TVLine’s annual advocacy period known as Dream Emmy season has commenced! As per tradition, we’re launching the three-week event with the Outstanding Drama Series race and this very familiar question: Is Succession unbeatable?
Without question, the HBO phenom — coming off a very well-received fourth and final season — is the frontrunner to take home the top drama prize (as it did in 2020 and 2022). However, two other super-buzzy HBO dramas — we’re looking at you, The Last of Us and The White Lotus — could easily play spoiler.
The bigger question, of course, is whether any of the aforementioned series deserve to be in the running for TV’s highest honor (because, reminder, these are recommendations, not predictions). And that’s where we come in!
Scroll through the list below to review all of our Dream Nominees and then tell us if our picks warrant a “Hell, yes!,” “Um, no” or “How could you leave off such-and-such?!”
For the record, 2023 Emmy nominations will be voted on from June 15-26, and unveiled on July 12. The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony is scheduled to air on Monday, Sept. 18 on Fox.
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Andor (Disney+)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney+ WHY IT DESERVES A NOD: Taking its cue from the film Rogue One, for which the two-season series serves as a prequel, Andor is a grounded, slow-burn espionage tale populated by engaging characters both familiar (Rogue One star Diego Luna’s Andor, franchise vet Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma) and new. And visually, Andor was downright transporting, leaving behind the flat, digital backdrops of The Mandalorian to instead situate characters on lush, actual landscapes or inside the grimy alleys of Ferrix. Mando and Sir Din Grogu are fun to fritter away time with, but Andor is the Star Wars series many fans were looking for.
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Better Call Saul (AMC)
Image Credit: Courtesy of AMC WHY IT DESERVES A NOD: This is Saul‘s last chance to grasp Emmy gold after going home empty-handed on a whopping 46 total nominations so far — and it’s hard to imagine a more convincing closing statement. In the rivetingly tense final season, we said goodbye to key characters in shocking fashion, reunited with familiar faces (hi, Walt and Jesse!) and saw the damage caused by Jimmy’s sins in an extended black-and-white flash-forward. (Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn were never better.) Plus, it all wrapped up with a supremely satisfying series finale that even rivaled Breaking Bad‘s own celebrated swan song.
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The Boys (Prime Video)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video WHY IT DESERVES A NOD: With all the hype surrounding the superhero drama’s audacious content in Season 3 (see: the premiere’s exploding penis, the “Herogasm” episode), it’s easy to forget that underneath all the gory and explicit scenes is a sharply written and powerful satire. But just rewatch Homelander’s Trump-esque triumph in the season finale and try not to get chills. Combine that with innovative turns like Black Noir’s animated backstory and surprisingly emotional twists (anything with Kimiko and Frenchie seizes our hearts), and you’ve got a series that not only knows how to shock, but also continues to push itself to new depths.
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The Last of Us (HBO)
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO WHY IT DESERVES A NOD: How’s this for a cheat code? Executive producers Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin blended a cracking-good cast (led by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey), spare-yet-evocative writing and loving devotion to/willingness to deviate from the source material — a post-apocalyptic, zombie video game! — all to create one of the finest dramas we’ve seen in years. Honestly? Give ‘em the trophy for that Episode 3 diversion alone, a tour de force from guest stars Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman that still makes us weep whenever we see a strawberry patch.
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Snowfall (FX)
Image Credit: Courtesy of FX WHY IT DESERVES A NOD: FX’s captivating drama, set during the height of the 1980s crack epidemic, closed out its run on a series high as Franklin finally got what was coming to him, ending up broke and wandering the neighborhood he destroyed with drugs. We were moved by Damson Idris’ career-defining performance during the once-promising dealer’s unsettling downward spiral, and left breathless by the show’s sobering ending that eloquently captured the devastating effects of addiction. A truly outstanding crime story highlighted by an ultra-talented cast, stunning cinematography and those unforgettable needle drops, Snowfall has earned its spot as one of the all-time greats in the genre.
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Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+ WHY IT DESERVES A NOD: Picard‘s third and final season gave us what we wanted all along: a full-on Next Generation reunion, with Patrick Stewart reteaming with his old co-stars for one final mission in the stars. It wasn’t just a nostalgia trip, though: The final season pushed Jean-Luc and his Enterprise pals to new emotional heights with the introduction of a son Jean-Luc never knew he had, along with a badass villain in Amanda Plummer’s Vadic. Plentiful Easter eggs and fun cameos made the season a Trekkie’s delight, and the epic series finale gave the Enterprise crew the grand send-off they’ve always deserved.
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Succession (HBO)
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO WHY IT DESERVES A NOD: We were sad to hear that HBO’s corporate drama was ending, but we trusted series creator Jesse Armstrong to stick the landing — and boy, did he. In Season 4, we were prepared to watch the Roy family fight it out, only to have the wind knocked out of us by the devastatingly abrupt death of patriarch Logan. (Put “Connor’s Wedding” right up there with the best TV drama episodes ever.) But the family warmth was short-lived, and the Roy siblings turned on each other as they struggled to escape their father’s immense shadow. Like Logan Roy himself, Succession went out on top.
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The White Lotus (HBO)
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO WHY IT DESERVES A NOD: We’re very much on board with taking an annual vacation with Mike White’s sharply observed social satire, especially since Season 2 served up more of the show’s exquisitely awkward class warfare, but with a sexy European flair. Of course it was a pleasure to spend more time with Jennifer Coolidge as pampered goofball Tanya, but we actually liked getting to know newcomers like Meghann Fahy’s Daphne and Haley Lu Richardson’s Portia, too. It all played out like an Italian sex farce, with a host of carnal misunderstandings giving us a fascinating mystery to untangle, building up to a murderous, um, climax.
