Saturday, January 13, 2024

'Succession' leads drama series nominees, followed by 'The Last of Us' and 'The White Lotus'

I opened 'Ted Lasso' leads comedies in nominations, but 'The Bear' may win more Emmy Awards with the lyric "tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!" It's tomorrow, so time for tragedy, or at least drama. Without any further ado, here are the drama series nominees at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Watch 75th Emmy Nominations: Drama Series.

The nominees for Outstanding Drama Series are Andor, Better Call Saul, The Crown, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, Succession, The White Lotus, Yellowjackets.
I'm recycling my summary from Gold Derby predicts a good night for 'Barbie,' 'Oppenheimer,' 'Succession,' 'The Bear,' and 'Beef' at the Golden Globes.
[M]y interests in covering entertainment in general and awards shows in particular are speculative fiction and depictions of politics and government in general. All of the television drama nominees depict politics and government...The Crown...explores period politics and government, Succession...examine[s] contemporary politics and government, and The Last of Us does double duty by imagining the kinds of governments that arise in a post-apocalyptic horror setting.
Andor, House of the Dragon, and Yellowjackets also do double duty in exploring politics and government in fantastic and futuristic settings, including Yellowjackets, which begins in a public high school — public education is part of government — and is enough of a horror series that it had two Saturn Award nominations last year and one this year. Speaking of which, Better Call Saul led television shows at last year's Saturn Awards with seven nominations and four wins. Its protagonists are lawyers, not government employees, but they work in courtrooms and deal with law enforcement, so a government function plays an important part in the show. Finally, like last season, Season 2 of The White Lotus has a crime at the heart of its farce, so the police appear. Also, Jennifer Coolidge's character Tanya's husband Greg works for the Bureau of Land Management, although the agency itself only earned a mention for a gag based on a misunderstanding of the initials BLM.*


As the graphic above illustrates, the three HBO dramas lead in total nominations with Succession in first with 24 and The Last of Us and The White Lotus tied at 21. Andor and House of the Dragon are a long way down tied with eight, followed by Better Call Saul with seven for its final season, The Crown with six, and Yellowjackets with three, not enough to make the cutoff for the list in the image. Based on that criterion, Succession, The Last of Us, and The White Lotus are the favorites.

If one thinks the Creative Arts Emmy Awards serve as a harbinger of success at the Primetime ceremony, then The Last of Us is in the lead after winning eight Emmys, followed by The White Lotus with four. House of the Dragon won one, along with The Boys and The Mandalorian for stunts, which weren't nominated for drama series, although The Mandalorian had more nominations than Andor. Succession won no Creative Arts Emmys for the main show, but Succession: Controlling the Narrative won Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series. Other people may not count that as a win for the main show, but I do, so Succession has a Creative Arts Emmy. That might put it behind The Last of Us in total Emmy Awards when all is said and done, but it probably won't have an effect on who wins Monday night, if one believes Gold Derby, which I generally do. Both the experts and the editors unanimously think Succession will win Outstanding Drama Series and so do I.

Now for the acting nominations, beginning with 75th Emmy Nominations: Lead Actress In A Drama Series.

The nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series are Sharon Horgan, Melanie Lynskey, Elisabeth Moss, Bella Ramsey, Keri Russell, and Sarah Snook.
Both Keri Russell for The Diplomat and Elisabeth Moss for The Handmaid's Tale star in shows that prominently feature government and politics with the latter doing double duty as a speculative fiction show. These are also the only nominations for both series. Sigh.

Both the editors and experts at Gold Derby expect Sarah Snook to win, with all the editors and all but one of the experts picking her with one expert choosing Bella Ramsey. I think it will be Snook. Even if it's not, HBO still wins.

On that note, I'm sharing Sarah Snook (Best TV Drama Actress, 'Succession') 2024 Golden Globes press room.

Sarah Snook won Best TV Drama Actress for "Succession" at the 2024 Golden Globes on January 7, 2024.
I expect Snook to win for her final turn at this role up to four more times at the Critics Choice Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, Satellite Awards, and SAG Awards. I'm looking forward to all of them.

Next, 75th Emmy Nominations: Lead Actor In A Drama Series.

The nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series are Jeff Bridges, Brian Cox, Kieren Culkin, Bob Odenkirk, Pedro Pascal, and Jeremy Strong.
Jeff Bridges stars in The Old Man, a spy thriller about the CIA, so it also explores government and politics. The show also has two nominations, the second for Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour), which it lost to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Just like for Outstanding Drama Actress, the editors and experts think Kieren Culkin will win with seven of eleven editors and nine of ten experts choosing him. Three editors and one expert picked Pedro Pascal and one editor thinks Bob Odenkirk will finally win an Emmy for Better Call Saul. Not happening, but I wish.

The video of Snook in the Golden Globes press room ended with the announcer saying Culkin would be next, so here is Kieran Culkin (Best TV Drama Actor, 'Succession') 2024 Golden Globes press room.

Kieran Culkin won Best TV Drama Actor for "Succession" at the 2024 Golden Globes on January 7, 2024.
Culkin strikes me as being like Brett Goldstein, funny and a bit dirty. I'm looking forward to his winning up to three more times and whatever role he tackles next.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt (HBO)
Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown as Diana, Princess of Wales (Netflix)
Meghann Fahy – The White Lotus as Daphne Sullivan (HBO)
Sabrina Impacciatore – The White Lotus as Valentina (HBO)
Aubrey Plaza – The White Lotus as Harper Spiller (HBO)
Rhea Seehorn – Better Call Saul as Kim Wexler (AMC)
J. Smith-Cameron – Succession as Gerri Kellman (HBO)
Simona Tabasco – The White Lotus as Lucia Greco (HBO)
The editors and experts at Gold Derby are fairly united behind Jennifer Coolidge with eight editors and nine experts picking her to win. Two editors chose Rhea Seehorn, one editor ranked J. Smith-Cameron for a Succession sweep, and one expert thinks Aubrey Plaza will beat Coolidge. On that note, I'm sharing Jennifer Coolidge ('The White Lotus: Sicily') on line 'These gays, they're trying to murder me!'

Jennifer Coolidge ('The White Lotus: Sicily' and 'The Watcher') on what she really thinks about Tanya's iconic 'these gays, they're trying to murder me!' line. She is thrilled that it has gone viral, as it is plastered on t-shirts and mugs worldwide and DJs sample it in gay clubs everywhere. Gold Derby editor Rob Licuria hosts this webchat.
Normally, going from limited series to drama series would hurt the Emmy prospects of a show and its actors. It doesn't seem like it for The White Lotus.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
F. Murray Abraham – The White Lotus as Bert Di Grasso (HBO)
Nicholas Braun – Succession as Greg Hirsch (HBO)
Michael Imperioli – The White Lotus as Dominic Di Grasso (HBO)
Theo James – The White Lotus as Cameron Sullivan (HBO)
Matthew Macfadyen – Succession as Tom Wambsgans (HBO)
Alan Ruck – Succession as Connor Roy (HBO)
Will Sharpe – The White Lotus as Ethan Spiller (HBO)
Alexander Skarsgård – Succession as Lukas Matsson (HBO)
Just as Succession and The Last of Us split drama guest actor nominees at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Succession and The White Lotus split supporting actor nominations. As I wrote last week, "no matter who wins, HBO does as well...Despite the advent of streaming, the [supporting actor] drama nominees reflect the pre-Netflix reality from 1996 to 2009, when 'It's Not TV, It's HBO' was the slogan of the cable channel and people accepted it. Some things haven't changed, at least at the Television Academy."

Like for all the drama series categories so far except Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, the editors and experts at Gold Derby are united behind the nominees from Succession with all eleven editors and nine experts picking Matthew Macfadyen. The dissenting expert chose Alexander Skarsgård, also from Succession. I think it will be Macfadyen, so I'm sharing Matthew Macfadyen (Best TV Supporting Actor, 'Succession') 2024 Golden Globes press room.

Matthew Macfadyen won Best TV Supporting Actor for "Succession" at the 2024 Golden Globes on January 7, 2024.
The sound isn't that clear, so turn on closed captioning.

Follow over the jump for the behind the camera categories, including those recognized at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Andor: "Rix Road" – Benjamin Caron (Disney+)
Bad Sisters: "The Prick" – Dearbhla Walsh (Apple TV+)
The Last of Us: "Long, Long Time" – Peter Hoar (HBO)
Succession: "America Decides" – Andrij Parekh (HBO)
Succession: "Connor's Wedding" – Mark Mylod (HBO)
Succession: "Living+" – Lorene Scafaria (HBO)
The White Lotus: "Arrivederci" – Mike White (HBO)
The editors and experts split their first place votes among the three nominated HBO series. Five editors each chose Succession and The Last of Us with one thinking The White Lotus will win. A bare majority of experts picked a Succession episode to win, with five backing "Connor's Wedding" and one choosing "America Decides." Two experts ranked The Last of Us first, while one each picked The White Lotus and Bad Sisters. The top 24 users break the deadlock as ten predicted "Connor's Wedding" will win, while two each forecast The Last of Us and The White Lotus. I would be happy with any one of the HBO shows winning.

I already featured Peter Hoar in Horror, Fantasy, and Action/Adventure/Thriller TV nominees at the 51st Saturn Awards, so I'm sharing two Gold Derby interviews of nominated Succession directors, beginning with Mark Mylod (‘Succession’ director) on Emmy-nominated, ‘exquisitely intense, emotional’ season finale.

Mark Mylod (‘Succession’ director) talks his work on the Emmy-nominated, ‘exquisitely intense and emotional’ season finale. He won the Directors Guild award for this same episode earlier in 2022, defeating four other "Succession" directors in the process. Gold Derby's David Buchanan hosts this webchat.
I was a bit dismissive of Mylod, director of The Menu, at the Saturn Awards, writing he should be thrilled to be part of such a distinguished field, but that takes nothing away from his skill as a director, especially since he's the nominal favorite to win on Monday night.

Next, a previous directing Emmy winner, ‘Succession’ director Andrij Parekh on ‘America Decides’: ‘I was completely terrified’.

‘Succession’ director Andrij Parekh on ‘America Decides’: ‘I was completely terrified.’ It wasn’t the plot machinations were surprising, but the challenges of putting together an Election Night in the world of the Roy family. Gold Derby editor Christopher Rosen hosts this webchat.
May the real election night not be as chaotic as the one portrayed in "America Decides."

I return to a category I covered in Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and Emmy screenplay and writing nominees for National Screenwriters Day.

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Andor: "One Way Out" – Beau Willimon (Disney+)
Bad Sisters: "The Prick" – Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett Baer (Apple TV+)
Better Call Saul: "Point and Shoot" – Gordon Smith (AMC)
Better Call Saul: "Saul Gone" – Peter Gould (AMC)
The Last of Us: "Long, Long Time" – Craig Mazin (HBO)
Succession: "Connor's Wedding" – Jesse Armstrong (HBO)
The White Lotus: "Arrivederci" – Mike White (HBO)
No such divergence exists between editors and experts in this category; both think Succession will win, with seven members of each group picking it while one chose Andor.
The editors and experts have solidified behind Succession since I wrote this, with all eleven editors and eight experts ranking "Connor's Wedding" first. One expert picked The Last of Us while another stuck with Andor.

Again, I couldn't find an interview of any of the writers for the nominees above, so I'm embedding Editors' 2023 better-late-than-never Emmys slugfest: Duking it out over their final picks instead.

If it seems like ages since we started talking about the 2023 Primetime Emmys, it's because it has been. The fact that the ceremony was delayed some four months due to the impact of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes tossed the Emmys into 2024, smack in the heart of awards season rather than residing in its usual protective cocoon of late summer. But ready or not, they're finally happening next Monday the 15th, and Gold Derby senior editors Denton Davidson, Marcus James Dixon and Daniel Montgomery and news and features editor Ray Richmond seized the opportunity this week to weigh in on who and what they believe will emerge victorious come early next week.
We'll see how many of these predictions come true Monday night.

Now for the drama winners at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.


Thanks to The Last of Us's publicity/social media team for creating this image. I'm embedding the main title at the end and returning to Storm Reid's win on MLK Day.


On the other hand, I had to find each of these individually, which was more work. I'm embedding a video of the music as well.


Now Succession's one Creative Arts Emmy Award, even if no one else credits this to the main show.


The Television Academy's image for House of the Dragon's first Emmy Award.

Now two Emmy Awards for stunts. First, The Mandalorian...


...and finally The Boys.


Congratulations to all the winners!

As promised, here's The Last of Us | Opening Credits | Max.



The opening credits for The Last of Us.

I close with The White Lotus Season 2 Extended Theme | Renaissance - Cristobal Tapia De Veer | WaterTower.


I plan on showcasing the diverse performing winners at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards tomorrow in time for MLK Day. Stay tuned.

*I tell a joke about BLM the government agency that I picked up during my time as a National Park ranger, that it stands for a "Bunch of Lazy Mothers." NPS held it in even lower regard than the Forest Service; we mocked their slogan of "Land of Many Uses" as "Land of Many Abuses." Inter-service rivalries — not just for the military!

Previous posts about the 2023 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards
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