Julia Garner in the series finale of Ozark "A Hard Way To Go"
The directing and writing categories for drama this year have seven slots each and both honor the same five shows, with one additional series thrown into the writing race. It’s become increasingly rare for shows that aren’t nominated for Best Drama Series to make the cut in either category. Indeed, for the second consecutive year, none managed that feat. The only shows that managed multiple nods in either of these categories this year were Yellowjackets with two writing nominations and Succession with 3 directing nominations. Fun trivia: Succession keeps matching its season number to its number of directing nominations (Season 1: 1 nod; Season 2: 2 nods; Season 3: 3 nods) While Succession won the directing race for season two, it has won the writing Drama Emmy for season 1 and 2 which makes it the frontrunner in each category again. But let’s look at what else is in the mix.
Brief descriptions of the nominees below - click on the episode titles for spoiler-filled reviews…
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Nominees:
- Jason Bateman - Ozark - Episode: “A Hard Way to Go” (Season 4, Episode 14)
- Description: Series finale. Marty, Wendy, and Ruth navigate a way out.
- Ben Stiller - Severance - Episode: “The We We Are” (Season 1, Episode 9)
- Description: Season finale. Things get crazy, and we can’t for season two!
- Hwang Dong-hyuk - Squid Game - Episode: “Red Light, Green Light” (Season 1, Episode 1)
- Description: A number of desperate people have the chance to compete in a series of deadly games for the ultimate cash prize.
- Mark Mylod - Succession - Episode: “All the Bells Say” (Season 3, Episode 9)
- Description: Season finale. Roy family mutinies and betrayals reach a new level.
- Cathy Yan - Succession - Episode: “The Disruption” (Season 3, Episode 3)
- Description: Kendall spirals, Shiv does her best to contain damage, and Logan refuses to acknowledge vulnerability.
- Lorene Scafaria - Succession - Episode: “Too Much Birthday” (Season 3, Episode 7)
- Description: Kendall parties hard on his birthday as his family members look out for themselves.
- Karyn Kusama - Yellowjackets - Episode: “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)
- Description: The survivors of a plane crash are reunited twenty-five years later under mysterious circumstances.
Analysis: Let’s start with a few statistics. This is Bateman’s third nomination in this category (he’s also up for acting), and he pulled off a shocking directing win for season two over the pilot of Succession and three episodes from the final season of Game of Thrones. Succession's Mylod is the only other returning nominee to this race. Big names like Martin Scorsese and David Fincher have won this prize in the past, and so it’s possible that Ben Stiller, who was previously nominated for his directing work on the limited series Escape at Dannemora, could win for Severance for what I would strongly argue is the hands-down best episode nominated in this category.
The season finale of Succession
Shows with multiple nominations win this prize very frequently, and a number of pilots have also won, with The Handmaid’s Tale being the most recent. I think that, despite how well it did overall, Yellowjackets is lower-profile compared to the other nominees and won’t be able to join that group. Squid Game, on the other hand, already scored big as a foreign-language series across many categories. So it's that pilot up against the finales of Succession and Severance.
Will Win: Ben Stiller - Severance
Should Win: Ben Stiller - Severance
Spoiler: Mark Mylod - Succession
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
The Yellowjackets don't have a clue what tragedy awaits them in the pilot
Nominees:
- Thomas Schnauz - Better Call Saul - Episode: “Plan and Execution” (Season 6, Episode 7)
- Description: Mid-season finale. Jimmy and Kim unveil the payoff of their scheme against Howard.
- Chris Mundy - Ozark - Episode: “A Hard Way to Go” (Season 4, Episode 14)
- Description: Series finale. Marty, Wendy, and Ruth navigate a way out.
- Dan Erickson - Severance - Episode: “The We We Are” (Season 1, Episode 9)
- Description: Season finale. Things get crazy, and we can’t wait for season two!
- Hwang Dong-hyuk - Squid Game - Episode: “One Lucky Day” (Season 1, Episode 8)
- Description: Season finale. The games end.
- Jesse Armstrong - Succession - Episode: “All the Bells Say” (Season 3, Episode 9)
- Description: Season finale. Roy family mutinies and betrayals reach a new level.
- Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson - Yellowjackets - Episode: “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)
- Description: The survivors of a plane crash are reunited twenty-five years later under mysterious circumstances.
- Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson - Yellowjackets - Episode: “F Sharp” (Season 1, Episode 2)
- Description: The survivors adjust to their surroundings while new secrets come to light in the present.
Analysis: This seven-wide category includes five season finales plus the first two episodes of Yellowjackets. Though pilots have been nominated often in the past, they don’t win all that often anymore, with The Handmaid’s Tale, Homeland, and Mad Men the only series to do so in the past fifteen years, all of which were paired with a Best Drama Series win (making a win for Yellowjackets a stretch). Better Call Saul joins the five shows nominated for directing here, and Schnauz is back for his fourth bid in this race, the third for this show, with the other being for Breaking Bad. Mundy has a previous nomination for Ozark while Armstrong is two for two so far for Succession.
Adam Scott in the terrific season finale of Severance "The We We Are"
Shows with multiple bids used to win this prize regularly, but that hasn’t happened since the final season of Breaking Bad in 2014. The nominated installments from Better Call Saul and Severance are hard to match in terms of quality and superb writing, though Squid Game and Succession will surely give them a run for their money. The easy bet is probably Succession, but this race is competitive.
Will Win: Jesse Armstrong - Succession
Should Win: Dan Erickson - Severance
Spoiler: Hwang Dong-hyuk - Squid Game
a list of the nominees in every category at the official Emmy site
Who do you think will win the Drama Directing & Writing races? Who are you rooting for?
MORE ANALYSIS