Will ‘George and Tammy’ be the latest showbiz couple to make a splash at the Emmys?

“George and Tammy” is just outside Gold Derby’s Best Limited Series top five, but considering Emmy voters find shows about turbulent real-life celebrity marriages nearly as irresistible as “The White Lotus,” we might be underestimating this six-part dramatization of country singers George Jones (Michael Shannon) and Tammy Wynette’s (Jessica Chastain) thirty-year romantic and artistic relationship.

In 2019, FX’s “Fosse/Verdon” scored nominations for Limited Series, Actress (eventual winner Michelle Williams), Actor (Sam Rockwell), Supporting Actress (Margaret Qualley) and its writing and directing. Positive reviews and high placement in the odds that year made the inclusion of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon’s connubial saga all but obvious. Qualley’s nomination, however, came as something of a shock. The actress was down in 18th place but outgunned Emma Thompson (“King Lear”), Sally Field (“Maniac”) and Eliza Scanlen (“Sharp Objects”). 

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Hulu’s “Pam and Tommy” premiered in the spring ‘22 to solid but unspectacular reviews and ranked 14th in the odds. Nevertheless, it edged out “Maid,” “The Staircase” and “Under the Banner of Heaven” for a Limited Series slot in one of the season’s biggest surprises. It also, like “Fosse/Verdon,” got three acting nominations. Lily James and Sebastian Stan were easy calls for their transformations into Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, but Seth Rogen, who’d been in seventh place the morning nominations were announced, was less expected.

At the moment, “George and Tammy” is bumping elbows for sixth place with Amazon’s similarly backdropped musical mockumentary, “Daisy Jones and the Six.” In the top five, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is holding onto first, “Black Bird,” in second, also seems like a lock, and, despite its fourth-place ranking, so does “Beef,” the internet’s favorite new series – but “George and Tammy” could supplant FX’s lesser-seen “Fleishman Is In Trouble” or HBO’s “The White House Plumbers,” which just premiered and has already been overtaken by Netflix’s road-rage dramedy.

SEE Making of ‘George and Tammy’: Lively roundtable with Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain and creator Abe Sylvia 

Besides satisfying a demonstrated preference, the show stars SAG winner and current Movie/Limited Series Actress frontrunner, Chastain, and has a very likely contender in Shannon (sixth in Best Actor). On its best day, it could even wrangle a supporting nom for Walton Goggins (15th) or Steve Zahn (21st), both of whom have been recognized by the television academy before (the latter only a year ago for “The White Lotus”). Given just how competitive that race is this season, it would be a feat perhaps even greater than Qualley’s.

“Fosse/Verdon” and “Pam and Tommy” both won Best Makeup (Non-Prosthetic) and were nominated for their hairstyling and costume design, below-the-line categories in which Showtime’s decade-spanning drama shouldn’t have trouble competing. From the series’ subject to its cast, “George and Tammy” too greatly resembles a formidable Emmy vehicle to be discounted.

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