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
With last year’s winner ‘Arcane: League of Legends’ (Netflix) out of the picture, the question becomes whether or not several perennial Emmy contenders for Best Animated Program will return to the category, or is there room for more shows recent ones like “Harley Quinn” The acclaimed animated series adapted from DC Comics has passed Max for its third season, which means it has a much bigger awards machine under its belt. The adult superhero comedy with the Emmy nominated Kaley Cuoco as the voice of Gotham City’s favorite anti-hero even won Best Animated Series at this year’s Critics Choice Awards.
Netflix, the defending champion, brings two major contenders to the category, with “Big Mouth” likely making the candidate pool, and the inventive event TV “Entergalactic” garnering enough favor among voters to make the cut as well.
While FOX is in a great spot with former winners like ‘Bob’s Burgers’ which won big at the 2023 Annie Awards and ‘The Simpsons’ which spawned headlines about how season 34 is the show’s best in years, Adult Swim faces big challenges to support his shows which have been very successful in this category. While ‘Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal’ season 2 just came in more quietly than its Emmy-winning initial run, making it less of a safe bet than previously anticipated, the two-time winner of the Outstanding Animated Program ‘Rick and Morty” was marred by controversy surrounding its co-creator/main voice actor Justin Roiland.
Finally, one network that is a dark horse in the race is Paramount+. Three seasons later, “Star Trek: Lower Decks” has been on an upward trajectory as the streaming service has gained a better understanding of how to run its Star Trek television universe. “Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-head” also started a wave of reinvigorated MTV animated series that never got the love they deserved at the Emmys when they first aired.
Current contenders (in alphabetical order):
“Archer” (FXX)
“Big Mouth” (Netflix)
“Bob’s Burgers” (FOX)
“Entergalactic” (Netflix)
“Family Guy” (FOX)
“Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primordial” (Swimming for adults)
“Harley Quinn” (Maximum)
“HouseBroken” (FOX)
“The Legend of Vox Machina” (Amazon Prime video)
“Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head” (Paramount+)
“Rick and Morty” (Adult Swimming)
“South Park” (Comedy Central)
“Star Trek: Lower Decks” (Paramount+)
“The Simpsons” (FOX)
“Tuca & Bertie” (swimming for adults)
Other category predictions:
Outstanding speech series
Outstanding Scripted Variety Series
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
To see IndieWire’s full set of predictions for the 75th Emmy Awards click here.
Last year’s winner: “Arcanum: League of Legends”
Still eligible: NO.
Hot Series: Last year, Netflix became the first streaming service to win this category. He has ample chance of keeping the streak this year, even with ‘Arcane: League of Legends’ out of the picture, but 2021 winner ‘Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal’ could also build a streak with an Emmy for season 2.
Notable ineligible series: “Arcane: League of Legends” (Season 2 was ineligible); “Human Resources” (Season 2 was ineligible); “What if…?” (Season 2 was ineligible); “Cancelled” (Season 3 was ineligible)
