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The Emmy-nominated TV shows you need to watch immediately. And where to watch them.

The 2022 Emmy nominations were announced this week, and the list of shows, actors and crew in the running for an award demonstrate just how good television has been over the past year.

And with the weekend upon us, we thought, why not set some homework? Fun, entertaining, binge-worthy homework, obviously (you can find more homework recommendations, on my Instagram highlight).

Listen: Mamamia's daily entertainment podcast The Spill discusses this year's Emmy noms. Post continues below audio.


So, from groundbreaking sitcoms to a gritty limited series, here are eight Emmy-nominated shows you'll love:

Succession

Image: HBO. 

Let's start with the obvious.

Loving Succession probably makes up 80 per cent of my personality at this point, and I'm not alone, with the show's third season garnering the most Emmy nominations this year with a whopping 25.

If you're yet to get started on the series – which has already won nine Emmys, FYI – Succession is a satirical black comedy-drama about the Roy family, the dysfunctional owners of media conglomerate Waystar RoyCo. The series follows the Roy children as they lie, fight and backstab in their attempts to gain control of the company from their ruthless, manipulative father, Logan Roy (played by Brian Cox).

Succession is tense, hilarious, and sometimes jaw-droppingly uncomfortable. You'll never be the same once you know what "boar on the floor" means.

It's almost certainly set to go down as one of the best TV shows of all time, so get around it.

All three seasons of Succession are streaming on Foxtel and Binge.

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The White Lotus

Jolene Purdy as Lani and Murray Bartlett as Armond in The White Lotus. Image: HBO. 

Speaking of terrible rich people!

Created, written and directed by Mike White, The White Lotus follows the lives of the staff and guests at a luxury Hawaiian resort over the course of a week. The guests are all... horrible people, played perfectly by an ensemble cast including new Emmy nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, Connie Britton, Alexandra Daddario, Sydney Sweeney and Jennifer Coolidge.

As the series progresses, it flips between the lives of the guests sipping cocktails by the pool with the workers waiting tables and mopping floors at the luxury resort, focusing in particular on resort manager Armond (Murray Bartlett) and spa manager Belinda (Natasha Rothwell).

You'll laugh, cry and GASP.

The White Lotus is streaming on Foxtel and Binge.

Yellowjackets

Image: Paramount+. It's been months since I finished watching Yellowjackets and I still think about it all the damn time.

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The thriller series follows the story of a group of female high school champion soccer players in the mid-90s, who spend 19 months waiting to be rescued when their plane crashes deep in the Ontario.

During that time, clans are formed, alliances are broken, and not everyone makes it out alive. There may or may not be some... cannibalism. 

There's team captain Jackie (Ella Purnell), her treacherous best friend Shauna (Sophie Nélisse), alpha Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown), rebel Natalie (Sophie Thatcher), and the team's awkward assistant Misty (Sammi Hanratty), plus a number of other survivors.

The series flashes between the days leading up to the plane crash and their time in the wilderness, and 25 years later when the few surviving members of the team are living their own, separate lives. 

That is until Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), Taissa (Tawny Cypress), Natalie (Juliette Lewis) and Misty (Christina Ricci) once again find themselves wrapped up in... whatever truly weird sh*t went down in the woods.

Lynskey and Ricci just scored Emmy noms, and the whole series is up for Outstanding Drama Series. Trust me when I say you'll be immediately hooked.

Yellowjackets is streaming on Paramount+.

Hacks

Image: Stan. 

The competition was tight but in my opinion, Hacks was the best new show of 2021. And when it returned for a second season earlier this year, it somehow got ever better.

In Hacks, Jean Smart stars as Deborah Vance, a legendary entertainer and comedian whose long-standing dates at a Las Vegas casino are on the verge of being slashed to make room for younger talent.

She reluctantly hires an equally reluctant Ava, a young comedy writer played by Hannah Einbinder, to help her freshen up her material.

But there is the small issue of them despising each other.

Cue: hilarity, brutal jabs and some major WTF moments, with a well-balanced amount of truly touching character development too.

Both Smart and Einbinder are Emmy nominated for the second year in a row (Smart won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series last year too and I would happily put money on her backing that up again this year).

Both seasons of Hacks are streaming on Stan.

Ted Lasso

Image: Apple TV+.

I am sure you don't need another person recommending you Ted Lasso. But... I am doing just that. It truly is that good.

The Apple TV+ comedy is quite rightly a phenomenon, and it's once again owned the Emmy comedy categories, earning 20 nominations in both 2021 and 2022.

ICYMI: Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis, is an American college football coach who is hired to coach an English soccer team. It's the most feel-good, wholesome thing on television. 

Both seasons of Ted Lasso are streaming on Apple TV+.

Abbott Elementary

Image: Disney+.

Abbott Elementary wrapped up its first season with a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes rating and six Emmy nominations.

That is almost unheard of, but it won't take you long to realise why: the new mockumentary sitcom, set in a fictional predominately Black Philadelphia public school, is funny, empathetic and perfectly scathing of classism and the American schooling system.

The show follows second grade teacher Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson), history teacher Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti), kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph), second grade teacher Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter), tone-deaf school principal Ava Coleman (Janelle James), and recent substitute hire Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams) through their day-to-day at the school, as they try to ensure their students get the best possible education.

It's a delight to watch, and is already on its way to becoming one of those generation-defining sitcoms you keep coming back to, no matter how many times you've seen it.

Abbott Elementary is streaming on Disney+.

Insecure

Image: HBO. 

Insecure is one of the most joyful celebrations of female friendship ever made for the small screen, and yes you can quote me on that!

The show is written, directed and executive produced by comedian Issa Rae, based on her original web series The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl. Set in LA, the show follows the life of 29-year-old Issa and her group of friends, Molly, Kelli and Tiff, as they navigate their careers, friendships and sex lives, and face the social and racial issues of the contemporary American Black experience.

The show wrapped up for good late last year – the ending was so well done – and it rounded out its final season with a very well-deserved Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series Emmy nomination for Rae.

You'll want to prepare your snacks for this one; it's perfect for a binge watch.

All five seasons of Insecure are streaming on Binge. 

Maid

Image: Netflix. 

Maid is one of those shows that's hard to start – the premise is undeniably tough and uncomfortable – but once you're in, the tale of a young mother fighting to survive after leaving an emotionally abusive relationship is the kind of story that will stick with you long after the final episode.

The limited series follows Alex (Margaret Qualley), who takes her young daughter and flees her home in the middle of the night, only to discover how little support there is for those in her position.

Alex slowly attempts to piece her life back together with a job cleaning houses, with the endless obstacles and difficulties she comes up against showing how hard it is for women to escape abusive relationships.

It's very important television.

Maid is streaming on Netflix.

Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls 

Image: Amazon Prime Video. If you're looking for some wholesome reality, Lizzo has you covered.

Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls is a reality series following Lizzo's hunt for dancers – who she dubs the Big Grrrls – to join her world tour.

Ten hopefuls move into a house together and go through a series of challenges to prove they have what it takes – but it's not as cutthroat as you have come to expect from competition reality shows. 

It's hilarious, heartwarming and groundbreaking, and highly deserving of its Outstanding Competition Program Emmy nomination.

Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls is streaming on Prime Video.

Chelsea McLaughlin is Mamamia's Senior Entertainment Writer. For more pop culture takes, recommendations and sarcasm, you can follow her on Instagram.

Feature Image: Disney+/Netflix/Paramount+/Mamamia.

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