Who'll win Emmys for writing and directing? Our awards expert ranks the contenders
I'm Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter. Got any home improvement projects on tap? Seems like a good time to tackle one while we take a look at the shows that might win Emmys next month for writing and directing.
The writing and directing categories at this year's Emmys could give us a couple of A-list acceptance speeches — Ben Stiller and Seth Rogen — as well as providing the usual hints about what shows will wind up prevailing in the series categories.
Let's sketch out how the races are shaping up with our official set of power rankings, ordered from worst to first for drama, comedy and limited series. Try to see if you can read it all in a single take in honor of all the 'oners' nominated.
7. 'The White Lotus.' 'Amor Fati,' Mike WhiteSeason 3 aftertaste remains as bitter as one of Timothy's poison piña coladas.
6. 'Slow Horses.' 'Hello Goodbye,' Adam RandallAnother exemplary season. There's a reason Randall recently became the first director to be hired for another go-round.
5. 'Andor.' 'Who Are You?,' Janus MetzShould be required viewing for American citizens right now.
4. 'The Pitt.' '7 a.m.,' John WellsHow it all began ...
3. 'The Pitt.' '6 p.m.,' Amanda MarsalisAnd how it ended.
2. 'Severance.' 'Chikhai Bardo,' Jessica Lee GagnéWe finally got our Gemma episode and it was breathtaking in the ways it used visual language to convey the most heartbreaking love story this side of 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.'
1. 'Severance.' 'Cold Harbor,' Ben StillerInnie Mark vs. Outie Mark. Frantic chases down the hallways. An impossible choice. And a marching band.
5. 'Mid-Century Modern.' 'Here's to You, Mrs. Schneiderman,' James BurrowsFor those keeping score, that's Emmy nomination No. 28 as a director for Burrows. (He has won five times.)
4. 'The Bear.' 'Napkins,' Ayo EdebiriTina's origin story, and the episode that probably won Liza Colón-Zayas her Emmy last year. Also likely to be remembered for being Edebiri's directorial debut and, taken with her co-writing this season's standout 'Worms,' an auspicious sign of good things to come.
3. 'The Rehearsal.' 'Pilot's Code,' Nathan FielderIn which Fielder lives the life of Sully Sullenberger, from baby to adult, complete with a puppet mom and an unforgettable lactation scene.
2. 'Hacks.' 'A Slippery Slope,' Lucia AnielloBlueprint for Colbert's last episode?
1. 'The Studio.' 'The Oner,' Seth Rogen and Evan GoldbergNot my favorite 'Studio' episode (that would be 'The Pediatric Oncologist') but an obvious choice to take this category.
6. 'Sirens.' 'Exile,' Nicole KassellIt was not a good year for limited series.
5. 'Zero Day,' Lesli Linka GlatterSeriously.
4. 'Dying for Sex.' 'It's Not That Serious,' Shannon MurphyLa petite mort onward to the last roundup. Que Dieu te garde, Molly.
3. 'The Penguin.' 'A Great or Little Thing,' Jennifer GetzingerJust when you thought it couldn't get any darker, the show's finale went there.
2. 'The Penguin,' 'Cent'Anni,' Helen ShaverThe series' best episode and why Cristin Milioti will probably win the Emmy.
1. 'Adolescence,' Philip BarantiniEvery episode was a oner.
6. 'Slow Horses.' 'Hello Goodbye,' Will SmithTo my great and everlasting surprise, 'Slow Horses' won this Emmy last year, meaning that however long it lasts — and there will be at least two more seasons — it will have triumphed at least once.
5. 'The White Lotus.' 'Full-Moon Party,' Mike WhiteI'm a little like Saxon after his hookup with his brother in this episode, wanting to pretend it — and the whole season — never happened.
4. 'The Pitt.' '7 a.m.,' R. Scott GemmillThis is such a wonderfully written episode, introducing us to a couple of dozen characters, establishing them and the setting and doing so in a tight 53 minutes.
3. 'Andor.' 'Welcome to the Rebellion,' Dan GilroyThere's so much respect for what the Gilroy brothers did with 'Andor' that you could see voters having a strong impulse to reward it.
2. 'The Pitt.' '2 p.m.,' Joe SachsYou remember how this episode ends? The honor walk for Nick? I am getting tears in my eyes typing this sentence. And that was just one element in an episode that left me so gutted that I had to sequester myself after it ended before I could even choke out a word or two with my wife.
1. 'Severance.' 'Cold Harbor,' Dan EricksonTrippy, emotionally fraught season finale that'll probably win since loyalists of 'The Pitt' have two choices in this category.
6. 'What We Do in the Shadows.' 'The Finale,' Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis and Paul SimmsThey shut the casket one final time, satisfying nearly everyone who loved the show for six seasons.
5. 'Somebody Somewhere.' 'AGG,' Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen and Bridget EverettAnother series finale, a near-perfect summation of the show's lovely blend of joy and melancholy.
4. 'Abbott Elementary.' 'Back to School,' Quinta BrunsonSolid season opener of a series that has crossed over into 'taken-for-granted' status.
3. 'The Rehearsal.' 'Pilot's Code,' Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton and Eric Notarnicola'It was difficult at first to inhabit the mind of a baby. I know so much more than babies do, and it can be hard to forget all that stuff. So I tried not to think about the fact that I was a 41-year-old man and just did my best to be present in the moment.'
2. 'The Studio.' 'The Promotion,' Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida PerezThe episode that started it all and made me more interested to see a 'Kool-Aid' movie than practically anything that an actual studio released this summer.
1. 'Hacks.' 'A Slippery Slope,' Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky'Hacks' has won this Emmy twice in its first three seasons, and the dramatic episode — Deborah loves Ava more than her dream job! — seems a spot to prevent a 'Studio' sweep.
5. 'Say Nothing.' 'The People in the Dirt,' Joshua ZetumerCar bombs, hunger strikes, political assassinations.
4. 'Black Mirror.' 'Common People,' Charlie Brooker and Bisha K. AliTechnology really is going to destroy us, isn't it?
3. 'Dying for Sex.' 'Good Value Diet Soda,' Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth MeriwetherOf course, we're all gonna die anyway. Might as well indulge.
2. 'The Penguin.' 'A Great or Little Thing,' Lauren LeFrancAfter all, evil and depravity win out in the end.
1. 'Adolescence,' Jack Thorne and Stephen GrahamSo hug your children tonight.
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