It’s time again to honor the best-of primetime TV. The Emmys will be held on Sunday, September 19th at L.A. Live’s outdoor/indoor space, the Event Deck, airing at 5:00 p.m., PST on CBS and Paramount +. As reported in these pages and many others, Awards shows are no longer the go-to destination entertainment event. Ratings have plummeted in recent years. For many, the gala no longer glitters. But if you’re reading this post, chances are you still like an annual celebration of, in this case, the medium that brought millions of us extra pleasure and diversion during a worldwide pandemic.
Two things stand out to me with this year’s nominees. The field is not quite as strong this year in the Best Comedy and Best Drama categories and a couple of shows appear almost certain to run off with multiple awards. And, one marquee category is a toss-up.
Let’s start with Best Comedy. Ted Lasso. Twenty nominations; the most ever for a freshman comedy. Best Series, Best Lead Actor (Jason Sudeikis), and multiple nominations in the Supporting categories. A clear favorite in most of these. I can’t offer any personal comments since, I haven’t signed up for Apple TV + yet.
The Crown seems destined for similar achievement in the Drama Awards. The stars are aligned for the show to win its first Emmy Best Drama Award, on this, its fourth nomination. The introductions of Diana and Margaret capped another captivating season about the Royal Family. Josh O’Connor (Prince Charles), Emma Corrin (Princess Diana), and Gillian Anderson (Margaret Thatcher) all better be prepared to go up and receive their statuette of the winged woman holding an atom.
The Best Limited Series (defined as two or more episodes, a total running time of at least 150 minutes, and a complete , non-recurring story) is once again a loaded category. (Recent winners include Watchmen, Chernobyl, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.) This year it should come down to Mare of Easttown or The Queen’s Gambit, and likewise Kate Winslet or Anya Taylor-Joy. It’s a toss-up. How ’bout Kate wins for “Mare” and The Queen’s Gambit wins for series. Yeah, that’s my prediction.
Cedric the Entertainer will host the 73rd Emmy Awards. A first-time host; he’ll take over from Jimmy Kimmel and try to lead us through another ceremony constrained and impacted by the pandemic. I just touched on a few major categories. There are many other opportunities for your favorite shows to win, whether it’s Pose, Hacks, This is Us, The Mandalorian, Lovecraft Country, The Flight Attendant, The Kominsky Method, Bridgerton, WandaVision, I May Destroy You, and more. In these uncertain and isolating times, TV was always there providing an array of sights, sounds, and emotions. Let’s ask ourselves this question: would your COVID experience have been better or worse without TV? If TV did provide some sort of shelter over the last year, let’s continue the tradition started in 1949, tune in to the Emmys, and recognize the best in TV.
Trivia ? – What was the Emmy Award named after?
Answer: A French alteration of the word “immy;” an informal term for the image orthicon tube common in early television cameras.