Photo Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Michael Moriatis/AMC, National Geographic for Disney/Dusan Martincek, Everette Collection
It’s Emmys time again! Or is it? As the writers’ strike continues to dominate nearly every conversation about the television industry, it’s been one of the most unusual Emmy seasons in recent memory, with both fans and academy members wondering if there’ll even be a show this year. But the machine keeps rolling: tomorrow morning, the Emmy nominations will be announced, taking the critics’ favorites to even higher heights and hopefully giving some great artists the status of new celebrity.
This means that it is time for us once again To our Performance Nominations wish list, in which we highlight the potential nominees that are not predicted by the majority of experts. Of course we love Steven Yeun on Beef, Bill Hader on Barry and Sarah Snook on Success, but they’ve already prepared their nomination statements; We focus on those who are less likely to join this exclusive club, but should do so. Even if these performances don’t get the nominations they deserve, they’re still among the best of the 2022-23 season and are worthy of both your time and Emmy’s attention.
Photo Credit: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures
The academy is notoriously stingy when it comes to Better Call Saul nominations. After all, Rhea Seehorn only received a single nomination for the first half of last season (and she’d better do a repeat this year)! The chances of the Emmys getting this show right seem pretty slim, but would they really pass up a chance to praise one of TV’s remaining living legends? Carol Burnett wasn’t just there for the stunt casting – she fit in perfectly and ended up playing a pivotal role in the fate of Saul Goodman. The truth is, if she were still in the Guest Actress category, she’d probably be nominated for her seventh Emmy this year, but it’s a lot harder to break into the Supporting Actress category, where after four appearances she’s in Half were even admitted -season six eligible episodes. A reminder of one of the most influential legacies in TV history and a spotlight on one of the greatest drama series of all time feels like an opportunity that shouldn’t be ignored, but probably will.
Photo: Linda Kallerus/FX
As one of the best limited series of 2022, the FX adaptation of Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s best-selling novel should do well at the Emmy-Nomination Morning, but there’s a chance the best performance will be sidelined due to overcrowding. Yes, Claire Danes is notable as Rachel, but the acting role that ties it all together belongs to Lizzy Caplan as Libby. In a way, it is a double effort. Libby tells the story of Toby Fleishman (Jesse Eisenberg) as he struggles through life following the disappearance of his ex-wife. Her narration is breathtaking and underrated, a skillfully crafted language work that at times feels like hearing a good friend’s story. And then there’s her work as Libby, an old friend of Toby’s whose life is affected by his self-centered choices. Caplan is consistently great at everything she does, and this might be her best work yet.
Photo: Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+
The Academy has never recognized the amazing, groundbreaking work of Robert and Michelle King since they left CBS and began production on The Good Fight and Evil. Perhaps it is due to the comparatively low level of awareness of Paramount+. Maybe it’s because voters just don’t get it. Whatever the case, “Evil” remains one of the most compelling dramas of its time, and season three saw star Mike Colter have his best season yet. Colter subtly conveys David Acosta’s balance between temptation and faith – he understands how both his human needs and belief system play a role in every decision he makes. It’s an increasingly outstanding achievement and an Emmy nod would help this show find the audience it deserves.
Photo: HBO
Playing “normal” in the age of high-concept television is a big challenge. Your average midlife crisis is often viewed as a sitcom source of ridicule or part of the development of an antihero. What’s fascinating about the HBO series Somebody Somewhere is how easy it is to recognize yourself in the characters, people who seek happiness and deal with grief. The writing is strong, but nothing in this series works without the grounded, insightful lead performance of Bridget Everett, who doesn’t exaggerate the truth of her character but finds it nonetheless.
Photo: Quantrell D. Colbert/Prime Video
Janine Naber and Donald Glover’s vicious battle with celebrity obsession was one of the most controversial shows of the first half of 2023, but even the drama’s critics didn’t bother to praise star Dominique Fishback’s undeniable commitment. The gorgeous young actress plays Dre, whose steadfast commitment to The Swarm, a Beyoncé-esque pop star’s fandom, sends her down a dark path that includes murder. “Fishback” is the kind of unsettling performance that people all too often ignore, a character we’re not supposed to get excited about but can’t stop looking at. Let’s hope voters remember how badly this performance affected them.
Photo: Shane Brown/FX
FX just announced that one of TV’s best comedies is coming to an end after its upcoming third season, and if “Reservation Dogs” doesn’t get the recognition it deserves at Emmy-nominated “Morning,” the disappointment will only be greater be. Ensemble shows have a habit of splitting voters, resulting in no acting nods — check out what happened to “What We Do in the Shadows,” for example. Not only was Reservation Dogs destined to win Best Comedy, but it was also destined to have a representative of its incredibly talented young cast in the acting groups. Devery Jacobs seems like the most logical choice for second year given Elora’s emotional development; This is a show that expertly balances heart and humor, and Jacobs is at the heart of both. Elora sometimes feels like the leader of the Rez Dogs – let’s let Jacobs lead that ensemble too.
Photo: Disney+
Will the Academy continue to nominate the declining film The Mandalorian, or switch to the more acclaimed first season of the dominating Star Wars series? Given his critical acclaim and award-winning reputation, there’s a good chance Andor will be the Disney-Lucasfilm Academy Representative this year, but Emmy nods because starring in Marvel or Star Wars shows just doesn’t happen. That should be corrected by a quote from Diego Luna, who really holds Andor together by taking his character’s reality and storyline deadly seriously. Unlike many cast members on Star Wars shows, Luna never winks at the camera, which conveys Cassian Andor’s journey in a way that makes him likable. So much modern fantasy and sci-fi television doesn’t pay enough attention to the human element, and Luna proves why they should.
Photo: Freevee/Courtesy of Amazon Freevee
Could the ‘Dead to Me’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ star get his first major award nomination for playing himself? Well, a variation of himself. He should! “Jury Duty” was quietly growing into a huge word-of-mouth hit for Freevee, a network that probably doesn’t expect to be there on nominations morning, and James Marsden’s work is one of its biggest draws. Ronald Gladden thinks he’s just doing day-to-day jury work, but everyone around him from the attorneys to the judge are actually actors – including Marsden, who performs a playful rendition of his own celebrity, reminding viewers of his superb comic timing, while he takes a few jabs at his own career. Given that it’s technically a reality show (Freevee submitted it in the comedy categories), categorization might be a little difficult, but Marsden would make for an enjoyable inclusion.
Photo Credit: Michael Moriatis/AMC/Michael Moriatis/AMC
Since appearing in the second season of “Fargo” and in the hit “Longmire,” Zahn McClarnon has quietly blossomed into one of television’s most enduring actors. He’s great on Reservation Dogs, but the real highlight for him in the 2022-23 season was the first chapter of AMC’s excellent Dark Winds, based on the Tony Hillerman novel series. As Joe Leaphorn, a lieutenant in the Navajo police force of 1970s New Mexico, McClarnon possesses a combination of grace, intelligence, sadness and a commitment to his people that makes him a compelling detective. This is one show that could use a nudge to find the audience it deserves — an Emmy nomination for its greatest picture could get the ball rolling.
Photo Credit: Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection/Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection
Apple TV+’s loving parody of Broadway musicals not only averted a sophomore slump; it got better in its revival. The transition from the golden age of musicals to the darker themes of the ’60s and ’70s allowed the writers to bring more depth to a show that is truly about two people trying to navigate the very unusual construct of a genre, in which characters live express themselves through song. Broadway legends like Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth put together a top-flight cast that could garner multiple nominations in a fair world, but we’d settle for just one representative: Keegan Michael-Key, an artist who has endured for years , without getting enough credit for its comic timing and character work.
Photo: Copyright 2019, FX Networks. All rights reserved.
One of the nicest Emmys surprises of the 2020s was the comedy series What We Do in the Shadows nominations for seasons two and three. There’s a good chance the pattern will continue into the hysterical fourth act, but there’s another pattern the Academy should break this year: no one from the ensemble gets a nomination. Maybe it’s because the entire cast is too strong to pick just one performer, but for season four, Kayvan Novak deserves an Emmy for capturing the story arc of Nandor’s attempt to find a wife with perfect, desperate comic book style. mastered timing.
Photo: National Geographic for Disney/Dusan Martincek/National Geographic for Disney/Dusan Martincek
Everyone knows the story of Anne Frank, but the story of Miep Gies is not taught in most schools. She was one of the Dutch nationals who protected the Frank family, and Nat Geo’s series about her is one of the year’s most touching and remarkable so far. The limited series categories are stacked, but let’s hope Emmy found space for this category in several categories, especially the Leading Actress category. Bel Powley delivers a nuanced, fully realized work as Gies, unable to look away as she senses true horror on her doorstep – an element that makes “A Small Light” relevant again today. It’s a phenomenal performance from an actress who seems to get better with every role.
Photo Credit: Graeme Hunter/HBO
Campaigning for an additional nomination for what is likely to be the most nominated series on Emmy morning might seem a little silly, but can we just talk about the perfection of Alexander Skarsgård’s work on the final season of Succession? Yes, give the award to Kieran Culkin, that’s fine, but also, please, nominate an actor who got into his character so perfectly that it changed the entire course of the show. Skarsgård didn’t play Lukas Matsson as a caricature, opting instead to fully embody the kind of overflowing manipulators people see as dollars and cents, items that need to be reconciled on a balance sheet. He did so with a clever wink and a mischievous smile, knowing that this is all just a game for the likes of Matsson. We’ll all miss the Roys, of course, but it’s almost more interesting to think about where Mattson would be in future seasons: destroying businesses while laughing away the pain.
Photo: HBO
Tina Satter adapted her own play Is This a Room into a daring experiment for HBO that would earn the Euphoria star her third Emmy nomination at just 25. Sweeney might be sidelined by a crowded film category, but her work here is among the most complex of her career. Using transcripts from Reality Winner’s first interrogation, Sweeney captures a young woman who has little knowledge of the historical investigation she is involved in. The way she’s expressing growing nervousness as the questions draw closer to what she knows could get her into serious trouble is subtle and understated in a way that, well, turns yes, feels real.
Photo Credit: Carole Bethuel/HBO
Premiered over a year ago would likely have doomed HBO’s best miniseries of the last year to an Emmy ban. We hope we’re wrong. Olivier Assayas’ reimagining of his 1996 film should not only garner multiple nominations for the Limited Series category, but it would be criminal to ignore an Academy Award winner for best work of her career. Alicia Vikander seems to find renewed momentum in the role of Mira, an American film star stuck in a miniseries adaptation of Les Vampires. Vikander is somehow relatable and exists in a universe most viewers cannot imagine. He justifies the entire production with smart, unexpected decisions for a performance that is sure to be one of the best of the modern TV era.