The Saturn Awards celebrated its 50th anniversary this week highlighting genre fiction old and new with actor Joel McHale hosting. Presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, the show outlined a night full of history dating back to 1972 while showcasing the fantastic entertainment of the past year.
Better Call Saul went into the event strong with seven nominations, more than any other series with The Walking Dead and Superman & Lois each garnering six nominations. Better Call Saul brought in wins for all it was nominated for, such as the award for Best Action/Thriller TV Series where it bested other popular shows like Big Sky, The Blacklist, Dark Winds, Dexter: New Blood, Outlander, and Yellowjackets.
On the streaming side of things, Obi-Wan Kenobi came away with Best Limited Event Series while also giving Hayden Christensen and Moses Ingram wins. It was a big showing for Disney overall as Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, Loki, and Book of Boba Fett also received individual honors while The Boys, Stranger Things, Umbrella Academy and newcomer Star Trek: Strange New Worlds rounded out the list.
Three different Star Trek shows went into the evening with a total of six nominations across five categories. The ceremony ran until after midnight and the franchise came away with a single win for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
The first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds won for Best Streaming Science Fiction Series, beating Star Trek: Discovery along with The Expanse, For All Mankind, Lost in Space, The Mandalorian, and The Orville: New Horizons.
Star Wars had a huge night, bringing home a total of five wins, during this year’s Saturn Awards. Obi-Wan Kenobi won three of those, including Best Limited Event Streaming Series. The Bad Batch pulled off an upset, winning Best Animated Television Series. And Ming-Na Wen took the stage to accept her Best Actress nod for her role as Fennec Shand in The Book of Boba Fett.
The other two Obi-Wan Kenobi wins went to Moses Ingram and Hayden Christensen for Best Supporting Actress and Best Guest-Starring Performance respectively. The Disney Plus series won the most awards out of the streaming categories, with the final season of Better Call Saul leading that show to four awards in the network/cable series categories. Everything Everywhere All at Once had three wins in the film categories.
As far as what didn’t win, there isn’t much that didn’t stay in-house. The Book of Boba Fett was also nominated for Best Limited Streaming Series, which went to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ewan McGregor’s reprisal of the Jedi master was bested by Oscar Isaac’s nuanced Moon Knight role for Best Actor in a Streaming Series. Meanwhile, Rosario Dawson’s appearance as Ahsoka Tano fell to another Star Wars actor with Hayden Christensen’s win. The Mandalorian lost out to the surprising first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in the Best Science Fiction Television Series category.
The Bad Batch continues Star Wars animation’s stranglehold over Best Animated Series, a category in which the division has never lost, dating back to its Saturn Awards introduction in 2017. Star Wars Rebels won in the first two years, followed by Star Wars: Resistance in 2019. The final season of The Clone Wars took the prize last year when the awards returned after a pandemic-based hiatus. The Bad Batch faced heavy competition including Arcane, The Boys: Diabolical, Invincible, and Marvel’s What If…?
A few special honors were given out during the night with genre fiction veteran Kathryn Leigh Scott taking home a Life Career Award. Julie Plec, known as the mind behind The CW's The Vampire Diaries and the recently released Vampire Academy, was also given the Dan Curtis Legacy Award. Also recognized was Amber Midthunder for her stunning breakout turn in the Predator prequel Prey, as well as Geoff Johns who earned this year's Producer Showcase Award for his years of work around DC projects including Stargirl, Titans, Superman & Lois, and Doom Patrol among others. A pair of Johns' shows also earned honors with Stargirl's Brec Bassinger getting a win and Superman & Lois winning Best Science Fiction Television Series.
The ceremony also featured a touching tribute to the late Star Trek legend Nichelle Nichols, introduced by Star Trek movies writer and director Nicholas Meyer. It included video from the International Space Station and NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins. Star Trek’s original Captain Kirk, William Shatner beamed in via video to congratulate and thank the Saturn awards, while recalling his infamous rendition of “Rocket Man,” performed at the Saturn Awards in 1978.
