Shōgun is the Most

In her post, previous to this one, about the Emmy nominations, Duana argued gently that maybe categories don’t matter, which is a conversation that’s been coming up a lot with respect to The Bear. 

On our Substack today, a member called Miss Mellie said they were tired of all this discourse (I’m paraphrasing) and suggested that it shouldn’t be on The Bear to address this issue. Duana, of course, is right, as she always is, and we can and should just love what we love and leave the labelling to other people. Duana’s heart is pure, a true artist who makes art in the medium of television. Mine is not so…pure. Because I’m a hack, LOL, no pun intended. 

What I like about award shows is … suspense and competition! 

At last year’s Emmys, which aired in January (because of strike delay), Succession and The Bear tied with six wins. That’s a heavyweight bout! It would have been fun to see them go head-to-head. At least it would have been for me. Once again, see above and the part where I’m a hack. Still, if we’re talking about categorisation, Succession was a very funny show that was categorised as a drama. The Bear is a very dramatic show with hilarious moments that’s classified as a comedy. Wouldn’t that be a great championship final?!

Now that Succession is over, this year’s most-nominated series is Shōgun and the second most-nominated series is The Bear. So my point is, Duana’s not wrong, it’s just for assholes like me, I want to see that go down. Which all the nominees would tell you is not the spirit of art, OK? I know. I know it’s not the spirit of art to be in competition because art is more about taste and appreciation than results and wins. They all f-cking love to win though, don’t they? 

OK so Shōgun! The show that’s doing the most (in the best way) gets the most! And one of the reasons this is so extraordinary is because the show is Japanese, mostly spoken NOT in English. And has come out on top with alllll these nominations – which also means that many of those nominations are going to those who are often not included in Hollywood’s awarding system. 

And how about that cast? In addition to Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, my beloved Yabushige, aka Tadanobu Asano, and Takehiro Hira (Ishido) have been nominated. And, and, and…what did I tell you about Nestor Carbonell!

So… to those of you who have not yet immersed yourself in the world of Shōgun and feudal Japan? It’s time to do your homework, this series is essential. And the best part of it is that after a few minutes, it won’t feel that way because it’s just great f-cking TV, period. 

Tell us what you think about today's nominations over at The Squawk today! (app link here)