Those of you who have
been following my columns for the last few years are aware that in recent year
I have begun to divide the awards shows for television that I believe may be
harbingers for the Emmy nominations in the summer among different ‘phases’. Phase
1 starts in December with the nominations for the Golden Globes and Critics
Choice Award nominations for television and ends in the middle of January.
The second phase has
involved organizations that focus more on films but have a history with TV.
Many have existed for years but I’ve only begun to follow them fairly recently
even in alignment with my column. The majority of the nominations occur this week
and the next. They include the Image Awards, the awards given by the NAACP to
celebrate the excellence of African-Americans in pop culture, the SAG Awards
which while relatively limited have in recent years given more variety in their
prizes that the Emmys sometimes do and recently the Independent Spirit Awards
which in the last few years have begun nominated television shows and
performers from the year just past.
All of them have flaws
in their process. The Screen Actors guild has never differentiation between
lead and supporting in any of the television series they nominate shows and
performers for each year and while they nominate a lead male and female actor for
Limited Series they have yet to create an award to honor ensembles for that
category. The Spirit Awards, in addition to not differentiating awards by
gender, have the added burden of only honoring a series in its first season and
never again thereafter. The Image Awards flaw is self-explanatory. Yet all
three do have a gift for recognizing and often honoring shows and awards that
even the Golden Globes and Critics Choice have chosen to ignore. And while
there are rarely parallels between these awards and many of those the Emmys
will honor; they have a potential to find possibilities that the Emmys might
honor as well as series and actors that assuredly will fall under the radar of
the Academy.
For that reason even
though Phase One is not over yet, I
think it’s time we begin phase 2. In large part this is because the nominations
for the Image Awards came out today and the SAG Awards will come out tomorrow.
How much of this will aid the Emmy voters going forward is hard to know – it’s
a long way between now and June – but it’s worth checking in at least.
I’m going to start with
the Spirit Awards because they actually gave their nominations in December but
because I was focused on other things at the time, I didn’t have a chance to
look at them then.
BEST NEW SCRIPTED
SERIES
Well, no one can fault Baby
Reindeer or Shogun being here and I’m glad to see English Teacher
among the contenders. Fantasmas has a significant critical and
audience following. I have yet to hear of Diarra From Detroit but perhaps
other awards show will follow along
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Ten nominees with no separation
from gender. Fans of my blog no how I feel about this but for a change it works
as if they’d divided the nominees between male and female: five male actors,
five female ones.
For the males Brian
Jordan Alvarez now looks more and more like an Emmy favorite for his work in English
Teacher. We’ve already seen Hiroyuki Sanada win last night for his work in Shogun
and Richard Gadd and Andrew Scott have been dominating the nominations for
limited series already. Julio Torres nomination for Fantasmas makes
sense because, as with Alvarez and Gadd, he is one of the creative minds behind
the show.
Apparently comic book
based material is not a burden for Independent Spirit awards: both Kathryn Hahn
for Agatha All Along and Cristin Milioti for The Penguin are represented
here. Anna Sawai is showing up everywhere and Lily Gladstone was nominated for
an Emmy for her work in Under the Bridge. I am overjoyed to see Julianne
Moore here for her work in Mary & George.
BEST SUPPORTING
PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
This has a slight advantage
for female performances: there are seven actresses nominated and three actors –
but I can’t quibble given the caliber.
For the male we have
Enrico Colantoni deservedly nominated for The English Teacher and Tadanobu
Asano here for Shogun. I’m not sure about Brian Tee for Expats though.
I am overjoyed to see
Betty Gilpin here for Three Women and hope this and her nomination by
the Spirits is a sign of an Emmy nod down the road. Stephanie Koening is more
than worthy as in Nava Mau and I’m thrilled to see Ruth Negga here for Presumed
Innocent and Moeka Hoshi for Shogun. I believe Patti LuPone was
nominated by the Critics Choice for her work in Agatha All Along. As for
Chloe Guidry’s presence for Under the Bridge, not having seen the series
I will withhold comment (though I may get to it down the line now)
BEST BREAKTHROUGH
PERFORMANCE IN A SCRIPTED SERIES
I’m thrilled to see Hoa
Xuande nominated for his extraordinary in The Sympathizer a show that
has almost been completely shutout by all the major award groups. No surprise
to see Jessica Gunning here. Diarra Kilpatrick is clearly the lead from Diarra
From Detroit and there have been many great things to say about Penelope
and Megan Stott. I will get to Agatha All Along so I know who Joe
Locke is.
Best Ensemble Cast in a
New Scripted Series in Natasha Rothwell’s How To Die Alone. I’ll give that
a pass and look for it down the road.
Now let’s look at the
Images for TV
OUTSTANDING COMEDY
SERIES
And there’s How To
Die Alone. Along with perennials Abbott Elementary, The Neighborhood and
The Upshaws. Joining them is freshman series Poppa’s House.
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A
COMEDY SERIES
I hope the nomination
for David Alan Grier for St. Denis Medical will help move him to the
forefront of this category in the Emmys going forward. He is nominated with
fellow freshman (and In Living Color co-star) Damon Wayans for Poppas
House. Delroy Lindo is here for the now cancelled UnPrisoned and
Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps have been here before.
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN
A COMEDY SERIES
Two Emmy winners in
this category: Ayo Edebiri for The Bear, Quinta Brunson for Abbott
Elementary. Want to take odds one of them prevails? Natasha Rothwell is
here for How to Die Alone, Kerry Washington for UnPrisoned, Tichina
Arnold for The Neighborhood.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING
ACTOR IN A COMEDY
As you’d expect Tyler
James Williams and William Stanford Davis are representing Abbott Elementary
and perpetual Emmy nominee Keenan Thompson is here for SNL. Giancarlo
Esposito is always here for one show or another: in this category it’s The
Gentlemen. Damon Wayans, Jr is here for Poppa’s House.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING
ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Janelle James and Sheryl
Lee Ralph, no argument. Danielle Pinnock has gotten her share of recognition
for Ghosts. Ego Nwodim is here for her farewell season on SNL and
Wanda Sykes is always here.
OUTSTANDING DRAMA
SERIES
And another reason to
love the Images they nominated Found for Best Drama. 9-1-1 is
also deservedly present. Bel-Air is no surprise and neither is Reasonable
Doubt. Cross being here over the Power franchise; slightly odd.
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A
DRAMA
Donald Glover continues
to circulate for Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Harold Perrineau is here for From
which makes a lot of sense. Aldis Hodge is here for Cross and Jabari
Banks for Bel-Air. Michael Rainey, Jr does make sense for Ghost.
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN
A DRAMA
If the Emmys could do
so well. Here is Shanola Hampton, making another argument for an Emmy
nomination. Here is Angela Bassett yet again here for 9-1-1. And here, most
welcome, is Zoe Saldana for Lioness which I honestly didn’t expect to
see here. Queen Latifah is a perennial favorite; perhaps I’ll get to Reasonable
Doubt down the road.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING
ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Few likely
possibilities for Emmys down the road but criminally undervalued performers: Method
Man for Ghost; Jacob Latimore for The Chi; Morris Chestnut for Reasonable
Doubt (my guess is he’ll be back here next year for Watson) and
nominees for Bel-Air and Cross.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING
ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Kind of shocked this is
where the only nominees for Bridgerton are. Always thrilled to see Lorainne
Toussaint and Lynn Whitfield here (especially given Whitfield’s incredible work
on The Chi) and more love for Bel-Air. No presence by Grey’s
Anatomy. Maybe even the Images are running out of patience.
OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
SPECIAL OR MOVIE
Little surprise the MLK/X
version on Genius is here or for that matter the recent Fight Night
and Griselda. I’ve heard interesting things about The Madness; Rebel
Ridge is unknown to me.
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A
LIMITED TELEVISION
Colman Domingo is one
of the major figures nominated across the board and it is hardly a shock to see
Kelvin Harrison here for Genius. Kevin Hart was always a possibility and
I didn’t know Laurence Fishburne had worked in TV this year.
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN
A LIMITED TELEVISION
Apparently The
Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat is a major film and features three of
the greatest African-American actresses working today in it: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor,
Sanaa Lathan and Uzo Aduba. Perhaps this is where Sofia Vergara finally wins a
Best Actress prize
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING
ACTOR IN A LIMITED TELEVISION
Ron Cephas Jones was
nominated for Genius by the Critics Choice as well and it seems every
African-American character actor in the world was in Fight Night, considering
Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackosn and Terrence Howard are all nominated for it.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING
ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES
So was Taraji P.
Henson. Sanaa Lathan doubled dipped for a BET film and Jayme Lawson was
nominated for Genius.
OUTSTANDING GUEST
PERFORMANCE
Everyone who say Ayo
Edebiri and Maya Rudolph’s hosting SNL knows they earned it. Keegan
Michael Key and Cree Summer were superb in their guest roles on Abbott. Marlon
Wayans is here for Bel Air.
COMEDY WRITING/ DIRECTING
Two nominees for Abbott
Elementary and none of them are for comedy. I’ll be watching Shrinking with
interest and wondering why no actors are nominated. Apparently Ayo Edebiri also
directed an episode of The Bear.
DRAMA WRITING /DIRECTING
Big surprise Bridgerton
has three nominations for writing yet received no nominations for Best
Drama. Not a shock to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith nominated for the Pilot.
The majority of the directing nominees are for drama and Marta Cunningham is
nominated against herself for her work on Genius. Paris Barclay and Carl
Franklin are two of the best directors in television so their nominations for Monsters
is hardly a shock.
Abbott Elementary and The Bear are
already contending for Emmy nominations across the board for their seasons and Donald
Glover has gotten his share of love for his work on Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Monsters is likely to be contending for awards down the road and its
conceivable Fight Night will due. Shanola Hampton continues to linger as
a possibility for Best Actress in a Drama (none of last year’s nominees in the
category are eligible) and its not yet clear where the Emmys will land on
limited series yet. As for the rest of the nominated series and actors, the
majority are almost certain to be overlooked for Emmys mainly because the majority
of them, sadly, always seem to be.
Both the Spirits and
the Images will air on February 22nd; The Spirits will be streaming;
the Images on two consecutive nights edited for BET.
Tomorrow I will report
on the results of the SAG Award nominations for television.
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