Welcome to the 8th edition of the Emmy B-Team. The idea is simple. People like to complain about the Emmy nominations. They point out snubs, never consider what was actually on the ballots*, and say the Emmy voters did a bad job picking nominees. The skeptic that I am, I wanted to find out if the Emmy picks were really that bad. So, every year, I look through the Emmy nomination ballots. I create an alternate group of non-nominated performers/episodes/shows (my “B-Team”) and compare those to the actual nominees to see which is stronger. I’ll spare you the suspense: The actual Nominees always win handily even though I go into it each time thinking this is the year the B-Team has the edge. It turns out, a couple bad snubs don’t outweigh 3-5 good picks. Instead, the B-team serves as a fun way for me to point out the biggest snubs, audit the Emmy picks more fairly, and point out some quirks in the nominating ballots.
*Remember, a show, person, or episode can only be nominated if it is submitted. Even if you want every episode of Ted Lasso to be nominated for writing, that won't happen, since they only submitted some of the episodes.
**You'd be surprised how often that actor you thought was snubbed wasn't even on the official ballot or had listed himself as a lead instead of a supporting actor.
I don't do every category. I don't pretend that I've seen everything or that I fully understand all the categories. I'm a one-man operation talking about hundreds of shows. I'm doing the best I can.
I want to make it clear what my decision means for these match ups. What I’m asking is, would I replace the Nominees list with the B-Team. That is the only thing I am testing.
Now, the increasingly competitive Limited Series categories.
Indicates a show that I haven't watched this season.
# Indicates a show I've seen before, not this season.
Outstanding Casting For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Nominees
- *I May Destroy You
- *Mare Of Easttown
- *The Queen's Gambit
- *The Underground Railroad
- *WandaVision
B-Team
- *Fargo
- The Good Lord Bird
- *The Haunting of Bly Manor
- *It’s a Sin
- *Small Axe
Wow. I did my homework in Limited Series, it seems. As I like to point out often, I don’t fully understand how to rate casting, but neither do Emmy voters. I May Destroy You and The Underground Railroad get a lot of credit for their mix of unknown and known actors. WandaVision did a solid job of picking and choosing who from the Marvel universe to include. Major bonus points for the Quicksilver pull. The Queen’s Gambit did a great job using somewhat familiar faces for unexpected roles. And Mare of Easttown gets the sheer star wattage points.
I love this B-Team too. Small Axe failing to get nominated is a huge miss for the Emmys. That was five fully populated films with impeccable casting. I don’t know how they missed that. It’s a Sin found a lot of great lesser-known actors with a splash of familiar faces to make a great ensemble. The Good Lord Bird is my one blind spot, but just a look at the cast list is impressive. Fargo is a bit of a weak link. It felt a lot like they cast who was available more than who was right for the role. And The Haunting of Bly Manor was a little hurt by its predecessor. You can argue that it’s a repertory cast, but it’s hard to overlook that almost all of the biggest names from The Haunting of Hill House were gone. Again, it felt like the casting was just whoever was willing to return.
I need to repeat that Small Axe is a huge oversight, but the depth of the Nominee list wins out.
Winner: Nominees (Comfortably)
Outstanding Directing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Nominees
- *Hamilton
- *I May Destroy You “Ego Death”
- *I May Destroy You “Eyes Eyes Eyes Eyes”
- *Mare Of Easttown
- *The Queen's Gambit
- *The Underground Railroad
- *WandaVision
B-Team
- The Comey Rule
- *Fargo “Welcome to the Alternate Economy”
- Genius: Aretha “Respect”
- The Good Lord Bird “Last Words”
- *The Haunting of Bly Manor “The Alter of the Dead”
- *It’s a Sin
- *Small Axe
What complicates directing and writing in these categories is that if a single person directs all the episodes, the whole series gets a single nomination rather than episodes nominated individually when multiple directors were employed. What that means is that Mare of Easttown, The Queen’s Gambit, and The Underground Railroad all get their ENTIRE runs in the nominees list. As much as I think they are damned fools for leaving out Steve McQueen’s excellent and varied work on Small Axe, I really can’t argue with the Nominees. That said, It’s a Sin was quite an accomplishment. “The Alter of the Dead” was a really impressive hour of TV for The Haunting of Bly Manor too.
Winner: Nominees (Comfortably)
Outstanding Writing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Nominees
- *I May Destroy You
- *Mare Of Easttown
- *The Queen's Gambit
- *WandaVision “All-New Halloween Spooktacular!”
- *WandaVision “Filmed Before A Live Studio Audience”
- *WandaVision “Previously On”
B-Team
- *Fargo “Welcome to the Alternate Economy”
- *It’s a Sin
- *Small Axe “Mangrove”
- *Small Axe “Red, White, And Blue”
- *The Underground Railroad “Chapter 10: Mabel”
- *The Haunting of Bly Manor “The Altar of the Dead”
I think every single episode of WandaVision was submitted, so maybe we should be happy that the Emmy voters stopped at 3. Otherwise, the Nominees have the entire runs of I May Destroy You, Mare of Easttown, and The Queen’s Gambit. That is elite. Can the B-Team match it?
The only other great show with an entire run in a single slot is It’s A Sin, which was wonderful, with a story that evolved in heartbreaking ways. I didn’t love this season of Fargo, but “Welcome to the Alternate Economy” set up the season effectively. “The Alter of the Dead” is one of the most complete bits of writing of the last year, and the single episode means I don’t have to factor in the parts of the season that sagged more. The fact that both The Underground Railroad and Small Axe were left out is the B-Team’s big gain. I think, ultimately the decision here comes down to those two not having their entire runs in the field. If all of Small Axe and The Underground Railroad were in the B-Team, I think it would win. As is, the Nominees edge it out.
Winner: Nominees (Barely)
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Nominees
- *Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton)
- *Phillipa Soo (Hamilton)
- *Julianne Nicholson (Mare Of Easttown)
- *Jean Smart (Mare Of Easttown)
- *Moses Ingram (The Queen's Gambit)
- *Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision)
B-Team
- *Letitia Wright (Small Axe)
- *Marielle Heller (The Queen’s Gambit)
- *Lydia West (It’s a Sin)
- *T’Nia Miller (The Haunting of Bly Manor)
- *Keeley Hawes (It’s a Sin)
- *Weruche Opia (I May Destroy You)
The first really deep field I’ve come across. Even my B-Team has to leave out Jessie Buckley’s unique performance in Fargo, Kat Dennings stealing scenes in WandaVision, Angourie Rice successfully avoiding the “annoying child” tropes of a lot of prestige TV in Mare of Easttown, and Sheila Atim in The Underground Railroad. The Haunting of Bly Manor’s cast was packed with supporting characters, so Amelia Eve, Carla Gugino, and Tahirah Sharif also had to be left out.
The Nominees are actually pretty weak. I love Renee Elise Goldberry and Phillipa Soo. Was the recording of the live performance of Hamilton that good though? Julianne Nicholson was underused for most of Mare of Easttown. Moses Ingram isn’t the supporting actress I would’ve picked for The Queen’s Gambit. It’s great that Kathryn Hahn is rightly beloved by Emmy voters. She got one of the great reveals in WandaVision. I don’t think the performance was that exceptional though. As it turns out, Jean Smart is the ONLY Nominee I wouldn’t swap out.
Meanwhile, the B-Team. Letitia Wright is basically the lead of the feature-film length Mangrove which was one of the best movies of the last year. Marielle Heller stepping in front of the camera for a change was a revelation in The Queen’s Gambit. T’Nia Miller got the best material in The Haunting of Bly Manor, including an excellent spotlight episode. Weruche Opia is quietly great in I May Destroy You. Then there’s the It’s a Sin pair of Lydia West and Keeley Hawes. West is the beating heart of that show and Hawes is an amazing villain.
Winner: B-Team (Dominantly)
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Nominees
- *Daveed Diggs (Hamilton)
- *Jonathan Groff (Hamilton)
- *Anthony Ramos (Hamilton)
- *Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You)
- *Evan Peters (Mare Of Easttown)
- *Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Queen's Gambit)
B-Team
- *John Boyega (Small Axe)
- *Bill Camp (The Queen’s Gambit)
- *Ben Wishaw (Fargo)
- *Nick Robinson (A Teacher)
- *Callum Scott Howells (It’s a Sin)
- Joshua Caleb Johnson (The Good Lord Bird)
The Emmy voters’ love affair with Hamilton again hurts the Nominees’ depth. It’s not that I think Diggs, Groff, and Ramos did a bad job. I just don’t think that a recording of a live show captures the performances so well that I’d rate them higher than performances that were actually given for the television medium. It is nice to see Paapa Essiedu nominated. I worried that Emmy voters would look at it as a one-woman show (Michaela Coel) in the nominations. Evan Peters was a nice touch of variety in Easttown. Thomas Brodie-Sangster gives a surprisingly awesome performance in The Queen’s Gambit. You’d think the character is a little too busy with details, but he makes it work.
My B-Team feels like a bit of a cheat. John Boyega is the lead in his sole episode of Small Axe. Ben Whishaw got an entire standalone episode of Fargo while playing supporting the rest of the time. Nick Robinson is the lead of A Teacher, And, from what I understand, Joshua Caleb Johnson is the POV character of The Good Lord Bird. That means the B-Team is punching above its weight. I’ve also got Bill Camp who is one of the names you hear most often in the snub discussion this year. I’m rounding it out with Callum Scott Howells’ tragic It’s a Sin performance. I could’ve gone with his costars Nathaniel Curtis or Omari Douglas, but Howells has an important tone-setting performance.
Winner: B-Team Comfortably
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Nominees
- Cynthia Erivo (Genius: Aretha)
- *Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You)
- *Kate Winslet (Mare Of Easttown)
- *Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit)
- *Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision)
B-Team
- Nicole Kidman (The Undoing)
- *Thuso Mbedu (The Underground Railroad)
- *E’Myri Crutchfield (Fargo)
- *Kate Mara (A Teacher)
- *Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting of Bly Manor)
For the first time in years, this category isn’t very deep. It’s incredibly strong at the top though. Michaela Coel, Kate Winslet, and Anya Taylor-Joy are absolutely required. Erivo and Olsen are nice picks too to round things out.
Thuso Mbedu is the only huge miss for the Emmy voters as she is every bit as important to her series as those top three Nominees. Nicole Kidman is always good, even if The Undoing had a mixed response. Victoria Pedretti and Kate Mara were also fine in uneven shows. I’m impressed that E’Myri Crutchfield stayed in the lead category. That kind of performance would normally try to sneak in as supporting.
Winner: Nominees (Dominantly)
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
- Ewan McGregor (Halston) (Netflix)
- *Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) (Disney+)
- *Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton) (Disney+)
- Hugh Grant (The Undoing) (HBO)
- *Paul Bettany (WandaVision) (Disney+)
B-Team
- *Olly Alexander (It’s a Sin)
- Ethan Hawke (The Good Lord Bird)
- *Chris Rock (Fargo)
- *Jason Schwartzman (Fargo)
- Jeff Daniels (The Comey Rule)
- *Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Haunting of Bly Manor)
Woof. Lead Actor fields have been bad for years and this is no exception. No one saw Haltston, so I’m certain McGregor got that nomination for name recognition. I’ve already derided voters reflexively nominating the Hamilton performances, so Miranda and Odom are no surprise there. While Hugh Grant and Paul Bettany are fine in their series, those nominations wouldn’t be there in a remotely strong year.
That means it won’t take much for the B-Team to win. Can it? I’ll admit, I mainly have Rock, Schwartzman, Daniels, and Jackson-Cohen in here because I needed 6 people and I recognized those shows. The strength of the B-Team is in Olly Alexander and Ethan Hawke. Alexander is great in It’s a Sin. It’s annoying that the show came and went in the eyes of voters, because he did some impressive work. In a year this shallow, there’s no excuse for missing him. Hawke was widely considered the front runner for career-best work in The Good Lord Bird. That’s enough for me to say that Alexander and Hawke would have my vote over any of the Nominees.
Winner: B-Team (Comfortably)
Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series
Nominees
- *I May Destroy You
- *Mare Of Easttown
- *The Queen's Gambit
- *The Underground Railroad
- *WandaVision
B-Team
- *Fargo
- *The Good Lord Bird
- *It’s a Sin
- *Small Axe
- The Undoing
Small Axe should’ve been nominated over WandaVision. I’ll accept no argument to the contrary. You could maybe talk me into It’s a Sin over The Underground Railroad or I May Destroy You*. I think Fargo was pretty weak this season. I couldn’t keep up with The Undoing (It’s really hard to get me to drop a show mid-season, so that’s saying something). I only know The Good Lord Bird on reputation, but I always get the sense that it’s an actor showcase more than anything.
So the question is, how dominant is Small Axe. That’s my clear #1. #2 and #3 are Mare and Queen’s Gambit. #4 is It’s a Sin. Then I think the rest of the Nominees are above the rest of the B-Team. It’s incredibly bone-headed to miss on Small Axe. The Nominee depth barely edges it out though.
*I know I May Destroy You is supposed to be THE show of 2020. I thought it was only fine. Perhaps it was built up too much for me.
Winner: Nominees (Barely)
Outstanding Television Movie
Nominees
- Dolly Parton's Christmas On The Square
- Oslo
- Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia
- Sylvie's Love
- Uncle Frank
B-Team
- *Books of Blood
- *Clouds
- *Evil Eye
- *Nocturne
- *Unpregnant
I was really hoping that with theaters shut down and movies getting pushed to digital this category would be more stacked than usual. Sadly, it might actually be weaker for top tier options. Sylvie’s Love is the only nominee I’ve even heard of. I saw everything in my B-Team. None were great. Most were OK. Given that I have no desire to catch up on most of the Nominees, I’ll guess that the B-Team is stronger.
Winner: B-Team (Comfortably)
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5-3 Nominees
I don’t want to make it sound like the Emmy voters did a good job. They collectively didn’t watch that many programs, as evidenced by the lack of variety in the nominations, but they did get most of the key nominations.
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