‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ looks to continue Emmy streak
Only three of last year’s eight Best Drama Series Emmy nominees are back in the running this year — the victorious “Succession” plus “Better Call Saul” and “Yellowjackets” — which means the category has plenty of vacant slots. While you can count on some freshman series to try to capitalize on these openings, remember that TV academy members love to go back to their old faves in wide-open races. Will “The Handmaid’s Tale” take advantage and slide back in for its fifth season after sitting out last year’s cycle? The dystopian Hulu drama, which won the category for its debut installment in 2017, has never missed out on a nomination and should not be counted out.
The former champ currently sits outside the top eight in 13th place in our combined drama series odds, after receiving mixed critical and audience reception for its 10-episode fifth season — which debuted in September and ran through November — and getting the cold shoulder from the winter awards, including, for the first time, all major guilds (yes, that includes the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where neither the show’s cast nor its leading lady Elisabeth Moss had theretofore ever missed). Airing outside its usual late spring time slot also didn’t do the drama any favors the last time it occurred, for Season 3, which came out in the summer of 2019 and then nabbed a series-low 10 bids at the 2020 Emmys. Though it did still manage to squeak out a drama series nom that year, it had at least been shortlisted by multiple guilds, including the Writers Guild of America and SAG Awards, over the winter. So, it’s safe to say that cracking the drama series lineup is going to be more arduous this year than ever before for the show.
That’s also because the race has taken shape over the past few months. “Succession” and “Better Caul Saul,” which are in first and third places, respectively, in the odds, are surefire bets to return as both bid farewell with their most acclaimed outings ever, while “The White Lotus” (No. 2) is more than likely to make the successful jump from limited to drama after dominating the winter awards for its second installment. Things are also looking good for “Yellowjackets” (No. 7), which has received another round of positive reviews for its buzzy second season, to retain its spot from last year and “The Last of Us” (No. 4) to cash in on the record-breaking viewership of and critical acclaim for its first season. Although “The Crown” (No. 5) is in a similar situation to “Handmaid’s” — a former champ that’s never missed and is back after skipping last year but in its most precarious position yet following an unenthusiastic response to its eligible fifth season — it still did well enough over the winter and probably has enough clout from its unprecedented 2021 sweep to make it back in.
But that still leaves two slots, and while those are expected to go to “House of the Dragon” (No. 6) and “The Mandalorian” (No. 8), they are very much up for grabs. Despite being a an audience juggernaut and the reigning drama series Golden Globe Award champ, “House of the Dragon” has failed to inherit the industry love from “Game of Thrones” and faces a ton of in-house (no pun intended) competition from HBO companions “Succession,” “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us.” And while “The Mandalorian” should be safe by virtue of its previous two bids, its third season, which premiered on March 1, has so far been unable to produce the same level of noise as its predecessors, and the show could struggle against “Star Wars” stablemate “Andor” on a restricted ballot. The “Rogue One” (2016) prequel series is entering the race with a lot more palpable momentum after over-performing at the winter awards and is in ninth place in the odds.
This opens the door for “Handmaid’s” to swoop in on legacy and visibility alone. While the restricted ballot is likely to curb the amount of name-checking to which we grew so accustomed in the unlimited ballot era, there’s still a good chance voters just default to the few shows they’ve actually seen. This is where the early release of “Handmaid’s'” fifth installment can come in handy, since it will have given TV academy members more than enough time to catch up on the season before the start of voting on June 15. And if not for quality of work in Season 5 alone, they might just check off the show — which has amassed an impressive 75 nominations and 15 wins over the course of its first four seasons — out of sheer respect for it.
Fans of “Handmaid’s” can also take some solace in the fact that series oftentimes take a hit for their penultimate seasons before ultimately rebounding for their final installments. So, even if the show underperforms this year, they can have some faith in it being sent good weather for its sixth and final season.
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