Many Emmy predictors have coalesced around Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek” for Best Comedy Series and HBO’s “Succession” for Best Drama Series, but neither race is a done deal. Both races have stiff competition, with “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Insecure” as plausible threats to take down the quirky comedy and “Ozark” and “The Crown” looking to be the true successor to “Game of Thrones” in the drama category. Gold Derby contributing editor Riley Chow and contributing writer Luca Giliberti join me in a new slugfest to break down both categories (watch the video above).
While I note that “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is a far more expensive-looking series than “Schitt’s Creek,” which could tip the scales a bit for voters from the below-the-line craft branches, Chow thinks “Schitt’s Creek” has one key ingredient over “Maisel.” “That ‘Maisel’ is missing nominations like Jane Lynch I find more concerning because a show like ‘Schitt’s Creek’ might not be watched by all of the academy, and that might not matter because it only needs passion,” suggests Chow. Gilberti adds that if you “read the temperature in the room,” all signs are pointing to “Schitt’s Creek” for its final season. But what if it’s neither “Schitt’s Creek” nor “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”? As I point out, “Insecure” has a distinct advantage as a Black-centric story in a year of increased consciousness in the mainstream about acknowledging Black stories. “That does give it a slight boost that it wouldn’t have had in previous years because of 2020.”
For Best Drama Series, all signs may point to “Succession,” with half of its Emmy nominations this year for acting, but Chow argues that “Ozark actually did better than ‘Succession'” with overall support, taking up three slots in Best Drama Writing on top of numerous craft bids. Even still, he concedes that “Succession” did “get the nominations that it needed” to win the big prize. I wonder how much the craft awards will actually matter to the Drama Series category, stating that even if “Succession” wins nothing at the Creative Arts Emmys, “it ultimately might not matter because the actors just love it so much.” We agree that third in the race is “The Crown,” which maintained 13 nominations for its third season just like Seasons 1 and 2. “‘The Crown’ is a show that I still consider to be respected than it is beloved,” offers Giliberti. “I don’t think it has enough passion, at least yet, to take that Drama Series prize.”
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