The Astra Awards handed out their winners last night. They are an awards group that used to be called something else, I can’t remember. There was something in the press that caused them to rebrand and transform. Either way, it doesn’t really matter that much anymore because awards voting pulls from more or less the same group of people with the exact same tastes. That’s why the choices are so mind-numbingly uniform from group to group.
The White Lotus, for instance, would be cleaning up if the whole thing hadn’t become a clique of like-minded people who always vote on the same thing. The White Lotus wins just two Astras — Walton Goggins in supporting and cast ensemble while The Studio (itself a reflection of the hive mind — that is who they are and how they’d like to be seen, but it is NOT an honest or interesting reflection of Hollywood). The Penguin is worthy of its awards, imo.
And you might say, well it’s only the Astras. But it isn’t. As I told you after the Gothams, they are all the same people who think the same way. The name of the awards doesn’t matter so much. There’s no way around that. There is no other measure except what Film Twitter cares about.
The measure is no longer reliant upon the market because Hollywood, more or less, has given up on its audience. Network ratings don’t count. No one cares about streaming ratings. So it comes down to people who get to see shows for free to vote on them. Ideally, a show wins enough awards to bring subscribers to the platform — that’s the model.
But that also means there is little quality control beyond the same group of people who see things for free and are roughly the same demographic. They are festival-going, review-writing, self-made critics. But more than anything else, they are a hive mind, which is what awards are anyway. They are a consensus vote. That consensus can be driven by, say, the public’s enthusiasm, or — as in the case of the winners at the Astras — purely by groupthink within the hive mind.
Ideally, the awards would highlight shows that are good that aren’t winning every award in a season. But that has never happened in the TV game as long as I’ve been covering the awards.
I so badly wish the awards race could expand outward where things are humming and thriving — where real people out there in the world are chattering about what they are watching – but that is not what the awards race has become. It is stuck in the same communal worldview. Also, they’ve “canceled” many of those who would dissent loudly or writing an original thought and all that’s left are those who are either too afraid to speak out, or those who are compliant.
Anyway, now that I’ve dropped that depressing word cloud, let’s get on with the winners.
Best Comedy Series – The Studio (Apple TV+)
Best Cast Ensemble in a Broadcast Comedy Series – Ghosts (CBS)
Best Cast Ensemble in a Cable Comedy Series – The Righteous Gemstones (HBO)
Best Cast Ensemble in a Streaming Comedy Series – Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Best Actor in a Comedy Series – Seth Rogen – The Studio (Apple TV+)
Best Actress in a Comedy Series – Natasha Lyonne – Poker Face (Peacock)
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – Harrison Ford – Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – Catherine O’Hara – The Studio (Apple TV+)
Best Writing in a Comedy Series – Hacks – “A Slippery Slope” – Written by Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, and Paul W. Downs (HBO/MAX)
Best Directing in a Comedy Series – The Studio – “The Oner” – Directed by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg (Apple TV+)
Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series – Jon Bernthal – The Bear (FX on Hulu)
Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series – Cynthia Erivo – Poker Face (Peacock)
Best Drama Series – Severance (Apple TV+)
Best Cast Ensemble in a Broadcast Network Drama Series – Matlock (CBS)
Best Cast Ensemble in a Cable Drama Series – The White Lotus (HBO)
Best Cast Ensemble in Streaming Drama Series – The Pitt (HBO/MAX)
Best Actor in a Drama Series – Noah Wyle – The Pitt (HBO/MAX)
Best Actress in a Drama Series – Kathy Bates – Matlock (CBS)
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – Walton Goggins – The White Lotus (HBO)
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Isabela Merced – The Last of Us (HBO)
Best Writing in a Drama Series – The Pitt – “7:00 PM” – Written by Joe Sachs and R. Scott Gemmill (HBO/MAX)
Best Directing in a Drama Series – Will Trent – “I’m a Guest Here” – Directed by Ramón Rodríguez (ABC)
Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series – Jeffrey Wright – The Last of Us (HBO)
Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series – Hilary Swank – Yellowjackets (Showtime)
Best Limited Series – Adolescence (Netflix)
Best Television Movie – Rebel Ridge (Netflix)
Best Cast Ensemble in a Limited Series or TV Movie – The Penguin (HBO)
Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie – Colin Farrell – The Penguin (HBO)
Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie – Cristin Milioti – The Penguin (HBO)
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie – Owen Cooper – Adolescence (Netflix)
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie – Cristin Milioti – Black Mirror (Netflix)
Best Writing in a Limited Series or TV Movie – Adolescence – “Episode 3” – Written by Jack Thorne & Stephen Graham (Netflix)
Best Directing in a Limited Series or TV Movie – Adolescence – “Episode 3” – Directed by Philip Barantini (Netflix)
Best Animated Series – Invincible (Prime Video)
Best Anime Series – Dragon Ball DAIMA (Crunchyroll)
Best Lead Voice-Over Performance – Aleks Le – Solo Leveling Season 2 (Crunchyroll)
Best Supporting Voice-Over Performance – Jack Quaid – Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+)
Best Comedy or Standup Special – Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life (HBO)
Best Documentary TV Movie – Will & Harper (Netflix)
Best Docuseries or Nonfiction Series – Pee-wee as Himself (HBO/MAX)
Best Game Show – The Floor (FOX)
Best Reality Series – Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
Best Reality Competition Series – The Traitors (Peacock)
Best Talk Show – The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
Best Variety Series or Special – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Actor Spotlight Award – David Alan Grier
Actress Spotlight Award – Melissa Rauch
Director Spotlight Award – Jennifer Morrison
Breakthrough Actor Spotlight Award – Saagar Shaikh
Breakthrough Actress Spotlight Award – Courtney Eaton
Lovey Award – Maggie Lawson
Trailblazer Award – Olivia Munn
Wins By Show/Limited Series/TV Movie
Adolescence (Netflix) – 4
The Bear (FX on Hulu) – 1
Black Mirror (Netflix) – 1
Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life (HBO) – 1
The Daily Show (Comedy Central) – 1
Dragon Ball DAIMA (Crunchyroll) – 1
The Floor (FOX) – 1
Ghosts (CBS) – 1
Hacks (HBO/MAX) – 1
Invincible (Prime Video) – 1
The Last of Us (HBO) – 2
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) – 1
Love on the Spectrum (Netflix) -1
Matlock (CBS) – 2
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO/MAX) -1
The Penguin (HBO) – 3
The Pitt (HBO/MAX) – 3
Poker Face (Peacock) – 2
Rebel Ridge (Netflix) – 1
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO) – 1
Severance (Apple TV+) – 1
Solo Leveling (Crunchyroll) – 1
Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+) – 1
The Studio (Apple TV+) – 4
Shrinking (Apple TV+) – 2
The Traitors (Peacock) – 1
Will & Harper (Netflix) – 1
Will Trent (ABC) – 1
The White Lotus (HBO) – 2
Yellowjackets (Showtime) -1
Wins by Broadcast Channel/Network/Streamer
Apple TV+ – 7
ABC – 1
CBS – 3
Comedy Central – 1
Crunchyroll – 2
FOX – 1
FX on Hulu – 1
HBO – 10
HBO/MAX – 5
Netflix- 8
Paramount+ – 1
Peacock – 3
Prime Video – 1
Showtime – 1
