BY MR
The nominations for the 64th Primetime Emmys have been released, and we’ve got ample praise and rage for the TV Academy voters. Here’s a quick look at 10 things the Academy got right — and 10 it got woefully wrong.
What the Emmys got right:
• The Best Drama category: Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Mad Men, Homeland and Game of Thrones got nods, marking the first time in Emmy history that no Best Drama contender comes from a Big Four network. It’s a testament to the strength of premium cable and, hopefully, a wakeup call for basic.
• Props for Homeland: Showtime’s outstanding freshman thriller landed nine well-deserved nominations, including Best Drama, Best Actor in a Drama Series and Best Actress in a Drama Series. Damian Lewis faces some seriously stiff competition in the actor category, but Claire Danes looks like the Actress frontrunner.
• Downton joins the big leagues: Everyone’s favorite PBS convert hit a bit of a sophomore slump due to an overindulgence in soapy storylines, but the writing, acting, design, cinematography and directing were once again fantastic. This show deserves mainstream recognition.
• Thrones makes the cut: There were plenty of murmurs that Thrones might fail to earn a second consecutive Best Drama nod, but The Good Wife got the boot instead. Call off the (dire)wolves, folks.
• Sherlock scores big: A whopping 13 nominations for the modern-day adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, and another feather in the collective cap of PBS and the British outlets from which it loans. Sherlock‘s second season was simply tremendous. If Benedict Cumberbatch doesn’t take home the Lead Actor in a Miniseries prize, something is criminally wrong with this world.
• Schmidt gets a nod: Max Greenfield stole the show every week on New Girl and saves what’s otherwise a debacle of a category (more on that later).
• Veep and Girls score: More love for the newbies and pay-cable offerings. Here’s hoping Mike wears his orange pants to the ceremony.
• No love for Glee: Finally, the award circuit’s obsession with Glee has diminished along with the show’s quality. Glee scored three nominations for makeup, cinematography and guest actress, but got shut out of all major categories.
• No love for The Office: Finally, voters realized this show now sucks. No nominations.
• No love for The Killing: This show was recognized to an absurd extent last year despite a disappointing first season. An equally unsatisfying second season resulted in zero nominations.
Emmy Snubs:
• Nick Offerman and Parks and Recreation: I don’t know what’s worse, Offerman once again failing to earn a Best Actor nod for his indelible portrayal of Ron Swanson, or Parks failing to earn a Best Comedy nod despite being, you know, the best comedy on television. These would be disgraceful slights regardless of the respective category strengths, but they’re both laughably thin this year. The Academy continues to nail the drama categories and whiff completely on the comedy entries.
• Louie: If Parks isn’t the best comedy on TV, it’s because Louie is. And yet, the raunchy FX delight didn’t land a Best Comedy nod. Veep and Girls had strong debuts, but they’re not better than these two. And while 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory are all enjoyable shows, they’re just Emmy whores at this point. Share the wealth already. Mercifully, Louis C.K. earned acting, writing and directing nominations, which means I won’t have to actually boycott the Emmys in protest.
• John Noble and Fringe: At this point, all Fringe fans can do is pray The Academy extends the Friday Night Lights treatment and nominates the show and its outstanding leads after the final season.
• Justified: No Best Actor nom for Timothy Olyphant burns, but it’s understandable in a year this loaded. Can’t really argue against any of the six shows that did earn Best Drama nods, but Justified must have barely missed the cut.
• FX in general: Add Sons of Anarchy to Justified and Louie and you’ll start to notice a distressing trend.
• Other Thrones actors: Nothing against Peter Dinklage, who once again owned it as Tyrion Lannister, but how about some love for Charles Dance’s Tywin Lannister, or his cup-bearer Arya, played by Maisie Williams. Branch out, voters.
• Anyone who isn’t on Modern Family: Seriously, people? Fourteen nominations, including FOUR OF THE SIX Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations? The show’s good, but it’s not that good. Spread the freakin’ love. This is the golden age of comedy. The nominations should reflect that.
• Walking Dead: Didn’t think Dead would crack the Best Drama group, but an acting nomination would have been nice. Guess the creators will have to settle for taking the Makeup category.
• John Slattery and Michael Pitt: Elated to see Downton’s Carson (Jim Carter) and Bates (Brendan Coyle) gain some recognition, and there’s no denying Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul and Giancarlo Esposito deserve to be here. And, Dinklage is the man. But Lane (Jared Harris) instead of Roger? And no Jimmy? These voters must be high on LSD or drunk of bootleg swill.
• Jeff Probst: This one’s just weird. The dude wins three consecutive Best Reality Host awards, then fails to earn a nomination? I guess the voters have spoken.
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