"Atlanta" came back after a four-year break."Barry" has returned too — after a mere three years."Stranger Things" will unveil a new season this week after being away since 2019. Comparatively, the two-year gap between"Better Call Saul" seasons feels forgiving. I can kind of, sort of remember where we left off.
As Emmy season lurches back to normalcy following a couple of virtual years, it would seem that there are too many shows, too many platforms, not enough subscribers ... and, frankly, not much in the way of buzzy offerings that might prod people to even sign up for a free trial. I love a horrific detective story about a ritualistic double murder in fundamentalist Mormon country as much as the next guy, but the reviews for Hulu's"Under the Banner of Heaven" aren't all that great.
You can understand why Television Academy voters tend to reward the same handful of shows at the Emmys every year. Once you get past the splintered nominations round, the trophies are going to go to the programs —"The Crown,""Ted Lasso,""The Queen's Gambit,""Hacks,""Mare of Easttown" last year — that managed, against all odds, to enter the mainstream conversation.
The most obvious challenger is"Squid Game," the potent, horrifying Korean import that ruled Netflix in the waning months of 2021 and earned its stars, Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon, individual honors at this year's Screen Actors Guild Awards. The show itself lost the SAG ensemble award to"Succession," an outcome likely to be repeated at the Emmys. As gripping as it was,"Squid Game's" relentless carnage and bleakness will alienate some voters.