It’s hard to believe but the 2018 Emmy Award season is already here. Networks and streaming services are deep into their publicity and media plans while the industry as a whole nervously wonders whether a #MeToo campaign that flipped Hollywood upside down will continue to send shock waves. Change has been a theme at the Globes and the Oscars, how will it affect TV’s biggest night? Let’s hope that’s one reason we still don’t know who is hosting NBC’s annual rotation of the telecast this September.
You might have expected the network to have already announced “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon or “Late Night’s” Seth Meyers as the Emmys emcee, but maybe the network is working to smartly avoid yet another white male talk show host on the dais. It’s only been a non-stop string since Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Emmys when ABC had their turn in 2016. No, we’re not kidding. In fact, the last time a white male didn’t host one of the four major award shows (five if you count the Tonys) was when Chris Rock hosted the Oscars in February, 2016 when no one really thought Donald Trump had a chance of winning the presidency. Yes, it’s probably time for change in 2018.
As for the Emmy nominations themselves we’re still three months away from voting. A ton of series expected to qualify have not premiered as of yet, but the recent year-end awards and guild season has highlighted some major new contenders. Moreover, the fact a number of previous winners and nominees will not be in the mix, such as “Game of Thrones” absence last year, has made some major races more compelling than they’ve been in the past.
Keeping all this in mind, here’s 11 things we’ve already learned as the Emmy machine starts to warm up.
“Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” should scare anyone in a Comedy Series category
Amazon Studios may be in a state of transition with Jennifer Salke now running both the television and film offerings (she actually began yesterday), but after a bumpy fall the streaming service has a somewhat unexpected awards player on its hands with Amy Sherman-Palladino’s period comedy. Granted, “Maisel” winning the Golden Globe for Best TV Series – Musical or Comedy was right up the HFPA’s alley, but taking the PGA Award for comedy series over “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Master of None” and “Veep” was a huge surprise. Throw in “Maisel’s” DGA nomination and even a Costume Design Guild nod and Amazon has a contender with serious industry respect. Will that be enough to crack Emmy’s Comedy Series category? More on that in a minute, but speaking of shows with guild love…
“Ozark” and “GLOW” have to fight to keep year-end momentum
While “Maisel” ended up with a heap of guild honor momentum, Netflix’s “Ozark” and “GLOW” didn’t capitalize on any of their own impressive guild nods. “Ozark” found Jason Bateman and Laura Linney nominated for the SAG Awards’s Male Actor and Female Actor in a Drama Series (a major accomplishment considering the competition), Bateman also earned a Golden Globe nod and Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams’s dark drama earned a WGA Award nomination for New Series. Unfortunately, it came away completely empty handed. “GLOW,” on the other hand, earned nominations from the American Cinema Editors Awards, Art Directors Guild Awards, Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylist Guild Awards, two WGA Award nods (both Comedy Series and New Series) as well as a jaw-dropping four SAG Award nominations including Comedy Ensemble. The only honor “GLOW” took home, however, was the ADG award. Both Netflix series launched last summer, weeks before the Television Academy even voted on the winners for the 2017 Emmy Awards. The streaming service has to find a way to keep both series top of mind during the voting period while still promoting the upcoming second seasons of each series.
“This Is Us” isn’t going anywhere
If you thought NBC’s “This Is Us” was going to be a one-year wonder with Emmy voters you’re in for quite a surprise. Even when you pull the inflated Super Bowl episode out of the mix the ratings for Dan Fogleman’s melodrama is right on par with last year’s breakout debut season. Moreover, it pulled a power move winning the SAG Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series over “The Crown,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Stranger Things.” Granted, we’re a little wary of equating SAG members preference to both Television and Motion Picture Academy members after some of their choices the past few years, but even if the NBC drama had defeated two of those four series it would be a big deal. Four though? Trust, the industry love is real.
“Twin Peaks” might be Showtime’s easiest campaign in years or not
The long awaited return of David Lynch’s landmark series created a tremendous amount of critical discourse as the show made a ton of top 10 lists and polls at the end of 2017. In fact, cinematic publications Sight & Sound and Cahiers du Cinema included it in their own year-end lists which enlivened the debate over what is and what isn’t film and what is or what isn’t television as the lines continue to blur. Showtime has publicly been pleased with the series’ response saying it was responsible for a significant increase in new subscribers, but are they invested in a pricey Emmy Campaign? Well, frankly, they might not have to. Depending on how you look at it without some familiar faces (notably “Fargo”) the Mini-Series category might not be that competitive. Moreover, on the acting side Laura Dern already won last year for “Big Little Lies” and along with Kyle McLachlan they both seem like easy picks for Supporting Actress and Lead Actor in a Mini-Series or TV movie noms. Writing or directing nominations seem fairly likely from those specific branches as well. The only major concern is the last episode debuted on Sept. 3 and its guild nominations were surprisingly limited to just the Art Directors and Cinema Audio Society. Granted, it was competing at year-end with “Big Little Lies,” “Feud” and “The Wizard of Lies” but maybe Showtime has to spend a little effort reminding voters about Lynch’s unique accomplishment.
The jury is still out on “The Deuce”
Remember James Franco? Boy, that controversy seems like forever ago, but in actuality, the LA Times report of five women accusing the actor/director/writer/producer of sexual assault was just two months ago. Franco snuck into the SAG Awards a few weeks later, but has scarcely been seen since. For HBO it’s been an unexpected quandary for a critically acclaimed series that was expected to find at least some support within the Television Academy. We’re going to assume Maggie Gyllenhaal still has a much deserved shot to break into the Best Actress in a Drama Series race, but it’s possible Franco’s association will hinder even that campaign. Despite reportedly returning for the show’s second season Franco is simply persona non grata when it comes to Emmy. Will that harm the series chances in other categories, especially the Creative Arts Emmys categories? Considering it’s pretty competitive across the board we may never know.
