It's Emmy time again, and tomorrow morning the nominations for the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced. Considering how late I'm posting this, most of you will read it after the announcements. In any case, you can see how different my tastes and the tastes of the Academy are (hint: very, very different). I'll have a post up later highlighting those differences, but for now this is who or what I would choose to nominate if I had any say in the matter.
I only chose nominations from shows I actually watch. I know Julianna Margulies is doing great work on The Good Wife, but since I don't watch that show, I feel like I can't weigh it against the shows I do watch. I also only picked from the nomination ballots (can be found here and here). I think Anna Gunn should be in Lead Actress for Breaking Bad, but she submitted under supporting, so that's where I put her. The names/shows that appear in italics are what I would pick to win out of the six nominated.
Lead Actor - Comedy
Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock
Louis C.K. - Louie
Zachary Levi - Chuck
Rob Lowe - Parks and Recreation
Joel McHale - Community
Adam Scott - Parks and Recreation
Unless something drastic happens with Louis' show, this may be the same pick every year. He manages to find the humanity in all the absurd situations that that character gets into. Levi had a nice swan song in Chuck's last season. He was able to carry the dramatic weight while still being funny. Adam Scott has made an art out of being a funny straight man, not an easy thing to do, and he still gets to fly off the handle every so often. Rob Lowe found new facets to his character as he went through depression, and true to his character, did it full force. Joel McHale and Alec Baldwin continue to do stellar work on very funny shows.
Lead Actor - Drama
Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad
Jon Hamm - Mad Men
Charlie Hunnam - Sons of Anarchy
Jason Isaacs - Awake
Damian Lewis - Homeland
Timothy Olyphant - Justified
I'm new to Breaking Bad, but now it makes complete sense why Bryan Cranston has won for every season of it. That man puts on a tour de force that I don't think can be matched, not even by the likes of the amazing Jon Hamm. Damian Lewis' time in the bunker in the finale of Homeland had me on the edge of my seat and not breathing for way too long. His work in the beginning of the season playing a shell shocked POW was great stuff, as well. Jason Isaacs managed to carry two separate worlds, where he went through a tremendous loss in both. Timothy Olyphant continues to excel at the laid back, but still prickly, U.S. Marshall. I may not be crazy about the story direction Sons of Anarchy has gone in, but Charlie Hunnam's performance has always been top notch, no matter what the material.
Lead Actress - Comedy
Courtney Cox - Cougar Town
Zooey Deschanel - New Girl
Lena Dunham - Girls
Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Jane Levy - Suburgatory
Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation
One has to look no further than when Leslie Knope teared up casting a ballot for herself to see why I pick her to win this ever year. Amy Poehler is a very funny woman, but it's her ability to make us feel so strongly for her character that propels her above the rest. Lena Dunham has somehow crafted an unlikable anti-hero type in a comedy that we still route for. Zooey Deschanel may be doing a variation on a theme she's done many times before, but she does it well, and when her character's over quirkiness was toned down, things settled into a nice rhythm. I submit to you Jane Levy dancing by herself to her favorite band. Still one of my favorite moments from the past season. Courtney Cox and Tina Fey anchor their respective shows with great work year after year.
Lead Actress - Drama
Claire Danes - Homeland
Jennifer Morrison - Once Upon a Time
Elisabeth Moss - Mad Men
Jessica Paré - Mad Men
Katey Sagal - Sons of Anarchy
Anna Torv - Fringe
This was a tough category. Many actresses that I would considered leads on their shows submit themselves as supporting. There are still some really great performances, but I shouldn't have to reach to find six. That being said, I think Claire Danes has this on lock down. Her performance as a bipolar CIA analyst was nothing short of spectacular. Jessica Paré really stepped it up becoming a strong presence on a show that already has a lot of strong presences. One of those being the great Elisabeth Moss. Anna Torv continues to ground us in the fantastic doings of the world of Fringe, and does it playing two characters. For Katey Sagal, see her aforementioned co-star Charlie Hunnam. I enjoy Jennifer Morrison's work on Once, but unfortunately, she fell under the heading of "I need a sixth nomination."
Supporting Actor - Comedy
Donald Glover - Community
Max Greenfield - New Girl
Rob McElhanny - It's Always Sunny in Phildelphia
Nick Offerman - Parks and Recreation
Chris Pratt - Parks and Recreation
Danny Pudi - Community
Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Donald Glover, and Danny Pudi. I would nominate these four men until the end of time if I could. Consistently the funniest parts of what I think are the two funniest shows on television, but in the end Ron Effing Swanson comes out on top. Max Greenfield's Schmidt was normally the highlight of any episode, an hilarious douchebag that you still liked. Overall, I wasn't as enamored with this season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but Fat Mac (Rob McElhanny) always made me laugh, even when he was just in the background looking tired.
Supporting Actor - Drama
Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones
Giancarlo Esposito - Breaking Bad
Walton Goggins - Justified
Mandy Patinkin - Homeland
Neal McDonough - Justified
Aaron Paul - Breaking Bad
Peter Dinklage gave an ever better performance than his Emmy winning one last year, but it's hard to eclipse the amazingness of Aaron Paul as Jess Pinkman. On the same show, there's the precise performance of Giancarlo Esposito as Albuquerque's reigning drug kingpin. Neal McDonough steps in to fill the shows of last years Emmy winner Margo Martidale, and does it with flying colors. The sheer creepiness of his performance was a sight to behold. Walton Goggin's Boyd Crowder is not one to be pushed aside, though. Mandy Patinkin is known for hamming it up, but here he gives a wonderful understated performance as Carrie's mentor. His road trip interrogation of a possible terrorist was wonderful to watch unfold.
Supporting Actress - Comedy
Allison Brie - Community
Allie Grant - Suburgatory
Zosia Mamet - Girls
Busy Philipps - Cougar Town
Aubrey Plaza - Parks and Recreation
Sofia Vergara - Modern Family
I love the way that Allison Brie seems to be game for anything they put Annie through. Her episode with Abed in the Dreamatorium was a trippy, yet effecting, episode. Aubrey Plaza excels at the deadpan, but this year April was slowly growing up and giving more layers to the character. Busy Philipps plays crazy, yet lovable, like no other. Allie Grant and Zosia Mamet find themselves doing much the same as Busy, I guess I may have a soft spot for those types of characters. Sofia Vergara is the only one I find consistently funny still on Modern Family (even Phil is just too stupid sometimes).
Supporting Actress - Drama
Lauren Graham - Parenthood
Anna Gunn - Breaking Bad
Lena Heady - Game of Thrones
Christina Hendricks - Mad Men
Kiernan Shipka - Mad Men
Maisie Williams - Game of Thrones
Christina Hendricks work in "The Other Woman" was a series high for her, and that's saying a lot considering all the great work she's already done. Keirnan Shipka and Maisie Williams continue to impress for such young thespians. They routinely outshine a lot of the older actors on their respective shows. Lena Heady fully embraced the horribleness of Cersei this year, and it made for a substantively better performance. In my opinion, Anna Gunn and Lauren Graham should be submitted as leads, but here they are losing to the stiff competition of the supporting category.
Comedy Series
Chuck
Community
Cougar Town
Girls
Louie
Parks and Recreation
As I said about Louis C.K. the actor, his show Louie will probably stay on top for the duration of the run. No comedy on television tackles the range of things that this show does, and almost always finds a humurous way to go about it. Girls came out of the gate strong will a show, like Louie, that forces us to think even when we're laughing at it. No two shows make me laugh more than Community and Parks and Recreation, and both turned in some of their best work this past year (Dan Harmon, you will be missed). There is no group of people I look forward to spending a half hour with every week more than the Cul de Sac crew of Cougar Town. Chuck was able to end on it own terms, and the last stretch of episodes was beautifully executed.
Drama Series
Awake
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Justified
Mad Men
I'm newly converted to Breaking Bad, so I will admit that may be coloring my choice some. It was hard to choose that over Mad Men, easily the two best shows on television right now. The tension whether Brody was a terrorist or not sustained great narrative momentum on Homeland. Two wonderful lead performances only the made everything better. Justified couldn't hit the highs of season 2, but still delivered a great season. Likewise for Game of Thrones. Awake was able to sustain two separate worlds, not an easy feat. They did more than that, though, they made me invested in both even when I knew one of them was most likely a dream.
I'm impressed you've made it to the end. Agree? Disagree? I imagine most people disagree.
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