2024 Emmy Predictions: Best Narrator
In the time since his 2018-2020 domination of the Best Narrator Emmy category came to a halt, David Attenborough has twice tried and failed to regain the TV academy’s favor. As he attempts to do the same in 2024, he may benefit from not having to fend off Barack Obama or Sterling K. Brown, both of whom bested him earlier in the decade.
Attenborough is seeking his record fourth narration win for the nature documentary series “Planet Earth III,” the preceding versions of which he presented in 2006 and 2016. Those challenging him in this case are veteran nominees Angela Bassett (“Queens”) and Morgan Freeman (“Life on Our Planet”) and category rookies Paul Rudd (“Secrets of the Octopus”) and Octavia Spencer (“Lost Women of Highway 20”).
In order to determine the extent to which Attenborough can count on a comeback victory, let’s take a closer look at each nominee. Be sure to make your predictions in this and 30 other Creative Arts Emmy categories by September 7.
David Attenborough (“Planet Earth III” – BBC America)
Episode: “Human”
The dependably grandiose Attenborough narrates all eight parts of this program in which more than 40 countries’ worth of natural habitats are explored. His submitted episode details many of the ways that various animal species regularly benefit from living in proximity to humans. The nonagenarian biologist’s three aforementioned wins in this category came for “Blue Planet,” “Our Planet,” and “Seven Worlds, One Planet.”
Angela Bassett (“Queens” – National Geographic)
Episode: “African Queens”
Over the past 22 years, Bassett has vied for five physical acting Emmys and picked up bids in this category for “The Flood” (2019), “The Imagineering Story” (2020), and “Good Night Oppy” (2023). In the first episode of her new series, she provides insight into the adversarial relationship that exists between female lion and hyena leaders on the world’s second-largest continent.
Morgan Freeman (“Life on Our Planet” – Netflix)
Episode: “Chapter 1: The Rules of Life”
Freeman, who was previously recognized here for “March of the Penguins 2” (2018) and “Our Universe” (2023), lends his iconic voice to this “Our Planet” spin-off focused on tracing the extensive history of life on Earth. Its premiere installment prepares viewers for the impending journey by laying out the basic rules of evolution that have endured for eons.
Paul Rudd (“Secrets of the Octopus” – National Geographic)
Episode: “Masterminds”
As a concurrent comedy supporting hopeful for “Only Murders in the Building,” Rudd promptly follows Pedro Pascal (of “The Last of Us,” “Saturday Night Live,” and “Patagonia”) as the second multi-nominated Emmy newcomer ever recognized for both physical acting and narration. In his nature series’ second of three episodes, he explains how octopuses employ strategy to solve day-to-day problems.
Octavia Spencer (“Lost Women of Highway 20” – Investigation Discovery)
Episode: “Vanished”
Spencer’s second career Emmy nomination comes four years after her first for playing Madam C.J. Walker on the Netflix miniseries “Self Made.” She co-produced both that show and this new, three-part true crime one about the hunt for a Pacific American serial killer suspected of taking more than seven female victims during the late 1970s.
So, who will win the 2024 Emmy for Best Narrator? Considering the candidates’ track records and the fact that nearly all of them are nominated for narrating the same type of program, Attenborough has the potential to bounce back fairly easily. After all, he doesn’t have to worry about toppling reigning champ Obama and should have no trouble continuing to outshine both Bassett and Freeman.
Barring a come-from-behind victory by one of Attenborough’s old rivals, this race may come down to program subject matter. Given that voters broke from tradition last year by bestowing this honor on the star of a non-nature or history series (Obama’s “Working”), Spencer could pull attention away from her competitors simply by offering something different. However, based on Attenborough’s solid frontrunner status, she may have to settle for having already made history as the category’s first true crime nominee.
PREDICT the Creative Arts Emmy winners through September 7
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