The 2023 Emmy nominations were announced today.
Of course, we’re still in a writer’s strike, and an actor’s strike is looming. Not exactly the best time to announce television show nominees (including writers), but the Emmys honors those who are on strike, not the TV execs they’re fighting.
The presenters had to mention the Emmys are currently planned for September, because who knows if they’ll actually happen.
But for now, let’s discuss some observations from the nominations:
The shows people forgot
“The Crown” has been a big hit with the Emmys in the past, with 21 previous wins and 69 nominations to date. This year, there are only six nominations for the Netflix drama. It still managed to get Elizabeth Debicki a nomination, and the show is up for best drama, but it seems mostly ignored this year (Where’s the Queen?).
While “Only Murders in the Building” was recognized (11 nominations this year), Martin Short is the only actor in the main trio nominated, which seems odd. The show might’ve been hurt by not airing its third season, featuring Meryl Streep, quite yet.
The shows people remembered
“Dead to Me” and “The Diplomat,” both Netflix comedies, received nominations for their lead actresses, Christina Applegate and Keri Russell, respectively. Those are the shows’ lone nominations, but it’s nice to see their talent recognized.
Disney+ seemed to be on it this year, getting nominations for “Andor” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” two Star Wars shows I’ve forgotten about. (I’m curious how much money they spent on promotion; “Hocus Pocus 2” also got a nod.)
Also, I had no idea “Welcome to Chippendales” was going to pop up in the nominations; it received five. Guess I’ll have to watch it now.
The shows people will miss
Long-running shows “Succession,” “Barry,” “Better Call Saul,” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” all aired definitive series finales.
“Succession” has 27 nominations this year, the most of any show this year. But three of its nominations are in best actor, four in best supporting actor, two in guest actor, three in guest actress and 3 in directing. Clearly, the show is well-acted, but it halts the overall number of wins. (Plus the debate of where Brian Cox should have campaigned seems moot.)
Can Bob Odenkirk finally win for a role he’s been playing for more than 10 years? We’ll see: He could pull ahead with the actors of “Succession” splitting votes, but the show finished last year, so it’s not fresh in people’s minds.
Overall, there are some great first-time nominees, and HBO didn’t dominate quite as much as I thought it would, though it does have half of the best drama series nominations and all but 8 of the main drama acting categories.
But at this point, I’m more curious about if the Emmys will actually air Sept. 18 or not.