BENJAMONSTER AWARDS: Outstanding Technical Design of a Limited/Anthology Series

The first award is Outstanding Technical Design of a Limited/Anthology Series! Technical Design covers sets, costumes, cinematography, and all other aspects of the technical production.

The nominees are:

HOLLYWOOD (Netflix)

LITTLE AMERICA (Apple TV+)

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE (Hulu)

THE LOUDEST VOICE (Showtime)

MRS. AMERICA (FX on Hulu)

THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA (HBO)

And the Winner Is....
MRS. AMERICA
FX on Hulu
This was a tough category with so many shows so lavishly produced with incredible attention to detail. But I gave the edge to Mrs. America because of how meticulously it re-created the 1970s and so many iconic figures from the era. When you see photos or videos of the original Phyllis Schlafly, Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, etc, it is truly impressive how the show was able to transform its all star cast of actresses. Some of that is certainly casting but it was also the work of the hair, wardrobe and makeup departments. The show's set decorators also did a tremendous job of evoking the 1970s setting in two different ways: in conservative Schlafly's world that seemed like it was stuck in the 50s, and in the women's rights world where they were a stone's throw away from the hippie era. Being able to contrast those two worlds while keeping the show firmly in its setting is no small feat.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
As I said before, this was a tough category with so many series so well produced. Hollywood may have been all over the place creatively but it was really well made and evoked 1940s Hollywood (it also had a great title sequence). The Plot Against America also captured that same decade well but in a world away with a very gloomy disposition compared to sunny Hollywood. Period pieces can be tough in general but also easy to impress from a cinematic standpoint. It can be tougher when the period is more recent but Little Fires Everywhere and The Loudest Voice were able to do that. Little Fires was impressive in its subtle approach to evoking the 90s while The Loudest Voice did an impressive job of transforming Russell Crowe into Roger Ailes with some significant costuming and makeup work while also aging him up as the series progressed. Little America was the only non period piece nominated but it had eight different worlds to create in its eight episodes and each episode captured the mood of the particular story well.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Technical Design of a Comedy Series!