Team Experience: Collective Emmy Ballot, Drama
Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 11:14AM Part 1 of 2... DRAMA!
Part 2 -- Comedy
Eleven members of our team* turned in full Emmy ballots. I've compiled the results for you here. This is a very limited pool versus the thousands from the Television Academy who will vote on the actual Emmys but I thought it might be interesting for readers who are invested in this 'new golden age' of television.
REMINDER: THESE ARE NOT PREDICTIONS
What follows is what we communally hope for when the nominations are announced. Voting on the nominations for the real Emmys ends this Friday, June 26th. The nominations will be announced on July 16th (what takes them so long to tally it?) and the ceremony happens on September 20th. It's a ridiculously wide spread of time -- nearly double the Oscar voting spread.
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
- The Americans (FX)
- Empire (FOX)
- Game of Thrones (HBO)
- The Leftovers (HBO)
- Mad Men (AMC)
- Masters of Sex (SHO)
- Orange is the New Black (NETFLIX)
Twenty-two different series received at least one vote but there were no votes at all for two Emmy regulars in this category (Downton Abbey & House of Cards). No series made every ballot though Mad Men and Masters of Sex were out front together in that regard. I forgot to hold a tiebreaker vote between The Leftovers and The Fall for the final slot so I made the choice myself, and erred on the side of way more ambition though The Fall was arguably more consistent. The nearest misses were The Affair and Agent Carter. The Agent Carter contingency surprised me even though I adore the show but then we're friendlier to non-prestige genre shows here (The Flash, Orphan Black and Daredevil also received votes). We shouldn't bring up the painful years of snubs for Battlestar Galactica and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, two of the finest shows TV ever produced. Neither of which could get arrested by Emmy voters in major categories. (sigh)
Acting Categories after the jump...
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
- Gillian Anderson - The Fall
- Hayley Atwell - Agent Carter
- Lizzy Caplan - Masters of Sex
- Viola Davis - How to Get Away With Murder
- Taraji P Henson - Empire
- Elisabeth Moss - Mad Men
Fourteen women received at least one vote in this category. In run-off voting Hayley Atwell, nailing her show's 1940's stylized tone of light adventure dramedy, surprisingly trounced Emmy winner Julianna Margulies for the final spot (though they started with the same amount of votes). Eva Green also had fans but rather shocking that Keri Russell wasn't truly in the mix given the strong support for her series in the Drama category.
Note: Penny Dreadful airs on Showtime in a very confusing cross eligibility period so apparently it is eligible only for its 1st season this time as its on the nomination ballot for main title design (which you can only be eligible for in your first season or have majorly redesigned your opening credits) and Helen McRory is only eligible for "guest" though she's in every episode of Season 2.
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
- Jamie Dornan - The Fall
- Jon Hamm - Mad Men
- Clive Owen - The Knick
- Matthew Rhys - The Americans
- Michael Sheen - Masters of Sex
- Justin Theroux - The Leftovers
This category had the closest voting, with nearly all of these nominees receiving the same total of votes, apart from Jon Hamm who was on nearly all of the ballots. Dominic West from the Affair was the extra seventh wheel who had to go during tiebreaker voting.
Please Note: There were also a few votes for Hannibal's lead actors but they had to be reallocated since due to its slightly longer than a year gap in scheduling between Seasons 2 and 3 (it was just cancelled) it skipped this year of eligibility. It will be eligible at next year's Emmys for this final third season, though. Of course by then it will be a distant memory.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
- Carrie Coon - The Leftovers
- Ann Dowd - The Leftovers
- Christina Hendricks - Mad Men
- January Jones - Mad Men
- Yael Stone - Orange is the New Black
- Lorraine Toussaint - Orange is the New Black
Nineteen women received votes in this category, with Mad Men, The Leftovers, and Orange is the New Black hogging the entire category in actual Team Experience nominations. It'll be interesting to see if any one or two shows dominate at the Emmy race in this category since there are so many dramas with lots of good female roles on television at the moment. Udo Azuba, "Crazy Eyes" from Orange, was the seventh competitor who lost out in the tiebreaking votes. Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), and Annaleigh Ashford (Masters of Sex) had to settle for runner up status in our polling.
Please Note: A couple of people wanted to vote for Gwendolyn Christie or Keirnan Shipka but neither are eligible at the Emmys in this category -- Christie was not submitted and Shipka is placed in Guest for some reason (even though I think she's in more than 50% of the episodes which you'd think would disqualify her given the new rules).
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
- Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones
- Christopher Eccleston - The Leftovers
- Noah Emmerich - The Americans
- Vincent Kartheiser - Mad Men
- Teddy Sears - Masters of Sex
- John Slattery - Mad Men
- Jussee Smollett - Empire
Beyond Slattery, Smollett, and Dinklage (easily the leaders) there was virtually no consensus in this category (does that mean it's weak or strong? you decide in the comments) with an incredible 30 men receiving votes, and usually just one vote at that. People couldn't even agree who was best within each series. So these nominees come from the slimmest of margins and we had to go into tie breaking voting which still only narrowed it down to seven leaving Matt Czuchry as the extra man out. But he has received some media attention this year so maybe he'll finally swing his first Emmy nod for The Good Wife?
I was so very pleased to see support for Teddy Sears who I think has done great befuddled, sexy, sly, work on both seasons of Masters of Sex and he's had quite a character arc, too. But it's the kind of performance that's easy to overlook because a) he's a hunk b) he makes it look effortless and c) his work is in the context of his romances with women and romantic drama, as we see at the Oscars and at the Emmys, is much more nomination fruitful for women than men.
I hope this was fun for you to ponder. Or perhaps it made you angry? What surprised you most about these outcomes? Are you enraged that The Good Wife missed in all categories despite some love in all the categories it was eligible for?
You can see our full individual ballots here if you're interested!
Also: Our "About" page is finally complete so you can put faces and identities to posts if you're curious about Team Experience. You'll be most familiar with the "weekly contributors" but beyond that is all the people you read from time to time whenever we do these special projects or themes or top tens or years of the month or who hop in and out.
Reader Comments (34)
Kiernan Shipka only appeared in 3 episodes meaning she is eligible for guest. Shipka just makes her presence none so it may seem she appeared in more then 3 episodes but she is competing in guest. Love the lists with many of the people who mentioned making my personal lists. If only the emmys could follow you and repeat less I would be happy but sadly emmys never go for anything new outside one of two different people.
HOW COULD WE MANAGE TO SNUB BOTH KERI RUSSELL AND TATIANA MASLANY IN OUR OWN DANG AWARDS?? How will we ever teach the Emmy's good behavior if we don't lead by example? I am very disappointed in us.
I’m not surprised about The Good Wife’s lack of love – it’s been a weak year after it’s top-tier fifth season. The Masters of Sex love in Drama is slightly baffling, but that’s just me. The performances (especially Caplan’s) were wonderful, but, boy, was this season a mess, albeit with several really wonderful bright spots (the bottle episode, Annaleigh Ashford’s storyline before she fell to the sidelines).
One of the nice things about this list is that it reflects which actors had strong seasons where they might not have before. Emmy has such a problem with this, not just consistently picking the same favourites over and over, but refusing to allow that a show’s MVP might change from season-to-season. Obviously, that’s not set in stone and there are exceptions, but it feels like there’s a blindness to voters about what performers like Vincent Kartheiser, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Alison Wright and Matt Czuchry have brought to their respective shows in later seasons that perhaps wasn’t as obvious at the outset.
I really love the expanded TV coverage by the way :-)
Ouch. Only 3 votes for Maslaney? Tough crowd.
Glad to see Hendricks, Jones and Touissant here (haven't seen The Leftovers so can't speak to those two).
And I'm just starting to make my way through Empire and while I am totally feeling the love for Henson and finally get what all the fuss is about, I'm surprised to see Smollett here. He's perfectly fine (and adorable) but so far I haven't seen him do (or be given) anything extraordinary. I assume he has more to do later in the season?
Supp. Actress is a dream! If only The Emmys have that vision.
Thank you Joe Reid, for not making me be alone in my love of The Flash, which had a perfectly entertaining first season, ably anchored by Grant Gustin and Tom Cavanaugh's great work.
For what it's worth, I couldn't figure out what the hell season of Penny Dreadful I was supposed to be considering, and had I realized, the show's first season would have garnered noms (from me) for Series (replacing Game of Thrones) and Actress (replacing either Atwell or Marguiles).
I share Margaret's frustration that we couldn't nominate Keri Russell for her continually stunning work on The Americans. And also that more people couldn't find a spot for Empire's Terence Howard on their ballot - he was the one part of that show that managed to remain standing after Typhoon Taraji stormed out of scenes.
ALSO: I am disappointed, but not surprised, that Caitlin FitzGerald got so little love for her performance on Masters of Sex. Her arc this season was slightly frustrating, but man was she great in it!
I was going to complain about the lack of support for the women of The Americans, but then I made it to the end and saw Vincent Kartheiser's nomination. All is forgiven!
But...can these just be the actual nominees?
Agree with Margaret. I would have swapped out Anderson and Atwell for Maslany and Russell. Esp now that Agent Carter is getting a season 2 (yay!).
I heard on another podcast the notion of adding an Emmy category called "Best New Series"? What do you guys think of that? It might give attention to a very worthy show (OITNB would have had my vote for Season 1) and help it survive. If you had to choose a new show that aired in the period of Emmy eligibility for this year, what would you pick?
Team Flash. Team Grant Gustin.
"Kiernan Shipka only appeared in 3 episodes meaning she is eligible for guest." Still pretty sly given the fact that the final season only has 7 episodes, but I'll take it. An Emmy nom might be a nice consolation prize if we're not getting that Sally Draper spinoff.
Margulies not Marguiles.
don't get the love for dornan's performance. it serves its purpose, but... yeah.
also no women from "the americans"?
Mixed feelings about that Best Actress ballot. All of those choices are solid, certainly nothing embarrassing, but leaving out the 3 very best (Russell, Maslaney, and Green) leaves a bitter taste.
TPKIA -- rigth? haha. I was looking them over and even though i was a bit upset about a couple of things.... it's SO MUCH BETTER than what Emmy will come up with.
also i don't really get Noah Emmerich in The Ameriucans. I'm not really caught up but the performance at this point feels a bit... underwhelming. Good, certainly, but a nominee?
JOE & DENNY -- i also think The Flash is far far better than it has any right to be (and the best that team has ever come up with) -- and a really good example of showrunning in that it seems to understand the length of its season and how much should be in there and when the twists should come and so on -- but I still think it's short of "great"... it feels a little hemmed in by CW casting to me. There's a certain blankness in the beauty of 80% of actors in CW series. Like they're casting from headshots or something. The faces/performances aren't memorable enough for me.
Supporting actress is anyone's wet dream (also Teddy Sears).
I am absolutely enraged that The Good Wife missed in all categories and I blame you of fixing the ballots!!!*
*That's an internal joke for goodwife fanatics.
Nat, how far into The Americans are you? If you haven't finished Season 1, you'l see soon that Noah Emmerich has some of his best material in the back half of the season and nails it. He's also terrific in Season 2 in one of the show's most fascinating sotrylines. As for here, were there any votes for Holly Taylor in The Americans? The last few episodes of the season give her some of the show's best material (I really hope you get there).
I didn't vote because I don't watch enough TV (especially comedy), but I too am sad that none of the women from "The Americans" made the cut, especially Keri Russell. Glad Matthew Rhys got in for the men. Interestingly, I remember thinking Rhys outshone Russell in the first season of "The Americans" (she was good, he was spectacular) but since then she's really stepped up her game and is now equally spectacular. I'd certainly have picked her over Hayley Atwell, even though I enjoyed the latter as Agent Carter.
As for Noah Emmerich - it's a solid performance, though it does tend to get a bit overshadowed by his co-stars...though some of that might be owing more to how his character is written.
I don't watch nearly enough TV to contribute meaningfully to the discussion, but I will say that I'm digging the Empire love. It may not be "best" in the purest sense of the word, but it's certainly one of the most entertaining programs currently on the tube. Bonus points for including Jussie "Makes My Heart Skip Multiple Beats" Smollett.
Good god, why is there no The Good Wife? Even for my dear Christine Baranski.
Homelanh receives no love at all, please consider Mandy Patinkin guys.
The lack of Lena Headey is also a catalyst for SHAME. Ding. Ding. Ding!
first season, second season, hell, any season - eva green deserves every damn award there is for her work on penny dreadful.
also wish we had found room for lena headey. GoT's total MVP this season. and a little confused about dinklage making it in. he's always good but this season he had almost nothing to do. if it was last season (especially that courtroom scene), i definitely would've nominated him.
Shout out to Margaret - the other Justified lover on Team Experience
Wow, it's amazing that I watched so many series this season (26 in total) and I still seem to be missing out on some great stuff (Empire, The Leftovers, HTGAWM, Masters of Sex, Agent Carter, The Fall, The Knick).
WOW. Lead actress missing not just one but all of Russel, Maslany and Green! Awful. If Emmy gets even one of those women in, they'll have picked better than thefilmexperience did.
I didn't start to realize how strong Noah was until season 3 but regardless he is miles and miles better than Smollet who is pretty bland IMO.
Also don't get the fuss about Smollett, who to me is delivering very cliche dialogue and obvious storylines in an unsurprising way. To me, that show is just Taraji doing something incredible with the dialogue and scenes (or maybe writing her own) and the rest just mostly there. Smollett probably won a few votes with his very inspiring performance of the heart beat song (I forget exactly).
The good news is I am convincing myself more and more Hamm will win this year!
Robin Lord Taylor's Penguin from Gotham deserves consideration. My favorite supporting performance.
Margaret chose best for best drama and best actress and best supporting actor. Mathew chose best for best actor. Joe best in supporting actress.
Rosa (OITNB) didn't get any votes?
Maura Tierney and Joshua Jackson in The Affair for Supporting, hello!
anonny -- i get no "bests" come on ;)
Marsha -- i am trying not to get there (for fear of disappointment) but I NO. I CAN'T LET MYSELF BELIEVE IT
richter scale -- i feel a little bad about no Americans on my ballot but I'm just too far behind. I'm about to finish Season 1. So i didn't feel I could vote for it in good conscious. But from what I've seen it's pretty great. And I love Rhys & the supporting actress Russian girl (in season 1) most. so if i were voting on that season they'd both be on my list. FX really did themselves no favors with that show making it kind of hard to see and in this era where word of mouth tends to lead to binge viewing and catching up, i think they shot themselves in the foot by its limited availability.
Good choices, but I die inside a little everytime I see Maslany left off one of these things.
Is it just because no-one watches Orphan Black? I have a hard time believing there'd be many people who watch the show and still leave her off their ballot.
Broooke -- i would have definitely voted for her for season 1 but i abandoned the show... i think because i didn't find the show even remotely on her level. (so my response is: this is probably true ;)