Final Emmy Predictions: Limited Series/TV Movie and Acting Categories
Sunday, July 10, 2022 at 7:00PM
Christopher James in Emmys, Emmys 2022, Limited Series, Limited Series Actor, Limited Series Actress, Limited Series Supporting Actor, Limited Series Supporting Actress, Predictions, TV Movie

By: Abe Friedtanzer, Chris James, Cláudio Alves, and Nathaniel Rogers

There's a competitive race afoot in the Limited Series category, which sports competitors like "Dopesick," "The White Lotus" and "Maid."

We’ve come to the end of Team Experience’s Emmy Awards predictions. As we discussed the past two days, the Drama and Comedy categories can often default to past nominees. With the Limited Series and TV Movie categories, nominating panels are dealing with blank slates each year. Over the past ten years, the concept of a Limited Series has gone from being a less-popular oddity to a popular way to tell the buzziest of stories. Just this year, we saw three different ripped from the headline tech shows across three streamers. It doesn’t have to be all dramas or true stories. Mike White used cringe comedy to create one of the most memorable pieces of TV this year with The White Lotus. There are no shortage of great programs to nominate, even if the number of slots may be less than its Drama and Comedy counterparts. Nominations for the 74th annual Emmy Awards will be announced at 8:30am on Tuesday, July 12th by Melissa Fumero and JB Smoove.

Some overall thoughts and Predictions from  Team Experience predicts after the jump...

Abe: I don’t think there’s ever been a slate this competitive before, and it will all boil down to how much critical praise equals Emmy love. For instance, are Inventing Anna and Pam & Tommy Emmy fare, or not? This will likely be a battle between Dopesick and The White Lotus, but it’s also possible that The Offer could be well-received or that any of the many shows in contention could bump some of the expected stronger players. Also, though we’re not including those categories here, the films in contention for Best TV Movie could finally break through in the acting categories for the first time in a few years. 

Chris: Despite the nominees being different year after year for Limited Series categories (by design), unoriginality exists in this branch too. It’s not that different from a problem that plagues the Academy more and more each year. Voters tend to only watch a few limited series and nominate them down the line for all categories. In fact, the supporting categories are usually only dominated by three or four programs. The main question for prognosticators is, “what shows will Emmys love most?” I think they’ll love The White Lotus and Dopesick in particular, while Maid and The Dropout could be dark horse winners if they overperform in crowded supporting categories. While there may be fan bases for other limited series, such as Gaslit or The Offer, I don’t think we’ll get lone nominees from them. I’m sad that The Dropout overshadowed WeCrashed, which I felt had stronger performances and a more consistent sense of outlandish tone. Still, I’m very excited to see Dopesick and The White Lotus to dominate, as both are terrific.

Cláudio: Every year, the Emmys feel more overstuffed despite the plethora of categories available. This is especially true of the limited series races, as more and more of these projects flood the season. Sometimes, there are so many that it feels like none of them has space to breathe and find its audience, the maximum potential for popularity. Moreover, the TV Academy seems to be following the vices of its theatrical brethren, embracing biopics and real-life stories with increasing mania. I'm trying to be optimistic with some of my predictions, but maybe that's a mistake. In other news, it'll be interesting to see if the Emmys embrace TV movies born out of series or if they prefer more eminently cinematic projects that landed here through matters of distribution rather than artistic intent. Finally, how is The White Lotus eligible here if there's already a second season in the works? The Emmys' ever-changing eligibility rules will forever confound me.

Nathaniel: Are The White Lotus and Dopesick still the frontrunners to win Limited Series? One of the curious things about this Emmy season is that the glut of last minute contenders does not appear to be helping them the way recency bias usually helps Oscar contenders; The stuff that premiered in 2021 still has more buzz! Of course we won't know until the nominations if this is a false perception or not. The most nail-biting "Limited Series" category is Best Actress. There are multiple award winning actresses in the running as well as a huge number of famous celebrities playing famous celebrities (awards voters love that) but there won't be room for all of them... or even half of them! Hoping against all odds that Michelle Pfeiffer places for The First Lady since it's the best work she's done in about 20 years. But the odds are unfortunately against her given the response to the series overall (despite her rave reviews) and the glut of former Oscar, SAG, Globe, and Emmy winners in the mix (Pfeiffer is a previous nominee for every major mainstream screen acting award, but she's never won any of them. Sigh).

NOTE: One thing to keep in mind in this category is the number of nominees allowed in each category. Due to less submissions, some Limited Series acting categories will have less nominees than their Drama and Comedy counterparts. See the breakdown below and more information here.

Now onto the predictions:

"Maid" was a family affair, as breakout star Margaret Qualley starred alongside her mother, Andie Macdowell.Outstanding Limited Series (5 Nominees)

There were 61 submissions, so the nominee total is only five this year.

Unanimous Choices

Quite Probable

Lone Votes of Faith

HBO's Movie "The Survivor" could contend for Outstanding TV Movie and Lead Actor for Ben Foster.Outstanding TV Movie (5 Nominees)

There were 48 submissions, so the nominee total is only five this year.

Unanimous Choices

Quite Probable

Split Decision

Lone Votes of Faith

Oscar nominee Amanda Seyfried won raves for her portrayal of disgraced tech CEO Elizabeth Holmes.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series (6 Nominees)

There were 92 submissions, so the nominee total is six this year.

Unanimous Choices

Quite Probable

Split Decision

Lone Votes of Faith

One of the highlights of the recent SAG Awards was Michael Keaton's tearful speech. He may be making another speech at the Emmys for his role in "Dopesick."Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series (5 Nominees)

There were 64 submissions, so the nominee total is only five this year.

Unanimous Choices

Quite Probable

Split Decision

Raise a glass to Jennifer Coolidge, who soon may be celebrating her first Emmy nomination.Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series (7 Nominees)

There were 183 submissions, so the nominee total is only seven this year.

Unanimous Choices

Quite Probable

Split Decision

Lone Votes of Faith

One of the standout performances from "The White Lotus" was Murray Bartlett, who played the overeager hotel manager Armond, trying to stifle his addictions and urges.Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series (7 Nominees)

There were 232 submissions, so the nominee total is only seven this year.

Unanimous Choices

Quite Probable

Split Decision

Lone Votes of Faith

Who do you think will be nominated for the Limited Series & TV Movie Emmys? Which performers or shows do you wish were getting more attention? Let us know in the comments below.

 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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