Watch These Two Under-The-Radar Shows Before Emmy Night

For the most part, today’s Emmy nominations didn’t bring a lot of surprises. Game of Thrones, of course, led the pack with a record breaking 32 nominations. This is the very last year with GOT in the running – much to the relief of every other show on television. It is worth noting that Kit Harrington and Emilia Clarke received nominations after being snubbed last year, when HBO for the first time submitted the two as lead actors.

Once again, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel rules the comedy side with 20 nominations. And then there are the new shows that quickly gained popularity like Chernobyl (also known as “please don’t cancel your HBO subscription”). But there were two shows in particular that stuck out to me as titles that may be unfamiliar to most people, but definitely worth catching up on before September 22nd.

Fosse/Verdon (FX)

I’m fairly certain that every time I mentioned this show to someone they replied with “what the heck is that.” And it’s true that the name is sure to incite confusion – that is unless you are particularly well versed in musical theater.

Fosse/Verdon centers on probably the biggest Broadway power couple in history – Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. He was a dancer turned choreographer and director, and the only person to win a Tony, Oscar and Emmy in the same year. She was a four-time Tony winning actress and dancer who racked up all four of those awards in seven years.

Together, their resume includes legendary shows and films such as Sweet Charity, Chicago, Pippin, Cabaret and more. Anything that Bob did, Gwen either performed in, or served as a crucial advisor. Professionally they created masterpieces, even as their own personal relationship self-destructed. The show doesn’t shy away from showing you every painful detail of their turbulent partnership, including Bob’s addiction and infidelity. But just as the show, you are lifted right back up with incredible performances of the most iconic songs from the couple’s unparalleled catalogue.

If the show didn’t have great name recognition before, it’s sure to make some noise now. It’s up for 17 Emmy awards, including best Limited Series, lead actor (Sam Rockwell) and lead actress (Michelle Williams). Let me tell you, this is the best performance of Williams’ life – and that’s a high bar to clear. Among its executive producers are Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the couple’s real life daughter (!) Nicole Fosse. Add in direction and music by fellow Hamilton alums Tommy Kail and Alex Lacamoire, and you get the best of Broadway on the small screen.

Bodyguard (Netflix)

While I was (successfully) lobbying my parents to watch Fosse/Verdon, they were telling me to watch Bodyguard and I am so glad I did. This show made a much smaller splash on the Emmy list with only two nominations, but one of those was Best Drama Series – arguably the biggest award of the night.

The show features Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden in possibly the farthest thing from Robb Stark you can imagine. This time, Madden plays David Budd, a Scottish Afghanistan war veteran who is assigned as the personal protection officer for the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, Julia Montague. Yes, this is originally a British series – Netflix was granted the international broadcast rights. I won’t lie, watching this involved a fair amount of Googling on my part, but the show will give you a crash course on the important things you need to know to keep up.

The show opens with David on a train that happens to have a possible suicide bomber on board. This first episode earned the show its second Emmy nom for writing. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the rest of the series deals with the fallout of that event, as well as David’s conflict with the Home Secretary over her pro-war policies. Further complicating matters are David’s PTSD, and the fact that he and Julia seem drawn towards a…less than professional relationship.

Bodyguard is one of the most suspenseful shows I have ever watched, and believe me when I say you never truly know what is going to happen or who the real bad guys are. I’m hoping for a second season, and after you watch you will too.

Both of the shows I mentioned involve relatively little time commitment – Bodyguard only has six episodes and Fosse/Verdon has eight. The former is admittedly easier to access, but Fosse/Verdon is available on demand and online. While extremely different, these shows will draw you in and leave you telling everyone you know about them – just like me.