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Seven must-see Emmy winners to add to your Showmax watchlist

21/09/2021

Seven must-see Emmy winners to add to your Showmax watchlistFrom Mare of Easttown' and Hacks', here are seven must-see Emmy winners to add to your Showmax watchlist.

by Erene Roux

20-09-2021

in SA TV and Film

Image: Supplied

From Mare of Easttown, Hacks, Primal, I May Destroy You, Lovecraft Country, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and more, here are seven must-see Emmy winners to add to your Showmax watchlist and binge now!

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MARE OF EASTTOWN | Binge now on Showmax

4 Emmys from 16 nominations: Outstanding Lead Actress: Limited Series (Kate Winslet), Supporting Actor (Evan Peters), Supporting Actress (Julianne Nicholson) and Production Design

HBO's Mare of Easttown dominated the Limited Series acting categories, after being nominated for 16 awards, including Best Limited Series. Oscar winner Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Titanic), who already had an Emmy for Mildred Pierce, picked up a second as small-town detective Mare Sheehan, who must investigate a murder while trying to keep her life from falling apart.

Evan Peters (American Horror Story, and X-Men's Quicksilver) and Julianne Nicholson (The Outsider, I, Tonya, August: Osage County) took home the Supporting Actor and Actress categories as her colleague and friend respectively. Jean Smart (Watchmen, Fargo) had also been nominated for her role as Mare's mother, but instead won for Outstanding Lead Actress: Comedy for her role in Hacks.

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Mare of Easttown holds a 94% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes,where the critics' consensus says Winslet is at her career-best. The Guardian hailed the series as a stunning, harrowing success a murder mystery that kept us guessing right to the profoundly moving end.

HACKS | Binge on Showmax from 1 November 2021

3 Emmys from 15 nominations: Outstanding Actress: Comedy for Jean Smart, Writing & Directing

The #1 show on Rotten Tomatoes' Best TV of 2021 (So Far), Hacks centres on legendary Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance, who takes on an entitled, down-on-her-luck Gen Z comedy writer in a bid to find fresh material and remain relevant as her performance dates start to dwindle.

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Hacks was up for 15 Emmys this year, including Outstanding Comedy Series, with Jean Smart (Watchmen, Mare of Easttown) taking home her fourth Emmy as Deborah and co-creator Luca Aniello winning Outstanding Director and sharing the Writing Emmy with Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky. This was just the fifth time a woman had won the Comedy: Directing category at the Emmys.

Already renewed for a second season, Hacks has a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus says, A prickling debut that pulls few punches, Hacks deftly balances its sharp critiques of the comedy world with more intimate moments, all the while giving the incomparable Jean Smart a role worthy of her talents and an excellent partner in Hannah Einbinder.

PRIMAL S1 | Binge now, first on Showmax

2 Emmys from 2 nominations: Outstanding Animated Program, Individual Achievement In Animation (storyboard artist David Krentz)

The first half of Adult Swim'sPrimal won three Outstanding Achievement In Animation Awards at the 2020 Emmys, for storyboard artist Genndy Tartakovsky, art director Scott Wills, and character designer Stephen DeStefano. At the 2021 Emmys, the second half did even better, beating the likes of Big Mouth, Bob's Burgers, The Simpsons and South Park to be named Outstanding Animated Program, for Plague of Madness. Storyboard artist David Krentz also received the show's fourth Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation Emmy.

From Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania), Primal follows a caveman at the dawn of evolution and a dinosaur on the brink of extinction. The two creatures, one on the way out and one on the way in, become each other's only hope of survival in a treacherous world.

The two 2021 Emmys are just the latest in a string of accolades for the show, including Best General Audience Animated Production and Best Directing at the 2021 Annie Awards. Primal has an 8.7/10 score on IMDb and a 100% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus is, Epic in every sense, Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal is a stunning feat of visual storytelling.

I MAY DESTROY YOU | Binge now on Showmax

2 Emmys from 9 nominations: Outstanding Writing: Limited Series, Music Supervision

Completely snubbing I May Destroy You may have been the final nail in The Golden Globes' coffin: the Emmy's more diverse voters didn't make the same mistake, giving it two awards from its nine nominations, including Outstanding Writing for creator Michaela Coel, who was also nominated for Lead Actress, Directing and Outstanding Limited Series for the show. Coel became the first Black woman to win the Limited Series: Outstanding Writing award.

I May Destroy You centres on Arabella (Coel), a carefree, self-assured Londoner with a group of great friends, a boyfriend in Italy, and a burgeoning writing career. But when her drink is spiked with a date-rape drug, she must question and rebuild every element of her life.

I May Destroy You was named the show of the year in 2020 by Time and has a 97% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus says, I May Destroy You is at once brave and delicate, untangling the trauma of sexual assault with dark humour and moments of deep discomfort, all held together on the strength of Michaela Coel's undeniable talent. In their five star review, The Guardian raved, Michaela Coel's exploration of consent, race and millennial life works on every level An extraordinary, breath-taking achievement without a false note in it, shot through with humour and with ideas, talent and character to burn at every perfectly plotted turn.

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LINK: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/lifestyle/sa-tv-film/breaking-emmy-win...
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