‘The Curse’: From critics darling to Emmys favorite

Showtime’s “The Curse” is one of the most unique TV entries of the past year. The acclaimed drama series from Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie follows a newly married couple (Fielder and Oscar-winner Emma Stone) who host an HGTV show trying to conceive a child while navigating a curse.

The show’s tone and style, a satirical black comedy, makes for extraordinary viewing and while it is classified as a drama for awards purposes, it transcends genre classification in reality. Critics agree, this is one of the most unique and colorful TV shows out there.

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Richard Roeper (Chicago Sun-Times) explained: “To its credit, ‘The Curse’ never takes its foot off the pedal, to the point where we’re absolutely sure Whitney and Asher are going to crash and burn — yet we’re still not prepared for the inspired lunacy of the fate that awaits them.”

Nick Schager (Daily Beast) wrote: “Led by Emma Stone in what may be the finest performance of her career, it’s simultaneously choke-on-your-laughter weird and squirm-inducingly terrifying, the two climaxing in a finale of mind-boggling insanity.”

Kristen Baldwin (Entertainment Weekly) stated: “Blending cringe comedy with contemplative character study and undertones of horror, The Curse is unrelentingly odd and tough to forget.”

Suzannah Ramsdale (London Evening Standard) opined: “It jack-knifes from awkward to tense to borderline horror to hysterical to surreal and it’s one of the best shows I’ve seen this year.”

Barry Hertz (Globe and Mail) declared: “‘The Curse’ is the most exciting, innovative and delightfully uncomfortable series of the year.”

“The Curse”has scored so well with critics that it merits an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%. Shows with that high a score are almost always nominated at the Emmys. Indeed, this is a higher score than seven out of eight of last year’s Best Drama Series nominees. “Yellowjackets” season two scored 93%, the sophomore season of “The White Lotus” achieved a 94% grade, the inaugural season of “The Last of Us” came in at 96%, “House of the Dragon” season one scored 93%, “The Crown” disappointed with its fifth season with just 71%, the debut outing of “Andor” achieved 96%, and even the fourth and final season of “Succession” scored 97%. Only the sixth and final season of “Better Call Saul” fared better with 99%.

As a result, “The Curse” is expected to be a major Emmy contender. We are predicting it to land an Emmy nomination for Best Drama Series alongside “The Crown,” “The Morning Show,” “The Gilded Age,” “Slow Horses,” “3 Body Problem,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” and “Loki.”

And there are several more reasons to believe this debut show can make it into the Emmy lineup.

First, it’s already scored a few key nominations. Stone picked up a Best Drama TV Actress bid at this year’s Golden Globes, the same night she won Best Comedy Movie Actress for “Poor Things.” Safdie was nominated for Best New Series Supporting Performance at the Independent Spirit Awards while it was recognized for Best Drama Series at the WGA Awards. It has current awards currency and it feels like it’s about to pop. The Emmys could be the ones holding the pin.

Secondly, plenty of adored shows have been nominated for Best Drama Series for their debut season, including the likes of “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Andor,” “Yellowjackets,” “Squid Game,” “Severance,” “Lovecraft Country,” “Bridgerton,” and “The Mandalorian.” And that’s just in the last three years — tons of shows earn nominations for their first seasons and “The Curse” could follow.

It is also a show with a very specific tone that caters to a very specific taste. You might think that this divisive quality might hurt the show’s chances, but it doesn’t. Emmy voters often nominate these types of dramas for the big prize, including “Yellowjackets,” “Severance,” “Lovecraft Country,” and “The Boys.”

Furthermore, having Stone involved is a huge help. She is now a two-time Oscar winner after she followed up her 2017 Best Actress win for “La La Land” with a victory this year for “Poor Things.” Having a respected, big-name movie star involved front and center will give “The Curse” a boost in the same way it has done for several shows. Recent such nominees include “The Last of Us” with Pedro Pascal,” “Euphoria” with Zendaya, “Westworld” with Anthony Hopkins, and “The Crown” with Olivia Colman.

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?

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