2023 Emmy nominations ballot: See all 61 Best TV Movie contenders from ‘Adult Swim Yule Log’ to ‘White Men Can’t Jump’
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The made-for-TV movie was a programming staple for the broadcast networks in the 1970s and 1980s. While it fell out of favor in the 1990s and was even dropped as an Emmy Awards category for three years beginning in 2011, it has been on an upswing as of late. This year, a whopping 61 telefilms are in contention for the five nominations that will be revealed on July 12. Last year, there were only 48 options, compared to 41 in 2021 and 28 in 2020.
All 20,000 plus voting members of the TV academy have until June 26 to cast their 2023 Emmy Awards nominations ballots for their favorite TV movies. A new rule change will require each voter to make no more than five selections in this category, whereas there was previously no limit. As opposed to the Oscars, voters for the Emmys do not rank their choices and nominees are determined by a simple tally.
More from GoldDerby
Emmy odds update: It's 'Ted Lasso' vs. 'Abbott Elementary' for Best Comedy Series
Emmy spotlight: Alex Jennings returns to 'The Crown' in regal fashion
Just like on the limited series ballot, TV movie submissions include plot descriptions and cast lists. Which of the telefilms listed below do you think will earn nominations on July 12?
Adult Swim Yule Log
An innocent yule log video transforms into a horror film as a barrage of terrors (including the titular flying yule log) besiege a group of vacationers in this live action feature film.
Starring: Andrea Laing, Justin Miles, Charles Green, Jessica Fontaine, Danielia Maximillian
An Amish Sin
An Amish teen refuses to obey her parent’s command that she marry the man who abused her as a child. She runs away, is caught and sent to rehab for girls who don’t follow rules. She ultimately escapes and learns to live on her own. Inspired by a true story.
Starring: Kellie Martin
Anything’s Possible
Anything’s Possible is a modern Gen Z coming-of-age story that follows Kelsa, a confident high school girl who is trans, as she navigates through senior year. When her classmate Khal gets a crush on her, he musters up the courage to ask her out.
Starring: Abubakr Ali, Eva Reign
Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe
Beavis and Butt-Head go on a space shuttle mission in 1998, fall into a black hole, and reemerge on Earth in 2022, where they are pursued by the NSA, the Governor of Texas, and a highly-intelligent version of themselves from a parallel universe.
Starring: Mike Judge, Gary Cole, Nat Faxon, Chi McBride, Andrea Savage
Black Girl Missing
Across the country, two girls go missing: one White, one Black. When police dismiss her daughter as a runaway, and the media diverts all attention to the other girl, a Black mother must investigate her daughter’s disappearance with only the help of a grassroots organization and community of internet sleuths.
Starring: Garcelle Beauvais, Linda Park, Iyana Halley, Taylor Mosby
Boston Strangler
A true-crime thriller about two female reporters who became the first journalists to connect the Boston Strangler murders of the 1960s. Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole pursued the story at great personal risk, putting their own lives on the line in their quest to uncover the truth.
Starring: Keira Knightley, Chris Cooper, Alessandro Nivola, Carrie Coon
A Christmas Story Christmas
Ralphie is all grown up in this sequel in which he must deal with Christmas and all that comes with it, now as a dad. Peter Billingsley returns to the role.
Starring: Peter Billingsley, Erinn Hayes, Julianna Layne, River Drosche, RD Robb, Ian Petrella, Davis Murphy, Zack Ward, Julie Hagerty
A Christmas… Present
Maggie (Candace Cameron Bure) wants to give her brother, Paul (Paul Fitzgerald), and niece the best Christmas possible after the death of Paul’s wife. Though Maggie’s desire is to aid her brother, his faith and parenting style help Maggie understand the need for faith and closeness in her own family.
Starring: Candace Cameron Bure, Marc Blucas, Paul Fitzgerald
Clock
Clock is the story of a woman who enrolls in a clinical trial to try and fix her seemingly broken biological clock after friends, family, and society pressures her to have children.
Starring: Dianna Agron, Melora Hardin, Jay Ali, Saul Rubinek
Cocoa
Two sisters bumble their way into a sweet, chocolate revenge.
Starring: Jody Mortara, Megan McGarvey, Cedric Gegel, Siena D’Addario, Artie Pasquale, Tony Cucci
Disenchanted
A live-action musical comedy and sequel to Enchanted about Giselle, the maiden from the fairytale world of Andalasia, and Robert, her Prince Charming from New York City, as they search for the perfect happily ever after in the sleepy suburban community of Monroeville.
Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Maya Rudolph, Idina Menzel
Do Revenge
After a clandestine run-in, Drea (Alpha, fallen it girl) and Eleanor (beta, new alt girl) team up to go after each other’s tormentors. A dark comedy featuring teenage girls.
Starring: Maya Hawke, Camila Mendes
Dog Gone
When his beloved dog goes missing, a young man embarks on an incredible search with his parents to find him and give him life-saving medication.
Starring: Rob Lowe, Johnny Berchtold, Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas
Follow Dolly’s desire to uplift an exhausted world’s spirits by sharing the unique mountain magic. Throughout the chaos, Dolly finds herself taking a journey guided by the mysterious appearances of her Three Wise Mountain Men.
Starring: Dolly Parton, Tom Everett Scott, Angel Parker, Mary Lane Haskell, Ana Gasteyer
Don’t Make Me Go
Don’t Make Me Go follows a single father and his reluctant teenage daughter as they embark on a cross country road trip, discovering new levels of their love for each other and the unexpected twists and turns life has in store.
Starring: John Cho, Mia Isaac
Father of the Bride
Father of the Bride is a modern rom-com updated from the classic that shows the surprising ways the heart can adapt in the name of love.
Starring: Andy Garcia, Gloria Estefan, Adria Arjona, Isabela Merced, Diego Boneta, Ana Fabrega, Enrique Murciano, Chloe Fineman, Laura Harring, Pedro Demian, Macarena Achaga, Ruben Rubasa
Fire Island
Set in the Fire Island Pines, Fire Island is a modern day rom-com inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The story centers around two best friends who set out to have a legendary week-long summer vacation with the help of cheap rosé and eclectic friends.
Starring: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, Matt Rogers, Tomás Matos, Torian Miller, Nick Adams, Zane Phillips, Margaret Cho
Goodnight Mommy
Twin brothers arrive at their mother’s country home to discover her face covered in bandages—the result, she explains, of recent cosmetic surgery. As her behavior grows increasingly erratic, a horrifying thought takes root in the boys’ minds: the sinking suspicion that the woman beneath the gauze isn’t their mother.
Starring: Naomi Watts, Cameron Crovetti, Nicholas Crovetti
Gwen Shamblin: Starving For Salvation
Based on a true story, Gwen Shamblin: Starving For Salvation stars Jennifer Grey as the controversial megachurch founder and Christian diet guru. Shamblin preached the virtue of a slim waist and the power of prayer for weight loss. With fame came money, power, and an iron-fisted grip on her followers.
Starring: Jennifer Grey
Hellraiser
A reinvention of the 1987 horror classic in which a young woman struggling with addiction comes into possession of an ancient puzzle box, unaware that its purpose is to summon the Cenobites, a group of sadistic supernatural beings from another dimension.
Starring: Odessa A’zion, Jamie Clayton
Hocus Pocus 2
It’s been 29 years since someone lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the wicked 17th-century Sanderson sisters, and they are looking for revenge. A live-action comedy and sequel to the Halloween classic.
Starring: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy
Honor Society
Honor is an ambitious high school senior focused on getting into an Ivy League college…assuming she can first score a recommendation from her guidance counselor. Honor concocts a Machiavellian-like plan to take down her student competitors, until things take a turn when she unexpectedly falls for her biggest competition.
Starring: Gaten Matarazzo, Angourie Rice, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Hotel for the Holidays
Georgia is manager of NY’s most charming hotel, Hotel Fontaine. She navigates romantic entanglements as she is caught between the hotel chef and a charming prince staying at the hotel over the holidays. In the days leading up to Christmas, the hotel’s staff and eclectic guests find love, friendship, inspiration.
Starring: Mena Massoud, Madelaine Petsch
Jerry & Marge Go Large
Jerry & Marge Go Large is inspired by the true story of retiree Jerry Selbee, who discovers a mathematical loophole in the Massachusetts lottery and, with the help of his wife Marge, wins millions and uses the money to revive their small Michigan town.
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening, Rainn Wilson, Larry Wilmore
Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas
Caught in a blizzard on Christmas Eve, estranged mother and daughter Journee and Nia take refuge inside a church where a handful of also-trapped parishioners are reeling from the cancellation of their annual holiday concert. With the help from the group of strangers, both band together to help.
Starring: Naturi Naughton, Luke James, Lorea Turner, Loren Lott
The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die
In the wake of King Edward’s death, Uhtred of Bebbanburg and his comrades adventure across a fractured kingdom in the hopes of uniting England at last.
Starring: Alexander Dreymon, Harry Gilby, Mark Rowley
Love Accidentally
Alexa and Jason are competing for a position at an advertising firm when their partners break up with them. Alexa mistakenly texts Jason, and they start a phone-only relationship. When they meet and the truth comes out, will true love prevail?
Starring: Aaron O’Connell, Brenda Song, Denise Richards
Meet Cute
Sheila discovers a nail salon tanning bed is a time machine and travels back to make her boyfriend more perfect, unaware of how meddling in the past could ruin the future.
Starring: Pete Davidson, Kaley Cuoco, Deborah S. Craig
My Best Friend’s Exorcism
In this darkly comedic horror-thriller set in 1988, teen best friends Abby (Elsie Fisher) and Gretchen (Amiah Miller) grapple with an otherworldly demon that takes up residence in Gretchen’s body.
Starring: Elsie Fisher, Amiah Miller
The Noel Diary
When Jake returns home at Christmas to settle his mother’s estate, he discovers a diary that holds secrets to his own past and that of Rachel’s, an intriguing woman on a mission of her own. Together, they embark on a journey to confront their pasts and discover an unexpected future.
Starring: Justin Hartley, Barrett Doss
Not Okay
An ambitious young woman (Zoey Deutch) finds followers and fame when she poses as the survivor of a deadly attack, but she soon learns that online notoriety comes with a terrible price.
Starring: Zoey Deutch, Dylan O’Brien, Mia Isaac, Embeth Davidtz, Nadia Alexander, Tia Dionne Hodge, Negin Farsad, Karan Soni, Dash Perry
On a Wing and a Prayer
In this true story, On A Wing And A Prayer follows passenger Doug White’s (Dennis Quaid) harrowing journey to safely land a plane and save his entire family from danger, after their pilot dies unexpectedly mid-flight.
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Heather Graham
Out of Office
Out of Office is an ensemble comedy. The story centers on a young woman (Milana Vayntrub) who finds that keeping her job is somehow tied to helping her boss (Ken Jeong) navigate his fast-failing marriage.
Starring: Ken Jeong, Jay Pharoah, Milana Vayntrub, Oscar Nuñez, Emily Pendergast, Chris Gethard, Chris Smith, Elaine Carroll, Cheri Oteri, Jim Rash, Paul F. Tompkins, Carmen Flood, Tony Rodriguez, Monte Markham, Jean St. James, Jason Alexander, Leslie Jones
The People We Hate at the Wedding
Dysfunctional American siblings Alice and Paul along with their ever-optimistic mom, are invited to the British wedding of their estranged half-sister Eloise as a chance to reconnect as – more or less – adults, and learn to love each other like they once did.
Starring: Ben Platt, Allison Janney, Kristen Bell
Peter Pan & Wendy
A live-action reimagining of the J.M. Barrie novel and 1953 animated classic about Wendy Darling, a young girl afraid to leave her childhood home behind, who meets Peter Pan, a boy who refuses to grow up, and embarks on a thrilling and dangerous adventure that will change her life forever.
Starring: Alexander Molony, Ever Anderson, Yara Shahidi, Jude Law
Pinocchio
A live action retelling of the tale of Pinocchio, a wooden puppet built by a carver who treats him as if he were his own son, who embarks on an adventure to become a real boy, accompanied by a cricket that serves as his guide and conscience.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Michael Key, Lorraine Bracco, Cynthia Erivo, Luke Evans
The Portable Door
Interns Paul and Sophie discover that their employers at a mysterious London firm are attempting to disrupt the world of magic with their unconventional business practices.
Starring: Patrick Gibson, Sophie Wilde, Miranda Otto, Rachel House, Chris Pang, Jessica De Gouw, Damon Herriman, Sam Neill, Christoph Waltz
Praise This
A young woman with dreams of being a superstar joins an underdog Atlanta choir praise team in the lead up to the national competition.
Starring: Chloe Bailey, Quavo, Druski, Anjelika Washington, Koryn Hawthorne
Prey
An action-thriller set in the Comanche Nation 300 years ago and entry in the Predator franchise about a young woman, a highly-skilled warrior, who stalks a highly-evolved alien predator with a technically advanced arsenal, resulting in a showdown between the two adversaries.
Starring: Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Stormee Kipp, Julian Black Antelope, Dane Diliegro, Michelle Thrush
The Princess
A fight to the death set in a fairy tale world about a beautiful, strong-willed princess kidnapped by the cruel sociopath to whom she is betrothed and refuses to wed, who sets out to seek revenge, protect her family, and save her kingdom.
Starring: Joey King, Dominic Cooper, Olga Kurylenko
Quasi
A hapless hunchback yearns for love, but finds himself in the middle of a murderous feud between the Pope and the king of France when each orders the hunchback to kill the other.
Starring: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske
Reality
June 3, 2017. Twenty-five-year-old Reality Winner is confronted at her home by the FBI – a cryptic conversation begins and soon her life starts to unravel. As more details of Reality’s life are revealed, a complex portrait emerges of an American millennial, yoga teacher, and veteran under siege.
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Josh Hamilton, Marchánt Davis
Reba McEntire’s The Hammer
Outspoken lawyer Kim Wheeler is appointed Judge of the 5th District of Nevada. After the reigning judge passes away under suspicious circumstances and the investigation of his death heats up, Kim’s sister, Kris suddenly becomes a suspect, and Kim must work even harder to ensure the appropriate justice is served.
Starring: Reba McEntire, Kay Shioma Metchie, Rex Linn, Melissa Peterman
Reno 911!: It’s A Wonderful Heist
It’s holiday season in Reno, and Lieutenant Dangle wishes he’d never been born. With the help of a roller skating Angel, he learns how much better the lives of the other deputies would be if he never existed. Will he decide to live on anyway? There’s Christmas criminals to catch!
Starring: Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Cedric Yarbrough, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Niecy NashBetts, Carlos Alazraqui, Mary Birdsong, Ian Roberts, Joe Lo Truglio
Rise
Emigrating from Nigeria to Greece, the Antetokounmpos struggled to survive, desperate to obtain Greek citizenship but blocked at every turn. Son Giannis learned to play basketball with a youth team and eventually entered the NBA Draft in a long shot prospect that would change the life of his entire family.
Starring: Dayo Okeniyi, Yetide Badaki, Uche Agada, Ral Agada
Rosaline
Rosaline is a comedic twist on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, told from the perspective of Juliet’s cousin Rosaline, who happens to be Romeo’s recent love interest. Heartbroken when Romeo meets Juliet and begins to pursue her, Rosaline schemes to foil the famous romance and win back her guy.
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Bradley Whitford, Isabela Merced
Run Sweetheart Run
After what begins as dinner with a client, a single mom (Ella Balinska) finds herself hunted by a monstrous and seemingly unstoppable assailant (Pilou Asbæk) in this dark thriller.
Starring: Pilou Asbæk, Ella Balinska
Rye Lane
Yas (Vivian Oparah) and Dom (David Jonsson), two twenty-somethings both reeling from bad break-ups, connect over the course of an eventful day in South London – helping each other deal with their nightmare exes, and potentially restoring their faith in romance.
Starring: David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah, Karene Peter, Benjamin Sarpong-Broni, Malcolm Atobrah, Alice Hewkin, Simon Manyonda, Poppy Allen-Quarmby
Samaritan
Thirteen year old Sam Cleary suspects that his mysteriously reclusive neighbor is actually the legendary vigilante Samaritan, who was reported dead 25 years ago. With crime on the rise and the city on the brink of chaos, Sam makes it his mission to coax his neighbor out of hiding.
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Javon “Wanna” Walton, Pilou Asbæk, Dascha Polanco, Moises Arias
Secret Headquarters
While hanging out after school, Charlie and his friends discover the headquarters of the world’s most powerful superhero hidden beneath his home. When villains attack, they must team up to defend the headquarters and save the world.
Starring: Owen Wilson
Shotgun Wedding
Darcy and Tom gather their families for the ultimate destination wedding. When the entire party is taken hostage, Darcy and Tom must save their loved ones—if they don’t kill each other first.
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel
Sick
While quarantining at her family’s lake house during the pandemic, Parker and her best friend are threatened by an unexpected visitor.
Starring: Gideon Adlon, Bethlehem Million, Marc Menchaca, Jane Adams
Significant Other
A young couple take a remote backpacking trip through the Pacific Northwest, but things take a dark turn when they realize they may not be alone.
Starring: Jake Lacy, Maika Monroe
Somebody I Used to Know
On a trip to her hometown, workaholic Ally (Alison Brie) reminisces with her first love Sean (Jay Ellis), and starts to question everything about the person she’s become. Things get more confusing when she meets Sean’s fiancé, Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons), who reminds her of the person she used to be.
Starring: Jay Ellis, Alison Brie
Something from Tiffany’s
In the holiday romance Something From Tiffany’s, one woman’s life is forever changed by an engagement ring meant for someone else.
Starring: Kendrick Sampson, Zoey Deutch
The Sound of Christmas
A woman, Montana, chooses to leave a dysfunctional relationship and faces eviction just before Christmas until a church member hires her as a live-in nanny for her two grandchildren, and her billionaire son, during the holiday season.
Starring: Ne-Yo, Serayah McNeil, Draya Michele, Roxzane T. Mims
Teen Wolf: The Movie
The wolves are howling once again, as a terrifying ancient evil emerges in Beacon Hills. Scott McCall, no longer a teenager yet still an Alpha, must gather new allies and reunite trusted friends to fight back against this powerful and deadly enemy.
Starring: Tyler Hoechlin, Tyler Posey, Crystal Reed, Holland Roden, Shelley Hennig, JR Bourne, Ian Bohen, Colton Haynes, Linden Ashby, Melissa Ponzio, Ryan Kelley, Seth Gilliam, Orny Adams, Dylan Sprayberry, Khylin Rhambo, Aaron Hendry, Vince Mattis, Amy Workman
The 12 Days of Christmas Eve
When Brian Conway, a successful but unhappy businessman, gets into a car accident on Christmas Eve, Santa gives him 12 chances to relive the day in order to repair the fractured relationships in his life and find the true meaning of Christmas.
Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Spencer Grammer
A Waltons Thanksgiving
Follows the Walton family as they prepare enthusiastically for the annual Harvest Festival Fair on Walton Mountain in 1934, but their lives are dramatically changed after a young boy arrives.
Starring: Bellamy Young, Logan Shroyer, Teddy Sears
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Daniel Radcliffe is Weird Al Yankovic in the story about the greatest musician and sex symbol of our time. Cast includes Evan Rachel Wood and Rainn Wilson.
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson, Al Yankovic
White Men Can’t Jump
This modern remix of the 1992 film celebrates Los Angeles’ streetball hustling culture where two ballers—opposites seemingly miles apart—find they might have more in common than they imagined possible.
Starring: Jack Harlow, Sinqua Walls, Teyana Taylor, Laura Harrier, Vince Staples
PREDICTthe 2023 Emmy nominations through July 12
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
Best of GoldDerby
Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
