Emmy Analysis: A close race in Outstanding Writing for Limited Series or TV Movie
Thursday, August 5, 2021 at 4:40PM The Film Experience Team takes a look at the episode submissions for all the major Emmy categories.
Unlike the Drama and Comedy writing categories at the Emmys, the Limited Series or TV Movie one can find entire seasons competing against solo episodes or single films. In the recent past, individual chapters of Sherlock and Black Mirror, classified as TV movies, won out against juggernaut series such as Fargo and Big Little Lies. This year, there are no such "movies" nominees. Indeed, despite six slots, only four series are recognized across the board. Wandavision is the nomination leader as well as the only show competing with single episodes instead of seasons. Indeed, with three nods, it thus becomes only the second limited series to score triple writing nods in the same year. The first one was American Crime Story: The People v O.J. Simpson. That Ryan Murphy show won in 2016, despite the threat of vote splitting, and maybe the Disney+ program can do the same. Let's take a look at the nominees…
I May Destroy You
Written by Michaela Coel
Description (from the ballot): A look at the modern dating landscape and where, in the age of instant gratification, the distinction between sexual liberation and exploitation lies. When she's spiked with a date-rape drug, Arabella (Michaela Coel) reassesses every aspect of her life: her career, her friends, and even her family.
This year, despite writing multiple FYCs, only one of my Emmy wishes came true. That was Michael Coel's nomination for the screenplay of I May Destroy You, one of the most acclaimed TV programs of the last year. From structural gambits to visceral confrontations, the show comprises a fascinating character study that makes full use of its heroine's artistry. You see, I May Destroy You is the story of a writer and later chapters use the labor of unspooling fiction from life as a driving force. Such efforts result in the most astounding episode of television I've watched in a long time. It's a final chapter of fractured hypothetical narratives crashing into each other in a miasma of survivor's trauma and self-actualization. In other words, it's very meta and certainly not for all audiences.
That being said, it's very noticeably written, which may help it in the Emmy race. The text is showy to the point it's the star of I May Destroy You, and the show's reflective qualities never let us forget how the act of writing can hold immense power. Because of that, I'm tentatively predicting that Coel might win here even if her show otherwise underperforms. Her possible success here could be reminiscent of how the TV Academy embraced Phoebe Waller-Bridge for Fleabag's second season.
Mare of Easttown
Written by Brad Igelsby
Description (from the ballot): As her life crumbles around her, a small-town Pennsylvania detective Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet) investigates a local murder. The series explores the dark side of a close community and provides an examination of how family and past tragedies can define our present.
It's time for a confession. Despite respecting, even admiring, all of these shows, the only limited series writing contender I genuinely love is I May Destroy You. Still, there's much to appreciate in such efforts as Mare of Easttown, whose character construction and thematic consistency transcend the classic murder mystery/police procedural genre trappings. Igelsby has created a formidable heroine in Mare, a grief-stricken detective trying to live through haunting loss. Indeed, the scars left behind by immeasurable tragedy are one of the best elements of the miniseries, something that affects nearly every character, no matter how minor or innocuous they might seem at first. Nevertheless, the structure could do with some tightening, and one can't help but feel like a couple of the red herrings are so flagrantly mechanical they detract from the show's general humanism.
Luckily, Mare of Easttown ends with its best episode, a staggering culmination of its major themes that still manages to surprise through sheer emotional rawness. Ending well might do the trick for this show, though similar genre exercises have failed to win this category in recent years. Fargo, Luther, Top of the Lake, Unbelievable, and many others have lost to less traditional projects or narratives enshrined in the prestige of real history. Of course, the massive popularity of Mare of Easttown might prevail, even when Emmy trends are working against it.
The Queen's Gambit
Written by Scott Frank
Description (from the ballot): In a 1950s orphanage, a young girl reveals an astonishing talent for chess and begins an unlikely journey to stardom while grappling with addiction.
Adapted from Walter Tevis' homonymous novel, The Queen's Gambit became Netflix's most-watched miniseries back in October 2020. After dominating the guild awards, it seemed poised to take the Emmys by storm and continue its winning streak. Still, the ascension of Mare of Easttown, not to mention Wandavision's impressive nomination haul, put a wrench on those plans. It still might sweep, but the race is highly competitive. Honestly, it wouldn't be a tragedy if The Queen's Gambit went home empty-handed. Delineating the lead character's struggle with addiction and obsession, the text feels somewhat underdeveloped when one looks beyond the central figure. Characters like Jolene feel as if they exist solely to facilitate Beth Harmon's narrative, living more as plot devices and auxiliary archetypes than people. Furthermore, for a show set explicitly in the 1950s and 60s, The Queen's Gambit comes off as unwilling to engage with the historical schisms of the period, past the Cold War politics that directly impact its main heroine.
One should note that, apart from Scott Frank, every Emmy contender in this category is a first-time nominee. The creator of The Queen's Gambit was previously recognized for his work on Godless. Maybe that precedent, coupled with literary pedigree and the show's incredible popularity, will take him to a victory. If it wins, The Queen's Gambit will become the second Netflix production to nab this prize after Black Mirror, which has won the award twice, both in 2017 and 2018.
"All-New Halloween Spooktacular!" (Season 1, Episode 6) from Wandavision
Written by Chuck Hayward and Peter Cameron
Description (from the ballot): Wanda and the twins dress up for Halloween and go out on the town. Meanwhile, Vision investigates the boundary of the hex, but Wanda uses her formidable powers to expand the borders of town, causing unexpected consequences for the army base now caught inside.
A few years ago, the idea that Disney might be on the cusp of dominating the Emmys through superhero serials would have seemed ridiculous. It's not so far-fetched anymore, thanks to Wandavision's superpowered character study by way of a love letter to classic sitcoms. The Malcolm in the Middle-inspired episode doesn't frontload its televisual history geekery as much as other chapters, but it's one of the most unnerving hours in the Disney+ blockbuster show. At this point, it's become clear that Wanda Maximoff is behind the reality-bending oddities at the heart of the story and this hour further explores the human consequences of her actions. Rather than dismantling the madwoman stereotype through a narrative of misunderstandings, Wandavision acknowledges the horrifying possibilities of its anti-heroine's powers. Vision's sojourn through the outer limits of his wife's dominion produces some of the show's best images, working on an atmosphere of essential wrongness that starts on the screenplay level.
It's not the most complex of Wandavision's episodes, but "All-New Halloween Spooktacular!" represents an exciting foray into the holiday special, its traditions, and how such televisual conventions allow for brief experiments in genres antithetical to the sitcom. The Emmys have a long history of embracing Halloween specials, so this episode might have a fighting chance even as it is the least memorable of Wandavision's trio of nominated submissions.
"Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" (Season 1, Episode 1) from Wandavision
Written by Jac Schaeffer
Description (from the ballot): We find Wanda and Vision in a 1950's-style black and white sitcom; their current reality a mystery and their new neighbors confounding. Committed to hiding their powers, they host a dinner party as a "normal couple" and struggle to answer questions about their past.
In a pastiche of I Love Lucy and other such midcentury sitcoms, "Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" sets the stage for a series inebriated by the tradition of American televisual comedies. Despite acting as a pilot, it's crucial to note how little exposition there is in this opening hour or, more specifically, how vague and fractured the expository dialogue ends up being. Coupled with the extravagant stylization, this invokes a sense of growing unease, dread that flourishes from how inane the whole exercise initially feels. Textually, the most daring gambit is the dark conclusion of a typical procession of dinnertime hijinks. Repetition incurs morbidity, an undercurrent of helpless despair that hints at the show's overall mysteries without revealing too much too soon. That necessary ambiguity makes the episode stand out in a series that will come to revolve around an explanatory impetus of puzzle-solving storytelling.
The fact that this Wandavision episode is so much about television itself might entice nostalgic Emmy voters. While I can't say this introduction grabbed me as much as it did other viewers, one can't deny how countless audiences got hooked on Wandavision due to this particular hour of referential TV. In terms of sheer style, visual and writerly, this is one of the riskier propositions of the MCU. For that alone, it deserves some respect.
"Previously On" (Season 1, Episode 8) from Wandavision
Written by Laura Donney
Description (from the ballot): Agnes, now Agatha, forces Wanda to relive scenes from her life that led up to her creation of Westview. When Wanda discovered she had lost Vision, feelings of loss overwhelmed her and rewrote reality in Westview into a 1950s sitcom world. Agatha, a witch, wants the secret to Wanda's power.
In contrast with Wandavision's first episode, "Previously On" is all about exposition and uncovering the show's central mysteries. While some fans overrate the writing a tad, there's a sophistication to how Laura Donney uses the television narrative model to deconstruct Wanda's fantasies and coping mechanisms. In this hour, the show is revealed to have been a meditation on grief all along, how loss can warp reality and how that universal experience can be expressed in extraordinary ways when contextualized within the superhero genre. It's not subtle writing, to the point of being blunt. However, it's impactful, full of earnest emotion and complex intersections of character allegiances, troubles of mutilating self-image in the aftermath of death, and the parameters by which one can be defined as a hero or villain. In one fell swoop, Wanda Maximoff went from being one of the least defined main characters in the MCU to its most defiantly multidimensional.
If one of Wandavision's episodes is going to triumph, I bet on this one. If nothing else, it's the most analyzed and talked-about episode of the show, the one where the writing has been most intensely put under the microscope. Sure, the critical conclusions haven't always been positive, but all publicity is good publicity.
Predictions
- I May Destroy You
- The Queen's Gambit
- Mare of Easttown
- "Previously On" Wandavision
- "Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" Wandavision
- "All-New Halloween Spooktacular!" Wandavision
Personal Ranking
- I May Destroy You
- Mare of Easttown
- "Previously On" Wandavision
- "All-New Halloween Spooktacular!" Wandavision
- "Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" Wandavision
- The Queen's Gambit
Who do you think will win in this highly disputed race? Who would you vote for?
Reader Comments (30)
I'm so confused that multiple episodes of the same show can compete against entire series/seasons. Can anyone explain this to me? Is the rule that if there's 1 writer, the whole series is submitted but if there's multiple, each can select an episode?
The Emmys need to change a few of their rules and one of them is to nominate the entire writing team for the season, instead of a person(s) for a singular episode. The Daytime Emmys do this for writing and directing, and it's something Primetime needs to do as well.
Nick and Mike B -- 100% agree. it's absurd that WandaVision (which I like mind you) gets to have three nominations and its also absurd to compare one episode of a miniseries to an entire other miniseries. I dont know how the Television Academy have not fixed this rule given all the tinkering they are prone to do.
Nick and Mike B -- 100% agree. it's absurd that WandaVision (which I like mind you) gets to have three nominations and its also absurd to compare one episode of a miniseries to an entire other miniseries. I dont know how the Television Academy have not fixed this rule given all the tinkering they are prone to do.
I think the "Previously On" episode of WandaVision is writing at its peak where it definitely made the show so important as it does a lot to explore Wanda's grief as well as what drives her. Plus, that line... "what is grief if not love persevering?"
Rooting for I May Destroy You / Michaela Coel for everything it's up for it. <3
I think this where Michaela Coel will get recognition, especially when the writing has been the most celebrated aspect of I may destroy you for taking such hard topic and treat it with such brillliance
This should be the only place that Michaela Coel got recognized for at the big night.
Still really pulling for Mare to win though.
So far I think it’s going to be:
Miniseries: Mare
Directing: Gambit
Writing: Destroy
Actress: Winslet
S Actress: Nicholson
Actor: HUGH GRANT
S Actor: Peters
Mike B: I mean, that's kind of tied into that Primetime Emmys used to nominate episodically structured stuff more regularly. Things where "Yes, there IS a writers room where discussions do happen, but only THAT PERSON/THOSE PEOPLE wrote THAT EPISODE" was a thing that happened fairly frequently. But with them pivoting almost entirely toward extremely serialized shows, where clearly everyone has some kind of hand in every episode, even when not explicitly credited? Yeah, serialized shows in particular probably SHOULD have the entire team credited for one nomination, as opposed to individual participants/episodes. This year, in Drama, is fine (The only show with more than one writing nomination is the more episodic The Mandalorian, which is exactly why individual credits exist), but last year? Where Better Call Saul and Ozark being under that rule would free up three slots for either the other Drama shows or some odd calls? Yeah, that's why.
Volvagia you said a mouthful honey. Preach!
Kate’s accent alone deserves the Emmy
Claudio can I ask why did you rank Queens Gambit dead last on your personal choices? Did you not like it?
Unpopular opinion but I wouldn’t object to RATCHED being included here. I said what I said.
Emmys being the Emmys, I think the directing and writing nominees would be basically the series nominees if they don't specify individual episodes. However, this WandaVision episode vs Queen's Gambit/Mare of Eastown/I May Destroy You whole series is definitely weird. They should ask the miniseries to submit individual episodes like they do for dramas and comedies. Mare getting in for just the finale, for example would work just as well as it getting in for the whole series like now.
That comment above about Coel and Winslet is not from me, in case anyone's moderating imposters.
That said, my ranking:
I May Destroy You
Mare of Easttown
Wandavision (pilot)
Wandavision (Halloween)
Wandavision (Episode 8)
The Queen's Gambit
I'm too superstitious to predict a winner...
The first comment is not mine. I would like the person using my name for his/her comments to stop doing this. Choose a name for yourself. Or use your own name for your comments and opinions.
Ugh the impostors are back. Sigh
I still cringe thinking of that WandaVision line: 'What is grief, if not love persevering' or whatever. Obviously, anything above the very up-and-down writing on that show.
I May Destroy You for the win, please! I can't remember the last show I thought about, discussed and argued about more than this It's such a curious, endlessly empathetic piece of writing, running rings even around the otherwise exceptional Mare of Easttown and the very strong Queen's Gambit.
I think you're right - I May Destroy You will win. Not only was it the standout feature of this series, but I think it's easiest and best place to celebrate Michaela Coel.
Although the winner of this award has lined up with the Limited Series/Movie winner in the past few years, I don't think that matters as much this year. Michaela Coel, like Emerald Fennel, is a huge star this year and will be rewarded for her thoughtful work.
I LOVED Wandavision, but I'm not sure why it has three slots here. Or any slots. It was solidly written, but I don't think any installment really stands up to the other stuff in this category. Although, previously on is quite strong, I think Sylvie's Love or The Underground Railroad should be here above it.
Volvagia -- that's a really good point about tv moving to serialization and why that threw off the category since Emmy didn't fine tune their rules. I hand't thought of that before but it's totally true.
I saw a comment earlier that didn't insult or demean disappear. Are there certain words or slang that get automatically flagged? Thanking you in advance.
Huh -- we remove comments (when we catch them) that are
1) flagged as impostors i.e. someone using someone else's name to stir up trouble
2) comments that insult, demean, gaslight, or mischaracterize work by our awesome staff. we are sick of the abuse.
3) comments that are unduly insulting or name-calling to other commenters.
This one didn't fit those standards, but I understand you may not properly word an understandable policy for commenters to read at this stage. Plus please don't proliferate the cheapening and misuse of the term 'gaslighting'. One of the worst things happening with culture, especially online at present.
Maybe I’m off here, but I think “Destroy” is the least likely to win. All of the other episodes/shows were much more widely seen, talked about, and part of the cultural conversion. I feel like any other nominee but “Destroy” will win.
yes you are off, because I may destroy you has been in the cultural conversation since the moment it premiered in the UK, has a very passionate following, many screenwriters have mentioned it as a example of perfect storytelling and the Golden Globes scandal ended up being a blessing since it gave it a huge visibility boost
I’m not saying there’s no chance it’ll win, I guess, but what I do know is that it never rose to the level of water cooler / must-see status like Queens Gambit, Mare, or WandaVision. No way at all. I know it has its fans, no doubt, but I just don’t think it’ll go the distance here.
Paranoid -- I agree with you that the people who love it have a perception that it really permeated the culture to the extent that these other shows did (it certainly permeated the culture of more sophisticated audiences but not the mainstream, I would argue). I also don't think its going to win but I do think it's compettitive. All of its competitors are *very* mainstream and theoretically they are all fighting for the same votes leaving a path open on the side for ardent fans of this show whose votes probably won't be going anywhere else to push it through. I think it's more likely to win than Wanda Vision (for example) as I don't think people will think of WandaVision's writing as its chief strength. but I'd place it behind Mare and Queens which I think are neck and neck for a lot of prizes.
But we're not talking about the regular "watercooler"/"must-see" thing (especially during a pandemic), as Emmy voters are not the regular audience. I think the sheer brilliance of IMDY and its HBO pedigree will go a long way. The problem is the internal network competition from Mare, a more traditional HBO product.
For what it's worth, please don't take my predictions very seriously. I'm usually wrong and only do this for fun. Still, I have a gut feeling this might be the only place where I May Destroy You will win.
Volvagia -- Like Nathaniel said, that's a great observation and it does shed some light on the current state of the Emmys, how some weird rules still reflect a former TV environment than the one we currently live in.
Travis C -- I liked it but felt The Queen's Gambit was a tad overrated. I try to point some of my issues with it on this piece, though that ranking is further explained by the fact that the writing was, to me, the least impressive aspect of the series. It's not bad, but I prefer the other nominees.
So glad I was right about this one!