Emmy Category Analysis: Limited or Anthology Series

By Abe Friedtanzer

Inventing Anna

This was a crowded year for limited and anthology series. A number of buzzy programs earned little to no Emmy attention, like Scenes from a Marriage, Under the Banner of Heaven, Gaslit, and The Offer. Two shows, Maid and Station Eleven, surely just missed given their presence in some top categories. The Staircase and Impeachment: American Crime Story might have come close to more nominations but we'll never know. Instead we’re left with an interesting list of five shows, four based on real events and one based on people that likely do exist, maybe not always in quite as exaggerated form. Let’s look at the competition…

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Emmy Category Analysis: Animation Short Form + Animated Program

By Nathaniel R

Love Death + Robots "Jibaro""Bob's Burgers" does "Blade Runner"

Finding myself in the mood for animation, I quickly binged two of the animated categories before the Creative Arts Emmys any moment now. Herewith some thoughts and predictions on the animation programs...

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Emmy Category Analysis: Lead Actor in a Drama Series

By Christopher James

Lee Jung-Jae won this category at the SAG Awards. Could he pull off a similar feat at the Emmys?

It’s a battle between old and new. The men of Succession face off against each other, while promising newcomers hope to sneak in and take the win. In particular, Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), who won this prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Adam Scott is a wild card for Severance, which earned fourteen nominations for its first season. Add in a couple of men contending for their show’s final season (or at least first half of a final season) and you have yourself a real race. Jeremy Strong is the only previous winner in this particular category, though Jason Bateman has an Emmy as well. Will Strong prevail again, or will one of his challengers overthrow him?

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Emmy Category Analysis: Supporting Actor in a Limited Series

By Nathaniel R

While Abe and Chris have done a fine job staying objective in their analysis, I must confess upfront that this particular category has me too emotionally invested. In doing so, it's causing anxiety! The future winner, very deserving, feels clear. And yet, is this wishful thinking? There's no precursors to look to assuage the fears that we're making up the "frontrunner" business in our heads. Unlike the Oscars which are preceded by countless precursors aimed (unfortunately) at predicting or influencing the outcome) the Emmys come to us mostly fresh each year... apart from repeating themselves (though that is rarely a problem in the limited series category. Before we get to the punditry and the reason for the anxiety let's recap the nominees... 

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Emmy Category Analysis: Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

By Abe Friedtanzer

Andrew Garfield in Under the Banner of Heaven

I had fully expected Ben Foster to be here on behalf of the TV movie part of this category for The Survivor, but he’s not, and this race is actually dominated by men from series that didn’t earn a spot in the top race. Only Michael Keaton and Sebastian Stan saw their shows score overall, and both Andrew Garfield and Oscar Isaac represent their series’ only bids. Those statistics make it seem like Keaton wins this in a walk, but these are seriously good performances that are worth considering alongside his. Here are the nominees… 

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