Within the first decade of the brand new millennium, an unstoppable drive swept throughout the tv panorama. Few, if anybody, noticed it coming, however by the top of its run, nobody would neglect the chaos it wrought. Yr after yr, awards present after awards present, there it was: snagging nominations, successful trophies, refusing to loosen its grip on voters who have been beholden to its each whim.
I’m referring to, in fact, the USA Community procedural, “Monk,” starring Tony Shaloub.
The sequence gained two Display screen Actors Guild Awards amongst its seven nominations, one Golden Globe Award in seven nods, and eight Emmy Awards out of 18 complete nominations. Shaloub himself gained three Emmys in 4 years, ultimately tallying eight nominations for his position as former San Francisco Police detective, Adrian Monk. However the numbers don’t inform the total story. Not likely. “Monk” slowly however steadily turned the scapegoat for anybody upset over a loss or snub within the Comedy classes. Simply Steve Carell’s astonishing unhealthy luck within the Finest Actor race — the place he notoriously by no means gained for “The Workplace” — is sufficient to flip anybody in opposition to the harmless little USA comedy.
You both die a hero, or stay lengthy sufficient to see your self grow to be the villain — and “Monk” lived an extended, very long time. (OK, it lasted eight seasons, which is an eternity by as we speak’s TV requirements.)
Seems, it’s nonetheless kicking. On the finish of 2023, Peacock revived the crime-solving clear freak for one final case, underneath the Web optimization-engineered title, “Mr. Monk’s Final Case: A Monk Film.” I’ll admit, I didn’t see it — and I don’t seem like alone in that regard. What few critiques exist are largely optimistic, however the revival film primarily got here and went as a “followers solely” expertise.
However are you aware who “Monk” counts amongst its followers? Actors. And are you aware who tuned in to look at “Mr. Monk’s Final Monk: A Monk Monk”? Actors. So are you able to see the place this very lengthy introduction is headed, concerning Wednesday’s SAG Award nominations? In fact you may.
Tony Shaloub is again, child!
What’s so curious concerning the nomination isn’t simply the flood of recollections triggered by seeing a present 15 years useless discover its approach again into the awards race, however what it tells us concerning the mad scientists who resurrected it. And also you needn’t look a lot additional than Shaloub himself to identify the sample.
In any case, as soon as “Monk” ended, Shaloub once more earned considerable recognition for his work in one other beloved sequence, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” He gained one other Emmy for his work in 2019 and was nominated as lately as 2022. He hasn’t been invited to the SAG Awards since 2020 — however he gained in 2020, and that was his second straight win for the half. (Third should you depend the Ensemble trophy he took him for “Maisel,” as properly.)
But Shaloub won’t be returning to the SAG Awards representing the ultimate season of “Maisel.” He was not nominated for Finest Actor in a Comedy Sequence, nor was “Maisel” nominated for Finest Ensemble — and right here’s the place issues get slightly bizarre. This yr, “Maisel” was nominated twice. Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein are up for Finest Actress in a Comedy Sequence, which is not any shock for the actor taking part in Midge Maisel — Brosnahan has been nominated 4 instances, together with simply final yr — however Borstein hasn’t been nominated since 2020. And he or she even beat out a slew of heavy hitters for this yr’s recognition. Meryl Streep? No thanks. Natasha Lyonne? Nah. Anybody from “Shrinking”? No, no, no. The SAG physique selected two “Maisel” stars as a substitute.
Lest my tone be misinterpreted, I imply no disrespect to the nominees. Brosnahan and Borstein are glorious actors, and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” ended properly. It’s simply that the SAG voters have a behavior of nominating the identical folks, yr after yr, present after present. They take taking part in favorites to odd extremes, and they don’t appear to care about staying present.
So let’s check out this yr’s most-nominated reveals. On the comedy entrance, all of the “Ted Lasso” of us are again, together with Jason Sudeikis, Brett Goldstein, and Hannah Waddingham. The final season could have been panned, however it might be exhausting accountable the actors for that. “The Bear” is tied with “Ted” for essentially the most Comedy nominations, touchdown 4 nods (doubling its complete from final yr, when Jeremy Allen White gained), and “Barry” is true behind them with three. The massive snub is “Solely Murders within the Constructing,” which netted three nominations for every of its first two seasons, but was restricted to Finest Ensemble in 2024 — and nothing for Steve Martin or Martin Brief? Huh.
The Drama classes see much more unusual single-mindedness. “Succession” landed 5 nominations, with three coming within the Finest Actor class. For some purpose, Jeremy Sturdy was disregarded, and I’m certain his reps are questioning what, precisely, brought on the 2022 SAG winner to fall out of favor with actors when his present was nonetheless so beloved. Brian Cox, in any case, was solely in one-third of the season, however he deserves Finest Actor recognition over the precise lead?
So say the actors, which raises the annual query: How a lot TV are they watching? Three reveals noticed nominations for Finest Actress, Finest Actor, and Finest Ensemble: “Succession,” “The Final of Us,” and “The Morning Present.” And whereas “The Final of Us” incomes vital recognition is a step towards recognizing new reveals, it’s solely one in every of two freshman packages to earn a SAG nod this yr. The opposite? “The Diplomat,” which many anticipated to land a Finest Ensemble nod as properly, however was snubbed in favor of “The Gilded Age” — which was not nominated in any of the opposite classes.
Bizarre! However earlier than you say, “Properly, what concerning the Restricted Sequence nominations? These are new reveals!” I might ask you to look slightly nearer. “Mr. Monk’s Monk Monk” isn’t new, neither is “Fargo.” “Beef” definitely qualifies, but it surely’s been an awards juggernaut for a while now. Nominees like “Painkiller,” “Tiny Lovely Issues,” and “Classes in Chemistry” all star former nominees, aka the actors’ age-old favorites: Uzo Aduba has been nominated eight instances and gained 5 instances (all for “Orange Is the New Black”), Kathryn Hahn is a three-time nominee, and Brie Larson gained for “Room” (plus, you already know, she’s a bonafide film star).
David Oyelowo and Matt Bomer function hopeful indicators for SAG voters in search of out new reveals, given Oyelowo was solely nominated as a part of an ensemble previous to 2024, and Bomer had by no means been nominated. (If nothing else, it’s good to know individuals are watching “Fellow Vacationers”!)
Nonetheless, the listing of snubs in Restricted Sequence is each shocking and becoming. Based mostly on how these reveals have carried out at different awards reveals, they need to’ve been a lock for SAG nominations. However primarily based on their performers’ historical past with the SAG Awards, they by no means stood an opportunity. “Daisy Jones and the Six” was shut out, leaving Riley Keough and Sam Claflin nonetheless with no SAG nod. “Love and Dying” couldn’t snag Elisabeth Olsen her first SAG nomination. Dominique Fishback and “Swarm” have been dismissed, as properly.
A couple of would-be favorites within the Restricted Sequence race didn’t fare too properly, both. Mark Ruffalo went from a possible double nominee for “All of the Mild We Can’t See” and “Poor Issues,” to being one of many day’s most shocking omissions. And even with SAG nominee Emma Stone (who was acknowledged this yr for “Poor Issues”), “The Curse” proved too bizarre for actors.
Was it weirder than “Maniac,” for which Stone did earn a nomination, or was 2019 merely a much less aggressive yr? Awards our bodies usually are not actually of 1 thoughts. They’re made up of hundreds of individuals, all with their very own opinions and habits. Debates over why this was nominated and that wasn’t will rage on amongst awards prognosticators and reps, amongst TV followers and gossip hounds, yr after yr, present after present. The cycle continues, and just one factor seems sure:
“Monk” won’t ever die.
