Team Experience: Happy, annoyed, and thirsty Emmy reactions
Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 11:40AM 
What's your favourite season, Catherine?We've already heard from Team Experience on the Emmy omissions that most pained them. Now that we've all had the opportunity to sleep on it, here are three final questions about the nominations for the 71st annual Emmys which will be held on.
1. Which Emmy nomination was your favourite?
2. Which Emmy nomination most confused / annoyed you?
3. What category is so sexy it made you quiver under your bodice?
Enjoy their brief answers and provide your own after the jump, won'cha...
Which Emmy nomination was your favourite?
CHRIS FEIL: Sian Clifford for Fleabag. With most folks predicting the also sensational Olivia Colman, I feared that the show might be more of a critical fave than an Emmy to earn multiple slots in one category. But I'm thrilled that Emmy agrees that Clifford's hilarious crisis is an essential ingredient to the show and an ultimately moving one as well. The way she throws away her monumental, restorative line "The only person I'd run through an airport for is you"? Perfection.
ABE FRIED-TANZER: Kumail Nanjiani for The Twilight Zone. The comedian perfectly encapsulates the tone of this anthology reboot and his nomination serves as the best summary of its balance of creepiness and wonder...
DANCIN' DAN: Marin Hinkle has been largely underappreciated for her precise, hilarious work on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, so I'm especially glad her increased prominence in the show's second season landed her a nomination. She's just as good with Amy Sherman-Palldino's rat-a-tat dialogue as Rachel Brosnahan is, and no one on TV does understated befuddlement better.
BEN MILLER: I want to say Kristen Scott Thomas to promote my own writing, but my heart says Marin Hinkle being rewarded for her great work in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She has grown from a stepped-on matriarch to an assertive woman who is willing to change with the changing times. This is also in no small part due to her wonderfully mousey work in the recently-axed Speechless.
SPENCER COILE: It takes a lot for me to be truly excited by an actor’s performance - to feel as though no one else can play their role. Jodie Comer is simply revelatory as Villanelle in Killing Eve and I’m beyond thankful she’s getting everything she deserves for this season. Also, shout-out to Betty Gilpin for being recognized in a stellar (yet forgotten) season of GLOW.
MICHAEL CUSUMANO: Bojack Horseman for Outstanding Animated Program! No contest. For years Bojack has been in the discussion for best show on television, animated or not. It’s stylistically daring, mind-bendingly funny, an elaborate feat of world building, and as psychologically and emotionally rich as the best of Mad Men (seriously). And yet, not only has it never been mentioned in the Best Comedy category, where it absolutely deserves a slot, but it couldn’t even land a place in the animation category, which saw more urgency in nominating say, Season 28 of The Simpsons. Bojack finally broke its streak of snubs with a nomination for the stunning episode "Free Churro," which, in typically audacious fashion, takes place over the course of one real-time eulogy.
J.B.: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Best Writing for a Comedy Series. Season 2 of Fleabag was the single best thing I’ve seen on television since The Americans aired its final episode more than a year ago, and I watch a LOT of television. Sharp, witty, searching and hilarious, it is a profound meditation on love and loss, and an absolute gift of a show, in part because of its terrific cast and the tremendous performances they give, but primarily because the writing is just so good. So while I was beyond thrilled to see the show nominated in so many categories today, the real highlight for me is seeing Phoebe get the credit she deserves for writing something so singular, and so special.
Which Emmy nomination most annoyed or confused you?
CHRIS FEIL: Jessica Lange for American Horror Story: Apocalypse - Guest Actress in a Drama Series. We're still doing this, huh?
ABE FRIED-TANZER: Michael Kelly for House of Cards. Even he seemed bored with his performance and character arc in the show’s painful final season. At least Robin Wright got to take charge and command a few scenes, but there was nothing left for Doug to do and no reason for Kelly to take a slot from someone else.
DANCIN' DAN:I liked the final season of Game of Thrones more than most, but.... Alfie Allen? I mean, it was nice that Theon had a "redemptive" arc this season, but... REALLY?
NATHANIEL: A broken record from me, I know, but another nomination for Emilia Clarke for her inexpressive but impressively costumed and coiffed character in Game of Thrones.... and this time in lead so no less!?! When Toni Collette, Caitronia Balfe, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Suranne Jones, and Neicy Nash were all right there in dramas last season doing more within single scenes than Clarke manages in an entire season. ARGH.
BEN MILLER: Does anyone really feel that Kit Harrington gave one of the best performances of the year? He did not have any showy monologues or subtlety. It was all blunt edges and machismo. I wouldn't have had him in a top 10. Plenty of other options (ahem, Richard Madden) would have been better.
MICHAEL CUSUMANO: I’m all for taking every possible opportunity to give the president the finger but nominating Robert De Niro for struggling with his cue cards as Robert Mueller on SNL? What does that prove? Besides that Emmy can squander a guest actor slot that could go to a lower profile but infinitely more deserving candidate?
J.B.: There were, as always, a lot of headscratchers in this batch of nominations, but I’m going with Margaret Qualley for her cloying, uninspired performance as Ann Reinking on Fosse / Verdon, a show I was incredibly excited for and incredibly let down by generally. I’ve got no beef with Qualley—I liked her on The Leftovers and I really liked her in Novitiate, and she strikes me as a thoughtful, gifted actress with a bright future ahead of her (including some very exciting and high-profile projects coming up). But her turn as theater/dance legend Reinking really did not do it. I found it hollow, one-dimensional and contrived, and definitely not an adequate portrayal of a living icon. This spot should have gone to another living icon, Sally Field, for her underrated work in Maniac, or Eliza Scanlen for her far more interesting performance in Sharp Objects.
Which Emmy category made you thirstiest?
CHRIS FEIL: Guest Actor in A Drama Series simply because of Kumail's presence. His mad, passionate, fiery presence.
J.B.: Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. I get chills just LOOKING at this lineup. Six badass, immensely talented women who each gave powerful, dynamic and memorable performances on their respective shows this year, and any of whom would be a worthy winner. The Television Academy doesn’t usually get things this right, but damn, it’s nice when they do.
BEN MILLER: Give me the ladies of Lead Actress in a Comedy Series all day long. I have all shades of the spectrum. The young beauty (Brosnahan), the sexy art kid (Waller-Bridge), the quirky girl who is a monster in the sack while also smoking three packs a day (Lyonne), the repressed housewife (Applegate), the uptight hottie (Dreyfus), and the older boozing lady who is aging really well (O'Hara). Whatever your taste, this category has it for you.
SPENCER COILE: We’ve already seen a barrage of tweets about how Lead Actress in a Comedy Series is going to divide the gays and begin a new Gay Civil War. And for good reason! Not only are some of them overdue for their respective series (O’Hara and Waller-Bridge), even the perennial favorites (Brosnahan or Louis-Dreyfus) are undeniably fantastic. Choose your fighter, everyone, because they’re all winners.
NATHANIEL R: The sexiest category is DEFINITELY Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (even though I wish Sutton Foster or Rachel Bloom had finally made it in) but since that's been name-checked twice let's give one to the men. Thirst is thwarted in just about every male category by at least one or two people so in the end the winner can only obviously be Lead Actor in a Drama Series. You get inarguable eye candy (Kit Harrington in Game of Thrones... but why is he nominated for acting, again? Please to explain), two sensitive gorgeous family men who are feeling extra enough to also have perfect bodies (Milo Ventimiglia and Sterling K Brown, both reliably wonderful in This is Us), one proud fellow gay who will keep you smiling, crying, and laughing...sometimes all at once (Billy Porter in Pose ❤️), and some acceptable Odenkirk and Bateman (Better Call Saul, Ozark) on the side, if you're feeling vanilla.
Your turn, readers -- What'cha got?
Reader Comments (25)
Favorite - Succession for Best Drama. Not at all happy with what they did to Kendall at the end of the season (felt like lazy writing to allow things to continue to run in circles), but great show. Also very happy for Lyonne and Van Houten, because I just love those 2 actresses.
Confused - I'm with Chris Feil. As soon as I saw her name I had to take a second to process it. Really?
Thirstiest - As others are saying, Lead Actress Comedy. Of course. My honorable mentions would be Supporting Actor Drama for the GoT guys, and Actress Limited Series/Movie because whenever Niecy Nash is an option I've got to pause a minute and appreciate that she walks among us.
I was happy for the cast and crew of When They See Us.
Favourite - Catherine O'Hara
Annoyed - Robin Wright
Sexiest - Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Happy: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sian Clifford and Kristin Scott Thomas for Fleabag, Jodie Comer for slaying Killing Eve
Annoyed: Margaret Qualley over Aya Cash, considering the latter's far more moving, nuanced work in Fosse/Verdon, makes *zero* sense
Thirsty: Lead Actor in a Limited Series for Jharrel Jerome alone
Russian Doll was a comedy?
Happiest: Joey King in Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie. She was fantastic and completely deserves to be nominated alongside those stars. I'm also happy for Succession, Billy Porter, Michael McKean (who unforgivably missed last season), and all the Fleabag nods.
Annoyed: House of Cards has been terrible for years, and I have never understood the Michael Kelly love. (Robin Wright didn't need her nomination either.) What laziness.
Did anyone actually watch Jessica Lange’s episode of horror story? The season wasn’t great but her performance was outstanding!
MorganB--cosign. Jessica murderized it.
Ecstatic for her, Christina Applegate and Catherine O'Hara.
Give me the ladies of Lead Actress in a Comedy Series all day long. I have all shades of the spectrum. The young beauty (Brosnahan), the sexy art kid (Waller-Bridge), the quirky girl who is a monster in the sack while also smoking three packs a day (Lyonne), the repressed housewife (Applegate), the uptight hottie (Dreyfus), and the older boozing lady who is aging really well (O'Hara). Whatever your taste, this category has it for you.
But what if my taste goes beyond white women?
@Brevity
I mean personality of women, but catch what you are getting at.
Sarah Goldberg is GENIUS in BARRY! She gives the most hilarious and heartbreaking performance of a struggling actor I've ever seen, and I am beyond thrilled for her nomination.
I don't mind Lange's nomination here. I do find it interesting that this year, the Academy ruled that AHS had to compete in Drama and not Limited Series because it was a continuation of prior seasons, and she was the only performance nominated.
I was excited about Melisandre from GoT being nominated, and resd that she, Alfie Allen, and Gwendoline Christie all submitted themselves. Good for them!
I finished Dead To Me last night and Christina Applegate was astounding, but I wish Linda Cardellini, Ed Asner, and Valerie Mahaffey would have been nominated as well.
Totally agree with Nat’s take on Emilia Clarke. She is so wooden. My oak dining table can act better than she. My guests always gush over it. Emilia, not ever.
Totally disagree with the dis on Jessica Lange. She deserves the nomination.
Over-all, I’m satisfied with the Emmy nominations. A lot of good surprises.
Annoyed: I’m a GoT fan. Yes I even enjoyed the final season but there’s no way Clarke and Harrington deserve their nods over Richard Madden and Suranne Jones just to name two actors from two of my other favourite series of the year. There are others who deserve nods over those two as well. And I don’t even think they are as bad as others believe.
Happy: Jody Comer should win hands down without a doubt. I’m really happy for The Good Place and Ted Danson but
Thirsty: I really think D’Arcy Carden deserved a nod as well.
Nat - Totally forgot about The Deuce until you mentioned Maggie. Good lord, that got hosed, didn't it.
O'Hara and Schitt's Creek both more than earned those nominations. O'Hara's entire monologue upon returning to the motel in Season 5's "The Crowening" episode is a comedy masterclass and what dreams are made of.
She's been one of my favorite everythings since I was a little boy and stared agape at her in every scene in Beetlejuice.
She was perfect then, and she's even better now.
Schitt's Creek has managed to outdo just about every other show, comedy or drama, in how it gives its characters genuine life beats to play off, and to then pay off in beautiful (and hilarious) ways.
If it wins, which it won't, I can literally forgive the Emmys for just about everything else.
Sorry but I defend the nominations of Jessica Lange and especially Emilia Clarke who was the best performance in the last season of Game of Thrones.
Without knowing either actress well I assumed that Margaret Qualley had played Joan Simon. Eek. Same thing happened when I was young and watched Cocoon. Afterward I had just assumed Wilford Brimley was Don Ameche because Don’s performance didn’t register as impressive at all.
Happy - PW-B, Jodie Comer, Michelle Williams, Christina Applegate
Annoyed - no Andrew Scott and no Suranne FREAKING Jones
Thirsty - The ladies have landed
Also super happy about Catherine O’Hara and the Schitts’ Creek love
Favorite: Schitt's Creek, Russian Doll, two nominations for Sandra Oh and Fiona Shaw, Ser Brianne of Tarth!
Annoyed: SNL continues to dominate the Guest Actor category - what the heck is Robert De Niro doing there? He was horrible as Mueller. The zillions of nominations for Game of Thrones was a bit much - I love them to death but Lena Headley did nothing all season but stare out windows and Sophie Turner did nothing but roll her eyes at Dany. Kit Harrington may be pretty but he continues to act like he is smelling farts all day long.
Thirsty - Best Actress in a Comedy - anyone of those women could win and I would be happy (though I am certain JLD will win her seventh Emmy for Veep).
I will forever be mad that TITUS ANDROMEDON is not an Emmy winning role!
Jessica Lange's nomination was actually one of my favourites. Her performance was terrific and I've missed seeing her on a regular basis.
Fr - Agreed, and I'd add Rogelio de la Vega. Maybe the two best comedic tv performances by actors of the decade.
House of cards last few seasons were trash. I couldn’t believe they were still nominating this show last year, let alone this year. Michael Kelly taking a spot from any of the supporting actor performances on succession is infuriating. Love the bojack nomination but when are they just gonna scrap the whole best animated program shit and just do best animated series and announce it at the big show. Animated television has become a huge thing, I’d expect that to have just as much or even more interest in it then best sketch comedy series or best reality series. Watching Kroll accept for big mouth or Dan Harmon and Justin Rolland accept for Rick and morty would be a lot more fun than most winners.