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Well, that’s another year done and dusted. The Emmy Awards have been presented, the tables have been cleared and the floors swept, and the drinks quaffed and/or cried into. We watched the ceremony on Monday so you didn’t have to – and if you want to know what went down, you can read the blow-by-blow blog here or the key moments summary here. Now all that’s left is for you to catch up on the shows that the Television Academy deemed the year’s best. There are plenty to choose from, but what follows are the standouts, as determined by the voters and by us. Happy viewing.
The Pitt
Noah Wyle stars as Dr Michael Robinavitch in medical drama The Pitt.
What it won: Five awards, including outstanding drama series, lead actor (Noah Wyle), guest actor (Shawn Hatosy), and supporting actress (Katherine LaNasa).
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Where to watch it: HBO Max (via Foxtel and Amazon Prime Video)
What we said about it: “The show, set in real time over a 15-hour shift in a Pittsburgh emergency department, has been praised by many in the medical community for its accuracy. That goes not just for the medicine on screen (though that really is notable, with emergency room doctor/ER producer Joe Sachs on the writing team, and practising doctors training actors on set) but also the types of characters, their relationships to each other and their patients, and, crucially, the trauma they hold. The series is unflinching in its depiction of the human suffering [the medicos] deal with daily … as well as issues such as violence from patients and post-COVID PTSD.” Read Meg Watson’s feature here.
Severance
Adam Scott and Britt Lower in Severance.
What it won: Eight awards, including for lead actress (Britt Lower), guest actress (Merritt Wever), supporting actor (Tramell Tillman), title design and cinematography.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
What we said about it: “Not since the heady days of Lost almost 20 years ago has a television series spawned so many theories, interpretations and trips down internet rabbit holes by obsessed fans trying to solve the puzzles deliberately set by show creator Dan Erickson and producer-director Ben Stiller.” Read Karl Quinn’s round-up of crazy fan theories here and Meg Watson’s interview with Australian star Dichen Lachman here.
The Studio
Seth Rogen stars as an out-of-his-depth studio boss in The Studio.
What it won: 13 awards, including lead actor (Seth Rogen), writing, directing, guest actor (Bryan Cranston) and comedy series.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
What we said about it: Seth Rogen revealed the unlikely inspiration for The Studio’s affectionate skewering of all things Hollywood in a fascinating interview with Michael Idato. “It’s really The Larry Sanders Show,” said Rogen. “That’s the target that we were trying to hit in a lot of ways. For me as a performer, it was something I had talked a lot about, to try and come up with a character that is inherently comedic the way that the Larry Sanders character is.” Read the full interview here.
Hacks
Ava (Hannah Einbinder) and Deborah (Jean Smart) in the fourth season of Hacks.
What it won: Three awards in the comedy fields – lead actress (Jean Smart), supporting actress (Hannah Einbinder) and guest actress (Julianne Nicholson).
Where to watch it: Stan*
What we said about it: “Despite the new setting and the new Deborah-Ava dynamic, Hacks remains as sharp as ever. Even if it’s often treading some similar ground, the chemistry between Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart never gets old.” Read Kylie Northover’s review of season four here.
Adolescence
Mark Stanley, Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham in the first episode of Adolescence.
What it won: Nine awards in the limited or anthology series categories, including for writing, directing, cinematography and series, and for lead actor (Stephen Graham), supporting actor (Owen Cooper, who became, at 15, the youngest ever winner of the award), and supporting actress (Erin Doherty).
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Where to watch it: Netflix
What we said about it: “Each episode took three weeks to pull together: a week for the actors to rehearse with director Philip Barantini and writer Jack Thorne, a week for tech rehearsals, in which every movement was choreographed, and a week for the actual shoot. There was time for two takes per day, though sometimes a take was abandoned partway. Adolescence was only possible because the technology (lightweight cameras and rigs, high-powered drones) and the established modes of working for this creative team allow it. They create the space for exceptional performances to happen.” Read Karl Quinn’s story here on the history of one-shot filmmaking and how it was deployed in Adolescence (and The Studio).
The Penguin
Colin Farrell is unrecognisable in The Penguin, a show that was richly rewarded in the costume, hair, make-up and prosthetics categories.
What it won: Nine awards, including for hairstyling, prosthetics, make-up and visual effects. Cristin Milioti won lead actress in a limited or anthology series.
Where to watch it: HBO Max
What we said about it: “The Penguin is set a week after The Batman’s story concluded in a cataclysmic reckoning, but it does not feature Robert Pattinson’s caped crusader in any material way. And it’s all the better for it. In focusing on Colin Farrell’s bulky gangland lieutenant, Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin, the series thankfully finds its own pulpy purpose as a gangland saga built around a pair of compelling lead performances.” Read Craig Mathieson’s review here.
Somebody Somewhere
Besties Joel (Jeff Hiller) and Sam (Bridget Everett) in Somebody Somewhere.
What it won: Supporting actor in a comedy series for Jeff Hiller, who played Joel.
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Where to watch it: HBO Max
What we said about it: “This incredible series – all small moments and large character studies – is one of the best American shows in years. There’s an undercurrent of melancholy throughout, but Somebody Somewhere is also incredibly warm and very funny. And why is it so surprising to see middle-aged characters who look like real people? Its pace is also unlike most television drama. Characters hang out at home, drive to places in real time, gossip, go to Bible study – the stakes are, in the traditional dramatic sense, low.” Read Kylie Northover’s review here.
What did you think of the winning shows? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
*Stan is owned by Nine, publisher if this masthead.
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