Hey Emmys, Nominate These Shows! Part 2 (Difficult People, Schitt’s Creek)

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Welcome to part 2 of the series Hey Emmys, Nominate These Shows! Today showcases Hulu’s Difficult People (in its second season) and Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek (in its third). Neither have received a single Emmy nomination during their runs and that needs to change.

READ: Hey Emmys, Nominate These Shows! Part 1 (Dear White People, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)

Difficult People (Season 2)

Hulu’s Difficult People is like if the 1s 0s behind snarky and snide comebacks and one-liners from Twitter became sentient and found the perfect human hosts in Billy Eichner (playing off himself on Billy on the Street) and show creator Julie Klausner. Is the show too abrasive? To on point of its high-profile celebrity targets? Maybe, but it’s never less than sharply delicious in its acerbic bite. Considering how widespread their jabs at Hollywood are the amount of high-profile, award-winning guest stars the show attracts (often playing themselves) is impressive. Maybe a pre-emptive strike to dodge the slings and arrows of Eichner and Klausner’s acid-tipped barbs.

There’s something magically delicious about this duo; Klausner plays Julie Kessler, a TV show recapper and Eichner plays Billy Epstein, a waiter/struggling stand-up comic. They are, ostensibly, the worst people you’d ever want to meet. They’ve taken the concept of ‘if you can’t say anything nice about someone, don’t say anything at all’ and crushed it, stepped on it, pissed on it and then set it on fire. These are two people you’d want to be with at a party, not on the other side of the room as they dismantle you piece by piece.

But the show’s great success is that audience gets to have their cake and eat it too. They get the calorie-filled guilty pleasure of pop culture and celebrity takedowns but it’s also these unfiltered thoughts that keep Epstein and Kessler from achieving the personal and professional success they’re craving while still managing to grow bit by bit through their failures. This wouldn’t work without the pitch-perfect performances from Eichner and Klausner here. In the wrong hands it would be puerile or infantile. But these two seasoned vets know exactly how far to go and when to pull back as much as they know when to erase the line and draw a new one.  

Difficult People is currently streaming on Hulu. Watch it.

CONSIDER

Outstanding Comedy Series

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
“Unplugged,” written by Julie Klausner and Alex Scordelis

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Julie Klausner

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Billy Eichner

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
James Urbaniak

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Andrea Martin

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Fred Armisen, Nathan Lane, John Mulaney

Outstanding Guest Actress
Tina Fey, Julianne Moore, Gabourey Sidibe

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Schitt’s Creek (Season 3)

Let’s just get this out of the way right off the bat; that Catherine O’Hara doesn’t already have two Emmys for this show is itself a crime. (Sorry, not sorry, Julia Louis-Dreyfus).

If you haven’t seen Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek before (the first two seasons are on Netflix, season 3 is on Amazon, so get on it) the premise is simple; it’s a riches to rags story of a wealthy family who, through dodgy tax dealings, find themselves broke but with one asset remaining – a run-down motel in a run-down town, Schitt’s Creek. It’s here that they try to transform their big city life to small town reality. Think Green Acres where the whole family is Eva Gabor.

For Catherine O’Hara, no wig is too wild, no costume too crazy and no accent too out of reach. Look no further than the episode “New Car” where O’Hara’s Moira Rose attempts to bargain with a used car dealer using a deftly hilarious and unintelligible accent to persuade him. The woman is a comedic genius. This is an Emmy-winning submission.

Stunningly, the brilliant Annie Murphy and Emily Hampshire were not submitted for supporting actress (or at least do not appear on the official ballots), which is truly unfortunate as both turned in hilarious and awards-worthy work this season.

Show creator and star Daniel Levy (son of co-star Eugene) has crafted a most unique fish out water show here and his own performance is honestly the show’s heart and driving force. Eugene Levy gets to play the straight man and O’Hara gets the juiciest of cognitively dissonant one-liners but the younger Levy (and Murphy) gets the bigger arc. His search for love in the face of his emotional barriers and making his way in this tiny town grounds the show.

Please, please, Emmy voters, watch season 3 of Schitt’s Creek and give recognition where it’s due.

CONSIDER

Outstanding Comedy Series

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
“Opening Night,” written by Daniel Levy

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Eugene Levy

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Catherine O’Hara

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Daniel Levy

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Noah Reid