For comedy it’s TED LASSO all the way. HACKS should get some wins, certainly for Jean Smart and hopefully Hannah Einbinder. It seems stupid to me that actors on sketch shows like SNL are lumped in the same category as sitcom actors, but categories are such a joke these days that who cares?
At the end of the day, the shows that have gotten the most buzz, like QUEEN’S GAMBIT, MARE OF EASTTOWN, and POSE will likely receive some Emmy love. And when I say “buzz” I mean LA because I suspect there’s been little or no buzz about any of these shows anywhere else in America.
Also nominated but now on the wrong side of the zeitgeist are THIS IS US, THE HANDMAID’S TALE, KOMINSKY METHOD (plus there’s the Chuck Lorre factor - the Academy hates his enormous success), and BLACK-ISH (and there are waaaay more deserving shows than the later years of BLACK-ISH).
As always, Colbert and Kimmell got nominated. Fallon did not. The Academy got it right.
If your favorite drama isn’t recognized that’s probably because it’s from another country, you watched it on Netflix and were blown away, but it’s a three year old Danish series. And yes, it is better than most of the series that did get nominated.
Best Comedy has now been reduced to which show made you laugh occasionally but was very pleasant over ten episodes. We’ve come a long way since ALL IN THE FAMILY battled THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and MASH.
And finally, with all award shows now, most people will not have heard of half of the shows that are nominated. And a large portion of the population doesn’t subscribe to the platforms they’re on. So expect national interest to be way lower than the NFL draft, or maybe even the MLB draft.
I had to laugh when a Deadline Hollywood article on snubs listed THE MASKED SINGER. Um, aren’t the Emmys supposed to celebrate excellence in television? THE MASKED SINGER? Really?
Congratulations to all the nominees. Best of luck. Offhand, I don't know when the ceremony is on (I certainly won't be reviewing it) or who's televising it. All I know is it will be one of the major broadcast networks with very few nominations.
I can't speak about the other two shows you mentioned in the same sentence, but when it comes to buzz, even my town of Podunkville, SC couldn't get enough of THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT when it came out. So that buzz must've been authentic, and nation-wide.
ReplyDeleteSo, perhaps it's time to separate broadcast TV from cable/streaming once again. Bring back the Cable Ace awards, call them the Streamies or something, and let broadcast TV shows compete against other broadcast TV shows that have to work under the same restrictions. Cable and streaming shows can essentially do whatever the hell they like without pandering to advertisers and dealing with censors.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your learned thoughts, Ken, particularly about L.A. buzz. May I ask what leads you to think that it's so insular? Information is hard to come by -- TV critics are a rare bird these days, and I've noticed that such reviews as there are tend to be (a) very respectful of demographic considerations and (b) concentrated on the same ten shows, despite the hundreds and hundreds now on offer. If New Amsterdam or Young Sheldon got really good or really bad this season, who'd even know?
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you mention Blackish as now being apart of the wrong side of the Zeitgeist because I feel like the past 3 or 4 seasons of that show is like the last 3 or 4 seasons of Modern Family, dragged to eternity and now who even still cares? Everyone remembers the awkwardness of Modern Family winning that 5th Emmy when shows like Louie, Parks and Rec etc. were out and yet this tired show that lost its edge and humor was just being handed an Emmy out of what I assume to be obligation on the Academy's part. Blackish has too been on the air for nearly an eternity and hasn't been anywhere near as funny or as genuinely relevant since it's 3rd season. I think it's proof how these big flashy shows that hogged so much attention away from funnier, "underrated" shows (ie. The Middle) always lose their buzz and their goodwill far sooner than shows with much less attention and buzz but are ten times better. Hollywood, man lol.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait until the only-in-LA word zeitgeist falls out of the zeitgeist.
ReplyDeleteKen, how much bigger a deal we’re the Emmys in the Cheers/MASH days?
ReplyDeleteDid people working on those shows genuinely care.
As a viewer I’ve never cared and would have no idea who won what in what year.
I suspect most of America agrees.
The post is for your consideration for Emmy award for posts
ReplyDeleteI'm still wondering how The Flight Attendant is considered a comedy. Trusting Emmys now is like trusting Fox news on a story. Tooo many mistakes in past.
But, we do need more awards shows
The joke goes, Hollywood people don't watch any TV because they're all too busy working in TV.
ReplyDeleteI would presume picking the best TV winners is like picking the best college football players or the best presidential candidate: There are tons of worthy choices, but the only ones who get the publicity are those from the big "Power 5" schools or the Republican and Democratic Parties.
For the record, CBS will air the Emmys, with Cedric the Entertainer hosting.
I absolutely do not understand all of the nominations for WANDAVISION. I watched it, and I enjoyed most of it, but at no point did I ever think that it some of television's best work.
ReplyDeleteTerribly disappointed that the CELEBRITY DATING GAME was snubbed.
Who honestly even cares who wins the awards? Unless you are part of the show, it's just nonsense. Everyone knows how silly the ceremonies are and always have been. They're just money grabs for networks. I compare it to people watching "reality tv" and getting upset each time they find out how not "real" it really is each year. We know... we know... it's always been bad, we don't care to hear everyone complain each and every time it airs.
ReplyDeleteI find it funny a lot of people tune in that hate it just to say they saw it, and THAT'S why they still air, the ratings. Worse or not from previous years, people STILL tune in :(
I think Mare of Easttown created a real sensation all over the country, not just on the coasts. Many of my friends here in the Midwest watched it and talked about it. To a slightly smaller degree, the same goes for Hacks. But the remarkable and sad thing to me about the Emmy nominations is the lack of shows from the broadcast networks. No one watches the networks anymore.
ReplyDeleteWe're really stretching the definition of "comedy" in these lists, especially the "best actress in a comedy" award. One scene from All in the Family has more laughs than the full season of any of these.
ReplyDeleteCan confirm that Mare of Easttown is still all anyone talks about in the Philadelphia area. They even did a news article on a Mary "Mare" Sheehan who plays for the St. Joe's women's basketball team, who went to a local HS in Delaware County... epicenter of Mare of Easttown. Very excited for the Emmy buzz around here!
ReplyDeleteWhat really strikes me is that I know next to nothing about all these current shows. Even with streaming capabilities I find there is little worthwhile to watch on TV anymore. I miss the old days when you were making TV that I would enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI think the excitement over "Mare of Easttown" in the Philadelphia area must be related to its local setting. This is the first I've ever heard of it. I live in suburban Dallas, I write about news and pop culture for a living, and I had to Google it just to find out what it was.
ReplyDeleteAs little time as I have to watch TV, I'm certainly not going to fork over money to 14 different streaming services on the off chance that one might be showing something better than a YouTube video. And having watched a few of these critics' darlings like "Transparent," I assume most of them are not better than the average YouTube video.
If the Emmy Awards get any TV ratings at all this year, it will be entirely due to the nominees setting their DVRs to record it while they're attending it.
I dunno, I have seen a lot of buzz about Mare, Pose, and Queens - but perhaps I have a circle of friends who are aware of quality tv (and v few of them live in LA).
ReplyDeletere: the Danish show you reference - not sure if you're just throwing an example together but it sounds like you might be speaking of RITA - five seasons, 10 eps each season, better than most ongoing shows I've seen in years. Interesting, well written/acted, genuinely funny/dramatic and with a good, believable character arc for its lead.
finally, streaming services - we don't have cable but subscribe to 6 streaming services. the beauty of this is not only do the services combined cost less than a basic cable plan but we can drop them/ pickup w/o financial penalty if we feel we aren't watching/using them...
I'm with Elf. The Emmys should be for actual television shows, ones that are broadcast over the air. The reason I don't watch the Emmys anymore is that I don't watch any of the shows because I don't subscribe to any streaming service.
ReplyDeleteThe ceremony is the third Sunday in September and it is CBS' turn to host. Since the host network gets to choose the host, they normally select one of its stars. CBS is no exception, but instead of choosing one of its talk-show hosts or Neil Patrick Harris, they went with Cedric Kyles, who is an entertainer of some sort.
Also, proving how low FOX has sunk, they did not receive one nomination for the main ceremony.
> We’ve come a long way since ALL IN THE FAMILY battled THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and MASH.
In 1975 these three shows were the nominees, along with Rhoda. Now even though they were all CBS shows, there was a big competition between them. Mary Tyler Moore and Rhoda were MTM productions, filmed at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City. All in the Family, on the other hand, was a Tandem production taped at Television City in Fairfax. Finally MASH was in its own world, as it was produced by Fox and sold to CBS.
Mary Tyler Moore ended up winning its first of three consecutive Emmys. Therefore CBS and MTM were happy, but the others weren't. The CBS "family" would only come together for Battle of the Network Stars.
@ScarletNumber We've also come a long way even in the 2000's where comedies like Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, Will and Grace, Friends,The Bernie Mac Show, Monk, Malcolm In The Middle and Curb Your Enthusiasm were in competition. And Fox? Ha! Fox hasn't ever been able to top what they did in the 90's when they had such giant hits like Married with Children, The X Files, Martin, Living Single, In Living Color and New York Undercover. At one point Fox actually creamed the other 3 networks and its Thursday night black alternative to NBC's Must See Tv with Martin, Living Single and New York Undercover gave NBC a run for its money.
ReplyDeleteWas hoping "Bob (Hearts) Abishola" would get some recognition, but since it's a network multi-cam (CBS)...
ReplyDeleteAwards are the dinosaurs of TV. Who even votes for these things? If it makes money, it stays on. If it has a laugh track - I won't watch. I like Loudermilk. That is the only show that has my interest.
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard of these shows.
ReplyDelete