And it’s BFCA day. Which means that, for the acting categories, we now have 3/4 of all the major precursor help we’re gonna get (and partially the fourth, since BAFTA released longlists for all the categories). So, if one were so inclined (which I am definitely not), you could start lobbing category predictions a month early. But anyone who reads this site knows I’m not inclined to spurious speculation before it’s time to make guesses and abhor clickbait articles, so go somewhere else for that nonsense.
The importance these nominations to me is twofold: BFCA is usually a broad smorgasbord for everything that’s roundly in contention and usually is a catch-all that helps uncover some of the ‘false’ nominees that come from elsewhere. And also, this is our first look at what some of the tech categories might look like. Since guilds won’t start announcing nominations until at least a week from now. So this is where things start to take shape in a nice way.
The one thing you have to keep in mind, though — these are critics. They’re going to hit a lot of populist narratives are both something to listen to (because you do get to see some of the broad ‘narratives’ that will be taking place and do influence some of the voting, because publicity departments use that to get people to vote certain ways) and also ignore, because, again… critics. So, helpful, but grain of salt.
Here are your 2020 Critics Choice nominees:
Best Picture
Da 5 Bloods
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
I mean… aren’t these the exact same ten movies we’ve seen everywhere else?
The Father didn’t get on here like it did the Globes, but otherwise, if I’m guessing a PGA/generic top ten list, these ten feel like the ones. NBR/AFI had Judas and the Black Messiah on their lists (not that they’re really helpful, but at least they tell us broad fringe contenders in some cases). They also both had Soul. But Pixar hasn’t made a Best Picture list in ten years and are unlikely to here. NBR had Forty-Year-Old-Version (which won’t happen) and Midnight Sky (which feels extremely unlikely and maybe only gets consideration with a PGA nomination. And even then, I’d question it and still wouldn’t put it above #10 at best). NBR had First Cow on, but that was always a ‘Screenplay at best’ situation. The BAFTA longlist had all of these but Minari (probably because of that same weird Golden Globe situation).
Now, I went on that whole screed about clickbait and making predictions. Which is about people who actively make predictions and do that sports talk TV thing of creating storylines for people to talk nonsense. And that’s not my thing. However, what is my thing is reasoning my way through what’s here and going, “Based on what I see and how I think this might go, this seems to be how things are shaking out.” I’m more about thinking through than having a hot take.
To go on yet another digression — when I was growing up, we would, once every summer, go to the race track. I come from a family of intermittent gamblers, so usually once or twice a year we’d go to the track as a family and bet on the races. And when I got old enough, I’d start looking and try to bet too. And my father would sit down with me and go over the program and explain to me what he was thinking. And he had this way to fully diagnose a race in a way that, for years, I just could not see. He’d have all this data of the previous races that, to my untrained eye, made me go, “Oh, well this one won the last two and finished second before that. Of course he’s gonna win.” And that was always the favorite, and he’d go, “I don’t think so.” And he’d have this whole explanation of how he figured, “This one is gonna go to the front and they’ll have to catch him, and this one’s gonna be coming off the pace and will be closing, and this one’s gonna be right there in a good position.” And then he’d go and put in his bet and, to an insane extent, he’d usually be right. Meanwhile I’d see the ‘analysts’ on the TV make their picks and it was the same chalky favorite bets that went with the odds a lot of the time. What I’m getting at there is — to me, what’s more interesting is to sit here and explain my thought process of how I think the race is gonna play out and what I’m seeing start to take shape. I could be wrong, but I feel like it’s more helpful to people not to be told what’s gonna happen but rather, “Here’s how I think this is gonna play out and how I went about doing this, so you can be better educated and maybe find a better way to diagnose this than I did and maybe do better.” So that’s what I’m about to do here:
Right now, these ten look like ‘the’ ten, and then it comes down to how many of them can actually make the final list. But, waiting for the final BAFTA five and the PGA ten, if I’m guessing right now, I say I feel confident in seven of these. And depending on what BAFTA does, my 8, 9 and 10 spots are some combination of Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal and News of the World. BAFTA, PGA and DGA will shift some stuff. Like, if News of the World hits the BAFTA five, then I bump it up to a more solid spot. And if Regina King gets DGA, then I keep that in a more solid spot.
Because right now, News of the World, without any other precursor help, feels like a stereotypical #10 guess. Maybe reflexively it gets on because of prestige, but the other nominees feel like they have stronger cases. Promising Young Woman feels like a #9/#10, because the subject matter is tough, and I’ve seen stuff like this constantly get left off (Nightcrawler, Gone Girl…I’m sure there’s more, but those were the two that immediately sprung to mind. Things that people had all over precursors lists). So until I see PGA/DGA/BAFTA start to lean toward it in a big way, I’m gonna remain iffy just because I know how skittish the old white folk are. And then, after that, Sound of Metal feels like if can be anywhere from #6-#8, Ma Rainey feels like one of those contenders you put in that last spot you feel is where the list might cut off, but still have confidence in because it hit enough precursors. And One Night in Miami just feels like it’ll end up in that #6 spot for me that’s almost a lock. Maybe it makes top five, but those top five have been real strong.
Having done this enough times, I feel like Da 5 Bloods, Mank, Nomadland and Chicago 7 will be your top four based on everything (especially DGA. Since DGA does tend to influence the top of the picture list). I suspect all four of those directors will hit the DGA. Then my gut tells me Regina King gets the fifth DGA spot but remains iffy for the actual nomination, which, on points, would bump One Night in Miami to the fifth most likely spot over Minari, but I’d lean toward Minari as the #5 just because it feels almost assured that it gets on (and there’s that whole ‘it couldn’t be nominated at (x) places and likely would have’ thing.
That’s my diagnosis of things right now, based totally on speculation of how thing seem like they might go. But I have no clue and I’m honestly not even gonna consider this again until I get the next set of precursor noms. But to me, that feels like the most likely scenario.
I’m not even gonna try to guess what wins here since, to me, the way more interesting thing to do is try to thread through the what-ifs and see where the eventual Picture list is going.
I will say — the only real downside to doing this for me and being as experienced as I am with this — by the time you get to the end (more so the ceremony than nominations, but even to a large extent nominations as well), there aren’t really that many surprises and you can’t even really get all that excited because, for the most part, you know what’s going to happen. But, hey, we all have our thing.
Best Director
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
David Fincher, Mank
Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods
Regina King, One Night in Miami
Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
You think you nominated enough people? You guys basically just gave us every single person in contention for Best Director. Unless somehow Thomas Vinterberg is gonna get on as that surprise foreign entrant we’ve gotten a couple of times this past decade… these are the people. Sorkin, Lee Fincher and Zhao feel like locks. Chung is 50/50 for the DGA and the final list (though if he gets DGA, he’ll almost assuredly make the final list). Regina King is 50/50 for the list, and I don’t know how the DGA will treat her as a first-timer. And maybe they even leave Sorkin off too, who knows. Fennell feels unlikely unless everyone’s gonna fully embrace that movie in a way that I’m still leery about because it’s so unlike them. Even the Globes didn’t nominate Florian Zeller for The Father, so he’s unlikely. If anyone else is there I’d maybe consider aside from this bunch… Paul Greengrass. Just cause. And even then, I think last time he was in this spot, he got DGA for Captain Phillips and then got left off the Oscar list.
Honestly, I feel like BFCA just gave you the entire field. Which is basically your Best Picture list anyway. Ma Rainey has no chance in Director without serious precursor help (which it hasn’t and will not get outside of potentially the DGA, which feels very unlikely) and Sound of Metal would need a huge showing to make me think that’s a possibility. But no BAFTA shortlist for that makes me wary without a DGA nom. So basically that leaves your other eight, all of which have gotten love elsewhere. I’m feeling Lee, Sorkin, Fincher, Zhao, +1. I don’t know if that’s DGA or the Oscar category, but that’s what I’m feeling. King, Fennell, Chung. It’s almost a take-your-pick scenario. Maybe the DGA has King and then the Oscar category leaves off Sorkin and puts both King and Chung. I don’t know. I could see one of those 3/5 DGA situations with two swaps and as long as you get that fifth spot right you still end up 4/5 or 5/5 if you go in lock step. It all depends on how things go. But really I only see seven-to-eight possibilities here barring something crazy in the DGA nominations. So that should make this a fairly easy category to diagnose once we get all the help.
Best Actor
Ben Affleck, The Way Back
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Tom Hanks, News of the World
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
Gary Oldman, Mank
Steven Yeun, Minari
Jesus. Eight fucking nominees. And also — of course Affleck is on here. The critics slurped that shit up from February. They love a good redemption story. Not even the BAFTAs shortlisted Affleck, so he’s not anyone I’d take particularly seriously for a spot. BFCA is a tall order in a year like this.
But your SAG five are here — Ahmed, Boseman, Hopkins, Oldman, Yeun. I remain iffy on Yeun for the moment (you know, because racism). But Lindo is shortlisted at BAFTA, as is Hanks, and either getting on there could be a big boost for either of them. The Globes had Tahar Rahim for The Mauritanian on, and unless he gets on BAFTA too, it’s hard to take him any more seriously than Affleck.
So really I’m thinking — Ahmed, Boseman, Hopkins, Oldman are the locks. They’ve gotten on everywhere and I expect them to get on BAFTA too. Yeun, Hanks and Lindo are all shortlisted at BAFTA, and I imagine it’s those three fighting for that last spot. Hanks needs BAFTA to be taken seriously outside of stature, but considering everyone and SAG had him on in 2013/Captain Phillips and he missed anyway… hard to see that happening unless people start to go way in on that movie in a way I just haven’t seen yet. That’s gonna take real BAFTA love. Picture, maybe director, Hanks, Zengel. If I see that, maybe I’ll consider it. Best case that feels like an empty Best Picture nominee with maybe the Supporting Actress nomination and a tech nom or two (Cinematography, Production Design, Score. That sort of thing). Five noms at best, and even then an unlikely contender to win any of them. That’s how that feels. Lindo needs to hit a list for me to think he can seriously get on (I’m wondering if maybe they should have tossed him in Supporting for a better chance at a nomination, since it’s not like we’re not used to category fraud). Yeun with SAG feels like the most likely contender, but it’ll come down to what BAFTA does. I think for of your five are basically locked. And, as I said before… things are looking real good for Chadwick in this category.
Best Actress
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holliday
Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Zendaya, Malcolm & Marie
On the one hand I want to scoff at the Zendaya nomination (not because she’s not great. And I haven’t seen the movie yet, so maybe she is legitimately great). That just feels like that spillover from the Emmy win and them wanting to jump on that bandwagon. But on the other — they nominated Sidney Flanigan, and that is awesome. That’s so unlike them.
But — Davis, Kirby, McDormand, Mulligan. All hit everything so far.
Andra Day hit this and the Globes. Amy Adams got that SAG nom (which looks even worse than it did at the time now, doesn’t it?). And Michelle Pfeiffer got that Globe Comedy nod, but I don’t think anyone takes her seriously as a contender at the moment. Looking at BAFTA’s shortlist — Andra Day is not there, nor is Sidney Flanigan. Zendaya is. It’s gonna come down to that fifth spot, as it so often does. Looking at BAFTA’s shortlist… I wanna see if they go for Amy Adams (because she is shortlisted there) or Julia Garner or Sophia Loren or Kate Winslet. Not that any of those feel like major contenders (outside of possibly Kate), but I need to see how these winds are blowing before I make any proclamations. Andra Day feels like your likely fifth spot for now, but we’re gonna have open competition there until a favorite starts to take shape. Without Day being on BAFTA, you’re likely gonna have to guess her with BFCA and the Globes over Amy Adams with SAG and/or Kate Winslet or someone else with just BAFTA. And if Amy gets BAFTA too… then we’re in for a real good time (but at least it’ll be 6 for 5 and you’ll feel confident in 4/5). But this is feeling like a pretty straightforward, easy-enough to guess category.
Best Supporting Actor
Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Bill Murray, On the Rocks
Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
What? Only six. That’s reasonable.
Boseman, Cohen, Kaluuya and Odom all hit SAG. Murray hit the Globes, Leto hit the Globes and BAFTA. Raci hit the Globes. So basically it’s this list plus Jared Leto and you’ve got 7 people for 5 spots, with Bill Murray a sincere unlikely. Murray and Leto are the two who didn’t hit BAFTA. Though BAFTA has some people who could sneak on that aren’t really in contention.
But — Boseman, Cohen, Kaluuya, Odom. All feel like pretty good locks. And then you’re likely guessing between Leto and Raci. And if Raci misses BAFTA, then you’re going relative unknown versus previous winner who hit SAG. That should be interesting.
But barring a surprise BAFTA nominee that feels like they could potentially contend on film/status (Mark Rylance comes to mind, or maybe Stanley Tucci, but even that would be a slight surprise), looks like you’ve got six real contenders and Bill Murray out in the ether as well, with four essentially locked. Not so bad.
Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Ellen Burstyn, Pieces of a Woman
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman, The Father
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
Maria Bakalova is gonna be nominated for an Oscar. That’s amazing. She’s hit literally everything (went lead at the Globes even), and is shortlisted at BAFTA, which should work out just fine. Burstyn is a veteran and is shortlisted at BAFTA, so she’s someone I’m really watching out for here, because they love to sneak a veteran on (Kathy Bates last year, anyone?). Close and Colman also have hit everything so far and are shortlisted at BAFTA.
So right now, barring a big BAFTA snub, Bakalova, Close and Colman are the closest things to locks we have. Youn Yuh-Jung hit SAG and is shortlisted at BAFTA (and based on the Globes’ weird ass rules, she may not even have been eligible at the Globes), so she might be your fourth lock. And Seyfried hit the Globes and is shortlisted at BAFTA. Oh, and Helena Zengel hit SAG and the Globes and is shortlisted at BAFTA. Jodie Foster also got a Globe nom and is shortlisted at BAFTA, so theoretically you consider her too, even though she feels unlikely.
The only other person on the Globes list I pay some attention to is Saoirse Ronan, just because it’s Saoirse and she can get on one of these lists in her sleep at this point.
But, that’s not that big a list. Bakalova, Close, Colman, Yuh-Jung Youn is four. Depending on BAFTA, you have probably either Helena Zengel, Amanda Seyfried or Ellen Burstyn for the fifth spot. And then either Saoirse or Jodie Foster hovering in the ether as long shot potentials. So that’s nine, but really seven at the moment and that’s likely to get pared down by BAFTA unless they go way off the board. Again, not so bad.
Best Acting Ensemble
Da 5 Bloods
Judas and the Black Messiah
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Minari
One Night in Miami
The Trial of the Chicago 7
The exact SAG list, plus Judas and the Black Messiah. No real surprise here and not really a particularly helpful category, since we already know these films are in contention.
Best Young Actor/Actress
Ryder Allen, Palmer
Ibrahima Gueye, The Life Ahead
Alan Kim, Minari
Talia Ryder, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Caoilinn Springall, The Midnight Sky
Helena Zengel, News of the World
There’s Zengel. Springall was also great in Midnight Sky. Ryder’s been on a lot of these lesser lists, and good for her. Kim is great and also has been sprinkled around lists. Gueye is quite solid in The Life Ahead, and I haven’t seen Palmer. Not overly helpful outside of Zengel at least being on their mind enough to consider a serious contender for that fifth spot (even despite SAG).
Best Original Screenplay
Mank
Minari
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Our first real Screenplay situation. Mank, Promising Young Woman and Chicago 7 hit the Globes category, but that’s combined. I suspect we’ll see The Father and Nomadland on the Adapted list in a second, which will cover that.
BAFTA’s gonna be the test here, since WGA, while they announce next week, might have some eligibility situations that disqualify a nominee or two from getting on there. But we’ll see. Da 5 Bloods feels like the other one that could get on from the Picture list at large. I imagine that’s Original and not Adapted. Oh, it is. Just looked at BAFTA.
BAFTA has that, Another Round, Ammonite, The Assistant, Judas and the Black Messiah, Forty-Year-Old Version and Soul on their longlist. But I imagine five of these six (the non Never Rarely five) are your likely category.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Father
First Cow
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
News of the World
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
Six nominees. And judging from how Adapted usually goes, these might be the only six. Since this category almost always feels like a very straightforward ‘four locked, and one vs. the other for the fifth spot’ situation. Nomadland and The Father round out the full Globes list.
The Globes have… Pieces of a Woman, The Mauritanian, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Hillbilly Elegy and The Dig on there. And Emma, I guess. We’ll need WGA, but I suspect these six are ‘the’ six, and it’s gonna come down to News of the World vs. First Cow in the fifth spot. That would be my guess. Since the other four feel like they’ll get solidly locked once we get WGA and BAFTA in.
Best Editing
The Father
Mank
Nomadland
Sound of Metal
Tenet
The Trial of the Chicago 7
The Father on Editing, huh? I guess because it jumps between his different realities. I mean, sure. But that’s an unlikely Oscar contender.
The other five feel much more likely, with even Tenet not guaranteed a spot unless ACE and BAFTA both go there. Da 5 Bloods is a serious Editing contender, too.
But — Da 5 Bloods, The Father, Judas, Mank, Mauritanian, News of the World, Nomadland, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal, Tenet, Chicago 7 all on the BAFTA longlist.
Best guess — Sound of Metal, Chicago 7, Nomadland, Mank +1. Maybe Tenet gets on, or more than likely Da 5 Bloods gets on. Or maybe News of the World as a western. Editing is always a Best Picture adjacent category, so usually you see the major Picture contenders get on/major editing films (like Ford v Ferrari, which wasn’t contending for Picture but was clearly all about the editing). Should be a pretty straightforward category when all is said and done.
Best Cinematography
Da 5 Bloods
First Cow
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Nomadland
Tenet
ASC is gonna tell us the score here. And BAFTA, to an extent. Only Mank, News of the World, Nomadland and Tenet made the BAFTA shortlist. They did not have Da 5 Bloods or First Cow or Minari on their list. Tey did have Ammonite, The Dig, Greyhound (weirdly), Judas, Mauritanian and Midnight Sky on their list. But… ASC will tell us.
I suspect Mank, News of the World and Nomadland are ASC shoo-ins. Tenet, Da 5 Bloods and Minari seem to be the likely contenders to round out the last two spots, and then I’ll spend between now and the Oscars looking at respected DPs to see who could sneak in out of nowhere, a la Caleb Deschanel for Never Look Away two years ago. Not a wholly inspiring list this year, but it is what it is.
Best Original Score
Mank
The Midnight Sky
Minari
News of the World
Soul
Tenet
Well, your Globes list is here, plus Minari. That tells me we might have an ‘everyone agrees’ situation this year. Which… I also agree with, so I’m really not upset with that at all.
BAFTA has longlisted all the other major Picture contenders. Ma Rainey I think is ineligible if I remember correctly. Ammonite feels very unlikely on either list. Da 5 Bloods feels like it could get on. But honestly… we’re gonna get an Oscar shortlist tomorrow, so let’s just wait until then to see what the deal is.
Best Song
“Everybody Cries,” from The Outpost
“Fight for You,” from Judas and the Black Messiah
“Husavik,” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
“Io Si (Seen),” from The Life Ahead
“Speak Now,” from One Night in Miami
“Tigress & Tweed,” from The United States vs. Billie Holliday
What? The Outpost song made it? Okay then. Guess that’s the ‘sorry you got COVID, Rita Wilson’ vote.
Otherwise, no Chicago 7 song but four of the five Globes list. BAFTA doesn’t do Song, so pretty much that’s all the help we’re gonna get outside of the shortlist tomorrow. So we’ll gauge after that.
Sure is starting to seem like an easy win for “Speak Now,” unless somehow everyone decides to rally around Diane Warren.
Best Production Design
Emma
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
The Personal History of David Copperfield
Tenet
Copperfield counted last year for BAFTA, so it’s not on there but still potentially could get on ADG.
Otherwise, Emma, Ma Rainey, Mank, Newso f the World and Tenet all hit the BAFTA longlist. Other films that feel like they maybe have shots are Ammonite, The Dig, The Father and even potentially Rebecca. But that’s an ADG deal, so we’ll just wait for them. Until then, sure.
Best Costume Design
Emma
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Mulan
The Personal History of David Copperfield
Promising Young Woman
I mean… Emma and Mank are basically locks from the jump. Promising Young Woman would be interesting, as a contemporary film. Mulan feels likely, but iffy. Ma Rainey feels likely but not a lock. Copperfield — no clue without CDG.
Other BAFTA longlisted films — Billie Holliday, The Dig, maybe Ammonite. Not a whole lot. Chicago 7 I guess? But those didn’t particularly stand out and it might be a bit too soon for them in terms of era without having flashy type costumes like, say, American Hustle.
Gonna need to wait for CDG on this to get a real sense and then use BAFTA’s final list to augment.
Best Hair and Makeup
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Promising Young Woman
The United States vs. Billie Holliday
Shortlist is coming tomorrow, so we’ll know which, if any, of these actually has a shot. BAFTA has them all on their longlist, so that’s somewhat helpful. But the shortlist rules everything in this category and then basic logic does most of the rest. Gotta wait for that.
Best Visual Effects
Greyhound
The Invisible Man
Mank
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
Tenet
Wonder Woman 1984
Greyhound. Interesting. That got on BAFTA too. As did the rest of these. And Da 5 Bloods, and News of the World, and Soul. Shortlist is tomorrow, so we’ll know more then about what can and can’t get on.
Best Comedy
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The Forty-Year-Old Version
The King of Staten Island
On the Rocks
Palm Springs
The Prom
Cool, I guess. Feels dismissive to have this category, but I guess if you know you’re not voting for most of these in Picture I guess it’s less shitty to at least acknowledge them?
Best Foreign Language Film
Another Round
Collective
La Llorona
The Life Ahead
Minari
Two of Us
This is the Globes list plus Collective. Life Ahead can’t make it. Shortlist is tomorrow. BAFTA has all of these except Two of Us on their list. Means nothing without a shortlist. This only helps us guess from that.
– – – – –
Okay, well that’s done. Now to rush through the TV nominations that I could care less about:
Best Drama Series
Better Call Saul (AMC)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Ozark (Netflix)
Perry Mason (HBO)
This Is Us (NBC)
This is the most rigged situation of all of them. Look at that — streamer spots (Netflix/Disney+, CBS), premium cable (HBO, AMC) and the token network spot (NBC). They literally cover all the bases on purpose. They put their favorites and then fill out the rest of the spots. It’s disgusting how blatant this is.
Best Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman – Ozark (Netflix)
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)
Jonathan Majors – Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Josh O’Connor – The Crown (Netflix)
Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Matthew Rhys – Perry Mason (HBO)
Same shit, different category.
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Olivia Colman – The Crown (Netflix)
Emma Corrin – The Crown (Netflix)
Claire Danes – Homeland (Showtime)
Laura Linney – Ozark (Netflix)
Jurnee Smollett – Lovecraft Country (HBO)
I like how everyone just follows the same voting structure for TV because they listen to all the publicity and only watch the same twelve shows.
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jonathan Banks – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Justin Hartley – This Is Us (NBC)
John Lithgow – Perry Mason (HBO)
Tobias Menzies – The Crown (Netflix)
Tom Pelphrey – Ozark (Netflix)
Michael K. Williams – Lovecraft Country (HBO)
K.
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Gillian Anderson – The Crown (Netflix)
Cynthia Erivo – The Outsider (HBO)
Julia Garner – Ozark (Netflix)
Janet McTeer – Ozark (Netflix)
Wunmi Mosaku – Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Rhea Seehorn – Better Call Saul (AMC)
I mean, cool to see non-white people getting on from Lovecraft Country.
Best Comedy Series
Better Things (FX)
The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Mom (CBS)
PEN15 (Hulu)
Ramy (Hulu)
Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Well, that’s the first PEN15 love I’ve seen anywhere. And What We Do in the Shadows as well. And Better Things. So I guess that’s less shitty despite the literal same Streamer, Premium Cable, Network requirements.
Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Hank Azaria – Brockmire (IFC)
Matt Berry – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Nicholas Hoult – The Great (Hulu)
Eugene Levy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Ramy Youssef – Ramy (Hulu)
Brockmire is still going?
Otherwise, almost the exact same list as everywhere else. Yawn.
Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Pamela Adlon – Better Things (FX)
Christina Applegate – Dead to Me (Netflix)
Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Natasia Demetriou – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Catherine O’Hara – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)
Literally the same list, plus the extra What We Do in the Shadows love plus Issa Rae.
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
William Fichtner – Mom (CBS)
Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Alex Newell – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC)
Mark Proksch – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Andrew Rannells – Black Monday (Showtime)
Fichtner is on Mom? Had no idea. Also, interesting they completely ignored the Black people who star in Black Monday for the white guy. Also, guess they’re over Black-ish in that one token spot like they normally have them?
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Lecy Goranson – The Conners (ABC)
Rita Moreno – One Day at a Time (Pop)
Annie Murphy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Ashley Park – Emily in Paris (Netflix)
Jaime Pressly – Mom (CBS)
Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
The Connors is still on the air?
Also, good for them for only getting the non-white cast member of Emily in Paris on there. So the show is still kind of represented but not in the way the Globes did.
Best Limited Series
I May Destroy You (HBO)
Mrs. America (FX)
Normal People (Hulu)
The Plot Against America (HBO)
The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
Small Axe (Amazon Studios)
The Undoing (HBO)
Unorthodox (Netflix)
I like how the Limited Series category has become way more interesting than the Series category in every regard. Because the Limited Series is basically the space that mid-level interesting movies used to have before they drove the cinematic middle class out and made it just microbudget indies and superhero movies. So now writers are adding an extra hour or two to their scripts and doing these miniseries. Good for them.
Also good for them for Small Axe. The rest are all fine or whatever, but the Small Axe inclusion tells me that they actually watched stuff for this. Though I will say — no clue what The Plot Against America is. Or Normal People. But I know the rest, so that’s something.
Best TV Movie
Bad Education (HBO)
Between the World and Me (HBO)
The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (Lifetime)
Hamilton (Disney+)
Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Studios)
What the Constitution Means to Me (Amazon Studios)
Really? You’re gonna be stingy on Bad Education and Sylvie’s Love? Fuck off with that shit. I guess you could say that Bad Education was always meant to premiere on HBO and only got on the main because of COVID, but Sylvie’s Love 100% counts as a regular movie. Though good for them on having What the Constitution Means to Me on there.
Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie
John Boyega – Small Axe (Amazon Studios)
Hugh Grant – The Undoing (HBO)
Paul Mescal – Normal People (Hulu)
Chris Rock – Fargo (FX)
Mark Ruffalo – I Know This Much is True (HBO)
Morgan Spector – The Plot Against America (HBO)
Boyega is good, but you’re missing at least one Small Axe performance that was markedly better. Don’t check boxes just to check boxes, guys.
Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie
Cate Blanchett – Mrs. America (FX)
Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You (HBO)
Daisy Edgar-Jones – Normal People (Hulu)
Shira Haas – Unorthodox (Netflix)
Anya Taylor-Joy – The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
Tessa Thompson – Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Studios)
Tessa Thompson shouldn’t be here. That is not a TV movie. Also fuck right off in the lack of Hugh Jackman love in the above category. He shouldn’t qualify for only that, but also don’t fucking leave him off just because you made the macro mistake.
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie
Daveed Diggs – The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)
Joshua Caleb Johnson – The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)
Dylan McDermott – Hollywood (Netflix)
Donald Sutherland – The Undoing (HBO)
Glynn Turman – Fargo (FX)
John Turturro – The Plot Against America (HBO)
Oh boy. Talk about… know what. Not worth my time. Moving on.
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie
Uzo Aduba – Mrs. America (FX)
Betsy Brandt – Soulmates (AMC)
Marielle Heller – The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
Margo Martindale – Mrs. America (FX)
Winona Ryder – The Plot Against America (HBO)
Tracey Ullman – Mrs. America (FX)
Almost done, right?
Best Talk Show
Desus & Mero (Showtime)
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC/Syndicated)
Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch)
Give it to Desus and Mero you cowards.
Best Comedy Special
Fortune Feimster: Sweet & Salty (Netflix)
Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (Netflix)
Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (Netflix)
Marc Maron: End Times Fun (Netflix)
Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia (Netflix)
Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything (Netflix)
Sure.
Best Short Form Series
The Andy Cohen Diaries (Quibi)
Better Call Saul: Ethics Training with Kim Wexler (AMC/Youtube)
Mapleworth Murders (Quibi)
Nikki Fre$h (Quibi)
Reno 911! (Quibi)
Tooning Out the News (CBS All Access)
Best what now?
Also, oh my god, Quibi.
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