It’s good to be HBO… errr… HBO Max… ummm… Max? Whatever the name of the place where people watch HBO shows is, it’s good to be it right now as the channel has dominated the 2023 Emmy nominations with more noms than any other corporate content machine, helped in large part by the TV adaptation of The Last of Us, the final season of Succession, and The White Lotus.
The Last of Us racked up 24 nominations this year, trailing Succession, which scored 27, by only 3. Those nominations include prime spots in both the Best Drama category and Best Writing category. That writing nomination comes for the show’s absolutely outstanding and powerful third episode, “Long, Long Time,” which was the series’s biggest risk and one of the greatest episodes of television ever made. This marks the first time a video game adaptation has pulled in this kind of awards recognition, though there aren’t actually that many video game TV shows. The series’s stars also pulled in nominations with both Pedro Pascal (Outstanding Actor) and Bella Ramsey (Outstanding Actress) landing much-deserved nominations. The rest of the show’s nominations came from below-the-line recognition.
It’s much the same story for the other two top nominees, as they pulled in nominations across the board for the cast and crews. Meanwhile, Ted Lasso landed the most nominations for a non-HBO series and for a comedy with 21. Behind that was The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel with 14 and then The Bear with 13. It’s here you find the first Netflix series, BEEF, tied with The Bear with 13. That’s a stunningly low location for Netflix who has spent years muscling its way into both the Emmys and Oscars but clearly didn’t have enough juice this year despite nominations for The Crown in Best Drama and Best Supporting Actress and Wednesday in Best Comedy and Best Actress in a Comedy for Jenna Ortega.
