'Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy' defends its Emmy for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special

I'm resuming my Emmy Awards nominations coverage by looking at Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, which won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special last year. It's defending its category against two returning nominees and two newcomers.

Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special (Area)
The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey (Netflix)
My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Netflix)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu)
United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell (CNN)

Three of these nominees examine politics and government, two of my angles when examining awards shows, The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell. The other two, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy and Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, are food and travel shows that might touch on politics and government by accident. While I'm rooting for United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is the two-time returning winner, the only nominee with multiple nominations (four, including Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program (Single or Multi-Camera) in addition to the nomination for the series itself), and the one that the experts at Gold Derby think will win. That's followed by My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell, currently tied for second place, and The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey and Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi tied f for fourth. Based on those criteria, I'm predicting that Tucci and his producers will walk away with the Emmy statuette whenever the Television Academy holds the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies. Those are currently scheduled for September 9–10, 2023, but may be postponed because of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. I hope that doesn't happen, but wouldn't be surprised if it did.

In any event, here is the trailer for season 3 of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy from SBS Australia.

Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci travels across Italy to discover the secrets and delights of the country's regional cuisines.

Looks like well-made fun, so I'm not surprised it's the returning winner and current favorite.

Follow over the jump for the rest of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy's nominations and its competitors in those categories.

Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program
100 Foot Wave: "Chapter VI - Force Majeure" - Antoine Chicoye, Mikey Corker, Vincent Kardasik, Alexandre Lesbats, Chris Smith, Laurent Pujol, João Vidinha, and Michael Darrigade (HBO)
Secrets of the Elephants: "Desert" - Toby Strong, James Boon, and Bob Poole (Nat Geo)
The 1619 Project: "Justice" - Jerry Henry (Hulu)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy: "Calabria" - Andrew Muggleton (CNN)
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie - C. Kim Miles, Clair Popkin, and Julia Liu (Apple TV+) The Territory - Alex Pritz and Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wa (Nat Geo)

I begin my analysis by recycling what I wrote in 'The Territory' leads nominees for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking at the 2023 Emmy Awards.

Oh, look, more nominees with nature photography! That makes me happy. It only marginally helps "The Territory," as it's competing against "100 Foot Wave" and "Secrets Of The Elephants" for wild landscapes, seascapes, and animals and "Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy" for human landscapes and cityscapes. All of the nominees in this and the previous category have other nominations, so I'll examine their chances in the next two installments. Stay tuned.

I'm adding that this category includes the Gold Derby experts' favorites to win Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking, Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, and Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special, plus two series with outstanding outdoor and nature photography. That makes for a very competitive category. The Territory has both great nature photography and the experts' support to win its program category, so it's currently my pick to win. However, 100 Foot Wave won this category last year, so I'm not that confident in my choice. I will look at this category twice more, so stay tuned to see if I change my mind.

Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program
Moonage Daydream – Brett Morgen (HBO)
100 Foot Wave: "Chapter III – Jaws" – Alex Bayer, Alex Keipper, and Quin O'Brien (HBO)
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields – David Teague, Sara Newens, and Anne Yao (Hulu)
The 1619 Project: "Justice" – Ephraim Kirkwood, Jesse Allain-Marcus, and Adriana Pacheco (Hulu)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy: "Calabria" – Liz Roe (CNN)
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie – Michael Harte (Apple TV+)

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie has the most nominations, which helps make it the Gold Derby experts' number one choice, but I don't know if that means much in this category. Any of the other nominees, including Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, could win. Again, I'm examining this category twice more, so I'll make my decision then.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program (Single or Multi-Camera)
Moonage Daydream – Paul Massey and David Giammarco (HBO)
100 Foot Wave: "Chapter V – Lost at Sea" – Keith Hodne (HBO)
The Sound of 007 – Richard Davey, Jonny Horne, Simon Norman, and Francesco Corazzi (Prime Video)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy: "Calabria" – Matt Skilton and Christopher Syner (CNN)
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie – Skip Lievsay, Benjamin Berger, Martin Kittappa, and Lily van Leeuwen (Apple TV+)

As I have written before, I think that music nominees have the best chances, all things being equal, so that gives the advantage to Moonage Daydream and The Sound of 007. As a James Bond fan, I'm rooting for The Sound of 007, but I really think Moonage Daydream is the most likely to win.

Stay tuned for more awards show coverage.

Previous posts about the 2023 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards

• Dove's 'Cost of Beauty' the sole PSA among the 2023 Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial
• 'The Territory' leads nominees for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking at the 2023 Emmy Awards
• Barack Obama defends his Emmy against Hollywood all-stars narrating nature and science documentaries
• The music of 'Prehistoric Planet 2' earned the series its first Emmy nomination