We’re hoping these shows will win big on Emmy night.
What’s more fun than the Oscars but a ton more competitive than the Golden Globes? Why it’s the Emmys, of course! This year’s Emmy nominees are a particularly strong lineup, and we’ll soon find out what gets chosen as the best of the best when the awards are handed out on Sept. 12.
If you’re looking to catch up as much as you can, Katie has a few recommendations from the nominees that we think really rise above the rest.
“Yellowjackets was one of the most captivating shows I had seen in a long long time,” says Katie. “The cast, the writing, the visuals…dark, but incredible. I think I still have nightmares about Misty!”
Looking for something lighter? “I will never get sick of Curb Your Enthusiasm and the genius of Larry David, Ted Lasso was the salve the world needed in this crazy time, and Jean Smart has me in stitches with every episode of Hacks.” (And if you love Jean Smart as much as Katie does, check out their conversation right here.)
If you’ve seen all of these already, Katie has you covered: “I could go on and on, but my honorable mentions are Severance (I loved interviewing Adam Scott!), Under the Banner of Heaven (Andrew Garfield is incredible), and The White Lotus (Connie Britton crushed it).”
Here are a few more of Team KCM’s favorite shows — and some more thoughts from our resident TV gluttons! — for those of you keen to cut down on your “what to watch” scrolling time tonight.
Succession (HBO)
You’d have to have been living under a rock to have missed this one up until now. To give Succession its due, it’s absolutely maintained the stunning caliber of performances, storylines, and scripts that have consistently seen it described as the best show on TV since season one kicked off in 2018. “It’s probably the best dramatic series since The Sopranos and Breaking Bad,” says John. “What more can I say? The writing’s brilliant, and the writers actually thought about the story arc seasons before they got there! And an incredible cast led by Brian Cox (Roy Logan) and Jeremy Strong (Kendall Logan).” What are you waiting for?
Ozark (Netflix)
Jason Bateman shines as a fraught financial adviser who uproots his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks after a money laundering scheme goes south. Against a tense backdrop of drug bosses and high-skates debts, he and his family bond in the summer resort community. “I loved this series, even if I couldn’t always exactly follow what was going on with Colombian drug cartels and money laundering,” says John. “Jason Bateman is fantastic as Marty Byrde, as is Laura Linney as Wendy. I loved it so much that I took a golf trip a year ago to — where else — the Ozarks (Big Cedar Lodge)!” If you’ve finished Ozark, try one of these shows like Ozark.
Only Murders In The Building (Hulu)
This show has been the critics’ darling this last year, boasting a rare 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and scoring near-faultless reviews at every turn. You only need to get 10 or so minutes into the first episode to understand why, as its lead cast (Selena Gomez, Martin Short, and Steve Martin) are so charming they hardly need a genuinely unique narrative to follow — though happily for us, this show has that, too. This unlikely team of neighbors is on the hunt for the true killer of another neighbor — and they’re making a podcast about it along the way. It’s rare that a whodunit makes for such ideal comfort watching, but this funny, sweet show is so meta (is anyone not making a podcast these days!?) that you feel sufficiently cosseted at all times. If you’re in the market for evening viewing with enough wit and ingenuity to reassure you that you’re having a legitimate cultural experience, but a plot that you can follow when you’re half-asleep, this is the show for you.
Dopesick (Hulu)
This is a challenging but necessary watch. Based on true stories, the show details the experience of Americans in a mining community who fell victim to the opioid epidemic fueled in large part by Purdue Pharma’s marketing of what it described as a “non-addictive” painkiller, OxyContin. Its raw, disquieting portrayals of addiction reveal the horrific impact of widespread opioid use and the gross negligence that saw corporate greed take advantage of an overstretched regulatory system.
“I think every American should watch this show,” says Katie. “It is such a smart, important chronicle of the opioid crisis. Every minute is so heart-wrenching.”
“Whatever you think of the Sackler family or their opioid empire, the now bankrupt Purdue Pharma, you’re unlikely to feel sorry for them after watching this,” says John. “Michael Keaton is phenomenal. Damn, he can do Batman, Ray Kroc, Birdman, or Dr. Finnex…and you believe him in everything!”
Inventing Anna (Netflix)
Shonda Rhimes’ colorful retelling of how the infamous fake heiress Anna Delvey (or really, Anna Sorokin) conned her way into New York City’s elite got a little side-eye for glamorizing grifting, but we encourage you to watch it before you make up your mind. From the trademark Shondaland assault on the senses (we’re talking high fashion, Instagrammable locations, nary a scene that looks like real life) to the crazy story itself, Inventing Anna is writ through with the zeitgeist, but it’s elevated by truly extraordinary performances from its main cast. Julia Garner, who was nominated for an Emmy in the Leading Actress category for this (as well as Supporting for Ozark), has to be seen to be believed in the titular role, in which she modifies her pitch-perfect accent depending on where she is or who she’s speaking to — just as Anna apparently did — and moves between comedy and tragic drama with an ease that belies her young years.
The Dropout (Hulu)
Scam artists really had a moment this year, didn’t they? This real-life story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos is far more serious than Anna Delvey’s however — and The Dropout’s leads Amanda Seyfried and Naveen Andrews pull off a delicate balancing act with aplomb. Seyfried plays Holmes from her pre-college days right up until the Wall Street Journal’s revelation that her healthcare technology is putting millions of patients at risk. Her unsettling portrayal of an ambitious sociopath who’s also involved in an at-times abusive relationship with her COO Sunny Balwani (Andrews) does justice both to the social complexities at work, and the immense crimes she and Sunny committed. It’s more than entertaining enough to be enjoyed in isolation, but if you’re anything like us, you’ll be refreshing your memory on the eyewatering real-life details at the end of every nail-biting episode.
“I was obsessed with Holmes’ voice and her rise while it was happening — and mesmerized by the quick collapse,” says John. “John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood is a must-read. Getting the brilliant Amanda Seyfried to take on the role of Holmes was a stroke of genius. She’s incredible — and bizarre doesn’t begin to describe her.”
Squid Game (Netflix)
This South Korean survival drama is the first non-English language show to be nominated in the Emmys Best Drama category — and no wonder, as it makes The Hunger Games look like a casual playground scuffle. It’s a fairly familiar premise: Hundreds of contestants in need of quick cash agree to compete in children’s games for a ₩45.6 billion ($38 million) prize — but if they lose, they die. It’s so well-executed (forgive the pun) that it feels incredibly fresh nevertheless, not least because the context, perversely, feels acutely and uncomfortably real. Squid Game proved so compelling when it was released last fall that it quickly surpassed Bridgerton to claim the title of Netflix’s most-watched show. Prepare to be horrified but gripped as you follow the contestants’ struggle between their instinct for survival and their collective conscience.
Euphoria (HBO)
Rarely has a show’s title been so misleading when it comes to characterizing the experience of its cast — who in this case are a bunch of stressed-out, heavy-partying high schoolers. Someone (we can’t remember who) once said that Euphoria’s genius is in how it exaggerates how hideous being a teenager is, since that’s the only way to communicate to an adult audience just how extreme adolescent emotions feel in the moment. This may serve as some comfort to any parents out there, since the portrayals of underage sex, intimate partner violence, and drug use — so, so much drug use — are not for the faint of heart. Every episode is crafted like a work of art though, from the beautifully-framed shots to the impeccable script to the heart-wrenching performances. Euphoria more than backs up its graphic content with real emotional heft, whether it’s depicting a trans teen’s early experience, sexual awakening, first love, or darker themes like addiction and abuse. Take a deep breath, and dive in.
