The 2021 SAG Awards (Screen Actors Guild Awards) are recognizing geek culture in a big way this year. Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Wonder Woman 1984, The Boys and Lovecraft Country all received SAG nominations. It’s a particularly nice achievement to see, as geek culture films and TV shows don’t often enough get the credit for their acting talent. HBO’s Lovecraft Country received nominations in two categories, including the major category of “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series”, which comes with heavy competition like Netflix’s The Crown and Ozark series. Wonder Woman 1984, The Mandalorian, The Boys, and Westworld were all recognized for their action stuntwork.
Here’s the full breakdown of relevant nominations that these geek-friendly shows received at the 2021 SAG Awards:
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Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
- “Better Call Saul”
- “Bridgerton”
- “The Crown”
- “Lovecraft Country”
- “Ozark”
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
- “The Boys”
- “Cobra Kai”
- “Lovecraft Country”
- “The Mandalorian”
- “Westworld”
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
- “Da 5 Bloods”
- “Mulan”
- “News of the World”
- “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
- “Wonder Woman 1984”
The stunt Ensemble Comedy or Drama Series has some stiff competition going, this year. The Boys, Cobra Kai, and The Mandalorian all had epic action sequences and/or battle sequences that became instant classics; and even Westworld took on a full-scale action-movie run in season 3. Westworld’s genre pastiche format required all kinds of different kinds of stunt work (horror, sci-fi, action in the form of shootouts, brawls, and riots) – all of which the show pulled off pretty seamlessly. It really is anybody’s win, at this point.
It’s definitely more surprising (and likely to be divisive) that Wonder Woman 1984 made the list for “Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture”. Wonder Woman 1984 might’ve had some impressive stuntwork in scenes like the Mall fight or Middle East chase sequence, but most fans came feeling underwhelmed with the film’s action. But aside from those criticisms, it’s fair to say that Wonder Woman 1984 deserves the win more so than a courtroom drama biopic like The Trial of the Chicago 7. However, Tom Hanks’ News of the World, Disney’s Mulan, and Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods have the kind of harrowing action/drama mixes that big awards organizations traditionally like in films. Geeks could arguably go home empty in this category.
The 2021 SAG Awards will be held on April 4th.
