Reviews on “I May Destroy You” and the 2021 Emmy Nominations

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The 2021 Primetime Emmy nominations were announced on Tuesday. James Poniewozik and Margaret Lyons, two TV critics for the New York Times, had a brief conversation about Emily’s oddly lingering praise in Paris, whether Hamilton really needs more accolades, and to what extent television has picked up on the awards. challenges of 2020.

JAMES PONIEWOZIK Guess I have to start off by congratulating Emily in Paris, which is clearly destined to be one of the most acclaimed series of the 2020s. And more seriously, kudos to I May Destroy You, which has been shut out in recent years. Golden Globe nominations, so Emily could enjoy another odd honor without being juxtaposed with that particular flight.

Speaking of weird, it was obviously a weird year on TV. On the one hand, the medium has undergone a lot of confinement in quarantine; on the other hand, the Emmy-eligible schedule has been somewhat hollowed out by the Covids effect on production. And yet, looking at the broad categories, this was a pretty usual nominations list overall, continuing a lot of trends seen in recent years (strong limited series, These Same Guys in variety talk, etc.). As usual I have my little list of surprises and dashed hopes, but what jumped out at you?

MARGARET LYONS What jumps out at me is that these nominations reflect the television year, that is to say some positive points but also a formidable inertia, a prestige disguised as real excellence, and for me a general feeling of resignation more than exaltation. Again, there are wonderful shows and performances here for sure! But when I was going through the list of qualifying shows and performers, just the tonnage of shows that amounted well they tried seemed so much bigger than the shows that triggered some sort of oh, hope they win! vibrate in me. I’m going to be bold and say: not televisions the best year. If you think The Handmaids Tale is some of the best TV shows right now, I don’t know what to tell you.

PONIEWOZIK One problem with Handmaids is that the drama has weakened as the limited series has grown stronger. I still think The Crown is the kid star of TV for their skill on greatness, solid, flawless acting, but that will never surprise you. Still, maybe it was actually the best drama of last year! I hoped but didn’t expect to see P-Valley recognized for a wild and daring first season; I think Pose as a whole is a feat, but his last season hasn’t been the strongest. On the other hand, happy to see that he’s gaining attention for acting, which is often what has helped keep the show going out of sheer passion.

And yet there were sort of eight nominees for the drama! I know there are a lot of drama series out there, but it’s weird to see so many shows listed and, say, only five in the limited series category with creative dominance. It made room for The Queens Gambit, which was perfectly fun and swaggering, but none for Small Ax, a real success even though it was actually five films. Also: No Ethan Hawke for The Good Lord Bird? He did, like, 75% of all actors on television last year in this role.

LET’S LET No Ethan Hawke, no It’s a sin. No Small Ax or Fargo in the big categories. On the reality side, no couples therapy? Not only? I had a bunch of long term hopes, and at the top of that list was Michael Greyeyes for Rutherford Falls. Maybe next year!

I’m also disappointed that For All Mankind is being ruled out everywhere, as is Harley Quinn. Mythic Quest has been excluded from the main categories. At least the best TV-Q-TV of the year landed a nomination: Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special is ready for a hosted non-fiction series or special.

PONIEWOZIK Also, and at the risk of alienating our Broadway base: Hamilton? I love Hamilton like any red-blooded American theater lover. But that seems like an odd fit for the TV movie category, even though it was shot really well for what turned out to be a TV premiere. It’s a filmed theatrical performance! It takes up a lot of space in already tight categories of actors (which criminally exclude The Underground Railroad). Instead, give Rene Elise Goldsberry a nomination for Girls5Eva, where she actually starred on television.

But on Ted Lasso’s mind to stay positive: Happy for PEN15, delighted that Jane Adams got her first nomination and helps give City So Real the Non-Fiction Series award, possibly the best series of 2020 , period.

LYONS I join you in celebrating. Please join me in being amazed that Girls5Eva did not get a single nomination for her songs. New York Lonely Boy sounded like an Emmy, and I listen to 4 Stars recreationally. I’m shocked.

PONIEWOZIK Lonely boys in New York City don’t watch TV, they listen to podcasts.

Overall, these appointments are neither better nor worse than usual. But they don’t, maybe can’t, really capture what was special and weird about television during the pandemic year. Television has become a sort of virtual classroom, public place and cinema multiplex. (So ​​I guess there Hamilton makes sense.) Celebrating TV as an old regular TV season is the job of the Emmys, but it’s the least that TV was last year. Here’s a more boring year to come, and more boring complaints in a year!

LYONS Has television really done that this year? In the most catastrophic and confusing year of upheaval, viewers were treated largely as usual. And I get it, I get it, and I know a lot of viewers crave normalcy and comfort, and shows have long lead times, and plague art takes a long time to coalesce around a theme. But I look forward to more adventurous, bigger, riskier, and more in-depth shows around this time next year. Kudos to Quibi on his eight nominations, however.

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