Before we get started with today’s newsletter, might I offer a public service announcement: Take five minutes out of your day to take a look at all of your various streaming services and check out their homepages (you’ll probably need to log out) for any promotions underway at the moment.
There are major deals for Disney (US and international), Max, Paramount+, Hulu, and more.
The big question in my life: my annual Paramount+ subscription just ran out. I was using it for Evil, but now that show has concluded, I’m stuck trying to determine just how invested I am in it. I had considered starting a binge for the original Le Bureau des Légendes series ahead of the US remake.
I’m throwing the question to you all:
Emmys 2024 II: Overture, curtain, lights! This is it, the night of nights
Within the hour, the second Prime Time Emmy Awards for 2024 will begin. Thanks to the writer and actor strikes in 2023, the award show was delayed into 2024, so this will be the second show in the one calendar year.
There aren’t a lot of likely surprises in store for the Emmy Awards this year. Expect almost all of the awards to go to Shōgun and The Bear (nominated for its second season).
Season three of The Bear was received with less enthusiasm than usual, but Emmy voters are rarely swayed by whatever the cool and terminally online viewers are saying - instead, once they lock onto a series, you’ll find they stay pretty loyal in their voting year-in and year-out. So, expect to see The Bear almost sweep the awards. And probably do so again next year for that third season.
Where I think you’ll see a minor upset is in the category of Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Jeremy Allen White is nominated for The Bear, but I think there will be a lot of voters who have trouble going past Larry David for the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. This is quite likely the last opportunity that voters will have to give him an award, so I think many will take that opportunity in lieu of awarding White for what is really a dramatic performance.
Baby Reindeer will probably do fine in the limited series category. And my eyes are firmly on The Daily Show as a lock in the Best Variety Show category against those other three shows that each have almost the exact same format as each other.
During the awards, you will see multiple on-stage TV reunions from beloved shows marking anniversaries. One of those will be The West Wing, which marks 25 years since it’s 1999 debut in the coming weeks. Not appearing on the show will be series MVP Bradley Whitford, who is currently filming Death By Lightning, a white house drama in Budapest.
For your convenience, here is a helpful list of all those nominated:
Best Drama Series
The Crown
Fallout
The Gilded Age
The Morning Show
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Shōgun
Slow Horses
3 Body Problem
Best Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Hacks
Only Murders in the Building
Palm Royale
Reservation Dogs
What We Do in the Shadows
Best Limited Or Anthology Series
Baby Reindeer
Fargo
Lessons in Chemistry
Ripley
True Detective: Night Country
Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Idris Elba (Hijack)
Donald Glover (Mr. & Mrs. Smith)
Walton Goggins (Fallout)
Gary Oldman (Slow Horses)
Hiroyuki Sanada (Shōgun)
Dominic West (The Crown)
Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show)
Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age)
Maya Erskine (Mr. & Mrs. Smith)
Anna Sawai (Shōgun)
Imelda Staunton (The Crown)
Reese Witherspoon (The Morning Show)
Best Directing for a Drama Series
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Hiro Murai)
Shōgun (Frederick E.O. Toye)
Slow Horses (Saul Metzstein)
The Crown (Stephen Daldry)
The Morning Show (Mimi Leder)
Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty (Salli Richardson-Whitfield)
Best Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series
Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country)
Brie Larson (Lessons in Chemistry)
Juno Temple (Fargo)
Sofía Vergara (Griselda)
Naomi Watts (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans)
Best Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series
Matt Bomer (Fellow Travelers)
Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer)
Jon Hamm (Fargo)
Tom Hollander (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans)
Andrew Scott (Ripley)
Best Directing in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Baby Reindeer (Weronika Tofilska)
Fargo (Noah Hawley)
Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (Gus Van Sant)
Lessons in Chemistry (Millicent Shelton)
Ripley (Steven Zaillian)
True Detective: Night Country (Issa López)
Best Writing for a Drama Series
Fallout (Geneva Robertson-Dworet & Graham Wagner)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Francesca Sloane & Donald Glover)
Shōgun (Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks)
Shōgun (Rachel Kondo & Caillin Puente)
Slow Horses (Will Smith)
The Crown (Peter Morgan & Meriel Sheibani-Clare)
Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows)
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Steve Martin (Only Murders In The Building)
Martin Short (Only Murders In The Building)
Jeremy Allen White (The Bear)
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (Reservation Dogs)
Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary)
Ayo Edeberi (The Bear)
Selena Gomez (Only Murders In The Building)
Maya Rudolph (Loot)
Jean Smart (Hacks)
Kristen Wiig (Palm Royale)
Bets Directing for a Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary (Randall Einhorn)
Hacks (Lucia Aniello)
The Bear (Christopher Storer)
The Bear (Ramy Youseff)
The Gentlemen (Guy Ritchie)
The Ms. Pat Show (Mary Lou Belli)
Best Writing for a Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary (Quinta Brunson)
Girls5eva (Meredith Scardino & Sam Means)
Hacks (Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs & Jen Statsky)
The Bear (Christopher Storer & Joanna Calo)
The Other Two (Chris Kelly & Sarah Schneider)
What We Do In The Shadows (Jake Bender & Zach Dunn)
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Tadanobu Asano (Shōgun)
Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)
Mark Duplass (The Morning Show)
Jon Hamm (The Morning Show)
Takehiro Hira (Shōgun)
Jack Lowden (Slow Horses)
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Christine Baranski (The Gilded Age)
Nicole Beharie (The Morning Show)
* Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown)
Greta Lee (The Morning Show)
Lesley Manville (The Crown)
Karen Pittman (The Morning Show)
Holland Taylor (The Morning Show)
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Dakota Fanning (Ripley)
Lily Gladstone (Under The Bridge)
Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer)
Aja Naomi King (Lessons In Chemistry)
Diane Lane (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans)
Nava Mau (Baby Reindeer)
Kali Reis (True Detective: Night Country)
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Jonathan Bailey (Fellow Travelers)
Robert Downey Jr. (The Sympathizer)
Tom Goodman-Hill (Baby Reindeer)
John Hawkes (True Detective: Night Country)
Lamorne Morris (Fargo)
Lewis Pullman (Lessons In Chemistry)
Treat Williams (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans)
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Lionel Boyce (The Bear)
Paul W. Downs (Hacks)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear)
Paul Rudd (Only Murders In The Building)
Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary)
Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live)
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Carol Burnett (Palm Royale)
Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear)
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
Janelle James (Abbott Elementary)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)
Meryl Streep (Only Murders In The Building)
Best Reality Competition Program
The Amazing Race
RuPaul's Drag Race
Top Chef
The Traitors
The Voice
Best Variety Talk Series
The Daily Show
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Best Scripted Variety Series
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Saturday Night Live
Best Variety Special Writing
Alex Edelman: Just For Us
The Oscars
John Early: Now More Than Ever
Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man And The Pool
Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees
Netflix is reportedly in talks to stream some live episodes of hot chicken wing talk show Hot Ones. Okay, sure, but hopefully this doesn’t become the standard for the show - the reason that show works is because it feels like an off-broadway, low pressure, casual chat show. A global live stream changes that. Read: THR
Disney channel (including, crucially, ESPN and ABC) service has been restored to DirecTV. As part of the new deal, DirecTV customers will now get Disney+ and the cable company will gain other bundling rights. Read: NYTimes
Apple TV+ reportedly wants a series based on podcast S-Town. Read: The AV Club
The West Wing will mark it’s 25th anniversary with an event at The White House. Read: Indiewire
RIP Kingswood Country star Lex Marinos. Read: TV Tonight
Roland Emmerich is shopping around a three-season TV series based on Lawrence of Arabia. Read: Dark Horizons
A True Gentleman debuts Sept 26 on Netflix.
A charming male escort finds his life turned upside down when he starts to fall in love, challenging him to discover what he truly wants and needs.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon returns to AMC Sept 29.
That’s the newsletter for today.
Consider becoming a paid supporter of the Always Be Watching newsletter.
Follow Dan Barrett on Threads. Follow Dan on Bluesky. Follow Dan on Letterboxd. Connect with Dan on Linkedin.
Gosh, the headline of this post did not age well.