SAG Awards 2023: nominations, Oscar indicators, no women directors, and streaming for first time

A day after the Golden Globes were telecast, the Screen Actors Guild Awards announced their nominees for the February 26, 2023 ceremony, to take place at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Considering the dismal ratings that The Golden Globes received once again—airing on NBC—it’s not surprising that the SAG Awards will be going with a streaming platform for their telecast for the first time.

Usually a staple for the TNT/TBS channel for decades, the SAGs will run on Netflix’s YouTube channel, with plans to stream the award show directly on Netflix the following year. I wouldn’t be surprised if more award ceremonies go the way of streamers. Once a staple for the few basic television stations, the audience has been declining for all of them over the years.

"Netflix Head of Global TV Bela Bajaria said in a press release: “The SAG Awards are beloved by the creative community and viewers alike, and now even more fans around the world will be able to celebrate these talented actors. As we begin to explore live streaming on Netflix, we look forward to partnering with SAG-AFTRA to elevate and expand this special ceremony as a global live event in 2024 and the years to come.”"

Still, the SAG Awards have proven to be strong Oscar predictors in the past, with last year’s Actor winners—including Will Smith for King Richard (and the infamous slap), Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and the sweep for CODA (a Sundance darling): the ensemble cast, Troy Kotsur, and Ariana DeBose—translating SAG wins into Oscars. That isn’t the case every year, and this year seems more of a mixed bag of titles than shoe-ins of performances that might continue to win all award season long like they did last year.

The surprise award season favorites will continue their streak into the SAGs with the dark Irish comedy The Banshees of Inisherin and the sci-fit sensation Everything Everywhere All at Once leading the field. Tying for five nominations each, they equaled the record set by critically acclaimed films Shakespeare in Love, Chicago, and Doubt, and swept the actor categories and ensemble nom. Expect co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan to be frontrunners in their respective actor fields, coming off their Globe wins Tuesday night. They will remain the betting favorites for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor.

Among the snubs, perhaps the biggest is the highly acclaimed performance of Michelle Williams in Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical tale, The Fabelmans, which won Best Director (of course!) and Best Drama at the 80th Globes ceremony. Instead, her spot seems to have been taken by Ana de Armas for the critically panned Blonde, a biopic of Marilyn Monroe.

Other surprise noms included Adam Sandler in The Hustle, and the well-deserved Hong Chau in The Whale as well as Stephanie Hsu for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Babylon—which received mixed reviews—was also surprised with an ensemble nomination. Other notable omissions include award-circuit darlings Tyler James Williams (who just won a Globe on Tuesday!) and Sheryl Lee Ralph (an Emmy winner) for the lauded Abbott Elementary. The heavily nominated Sebastian Stan and Lily James, who turned in chameleon-like performances in Pam and Tommy, were also left off the SAG list.

Two eyebrow-raising inclusions were The Patient’s Steve Carrell and 1883’s Sam Elliott, the sole nom from the Yellowstone camp. Continuing criticism that award shows don’t celebrate popular vehicles such as Yellowstone, it looks like the 29th SAG Awards will do nothing to let up pressure on that point, with no nominations for the series despite its huge success and Kevin Costner’s win at the Globes just last night. Equally perplexing was the exclusion of House of Dragon, which won Best Drama on Tuesday at the 80th Golden Globes. However, Severance—the series that I thought should have won over House of Dragon anyway—is thankfully included (and should win).

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is once again in the Director category, with no female nominations, despite seemingly making inroads with well-deserved back-to-back wins for Chloe Zhao for Nomadland and Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog. I can’t tell you how dispiriting it is that there are no female directors nominated this year, despite the influx of talented, powerhouse women turning out amazing work each year. Let’s hope this is a fluke (please).

See the full list here.

The 29th Annual SAG awards will be broadcast on Netflix’s YouTube channel on Sunday, February 26 at 8 p.m. ET.