Ladies and gentlemen, now would be that time of the year when Hollywood’s finest TV members gather to celebrate their accomplishments and maybe take a statuette home. But, as you may know, the 2023 Emmy Awards had to be postponed to next year due to the strike of writers and actors.
To make this time of waiting easier, we put together a list of 6 TV shows you should catch up with before the most prestigious award of TV begins. So grab a popcorn – or champagne, why not? –, your favorite blanket, and start binge-watching these series!
- Succession
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Succession started airing on HBO in 2018 and finished its four season run in 2023. The comedy-drama series centers on the super wealthy Roy family, the owners of a large conglomerate of media and entertainment called Waystar RoyCo. This media empire was built by the family’s patriarch, Logan Roy (Brian Cox), a man of difficult character who is now facing health problems and, essentially, his age. That said, the show follows his four children fighting for the succession of the company and filling their father’s shoes.
But if this was a contest to see what series gets more Emmy nominations, Succession would be the winner, no doubt. The final season of the acclaimed show was nominated for 27 categories, including Outstanding Drama Series – one it has won twice before – and 14 acting nominations. If you haven’t yet, there’s still time to catch up on this family drama before the Emmy Awards begin.
Where to watch: HBO Max
- The Last of Us
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2023 marked an enormous win for video game fans with the release of The Last of Us. The story is set in an apocalyptic world caused by a fungal infection that reached Earth twenty years prior.
It follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a man whose life was tragically changed due to the pandemic, in a quest to guide and protect immune teen Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the United States – without getting killed by the so-called “infected”. The pair of heated-heads find comfort in one another and connect through the difficulties they find in the way.
We connect with them too, and it is hard to say goodbye – or “game over”. But don’t sweat, they are coming back to us in season 2! The show got a total of 24 nominations for the Emmy Awards, and it’s running against Succession for Outstanding Drama Series – I don’t know about you, but I am excited to see who’s taking it home.
Where to watch: HBO Max
- Ted Lasso
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Ted Lasso is a comedy that premiered in 2020. The series is a heartwarming and uplifting story that follows the journey of its titular character. The Apple TV+ show is about an American football coach, Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), and his journey on coaching a struggling soccer team in England – AFC Richmond. Although he understands little to nothing about the sport itself, Ted does understand how to be the most positive and optimistic person there is. And that reflected into the team, the players, and the hearts of everyone that got to know him – including the ones watching it at home.
The TV show got 21 nominations for the Emmy’s, being the most nominated comedy for the Awards. Ted Lasso has finished its trajectory with the fourth season, leaving the fans feeling mixed emotions – because maybe we didn’t want it to end; but mostly a sense of hope and gratitude for characters that we could connect and feel so close to.
“We’re Richmond till we die.
We know we are,
We’re sure we are,
We’re Richmond till we die.”
Where to watch: Apple TV+
- The Bear
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Food. Who doesn’t love it, right? Well, that’s what The Bear is all about. That and family trauma, grief, mental health, pressure in the workplace… and the show is running for Outstanding Comedy Series in the Emmy’s. A little hard to believe, but I guess the messiness and the quickly paced dialogues, the family problems and the everyday in a filled-to-the-top-with-debt-restaurant makes it a little funny (or not).
The Bear centers around Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen-White) and his newly inherited sandwich establishment in Chicago, following the suicide of his older brother. Carmy worked in a Michelin star acclaimed restaurant, a place where stakes are always high, and the smallest mistake can cost everything. So leaving that place to run his brother’s beef shop was a big change in his life, to say the least.
Besides being a completely different place than what he was used to, there were issues all over the place, and he was the one that had to face that. To top it all off, he had to deal with grief and a complicated childhood. So yeah, a TV show about food mostly. The Bear is also running for another 12 Emmy categories, and, if I were you, I would turn up to this mess right now!
Where to watch: Star+
- Abbott Elementary
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In the comedy section of the Emmy’s, we also have the television series Abbott Elementary. The show was created by Quinta Brunson, who also stars in the series as Janine Teagues, a young and optimistic teacher who’s trying to do her best for the kids of Abbott Elementary, a school in Philadelphia.
The TV show follows closely the lives of the teachers at Abbott, in a documentary kind of way. The story highlights the challenging circumstances at the school and the determination of the teachers and staff to help the students succeed, despite the odds. Abbott Elementary got 8 nominations for the Emmy Awards, one more than the past year, and it is strongly in the race to win Outstanding Comedy Series.
Where to watch: Star+
- Jury Duty
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Probably one of the most – if not the most – binge-watchable shows on the list, with only 4 hours and a total of 8 episodes: Jury Duty. This series also has the craziest premise, and I’ll tell you why. Ronald Gladden, an ordinary guy from California, responded to an ad online that was looking for people willing to participate in a documentary about a trial. He was chosen from thousands of candidates to be one of the 12 jurors in the case. They just left a tiny detail out – the whole thing was fake. Everyone participating, the judge, the defendant, the lawyers, the other jury members – all actors. Including actor James Marsden, who played himself.
The “trial” took 17 days, and poor Ronald didn’t suspect a thing, so imagine his shock to find out the entire thing was a hoax. To make it less bitter, he got a prize of 100 thousand dollars. This innovative and funny TV show got 3 Emmy nominations, as well as Outstanding Comedy Series, and it changed Ronald’s life forever, who is not just an ordinary man anymore.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
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The article above was edited by Juliana Sanches.
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