After a tumultuous year marked by historic strikes from Hollywood’s writers and actors, things seem to have returned to normal with new contracts having been negotiated. Awards season has been in full swing since. The Emmys, which were initially delayed due to the strikes, finally happened Jan. 15, 2024. The postponed date meant that the Emmys occurred the same week as the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, leading to a glut of red carpets, fashion fails, cringe-worthy hosts, both undeserving and deserving winners and non-stop social media reactions. But as some of the biggest prestige shows of the streaming era come to an end and no new contenders appear to be taking their place, one can speculate as to what the future of the Emmys will look like.
There were no major upsets this year. No cry of outrage over any perceived snubs or winners who didn’t “deserve” it. Sarah Snook finally won her first Emmy for “Succession,” as did Kieran Culkin. Matthew Macfayden received the Drama Supporting Actor award, which rounded off the trio of “Succession” acting winners. “Succession” itself proved to be the darling of the night, as expected, with 27 nominations and 10 wins overall. It was a fitting farewell to what’s proved to be one of the best shows of the streaming era. On the other hand, one of the most critically acclaimed shows of the past decade ended its run with a tally of 52 nominations and a stunning zero wins. Despite the high quality of “Better Call Saul,” the sequel series to “Breaking Bad,” the show unfortunately never reached the same level of success as its predecessor.
Over on the comedy side, the underrated gem that is Home Box Office’s (HBO) dark dramedy “Barry” also had a disappointing awards night, along with the feel-good comedy “Ted Lasso,” as both were soundly beaten by the newcomer “The Bear.” The nominations were for season one, though the quality of season two may have influenced some voters’ decisions. With a whopping 10 nominations, “The Bear” took home six wins.
With season three somewhere on the horizon, it feels safe to say that “The Bear” will remain an awards darling. “Barry” and “Ted Lasso,” however, failed to make a large splash in what were both series’ final seasons. “Ted Lasso’s” season three received lukewarm reviews, so this is hardly unsurprising. However, “Barry” had the bad luck of airing at the same time as “Succession” on Sundays and was thus completely flattened by its cultural impact. Its outcome was disappointing but unsurprising.
With several shows that have made a considerable impact having made their last bow at the Emmys — “Succession,” “Better Call Saul,” “Barry,” “Ted Lasso” and more — one has to wonder what future shows could possibly fill those shoes. HBO in particular feels in dire need of some fresh titles. Despite consistently leading in the most number of Emmy nominations among all of their shows, it feels difficult to see how that continues now that “Succession,” its most awarded show, has ended.
“The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us” could potentially carry the torch forward, but that may not be enough for HBO to retain its iconic status. Season two of “Euphoria” received mixed reviews and season three doesn’t appear to be arriving anytime soon. “The Gilded Age” and “House of the Dragon,” held back by criticism of their writing, don’t feel like shows that could ever reach the potential awards that several predecessors like “Game of Thrones” and “Downton Abbey.” “The Regime,” a new series starring Kate Winslet, and “The Sympathizer,” an adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel with Robert Downey Jr. attached, feel promising.
Other streaming services like Hulu had “The Bear” and “Only Murders in the Building,” but nothing else in its catalog stands out since they canceled “The Great.” Despite sweeping the comedy category at the Emmys, “The Bear” has received multiple accusations that it is not a comedy and that this is a case of category fraud — a not entirely baseless claim. Now that “Succession” has ended, it may make the jump to drama, where with no other noteworthy contenders left it could potentially dominate.
AMC+ gave the entirety of their awards campaign efforts to “Better Call Saul,” with disappointing results in the end. However, this now frees AMC+ to focus their efforts on new promising shows, such as “Interview with the Vampire,” a new take on Anne Rice’s beloved vampire novels. The first season received rave reviews from critics, but no nominations at the Emmys. However, that could potentially change for season two, with AMC’s full backing. Over at Showtime, Nathan Fielder’s first scripted series “The Curse” has been one of the most bizarre and funny shows of the decade which are all landmarks qualities of a Nathan Fielder show. “The Curse” received several Golden Globe nominations and has real potential to be a contender at the next Emmys.
The Streaming Era has been referred to as a golden age of television in regards to the sheer number of television shows that have been released in the past couple of years. But streaming was always a bubble and one that felt due to pop very soon. Already, several streaming services have had numerous financial losses and many, such as Disney+, are adding a paid tier that includes advertisements to incentivize more viewers. Several streaming services are also canning already completed series before they are ever seen for tax write-offs.
This Emmy season may have been a peak for television success. With so many great shows ending, the future feels uncertain and more than a little scary.
