For the first time, the Television Academy announced this year’s Primetime Emmy nominees without highlighting which channel or streaming platform triumphed that year. So giants like HBO and Netflix were also forced to count the nominations in the battle for bragging rights this year. The Academy has argued that it wants to finally put the focus on the shows, on the creation, thus reducing the importance of the streaming war that is currently underway. And then let’s look at the clear numbers: the new season of Succession collected the most nominations in 2022, with 25 – including a Best Drama nomination. This was followed by Ted Lasso with 20 nominations (including best comedy), and then The White Lotus, which also received the most nominations in the limited series genre – 20. These three series are the first to be covered.
Succession has already set a record with 14 Emmy nominations in the acting categories, breaking the record for the most Emmy nominations in a year for a drama series. The previous record was 12 nominations for The West Wing. It also broke the record for most acting nominations in a single year, previously held by the miniseries Roots with 13 nominations. The previous seasons of the series have won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA for International Broadcasting and, of course, many Emmys. The third season has been really strong, with the 9-episode series bringing media giant Waystar ever closer to a sale, with tech guru Lukas Matsson a potential buyer. The prospect of this fateful sale, of course, causes intense existential angst and family discord within the family.
The debut season of Apple’s series Ted Lasso was a huge hit with audiences and critics alike. Jason Sudeikis plays the charismatic and well-meaning Coach Lasso as he tries to take AFC Richmond to the top. The series has been praised for its light-hearted, positive humour and clever take on mental health issues, which made it a hit at last year’s Emmys: Sudeikis won the Emmy for Best Actor, Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein triumphed in the Supporting Actor (Male and Female) categories, and the show was named Best Comedy Series. We’ll see on September 12th who can repeat!
Our favourite of them all is The White Lotus, which follows a group of hotel guests on a week-long luxury vacation in a paradise setting at a beautiful Hawaiian resort. But as the days go by, the wealthy guests, the hotel’s cheerful and helpful staff, and the darker side of the idyllic setting begin to emerge. The concept of a six-part satire focusing on the more privileged social classes, the setting and the satirical tone provide a sumptuous basis for the series, in which the characters then wallow, and are both embarrassing and very, very entertaining to watch.