Curio: "Unorthodox" and "Normal People"
Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 8:00AM by Nathaniel R
"Normal People" animation by Nadia Hazzahrah
Though I thought about sharing my personal Emmy ballot I realized I would have to abstain since I haven't seen some of the key series that many feel are deserving. This is not true of the limited series category where I have seen enough to have passionate favourites and others I do not care for (sorry Little Fires Everywhere and Hollywood). My ballot would read like so:
- Mrs America
- Normal People
- Unbelievable
- Unorthodox ★
- Watchmen
So for this week's Curio let's look at fan art for the two shows from that ballot that we're most worried about Emmy voters skipping...
NORMAL PEOPLE
Readers who follow me on Twitter will already know that I fell hard for Paul Mescal's work on this show.
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) May 26, 2020
In fact I'd rank his work over most of the Emmy AND Oscar winners for Best Actor over the past several years but I also think the show is uncommonly sensitively realized and Daisy Edgar-Jones is also a real find. I hope they both get a ton of job offers hereafter.
Plus the sex scenes are *gasp* incredible. Alternately charged, romantically confusing, totally hot, genuinely upsetting, and emotionally revealing... you know, like real sexual encounters.
It turns out artists like the show, too.
Art by Stevie Lewis
Art by Heidi Im
Embroidery by Miks
Art by Hannah Louise
Art by Tajini
Art by The Little Studio
Dotwork Orange has multiple Normal People drawings for sale on stickers, masks and coffee mugs
UNORTHODOX
If Paul Mescal is my easy choice for Best Actor over anyone this year (and I think Hugh Jackman is pretty great in Bad Education) the easy choice for Best Actress in a Limited Series is the astonishing Shira Haas. So proud to have noticed her gift and said so the first time I saw her (Zookeeper's Wife). This is a masterful performance from start to finish with so much range and depth and authenticity. If you haven't yet watched this on Netflix, do so. It's my choice for Best Miniseries of 2020.
This one was harder to find fan art for but here we go...
Art by Franni Stone
Art by Giuditta Matteucci
Art by Mayar Ghaly
Art by Carrie Anne Brown
and finally some fan collage and illustration art and conversation from the YouTube channel of Femme Rebele
Reader Comments (7)
Is that moon kettle an actual thing in the show? Looks pretty cool.
I love Unorthodox, but I was bored by Normal People... I quit it halfway through. I wonder if part of the reason I didn't like it as much as others as I'd read the book, and the series seemed so drawn out for such a spare, fast-moving tome.
If Paul Mescal, Nicholas Hoult, We're Here and a tonne of Schitt's Creek nods aren't on the ballot, I w ill be disappointed. (Haven't watched Unorthodox yet - on the list).
man, don't push me back into Normal People obsession. I was just getting over it. Okay, okay, i am distracting myself by finally watching / falling for Schitt"s Creek. But still.
Oh yeah Shira was a standout in Unorthodox...I love her performance. BUT Normal People inspired more yawns from me than the other TV series I've seen during the lockdown. It's almost like watching wallpaper peel.
I was totally moved by Unorthodox particularly the audition scene -- so emotionally raw and genuinely realised by Shira Haas. It has this catharsis that works with me when a film's denouement comes via song (e.g. Meeting Venus, A Fantastic Woman, Season 1 finale of Russian Doll). But Unorthodox exists in a netherworld -- surreal, dreamlike but also believable, and performed with exquisiteness by an ensemble of actors.
I am a huge fan of Normal People too. I am not sure why: maybe the innate melancholy of two people helplessly careening to a relationship that will be fraught, and possibly tragic, but also ineffably moving. The music sets the mood and tone and I was into all the creative choices carried out in this tiny and intimate project.
I have Unbelievable bubbling in my queue -- I might have to see that soon.
Lovely illustrations, by the way.
Great choices! I liked the first episode of Normal People but it didn't hook me to keep watching. Starting to rethink that choice after all the raves I've read.
This is a cool piece - fun to see this creative art.