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Thursday, July 8, 2010

Emmy Nominations are Here!

This is the year: the Emmys have finally, FINALLY sorta-kinda stepped out of their comfort zone and nominated some shows and actors whom they previously believed not to have existed. If you want to see the full list of nominees, go to the Emmy website and download it. I'll only be covering the comedy and drama prizes for now; hopefully later on I can go into directing, miniseries, made for TV movie, variety, reality and animated programs as well. Also, at the end of each reaction I included how many nominees I correctly predicted. So with that, here are your nominees:
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie
The Office
30 Rock
So the only real surprise here is the inclusion of Nurse Jackie, which many believed would only score in the Lead Actress category (spoiler alert: it did that too). I don't remember any of the early reviews, but I know that the back-half of the show's first season were really good. Maybe I'll find a way to check it out. But here's the crazy thing: none of these six shows is a traditional sitcom with a laugh track. In fact, Modern Family is the closest thing to a traditional sitcom in the bunch. Progress? The Emmys will probably find a way to halt it next year.... (5/6)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Matthew Morrison, Glee
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Steve Carrell, The Office
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Nothing incredibly surprising here. I'm just glad that they didn't nominate Charlie Sheen again. (6/6)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Lea Michele, Glee
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Now here's a shake-up: the Emmys actually noticed Parks and Recreation this year! With former Weekend Update anchors Poehler and Fey both nominated here, it is definitely one of the better categories this year. I'm sure the Louis-Dreyfus nomination is their way of saying goodbye to the now cancelled Old Christine, but I love Louis-Dreyfus and I'm glad she's back. And Falco has pulled off quite a feat, being one of only a few actors to have lead acting nominations for both comedy and drama (she was nominated for her work on The Sopranos several times). As for Courteney Cox-Arquette, maybe next year. (4/6)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Chris Colfer, Glee
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Could this category get any more impressive? The weakest link here is Cryer, last year's winner, but honestly he and Conchata Farrell are the saving graces of that show. The other five are incredibly good, and Colfer and Ferguson are surprising but deserving nominations. And here's a little tidbit, courtesy of Nathaniel R at the Film Experience Blog: three of these actors play gay characters, and some of these actors are out and play straight characters (suck it, Newsweek!). Any one of these actors deserves the win (with the exception of Cryer). (4/6)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jane Lynch, Glee
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
The only real surprise here is Taylor, though she is an Emmy favorite. I didn't watch the live stream of the announcements, but one of the announcers was Vergara, so I wonder how she reacted when she found out she was nominated? (5/6)
BEST GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Mike O'Malley, Glee
Neil Patrick Harris, Glee
Fred Willard, Modern Family
Eli Wallach, Nurse Jackie
Jon Hamm, 30 Rock
Will Arnett, 30 Rock
There's a lot of good guest spots here. Its nice to see O'Malley pick up a nomination, especially since I've seen him shilling for Time Warner Cable more than I saw him on Glee (he is better in the latter). I'm also glad to see that Eli Wallach still finds good work this late in his career. (-/-)
BEST GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives
Kristen Chenowith, Glee
Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live
Betty White, Saturday Night Live
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock
Jane Lynch, Two and a Half Men
A lot of these are double nominees, which suggest that they just voted for actresses with good momentum. I don't think I can really agree with Fey's nomination here; yes, she's a fantastic actress, but I was disappointed with her hosting gig on SNL this year. But then again, I don't vote for these things. (-/-)
BEST WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan; Glee, "Pilot"
Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd; Modern Family, "Pilot"
Greg Daniels and Mindy Kaling; The Office, "Niagara"
Matt Hubbard; 30 Rock, "Anna Howard Shaw Day"
Tina Fey and Kay Cannon; 30 Rock, "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter"
In other words, all of the buzzy comedies of the year. These are all very well-written shows, so I'm glad to see them here instead of something much less interesting. It's also nice to see this category have more variety, unlike last year when it was mostly 30 Rock scripts. (-/-)
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Breaking Bad
Dexter
The Good Wife
Lost
Mad Men
True Blood
The most shocking thing here is the inclusion of True Blood. Now, the Emmys may not be going all the way out of its comfort zone, since True Blood has no acting nominations, but it's a big step to be putting a supernatural fantasy show in the night's top drama prize (can we go back and retroactively nominate Buffy the Vampire Slayer now too?). Otherwise, it's all shows that had quality seasons and were expected to be nominated. Here's hoping Lost can pull off the win. (5/6)
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Hugh Laurie, House
Matthew Fox, Lost
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
And here's the breakout! Finally, Friday Night Lights has received a major Emmy nomination. Chandler's been worthy of this for years, and I'm glad he's finally been noticed. Speaking of finally nominated, its about time Fox received a nomination for playing Jack Shepard. He may not have always been a fan favorite, but he was one of my favorites, and he turned in his best work ever this past season as Jack accepted his fate. I know he's a longshot to when, but until then, I'll keep dreaming. Overall, it's a very strong category. (4/6)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Glenn Close, Damages
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
January Jones, Mad Men
Another breakout! FNL has two major nominations this year, as Britton too has finally been recognized for all her fine work. Apart from her, though, this category went mostly as expected, with old favorites filling it out. Fun fact: despite what you would think, this is Jones' first Emmy nomination. I know, I was surprised to learn that too. (5/6)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Terry O'Quinn, Lost
Michael Emerson, Lost
Martin Short, Damages
John Slattery, Mad Men
Andre Braughter, Men of a Certain Age
This category is more or less as many expected, with maybe the exception of Braughter (though I don't know why this is surprising: the Emmys love him). It's all excellent work, though I'm a little disappointed Lost's Nestor Carbonell wasn't nominated for his incredible work in "Ab Aeterno." (6/6)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sharon Gless, Burn Notice
Rose Byrne, Damages
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
So here's a stunner: for the first time in the show's entire run, Grey's Anatomy has failed to produce a single acting nominee, particularly since this category was home to perennial favorites Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson. In fact, the only returning nominee to this category this year is Byrne (Moss competed as a lead last year). Hendricks is also receiving her first Emmy nomination for Mad Men, and Panjabi and Gless are left-field shockers. Who knows how this one will go now. (3/6)
BEST GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Beau Bridges, The Closer
Ted Danson, Damages
John Lithgow, Dexter
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Dylan Baker, The Good Wife
Robert Morse, Mad Men
Gregory Itzin, 24
In its final season, it looks like the only major nomination 24 is going to receive is here, for Itzin. Fun fact: with Bridges nominated here and his brother, Oscar-winner Jeff, nominated for Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, we're only one Pfeiffer away from a Fabulous Baker Boys reunion. (-/-)
BEST GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Mary Kay Place, Big Love
Sissy Spacek, Big Love
Shirley Jones, The Cleaner
Lily Tomlin, Damages
Ann-Margret, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost
Finally, FINALLY they recognize how wonderful Mitchell was as Juliet on Lost (added note: please rescue her from V). But only as a guest actress. Poo. Still, this category is ripe with fabulous performances, though I'm surprised only one of them is from L&O: SVU, since that show is usually ripe with great guest actresses. (-/-)
BEST WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Rolin Jones; Friday Night Lights, "The Son"
Michelle King and Robert King; The Good Wife, "Pilot"
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse; Lost, "The End"
Robin Veith and Matthew Weiner; Mad Men, "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency"
Matthew Weiner and Erin Levy; Mad Men, "Shut the Door. Have a Seat."
Last year in this category, we were treated to four episodes of Mad Men plus Lost's "The Incident." This year, Mad Men and Lost return, but thankfully some variety has been added in the form of The Good Wife and Friday Night Lights. I'm a little surprised that Treme didn't pick up a nomination here; then again, the Emmys do routinely ignore David Simon dramas, but this is the one category where they usually get shout-outs. Oh well, maybe next year. (-/-)
I promise I'll put up some more later. Tell me what you think of the nominees.

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