Emmy nominee 'Desi Lydic Foxsplains the Epstein Files' plus the rest of the short form nominees at the Emmy Awards

I'm examining the short-form nominees today's Sunday entertainment feature, beginning with Emmy nominee Desi Lydic Foxsplains the Epstein Files | The Daily Show.

Desi Lydic Foxsplains the Epstein files, the most explosive government coverup in history that really isn't that big of a deal. #DailyShow #Epstein #DesiLydic #Foxsplains

Desi Lydic Foxsplains is Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series and Outstanding Performer In a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series.

I've mentioned Jeffrey Epstein before, most fully in GameStop, Carl Icahn, TikTok, Cuban baseball, and Victoria's Secret subjects of Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards...

As I exclaimed the one and only time I mentioned Victoria's Secret before, oh my. I had no idea Jeffrey Epstein was involved with this business, too. No wonder the trailer has so many views; it's a business story about using sex to sell its product that includes a sex scandal.

...but I have stayed away from the latest iteration of the story until now. As it is, I'm following Lydic's lead in making this about the poorly executed cover-up and misdirection, not the scandal itself. I'm adding Emptywheel's take that Jeffrey Epstein Is about Trump’s Failing Ability to Command Attention, which she thinks is one of Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump's superpowers. It's always a bad thing for a superhero or supervillain to have their superpowers fail. May the Epstein scandal be Hoover Cleveland's Kryptonite.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the short form nominees at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series

• The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains (YouTube)
• Late Night with Seth Meyers: Corrections (NBC)
• The Rabbit Hole with Jimmy Kimmel (YouTube)
• The Tonight Show: During Commercial Break (YouTube)

The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains is the only nominee with a second nomination, Outstanding Performer In a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, as the video description above proclaims. Since Gold Derby does not make predictions for the short form nominees means this is the one way I have to handicap this category. It helps that The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains is my favorite, although I also enjoy The Rabbit Hole with Jimmy Kimmel, which I featured in Jimmy Kimmel says good-bye to Musk and plays 'TACO Man' for Trump. Just the same, Late Night with Seth Meyers: Corrections is a also a recurring nominee and The Tonight Show is running a Twitter/X campaign for The Tonight Show: During Commercial Break. NBCUniversal better hope they don't cancel each other out.

Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series

• Adolescence: The Making of Adolescence (Netflix)
• Hacks: Bit by Bit (HBO Max)
• Making of The Last of Us (HBO Max)
• Only Murders in the Building: Unlocking the Mystery (Hulu)
• The White Lotus: Unpacking the Episode (HBO Max)
  

All three HBO nominees have been nominated before, but none have won. I suspect that might happen again because of vote splitting unless the electorate settles on one choice. My guess would be The White Lotus: Unpacking the Episode because The White Lotus has the most overall nominations. Otherwise, I think it will go to Adolescence: The Making of Adolescence, although Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series. That might count for something.

Outstanding Performer in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series

• Nathalie Emmanuel – Die Hart: Hart to Kill as Jordan King (Roku Channel)
• Kevin Hart – Die Hart: Hart to Kill as himself (Roku Channel)
• Desi Lydic – The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains as herself (YouTube)
• Tom Segura – Bad Thoughts as various Characters (Netflix)
• J. K. Simmons – Die Hart: Hart to Kill as Jackson Pepper (Roku Channel)
  

The most nominated short form series is Die Hart: Hart to Kill with three nominations in this category. It probably should have been nominated for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series, too, especially since that category only had four nominees. Again, I suspect vote splitting might hurt the three nominees from Die Hart: Hart to Kill unless the voters settle on one choice. That would be Lydic's best chance to win, but I expect it would help Tom Segura instead.

That's a wrap for today's installment. I'm planning on taking a break from the Emmy Awards tomorrow, then returning with either the variety talk or unstructured reality series nominees on Tuesday. Stay tuned.

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
• '100 Foot Wave' leads Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in nominations, but could lose to 'SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night'
• 'The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special