Emmys 2020 predictions slugfest: Still too early to call Limited Series races?
Netflix could almost fill the Best Limited Series category at the Emmys this year — with shows that they have not even released yet: Damien Chazelle‘s “The Eddy,” Julian Fellowes‘ “The English Game,” Ryan Murphy‘s “Hollywood” and Octavia Spencer‘s “Self Made” are major contenders. HBO also has four miniseries that are unseen, nine months into the 12-month eligibility period: Derek Cianfrance‘s “I Know This Much is True,” David Simon‘s “The Plot Against America,” Dennis Kelly‘s “The Third Day” and David E. Kelley‘s “The Undoing.” And that’s not even mentioning forthcoming offerings from Amazon, Apple, Epix, FX, Hulu, National Geographic and Showtime.
“We’ll see if anything that we’ve seen so far gets a nomination in any category,” I joke to Associate Editor Zach Laws and Contributing Writer Luca Giliberti in our first slugfest of the season about this year’s Limited Series and TV Movie races (watch above). HBO’s “Watchmen” leads Gold Derby’s odds for Best Limited Series after contending as a drama at the winter awards, winning Best Drama Directing from the Directors Guild, Best New Series from the Writers Guild and both Best Drama Actress for Regina King and Best Drama Supporting Actress for Jean Smart at the Critics’ Choice Awards. Also from 2019, Netflix’s “Unbelievable” ranks second.
“We don’t know how these other shows are going to fare,” explains Laws of why “Watchmen” and “Unbelievable” lead the odds for now before offering some unique insight about “Hollywood,” having seen a few episodes. “It’s impeccably made — it’s going to dominate the craft categories. I don’t know what the dollar amount was on the budget, but Netflix seems to have spent a lot to recreate the Hollywood of post-World War II and you’re going to see possibly Emmy nominations and perhaps even wins for people like Jim Parsons, who has a very juicy role, Patti LuPone, Holland Taylor; Darren Criss is also prominently featured.”
With three-time reigning Best TV Movie champion “Black Mirror” being shuffled to the Best Limited Series race because of a new rule, the former race is open for the win. Yet there are not many contenders because the networks have largely gotten out of the game of making prestige films, hence the last several awards curiously going to ongoing series “Black Mirror” and “Sherlock.” The “Breaking Bad” sequel “El Camino” leads our odds, followed by “Bad Education,” an independent film that HBO acquired after a festival run. “It’ll be between those two until the very end,” foretells Giliberti. The Gold Derby predictions center has a mere 12 options to fill the five nomination slots, compared to 37 for Best Limited Series. “This is much more competitive than it’s ever been,” Giliberti concludes about the latter.
