'100 Foot Wave' leads Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in nominations, but could lose to 'SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night'

As I promised yesterday, it's time for the documentary and nonfiction series nominees at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series

• Chef's Table (Netflix)
• 100 Foot Wave (HBO)
• Simone Biles Rising (Netflix)
• SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (Peacock)
• Social Studies (FX)

100 Foot Wave leads this field with four nominations, followed by Chef's Table and SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night with three each and Simone Biles Rising and Social Studies with just this one nomination. Gold Derby handicaps this field differently; all of the experts and 80% of the editors have chosen SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night as the winner, while 20% of the editors and 3.4% of the users picked Chef's Table, 6.5% of the users believe in Simone Biles Rising, 4.5% of users are surfing 100 Foot Wave, and a mere 2.4% of users think that Social Studies will earn the top grade. This resembles my reasoning for why Gold Derby's prognosticators have Pee-wee as Himself and Will & Harper leading their choices for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, "all things being equal, the Television Academy voters would rather vote for one of their own...." The cast and crew of Saturday Night Live are definitely the Television Academy's own and the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live is a celebration of television. They can't resist. Electorates matter.

I'm sharing the trailers for the nominees in order according to Gold Derby's odds, as modified by me above, beginning with SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night | Official Trailer | Peacock Original.

Synopsis: SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night is a four-part documentary series honoring the legacy of SNL, with over 60 contributors, including SNL alumni, and covering decades of SNL history. Spotlighting some of the show’s most iconic elements, each episode delves into the rich history of SNL and pulls back the curtain on the audition process, the writers’ room, the fan favorite "More Cowbell” sketch and the pivotal season 11.

As I wrote, "a celebration of television...they can't resist."

Next, Chef's Table: Legends | Official Trailer | Netflix.

"Chef's Table: Legends" will pay tribute to the culinary icons who have helped shape the modern world of food. This season, which coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the “Chef’s Table” franchise, will feature a lineup of legendary celebrity chefs whose influence has transcended borders (and mediums) and inspired generations of cooks and food lovers alike.

I can see why a minority of editors think it should win. I can also see why the rest of the editor and all the experts disagree. True, Jamie Oliver is a TV chef, but his constituency would be at the Daytime Emmys, run by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which also runs the News & Doc Emmy Awards, not here. Just the same, I can recommend this show, especially the episode featuring Alice Waters, to my students, just like I can Omnivore, which won Outstanding Graphic Design – Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Now for the users' second choice, Simone Biles Rising | Official Trailer | Netflix.

Witness unprecedented access to the most powerful comeback in sports, in Simone Biles Rising. Journey into the world of Simone as she grapples with vulnerability and self-doubt, redefining what it means to be a champion on her own terms.

This won two Critics Choice Documentary Awards, "earning trophies for Best Sports Documentary and Best Limited Documentary Series." It also won the PGA Award for Outstanding Sports Program. Like Biles herself, it's a worthy competitor.

Continuing with sports, I'm sharing 100 Foot Wave Season 3 | Official Trailer | HBO.

The waves are bigger, the stakes are higher, and the chase is far from over.

This is the exhilarating and scary trailer I've embedded for this show. Season 3 may not win the program award, but I think it will win a craft Emmy, which I've already predicted and will repeat over the jump.

I conclude the trailers with Social Studies | Official Trailer September 27 Documentary Series HULU.

FX’s Social Studies is a new documentary series created by Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker Lauren Greenfield that follows a group of teens as they navigate the complexities of growing up with social media.

I groused about No PSAs among nominees for Outstanding Commercial, but this series makes up for it, as it covers the same ground as Dove's Cost of Beauty the sole PSA among the 2023 Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial, in even more detail. Will it win? No. Will its nomination earn its message the visibility it deserves? I hope so.

Follow over the jump for the other nominations Chef's Table, 100 Foot Wave and SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night earned, which I first covered in 'Pee-wee as Himself' vs. 'Will & Harper' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special on Tequila Day and 'Asia' and 'The Americas' lead nature documentaries at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program

• Chef's Table: "Jamie Oliver" – Adam Bricker (Netflix)
• 100 Foot Wave: "Chapter III: Cortes Bank" – Vincent Kardasik, Alexandre Lesbats, Chris Smith, Laurent Pujol, Michael Darrigade, and Karl Sandrock (HBO)
• Ren Faire: "Daddy's Dyin', Who's Got the Will?" – Nate Hurtsellers (HBO)
• Tucci in Italy: "Tuscany" – Matt Ball (National Geographic)
• Will & Harper – Zoë White (Netflix)

Will & Harper is the only nominee for Documentary or Nonfiction Special nominated in this category. Since much of it was photographed outdoors and great scenery helps earn cinematography awards, I can see why. That's also the case with 100 Foot Wave, which has won this award twice before and is my choice to win it again.

I still think so, even though the food photography in Chef's Table looks gorgeous.

Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program

• Chimp Crazy: "Gone Ape" – Evan Wise, Charles Divak, Adrienne Gits, Doug Abel, and Sascha Stanton-Craven (HBO)
• Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music – James Lester, Oz Rodríguez, and F. Michael Young (NBC)
• Pee-wee as Himself – Damian Rodriguez (HBO)
• SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night: "More Cowbell" – Cori Wapnowska (Peacock)
• Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Otto Burnham (HBO)
• Will & Harper – Monique Zavistovski and Lori Lovoy-Goran (Netflix)

This is the final category where Pee-wee as Himself and Will & Harper face off, but I think it's between Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story based on it winning Best Editing at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards and Will & Harper based on it winning Best Edited Documentary Film from the American Cinema Editors.

That written, editing is what makes both of the SNL 50th Anniversary nominees work. I just think they will split the vote.

Now for two related categories with nearly identical nominees.

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program

• Beatles '64 – Philip Stockton, Allan Zaleski, and John M. Davis (Disney+)
• Music by John Williams – Dmitri Makarov, Tim Farrell, Richard Gould, and Ramiro Belgardt (Disney+)
• 100 Foot Wave: "Chapter III: Cortes Bank" – Eric Di Stefano, Kevin Senzaki, Max Holland, Eli Akselrod, and Mika Anami (HBO)
• Pee-wee as Himself – Daniel Timmons, Ian Cymore, Ryan Billia, Jeremy S. Bloom, Kelly Rodriguez, Eric Caudieux, and Jonathan Zalben (HBO)
• SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night: "Season 11: The Weird Year" – William Harp and Sean Gray (Peacock)

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program

• Beatles '64 – Josh Berger and Giles Martin (Disney+)
• Music by John Williams – Roy Waldspurger, Christopher Barnett and Noah Alexander (Disney+)
• 100 Foot Wave: "Chapter III: Cortes Bank" – Keith Hodne (HBO)
• Pee-wee as Himself – Johnny Mathie (HBO)
• Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary (Music Box) – Tony Solis, Paul Stula and Barry London (HBO)

All else being equal, I think music documentaries have the advantage in sound, so I think these categories are between Beatles '64 and Music by John Williams. Either way, Disney wins.

That written, there might be enough music in SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night to give it a chance.

The Americas has the same team of composers as Prehistoric Planet 2, which earned an Emmy nomination. That's enough for me to pick it as the favorite, although I expect to cover this category twice more, once for documentary specials and again for documentary or nonfiction series.

I will examine this in the next installment about documentary or nonfiction series...

I'm embedding samples of the nominees from documentary series, beginning with Chef's Table: Music by Duncan Thum and David Bertok.

Duncan Thum and David Bertok composed the music for the Netflix series Chef's Table, which features the work of renowned Spanish chef José Andrés. Video by José Alberto Hermosillo, www.festivalinLA.com

The music is pretty, and so is the food photography.

Next, The Americas from Hans Zimmer's channel.


That's the kind of epic music I expect from Zimmer and his collaborators.

I close with "Asia Suite" - Jacob Shea & Laurentia Editha (Official Audio).

"Asia Suite" from the original television soundtrack to ASIA, the seven-part series dedicated to our planet’s greatest continent.

Soundtracking David Attenborough's narrative through Asia's remarkable landscapes and animal encounters are composers JACOB SHEA and LAURENTIA EDITHA from the BLEEDING FINGERS MUSIC GROUP.

That's a deserving nominee — all of them are; the composers did a good job of picking the nominees — but everything it does well, Zimmer, Anže Rozman, and Kara Talve do better. Their score is still my pick to win, although an electorate composed of highly sophisticated ears might vote for Caroline Shaw's score for Leonardo da Vinci. Again, electorates matter.

That's a wrap for today's installment. Stay tuned for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special.

Stay tuned for the documentary and nonfiction series nominees next.

Previous posts about the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards

• No PSAs among nominees for Outstanding Commercial plus winners for Outstanding Promotional Announcement at the Emmy Awards
• 'I Am: Celine Dion,' 'Patrice: The Movie,' and 'The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,' Emmy nominees for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking
• 'Asia' and 'The Americas' lead nature documentaries at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• 'Pee-wee as Himself' vs. 'Will & Harper' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special on Tequila Day