If the enormous success of terrible superhero films like Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice teaches us anything, it’s the simple fact that as long as the money keeps coming, Hollywood will continue to produce sequels, franchise-films and superhero sagas until the end of time.
The People v OJ Simpson leads the race with six nods.
If the enormous success of terrible superhero films like Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice teaches us anything, it’s the simple fact that as long as the money keeps coming, Hollywood will continue to produce sequels, franchise-films and superhero sagas until the end of time.
But TV remains a place where diverse stories often find a home. With that in mind, we arrive to the heart of our story, the Critics Choice TV nominations that were unveiled earlier this week.
Surprisingly enough, HBO’s Game of Thrones is not leading the race as has been the case with other award ceremonies. In fact, FX is riding high on the success of its limited series, The People v OJ Simpson that has picked up six nominations including two in the Best Actor category for Cuba Gooding Jr. and Courtney B. Vance respectively and one for Sarah Paulson, also in lead acting category, for her portrayal of prosecutor Marcia Clark.
Aside from GoT, limited series shows like The Night Manager as well as Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, produced by one Tina Fey, also managed to collect five nominations each.
Drama categories seem to be the most competitive as new shows like The Crown, This Is Us and Westworld compete with fan favourite productions like Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones, Mr. Robot and Stranger Things.
In the category of Best Actor (drama series), anything is possible as Rami Malek from Mr. Robot goes up against Kevin Spacey in House of Cards, Sam Heughan in Outlander, Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul, Matthew Rhys in The Americans and Liev Schreiber in Ray Donovan.
Best Actress (drama series) has a few surprises; while nominations for Viola Davis in How to Get Away With Murder, Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black, Keri Russell in The Americans and Robin Wright in House of Cards have merit, others make little sense such as nods for Evan Rachel Wood in Westworld and Caitriona Balfe in Outlander. The snubbing of one Taraji P. Henson from Empire is conspicuous and a glaring error.
A brief look at nominations…
Best Comedy Series
Atlanta
Black-ish
Fleabag
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep
Best Drama Series
Better Call Saul
Game of Thrones
Mr. Robot
Stranger Things
The Crown
This Is Us
Westworld
Best Actress - Comedy Series
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Constance Wu, Fresh Off the Boat
Best Actor - Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Bill Hader, Documentary Now!
Patrick Stewart, Blunt Talk
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Best Actor – Drama Series
Sam Heughan, Outlander
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Best Actress - Drama Series
Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld
Robin Wright, House of Cards
