The Emmy Drama: A Wide-Open Field
The Emmy drama categories are looking thin this year, thanks to production delays caused by last year’s strikes and the end of perennial nominees like ‘Succession’ and ‘Better Call Saul.’ But don’t worry, there are still some great shows vying for the top prize.
Drama Series
The first season of ‘Shōgun’ is a strong contender, and it’s a good thing it’s coming back for a couple more seasons, because it will be competing as a drama and classing up the joint. It will be joined by the final season of ‘The Crown,’ the only nominee from last season eligible this year.
Apple TV+’s flagship series ‘The Morning Show’ has been ignored by Emmy voters in this category, but it’s had a new showrunner this year, and you can’t say Charlotte Stoudt didn’t lean into the zany plot twists and frenetic energy that fans seem to love. Meanwhile, another Apple TV+ show, the well-regarded misfit spy saga ‘Slow Horses,’ is still looking for its first Emmy nomination of any kind.
‘Slow Horses’ is a wide-open landscape!
From there, voters can rummage through a perfectly entertaining Marvel series (‘Loki’), a couple of stylish crime dramas (‘Sugar,’ ‘Tokyo Vice’), a giddy, postapocalyptic video game adaptation (‘Fallout’), a challenging take on an unadaptable book from the ‘Games of Thrones’ team (’&3 Body Problem’), light period fluff (‘The Gilded Age’), and a movie adaptation that, in my circle, no one had the patience to watch to the end (‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’). That could also be said about ‘The Curse,’ a show equally brilliant and alienating.
Drama Actress
Nobody had a better character arc than Anna Sawai on ‘Shōgun’ — vassal, translator, warrior, lover, avenger. Her final moments on the show stand up to anything on television this year. Emma Stone, now a two-time Oscar winner with her recent triumph for ‘Poor Things,’ is a formidable contender as well for her unsettling turn on ‘The Curse.’
Several leads could be nominated after being passed over last year — Imelda Staunton for playing Queen Elizabeth II on ‘The Crown,’ Carrie Coon for wholeheartedly embracing the melodrama of ‘The Gilded Age,’ and Jennifer Aniston for her star turn on ‘The Morning Show.’ Voters opted for Aniston’s co-star, Reese Witherspoon, in 2023. Maybe they’ll attend the ceremony together in September.
Drama Actor
I don’t know what’s going on with television critics’ digestive systems, but I don’t think I’ve read a review of ‘Slow Horses’ that hasn’t expressed a deep appreciation for Gary Oldman’s ability to pass gas. Can you win an Emmy for a certain flair for flatulence? We’re about to find out.
‘Shōgun’ leads Hiroyuki Sanada and Cosmo Jarvis will both be nominated, and as this adaptation belongs to Sanada’s Lord Toranaga, he has the upper hand. (Nobody bests Toranaga.)
Drama Supporting Actress
Elizabeth Debicki won the Screen Actors Guild award for her sensitive portrayal of a melancholy Diana on ‘The Crown’ earlier this year, and with Jennifer Coolidge out of the race, she might well win the Emmy too. Castmate Lesley Manville should be nominated as well, since the series finally gave her a showcase episode in ‘Ritz,’ the gorgeous, devastating highlight of ‘The Crown’s’ final season. Manville’s Princess Margaret is absolutely breathtaking. Maybe she should take the Emmy.
Drama Supporting Actor
Billy Crudup won this category for the first season of ‘The Morning Show,’ and he remains the best reason to watch the series. His co-star this season, Jon Hamm, playing the suave, space-loving billionaire that Elon Musk can only wish to be, will join him.
