When Older Shows Become Newly-Minted Emmy Nominees

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When Older Shows Become Newly-Minted Emmy Nominees

As a longtime TV enthusiast with decades of viewing under my belt, I must say that this year’s Emmy nominations have truly left me spellbound! The diversity and freshness in the drama series category are a breath of fresh air, especially seeing newcomers like FX’s “3 Body Problem” and Apple TV+’s “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” vying for the top prize.

As a long-time television enthusiast and someone who has followed the Emmys for years, I must admit that this year’s drama categories have left me rather intrigued. With my extensive background in watching and analyzing various shows, it seems like we are witnessing an unusual lineup of nominated titles. The confluence of events – the end of HBO’s Succession (which won three out of four seasons), AMC’s Better Call Saul failing to secure a win despite its impressive 53 nominations across six seasons, and production delays for shows like The Last of Us, Stranger Things, The White Lotus, and Yellowjackets due to last year’s strikes – has created a peculiar scenario.

Although Netflix’s royal drama currently reigns supreme, FX’s Shogun is emerging as the strongest contender – a position it secured only after the show was renewed, prompting a strategic shift from the limited series category to drama. However, even if the drama award seems a foregone conclusion, there were still some unexpected developments beyond the debut entries in Netflix’s 3 Body Problem and Prime Video’s Fallout, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also joining the competition for the first time are HBO’s The Gilded Age, Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, and Slow Horses – all three shows nominated for the first time despite having already aired multiple seasons.

In the world of Emmy campaigning, there are not many specific strategies, but a popular new series definitely has its perks, especially when it consistently earns Emmy nominations (and wins) across multiple seasons. Just as shows grow their viewer base over several seasons, they can also capture the interest of Academy voters during years with less competition – although this is relatively uncommon, it has occurred at least twice in the last decade: FX’s “The Americans” received its first of two best drama nominations for its fourth season in 2016, while Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys” secured one for its second season in 2021.

Carrie Coon, who was nominated for best actress in “The Gilded Age,” shared her perspective on why the second season of the HBO drama outperformed the first. Speaking to THR on the day of the nomination announcements, she said, “With a second season, you’ve already dealt with all the explanations, allowing you to dive straight into the narrative.”

Although HBO’s “The Gilded Age” was a strong competitor for best drama, Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” benefited from HBO’s absence during the Emmys. This show was one of Apple TV+’s initial successes, debuting along with the platform in November 2019. Many of its stars, such as Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, and Martin Short, received Emmy nominations for their performances in season one in 2020 (with Crudup winning for best supporting actor). Despite Crudup, Marcia Gay Harden, and Reese Witherspoon earning nominations again in 2022 for the show’s second season, “The Morning Show” was overlooked for a drama series nomination. However, it managed to secure a nomination this year and has an impressive total of 10 acting nominations, including repeat nods for Aniston, Crudup, Duplass, Harden, and Witherspoon, and new mentions for supporting actors Nicole Beharie, Jon Hamm, Greta Lee, Karen Pittman, and Holland Taylor. (Executive producer Mimi Leder also earned her second directing nomination for the series.)

The third season of Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses,” a less anticipated yet surprising Emmy contender according to awards experts, has been garnering attention. Previously overlooked shows like this one, led by Gary Oldman in the spy thriller genre, were not on the radar of predictions. With the renewal of “Shogun” and its potential impact on the nominations, it’s intriguing to consider what other dark horses might have filled the spot. The acclaimed performance of Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman may have contributed to this word-of-mouth hit gaining recognition among voters. Notably, Oldman was nominated for an Emmy, as were Jack Lowden in a supporting role, guest star Jonathan Pryce, director Saul Metzstein, and writer Will Smith (from “Veep”).

As a passionate viewer, I’m thrilled to share that this year, the acclaimed TV series “Reservation Dogs” on FX, which has garnered praise from critics like Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter, finally managed to secure its first nomination for Best Comedy Series at the Academy. What truly surprised me was the recognition of D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, who became the youngest actor ever nominated in his category at just 22 years old. This could make him the youngest winner in this category, a record currently held by Michael J. Fox for his 1986 win for “Family Ties” at 25. Interestingly, while FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows” has been a consistent nominee for Best Comedy Series, this year it scored its first acting nomination for Matt Berry, marking a significant milestone in the show’s five-season run.

When asked about the reason why his show “What We Do in the Shadows” has been overlooked by the Academy until now, showrunner Paul Simms offered a plausible explanation to THR: “Perhaps there are simply too many shows?” This theory could very well be accurate. Despite our transition out of the Peak TV era, there are still countless narrative television series airing on broadcast networks, cable channels, and burgeoning streaming services. This amounts to thousands upon thousands of hours of television, a volume that no Academy voter (or, it must be said, any awards expert) could possibly watch in its entirety.

That’s potentially one public service that the Emmys can provide: a shortlist of the best shows on television that viewers can accept, within reason, as the best of the best on TV. But even the Academy doesn’t always get it right from the very beginning — just look at Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek, which didn’t earn a single Emmy nomination until its fifth season in 2019 (it would lose to another show that earned its first nom for its second and final season: Prime Video’s Fleabag). A year later, the show won best comedy series and swept the acting categories, cementing Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Daniel Levy and Annie Murphy as one of television’s great ensembles — and proving that sometimes Emmy domination is all about the long game.

In August, I stumbled upon an intriguing tale featured in a solo issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. If you’d like to read it for yourself, consider subscribing to the magazine right here: [Subscribe Link]

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2024-08-09 21:25