The Emmy Race for Limited Series Promises to Be Just As Dramatic As Its Nominees
The outstanding quality of this year’s Outstanding Limited Series nominees can’t be overstated.
It’s a race that appeared largely cut and dry last December, when Showtime’s “Escape at Dannemora” repeatedly edged out HBO’s “Sharp Objects” to take home trophies at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Directors Guild Awards.
Yet as the 2019 Emmy Awards grow ever closer, “Dannemora” is far from a front-runner, facing stiff competition from a duo of series debuting late in the eligibility period in HBO’s “Chernobyl” and Netflix’s “When They See Us.” With “Sharp Objects” still hanging around and FX’s niche gem “Fosse/Verdon” holding its own, limited series provides rich dividends for awards analysis.
This week IndieWire Editor-at-Large Anne Thompson and TV Awards Editor Libby Hill are doing just that, sizing up the contenders in Limited Series, as well as its writing and directing categories, in addition to checking in with an somewhat lackluster crop of TV Movie nominees and how the category remains a two-horse race.
As a bonus, reports from week one of the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour are filtering in, as broadcast and cable networks – in addition to streaming platforms – offer entertainment journalists a look at their upcoming programming. The season to come appears to be chock full of Emmy contenders for 2020.
Final-round Emmy voting is open from Thursday, Aug. 10 through Thursday, Aug. 24 at 10 p.m. PT. Winners for the 71st Primetime Emmys Creative Arts Awards will be announced the weekend of Sept. 14 and 15, with the Primetime Emmys ceremony broadcast live on Fox on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Check out the episode below, and remember to subscribe to Screen Talk on Apple Podcasts or via your preferred listening source. New Emmy edition episodes will resume imminently, while traditional Screen Talk episodes — with Thompson and IndieWire Executive Film Editor and Chief Critic Eric Kohn — will continue to hit the site each Friday. Make sure to listen to IndieWire’s other podcasts, as well, including Chris O’Falt’s Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast.
For more on this year’s Emmy race, please head over to IndieWire’s Awards page, where you’ll find breaking news, Consider This profiles, and Emmy predictions in 21 categories