The Emmy Awards Are Finally Recognizing Sci-Fi
(But Diego Luna was still snubbed.)
The Emmy Awards have been TV’s biggest awards since they started in 1949, but like all award shows, they come with their own biases. For fans of science-fiction, the Emmys are usually sources of disappointment. Sure, shows like WandaVision and The Mandalorian may amass recognition in below-the-line categories like prosthetic makeup or costume design, but they often went overlooked in the main categories, especially the acting categories.
But this year’s nominations prove that, despite some glaring snubs, sci-fi TV is more recognized than ever. It’s a major sea change for the awards and a sign that we’re now living in a new era of sci-fi TV, where genre TV can also dominate in mainstream circles on both broadcast and streaming.
ABC’s Paradise was a surprise success with the acting Emmy nominations.
The biggest winner of the nominations is undoubtedly Severance, which racked up a massive 27 nods. In acting, Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, John Turturro, Tramell Tillman, and Patricia Arquette were all nominated for the Lead or Supporting acting categories. But it’s not just the Emmy’s love for Severance that shows a science-fiction renaissance. In fact, half of the nominations for Outstanding Drama Series are sci-fi shows: Severance, The Last of Us, Andor, and Paradise.
Three of these were sure things according to most predictions, but Paradise was a complete surprise. The ABC/Hulu series flew under the radar because of its unique premise: it began as a standard political thriller, but at the end of the first episode, it was revealed that the entire story takes place in an underground city designed to keep a section of the population safe from an apocalypse on the surface. It’s a sleeper hit, but comes from a proven creator, This is Us’ Dan Fogelman, and secured Emmy nominations for its stars Sterling K. Brown, James Marsden, and Julianne Nicholson.
But there are still some disappointments from this list. Andor Season 2 proved just how excellent Star Wars TV could be, and that was reflected in 14 nominations. However, those nominations were mostly for production elements like the song “We Are The Ghor,” Alan Tudyk’s voice-over performance as K2-SO, and visual effects. Many fans were hoping this year would bring Diego Luna his first acting nomination for his role as Cassian Andor, but he was unfortunately snubbed.
Diego Luna didn’t get nominated for Andor, but Forest Whitaker did.
But it wasn’t completely shut out of the acting categories. The guest acting nominations are jam-packed with genre performances. Forest Whitaker was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Saw Gerrera in Andor, alongside Jeffrey Wright and Joe Pantoliano for The Last of Us, and Giancarlo Esposito for The Boys. The Guest Actress category entirely consists of nominations for genre performances: Catherine O’Hara and Kaitlyn Dever for The Last of Us, Jane Alexander, Merrit Wever, and Gwendoline Christie for Severance, and Cherry Jones for The Handmaid’s Tale.
Even genre shows that would often go completely overlooked garnered nominations. Interview With the Vampire Season 1 was completely shut out, but Season 2 was nominated for two separate categories: Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup and Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Hairstyling. The Acolyte may have been more controversial than Andor, but it still got a nomination for Sound Editing. Doctor Who may have been running for more than 60 years now, but this year brings it its first Emmy nomination for, of all things, Outstanding Choreography for one episode’s musical number ending.
The rise of streaming may have brought on a new wave of genre TV, but this year, we are finally seeing mainstream culture rise to meet it. Now that there’s proof even experimental sci-fi shows can be popular, there’s no telling how ambitious these series will become in the future.
