September TV Checklist

 

Here’s what I was watching this September. Some high quality productions but I wish the epic fantasy shows were more spread out during the year instead of all on top of each other. That’s a lot of sword play for a month. Anyway, here are the shows:

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (HBO)
I was skeptical about this Game of Thrones prequel. Didn’t think it was needed. I am actually one of the few that didn’t really have a problem with the final season of Thrones. However, Dragon has laid out some interesting characters that love to scheme. I am enjoying the power playing around delivering heirs and making marital alliances. Matt Smith and Milly Alcock are great to watch. With a time jump half way through the season, a big kudos to the casting team for older versions of some of the characters (haven’t seen it done this well since This Is Us). Also, enjoying seeing early Lannisters and other Thrones ancestors. My one issue is the graphic nature of the childbirths from excess blood to disturbing sounds. I’m not a father, so I can’t relate.

RINGS OF POWER (PRIME)
You can tell that a lot of money has been poured into this show. The production value is incredible and blends well with the films. I kind of like the fact that I do not recognize any of the actors, it allows for more open-mindedness about the characters. I do think there are too many stories going at once. I’m liking the dwarf/elf storyline the most, followed by Galadriel and her raising of an army. Looking forward to seeing where this all goes.

ANDOR (DISNEY+)
It’s a good thing that Disney released the first three episodes of this series all at once. It took me to the third episode to get into in. The first ep is needed world building which is important but not always enthralling. The second ep is mostly filler. The third ep, things happen and I got more invested. The fourth ep starts off the real plot of the story. There are some interesting characters but no one that I’m loving right now. I have a feeling that some of these will grow on me, hopefully sooner before later.

REBOOT (HULU/DISNEY+)
I like a good behind-the-scenes look at television being made. It has a great cast led by Keegan-Michael Key, Judy Greer, Rachel Bloom and Paul Reiser. They are solid performers. Johnny Knoxville seems like stunt casting (no pun intended). Newcomer Calum Worthy is a fun addition as is the divided writing staff of old and new. I was a little shocked at the language. I guess I’ve only seen network friendly stuff from Steven Levitan (Just Shoot Me, Modern Family). The first four episodes have had their moments but I have a hard time seeing this series get a second season, I just don’t think it has the legs. I could be wrong though.

SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW (DISNEY+)
It’s interesting to see the MCU try their hand at comedy. I’m enjoying She-Hulk. I like that I don’t have to take it seriously and find important Easter eggs and how they may affect the Marvel universe. Also, enjoyed the Madisynn character introduced in episode four, they should find more excuses to add her. I’m looking forward to Daredevil cameoing soon. This show is just a breath of fresh air in my opinion.  

HANDMAID’S TALE (HULU/CTV DRAMA)
I’ll be honest, I’m just watching this show to see it die. It has gotten so dark and depressing it’s just not appointment television anymore. Watching an angry and ragged Elisabeth Moss snipe at Yvonne Strahovski who smugly retaliates just doesn’t do it for me. I also don’t know what Bradley Whitford’s character is doing anymore. It’s just a slog. Not sure I can continue watching much longer.   

ATLANTA (FX)
This final season has been pretty good. I’m glad they are back in Atlanta instead of touring Europe. The episodes have some good social commentary and bizarre humour and I’m relieved that they are often sticking with Earn and Paper Boi. Curious how they’ll end the series in a couple eps.

What are you watching?

Fall Movie Preview 2022

 

I haven’t done one of these in a while. Here are some of the movies I’m looking forward to the fall. Some may be difficult to find as they are not only in theatres anymore. Also, I’m sure there will be some Oscar bait movies coming out soon that they just haven’t announced release dates yet. Anyway, here we go:

CLERKS III (Sept.13) Screenings only
Director: Kevin Smith (Jay & Silent Bob Reboot)
Starring: Brian O’Halloran & Jeff Anderson (Clerks)
Why: I’ve watched a bunch of the View Askewniverse already

CONFESS, FLETCH (Sept.16) Rental
Director: Greg Mottola (Superbad; Adventureland)
Starring: Jon Hamm (Mad Men; Bridesmaids)
Why: Seems like great casting; not sure how I’ll watch it though

DON’T WORRY DARLING (Sept.23) Theatres
Director: Olivia Wilde (Booksmart)
Starring: Florence Pugh (Black Widow)
Why: The story seems Stepford-ish but with great visuals

BLONDE (Sept.28) Netflix
Director: Andrew Dominik (Killing Them Softly)
Starring: Ana de Armas (Knives Out; No Time to Die)
Why: Looks like an interesting Marilyn Monroe biopic

AMSTERDAM (Oct.7) Theatres
Director: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)
Starring: Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Why: You should look at the amazing cast list

WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY (Nov.4) Roku
Director: Eric Appel (Son of Zorn; Die Hart)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
Why: I’m a big fan of Weird Al Yankovic

BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER (Nov.11) Theatres
Director: Ryan Coogler (Creed; Fruitvale Station)
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya (Nope; Get Out)
Why: Curious to see how they honor Chadwick Boseman

THE FABELMANS (Nov.23) Theatres
Director: Steven Spielberg (The Post; Jaws, E.T.)
Starring: Michelle Williams (Dawson’s Creek)
Why: Spielberg ‘autobiographic’ film should be fun

GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY (Dec.23) Netflix
Director: Rian Johnson (Brick; Looper; The Last Jedi)
Starring: Daniel Craig (No Time to Die; Spectre, Skyfall)
Why: I enjoyed the mystery of Knives Out

MATILDA: THE MUSICAL (Dec.25) Netflix
Director: Matthew Warchus (newcomer)
Starring: Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)
Why: I’ve seen the musical a few times; fun stuff

Fall TV Preview 2022

The fall television season is here. Here’s the run down of what I’ll be watching (by premiere date), I’ve stopped writing times as people can stream or PVR at multiple times now.

[NEW!] SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW [DISNEY+]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date: Thu. Aug. 18
Genre: Marvel Sitcom
Starring: Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black; Perry Mason)
Ginger Gonzaga (Kidding; I’m Dying Up Here)
Creator: Jessica Gao (Rick and Morty)
Premise: Jennifer Walters is She-Hulk and a lawyer
Why I’ll give it a chance: I’ll watch any Marvel show
What could hurt it: A little too meta at times

[NEW!] HOUSE OF THE DRAGON [HBO]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date: Sun. Aug. 21
Genre: Fantasy Drama
Starring: Paddy Considine (In America, The World’s End)
Matt Smith (Doctor Who; The Crown; Morbius)
Creators: Ryan J Condal (Colony) & George R.R. Martin (GoT)
Premise: Game of Throne prequel about the Targaryens
Why I’ll give it a chance: I enjoyed the production value of GoT
What could hurt it: No Benioff or Weiss as showrunners?  

[NEW!] LOTR: THE RINGS OF POWER [PRIME]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date: Thu. Sept. 1
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Starring: Morfydd Clark (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)
Robert Aramayo (Game of Thrones; The King’s Man, Antebellum)
Creators: Patrick McKay & John D Payne (newcomers)
Premise: Prequel thousands of years before The Hobbit.
Why I’ll give it a chance: Lots of money has been spent
What could hurt it: Might be more Hobbit and less LOTR

JEOPARDY [SYNDICATION]
Upcoming Season: 39
Premiere Date: Mon. Sept 12
Genre: Trivia Game Show
Starring: Ken Jennings (The Chase)
Creator: Merv Griffin (Wheel of Fortune)
Why I watch: Love testing my knowledge

THE HANDMAID’S TALE [HULU]
Upcoming Season: 5
Premiere Date: Wed. Sept. 14
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Starring: Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, West Wing; Top of the Lake)
Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck; Dexter; 24: Live Another Day)
Creator/Showrunner: Bruce Miller (The 4400; Eureka; The 100)
Why I watch: I’ve come this far with this dystopian drama

ATLANTA [FX]
Upcoming Season: 4
Premiere Date: Thu. Sept. 15
Genre: Dramedy
Starring: Donald Glover (Community, Solo: A Star Wars Story)
Brian Tyree Henry (Bullet Train; Eternals; Into the Spider-Verse)
Creator/Showrunner: Donald Glover (Mr. & Mrs. Smith – TV series)
Why I watch: Some gems in the seasons each year

[NEW!] REBOOT [HULU]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date: Tue. Sept. 20
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!; Key & Peele)
Paul Reiser (Mad About You; Stranger Things; Aliens)
Creator: Steve Levitan (Modern Family; Just Shoot Me!)
Premise: A 2000s family sitcom is disastrously rebooted
Why I’ll give it a chance: Love behind the scenes stuff
What could hurt it: The premise doesn’t seem long lasting.

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY [ABC]
Upcoming Season: 2
Premiere Date: Wed. Sept 21
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Quinta Brunson (iZombie; Big Mouth)
Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris; Walking Dead)
Creator/Showrunner: Quinta Brunson (Quinta vs Everything)
Why I watch: One of the few school-related shows that work

[NEW!] ANDOR [DISNEY+]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date: Wed. Sept. 21
Genre: Star Wars Adventure
Starring: Diego Luna (Rogue One; The Terminal; Milk)
Genevieve O’Reilly (Rebels; Tin Star; Episodes)
Creator: Tony Gilroy (Bourne Legacy; Michael Clayton)
Premise: Pre-Rogue One adventures
Why I’ll give it a chance: Maybe it’ll be like Mandalorian
What could hurt it: Maybe it’s be like Book of Boba Fett

AMAZING RACE [CBS]
Upcoming Season: 34
Premiere Date: Wed. Sept. 21
Genre: Reality Competition
Host: Phil Keoghan (Tough as Nails)
Creator: Bertram van Munster (The Quest; Cops)
Why I watch: Love the locales

LEGO MASTERS [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 3
Premiere Date: Wed. Sept. 21
Genre: Reality Competition
Host: Will Arnett (Arrested Development)
Why I watch: I like the challenging Lego builds

THE SIMPSONS [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 34
Premiere Date: Sun. Sept 25
Genre: Animated Comedy
Starring: Dan Castellaneta (Hey Arnold!)
Hank Azaria (Smurfs, Ray Donovan)
Creator: Matt Groening (Futurama)
Showrunners: Al Jean (The Critic) & Matt Selman (newcomer)
Why I watch: I’ve seen every episode, why stop now?

WELCOME TO FLATCH [FOX]
Upcoming Season: 2
Premiere Date: Thu. Sept 29
Genre: Mockumentary Comedy
Starring: Sam Straley (The Dropout); Holmes (newcomer)
Seann William Scott (American Pie; Dukes of Hazzard)
Creator/Showrunner: Jenny Bicks (Divorce; The Big C)
Why I watch: Hoping it gets better. I like Shrub.

YOUNG SHELDON [CBS]
Upcoming Season: 6
Premiere Date: Thu. Sept 29
Genre: Family Comedy
Starring: Iain Armitage (Big Little Lies, The Glass Castle)
Zoe Perry (Scandal, The Family)
Creators: Chuck Lorre & Steven Molaro (The Big Bang Theory)
Showrunner: Steven Molaro (The Class, The Big Bang Theory)
Why I watch: Missy and Georgie are awesome

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE [NBC]
Upcoming Season: 48
Premiere Date: Sat. Oct 2
Genre: Sketch Comedy
Starring: Colin Jost (Coming 2 America)
Bowen Yang (Awkwafina is Nora from Queens)
Creator: Lorne Michaels (30 Rock, Portlandia)
Why I watch: It’s an institution. Hope it gets to 50.

THE GOOD DOCTOR [ABC]
Upcoming Season: 6
Premiere Date: Mon. Oct 3
Genre: Medical Drama
Starring: Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel, Finding Neverland)
Richard Schiff (West Wing, I Am Sam, The Affair)
Creator/Showrunner: David Shore (House, Houdini and Doyle)
Why I watch: Gotta see their ER-copying cliffhanger resolved

[NEW!] BLOCKBUSTER [NETFLIX]
Upcoming Season: 1
Premiere Date: Thu. Nov 3
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Randall Park (Fresh off the Boat; WandaVision)
Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine; One Life to Live)
Creator: Vanessa Ramos (Superstore; Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Premise: Trying to survive as the last Blockbuster Video
Why I’ll give it a chance: I used to work at Blockbuster
What could hurt it: The nostalgia could get old

LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS [NBC]
Upcoming Season: 10
Premiere Date: ongoing
Genre: Talk Show
Starring: Seth Meyers (SNL, The Awesomes, New Year’s Eve)
Creator: Lorne Michaels & NBC
Why I watch: Mostly just his Closer Looks, sometimes his interviews

LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER [HBO]
Upcoming Season: 9
Premiere Date: Sundays
Genre: ‘News’ program
Starring: John Oliver (Daily Show, Community)
Creator: John Oliver
Why I watch: Love Oliver’s rants and the “Now This” segments

What new shows are you going try this year?

2022 Emmy Wrap-Up

 

While I was overall happy with most of the winners, the ceremony was just alright. Keenan Thompson always looks like he is having fun and just pleased to be there; I like that. The opening dance thing didn’t wow me but I’ll let it pass. What bothered me most about the ceremony was the over-exposure of the announcer and the minimization of the nominees. Show me the announcer once, I don’t need to see them after that. They are just supposed to be a voice that we hear. We saw the announcer more than Keenan throughout the night. Also, the quick announcing of nominees seems like an afterthought so we can get to the long drawn out intro for the presenters. It should definitely be the other way around.

There was a bunch of lame banter – The Rings of Power actors had the worst when discussing reality television. I enjoyed the banter between Seth & Amy and the ego-centric cast of Only Murders in the Buildings but the best would be Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak who mocked the present day writers – those lazy SOB’s. My other issue with the award ceremony that seems to infect recent trophy-fests is the bizarre order of the categories. They’ll do a bunch in one category, then switch to another and then go back. Come up with a decent order.

When it came to the winners, I got 19 out of 24 categories, so not too shabby. I was disappointed that Better Call Saul got snubbed yet again. My worry is that voters are just waiting until next year to bestow the hardware for their final season but then another amazing drama will debut and outshine Saul (especially as it will have been a whole year since they saw the finale). I was okay with most of the winners. Pretty shocked that Abbott Elementary snagged a couple; especially for a network show. I thought the music playoffs were a little quick unless you were a bigger celebrity like Michael Keaton. I appreciated the director of Ted Lasso admitting that audiences don’t really care who a no-name person thanks so made it quick and left the stage (Last year’s Queen’s Gambit director should take that hint). Anyway, here are the winners:

THE WINNERS:

Drama Series: Succession (Predicted)

Comedy Series: Ted Lasso (Predicted & Wanted)

Limited Series: The White Lotus (Predicted)

Variety Talk Series: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Predicted)

Variety Sketch Series: SNL (Predicted & Wanted)

Lead Actor [Drama]: Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game) (Predicted)

Lead Actress [Drama]: Zendaya (Euphoria) (Predicted)

Lead Actor [Comedy]: Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)

Lead Actress [Comedy]: Jean Smart (Hacks) (Predicted & Wanted)

Lead Actor [Limited]: Michael Keaton (Dopesick) (Predicted & Wanted)

Lead Actress [Limited]: Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout) (Predicted)

Supp. Actor [Drama]: Matthew Macfadyen

Supp. Actress [Drama]: Julia Garner (Ozark) (Predicted)

Supp. Actor [Comedy]: Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) (Predicted & Wanted)

Supp. Actress [Comedy]: Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary

Supp. Actor [Limited]: Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) (Predicted & Wanted)

Supp. Actress [Limited]: Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus) (Predicted)

Directing [Drama]: Squid Game – Red Light, Green Light (Predicted)

Directing [Comedy]: Ted Lasso – No Wedding and a Funeral

Directing [Limited]: The White Lotus (Predicted)  

Writing [Drama]: Succession – All the Bells Say (Predicted)

Writing [Comedy]: Abbott Elementary – Pilot

Writing [Limited]: The White Lotus (Predicted)  

Writing [Variety]: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Predicted & Wanted)

2022 Emmy Predictions

 

The Emmys are on Monday this year so as not to interfere with NBC’s NFL game. I’m thinking White Lotus will do well but I’d rather see Dopesick clean up instead. Ted Lasso hasn’t been on for a while but should still do well for the comedies. I’m hoping for some Better Call Saul wins but will probably have to wait until next year. Keenan Thompson is hosting the show; he’s a fun guy so I hope it will all go smoothly.  For the Primetime Emmys predictions, it’s same as past years: I play to win but am happy if the one I want to win takes the statue. Here now are the predictions:

Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul | Euphoria | Ozark | Severance | Squid Game | Stranger Things | Succession | Yellowjackets
WILL WIN: Succession (It was another great season)
WANT TO WIN: Better Call Saul (Hope they don’t just wait until next year)

Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary | Barry | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Hacks | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Only Murders in the Building | Ted Lasso | What We Do in the Shadows
WILL WIN: Ted Lasso (It’s been a long time but it was awesome.)
WANT TO WIN: Ted Lasso (Can’t wait for it’s upcoming final season)

Outstanding Limited Series
Dopesick | The Dropout | Inventing Anna | Pam & Tommy | The White Lotus
WILL WIN: The White Lotus (They got so many nominations)
WANT TO WIN: Dopesick (I was pretty captivated with this story)

Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Daily Show with Trevor Noah | Jimmy Kimmel Live | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Late Night with Seth Meyers | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 
WILL WIN: Last Week Tonight (It just keeps winning)
WANT TO WIN: Late Night with Seth Meyers (I enjoy his style)

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show | SNL
WILL WIN: SNL (I’ll admit I haven’t seen the other one)
WANT TO WIN: SNL (Hands down)

Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Ozark: Jason Bateman | Succesion: Brian Cox | Squid Game: Lee Jung-jae | Better Call Saul: Bob Odenkirk | Severance: Adam Scott | Succession: Jeremy Strong
WILL WIN: Lee Jung-jae (Emmy will want to give Squid Game something)
WANT TO WIN: Bob Odenkirk (Better win next year but two would nice)

Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Killing Eve: Jodie Comer | Ozark: Laura Linney | Yellowjackets: Melanie Lynskey | Killing Eve: Sandra Oh | The Morning Show:  Reese Witherspoon | Euphoria: Zendaya
WILL WIN: Zendaya (Everyone seems to love her)
WANT TO WIN: Melanie Lynskey (Don’t care  but I liked her in 2½ Men)

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Atlanta: Donald Glover | Barry: Bill Hader | The Great: Nicholas Hoult | Only Murders in the Building: Steve Martin | Only Murders in the Building: Martin Short | Ted Lasso: Jason Sudeikis
WILL WIN: Bill Hader (I think Sudeikis’ divorce papers may affect votes)
WANT TO WIN: Martin Short (I’m as shocked as you are)

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Rachel Brosnahan | Abbott Elementary: Quinta Brunson | The Flight Attendant: Kaley Cuoco | The Great: Elle Fanning | Insecure: Issa Rae | Hacks: Jean Smart
WILL WIN: Jean Smart (She’s the seasoned veteran who is on a roll)
WANT TO WIN: Jean Smart (Great one liners)

Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
The Staircase: Colin Firth | Under the Banner of Heaven: Andrew Garfield | Scenes from a Marriage: Oscar Isaac | Dopesick: Michael Keaton | Station Eleven: Himesh Patel | Pam & Tommy: Sebastian Stan
WILL WIN: Michael Keaton (He’s been winning a lot with this role)
WANT TO WIN: Michael Keaton (I felt for his tragic character)

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
The Staircase: Toni Collette | Inventing Anna: Julia Garner | Pam & Tommy: Lily James | Impeachment: Sarah Paulson | MAID: Margaret Qualley | The Dropout: Amanda Seyfried
WILL WIN: Amanda Seyfried (Just guessing)
WANT TO WIN: Lily James (I thought she did a great Pamela Anderson)

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Succession: Nicholas Braun | The Morning Show: Billy Crudup | Succession: Kieran Culkin | Squid Game: Park Hae-soo | Succession: Matthew Macfadyen | Severance: John Turturro | Severance: Christopher Walken | Squid Game: Oh Young-soo
WILL WIN: Kieran Culkin (A lot of good choices here)
WANT TO WIN: Kieran Culkin (By far, my favourite on the show)

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Severance: Patricia Arquette | Ozark: Julia Garner | Squid Game: Jung Ho-yeon | Yellowjackets: Christina Ricci | Better Call Saul: Rhea Seehorn | Succession: YJ. Smith-Cameron | Succession: Sarah Snook | Euphoria: Sydney Sweeney
WILL WIN: Julia Garner (Cue her midseason yell)
WANT TO WIN: Rhea Seehorn (At least she’s nominated)

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Barry: Anthony Carrigan | Ted Lasso: Brett Goldstein | Ted Lasso: Toheeb Jimoh | Ted Lasso: Nick Mohammed | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Tony Shalhoub | Abbott Elementary: Tyler James Williams | Barry: Henry Winkler | SNL: Bowen Yang
WILL WIN: Brett Goldstein ('Rainbow’ scene alone deserves the win)
WANT TO WIN: Brett Goldstein (I also like Tyler James Williams)

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Alex Borstein | Hacks: Hannah Einbinder | Abbott Elementary: Janelle James | SNL: Kate McKinnon | Ted Lasso: Sarah Niles | Abbott Elementary: Sheryl Lee Ralph | Ted Lasso: Juno Temple | Ted Lasso: Hannah Waddingham
WILL WIN: Hannah Waddingham (Her funeral episode is pretty top notch)
WANT TO WIN: Hannah Einbinder (Great chemistry with Smart)

Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
The White Lotus: Murray Bartlett | The White Lotus: Jake Lacy | Dopesick: Will Poulter | Pam & Tommy: Seth Rogen | Dopesick: Peter Sarsgaard | Dopesick: Michael Stuhlbarg | The White Lotus: Steve Zahn
WILL WIN: Murray Bartlett (Like I said, they love The White Lotus)
WANT TO WIN: Murray Bartlett (He definitely stole the show)

Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
The White Lotus: Connie Britton | The White Lotus: Jennifer Coolidge | The White Lotus: Alexandra Daddario | Dopesick: Kaitlyn Dever | The White Lotus: Natasha Rothwell | The White Lotus: Sydney Sweeney | Dopesick: Mare Winningham
WILL WIN: Jennifer Coolidge (Everyone’s raving about her)
WANT TO WIN: Kaitlyn Dever (Coolidge was too much)

Directing for a Drama Series
Ozark • A Hard Way | Severance • The We We Are | Squid Game • Red Light, Green Light | Succession • The Disruption | Succession • Too Much Birthday | Yellowjackets • Pilot
WILL WIN: Squid Game-Red Light, Green Light (A great opening episode)
WANT TO WIN: Severance-The We We Are (An intense ending)

Directing for a Comedy Series
Atlanta • New Jazz | Barry • 710N | Hacks • There Will Be Blood | The Ms. Pat Show • Baby Daddy Groundhog Day | Only Murders in the Building • The Boy from 6B | Only Murders in the Building • True Crime | Ted Lasso • No Wedding and a Funeral
WILL WIN: Barry-710N (There’s a fantastic chase and shocking ending)
WANT TO WIN: 710N (Hader directs a great chase scene)

Directing for a Limited Series, Anthology or Movie
Dopesick • The People vs. Purdue Pharma | The Dropout • Green Juice | The Dropout • Iron Sisters | MAID • Sky Blue | Station Eleven • Wheel of Fire | The White Lotus
WILL WIN: The White Lotus (They are going get lots)
WANT TO WIN: Dopesick (I loved Danny Strong’s work)

Writing for a Drama Series
Better Call Saul • Plan and Execution | Ozark • A Hard Way to Go | Severance • The We We Are | Squid Game • One Lucky Day | Succession • All the Bells Say | Yellowjackets • F Sharp | Yellowjackets • Pilot
WILL WIN: Succession-All the Bells Say (Great sibling talk)
WANT TO WIN: Better Call Saul-Plan and Execution (What a payoff)

Writing for a Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary • Pilot | Barry • 710N | Barry • starting now | Hacks • The One, The Only | Only Murders in the Building • True Crime | Ted Lasso • No Weddings and a Funeral | What We Do in the Shadows • The Casino | What We Do in the Shadows • The Wellness Center
WILL WIN: Hacks-The One, The Only (They like Hacks a lot)
WANT TO WIN: Ted Lasso-No Weddings and a Funeral (Ah, Rick Astley)

Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Special
Dopesick • The People vs Purdue Pharma | The Dropout • I’m in a Hurry | Impeachment • Man Handled | MAID • Snaps | Station Eleven • Unbroken Circle | The White Lotus
WILL WIN: The White Lotus (Mike White told an interesting story)
WANT TO WIN: Dopesick (I just cared more about the stakes of this show)

Writing for a Variety Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show | The Daily Show with Trevor Noah | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | SNL
WILL WIN: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Emmys love his work)
WANT TO WIN: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (might as well)

Let’s see how I do. I’ll post after the Emmys with the results and commentary.