TCA and Dorian Awards go all in for the Emmy frontrunners

by Nathaniel R

The Television Academy has already begun their week long awards handout. The Creative Arts Emmys will run until the 17th and the Primetime Emmys wrap things up on the 20th.  With the Emmys upon us, the precursors have also come out to play. The TCA (Television Critics Association) and The Society for LGBTQ Entertainment Journalists, which hold the "Dorian Awards", have both recently announced their winners for the year and both loved on the Emmy frontrunners Watchmen and Schitt's Creek. Both organizations are stingy with acting honors, though, offering only two (in TCA's case) and four (at the Dorians), as opposed to Emmys 16 regular acting categories (barring voice and narration which would bring the number even higher). Couldn't there be a happy medium between 2-4 and 16+

The prizes are listed after the jump...

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Emmy Review: Contemporary Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

The Creative Arts Emmys are upon us but, before their double ceremony, there's still time to look at the last Costume category for narrative programs. This particular awards race is focused on contemporary-set narratives, a sort of design challenge seldomly celebrated by other organizations like the Oscars. Due to some new rules, this lineup of seven contenders is also the biggest one in any costume category throughout Emmy history. Let's see who wins out of this supersized selection…

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Emmy Review: Comedy Series

By Abe Friedtanzer

It's Schitt's Creek vs. Mrs Maisel for the gold.

We here at The Film Experience hope you've all enjoyed our category reviews. The Emmys begin in a few days on the 14th with the Creative Arts awards (i.e. below the line categories) before the big final awards night on September 20th.

Comedy series is the category where, by all visible indications, the winner is already set: Schitt’s Creek. While I don’t love the show, I harbor no ill will against it and am already prepared for it to win. Its two biggest hurdles seem surmountable to me. As far as I can tell, only two shows have won this award only for their final seasons: Barney Miller in 1982 and Fleabag last year. For the former, it was a nominee all eight seasons, and the latter wasn’t nominated in any category for the first of its two total seasons. This is only the second nomination for Schitt’s Creek. The other factor is that most of us – and the Internet – aren’t Emmy voters, and could it be possible that the collective enthusiasm around the show won’t materialize on Emmy night? If it doesn’t, what show wins instead?

I’ll try to avoid major plot details in my analysis – but if you’d like more spoiler-filled descriptions, click on the episode titles. Let’s consider each nominee…

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Emmy Review: Drama Series

By Abe Friedtanzer

Will HBO or Netflix reign on Emmy night?

This year’s Best Drama slate includes seven past nominees and one freshman series. There are heavy hitters but also major omissions like Big Little Lies, The Morning Show, and This Is Us in favor of shows that didn’t consistently show up across categories. To me, Succession, which I’m predicting will win lead actor, supporting actress, guest actress, and writing, seems like the safe frontrunner, like Game of Thrones was last year. But are we missing another show that could win it instead? 

I’ll try to avoid major plot details in my analysis – but if you’d like more spoiler-filled descriptions, click on the episode titles. Let’s consider each nominee…

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Emmy Review: Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

by Juan Carlos

We now reach this hotly contested category, consisting of Emmy favorites, Oscar winners, and a breakout performer. Aside from Regina King and Cate Blanchett, pundits were trying out several combinations of who would fill the remaining slots, especially with the decrease from six to five nominees. Unbelievable is competing for Limited Series, but neither of its widely predicted leads Merritt Wever or Kaitlyn Dever made it. Previous Emmy winners and nominees that were also in the running but didn't make it included Reese Witherspoon, Michelle Dockery, Helen Mirren, Ellie Kemper, and Aunjanue Ellis.

Without further ado, let's consider the lucky five who were nominated...  

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