Forget the Emmy’s, THIS is the premiere TV award show, with nominations and awards decided by a reliable committee and panel comprising of me. Here are the nominations based on the best TV of 2023:
Best Actress in a Supporting Role –
One of the most stacked categories this year ranges from performers like Hannah Waddingham and Sarah Goldberg who have been putting up excellent work for several years to Jamie Lee Curtis and Lena Headey, arriving into shows and stealing the show for themselves. A stacked selection of well-known actors here.
Sarah Goldberg as Sally Reed in Barry
Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu in The Bear
Jamie Lee Curtis as Donna Berzatto in The Bear
Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca Welton in Ted Lasso
Lena Headey as Dorothy Hunt in White House Plumbers
Best Actor in a Supporting Role –
Succession’s final season was great for so many reasons but the extra material Alan Ruck had to work with was one of the highlights, allowing him to put in his best performances yet on the show. His co-star Matthew MacFadyen may be seen as a favourite because of his recent award success, but don’t count out Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s portrayal of Richie’s unlikely redemption arc, Anthony Carrigan’s turn from comic relief to tragic anti-hero or Jon Hamm’s perfect balance of comically insecure and purified evil.
Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank in Barry
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie Jerimovich in The Bear
Jon Hamm as Roy Tillman in Fargo
Matthew MacFadyen as Tom Wambsgans in Succession
Alan Ruck as Connor Roy in Succession
Best Actress in a Leading Role –
Aside from Sarah Snook, this category is full of new faces. Well, kind of. Juno Temple, Bella Ramsey and Natasha Lyonne will all be familiar faces to avid TV watchers from previous roles, but they all take on lead roles here which carry the heart of each of their respective series. Vinette Robinson’s chaotic portrayal of Carly in Boiling Point or, The Bear’s British cousin as I call it, is a bit of a wildcard.
Vinette Robinson as Carly in Boiling Point
Juno Temple as Dot Lyon in Fargo
Bella Ramsey as Ellie in The Last of Us
Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale in Poker Face
Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy in Succession
Best Actor in a Leading Role –
Succession taking up a lot of spots again. It should come as no surprise to see Jeremy Strong here as he has carried parts of the show on his shoulders, but Kieran Culkin’s performance as Roman is never better than in the final season. Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy is just as intense and complex as in the first season of The Bear, which is a description that could just as easily apply to Pedro Pascal’s Joel. Jason Isaacs gets a spot too thanks to his almost uncannily authentic portrayal of Cary Grant in the miniseries Archie.
Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant in Archie
Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto in The Bear
Pedro Pascal as Joel in The Last of Us
Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy in Succession
Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy in Succession
Best Screenplay –
There were some real all-time great TV episodes this year, so these categories were very hard to pick too. What “Forks”, “Long, Long Time” and “Connor’s Wedding” have in common are an almost unfathomably emotional core. All three episodes absolutely rocked me emotionally on first viewing, but that isn’t to discount the unsettling and unpredictable “Beyond the Sea” and the cathartic and cozy “Sunflowers”.
“Forks”, written by Alex Russell – The Bear
“Beyond the Sea”, written by Charlie Brooker – Black Mirror
“Long, Long Time”, written by Craig Mazin – The Last of Us
“Connor’s Wedding”, written by Jesse Armstrong – Succession
“Sunflowers”, written by Brendan Hunt – Ted Lasso
Best Director –
The talents of Bill Hader should come as no surprise to anyone by now, but I was still glad to get him in this category after he just missed out on the lead actor category. “wow” is one of Barry’s most cinematic episodes, and is just one of several strong outings nominated here. The usual suspects of Succession, The Last of Us and The Bear are all here too, as well as the exceptional cabin fever-esque episode of Poker Face directed by Rian Johnson himself.
“wow”, directed by Bill Hader – Barry
“Fishes”, directed by Christopher Storer – The Bear
“When You’re Lost in the Darkness”, directed by Craig Mazin – The Last of Us
“Escape From Shit Mountain”, directed by Rian Johnson – Poker Face
“Connor’s Wedding”, directed by Mark Mylod – Succession
Best TV Show –
Blue Eye Samurai, Captains of the World and Jury Duty are all great pieces of TV, and are not just making up the numbers here even if the other contenders were nominated elsewhere. Place your bets now, but it was an excellent year of TV and it could be anyone’s award.
Barry
The Bear
Blue Eye Samurai
Captains of the World
Fargo
Jury Duty
The Last of Us
Poker Face
Succession
Ted Lasso
Stay tuned in a week or so for the winners!