If Apple TV Plus's goal was to gain critical recognition, it succeeded; Apple's streaming platform received its first award nomination just over a month after its launch (in November 2019). Billy Crudup of The Morning Show, the flagship Apple TV Plus series, has been nominated for a Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series, pitting him against the likes of Peter Dinklage's Game of Thrones and Watchmen's Tim Blake Nelson. The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carrell and Reese Witherspoon, examines the complex power dynamics between men and women in an animated morning show amid a scandal over Carrell's character.
Netflix's The Irishmen garnered 14 nominations. (Image credit: Netflix)
Netflix always dominates
Getting a price nomination in the weeks after its release is certainly impressive, but Apple TV Plus is still firmly in the shadow of Netflix, which has dominated the list of nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards. In fact, only 14 nominations are for Martin Scorsese's epic The Irishman, which debuted on Netflix in late November. Netflix no doubt expects The Irish to win the awards in the coming months; A budget of €160 million (much of which was spent to reduce its syndication with stunning visuals) makes it one of the most expensive companies on the streaming platform. Other Netflix Critics' Choice nominees include The Crown (Best Drama Series), One Day at a Time (Best Comedy Series), and El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Best Designed-for-TV Movie). While Netflix garners far more nominations than Apple TV Plus, it should be remembered that the streaming platform had to wait years before critics took it seriously. Streaming newcomer Disney Plus hasn't received any nominations for original shows like the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian. The fact that Apple managed to do it in just a few weeks demonstrates both the quality of its programming and the growing authority of streaming platforms as content creators and curators. Via Engadget