We’ll be updating this article throughout the season, along with all of our predictions, so be sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2023 Emmy race. Nomination voting will run June 15-26, with nominees official at the Emmys announced Wednesday, July 12. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be presented on two consecutive nights on Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10, with a curated presentation of the ceremonies airing on FXX at a later date. Finally, the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards will take place on Monday, September 18 and will air live on FOX at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
The state of the breed
Best Made for Television Movie is an Emmy category that continues to evolve as streaming services figure out which of their cinematic offerings qualify. If you look at the more recent winners, voters tend to flock to projects made specifically for TV, from traditional HBO movies like “The Normal Heart” and “Bessie,” to the time when the super-long “Sherlock” and Episodes of “Black Mirror” qualified for Disney+, which recently won an Emmy for “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers,” a vibrant and inventive cinematic reboot of the 1989 animated TV series.
With that in mind, even though “Hocus Pocus 2” was arguably the most successful movie of any streaming service last year, being a sequel to a theatrical film brings it down with members of the TV Academy. After the signups ended, HBO and Netflix both made shrewd moves by entering “Reality” and “Do Revenge,” respectively. While it was a takeover at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, meaning it wasn’t always primarily intended to be a TV release, the first film builds on the momentum star Sydney Sweeney has with US voters. Emmy, having been nominated for her work on two other major HBO projects last year.
Likewise, this latest Netflix project is just about the best take on one of the movies that has become a standard on Netflix, where in-house talent like “Stranger Things” star Maya Hawke spearheads the kind of edgy high school rom-com that would hit big in the 90s, but has all but disappeared from theaters now.
However, the headliners here are ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’, ‘Fire Island’ and ‘Prey’, all of which have picked up several awards over the winter season and have been praised for opening up more possibilities for how to be successful within the TV movie format. While Paramount+ and Prime Video have more respectable contenders, they simply haven’t had as much time or as big a push to really break into the category.
Current contenders (in alphabetical order):
“The Boston Strangler” (Hulu)
“Disenchanted” (Disney+)
“Take revenge” (Netflix)
“Dolly Parton’s Magical Mountain Christmas” (NBC)
“Father of the Bride” (Max)
“Island of Fire” (Hulu)
“Hocus Pocus 2” (Disney+)
“Honorary Society” (Paramount+)
“Jerry and Marge Go Big” (Paramount+)
“Prey” (Hulu)
“Reality” (HBO)
“Reno 911: It’s a Wonderful Shot” (Paramount+)
“Shotgun Wedding” (Prime Video)
“Someone I Knew” (Prime Video)
“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (Roku Original)
More predictions on the limited series and TV movie categories:
Outstanding Limited Series or Anthology
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
To see IndieWire’s full set of predictions for the 75th Emmy Awards click here.
Last year’s winner: “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers”
Still eligible: NO.
Hot Series: Disney+ is looking for its second straight win with several contenders to choose from.
Notable ineligible films: “Flamin’ Hot” (film will not premiere in time to be eligible)
