It’s that time again! The 2021 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 13, which means I’ve got a Wish List for the nommy noms I’d most like to see! In case you’re wondering, I haven’t held myself to any minimum or maximum number of entrants per category, nor do I strictly adhere to official Emmy rules. (I’ve included explanations for my deviations.) And of course, I must mention that I haven’t seen everything, so there are probably some worthy considerations I may have missed. For Day 3, Limited Series are on the docket.
Some years, I watch plenty of Limited Series (or “miniseries,” in the now-archaic parlance), and I have an abundance of requests on my Wish List. Last year was one of those years. This year, however, was very much not one of those years. Apparently, I watched two Limited Series in their entirety in the past 12 months (or at least, only two really worthwhile Limited Series). Luckily, those two shows are both richly deserving. One is among my favorite shows of 2021 thus far, while the other acquitted itself quite handsomely on my Best of 2020 coverage.
Elsewhere, Jessie Buckley manages to be my lone entrant from a different show.
KEY: Bold=My winner *=I have placed this nominee in a different category than the Emmy ballot.
Limited or Anthology Series
The Good Lord Bird WandaVision
It’s that time again! The 2021 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 13, which means I’ve got a Wish List for the nommy noms I’d most like to see! In case you’re wondering, I haven’t held myself to any minimum or maximum number of entrants per category, nor do I strictly adhere to official Emmy rules. (I’ve included explanations for my deviations.) And of course, I must mention that I haven’t seen everything, so there are probably some worthy considerations I may have missed. Today, it’s Drama’s turn.
My Drama Wish List this year is a tale of two shows whose two most recent seasons were nearly two years apart. But weirdly enough, they were both eligible last year, and they’re both once again eligible this year. One is resurgent, while the other is just as excellent as ever. I’m of course talking about The Handmaid’s Tale and Pose. The former was nowhere to be seen on my 2020 Wish List, while the latter was one of my favorites last time and is even more so this time, as it’s my top choice in Drama Series and ALL the main acting categories. (It’s also striking up plenty of heat in the Guest fields.)
I’d also like to send some love to Disney+’s winning basketball series Big Shot. Who knew that John Stamos coaching high school girls would be the cure for what ails us?! The more you know…
KEY: Bold=My winner
Drama Series
Big Shot
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Mandalorian Pose
It’s that time again! The 2021 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 13, which means I’ve got a Wish List for the nommy noms I’d most like to see! In case you’re wondering, I haven’t held myself to any minimum or maximum number of entrants per category, nor do I strictly adhere to official Emmy rules. (I’ve included explanations for my deviations.) And of course, I must mention that I haven’t seen everything, so there are probably some worthy considerations I may have missed. First up: Comedy and Animation.
Almost every single one of my Comedy Series preferences from last year is not eligible this year, whether because of series finales or longer-than-average breaks in between successive seasons. Luckily we have a plethora of streaming services to fill the gaps, and plenty of them are represented here. We’ve got Hulu! We’ve got Peacock! We’ve got Apple TV+! We’ve even got that dang HBO Max. There’s also some room for basic cable in the form of Syfy’s Resident Alien. And it looks like for the first time since I’ve been making Emmy Wish Lists, there is no broadcast network series making my cut (although one of my choices began as an NBC show and another is a reboot of an NBC show).
In the acting categories, it’s an absolute embarrassment of riches in the Lead Actress category, with every one of the ladies I’ve selected giving the performances they were born to play. That’s also true of Alan Tudyk, who’s my easy winner in the Lead Actor field. (He’s an alien … pretending to be a human! Can you imagine?!) Over in Supporting, it’s a mix of newbies and usual suspects, with plenty of sitcoms really making full use of their deep ensembles these days.
KEY: Bold=My winner *=I have placed this nominee in a different category than the Emmy ballot.
Comedy Series A.P. Bio
Dickinson
Pen15
Resident Alien
Saved by the Bell Search Party
The Emmys are happening “virtually” in 2020. But nothing about my predictions and preferences is virtual! Check out my rundown below for the 72nd Primetime edition, and then let’s all tune in together on ABC on Sunday, September 20 and see how it goes.
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
TV
–Ratched Season 1 (September 18 on Netflix) – Ryan Murphy sends Sarah Paulson beyond the cuckoo’s nest.
-PEN15 Season 2 Part 1 (September 18 on Hulu)
–Wilmore Series Premiere (September 18 on Peacock) – The Comedy Central alum is back to chatting.
-Creative Arts Emmy Awards (September 19 on FXX)
-72nd Primetime Emmy Awards (September 20 on ABC)
-DIY Conan (September 21 on TBS) – Conan O’Brien’s fans make an entire episode of his show. –The Masked Singer Season 4 Premiere (September 23 on FOX)
–I Can See Your Voice Series Premiere (September 23 on FOX) – Ken Jeong’s on another wacky singing competition show.
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
TV
–Jeopardy! Season 37 Premiere (September 14, check local listings)
–American Dad! 300th Episode (September 14 on TBS)
–The Drew Barrymore Show Series Premiere – Everybody loves Drew!
–Archer Season 11 Premiere (September 16 on FXX) – Returning to the core premise after several seasons afield.
-Creative Arts Emmys Days 1-4 (Streaming September 14-17 on Emmys.com)
The 2020 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 28. As per annual tradition, I have assembled a Wish List for as many categories as I have something to say about. There is no minimum or maximum number per category, nor is there any strict adherence to official Emmy rules. And of course, there is the necessary caveat that I have not seen everything. Even with much of the country shut down for the past few months, that’s impossible.
Now that I have made my way through the avalanche of award-worth Dramas, Comedies, and Limited Series, it’s time to get a little silly with the Variety shows. And this year, I decided to also talk about Reality, as there are enough competition shows that I plainly love to be able to fill out a ballot.
Conan is my top choice among the talkies, as Mr. O’Brien and company adapted quite naturally to the new reality of at-home production and Zoom interviews. The Soul Train/American Bandstand homage that is Sherman’s Showcase is the easy choice in Sketch Series; seriously folks, you gotta check this show out. And while I don’t always include SNL in the field, it earned a spot this year thanks to the resiliency demonstrated in its at-home episodes.
Moving on to Reality, where my Competition Program picks are dominated by game shows, naturally enough. At the top of the heap is the mini-golf showcase Holey Moley, one of the most purely fun and positive shows on the air right now. And Joe Tessitore and Rob Riggle are the perfect silly/serious M.C. pair to present the whole shebang.
KEY: Bold=My winner
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot
Variety Talk Series CONAN
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The 2020 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 28. As per annual tradition, I have assembled a Wish List for as many categories as I have something to say about. There is no minimum or maximum number per category, nor is there any strict adherence to official Emmy rules. And of course, there is the necessary caveat that I have not seen everything. Even with much of the country shut down for the past few months, that’s impossible.
(Check out my previously published thoughts on Drama and Comedy.)
It was a banner year for Limited Series, or at least it was a banner year for Limited Series being on my radar. Damon Lindelof and Co.’s take on Watchmen is the cream of the crop, although it’s not my top pick in most of the acting categories. That would be the very unique Dispatches From Elsewhere, which goes 3 out of 4 and misses out only Lead Actress due to having nobody in the running in that field. As for the rest of the nominations, I had a lot of fun spreading the love around to the likes of the passionate lovers of Normal People, the game show freaks of Quiz, the political ladies of Mrs. America, the politically concerned citizens of The Plot Against America, and Nick Offerman’s glorious beard.
KEY: Bold=My winner
Limited Series
Devs
Dispatches From Elsewhere
Mrs. America
Normal People
The Plot Against America
Quiz Watchmen
The 2020 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 28. As per annual tradition, I have assembled a Wish List for as many categories as I have something to say about. There is no minimum or maximum number per category, nor is there any strict adherence to official Emmy rules. And of course, there is the necessary caveat that I have not seen everything. Even with much of the country shut down for the past few months, that’s impossible.
Yesterday I kicked off my Emmy Wish List coverage with plenty of Drama. Today it’s time to laugh along with the Comedies, and boy, what a year for laughter it was! At the top of my list are those wacky vampires (Vacky vampires? Wacky wampires? Vacky wampires?) of What We Do in the Shadows, which in its second season staked itself permanently in my heart. It’s my winner for Comedy Series and all but one of the acting categories. Too bad it doesn’t have a Supporting Actress, otherwise it would’ve been a clean sweep.
Matt Berry is at the top of the Lead Actor heap thanks almost entirely to the Jackie Dayton episode (which ought to also earn Mark Hamill a Guest Actor trophy). Meanwhile, Mark Proksch slays the Supporting Actor Field thanks to Colin Robinson taking full advantage of his promotion. And Natasia Demetriou is the #1 Lead Actress because Nadja is awesome in every episode.
As for the Supporting ladies, I’ve got a little bit of everything, and ultimately it just felt right to go with the representative of the oldest show on my ballot as the winner.
Some other notables: Never Have I Ever and mixed-ish make the strongest showings of freshman series, Sex Education switches its category placement from Drama to Comedy (and remains worthy of praise), and I’m currently only on Season 2 of Schitt’s Creek, but I’m sure it’s just as good in its final season.
KEY: Bold=My winner !( )!=I haven’t caught up to the current season of this show, but I still wanted to recognize it.
Comedy Series
Atypical
Baskets
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Mixed-ish
Never Have I Ever
Sex Education
!(Schitt’s Creek)! What We Do in the Shadows
