After the COVID crisis just three years ago, Hollywood is once again at a historic moment. Strikes by the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild of America have brought the production of anything narrative to a halt. Stars are no longer promoting their films or television shows and the networks have released updated fall schedules dominated by reality programming. Things are so dire that CBS is planning on airing reruns of “Yellowstone” and the original British version of “Ghosts.” However, despite fears that this work stoppage could last for months, voting for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards is still moving forward. Yes, beginning August 17 Television Academy members will have their chance to have their say while many of the nominees walk the scorching picket lines in front of the major broadcast networks. Now whether the primetime and creative arts ceremonies will still go forward as planned, well, that’s up in the air.
The Television Academy has already let it be known they cannot produce an Emmy ceremony without WGA involvement. The Tony Awards might have pulled off a wonderful writer-less ceremony last month, but the Emmys (let alone a celebratory 75th Anniversary telecast) are a different beast. Now, with potentially no stars on hand and neither union even back at the negotiating table, moving forward with the scheduled September telecast seems…dicey. Rumors are flying that the Television Academy could move the ceremony to either November (may we suggest the same weekend as the star-filled Governors Awards?) or January where FOX, this year’s broadcast partner, would have to find a weekend that doesn’t conflict with the NFL playoffs. The clock is ticking.
Despite that major hurdle on the Television Academy’s plate, the organization’s 20,000 or so members made their opinions known when the 2023 Emmy nominations were revealed last week. And, frankly, it was quite informative in validating and dismissing several industry expectations about Emmy voter preferences this year. Shall we try to forget about the strike for just a few moments and dive in? Just for the escapism of it all?
“Ted Lasso” ain’t dead yet
Be honest, how many friends have told you they were disappointed in the final season of Apple TV+’s biggest hit? How many even stopped watching? (Judging by Nielsen streaming ratings, not that many). The Jason Sudekis feel-good comedy may not have lived up to its previous Emmy-winning standards, but voters didn’t care. In fact, “Ted Lasso” earned 21 nominations, more than in 2021 or 2022 where it landed 20 each. For those who thought a window might be open for “Abbott Elementary” or “The Bear” to snatch the coveted Outstanding Comedy Series crown, well, maybe next year. “Lasso” appears to be going out with an Emmy three-peat.
The Taylor Sheridan Universe is officially out of the Emmy mix
Despite billboards all over Los Angeles, print ads, and hiring one of the top awards consultants in Hollywood, the Sheridanverse once again came up empty with the Emmy voters (well, almost) as both “Yellowstone” and “1923” were completely snubbed. Television Academy members couldn’t even give Harrison Ford or Helen Mirren, who toplined the latter program, nominations. In fact, the only Taylor Sheridan project which earned an Emmy nom this year was “Tulsa King” which landed a Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or Variety series nom. Despite five seasons of massive viewership and at least, begrudgingly, critical respect, “Yellowstone” and Sheridan have been told they are simply not on voters’ radar. Will Paramount spend on any Sheridan programs like this again? Unless it’s contractual, it’s hard to imagine why they would.
The acting branch really, really, really likes “The White Lotus”
There was no question Mike White‘s drama series was going to get a yacht full of nominations. Last year saw the inaugural season take 10 Emmys across both Primetime and Creative Arts categories. The second season earned 23 nominations (three more than the first season) and saw a staggering nine members of the ensemble cast land nods. Moreover, the fact they recognized the names of Simona Tabasco and Sabrina Impacciatore in the voting scrolls is sort of astounding. In theory, it should give White hope that “White Lotus” could sneak by its HBO stablemate to steal the Drama Series’ crown. That is until you realize Emmy voters nominated an incredible 14 “Succession” actors in five different categories. Still, it ain’t over yet.
Television Academy members appear to only use just five streaming services these days
Judging by what shows Emmy voters embraced it really does seem that outside of specific branches, they really only watch Hulu (64 noms not counting FX), Apple TV+ (54), HBO/Max (137), Prime Video (42), and, of course, Netflix (103). We thought Peacock would break through with major norms for “Poker Face” and “The Traitors” but the NBCUniversal streamer took just eight and saw Natasha Lyonne’s work in the former as their biggest get this season (even Rian Johnson couldn’t get a writing nod). We’ve already covered Paramount+’s Sheridanverse disappointment, but it landed just seven noms overall and two of them were for “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” which has already been pulled from the service. Next year should be better for the streamer as Showtime becomes fully integrated into the service. Showtime landed eight nominations on its own, mostly for the celebrated “George & Tammy” limited series.
“Jury Duty” is an Amazon Freevee/Prime Video wonder
Like any awards campaign, be it Grammy, Tony, or Oscar, phenomenons rise to the surface. That was the case with “Jury Duty,” the little Amazon Freevee (and eventually Prime Video) improvisational comedy series that could. Word of mouth was the show’s champion, but it also was the benefit of a fantastic campaign that took advantage of star Ronald Gladden’s open heart, James Marsden going all in, and some very, very smart public events and appearances. In many ways, it’s a triumph akin to A24’s “Everything Everywhere All At Once” publicity and social media-driven Oscar campaign. Both will be insanely hard for other networks or studios to duplicate in the years to come, but, oh, will they try.
READ MORE: “Succession,” “The Last of Us” and “The White Lotus” dominate the 2023 Emmy nominations
“Barry” wasn’t that overshadowed by “Succession”
With all the love going towards their historic four Drama Series nominees, HBO had to be somewhat concerned that Bill Hader and Alec Berg‘s masterful “Barry” might get overlooked by voters. A fate that wasn’t hard to imagine considering its series finale arrived minutes after “Succession”‘s own dynamic season finale. But, surprise, the dark comedy earned 11 nominations including writing and directing noms (both for Hader) that could easily been missed in two competitive categories. It might not win any major awards this year (Anthony Carrigan deserves Supporting Actor), but the better news is the TV Academy didn’t forget it when it mattered.
Netflix had a much better year than most expected just three months ago
If you spoke to anyone in the awards game in January, few believed Netflix had a shot at beating HBO/HBO Max/Max in the overall nominations tally. And, in no surprise, HBO trounced the streamer 127 to 103. That said, the 103 were pretty impressive considering Netflix’s television slate. The critically acclaimed “Beef” actually overperformed expectations with 13 noms including five acting noms and “Wednesday” cracked the Comedy Series category (this pundit did predict it) and landed 11 other nominations including a Comedy Series Directing nomination for Tim Burton. Considering both “The Crown” and “Stranger Things” took only six each and “Nailed It” didn’t make the Reality Competition Series category cut, the streamer did a killer job on the margins. They were also helped by a surprising seven noms for “Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities,“ “Dahmer’s” 13 noms (which was slightly lower than expected) and a ton of Variety Series categories noms.
“Saturday Night Live” didn’t speak to Emmy voters this year…sorta
For the first time in forever, not one “Saturday Night Live” cast member earned an Emmy nomination for their work. That’s welcome news to some critics who believe their performances should be in a different category, but it didn’t hurt “SNL’s” overall tally. The NBC staple landed nine nominations, the same as in 2022. The difference? A creative Emmys category pickup and hosts Quinta Brunson and Pedro Pascal both landing noms in their respective guest actor categories. Still, both years are half of what the show earned in 2021 when it took 21 noms. That’s not a good trend for the NBC staple.
Writing and Directing branches made some unexpected but bold selections
Both the Writers and Directors branches delivered some happy surprises. On the Directing for a Comedy Series side, Mary Lou Belli was nominated for her work on “The Ms. Pat Show” episode “Don’t Touch My Hair.” A very rare (perhaps too rare?) BET Network nomination. Dearbhla Walsh was one of four nominees for “Bad Sisters.” She made the insanely competitive Directing for a Drama Series category for the episode, “The Prick.” Dan Trachtenberg earned Directing and Writing for a Limited Series, Anthology Series or TV Movie nominations for “Prey,” one of six slightly unexpected nods. The creators of “The Other Two” cracked the Writing for a Comedy Series category in the show’s final season for the hilarious “Cary & Brooke Go To An AIDS Play.” Two other impressive Writing for a Limited Series, Anthology Series or TV Movie nominations went to “Swarm’s” Janine Nabers and Donald Glover and, in a major surprise, “Fire Island'” Joel Kim Booster. These nominations are proof that, at least in these branches, members are looking outside the box of shows they are “supposed” to reward.
“Star Wars” may always have a seat at the Emmy table
There would have been a lot of frustration if the Peabody Award-winning “Andor,” one of the most critically acclaimed series of 2022, didn’t make the Drama Series cut. Not only did it land the coveted nom, but earned Directing and Writing nods among its eight overall. “The Mandalorian,” on the other hand, found itself on the outside looking in after earning Drama Series noms in 2020 and 2021. Still, the Lucasfilm production still earned nine Creative Arts Emmy nominations, an impressive amount considering a more heralded genre series, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” only landed six. Moreover, in a super competitive field, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” crashed the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series five (one of five nominations overall). Considering the general disappointment over that particular project, the fact it earned that nomination was a telling sign the “Star Wars” universe may always have a core fanbase among Emmy voters.
The Television Movie category might be on the right track
If you ever want to hear a professional television critic complain with utter exasperation ask them about the Emmy’s Television Movie category. For too long, films that were completely unworthy of any recognition have made the cut over more acclaimed features. In recent years, this has been in an environment where Netflix does not submit most of its “streaming movies” so they can have some shot at Oscar love down the road (this may change slightly for 2024 with the new Oscar qualifying rules on tap). Still, some movies won’t be submitted to the Emmys because either Netflix or the filmmakers don’t want the films to be seen as “for television.” Fun, right? Happily, Disney and Hulu aren’t playing that game and they were rewarded with “Hocus Pocus 2,” “Prey” and “Fire Island” all earning nominations. The latter two in particular are the quality entries specifically made for television (or streaming) that critics have hoped to see for years. Throw in the critic and guild awards favorite “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story“ and it’s quite the class. Oh, we forgot about “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas.” Sigh, we love Dolly, but maybe there really is a bit more work to do with this one.
Don’t call it a comeback, except when it is
The last time one of the O.G.’s of reality competition shows was nominated for Outstanding Reality Competiton Progam was 2006. That ceremony was seven months before Barack Obama declared his candidacy for president. Now, a remarkable 17 years later, “Survivor” is back in the fold. What’s even more incredible about its comeback is that it was in a year when the category was truncated from just six to five nominees. Granted, there had been buzz before. The past two years saw the CBS staple earn an uptick in ratings and with that a hope for Emmy recognition once more. But this year was the Jeff Probst-hosted program’s moment. Can it stay in the fold with last year’s category winner, “Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls,” returning for a second season in 2024? Ponder.
2024 is wide, wide open
To say that 2024 will be the most potentially wide-open Emmy season in decades is not an understatement. It’s not just because of so many shows ending their runs (“Succession,” “Barry,” “Ted Lasso,” “Better Call Saul,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) but the nominated programs whose next season was never going to qualify in time (“Andor,” “House of the Dragon,” “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”) and, now, potential players who are in danger of missing out due to the work stoppage (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The White Lotus,” “Wednesday”). That’s good news to previous and current Emmy favorites such as “Hacks,” “Only Murders In The Building,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bear,” “Loki,” and “The Crown.” Moreover, the lack of potential submissions may knock a number of major categories down from eight to just six or – gasp – five nominees depending on Television Academy rules.
The Primetime Emmy Awards are currently scheduled for Sept. 18th. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be handed out in separate ceremonies on Sept. 9th and 10th.
