Emmy Nominations 2011: Friday Night Lights (FINALLY) and More...
Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 9:38AM We'll start with the biggies: Drama, Comedy and Lead Actresses. Yes, that is the Big Four -- well, to the Film Experience it is!
Best Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Friday Night Lights *my vote because it's the last season and because I'm so mad at Mad Men for not returning this summer.*
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men
Aside from the way-better-late-than-never inclusion of Friday Night Lights, finally elevated to "Best" status in its fifth and final season, despite always having been better than the other nominees, save Mad Men, the newbie is HBO's Game of Thrones. We've discussed it a few times (in short: I'm less impressed than most though it has its moments). But still can we get crazy drunk and jubilant for Friday Night Lights?
Who will win? Can Mad Men do it again or will The Good Wife which is obviously beloved by the acting community take its first "best series" win?
Best Comedy Series
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
The Office
Parks and Recreation *my vote*
Bummed that Nurse Jackie or Raising Hope aren't cited. Hasn't The Office outstayed its welcome and doesn't The Big Bang Theory have a laughtrack? Ugh. This category could have been so beautifully modern? If it doesn't I apologize. But what a relief that Two and Half Men isn't stinking up the category anymore. Who will win? My guess is that the consistently hilarious Modern Family continues its reign though if we're voting for Most Improved, Parks and Recreation takes all; what a season.
Comedy Lead Actress
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Melissa McCarthy, Mike and Molly
Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation *my vote*
Was The United States of Tara not eligible? Nomination I'm happiest about: Martha Plimpton in Raising Hope. I've been a fan of Martha Plimpton since the mid 80s and am so happy to see her having such a great decade lately what with the Broadway stardom and now the TV hilarity. Plus her twitter feed is love.
Who will win? I love Tina Fey as much as the rest of the world except that she does not deserve to keep winning acting prizes. Let's spread the wealth Emmy.
Drama Lead Actress
Kathy Bates, Harry's Law
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights *my vote*
Mirielle Enos, The Killing
Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
Julianne Marguiles, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Apologies to our Annie Wilkes but what, pray tell, is the often great Kathy Bates doing here? I have literally never been more bored by her than on this very show as if she was heavily medicated or too sleepy to act. I tried twice though it didn't help that the show was plain old stale, like a series we might have seen 12 years ago but not now with the impressive elevation of TV drama over the past decade. Hooray for Britton who really ought to win this for five unimproveably naturalistic years on FNL. I'm trying to make peace with the fact that next time someone casts her in something it's bound to be a character-less procedural but I'm having a hard time. I will miss Tammy Taylor way too much. Who will win? It's obviously Marguiles, right?
MORE COMEDY...
Comedy Lead Actor
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock *my vote*
Louis CK, Louis
Steve Carrel, The Office
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Seems strange that Matt LeBlanc is back at the Emmys but Courtney Cox isn't, right? P.S. I love Louis CK. My vote goes to Baldwin though it's true that he has more than enough Emmys. I suspect Carell wins this year, right?
Comedy Supporting Actress
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Jane Lynch, Glee
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family *my vote*
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
This wasn't the best season for Krakowsi on 30 Rock but she'd have already won my personal Emmy long ago (and more than once) so I'd have to side with either of the Modern Family women who are both beautiful and hilarious and well worth watching each week. Fail: Jane Lynch getting this nomination over Brittany (Heather Morris) or Santana (Naya Rivera) on Glee -- they've long since surpassed the Coach Sylvester schtick which was definitely funny the first year and is now less so. What's more they bring both the comedy and the drama in beautiful synchronicity.
Comedy Supporting Actor
Chris Colfer, Glee
Jon Cryer, Two and Half Men
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O'Neill, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family *my vote*
Ugh. Even when they jettison Two and Half Men from comedy, Jon Cryer STILL messes up this category. Think how beautiful this would have been with Neil Patrick Harris instead. (weirdly snubbed) It would have been SIX tales of awesomeness, a 100% worthy lineup.
MORE DRAMA
Drama Lead Actor
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Michael C Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men *my vote*
Hugh Laurie, House
Timothy Olyphant, Justified
Drama Supporting Actress
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Michelle Forbes, The Killing
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men *my vote*
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Margo Martindale, Justified
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
I really should abstain rather than voting here. This is the category where I've seen the least of the nominees. I love Macdonald but the few times I've tried to watch Boardwalk Empire I've been bored. Have yet to see any episode of Justified. HATED the ads but apparently people love it.
Drama Supporting Actor
Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones *my vote*
Walton Goggins, Justified
John Slattery, Mad Men
I'm only throwing this to Dinklage because in my world Slattery has already won for this role, twice at least. He's brilliant as Roger Sterling. Sometimes I actually think he's the secret MVP of the entire series.
MORE MINISERIES
Best Miniseries or Movie
Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey *my vote*
The Kennedys
Mildred Pierce
Pillars of the Earth
Too Big To Fail
This is the most I've seen from this category since the 1980s -- more than half of it! There was much to admire in Mildred Pierce but for pure television addiction I have to admit that I'm all for Downton Abbey's endearing bitchery.
Miniseries/Movie Lead Actress
Taraji P Henson, Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
Jean Marsh, Upstairs Downstairs
Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce *my vote*
I can't imagine that Winslet will lose this. Lane was good but with lesser material and McGovern is sidelined so often in Downton Abbey I'm a bit surprised to see her in the "lead" category.
Miniseries/Movie Lead Actor
Idris Elba, Luther
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
William Hurt, Too Big To Fail
Greg Kinnear, The Kennedys
Barry Pepper, The Kennedys
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos
This is why I don't write about TV so much. Have seen any of these.
Miniseries/Movie Supporting Actress
Eileen Atkins, Upstairs Downstairs
Melissa Leo, Mildred Pierce
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Mare Winningham, Mildred Pierce *my vote*
Evan Rachel Wood, Mildred Pierce
My preference for Winningham here might seem odd as it's the least substantial role in the running but she nailed the time period, she was unfussy about her characters earthy can-do and I looked forward to seeing her each episode. But if feeling sentimental, I'd cast for Maggie Smith. Maggie Smith is Maggie Smith is Maggie Smith is Maggie Smith and no one does artistocratic haughty better.
Miniseries/Movie Supporting Actor
Paul Giamatti, Too Big To Fail
Brian F. O'Byrne, Mildred Pierce *my vote*
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
Tom Wilkinson, The Kennedys
James Woods, Too Big To Fail
O'Byrne was very moving in Mildred Pierce in what at first seemed like a disposable role. Well done. All of these actors are like awards regulars, though. Who do you think will win?
Reader Comments (64)
I'm so happy that the main cast of Modern Family ALL made the cut. I'm most worried about supporting actor. My vote goes to Jesse Tyler Ferguson who switched on the extra funny switch this season. I really just hope that neither Jon Cryer or Chris Colfer win.
OMG I was pleasantly surprised by how wonderful these nominations are! Although some surprises left me disgruntled. NPH losing a Supporting nomination to Jon Cryer, really? But Love the Modern Family and the Justified nominations. I'm upset though that Katey Sagal isn't nominated. It would have been nice seeing her with Ed O'Neill in the same night. Also, I'm shocked Kyra Sedgwick, who won last year, didn't get nominated. I'd rather have her there than Mariska (WTF IS SHE DOING THERE) Hargitay and Kathy Bates.
My only wish next year is that Lauren Graham gets nominated :( Oh how I love her.
To answer your question, United States of Tara was eligible. Just didn't get nominated :/
For Emmy tastes, these are very modern and interesting nominations. Again, not all for the best side, but at least interesting.
The Best:
-Friday Night Lights in Drama Serie
-Olyphant, Goggins and Martindale in the acting categories!!
-Best Actress in Comedy Serie is really good. Especially McCarthy and Plimpton
-Edgar Ramirez and Idris Elba in Miniserie
-Another moment with Melissa Leo
The Worst:
-Bates, Hartigay and Laurie
-The Kennedys (At least the best part - Katie Holmes snubbed)
-No John Noble or Fringe
I'm so happy for the Friday Night Lights nominations and I really hope Connie Britton can eek out a win. But knowing how the Emmys are the winner will probably be Kathy Bates.
Also - Modern Family wasn't really close to the consistent brilliance of Parks and Recreation and I'm really miffed that every actor on MF got nominated when not ONE on P&R did. No Ron fucking Swanson? No Andy? No Tom? Come on, man!!
Also happy to see Louis CK up there - but I don't think he's going to win with Steve Carrell there.
Some good nominees, but all in all the Emmys are the most ridiculous awards show because they prove that the TV industry don't get their own medium: the strength and ART of TV series lie in the fact that one watches them week after week; a really good TV series assumes the rhythm of life, the way we get to know people and fall in love with them, etc. You can't judge series based on one or two episodes. (They should have blue-ribbon panels that watch whole seasons of series and winnow them down.)
The Comedy Series category is probably the worst. Four of the series haven't quite jumped the shark, but they've definitely gone over the hump and are nominated based on hearsay and inertia. Of course I've stopped watching them, so maybe they suddenly got better. (Doubt it.)
Britton is in Ryan Murphy's new pilot for FX, and last I heard is developing another one for FX with David O. Russell.
I CANT BELIEVE ***RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE*** WAS SNUBBED FROM REALITY COMPETITION SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!
Naya Rivera should be WINNING Supporting Comedy Actress. Outraged.
My Predictions for Winners
Mad Men
Jon Hamm (FINALLY!)
Julianna Margulies (but watch out for Elisabeth Moss who is submitting the amazing "The Suitcase", so is Hamm)
Alan Cumming
Archie Panjabi
Modern Family
Steve Carell
The Lovely Laura Linney
Ty Burrell
Sofia Vergara
Mildred Pierce
Edgar Ramirez
Kate Winslet
Brian F. O'Bryne
Evan Rachel Wood
There is plenty of good and bad among the nominees. I just feel like they don't even WATCH some of the shows...cause if they did, Courteney Cox, Busy Phillips, Joel McHale and Alison Brie would all be nominated, as would Cougar Town and Community. And don't get me started on the snubbing of NPH.
But I take heart in all nominations for Friday Night Lights, Ed O'Neil, Martha Plimpton, Peter Dinklage, and the delightful Cat Deeley.
SNUBS I'M ANGRY ABOUT:
Naya Rivera. She must be suffering from I-can-actually-act-BUT-I'm-Maxim-attractive-so-no-awards-for-me. She understands the tone of Glee and delivers zingers so fast you'd think she's the reincarnation of Bea Arthur. Not to mention her tearful lesbian confession to Brittany that made me shed a very manly tear. Or her saaphic renditions of Landslide and Songbird. I bet if she was a 6 instead of a 10 she'd be showered in Emmy's. She should be WINNING this category. (I'd also like to leave this here: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXhIF-TIeo8)
True Blood and Ryan Kwanten. Another victim to talented-yet-pretty. It's even worse that he's male.
Community, Joel McHale, and Alison Brie. WHAT?!?! I'm glad they shook up Best Actor and Comedy Series but they could've slipped Community and Joel in...but the absence of Brie? Jane Krakowski and Kristen Wiig are kinda old news in this category. And Betty White isn't being nominated for her performance...she's being nominated for being Betty White! GAH.
Danny Pudi and Nick Offerman Jon Cryer over them? Ok....
United States of Tara and Toni Collette In Toni's best season and their final year. Shame, shame, shame. Speaking of shame...Emmy Rossum and Shameless.
Terriers, Donal Logue, and Michael Raymond-James I'm still mourning the cancellation.
NOMS I'M EXCITED ABOUT:
Friday Night Lights, Kyle Chandler, and Connie Britton It took 5 years but we got there.
Parks and Recreation. Talk about a journey. I can't think of a single show that has improved as much as this one.
Ty Burrell Nothing to say, I just like him.
Peter Dinklage Just look at him! He's so cute and little and I'm so offensive.
Martha Plimpton This show is HILARIOUS.
NOMS I'M ANGRY ABOUT
Kathy Bates...................what?
I would have loved to see nominations for Anna Torv from Fringe, Michael Pitt (even though I didn't like Boardwalk Empire) and something for Rubicon and Community but overall the nominees seem more good than bad so I just hope they can pick respectable winners.
I am one of the people who think Justified is great and am very very happy about the three acting nominations (esp. for Walter Goggins).
In the Comedy categories, I was hoping for Community and Busy Phillips, but well.
Literally the only nomination I care about is the lovely and amazing Cat Deeley for Reality Show Host. That woman should have won this category every year running, but this is the first time she's been nominated! She is so far and away the best host of any show on TV that it shouldn't even be a competition.
I also LOVE the fact that Martha Plimpton got nominated for Raising Hope. That show makes me laugh more than any other show on TV, bar Modern Family (depending on the week), and she is hilarious in it. I only wish it could have broken into the Best Comedy Series category too.
And as long as Julianna Marguiles wins for The Good Wife I will be happy because all will be right with the world. I still irrationally hate Kyra Sedgwick for stealing that Emmy from her last year.
I keep wondering what the big deal is with Naya Rivera, then I remember I'm watching Glee on DVD and still waiting for S2 Vol 2 which must have her outstanding moments in it.
i had two strong wishes for the nominations -
i) that parks and recreation would score a best comedy nod (done)
ii) that keirnan shipka would be amongst the supporting actress nominees (damn - poor sally draper can't catch a break)
Of course they dont watch the shows. If they did, they would never nominate "Glee". Its awful. Its ridiculous. Its childish, moralist, incoherent, sappy, annoying, the plot lines are stupid, the stories poor and the characters a bunch of cliches! Glee sucks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy for Game Of Thrones and Dinklage. I LOVE Game of Thrones!
I dont think The Big Bans Theory has a laugh track. I once read that what we hear is really the live audience reaction's, but I dont know....
How sure are we that Kate Winslet is winning- deservingly so....... I hope Mildred Pierce wins everything!!
Ok,my extended thoughts:)
I'm dreading a Boardwalk empire win, but hopefully it will be Mad Men(imo this was the best season yet so for me it would be kind of funny that now is when they stop winning)or Good wife.I mean, these three have chances, of course ideally FNL would win, sort of for the whole series.
Hamm is the frontrunner and i think he'll get it,but I'm aldo dreading Buscemi here.Hall has an outside chance and i hope he'll win at some point, cuz if he finsihes Dexter AND Six feet under without ever winning, it will be insane. Julianna is also the frontrunner, but she was also last year.People say Kyra won on the strength of her episode, so if they will vote the same way this year, it's gonna be Moss, who is fantastic(her teary, slightly whiny 'and you never say thank you' moment alone is more impressive than anything Julianna did-who is good for sure, but not as showy as one might expect. I would give it to Moss or Britton.
Modern family will win again, although my heart would vote for Glee and my brain for Parks.I think Carell takes it for sure (and this is the weakest category across the board,right?)and probably Linney, who is teriffic(poor Poehler although i would rather have given it to her last year).
As for supporting i'm rooting for Colfer all the way.many people don't want him to win because he gives a dramatic performance, but it shouldn't matter.It's best actor in comedy,not best comedic actor.No one complains about,say,Cumming or Dinklage who have their dramatic moments(and Colfer has comedic moments too),but are mostly there being funny.It's the same thing.And they're both great,ideally one of them takes it. Betty White will win, god help us.I think I might go with Bowen myself.But really, Busy Phillips, Meritt Wever,Naya Rivera-those are a couple of names I would like to see here,not that any of them stood a chance.In drama, I'm guessing if Martindale is as' omfg so frickin amazing' as people say, she'll win.Maybe Kelly if they go crazy for Boardwalk(Michael Pitt,who would probably be most deserving of a nod is of course missing).BUT Archie is a threat-if she won last year...-she's got an episode that is seriously ten times better than what she submitted last year.And Baranski is great,but they don't give her enough to do.Hendricks would be ideal, I think she had her best season yet,but I'd be ok with Archie.(haven't seen Martindale).
I would also go with Downton Abbey, as well as Maggie Smith, maybe also because hers is the performance I remember most vividly.Those line readings!seriously,Maggie being Maggie never gets old. I would also be happy if Evan took it though.And on the guest acting side, I can't comment much,but who are we thinking will prevail in what i presume is a Gwyneth vs. Cloris Leachman race? Never seen Raising hope,but they love her apparently.But Gwynnie was so so good...who knows.
Also it's interesting how they got rid of NPH and Kyra after they won last year.And yet Jon Cryer and especially Mariska are fricking undestructable.How?Why?OK,maybe sympathy for Cryer,like 'sorry you had to put up with Sheen' or something,but why oh why is Mariska there?I think she must have something on the voters and is blackmailing them.I mean,she already won,is not some super famous star,is on a show that doesn't get much or any love elsewhere,and from the 5 minutes that I've seen of the show she's mediocre at best.Oh well.
Oh,and also,Kathy Bates is there because they saw 'Academy Award winner Kathy Bates' on the list and voted-doubt that 90% of them have seen a single minute of the show. and sorry for such a long post:S
If I was the Awards Dictator, the Chris Colfer Love Train would be summarily and forever derailed. I'm so tired of hearing praise for his two-tone b*tchy/weepy portrayal of a gay high schooler. It's not good acting and it's certainly nothing revolutionary like the media would have us believe.
Ty Burrell/Sofia Vergara for the Supporting Actor/Actress wins.
We complain a lot about Oscar holdover nominations. But the Emmys seem to be the king of this "You were good last year. You must be good this year" schtick.
My predix:
Drama:
-Jon Hamm (For talent and recognition, only Michael C. Hall could steal that EMMY, but after that Sedgwick moment, I fear Laurie -He's not the same Dr. House- may be a threat)
-Kathy Bates (Yes, Margulies and Moss are the most deserving, but Bates is an Oscar winner, EMMY-less veteran and David E. Kelly is behind her or even Hargitay, because she'll leaved the serie)
-John Slaterry
-Margo Martindale
Comedy:
-Steve Carrel
-Martha Plimpton
-Chris Colfer (If The Modern Family guys are cancelling each other)
-Sofia Vergara
Miniserie/Movie:
-Edgar Ramirez (Maybe Fishburne o Elba, but Ramirez really deserved this. Also: He's HOT)
-Kate Winslet (Need I say more?)
-Brian F. O'Byrne
-Maggie Smith
Klemen -- i'm assuming that the bad taste voters just stick with their entrenched favorites and the good taste voters keep switching up their ballots (since all shows rise and fall in quality) and thus it ends up that the bad taste choices are immobile and alwasy int he line up :)
Par -- considering that Mad Men never *wins* any acting prizes, i had no remote hope that kiernan shipka would be recognized. Its one of those wildly acclaimed shows that somehow never quite catches on for individula performers.
RJ -- good to know (about Britton). I hope the shows are good. She so deserves great material because when she gets it she knows what to do with it!
Anon -- i'd love it if you're right about Hamm (or even Hall -- who should not still be emmy-less after two great series back to back) but i've given up on Hamm ever winning for Mad Men despite bringing such an already iconic character to life. I'm thinking voters are not even thinking JON HAMM when they're thinking Mad Men but DON DRAPER which might be part of the problem.
I was happy with most of the nominees.
Let's go over every category:
LEAD ACTRESS DRAMA:
Kathy Bates has no business being here but it's the Emmys so David E. Kelley + Oscar winner = impossible to resist. The rest of the category is as expected. I ALWAYS expected Hargitay would be here, even more after she announced next year is her last at L&O:SVU so PEOPLE, 2012 WILL BE THE LAST WE HEAR OF MARISKA HARGITAY. Also, I wasn't surprised for Kyra's snub as I suspect she only held out this long because they haven't given her an Emmy. She won one, now it was time to boot her out. And they did.
The winner will be of course JULIANNA MARGULIES who is AMAZING - and easily the best female dramatic performer on TV right now. NATHANIEL, watch THE GOOD WIFE. It's a procedural and you will love it. I promise!
Fail: Katey Sagal. After the Globe win, I cannot let that go. It's just... awful.
LEAD ACTOR DRAMA:
Everything as expected. Hamm or Buscemi for the win. I'm so happy for TIMOTHY OLYMPHANT.
SUPPORTING ACTOR DRAMA:
Glad the brilliant ALAN CUMMING got his 2nd nom for THE GOOD WIFE being even more amazing this year. And I'm glad Josh Charles joined him. The rest of the category is also 100% worthy.
For the win... It's going to be neck-to-neck between Roger Sterling/Slattery and ELI GOLD/Cumming.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS DRAMA:
WHAT A BRILLIANT CATEGORY. No weak spots. For the win: I'm betting Panjabi will repeat but if Margo Martindale wins this it'll be SO sweet. And I'm saying these two are the frontrunners because NO EMMY submission will beat The Good Wife's 'Betrayal' episode and the finale of 'Justified'. WOW.
SERIES DRAMA:
I would be happier without the ever-so-boring BOARDWALK EMPIRE there (and even GAME OF THRONES) but I've got to say: it's finally SO good to see FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS nominated.
Fail: JUSTIFIED must've almost beat GAME OF THRONES for slot #6, right? With all the noms in the remaining categories... And Nathaniel... You SHOULD watch Justified too.
WRITING DRAMA:
No complaints here. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, Mad Men x2, The Killing pilot (duh), Game of Thrones (shouldn't count - anyone who has George R.R. Martin as a walkthrough has his work 110% more cut out for them). NO BOARDWALK EMPIRE. Hooray. Win: Mad Men, of course. 'THE SUITCASE' all the way.
DIRECTING DRAMA:
I was so shocked to see that Frank Darabont didn't even manage a nomination in this category!
The nominees: Mad Men (of course), Boardwalk Empire x2 (duh; Scorcese wins in a cakewalk), The Borgias (Neil Jordan... another duh) and The Killing (duh).
Kathy Bates has never won an Emmy after eight previous nominations, including some for her directorial work. At 63, on the loser network of the traditional majors (NBC), she has a hit show, I know it's shitty and lame but if your favorite Pfeiffer came to network TV, no matter how bad, you'd want her to see some success for the sake of having new found Hollywood value. Now it isn't entirely shocking she's been nominated here for a ninth, and very likely, she could pull off a victory the same night as her surrogate daughter Winslet.
Now Comedy...
COMEDY SERIES:
I can't get past the bias against 'Community' and 'Cougar Town' but that was to be expected. THE OFFICE nominated by way of Steve Carell coattails. 30 ROCK, PARKS&REC, MODERN FAMILY deserved. GLEE's immense popularity brings it another nom. And finally THE BIG BANG THEORY!!!
Nathaniel, it does have a laughtrack but it's the cleverest sitcom in TV. And my personal best after 'Cougar Town' and 'Parks&Rec' and I watch almost 15 comedies/year long.
LEAD ACTOR COMEDY:
Alec Baldwin is God, STEVE CARELL will finally win to wave goodbye, JIM PARSONS deserves it more but it's ok because he'll get to celebrate Johnny Galecki's nom! I still can't believe the Emmys saw deeper than usual and rewarded the awesome 'straight man in comedy' that Galecki is. Those never get credit (same as Wahlberg in 'The Fighter' as opposed to Bale's antics). And I was so happy that they got rid of Matt Morrison but displeased to see that THE ACADEMY REALLY REALLY LOVES JOEY TRIBBIANI.
I saw 'Episodes'. It was fun. But MATT LEBLANC was HORRIBLE. I WANT THOMAS JANE INSTEAD.
LEAD ACTRESS COMEDY:
Laura Linney all the way, baby! But if we're talking who deserves it more: AMY POEHLER RULES. More than TINA or MARTHA who are my #2 and #3 of the year respectively. AND WHY OH WHY THE EMMYS DON'T LIKE COURTENEY COX AS MUCH AS LEBLANC?!
SUPPORTING ACTRESS COMEDY:
Nathaniel, everyone and their mother know this one is going for BETTY WHITE. It's inevitable. It's like the world will end if she doesn't win this. That said, awesome category.
WIIG, like McCarthy, getting the nod because of the success that 'Bridesmaids' had. And that's ok.
But Aubrey Plaza and Busy Philipps and MERRITT WEVER kick her ass. Hers and everyone else's in this category except for the Modern ladies.
SUPPORTING ACTOR:
FOUR Modern Family actors? Get real. Only Burrell deserved the nom this year. Jon Cryer got the 'sorry for the Charlie Sheen scandal' nom, where is Neil P. Harris and especially WHERE IS NICK OFFERMAN?
Oh, that's right. Industry awards are not a part of Ron Swanson's pyramid of greatness. Ouch.
Plus: Peter Facinelli and Garrett Dillahunt are way more funny than Cryer and Tyler Ferguson will EVER be.
WRITING:
Can't get why COMMUNITY and PARKS&REC are missing from the list but the always mandatory Mindy Kalling-penned 'The Office' episode is in.
DIRECTING:
MODERN FAMILY x3? Ok, like that comedy is a fine example of directorial skills. I'm so hoping that HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER wins this one. That was one hell of a episode for a director to put his hands on.
As for mini-series...
I'm going to repeat myself again but Nathaniel how have you watched 'Downton Abbey' and missed 'Luther'? Idris Elba is so good! Glad to see both recognised.
And I'm hoping MAGGIE SMITH's epic bitchery wins, because it's probable than Winningham, Wood and Leo will cancel themselves out.
BRIAN F. O'BYRNE's nom is a decision I can back up. Guy Pearce's... not that much. But I get it.
Finally, just to finish... Guest Actor and Actress in Comedy are appropriate (albeit TOO MUCH GLEE - Chenoweth is amazing but another nom... for this season's appearance? Yikes.) but ALFRE WOODWARD (TRUE BLOOD) for 2 minutes worth of screen time? Are they nuts?
And we can't complain about MAD MEN... 19 nominations, including Best Drama, Writing, Directing plus 7 (!) nominations for its cast:
Jon Hamm (Best Actor)
Elizabeth Moss (Best Actress)
Christina Hendricks (Best Sup. Actress)
John Slattery (Best Sup. Actor)
Robert Morse (Best Guest Actor)
Cara Buono (Best Guest Actress) - played Faye
Randee Heller (Best Guest Actress) - played Miss Blankenship (bless her!)
Not bad, hein, for a show that never gets recognition for its individual performances?
And I can't understand the absence of SHAMELESS besides JOAN CUSACK.
Is it because it's an American spin on the British series? Do I need to remember everyone that The Office is the same thing?
But on the other hand... I'm glad they snubbed it, even if it goes to show Showtime that SHAMELESS is the most comedic series they had and yet they put it in drama. Idiots.
I desperately want Miss Blankenship to win!
Me too Peggy Sue! Blankenship (RIP) for the win!
"It's a business of sadists and masochist, and you know which one you are."
I'm pretty sure that no one mentioned the most important news of all: "Law and Order: Perverts" didn't get a SINGLE guest actor/actress nominee. I take a significant amount of pleasure in their utter failure to make one of their grotesque scenery-chewing bait roles stick.
Of course, this doesn't excuse the nominating committee's freakish obsession with Mariska Hargitay, but hey, I'll take what I can get!
Jorge -- i meant that nobody ever wins for acting on Mad Men even though it's the best acted show on television (save for maybe Modern Family where every single cast member (including the little kids is basically perfect.)
I know you meant winning, I wasn't poking at you :)
I was just happy for the show as a whole. It got less noms this year in Writing but it compensated with all these Acting noms.
Nathaniel, in other news: the trailer for THE ARTIST - 200% delightful, I think you're right, we've got ourselves a contender: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi729455897/
FNL deserves to finally be nominated, but I'm still bummed that The Killing didn't make the cut.
I'm stunned that Kiernan Shipka didn't make it...they really campaigned her pretty hard. She was doing interviews all over the place.
Jasper, I would have agreed with you two months ago. But "The Killing" became so awful by the end that I was glad to see it miss a Best Drama nomination. Mireille Enos just kinda made me shrug, but Michelle Forbes was painfully one-note. Seriously, did the woman change the expression on her face at all throughout the entire series? I actually thought that was one of the worst performances I saw all season.
Actually I think the Academy got it right about THE KILLING.
Michelle Forbes and Mireille Enos nominated, alongside a nom for Best Directing and Best Writing (the pilot). It's just lacking Joel Kinneman and/or Billy Campbell.
THE KILLING as the show itself didn't deserve the nomination more than the six nominees plus 'Justified'. It just didn't. And I'm glad they got it right.
I agree with you that Joel Kinnaman should have been nominated. He was by a million, billion miles the best part of the entire thing.
jorge -- somehow i had missed the knowing of billy campbell being in THE KILLING. damnit. now ill have to watch it.
Sorry, I hate to keep beating this dead horse, but Nat, you don't. You really, really don't. Not only is the show itself bad, but Campbell is an absolute black hole. We were supposed to see him as this appealing, charismatic figure whose competence and steadfastness make him the perfect choice for mayor. As portrayed by the actor, he is the opposite of all that. I'd vote for my paperboy before I voted for that character.
I'm with Liz, I also do not recommend the show, Nathaniel.
It's downright depressing, moody and a huge letdown. Like I said, I think the performances save it from being awfully bad.
I do think that if Jon Hamm does not win for "The Suitcase", he's never going to win. With Brayn Cranston being ineligible this year, it's Hamm's best chance to win, unless they throw a "We should have given this to you years ago" award to Hugh Laurie or Michael C Hall.
Nate, i think you might appreciate this: An oral history of the show, from sportswriter Bill Simmon's Grantland website.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6766070/clear-eyes-full-hearts-lose
And with a new quick reading of the lesser categories I've noticed something worth sharing:
CARTER BURWELL nominated for Best Music (Mildred Pierce). I'm glad there's at least an Academy that rewards his talent.
I may not watch a lot of these shows, but I always kind of like Emmy nominations and ceremonies for the ways that they're different from Oscars. Because the shows air for years, the nomination process is more like spots that open up when shows are cancelled or fade out, and cool people like Peter Dinklage and Margo Martindale get to fill them and then possibly keep them for year after year. The fact that they're the one and only awards show for TV means that nominations are more difficult to predict, and the winners sometimes seem almost random, which can be annoying, but also means that anyone can win, which means that all the Mad Men, FNL, P&R and Modern Family cast members have a decent shot. And snubs aren't as heartbreaking as with Oscars because people like Busy Philips and Nick Offerman can try again next year.
They aren't the Oscars, but they're all right.
Oh, and looking at the Variety, Comedy and Music category: Bette, Carrie, Gaga and Pee-Wee! That's my dream dinner party.
A few of my initial thoughts:
-WHAT DOES COURTENEY COX HAVE TO DO TO GET A FREAKING EMMY NOMINATION???!!! Grr.
-How in the world does Mariska Hargitay continue to get nominated?
-I agree about the Glee girls...Heather Morris would've been SUCH a good choice.
-I want Wiig to win Best Supporting Actress though...she's the best thing about SNL.
-Wow, I didn't even realize it was Neil Patrick Harris that got snubbed. Ouch. :(
-Kate Winslet will so win. And then go for broadway soon in hopes of a Tony.
-I want Evan Rachel Wood to win...simply because I'll never get over her Oscar snub. Lol. Ever.
If KATE WINSLET gets the Emmy (as she will), she's one play away of becoming an EGOT.
And more than that an EGOT I'd gladly admire. She has always been so regal and destined for greatness.
With all due respect to Mariska Hargitay how does the voting work for the Emmys? You fill the form once and it's used every year? I have only seen some random episodes of her show, but I'd rather reward Christopher Meloni's nipples and/or pecs.