The 2023-2024 Environmental Media Association Awards nominees

I closed Bill Nye joins the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists as the Doomsday Clock remains at 90 seconds to midnight by telling my readers "the EMA Awards are tomorrow, so they're up next." Here are the nominees for tonight's ceremony, which "honor[s] film and television productions and individuals that increase public awareness of environmental issues and inspire personal action on these issues."

Feature Film

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – Netflix
White Noise – Netflix
Avatar: The Way of Water – Walt Disney Studios / Lightstorm Entertainment

Oh, look, a film I voted for twice at the Saturn Awards (Avatar: The Way of Water, another movie I compared favorably to a Razzie nominee (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), which is damning with faint praise, so I didn't vote for it, and another I've never mentioned before (White Noise) but which earned nominations at the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes last year. Oh, and all of these movies came out in 2022. What, no 2023 movies with environmental themes had release dates before the deadline? At this rate, I'm looking for Aquaman 2 to earn a nomination at the next EMA Awards.

That written, all of these movies deserve their nominations for their environmental themes, even White Noise, which kicks off with a train wreck releasing hazardous chemicals — sounds familiar, doesn't it, although the movie came out before that particular disaster. Since I voted for it twice, I think Avatar: The Way of Water is the best nominee. I also think it has the strongest environmental themes, so it might just win.

Documentary Film

Deep Rising – The Film Collaborative
Common Ground – Big Picture Ranch
From Devil’s Breath – MSNBC Films, TIME Studios, Day Zero Productions, Sugar23, Mainstay, P&G Studios, Grain Media, Appian Way

This category alone justifies my coverage of these awards, as it includes three films I can recommend my students watch for extra credit. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

The nominees also cover topics I've blogged about. Deep Rising examines the same subject as PBS Terra tells 'The Dirty Truth About Our Clean Energy Future'. Common Ground is another documentary about sustainable agriculture like Food, Inc., King Corn, and The Biggest Little Farm. Finally, I've blogged about wildfires, the subject of From Devil’s Breath, several times. I have no doubts about the environmental content of any of these films!

In 2022, I suspected that star power would sway the EMA voters enough for Eating Our Way to Extinction to win. It did, so I'm making the same prediction for Common Ground. Look at all the famous actors named on the poster, including Laura Dern, who is receiving the EMA Ongoing Commitment Award. It's enough to cancel out Jason Momoa as the narrator for Deep Rising, especially since he is also listed for Common Ground, and Leonardo DiCaprio for From Devil’s Breath, which might be the best-crafted of the three.

Follow over the jump for the television nominees.

Television Episodic Drama

Extrapolations “Whale Fall” – Apple TV+
The Last of Us “When You’re Lost in the Darkness”– HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog

Speaking of nominees I voted for at the Saturn Awards, I voted four times for The Last of Us, so of course I think it's the better nominee. I've never even heard of Extrapolations before I looked at the nominees. I expect a lot of the EMA voters had the same reaction, so I also expect The Last of Us will win.

Paul Junger Witt Comedy Award

Unstable “Unstable” – Netflix
Mulligan “Opening Day” – Netflix
Poker Face “The Stall” – Peacock, T-Street, MRC Television, Animal Pictures

Poker Face had four Emmy nominations and won one of them, so I think it's the best comedy series of the bunch, regardless of environmental contest. I'd heard of Unstable, but Mulligan? I had to read its IMDB page to discover its premise. Then I could see why it earned this nomination. I don't know if it's enough for it to win, despite the star-studded voice cast.

Documentary Series

Frozen Planet II “Frozen Worlds”– A BBC, Discovery Channel, Antena 3 Television S.A., ZDF, Skai, Open University co-production in association with Discovery Canada for BBC America
Down to Earth with Zac Efron “Eco Innovators” – Netflix
Downey’s Dream Cars “Electric Stingray”– Max in association with Boat Rocker’s Matador Content and Team Downey

Look, more shows I can now recommend to my students for extra credit! The two award winners are Frozen Planet II, which earned two BAFTA TV nominations, and Down to Earth with Zac Efron, which has earned six Daytime Emmy Award nominations, winning two of them over two seasons. If these awards were about production values, I think Frozen Planet II would be favored. Since this is about environmental content and star power, I suspect Down to Earth with Zac Efron has the better chance of winning and Downey’s Dream Cars, which has no award nominations listed on IMDB but an Oscar-nominated host, actually has a chance.

Variety Television

A Black Lady Sketch Show “Pre Ph.D, Based on a Novel by Sapphire” – HBO in association with For Better or Words, Inc., Hoorae, 3 Arts Entertainment and Jax Media
Monumental “Ellie Goulding at Kew Gardens” – Amazon Studios, Freevee
The Talk “Earth Day” – CBS/Paramount Global

This category features a showdown between Primetime and Daytime Emmy winners in A Black Lady Sketch Show and The Talk, respectively. I suspect The Talk has the advantage, as the nominated episode has an explicit environmental title and theme and probably has more viewers. Speaking of episode titles, Monumental has a good one in “Ellie Goulding at Kew Gardens,” but I couldn't find the show on IMDB. That's not a good sign for its chances.

Reality Television

Queer Eye “Sowing the Seeds” – Netflix
The Reluctant Traveler “South Africa” – Apple TV+
What Am I Eating? With Zooey Deschanel “Stop Ghosting Greens” – HBO | Max (Warner Bros. Discovery)
The Big Brunch “Farm to Table Brunch” – HBO | Max (Warner Bros. Discovery)

This, the largest field with four nominees, features a father-son contest between Eugene Levy for The Reluctant Traveler and Dan Levy for The Big Brunch. That's an angle I don't recall exploring in more than a dozen years of writing about awards shows! Unfortunately, I don't think either will win. I expect multi-Emmy winner Queer Eye will instead.

Children’s Television

Spirit Rangers “Water Protectors” – Netflix
We Baby Bears “Rexford’s Nectar” – Cartoon Network Studios
Jane “Apis Mellifera” – Sinking Ship Entertainment in association with Apple

Based on nominations at the Children's and Family Emmy Awards, this contest is between Spirit Rangers with seven nominations and Jane with four nominations and a win. We Baby Bears has only an Annie Award nomination. Between Spirit Rangers and Jane, my intuition is picking Spirit Rangers to win.

I close by noting that The Hollywood Reporter's headline reads Netflix Leads Nominations for Environmental Media Association Awards with seven. That's quite a change from 2021, when I wrote "There are no mentions of Netflix on the winners page at all." I guess Netflix got on the ball by submitting their shows for consideration this year. I'm glad the streaming service did.

I might post another entry today. If not, stay tuned for the highlights of tonight's Saturday Night Live tomorrow and the winners as soon as Monday.