Six Category Nominees... Fierce Competition for Best Picture with 'Seokse션'
Lee Jung-jae Expected to Win Best Actor, Oh Young-soo Predicted for Best Supporting Actor
The Netflix series 'Ojingeo Game' (Squid Game) will make new history tomorrow. It is competing for Outstanding Drama Series and lead and supporting acting awards at the Emmy Awards, the most prestigious accolade in the U.S. television industry.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will hold the 74th Emmy Awards ceremony on the 12th (local time) at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. 'Ojingeo Game' has been nominated in six categories including Outstanding Drama Series, Directing (Hwang Dong-hyuk), Writing (Hwang Dong-hyuk), Lead Actor (Lee Jung-jae), Supporting Actor (Oh Young-soo, Park Hae-soo), and Supporting Actress (Jung Ho-yeon). If it wins, it will set a record as the first non-English language or Korean actors to win in each category. Particularly, winning Outstanding Drama Series would be a significant impact as it would surpass many strong contenders from the U.S. mainland.
It is fully qualified to win. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk brilliantly portrayed the flaws of capitalism, where an ordinary office worker suddenly falls to the bottom of society, through a survival game. The format differs from other survival works that set intricate games difficult to win. It uses simple children's games to intuitively follow the gameplay. The story is not complicated. If you lose in the game with a huge prize money, you immediately lose your life. When Hwang completed the script in 2009, it was dismissed as a far-fetched fantasy. Over ten years later, the response has drastically changed. Within four weeks of release, 142 million households worldwide watched it. Meanwhile, Netflix's stock price rose more than 10%.
The competitors are seven works including 'Succession,' 'Euphoria,' 'Better Call Saul,' 'Severance,' 'Stranger Things,' 'Ozark,' and 'Yellowjackets.' Although none matched the commercial success of 'Ojingeo Game,' all received high praise from various perspectives. Especially, 'Succession' won Outstanding Drama Series over 'Ojingeo Game' at many popular culture award ceremonies such as the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice. It also took the TV Drama Series Ensemble Award, equivalent to Outstanding Drama Series, at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Its past Emmy achievements are also notable. It won Writing in 2018 for its first season and swept Outstanding Drama Series, Directing, and Writing in 2020 for its second season.
'Ojingeo Game' is regarded as the virtually only work capable of toppling 'Succession's' dominance. Particularly, Lee Jung-jae and Oh Young-soo are considered strong contenders for Lead Actor and Supporting Actor awards, respectively. There has never been an Asian winner in the Emmy lead or supporting acting categories. For Lead and Supporting Actor, this is the first time an Asian actor has been nominated. For Supporting Actress, Chinese Tina Chen, Korean-Canadian Sandra Oh, and British-Indian Archie Panjabi were nominated, with only Panjabi winning. Although 'Ojingeo Game' is not nominated for lead or supporting actress, it started off well by winning the Guest Actor award (Lee Yoo-mi) at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards held on the 4th. The Guest Actor award is given to actors who play leading roles in individual episodes.
Local media such as The Hollywood Reporter view Lee Jung-jae as a strong Lead Actor contender. Lee portrayed Seong Gi-hun, who participates in the game while being chased by loan sharks. He conveyed the desperate situation fully with humble and unremarkable expressions and actions, while effectively expressing the drama's thematic message with warm humanity. Thanks to this, he won Lead Actor awards at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Spirit Awards, and Critics' Choice. His competitors this time are similar: Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox from 'Succession,' Adam Scott from 'Severance,' Jason Bateman from 'Ozark,' and Bob Odenkirk from 'Better Call Saul.'
Almost as highly anticipated to win is Oh Young-soo for Supporting Actor. He played Oh Il-nam, who enjoys the game like a child in 'Ojingeo Game.' He excellently portrayed the unexpected twist at the end with seasoned acting. Having won the Supporting Actor award at the Golden Globes, he is considered the frontrunner in this competition. Other nominees include Park Hae-soo, who also starred in 'Ojingeo Game,' Kieran Culkin, Nicholas Braun, Matthew Macfadyen from 'Succession,' Billy Crudup from 'The Morning Show,' and John Turturro and Christopher Walken from 'Severance.' Park Hae-soo portrayed Cho Sang-woo, who participates in the game to recover after incurring huge debts. He convincingly expressed the complex psychology of an elite who cleverly leads the game while struggling with a trace of humanity. Director Hwang recently said in a foreign media interview, "Among the fourteen Emmy nominations, the proudest achievement is Park Hae-soo's nomination for Supporting Actor. I was happy that such a prestigious award recognized his great talent."
Jung Ho-yeon, who has already won Lead Actress at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Best Actress at the Critics' Choice, made her debut in 'Ojingeo Game.' She played Kang Sae-byeok, a defector who participates in the game after being scammed by brokers while trying to bring her mother remaining in North Korea to South Korea. She was praised for portraying the gradual restoration of trust in people in a straightforward manner. However, her chances of winning at the Emmys are considered low. This is because strong competitor Lea Seydoux from 'Better Call Saul' has joined the race. Other nominees such as Julia Garner from 'Ozark,' Patricia Arquette from 'Severance,' Christina Ricci from 'Yellowjackets,' J. Smith-Cameron and Sarah Snook from 'Succession,' and Sydney Sweeney from 'Euphoria' are also highly regarded.
Meanwhile, 'Ojingeo Game' succeeded in winning four categories at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards held on the 4th, including Guest Actor (Lee Yoo-mi), Visual Effects (Jung Jae-hoon), Stunt Coordination (Lim Tae-hoon), and Production Design (Chae Kyung-sun). This signals that Korean dramas have established themselves as mainstream content and increases the possibility of winning Outstanding Drama Series and lead and supporting acting awards.
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