THB #132 : Emmy Nom Ad-Bait, Pt 1

The Emmy of My Enemy Is The Enemy of My Emmy

It’s that Emmy push time of year. And so, as someone who consumes and loves a lot of television and needs advertising to keep this newsletter free, it’s time I dive into the fray!!!

It’s interesting. Television critics hold their turf more tightly than film critics have. They won’t just let anyone in, even if they have a lot of history in TV, interview a lot of television talent, and watch everything. So I am going to be writing this summer to find my place in the world of television criticism and as a fully fledged (oh my!) influencer.

I will not being trying to duplicate what others do… I will be bringing my perspective, for better or worse. Hopefully, this will amuse and inform.

tragedy

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

So here is the skinny… of the 8 series that were nominated last year, only 3 (The Handmaid’s Tale, This Is Us, and Bridgerton) had seasons that can be nominated this year.

But wait!!! Five series that were nominated 2 years ago and not eligible for the last Emmys are back! Succession, Better Call Saul, Killing Eve, Ozark, and Stranger Things.

Welcome to streaming TV life… where shows skip entire years even though they make a fraction of the number of shows per season.

Five of the 8 shows from this group of nominees from the last 2 seasons were also nominated 3 years ago. Given how the TV Academy loves to repeat itself, expect to see at least 3 of that group - Better Call Saul, Killing Eve, Ozark, Succession, and This Is Us - nominated - maybe 4 - with 4 of the 5 also in their final seasons. (Of course, this is sometimes when Emmy decides to cut bait, surprising everyone.)

The “outsiders” in this group of 8 are therefore The Handmaid’s Tale, Bridgerton, and Stranger Things.

Let’s push Handmaid’s into the final 8. So that fills 4 or 5 slots.

Squid Game seems a lock to get in, given their success with the guilds during the last few months. 5/6

So what is the list from there? The Yellows, Stone and Jackets. Loki, of all the Disney+ shows. Can Euphoria finally get in the door for series or will a season with 2 of the finest hours of television in years get pushed aside like men push aside women in the series? Does Winning Time have a Los Angeles advantage?

Can AppleTV+ find a place with a terrible season of The Morning Show or the hipster show that I can’t find a loving word for from anyone off of Twitter, Severance?

I’m pretty sure that you will find all of your nominees in this category mentioned here. I would love to be guessing that Billions will finally get its due or an underappreciated cop show like Big Sky might register or that an exotic like My Brilliant Friend will make the cut. But it’s the Emmys. ‘Nuff said.

That said, I will likely be a fan of all of the nominees… well, maybe all but one… because there usually is that one that just makes me shake my head.

comedy

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

Second verse, same as the first? No.

In the last 3 Emmy seasons, there has been a stunning lack of repetition (and the absurdity of Cobra Kai being nominated as a comedy). The Kominsky Method was the only show nominated in both of the last 2 Emmy years and is now dead. The Good Place, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Schitt’s Creek repeated 2 and 3 years ago and 2 of those 3 are over.

So the question is, how firm are last year’s nominees that will be eligible again this season. Ted Lasso, which won last year, is eligible for its season of last summer. Hacks Season 2 arrives later this week. PEN15 had a season in the winter of 2021 with a preview episode (the animated one) in August, months earlier. Black-ish, which wrapped after this season, has been nominated 4 times before, including last season after a 2-year break in Best Comedy.

Cobra Kai, Emily in Paris, and The Flight Attendant are also back, though fighting uphill in a more competitive year this year than last.

From the 2019 and 2020 nomination classes, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel dropped its most recent season a few months ago, Barry just returned, Russian Doll is back on Netflix, Curb Your Enthusiasm had a season, Insecure had its final season, and What We Do In The Shadows lives forever via FX/Hulu.

The newcomers start with Only Murders in The Building, eligible for the first time. Abbott Elementary and Ghosts are the the hottest comedy titles on network television these days. The Afterparty, which seems like a limited series, got a 2nd season renewal and is “a series.”

Then there is Atlanta, which was nominated for both its first 2 seasons and should expect to be nominated for its equally fascinating 3rd season that just ended.

The Great managed only one writing and one directing nod for its first season. Stoopid. But will Emmy voters catch up with the second season, which ups the ante considerably? It should.

But Emmy has never acknowledged Better Things beyond Pamela Adlon’s performance. So Emmy is an ass. This is one of the greatest TV series ever.

And what of Reservation Dogs? Is the room ever that hip at the Emmys?

Or to be even more transgressive, the animated first season of Fairfax was one of my favorite comedies of the year. (And yes, the fact that it centers within a block of my home might make be an even bigger fan.)

So… Ted Lasso and Hacks and Only Murders in The Building sit on top, looking down at the other nominees who will just be happy to be there as everyone guesses which one of them will win.

Atlanta is also in, but won’t win. Barry is also 2 for 2, in terms of nominations. Likely.

One or both of the network hits, Abbott Elementary and Ghosts, gets the nod(s).

That leaves 1 or 2 spots.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel got great in the last 3 episodes, but lost a lot of people in the first few of this season.

Black-ish deserves the honor, but voters get bored. Hate to acknowledge that race is still a thing, even amongst the woke, but it is and Abbott and/or Insecure may be in The Johnsons’ way. Black-ish and Atlanta paired for 2 “black” nomination slots in both 2017 and 2018… hasn’t happened again since. (Don’t shoot the messenger!)

Cobra Kai is not a comedy, Emily in Paris has been reduced to a guilty pleasure, and Russian Doll 2 has crap word of mouth. (Sorry, Netflix.) Grace & Frankie has been a legit hit for Netflix, but not with Emmy voters. I don’t see that changing all of a sudden. And I would love to see The Chair nominated, but according to its star, it isn’t a series, but a limited.

I don’t think anyone thinks this last Curb Your Enthusiasm season was awards bait. Is anyone talking about The Flight Attendent this month?

We Do In The Shadows getting in last year felt like a happy miracle, so maybe. Same with Pen15.

The Afterparty may be the fresh new flavor of this Emmy season. It may skew too young. It may be too hip.

Until tomorrow…