Team Experience Reacts to the 2023 Emmy Nominations

by Christopher James

The Team was particularly excited for the four nominations for Jury Duty.

No one loves awards shows more than The Film Experience team. Loving an award show doesn’t mean nomination morning is happy. You take the lumps of coal with the bright, shiny surprises. There was plenty to like this year at the Emmys, and about as much to complain about as well. After all, there are more than 100 categories, even if most of them went to Succession.

Click for our thoughts after the jump...

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Four shows entirely dominated the Emmy nominations. Worthy or excessive?

By Abe Friedtanzer

Melanie Lynskey in The Last of Us

As Chris reported, Emmy nominations were announced yesterday and four shows absolutely dominated. I want to take a look at what happened in comparison to my predictions, which shows faltered, and most importantly, grapple with the notion that those four shows are indeed terrific yet them being omnipresent so that other shows barely registered is still disappointing. I also want to share the nominations I saw that got me particularly excited...

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Emmy Predictions: Comedy Categories

By Abe Friedtanzer

Anthony Carrigan and Michael Irby in Barry

Whereas the drama series race can only bring back three of last year’s nominees, six of the comedy honorees are eligible again this year (Hacks and Curb Your Enthusiasm are the two that aren’t). It’s also the final season of heavyweights like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Barry, and Ted Lasso  along with two other past nominees, Atlanta and Dead to Me. There’s a slate of new shows in contention, like The Bear, Wednesday, Shrinking, and Poker Face, and it’s important not to forget the show that’s on the rise and likely to be the one to beat this year: Abbott Elementary.

The true challenge of predicting these races is the number of nominees in each based on the number of submissions on the ballot, especially in comparison to the drama categories. Both supporting races only have seven nominees, not eight. Lead actor and actress have five, not six. And the directing and writing categories each have six, but one of the directing nominees has to be a multi-camera show (which has resulted in surprising nominees like B Positive and especially The Ms. Pat Show, which is eligible again this year). There are going to be many deserving shows and performers snubbed as a result, and it’s almost impossible to choose what will get left off and what will make the cut. But let’s try…

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Emmy Predictions: Limited/Anthology Series & TV Movies

By Abe Friedtanzer

Lizzy Caplan and Jesse Eisenberg in Fleishman Is In Trouble

Maybe it’s just been a busy year, but I feel like I’m very out of the loop with this whole slate. As is my practice  I watched the first episode of just about everything, but with a few notable exceptions, like Fleishman Is In Trouble, The Patient, Ms. Marvel, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, I didn’t actually make it to the end of many of this past seasons contenders for limited series. In most cases, it wasn’t lack of interest but rather time. That’s going to make for an unusually hectic summer when I’m inevitably going to try to finish up all of the eventual nominees. Fortunately, I have been paying attention to the heavy hitters in awards buzz. That doesn't help narrow down the contenders much, though, since the field feels wide open.  

The surest things across the board in the limited categories are Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Black Bird, both of which performed well at the end of last year for those awards groups that aren't quite on Emmy's timetable...

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Emmy Predictions: Drama Categories

The White Lotus, now competing as a drama this year

By Abe Friedtanzer 

This is a very competitive year for drama at the Emmys. Last year, Succession and The White Lotus scored fourteen and eight acting nominations, respectively, and The Handmaid’s Tale, which wasn’t eligible last year, picked up ten the year before that. If they show up in similar numbers this year, that accounts for thirty-two spots, and there are only forty acting nominees in total! Changes in voting rules mean that it’s unlikely shows will dominate quite so much, but the first two of those are still extremely popular. And while other awards bodies have largely abandoned The Handmaid’s Tale, it’s worth noting that Emmy voters sometimes stick by shows longer (see Killing Eve).  

Exactly three of last year’s nominees for Best Drama Series are back in contention, and they’re all expected to show up in many places: Succession, Better Call Saul, and Yellowjackets...

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