With the announcement of the 2022 Emmy Award nominations, the conversation inevitably turns to the snubs. After all, we’re still living in a time of high volume peak television, where the sheer number of excellent shows outstrips the spaces allotted for awards show categories. These are, of course, champagne problems. Great shows will still find their audience, and plenty of series will go on to fame and acclaim sans awards.
But there is one show that was snubbed that breaks my TV-loving heart. Showtime’s I Love That for You garnered zero nominations for its spectacular first season, which has largely gone unsung. ILTFY holds a 78 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 95 percent audience score. The Showtime series, created and executive produced by Vanessa Bayer (SNL) and Jeremy Beiler (SNL), stars Bayer as Joanna Gold, a woman who survived childhood cancer and dreams of being a host on the home shopping channel SVN.
When Joanna gets her big chance (and blows it) she panics, telling the network that her childhood cancer returned. They decide to keep her on, and Joanna’s fake cancer becomes a major selling point, launching her as one of the network’s rising stars. It’s a dark premise for a show, yet Bayer’s bubbly performance keeps her character sympathetic. Bayer spent seven seasons on SNL stealing scenes as a variety of characters, and she brings her keen sense of humor and patented awkwardness to the role. Bayer is so so good in this role: every forced smile, every dorky attempt to sound cool makes for a perfectly calibrated performance.
And she’s joined by a ridiculously stacked cast. Fellow SNL alum Molly Shannon plays Jackie, the network’s veteran star and Joanna’s idol, who hides a layer of sadness underneath her upbeat persona. The network is run by Hollywood legend Jenifer Lewis, who plays ruthless and exacting CEO Patricia Cochran who inspires both fear and loyalty in her employees. The supporting cast is phenomenal as well, with Johnno Wilson and Ayden Mayeri as vacuous network hosts, Paul James as the kind production assistant/love interest, and Matt Rogers as Lewis’s long-suffering assistant.
The series finds plenty of easy humor in the products sold by SVN, along with the patter and forced enthusiasm of home shopping hosts. But it’s clear that Bayer and company also have a deep love for the home shopping genre and its legions of devoted fans. The show also offers plenty of grace for its characters, who can behave abominably but still remain likeable.
Part of my disappointment regarding the Emmy snubs is the fact that show is getting little attention, and I worry it won’t get a second season. And that would be such a shame, because Bayer has created a dark, absurd, and hilarious little world, and I’m dying to see where they go in season 2.
I Love That for You is currently streaming on Showtime, with the first full episode available on YouTube.
(featured image: Showtime)
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