Category: Award shows

How to adapt awards shows in the age of streaming

Have you watched any of the awards precursors this season?

I made sure to watch the Golden Globes and the SAGs, but I missed the others, plus you can’t easily watch the BAFTAs in the U.S.

The Golden Globes are still airing on broadcast channels, while the SAGs officially moved to Netflix streaming this year.

The Academy Awards are almost 100 years old. They’ve only been televised since 1953. But TV isn’t the same anymore.

So how does the Academy adapt? What lessons can it learn from other awards shows?

Air all categories

The Academy fumbled at the 2022 Oscars, choosing to air acceptance speeches only from eight below-the-line categories. To be fair, a good chunk of those were for “Dune,” so it could’ve been repetitive, but it felt unfair to not televise them in full, especially since the show was still more than 3 hours long.

The Emmys have started to put chevrons at the bottom with a list of people the winner wants to thank. This streamlines the speeches and makes them more interesting. Seriously, listening to 20+ names is boring. Give us something inspiring.

The Academy will have to consider how this works for the 2025 season when the first casting Oscar will be awarded.

Learn what people want (or spread the wealth)

I love the fashion of awards shows. I get that it feels a bit sexiest to ask what a person is wearing, but give credit where credit is due … and don’t make that your first question on the red carpet. Also, men are stepping up their fashion game, and I’d love to know the designers.

But that’s not everyone’s MO. It’s important to bring variety to keep people interested.

Lately, the shows are getting stale because it’s a set of the same winners over and over.

Especially this year, when the Emmys and Golden Globes were so close together, I felt like I heard so many speeches from the teams of “Beef” and “Succession.” Those weren’t the only two shows out last year!

The Oscars are getting siloed, too. Even with 10 Best Picture nominees, the total number of nominated movies seems to be dwindling, as Best Picture nominees rule other categories. It’s rare to have a sole nominee for a movie these days, making the awards shows seem repetitive.

Go to streaming?

Look, I get streaming is a big huge juggernaut with some big problems.

But there’s something about the buoyancy of streaming live that seems to work.

The SAGs have been on Netflix for two years now, once on its YouTube channel and once on the app.

With it being on streaming, the winners seemed a little more free to say whatever they wanted, including swearing. Netflix means no bleeping out!

Now, I do think the lack of commercials makes for some awkward transition issues, but I bet that can be sorted out in time.

What would you change?

The 96th Academy Awards air March 10 on ABC.

Golden Globes 2024 vs. 2023 Emmys

Due to the writer and actor strikes, the 2023 Emmys were delayed by four months. In an odd turn of events, the 2024 Golden Globes will air eight days before the 2023 Emmys.

The Emmys hold more weight (hello, EGOT), but The Golden Globes honor more recent shows due to the year/season regulations by both awards’ bodies.

How do the shows stack up with nominees? Let’s see.

Best Series

In drama and comedy, The Emmys has eight nominees, versus six for The Golden Globes.

“The Crown,” “Succession,” and “The Last of Us” overlap, which makes sense based on air dates.

In comedy, they all overlap, though technically they differ by seasons.

For limited, I’m surprised to see the Globes didn’t nominate “Fleishman is in Trouble.” Otherwise, the two overlaps make sense based on the timeline of when the shows aired.

I have to say though, “The Diplomat” and “The Morning Show” being nominated for drama series Globes is so typical of the Globes.

Lead Actress

The Globes have six nominees instead of five, which expands the variety a bit.

For drama, I guess the Globes like “1923” and “The Crown” more than the Emmys.

The Globes nominated Selena Gomez, whom I think the Emmys snubbed, in comedy, and Rachel Weisz, who I’ve heard is great in “Dead Ringers,” for limited.

Lead Actor

For limited series, “Beef” is the only overlap, which makes sense because of the time of year it aired.

The cast of “Succession” dominates both awards shows in drama.

For comedy, it’s all the same, except because of the Globes nominating six, Steve Martin also got in for “Only Murders in the Building.”

Supporting performer

The Globes combines drama, comedy and limited for supporting roles, which limits the total number of nominees. The Emmys have them separated out.

With that, there is very little overlap. “Succession” dominates the supporting actor race.

If I had to guess, The Globes wanted some star power, so they nominated Meryl Streep for “Only Murders in the Building.” (The Emmys wouldn’t have nominated Streep because they are honoring season 2 not 3 of “Only Murders.”)

Frankly, I thought Streep was pretty bad and one of the worst parts of a substandard season 3.

It’s hard to say whether the winners will feel really repetitive since the shows are only eight days apart. They will air on different networks, and people are still a tad wary of The Golden Globes after the HFPA came under fire; the organization has since been dissolved.

Catching up with Emmy-nominated shows

The Emmys have been postponed, but fortunately only once after the writer’s strike ended this week.

In the meantime, I took some time to watch some shows I’d missed. Here are my thoughts:

Tiny Beautiful Things

2 Emmy nominations

This Hulu limited series is very loosely based on the Cheryl Strayed book. The book is just a collection of advice columns, hence the loosely based part. The story that Kathryn Hahn’s character handles seems made up based on Strayed’s other memoir, “Wild,” and for TV.

Neither the book nor the series were particularly riveting, but really, it’s not the most adaptable work. I think Hahn is a great (and underrated) actress, but she’s not given that much in her Emmy-nominated role.

I actually thought her younger self counterpart should’ve been nominated because she had more to do, and it was more interesting plot-wise.

Jury Duty

4 Emmy nominations

I really didn’t get this show, or the hype, at first.

It took me till episode 3 to enjoy it; maybe I just got the concept by then?

It’s pretty ridiculous, and it’s probably lightning in a bottle, only works once kind of thing.

But hey, enjoy it while it works. It helps they got super lucky in casting Ronald Gladden, an attractive, affable guy, for this “Office”-like “documentary.”

Welcome to Chippendales

5 Emmy nominations

So many people got nominated for this limited series, but I thought the overall concept wasn’t great.

A lot of plotlines were glossed over (Dan Stevens is in episode 1 and dies, but it’s glossed over), and it wraps up quickly overall because it’s only 8 episodes.

It’s well-acted, but with so many things left undone, the writing needed some help.

Daisy Jones & the Six

9 Emmy nominations

I hated every character in this show, but I think that was intentional.

Showcasing the tribulations of fame, this book to show adaptation was done much better than Tiny Beautiful Things.

The music was stellar, the costumes on point, but it was hard to root for anyone, which didn’t make it my favorite show. But the artistry was amazing.

Fleishman Is in Trouble

7 nominations

This miniseries starts slow.

I didn’t read the book, but plot lines seemed to drop off in the show, and the second half of the show is way better than the first.

The show explores change and how to handle it in life.

It’s well-acted, but it came and went. I don’t recommend bingeing it, because it covers a lot of subjects that may have you squirming in your thoughts.

Ted Lasso

21 nominations (this year)

This is a super binge-able show. It’s definitely a nice show where the good people win and the bad people are few.

I think three seasons work for this show based on the original conceit. Plus, I think the third season was uneven and had too many extra plotlines that were dropped or wrapped up too quickly.

But unpopular opinion, I think this show majorly benefitted from premiering during the pandemic. It gave me something happy to watch.

Schmigadoon

3 nominations (this year)

I really wanted to like this show. It’s a musical with a huge cast of performers I like!

But I thought it fell flat. The chemistry of the leads in season 1 didn’t work, and season 2’s Schmicago was not my taste.

Shrinking

2 nominations

I’ve burned through this show so quickly, but I wouldn’t say it was good.

It’s a horrendous representation of psychotherapy, breaking so many ethical boundaries.

It also wasn’t what I thought it would be based on the ads, so it felt uneven.

The acting, which is what it’s nominated for, is decent. Harrison Ford is pretty boring minus one scene where he sings in the car.

2023 Emmy nominations: The shows we forgot and remembered

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.

Thoughts on the 2022 Emmy nominations

It’s another year of lots of TV, and there is a lot to award.

The 2022 Emmy nominations were announced yesterday, and as always, there are snubs and surprises.

Here are my thoughts.

Lizzo is part of an emmy-nominated show

Lizzo’s reality competition show is on Prime Video, so while I knew it happened, I forgot.

But how cool? She’s making a name for herself, and I’m here for it.

Broadcast nominees

It boils down to 2 shows: “This is Us” getting snubbed and “Abbott Elementary” getting some love.

I appreciate the premise of “Abbott Elementary,” but it hits too close to home for me to enjoy since I know many teachers. It is well-loved by critics, so the network was the only thing that could’ve potentially spoiled it.

Usually, final seasons get a lot of Emmy love, so I’m shocked “This is Us” didn’t get any big nominations (it has one nomination for music). The penultimate episode was so poignant and touching, which is the show’s bread and butter, but I still think about how good that episode was months later.

A lot of nominees

The sheer number of nominees is staggering. There are so many per category, that it seems like they couldn’t narrow it down.

Very few categories have only five nominees, which is typically the norm.

There were more than five nominations in many of the categories last year, but most categories have even more this year.

I’d imagine it would be so hard to pick nominees, especially with the limited categories and bigger casts, but how do you vote or pick a winner?

Some needed changes

Separate the TV movie and limited series category. With the ever-rising number of limited series (most based on true stories, giving them more edge in voting), movies are tucked away.

Make a cast category like SAG. This would help supporting categories, which have too many nominees from the same show, and credits chemistry among casts.

For example, “Only Murders in the Building” deserves an ensemble credit. It would relieve the fact that Selena Gomez was snubbed. Yes, Steve Martin and Martin Short are legends, but she’s holding the show with them and deserves some credit.

Remove primetime from the name. Why are we still calling these the Primetime Emmys? With streaming, prime time isn’t really a thing. Course who am I to judge given my blog name.

The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards will air Monday, Sept. 12, on NBC.

Oscars 2022: Did the awards show sink or swim?

It’s the slap seen ’round the world. Not heard…because the audio was cut quickly from the U.S. broadcast.

This year’s Oscars tried some new things, but did it work?

Unfortunately, it’s hard to say since Will Smith slapping Chris Rock after Rock made a pointed jab at Smith’s wife Jada is what everyone’s talking about. I don’t have commentary to add to this moment; none of it was OK.

Here are my thoughts on the 94th Academy Awards:

Did the 3 hosts work?

Hiring three women is cheaper than hiring one man to host was one of my favorite jokes of the night because it’s funny while being relevant.

Amy Schumer, Wanda Skyes and Regina Hall hosted this year’s ceremony. They were announced late and are the first to host in three years.

All considering I thought they did well. They had funny bits, though some ran long (Skyes at the academy museum) and felt thirsty (Hall’s “random” COVID test callout).

The segmentation of one host at a time felt disjointed and rigid over the night’s run. They were best together.

Overall I prefer having hosts to no host. And more than one allows synergy and takes the pressure off.

Did cutting awards work?

Pre-Oscars, the biggest controversy seemingly was cutting eight awards from the telecast. Except they weren’t cut; they were announced early and edited into the show.

Usually, these nominees are stuck in the back of the theater because they aren’t big names. So in a way, it saved filler time by cutting out the part where they have to run to the stage to get the award.

But the point was to reduce the overall run time. And the Oscars still ran for more than three and a half hours.

There were other ways to ensure the ceremony went less than three hours. While the anniversary bits were nice, they could’ve been shorter (especially the Pulp Fiction one since it was a 28-year anniversary, not a milestone year like 50 or 25).

I actually liked that the Oscars were more of a celebration of movies overall, not just this year’s nominees. The nostalgia made it more enjoyable. But it was disappointing to have some of it take away from well-deserved wins.

What news source should you use for your Oscar pool?

I reviewed predictions from Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, Gold Derby, The New York Times and NPR ahead of Sunday’s ceremony.

The best predictor? It’s a toss-up between Entertainment Weekly and Vanity Fair; the two publications got the most right. Entertainment Weekly got all the craft categories right but missed Best Picture. Vanity Fair got all the top-of-the-line winners correct.

So if your Oscar pool is weighted, you can decide where to go next year.

What were my standout moments?

I think it’s interesting that Billie Eilish won an Oscar before Taylor Swift or Beyonce. Eilish’s reaction was joyous.

I appreciated that during Troy Katsur’s acceptance speech, his interpreter was off-camera so we could focus on Katsur, the true winner.

The In Memorium segment was much livelier than normal, and I liked that it was more celebratory than sad.

I’m glad they added the Best Song performances back into the telecast, along with using movie soundtrack songs for the background scores for various parts of the night.

What did you think of the Oscars?

Golden Globes 2022: A redemption story?

In a world of cancel culture and scrutiny over decisions, the Golden Globes is facing a media crisis.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has been secretive for years, but after last year’s snubs of prominent Black performances following other issues, they got dropped like a hot pancake.

NBC dropped the awards show from its 2022 schedule. Actors returned their awards. Studios disassociated. It was (and is) a firestorm.

And what has the HFPA done? They’ve promised change, updated bylaws and added 21 new members (the pool was less than 100 last year, with zero Black members).

Nominations were announced today (co-hosted by Snoop Dogg for some reason), and it’s tough to decide if they’ve improved and offered a more diverse group of nominees. Let’s take a look.

Movies

Best Picture

In 2021, the dramas were mostly white casts. The comedy nominees had a mix of stories and casts.

In 2022, I count one Black-focused story and one multiracial story amoug both categories.

Ruling: Slide backward

Best Director

In 2021, we saw a record-breaking three women nominated, two of whom are non-white.

In 2022, all nominees are white, but there are still two women nominees.

Ruling: Slide backward

Best Actress

There were two Black women among all the comedy and drama nominees last year.

This year, there is one Latin American nominee among both comedy and drama.

Ruling: Slide backward

Best Actor

In 2021, there were various groups represented in the nominees. We had Lin Manuel-Miranda, a first-generation American; Riz Ahmed, a British-Pakistani man; and other non-white nominees.

In 2022, half of the nominees are non-white.

Ruling: Neutral

Best Supporting Actor and Actress

We saw more diversity in the best supporting actress category this year, but the supporting actor nominees are all white this year.

Side note: Who has heard of “The Tender Bar,” the movie Ben Affleck got a nomination for?

Ruling: Neutral

Television

Best series

On the drama side, we saw some more casts with Black leads this year, plus a cast of Asians in “Squid Game.”

In comedy, there isn’t much diversity either year, but “Reservation Dogs” getting a nomination gives a place for indigenous people.

Side note: I’m curious about “Lupin,” a French thriller that’s on Netflix. I had never heard of it until today, but it has two seasons.

Ruling: Neutral

Best actress

For both drama and comedy, the nominees went from all white in 2021 to including two Black women in 2022.

One interesting tidbit is Tracee Ellis Ross is nominated this year for the first time since her win in 2017. “Black-ish” is ending in 2022 after eight seasons.

Ruling: Step forward

Best actor

Similar to actress, the drama category went from all-white to having two non-white actors, both of whom speak their own language in their shows.

The comedy category has included one Black actor both years, but last year also saw Ramy Yousef among the nominees, though his show “Ramy” hasn’t come out with its next season yet.

Anthony Anderson of “black-ish” is nominated for the first time since 2018 for his work on the ABC comedy.

Ruling: Step forward

Supporting actor and actress

For the actor nominees, we’ve seen a non-white nominee both years.

For the actress nominees, there have been zero nominees of color in the last two years.

Ruling: Neutral

Notable snubs who are non-white include Selena Gomez for “Only Murders in the Building” and Aretha Franklin for “Respect.” But every year it’s a tough pool, and you can make arguments for/against every nominee.

Overall, it’s hard to say for sure if the HFPA has truly taken a turn for the better. You can’t compare two years of movies with the same eye, especially these last two years with the pandemic. To me, it’s not clear based on this information.

Most of the press has suggested the HFPA take a year off, but they are moving forward. We have no idea how the awards will be handed out, but they will be presented Jan. 9, not on NBC.

Emmys nominations 2021: By the numbers

The 2021 Emmy nominations were announced July 13, and as always, there are surprises and snubs.

For example, remember Quibi? It has nominations even though the platform no longer exists.

Here are some number-related tidbits for this year’s nominations.

Conan

Conan received a nomination for outstanding variety talk show series, his ninth for the show over its 10-year run. The show had zero nominations in 2020, and it ended earlier this year, so there may be a final hooray win for him.

Broadcast shows

“This Is Us” made a comeback in the outstanding drama series category; it missed last year. It’s never won, and with seven other nominees this year, I doubt it’ll win this year.

Sterling K. Brown has been nominated for his work in the NBC show every year he’s been eligible. He won in 2017, but I doubt he’ll win this year. He’s the only broadcast drama lead actor nominee.

On the comedy side, “black-ish” received an outstanding comedy nomination, its first since 2018. Anthony Anderson has been nominated every year; Tracee Ellis Ross has been nominated every year except for 2019. Neither has won.

First time nominees

More than 40 people are nominated for an Emmy for the first time.

Some interesting first-time nominees? Yvette Nicole Brown, Jason Sudeikis and Kaley Cuoco.

You’ve seen these performers on your TV for years, so I was suprised to learn they are first-time nominees.

Sudeikis is likely to win after winning Critics Choice and Golden Globe awards earlier this year.

Multiple nominations

There are usually a few categories with multiple nominees from the same show, but the supporting categories are filled with this conundrum.

Out of the lead actor in a limited series or movie, two are from “Hamilton.” Out of the lead actress in a drama, two are from “The Crown.”

But those are mild compared to the supporting categories. Here’s the breakdown:

Actor in a comedy: 8 nominees, half are from “Ted Lasso,” two are from “SNL”
Actor in a drama: 8 nominees, three are from “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Actor in a limited or anthology series: 6 nominees, half are from “Hamilton”
Actress in a comedy: 7 nominees, two are from “Ted Lasso,” three are from “SNL”
Actress in a drama: 8 nominees, four are from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” three are from “The Crown”
Actress in a limited or anthology series: 6 nominees, two are from “Hamilton,” two are from “Mare of Eastown”

Normally with overlapping nominees, you risk losing, but that hasn’t been the case the last two or so years, so it’s anyone’s game.

The 73rd Emmys will air Sept. 19 on CBS.

Oscars 2020: My predictions based on the awards season

While 2020 was anything but predictable, the Oscars might just be.

Whether it’s because of the pandemic and lack of new releases or just a consensus, most of the big races for this year’s Oscars ceremony seem pretty set.

Here’s a look at some of the categories, their nominees and who will most likely win based on this season’s Golden Globes, SAG, Critics Choice and BAFTA nominations and winners:

Best Actor

Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”) – four nominations

Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) – three wins, four nominations

Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”) – one win, four nominations

Gary Oldman (“Mank”)- four nominations

Steven Yeun (“Minari”) – two nominations

Prediction: While Richard Lawson of the “Little Gold Men” podcast predicted Hopkins would win over a year ago, it’s Boseman’s posthumous Oscar.

Best Supporting Actor

Sacha Baron Cohen (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) – three nominations

Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) – four wins

Leslie Odom, Jr. (“One Night in Miami…”) – four nominations

Paul Raci (“Sound of Metal”) – two nominations

Lakeith Stanfield (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) – The Oscars is his only nomination for the role.

Prediction: Unless Stanfield splits the vote, it’s Kaluuya’s Oscar.

Best Actress

Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) – one win, three nominations

Andra Day (“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”) – one win, two nominations

Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”) – four nominations

Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”) – one win, four nominations

Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”) – one win, three nominations

Prediction: This one is less predictable, since all but one nominee already won once this season. McDormand has already won two Oscars, but I predict she’ll win a third.

Best Supporting Actress

Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”) – won once*, four nominations

Glenn Close (“Hillbilly Elegy”) – three nominations

Olivia Colman (“The Father”) – three nominations

Amanda Seyfried (“Mank”)– two nominations

Yuh-Jung Youn (“Minari”) – two wins, three nominations

*Bakalova was nominated in best actress at the Golden Globes instead of supporting.

Prediction: Youn and Bakalova are the only two in this category who have won this season. Since comedy is never favored at the Oscars, I’m predicting Youn will win.

Best Animated Film

“Onward” – two nominations

“Over the Moon” – one nomination

“A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” – one nomination

“Soul” – two wins

“Wolfwalkers” – two nominations

Prediction: It’s tough to beat Pixar, and “Soul” has won twice already. “Soul” will win.

Best Director

Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”) – one nomination

David Fincher (“Mank”) – two nominations

Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) – two nominations

Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) – three wins

Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) – two nominations

Prediction: Zhao is the only director who’s won this season. Plus it’ll be a nice narrative to have a woman win.

Best Picture

Note: These nominations include best acting ensemble, best foreign and best British film nominations.

“The Father” – three nominations

“Judas and the Black Messiah” – one nomination

“Mank” – two nominations

“Minari” – two wins, six nominations

“Nomadland” – three wins

“Promising Young Woman” – one win, four nominations

“Sound of Metal” – one nomination

“The Trial of the Chicago 7” – two wins, five nominations

Prediction: It’s between “Nomadland” and “Minari,” but I’d guess “Nomadland” will win.

Will I be right? We’ll see will the Oscars air April 25 on ABC.

Emmys 2020: How accurate were the predictions?

I could talk a lot about how the virtual Emmys broadcast worked or didn’t work, but plenty of articles and podcasts have covered that.

My quick take: Overall it wasn’t terrible, but some of the COVID gags were overly drawn out.

Instead, I wanted to see how entertainment platforms predicted the winners. Were they right, wrong, widely inaccurate?

Inevitably there are always a few surprises every year, but let’s see if the entertainment junkies have the knowledge to accurately predict the winners in 2020, one of the most unpredictable in recent times.

For reference, I compared predictions from Entertainment Weekly, Gold Derby, Vanity Fair and Deadline, and not every site predicted all of the categories I’ve listed here.

Best Drama, “Succession”: 4/4

Everyone assumed the HBO drama would win.

Best Comedy, “Schitt’s Creek”: 2/4

The PopTV comedy swept the comedy categories for the first time ever, in only its second year of nominations.

Best Limited Series, “Watchmen”: 4/4

No one could stop the HBO miniseries, which had the most nominations going into the award show. They won 11 Emmys last night.

Best TV movie, “Bad Education”: 1/2

I guess it worked out that this film was acquired by HBO and released during quarantine.

Lead Actress in a Drama, Zendaya, “Euphoria”: 0/4

No one thought former Disney star Zendaya would win. She’s the youngest actress to win in the lead drama actress category.

Lead Actor in a Drama, Jeremy Strong, “Succession”: 1/4

Most predicted Strong’s co-star, Brian Cox, would win.

Supporting Actor in a Drama, Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”: 1/3

Vanity Fair correctly predicted the “Succession” actors would split the vote, since three of them were nominated in this category.

Supporting Actress in a Drama, Julia Garner, “Ozark”: 0/3

Entertainment Weekly didn’t pick, but the others all had Helena Bonham Carter set to win for her role in “The Crown.” Garner won last year as well.

Lead Actress in a Comedy, Catherine O’Hara, “Schitt’s Creek”: 4/4

Big-name star in a funny show in its last season? Easy choice.

Lead Actor in a Comedy, Eugene Levy, “Schitt’s Creek”: 2/4

The banter between Levy and his son Dan was adorable.

Supporting Actor in a Comedy, Daniel Levy, “Schitt’s Creek”: 2/3

Dan also won for writing and directing.

Supporting Actress in a Comedy, Annie Murphy, “Schitt’s Creek”: 0/3

Murphy was the last “Schitt’s Creek” winner before best comedy was announced, and she was shocked.

Lead Actor, Limited Series/TV Movie, Mark Ruffalo, “I Know This Much Is True”: 3/4

He played two roles!

Lead Actress, Limited Series/TV Movie, Regina King, “Watchmen”: 3/4

King now has won four Emmys for four different characters. She also ties the record for most acting Emmys won by a Black performer.

Supporting Actor, Limited Series/TV Movie, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Watchmen”: 0/3

Deadline did say Abdul-Mateen II should win, but they thought Jim Parsons would win for his role in “Hollywood.”

Supporting Actress, Limited Series/TV Movie, Uzo Aduba, “Mrs. America”: 0/3

Abuba’s win was a shock considering two of her co-stars were also nominated in the same category.

So who was the best predictor? In these awards, Vanity Fair got the most right, getting 10 out of 16 correct.

But still, that’s barely over 50%. So what do these people know anyway?