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.

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.

The 2014 Emmy ballot is out.  Before I post my nomination wish lists (and possibly predictions), here are my thoughts on some oddities and other points of interest:

-Mads Mikkelsen submitted as Lead for Hannibal after submitting as Supporting last year.  An argument could have been made either way for Season 1, but in Season 2 he was definitely a lead.  (Meanwhile, Laurence Fishburne was not even submitted.)
-Despite not even appearing in the last nine episodes, Rob Lowe STILL submitted as Lead for Parks and Recreation.
-Allison Tolman submitted as Supporting for Fargo, even though she’s arguably the main protagonist.
-Last year, Tatiana Maslany’s roles for Orphan Black were listed as “Sarah, Beth, others.”  This year, that was wisely expanded to “Sarah, Beth, Cosima, Rachel (and more).”  (Why didn’t she include Alison?)
–Amy Schumer once again submitted as Supporting, even though she appears in every one of her show’s sketches, and her name is in the title.  Also, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein for Portlandia, and Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele for Key & Peele, all submitted as Supporting, ignoring the fact that it is possible to have two leads in one show.  Maybe they are thrown off by the weirdness of sketch and alternative comedy performers competing against sitcom performers.  I mean, really, where does something like Comedy Bang! Bang! truly belong?  Maybe it is the collaborative ethos of improv comedy that led Scott Aukerman to submit as Supporting even though he’s the host of his show.*
-Several Mad Men regulars took advantage of the vagaries between the Supporting and Guest categories and submitted as Guest.  This is nothing new, but it was particularly egregious for Robert Morse in a year that Bert Cooper died and then had a posthumous song-and-dance number.
-Speaking of Guests who were really Supporting, Damon Wayans, Jr. is a regular now on New Girl.
-Miniseries do not have a Guest category, so folks like Key & Peele – who have only been in the last few episodes of Fargo – must enter as Supporting; meanwhile, fellow anthology series True Detective entered the Drama field, so Alexandra Daddario was able to opt for Guest.
-Here is the summary for Charles Grodin’s guest submission for Louie: “Dr. Bigelow is philosophical.” (All of the Louie guest summaries are wonderfully minimalist.)
–The Neighbors’ Clara Mamet’s last name was misspelled as “Memet” (unless that was intentional and she’s trying to branch off from her famous family).

*-I have been told that this may be because performers on shows submitted in the Variety category are not allowed to submit in the Lead field. See this article: http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/06/emmy-questions-why-is-amy-schumer-a-supporting-actress-for-inside-amy-schumer/372495/