Emmy Preview: Why “Ted Lasso” Will Defend His Crown And “The Crown” Won’t

Emmy Awards Best of Television 2:00 (CNN) — “Succession,” the winner of the 2020 Emmy for best drama series, will be a top contender at this year’s ceremony on Sept. 12. But if you’re wondering if HBO’s drama can beat last year’s champion, Netflix’s “The Crown,” that showdown of the royal houses of television will have to wait. Once upon a time, hit series premiered every fall, which meant dramas like “Hill Street Blues” and “ER,” or comedies like “Cheers” and “Frasier,” could compete each year during their long run. Now, however, prestige shows tend to run on their own schedules, skipping years – or more – between seasons. Add to that the pandemic that upended production schedules, and viewers can be forgiven for not being able to keep track of what’s eligible from year to year, even with a scorecard. For example, “Barry” and “Atlanta” (both registered as comedies), which after their long hiatus return to the fight for awards (the first in multiple categories, the second for its star Donald Glover) for the first time since 2019 and 2018, respectively. Among the nominees for best drama, the aforementioned “Succession”, “Stranger Things”, “Euphoria”, “Better Call Saul” and “Ozark” were left out of 2021, and the new series “Squid Game”, “Yellowjackets” and “Severance” complete the picture. But they don’t have to worry about competing with “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which launches its fifth season on September 14. For its part, “Ted Lasso” will have the opportunity to repeat as best comedy, which means that the Apple TV + program can defend its crown, but “The Crown” will not. “Hacks” also makes a comeback, while this year’s arguably stiffer competition includes new figures “Abbott Elementary” and “Only Murders in the Building” along with four series that weren’t on the 2021 menu: “Barry “, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. (“Curb” is in something of a trailblazing class of its own, stretching 11 seasons and 51 Emmy nominations over the past 22 years.) Some shows require a separate asterisk because of the Emmy’s eligibility window, which spans the 12-month stretch from June to May. Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles and Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in ‘The Crown,’ which won an Emmy last year for best drama. Both “Stranger Things” and “Better Call Saul” split their seasons, with the first halves falling within that time frame while the second halves didn’t, meaning they’ll be eligible again in 2023. The Emmys schedule may also foment confusion depending on when the series are released. If, for example, you just finished watching the second season of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” remember that it’s the first season that’s nominated this year. Miniseries avoid issues of repetition, but not time. It’s a loaded lineup again, with Hulu’s “Dopesick,” “The Dropout” and “Pam & Tommy,” Netflix’s “Inventing Anna” and HBO’s “The White Lotus” the only one not based on a true story. . Even there, the vagaries of the Emmy schedule and rules play a role. For example, the “Star Wars” prequel “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which opened just before the May 31 deadline but refused to make subsequent episodes available to voters in advance, delaying its consideration through 2023. (Star Ewan McGregor won his first Emmy last year for another miniseries, Netflix’s “Halston.”) The main televised Emmys annually follow the so-called Creative Arts Awards, which were handed out on September 3 and 4 in dozens of categories, mostly technical. For those keeping score, or just enjoying the network rights questions, HBO and HBO Max added 26 awards, followed by Netflix with 23, and streaming services Disney+ (9), Hulu (8) and Amazon Prime. (6). Netflix tied a 47-year-old record with 44 total statuettes last year across all those ceremonies, more than double its closest competitor HBO, which had led in 2020 and 2019 after tying Netflix in 2018. “Stranger Things,” ” Euphoria” and “The White Lotus” each picked up five awards last weekend (and could add to those totals on September 12), as did the special “Adele: One Night Only” and the docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back”. “Succession”, which won nine Emmys in 2020, has only received one award so far, for its excellent cast. Or, to be more precise, the best cast among televised dramas during the 2021-22 eligibility period. The Emmys will air on September 12 at 8 pm ET on NBC.