'Squid Game' competes in Emmy Awards

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Sep 2022 12:33

"Squid Game" from South Korea is attempting to make Emmy history.

Lee Jung-Jae and Jung Ho-Yeon. Gilbert Flores for Variety.

"Squid Game" from South Korea is attempting to make Emmy history by being the first foreign-language television show to win outstanding drama.

The Netflix show, in which misfits and criminals compete for cash in savage and lethal versions of schoolyard activities, hopes to follow in the footsteps of the Oscar-winning South Korean film "Parasite" by winning TV's highest prize gala.

However, it will be up against the previous winner "Succession", the story of a family competing for control of a media empire riddled with Shakespearean backstabbing, which received the most nominations overall with 25.

"It's pretty hard to go against that HBO juggernaut," said Pete Hammond, awards columnist for Hollywood publication Deadline.

#Bridgerton which was on top of the list of most-watched series on #Netflix was surpassed by the recently released series, #SquidGame.
Here are the platform's most-watched shows. pic.twitter.com/VdsrWsLL1Z
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 16, 2021

"Succession" has been predicted as the favorite by experts polled by awards prediction site Gold Derby.

"I do think ['Squid Game'] is going to win best actor," noted Hammond -- an outcome that would make Lee Jung-Jae the category's first winner for a non-English performance.

Other shows contending for the night's top drama prizes include Apple TV+ dystopian workplace series "Severance", starring Adam Scott and the final season of Netflix's much-lauded crime saga "Ozark."

Zendaya, who became the youngest-ever best actress winner two years ago for HBO's hard-hitting teen drama "Euphoria", is tipped to repeat.

Keaton 'lock'

Season two of Apple TV+'s fish-out-of-water soccer coach "Ted Lasso" appears to have an open goal.

In the category of best actor, Jason Sudeikis faces off against Bill Hader, whose dark hitman comedy "Barry" returns after a three-year sabbatical.

Jean Smart is widely expected to win best comedy actress for her performance in "Hacks", in which she plays an aging Las Vegas diva forced to rework her antiquated stand-up routine.

The nominees in the limited series category, which celebrates shows with only one season, bring some new blood. Four of the five contenders chronicle real-life scandals.

"Dopesick" looks at the US opioid crisis, "The Dropout" recounts the Theranos fraud, "Pam and Tommy" recalls an infamous celebrity sex tape, and "Inventing Anna" is inspired by a Russian con artist who scammed upper-crust New York.

"The White Lotus," a satirical look at hypocrisy and money among the visitors at a fancy Hawaii hotel, is the experts' favorite in a close race.

The program has eight acting nods, including one for Jennifer Coolidge, and is breaking Emmy rules by returning for a second season, albeit with a largely new cast and locale.

"I think Michael Keaton has got a lock on actor in a limited series for 'Dopesick'," said Hammond, while Amanda Seyfried's turn as disgraced Theranos boss Elizabeth Holmes in "The Dropout" is expected to prove popular.