Jmunney's Blog

Recently, Comedy Bang! Bang! creator Scott Aukerman penned an op-ed directed to the TV Academy asking for the potential creation of a new Emmy category.  As it stands now, the Outstanding Variety Series is a catch-all that includes late night talk shows, sketch series, and most other breeds of comedy programs that do not fit in the Comedy Series field.  This category’s nominees are almost invariably filled by late night talk shows (and Saturday Night Live).  Aukerman proposes that, in light of the recent boom of critically acclaimed sketch and alternative comedy series, Variety Series be split into two categories: variety/talk program and sketch/alternative program.  If that split existed, what nominees would I be calling for this year in the Outstanding Sketch/Alternative Series category?  And would there be enough candidates to fill up four new acting categories: Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress in a Sketch or Alternative Program?  Or would there just be one or two acting categories?  Or would the performers, somewhat ill-fittingly, remain in the Comedy performing fields?

Here are the sketch/alternative nominees that would make my wishlist:

Sketch/Alternative Series
–Comedy Bang! Bang!
–Key and Peele
–The Eric André Show
–Kroll Show
–Inside Amy Schumer
–Portlandia

Lead Actor
–Eric André, The Eric André Show
–Keegan Michael-Key/Jordan Peele, Key and Peele
–Nick Kroll, Kroll Show
–Scott Aukerman, Comedy Bang! Bang!
–Nathan Fielder, Nathan for You

Lead Actress
–Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
–Carrie Brownstein, Portlandia

Supporting Actor
–Reggie Watts, Comedy Bang! Bang!
–Kyle Mooney, Saturday Night Live
–Hannibal Burress, The Eric André Show
–Taran Killam, Saturday Night Live
–Beck Bennett, Saturday Night Live
–Tim Kalpakis, The Birthday Boys

Supporting Actress
–Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live
–Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Looking over the makeup of the acting categories, I think I would advocate for a single Sketch/Alternative Performer category, or a split of Sketch/Alternative Actor and Sketch/Alternative Actress.

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.