Jmunney's Blog

The Emmy nominations will be announced on July 10, with the ceremony then taking place on August 25.  I am going to be running through my wish lists in most of the major categories, as well as offering predictions of the likely actual nominees.

As I mentioned in the Comedy portion of my Emmy preview, in years past, I have considered animated sitcoms alongside their live-action counterparts, but this year I decided to consider them separately, because there really are enough fundamental differences between the two mediums.  But the Emmy categorization isn’t really conducive to honoring animated shows in the same way that live-action shows are.  The nominees in Outstanding Animated Program are for single episodes, as opposed to the series as a whole.  But for the purposes of this wishlist, I am imagining what nominees would be deserving if the category were Outstanding Animated Series instead of Program:

Among the animated series I watched regularly in 2013-14, Rick and Morty set a hefty standard for itself in Season 1; Bob’s Burgers continued to be one of the most satisfyingly optimistic shows on television; Archer was mostly successful with its season-long Archer: Vice storyline; American Dad! remained a shining beacon of absurd experimentalism; and Futurama delighted hearts and minds with its second final season.

The Emmy nominations will be announced on July 10, with the ceremony then taking place on August 25.  I am going to be running through my wish lists in most of the major categories, as well as offering predictions of the likely actual nominees.

Normally I would not make predictions or wishlists about the TV Movie/Miniseries categories, but then I watched Fargo and I decided I would cover this field because I loved Fargo so much.  But then I realized that I watched hardly any other miniseries, and the only TV movie I watched was probably Sharknado.  So instead of a full wishlist, I’m just going to run through all the actors from Fargo I’d like to see nominated:

The You Betcha’s:
-Allison Tolman
-Martin Freeman
-Billy Bob Thornton
-Bob Odenkirik

The Almost You Betcha’s:
-Keith Carradine
-Colin Hanks
-Keegan-Michael Key/Jordan Peele

I am not going to bother with predictions too much, because there are a number of contenders here that I am not familiar enough with, so I’ll just predict who’s likely to be nominated from Fargo and the one other miniseries I watched this season: American Horror Story: Coven, which wasn’t very good, though the acting was fine-to-great.  (As for TV movies, The Normal Heart will probably have a strong showing.)

Probable Nominees From Fargo:
-Billy Bob Thornton
-Allison Tolman
-Martin Freeman
Probable Nominees From American Horror Story: Coven:
-Jessica Lange
-Sarah Paulson

Possible Nominees From Fargo:
-Bob Odenkirk
-Colin Hanks
-Keith Carradine
-Oliver Platt
Possible Nominees From American Horror Story: Coven:
-Kathy Bates
-Angela Bassett
-Frances Conroy

The Emmy nominations will be announced on July 10, with the ceremony then taking place on August 25.  I am going to be running through my wish lists in most of the major categories, as well as offering predictions of the likely actual nominees.

When making my wish lists, I do not confine myself to the categories that shows and performers were actually submitted in.  If a show submits as a comedy but should have submitted as a drama, then I will consider it as a drama.  Or if an actor submitted as a lead but really should have submitted as supporting (like Rob Lowe every year for Parks and Recreation), or vice versa, then I consider them in the more appropriate category.  If there is some wiggle room for what the appropriate category is, then I will probably go by the actual ballot.  Although, there still remains difficulty with recurring cast members who do not appear in every episode, who may appear enough to be considered Supporting, but may also appear infrequently enough to be considered Guest.  Also, if there are certain performers who declined to submit, I may still consider them.

My selections are mentioned roughly in order of how deserving I believe them to be, starting with who I believe deserves to win.  I will try to limit myself to the typical Emmy number of six nominees per category, though I may find it necessary to go beyond that figure in a few fields.

If there are any particularly acclaimed shows missing from my choices, then there is a good chance I do not watch those shows and cannot fairly comment on their worthiness.

Drama Series
Wishlist
I love dreams; Hannibal is a dream, in all the best senses of that word.  Mad Men was never overly concerned about making you go, “OHMYGOD I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HOW THIS ALL ENDS!”  But that’s what it did in the first half of its final batch of new episodes.  Originally, I thought I might insist that True Detective should be considered a Miniseries, but then I remembered that I kind of used to think that American Horror Story should compete as a drama; so yeah, 8 episodes of mystical, character-based mystery is plenty dramatic.  Masters of Sex was masterful not just about sex but also about the human interactions within and around sex.  Arrow might just be the best (live-action) show based on a superhero comic book of all time.  Orphan Black may have gotten a little too insane for its own good during parts of Season 2, but too much insanity is the right sort of problem for a potent blend of character-based sci-fi to have.

Predictions
–Breaking Bad
–Game of Thrones
–The Good Wife
–House of Cards
–Mad Men
–True Detective

Lead Actor
Wishlist
Hugh Dancy (Hannibal) pulls off perhaps the emotionally trickiest role on television, constantly flitting between good and evil, loyal and betraying, puppeteer and puppet, and any other sort of duality.  Meanwhile, Mads Mikkelsen, Hannibal himself, constantly plays one role: the master manipulator, but it is a role in which he constantly fools us into admiring him much more than seems appropriate.  Matthew McConaughey (True Detective) touched darkness, and it brought light to all our days.  Jon Hamm (Mad Men) continues to give one of those performances in which it seems he must be playing himself, even though he definitely isn’t.  Woody Harrelson had to react a lot on True Detective, but when he was active, he was excruciatingly enthralling.  Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex) doesn’t want you to like Dr. William Masters; he wants you to understand him.

Predictions
-Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
-Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
-Jon Hamm, Mad Men
-Woody Harrelson, True Detective
-Matthew McConaughey, True Detective
-Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Lead Actress
Wishlist
To this day, when Tatiana Maslany is interviewed for an “Inside Look” that airs during a commercial break of Orphan Black, I think, “Why didn’t they interview the other actress in this scene?” and then I realize, “Oh right, Tatiana’s playing both characters here.”  Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex) knows how to play the woman that everybody falls in love with and still come off as a real person.  Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) got to play Peggy Olson at her pettiest, but also during her small victories – she was captivating the whole time.  Accurate or not, Diane Kruger (The Bridge) gave one of the chilliest, but also most fascinating, performances of a character on the autism spectrum.  I’m not as enamored of The Americans as many of fellow critics are, but it’s not because of any lack on the part of Keri Russell.

Predictions
-Claire Danes, Homeland
-Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
-Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
-Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
-Kerry Washington, Scandal
-Robin Wright, House of Cards

Supporting Actor
Wishlist
Jordan Gavaris (Orphan Black) is currently the best comic relief on a drama – which is quite a feat considering his show is already plenty funny.  Jeff Perry is something close to comic relief on Scandal – he’s easily the most consistently funny character on the most overwrought show on TV, but he’s also so goddamned serious, making him also the most emotionally resonant.  I forget if Thomas M. Wright ended up being a villain on The Bridge or not – that’s a compliment to him (though not necessarily to his show).  Max Burkholder (Parenthood) has great chemistry with Ray Romano, and he’s also strong at playing isolated.  John Slattery (Mad Men) just keeps showing up to work and becoming Roger Sterling, no big deal.  Kristian Bruun (Orphan Black) still plays Donnie Hendrix like an idiot, but now, a badass idiot.

Predictions
-Josh Charles, The Good Wife
-Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
-Dean Norris, Breaking Bad
-Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
-Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
-Jeffrey Wright, Boardwalk Empire

Supporting Actress
Wishlist
Emily Bett Rickards is the perfect leavening force on a show like Arrow; if the award goes to the performer who makes the show so much better than it would be otherwise, then she ought to be the winner.  Is Scandal secretly the story of Mellie’s redemption?  Because that’s how Bellamy Young seems to be playing it.  Here’s the area of my ballot where the lines between Supporting and Guest are blurry: as I considered the ladies of Masters of Sex, I thought, “Surely, Lillian appeared in enough episodes to be considered a Supporting role.”  Well, she was in 7 out of 12 episodes, and the fact that it seemed like more speaks to the power of Julianne Nicholson.  Michelle Monaghan (True Detective) has a knack for elevating roles that could otherwise have been just “the wife” or “the girlfriend.”  Skyler Wexler (Orphan Black) knows how to summon the naturalism of childhood better than anyone else her age currently on TV.  Weirdly enough, Joelle Carter did some of her most memorable work in one of Justified‘s weakest storylines.

Predictions
-Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
-Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
-Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
-Michelle Monaghan, True Detective
-Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
-Bellamy Young, Scandal

Guest Actor
Wishlist
Raúl Esparza (Hannibal) got shot in the face.  Michael Pitt (Hannibal) ripped off his own face.  Jeremy Davies (Hannibal) was into live human horse births.  Eddie Izzard (Hannibal) remained creeping around the edges.  Appearing in 9 out of 12 episodes, Beau Bridges (Masters of Sex) was dangerously close to being Supporting, but he had the vibe of a Guest – either way, he was poignantly awesome.  Ray Romano was the stealth MVP of Parenthood Season 5; he was really Supporting, but I ran out of room there and needed to fill this category out.

Guest Actress
Wishlist
Allison Janney was absolutely heartbreaking on Masters of Sex.  I never expected Freddie Lounds to really be sympathetic, but Lara Jean Chorostecki (Hannibal) pulled it off.  Anna Chlumsky (Hannibal) really got into the headspace of the effects of years of mind warping.  Katharine Isabelle was the perfect encapsulation of what sexy means on a show like Hannibal.  Ann Dowd (Masters of Sex) was awfully sympathetic, what with the lack of filial affection she was receiving.  The final spot here ultimately came down to two women on a plane: there’s Neve Campbell, the woman Don Draper didn’t have an affair with, but then there’s Gillian Anderson, the woman that Hannibal Lecter is about to do something with.

The Emmy nominations will be announced on July 10, with the ceremony then taking place on August 25.  I am going to be running through my wish lists in most of the major categories, as well as offering predictions of the likely actual nominees.

When making my wish lists, I do not confine myself to the categories that shows and performers were actually submitted in.  If a show submits as a comedy but should have submitted as a drama, then I will consider it as a drama.  Or if an actor submitted as a lead but really should have submitted as supporting (like Rob Lowe every year for Parks and Recreation), or vice versa, then I consider them in the more appropriate category.  If there is some wiggle room for what the appropriate category is, then I will probably go by the actual ballot.  Although, there still remains difficulty with recurring cast members who do not appear in every episode, who may appear enough to be considered Supporting, but may also appear infrequently enough to be considered Guest.  Also, if there are certain performers who declined to submit, I may still consider them.

My selections are mentioned roughly in order of how deserving I believe them to be, starting with who I believe deserves to win.  I will try to limit myself to the typical Emmy number of six nominees per category, though I may find it necessary to go beyond that figure in a few fields.

If there are any particularly acclaimed shows missing from my choices, then there is a good chance I do not watch those shows and cannot fairly comment on their worthiness.

Comedy Series
Wishlist
Review presented an ingenious concept geared towards a perfectly suited lead performance, resulting in one of the best comedy debut seasons of all time.  Louie had perhaps its least comedic season yet, but it had a whimsical touch in its formal daring, wringing laughter out of existentialism.  Community got back to its roots while continuing to demonstrate that it is so far removed from anything else on the pop culture landscape.  With so many shows aiming to be “authentic,” Broad City actually managed authenticity by being goofy and direct.  The Neighbors broke out of its inauspicious roots to become one of the most satisfyingly unlikely fourth-wall-breaking shows of all time.  I struggled with the final slot.  I could have gone with Veep, a show I admit is good, but one I have only seen a couple of episodes of, since it is just not for me, so I can’t fairly judge it.  A number of animated sitcoms could easily make it in on merit, and in the past, I have considered cartoons with live-action, but this year I have decided that there is enough of a difference between the mediums to consider the likes of Rick and Morty and Bob’s Burgers separately.  The Middle, ABC’s little show that could, also made a case for itself, but it wasn’t its strongest season.  Ultimately I went with Silicon Valley, Mike Judge’s heartwarming blend of satire, awkward comedy, and raunch.

Predictions
–The Big Bang Theory
–Girls
–Louie
–Modern Family
–Orange Is the New Black
–Veep

Lead Actor
Wishlist
Andy Daly (Review) burrowed deep into the soul of Forrest MacNeil to create a man who is so lovable because of how open he is to any experience but also a little scary for the same reason.  In getting into an even darker period of Jeff Winger’s life, Joel McHale (Community) continued to deliver some of the best dramatic work on any sitcom.  He also had time to show off his stand-up skills in an insane context that only Community can provide.  Louis C.K. (Louie) continued to be Louis C.K.  Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley) had a whole lot of weird affectations and wonderful nervous energy.  Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) was actually given multiple opportunities to portray the growth of Sheldon Cooper.  And, finally, I would pull for a co-nomination for the most important sketch comedians of the moment, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele (Key & Peele).

Predictions
-Louis C.K., Louie
-Don Cheadle, House of Lies
-Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
-William H. Macy, Shameless
-Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
-Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Lead Actress
Wishlist
Ilana Glazer is lovely and amazing on Broad City.  I’ve only seen a couple of episodes of Veep, but that’s enough to know that Julia Louis-Dreyfus deserves all the praise heaped upon her.  Suburgatory has always been a show that has struggled to have a consistent tone (often purposely so), and Season 3 was its least assured, but Jane Levy did her best to keep everything grounded.  Abbi Jacobson has the less showy role on Broad City, but it’s also the trickier one, and arguably the more difficult one.  Amy Schumer goes Inside herself to make the most pointed comedy of the moment.  My last choice was a battle of leading ladies whose shows have had better seasons.  I considered Amy Poehler (I mean, how could I not, she’s Amy Poehler), but her performance lately has put too much faith in weaker material.  Meanwhile, Season 3 of New Girl was kind of all over the place, but in a way that oddly helped Zooey Deschanel, as it forced her to play to a wider than usual range of styles.

Predictions
-Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
-Lena Dunham, Girls
-Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
-Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
-Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
-Taylor Schilling, Orange Is the New Black

Supporting Actor
Wishlist
The top of this field is a dead heat between two men marked by abnormal social interactions, one old reliable and one new and exciting.  Every year that Community has been on, I’ve been pulling for Danny Pudi, and amazingly, he is still showing new nuances to his performance, particularly this year as Abed adjusted to a new normal in Troy’s absence.  The late Christopher Evan Welch (Silicon Valley) was bewildering, and riveting, going on about sesame seeds and cicadas.  Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) was deader than deadpan.  Jim Rash (Community) rapped in a peanut costume.  Ian Patrick (The Neighbors) is wise and alien beyond his years.  Also on The Neighbors, Simon Templeman may, as an alien named Larry Bird, have been giving the most meaningful performance of the modern male in crisis.  Here is a category in which I have to go beyond the prescribed 6 slots.  Albert Tsai (Trophy Wife) was the personification of delight as BERT!  I could very easily have gotten to 10 spots here, as I considered Timothy Simons, whose go-for-broke style is impressive no matter how cynical Veep is or isn’t, as well as Zach Woods (Silicon Valley), who proved that awkward comedy still has unexplored, endearing territory.  Ultimately, I stopped myself at 8 and gave my last spot to Parker Young, who perfectly embodied the unique mix of silly and sincere on Enlisted.

Predictions
-Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
-Ty Burrell, Modern Family
-Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
-Tony Hale, Veep
-Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
-Christopher Evan Welch, Silicon Valley

Supporting Actress
Wishlist
I’m a little concerned that I’m being complacent with my top picks here, but I guess that’s because my co-winners (as in Supporting Actor, I’m calling it a tie) didn’t quite live up to the impossibly high standards they’ve set for themselves.  Alison Brie (Community) had her best material in earlier seasons, but she lacked a strong narrative progression of her own those years; in Season 5, she really got to show off Annie Edison’s maturation.  Toks Olagundoye (The Neighbors) didn’t get to play any Jersey Housewives in Season 2, but she did – upon learning how a pregnancy test works – ask the question, “What does it tell you if you poop on it, the weather?”  Michaela Watkins (Trophy Wife) didn’t need to stoop to cliché to play kooky.  Initially I thought that Gillian Jacobs didn’t have that much to do in Season 5 of Community, but having mustard on her face was the perfect showcase for her, and then I remembered she also got to play some great emotional beats in forcefully dealing with Troy’s departure.  Carly Chaikin (Suburgatory) continued to somehow find the realness in Dalia Royce, one of the most seemingly unrealistic characters ever created.  Aidy Bryant mostly plays variations of herself on SNL, but she plays that part really well.

Predictions
-Julie Bowen, Modern Family
-Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
-Anna Chlumsky, Veep
-Allison Janney, Mom
-Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
-Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
(And if there’s a seventh nomination: Kate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New Black)

Guest Actor
Wishlist
We already knew that Mitch Hurwitz (Community) is one of the greatest TV writers of all time; now we know he’s also a mighty fine performer; the Koog approves! Charles Grodin was the funniest part of a season of Louie that wasn’t primarily comedic. Billy Eichner basically played himself on Parks and Recreation, and that was a good thing.  Skip Sudduth (Louie) played the perfect teacher for young Louis C.K.  It is now becoming a yearly tradition that I say a particular Community guest star should become a regular; this year, that guest star was Chris Elliott.  Drake was the best host of  SNL Season 39.

Guest Actress
Wishlist
Shannon O’Neill was a force of nature on Broad City.  Gaby Hoffmann was a force of nature of a different sort on Girls.  You could really see the power in Amy Landecker‘s eyes as Louie‘s mom.  Maria Thayer (Review) seems so sweet, so it was an absolute delight to see her play completely off-the-rails as free spirit Eliza.  June Squibb was at her June Squibb-iest on Girls.  Melissa McCarthy (Saturday Night Live) played a wacky game show contestant and a woman bent on avenging her father’s death, among others.

Writing
I don’t have a full wishlist in this category, but I did want to mention that I am pleased that Review submitted its best episode (also the best half hour of comedy of 2014): “Pancakes; Divorce; Pancakes,” and I would love it if by some miracle it ends up being recognized.