It’s time once again to celebrate the best of American television, which, let’s face it, we still watch a lot of in this country. Monday, Sept. 14 is the annual Primetime Emmy Awards broadcast, airing live at 8 p.m. ET on CTV and Crave.
Will the ceremony drag on? Will some of the jokes fall flatter than parts of Rogers Stadium? (Too much?) Will we yawn at acceptance speeches that are little more than lists of names? Sure, but there will also be enjoyable moments for those of us devoted to the small screen.
I’m personally invested in the showdown between reigning best comedy champ “Hacks” and upstart “Widow’s Bay.” While the former had an enjoyable final season, “Widow’s Bay” delighted with its mix of low-key comedy and old-school horror, and I’d be happy to see it take the crown.
Read on for a look at that match-up, plus four other things to watch for going into Monday’s awards.
Is it horror or Hollywood?
The most interesting race comes in outstanding comedy where “Widow’s Bay,” a horror-comedy hybrid about a haunted island, is up against defending champ “Hacks,” a showbiz satire about an aging female comedian battling to stay on top.
The latter has won outstanding comedy series twice while lead Jean Smart won best actress for each of its first four seasons, which she’s set to repeat on Monday.
This is the television academy’s last chance to honour “Hacks.” Yet “Widow’s Bay” became a massive word-of-mouth hit after its spring debut. It has 19 nominations to “Hacks”’ 24, but nominations don’t guarantee wins. Just ask “Severance,” which got trounced by the less nominated “The Pitt” in drama last year.
Most persuasively, “Widow’s Bay” took eight trophies to “Hacks”’ one at Sunday’s precursor ceremony, previously known as the Creative Arts Emmys.
No matter what happens in the top category, “Widow’s Bay” star Matthew Rhys has a seeming lock on lead actor and deservedly so. Sorry Martin Short.
Doctors vs. aliens
The drama race is nowhere near as suspenseful since “The Pitt” is widely expected to take outstanding drama series for the second year in a row. Its main competition, “Pluribus,” a sci-fi series about humanity being subsumed into an alien hive mind, hasn’t generated anywhere near the water-cooler cachet of “The Pitt,” a fast-paced, thought-provoking ER drama in the mould of, well, “ER.”
For “Pluribus” to triumph would be a major upset.
That being said, I expect (and hope for) “Pluribus” star Rhea Seehorn to take best lead actress for her bravura performance as the misanthropic Carol, humanity’s unlikely would-be saviour.
“Pitt” star Noah Wyle seems like a shoo-in for another lead actor trophy, as does Katherine LaNasa as supporting actress. I mean, who in their right mind would mess with nurse Dana?
O Canada?
Canada hasn’t had a big night at the Emmys since “Schitt’s Creek” swept the televised comedy categories in 2020. Last year, we claimed bragging rights by proxy for best comedy “The Studio,” which was co-created by two Canadians and starred a couple of them (including the late, great Catherine O’Hara).
This year, Canada’s “Heated Rivalry” was arguably the most talked about show on the planet after its late November debut but was ineligible for the Emmys. Unlike “Schitt’s Creek,” it didn’t have an American co-producer, just an American distributor. (As an aside, it was named program of the year by the U.S.-based Television Critics Association, of which I am a member.)
We can expect to see Canadian producer R. Scott Gemmill onstage when “The Pitt” wins best drama — maybe twice if Gemmill also wins for drama writing.
Hamiltonian Martin Short is up for lead actor in a comedy series for “Only Murders in the Building” for a fifth time but is destined to lose once again.
At least B.C.’s Michael J. Fox should be on hand to accept the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his advocacy for Parkinson’s disease research. On Sunday, he lost guest actor for “Shrinking” to the late Rob Reiner for “The Bear.” (Connor Storrie, “Heated Rivalry”’s American lead, also lost to Reiner. He was nominated for “Saturday Night Live,” probably because voters couldn’t nominate him for “HR.”)
Limited series, limited exposure
The TV academy bumped several limited series categories from the main ceremony to last weekend’s non-televised events, including writing, directing, and supporting actor and actress. So unlike last year, when we got to watch “Adolescence” claim six out of seven possible limited series trophies, only three will be presented Monday night: lead actor, lead actress and outstanding limited series.
That was particularly bad news for the Jason Bateman-David Harbour dramedy “DTF St. Louis,” which submitted all of its actors in the supporting categories. Sure, Harbour and Linda Cardellini won on Sunday, but millions of TV viewers didn’t get to watch.
In past years, limited series has yielded some of the most exciting races. This year, the five nominated shows are fine, but there’s no “Adolescence,” “Baby Reindeer” or even “The Queen’s Gambit” in the bunch. Since my favourite, “Death by Lightning,” didn’t make the cut, I’d go with “DTF St. Louis” for the big award. It already won for writing and directing.
Best actress is a toss-up for me between two Sarahs: Snook (already a winner for “Succession”) for “All Her Fault” and Pidgeon (“The Wilds”) for “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.” I’d go with Pidgeon for putting flesh and blood on an enigma.
An Emmys hat trick?
Speaking of limited series, ridiculously talented Welshman Matthew Rhys is up for another acting Emmy Monday for “The Beast in Me.” Were he to win — and it’s a possibility, even though Oscar Isaac is seen as frontrunner for “Beef” — Rhys would be the first actor to triumph in all three lead acting categories once you count his previous drama win for “The Americans,” according to Gold Derby.
He would also be the first male actor to win two Emmys in a single year since James Earl Jones in 1991, who took lead actor for the drama “Gabriel’s Fire” and supporting for the TV movie “Heat Wave,” also per Gold Derby.
And a two-fer could turn into a three-peat since Rhys is also nominated as a producer of “Widow’s Bay” and would share in the spoils should that series take best comedy.
