Gold Derby's predictions for TV movie and music at the Emmy Awards

I closed Gold Derby's predictions for variety specials at the Emmy Awards with "I have one more Creative Arts Emmy nominees post planned for TV Movies and music. Stay tuned." Without any further ado, here are the TV movie and music nominees at the 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Television Movie

• Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie (Peacock)
• Quiz Lady (Hulu)
• Red, White & Royal Blue (Prime Video)
• Scoop (Netflix)
• Unfrosted (Netflix)

The editors at Gold Derby have changed most of their minds since I first covered this category in Gold Derby's predictions for Emmy-nominated shows. Here were the top six movies according to Gold Derby's editors in mid-July.


Four editors were forecasting Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie to win while two were picking Red, White & Royal Blue, but no one thought Quiz Lady had a chance of taking the trophy home. In contrast, these are the picks of Gold Derby's editors and site odds as of last night.


Seven editors now predict Quiz Lady will win, while four are forecasting Red, White & Royal Blue, but no editor now thinks Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie will take home the statuette. What a difference two months makes!

Neither the experts nor the top 24 users have received the memo from the editors, as six experts and 16 users are sticking with Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie, while two experts and four users picked Quiz Lady, one expert and four users have chosen Red, White & Royal Blue, and one lone expert picked Scoop. Red, White & Royal Blue and Scoop both fit my stated interest in covering awards shows, examining depictions of politics and government in entertainment, so I can justify this blog post.

Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

• Baby Reindeer – Nina Gold and Martin Ware (Netflix)
• Fargo – Rachel Tenner, Jackie Lind, Stephanie Gorin, and Rhonda Fisekci (FX)
• Feud: Capote vs. The Swans – Alexa L. Fogel (FX)
• Ripley – Avy Kaufman, Francesco Vedovati, and Barbara Giordani (Netflix)
• True Detective: Night Country – Francine Maisler, Deborah Schildt, and Alda B. Gudjónsdóttir (HBO)

TV movies could have been nominated in this category, but this year's class isn't last year's, when Weird: The Al Yankovic Story had the most nominations in the Emmy field with eight, followed by Prey with six, Hocus Pocus 2 with three, Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas with two, and Fire Island with only one. That's a lot of nominations for television movies. This year, all the TV movie nominations had only one nomination each. That's disappointing. I think the stars in Quiz Lady Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, and Will Ferrell, along with supporting actress Tawny Newsome and the next to last appearance of the late Paul Reubens, could have made it competitive here. Sigh.

Enough whining. On to the Gold Derby odds! All eleven editors along with nine experts and 22 users voted for Baby Reindeer. One expert and user each think Fargo could upset. One user hasn't chosen a winner. They should pick Baby Reindeer.

The next award is the first music category listed on Wikipedia, which is fortuitous, for it serves as a transition between TV movies and limited series above the jump and music below the jump.

Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score)

• All the Light We Cannot See: "Episode 4" – James Newton Howard (Netflix)
• Fargo: "Blanket" – Jeff Russo (FX)
• Lawmen: Bass Reeves: "Part I" – Chanda Dancy (Paramount+)
• Lessons in Chemistry: "Book of Calvin" – Carlos Rafael Rivera (Apple TV+)
• The Tattooist of Auschwitz: "Episode 1" – Kara Talve and Hans Zimmer (Peacock)

Gold Derby's forecasters favor Fargo with eight editors, seven experts, and 17 users filling in their ballots with it. Two editors and four users selected Lessons in Chemistry with one editor went out on a limb with All the Light We Cannot See while three experts and one user took a chance with The Tattooist of Auschwitz, probably based on Hans Zimmer being one of the nominated composers and the limited series also being nominated for Original Music and Lyrics. I should listen to selections from the soundtracks first, but if I don't get around to it, I'd probably pick Fargo.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the music categories with Gold Derby predictions.

Gold Derby predicts guest actor, guest actress, reality host, and voice-over at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards

I was confused when I wrote CNBC explains 'Why Automakers Are Invading Your Privacy,' a double driving update yesterday; the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is next year, so the Sunday entertainment feature it is. Time to return to the Emmy Awards with nominations for guest actor, guest actress, reality show host, and voice-over performance plus odds from Gold Derby, so here are the nominees at the 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards!

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

• Jon Bernthal – The Bear: "Fishes" as Michael Berzatto (FX)
• Matthew Broderick – Only Murders in the Building: "CoBro" as Matthew Broderick (Hulu)
• Ryan Gosling – Saturday Night Live: "Host: Ryan Gosling" as host (NBC)
• Christopher Lloyd – Hacks: "The Deborah Vance Christmas Spectacular" as Larry Arbuckle (Max)
• Bob Odenkirk – The Bear: "Fishes" as Uncle Lee (FX)
• Will Poulter – The Bear: "Honeydew" as Luca (FX)

Gold Derby's editors and top 24 users have divided opinions about the likely winner. The editors are split five to five between Jon Bernthal and Christopher Lloyd with one editor picking Ryan Gosling as a dark horse. The experts are even more evenly divided among the top three nominees with four backing Bernthal and three going for Gosling, leaving two for Lloyd. On the other hand, the top 24 users display more consolidation with 18 behind Bernthal, three voting for Gosling, only two for Lloyd, and one brave user making a long shot bet on Bob Odenkirk.

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

• Olivia Colman – The Bear: "Forks" as Chef Terry (FX)
• Jamie Lee Curtis – The Bear: "Fishes" as Donna Berzatto (FX)
• Kaitlin Olson – Hacks: "The Roast of Deborah Vance" as DJ Vance (Max)
• Da'Vine Joy Randolph – Only Murders in the Building: "Sitzprobe" as Donna Williams (Hulu)
• Maya Rudolph – Saturday Night Live: "Host: Maya Rudolph" as host (NBC)
• Kristen Wiig – Saturday Night Live: "Host: Kristen Wiig" as host (NBC)

The editors, experts, and top 24 users have unanimously chosen Jamie Lee Curtis. After seeing how she won an Oscar for Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, I think the prognosticators at Gold Derby have been convinced of Hollywood's love for Curtis so they agree she'll win an Emmy to go with her Oscar. To reiterate, electorates matter.

Between Bernthal and Curtis, it could be a mini-sweep of comedy guest performances for The Bear. That probably won't happen at the Primetime Emmys, as Hacks could win both actress awards while both actors could repeat for The Bear.

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series

• Néstor Carbonell – Shogun: "Anjin" as Vasco Rodrigues (FX)
• Paul Dano – Mr. & Mrs. Smith: "A Breakup" as Harris Materbach (Prime Video)
• Tracy Letts – Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: "The New World" as Jack McKinney (HBO)
• Jonathan Pryce – Slow Horses: "Footprints" as David Cartwright (Apple TV+)
• John Turturro – Mr. & Mrs. Smith: "Second Date" as Eric Shane (Prime Video)

Eight of the eleven editors voted for Néstor Carbonell, two for John Turturro, and one for Jonathan Pryce. The experts exhibit a similar split with six for Carbonell, two for John Turturro, and one for Jonathan Pryce. The top 24 users are generally playing it safe with 21 chosing Carbonell, while one each are making long shot picks for Paul Dano, Pryce, and Turturro.

Speaking of sweeps, Shogun could see one for its nominated actors between the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards. I'll get to its nominations next week.

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

• Michaela Coel – Mr. & Mrs. Smith: "Infidelity" as Bev (Prime Video)
• Claire Foy – The Crown: "Sleep, Dearie Sleep" as Queen Elizabeth II (Netflix)
• Marcia Gay Harden – The Morning Show: "Update Your Priors" as Maggie Brener (Apple TV+)
• Sarah Paulson – Mr. & Mrs. Smith: "Couples Therapy (Naked & Afraid)" as Therapist (Prime Video)
• Parker Posey – Mr. & Mrs. Smith: "Double Date" as Second Other Jane (Prime Video)

Eight editors chose Claire Foy to claim another Emmy for her part of the role, two voted for Michaela Coel, and one picked Parker Posey. The experts are just as evenly split among the top nominees here as they are for guest drama actor with three for Foy, and two each voting for Coel, Sarah Paulson, and Posey. As they are for guest actress, the users display more agreement with the editors than the experts with 20 fine with Foy, three choosing Coel, and one picking Paulson.

As I observed in Gold Derby's predictions for Emmy-nominated shows, "Shogun moved from limited series to drama series just in time to make the ballot in this category, unseating The Crown as the favorite." Fortunately for Foy, no one from Shogun earned a nomination in this category, so she might be the one acting winner for the series' final season.

Follow over the jump for the nominees and Gold Derby odds for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance and Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program plus a linkspam to previous entries in this series.

'Shogun' and 'The Bear' win six 2024 Gold Derby TV Awards each

I'm sharing 2024 Gold Derby TV Awards ceremony: Watch many exciting acceptance speeches for 21st annual awards as the Sunday entertainment feature.

Watch the exciting 37-minute 2024 Gold Derby TV Awards winners ceremony featuring winner speeches for many of the 30 categories! Thousands of passionate TV fans worldwide voted on our winners. This year marks our 21st anniversary of handing out these awards (with all nominees and winners from the past 21 years featured on IMDb awards pages and at Gold Derby).

Nominees for Best Drama Series are The Crown, The Curse, Elsbeth, Fallout, The Gilded Age, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Morning Show and Shogun.

Nominees for Best Comedy Series are Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Girls5eva, Hacks, Only Murders in the Building, Our Flag Means Death, Reservation Dogs and What We Do in the Shadows.

Nominees for Best Limited Series are Baby Reindeer, The Fall of the House of Usher, Fargo, Fellow Travelers, Lessons in Chemistry, Ripley, Sympathizer and True Detective: Night Country.

On the one hand, the Gold Derby voters nominated a handful of shows that the Emmy Awards ignored. The Curse and Elsbeth replaced 3 Body Problem and Slow Horses in drama series, Girls5eva and Our Flag Means Death replaced Curb Your Enthusiasm and Palm Royale, and expanded the limited series field to include The Fall of the House of Usher, Fellow Travelers, and The Sympathizer. On the other, they won't have much if any effect on the Television Academy, which started voting after Gold Derby announced because the winners of the series categories will almost certainly be the same at the Emmy Awards; Gold Derby has been predicting them for months. Still, the few differences in performing and the other show categories serve as examples of electorates mattering.

Speaking of which, the Gold Derby Awards and Emmy Awards only completely snubbed four or five shows on each others lists. The Emmys completely ignored The Curse, Elsbeth, Our Flag Means Death, and The Fall of the House of Usher, all nominated at the Gold Derby Awards. I might submit some of these to the Saturn Awards, although The Curse isn't their kind of show — too subtle and artistic instead of entertaining — and Elsbeth might be too conventional. On the other hand, they might like Our Flag Means Death and I expect The Fall of the House of Usher will earn a nomination or two without my help.

Follow over the jump for more discussion of the winners.

How did Gold Derby's Emmy nominations predictions fare?

I closed Vox and PBS ask 'Why do we have grass lawns?' with a program footnote.

I'm once again blogging about more evergreen topics that will be good to share in August, like the environmental cost of lawns. This also includes this year's Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which will be announced later this morning. Look for me to write about them, beginning with examining how Gold Derby's predictions for Emmy-nominated shows fared tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Time to check the predictions against reality beginning with the Television Academy announcing 76th Emmy Nominations: Comedy Series.


The Gold Derby editors' and experts Emmy nomination predictions for eight comedy series were The Bear, Hacks, Abbott Elementary, Only Murders in the Building, Curb Your Enthusiasm, What We Do in the Shadows, Palm Royale, and Reservation Dogs. Those all came true. Congratulations! On the other hand, the top 24 users thought The Gentlemen would knock out Palm Royale. My reaction was "The former may be funnier, but the latter has more star power, which makes me think it has the advantage, at least among the actors." That's apparently what happened. Don't underestimate the power of the Television Academy's equivalent of the Actors Branch. Remember, electorates matter.

Predictions first for the next category.

Gold Derby's next category is drama series, the top eight among the editors consists of Shogun, The Crown, The Morning Show, The Gilded Age, Fallout, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Slow Horses, and The Curse. Shogun moved from limited series to drama series just in time to make the ballot in this category, unseating The Crown as the favorite and knocking 3 Body Problem out of the predicted top eight.

That was Friday night. By Wednesday morning, the editors switched 3 Body Problem and The Curse, which turned out to be a smart move. Watch 76th Emmy Nominations: Drama Series to see why.


The editors got it right at the last minute, so congratulations. That's more than can be said about the experts or users, who kept The Curse in their top eight. Since my wife and I enjoyed 3 Body Problem but didn't continue watching The Curse, I can see why the former earned this nomination while the latter was skunked — no nominations at all! I don't know if I will suggest The Curse to the Saturn Awards, but I'm definitely passing on 3 Body Problem along with Shogun, Fallout, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Slow Horses.

Gold Derby's editors, experts, and top 24 users all predicted Baby Reindeer, Fargo, Lessons in Chemistry, Ripley and True Detective: Night Country. Those were exactly the nominees for 76th Emmy Nominations: Limited or Anthology Series.


Congratulations to both the nominees and Gold Derby prognosticators!

On the other hand, none of the three groups perfectly predicted the next category.

The Gold Derby editors have a statistical tie for the fifth Emmy nomination in television movies, giving both The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and Scoop five votes each. The last slot may be even more unsettled, as No One Will Save You has four editor votes. The editors' top four consists of Mr. Monk's Last Case, Red, White and Royal Blue, Quiz Lady, and The Great Lillian Hall. The experts and top 24 users disagree, thinking both The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and Scoop will make the top five while The Great Lillian Hall won't. This will be another category worth watching.

The Television Academy didn't create a clip for TV Movie, but they did tweet out this image.


The editors picked three, Mr. Monk's Last Case, Red, White and Royal Blue, and Quiz Lady,, while the experts and top 24 users correctly chose Scoop. None of the editors or users voted for Unfrosted to be nominated, landing it in 18th by default, but four of the experts did, placing it eighth. Congratulations to those experts. Like Palm Royale in Comedy Series, I'm chalking Unfrosted's nomination up to star power and the actors voting for it. Again, electorates matter.

Follow over the jump to see how Gold Derby's predictions fared in the remaining four categories.

Gold Derby's predictions for Emmy-nominated shows

I closed Colbert, Meyers, and 'The Daily Show' take more closer looks at Project 2025 by writing "I might move up the Sunday entertainment feature to tomorrow because Sunday is Bastille Day." Since the Emmy nominations will be revealed next week, I'm sharing the Gold Derby editors' Emmy nomination predictions for series and TV movies.


Gold Derby's Emmy nomination predictions begin with comedy series, so that's were I begin as well. As of last night, the the top eight comedy series were The Bear, Hacks, Abbott Elementary, Only Murders in the Building, Curb Your Enthusiasm, What We Do in the Shadows, Palm Royale, and Reservation Dogs. The Gentlemen and Colin from Accounts effectively tie for ninth, while one editor each thinks Ghosts and Girls5Eva will earn nominations. The experts agree on the top eight, while the top 24 users think The Gentlemen will knock out Palm Royale. The former may be funnier, but the latter has more star power, which makes me think it has the advantage, at least among the actors.


Gold Derby's next category is drama series, the top eight among the editors consists of Shogun, The Crown, The Morning Show, The Gilded Age, Fallout, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Slow Horses, and The Curse. Shogun moved from limited series to drama series just in time to make the ballot in this category, unseating The Crown as the favorite and knocking 3 Body Problem out of the predicted top eight. The experts and top 24 users agree with the editors' top eight, although the users think Ahsoka will be the series knocked out by the addition of Shogun; they have 3 Body Problem in tenth and Loki in eleventh.


Moving Shogun out of limited series helped Baby Reindeer, which is now favored to win, and Ripley, which is now in fifth by a hair. The rest of the limited series field predicted by Gold Derby's editors, experts, and top 24 users are Fargo, Lessons in Chemistry, and True Detective: Night Country. The editors and experts think Fellow Travelers will be the show that just misses the cutoff, while the users think it will be Masters of the Air.


The Gold Derby editors have a statistical tie for the fifth Emmy nomination in television movies, giving both The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and Scoop five votes each. The last slot may be even more unsettled, as No One Will Save You has four editor votes. The editors' top four consists of Mr. Monk's Last Case, Red, White and Royal Blue, Quiz Lady, and The Great Lillian Hall. The experts and top 24 users disagree, thinking both The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and Scoop will make the top five while The Great Lillian Hall won't. This will be another category worth watching.

Follow over the jump for the remaining four show categories.

'Abbott Elementary' leads Golden Globes TV nominees with five nominations

Happy Norther! I'm celebrating the fake holiday by examining the Politics, government, and diversity in the 2023 Golden Globe Television nominees as the Sunday entertainment feature. Fortunately, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) made it easy for me by nominating "Abbott Elementary" for five awards, more than any other television show. Diversity and government galore!


As I wrote above "Abbott Elementary" has five nominations, Best Television Series - Comedy, Best Performance in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Actress) for Quinta Brunson, Best Supporting Performance in a Television Series – Musical-Comedy or Drama (Supporting Actor) for Tyler James Williams, and two nominations for Best Supporting Performance in a Television Series – Musical-Comedy or Drama (Supporting Actor) for Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph. Based on the number of nominations alone, I'd pick "Abbott Elementary." The experts at Gold Derby support my intuition, as seven of the nine have "Abbott Elementary" in first. One picked "The Bear," which six other experts picked second, and one picked "Wednesday," a distinctly minority view as no one else ranks it higher than third and four rank fifth! Those same experts think the other nominated mystery "Only Murders in the Building" is better. I'm rooting for "Abbott Elementary," but I expect "Wednesday" will be a big hit at the next Saturn Awards, whenever they're held.


I begin by repeating what I wrote in 'Ted Lasso,' 'Barry,' 'Hacks,' and 'Only Murders in the Building' lead comedy series nominees at the 2022 Emmy Awards about Lead Actress In A Comedy Series for Best Performance in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy, Actress.

As I wrote last year "Kaley Cuoco's Cassie Bowden is recruited as an undercover agent at the end of the first season," adding a lot more government content to the show. That turned out surprisingly well, although I think the finale stuck the landing and then tripped. That's not Cuoco's fault as an actress, but it's indirectly her fault as a producer...twelve of the thirteen Gold Derby editors along with the majority of uses think Jean Smart will repeat for "Hacks" with only [one] editor predicting Quinta Brunson for "Abbott Elementary."

Jean Smart did win the Emmy, again, but this is a different field, with Selina Gomez and Jenna Ortega joining Brunson, Cuoco, and Smart, making this a very diverse field, and a different set of voters. As I nearly always point out in my awards show coverage, electorates matter. While the experts at Gold Derby generally don't think much of "Wednesday" as a show, they seem to love Jenna Ortega, who plays the title character, as seven of the nine have picked her to win. Only one each ranked Jean Smart and Quinta Brunson first. While Ortega has been acting for years, "Wednesday" was definitely her breakthrough role. I expect to vote for Ortega at the Saturn Awards, whether for Best Actress on Television or Best Younger Performer on Television, whichever the acting nomination committee slots her in.


As the award name states, Best Supporting Performance in a Television Series – Musical-Comedy or Drama, Supporting Actor lumps together supporting actors from both comedy and drama series. Usually, this favors performers in dramas. It also means that I'm recycling from both my comedy and drama nominee posts about the 2022 Emmy Awards. Only Tyler James Williams and Henry Winkler are appearing from the Emmy field for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and John Turtoro from "Severance" from the drama field for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and I wrote very little about them, so on to their chances. Six of the Gold Derby experts have Turturo as their top choice, while one each have John Lithgow, Jonathon Pryce, and Henry Winkler. I'd say Turturo, except that Joyce Eng picked Lithgow, which gives me pause. She has a knack for being right.


The experts at Gold Derby see Best Supporting Performance in a Television Series – Musical-Comedy or Drama, Supporting Actress, as a very close contest. Five of them think Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph will win, while four of them picked Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana in the latest season of "The Crown" as the likely winner. Eng thinks it will be Ralph, so I'm using her pick as the tiebreaker. Good thing the two actresses will be competing in different categories at next year's Emmy Awards!

I'm rounding out comedy with Best Performance in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Actor).


Again, I begin by recycling.

"Atlanta" has a lot of social and political commentary in its comedy...This is a rich field with Donald Glover, Bill Hader, and Jason Sudeikis having won this category for these same roles before and Steve Martin and Martin Short winning Emmy Awards for comedy writing. Nine of the Gold Derby editors think that Hader will win, including Eng, three have picked Sudeikis to repeat, and one thinks Steve Martin will win his first Emmy for acting. The readers think it will be a close win for Hader. I can see that.

Sudeikis won the Emmy, but he's not in this field because Season 3 of "Ted Lasso" hasn't streamed yet. Instead, Jeremy Allen White of "The Bear" joins Glover, Hader, Martin, and Short, making this a less diverse field than the comedy actresses. According to the experts at Gold Derby, White is the favorite with eight of them picking him over one lone expert ranking Hader first. Even that one vote of confidence is not enough to put Hader in second, as seven experts ranked Martin ahead of him and five think Short has a better chance of winning. Wow! It could be worse; eight of the nine have Glover in last.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the TV nominees.

Beyond The Trailer and WatchMojo look at the top movies and TV shows of 2022

I'm leaving science for entertainment with an updated and expanded version of last year's The best TV series of 2021 according to WatchMojo and IGN by adding movies to television, beginning with Grace Randolph of Beyond The Trailer listing her Top Ten Best Movies of 2022.

Top Ten Movies of 2022 today! Beyond The Trailer's best movies from Hollywood! How do full movies rank like Top Gun Maverick, Avatar 2?
...
Top Ten Best Movies of 2022 today! Beyond The Trailer host Grace Randolph gives a review of her Top Ten Movies of 2022 including a breakdown as to why each one made the cut! Find out where The Woman King, Puss in Boots 2 The Last Wish, Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery, Nope, She Said, Black Panther Wakanda Forever, Top Gun Maverick, The Batman, The Black Phone and Avatar 2 The Way of Water land on this list!

Not a bad top ten. Now, how many of them are on WatchMojo's Top 10 Best Movies of 2022 and which movies make its list that didn't make Grace's?

2022 was an incredible year for film! For this list, we’ll be looking at feature films that captured the zeitgeist in 2022, standing out as the year’s best examples of pure cinema. Our countdown includes “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, “Avatar: The Way of Water”, “Top Gun: Maverick”, and more!

I'm not surprised that "Banshees of Inisherin" "The Fablemans," "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio," "RRR," and "Everything Everywhere All at Once" beat out "She Said," "Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish," "The Black Phone," "Nope," and "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery." WatchMojo gave "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" an honorable mention, while Grace justified her decision in a pinned comment to the video: "While I certainly respect Everything Everywhere All At Once, I didn't love it myself. So while I voted for it for Best Picture for Critics Choice, it's not on my list here." Fair enough.

Follow over the jump for Grace's and WatchMojo's picks for the year's top TV shows.

'The Crown' sweeps drama series categories on final night of Emmy Awards, shutting out 'The Handmaid's Tale'

 

The Emmy Awards winners were presented last night and "The Crown" swept all categories in drama to win seven awards, acting, writing, directing, and show, just like "Schitt's Creek" did last year in comedy. Not even "The Handmaid's Tale" could do this four years ago when it won five awards on the final night, as it wasn't nominated in the lead and supporting actor categories. While I was rooting for "The Handmaid's Tale," I did see this coming. Here are the nominees and my comments on their chances from 'The Crown' vs. 'The Handmaid's Tale' — politics and government in drama nominees at the Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Drama Series

The Boys (Prime Video)
Bridgerton (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Pose (FX)
This Is Us (NBC)

... I couldn't resist another video from my favorite critic duo of Eng and Rosen. I concur with them that the contest for Outstanding Drama Series is between "The Crown" and "The Handmaid's Tale," as both have eleven nominations at next Sunday's ceremony. "The Crown" won six Gold Derby TV Awards, Drama Series, Drama Actor for Josh O'Connor, Drama Actress for Emma Corrin, Drama Supporting Actress for Gillian Anderson, Drama Guest Actor for Charles Dance, and Ensemble of the Year. It could win four of those, as Courtney B. Vance as George Freeman from "Lovecraft Country" beat Dance for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series and the Emmys don't have an outstanding ensemble award beyond the casting categories. I'm still rooting for "The Handmaid's Tale."

As I expected, "The Crown" won, while "The Handmaid's Tale" went away empty-handed. Watch Drama Series: 73rd Emmys from the Television Academy to see writer and producer Peter Morgan accept the award.

The Crown wins the Emmy for Drama Series at the 73rd Emmys.

After that heartfelt speech, I have nothing to say but congratulations!

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson on This Is Us (Episode: "Forty: Part 2") (NBC)
Jonathan Majors as Atticus Freeman on Lovecraft Country (Episode: "Sundown") (HBO)
Josh O'Connor as Prince Charles on The Crown (Episode: "Terra Nullius") (Netflix)
Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings on Bridgerton (Episode: "Art of the Swoon") (Netflix)
Billy Porter as Pray Tell on Pose (Episode: "Take Me To Church") (FX)
Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason on Perry Mason (Episode: "Chapter 8") (HBO)

This field features three former winners, Sterling K. Brown, Billy Porter, and Matthew Rhys. Of the three of them, I think Porter has the best shot at deposing nominal favorite O'Connor for this award, although I still think it's O'Connor's award to lose.

It was. Watch O'Connor accept the award for Lead Actor in a Drama: 73rd Emmys.

Josh O'Connor wins the Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 73rd Emmys.

No wonder O'Connor was able to portray Prince Charles sympathetically. He's a very likeable person as himself. Congratulations!

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Uzo Aduba as Dr. Brooke Taylor on In Treatment (Episode: "Brooke – Week 5") (HBO)
Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II on The Crown (Episode: "48:1") (Netflix)
Emma Corrin as Princess Diana on The Crown (Episode: "Fairytale") (Netflix)
Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne / Offred on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Home") (Hulu)
Mj Rodriguez as Blanca Evangelista on Pose (Episode: "Series Finale") (FX)
Jurnee Smollett as Letitia "Leti" Lewis on Lovecraft Country (Episode: "Holy Ghost") (HBO)

This field pits Oscar winner Olivia Colman against Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss. That makes for good headlines, but I doubt either will win, as Emma Corrin has been beating Colman for her portrayal of Princess Diana in "The Crown" and will probably win. Too bad, as I praised Moss's acting this season and voted for her in the Saturn Awards.

Just as she did at the Oscars two years ago, Colman suprised me by winning. Watch Lead Actress in a Drama: 73rd Emmys to see her accept the Emmy.

Olivia Colman wins the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the 73rd Emmys.

Colman looked and sounded like she was even more surprised than I was, but not as stunned as she was when she beat Glenn Close at the Oscars. That was even more fun to watch. Just the same, congratulations!

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon on The Mandalorian (Episode: "Chapter 16: The Rescue") (Disney+)
O-T Fagbenle as Luke Bankole on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Home") (Hulu)
John Lithgow as Elias Birchard "E.B." Jonathan on Perry Mason (Episode: "Chapter 4") (HBO)
Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on The Crown (Episode: "Gold Stick") (Netflix)
Max Minghella as Commander Nick Blaine on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "The Crossing") (Hulu)
Chris Sullivan as Toby Damon on This Is Us (Episode: "In the Room") (NBC)
Bradley Whitford as Commander Joseph Lawrence on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Testimony") (Hulu)
Michael K. Williams as Montrose Freeman on Lovecraft Country (Episode: "Rewind 1921") (HBO) (posthumous)

The late Michael K. Williams won the Gold Derby Award and was alive to accept it, but he died since then. If that had happened during Emmy voting, it might have propelled a sympathy vote in addition to the momentum he earned winning the equivalent Gold Derby and Critics Choice Awards. I'd be fine with that, as Williams was more memorable than any of the nominees from "The Handmaid's Tale" and more intense than Giancarlo Esposito on "The Mandalorian" as much as he chewed the scenery as the main villain. If "Perry Mason" were a better show, then I think John Lithgow would have a good chance of winning, but I think the quality of this season of "The Crown" would more likely give Tobias Menzies the advantage instead. Williams should win, but Menzies probably will. Sigh. I hope I'm wrong.

I wasn't. Watch Supporting Actor in a Drama: 73rd Emmys to see Kerry Washington present the award and accept it on Menzies' behalf.

Tobias Menzies wins the Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 73rd Emmys.

Menzies may have won the award, but Washington stole the moment by first giving Williams the tribute he deserved and then taking Menzies' statuette. Ha!

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher on The Crown (Episode: "Favourites") (Netflix)
Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret on The Crown (Episode: "The Hereditary Principle") (Netflix)
Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Testimony") (Hulu)
Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Progress") (Hulu)
Aunjanue Ellis as Hippolyta Freeman on Lovecraft Country (Episode: "I Am.") (HBO)
Emerald Fennell as Camilla Parker Bowles on The Crown (Episode: "Fairytale") (Netflix)
Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Home") (Hulu)
Samira Wiley as Moira on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Vows") (Hulu)

I think Gillian Anderson will win this. She beat all of her co-stars from "The Crown" for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series at the SAG Awards and they were in leading roles while she was in a supporting one. Otherwise, it's the clearest matchup between "The Crown" and "The Handmaid's Tale" at next Sunday's awards.

As expected, Anderson won. Watch her accept the award for Supporting Actress in a Drama: 73rd Emmys.

Gillian Anderson wins the Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the 73rd Emmys.

That was a good tribute to one of the people behind the scenes, although I think I would have rather heard her praise her competition, which was very stiff this year and had a lot of support based on the cheers, even though she really was great at Thatcher. Congratulations!

Now for the last two awards, recognizing work behind the cameras.

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

Bridgerton (Episode: "Diamond of the First Water"), Directed by Julie Anne Robinson (Netflix)
The Crown (Episode: "Fairytale"), Directed by Benjamin Caron (Netflix)
The Crown (Episode: "War"), Directed by Jessica Hobbs (Netflix)
The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "The Wilderness"), Directed by Liz Garbus (Hulu)
The Mandalorian (Episode: "Chapter 9: The Marshal"), Directed by Jon Favreau (Disney+)
Pose (Episode: "Series Finale"), Directed by Steven Canals (FX)
...
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

The Boys (Episode: "What I Know"), Written by Rebecca Sonnenshine (Prime Video)
The Crown (Episode: "War"), Written by Peter Morgan (Netflix)
The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Home"), Written by Yahlin Chang (Hulu)
Lovecraft Country (Episode: "Sundown"), Written by Misha Green (HBO)
The Mandalorian (Episode: "Chapter 13: The Jedi"), Written by Dave Filoni (Disney+)
The Mandalorian (Episode: "Chapter 16: The Rescue"), Written by Jon Favreau (Disney+)
Pose (Episode: "Series Finale"), Written by Steven Canals, Brad Falchuk, Our Lady J, Janet Mock, and Ryan Murphy (FX)

Both Eng and Rosen think "The Crown" will win both of these awards. They're the experts, so I'm not going to disagree.

It was a good thing I didn't, as the director and writer of the "The Crown" won. Watch Directing For A Drama Series: 73rd Emmy Awards first.

Jessica Hobbs wins for The Crown.

Hobbs may have mentioned her mother only briefly, but made for a touching and effective end of her acceptance speech.

Finally, Writing for a Drama Series: 73rd Emmys.

Peter Morgan wins the Emmy for Writing for a Drama Series at the 73rd Emmys.

This was very early in the evening, so Morgan may not have known yet how much he and his cast were going to party by the end of the night. Go back to the first video I embedded and see how much more serious he was for the last acceptance speech of the evening.

While I could stop here, as having Morgan speak first and last closed a circle, I want to point out that I think having the ceremony with fewer attendees in a more intimate setting made the awards feel more personal, so I enjoyed it more. I also want to congratulate "The Crown" on all of its eleven Emmy Awards.


Stay tuned as I continue my coverage of the Emmy winners, most likely with the limited series winners, as "The Queen's Gambit" also won a total of eleven Emmy Awards to tie "The Crown."

Previous posts in this series

• Diversity one of the themes of the Outstanding Commercial nominees at the 2021 Emmy Awards
• 'The Social Dilemma' leads documentaries at the Emmy Awards with seven nominations
• 'Allen v. Farrow' leads documentary and nonfiction series at the Emmy Awards with seven nominations
• Quibi's last Emmy nominations are also Roku's first as the network was canceled but the shows were renewed
• It's Saturday night, so here are the 21 Emmy nominations for 'Saturday Night Live'
• 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver' leads Outstanding Variety Talk Series nominees at the Emmy Awards for the fifth consecutive year
• 'Hamilton' at the Emmy Awards
• Dave Chappelle's four Emmy nominations for 'SNL' and '8:46'
• 'Queer Eye' leads structured reality program nominees again at the Emmy Awards while 'preaching love, acceptance, pride, and compassion'
• 'RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked' vs. 'Below Deck' for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program at the Emmy Awards
• 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads competition program nominees at the 2021 Emmy Awards while modeling diversity and acceptance
• 'Oslo' earned two nominations at the 2021 Emmy Awards
• Gold Derby predicts the Creative Arts Emmy Awards plus animation and drama guest acting nominees
• 'The Queen's Gambit' leads limited series at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, but can it beat 'Mare of Easttown' and 'WandaVision' on the final night?
• 'Ted Lasso' vs. 'Hacks' eclipses 'Black-ish' and 'The Flight Attendant' in comedies at the Emmy Awards
• 'The Crown' vs. 'The Handmaid's Tale' — politics and government in drama nominees at the Emmy Awards

'The Crown' vs. 'The Handmaid's Tale' — politics and government in drama nominees at the Emmy Awards

I opened 'Ted Lasso' vs. 'Hacks' eclipses 'Black-ish' and 'The Flight Attendant' in comedies at the Emmy Awards with "Tragedy (or at least drama) tomorrow" and closed it by telling my readers to "stay tuned for the drama nominees." Without any further ado, here are the seven drama series categories at the Primetime Emmy Awards along with commentary on their chances of winning.

Outstanding Drama Series

The Boys (Prime Video)
Bridgerton (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Pose (FX)
This Is Us (NBC)

All of the drama series nominees except the family drama "This Is Us" are about politics and government to some degree. "The Boys" depicts fantastic U.S. poltics with superheroes. The British Royal Family makes cameos in "Bridgerton," while they are the stars of "The Crown." "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Lovecraft Country" make scorching political and social statements about American dystopia, the former about a feared future, the latter about the dreaded past. "The Mandalorian" explores the "Star Wars" universe between the fall of the Galactic Empire and the rise of the First Order. Finally, "Pose" examines society and politics during the AIDS epidemic.

Before I make my commentary, I'm sharing two videos from Gold Derby, beginning with 2021 Emmy predictions slugfest: In drama series, 'The Crown' poised to make history for Netflix.

“'The Crown' has been kind of on a roll," Gold Derby senior editor Daniel Montgomery admits about the Netflix flagship drama winning everything in its path this season. "Through the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, PGA Awards, DGA Awards, Writers Guild, it's been kind of a romp for that show, which would actually make it a first Best Drama Series for Netflix in its history,” he explains. Montgomery is joined by fellow senior editors Marcus James Dixon and Rob Licuria to dish who and what could upset the Netflix prestige drama. It's on course to finally claim its first Best Drama Series trophy for its acclaimed fourth season and finally break the streamer's inexplicable curse at the Emmys, having never won a series trophy in any genre. Watch the Emmy predictions slugfest video above.

Next, Final 2021 Emmy predictions: Expect 'Ted Lasso,' 'The Crown' and 'The Queen's Gambit' domination.

How many Emmys will "Ted Lasso," "The Crown" and "The Queen's Gambit" win? Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng make their final picks for Sunday's ceremony.

I couldn't resist another video from my favorite critic duo of Eng and Rosen. I concur with them that the contest for Outstanding Drama Series is between "The Crown" and "The Handmaid's Tale," as both have eleven nominations at next Sunday's ceremony. "The Crown" won six Gold Derby TV Awards, Drama Series, Drama Actor for Josh O'Connor, Drama Actress for Emma Corrin, Drama Supporting Actress for Gillian Anderson, Drama Guest Actor for Charles Dance, and Ensemble of the Year. It could win four of those, as Courtney B. Vance as George Freeman from "Lovecraft Country" beat Dance for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series and the Emmys don't have an outstanding ensemble award beyond the casting categories. I'm still rooting for "The Handmaid's Tale."

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson on This Is Us (Episode: "Forty: Part 2") (NBC)
Jonathan Majors as Atticus Freeman on Lovecraft Country (Episode: "Sundown") (HBO)
Josh O'Connor as Prince Charles on The Crown (Episode: "Terra Nullius") (Netflix)
Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings on Bridgerton (Episode: "Art of the Swoon") (Netflix)
Billy Porter as Pray Tell on Pose (Episode: "Take Me To Church") (FX)
Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason on Perry Mason (Episode: "Chapter 8") (HBO)

This field features three former winners, Sterling K. Brown, Billy Porter, and Matthew Rhys. Of the three of them, I think Porter has the best shot at deposing nominal favorite O'Connor for this award, although I still think it's O'Connor's award to lose.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Uzo Aduba as Dr. Brooke Taylor on In Treatment (Episode: "Brooke – Week 5") (HBO)
Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II on The Crown (Episode: "48:1") (Netflix)
Emma Corrin as Princess Diana on The Crown (Episode: "Fairytale") (Netflix)
Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne / Offred on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Home") (Hulu)
Mj Rodriguez as Blanca Evangelista on Pose (Episode: "Series Finale") (FX)
Jurnee Smollett as Letitia "Leti" Lewis on Lovecraft Country (Episode: "Holy Ghost") (HBO)

This field pits Oscar winner Olivia Colman against Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss. That makes for good headlines, but I doubt either will win, as Emma Corrin has been beating Colman for her portrayal of Princess Diana in "The Crown" and will probably win. Too bad, as I praised Moss's acting this season and voted for her in the Saturn Awards.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon on The Mandalorian (Episode: "Chapter 16: The Rescue") (Disney+)
O-T Fagbenle as Luke Bankole on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Home") (Hulu)
John Lithgow as Elias Birchard "E.B." Jonathan on Perry Mason (Episode: "Chapter 4") (HBO)
Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on The Crown (Episode: "Gold Stick") (Netflix)
Max Minghella as Commander Nick Blaine on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "The Crossing") (Hulu)
Chris Sullivan as Toby Damon on This Is Us (Episode: "In the Room") (NBC)
Bradley Whitford as Commander Joseph Lawrence on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Testimony") (Hulu)
Michael K. Williams as Montrose Freeman on Lovecraft Country (Episode: "Rewind 1921") (HBO) (posthumous)

The late Michael K. Williams won the Gold Derby Award and was alive to accept it, but he died since then. If that had happened during Emmy voting, it might have propelled a sympathy vote in addition to the momentum he earned winning the equivalent Gold Derby and Critics Choice Awards. I'd be fine with that, as Williams was more memorable than any of the nominees from "The Handmaid's Tale" and more intense than Giancarlo Esposito on "The Mandalorian" as much as he chewed the scenery as the main villain. If "Perry Mason" were a better show, then I think John Lithgow would have a good chance of winning, but I think the quality of this season of "The Crown" would more likely give Tobias Menzies the advantage instead. Williams should win, but Menzies probably will. Sigh. I hope I'm wrong.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher on The Crown (Episode: "Favourites") (Netflix)
Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret on The Crown (Episode: "The Hereditary Principle") (Netflix)
Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Testimony") (Hulu)
Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Progress") (Hulu)
Aunjanue Ellis as Hippolyta Freeman on Lovecraft Country (Episode: "I Am.") (HBO)
Emerald Fennell as Camilla Parker Bowles on The Crown (Episode: "Fairytale") (Netflix)
Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Home") (Hulu)
Samira Wiley as Moira on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Vows") (Hulu)

I think Gillian Anderson will win this. She beat all of her co-stars from "The Crown" for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series at the SAG Awards and they were in leading roles while she was in a supporting one. Otherwise, it's the clearest matchup between "The Crown" and "The Handmaid's Tale" at next Sunday's awards.

Follow over the jump for the nominees behind the camera and the awards drama series won at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Gold Derby predicts the Creative Arts Emmy Awards plus animation and drama guest acting nominees

I know that I wrote I "have run out of time" because "the first night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards" is tonight, so "Creative Arts Emmy winners should be next in the series" at the end of 'Oslo' earned two nominations at the 2021 Emmy Awards, but I realized last night that I really wanted to write this year's version of Star Trek vs. Star Wars — futuristic politics and government at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Fortunately, Gold Derby uploaded Emmy Experts slugfest: Final Creative Arts predictions (and some bonus Oscar chatter) yesterday, which gave me an opportunity to take that bite at the apple without overexerting myself after writing 9/11 memorials on the 20th anniversary. Watch to see if they agreed with all the predictions I made over the past two months.

There's not one, not two but three Emmy ceremonies this weekend, Sept 11-12, with Creative Arts honors being handed out on Saturday (one ceremony) and Sunday (two). Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng are back to make their final(ish) Creative Arts predictions -- and also discuss the Oscar race!

Those are the expert predictions for tonight and tomorrow, most of which agree with mine, although they disagree with me about "Oslo" being the favorite; they think "Sylvie's Love" is instead. That's reasonable, but I'm not convinced that "Hamilton" will fail as badly as they do, although we won't find out until a week from tomorrow because so many of its categories will be awarded at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards. Follow over the jump for the acting and show nominations for speculative fiction programs that will be awarded at tonight's and tomorrow's ceremonies.

'The Crown' leads Gold Derby TV Awards with six wins

I'm taking a break from the Emmy Awards nominees to blog about the winning shows and performers in shows about politics and government at the Gold Derby Awards. Watch 18th Annual Gold Derby TV Awards Winners Ceremony; Over 20 of 30 winners will join to give speeches.

Watch the 18th annual Gold Derby TV Awards winners ceremony honoring the best achievements in television. This year's special event will offer a first-ever: more than 20 of our 30 winners for the 2021 awards will be joining us to accept their prizes. As always, nominees and winners will have their accomplishments featured on their IMDb awards pages. Each winner receives a lovely certificate suitable for framing.

Over 2,000 television fans worldwide have been voting for their top choices over the past few weeks.Nominees for Best Drama Series are "The Alienist: Angel of Darkness," "Bridgerton," "The Boys," "The Crown," "The Handmaid's Tale," "Lovecraft Country," "The Mandalorian" and "Pose." Nominees for Best Comedy Series are "Cobra Kai," "The Flight Attendant," "Girls5eva," "Hacks," "Love, Victor," "PEN15," "Ted Lasso" and "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist." Limited Series nominees are "The Haunting of Bly Manor," "I May Destroy You," "It's a Sin," "Mare of Easttown," "The Queen's Gambit" and "WandaVision."

As Gold Derby itself noted, the show that took home the most awards was "The Crown" with six trophies, Drama Series, Drama Actor for Josh O'Connor, Drama Actress for Emma Corrin, Drama Supporting Actress for Gillian Anderson, Drama Guest Actor for Charles Dance, and Ensemble of the Year. Add Breakthrough Performer of the Year for Corrin, and the show could claim it actually won seven. I'm not going to dispute that. Netflix's dramatization of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II can add these awards to its Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards and the Emmy Awards it will win.*

"Saturday Night Live" won four awards, Variety Sketch Series, Comedy Supporting Actor for Bowen Yang, Comedy Guest Actor for Dan Levy, and Comedy Guest Actress for Maya Rudolph, to rank second. Considering that my pick for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy, Dave Chappelle, didn't even earn a nomination here, these would have been my choices should I have voted. Next year. Congratulations and good luck at the Emmy Awards to all the winners from "SNL," who are also nominated at the Emmys.

Two series tied with three awards, "Ted Lasso" and "WandaVision." "Ted Lasso" won Comedy Series, Comedy Actor, and Supporting Comedy Actress. "WandaVision" earned wins for Limited Series, Limited Series/Movie Actor for Paul Bettany, and Limited Series/Movie Supporting Actress for Kathryn Hahn. Neither have politics as a focus, but "WandaVision" does have a fictional governmental agency, S.W.O.R.D., the successor to S.H.I.E.L.D., playing an secondary role, so it qualifies as a show about fantastic and futuristic politics and government. All three winners for both shows have nominations at the Emmy Awards, so congratulations and good luck to them, too.

Speaking of fantastic and futuristic politics and government, "The Mandalorian," one of the co-winners of that category at the 2019-2020 Golden Coffee Cups for Television, earned two awards for Drama Episode and Best Drama Guest Actress for Rosario Dawson. On the one hand, congratulations! On the other, it certainly won't win the equivalent awards at the Emmy Awards for no other reason than, as the panel at the end of the video noted, Dawson wasn't even nominated for her performance at the Emmys. This is her big award for the role. The next might just be next year's Saturn Awards. As for "The Jedi" winning, a different episode of "The Mandalorian" is nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, while it is one of two episodes nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. I'm not sure The Force is with "The Mandalorian" in these categories, even though the fans were at the Gold Derby Awards. As I point out when I write about awards shows, electorates matter.

"Mare of Easttown" also won two awards, Limited Series/Movie Actress for Kate Winslet and Limited Series/Movie Supporting Actress for Evan Peters, playing two police detectives. Like "The Crown," it could claim a third award for "Performer of the Year" except that Jean Smart herself recognized that was more for her performance in "Hacks" than for "Mare of Easttown." I plan on writing more about this limited series, which explores family dynamics inside a crime drama, next month. Remember, law enforcement is a function of government. In the meantime, congratulations and good luck at the Emmy Awards!

"RuPaul's Drag Race" won two awards as well, but I'm planning on getting to it very soon in my Emmy nominations series, so I'm skipping ahead to two shows with political themes that won one award each, "Lovecraft Country" and "Conan." I'll recycle what I wrote about the first show from the Critics Choice Awards.

"Lovecraft Country"...is very political, being the second speculative fiction program about America's history of racism to use the Tulsa Massacre as a pivotal event after "Watchmen," and encompasses not only horror but science fiction and fantasy as well. "Lovecraft Country" certainly is ambitious!

Michael K. Williams gave an excellent performance in "Lovecraft Country," so I don't begrudge him his win even though I think he has an uphill path to an Emmy Award. On the other hand, I think "Conan" got a boost from the fans for his show ending. I still think "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" is a better show and will win at the Emmy Awards. Again, electorates matter.

That's it for this week's Sunday entertainment feature. Stay tuned for short posts through at least Thursday, as I'm in the middle of grading final exams. After that, I'll resume the series for the Emmy nominees and the Golden Coffee Cups shortlists.

*I just noticed that IMDB has demoted the Golden Globes from being the first awards listed for television shows to being listed in alphabetical order below Gold Derby, while the Emmy Awards are now first. Considering the controversy over the Golden Globes' lack of diversity and suspect practices, I shouldn't be surprised.