Jmunney's Blog

In picking my biggest Emmy snubs, I am not just considering my own feelings, but the overall buzz surrounding a show or a performer.  I cannot reasonably expect Emmy voters to nominate someone just because I was the only one who thought that actor was great.  But if there’s enough buzz being buzzed by critics and industry insiders along with the buzz that we lowly non-professionals are buzzing, then I feel that voters surely ought to take notice.  Thus, these choices are not necessarily my top picks in these categories.  If my top choice had much less buzz than another worthy choice, then I am angrier with the Emmys regarding the latter.  And when talking about snubs, you have to talk about the actual nominee that you think should be replaced, so I have done that for all of my selections.

(If there’s another egregious snub that I didn’t list here, it’s probably because I don’t watch the show.  Chime in about any other snubs in the comments!)

1. Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black for Lead Actress, Drama – We have all talked enough about how mind-blowing Tatiana Maslany’s multi-character performance is.  She may be on a little-watched show on a little-watched network, but sometimes some performances are so good that they just cannot be ignored.  WHO SHOULD SHE REPLACE? All 7

2. David Lynch, Louie for Guest Actor, Comedy – Was he just too weird for the Emmys?  It’s not like he’s any weirder than the show he was on.  True, though, he was weird in a different way. WHO SHOULD HE REPLACE? Nathan Lane on Modern Family

3. Lily Rabe, American Horror Story: Asylum for Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie – In other AHS: Asylum news, I’m happy that Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson were nominated, but they should really switch categories.  But the best performance this season was provided by Lily Rabe as meek Sister Mary Eunice and the decidedly un-meek demon who possesses her, getting crazier than even how crazy Ryan Murphy could have imagined. WHO SHOULD SHE REPLACE? I can’t fairly say she was more deserving than the performances in this category I didn’t see, but there were only 5 nominees.  I don’t see why there couldn’t have been a 6th.

4. Joel McHale, Community for Lead Actor, Comedy – Despite a down year for Community, Joel McHale may have had his best season thus far. WHO SHOULD HE REPLACE? Matt LeBlanc for Episodes

5. Jake Johnson, New Girl for Lead or Supporting Actor, Comedy – It was The Year of Nick Miller, but somehow the Emmys abandoned New Girl completely. WHO SHOULD HE REPLACE? Since Jake entered in Lead, Don Cheadle, House of Lies (If he had entered in Supporting, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family)

6. Jane Levy, Suburgatory for Lead Actress, Comedy – Her lack of name recognition and her show’s inconsistency probably held her back, but there was nothing inconsistent about her ability to ground the cartoonish trappings of Suburgatory with comedically dramatic chops. WHO SHOULD SHE REPLACE? Actually, though I personally would put Levy ahead of them, all of the nominated ladies probably deserve it.  But there were 7 nominees here last year.  Why not this year?

7. Arrested Development for Best Comedy – I will concede that Arrested Development Season 4 was not as strong as its original run, but we’re not comparing it to itself, we’re comparing it to other shows on now. WHAT SHOULD IT REPLACE? Modern Family!  (But since that’s not going to happen, The Big Bang Theory.)

8. Will Arnett, Arrested Development for Supporting Actor, Comedy – I would personally prefer Michael Cera.  And David Cross and Tony Hale (who opted to only submit for Veep) were great, too.  Jeffrey Tambor isn’t bad either, though the George, Sr. storylines were the weakest links of Season 4.  The point is, if there is a show that actually deserves to dominate the Comedy acting categories the way Modern Family has, it’s Arrested Development.  And Will Arnett is probably the most popular choice to get that going. WHO SHOULD HE REPLACE? Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family

9. Monica Potter, Parenthood for Supporting Actress, Drama – Prognosticators were describing Monica Potter’s cancer arc as shameless Emmy bait, but done really well.  I personally would prefer Mae Whitman (because she’s Mae Whitman), but Potter did nail it. WHO SHOULD SHE REPLACE? I don’t watch most of the shows here, but from what I’ve heard, Christine Baranski hasn’t done all that much special lately on The Good Wife.

10. The Middle for Best Comedy – This is the sort of show that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. WHAT SHOULD IT REPLACE? Modern Family!  The Middle is the weirder, better ABC Wednesday night comedy.

11. Vincent Kartheiser, Mad Men for Supporting Actor, Drama – Pete Campbell has always been a slimeball, but Vincent Kartheiser clearly knows how to make him an interesting, even occasionally likable, slimeball. WHO SHOULD HE REPLACE? Actually, nobody.  Everyone in this field is great.  The supporting categories really need more like 10 slots, especially this one.

12. Walton Goggins, Justified for Supporting Actor, Drama – Justified needs more Emmy love.  Goggins might be the best option in that regard. WHO SHOULD HE REPLACE? See above.

EDIT: Here’s a bonus snub I forgot to include on the initial post:
13. Any song from Bob’s Burgers for Original Music and Lyrics – Bob’s Burgers is not a musical in name, but it is in spirit. WHAT SHOULD IT REPLACE? I didn’t watch the Tonys, Smash, or Nashville, so I don’t know how good those songs were, but I’m sure those from Bob’s were better.