Can True Detective Take Best Drama at the Emmy’s?
Yesterday’s Emmy nomination announcement didn’t hold all that much surprise for fans of True Detective — except for the fact that they didn’t snub Woody Harrelson, which is nice. True Detective was nominated for Best Drama which is something to be excited about, but the competition it faces is rather stiff. True Detective will have to go up against:
- Breaking Bad
- Downton Abbey
- Game of Thrones
- House of Cards
- Mad Men
That is a serious list of contenders. If True Detective was submitted as Best Miniseries, things would look like this:
- American Horror Story: Coven
- Bonnie & Clyde
- Fargo
- Luther
- Treme
- The White Queen
That’s an altogether different beast. A Best Drama nomination makes sure that it’s not competing with Fargo, but it’s no question that Best Drama is far more competitive. At the 2013 Emmy’s Breaking Bad won Best Drama, beating out Game of Thrones and House of Cards, among others. With 19 nominations this year, Game of Thrones just might be poised to take the whole thing. But then we have to remember that Game of Thrones is fantasy, a genre that has had to fight an unfairly uphill battle when it comes to award recognition. It would be truly surprising of Game of Thrones took Best Drama.
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But that still leaves Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, and House of Cards, all of which are powerhouses in their own right. If True Detective went to bat with Fargo it would probably lose. That’s not to say that one series is necessarily better than the other, but Fargo is based on a beloved movie, has a wider built-in audience, and is an all-around easier pill to swallow. It’s possible that HBO took that into consideration when they submitted for Best Drama instead but it’s impossible to say. It’s no secret that, barring any major upset, Fargo is a lock for Best Miniseries.
It’s likely that Mad Men is going to sit this one out. The first half of the final season didn’t do all that much and dragging things out now doesn’t make for comfortable viewing. Downton Abbey is a possible contender but will probably be passed over for larger fish. The big one here is Breaking Bad, which has been haunting award shows for a little too long at this point. Of course, that’s pretty much exactly what AMC is going for by splitting up final seasons, a trend that is unfortunately continuing with Mad Men.
True Detective’s chances are strong, but Breaking Bad’s are stronger. With a final season that was both shocking and deeply satisfying, Breaking Bad hit all the right notes. In a way it would almost be an upset if True Detective did pull out a Best Drama win. Breaking Bad is what many feel a perfect series should look like and has the benefit of ending on an extremely high note. It will be a tight race for True Detective in many other categories, but this one only appears tight on paper. With that said, we wish True Detective the best of luck.
What do you think about True Detective’s chances? Are you irked by Breaking Bad’s final season split?