Ask Matt: Emmy Nominations Reaction, ‘Blacklist’ Finale & More
Welcome to the Q&A with TV critic — also known to some TV fans as their “TV therapist” — Matt Roush, who’ll try to address whatever you love, loathe, are confused or frustrated or thrilled by in today’s vast TV landscape. (We know background music is too loud, but there’s always closed-captioning.)
One caution: This is a spoiler-free zone, so we won’t be addressing upcoming storylines here unless it’s already common knowledge. Please send your questions and comments to [email protected] and follow me on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush). Look for Ask Matt columns on many Tuesdays and some Fridays.
Some Bright Spots in the Emmy Field
Comment: I know the bloom has left the Ted Lasso rose for you, but I was thrilled to see Phil Dunster‘s Emmy nomination this morning for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Jamie’s character arc over the past three seasons was, for me, the most interesting and emotionally satisfying of the series. Phil Dunster deserves to be recognized for a truly beautiful performance. It was also great to see Keri Russell nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her work in The Diplomat, and Jeff Bridges‘ nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for The Old Man. As is true every year, I’m sure there are snubs I’m unaware of and nominations others feel are undeserved, but I am glad at least three performances I enjoyed this past year were acknowledged as being among the best. I am looking forward to September! — Kelly
Matt Roush: You may need to look forward a little bit further down the road if the industry strikes aren’t resolved soon, because the Emmy telecast almost certainly won’t go off on schedule if the schism drags on. My own early reactions to the Emmy nominations can be found here, but I agree that even if Ted Lasso’s final season may have been over-represented in the nominations (not a surprise), it’s always encouraging when a new actor breaks through, indicating that while the voters often seem to just check names off of a regrettably short list, they at least paid attention enough to realize that Phil as Jamie Tartt had some of the best material in these last episodes. I also agree about Keri Russell breaking through in Netflix’s hugely entertaining The Diplomat, and I’d have been shocked if Jeff Bridges didn’t get noticed for The Old Man (though I am chagrined that his co-star John Lithgow was passed over). A mixed bag as always.
Emmy’s Anti-Broadcast Bias
Comment: I’ve been saying all year that they’ll never give a broadcast show the Best Comedy Emmy again. This year’s nominations prove it. Abbott Elementary gets less than last year. None for writing. And 22 nominations for Ted Lasso. No Lisa Ann Walter, but virtually every Ted Lasso actor. They will never honor a broadcast show again. It’s biased. If Wednesday was on Fox or The CW, it would have zero nominations. I also think a terrible miss was no nominations for the terrific Reservation Dogs. And I think The Bear is terrific, but it’s so a drama. Aren’t we past the point where being 30 minutes makes something a comedy? I wouldn’t even call it a dramedy. It’s a drama. A great drama, but a drama. Also: The entire cast of The White Lotus gets nominated, with 14 of 16 supporting nominations in drama coming from two HBO shows. Insanity. — Marc
Matt Roush: Lots to unpack in this rant, much of which I have no argument with. I’m rooting for Abbott Elementary this year but will not be surprised if I’m disappointed. Still, I’m not counting it out, and I believe there will be a day when a broadcast network show takes the big prize again. (Hasn’t happened since 24 in 2006 for drama, and 2014 for comedy with Modern Family’s last win.) Abbott is well represented in the acting categories, though I’d have been fine if Lisa Ann Walter and Chris Parfetti had made the cut as well. Agreed wholeheartedly on Wednesday. I feel I’ve seen that sort of show a hundred times before, and if they were going to go with a supernatural comedy, why not Ghosts and that fabulous (and so far, completely ignored) ensemble? Because it’s on broadcast TV? Ridiculous.
Regarding The Bear, it is a puzzlement, but until the Academy steps in to stop this kind of cherry-picking by individual shows, they’ll get to put themselves into whatever category they see fit. On the other hand, Peacock’s hourlong Poker Face competes in the comedy category, which is absolutely acceptable, though it could be argued that it’s just as legitimately a mystery drama. Apple’s Bad Sisters is another that could have landed in either camp, choosing drama despite its comedic bent. I found The Bear’s second season to lean a bit more into the dramedy of it all, but no question the intensity of the first season qualifies it more as drama than comedy. (Ditto the final season of HBO’s Barry, which was exceedingly grim.) As for FX on Hulu’s Reservation Dogs, it appears to be one of those small (in scope) series that will have to settle for AFI and Peabody honors, because it keeps slipping under the radar (not unlike HBO’s wonderful Somebody Somewhere).
And while I enjoyed the second season of The White Lotus and consider the final season of Succession to be the year’s top series hands down, for those ensemble casts to dominate the supporting categories to such a degree that nearly every other show was shut out reveals sheer laziness on the part of Emmy voters.
Should Broadcast Shows Be Separated?
Question: I might be in the minority, but I am one of those people that think the Emmy nominations have really been a slap in broadcast TV’s face. They just cannot compete with cable and/or streaming anymore, which I find is a shame. I remember back in the early cable days they had the ACE Cable awards just for this and people complained that the same shows got nominated and won over and over. Do you think it might be time to separate this again? When they only have a few nominations (this season’s example: Abbott Elementary), why watch the award show when one has no idea who the other nominees are? The TV industry is just getting TOO BIG and I refuse to pay any more for all the different streaming and cable networks. What are your thoughts? — Terry S.
Matt Roush: My thought is that you’re not in the minority and variations on these questions and complaints arise every year around this time. And my answer remains the same: It isn’t going to happen. There’s no doubt the playing field is unequal, maybe even more the case than ever because the networks’ parent companies tend to put their most promising shows on their streaming platforms, rarely allowing gems like Abbott Elementary and This Is Us (to name the most successful recent series to break through) to premiere on linear broadcast TV.
No one is unaware that the shows on premium cable and the major streamers have greater latitude with content and for whatever reason rank higher on the industry radar. But to segregate broadcast shows into their own award show (not counting the People’s Choice Awards) would diminish the achievement when one of these series actually breaks through. And to be quite honest, until the broadcast programmers are allowed to raise their game beyond entire nights of a formula franchise, not a lot of shows deserve this kind of attention. (I still believe Freddie Highmore of The Good Doctor is an exception to this.) So for those who won’t or can’t stream or consume the premium offerings that tend to earn the most nominations, the Emmys will continue to feel irrelevant. But that’s not why they exist, just like the Oscars tend to lean toward specialty films that the masses largely ignore. Even if the playing field is unequal, they’re all playing in the same TV episodic sandbox and I don’t see the academy adding new categories or creating a broadcast-only area to address this issue.
Blacklist Left Questions Unanswered
Question: Hope you can help an old lady with a failing memory with regard to the finale of The Blacklist. From the beginning, the show to me has always revolved around (1) WHO is Raymond Reddington, and (2) WHAT exactly is his connection to Elizabeth Keen? I expected those questions to be answered in the series finale and was incredibly disappointed that they were not even addressed. Like the previous years of the show didn’t even exist, and all the mythology was just dumped into the trash can with no resolution in sight. I could be wrong but with rumors swirling that Red would turn out to be Elizabeth’s MOTHER, other people clearly did not think the mythology had been resolved either. I’m glad that particular ending did not come to pass, but we are still left with no answers to exactly why Red was so tied to Elizabeth almost to the point of obsession. It can’t just be that he was a friend of her mother’s so felt protective towards her. Did I miss (or forget) something along the way that actually DID resolve this question, or did they just decide after Elizabeth’s death that it was no longer important and just moved on. What is your take on that?
I was incredibly disappointed with the ending of what had been one of my favorite shows. Too many loose ends left hanging. I also thought Red’s death was ridiculous. A bull? In a field in the middle of Spain? Seriously? I expected to be blown away with revelations and instead just ended up angry and feeling betrayed. The show was ruined for me. Please help me make sense of it all. — Beverly P.
Matt Roush: For this, I had to consult our in-house expert who’s covered The Blacklist from the beginning, because I tend to lose patience with shows that tease out a central mystery beyond the point of good storytelling, and I bailed on this long before they killed Elizabeth off. Sounds to me like you didn’t miss anything, and you were even aware of those cockamamie rumors that Red (or whoever was the person James Spader so excellently played) was Liz’s mother in disguise. Our correspondent confirms to me that at the end, we still didn’t know exactly who this guy really was. Liz’s father may well have been Red Reddington, but the guy living the part of Red wasn’t the real Red. Or some such nonsense. And the bit with the bull was symbolism running amok. You have every right to feel dissatisfied that the show didn’t tie up all of its many loose ends, but it seems to me that by the 10th season, you were either enjoying the ride for the ride’s sake or you were a masochist for staying with it if those unanswered questions still bothered you.
But This Fan Loved It Anyway
Comment: I was a faithful fan of The Blacklist. I loved Raymond. The finale was so perfect. I sobbed. I will not forget these characters. Even though he was the “bad guy,” he was a really good man. — Sandra R.
Matt Roush: And this is why The Blacklist stayed on the air for 10 seasons.
And Finally …
Question: I’ve noticed that it is July, and we still don’t know the fate of some shows. I know that the writers’ and actors’ strike could delay some things, but this seems highly unusual. What are the fates of Home Economics and The Rookie: Feds? Why hasn’t ABC revealed if either are cancelled or renewed? Is there a deadline when a decision is made? — Adam D.
Matt Roush: According to TV Line, the options on the Home Economics core cast were extended past the June 30 deadline, and said deadline does not yet apply to The Rookie: Feds cast, but both are still in an unexplained limbo regarding renewal for a fourth, and second, season respectively. Some of this delay could be attributed to the strikes but is really more a sign of the deep-rooted uncertainties surrounding the economics of network TV, which are only exacerbated by the union actions. It’s not an easy time for anyone, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some shows that got green lights for the upcoming season are sidelined if the dispute isn’t settled before long.
That’s all for now—and I’m away next week, so look for the next column in early August. But remember, we can’t do this without your participation, so please keep sending questions and comments about TV to [email protected] or shoot me a line on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush), and you can also submit questions via the handy form below. (Please include a first name with your question.)
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