The Emmy nominations were announced yesterday and I have some thoughts. Let’s get into it!
First up, Outstanding Drama. This is such a hard choice for me between Andor and The Last of Us but I think I have to go Andor. I don’t know if part of it was the perfect timing of needing this story at this particular moment in time, but it really hit hard for me. TLoU did a great job of adapting the first part of the second game, but there can be only one winner and I think Andor squeaks out just above it in my heart.
On the comedy side of things, I’d love to throw Shadows a bone for its last season, which was very good. I especially loved the fact they did multiple endings, a la Clue.
For me, Outstanding Limited Series has to go to Penguin or I riot. It is possibly one of my favorite series of all time. The first episode was so good I clapped when the credits rolled. That level of high caliber storytelling continued throughout the entire show.
Now onto the stars of these shows… Bella Ramsey deserves all the awards for her portrayal of Ellie in The Last of Us. She has been crushing it! Same with Pedro Pascal for his gut wrenching performance in the last season. Spoilers for TLoS They both did such a brutally good job during Joel’s death scene. I grieved for Joel as if I was the one who had just lost their substitute dad.
For Lead Actress in a Limited Series I have to give it to my girl Cristin Milioti who stole the show in Penguin as Sofia Falcone. Colin Farrell also deserves awards for portraying Penguin so well that I forgot who was playing him.
Continuing my love for all things Penguin, Deirdre O’Connell did a fantastic job as Francis Cobb. Every scene with her and Colin Farrell was great. They were such a twisted family unit, but you still wanted to route for them. I attribute that equal parts to the phenomenal writing and their acting.
For Talk Series I’m always torn between The Daily Show and Colbert, but I think this time I have to give it to The Daily Show. And scripted Variety Series there is only one choice, and that is John Oliver’s consistently good work on Last Week Tonight.
Outstanding Directing I’m giving to Andor. Honestly I just want it to clean house this year. It’s one of the best Star Wars things out there, and I think the best for live action series. Especially living in the current times we are in, Andor and Rogue One have been hitting especially hard for me. Andor’s final season set the stage to make me cry even more at a movie than I already had the first time. It was impressive.
The Penguin has two episodes up for Directing of a Limited Series, and it’s hard to choose which episode I liked better. Cent’Anni, I think, was the episode that made me want to give Sofia all the awards, but A Great or Little Thing was a fantastic finale that kept me on my toes right up until the end. The latter episode is also up for Best Writing.
Outstanding Guest Actor is another really hard choice for me. There are two actors from The Last of Us and one from Andor. Do I give it to Forest Whitaker for reprising his role as Saw, or Jeffrey Wright for nailing his portrayal as Isaac? Honestly I think I’d be happy either way, it’s too close to call in my eyes.
Finally, for Outstanding Animated Program I’m really pulling for Arcane’s final season. The last episode made me cry buckets. Anyone who says animated stuff is for kids is simply wrong.
I think by now you can tell I just want all the awards to go to Andor, The Last of Us, and The Penguin. All three shows were water cooler television for me. (Remember when we used to watch shows weekly and talk about them at work/school the next day?) I’ve heard good things about some of the other series that have been nominated, but these three I could not stop talking about while they aired. I wish everyone the best when the night comes, and may we keep being blessed with such good television to escape into in the future.