Nominees for TV Shows, The Bear, and More
Drama Series
You couldn’t pay me to watch The Gilded Age. I watched the first two episodes of Fallout and had no idea what was going on, so I bailed. I’m not a fan of The Morning Show — I was frankly shocked that it got nominated. The Crown was well done, and Elizabeth Debicki was amazing, but it’s just not my thing. I really liked 3 Body Problem — you could see how it’s from the same guys that did Game of Thrones, and it even has a “Red Wedding” kind of moment that’s absolutely stunning. I didn’t think I was going to like Mr. & Mrs. Smith — I wasn’t sure why you’d redo something so recent — but I loved it; both stars [Donald Glover and Maya Erskine] were amazing and the dialogue was crackling. Slow Horses is one of my favorite things on TV — you can practically smell Gary Oldman through the TV — and I’m so happy it’s finally getting recognized. But I was just mesmerized by Shogun. I didn’t expect to get pulled in, but it was amazing. Not only was it compelling, but as a producer/director, I’m looking at it going, “They shot this thing in Vancouver?!” I really admire [FX chief John] Landgraf. He zigs when other people zag, which is incredibly rare in our business today. Nobody was rushing to make a limited series based on big books that don’t have continuing characters, plus, it’s almost all in Japanese. There are so many things that made this a giant swing that could’ve easily gone right in the toilet. There aren’t many things on TV where I go, “I don’t even know how they did that,” but there were numerous times with this one. That earthquake sequence? I’d have to go back frame by frame to figure out how the fuck they did that.
My vote Shogun (FX)
Comedy Series
I don’t think the concept of Hacks or Only Murders in the Building holds up — how many times can you force the characters apart and then bring them back together? Palm Royale was the Triple-A [minor leagues of baseball] version of The White Lotus. I love Curb Your Enthusiasm, Reservation Dogs and What We Do in the Shadows, but their nomination is enough. I almost voted for Abbott Elementary because it’s consistently funny, and I want to applaud that it’s on an old-time network. But you can’t not vote for The Bear. I thought, “Well, they’ll never match the first season; they’re going to have the same sophomore blues as most shows.” But the second season was better than the first! This guy Christopher Storer is — and I don’t use this term lightly — a genius. That Christmas dinner episode is one of the top five episodes in TV history.
My vote The Bear (FX)