Emmy FYC Doc Corner: 'Country Music' and 'The Last Dance'

By Glenn Dunks

As a lover of non-fiction, you would probably assume that I naturally gravitate towards documentary series. That’s not always the case, though. In fact, as they gain more popularity, I often find myself struggling with them. Expanded running times make big omissions more frustrating, and just as elsewhere, some shows don't know when to stop. On top of that, Netflix has narrowed its house style to such a degree that it has become something of a private joke when the streaming service sends one of those “we’ve added a series we think you may like” emails.

In terms of 2020 Emmy contenders for the Nonfiction Series Emmy, we have already looked at several: I hated Netflix’s Tiger King, wavered on Hulu’s Hillary, and while I liked PBS’ Asian Americans a lot, I don’t think it made the eligibility deadline. Hopefully next year! Elsewhere, I gave up on the likes of The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez and How to Fix a Drug Scandal pretty early. However, there are bright spots among some of the other contenders: Ken Burns' Country Music and Jason Hehir's The Last Dance...

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20 Underrated Actresses as Emmy Contenders

By Abe Fried-Tanzer

There are over 1,200 actresses on the Emmy ballots across all of the various categories. More contenders mean more deserving potential nominees, and I want to spotlight some of the best female performances I saw this past season. We’ll assume that, though a nomination isn’t by any means guaranteed for any of them, moderately high-profile names like Shira Haas (Unorthodox), Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul), and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (The Morning Show) don’t need the boost even though they should certainly have their work honored. Here are 20 performances you may not have noticed (and where to watch them) that are absolutely worthy of thinking about while filling out those Emmy ballots...

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Curio: "Unorthodox" and "Normal People"

by Nathaniel R

"Normal People" animation by Nadia Hazzahrah

Though I thought about sharing my personal Emmy ballot I realized I would have to abstain since I haven't seen some of the key series that many feel are deserving. This is not true of the limited series category where I have seen enough to have passionate favourites and others I do not care for (sorry Little Fires Everywhere and Hollywood). My ballot would read like so:

• Mrs America
• Normal People 
• Unbelievable
• Unorthodox ★
• Watchmen

So for this week's Curio let's look at fan art for the two shows from that ballot that we're most worried about Emmy voters skipping...

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FYC Outstanding Main Title Design

by Nathaniel R

Will Hollywood get nominated for its storytelling symbolic use of the iconic sign?

142 shows will be competing for the nominations in main title design. You know, those parts of a show that Netflix lets you ignore with the "Skip Intro" button. It is our humble opinion that the title design is part of the show and should never be skipped. It sets the mood like, say, and overture would for a musical. One of the reasons we like this Emmy category is that shows don't tend to stay eligible year after year after year. Generally it's only the first season though shows which significantly alter their opening imagery can compete again -- i was surprised to see Succession in the list again.

Which main title designs did you love this year? Here are 15 random intros from those 142 that could find their names called...

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Emmy Ballots are Here!

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

Emmy voting is officially open which means that we, the general TV-loving public, also get to see who and what was officially submitted in each category. I highly recommend that, if you have a few hours, you spend some time scrolling through the pictures of the staggering 2,652 performers on the ballot (all of them are available here) – that’s always fun. Many placements we already knew were confirmed, and there were still a few surprises. For some of the biggest takeaways, read on… 

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