Marvel made a breakthrough in Emmy nominations, with WandaVision earning several honors. The MCU’s first original streaming series was launched in January and centered on Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany’sVision. Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the series followed Wanda as she grappled with her grief surrounding Vision’s death in Infinity War. Her response to this grief saw her trap the town of Westview, New Jersey, in what became known as Hex. This magic of chaos manifests itself in a journey through decades of sitcoms, paying homage to series like I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, and The Office.
At the time of the 2021 Emmy nominations, WandaVision was the favorite of marvel’s two series to get a number of nominations. Loki aired too late to be nominated and Falcon and the Winter Soldier was not as well-received as WandaVision. Critics praised Olsen’s performance as the grieving witch Scarlet and the overall writing of the series as a tribute to the golden age of television. It was also seen as a break with what many call the “Marvel formula,” indicating a willingness to experiment with new things in this long-standing franchise.
This experience has paid off, as WandaVision is one of the most nominated series at Emmy’s 2021, with a total of 23 nominations.
The series lay behind The Mandalorian and The Crown, both of which received 24 nominations. Olsen and Bettany were both nominated for their performances, while Kathryn Hahn received her second Emmy nomination for her role as Agatha Harkness. WandaVision has also been nominated in the “Best Limited Series” category and has received numerous technical awards.
Besides WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier also got several nominations. Don Cheadle was nominated for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series, while the rest of the series’ nominations are in the technical categories. This is the first time that a Marvel series, including the various shows broadcast on Netflix and on network television, has been nominated in the higher categories for performances and the series as a whole. Series like Jessica Jones and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were nominated in technical categories but were generally absent in the other categories.
Today, it can be said that the MCU’s first foray into streaming is a resounding success, and Olsen in particular could be an outsider in a busy category. The actress will be pitted against two favorites, Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown and Anya Taylor-Joy in The Lady’s Game. While WandaVision will probably walk away with a few trophies, it will have to fight for the bigger awards. It will be interesting to see how their series and campaign strategies evolve in the coming years.
