With a few exceptions, the past few weeks have been pretty quiet on the Emmy front. Two major premieres happened that will certainly shake up the limited series categories, but beyond that this seems like a time that Emmy voters will spend playing catchup.
It’s also led to a couple of shows becoming strong word-of-mouth hits that might just factor into the Emmy race out of pure love. We’re waiting to see how the excitement holds up, but right now Mindy Kaling’s new teen comedy Never Have I Ever has been a huge hit for Netflix and attracting audiences well beyond its YA demographic. Is there a chance that goodwill for Kaling and the show turn it into a surprise contender in an increasingly dim comedy series lineup?
Then there is the premiere of Hulu’s Normal People, the Irish adaptation of the immensely popular novel focused on the complicated relationship between two teenagers. It may not feature any well-known names (at least over here in the U.S.), but it was well-received by critics here and is a ratings juggernaut over in Ireland and the UK. Emmy voters are suckers for popular BBC productions, and if it continues to captivate audiences, we could very well see it rise in the limited series race or at least end up with a writing nomination.
Hollywood
Last Friday, Hollywood premiered on Netflix and Twitter has been dissecting it nonstop ever since. Fans seem to be staunchly divided on whether they appreciate the revisionist history that aims to give a voice to all of the minorities that the Golden Age silenced while others are criticizing its bland tone and inconsistent plot. One thing is for certain – it’s one of the rare shows this year that has led to a good amount of discussion and debate. You can check out our own Emmy analysis and review as well as first reactions from the Water Cooler Gang in their most recent episode.
So, what does this all mean for its Emmy chances? These reactions are not easy to sift through. Reactions from audiences are all over the place, and critics have not reacted kindly. With all that in mind fans of the limited series really like Hollywood, almost defensively, and it’s been slowly rising in the Netflix most watched queue.
Our own team at ADTV are all over the place in terms of predictions as well. Among our collective predictions it currently sits in fifth place rounding out a category that safely includes Mrs. America, Unbelievable, Watchmen, and The Plot Against America.
The massive ensemble is also all over the place in our collective predictions. Overall, the young leads of the show barely made a dent in our predictions. Jeremy Pope barely cracks the top six in the lead actor race while the underwhelming David Coronswet isn’t even in our top ten contenders. None of us have much faith in Laura Harrier either. In Hollywood,she may have won the Oscar but here we have her sitting at a distant thirteenth.
If anyone from the ensemble is nominated by the Television Academy, it will be one of the more experienced and beloved supporting players. Jim Parsons and Joe Mantello are safely sitting in third and fourth place respectively. Both actors have been nominated for their collaboration with Ryan Murphy before, and they give the two most talked about performances from the entire cast.
Patti LuPone (who has a borderline lead role) or even Holland Taylor could end up in the supporting actress lineup if it isn’t overrun by the Mrs. America ensemble. Both were standouts of the season with their best television roles in a very long time. Most audiences, including many at the ADTV team, even felt that the show would be even stronger if they were put front and center.
The big question heading into the Emmys will be how it fares without a typical awards campaign. Hollywood would clearly benefit from huge events and flashy Q&As that are known to win over voters. Without all of that it will be interesting to see if voters continue paying attention to the limited series.
If Netflix is going to find Emmy success with Hollywood they will capitalize on the nostalgia factor of the show. This is a show that fully believes in the impact of the film industry and its capacity to influence change. As we head into an era where we are questioning the future of our own industry and a government we have zero faith in voters might cling to the revisionist message of the show.
Bad Education
Last month HBO premiered their major TV film of the year, Bad Education. This is a film that the network bought for an astounding $19 million at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, and ever since then has been the film to beat in an embarrassingly thin TV Movie lineup.
The premiere (both at TIFF and the recent one on television) was met with wide critical acclaim both for the film itself as well as its ensemble. Hugh Jackman has been praised with some of the best reviews of his career, and he’s unanimously jumped to the top of our predictions in the race for lead actor. It will be interesting to see if he’s able to hold onto that clear frontrunner status when Mark Ruffalo’s I Know This Much Is True premieres next week.
Bad Education also features a couple of strong supporting performances from very Emmy friendly names. Seven-time Emmy winner Allison Janney is back at the center of another Emmy conversation as one of the corrupt school board members under investigation. We have her ranked in fourth place right now, and if anyone is able to stand out over the Mrs. America ensemble, it will be someone as well-liked as her. Ray Romano might also factor into the supporting actor conversation with his brief role in the film, and we currently have the Emmy in seventh.
HBO used to have a stronghold on this category like none other in the history of the Emmys. The network has won 18 times in the past 25 years and until recently it seemed like it was unbeatable. Then, voters grew tired of the HBO formula, and TV films like The Wizard of Lies and Paterno underperformed in nominations and ultimately went home empty handed. Voters were sick of the traditional “great but complicated man” biopic and started to resent it. Bad Education on the other hand is different. Focusing on the true story of corruption at the expense of American taxpayers, it feels particularly relevant today. It seems unlikely that voters will ignore the film.
It will be interesting to see how the film fares in the race for TV Movie. In all likelihood, it will be nominated in a sea of series spinoffs and continuations like El Camino, the Transparent musical finale, and even the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt interactive finale. On top of that, there’s even the potential that the Television Academy will bend its rules and let Black Mirror (the three time reigning winner) back into the category even though its episodes all run short.
