What a difference four weeks makes. The Netflix limited series “Unorthodox,” about an Orthodox Jewish woman who flees to Germany to live a more secular life, premiered on the streaming service in March, and in recent weeks it has been steadily rising in the Emmy predictions of the Expert journalists we’ve surveyed. Could it make history by winning Best Limited Series as a primarily Yiddish-language program?
About four weeks ago on Friday, May 8, there was only one Expert predicting that it would be nominated for the top prize. Then on May 15 there were three Experts predicting a nom and one predicting a win. It went up again on May 22 with four Experts predicting a nom and one predicting a win. Then on May 29 it was six Experts predicting a nom and one betting on a win. As of June 5 that’s up to seven who say it will make the cut, while there’s still one maverick who declares it the front-runner.
Those seven Experts currently forecasting a nomination for the series are Debbie Day (Rotten Tomatoes), Eric Deggans (NPR), Ed Martin (Media Village), Mary Murphy (Gold Derby), Robert Rorke, Anne Thompson (IndieWire) and Susan Wloszczyna (Gold Derby). Day is the journo who has been predicting a victory for “Unorthodox” for the last few weeks.
The series has the benefit of great reviews (85 on MetaCritic, 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), and it has generated its buzz in a foreign language and without A-list stars, which is a testament to the show given all the viewing options on Netflix. But that glut of programming from Netflix may also be its biggest Emmy challenge, since the streaming service has other high-profile limited series competing for eyeballs and votes like “Hollywood” and “Unbelievable,” both of which rank higher in our odds … for now. Do you think “Unorthodox” will break through alongside those other programs, or maybe even ahead of them?
Be sure to make your Emmy predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV 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 fun debate over the 2020 Emmys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our television forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
