Will ‘Pose’ finale upset ‘The Crown’ for writing Emmy? It wouldn’t be the first time voters got sentimental
Could “Pose” win Best Drama Writing on its first and last nomination? This year the show picked up a bid for its series finale episode, penned by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Steven Canals, Janet Mock, and Our Lady J. It’s in a tough race against “The Crown” for its fourth season finale, “War,” written by Peter Morgan. “The Crown” is the heavy favorite for Best Drama Series, but this wouldn’t be the first time voters bid a fond farewell to a show by honoring its final episode.
“The Sopranos” won the writing award for its series finale, “Made in America,” in 2007 — though to be fair, “The Sopranos” only ever lost one writing race during its entire run, so it wasn’t like the television academy was going out on a limb for it. But when “Friday Night Lights” won in 2011 for its farewell episode, “Always,” that was only the second nomination the show ever received over the course of its five seasons, and beat a field that included the famous “Mad Men” episode “The Suitcase,” which was a dialogue-driven two-hander between Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss.
“Breaking Bad” won its first writing award in 2014 for its final season as well, though it prevailed for the classic episode “Ozymandias” and not for its finale “Felina.” “The Americans,” however, did win for its finale “START” in 2018 on its fourth straight nomination in the category. So even if a show has never won before, it’s not uncommon for it to reach the winner’s circle at the very end. And with two-time reigning champion “Succession” out of the running this year, the door is open for “Pose” to do just that, especially as it would be an opportunity to honor the core queer and trans creative team behind the groundbreaking show.
But “The Crown” looms large. It’s nominated for the fourth time, but hasn’t won yet, so it’s also due for recognition, though it will have a couple more chances in the future. The Netflix period drama is the front-runner with leading odds of 9/2 based on the combined predictions of thousands of our users, but “Pose” is right behind with 11/2 odds. Five of the Expert journalists we’ve surveyed from major media outlets say “Pose” will get a perfect 10 from academy judges: Eric Deggans (NPR), Kelly Lawler (USA Today), Nikki Novak (Fandango), Tom O’Neil (Gold Derby), and Matt Webb Mitovich (TV Line). Are they right?
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