It’s going to be a wild night as the 2023 TV BAFTA nominations were revealed. With six nominations each, BBC’s “This Is Going to Hurt,” starring Ben Whishaw, and “The Responder,” featuring Martin Freeman, take the top two spots. Five nominations have been given to Netflix’s “The Crown,” and thanks to Siobhán McSweeney’s standout performance as Sister Michael, Channel 4’s “Derry Girls” is up for nominations in the categories of Scripted Comedy and Female Performance in a Comedy Program. Upon the announcement of the list, actor Nicola Coughlan immediately hopped on Facetime with her two “best pals,” McSweeney and Jack Rooke, to celebrate their nominations.
Nonetheless, the list included a few omissions. Despite “Happy Valley’s” third series being acclaimed for its superb acting stars Sarah Lancashire and James Norton, the BBC show did not find itself on the list of nominees. “Where’s ‘Happy Valley’ in this?”, one fan asked on Twitter, while another questioned: “Did no one on the bafta committee watch Happy Valley???? What even???”
Nevertheless, in response to the complaints, BAFTA’s official Twitter account informed the audience that the show was no longer eligible for this year’s awards after the third series was released on January 1 and will likely be nominated for the 2024 BAFTAs instead. Also excluded from the drama series category was “Peaky Blinders.” Fans were astonished when “It’s a Sin,” which was nominated for six TV BAFTAs last year, did not win any of them, raising concerns about outmoded beliefs and the significance of award nominations.
The sister event to the TV awards presentation, the film BAFTAs, was held in February. While Cate Blanchett and Austin Butler were honored that evening, the awarding body received criticism for the fact that no person of color won any categories at all.
