Emmys Upside Down: How ‘Stranger Things’ can win in January 2024 for an episode that aired in July 2022

Marcus James Dixon
·4 min read
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The Season 4 finale of “Stranger Things,” which streamed July 1, 2022 on Netflix, was recently nominated for six Emmy Awards: music supervision, non-prosthetic makeup, sound editing, sound mixing and stunt performance (x2). However, due to the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes, the upcoming Emmys, which were supposed to take place in September 2023, have been pushed back to January 2024. That means the heralded episode in question, titled “The Piggyback,” will have to wait an astounding 555 days between airing and trophy-bestowing.

To clarify: the Creative Arts Emmys (mostly for below-the-line and technical achievements) will now take place January 6 and 7 of 2024, and the main Primetime Emmys (mostly for series, actors, writers and directors) are scheduled for one week later on Monday, January 15.

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SEEDavid Klotz (‘Dahmer,’ ‘House of the Dragon,’ ‘Stranger Things’ music editor) on 3 Emmy nominations for bringing these shows to life through music [Exclusive Video Interview]

All six of “Stranger Things'” nominations this time around will be doled out at the Creative Arts. But that doesn’t mean it was snubbed in the top races. Indeed, the Duffer Brothers‘ sci-fi megahit straddled its most recent season over two consecutive Emmy cycles, so it was eligible at both the 2022 ceremony and this year’s kudos.

The first seven episodes of “Stranger Things 4” streamed on May 27, 2022 and nabbed 13 nominations, winning five trophies for music supervision, prosthetic makeup, sound editing, sound mixing and stunt coordination. And the last two episodes streamed on July 1, 2022, a full month after the eligibility period ended. The TV academy stipulated that those were “orphaned” episodes and could compete at the following awards show, but only in “certain individual achievement categories” — i.e. not Best Drama Series or for any of its lead or supporting actors.

Here is the specific Emmy rule: “If a series qualifies in the current eligibility year, but has additional episodes from its current season premiering after May 31, those episodes will gain Emmy eligibility with the series’ subsequent season. If the series doesn’t return in the subsequent Emmy competition, those episodes would be eligible as single ‘orphaned’ episodes in certain individual achievement categories. Submission for a body of work (including series and acting categories) would not be eligible under the ‘orphaned’ episodes rule.”

SEELinda Hamilton joins the cast of ‘Stranger Things’ for final season

“The Piggyback” served as the fourth season finale and had an astounding running time of two hours and 30 minutes. That’s longer than most feature films. During the fan-fave episode, our various groups of heroes fought sinister forces, both on the surface and in the Upside Down. In the end, the survivors watched as Hawkins was slowly being invaded by evil from the Upside Down. Production on the fifth and final season has been halted due to the ongoing strikes, so viewers will have to keep waiting to see how the characters try to save the world this time.

Here’s a closer look at the six Emmy nominations for “Stranger Things” Season 4 (Part 2):

Best Period/Character Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
Amy L. Forsythe, Department Head Makeup Artist
Devin Morales, Co-Department Head Makeup Artist
Erin Keith, Key Makeup Artist
Nataleigh Verrengia, Key Makeup Artist
Benji Dove, Makeup Artist
Jan Rooney, Makeup Artist
Lisa Poe, Makeup Artist
Rocco Gaglioti, Jr., Makeup Artist

Best Music Supervision
Nora Felder, Music Supervisor

Best Sound Editing (One Hour)
Craig Henighan, MPSE, Co-Supervising Sound Editor William Files, MPSE, Co-Supervising Sound Editor
Jill Purdy, MPSE, Dialogue Editor
Lee Gilmore, MPSE, Sound Effects Editor
Ryan Cole, MPSE, Sound Editor
Korey Pereira, MPSE, Sound Editor
Angelo Palazzo, MPSE, Sound Editor
Katie Halliday, MPSE, Sound Editor
David Klotz, Music Editor
Lena Glikson-Nezhelskaya, Music Editor
Ken McGill, Sound Effects/Foley Editor
Steve Baine, Foley Artist

Best Sound Mixing (One Hour)
Craig Henighan, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer William Files, CAS, Re-Recording Mixer
Mark Paterson, Re-Recording Mixer
Michael P. Clark, CAS, Production Mixer

Best Stunt Performance
Jahnel Curfman, Stunt Performer
Niko Dalman, Stunt Performer
Shannon Beshears, Stunt Performer

Best Stunt Performance
Courtney Schwartz, Stunt Performer
Michelle Andrea Adams, Stunt Performer

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