As Always, This Year’s Emmy Nominations Were A Thrilling Mixture Of Exciting And Stupid

While the Emmy nominations aren’t perfect this year, it’s one of the only years in recent memory in which heaps of genuinely great shows have been recognized. Remember when the Emmys tried to get us to care about “Ray Donovan” or “The Kominsky Method,” or when a Best Drama Series slot went to some show called “Bodyguard” that we’ve already forgotten? This year’s nominees may not be to everyone’s taste, but there are very few shows included that will make your aunt who only watched “Law & Order” start hypothesizing that these productions might be money laundering fronts. In the few spots where there are weaker entries, some of them, like Netflix’s “Wednesday” (a hit-or-miss show with a great lead performance and great production design), are still major hits.

The 75th annual Emmys will feature some great name recognition, and with so many talent-stuffed categories, it’s clear they’ll also reward some phenomenal shows. Two major categories, Supporting Actor and Actress in a Drama Series, are made up entirely of the sprawling casts of “Succession” and “The White Lotus.” These frontrunner shows are both fantastic, as are other shows that pop up repeatedly on the ballot, like “The Bear,” “Barry,” “Abbott Elementary,” “Beef” (though it’s worth noting the controversy around that one), “Better Call Saul,” and “The Last of Us.” The latter series earned an astounding 24 nominations, including a boatload of deeply deserved nods in the guest acting categories for performers like Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, and Storm Reid.

Unfortunately, award-voting bodies never seem to be able to fully tap into the zeitgeist or reflect the tastes of fans and critics, but in some ways, this year’s nominations seem closer than usual to actually rewarding the best of the best.