By Beth Nugent, Third Year, Film and Television
On the 14th of September at 8pm EST (September 15th, 1am BST) the biggest night of television will air for the world to see. The Emmy Awards are held to recognise the talent within the television industry and with television growing in quality each year, so does the tension surrounding the awards.
When discussing favourites to win, Severance (Apple TV) season 2 is an immediate choice, claiming 27 nominations in total, it’s clear to see that the world loved Ben Stiller’s approach to the second season of Severance. Surrounding a dystopian future where a person’s memories can be situationally severed, the intricate look into the human experience and the exploration of who we are at our core without memories, has captured the hearts of many. I would place this show with the best chance of sweeping the big categories, such as Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Adam Scott as Mark Scout), Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Tramell Tillman as Mr. Milchick ) and Best Drama Series. Each episode feels masterfully crafted, and whilst the show has some flaws, overall it’s a high quality piece of art with phenomenal acting.
Severance’s biggest threat is the new addition of HBO Max’s The Pitt. A gritty medical drama that follows in real time a single 15 hour shift in a trauma centre. It has seen large success across America and has managed to collect a total of 13 nominations. While it’s easy to write this series off with half the nominations of its competitor, there is still a chance The Pitt could snag Best Drama Series right from under Severance’s noses if the 2017 Emmy awards are anything to go by. Mirroring this year almost exactly, Westworld (HBO) was the favourite to win with 22 nominations whilst The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) only had 13 nominations and yet still managed to knock the more nominated show out of top spot and take home the award for Best Drama Series.
An underdog to keep an eye on, and a personal favourite, is Hulu's Paradise. Starring Sterling K Brown and James Marsledon, the dystopian thriller had me on the edge of my seat. Brown’s performance was particularly striking and while I don’t believe the show got nearly enough recognition upon its release, I hope The Emmys will give the show its chance to shine.
Whilst there is always the threat of other well loved shows such as White Lotus (HBO) and The Last of Us (HBO), there seems to be a lack of appreciation for these series within the last year. The Last of Us attracted a lot of discourse and negative reviews this season spanning from the swift death of Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) in the second episode of the season to the slow pacing and unconvincing characters. The controversy only continued when Pedro Pascal put himself forward in the Lead Actor category despite having significantly less screen time than the previous season. Many people pointed out that in comparison to the other actors in the category, who have held the screen for the majority of the episodes, start to finish, Pedro Pascal’s character feels small and whilst his death is part of the central arc of the season, if it’s not him physically on screen, is he technically still a lead actor? It had called into question the legitimacy and fairness of the Emmy categories, in terms of what is classified as lead and supporting.
In the same vein, each award season, FX’s The Bear comes under heavy scrutiny for labelling itself a comedy and that is no different for this year’s Emmys. Once again, the emotionally charged, anxiety inducing show is up against ABC’s sitcom Abbotts Elementary, Netflix’s Nobody Wants This, and Hulu’s Only Murder in the Building. Last year when the nominations were announced the writers of Abbots Elementary published a tweet seemingly shading The Bear, they said ‘Proud of Abbott Elementary for all of its Emmy nominations this year, especially Outstanding Comedy series as we are definitely a program where the majority of the running time of at least 6 episodes are primarily comedic, as defined by the TV Academy’. Whilst the jab might’ve been unnecessary it’s understandable that the actors and writers can feel like they are fighting an uphill battle when the foundation of the two shows are so vastly different.
How do you even begin to compare Jeremy Allen White’s breakdowns and emotional turmoil with Martin Short’s ditsy and eccentric character?
Even with all this fighting, it’s looking increasingly likely that the comedy category will be handed to Apple TV’s satire comedy The Studio that revolves around the film and television industry, and Hollywood loves nothing more than a self referential piece of material to hold up to the light.
Earlier in the year Netflix’s Adolescence made large waves in British culture, with some schools even screening the limited series in classrooms. From the dark yet important themes of the reality of what young men are growing up with, to the impressive one shot camera work Adolescence is a clear front runner for the Best Limited or Anthology series, and could make history if Owen Cooper wins the best actor award as it will make him the youngest winner ever in this category at just 15 years old. It’s hard to imagine that a show with such cultural significance is passed over in favour of superhero crime drama The Penguin (HBO) but surprises are bound to happen, and maybe Colin Farrell will snatch the trophy.
Looking back at this year, the television shows we were given are operating at such a high standard they begin to feel like mini movies in themselves which makes award ceremonies like these all the more exciting. When A-list celebrities are packed in a room together with bated breath hoping for their name to be called, the stakes are raised impossibly high and the fallout can be just as exciting.
Featured Image: Robyn Beck/AFP
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