When June rolls around in L.A., there are inevitable constants — June Gloom has descended, school’s out for summer, the jacarandas are in full bloom, and it’s Emmy voting season.
For Your Consideration billboards pop up around town; promos air on every radio station and program from Larry Mantle’s Air Talk to Big Boy’s Neighborhood; elaborate and extravagant parties are thrown by major studios, networks and streaming platforms in hopes of wooing Emmy voters and garnering nominations.
This year has been tricky for the entertainment industry, with the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences having the unusual challenge of juggling two ceremonies in one year because of last year’s labor strikes. So, instead of hitting the year mark, in exactly eight months after the delayed 2023 ceremony, ABC will air 2024’s 76th Emmys on September 15th.
The month of May is the cutoff deadline for Emmy nominations before voting ballots are sent out to Academy members. Nominations-round voting begins and ends in June, with final-round voting wrapping up in August a few weeks prior to the ceremony. Keep in mind a series must premiere nationally by May 31st to be eligible for the 2024 Emmy competition. Six episodes are required to qualify for nominations in all major categories — Animation, Comedy, Drama, Short Form, Variety, and Reality.
So now on to the important question: Are there any murder mysteries worthy of Emmys this year? Hulu certainly thinks so. There’s a giant billboard for A Murder At The End Of The World only six blocks from our house. However, the sure thing in the streaming platform’s back pocket is the critically-acclaimed hit comedy Only Murders In The Building with four 2023 Emmy wins earlier this year. As far as Emmy awards go, Only Murders In The Building has a grand total of twenty-eight nominations and wins over the course of only two seasons of television (with this upcoming third season now in the running for even more). Last season, the go-big-or-go-home play by Hulu was the wise addition of Meryl Streep to OMITB’s cast. Anyone and everyone in television will be shocked if Streep doesn’t secure a nod and win as Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for her role as Loretta Durkin.
Meryl Streep in Only Murders In The Building. Image Courtesy of Hulu
OMITB has only one drawback when it comes to awards season: two amazing actors who are both seasoned comics and very popular in Hollywood. Steve Martin and Martin Sheen will once again be up for an Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series nomination, competing against each other and potentially cancelling out each other’s votes. Martin Short has a leg up on Steve Martin for both his performance and storyline, but who knows? Martin’s patter song was truly fantastic, and, as we recently learned, only took two hours to shoot (which in TV time for a patter song is like five minutes).
Image Courtesy of Selena Gomez
As far as Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series goes, could this be the year for Selena Gomez? She’s fresh off her Cannes Film Festival win. Two weeks ago, Selena Gomez learned she had won the Best Actress Award at Cannes Film Festival, along with all of the women from her new movie Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard. Her co-stars Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascón, and Adriana Paz shared the award with her, with critical-acclaim going to the cast as well as a salute to the director and the film. And winning recognition at Cannes influences Emmy voters.
When it comes to producers and the Outstanding Comedy Series category, I’d hope this would be the year John Hoffman and Steve Martin have it in the bag. Hoffman is an amazing producer and writer and has been instrumental in making Only Murders a hit show. When Steve Martin had the idea for the series, John Hoffman helped make it reality. I can’t think of another showrunner currently working in television with three seasons under their belt who is more deserving of that recognition. In the last two years the show has been acknowledged through nominations, but has been bested by Ted Lasso (2022) and The Bear (2023). The third season of Only Murders has the distinct advantage of being a love letter to Broadway. Television Academy members love a storyline that showcases New York (plenty of New Yorkers vote) and then also wraps itself in a murder mystery musical (plenty of voters have ties to Broadway). With a cast comprised of Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd and Matthew Broderick (and a cameo by Mel Brooks!), it feels like it has to be their year.
In other categories, there are obvious nominations and wins. I’ll be truly stunned if Only Murders doesn’t snag the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics gold statue for Meryl Streep and Ashley Park’s “Look For The Light” by Broadway star and Grammy winner Sara Bareilles (Into The Woods) and the Oscar, Tony and Grammy-award winning team Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman, Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land). Pasek and Paul, who composed the music that elevated OMITB’s third season with their music for the fictitious musical within the show, Death Rattle Dazzle, are shoo-ins.
Kali Reís and Jodie Foster in True Detective: Night Country, Image Courtesy of HBO
Are there any other shows that are as sure-fire for nominations? There are several mysteries who could surprise us in numerous Emmy categories. A period mystery series on PBS, Miss Scarlet & The Duke, feels like show that could win for Outstanding Period Costumes For A Series. One of Hulu’s other mysteries that might garner nominations is A Murder At The End Of The World where, if you watched it, you know is deserving of an Outstanding Cinematography In A Drama Series nomination. When it comes to a dark horse, HBO’s True Detective: Night Country could gallop in and topple the table in the Outstanding Drama Series category (Read my review here). Although I can’t picture True Detective: Night Country sweeping all categories, Issa Lopez hit it out of the park with her chapter in the anthology series with both writing and directing, not to mention the significance of giving an important voice to an indigenous community long overlooked by television and entertainment as a whole. Even critics and naysayers can’t deny the show has sparked the most conversations and debates among viewers this year, and it’s been quite some time since a mystery series has done that.
So there you have it! Did I miss anything? I’d love to hear your thoughts on who you think deserves a nod at this year’s Emmys, in mysteries and otherwise.
After You Read: Watch John Hoffman’s interview with Alexa Junge for The Writers Guild Foundation.
Song of the Day: “Look For The Light” by Meryl Streep and Ashley Park
It was a great read again. Your vibrant overview of the Emmy season perfectly captures the excitement and complexities of the nomination process. Your insight into "Only Murders In The Building" and its vital contender status is compelling. Thank you