By Christian DiMartino
The Emmy nominations were unveiled on Tuesday, and to be honest, I’ve been putting in the work. In terms of television, there has been a plethora of content. Way, way too much, to be honest. My guess is because a lot of studios were trying to reach the Emmy submission deadline. Seeing as I’ve gotten pretty into TV over the last year, I thought I’d try to knock out as much as I could.
That being said, the Emmys are harder to pin down than the Oscars. So the nominations had a few surprises. Some pleasant, and in other cases they just could’ve done better. That’s just me though. Also something to account for is that I don’t do this professionally, so I haven’t seen everything that received recognition. So for this exercise, I’m just going to focus on certain shows, and what the voting body got right and where they goofed.
Barry– Season 3 (HBO)
The Good: To me, this is the year’s best season of television so far. So obviously it was a kick to see Bill Hader, Henry Winkler, Anthony Carrigan, the show, the writing, and directing get the recognition it deserved. If Hader doesn’t at least win the directing Emmy, what are these people doing?
The Bad: I could argue that Stephen Root could’ve gotten a nom, but I’m not opposed to the Ted Lasso gang getting their love. My argument does come in terms of Sarah Goldberg though, whose arc this season was really fascinating. That, and Goldberg was dynamite, particularly in the scene in the elevator, and her reaction to her show’s success. They goofed on that one.
The Dropout (Hulu)
The Good: This was actually one of my last minute watches, and I’m really glad I did. The show racked up nominations for Best Limited Series, Directing, Writing, and most notably, Best Actress for Amanda Seyfried, who could and should win for her career best work.
The Bad: It just seems kind of weird that Naveen Andrews wasn’t nominated, seeing as him and Seyfried worked such wonders together. That being said, there were a lot of snubs in the Best Actor category, from Jon Bernthal (We Own This City) to Joseph Gordon Levitt (Super Pumped).
Euphoria– Season 2 (HBO)
The Good: You may recall, I campaigned for Zendaya’s Emmy nomination earlier this year, and whelp, it worked. The show received nominations for Best Drama, Actress, Supporting Actress (Sydney Sweeney, also nominated for The White Lotus) and some technical stuff.
The Bad: No nominations for writing and directing. The 5th episode, in which I started my aforementioned campaign, is one of the finest hours of television of the year. Also an error is snubbing Eric Dane, whose work I’m unfamiliar with but really knocked me out this time. Oh well, I can’t have it all.
Only Murders in the Building– Season 1 (Hulu)
The Good: The second season of Only Murders in the Building just started, and so far they’re off to a pretty great start. As for the first season, its Emmy track record is off to a pretty great start as well. Steve Martin and Martin Short deservedly earned nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy, and the show racked up nominations for Best Comedy, Directing, and Writing. The show is a big hit and a total charmer, so don’t be surprised if this wins.
The Bad: Only one misstep, and that’s the snubbing of Selena Gomez. Martin and Short could obviously carry anything on their own, but Gomez’s addition is truly charming and she holds her own with them. She did earn a nom for producing, but I assume they’ll make this up to her next year. The Best Actress in a Comedy category also snubbed Courtney Cox for Shining Vale, but I’m the only person I know who watched that. Good job on recognizing Kaley Cuoco for The Flight Attendant though. Good call there. But Gomez should’ve joined the fun, too.
Ozark– Season 4 (Netflix)
The Good: I feared that among the award season clutter that the final season of Ozark would get lost in the muddle. Nope! Ozark did really well, with nominations for Best Drama, Directing, Writing, Actor (Jason Bateman) Actress (Laura Linney, who might not win but has my heart) and Supporting Actress (Julia Garner, a double nominee who might win her third Emmy here).
The Bad: Honestly, nothing comes to mind.
Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
The Good: To me, this series was tonally out of whack and it ran out of gas about halfway through. Yet I won’t deny that Sebastian Stan and Lily James were pretty excellent here, and their nominations were pretty much deserved.
The Bad: This shouldn’t be nominated for Best Miniseries. You all do realize that Midnight Mass was eligible for this Emmy cycle, right? Or The Staircase (they at least had the common sense to nominate Colin Firth and Toni Collette)? Or what about Station Eleven, which was thankfully given recognition but not for the top prize? Not sure why this is in the conversation, but it’s whatever.
Severance– Season 1 (AppleTV+)
The Good: I had a hunch that Severance was going to be a contender, and good for me. Boy, what a turnout. Nominated for Best Drama, Actor (Adam Scott), Supporting Actor (John Turturro and Christopher Walken), Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette) as well as writing and directing (Ben Stiller’s direction on the finale is exceptional), Severance was a knockout, and received almost all of the recognition it deserved.
The Bad: Almost. Mind you, you can’t please everyone. But Britt Lower really made an impression on me here, and it’s kind of a surprise that she wasn’t nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Tramell Tillman was also great, but like Ted Lasso, I can’t besmirch the Succession boys of their nominations.
Station Eleven (HBO Max)
The Good: I watched Station Eleven as it aired, at the tail end of last year and into this year, and it was incredible. Yet it seemed like nobody spoke of it, and nobody was watching it. So my heart was tickled when I heard Himesh Patel’s name announced for Best Actor, and even more so when it was nominated for Writing and Directing.
The Bad: Despite the embrace, it still didn’t gather a Best Limited Series nomination, nor was Mackenzie Davis nominated for Best Actress. Look, I can’t speak on behalf of Inventing Anna (which I’ve heard nothing particularly good about) but this was an error guys.
Succession– Season 3 (HBO)
The Good: Whew. A lot of good here. Succession‘s third season racked up a total of 25 nominations yesterday. Seeing as Season 2 was an Emmys smash, it’s safe to assume that on September 12th, Season 3 (which I ranked as the second best season of television last year) will strike gold again. Perhaps even more.
The Bad: No real complaints, but Alan Ruck at least deserves a shoutout.
Ted Lasso– Season 2 (AppleTV+)
The Good: People seemed pretty split on Season 2, but I really dug it and admired its ambition. As noted above, it was cool that Brett Goldstein, Nick Mohammed and Toheeb Jimoh (a complete charmer) got their love. Turns out the Ted Lasso hype train is still chugging, because the show was nominated in just about every category, and as a fan of season 2, there aren’t many complaints.
The Bad: This one isn’t a complaint as much as it is a nitpick. Look, I like Juno Temple a lot, and in this show, but she wasn’t THAT much of a player this season. Hannah Waddingham and Sarah Niles deserved their nominations, and although Temple was perfectly fine, I’ll argue that Sarah Goldberg should’ve gotten this slot for Barry.
Other Notes
- I love the love for Showtime’s Yellowjackets. This doesn’t at all feel like an Emmys show, but at least they had the brains to recognize it.
- Really didn’t know if HBO’s The White Lotus was going to make it to the finish line, seeing as it’s been about a year since it started. But boy did it, racking up roughly 20 nominations and basically rewarding the entire cast. If Murray Bartlett and Jennifer Coolidge, at least, don’t get their due I’ll be livid.
- I was a little late to the Squid Game hype and I liked it and all, but personally we could’ve chosen a little better. That said, it was a phenomenon.
- I thought this season of Curb Your Enthusiasm was the strongest in a while. Will it win? Unlikely, since it never does, but glad to see it recognized for Best Comedy.
- Hacks. Dug the first season, loved the second. Jean Smart gunning for another Emmy.
- I liked Dopesick but I wasn’t gaga over it. Having said that, the Michael Keaton and Kaitlyn Dever performances, as well as pretty much everyone, were superb.
- Glad to see Elle Fanning and Nicolas Hoult on the board for The Great, a show I like but find the episodes way too long. Fanning could’ve also nabbed another nomination for The Girl From Plainville.
- The Morning Show season 2 was a hot mess. Luckily though, the voting body didn’t care too much for it, and I won’t besmirch Reese Witherspoon or Billy Crudup of their nominations. Even when the season didn’t work (which, wasn’t often), they remained unscathed.
- Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers is damn good. Check it out, Disney+.
christiandimartino 
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