There's Too Much Great TV For the 2020 Emmy Nominations to Really Get It Right
For the past couple of years, the Emmys have gotten a little bit closer to getting it right. But even in a year full of welcomed surprises (What We Do in the Shadows! Zendaya! Major love for Schitt’s Creek!), there’s always work that needs to be done. In an industry that's continually reckoning with its failure at diversity and inclusion, it's refreshing to see the Academy highlight the incredible work of BIPOC performers in many categories this year. That Supporting Actor in a Comedy category is marvelously comprehensive. But somehow, other categories continue to celebrate the type of snooty prestige that makes awards shows like these feel antiquated.
This year, the Emmys got more right than they have in a while. Seeing underdog series like Schitt’s Creek and The Good Place rise to the top is a satisfying treat. Even favorites like Succession and Watchmen feel fun to root for. That said, to get everything right is impossible, if for no other reason than there's simply too much television being watched by all this year. Even Quibi landed nominations, and statistically speaking, no one really watched Quibi. In a perfect world, this would mean the best-of-the-best would rise to the top for nominations. And even though there are some highlights, the Emmys still have some gaping holes for shows and performers they simply overlooked.
On the series front, it’s an exciting year for comedy fans—out of the three major verticals series and performers fall into, it’s comedy that offers up some of the most intriguing face offs this year. In the drama realm, the genre is Succession domain. And Mrs. America and Watchmen are the stalwarts in the limited series, but encapsulating it all in one rundown is impossible. Below, check out our breakdown of the 2020 Emmys nominations.
Drama Series
Better Call Saul
The Crown
The Handmaid’s Tale
Killing Eve
The Mandalorian
Ozark
Stranger Things
Succession
Making your way through the list, everything seems normal and then BAM! It’s The Mandalorian. What a perfectly batty, yet inspired choice for this list. Of course, none of these are particularly surprising, given that they’re the populist choices. Stranger Things is maybe an outsider (when you take The Mandalorian out of the equation), but these all feel like consolation nominations before Succession wins. A surprise miss from this category is The Outsider, but what can you do?
Drama Actor
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Brian Cox, Succession
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession
It’s nice to see Brian Cox and Billy Porter back on the same ballot. Bateman is a fine regular addition to this category. It’s surprising to see Steve Carell’s name on this list—especially for The Morning Show over Space Force, which got no love in the major categories.
Drama Actress
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Zendaya, Euphoria
Zendaya! For Euphoria! What a delightful surprise in the rigmarole. It’s also nice to see Sandra Oh in contention again for Killing Eve. Notice that Elisabeth Moss has finally been edged out for lead actress. While this ultimately feels like Olivia Colman’s Emmy to take, it’s an exciting field nonetheless.
Drama Supporting Actor
Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul
Nicholas Braun, Succession
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Matthew Macfayden, Succession
Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid's Tale
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Mark Duplass, The Morning Show
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld
Wow, Emmys voters sure loved The Morning Show more than any critics. Anyway, it looks like this is going to be a big showdown between The Morning Show and Succession. Although you never know if they’ll split all their votes and Jeffrey Wright will win for a baffling season of Westworld. Our money is on Kieran here.
Drama Supporting Actress
Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
Fiona Shaw, Killing Eve
Julia Garner, Ozark
Sarah Snook, Succession
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Samira Wiley, The Handmaid's Tale
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Supporting actress in any field tends to be some of the most exciting nominations, and yet, this is only okay. Almost any of these spots could have gone to Cynthia Erivo for The Outsider, for what it’s worth. Though, how can you not nominate Dern and Streep, even if Big Little Lies: 2 Scattered 2 Care was a narrative flop? Thandie Newton continued to outdo herself on Westworld, but in the drama category, it’s difficult to ignore Helena Bonham Carter, whose portrayal of Princess Margaret was as comical as it was poignantly lonely. In a field of uninspiring nominations, the Academy's bizarre refusal to nominate any of the trans women from Pose is all the more damning. While MJ Rodriguez is more likely a lead actress contender, tossing aside Angelica Ross’ turn as Candy in Season Two feels negligent. And Dominique Jackson’s reactions alone are worth a trophy. PS: I already miss the prospect of Ann Dowd saying “hoo-loo.”
Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dead to Me
The Good Place
Insecure
The Kominsky Method
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Schitt’s Creek
What We Do in the Shadows
This is, of course, a celebration for The Good Place and Schitt’s Creek, who both celebrated their final seasons this past year, but in the whole pack, the exciting name is What We Do in the Shadows. The FX series is a steady favorite. In terms of snubs, Orange is the New Black’s inspired final season was ignored, along with the brilliant, if not covert, Los Espookys. It also would have been nice to see Mythic Quest or It’s Always Sunny pull out a left-field surprise nomination.
Comedy Actor
Anthony Anderson, Blackish
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Again, it would have been nice to see Julio Torres pull out a surprise for Los Espookys, as would it have been for James Marsden to lock one in for Dead to Me (a truly egregious snub), but the list is solid this year. Eugene should be in the lead. Shoutout to the throwback nomination for Blackish.
Comedy Actress
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracee Ellis Ross, Blackish
The first snub category for Merritt Wever and the shut-out HBO series, Run. It also would have been nice to see Elle Fanning make the list, but it’s hard to complain when Catherine O’Hara and Christina Applegate cleared the bar. Another addendum: strange, but welcomed, inclusion of Tracee Ellis Ross for Blackish.
Comedy Supporting Actor
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Mahershala Ali, Ramy
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
Dan Levy, Schitt's Creek
William Jackson Harper, The Good Place
Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
This is a perfect category. No complaints. Only good vibes. Just look at it. Andre Braugher, after years of Brooklyn Nine-Nine? A surprise nomination for William Jackson Harper? Dan Levy and Kenan Thompson and a double nomination for Sterling K. Brown? This is the rare beast of an occurrence… an exciting supporting actor category.
Comedy Supporting Actress
Betty Gilpin, GLOW
Yvonne Orji, Insecure
Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Annie Murphy, Schitt's Creek
D'Arcy Carden, The Good Place
Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
This is both an exciting category and a clear example of wasted space. Nominations for Yvonne Orji, Cecily Strong, Annie Murphy, and D’Arcy Carden are just monumentally wonderful. But Maisel’s lackluster third season puts Borstein and Hinkle’s nominations into question. And while GLOW is a critical darling, Gilpin’s gritty turn in The Hunt was more commendable than GLOW.
Limited Series
Little Fires Everywhere
Mrs. America
Unbelievable
Unorthodox
Watchmen
Thank goodness Unbelievable got the nomination here because it struggled in its other categories. Mrs. America has the benefit of newness from this list, but Watchmen is the truly deserving limited series here. Don’t even get me started on Little Fires Everywhere. Though it was never going to be in the cards, it’s a sad miss this year for Years and Years, which produced some of the most affecting television this year.
Movie
American Son
Bad Education
Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: These Old Bones
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend
What a perfectly peculiar line up. Bad Education and El Camino seem ripe for a face off, but how adorable that Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings snuck in here.
Limited Series/Movie Actor
Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much is True
Hollywood is The Morning Show of the limited series category. For people to really not have liked either series, they sure did embrace the acting. With that said, Mark Ruffalo played twins in I Know This Much is True, and though the series is a MAJOR bummer, ignoring his work in it is nearly impossible.
Limited Series/Movie Actress
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Regina King, Watchmen
Octavia Spencer, Self Made
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere
A truly chaotic category if there were one. In a perfect world, this goes to Regina King for her flawless performance in Watchmen. In a surprisingly perfect world, Octavia Spencer or Shira Haas win, though it’s unlikely. In the world we live in, Cate Blanchett will win because Cate Blanchett did television. And I don’t have the time or energy to fully flesh out what a comical decision it was to nominate Kerry Washington’s performance in Little Fires Everywhere. Laughable. Merrit Wever and Kaitlyn Dever were looked over for Unbelievable and Emma Thompson’s sadistic portrayal of a Trumpian-like figure on Years and Years got the brush off for much less.
Limited Series /Movie Supporting Actor
Dylan McDermott, Hollywood
Jim Parson, Hollywood
Titus Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen
Jovan Adepo, Watchmen
Louis Gossett Jr., Watchmen
Another big face off between Watchmen and Hollywood. If the academy gets it right, Yahya or Jovan will bag the trophy.
Limited Series/Movie Supporting Actress
Holland Taylor, Hollywood
Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America
Margo Martindale, Mrs. America
Tracey Ullman, Mrs. America
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Jean Smart, Watchmen
This is such a dizzying category of very good performances that cancel each other out. Calling it early: Margo Martindale and Tracey Ullman’s deserved nominations will likely cancel each other out. Holland Taylor’s Hollywood performance was fine, but not enough to unseat the three-way runoff between Uzo Aduba’s commitment to Shirley Chisholm in Mrs. America, Toni Collette’s powerhouse turn in Unbelievable, and the predictable genius of Jean Smart in Watchmen.
Reality Show
The Masked Singer
Nailed It!
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Top Chef
The Voice
How intriguing would it be if this category were a competition again? Drag Race is the likely win, though a surprise bump from The Masked Singer would be hysterically 2020.
Variety Talk Series
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
See reality show analysis. Sub in John Oliver.
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