OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

ELSBETH

Tape A: “Pilot” & “Reality Shock”

Tape B: “Ball Girl” & “An Ear For An Ear”

Tape C: “Artificial Genius” & “Sweet Justice”

THE GILDED AGE

Tape A: “You Don't Even Like Opera” & “Some Sort of Trick”

Tape B: “His Grace the Duke” & “Close Enough To Touch”

Tape C: “Wonders Never Cease” & “In Terms of Winning and Losing”

MR. AND MRS. SMITH

Tape A: “First Date” & “Second Date”

Tape B: “Double Date” & “Do You Want Kids?”

Tape C: “Infidelity” & “A Breakup”

SHŌGUN

Tape A: “Anjin” & “Servants of Two Masters”

Tape B: “Broken to the Fist” & “Ladies of the Willow World”

Tape C: “Crimson Sky” & “A Dream of a Dream”

SILO

Tape A: “Freedom Day” & “Holston's Pick”

Tape B: “The Relic” & “The Flamekeepers”

Tape C: “The Getaway” & “Outside”

SLOW HORSES

Tape A: “Strange Games” & “Hard Lessons”

Tape B: “Negotiating With Tigers” & “Uninvited Guests”

Tape C: “Cleaning Up” & “Footprints”

AND THE WINNER IS:

SHÔGUN

This is the first win and nomination for Shôgun in this category. For its first season Shôgun has received twenty eight nominations winning eleven of them. The show won for Drama Series, Drama Ensemble, Leading Drama Actor (Sanada), Leading Drama Actress (Sawai), Supporting Drama Actor (Asano), Directing, Choreography, Editing, Main Titles Theme Music, Music Composition and Sound. The show was also nominated for Leading Drama Actor (Jarvis), Supporting Drama Actor (Hiro), Supporting Drama Actress (Hoshi), Supporting Drama Actress (Nikaido), Guest Drama Actor (Carbonell), Guest Drama Actress (Miyamoto), Directing, Writing (x2), Casting, Cinematography, Costume Design, Hairstyling, Main Titles Design, Makeup, Production Design & Visual Effects.

I mean it's clear I adored the first season of Shôgun. The series has received the most nominations in a year that I've ever given a single show and based on it's brilliant quality I could not choose any other series but it for the drama top prize. I've watched the season twice and each time have found it pretty fabulous. The series is bound to go down in history as one of the greatest television events even surpassing the 80's version which itself was a big success.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY

Tape A: “Career Day”

Tape B: “Smoking” & “Librarian”

Tape C: “Double Date” & “Smith Playground”

THE BEAR

Tape A: “Beef” & “Honeydew”

Tape B: “Fishes” & “Forks”

Tape C: “Omelette” & “The Bear”

HACKS

Tape A: “Just For Laughs” & ”Better Late”

Tape B: “One Day” & “Par for the Course”

Tape C: “The Deborah Vance Christmas Spectacular”

LOOT

Tape A: “Space for Everyone” & “Vengeance Falls”

Tape B: “Mally's” & “Women Who Rule”

Tape C: “Grace” & “Mood Vibrations”

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING

Tape A: “The Show Must…” & “The Beat Goes On”

Tape B: “The White Room” & “Ah, Love!”

Tape C: “Sitzprobe” & “Opening Night”

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

Tape A: “A Night Out with the Guys” & “Pride Parade”

Tape B: “Local News” & “Urgent Care”

Tape C: “A Weekend at Morrigan Manor” & “Exit Interview”

AND THE WINNER IS:

HACKS

This is the first win and third nomination for Hacks in this category. For its third season Hacks has received five nominations winning two of them. The show won for Comedy Series and Directing. The show was also nominated for Leading Comedy Actress (Smart), Guest Comedy Actress (Olsen) & Comedy Writing.

This past year like many before has been a stellar time for comedy in television and narrowing the field down to six was already difficult enough deciding on an overall winner was again a difficult decision. In the end I've gone with the impressive third season of Hacks which aired completely in the month of May manging to out do it's previous two seasons of build up and instantly become top priority in terms of television comedy. The show has so many thrilling comedic moments, satisfying drama parts and brilliant characters to experience the lives of throughout. With how the season ended I look forward to what comes next as the show has become so unstoppable and brilliant.

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES

THE CROWN (Khalid Abdalla, Sebastian Blunt, Bertie Carvel, Salim Daw, Elizabeth Debicki, Luther Ford, Claudia Harrison, Lesley Manville, Ed McVey, James Murray, Jonathan Pryce, Imelda Staunton, Marcia Warren, Dominic West, Olivia Williams)

ELSBETH (Carrie Preston, Carra Patterson, Wendell Pierce, Fredric Lehne, Danny McCarthy)

THE GILDED AGE (Ben Ahlers, Ashlie Atkinson, Christine Baranski, Denée Benton, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Michael Cerveris, Carrie Coon, Kelley Curran, Taissa Farmiga, David Furr, Jack Gilpin, Ward Horton, Louisa Jacobson, Simon Jones, Sullivan Jones, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Nathan Lane, Matilda Lawler, Robert Sean Leonard, Audra McDonald, Debra Monk, Donna Murphy, Kristine Nielsen, Cynthia Nixon, Kelli O'Hara, Patrick Page, Harry Richardson, Taylor Richardson, Blake Ritson, Jeremy Shamos, Douglas Sills, Morgan Spector, John Douglas Thompson, Erin Wilhelmi)

LOKI (Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku, Eugene Cordero, Rafael Casal, Kate Dickie, Liz Carr, Neil Ellice, Ke Huy Quan, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Richard Dixon, Jonathan Majors)

SHŌGUN (Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano, Yûki Kedôin, Akiko Kobayashi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Eushin Lee, Takehiro Hira, Yuki Kura, Saeko Kimura, Hiroto Kanai, Moeka Hoshi, Shinnosuke Abe, Hiromoto Ida, Yutaro Ryan Oka, Jodai Suzuki, Kengo Hashimoto, Tommy Bastow, Fumi Nikaidô, Tokuma Nishioka, Yasunari Takeshima, Takeshi Kurokawa, Sen Mars, Mako Fujimoto, Emi Kamito, Erisa Ichikawa, Daiki Yoshizaki, Yoriko Dôguchi, Ako, Yuka Kouri, Toshi Toda)

SLOW HORSES (Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Rosalind Eleazar, Saskia Reeves, Christopher Chung, Chris Reilly, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Kadiff Kirwan, Chris Coghill, Sophie Okonedo, Sope Dirisu, Eliot Salt, Charlie Rowe, Nick Blood)

AND THE WINNER IS:

SHÔGUN (COSMO JARVIS, ANNA SAWAI, TADANOBU ASANO, YÛKI KEDÔIN, AKIKO KOBAYASHI, HIROYUKI SANADA, EUSHIN LEE, TAKEHIRO HIRA, YUKI KURA, SAEKO KIMURA, HIROTO KANAI, MOEKA HOSHI, SHINNOSUKE ABE, HIROMOTO IDA, YUTARO RYAN OKA, JODAI SUZUKI, KENGO HASHIMOTO, TOMMY BASTOW, FUMI NIKAIDÔ, TOKUMA NISHIOKA, YASUNARI TAKESHIMA, TAKESHI KUROKAWA, SEN MARS, MAKO FUJIMOTO, EMI KAMITO, ERISA ICHIKAWA, DAIKI YOSHIZAKI, YORIKO DÔGUCHI, AKO, YUKA KOURI, TOSHI TODA)

This is the first win and nomination for the ensemble of Shôgun.

The ensemble of Shôgun was so satisfying to experience as basically every actor in the shows strong ensemble was new to me and if not new what they were performing revealed a newness to me I wasn't familiar they were capable of performing before. I truly was a joy to experience all these cast members on a weekly basis as the series aired.

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, William Stanford Davis, Sheryl Lee Ralph)

THE BEAR (Lionel Boyce, Jose Cervantes Jr, Liza Colón-Zayas, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott, Richard Esteras, Edwin Lee Gibson, Molly Gordon, Corey Hendrix, Matty Matheson, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Oliver Platt, Jeremy Allen White)

GIRLS5EVA (Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Paula Pell, Renée Elise Goldsberry)

IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA (Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, Danny DeVito)

LOOT (Maya Rudolph, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Joel Kim Booster, Ron Funches, Nat Faxon, Meagen Fay, Stephanie Styles)

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING (Gerald Caesar, Michael Cyril Creighton, Linda Emond, Selena Gomez, Allison Guinn, Steve Martin, Ashley Park, Don Darryl Rivera, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Shamos, Martin Short, Meryl Streep, Wesley Taylor, Jason Veasey, Jesse Williams)

AND THE WINNER IS:

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (QUINTA BRUNSON, TYLER JAMES WILLIAMS, JANELLE JAMES, LISA ANN WALTER, CHRIS PERFETTI, WILLIAM STANFORD DAVIS, SHERYL LEE RALPH)

This is the third consecutive win and nomination for the ensemble of Abbott Elementary.

No ensemble of comedic cast members work as well together as the cast of Abbott Elementary does. No matter what combination of cast are put together the cast never fail to make me laugh and I just adore every named member of the ensemble.

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell for (“His Grace the Duke”) in “THE GILDED AGE”

Maya Erskine as Jane Smith / Alana for (“Couples Therapy (Naked & Afraid)”) in “MR. AND MRS. SMITH”

Rebecca Ferguson as Juliette Nichols for (“Holston's Pick”) in “SILO”

Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni for (“Pilot”) in “ELSBETH”

Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko for (“Crimson Sky”) in “SHŌGUN”

Emma Stone as Whitney Siegel for (“It's a Good Day”) in “THE CURSE”

AND THE WINNER IS:

ANNA SAWAI AS TODA MARIKO FOR ("CRIMSON SKY") IN "SHÖGUN"

This is the first win and nomination for Anna Sawai. She won for her performance as Toda Mariko on Shögun.

I will admit that previous to Shögun I had seen Anna Sawai act before in Pachinko but really with so many standout performers on that series she doesn't come top of mind when I think of that series best performers. Tuning into this brilliant series almost immediately I was attracted to the brilliance of her performance. As the series progressed no performance was as captivating and constantly surprising as Sawai's work as Mariko. Whether she was confidently translating between multiple languages, defiently fighting her enemies with her words or emotionally reacting to wrongs around her I was always stunned by her work.

I'm sure to pay more attention to Sawai post this series and I hope others recognise her greatness to.

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Donald Glover as John Smith / Michael for (“Second Date”) in “MR. AND MRS. SMITH”

Walton Goggins as The Ghoul / Cooper Howard for (“The Trap”) in “FALLOUT”

Cosmo Jarvis as Pilot-Major John Blackthorne for (“Anjin”) in “SHŌGUN”

Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb for (“Uninvited Guests”) in “SLOW HORSES”

Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga for (“A Stick of Time”) in “SHŌGUN”

Morgan Spector as George Russell for (“Warning Shots”) in “THE GILDED AGE”

AND THE WINNER IS:

HIROYUKI SANADA AS LORD YOSHI TORANAGA FOR (“A STICK OF TIME”) IN "SHÔGUN"

This is the first win and nomination for Hiroyuki Sanada. He wins for his performance as Lord Yoshii Toranaga on Shôgun.

Until the final category decision of what awards Shôgun would compete for was announced this last month I knew whichever category the show competed in that Hiroyuki Sanada would be a strong contender for a leading actor trophy. As the respected Lord Yoshii Toranaga in the series Sanada was so brilliant in his stoism that when his character exploded whether through spoken dialogue or physical acts it meant a lot. Sanada has been a working actor both in Japan and internationally for over half a century and this is indeed the greatest part he has ever gotten to play. Knowing Sanada was a producer on the show adds to the praise he deserves for his spectacular performance. Even as the series starts as a story through the eyes of the outsider in Blackthorne as the series progresses it is the Japanese characters who you come to love and appreciate most.

I hope this wonderful turn leads to far more exciting opportunities for Sanada and actors similar to him.

OUTSTANDING MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Baby Reindeer

Fargo

Fellow Travelers

One Day

The Sympathizer

Under the Bridge

AND THE WINNER IS:

FARGO

With this win Fargo wins one prize from nine nominations. The season was nominated for Leading Actor (Hamm), Leading Actress (Temple), Supporting Actor (Morris), Supporting Actor (Spruell), Supporting Actress (Moorjani), Directing, Writing and Cinematography.

Fargo as an anthology series has always been among the best seasons of television produced every year the show released with its previous season being perhaps the only I question its overall quality. The fifth season felt like such a strong return to form and I instantly fell in love with the show all over again. With many impressive cast members, a plot that was worth investing my time into it really was a strong show to watch during the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024.