2023 Emmy Awards

[Reza]

I suppose I should watch Succession now.

Yes, you should. Season 4 (the last one) is probably the best thing I’ve ever seen made for television, right on par with The Sopranos.

If you haven’t seen any episode yet bear in mind that season 3 is somewhat disappointing.

I'm on Season 1 - finished episode 3.

So far no great shakes.

[danfrank]

I hear you and certainly respect your take. She just didn’t strike me. I enjoy The White Lotus for what it is, but I wouldn’t have nominated most of those actors.

I DO like all the actors in The Bear and am glad to see those noms. The first season was compelling, but the new season is something special. Even though these noms are for Season 1 I wonder if voters will reward it for its superior achievement in Season 2. The Emmy voting season can be weird that way.

[OscarGuy]

I felt her performance was nuanced for a character having to react to and get wound up in action that was so beyond normalcy. Every other character in the show had some over-the-top mannerism or element to their behavior while hers was just a "what the fuck am I doing here" kind of performance. It felt natural, lived-in. She was relatable in a way that none of the other characters were and that was its beauty. An embodiment of the viewer. Totally out of her depth, confused, and not having signed up for the melodrama around her.

[dws1982]

I haven't watched The White Lotus, but Haley Lu Richardson (who I've liked in everything I've seen her in) is the type of rising actress who's been in several indie films who I would've expected to get nominated over Simona Tabasco, Sabrina Impacciatore and Meghann Fahy, all of whom I had quite literally never heard of before today.

[danfrank]

You have to feel bad for the small handful of actors from White Lotus NOT nominated. I feel bad for Haley Lu Richardson especially.

I can understand feeling bad for an actor for not getting nominated while most of her cast mates were, but why Richardson especially? I found her character pretty dull and didn’t think she did anything particularly skillful to bring her to life. The most interesting thing about that character, other than the crazy situation she found herself in, was her ugly wardrobe, which I thought was a pretty inspired—and funny—decision by the costume designer.

I looked up the answer to my own question and indeed, Succession’s 14 acting nominations is the most ever in a single year. The previous record holder for a drama series was The West Wing with 12, and the most by any type of show was 13 for Roots, the one series I was wondering about when I asked the question.

[OscarGuy]

You have to feel bad for the small handful of actors from White Lotus NOT nominated. I feel bad for Haley Lu Richardson especially.

[mlrg]

I suppose I should watch Succession now.

Yes, you should. Season 4 (the last one) is probably the best thing I’ve ever seen made for television, right on par with The Sopranos.

If you haven’t seen any episode yet bear in mind that season 3 is somewhat disappointing.

[Okri]

I suppose I should watch Succession now.

[Big Magilla]

- Despite the limited voting slots this year, the TV Academy sure loves nominating White Lotus actors. They still got 8 acting nominations.

9 -

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
F. Murray Abraham (The White Lotus)
Nicholas Braun (Succession)
Michael Imperioli (The White Lotus)
Theo James (The White Lotus)
Matthew Macfadyen (Succession)
Alan Ruck (Succession)
Will Sharpe (The White Lotus)
Alexander Skarsgård (Succession)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus)
Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown)
Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus)
Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus)
Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus)
Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)
J. Smith-Cameron (Succession)
Simona Tabasco (The White Lotus)

[danfrank]

Succession has a whopping 14 acting nominations, including the guest slots. Is that a record?

Sabin, as a psychologist I’m constantly irked by portrayals of therapists in films and TV. If they’re not blatantly breaking ethical standards, as all the therapists certainly do in Shrinking, then they say unhelpful things that good therapists almost never say, like giving strong opinions or telling people what to do with their lives. I’m really sorry to hear about your mom’s experience.

[dws1982]

The insane number of choices kind of makes me understand why they'll sometimes have eight nominees in an acting category representing only three or four shows. When the category can include actors from everything including Power Book II: The Ghost to Chicago PD to Bel-Air to Fire Country to Carnival Row to Mayor of Kingstown, it makes sense that they would just fill out the category mostly with people from Succession and The White Lotus because it's much easier to just go with what you know than try to begin to catch up on everything that's out there.

Eight nominees for Supporting Actor and they're all from Succession and The White Lotus.

[Sabin]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Harrison Ford didn't get nominated for Shrinking. He hasn't really worked with these people before and while he lends the series a bit of gravitas it doesn't really deserve he's still largely phoning it is. It's more of an effective piece of casting than a good piece of acting. He mirrors the audience in acting convincing exhausted by the series that he is in.

I'm not sure if I wrote about Shrinking on this board. I hated the pilot and wanted nothing to do with the rest, but enough people told me it got better that I stuck it out. I liked it a bit more as it went along. In general, a great pilot is no measure of a comedy series that is built to last. Look at Ted Lasso. Terrific half hour of television but it feels like a limited series that zombie lumbers along. That said, there was one plot elements that infuriated me where Jason Segal's therapist begins telling patient(s) what he thinks in an unprofessional manner. This is a real ass thing some therapists do and it causes real issues. This happened to my mother before her divorce (a non-abusive marriage unlike the relationship in Shrinking). I'm not sure that a better therapist would have changed the road she chose to go down but there was nothing noble about this therapist's actions. I just couldn't believe that the series was using Jason Segal's therapist telling his patients how he really felt and that the practice owner (Ford) would just say "Well... okay... I just hope you know what you're doing." Like fuck off! No way! But it looks like they're not ignoring how wrong this is and it's going to prove to be possibly the engine of the rest of the series so I'm willing to be a little more charitable. Anyway, long preface. I'm more invested in how it's going to show everything going wrong that in any of the characters. I'm also largely watching out of loyalty to Bill Lawrence. I think Scrubs is one of the most underrated influential series of all time. It's far too Beverly Hills therapy session for my taste and I'm tired of Lawrence casting Christa Miller in everything. But it doesn't get on my nerves as much as Ted Lasso and it does seem to care about people in a way that's nice. Emmy voters were probably right to look elsewhere this year.

[anonymous1980]

Emmy nominations are out!

Some random thoughts:

- YES! James Marsden got in Supporting Actor in a Comedy for Jury Duty and the show itself got in for Comedy (I knew that he was in once I saw that the show surprisingly got in).

- Despite the limited voting slots this year, the TV Academy sure loves nominating White Lotus actors. They still got 8 acting nominations.

- I knew Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett were slam-dunks for Guest Actor Emmy nominations for The Last of Us but I was pleasantly surprised to see Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Woodard also getting in!

- I, too, am thrilled Dominique Fishback got in.

[Reza]

Does anyone have Dominique Fishback in their predictions for Best Actress in a Limited Series? I just finished Swarm and, wow. She gives a truly balls-to-the-wall gonzo performance all throughout that only increases in power as the series progresses.

She has been on my radar since I first saw her in The Deuce (in which she was a standout). And then her BAFTA-nominated turn in Judas and the Black Messiah. She has been on the edge of awards recognition for awhile now and with The White Lotus bumped up to Drama, there could be a place for her this year.

The clear Emmy scene is later in the series when she is telling her former mall co-worker an imagined story in which she finally meets her idol, the Beyoncé stand-in (Ni’Jah). An absolutely brilliant monologue which would generate Oscar buzz if this were a film.

Edited to add: anonymous, I see you have included her in your predictions. Here’s hoping.

Well she made it in.

[flipp525]

Does anyone have Dominique Fishback in their predictions for Best Actress in a Limited Series? I just finished Swarm and, wow. She gives a truly balls-to-the-wall gonzo performance all throughout that only increases in power as the series progresses.

She has been on my radar since I first saw her in The Deuce (in which she was a standout). And then her BAFTA-nominated turn in Judas and the Black Messiah. She has been on the edge of awards recognition for awhile now and with The White Lotus bumped up to Drama, there could be a place for her this year.

The clear Emmy scene is later in the series when she is telling her former mall co-worker an imagined story in which she finally meets her idol, the Beyoncé stand-in (Ni’Jah). An absolutely brilliant monologue which would generate Oscar buzz if this were a film.

Edited to add: anonymous, I see you have included her in your predictions. Here’s hoping.