Emmys Outlook: The White Lotus, BEEF, and Quinta Brunson

There’s still time to stream all the Emmy favorites before the awards, now optimistically scheduled for the start of 2024. Here’s a clever vacation dramedy, a wild dark comedy series, and an up-and-coming actress/comedian racking up the nominations this year.

The first outing of my Emmys Outlook was pretty serious on the drama side, so let’s take a closer look at a few award contenders that do an excellent job of blending cringe with humor; The White Lotus, BEEF, and Quinta Brunson.

*Don’t worry, I won’t drop any spoilers.

THE WHITE LOTUS

The White Lotus competes directly against Succession in the Outstanding Drama Series category for their second season in Italy, so it will be exciting to see who reigns supreme. The show’s first season was organized as a Limited Series, but this year they graduate to Outstanding Drama and earn 23 Emmy nominations.

The White Lotus is a fresh-cast-every-season series without a traditional main character, so their abundant acting nominations all went to the the Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress in a Drama awards. The majority of the supporting cast is up for an Emmy and they’ll face each other for the titles.

For the guys, The White Lotus has a perfect 4v4 with Succession. Theo James, Will Sharpe, Michael Imperioli, and F. Murray Abraham will all compete against Succession’s four nominations for the Outstanding Supporting Actor award. Imperioli is no stranger to this award. He won the same Emmy back in 2004 for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in The Sopranos and now earns the nom again in 2023 playing a horny, rich dad who just wants to win back his family’s love. Succession and The White Lotus are at the top of their class, so this season is anyone’s game. These actors all leave it all on the screen.

But blah, blah, blah, who cares about the boys — because more importantly, all eyes will be on last year’s winner Jennifer Coolidge in her role as the jaded, lonely yet lovable heiress, Tanya. She’s again nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series along with her co-stars Aubrey Plaza, Simona Tabasco, Meghann Fahy, and Sabrina Impacciatore. These five are up against J. Cameron Smith in Succession, Rhea Seehorn in Better Call Saul, and Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown.

Coolidge was again remarkable as the only character to make it to Season 2, but her co-stars did some of their best work too. It may just be hers to lose.

The White Lotus quickly rose to favor among critics and viewers alike. The characters will have you shrieking in disbelief while the cinematography leaves you breathless. Season two follows the stories of a new set of guests and staff at The White Lotus resort, this time we jump from Hawaii to Italy.

This show is funny in an incredibly uncomfortable way. They stack their humorous moments right on top of their dramatic scenes so you find yourself asking both “Why am I laughing at this?” and “Is this supposed to be funny?”

I don’t think I’m giving away anything by saying that someone always ends up dead in the last episode of The White Lotus. That death is foreshadowed in the opening scene of the first episode, when we meet one character who we know will survive. The captivating, cringe show provides a beautiful, tragic, and honest perspective on the haves and the have-nots.

BEEF

If you seek a light-hearted rom-com, well — BEEF is not it. This thrilling dark comedy answers the question of just how far a person will go to get revenge. Pretty far. Prepare to laugh (and scream) out of discomfort, shock, and horror as this 10-episode series pushes the boundaries.

The Limited Series category of the Emmys has become an important category with the rise of Netflix and other streaming services. While The White Lotus exits the category for the 2023/24 season, BEEF enters.

When a road rage incident between two strangers goes completely bonkers, a pair of newfound enemies ignite a perilous game of one-upping each other with vengeful pranks and stunts to a point of no-return. The hatred between flawed protagonists Amy (Ali Wong) and Danny (Steven Yeun) evolves into a toxic obsession — but oddly enough the feud begins making their unfulfilling lives more worthwhile.

Ali Wong and Steven Yeun will have you going through every possible emotion. Cartoon-lovers may already enjoy the pairing’s small screen chemistry on “Tuca and Bertie,” a wacky female buddy comedy series previously launched by Netflix and picked up by MAX. Wong voices practical main character, Bertie, while Yeun supports as her long-time boyfriend, Speckle. Now we get to see them play off of each other face-to-face (quite literally) in a very different, much darker light.

BEEF is nominated for seven Emmy awards for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited Series. Ali Wong and Steven Yeun both earn nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress and Actor in a Limited Series, as do their co-stars Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, and Maria Bello for their supporting roles. BEEF’s biggest Limited Series Emmys opponent is probably Dahmer, so it will be a tough decision for judges.

For anybody who’s been cut off while driving and then immediately flipped off by the cutter-offer has likely said “What’s their problem?” Well, in BEEF we get an inside look into those problems — and it ain’t pretty.

QUINTA BRUNSON

Comedy has a new up-and-comer and it rests on the 4’11 shoulders of Quinta Brunson’ and her show Abbott Elementary. Brunson is not only executive producer and co-writer of the show but also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in the comedy series herself.

Her show’s second season received eight nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series. If that’s not enough, Brunson is also nominated as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her top-notch hosting of Saturday Night Live in 2023. Even though this was her first time hosting SNL, each skit seemed to come naturally for the dynamic comedian.

You may remember Quinta Brunson from her early Buzzfeed Video days or her self-produced viral sensation “Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date” that secured her in the modern world of humor. In 2022, Brunson made Emmys history as the first Black woman to be nominated three times in the comedy category and this season — she did it again with ease. She also won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2022.

Teachers’ roles are essential and in this heartwarming comedy set in a Philadelphia public elementary school, we go behind the classroom to understand the realities of what instructors go through everyday. Teaching children isn’t easy, and this show allows us to see all that goes into each and every lesson and student. After our beloved characters deal with all the trials and tribulations of keeping an elementary school in order, viewers are left with a sense of hope.

Quinta Brunson is the one to watch in the Hollywood comedy scene. After years of coming up via social media, she’s only just hit mainstream. I imagine we’ll see a lot more from this actress, writer, producer, and comedian in the years to come, as the show develops (fingers crossed with the writers strike) and she continues taking on side projects like SNL. It’s clear that the content she creates is relatable. She’s telling the stories that need to be told, and critics and viewers alike cannot get enough.

Although most of the drama acting categories are looking rather uh pale, the comedy nominations at the 2023/24 Emmys represent a much-needed range of diversity. Much of that representation is thanks to 33-year-old Quinta Brunson leading the charge.