Award-to-Award: Emmy Nomination Reactions and a Note of Shame on the TCA Awards
The best of TV and the worst of Nominations
Week-to-Week is the theoretically weekly, currently a bit more sporadic free newsletter of Episodic Medium, written by me, Myles McNutt. To receive future newsletters and learn what shows we’re covering weekly through the summer, become a free subscriber.
Earlier today, the Television Academy announced the nominations for this year’s Emmy Awards, and David Chen of Decoding TV was kind enough to have me on again to break down our overall feelings on the nominations. You can see that conversation here, and I’ll certainly have more thoughts on the Emmys once we reach the broadcast later this year. You can find the full nominations on the TV Academy website.
For now, though, I want to turn my attention to a set of nominations that were announced last week. Last year, my first as a voting member of the Television Critics Association, I prepared a reaction to the TCA Award nominations to go out alongside the official announcement. I had presumed this would be a yearly tradition, but you may have noticed that no such reaction came last Tuesday when the organization’s choices were made public.
Some of this is just being particularly busy at the moment, sure, but there’s another reason. Before the nominations began, the organization operated a submission portal for “endorsements” that could be seen by fellow voters—the goal is to jog our memories, and perhaps advocate for shows that may have been forgotten. This helps smaller, less-known shows like Common Side Effects make it into the race, and is a net good. But as I clicked on the spreadsheet, I had one concern: is anyone going to actively endorse the show created by and starring the subject of extensive reporting of allegations of sexual assault in December?
As I’ve written previously, FX’s renewal of Brian Jordan Alvarez’s English Teacher was built on how critics felt about the series when it debuted, when it was undoubtedly heading toward multiple TCA nominations: New Series was a given, Comedy Series was likely, and Alvarez’s multi-hyphenate contributions made him a possible nominee for individual achievement as well. My frustrations with FX’s choice to quote those critics—many of whom had rethought their endorsement of the show following Vulture’s reporting—in their press release remains, but I’m not going to pretend that it means every single critic who reviewed the show positively has the same position regarding the separation of art and artist. This was a well-made new series that came from a channel critics have a strong relationship with, and while I have no desire to honor the work of Alvarez given the details reported by Vulture, I can’t speak for every critic.
Myles McNutt
My concern seemed unwarranted, though: no one on the spreadsheet endorsed English Teacher or Alvarez, instead highlighting comedies like Mo and new series like Dept. Q. And so while I had been tempted to potentially remind members about the Vulture story, I chose not to do so, believing that either the organization’s membership was aligned with my own desire to avoid honoring the show and its creator or there wasn’t enough momentum behind the series for it to be an issue.
When the nominations arrived in my inbox ahead of the announcement, I realized that I had been wrong. A silent minority of members voted for English Teacher, with the series earning nominations for Achievement in Comedy and Outstanding New Program. With 8-9 nominations in each category, this doesn’t mean that a huge number of members voted for the show; it could have been only a handful. It is also highly unlikely to compete for either award, given that The Studio and The Pitt both had strong showings as new series, and Hacks remains an awards juggernaut. And I suppose you could argue that by not nominating Alvarez individually, these nominations reflect the work of other cast and crew. But the record will still show that the collective body of the Television Critics Association honored English Teacher with these nominations despite the circumstances, and we should be collectively ashamed of this fact.
I understand that the organization is in a difficult position. We have no way of knowing if these voters were simply unaware of the allegations—which were widely visible online, but less so for older critics who don’t participate in social media—or if they did not view them as a concern, and they’re entitled to their vote either way. However, while I know this is a particularly fraught time to undermine a democratic process, I argue that making a statement about Hollywood’s willingness to protect and rehabilitate abusers is more important. I consider it within the means of the organization to at least put this to a specific vote, allowing the majority of members to determine whether they are comfortable with this silent minority associating the organization with the series given context they might not have even been aware of.
We are not the only organization to be in this position. The Critics Choice Awards and Satellite Awards nominations were finalized before the Vulture story was published, but the discourse overlapped with the voting for the WGA Awards, and the Gotham TV Awards—in a committee system—nominated the show for Breakthrough Comedy Series well after the Vulture story broke (and with a Vulture critic on the committee in question). I am sure that these organizations have members who lamented the honoring of English Teacher, and none of them took the step that I am effectively endorsing. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take such steps, and that there isn’t a point where organizations can assert the values of the majority over the choices of the minority—this is what will happen as we vote on winners, but then why not take a stand to avoid the suggestion of endorsement entirely?
There’s a contradiction in my position as it relates to the cultural importance of award shows broadly. On the one hand, I am arguing that awards are important enough that their endorsement matters, and that the optics of endorsing English Teacher in light of the facts is a stain on the credibility of the TCA. On the other hand, however, I am arguing for destroying a key source of credibility for awards—their democratic process—in the interest of engineering a set of nominees more in line with my personal values. I’m not pretending that’s a simple or uncomplicated position, nor demanding that everyone share it, but I think it’s an important conversation to be having for anyone who votes on any kind of media award.
Now, with that acknowledged, let’s look at the great shows the TCA acknowledged, and some commentary on the categories as warranted.
Program of the Year
- “Adolescence” — Netflix
- “Andor” — Disney+
- ‘Hacks” — HBO Max
- “The Pitt” — HBO Max
- “The Rehearsal” — HBO
- “Severance” — Apple TV+
- “The Studio” — Apple TV+
- “The White Lotus” — HBO
No huge shocks in this case, but I was glad to see The Rehearsal acknowledged in this broader category. My position remains that Andor reflects the best cross-section of quality and cultural relevance, and is thus my pick for Program of the Year, but lots of deserving TV here.
Outstanding Achievement in Comedy
- “Abbott Elementary” — ABC (2022 Winner)
- “English Teacher” — FX
- “Hacks” — HBO Max (2024 Winner)
- “Nobody Wants This” — Netflix
- “The Rehearsal” — HBO
- “Shrinking” — Apple TV+
- “Somebody Somewhere” — HBO
- “The Studio” — Apple TV+
- “What We Do in the Shadows” — FX
Notably absent here is The Bear, reflecting the show’s loss of awards momentum. This didn’t end up being the case with the Emmys, where it was still widely nominated, but I think the ongoing tension around the comedy designation has fully caught up with it among voters. Per the above, I’d obviously bump one show from this list in favor of The Bear, but it’s a strong group otherwise.
Outstanding Achievement in Drama
- “Andor” — Disney+
- “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire” — AMC
- “Industry” — HBO
- “The Last of Us” — HBO
- “Matlock” — CBS
- “The Pitt” — HBO Max
- “Severance” — Apple TV+
- “The White Lotus” — HBO
As always, expanded categories create rooms for some shows the Emmys overlook, which in this case means Industry and Interview with the Vampire. Neither have a chance in what is a clear showdown between Severance and The Pitt.
Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials
- “Adolescence” — Netflix
- “Agatha All Along” — Disney+
- “Disclaimer” — Apple TV+
- “Dying for Sex”— FX
- “The Penguin” — HBO
- “Rebel Ridge” — Netflix
- “Say Nothing” — FX
- “Sirens” — Netflix
- The board of the TCA hates to see me coming, like when I was in their inbox complaining that Agatha was submitted by Disney+ as a comedy series, not a limited series. Their position remains that this is how people voted for it, and at least we didn’t nominate it in two different categories like we did multiple times last year. But still! Anyway, Adolescence in winning this, no real reason to think too deep about it.
Outstanding New Program
- “Common Side Effects” — Adult Swim
- “English Teacher” — FX
- “Matlock” — CBS
- “Nobody Wants This” — Netflix
- “North of North” — Netflix
- “Paradise” — Hulu
- “The Pitt” — HBO Max
- “The Studio” — Apple TV+
Really happy to see North of North and Common Side Effects make it into what will be a clear race between The Pitt and The Studio, with the former the definite frontrunner.
Individual Achievement in Drama
- Jacob Anderson, “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire” — AMC
- Kathy Bates, “Matlock” — CBS
- Owen Cooper, “Adolescence” — Netflix
- Stephen Graham, “Adolescence” — Netflix
- Britt Lower, “Severance” — Apple TV+
- Diego Luna, “Andor” — Disney+
- Adam Scott, “Severance” — Apple TV+
- Tramell Tillman, “Severance” — Apple TV+
- Noah Wyle, “The Pitt” — HBO Max
A man hasn’t won this award in a decade, when Jon Hamm won for the final season of Mad Men, but with only two women nominated, odds are that streak will be broken. Odds are best with Wyle, who is multi-hyphenating on The Pitt.
Individual Achievement in Comedy
- Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear” — FX
- Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks” — HBO Max
- Bridget Everett, “Somebody Somewhere” — HBO
- Nathan Fielder, “The Rehearsal” — HBO
- Harrison Ford, “Shrinking” — Apple TV+
- Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary” — ABC
- Seth Rogen, “The Studio” — Apple TV+
- Jean Smart, “Hacks” — HBO Max (2021 & 2024 Winner)
- Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex” — FX
Notable here: Michelle Williams becomes the first performer to be nominated for Individual Achievement in Comedy for their work in a Limited Series. I’ll be curious to see if anyone manages to unseat Smart, who is settling into an unstoppable Emmy run for the show as long as they can keep the show airing yearly.
Outstanding Achievement in News and Information
- “60 Minutes” — CBS (2012 Winner)
- “The Americas” — NBC
- “Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing” — Netflix
- “Frontline” — PBS (Eight-time Winner in Category)
- “Leonardo da Vinci” — PBS
- “PBS NewsHour” — PBS
- “Pee-wee as Himself” — HBO
- “We Will Dance Again” — Paramount+
I have to say, I didn’t bother nominating in this category, as I simply haven’t consumed enough to feel like an informed voter.
Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch
- “The Daily Show” — Comedy Central
- “Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney” – Netflix
- “Hot Ones” — YouTube
- “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” — ABC
- “Late Night with Seth Meyers” — NBC
- “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” — CBS
- “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” — HBO (2018, 2019, & 2021 Winner)
- “Saturday Night Live” — NBC
- “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” — NBC
Although they are obviously distinct entities, nominating SNL and the Anniversary special separately is silly. I’d expect that Mulaney takes this.
Outstanding Achievement in Reality
- “The Amazing Race” — CBS (2011 & 2022 Winner)
- “The Boyfriend” — Netflix
- “Conan O'Brien Must Go” — HBO Max
- “Couples Therapy” — Showtime (2021 Winner)
- “Culinary Class Wars” — Netflix
- “RuPaul’s Drag Race” — MTV (2014 Winner)
- “Survivor” — CBS
- “Top Chef” — Bravo
- “The Traitors” — Peacock (2024 Winner)
The Traitors is just going to keep winning forever. Good luck, everything else.
Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming
- “Doctor Who” — Disney+ (2024 Winner)
- “Forever” — Netflix
- “Heartstopper” — Netflix
- “Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld” — Netflix
- “Star Trek: Prodigy” — Netflix
- “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” — Disney Channel
- “WondLa” — Apple TV+
- “XO, Kitty” — Netflix
- “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” — Disney+
So, I had only watched the first episode of Forever when these nominations came out, but I’ve since worked through most of the first season, and I simply do not think a show with a sunroof-aided trip to third base can be a “family” show. Obviously, its target audience is young adults and its realism is just how kids operate, but the idea of watching this together as a family just seems unfathomable to me. A reminder that not everything including teens is really for “families.”
Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming
- “Bluey Minisodes” — Disney+
- “Carl the Collector” — PBS
- “Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood” — PBS (2016 Winner in Youth Category)
- “Donkey Hodie” — PBS
- “Odd Squad” — PBS
- “Sesame Street” — HBO (2001, 2011, & 2018 Winner in Youth Category)
- “Win or Lose” — Disney+
- “Wonder Pets in the City” — Apple TV+
I can’t know for certain, but I refuse to believe that the majority of people who nominated Bluey in this category even knew there were minisodes, and that the show itself did not air any episodes during the eligibility period. They just knew Bluey existed and voted for it, and they’ve been attached to “Minisodes.” You know I’m right.
Thus ends my thoughts on these awards. Have feelings about either the TCA Nominations or the Emmy nominations? Let’s discuss in the comments.
Comments ()