2021 Emmys: ‘The Crown’ Is Out Front While ‘Pose’ Hopes to End on a High Note in the Race for Outstanding Drama Series

Because of the pandemic and shifting production schedules, the upcoming race for Outstanding Drama Series is about to look very different. Past favorites like Ozark, Succession, Stranger Things, and Better Call Saul won’t be back in the conversation until next year, and with the recently expanded lineup to eight nominees, we’re in for a vastly different set of nomines.

The Crown is on its way to sweep through the season, and past favorites like The Handmaid’s Tale, Pose, and The Mandalorian aren’t far behind. All four of these beloved shows have won major awards in the past couple of years, and it is almost impossible to imagine a scenario where any of these four get left out by voters.

But with the expanded drama series lineup, that still leaves room for at least four new dramas and not a lot of obvious contenders. Netflix has their newest rompy costume drama Bridgerton and the newest Ryan Murphy hit Ratched. HBO is hoping to bring back revamped versions of Perry Mason and In Treatment into the mix. Critics are hoping to champion Starz’s P-Valley.

The wide-open lineup is great news for genre shows that have been welcomed at the Emmys with open arms in recent years. Last year, The Mandalorian proved that Emmy voters are ready to embrace unexpected contenders, and the Star Wars drama quietly became one of the biggest winners of 2020, even without any wins in the main ceremony. This year, The Mandalorian might be joined by HBO’s Lovecraft Country and Amazon’s The Boys; two shows that were ratings hits last summer. Disney+ could even get a second show in the lineup with their newest show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

It’s also worth pointing out that this is an odd year that might produce some discrepancies in the drama series lineup. Outstanding Drama Series is one of two categories that are locked in at eight nominees while the other races (including acting, directing, and writing) will be based off of a sliding scale per the number of submissions. In a year with less submissions, most categories will likely have five or six nominees, so there’s bound to be one or two drama series nominees without any other major nominees.

The [Obvious] Frontrunner

We all knew that the eventual Princess Diana season of The Crown would be a big deal, but I don’t think anyone anticipated just how much of a phenomenon it would become. The recent fourth season is by far its most accessible season to date, helping the prestige costume drama find an even bigger audience. It found a way to bring in generations who vividly remember the saga while also shocking younger generations who might not have even been alive to witness it.

Audiences and critics couldn’t get enough of the big A-list names portraying even bigger historical figures like Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher as well as relative newcomers like Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin.

Then as the buzz began to quiet the fourth season became all the more relevant as Prince Harry and Megan revealed the abuse and torment they went through over the past couple of years in an explosive interview with Oprah. There were obvious parallels made to what happened to Diana, and just like that, The Crown became one of the most relevant dramas on TV today and the undeniable frontrunner.

Returning Favorites

The final season of Pose is in a prime spot right now when it comes to the drama series race. Almost all of the major drama contenders premiered last fall with plenty of time for more recent shows to debut in the spring. Surprisingly, the final season of Pose is one of two major dramas to air in the final weeks of eligibility, giving audiences the opportunity to focus on the beloved series in a way they never have before. And the final season is one that has not disappointed. Instead of focusing on some of the tragic tropes that we’ve been used to recently, Pose has chosen to give its characters an uplifting sendoff including a fairy tale wedding of their dreams and a message of strength and love. It’s a season that will easily excite voters and almost certainly bring it back into the drama series lineup.

The sophomore season of Pose was left out of the drama series race after being nominated for its first season. But last year was an impossibly crowded lineup with multiple casualties, and it still managed to earn six nominations for acting, costumes, hairstyling, and make-up. This year the final season has the opportunity to jump back into the drama series race and maybe even more acting nominations than ever before.

Last year, The Mandalorian quickly went from an easily dismissible fan favorite franchise installment to the biggest drama winner of 2020 with 7 wins and 15 nominations. What The Mandalorian and Disney+ were able to prove is that with an expanded Television Academy and an ever-growing industry, an exciting cultural phenomenon might have the upper-hand, even if they don’t seem like typical awards fare.

The second season has somehow become even more popular becoming the most streamed show of November 2020 across all platforms, improving its critics’ average, and raking in guild nominations. This year, it will be interesting to see if Disney+ can expand on that and pick up nominations for writing, directing, or a nomination for Pedro Pascal.

After an almost two-year hiatus, The Handmaid’s Tale is finally back with a new season and an adrenaline rush the Emmy winning series had desperately needed. Most of the ensemble is now in Canada, June has officially escaped, the Waterfords are locked up, and everything seems to be crumbling. It’s satisfying fans, exciting critics, and there’s a chance it could rake in a handful of new nominations for the show.

What’s hard to gauge is how the show will be affected by our current political climate. When the first season came out of nowhere to be the big winner at the 2017 Emmys, Donald Trump had just become the President, and the show came with a sense of urgency. Will voters feel differently now that Joe Biden is President?

Last year, voters finally moved on from This Is Us, but there’s a chance that voters will welcome back the Pearson family with open arms. The NBC drama has been all over the news recently with the announcement that next season will be its last, and it might inspire voters to start paying attention again. Working against the show is the unsteadiness of the show’s plot this past year because of the pandemic.

New Favorites

The only new drama that seems like a sure bet for the drama series race is Netflix’s rompy costume drama Bridgerton. The surprise hit premiered at just the right time when audiences were looking for an easy, escapist story. The show has already made a star out of Rege-Jean Page, and Netflix is counting on the show becoming its new flagship program with more seasons and spinoffs on their way. Emmy voters clearly love the show with plenty of major guild support including PGA, DGA, and multiple SAG nominations as well as multiple craft nominations.

Last year, there was no new drama as highly anticipated as HBO’s Lovecraft Country. The long-awaited period thriller is based off of a popular novel, executive produced by Jordan Peele, and it expertly uses horror and sci-fi to explore the history of racism in America. It SHOULD be a slam dunk at the Emmys, and it did become a popular hit. Yet, audiences were more mixed on the final result, and as a result it had a disappointing run throughout the guild awards, missing out on multiple major precursors.

Still, Lovecraft Country is an extravagant period and genre piece that has the opportunity to rake in multiple craft nominations. It featured some of the best visual effects and make-up work of the year in the episode “Strange Case.” There’s also an opportunity for the actors branch to rally behind the ensemble for well-respected names like Michael Kenneth Williams and Aunjanue Ellis.

Where the open field might lead to a more unexpected Emmy contender is with the second season of Amazon’s The Boys; a heavily stylized and violent take on the superhero genre that subverts the notion of the superhero as the hero. Last summer, the second season became a huge hit for Amazon, and although awards groups are notoriously fickle when it comes to the superhero genre, it was nominated at the WGA Awards in a category that almost always lines up with the Emmys. Plus, it made headlines when Barack Obama listed it as a personal favorite.

One of the more high-profile premieres of the past year came last fall with Ratched: Netflix’s over-the-top collaboration with Ryan Murphy reimagining the origins of one of cinema’s greatest villains. Like many of Murphy’s recent projects, it was met with mixed critical and online reactions; however, audiences were obsessed with the first season and that excitement with the show mixed with its exquisite crafts could propel it to a surprise nomination.

HBO has a couple of prestigious reboots and reimaginings of past Emmy favorites hoping to sneak back into the Emmy conversation. Last summer, HBO premiered their gritty prequel to television classic Perry Mason starring three Emmy favorites (Matthew Rhys, John Lithgow, and Tatiana Maslany). While well-respected it didn’t seem to excite audiences besides possibly Rhys’ lead performance. HBO recently debuted their continuation of In Treatment; this time starring three-time Emmy winner Uzo Aduba. Anything can happen in an expanded lineup like this, but it’s probably safer to assume these are more likely contenders in the acting races than they are for series.

Breaking Down The Race