The Emmy Awards are so different now, with few shows nominated from broadcast television, and many programs available only on streaming services. The quality of the programs is extremely high, but we know that many rural residents can’t use streaming services or access cable television for one reason or another. Unfortunately, many streamed television programs are not available to purchase on DVD, but the library acquires many of the top-quality shows that are released on disc. The following television shows were nominated or won at the 2021 Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 19, and they are available to check out in our library system, many of them at the Litchfield Library.
“Mare of Easttown” won most of the acting awards in the limited or anthology series/TV movie category. Kate Winslet won the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a limited series, Julianne Nicholson won as supporting actress, and Evan Peters won in the category of supporting actor. This HBO series is a crime drama, with Winslet playing a detective in a small Pennsylvania town who investigates a local murder while trying to keep her own life from falling apart. This 7-episode mystery series is available to check out from the Litchfield, Dassel, and Cosmos libraries as well as a number of other libraries in our region.
“The Crown” is a Netflix drama about the life of Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the British royal family. Season four won nearly every one of the Emmy Awards for drama, including best drama series, writing, and directing. The series also won all four major acting awards for a dramatic series: Josh O’Connor for lead actor as Prince Charles, Olivia Coleman for lead actress as Queen Elizabeth, Gillian Anderson for supporting actress as Margaret Thatcher, and Tobias Menzies for supporting actor as Prince Philip. The fourth season is set in the years 1979 to 1990, covering Margaret Thatcher’s years as Prime Minister and most of Princess Diana’s years with the royal family. Seasons one through three are available at Dassel Library as well as other libraries in our system; season four is on order and should arrive in early November.
“Genius” is a dramatic biography series on the National Geographic Channel. Each season focuses on a different innovator; so far they have featured Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, and Aretha Franklin. Cynthia Erivo was nominated in the category of lead actress in a limited series for season three, titled “Aretha.” Litchfield Library has this DVD set on order.
The new HBO series “Perry Mason” is nothing like the TV series of the same name from the 1960s, although it is based on the same series of detective novels. Matthew Rhys was nominated for best lead actor in a drama series for playing Mason, and John Lithgow was nominated for the supporting actor award. In the new TV series, the writers imagined what was happening in Perry Mason’s life 2 years before the first novel, placing him in an edgy 1930s Los Angeles with a seedy private eye career, when he begins investigating the kidnapping and murder of a child and develops a sense of justice. The nominated first season is available to check out at Litchfield Library and several other libraries in Pioneerland.
“Lovecraft Country” was nominated for outstanding drama series as well as for acting and writing. This horror series is based on a novel by Matt Ruff, telling the story of a Korean War vet traveling throughout America in the 1950s, facing monsters from H.P. Lovecraft novels along with the racial terrors of the Jim Crow era. This DVD set is available to order from two Pioneerland libraries.
TV on DVD at the library runs the gamut from PBS Kids shows to Hallmark Channel movies to “Stephen King’s The Stand,” so there’s something for everyone. Take a look at the display above the DVDs at the Litchfield Library to browse for more TV-watching ideas.
– Beth Cronk is Meeker County librarian for the Pioneerland Library System. She oversees libraries in Litchfield, Cosmos, Dassel and Grove City.
