Whats Going on With Emmys Drama Category? Should It Cast an Even Wider Net?

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The debate over whether shows like “The Bear” belong in the comedy race — which I think we’ve all tackled ad infinitum at this point — has perhaps clouded a bigger conundrum in Emmyland. It’s something I have heard asked by a few pundits and awards executives this Emmy season: What’s going on with drama?

Perhaps we can blame the Hollywood strikes, the end of several landmark series last year or even the lengthy lead time it takes to produce pricey, epic series. But this does feel like a bit of a “bye” year for the drama series category.

Make no mistake: that’s not to discount some of the fantastic series nominated this year. But honestly, thank goodness FX decided to turn “Shōgun” into a drama series (a Season 2 is presently in the works), injecting a bit more life into the category.

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Of course, “The Crown” is in the running for its sixth and final season and was the easy front-runner (as a previous winner) until “Shōgun” showed up. But with three-time winner “Succession” now retired, and 2023 nominees including “House of the Dragon,” “The Last of Us,” “The White Lotus,” “Andor” and “Yellowjackets” all on hiatus (due to some of those reasons I mentioned above), it flung the doors wide open for some newcomers — and unexpected nominations for series several seasons into their run.

First off, let me express my disappointment and frustration that “Better Call Saul” couldn’t make it to one more year. The show, which also ended its run with a final best drama nomination in 2023, went 0 for 53 in total Emmy tallies. This year, who knows? In a much more open race, it might have pulled off a win or two somewhere.

But back to this time out. With a fully clean slate from last year’s drama nominations, the door opened to include Season 3 of the wild Apple TV+ series “The Morning Show” (which shot one of its characters into space, I may remind you).

HBO’s “The Gilded Age” scored a slot in its second season. “Slow Horses,” which had been ignored for the past two years in all categories, suddenly landed nine nods (including drama and best actor for Gary Oldman) in its third season.

Also managing to grab a nom was “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” which launched a bit on the quiet side but then campaigned hard and won over voters with stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. Perhaps most surprising, two extremely sci-fi shows — not exactly a genre that Emmy voters gravitate toward — got in: Amazon Prime Video’s wildly successful video game adaptation “Fallout” (perhaps grabbing the “The Last of Us” gamers from last year) and Netflix’s “3 Body Problem.”

So, does Emmy have an 8 Body Problem? Does this fly in the face of my long-running campaign to expand the drama and comedy fields to 10? Sorry, no, you’re not going to change my mind that easily.

All these shows belong here, even if they happen to be the beneficiaries of an unusual year. And honestly, if we had 10 slots this year, then maybe — just maybe — we could have gotten a broadcast show back in there (something that hasn’t happened since the end of “This Is Us” in 2021).

And also, let’s just enjoy this Emmys as an unusual respite from what next year promises to be the return of the bloodbath. Get ready for it: “House of the Dragon,” “The Last of Us,” “Severance,” “Squid Game,” “The White Lotus,” “Yellowjackets” and more. (Probably not “Stranger Things” though. Those kids are going to be 42 at their next Emmys.)

Some of this year’s nominees already won’t be back, like the retiring “The Crown,” and series that will need more time for production, like “Shōgun.” But for those eyeing a repeat nom, you better step up your game. I’m thinking Mars this time, “The Morning Show”!

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