Every year dozens of new drama series flood the TV airwaves, all praying for their chance to be anointed by the Emmys. Last year three first-season shows showed up in Best Drama Series: “The Bodyguard,” “Pose” and “Succession.” In 2018 no freshman dramas were recognized. And in 2017 a record-high number, five, made the cut: “The Handmaid’s Tale” (which won), “The Crown,” “Stranger Things,” “This Is Us” and “Westworld.” According to Gold Derby’s Emmy Experts from major media outlets, “The Morning Show” has the best shot of earning a series bid among all of this season’s newbies.
The Apple TV+ series has been the talk of Hollywood ever since it premiered on the streaming service in November, thanks in part to its timely and important subject matter. TV’s best friend Jennifer Aniston stars as an AM news anchor on a morning show that’s hit with a #MeToo scandal, so an inexperienced ingenue (Reese Witherspoon) is hired to replace the man under fire (Steve Carell).
SEE 2020 Emmy Best Drama Series Predictions
Gold Derby head honcho Tom O’Neil called the series “marvelously written, directed and produced” when it debuted, so it’s no surprise to see it in his Emmy predictions. He joins 13 other Experts (out of 23) who now forecast “TMS” will be nominated for Best Drama Series: Jen Chaney (Vulture), Debbie Day (Rotten Tomatoes), Tim Gray (Variety), Chris Harnick (E!), Matthew Jacobs (HuffPo), Ed Martin (Media Village), Lynette Rice (Ent. Weekly), Robert Rorke (New York Post), Jazz Tangcay (Variety), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), Ben Travers (Indiewire), Ken Tucker (Yahoo) and Susan Wloszczyna (Gold Derby).
That translates to 23/2 odds to win the top prize, behind front-runners “Succession” (5/1 odds), “The Crown” (13/2 odds), “Ozark” (13/2 odds) and “Better Call Saul” (13/2 odds). Rounding out our Experts’ Top 10 shows are “Westworld” (16/1 odds), “The Handmaid’s Tale” (16/1 odds), “Killing Eve” (18/1 odds), “Pose” (25/1 odds) and “Big Little Lies” (25/1 odds). Notice that all of these programs have been on the air for longer than a year, which means our Experts are convinced “The Morning Show” will be the only newcomer in the race. Gold Derby’s website Editors agree.
What does “The Morning Show” have that so many other first-year shows don’t? Red-hot momentum. It’s coming off a successful precursor awards run that included Golden Globes nominations for Best Drama Series and Best Drama Actress (Aniston and Witherspoon), a Screen Actors Guild victory for Aniston and a Critics’ Choice Awards triumph for Billy Crudup. Cast members to watch out for at the 2020 Emmys are Aniston, Witherspoon and Carell in lead, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mark Duplass and Crudup in supporting.
Other new dramas with an outside chance are “The Outsider,” “Euphoria” and “The Mandalorian,” according to our Experts. However, all news shows have an uphill climb in reaching Emmy voters in the era of COVID-19. Because of the outbreak, there are no FYC sessions this awards season, no screenings, no meet-and-greets, etc. The TV academy also outlawed DVDs this year, so the only way networks and studios can sway the masses are by sending out email blasts with links to watch their content in online screening rooms.
Be sure to make your Emmy nominations predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before the nominees are announced on July 28. And join in the thrilling debate over the 2020 Emmy Awards taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our TV forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
