Welcome back to round two of the 6th Annual Marco Awards. I time the awards to go off around the anniversary of the event which inspired them—March 13th when covid shut the world down and we were all confined to our TVs and I fielded a myriad of “what are you watching” queries. I have traditionally started with the Movie Awards, but the Oscars have moved their line-up around a dozen times and coincide with mine. So, to give a bit of space and make mine as special as they were, I’ve moved TV to the first awards, which is the one most people are interested in anyway.
The rules for TV are a little more complicated because, unlike movies, it’s not a one-time event, but an action over a time period. I am still the nominating committee and voting body, and have declared that a TV series will be eligible if it aired a new season on in-home streaming between February 1st, 2021 and January 31st 2022, and I watched it. There is a twist here. If I have previously watched the series up til this season, only the current season and cast members are eligible for nomination. However if I have never watched it, all previous seasons and cast members are eligible as my first viewing.
“Best Guest Actor/Actress” will be defined as an actor who is featured anywhere from a single episode to a recurring role outside the regular core cast, usually a character who drives a new plot for a season. Again, I’m just making this up as I go, like the 31st is a purely arbitrary date set by the nominating committee (me) giving the voting body (me) enough time to catch up and tabulate the results for release sometime around the anniversary of Covid shutdowns (now).
So, with that, Welcome to the 6th Annual Marco Awards for Excellence in Television that appeared all day every day in your living room. I’d like to think that these awards are a replacement for the what the Emmys have devolved into, or at the least funnier (which is a low bar because the awards show circuit in general has become pathetic). Again, I’m your host, Mark Briner, and may the best entries win. The nominees are:
The 6th Annual MARCO AWARDS: TELEVISION
BEST DRAMA
Adolescence—This British sleeper hit swept major awards with it’s single take, one camera exploration of a family torn apart by the inexplicable violent actions of their 12 year old son. A director’s and actor’s dream.
American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez—Ryan Murphy’s apparent pact with the devil is still intact with yet another franchise launched. After American Horror Strory, American Horror Stories, and American Crime Story, he has set out with American Sports Story focusing on the Aaron Hernandez scandal, and just like his stand alone Crime Story seasons, it’s a doozy. Hernandez tale of excess, toxic football culture, and chronic traumatic brain injuries is fascinating and horrifying with a terrific cast of Hollywood and New York talent.
Death by Lightning—This series’ initial teaser line says it all. “ This is a story of two men that history forgot. One was the 20th President of the United States. The other was the man who shot him.” The fascinating character study of low key reluctant President James Garfield and the mentally unstable Charlie Giteau who bore a grudge over a perceived slight is top notch political potboiler.
Dexter: Resurrection—Showtime’s current revival of his mega-hit mainstay once again moves the vigilante serial killer into a new element and shows how the location is always an additional character in the story. The flash, color, heat and excitement of Miami gave way to the bleak blue gray cold of small upstate New York border town in New Blood. Resurrection has moved him to the bright lights and nightlife of New York City with new characters and new villains (fleshed out by an A-list cast of guest stars) for heat another reincarnation of the tale that is again better than some of the middle lackluster seasons of the original. Michaeel C. Hall remains at top of his game.
The Gilded Age—Julian Fellows follow-up to his iconic Downton Abbey moves stateside to 1880’s New York society and the layered drama is not only of the upstairs/downstairs kind, but also the old money/new money battles that defined the era. An equally top notch cast plays out his usual intrigue and melodrama to best effect and provides showy roles for veteran actors like Christine Baransky, Cynthia Nixon, and Carrie Coon.
Heated Rivalry—The little Canadian engine that could exploded into the must see series of the year when HBO Max bought its distribution. The simple story of a multi-year hidden love affair between a Russian and Japanese-Canadian professional hockey rivals became the sleeper hit of the year. Based on a series of unassuming novels, it is perhaps one of the best gay love stories every written—by a straight woman—with gold mine casting of the leads who currently own social media, and the show changed culture and perception of the genre.
The Morning Show—I had fallen off this original Apple TV offering after season 2, despite my affection for Miss Jennifer Aniston. The series changed it up when they brought the original concept based on the Matt Lauer Today Show scandal to a conclusion and the new stories seemed too big and out of nowhere. But after hearing of significant praise for seasons 3 and 4, I returned and found that time had caught up with the plots and the series was revitalized under new contemporary stories that have since been reflected in real life. With small scale story lines about the sexual shakeup of the talk show and covid concluded, the bigger, global stories are thrilling.
WINNER: The Morning Show. I was initially torn between the flawlessly executed opulent grandeur of Gilded Age and the streamlined contemporary success of press darling Heated Rivalry, flawlessly executed in a different way, but then Morning Show arrived on my radar and corrected all its minor faults and became the most absorbing plot with the perfect cast of the season. Miss Aniston and crew have elevated their modest project to an old time Dallas/Dynasty level of big business in the media age storytelling excitement.
BEST COMEDY
Bon Appétit, Your Majesty—A surprise from Netflix’s new buffet of Korean romcom dramedys, I can best describe the time-traveling romcom best as Outlander Korea meets Top Chef. The tale of a world class chef who has won an internatonal competition who, at the request of her father, locates and brings him home an antique cookbook from a Korean dynasty. When the mystical book somehow during a total eclipse works some magic and the chef finds herself in the woods of a Korea 500 years in the past, she is soon taken prisoner by a King who history has branded a sexist tyrant, but with a refined palate. When the chef cooks him a meal in captivity on the way back to his kingdom, taking a cue from Scheherazade’s Arabian Nights, the King makes an offer: she will cook dinner fir him every day, and as long as every meal is at least that delicious and never duplicated, he will let her live to the next day. Feelings ensue, complicated by the court intrigue of jealous chefs, jealous wives, and political rivals out to sabotage the arrangement as the King and the chef change each other in unexpected ways.
Boots—Netflix’s dark horse entry about closeted gay teen with a messed-up homelife who follows his best friend into the Marines, falling for the recruitment lies, finds himself over his head when he gets to boot camp unprepared for the torture, hardship, and bullying that awaits him there. But like a “don’t ask, don’t tell” era gay Private Benjamin, he digs in and finds a spirit and will within himself he never knew he had to hold his ground and grow as a man on his own When the Trump Pentagon and his lackey Pete Hegseth send official word that your gay series is an abomination, you know you’ve done well. Good work Netflix on taking a chance on this modest little series. Bad work not renewing it as you buckle to bullshit government pressure.
Chad Powers—New “it” guy Glen Powell brings his charms back to the small screen as an abrasive college football player who screwed up on a national platform before he could turn pro finds himself washed up lamenting the future that never happened. But as the son of a Hollywood FX makup artist, he takes a page from Mrs. Doubtfire and creates a new look for himself that allows him to try out for a small southern college football team as a walk on and try to, like Robin Williams in Doubtfire and Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, become a better man and a better player with a second chance a new identity.
The Grosse Pointe Garden Society—A fun new mystery comedy about a gardening society comprised of a fresh new ensemble cast of characters, each with a score to settle in their personal lives, who realize an elaborate garden is a great place to hide a dead body under the marigolds. It has a very Desperate Housewives feel to it. If instead of Wisteria Lane it’s just wisterias, and if there was a dead body buried underneath them. Which there may have been one season, I can’t remember.
Hacks—Jean Smart returns with a renewed vigor (after a season 3 that showed signs of strain) as an older female comic trying to reinvent her career with the help of a millennial writer with whom she has a struggling personal relationship. Kind of like a bookend to Prime’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which draws imspiration from the legendary Joan Rivers’ early career, Hacks takes its cues from Rivers’ later career, and season 4 deals with Smart’s Deborah Vaughn becoming the first woman host of a late night talk show.
Nobody Wants This— The uber-likeable Adam Brody and Kristin Bell have the absolute best chemistry as a Rabbi and his shiksa girlfriend navigating the dicey course of a present day interfaith relationship. But this tale as old as time is much more than a new age Abey’s Irish Rose or Bridget Loves Bernie. Brody and Bell with a terrific, colorful supporting cast make this contemporary tale of a pair of Star-of-David-crossed lovers way more than an update of a trope. They find high comedy in lowkey anxiety.
School Spirits—Apple TV’s apparent YA hit about a high school student who suddenly finds herself a spirit walking the halls of the school with a series of other students from different eras who died on premises, and with good writing, a strong lead in Peyton List (Cobra Kai), and an engaging cast of young actors to bounce her situation off and the series has evolved into something bigger that is great fun.
WINNER: Boots. I really wanted to choose Nobody Wants This because this enjoyable sitcom is just effortlessly so much more than it should be, and infinitely more than its predecessors have ever been. It’s well written, well cast, and exceptionally acted, and socially covers a different set of prejudices. But Boots got the nod for its timely and necessary look into the dangerous discrimination inherent to the story, as well as a perfect cast and powerful story telling, with underlying humor. The two were actually neck and neck until American Asshole Pete Hegseth and our International Asshole government had nothing better to do than bully the little show like the antagonists PFC Cope faces in the semi-autobiographical story. If they hate it that much they’re willing to look that idiotic to condemn it, I love it. Win for the underdog. Nobody has a headstart on season 3.
BEST ACTOR in a DRAMA
Penn Badgley (You)—The former heartthrob who hit is stride playing soulless serial killer Joe Goldberg in this series changed heart and decided to return for an unexpected fifth season to completely finish the cycle and he produces his usual chills while exploring furher into the thwisted psyche. A great exit—unless he pulls a fellow nominee Michael Hall and decides to resurrect the hit series in 10 years.
Michael C. Hall (Dexter: Resurrection)—Hall continues to amaze and find new depths to his signature character as Dexter takes on the NYC serial killer community, infiltrates a perverted billionaires’ fetish club, and tries to be a good father to his equally damaged son. The former Marco winner (who has somehow never won an Emmy for this role across 3 series) remains in top form.
Charlie Hunnam (Monster: Ed Gein)—British chameleon Hunnam who arrived on the scene 25 years ago as the twink with an agenda in the original British Queer as Folk and became a household name as the sexy hunk of Sons of Anarchy throws his entire image to the wind to play the oddly childlike serial killer Ed Gein in the most recent Monster entry. Hunnam is the most solid core to build the series around and transforms into unseen territory
Jake Lacy (All Her Fault)—Ever since he tackled the spoiled rich kid who just wanted the pineapple suite his mommy booked in the original White Lotus, former nice guy Lacy takes his frat boy good looks and, like Badgely, has begun to specialize in a string of vicious, dark characters (Friend of the Family, Apples Fall) and he’s delectable fleshing the psychos out. Ryan Murphy, looking for a Monster: Ted Bundy star? Here’s your guy
Matthew Rhys (The Beast in Me)—Rhys, known as gay brother/family man on Brothers & Sisters, a fascinating totally immersed and assimilated Russian Spy in The Americans, and the current beat down detective working the 30s noir beat in HBO’s new Perry Mason, he likewise takes his good looks for a darker spin here as an intimidating writer with a past who could pose a huge threat to his next door neighbor if she gets too close. If Rhys was disturbing in any of his former roles, he’s completely terrifying here.
Connor Storrie (Heated Rivalries)—The Texan actor who’s biggest role was of a psychotic inmate in the Joker’s ward in Follies a Deux, Storrie broke out big with a near flawless Russian accent as sexy Russian hockey player Ilya Rosanov. Bold acting choices and throwing himself headfirst into the gay love story made him an internet sensation this year with costar Hudson Williams.
Hudson Williams (Heated Rivalries)— The yang to Connor Storrie’s yin, as Canadian hockey player Shane Hollander and other half of the heated rivalry/love affair. Williams brings a sweetness and naievity to the role that perfectly balances Storrie’s aggressive, cocky, testosterone-laden Russian. His self exploration as he learns about his new affair is endearing and enveloping. And if his on-screen chemistry with Storrie is off the charts, his off-screen chemistry with him is otherworldly
Honorable Mentions: This was the strongest category of the season. It was defnintely a man’s year in TV. Strong actors who at one point or another were considered for nomination and lost slots to these finalists include Michael Chernus as John Wayne Gacy in Devil in Disguise, Jason in Black Rabbit, Michael Shannon as President James Garfield and Matthew MacFadyen as assassin Charlie Giteau in Death by Lightning, Josh Rivera deadly as Aaron Hernanadez in American Sports Story, Sterling K. Brown in Paradise, and Jason Clarke in Murdaugh: Murder in the Family. All could have been nominated and many could be a contender, and are more than worth a view for any of my readers who follow my recommendations.
WINNER: Connor Storrie & Hudson Williams. This is not a tie. This is a combined win because this pair’s success couldn’t be more related to the symbiotic chemistry they share. Each makes the other better and it’s a rare instance of superlative casting as the pair has taken over the small screen as well as the press in a way Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande totally wish they had but never could.
BEST ACTRESS in a DRAMA
Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show)—America’s Sweetheart of the 90s has matured from the Katie Couric golden girl stand-in the show started out with to a formidable corporate shark protective of the network she aided in building. Aniston commands a flawless cast of actors and continues to grow beyond her humble beginnings as “it” girl from the quintessential “it” show of its day into an enthralling and multi-layered actor in one of the best written dramas of today.
Patricia Arquette (Murdaugh: Murder in the Family)—The Oscar-winning actor (Boyhood) is the most sympathetic member of the real-life scandalous South Carolina Murdauch dynasty, who you can forgive for being an indulgent parent who raised the next generation of entitled assholes. While struggling with public humiliation when her youngest son is responsible for the death of his girlfriend in a boating accident, she is forced to face the fact that her husband is an even bigger monster who may or may not have killed the pair. Arquette is the model blend of the steel magnolia dichotomy attributed to Southern women.
Annaleigh Ashford (Happy Face)—The Tony-winning Broadway comedienne turns dark for the small screen as the daughter of real-life 90s “Happy Face” serial killer as she, a makeup artist for the real Dr. Phil show uses her investigative TV connections to connect her father to an unsolved Texas murder to keep him in prison and away from her children. Ashford is an superb.
Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age)—Parker Posey’s White Lotus hotel mate is a chameleon as she dissolves into this role as the new money heroine at war with all of New York society. As the richest and most powerful underdog in the superb period tale of America’s original class war, Coon is captivating and sympathetic even as she pushes her family to sacrifice for her social standing. But whether she’s playing society’s heroine or family’s villainess, she’s divine in both incarnations.
Parker Posey (White Lotus 3)—The Indie Queen has crossed over and put Lorazepam (now a six-seven syllable word) on the map. As a heavily medicated socialite who takes her perfect Kennedy-esque (oldest son Patrick Schwarzenegger is actually a zero degree contact) wasp family on a life-changing vacation to the mystical Thailand hotel of the chain, only to have her world turned upside down and find that her family is more imperfect than an outlet version of their Calvin Klein wardrobe.
Sarah Snooks (All Her Fault)—Snooks is tragic in her portrayal of a privileged mother whose child is abducted during a scam playdate and becomes a modern day Lady MacBeth as she is forced to examine her entire family as the stress of the situation rips her relationships apart at the seams. Even when the drama risks drifting into the improbable to over-the-top, Snooks anchors it in reality to her admirable efforts.
Rhea Stilford (Pluribus)—The star of Vince Gilligan’s (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) newest sensation is not only a strong central character, for over half the show she’s the only character who carries entire episodes on her own as a mysterious survivor of a global attack which brainwashes the entire population of the world, minus eleven other immune, to one central brain trust who knows everything the rest know. Stilford is riveting in the equivalent of maybe the world’s first one woman TV series.
WINNER: Jennifer Aniston. While Stilford is impeccable carrying the bulk of the show on her own as she descends into Big Brother paranoia, Aniston gets a bit a lifetime achievement award as seasons 3 and 4 have transformed her into an actor of a different echelon. Doing the best work of her career so far, Aniston has shown enormous growth and sweeps the category from a strong slate much like latter day Ann-Margret when she transformed into her Emmy-winning era with stellar lead performances in Who Will Love My Children? and Streetcar Named Desire.
BEST ACTOR in a COMEDY
Matt Bomer (Mid-Century Modern)—Bomer skewers his prettyboy stereotype as the Betty White equivalent of the gay Golden Girls knockoff. The former Marco Winner (The Sinner) shows off his comic prowess poking fun at both his personal and gay stereotypes.
Adam Brody (Nobody Wants This)—Taking lead in this next level romcom, Brody is adorable as a devoted Rabbi who must make a life-altering decision that challenges his faith when he falls for ultimate 21st century shiksa Kristin Bell. What could have been a warmed over Bridget Loves Bernie becomes a better version of When Harry Met Sally. But as clever as the writing and especially the supporting characters are, the success for this next level entry in the genre is the genuine chemistry between its wonderful leads.
Miles Heizer (Boots)—In one of the strongest young adult casts in a new series since the 90s Freaks & Geeks, Netflix’s dark and disturbing 13 Reasons Why boasted a cast of the next generation of potential big stars, including Dylan Minnette, Brandon Flynn, Ross Butler, and Katherine Langford. But not one viewer imagined Heizer to be the breakout star. Yet here he is, totally at home as a closeted gay teen from a miserable home life who follows his best friend into the Marines to escape. He is engaging to hilarious to heartbreaking as a Clinton-era gay Private Benjamin. Heizer embraces the journey and runs with it. If only Netflix had been as brave with their unseen hit’s hero, instead of bowing to conservative Trumpian garbage politics to preserve their funding when Secretary of Defense asshole Pete Hegseth branded it “woke garbage” in an official rebuttal from the DOD. (Like he has nothing better to worry about.) Heizer, in PFC Cameron Cope, has found the perfect role to catapult him to his next level career.
Glenn Howerton (It’s Always Sunny in Philadephia)—From the show that in its record 18th season, the longest running comedy series on American TV, it’s a gift that just keeps giving. And the seasoned and perfect ensemble tend to have a standout in different seasons. This year belongs to Howerton, who’s self-absorbed Dennis Reynolds has to come to terms with the fact that his less-than-perfect father Frank has created a fake family to portray them on his fictional run of The Golden Bachelor. While certainly giving Danny DeVito plenty to work with (and does he ever run with it), its Howerton who we watch descend into self-imposed madness as he deals with the fact that he is not the center of the universe he envisions himself, but, in fact, an embarrassment to be removed from that position.
Lee Chae-Min (Bon Appétit, Your Majesty)—As the 16th Century Korean monarch at the center of the Korean time travel romcom, Lee is swoon-worthy as the evolving love interest who struggles with image, class, tradition, and title when he falls in love with his captive cullinary Scheherazade, facing a slew of constant sabotage from within and without the kingdom walls. As we watch his historical tyrannical image melt, he becomes the bodice-ripping heartthrob American TV never knew we needed.
Danny McBride (The Righteous Gemstones)—McBride, a former Marco winner for this role, sees the monumental HBO series off with a literal bang with his strong comic performance as entitled first born and self-appointed heir to his daddy’s evangelical empire. As a fundamentally unlikable character in this delicious dark comedy that plays like the love child of The PTL Club run by Mama’s Family, McBride, who cowrites the series, knows the territory and designs big laughs for himself and company to exit on.
Glen Powell (Chad Powers)—Apple’s sleeper hit features current rising matinee idol Powell (The Running Man, The Hit Man, Top Gun: Maverick) as bad boy college football sensation Russ Holiday, whose personal antics are captured on a career-ending TV clip before his pro career even starts. Spending the better part of a decade wallowing in defeat while working for his father’s FX movie makeup business, he takes an unlikely cue from Mrs. Doubtfire and devises a plan to disguise his TMZ-famous face and get a do-over with the makeover as walk-on collegiate athlete Chad Powers at a small southern college. But when his pro-level abilities make the little team the darling of Sports Center, Powell has to balance the two characters on the level of Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, where he also realizes he can learn from his surprisingly smarter and more congenial alter-ego.
Benito Spinner (Overcompensating)—Spinner, the star of cult hit Overcompensating, which Spinner also wrote, comically plays an closeted collegiate football player who, as the title suggests, tries to hard to keep his true self hidden from his family and classmates. While a tad too old to totally be believable, Spinner is winsome enough to make us want to put that aside to enjoy his performance.
WINNER: Adam Brody. In a controversial call, for a leading role in a show that has a strong following and is deeper than it appears, Brody makes it work. While not nearly as deep a category as the Drama counterpart, it’s still a strong field and Brody is the most responsible for his show’s enormous success. Even if it is in a Sissy Spacek Coal Miner’s Daughter over Mary Tyler Moore Ordinary People kind of win, where genuine amiability makes his work and his story more relatable and endearing. And like Coal Miner’s Daughter, the show would be routine romcom without him.
BEST ACTRESS in a COMEDY
Kristin Bell (Nobody Wants This)—Like Brody, Bell deserves equal success for playing the other half of this pair exploring the possibilities of their interfaith relationship. Bell is an extremely gifted comedienne who makes comedy look easier than it is and, like Jennifer Aniston before her, the antithesis to the trope that “pretty girls can’t be funny”. She is the perfect foil to Brody’s much more orthodox family, and a big reason why the series has resonated with fans.
Melissa Fumero (Grosse Point Gardening Society)—Is the comic relief and the sublot engine as a recovering alcoholic who’s been assigned to the horticultural society as community service; one who causes more problems than she fixes
Im Yoon-Ha (Bon Appétit, Your Majesty)—Im is the perfect blend of strong, smart, and genuine as the chef from the future who bewitches the 16th Century Korean dynasty with her modern tastes, and her ability to break them down and create them from ingredients of the era. She creates great chemistry with Lee Chae-Min as her intergenerational captor/king/love interest.
Aja Naomi King (The Grosse Point Gardening Society)—As the struggling underdog of the society implicated in covering up the murder, King progresses from Annaliese Keating’s whipping girl in the thriller How to Get Away with Murder (Viola Davis deserves a career Marco for creating the most compelling new character before the awards commenced) to central leading actress in another strong ensemble and rises to the occasion
Peyton List (School Spirits)—As the lost soul at the center of this high school edition of Ghost, List (Cobra Kai) jumpstarts her lead acting career as the tortured central character who interacts with both the dead and certain living characters as she continues to discover the mysteries of her death.
AnnaSophia Robb (The Grosse Point Gardening Society)—The soap operatic center of the series, Robb is enchanting as a newly wed struggling with her marriage, her in-laws, and her growing feelings for her friend, a lone separated man in their circle of deceit and cover-up.
Jean Smart (Hacks)— in the role of her career as an old-school stand-up comic pro based on latter day Joan Rivers trying to adapt her creaky Catskills act for a more contemporary audience in Hacks. Her season 4 adventures as Nighttime’s first female talk show host gives her infinite new material to mine for laughs (and pressure), and gives a bittersweet nod to Rivers for the bashing she took from the male network execs as well as butt-hurt mentor Johnny Carson.
WINNER: Jean Smart. As much as Kristin Bell deserves this for the same reason Brody won, Smart is having the time of her life in the role of her career and is pretty unbeatable at this point.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR in a DRAMA
Ben Ahlers (The Gilded Age)—The resident “clock twink” of the series went center stage and received all the accolades and attention he deserves as house servant Jack who studies his heirloom stopwatch enough to develop a better, longer-lasting cog to revolutionize the clock industry. His split with his lawyer places ex-servant Jack in the upper echelon of new money society. Let’s see what happens now that he’s arrived.
Owen Cooper (Adolescence)—the young Emmy winner blew the world away with his one camera, single take performance as a disturbed adolescent accused of murdering a classmate. Episode three in particular with his social worker evaluating his knowledge and ability to stand trial is in particular flat out amazing. A performance far beyond his years.
Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)—Crudup has had the time of his life playing flawed, bratty station manager Cory Ellison who, for three seasons, sowed the seeds of unrest and contention to his benefit at the scandal-ridden station. In season 4, he gets all the payback he deserves and the golden boy turns introspective as he crumbles from his ivory tower and has to make amends with his actions, his coworkers, his nemeses—and his domineering mother. And the result is a the most captivating performance he has ever given.
Nick Offerman (Death By Lightning)—Offerman gives his usual blustery scene-stealing performance as Vice President with an attitude Chester Arthur. And just when you think Offerman has hit his comic high, the former Marco Winner (The Last of Us) switches up and shows his versatility when he becomes the serious, self-sacrificing President this country needed in the face of tragedy.
Dennis Quaid (Happy Face)—Quaid is fearsome as the pathological serial killer playing his daughter, and more worryingly his grandchildren, like concert instruments. Quaid gives one of the most three dimensional performances of his long and lustrious careed.
Blake Ritson (The Guilded Age)—As the closeted son of old money doyenne Christine Baranski, Ritson gives the most riveting performance when he crumbles, regroups, and takes steps to preserve his financial state once his wealthy lover is gone. Ritson deserves the nomination for the single scene when he all but comes out to his dragon mother, allowing her to do the math she refuses to do.
Patrick Schwarzennegar (White Lotus 3)—the Terminator’s kid and Kennedy cousin grown up draws on his Hollywood and political legacy, giving a surprisingly nuanced performance as an entitled fratboy heir to a family fortune who, at the infamous hotel chain, begins to question everything he ever believed in, as he needs to. Most people come to the hotel end up destroyed. Young Schwarzeneggar’s character actually matured and grew.
WINNER: Owen Cooper. There is a big part of me who wanted to reward Billy Crudup for the growth and maturation his character has been forced to undergo, and the grace with which Crudup executed that transition beautifully. But, like last season, I awarded Cooper Koch for the same single take monologue as Erik Menedez, so, considering an actor half his age gave 4 episodes of such a performance with chilling results. this Cooper likewise deserved the win. I hope Crudup has an equally thrilling storyline in season 5 to be considered again. But, again, there was another big part of me that wanted to nominate Connor Storrie’s butt for its eye-catching,captivating performance in Heated Rivalries, but there wasn’t an empty spot.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS in a DRAMA
Christine Baranski (The Gilded Age)—As irritable and inflexible doyenne Agnes van Rhijn, guardian of the old money gates of society, she rules over friends, family, and the social network of the day as a much feared dragon not to be poked. And as one who has considered 90% of Barnanski’s career to be one-note character performances that coast on her brittle physicality and that icy, perfectly enunciating voice, this role is a brilliant use of her talents to create the memorable character of the show. Basically, she’s the east coast, stateside stand in for Fellowe’s Downton Abbey scene-stealer Maggie Smith, with the best one-liners of the series.
Anna Camp (You)—The Pitch Perfect alumna pulls double duty as Goldberg’s twin siters-in-law, one kind and one evil in the old Bette Davis melodramatic model. Camp excels in the double duty, living up to her name, and adds a particularly interesting layer on top when one twin must pass as the other in a familiar trope used in everything from Davis in A Stolen Life and Dead Ringer to Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap.
Betty Gilpin (Death By Lightning)—As reluctant First Lady Lucretia Garfield, Gilpin give a strong sensitive performance of a woman who rises to the occasion despite her complete distaste for her husband’s political ambitions, forced on him as they were.
Audra McDonald (The Gilded Age)—The Queen of Modern Broadway brings her mesmerizing talents to the small screen as the mother of B-plot heroine Peggy, an educated African American who has forged a career for herself as a writer. But when she cuts her journalistic ties and becomes involved with prominent African American doctor, McDonald not only becomes a strong and supportive mother, she also takes on her new rival—in-law Phyllicia Rashad as his superior mother protecting her older money influence.
Laurie Metcalf (Monster: Ed Gein)—Metcalf creates yet another unforgettable character as Augusta Gein, the mother of notorious serial killer Ed. From her constant Bible thumping to the inordinate amount of physical and emotional abuse her religion allowed her to heap upon her sons and husband, Metcalf’s performance never quite leaves us even when she’s not on screen. Metcalf’s Augusta, the actual inspiration for the mother of all serial killer’s mothers, Norma Bates in Psycho, is the true monster in this season’s cautionary tale.
Julianne Nicholson (Paradise)—Nichols is wonderful showing another side of her talents as the government agent villain of the piece, driving all the action from behind the scenes. I can’t wait to see where season 2 takes her.
Cynthia Nixon (The Gilded Age)—Another actress who has usually offended me with her career of completely unlikable characters (culminating in Sex & the City’s heinous man-hating lawyer Miranda Hobbes). Here Nixon, who repeatedly puts me off to the point of disliking her work now brings me back as the sweet and generous aunt, Ada Brook, is 180 ͦ the polar opposite of her abrasive and overbearing sister Agnes. Nixon’s Ada is the breath of fresh air that stale old money needs, and yet is not afraid to stand up for herself when it is time for her to stop taking care of others and put herself first.
WINNER: Laurie Metcalf. Metcalf gives a master class in gothic acting without overacting as she creates the most indelible, and the most hateful, character of her illustrious career. Metcalf is a once-in-a-generation actor who can play comedy, tragedy, drama, and Grand-Guignol, switching back and forth with utmost ease.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR in a COMEDY
Matthew Davis (Grosse Point Gardening Society)—Davis plays his strong suit as a hot cop who is bent on rehabilitating Melissa Fumero’s recovering alcoholic by keeping tabs on her driving, while simultaneously having an affair with her.
Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)—What can be said about the comic icon DeVito that hasn’t been said a hundred times. He steals this season, again, form his younger costars without even being on screen with them, when Frank Reynolds becomes the next iconic Golden Bachelor and gets national exposure.
Adam DiMarco (Overcompensating)—Best know as the easiest mark at the White Lotus: Italy, DiMarco completely flips the table on his naïve and goodhearted grandson with heart of gold—for hookers—here as the obnoxious fraternity president who has it out for Spinner’s closeted football player.
Milo Manheim (School Spirits)—The former Disney Channel kid and Dancing With the Stars favorite hits it big here. masterfully playing a former high school quarterback who was killed in the big game and relegated to a bench called the afterlife. Manheim is an easy transition when his relationship with List takes another level at the prom none of them got to attend.
Max Parker (Boots)—As a closeted drill sergeant with a lavender past, Parker is a late entry into the series and simultaneously terrifies and inspires our hero PFC Cope, until his clandestine past with an officer comes back to threaten his military future. Sadly, since Network caved to Trump’s asshole mouthpiece Pete Hegseth’s bullying, we’ll never get to see where next season would have taken him.
Timoth Simons (Nobody Wanted This)—The most congenial supporting character on the show, Simons is a laid back contrast to his Jewish princess wife and Rabbi brother, whose comedy takes a turn this season as the two struggle to come to terms if they want to have another baby. Simons brings a sensitivity to a role that could be a stereotype.
Steve Zahn (Chad Powers)—As the good-hearted coach that gets duped by Holiday/Powers, Zahn takes his boyish naïve charm that made him famous to a more mature level as a small college coach who sees Powers as his way to the big time.
WINNER: Max Parker. Parker with his powerful build and penetrating eyes transfers all that physicality into a role that, like his young boot, somehow encourages him to be the best he can be while also being his worst nightmare, channeling his self-hate into the equation. In a surprisingly strong cast (mostly British actors, shocker), and Parker is the game-changer in the second half of the season.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS in a COMEDY
Vera Farmiga (Boots)—Always a contender, the versatile Farmiga (Bates’ Motel, The Conjuring), Farmiga here brings comic relief as Heizer’s horribly self-absorbed, alcoholic mother who is so preoccupied with her own financial and relationship issues to even know he’s gone to join the Marines.
Jannelle James (Abbott Elementary)—James is constantly hysterical as the self-absorbed, social media conscious principal of the Philly school who finds a way to put her needs ahead of the schools—with public funding, of course.
Kang Man-ha (Bon Appétit, Your Majesty)—As the aristocratic and entitled Head Wife to the King, Kang is beautiful but potentially deadly as a near Bond-like villainess who plots to sabotage the new chef and threat to her position from within the castle walls.
Linda Lavin (Mid-Century Modern)—Veteran actor brings a lifetime of comic experience and comic timing as the old school Jewish mother who lives with the gay boys, making her the Sophia of the updated classic. Lavin, the single brightest light in this cast of name stars, still knows how to turn a line and hit a mark like the pro she is. Sadly, her passing midseason most likely sealed the fate on this otherwise mediocre sitcom.
Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This)—As Kristin Bell’s jaded and self-important sister, Lupe brings comic balance to their sibling rivalry while maintaining a clandestine affair with Bell’s married potential brother-in-law.
Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones)—The equivalent of Eunice in the PTL Club’s version of Mama’s Family, Patterson (a previous winner for this role) as the attention-starved middle child who never grew up continues to add desperation as well as constant laughs.
Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This)—As Brody’s toxic sister-in-law Esther, a stereotypical Jewish American Princess, butts heads with Bell and Lupe, affectionately known to her as “whore #1” and “whore #2’. But Tohn explores more sensitive territory this season as she explores the future of her marriage and the desire to have a second child or not.
WINNER: Linda Lavin. Without a doubt Lavin sweeps the field with her old school professionalism and finely honed talent. It would be easy to make this a posthumous in memoriam award, which she still would have reserved, but Lavin shows the new generation how an actor can transcend even the most clichéd, dated, and banal material. A star has fallen from the Hollywood sky.
BEST DOCUMENTARY MINISERIES
Being Eddie—A well produced two part interview from former king of comedy Eddie Murphy, showcasing his career form humble beginnings to the younges member of Saturday Night Live in its much-scrutinized first replacement cast, to legendary moives of his stand up career to his Oscar robbery for Dreamgirls. It’s all there, it’s all revealing, and its all Eddie. A fun watch to a comedy icon.
The Carter Family—A dark look inside the tragedy of Aaron Carter and his fall from family grace, shows a lifetime of abuse from a family who treated their children as meal tickets. Older brother Nick, of Back Street Boy fame, who was the first to be farmed out for fortune and the model for Aaron’s future success, shares responsibility and tragedy as only 2 of the 5 Carter children are still alive.
Epic Ride—Uinversal Studios does a combined history of the initial Hollywood location which evolved from backlot tours to full-fledged theme park, focusing on the new Epic World park which opened this year. Showcasing new additions Nintendo Mario Land, the How to Train Your Dragon Isle of Berk, the expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and, most impressively, the Dark Universe dedicated to the iconic Universal Monsters, focusing on Frankenstein’s Castle ride-thru. All of which shows that Universal is progressing leaps and bounds over former leader and definer of theme parks Disney, who can’t come up with anything better than a lame overlay to PC-ify fan favorite Splash Mountain. Get with it, Disney, you’re dropping balls on the parks front (at least all the American ones) as well as feature and animated films. Universal is relishing the opportunity to race ahead leaving you in the dust.
Pee Wee Herman as Himself—What could have been a run of the mill bio interview turns into something sweet and insightful as we find the story of a reluctant clown who was forced to play the fool his entire career, until an unsavory event at a local porn theatre destroyed the career that was thrust upon him. As he was dying of leukemia and lung cancer, Paul Reubens, the man behind the child, gave a very insightful and bittersweet recap of his life and his career as a frustrated, closeted gay actor.
Saving Wendy—If TMZ ever had the perfect documentary dropped at their door it would be this scathing study of how former talk show host Wendy Williams is now being held captive in a court-mandated mental health facility with lawyers in charge of her freedom and her finances, against her family’s objections. If Britney’s story was outrageous, Wendy’s is almost unbelievable. She was only allowed to talk to her interviewers only over the phone looking down on them from a streetside window.
Sean Combs: The Reckoning— A flat-out disturbing look into the world of P Diddy and the origins of his ruthless empire and the roots of his dirty parties. Its fascinating, especially the interviews with the hit man who boldly claims he assassinated Biggy Smalls and Tupac. What’s unbelievable is this project started out as a filmed documentary to absolve Combs of his legal embattlements. And the sexual assault charges he was cleared of? A disclaimer says there are 70+ more to go.
The Wonderland Massacre and the Hidden Secrets of Hollywood—Another truth-is-stranger-than-fiction account of the other infamous mass murder in Laurel Canyon, rivaling the notorious events of the Manson Family. This case is a bizarre intersection of drugs and organized crime centered around the unlikely hub of 70s porn king John Holmes. Complicated by bought-off juries and judges and we see the legal system of Hollywood was corrupt long before OJ got off.
WINNER: Pee Wee Herman as Himself. The Wonderland Massacre and the Hidden Secrets of Hollywood is another thrilling expose of the notorious and the corruption that money makes available to the evildoers of society. It’s another thorough and captivating four-part investigation that is a sweeping testament to the power of journalism. But Pee Wee tugs on the heartstrings and pulls the emotional cords of his passing, winning as the sentimental favorite.
BEST REALITY COMPETITION SHOW
The Amazing Race—The perennial favorite stays strong as contestants stumble along roadblocks and laft turns navigating their way from exotic location to more exotic location, this series deserved a nomination solely for its finale where they traveled back to New York and had to find their way to Sesame Street to get the final clue from Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch. Especially meaningful as our asshole president intends to defund the landmark series’ home at PBS.
The Great British Bake Off—This gentle show with a classical score masterfully blends competition with art, respect, and impeccable manners as the single calming influence for audiences when the rest of the world, like this program’s obnoxious American cousins, is a nerve-wracking terror. Grateful for not only a new traditional season, we also received a much needed Christmas present with a complete holiday special also, And yes, it will be referred to as its proper name, not the legally-mandated one in this horrible litigious country. Get over it, Dough Boy.
Love Island—Truthfully I only ventured into this pop cultural phenomenon to see the humble beginnings of Traitor Rob Rausch. And 36 hour and a half episodes later, I realized the trainwreck beauty that is Love Island. Yes it’s trash TV but it’s trash TV that’s everything the delusional Bachelor franchise wishes it was.
The Physical: Asia—A spin-off of the Netflix competition show centered around the elite athletes of Asia, and it’s as thrilling or moreso than the original.
RuPaul’s Drag Race/All Stars—The current season 16 and 17 of the original is exceptional, as good as most all-stars. The bar is rising each progressive season and the runway designs are creative and stunning, and the comedy top tier (at least up until the make-or-break “Snatch Game”). Which makes one wonder, why is the world so afraid of drag queens?
Survivor—Jeff Probst returns with a 8th and 9th heavy-handed “new era” of Survivor. Despite promises of new and exciting twists, everything post-Covid has become progressively more boring, particularly the casting. Although, like sex, even bad Survivor is good Survivor, remember one third of the winning combination is “outplay”.
Traitors—The current pop culture king of game shows, led by a perfectly cast Alan Cummings as its host, against the Macbethian splendor of an old Scottish castle, and this Survivor for the jungle-challenged is a heart-stopping elimination show with many varied and perfect endings. IF this wasn’t enough, this US Season 4 gave us ultimate Traitor Rob Rausch (Love Island) as the new reality show breakout/internet poster boy.
WINNER: The Traitors . In the most decisive win ever in this category, the US version hosted by Alan Cummings continues to not only dominate the competition category but elevate the standard. Season 4 US is not only the best of the stateside to date, but one of the best of all the international franchises, and made a national hero and internet darling out of Love Island alum Rob Rausch, who showed 5 loud-mouthed Real Housewives that he was way more than just a pretty F*boy in overalls.
BEST REALITY COMPETITION HOST
Roger Corser (Traitors Australia)—Corser takes his hosting in a direction down under, and the debonair actor dresses and conducts himself like a modern day James Bond as he negotiates the implicit super-villainy of the series.
Alan Cummings (Traitors)—Enough can’t be said of the host of the US version of the series. They took all the gothic doom of the British version with the theatricality of the Australian and mixed it with the glamour of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The Tony-winning Scottish actor dons the most exotic wardrobe as he cajoles and teases his guests, turning the game into a MacBethian fest of battles, banquets, and betrayals—and “murder”.
Alison Hammond (The Great British Bake Off)—Noel Fielding’s latest sidekick in the baking tent brings not just the levity of past hosts, but a bit of boisterous fun with it. She is the loud and funny counterpart to Fielding’s offbeat goofy humor, and the pair complement each other. In a series with two judges and two hosts, the new girl risks getting lost, but Hammond won’t hear of it.
Paul Hollywood (The Great British Bake Off)—Although comparatively gentler and more refined, Hollywood is equally as demanding and intimidating as the Simon Cowell of biscuits and breads. His steely blue gaze can unnerve, but the prospect of a rare handshake makes putting one’s baking credibility on the line worth it.
Jeff Probst (Survivor)—Probst returns this season with the another “new era” season with evermore boring contestants and a new propensity to “Jeff-splain” every element of the game that we’ve been watching for twenty-six years. He’s a solid host in absolute control of everything, but he’s becoming a ghost of what he formerly was. The wit and prodding have been replaced by kumbayas and hugs. And there is still the overly PC issue of the now incomplete sentence “come on in……”
RuPaul (RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race)—RuPaul excels in keeping the mood of the show light but competitive, with tongue-in-cheek risqué commentary and his beefy assistants, the pit crew, keep the action fun and flowing, even if she tends to get a bit preachy in her old age. Superior casting this year in both franchises give her much to werk with too. The international versions of the show without her are fun but nowhere the party the original is stateside.
Claudia Winkleman (Traitors UK)—The host of the original UK version of the game, Winkleman is the gothic equivalent of Wednesday Addams’ darker, spookier Aunt. Much gentler and more empathetic than Cummings, but she’s guiding civilians who really need the money while Cummings pokes requisite fun at reality show celebrities. Yet, in her own way, Winkleman conducts her show with as much dark wit and humor and has some edge-of-your-seat finales of her own.
WINNER: Alan Cummings (Traitors)—Cummings hijacks the international series and makes the US version his bitch. He is the perfect stylized, theatrical, Shakespearean tragedian that makes this franchise a grade above the other superlative ones. He’s a unique talent and understands how to use it.
BEST GUEST APPEARANCE by an ACTOR
Peter Dinklage (Dexter: Resurrection)—In a role that had to be created just for him, Dinklage brings a combination of levity and evil to the series as a millionaire with a fetish for serial killers. So he’s created a private dinner club in the middle of Manhattan for them, to which Dexter finesses a seat at his banquet table, with comic and tragic results. Who knew terror could come in such a compact package.
Walton Goggins (The Righteous Gemstones)—I will say this as fact: Goggins can play any role in a way no one can and bring a life to any project that is lesser than without him. Making the most of the last season of the role of his career, blacksheep brother-in-law “Baby Billy” Freeman, a comic leach who just wants his piece of his late sister’s share of the evangelical empire. Beneath a Billy Graham white wig and the worst fake dental work (as well as other comic prostheses), Goggins steals the show from beneath all his ridiculous and hilarious costars.
John Hamm (The Morning Show)—Hamm joins the cast as an Elon Musk-like millionaire intent on buying out the station as well as Jennifer Aniston’s heart. Hamm, the everyman ad man for 8 seasons of Mad Men is a new age antihero here.
Neil Patrick Harris (Dexter: Resurrection)—Harris gives a fresh change of pace as a serial killer contemporary of Dexter’s and runs with the new opportunity. Slimy, snarky, and sleazy, it’s a side of him we haven’t seen, even in Barnie Stinson. Doogie Howser grew up and is downright terrifying.
Tom Hollander (Monster: Ed Gein)—Last year Hollander was nominated for playing the flamboyant Truman Capote in Ryan Murphy’s Feud, this season Murphy utilizes him as a deadpan Alfred Hitchcock in Ed Gein. Hollander is a versatile actor who morphs into whoever you need him to be.
Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us)—Pascal returns to the hit award-winning show in a limited story but his briefer screen time is no less important to the story. Pascal enhances every show he’s involved in from this zombie thriller to Saturday Night Live, another “walking dead” project that he saves, especially playing Marcello Hernandez’ grandmother.
Joey Pollari (Monster: Ed Gein)—Along side Hollander, Pollari broke out in Gein playing a tortured Anthony Perkins, whose iconic screen role was symbolic of the double life Perkins lived for years as a closeted homosexual in the lavender era.
WINNER: Walton Goggins. This is Goggins’ year. In addition to his stellar recurring role in Genstones, he also had a critical dramatic role in White Lotus: Thailand and gave that series some of its most memorable—make that unforgettable—scenes (you’ll know the difference if you watched). Goggins is one of the most versatile actors in the business, and his Baby Billy Freeman is indeed the superstar he is in his own mind.
BEST GUEST APPEARANCE by an ACTRESS
Jannel James (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)—The hilarious principal from Abbott Elementary shows up as the best part of an inspired Always Sunny season opener as the gang is court-ordered to do community service and does so by volunteering at Abbott—to the chagrin of the entire faculty and staff, particularly the self-absorbed Principal Ava.
Megan Mullally (The Righteous Gemstones)—As Goodman’s late wife Aimee Leigh’s former best friend and recording partner, Mullally shows up when Goodman has tuned out and attempts to bring him back and perhaps become involved with him, an act which repulses both of their selfish adult children. Mullally is always good for a loud laugh.
Julianne Nicholson (Hacks)—As social media sensation “Dance Mom”, Nichols spoofs internet notoriety with an attention-starved Gen X woman who is hilariously so not what she wants the world to think. Nichols, who usually plays unlikeable to dark roles, is zany, crazy funny here.
Kaitlyn Olson (Hacks)—Olson grounds her over the top persona from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and grounds her just enough as Jean Smart’s resentful adult daughter whose love/hate relationship with her mother could fill a volume of Freud’s texts, this season, as a mother herself, she resolves a lot of the issues—not all, mind you—but enough. Olson brings a different side of DJ Vance that plays out in the Christening that her mother insists she have.
Sheryl Lee Ralph (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)—Another standout in the comic crossover, Emmy winner Ralph’s no-nonsense kindergarten teacher has no patience with the gang’s tom foolery.
Holland Taylor (The Morning Show)—As the chairman of the board of the UBA network, Taylor is both queen and pawn in the plotting and scheming that takes place oer the network’s future, and, as always, she’s a thrill to watch in authoritative action.
Uma Thurman (Dexter: Resurrection)—The highest profile guest star on the NY season, Thurman as a standout as Dinklage’s devoted bodyguard is absolutely chilling. We’ve seen her play a string of strong women in her career, but hit woman Charlie would devour them all.
WINNER: Julianne Nicholson. Never in the nominating process did I expect this result, mostly because Nichols specializes in unlikable characters. But her breakout character of season 4 as an enthusiastic and hyper happy internet “Dance Mom” turns out to be anything but once she arrives in LA and Nichols handles the drug-addled downer behind the façade as adeptly as the bubbly internet counterpart.
BEST STAND-UP COMIC PERFORMANCE Filmed for TV
Jerrod Carmichael: Don’t Be Gay—Carmichael is an unlikely comedian and his entire act of this special is built on how double sided the sword is for a gay African American man. His humor and voice may be low key, but the sentiments are note.
Dave Chapelle: The Unstoppable…—You can try to keep him down, but Chapelle keeps fighting back and just refuses to be canceled. He even has a knack for using his cancellation for even better material, which the title suggests as he does here. Working in an arena in the round, Chapelle blends concert footage from an American venue with an Iranian venue, where he proclaims they love him. And the payoff of the blend slaps all the cancel culture to the floor. Chapelle is indeed Unstoppable.
Ronnie Chieng: Love to Hate It—The voice of Asian-American comedy today, last year’s Marco Winner (Interior Chinatown), Chieng brings his irritated comic voice to another top-notch special with his unique immigrant’s take on America and todays’ tech.
Ricky Gervais: Mortality—The controversial Brit continues with another Netflix special of his new act, the same sort of material that got him fired as Golden Globes host one year and honored as Best Standup Comedy Special the following year. Gervais’ over it all British manner can sell any material.
Brett Goldstein:The Second Best Night of Your Life—Best known as the hot headed team captain aged out to coach Roy Kent on the delightful Ted Lasso, which he also wrote for, Goldstein shows his unique take on British deadpan humor, and is low key hilarious how he will build a joke literally over ¾ of the show for a final payoff. Standup is just a different beast in the mouths of the Brits.
Kevin Hart: Acting My Age—The manic Hart’s newest is the route all upstart maverick comedians eventually get to—that point where their act focuses on the heinous prospects of aging. Having passed the prior landmarks of outrageous observation and parenthood, Hart’s aging phase is nothing that hasn’t been done before, but works in his voice.
Matt Rife:Unwrapped—A Christmas Special—Rife’s latest Netflix special is his wheelhouse, a true blend of his standup and his crowd work. His humor is honest, brutal, and for a millennial, true to the non-PC mentality of the golden age. Not that he’s the next George Carlin or Richard Pryor, but he’s at least respectful of and appreciates their brands.
WINNER: Dave Chapelle: The Unstoppable…. Of course we believe in inclusivity and rights for everybody, but when the internet gets involved and crosses every line, we also stand up for the guy that got bullied for doing nothing wrong (If you have doubts, sit through his rebuttal to their attempted cancellation, The Closer, and find the truth). Chapelle has entered that era where he can now say whatever the hell he wants and get away with it.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT RECOGNITIONS
This year we went to the classics, revisiting a lot of the comforting classics from the 70s that have held up surprisingly well to counteract the anger and hate-filled negative world we currently inhabit. Things from landmark series like All in the Family that were decades ahead of their time, to comfort TV like Here’s Lucy wherein she introduced the world to her talented children, and even the historically inspired Here Come the Brides in honor of the passing of recording, TV, and Tiger Beat star Bobby Sherman. Production values were great for studio shows and writing was deceptively complex, with some beyond their years. The only former hit series that didn’t hold up well is the iconic Bea Arthur vehicle Maude, which was developed for what was intended to be a guest star role on All in the Family¸ and in retrospect was too big a character in the hands of the domineering Arthur, and was best handled the persona in small doses. Perhaps it’s a generation now of too loud, too negative, too self-righteous justice warriors fighting battles no one’s raging in today’s cancellation culture that Maude Findlay seemed like a warning we should have listened to. Or, conversely, if we had been able to sick a 2020s Maude Findlay on the Epstein Files…..
But 2025 was the year of the miniseries, as I returned to the golden trifecta of old time 70s and 80s extravagance (most of which ironically have more episodes than many of today’s real series). Starting with the grandaddy of them all, Irwin Shaw’s blockbuster 1976’s Rich Man, Poor Man (and its sequel, Book 2, based on Shaw’s Beggarman, Thief), laying the groundwork for absorbing storytelling to come and great intergenerational performances by young Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, Susan Blakely and a host of contemporary guest stars like Emmy-winner Ed Asner, Bill Bixby, and Robert Reed to old school legends like Van Johnson, Ray Milande, and Dorothy McGuire.
I followed that with Alex Hailey’s 1977 landmark legacy Roots (and its sequel Book 2) with its pioneering story of one man’s ancestry from Africa to here, with bigger stars like Leslie Uggams, Ben Vereen, George Stanford Brown, Chuck Connors, Robert Guillaume, Lorne Greene, and Sandy Duncan, as well as Asner and Reed again. Most importantly , it introduced us to PBS educational legend LeVar Burton in his definitive role.
But the most glamourous and most absorbing of them all was 1984-5’s blockbuster, and I will attest the last of the grand old miniseries (miniseries are now considered 2-3 episodes; we called that a “movie of the week” in the day), John Jakes’ masterpiece North & South, the opulent look at the tragic war that melded two cultures into one unwilling nation. The sets, the costumes, the star power couldn’t have been bigger for the day with so may past and future stars including Genie Francis, Lesley-Anne Down, Parker Stevenson, George Stanford Brown, David Carradine to major names like Morgan Fairchild, Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, and even the ultimate showbiz icon Miss Elizabeth Taylor as a mysterious madame who held a major character’s secrets (in the notorious 40 pound beaded dress that injured her back and caused her 80s addiction to painkillers). Most notably tho, were the breakout performances by a young, sadly-missed Kirstie Alley and a robust and never sexier Patrick Swayze, who were never more beautiful or more captivating on the screen. We followed those with Book 2 and 3 for the definitive experience and arguably the best TV trilogy ever. The awards I would have slathered these series with if they debuted today….
Stay tuned in the following weeks for the 2026 Marco Awards for Movies and Stage performances.
PAST WINNERS
BEST DRAMA
2021 Hunters (Prine)
2022 Dopesick (Hulu)
2023 The Last of Us (HBO/Max)
2024 The White House Plumbers (HBO/Max)
2025 Monster: Lyle & Erik Menendez (Hulu/FX)
BEST COMEDY
2021 Dead to Me (Netflix)
2022 The Righteous Gemstones (HBO/Max)
2023 Reboot (Hulu)
2024 Beef (Netflix)
2025 Hacks (HBO/Max)
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
2021 Al Pacino (Hunters)
2022 Michael C Hall (Dexter: New Blood)
2023 Evan Peters (Monster: Dahmer)
2024 Justin Theroux (The White House Plumbers)
2025 Cooper Koch (Monster: Lyle & Erik Menendez)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
2021 Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)
2022 Margaret Qualley (Maid)
2023 Michelle Pfeiffer (The First Lady)
2024 Uzo Aduba (Painkiller)
2025 Naomi Watts (Feud: Capote vs the Swans)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
2021 Ben Platt (The Politician)
2022 Danny McBride (The Righteous Gemstones)
2023 Keegan Michael Key (Reboot)
2024 Stephen Yeun (Beef)
2025 Antony Starr (The Boys)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
2021 Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
2022 Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
2023 Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me)
2024 Ali Wong (Beef)
2025 Jean Smart (Hacks)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
2021 Jon Jon Briones (Ratched)
2022 Clive Owen (American Crime Story: Impeachment)
2023 Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird)
2024 tie Taylor Kitsch (Painkiller) & Corey Mylchreest (Queen Charlotte)
2025 Javier Bardem (Monster: Lyle & Erik Menendez)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
2021 Carol Kane (Hunters)
2022 Julia Garner (Ozark)
2023 Neicy Nash (Monster: Dahmer)
2024 Lena Heady (The White House Plumbers)
2025 Chloe Sevigne (Monster: Lyle & Erik Menendez)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
2021 Alex Newell (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist)
2022 Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
2023 James Marsden (Dead to Me)
2024 James Marsden (Jury Duty)
2025 Ronnie Chieng (Interior: Chinatown)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
2021 Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
2022 Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones)
2023 Judy Greer (Reboot)
2024 Jane Krakowski (Schmicago)
2025 Patti LuPone (Agatha All Along)
BEST DOCUMENTARY MINISERIES
2021 Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
2022 Sons of Sam
2023 The Staircase
2024 American Nightmare
2025 Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Nickelodeon
BEST REALITY COMPETITION SHOW
2021 RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars
2022 RuPaul’s Drag Race/All-Stars
2023 RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars
2024 Survivor
2025 Traitors
BEST REALITY COMPETITION HOST
2021 RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars)
2022 RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race/All-Stars)
2023 Ru Paul (RuPaul’s Drag Race/All-Stars)
2024 RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race/All-Stars)
2025 Alan Cummings (Traitors)
BEST GUEST APPEARANCE BY AN ACTOR
2021 tie Matt Bomer (The Sinner) & Tom Pelphrey (Ozark)
2022 Taran Killiam (American Crime Story: Impeachment)
2023 Nick Offerman (The Last of Us)
2024 Khallid Abdalla (The Crown)
2025 Nathan Lane(Monster: Lyle & Erik Menendez)
BEST GUEST APPEARANCE BY AN ACTRESS
2021 Gillian Anderson (The Crown)
2022 Shalita Grant (You)
2023 Sally Field (Winning Time)
2024 Kathleen Turner (The White House Plumbers)
2025 Carl Burnett (Palm Royale)
BEST STAND-UP COMEDY PERFORMANCE Filmed for TV
2021 Fortune Feimster: Sweet & Salty
2022 Bo Burnham: Inside
2023 Hassan Minhaj: The King’s Jester
2024 Chris Rock: Selective Outrage
2025 Hassan Minhaj: Off With His Head