Wednesday, September 11, 2019

'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver' leads talk variety shows in Emmy Awards nominations yet again


I finished 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads competition shows at the Emmy Awards while being an example of inclusion and acceptance by telling my readers "Time to move on to variety shows, beginning with the talk shows.  Once again, "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" has the most nominations."  That was true last year and the year before.  Congratulations!

I begin with the nominations the series has earned at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
Outstanding Variety Talk Series

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
"Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" is the three-time returning winner, as well as the most nominated variety talk series, so it's the favorite.  As for the other nominees, "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" has less than half the nominations of "Last Week Tonight" with four, followed by three for "The Late Late Show with James Corden" proper, twp each for "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" and "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" each have two, and only this one for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series

Documentary Now! (Episode: "Waiting for the Artist"), Directed by Alex Buono and Rhys Thomas (IFC)
Drunk History (Episode: "Are You Afraid of the Drunk?"), Directed by Derek Waters (Comedy Central)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Episode: "Psychics"), Directed by Paul Pennolino (HBO)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Episode: "Live Midterm Election Show"), Directed by Jim Hoskinson (CBS)
Saturday Night Live (Episode: "Host: Adam Sandler"), Directed by Don Roy King (NBC)
Who Is America? (Episode: "Episode 102"), Directed by Sacha Baron Cohen, Nathan Fielder, Daniel Gray Longino and Dan Mazer (Showtime)
"Saturday Night Live" won this award last year and the year before, so I'm considering it the favorite.  I'd be surprised if "Last Week Tonight" pulls off an upset.
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series

Documentary Now! (IFC)
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
"Last Week Tonight" has won this award three years in a row and I don't expect this year to be any different.

Follow over the jump for the nominations at this weekend's Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming

Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live From Liverpool – Tom Jarvis (CBS)
Drunk History – John Cason (Episode: "Are You Afraid of the Drunk?") (Comedy Central)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – Ryan Barger (Segment: "The Wax & The Furious") (HBO)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – Anthony Miale (Segment: "The Journey Of ChiiJohn") (HBO)
Who Is America? – Drew Kordik, Eric Notarnicola, Roger Nygard, Matt Davis and Jeremy Cohen (Episode: "Episode 102") (Showtime)
I already covered the nominated episode in 'The Wax and the Furious' from 'Last Week Tonight With John Oliver' for Presidents Day and I'm glad it was nominated.  I thought it deserved a nomination then and it got one.  In addition, "Last Week Tonight" has won this award three years in a row, so it's a clear favorite.
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special

Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul (CBS)
Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live from Liverpool (CBS)
The 61st Grammy Awards (CBS)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Episode: "Authoritarianism") (HBO)
The Oscars (ABC)
While I'm pleased that this episode, which I featured in 'Last Week Tonight With John Oliver' examines the rise of authoritarianism, is nominated, the only thing "Last Week Tonight" would win out of this field is a game of "one of these things is not like the others."  All the rest are musical specials, awards shows, or both, which have a history of winning this category.  Honestly, James Corden has a better shot at winning this award.   As who will win, my head says the Grammy Awards, while my heart says the Aretha Franklin special.  My readers and I will find out in two weeks.
Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Series

The Big Bang Theory (Episode: "The Stockholm Syndrome") (CBS)
Conan (Episode: "Episode 1232") (TBS)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Episode: "Psychics") (HBO)
The Late Late Show with James Corden (Episode: "Post AFC Championship Show with Chris Pratt and Russell Wilson") (CBS)
Saturday Night Live (Episode: "Host: Adam Sandler") (NBC)
The Voice (Episode: "Live Finale, Part 2") (NBC)
This is a category I forgot to cover in 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads competition shows at the Emmy Awards while being an example of inclusion and acceptance as "The Voice" is one of the nominees.  Oops.  However, I think SNL will win this for a third year in a row unless "The Big Bang Theory" gets this as a farewell present for a final season.

I listed one nomination in 'Hostile Planet' vs. 'Our Planet' — Nature and science nominees at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for National Wildlife Day.
Outstanding Interactive Program

Conan (TBS)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
NASA And SpaceX: The Interactive Demo-1 Launch (YouTube)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Here's the first of two categories with a nominee that's about space and science, not nature.  I really think NASA and SpaceX should just be happy to be nominated, as "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" won this award last year and is my pick to repeat.
Finally, the category I covered in 'Queer Eye,' 'Shark Tank,' and 'Tidying Up with Marie Kondo' — diversity in structured reality programs.
Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Reality or Competition Series

At Home with Amy Sedaris (Episode: "Teenagers") (truTV)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Episode: "Authoritarianism") (HBO)
Queer Eye (Episode: "Jones Bar-B-Q") (Netflix)
Saturday Night Live (Episodes: "Host: John Mulaney", "Host: Emma Stone") (NBC)
The Voice (Episode: "Live Cross Battles Part 1") (NBC)
"Saturday Night Live" won this award last year and I'm pretty sure it will win it again.  "Queer Eye" should just be happy to be nominated.
I can say the same thing for "Last Week Tonight."

That's it for the talk variety series nominations.  I plan on blogging about the sketch variety series nominations tomorrow, where SNL leads again.  Stay tuned.

Previous entries in this series.

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