Now, as everyone knows this award is dumb. It's dumb because you don't submit a season long body of work. Instead you submit a single episode. It's how you get Jeff Daniels' performance in Newsroom beating Bryan Cranston's in Breaking Bad--one self-righteous Sorkin monologue can propel you to victory. Consequently, I'll offer predictions in the major categories, but where necessary because of how dumb this procedure is, I will also offer suggestions about who MIGHT have won, in a world that was less dumb. Here we go!
Outstanding Drama Series:
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mad Men
Orange Is the New Black
Probable Winner: Game of Thrones
This one shouldn't come as a major surprise to anyone. The most popular, most expensive, and most talked about show on TV is likely to run away with this one (despite the fact that the producers put forward some of the season's most controversial episodes for award consideration). When a show that is produced and executed at this level is put forward (without an established prestige drama to stand in its way) watch out.
Ideal Winner: Better Call Saul
A lot of people will say Mad Men should take the award for its final season. But that's wrong. The best drama of this lot is AMC's Better Call Saul. If you haven't seen it yet, you should get on it, because this show was a revelation. With brilliant performances by Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, and Rhea Seehorn, phenomenal direction and writing, this show has everything you could possibly want if you love great TV. But it's excellence is sometimes not isolated enough to single episodes to be a strong contender this year. I suspect as the show finds its legs it will be a stronger contender in this category.
The real loser here is FX, whose The Americans was the best show on TV this year full stop. Also, where is the love for The Knick, or Empire?
Outstanding Comedy Series
Louie
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep
Probable Winner: Veep
While you aren't going to find someone who loves Parks and Rec more than I do, it is hard to argue that any show could deserve to beat out Veep. Riotously funny, brutal, skewering, and insightful, this show is playing in a whole different league. The only other comedies even approaching its class is Louie, an eccentric comedy from the fabulous Louis C.K. that is often a comedy in name only. Sadly, that doesn't win at the Emmys. In reality it is more like a series of short films, each a beautiful crystalline structure, and Transparent which had just enough first season missteps to probably miss the prize this year. Let's just be thankful that The Big Bang Theory wasn't able to pull down a nomination. That would have been too much.
Also, where is the love for You're the Worst??? THIS SHOW IS AMAZING AND IT'S LIKE YOU ALL DON'T EVEN CARE!!!
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series:
Kyle Chandler Bloodline
Jeff Daniels Newsroom
Jon Hamm Mad Men
Bob Odenkirk Better Call Saul
Liev Schrieber Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey House of Cards
Probable Winner: Jon Hamm
Don Draper has never won. You've got to think this is his year, even if the season was pretty meh, and this is an historically overrated show. Whatever, Jon Hamm not having any Emmys is just not a thing that can happen. It would be like Joyce and Nabokov never winning Nobel Prizes in Literature, or Sully Prudhomme beating out Tolstoy in 1903. Though since all of those things happened in real life maybe there will be some justice and the award will go to...
Ideal Winner: Bob Odenkirk
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series:
Claire Danes Homeland
Viola Davis How to Get Away With Murder
Taraji P. Henson Empire
Tatiana Maslany Orphan Black
Elisabeth Moss Mad Men
Robin Wright House of Cards
Probable Winner: Taraji P. Henson
Cookie for Queen of the Damn Universe.
Ideal Winner: FOH! Cookie, Cookie, Cookie!!!
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:
Anthony Anderson Black-ish
Louis C.K. Louie
Don Cheadle House of Lies
Will Forte Last Man on Earth
Matt LeBlanc Episodes
William H. Macy Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor Transparent
Probable Winner: Will Forte
Here is a classic instance of the dumb way these awards are decided coming into play. The pilot for Last Man on Earth features Forte exclusively. No other character appears on the screen. Consequently, he will win this award.
Ideal Winner: Jeffrey Tambor
Comedies don't often offer chances for actors and actresses to take such substantial swings. This was a big one, and in a crop as week as this one (and this is one of the weakest crops in memory) it seems like this award should go to Tambor.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:
Edie Falco Nurse Jackie
Lisa Kudrow The Comeback
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Veep
Amy Poehler Parks and Recreation
Amy Schumer Inside Amy Schumer
Lily Tomlin Grace and Frankie
Probable Winner: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Now THIS is a crop. There are three women here with exceptionally strong cases. Louis-Dreyfus has to be the odds on favorite because the Emmys love to award people who have been previously awarded by the Emmys, and she's been on quite a little run in this category. That being said, Poehler and Schumer were both exceptional on their respective shows this season. But Parks has never been an Emmy favorite, and Inside Amy Schumer is probably going to lose some support to those who think that it should be competing in the sketch or variety category. Lily Tomlin has an outside chance for her role on the exceptional Grace and Frankie, which I wrote about for this site awhile back, but nothing like the juice of the three legit contenders.
No comments:
Post a Comment