Seventh Annual 2023 Tommen Awards (TV Edition)

it was eligible last year and you better believe it cleaned up with 5 noms 

and so it begins

DRAMA

BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Diplomat (Netflix)
Heartstopper (Netflix)
The Last of Us (HBO)
Servant (Apple TV+)
Succession (HBO)



BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Lauren Ambrose, Servant
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
Sarah Snook, Succession
Emma Stone, The Curse



BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Nathan Fielder, The Curse
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Jeremy Strong, Succession



BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Christine Baranski, The Gilded Age
Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown
Nell Tiger Free, Servant
Lesley Manville, The Crown
Cynthia Nixon, The Gilded Age



BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Khalid Abdalla, The Crown
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Matthew Macfayden, Succession
Alan Ruck, Succession
Owen Wilson, Loki



BEST GUEST ACTRESS
Christine Hakim, The Last of Us
Dr. Ratna Pertiwi — "Infected"

Rashida Jones, Silo
Allison Becker — "Freedom Day"

Cherry Jones, Succession
Nan Pierce — "The Munsters"

Storm Reid, The Last of Us
Riley Abel — "Left Behind"

Anna Torv, The Last of Us
Tess — "Infected"


BEST GUEST ACTOR
James Cromwell, Succession
Ewan Roy — "Church and State"

Lamar Johnson, The Last of Us
Henry Burrell — "Endure and Survive"

Michael McKean, The Diplomat
President William Rayburn — "Lambs in the Dark"

Nick Offerman, The Last of Us
Bill — "Long, Long Time"

Sam Shepherd, The Last of Us
David — "When We Are in Need"


BEST EPISODE IN A DRAMA SERIES
Heartstopper — "Perfect"
written by Alice Oseman; directed by Euros Lyn

The Last of Us — "Infected"
written by Craig Mazin; directed by Neil Druckmann

The Last of Us — "Long, Long Time"
written by Craig Mazin; directed by Peter Hoar

Succession — "America Decides"
written by Jesse Armstrong; directed by Andrij Parekh

Succession — "Church and State"
written by Jesse Armstrong; directed by Mark Mylod

LIMITED SERIES

BEST LIMITED SERIES
Beef (Netflix)
The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)
Fargo (FX)
Fellow Travelers (Showtime)
Love & Death (Max)



BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
India Amarteifio, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Dominique Fishback, Swarm
Elizabeth Olsen, Love & Death
Juno Temple, Fargo
Ali Wong, Beef



BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jonathan Bailey, Fellow Travelers
Sam Claflin, Daisy Jones & the Six
Bruce Greenwood, The Fall of the House of Usher
Jon Hamm, Fargo
Steven Yeun, Beef



BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Camila Morrone, Daisy Jones & the Six
Lily Rabe, Love & Death
Samantha Sloyan, The Fall of the House of Usher
Merritt Wever, Tiny Beautiful Things
Allison Williams, Fellow Travelers



BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mark Hamill, The Fall of the House of Usher
David Morrissey, The Long Shadow
Lewis Pullman, Lessons in Chemistry
David Rysdahl, Fargo
Sam Spruell, Fargo



BEST EPISODE IN A LMITED SERIES SERIES
Beef — "Figures of Light"
written & directed by Lee Sung Jin

Beef — "The Great Fabricator"
written Lee Sung Jin; directed by Jake Schreier

Daisy Jones & the Six — "Track 10: Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"
written by Harris Danow; directed by Nzingha Stewart

The Fall of the House of Usher — "The Raven"
written by Mike Flanagan & Kiele Sanchez; directed by Michael Fimognari

Fellow Travelers — "Make It Easy"
written by Anya Leta & Jack Solomon; directed by Uta Briesewitz

getting a headstart on these so I can watch some stuff later.

we're ready to call this election

BEST EPISODE IN A LIMITED SERIES
Beef — "Figures of Light"
Beef — "The Great Fabricator"
Daisy Jones & the Six — "Track 10: Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"
The Fall of the House of Usher — "The Raven"
Fellow Travelers — "Make It Easy"

AND THE WINNER IS

---

BEST EPISODE IN A COMEDY SERIES
The Bear — "The Bear"
The Bear — "Fishes"
The Bear — "Forks"
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia — "Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day"
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — "The Testi-Roastial"

AND THE WINNER IS

---

BEST EPISODE IN A DRAMA SERIES
Heartstopper — "Perfect"
The Last of Us — "Infected"
The Last of Us — "Long, Long Time"
Succession — "America Decides"
Succession — "Church & State"

AND THE WINNER IS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES
Mark Hamill, The Fall of the House of Usher
David Morrissey, The Long Shadow
Lewis Pullman, Lessons in Chemistry
David Rysdahl, Fargo
Sam Spruell, Fargo

AND THE WINNER IS

---

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Carrigan, Barry
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Glenn Howerton, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Ken Marino, Party Down
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear

AND THE WINNER IS

---

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Khalid Abdalla, The Crown
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Matthew Macfayden, Succession
Alan Ruck, Succession
Owen Wilson, Loki

AND THE WINNER IS

BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES
Jonathan Bailey, Fellow Travelers
Sam Claflin, Daisy Jones & the Six
Bruce Greenwood, The Fall of the House of Usher
Jon Hamm, Fargo
Steven Yeun, Beef

AND THE WINNER IS 

---

BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Kayvan Novak, What We Do in the Shadows
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Taika Waititi, Our Flag Means Death
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

AND THE WINNER IS

---

BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Nathan Fielder, The Curse
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Jeremy Strong, Succession

AND THE WINNER IS

and last but not least...

BEST LIMITED SERIES
Beef (Neflix)
The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)
Fargo (FX)
Fellow Travelers (Showtime)
Love & Death (Max)

AND THE WINNER IS

---

BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Bear (FX)
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
Jury Duty (Freevee)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Shrinking (Apple TV+)

AND THE WINNER IS

---

BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Diplomat (Netflix)
Heartstopper (Netflix)
The Last of Us (HBO)
Servant (Apple TV+)
Succession (HBO)

AND THE WINNER IS

some closing remarks from Tommen Awards president Tommen Saperstein

-- Succession had the benefit of the show I watched last but there's no recency bias in its dominance. I didn't fully fall in love with the show until season 3 but I never looked back, and season 4 propelled the Roy kids in stunning new directions while consistently re-emphasizing their toxic dynamic and lingering childhood trauma on the periphery of every choice they make. Previous seasons gave different opportunities to different characters (like Ken's rock bottom being a focal point of S3) but with Logan out of the picture in S4, everyone had their moments to shine and every episode in the backhalf provided new turning points for the characters & performances. Tom & Shiv's balcony brawl in "Tailgate Party", Rome's failed eulogy in "Church & State", Ken's desperate maneuvering in the finale. Nearly everyone topped themselves in S4.
(ftr I loved Last of Us too but a couple weak episodes set it apart from Succession which was consistently strong throughout and got better towards the end)

-- speaking of The Last of Us, "Infected" is one of the most perfect horror TV episodes I've seen, slowly building from the nightmare-inducing Jakarta intro (where was the Emmy nom for my girl Christine Hakim??) to the clicker-infested museum and finally the stomach-churning climax in the Mass State House. This was the first episode in the show to fully introduce viewers to the chaotic horror of cordyceps. As much as I enjoyed the more existential and familiar horror of Succession's "America Decides", "Infected" was the most consistently gripping drama TV episode I saw in 2023. That ending still haunts me.

-- All I can say about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is that the Palladinos clawed it back after disappointing 3rd and 4th seasons. With the renewed focus on Midge and Susie, the show's final season was funnier and more emotionally resonant than it's been in years, and Brosnahan and Borstein (whose shtick devoid of direction felt lazy in the previous season) more than showed up to match the stronger material. The comeback kid of 2023 TV.

-- Carrigan carried the last season of Barry, especially in the weaker second half. I already talked about how disappointing the season was compared to its predecessors, but Hank's development throughout S3 and S4 became the most gripping (and heartbreaking) aspect of the show towards the end, and Carrigan absolutely nailed every second of it. "You're Charming" came *this close* to an episode nomination, and not just because of Fred Armisen's face. So many memorable moments in that ep especially for Carrigan, not the least being Hank's phone call with an incarcerated Barry. "Enjoy hell."

ok that's a wrap folks!

Film Awards coming mid-March at the earliest. Have a few things left to see and don't wanna rush it.