Today, we look at whether the best shows getting the most acting nominations is a problem or not.
Knowledge Waits is a feature where I just share some bit of pop culture history that interests me that doesn’t quite fit into the other features.
Okay, first off, I think it is fair to note a few things about the recent Emmy Award nominations.
1. It is unfortunate for fans of other shows when the top shows with big casts soak up all of the acting nominations. I 100% get that that is a pain in the ass for you as a fan of whatever show that didn’t get nominated because Severance and White Lotus were soaking up all of the nominations (and yet somehow Dichen Lachman didn’t get nominated).
2. It’s especially irritating that The White Lotus is inherently an ensemble, so all of the actors submit for Best Supporting Actor/Actress and Best Guest Actor/Actress, and thus that gets those categories more crowded than if they had actors who could go for the Best Actor/Actress category.
3. The White Lotus shouldn’t even really be in “Best Drama Series,” as it is really more of an anthology, which allows them to get some top name actors who are willing to commit for just one season, a season that can give them more unpredictable plots due to it being just a “one and done” situation for most of them. Since there are SOME connecting tissue between the seasons (some characters carry over), I get why it has to be this way, but it gives The White Lotus a big advantage when it comes to nominations.
That said, at the end of the day, if the best eligible acting performances come from these shows, why would you want to punish the actors by limiting shows to two nominees in each category? If the best supporting casts are in these shows, they should be nominated for the best supporting casts! It’s not like this stuff carries on forever. Some other show will come along and knock some of the actors off of the block eventually.
The West Wing used to own the Best Supporting Actor category…until it didn’t. Same with L.A. Law. Same with Hill Street Blues. If you really want the best approximation of what the best acting on television was in any given year, sometimes it just means that certain shows are going to own certain categories. I don’t think it is something that you should regulate.
Brian, what are the chances that with 100+ shows eligible, the best supporting roles all came from the same 2 or 3 shows?
What are the chances voters even watched more than a handful?