comedy
field in history, even with Jacobs absent. About time.
OUTSTANDING
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Bad news.
They only nominated six actors. Good news: one of them was Paul W. Downs for Hacks.
Downs,
Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Tyler James Williams will no doubt be fighting it out. I
predicted Paul Rudd being here; I thought Kenan Thompson would represent SNL.
Can’t exactly complain about Bowen Yang. And having seen the ‘Honeydew’
episode of The Bear, yeah, Lionel Boyce earned it. Another very diverse
category.
OUTSTANDING
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Well, I
did predict four of these six nominees would be here, though it would have been
hard not to expect Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James, Hannah Einbinder and
Meryl Streep. I’ll admit I got my nominee from The Bear wrong but Liza
Colon-Zayas deserved it as much as Abby Elliot. And considering how angry I was
Carol Burnett was ignored by the Emmys for Better Call Saul last year, I’m
fine with her being nominated for Palm Royale.
OUTSTANDING
GUEST ACTOR
Wouldn’t
it be ironic if Bob Odenkirk got the Emmy he was denied for Better Call Saul
for The Bear? Of course, he’ll have to face off against Jon Bernthal
and Will Poulter from that series. Ryan Gosling deserves everything for making even
the cast crack up on SNL and I have no problem with Matthew Broderick or
Christopher Lloyd getting nominated for anything.
OUTSTANDING
GUEST ACTRESS
I know. It’s
going to go to Jamie Lee Curtis for The Bear. But as for the rest…
Always
glad to see Olivia Colman and Kaitlin Olson here (you’ll win in this category
someday) Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig are here and perhaps Da-Vine Joy
Randolph will achieve something that Emma Stone can’t and Robert Downey very
well might: win an Oscar and an Emmy in the same year.
As for
writing and directing:
The Bear is likely
to win in at least one of these categories (possibly both) for Fishes. Abbott
Elementary is represented in both for different episodes as is Hacks.
Girls5eva and The Other Two got deserved love for writing. The
Bear is here twice; Guy Ritchie is represented for The Gentleman. I’ll
never understand the love for Ms. Pat though I do get the love for Shadows.
Tomorrow I
move on to Drama where I’m actually happier than comedy. (I know, hell’s
freezing over as we speak.)
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