Are You A Limited Series Or Is This A Second Season??? - Awards Outlook
Photo from The Wrap
Awards analysis is provided by Sean from @MathTeacherMovies.
Are You A Limited Series Or Is This A Second Season???
It was just recently announced that Shogun has been given a second and third season, therefore the series that was a frontrunner in the Limited Series category of the Emmys is now swimming in the mix of all of the other Drama series contenders. However, this brings up a trend in television that has become a flaw at the Emmys: television series that are billed as limited, collect awards in that category, and then get a second season after.
In the grand scheme of problems that are going on in the world, this is right above the bottom of the list, just above which bathroom would be the most convenient for my bidet. It’s also most likely not a malicious move on the part of these series, where the decision was simply made to have a second season after the Emmys. While perhaps not intentional, there is an element that feels unfair.
The most glaring example of this is Big Little Lies which was a limited series that won several Emmys including Best Limited Series, Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for Alexander Skarsgård, Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for Laura Dern, and Best Actress in a Limited Series for Nicole Kidman. It essentially dominated the Limited Series category that year.
However, after such success it was announced following the Emmys that they were going to make a second season of the show… which was of fairly low quality even though it still got a couple of Emmy Nominations; it did not dominate as well as before. The main problem is that because this was the second season, it shifted to the Drama categories instead of Limited Series and technically, because that previous season was a first season, those awards should have been in the Drama category and were basically stolen from the limited category. This is obviously an over-dramatization, but it still feels like a rule was violated even though it was entirely not intentional; at the time of the first season the creators genuinely felt that it was going to be limited.
Another series that is guilty of this same “crime” is The White Lotus which came out as a Limited Series and also won several awards, including Best Limited Series and Best Supporting Actor and Actress for Murray Bartlett and Jennifer Coolige respectively. After the Emmys, a second season was announced, but what was interesting about this season was that it was an entirely new setting and a whole new cast with the exception of Coolidge returning. Because of that one link, it was considered the second season of a Drama instead of an Anthology Series.
The White Lotus situation is definitely interesting as shows like Fargo, Feud, and True Detective are all shows that technically have multiple seasons but, because they have different stories, settings, and casts, they are considered anthology or limited series.
Shogun turned from a Limited to a Drama series before the Emmy eligibility, so it won’t be the same situation as these other shows, but there was no rule that said that it couldn't have announced its second and third season after the Emmys. While we should probably fix racism, climate change, and standing up immediately when the plane lands first, there should be some type of rule in place that should deter this in the future, as difficult as it may be to enforce.