Emmy Category Analysis: Supporting Actress in a Limited Series

by Cláudio Alves

If you need proof that the current Emmy voting system is broken, you need to look no further than the Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series race. Despite having seven available slots, only two shows appear in the lineup. Unsurprisingly, they are The White Lotus and Dopesick, two of the year's biggest frontrunners. Allowing voters to check an unlimited number of names on their ballots means that the most popular and acclaimed programs will dominate, no matter the specifics of the category. Unfortunately, this takes away slots to honor MVP achievements in less buzzy shows.

For predicting purposes, it also muddies the waters...

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Emmy Category Analysis: Comedy Writing & Directing

By Christopher James

Does "Only Murders in the Building" have what it takes to overthrow reigning champion "Hacks" in directing and writing?The writing and directing categories will be a strong bellwether for what will win Outstanding Comedy Series. The directing category overlaps with Comedy Series 58% of the time and the writing category overlaps 50% of the time. Many worthy competitors face off in the stacked comedy fields. The overarching theme of both categories will be Incumbents vs newcomers vs comebacks.

On one end, Ted Lasso and Hacks face off again for their second seasons. While Ted Lasso won last time,  Hacks won both directing and writing. Both will have a doozy of a time competing with two hot new shows - Only Murders in the Building and Abbott Elementary - which both earned Comedy Series nominations. Finally, shows like Barry and Atlanta re-emerged in these categories after being off the air for a few years.  Will they be able to come back and take the prize from these newer shows they have never had to face off against?

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2022 Emmy Category Analysis: Drama Directing & Writing Categories

By Abe Friedtanzer

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…

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2022 Emmy Category Analysis: Drama Guest Acting Categories

by Christopher James

"Succession" added an Emmy winner and an Oscar winner to its cast this year. Will it pay off with a Guest Actor Emmy win?

It’s no secret that the Guest Acting categories often reward big names and buzzy actors, rather than actual performances. The awards can often go to beloved actors, even if they only appear in one or two moments of their submission. Take for example wins for Margo Martindale (The Americans) and Ron Cephas Jones (This Is Us) for seasons and episodes that are far from their best work. While past years have trended towards the biggest names possible, this year’s crop doesn’t necessarily skew towards major celebrities. Instead, it’s more consolidated around a small number of shows. Only five shows make up all twelve slots (the same number as in the Comedy Guest Acting races).

Succession fever has swept the guest acting drama categories. The HBO drama makes up seven of the twelve possible guest acting slots, or nearly 60% of the honors. Does this mean the show is unbeatable or could this pave the way for an underdog prevailing?

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2022 Emmy Category Analysis: Comedy Guest Acting Categories

After a thirteen year stranglehold on the guest acting categories, "Saturday Night Live" only has one host nominated this year: rising stand up star Jerrod Carmichael.By: Christopher James

Though there is no shortage of television these days, we know Emmy voters only watch a handful of shows. Nowhere is this more starkly pronounced than in the guest acting categories. Name recognition (the title of the show first, the fame of the actor second) tends to determine the nods. Just five shows take up all twelve nomination slots this season.

But in a chance of pace, Saturday Night Live isn’t the main culprit. The comedy guest acting categories have long been dominated by the legendary variety show. We usually see, at minimum, two to three nominees for SNL in these categories. In 2022, though, Jerrod Carmichael is the show's sole nominee here. Will he win, or will someone from the other popular comedies edge him out? Hacks has five guest comedy nods (nearly 50% of the nominations), while Ted Lasso has three and Only Murders in the Building two. 

Who will come out ahead? Let’s take a look at the categories...

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