2022 Emmys nominations slugfest: Editors root for underdogs
More than 3,000 people have already made their Emmy predictions at Gold Derby, so we have a general idea of who the front-runners are in each category. However, that won’t stop Gold Derby editors Chris Beachum, Marcus James Dixon, Daniel Montgomery and Denton Davidson from personally rooting for underdog contenders in all of the major comedy, drama and limited series categories. Watch our 2022 Emmys nominations slugfest above and then tell us in the comments section who YOU are hoping to see pop up on nominations morning, July 12.
COMEDY
Marcus advocates for “Abbott Elementary,” saying it’s “such a great show and it’s a network show — we love these broadcast network shows that always get snubbed.” He also notes how “Reservation Dogs” received “traction at some precursors during the winter season, but I hope Emmy voters are watching it and I hope it makes it into the lineup.”
Speaking of the Big Four networks, Daniel has his fingers crossed for the final season of “Black-ish” being that it’s “been the underdog for the entire eight-year run it’s been on the air.”
Chris brings up “Ghosts,” reminding viewers, “We’ve complained for years about the broadcast networks [being snubbed]… when they take a shot and the critics actually like the show and the public like the show, let’s reward that.” He also champions “Only Murders in the Building,” his favorite comedy “of the past five years.”
Denton thinks “PEN15” is “so funny… that’s always been one of my favorite comedies.” And when he brings up “The Sex Lives of College Girls” he concedes, “Maybe I like a little bit more of a raunchy comedy than Emmy voters do.”
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DRAMA
“There’s one that I would love to see that’s not quite at the borderline which is ‘Star Trek: Picard’ in its second season,” Daniel declares at the top of the drama series discussion. “I just want to throw that out there even though I think it’s a long shot.”
Denton has three words for Emmy voters: “This Is Us.” “It’s the farewell season and I think it went out on a strong note,” he says, noting that the series finale was also highly praised.
Marcus claims his favorite shows of the 2022 calendar year so far are “Stranger Things,” “Severance” and “This Is Us,” noting, “I would love if all three of them got in.” He explains how “Stranger Things” just came out a week ago so many of our Emmy pundits still haven’t seen it yet.
“Let me mention the two ‘Yellow’ shows,” Chris chimes in, referring to “Yellowjackets” and “Yellowstone.” “I would love to see Showtime back in the big races like they were with ‘Homeland’… and ‘Yellowstone’ has Oscar caliber people behind it with Taylor Sheridan and Kevin Costner.”
LIMITED
Chris begins the limited series chat, readily admitting, “I love ‘The Offer’ on Paramount+.” He generally loves things that are “historical Hollywood programs, whether they be TV or films, and I was just blown away by this.”
Denton’s underdog choices are “Pam & Tommy,” which he “didn’t expect to love as much as I did,” and “Gaslit,” which surprised him for not being as “boring” as he thought it’d be considering it chronicled the Watergate scandal.
Marcus jokes how he made the “stupid mistake” of starting “The Staircase” before it was over, and now he has to “wait each week to see what happens next” because he can’t get enough. And he reminds voters to give “Impeachment” another chance, even though the Ryan Murphy program didn’t receive the strongest support from critics.
Finally, Daniel hopes “Midnight Mass” is remembered come Emmy time, calling it both a “fun diversion” and an “incredibly good drama.” “You have a show about supernatural horror and it’s so driven by dialogue and character development and themes about faith and about this town that’s kind of lost its industry and wealth and promise.”
