Welcome back to round two of the 4th Annual Marco Awards. If you read last week’s blog, you’ve seen the big winners in the Movies category. (If not, go check them out here.) Sincere thanks to those of you who already let me know my recommendations have intrigued you enough to watch and enjoy some of films we discussed. Today, more of the same as we move on to the honors for Television, the most comprehensive of the three disciplines.
This Marco season began a trend of blurring the lines of comedy and tragedy to the point where I was unsure what category certain shows should be placed in. The term dramedy doesn’t even encompass the gray areas I encountered this year. Having no luxury of the main awards for the creators to submit in their desired category, I waited til the last episode and trusted my intuition based on the final tone they left me with.
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, 2023 and January 31st 2024, 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 as a recurring character or from a single episode but no more than one entire season in a prominent 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 4th 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). I’m sorry there’s no terrific Ryan Gosling opening number, so you’ll have to make do with your host, me, and may the best shows win. The nominees are:
The 4th Annual MARCO AWARDS 2024: TELEVISION
BEST DRAMA
The Crown—The final season of the highly acclaimed Netflix series sees the House of Windsor wind down to a septuagenarian Queen Elizabeth considering her final days amidst the soap opera of her children and the death of former Princess Diana, while giving insight to Harry and Wills as the next generation. Even if there is a fair degree of dramatic license and speculation taken, it results in compelling story telling executed by a wonderful cast. Side note—while casting to this show across the generations has consistently been remarkable, the sexy swagger of Dominic West is a pretty weak match for dowdy Prince Charles.
Fellow Travelers—Marco Winner Matt Bomer and Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey play a secretive gay couple working for the government in the McCarthy lavender scared 50s whose tragic love affair carries into the Reagan AIDS era. IT’s the chemistry between the two that make this work, even if the time-hopping story telling undermines their efforts a bit.
Painkiller—Much like former Marco winner Dopesick, this well acted story tells the shameful tale of Purdue Pharmaceuticals from the perspective of a government lawyer with a vendetta—oxycontin addicted her mother, who died, and her brother, who ended up in prison, while they always get off scott free. This story always merits a retelling from any angle because our government and the DEA protect these corrupt industries at the expense of the people.
Queen Charlotte—The third entry into the world of Bridgerton, this prequel explores the early life of Queen Charlotte from her first meeting with King George, as the strong-willed princess made a runaway bride attempt to start the dynasty. Perhaps the best of the three, it follows young Charlotte through her early years as she becomes stronger and more protective of the nation as she quietly delves deeper into treatment and acceptance of the famous mental illness of her husband.
The White House Plumbers—My deep dive into the insanity of the Watergate scandal in search of any insight (starting with last seasons slick Gaslight, and a ton of podcasts and documentaries) culminated with this flawless retelling focused not on the Nixon administration but on the comic mishaps of E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (a spot-on Justin Theroux). What I’ve come to understand is that the saga is exactly as ridiculous, stupid, and senseless as my childhood mind envisioned it. The results are so insanely funny I had a hard time deciding if this was a drama with underlying comedy or a very dark comedy with chilling moments. While it was hijinks for the first 4½ episodes, the finale took such dark turns I want with drama.
Winning Time—I was actually shocked by this mesmerizing account of the creation and rise of the LA Laker franchise, because I never knew a time when pro basketball was not the glamorous, high paying mega-business it has been ever since. The saga of down and out Jerry Buss who purchased the floundering organization and envisioned creating an experience like never imagined for the sport, including the revitalization of the LA Forum to rebranding the cheer squad into the infamous Laker Girls. Also a fun dose of nostalgia with more familiar faces from the era with their own engrossing backstories including the alienation of a disenchanted now vet Magic Johnson (a star-making turn for Quincey Isaiah), and side forays into the revolving door of coaches and even a little more into the psyche of Johnson rival Larry Bird. It feels a little rushed at the end when they could have spread the story into at least another season, but it still, like its debut season, was filled with all the thrills and roller coaster dramatics of a champion season. Yes, despite popular misconception, Mark can and does enjoy sports, especially when it involves a great underdog tale like Buss’.
Yellowjackets—A champion Canadian High School girls soccer team are heading for the experience of their lives in the national championships when their plane goes down somewhere in the deserted mountains of the north where events happened that were supposed to have stayed in the mountains. A strong cast of adult characters present day and their well-matched high school counterparts of 25 years ago take this gender bent story based on the Chilean rugby team that went down in the Andes described in the 70s cult sensation book Alive to more chilling ends as the team make hard decisions for survival. Season 1 pussyfooted around the “horrible secrets” of what happened to the girls. Season 2 jumps leaves no doubt what heinous events happened there (as if there was any wondering how this survival story ended).
WINNER: The White House Plumbers. It really didn’t matter what category this was in, it was the best series I’ve seen all year, and the single one I recommend most when asked. The extreme front-loaded comedy from the opening disclaimer (basically “no names have been changed to protect the innocent becasue they have all pretty much been found guilty”) and outrageous chemistry between Harrelson and Theroux just add to the glory of the most embarrassing events in American history, when we turned the corner and began to understand our government is not acting in our best interests, ande those in power believe they are above the law. Watergate was a shock, and this series mines it for all the insanity and absurdity it deserves. The biggest question is still, who did any of this make sense to at the time? The sheer hubris of the Nixon administration should make us suspicious of all other regimes and what they are definitely hiding. And Plumbers made it clear, in between the lines, that this administration was definitely implicated in the the worst kept secret of the 20th century (looking at you, Warren Report). Several key players including Hunt himself were in Dallas that day our nation changed forever. If there is one show you take my word on, make it this one. Five easy episodes, smart writing, and amazing performances fleshing out our most insanely funny American tragedy. Extra level fun fact: Woody Harrelson’s father was a known Mafia hitman on the side and rumored to have been one of the infamous “three tramps” along with Hunt who are possible second (or more) gunmen in the assassination.
BEST COMEDY
Beef—Never could this series have been more timely than now when a simple instance of parking lot road rage escalates into a cat and mouse chess game of one-upmanship, perfectly played by Steven Yeun (Minari) and comedian Ali Wong. Like White House Plumbers, I couldn’t tell if this was a very dark comedy or a thriller that got darker and darker until the fever dream finale pretty much lightened the tone back into social commentary parody of 2020s American culture.
Glamorous—Netflix’s dark horse entry about a young nonbinary (Miss Benny) killing time selling cosmetics in a department store, meets his idol, cosmetics icon Madolyn Addison (a delightful Kim Cattrall, in a welcome departure from her sarcastic Samantha stereotype), who recognizes their potential and gives them a position at her corporate headquarters. Playing like a 2020s update of Ugly Betty, all the snarky humor and office sabotage intact, it’s a dynamic we haven’t seen since the underrated Betty came to her happy end 15 years ago. If only Marc and Amanda had left Mode Magazine to go work for Glamorous by Madolyn.
Jury Duty—What happens when you take an easy-going young man who thinks he’s applying for a reality show series about the behind the scenes machinery of a jury trial, then surround said victim with a tightly scripted show that tests his patience, morals, and common sense every step of the way? Big laughs result. Throw in Marco Winner James Marsden (Dead to Me) playing an asshole version of himself (the funniest since Matt LeBlanc skewered his persona in Episodes), and this runaway jury sprints for the finish line way ahead of its pack.
Schmicago—The season 2 follow-up to Apple TV’s cult hit, the spoof of Golden Age American musical theatre, Schmigadoon, takes our troublesome couple, Keegan Michael Key and Cecily Strong back for another immersive round of therapy, this time in a town that lives and breathes the 70’s darker, more sensual musicals. With dead on parodies of everything from Chicago, Cabaret, Sweeney Todd, and Hair to Pippin and even Annie, the returning core cast of Broadway vets score with bigger, funnier, livelier versions of their broad, scathing humor, and Schmicago is a smash hit.
Sprung—This surprise dark entry by Amazon/Freevee from Gregory Thomas Garcia (Raising Hope, My Name is Earl), gives us a sleeper hit set in another absurdist blue-collar world, this time in the midst of Covid lockdown. When prisons were releasing non-violent criminals due to quarantine issues to cut down on crowding, a middle-aged convict (Hope’s Garrett Dillahunt) serving a then mandatory 30 years from being framed for weed possession in the 90s and his hapless conman cellmate (Phillip Garcia, no relation) are released along with his prison crush. Having no where to go, they live with the cellmates working class mom (Hope’s Martha Plimpton, having the time of her life). When Plimpton gets the idea to reactivate her old smalltime crime ring since she has actual criminals at her disposal now, the comic stakes get higher. While Garcia employs his go-to comic pros, we have had minimum but sufficient distance from Covid for it to be a period piece, and the period humor is brilliant, like the drug dealer who now makes more money selling hoarded toilet paper than drugs.
Unstable— What originated from Rob Lowe’s sons viral IG posts ragging on their still super-successful, age-defying former brat pack father, spawned this art-imitating-life comedy about the progeny of a world class scientific genius, himself a prodigy but nowhere the caliber of his father, who retreats from science and becomes a world class musician. Until his mother’s death plumbs his father into a career threatening depression, and his business partners persuade the prodigal sone to return home and help his father deal with his grief while adding fresh blood to the company pool. Creator John Owen Lowe has great fun spoofing his hot, famous dad, and their familial comradery shows.
Ted Lasso—The final season of maybe the world’s smartest good-natured comedy ever comes at a time when we need just that. As fish out of water across the Atlantic Ted comes to grips with his real issues for fleeing America and the sport he loved, it’s a pretty perfect send-off that wraps up all the stories of the likeable players and staff of the Richmond Greyhounds.
WINNER: Beef. Steven Yeun and Ali Wong brilliantly portray two regular folks who share an instant of bad temper that escalates until the snowball threatens to ruin their lives, as well as their families’. The predominantly Asian-American cast showcases great new talent and the fact that America is a raw, broken mess across all our cultures.
BEST ACTOR in a DRAMA
Jonathan Bailey (Fellow Travelers)—The Bridgerton star watches his Hollywood star ascend into the stratosphere as a young Washington government worker employed by the rabid Eugene McCarthy in the midst of his communist/lavender scare, who is conducting a clandestine gay affair with the man who helped arrange his placement in the McCarthy regime. Bailey gives a bravuro performance as a man torn between his love, his job, and his Catholic faith.
Matt Bomer (Fellow Travelers)—The former Marco winner (The Sinner) once again plays against his likeable persona as a closeted government employee navigating a secret gay affair in the era of McCarthy’s crackdown on homosexuals in the government. Bomer fleshes out a complex character who leads a double life at the expense of his long-time lover as well as his determined wife, and comes to embrace the regrets too late.
Woody Harrelson (The White House Plumbers)—The offbeat Harrelson is hilarious as the misguided E. Howard Hunt, trying to navigate his family life, his writing career, his government job, and the most poorly executed government cover up in American history. All the while hiding the subtle hints that he was also directly involved in the assassination of Kennedy, the most perfectly executed government in American history. All the while trying to rein in the loose cannon of his volatile partner in crime G. Gordon Liddy.
Tom Holland (The Crowded Room)—Holland’s performance seems underwhelming until you see the 11:00 twist in storytelling that reaches deep into the mind of a young man suffering from multiple personalities. If one goes back to rewatch the earlier episodes, it becomes apparent that Holland is a brilliant, nuanced actor with instincts beyond his age. The story is based on the first defendant to claim multiple personalities as a defense before the psychiatric field barely even understood the condidtion
Quincy Isaiah (Winning Time)—Isaiah scores triple digits as winning, wide-eyed, optimistic rookie Magic Johnson, trying to navigate his entrance into the NBA and all the traps of instant celebrity while dealing his deep-rooted media-imposed rivalry with Larry Bird, desperate to succeed on both fronts. Season 2 gives him even more to explore as we see is disenchantment with the inconsistent coaching within the Lakers franchise and get serious how to make his supportive friendship with Cookie into something more.
Matthew Rhys (Perry Mason)—Rhys returns for season 2 of his surprise noir hit, this time with Mason, fresh out of law school, navigating his first big case, the seedy tale of two immigrant brothers charged with the murder of an old money heir with shady connections.
Justin Theroux (The White House Plumbers)—Theroux has had a respected, steady career but breaks out in the role of his life immortalizing the intense lunacy of G. Gordon Liddy, making Liddy’s nonsensical proposals on how to handle the Watergate scandal believable, insane, and hilarious at the same time. His chemistry with Harrelson is the buddy comedy of the season, maybe the decade, until Theroux throws himself into the darkest side of Liddy in the end. G. Gordon Liddy gives Theroux everything to play with and he’s a champion at the game.
WINNER: Justin Theroux. Sometimes actors just land on the perfect role in the perfect project at the perfect time, and Theroux has landed his role of a lifetime in the sociopathic persona of G. Gordon Liddy. Theroux makes him scary, intense, funny, and insane all at once. His tour de force as he takes Liddy from hilarious lunacy to chilling government assassin is mesmerizing, but Theroux could have won simply for his presentation of LIddy’s infamously psychotic Project Gemstone. Look it up, it’s for real and not at all exaggerated. Theroux is the breakout performance of the season.
BEST ACTRESS in a DRAMA
Lizzie Caplan (Fatal Attraction)—The multi-talented Caplan who has excelled at roles as varied as sex researcher Virginia Johnson and Mean Girls goth girl antagonist Janis Sarkisian wins again taking on an expanded look at Glenn Close’s iconic character from the movie, with more understanding of how she became that damaged and how much further the insanity spread.
Juliet Lewis (Yellowjackets)—Lewis takes the adult quirky character, the girl from the wrong side of tracks grown up, and runs with her. Part murder mystery, part comedy, part thrilling, Lewis makes her the most interesting character on the show.
Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets)—The South African actress emerges from the strong ensemble cast as the damaged adult survivor of the high school plane crash with all the scars and PTSD that put her sanity, her family, and her very freedom on the line.
Elizabeth Olson (Love and Death)—The 3rd Olson sister—the one who can actually act (Wandavision)—gives another strong performance in an eerie tale of an affair gone wrong. Accused of killing the emotionally unstable wife of a church friend, Olson takes us on a ride with her family, her lawyer, and her community to determine if she actually did it
Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte)—After two seasons of Bridgerton, lording over the upper class shenanigans of the elite as they fall in love, Rosheuvel takes center stage on her origin story, from young princess to arranged betrothed of King George III to the many unexpected trials and pains of keeping a family and a nation together as her husband the king descends further and further into severe mental illness
Imelda Staunton (The Crown)—The Crown takes a huge but necessary chance every two seasons as we progress the monarchy across 60 years, and Staunton masterfully picking up the scepter from the stellar Olivia Coleman, takes Queen Elizabeth across the finish line with all the strength, wisdom, and grace required of her royal position. While Clair Foy admirably dealt with the restrictions placed upon a young woman in a more sexist era, and Coleman dealt with raising a family amidst a changing world, Staunton excels as an aging monarch plagued with the shenanigans of her most ungrateful children
Uzo Uduba (Painkiller)—Uduba (Orange is the New Black) gives a serious and intense performance as a US attorney who goes after big Purdue Pharma after her mother dies from addiction and her brother ends up in prison from it. Again, a very important story and Uduba gives us a bigger insider’s point of view and makes an even stronger case from within.
WINNER: Uzo Aduba. Aduba, best known as a comedian, gives a riveting performance as a US Attorney working from the inside who fights an uphill battle.
BEST ACTOR in a COMEDY
Garret Dillahunt (Sprung)—Dillahunt is sweetly funny as a minimal security prisoner released during Covid 30 years later into a world he doesn’t understand that no longer understands itself. When approached by the mother of his cellmate who is giving him free room and board to join a crime ring, he agrees on the naïve requisite that, like a Covid-era Robin Hood, he will only commit crimes that help someone else
Kelsey Grammer (Frasier)—Rebooting his iconic sitcom 20 years after it ended, by relocating back in Boston where he started. Attempting to reconnect with his blue collar son who just wants to live a normal life as a fireman without all the cultural trappings of his now world famous father (star of a Dr. Phil-type phenom show), the show plays with the original dynamic he shared with his deceased father who he moved into his fancy penthouse in Seattle in the original spin-off series. The show relies heavily on nostalgia, and succeeds best when they do plot salutes to classic episodes or feature the stellar guest stars form the old series (so far the exquisitely dry Bebe Neuwirth and sardonic Peri Gilpin headline the highest points of the season). While the new millennial cast pales to the original (and should get better mileage out of Anders Keith, who shows great underdeveloped potential as Niles and Daphne’s neurotic, competitive son, now Uncle Frasier’s student at Harvard), Grammer is firmly in control and his old award worthy self. Here’s to more guest appearances in season 2!
Nicholas Hoult (The Great)—The always dependable Hoult is funny as ever as the deluded, toxicly masculine Emporer Peter III (“not the Great”, as his family constantly reminds him, paling to his legendary father). Hoult gets extra mileage this season playing a dual role as the stranger-than-fiction, real-life peasant imposter who impersonated the Emperor in rallies and caused much uproar among the people of the Revolution.
John Owen Lowe (Unstable)—Taking a stream of Instagram posts where he and his brother rag constantly on their dad, ever youthful ex-Brat Packer Robe Lowe, making fun of his ongoing string of self-promoting posts and image-boosting pictures. Young Lowe is also head writer for the clever show that plays on their real life dynamic as the prodigy son of a scientific superstar who turns to music to remove himself of the shadow of his legendary father. Art imitating life making fun of art is the a winning formula for this scientist.
Rob Lowe (Unstable)—The good-natured Lowe pere gives it his all as his son continues to skewer him on a significantly larger platform. Lowe has practiced his whole life to play this luminous celebrity who overshadows his offspring but lovingly provides them the material to get even.
Jason Sudeikas (Ted Lasso)—The most genial character on TV today is not a milquetoast or a butt of a joke thanks to Sudeikas dignified portrayal of a happy man, albeit with his own secret demons. Sudeikas makes likable seem too easy, but this final season gives him and his flawless ensemble the best send-off they could possibly have.
Stephen Yeun (Beef)—Eternal nice guy Yeun (The Walking Dead, Minari) breaks out with a 180⁰ against-type portrayal as a frustrated young Asian man saddled with running the family business (while his younger brother sloths around dabbling in bitcoin on the internet) who takes his stress out on the perpetrator of an innocuous incident of road rage in a supply store parking lot. After getting even with the aggressive driver, a series of constant one-upmanship between the two go from comical to uncomfortable to dark to possibly tragic in no time at all. Yeun is a revelation and a lesson in not messing with strangers you don’t know.
WINNER: Stephen Yeun. Yeun continues to stretch himself as an actor, showing us a darker side here that we’ve never even seen on The Walking Dead. Dead abruptly cutting him loose with an alarming exit might have been the best thing to happen to the engaging young actor, who has racked up an Academy Award nomination and Emmy and Golden Globe wins while The Walking Dead has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
BEST ACTRESS in a COMEDY
Rachel Brosnehan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)—Brosnehan has carried this superior series inspired by Joan Rivers’ rise to stardom amidst sexism and family pressures of women’s expectations. As the central character of a strong cast, Brosnehan has made a name for herself.
Kim Cattrall (Glamorous)—The former sex kitten in the city switches colors here as an established mogul of a cosmetics dynasty who hires a mall cosmetics clerk as her assistant. Playing against type, Cattrall is the voice of good sense, reason, and warmth amongst the business world insanity here.
Nastasia Demetriou (What We Do in the Shadows)—Acting as the “Sweet Dee” stand-in as the only female vampire in the company of irrational men, Demetriou is hilarious, and going bigger is never a problem.
Elle Fanning (The Great)—Fanning is consistently superb in her role as Catherine the Great in this bawdy reimagining of history. Always at her best when sexually sparring with her husband (fellow nominee Nicholas Hoult), Fanning comes into her own this season as ruling Empress.
Martha Plimpton (Sprung)—Again under the guidance of Greg Garcia (Raising Hope), and playing opposite former Hope costar Dillahunt, Plimpton has the most fun in this offbeat covid era comedy. At total home with Garcia’s white trash humor, Plimpton has a blast as the mother of an ex-con who discovers having ex-criminals in her house may make way for the makeshift crime ring to take advantage of the covid-era near apocalyptic world
Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)—Waddingham has a great last season and the greatest character arc of closure in the series. She is the rock to carry on the tradition
Ali Wong (Beef)—The standup star conquers another medium bringing all her comic strengths to this battle of one-upmanship with Yeung. And like Yeung, Wong is all-in, willing to go where the story takes her as their battles become more insane and more threatening, riding it home to an unlikely finish.
WINNER: Ali Wong. Wong shows us she’s much more than a stand-up comic with an attitude, stretching herself to equal her costar’s personal growth. Give this talented woman with a strong voice her own show.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR in a DRAMA
Adrian Brody (Winning Time)—As assistant coach Pat Riley, Brody balances his job of being supportive to the players as well as to put-upon coach Paul Westhead who is intent on pushing his “System” of play. In a strong slate of supporting actors, Brody manages to emerge as a standout.
Jason Clarke (Winning Time)—As former coach promoted to management Jerry West, Clarke is blustery laughs as the shenanigans of his rising diva stars cause more trouble than a trophy is worth
Liam James (The White House Plumbers)—Amongst a stellar slate of A-list costars and guest stars, James shines as mild-mannered, emotionally damaged son with daddy issues Saint John Hunt (referred to as “Saint” not “John”). James brings a much needed sweetness to the high stakes action and buffoonery of the story. And we get a look into backstory of the young man who would eventually claim his father, on his first deathbed, confessed to his involvement in the Kennedy assassination.
Taylor Kitsch (Painkiller)—The former Friday Night Lights star seemed perched to be the next big action hero, but in a string of big budget box office flops (Battleship, John Carter from Mars), he seemed to be destined to be big box office poison. After a retreat from the screen, he returns her with more maturity and giving a stellar, absorbing performance as a grounded, likeable, dependable garage shop manager who suffers a freak accident on the job and becomes an unlikely addict to the new “miracle pain reliever”, Oxycontin. His dark descent, multiple times, at the cost of his family, is heartbreaking.
Corey Mylchreest (Queen Charlotte)—Mylchreest throws himself wholeheartedly into the well-known madness of King George, and we watch the once level-headed ruler descend into insanity, Mylchreest is riveting. Especially in the scenes where he undergoes desperate, abusive “treatments” for elusive cures.
Tom Pelphrey (Love and Death)—Former Marco winner Pelphrey (Ozark) is a balance to the insanity of the small town lunacy of the church lady murder, as her lawyer who can’t control her any more than her family or her paramour.
Jason Segal (Winning Time)—The third Winning Time supporting actor nominee, Segal, most famous for comic acting, takes great dramatic strides as headstrong head coach Paul Westfield, as he butts heads with his all-star players who resist his leadership. Of course, his “system” is the compete antithesis of how his showboating stars want to play. Segal puts his comic skills aside and goes for angsty drama.
WINNER: TIE Taylor Kitsch and Corey Mylchreest. This is an even draw because each does equally impressive work but in totally different arenas. Kitsch puts to rest any claims of matinee idol work or box office poison with a tragic antihero here. But Mylchreest is compelling as he descends into King George’s struggle with mental illness. Two breathtaking triumphs in impossible to compare acting styles.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS in a DRAMA
Adjoa Andoh (Queen Charlotte)—Reprising her Bridgerton role as Queen Charlotte’s lifelong friend and confidente, Andoh mixes up a unique concoction equal parts Joan Collins, Pam Greer, and Eartha Kitt and it’s an intoxicating, delicious recipe. Now blessed with a back story (fleshed out by fellow nominee Arsema Thomas), her performance becomes richer across all three seasons of the show.
Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown)—Debicki gets all the love this final season as the wronged Ex-Princess of Wales who comes to an untimely (and, if the story is to be believed, totally unavoidable a hundred times over) death. What should be the handicap of a casting change mid story, Debicki picks up flawlessly from former Diana, Emmy Winner Emma Corwin, and takes us to the finish line with all the grace and humility her character was know for.
Michelle Fairley (Queen Charlotte)—Pulling off her Game of Thrones persona as Catelyn Stark, Fairly is noble and dominating, without being domineering, as the Queen Mother, Princess Augusta. She is protective of her mentally ill son the King, and a formidable rival for his wife Charlotte, providing all the court tension one expects from royal potboilers
Lena Heady (The White House Plumbers)—As Dorothy Hunt, the former Game of Thrones villainess wishes she only had dragons and whitewalkers to deal with as she handles all the shenanigans of her husband and his lunatic partner Gordon Liddy in the post-Watergate coverup. More than just a skeptical Real Housewife of Potomac, Heady’s Dorothy rises to the occasion to use her own background knowledge of the espionage world to negotiate and protect her family financially and safely from the criminal Nixon administration, which may have just been her undoing.
Lily Rabe (Love and Death)—The American Horror Story regular plays the victim in this real life inspired American horror story. As the victim of a smalltown church murder, Rabe plays an unlikeable and upsetting wife betrayed by a church member’s affair with her husband. Rabe is a strong victim though, and leaves enough doubt to possibly acquit in the end.
Juliet Rylance (Perry Mason)— As Della Street, we get a continued look into her off-the-clock life in this revised retelling. This new age Della is a lesbian, and we watch her explore that lifestyle carefully, which contrasts Gardner’s version who, typical of the day and the genre, was not only his right-hand girl but his occasional good-time girl, and Rylance has all the noir down, from the tough talk and the tough love to the wise cracks from the second fiddle.
Arsema Thomas (Queen Charlotte)—As Andoh’s younger counterpart in the backstory of Lady Agatha Danbury and her rise as a black woman in a not-so-welcoming court culture.
WINNER: Lena Heady. In the one role that swayed me more towards drama than comedy for this series’ destination, Heady makes a brilliant transition from the fantasy world of Westeros to the even more unbelievable fantastical world of Watergate-era DC. As Dorothy Hunt, who may have held the key to everything we needed to know, and not just about Nixon and buffoons. Heady plays all her cards close to her chest, but she gives the least cartoonish and most well-rounded performance of this fantastic series. Heady is a standout against the overshadowing performances of Harrelson and Theroux, giving them their space to shine while shining just as brightly in their shadow.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR in a COMEDY
Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso)—Team poster boy and superstar Jamie Tartt gives Dunster all the pretty boy vanity comedy to work with—and some great material teaming up with his frenemy teammate/coach Roy Kent.
Phillip Garcia (Sprung)—As the sweet, nerdy, ex-cellmate of Dillahunt and son of Plimpton, Garcia brings a gentle heart to the center of the makeshift crime ring his housemates are cooking up, and we constantly forgive him for screwing things up in the name of love of his white trash ex-girlfriend.
Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)—Co-writer Goldstein as foul-mouthed, hotheaded team captain turned coach Roy Kent, he has under the old rules been ineligible for his constant Emmy wims as the basic anti-Ted Lasso of the piece.
Gwilym Lee (The Great)—Another perpetual nominee for his first rate comic skills as the underappreciated but no less devoted lifelong best friend of Emperor Peter the Not So Great.
James Marsden (Jury Duty)—Reigning Marco Winner for a dual role in the touching/funny Dead to Me, Marsden goes for big laughs in this mock-reality show playing an abrasive, self-important butthead version of himself as a reluctant juror who thinks he’s way more important then the court does. Marsden is hysterical as the anti-Ronald juror who does most nothing right in this unique scripted but improvised choose-your-adventure comedy.
Young Mazino (Beef)—As Yeun’s younger brother with no ambitions for the family business—he’s going to make his killing in bitcoin—he becomes a collateral pawn in the battle between Yeun and Wong, all the way to the end.
Aaron Tveit (Schmicago)—It was only a matter of time before Tveit earned some notice for skewering his day job in this fun Broadway musical parody. (Full Disclosure: I’m the unofficial president of his Tveiter-Tot fan club; there’s little wrong he can do.) This season as a free-spirited, free-love hippie straight out of the intersection of Hair and Pippin, Tveit shows off his comic gifts as well as his golden voice.
WINNER: James Marsden. Marsden is an often underrated actor who’s matinee idol good looks get in the way of appreciating his performance. Except when it comes to the Marcos, where he captures his second in this category. Marsden scores here with a hilarious performance at his own expense.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS in a COMEDY
Shakira Barrera (Sprung)—As the fourth member of the makeshift crime ring, Dillahunt’s catfished “girlfriend” in prison, she’s the tech specialist who helps set up the season’s big sting
Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)—Inaugural Marco Winner Borstein is always a contender as the title character’s tough talking, no-nonsense manage. Borstein gets extra laughs this season as we see her character break out on their own as a force in the world of comedy management.
Phoebe Fox (The Great)—Fox also continues to roll with the broad comedy as a former aristocrat condemned to the ranks of a palace maid until her loyalty to Empress Catherine provides her a path back to her former life of nobility—with strings attached.
Janel James (Abbott Elementary)— James’ over-the-top principal and her foolishness to gain publicity (both professional and personal) is the funniest part of a realistically funny satire, and the representation of all that is wrong with the system.
Jane Krakowski (Schmicago)—Drastically underused in season 1 Krakowski (where she played a one episode Sound of Music-like Countess who may just be a Nazi) pulls out all her showgirl stops as a singing, dancing, acrobatic, female Billy Flynn-like lawyer defending the slandered newcomers to Schmicago, and pulls out more Razzle Dazzle than any of her castmates or denizens of the source material
Edie Patton (The Righteous Gemstones)—Another former Marco Winner, Patton continunes to balance out the testosterone craziness as she battles her male family for respect and recognition. As if Carol Burnett’s Eunice had all brothers.
Juno Temple (Ted Lasso)—Temple as a former fashion model who turns out has a gift for PR stretches her role this final season between the complexities of opening her own firm in a competitive field and juggling the two hottest Greyhounds. Temple is best as the voice of self-assertion between idiot suitors Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt as they attempt to negotiate her choice between them.
WINNER: Jane Krakowski. Given the opportunity to show off all her skills, comic, musical, acrobatic, broad parody, and others, Krakowski gives the other 98% of the world the opportunity to see what the Broadway community has known all along. She could have won just for her “Razzle Dazzle” courtroom spoof number, but Krakowski, the butt of many broad TV comedies (30 Rock, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), takes center stage and runs away with the jokes this time.
BEST DOCUMENTARY MINISERIES
American Nightmare—Another entry where the police and even the FBI are the wrong combination of inept, corrupt, and just plain lazy, and the true crime is stranger than anything that could be made up. A young couple is attacked at night, tied up, and the woman kidnapped while the cops come up with the original idea that the boyfriend did it. After dying on that hill, they don’t know what to say when the girlfriend shows back up and corroborates his story—except that they both hoaxed it. Stay tuned for a third act none of them saw coming.
House of Hammer—Another Hollywood tale of atrocities, the docuseries follows actor Armie Hammer’s fall from grace after former girlfriends spread tales of sexual and physical abuse and torment. But don’t be so quick to blame Hollywood—the women of the Hammer family go on to agree with his accusers sharing a legacy of male depravity and entitlement generations back to his grandfather who secretly sold communism to the US to seed the family millions.
How to Become a Cult Leader—From Jones to Moon to Manson, a quick study of the biggest cult leaders of the latter 20th century and the unbelievable tactics they used to ascend and retain loyalty from their followers, some yet today, and some to the death.
Telemarketers—When the fire or police departments call soliciting their annual donations, hang up. Per your local fire and police departments. Turns out this has been a decades log scam run by lowlifes in New Jersey who offer your local department 5-10% (if any at all) of what they raise (it’s “better than nothing”), and it’s not only not a policeman on the other end of the phone, it’s probably a criminal, alcoholic, drug dealer, or any other normally unemployable lowlife scraping for a pittance of what the company makes. Again, hang up!
The Tetris Murders—This real life documentary that follows Apple TV’s hit movie Tetris about the John Grisham-like, real-life international spy saga of stealing and securing the rights from it’s Russian creator—and the darker side of the lives lost in the cold war battle. It’s freaking Tetris, people!!
WINNER: American Nightmare. A story that just continues to spin out of control and the police just continue to bungle it. Any series that exposes our government for the shoddy system it is worth exploring, especially with the triple surprise ending here.
BEST REALITY COMPETITION SHOW
The Amazing Race—The 22-year-old series is up and globe trotting again as in the old days of travel. If only real life travel was as easy.
Chopped—Anybody that can open a basket of squid ink, monkey brains, pomegranate seeds, and a 5 pound gummy bear and turn it into a riveting contest to make a dinner in 90 minutes is still doing something right.
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.
RuPaul’s Drag Race—After some of the strongest seasons of both OG and All-Stars, with the best ever all-winner Drag Race All-Stars battling it out before crowning Jinkx Monsoon the ultimate Queen of queens still fresh, one would expect a letdown. Except when it doesn’t. The contestants are varied and the artistry stellar. Drag Race is on a roll.
Survivor—Jeff Probst returns with what looks like another heavy-handed “new era” of Survivor. Despite promises of new and exciting twists, everything post-Covid has become progressively more boring, particularly the casting. And then, the unexpected happened—the players actually played and were engaging and the ending suspenseful. Despite their best efforts, Burnett and Probst landed upon an entertaining season with personalities that were at least reminiscent of other good seasons. Who would have thought. See what happens when you let the game just unfold without manipulating it?
Tough as Nails—The Amazing Race’s Phil Keoghan premieres another series that couldn’t be any further from the original Race. Here, teams of craftsmen (and women) team up on building and engineering projects to benefit local services, and a Survivor-like elimination system names the best of the best, while giving back to the community.
WINNER: Survivor. Perpetual winner Drag Race is coming off some of the best seasons ever, so it is a gentle letdown, but Probst and Burnett upped their game, laid low, and let the players and the game unfold without their new age kumbaya handholding of post-Covid, and the series showed a spark of what it used to be in its heyday. Plus the addition of the first superstar player of the new era (who in true superstar player fashion, ended up as runner-up) made the once formidable series strong and inspiring again. It’s nice to see the former juggernaut resemble the game it used to be
BEST REALITY COMPETITION HOST
Ted Allen (Chopped)—The original Queer Eye food guy continues to prove that cuisine can be fascinating as he lords over some of the most unlikely recipes your grandmother never passed down.
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.
Phil Keoghan (Hard as Nails)—Keoghan plays a more interactive role in this new series praising the blue collar worker heroes. And somehow he makes building a playground fascinating.
Pru Leith (The Great British Bake Off)—The gentle yin to Hollywood’s more aggressive yang, Leith is encouraging and supportive—unless your biscuit doesn’t snap. Her first nomination stepping out from under Hollywood’s shadow.
Jeff Probst (Survivor)—Probst is easing into a little more of his old self (can you just say “come on in, guys”? everyone gave you permission), and season 45 was by far the best of the new era, with interesting, fun characters and tribal councils that rocked at times.
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. Superior casting this year give her much to werk with too.
WINNER: RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race)—This could have been Probst’s chance to follow his series’ return to the winners’ circle, but in looking back at the season, the best, most interesting, most engaging player since the post-covid return—one of the best ever—first runner-up Austin Li Coon, wasn’t cast and wasn’t supposed to be on the show until he was called in as an alternate 3 days before filming, so Probst still fails in new age casting. RuPaul, however, has been producing some of the best, most taleneted, most balanced and suspenseful seasons ever. RuPaul continues to dominate this category.
BEST GUEST APPEARANCE by an ACTOR
Khallid Abdalla (The Crown)—Abdalla gives us a deep and very necessary look into the world of Diana’s paramour Dodi Al Fayed. Vilified as the other man who was indirectly responsible for Diana’s untimely death (by the very press that actually killed her, by the way), Abdalla shows us why Diana was attracted to him, a generous, sensitive, respectful soul whose crime was trying to please an unpleasable father.
Michael Chicklis (Winning Time)—As Lakers and owner Jerry Buss’ nemesis, Celtics legendary head coach Red Auerbach, Chicklis chews the scenery even more than his ever-present cigar, all to the most entertaining effects
Kim Coates (The White House Plumbers)—Coates is chilling in his brief appearance as fellow Plumber and yet another shady Watergate figure deeply implicated in the Kennedy Assassination, Frank Sturgis.
Walton Goggins (The Righteous Gemstones)—Goggins earns another nod with his always entertaining run as Uncle “Baby Billy”, Rev. Eli’s thorn-in-the-side brother-in-law who just wants his righteous portion of his late sister’s ministry empire.
Ed McVey (The Crown)—McVey makes an engaging late series appearance as high school/college-age Prince William, covering his courtship with Kate Middleton and responsibilities of reining in his wilder younger brother. But he could have earned this nomination on one scene alone, where he laid his ineffective father out for his mother’s death with the chilling words, “If you had just loved my mother instead of her [Camilla, for the royalty impaired], she’d still be here.”
Sean Patrick Small (Winning Time)—Small turns what had been a peripheral role into something bigger, elevating the Larry Bird in Magic Johnson’s psyche into the real thing, and becoming a driving force not just in Johnsons’ motivations, but also the actual story of the wins and losses that take us to the end of an era.
Steve Zahn (The Righteous Gemstones)—Zahn, who made an early career playing offbeat loveable losers, is making a second act comeback as not so loveable losers, like other Gemstone brother-in-law (in hillbilly makeup under which he’s barely recognizable), backwoods revival preacher and competitor with a lifelong grudge against his sister’s super successful husband.
WINNER: Khallid Abdalla. Abdalla has a difficult job, portraying a character the media have painted as a low level villain for three decades—the outsider who stole the World’s Princess from her people. Here he shows us an alternate side of Dodi Al Fayed that actually makes more sense with our perceptions of Diana. He wasn’t a rich, international playboy, just a little lost boy trying to make his father notice him. He had an academy award (for producing Chariots of Fire fifteen years pre-Diana) to his name and actually became a good and trusted friend of the ousted Princess. Note, of course all the important scenes take place in private between Diana and Al Fayed in the 24 hours before the accident, and as such are just speculation in the name of dramatic license, but Abdalla runs with the material and makes us understand, if not totally forgive, Al Fayed.
BEST GUEST APPEARANCE by an ACTRESS
Hope Davis (Perry Mason)—As a wealthy benefactor and proponent of social causes, it appears Davis may also have deeper ties to the murder of the flamboyant son of an oil magnate as the Mason team digs deepre into the investigation.
Peri Gilpin (Frasier)—Gilpin is the second swing of formidable former guest stars to restore legitimacy to the new reboot. As Frasier’s former Seattle radio producer, she in true Roz fashion smooths over a holiday tiff between Crane and Son to bring Christmas magic to the first season finale
Kristen Johnson (The Righteous Gemstones)—Johnson brings her always strong persona to the comedy as Rev. Eli’s estranged backwoods sister May-May, who’s marriage to a rival revivalist preacher who saw himself entitled to a piece of the in-law empire caused a decades long rift.
Leslie Kritzer (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)—Kritzer makes a mark in the series finale episode as a fellow guest on the talk show that launched Midge Maisel nationally, a virtual doppelganger as a young Carol Burnett blowing out her signature number “Shy” from her then-Broadway hit Once Upon a Mattress. A little MarkOnTheArts.com recognition: when Kritzer appeared as the Lady of the Lake in the Kennedy Center’s critically acclaimed production of Spamalot, I compared her to a young Carol Burnett weeks before this surprise appearance here. Also of note, Kritzer in 5 minuntes here has proved to be significantly better than Burnett’s two Broadway successors, a totally miscast Sarah Jessica Parker, who showcased her total lack of comic skills, and a surprisingly miscast Sutton Foster, who appears to just scream herself through every role now. Shame Kritzer was busy with Spamalot on Broadway, or that she couldn’t have transferred over with fellow castmate Michael Urie to the new Mattress, considering Spamalot’s newly announced undeserved closing in three weeks.
Neicy Nash (Never Have I Ever)—Last year’s Marco Winner (Dahmer) adds a level of depth as lead character Davi’s psychoanalyst trying to navigate her through the triple crown of adolescent pressures—losing her father, being raised by an academically demanding Indian mother, and…boys. Lots of boys. Nash is back in her usual fast lane of smart, funny, and brutally honest comebacks.
Bebe Neuwirth (Frasier)—Everyone knew the biggest way to capture the magic of the Cheers/Frasier universe was to bring in guest appearances from the former series’ iconic casts. It took most of the series for this to happen but it was worth the wait. When Neuwirth, who won multiple Emmys as Dr. Lilith Sternin Crane, appears for son Freddy’s birthday and attempts to bury the hatchet to cohost a joint party with her bristly ex, all the old magic is revived.
Kathleen Turner (The White House Plumbers)—Turner steals episode 2 out from under perpetual scene thieves Harrelson and Theroux as Dita Beard, who “may have” destroyed a critical memo linking Nixon attorney general John Mitchell and the Nixon administration to a pot of boiling water for accepting a substantial bribe. In a tribute to the tale that never stopped twisting on itself or getting any stranger, we watch a bribery charge that turned into a counter bribe and a subsequent bribe that saved the party and made Hunt a hero—for that episode.
WINNER: Kathleen Turner. Turner chewing the scenery while feigning a heart attack to get out of testifying against Nixon and John Mitchell is comic gold for an actress who made a name for herself as the sexiest woman on-screen in the 80s. A Graduate of the Ann-Margret School of Reinventing Oneself, Turner should have had dozens of Academy Award nominations in her career, but suffered from her steamy screen persona (being overlooked for her smoldering performance in Body Heat is criminal enough, but the fact that she has only one nomination for Copolla’s Peggy Sue Got Married is a sham, and more to honor him than her). Back in the age of Cher’s discriminatory claims against the Academy, my guess is that the woman who inspired and actually voiced animated sex bomb Jessica Rabbit (the sexiest pre-anime toon ever) also wasn’t a serious enough actress either. Here, older, heavier, and insanely more outlandish, Turner has become a master character actress, and her chain puffing her way through this integral role of the series added an additional layer of legitimacy to go along with the brilliant new school character actors she devours in the process.
BEST STAND-UP COMIC PERFORMANCE Filmed for TV
Ricky Gervais: Armageddon—Big-assed lesson in Hollywood 101 here. Fired and banned from his duties as perpetual host of the Golden Globes for his continuous “offensive and unfunny” skewering of the nominees and the Foreign Press themselves, when the Globes instated the first ever award to taped standup comedy, they obviously awarded it to Gervais. Offensive and unfunny, best comedy act; potato, potahto. You decide. It’s all here—Gervais’ lack of patience with the hypersensitive American cancel culture and political correctness. He airs his disdain for it all, and is rewarded for the efforts—by the Globes and a Marco nomination. [See Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, below]
John Mulaney: Baby J—No one but Mulaney could step back from comedy to admit he had an addiction problem and them resurface in comedy with a tell-all about his adventures in rehab. Mahoney is a master storyteller with a sharp wit, and none of that is spared even when he is the butt of his own jokes.
Matt Rife: Matthew Stephen Rife—2023 was a good year for Rife. Personally, I saw him on Valentines’ Day in a 35 seat house (literally) for $30. By September when he came back to town with his concert hall tour, he was sold out nationwide, including five shows at Radio City. Here, Rife follows up his acclaimed self-funded, self-produced YouTube special Only Fans with another fun-packed self-produced set that is dedicated to his late grandfather who helped raise him, and the stories he helped inspire are the bulk of his act, including perhaps the most inappropriate Christmas gift a grandson can get a grandparent—twice. Other topics from dating to the supernatural—not always separate topics—show how Rife has become an internet sensation for all his audience interaction.
Chris Rock: Selective Outrage—Rock who has produced a chain of the best comedy specials of this lifetime from his 90s debut with Bigger & Blacker to last year’s hilarious older-but-wiser Tambourine. While the subject matter has evolved as he has matured, Rock has never been a comedian to shy away from the controversy. Most times, he actually dials it up Anyone remember the OJ Simpson set (“I ain’t saying he shoulda done it, but I can understand”) or the Civil War between Black folk from B&B, which got him called up on Oprah’s carpet for his use of the N word? This special is dedicated, like Gervais, to cancel culture and what a whiney, offended population we’ve become—when it suits us. “R Kelly—cancelled. Michael Jackson—forgiven. Same Crime. Better Music, Selective Outrage.” But he saves his best material for the final set. After sitting strangely and remarkably quiet for exactly a year after the slap heard round the world, he unleashed everything on the phony Pinkett-Smiths and what absolute garbage they are. And it felt good to hear the master of observational comedy say everything we’ve also been holding in for a year.
WINNER: Chris Rock: Selective Outrage. It does me such good to recognize Rock’s return to his smart, honest, and hilarious roots. Not only is Selective Outrage his best comedy special since his 90s debut which shot him into the stand-up stratosphere, it’s a return to the tell-it-like-it-is style of comedy that he became known for, whether we liked it or not (we usually have). Just when Tambourine seemed to age Rock out of his game with a safer, more standard style of material (marriage and relationships, which he’s always been the best on; parenthood, raising privileged black children who have from birth assimilated into a white world), the Universe handed him the best material and new levels of comic genius. It didn’t take a ton of bricks to fall on him, just one very well-placed, inexcusable slap on national TV.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT RECOGNITIONS
I didn’t revisit as many retro series this year, but I watched the literal hell out of the one I did. Returning to my days of running home from the bus in grade school to watch my soap opera, I found reruns of the entire series of the only gothic daytime TV show ever, when we didn’t have DVDs or streaming TV to quench our horror needs—Dan Curtis’ daytime masterpiece Dark Shadows. But I was daunted by the number of episodes—well over 1200. I took the bulk of the year and am still only on episode 905, but will get through this original American horror story that came into our homes every day with a new episode. What I didn’t realize as a child is the literary depths Curtis mined to tell classic stories with a contemporary edge. As the first “reluctant vampire”, who wasn’t a monster but a complex shell of a human who never asked to be he creature of the night he is, Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins opened the door for the Edward Cullins and others who followed him. Obviously inspired by Dracula, with Willie Loomis (John Karlen) as his Renfield, Professer Elliott Stokes (Thayer David) as his Van Helsing, and the stunning Katheryn Leigh Scott as Maggie Evans/Josette, his Mina, the horror parallels progressed through salutes to horror classics Frankenstein, The Wolfman, Jeckyll & Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Turning of the Screw, even a more modern HP Lovecraftian-inspired storyline.
The series is remembered for its comic goofs. The botched lines, the boom mics that float in and out of view, the tombstones that get kicked over are all legendary. I saw one episode where the curtains, rack and all, just fell out of a window, and the actors, after being startled, continued with the scene, no cut or retake. Between the thought that they moved too fast and were under ever bigger budget constraints, the thought was this was a one and out. There would be no reruns and no one would ever see that mistake again. But in retrospect what I observe is that Dark Shadows was less like daytime TV and more like daily daytime live theatre. In that vein, the writing and the actors are deceptively remarkable. Not only Frid and Tennessee Williams alum Grayson Hall, but the entire cast was perfectly utilized, from Karlen’s criminal-turned-vampire’s flunky Willie to Nancy Barrett’s Carolyn Stoddard who never met a monster she didn’t want to date to glamour age movie star Joan Bennett as the matriarch, and veteran soap actor Louis Edmonds as her prissy, flamboyant brother. And whenever the plot considers slowing down, Curtis brings back the divine Lara Parker as evil throughout the centuries witch Angilique. Even 10-year-old David Hennessey may well have been one of the best child actors ever, and Curtis didn’t shy away from throwing him complex storylines (maybe his best as a young Collins ancestor possessed by the spirit of a flamboyant count.)
It was also great to see the early episodes, the 205 before Barnabas Collins showed up at Collinswood, which was an entirely different show than I was used to. Curtis’ original vision was just to have a gothic American horror series, á la Jane Eyre or Turning of the Screw, a drama about a wealthy family guarding their many secrets in a big, dark, probably haunted house, concerning a young woman of an uncertain past who is hired to be governess to their problem child. But when ABC cancelled the series, Curtis begged for three more weeks to get ratings up. Throwing everything to the walls with his writers, when his daughter suggested, “How about vampires?”, a legendary series was conceived.
While the fun of the Dark Shadows I knew was the supernatural, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the early black and white years, when, except for an occasional ghost, the legend of Widow’s Hill, and a phoenix, the melodrama centered on the core Collins family and the shady conmen who were complicating their lives. Once the vampires and the werewolves and the various other monster of the month showed up, the central family was sidelined to merely be the victims of the piece. I particularly miss Carolyn Stoddard’s (Barrett) constant man troubles (like the time she got engaged to a sleazy biker just to protest her mother’s manipulative fiancé), and the hilariously dark relationship between Roger Collins (Edmonds) and his son (Henessey) who on two occasions tried to kill his father (once by ordering a mail order car magazine just to figure out how to cut his brakes; that child needed more than a governess.) The soap opera acting was at a peak in those early episodes. I also recall why the daytime soap format was so addicting. A cliffhanger comes every 22 minutes (with no commercials.) It’s easy to burn off hours of “one more scene”.
It’s been an ongoing journey, but I’m loving the trip. I’ll be a little sad when I hit the finale, but I have the theatrical movies (House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows) and Curtis’ Night Stalker to go to if I need a fix. I also can’t wait till I get to the point when I actually watched the show, right around the time a then unknow Kate Jackson makes her acting debut as the ghost of Daphne Harridge, who with no lines and turquoise-face makeup, won my heart years before she became my (still) favorite Angel. It’s a commitment, but I would recommend a trip back to Collinsport to learn the history of a troubled family and an era of television gone by.
PAST WINNERS
BEST DRAMA
2021 Hunters
2022 Dopesick
2022 The Last of Us
BEST COMEDY
2021 Dead to Me
2022 The Righteous Gemstones
2023 Reboot
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
2021 Al Pacino (Hunters)
2022 Michael C. Hall (Dexter: New Blood)
2023 Evan Peters (Dahmer)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
2021 Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)
2022 Margaret Qualley (Maid)
2023 Michelle Pfeiffer (The First Lady)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
2021 Ben Platt (The Politician)
2022 Danny McBride (The Righteous Gemstones)
2023 Keegan Michael Key (Reboot)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
2021 Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
2022 Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
2023 Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
2021 Jon Jon Briones (Ratched)
2022 Clive Owen (American Crime Story: Impeachment)
2023 Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
2021 Carol Kane (Hunters)
2022 Julia Garner (Ozark)
2023 Neicy Nash (Dahmer)
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)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
2021 Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
2022 Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones)
2023 Judy Greer (Reboot)
BEST DOCUMENTARY MINISERIES
2021 Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
2022 Sons of Sam
2023 The Staircase
BEST REALITY COMPETITION SHOW
2021 RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars
2022 RuPaul’s Drag Race/All-Stars
2023 RuPaul’s Drag Race
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)
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)
BEST GUEST APPEARANCE BY AN ACTRESS
2021 Gillian Anderson (The Crown)
2022 Shalita Grant (You)
2023 Sally Field (Winning Time)
BEST STAND-UP COMEDY PERFORMANCE Filmed for TV
2012 Fortune Feimster: Sweet & Salty
2022 Bo Burnham: Inside
2023 Hassan Minhaj: The King’s Jester