This Primetime Emmys Ballot is thanks to contributions from Justin Angebrandt, Ethan Chamberlain, Patrick Dickerson, Liz Large, Dan McMahon, and Jon Scott.
What a strange time to be writing about the Emmys. With the double WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes that gripped Hollywood last year, the Television Academy decided it was best to delay the 75th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards to January 15 to ensure that the actors and writers were able to attend the ceremony, but this means that they are smack dab in the middle of Awards Season! There is a lot to celebrate in television and movies this awards season, but none more so than the unions who are the real winners of 2023. Both WGA and SAG/AFTRA were able to get new contracts that secured a number of important rights for the future of their members in the film and television industry (even if it seems that is less the case in regards to video games). And to the media itself, the 2022-2023 season was a great year for television. We saw the premiere of The Bear and Wednesday, the final season of Succession, a massive video game adaptation in The Last of Us, and memorably meme-able moments from The White Lotus. We also returned to Westeros in House of the Dragon and said goodbye to Succession, Ted Lasso, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Barry, and A Black Lady Sketch Show. We had incredible miniseries and tv movies like Beef, Fire Island, Prey, and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (maybe one of the best seasons for tv movies ever?).
The Primetime Emmys are here to encapsulate the best-of-the-best in television, but they don’t always get it right, in our maybe-not-so-humble opinions. We worked our way through the hard task of watching incredible television to pull together The Official GateCrashers Ballot for the 75th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Now some notes here: this ballot is who we think deserves to win from the nominations, and we know this is likely going to differ from the opinions of the Television Academy and their eventual winners. In addition, we do not necessarily agree with the list of nominations in some of these categories, and we have listed our snubs below. Now, without further ado, our selection for the 75th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards!
Programs
Outstanding Comedy Series
First Place: The Bear
Second Place: Only Murders in the Building
We’re big fans of The Bear at GateCrashers! The not-exactly-a-comedy comedy has blown us away with both its awards-qualifying first season and more recent second season, and it is possible we are maybe swayed by the full body of the work that has come out since the end of the eligibility period for these Emmys. That being said, maybe the Television Academy will be too? Regardless, it seems like a decent bet that The Bear could beat out the other heavy contender for this award, Abbott Elementary.
Snubbed: What We Do In The Shadows
- It’s really disappointing that the Television Academy keeps ignoring What We Do In the Shadows. It’s one of the funniest shows on television right now, with incredible performances from the entire cast. It should easily have made the nominees here, and it is an absolute shame that Harvey Guillén and Matt Berry in particular have never been nominated for their acting. And on top of it, probably one of the best episodes of television of the year, “Private School”, couldn’t even snag a nomination for Ayo Edibiri and Shana Gohd? Who’s blackmailing the Television Academy??? – Patrick Dickerson
Outstanding Drama Series
First Place: The Last of Us
Second Place: Andor
Now is it any surprise that GateCrashers have chosen a video game adaption over perennial awards darling Succession? Honestly, not really. While Succession is almost certain to walk home with the award Monday night, there is no denying the impact that The Last of Us has had last year. It is very exciting to see a video game adaptation become such a huge cultural phenomenon, proving to the world what we already knew: video games are an important artistic medium and deserve to be spoken in the same breath as television, movies, music, and theatre.
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
First Place: Beef and Obi-Wan Kenobi (tie)
Beef is considered the likely favorite going into Monday’s awards, but here at GateCrashers we have just as much love for Ewan McGregor returning to his role as Obi-Wan. Honestly, I think we’d be happy if the award goes either way, but talk about two different shows!
Snubs: I’m a Virgo
Outstanding Reality Competition Program
First Place: Survivor
Second Place: RuPaul’s Drag Race
RuPaul’s Drag Race has kind of shocked the world by becoming an awards favorite. RuPaul Charles walked away from the Creative Arts Emmys earlier this month with an incredible eighth Emmy in a row for Outstanding Host for Reality or Competition Program. There is no denying the impact that Drag Race has had, and it wouldn’t surprise us if it won another Outstanding Reality Competition Program this year, but we think that Survivor had a great year as well! Will it be able to beat out the powerful House of RuPaul?
Outstanding Talk Series
First Place: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Late Night with Seth Meyers (tie)
It’s pretty hard to beat universally loved Stephen Clobert! The Late Show seems to be heading towards an Emmy, but could it see challenge from Seth Meyers and the team at Late Night? We seem to think so!
Outstanding Scripted Variety Series
First Place: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Second Place: A Black Lady Sketch Show
It’s almost unfair that Last Week Tonight got moved to Scripted Variety, as John Oliver is basically unbeatable in whatever category he is entered in, including in the GateCrashers ballot. A Black Lady Sketch Show should have gone home with this award in previous years against perennial winner Saturday Night Live, but I guess the good thing about John Oliver winning the trophy means that we can say that A Black Lady Sketch Show losing isn’t because of racism this year.
Outstanding Variety Special (Live)
First Place: Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodgers Stadium (unanimous)
Elton John EGOT! Elton John EGOT!
Acting
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
First Place: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Second Place: Jason Segal, Shrinking
Snub: Harvey Guillén, What We Do in the Shadows
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
First Place: Quinta Brunson
Second Place: Natasha Lyonne
Snub: Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building (seriously guys, come on! It’s time to nominate her!)
We’re pretty confident the Television Academy is going to agree with us here. The Bear is buoyed by incredible performances that are feats of acting talent, led by Jeremy Allen White. In Abbott Elementary, it is definitely time for Quinta Brunson to win for her acting after taking home the writing award at the 2022 Emmys.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
First Place: Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Second Place: Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
First Place: Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us
Second Place: Sarah Snook, Succession
There’s a decent chance that Bob Odenkirk is going to win Lead Actor here! Too much vote splitting due to three nominations for Succession? HBO won’t be too upset though, as Sarah Snook is almost certainly going to be Lead Actress. Anyway, can you tell we like The Last of Us? (It’s a shame that Bella Ramsey is having to compete in gendered categories! It’s 2023!)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
First Place: Daniel Radcliffe, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Second Place: Michael Shannon, George & Tammy
Snub: Joel Kim Booster, Fire Island
- Hot Take: Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang were robbed by not being nominated for their acting roles in Fire Island. Booster’s portrayal of Noah, the cynical, Elizabeth Bennet-type lead, was phenomenal. The character has so many layers and moods, and Booster (who has rightfully been nominated by the Television Academy for writing the script), brings so much depth to every scene. Yang walked the fine line of playing a character who’s a good person without making Howie a Hallmark-style caricature. He brought a really sweet vulnerability to the role, a feat that’s extra impressive to me as he’s more known for his SNL-style comedy. The Emmys might have missed the mark on this, but consider this an encouragement to see what may be one of the best Austen adaptations of all time. – Liz Large
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
First Place: Ali Wong, Beef
Second Place: (literally everyone else, we could not choose our favorite here)
Snub: Amber Midthunder, Prey
Listen, we don’t love that the TERF wizard movies are still such a big deal, but at least it means Daniel Radcliffe makes enough money that he gets to spend the rest of his career doing all the weirdo parts his little heart desires! Fingers crossed the Television Academy feels the same way. Now for Lead Actress, we are pretty divided on who should win, but we’re confident Ali Wong will rise to the top just as she did in our poll.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
First Place: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
Second Place: Phil Dunster, Ted Lasso; Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso; and James Marsden, Jury Duty (tie)
Snubs: Matt Berry, What We Do in the Shadows; Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
First Place: Ayo Edibiri, The Bear (Unanimous)
What can’t queen of our hearts Ayo Edibiri do? While she might not walk away with the Emmy for season one of The Bear, she wins The GateCrashers Award for Being Just the Absolute Best at Everything She Does in a Way that Makes Us Kind of Mad but It’s Okay because I Mean Damn, What the Fuck Ayo, How are You This Good at Everything????, which is honestly the more prestigious award anyway. We’re hoping the love for The Bear continues to Ebon Moss-Bachrach but we wouldn’t be too upset if James Marsden wins for those baby blues–we mean his performance in Jury Duty.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
First Place: Matthew Macfayden, Succession
Second Place: a four-way tie between actors from, you guessed it, Succession and The White Lotus
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
First Place: Rhea Seehorn, Better Call Saul and Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus (tie)
No one was more meme-able this year than Jennifer Coolidge in The White Lotus, but will it be enough to beat out the competition? All signs point to yes, including her incredible acting talent. And for the first time this ballot, we’ve chosen a winner from Succession, Matthew Macfayden, but then again, it’s a 50/50 shot it’s going to be, isn’t it?
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
First Place: Jesse Plemons, Love & Death and Murray Bartlett, Welcome to Chippendales (tie)
Snub: Bowen Yang, Fire Island
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
First Place: Claire Danes, Fleishman Is in Trouble
Second Place: another tie between several actors!
These categories are probably some of the hardest to predict, as you can see from our votes! There was a wealth of talent on our tv screens this season, so a good chance that any of these nominees walk away with the trophy!
Directing
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
First Place: Bill Hader, Barry
Second Place: Christopher Storer, The Bear
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
First Place: Peter Hoar, The Last of Us
Second Place: Benjamin Caron, Andor
Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
First Place: Dan Trachtenberg, Prey
Second Place: Jake Schreier, Beef
Many of us here at GateCrashers feel that Prey was one of the best movies of 2022, and important in its centering of indigenous performance. Dan Trachtenberg absolutely deserves the Emmy for directing here. We’re also continuing our streak of awarding The Last of Us, this time for directing the absolute heart wrenching “Long, Long Time” that already won Nick Offerman a well-deserved Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series at the Creative Arts Emmys. And will Bill Hader be able to beat Ted Lasso?
Writing
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
First Place: Christopher Storer, The Bear
Second Place: John Hoffman, Matteo Borghese, & Rob Turbovsky, Only Murders in the Building and Bill Hader, Barry (tie)
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
First Place: Craig Mazin, The Last of Us and Beau Williams, Andor (Tie)
Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
First Place: Joel Kim Booster, Fire Island
Second Place: Patrick Aison & Dan Trachtenberg, Prey
A real set of heavyweights in the Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category, but we ultimately selected Joel Kim Booster’s incredible script to Fire Island. There’s no denying Booster deserves an Emmy for that movie. Likewise, we hope to see Christopher Storer win for The Bear, but are a little unsure who we want to win in Drama Series, although we’re pretty confident the Television Academy will reward Succession for their final season.
The 75th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will broadcast in the US on Fox on January 15, 2024.