The Emmy ballots have closed, but the debate is still raging on: What shows and stars will make the cut? We’ll find out when the nominations are announced on July 8, but in the meantime, four top Emmy pundits — The Hollywood Reporter‘s Scott Feinberg, Deadline’s Pete Hammond, Variety‘s Clayton Davis, and IndieWire’s Marcus Jones gathered for a conversation an argument with Gold Derby’s editor-in-chief Debra Birnbaum about who will hear their names called next week (watch above).
As usual, the gloves came off early — but the one thing they did agree on is that there’s too much content. “It’s just very difficult to see all of this,” admits Hammond. “I can’t imagine people watching all of this. So again, the familiar is going to rise to the top.”
But while there may be many series that get nominated again, Feinberg predicts some disappointments ahead. “We may be looking at some that have been there for year after year that are actually going to fall out potentially,” he says. “There are things that have clearly lost momentum, like The Bear now up for its fourth season, and on the drama side of things, we’ll see if Stranger Things can continue to sneak into the category.”
The pundits did agree that the limited series category — which has had the most heat in recent years — definitely feels less exciting this cycle. The pundits (mostly) agree that Love Story, Beef, and The Beast in Me are safe — with DTF St. Louis (“it is very weird for a lot of people”) and Half Man (“difficult for many viewers to actually get through”) less certain.
With the TV Academy now standing at 24,000 members, “it’s anybody’s ball game,” says Hammond. “That’s why a show like Love Story, which I didn’t vote for, but I think will easily get nominated, because it’s got all of the zeitgeist behind it.”
Davis explains why he thinks Lord of the Flies gets in: “I’ve never found someone in real life who watches Slow Horses, but that still keeps getting in wins serious Emmys,” he says, “and I think there’s always like a prestige British vote that needs to go somewhere, and I think Lord of the Flies maybe gets some of that.”
And sometimes it’s a platform problem: “Do enough voters watch Peacock in general?” asks Jones. While he doesn’t think All Her Fault will make the cut, “even I think Sarah Snook is going to be nominated.”
Which Emmy expert do you agree with the most? Sound off in our TV forums — and tune in later this week for Part 2 of the debate, focused on comedy series, and Part 3, focused on drama.
