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Everywhere you look in this year’s Emmy nominations, it’s the stuff we all watched, whether we liked it or not. It’s how Emily in Paris, no matter the huge controversy over its equivalent Golden Globe surprise, got an outstanding comedy-series nomination over the relatively acclaimed, underseen Girls5Eva. It’s how Disney+ nabbed over 20 nominations apiece for its two blockbuster contenders, WandaVision and The Mandalorian. And it’s how Hamilton, that Broadway hit-turned-quarantine phenomenon, somehow managed to become an Emmy juggernaut.
The Lin Manuel-Miranda production—we’re not sure on whether to call it a TV movie or variety special, since the Emmy categorizes it as both (more on that in a moment)—is up for 12 Emmys this year. A staggering seven members of its ensemble cast are nominated as well, at the expense of worthy limited-series stars like The Good Lord Bird’s Ethan Hawke and The Queen’s Gambit’s Bill Camp. (For context, fewer Hamilton stars were nominated for Tonys…for the same stage performances.) In a few of those cases, it feels like great actors have been recognized for the wrong, or at least more outdated, project: Anthony Ramos, brilliant in this past season of In Treatment, and Renée Elise Goldsberry, the scene-stealer in Girls5Eva’s cast of scene-stealers. (Also, she already has a Tony for this role!)
So how did this happen? Disney+, which streamed the stage-to-screen Hamilton production last summer, was able to categorize it as a prerecorded variety special in the program and technical categories—where it was cited for several—which is an Emmys standard for filmed plays. But its actors had to go somewhere, with the “variety performer” category no longer in existence; because Hamilton runs at feature-length, the network was permitted to submit its cast under a “TV movie” umbrella. So you have Goldsberry and costar Phillipa Soo duking it out with limited-series stars Julianne Nicholson (Mare of Easttown) and Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision), and Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. making up nearly half of the lead-actor lineup. Less clear is why it’s nominated for best TV movie/limited-series directing, when there is an equivalent variety-special category for that.
As TV gets more and more spread out, big audiences tend to win out at the Emmys. Fortunately this year, there’s still enough room for a sizable Pose sendoff, and breakthrough best-series nominations for less-watched, critically adored shows like Pen15 and The Underground Railroad. But this year’s Hamilton Emmy wave is a reminder that popularity increasingly rules these awards. (Case in point: It received more nominations than Pen15 and Underground combined.)
You see this play out, particularly, in the acting categories. In line with its reported massive growth in viewership this year, The Handmaid’s Tale exploded with 21 nominations for its fourth season—11 of which are for its actors. The Crown received 24 total nods, nine of which went to the cast. Perhaps most egregiously—through no fault of the show or its talented performers, but faulty rules—Saturday Night Live has 11 acting slots claimed. Again, blame the lack of a variety-performer category: The popular sketch-comedy was left to dominate through sheer cultural power. This at the expense of the Pen15 stars—despite its best-series nod—or a great comeback role for Kathleen Turner, or yes, anyone from Girls5Eva.
At least in the limited/TV movie acting races, Hamilton faces a popularity buffer in WandaVision. (There’s probably no stopping Kathryn Hahn.) But perhaps, as an omen, we should look to the best limited-series race, where Marvel’s WandaVision has actually managed to lead the pack in total nominations over supposed frontrunners Mare of Easttown and The Queen’s Gambit. Don’t get me wrong: The latter two prestige hits did quite well this morning and look fairly secure atop the pack. But we’re steadily ushering in a new Emmys era. It’d be quite a statement for voters to bypass that once-unbeatable HBO gloss for a little MCU magic. Looking at the 2021 Emmy nominations, it’s no longer a scenario to rule out.
— The Making of Mare of Easttown’s Flirtatious, Sad Bar Scene
— Elizabeth Olsen on Reclaiming Her Power in WandaVision
— How William Jackson Harper Brought Hope to The Underground Railroad
— A Golden Globe Voter Speaks Out About Her HFPA Resignation
— Why Is Gina Carano on the Emmy Ballot for The Mandalorian?
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