We’re smack in the middle of Emmy voting, which means the big studios are pulling out all the stops for the biggest, brightest contenders—and you’ve still got a few days left before you stop hearing about the likes of The Bear, Shōgun, and Baby Reindeer (for now, anyway). On this week’s Little Gold Men, though, we get into the intricacies of the nominations ballot and what shows and names we hope rise to the top on July 17’s noms day—even if their climb is a little steeper.
A guide to Hollywood’s biggest races
Listen below, or read on for the Awards Insider team’s personal picks for the underdog shows, with a special focus on actually funny comedy series, and great performances that most deserve an Emmy spotlight this season. Voting closes on Monday, so get watching, Academy members!
I'm a Virgo (comedy series)
Nothing this past television season was as imaginative, wickedly polemical, or bizarrely sweet as this Boots Riley concoction. The Sorry to Bother You director helmed all seven episodes of this Prime Video comedy, and the singular vision shines through in its portrait of a 13-foot-tall, 19-year-old loner deciding to live as his authentic self in contemporary Oakland. Perhaps too weird and sharp for an algorithm, Virgo’s quiet summer premiere shouldn’t prevent it from finding a place in this year’s Emmy conversation. Jharrel Jerome may already have a best-actor Emmy to his name for his heartbreaking work in When They See Us, but he’s equally revelatory as Virgo’s gentle giant. And I defy any voter in the directing branch to fully take in Virgo’s gorgeous, handmade design and deft mélange of tones without checking Riley off on their ballot. —David Canfield
Rebecca Ferguson, Silo (lead actress in a drama series)
Current sci-fi queenRebecca Ferguson—theDunemovies’ most formidable space witch—has been doing great stuff in the genre on the small screen too. On Apple TV+’sSilo, Ferguson plays a reluctant sheriff navigating postapocalyptic life in the vertical bunker of the show’s title. She’s a marvel in the role, both tough and vulnerable, lending gravitas to what might otherwise just be a fun Saturday-night serial throwback. BetweenSilo,Dune,Doctor Sleep, and theMission: Impossiblefranchise, Ferguson has shown a beguilingly cool command of genre work, whether she’s solving a silo-based crime or stalking around America as an ageless evil entity. But these sorts of projects typically don’t get awards attention, and thus one of the most exciting actors working today has been left out of those conversations. What better way to honor a thrilling career than to give Ferguson an Emmy nomination forSilo, a popular series she so mesmerizingly anchors and elevates? It would at least satisfy us Fergufans (there has to be a better name) until the Oscars wise up and throw Jessica Atreides some love. —Richard Lawson
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (unstructured reality program)
WithTop ChefandProject Runway, Emmy voters have long acknowledged Bravo’s expertise in the reality-competition space, but it’s taken far longer for the network’s unstructured shows to get recognition. That’s changed in recent years—first withBelow Deck, then with last year’s shrewd recognition ofVanderpump Rulesduring itsheadline-making Scandoval era. But as Vanderpumpfalteredin its 11th season, a new standout rose withRHOSLC. An already strong season, which began with fallout from former cast memberJen Shah’s federal fraud conviction, ended in astounding fashion. Those searching for receipts, proof, and timelines that support a first-timeRHOSLCnod need look only to the fourth season’s final 10 minutes, in which new housewifeMonica Garciais exposed as one of the figures behindReality Von Tease—an Instagram account devoted to spreading gossip about her costars. Most scripted dramaswishthey had that kind of twist ending. —Savannah Walsh
Girls5eva (comedy series)
After two brilliant but underwatched seasons on Peaco*ck, Meredith Scardino’s 10-jokes-a-minute comedy about members of a washed-up, aughts-era girl group trying to fight their way back into the zeitgeist got a big break of its own. For season three, the show would move to Netflix, where Girls5eva executive producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt had thrived for four seasons and a movie. The show’s third installment premiered on the platform in March, to a decent amount of fanfare and media coverage, and then…not much happened. Girls5eva failed to catapult to the top of Netflix’s most-watched list; a fourth season now seems a distant dream. Which is, of course, a travesty, because Scardino’s comedy is the funniest thing currently streaming: a feast of silliness and keenly pointed references boosted by Emmy-worthy performances from Sara Bareilles, Paula Pell, Busy Philipps, and especially Hamilton alum Renée Elise Goldsberry. Maybe we’d get more time with the Girls if the TV Academy gave them some well-deserved love. —Hillary Busis
