HBO’s Impressive Emmy Feat Means No One’s Worried About Its Post-‘Succession’ Era
variety.comMichael Schneider Variety Editor at Large And yet, let’s give credit where credit is due. It is extremely impressive. And it has only happened twice before: In 1992, when NBC scored four of five slots, with “I’ll Fly Away,” “L.A.
Law,” “Law & Order” and “Quantum Leap”; and 1973, when CBS landed four of six with “The Waltons,” “Cannon,” “Hawaii Five-O” and “Mannix.” It’s hard to believe it didn’t happen more often in the era of just three networks.
Which makes HBO’s feat all the more impressive in 2023. Even though there are now eight slots for best drama, there are also so many outlets producing quality content in this streaming age that even landing one highly coveted nomination in the key series categories is a remarkable accomplishment for a network. (Just ask the broadcasters, who are still churning out some of the most-watched scripted series on television yet can barely get a nibble from Emmy voters these days.) And as much as the “Sopranos”-”Sex and the City” period of the early 2000s and “Game of Thrones”-”Veep” 2010s eras were celebrated as high water marks for HBO (followed by too many hot takes that the outlet could never reach those heights again), the pay cabler never achieved the same level of dominance in key categories in either period.
I spoke with Bloys on Emmy nomination day, when he took a bit of a victory lap about its strong drama showing. “We’ve never done that in the history of HBO,” he said at the time.
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