Super Bowl Update

Oh, Emmys. Every year I look forward to your nominations, and every year you enrage me. In the Peanuts metaphor, you are Lucy, your nominations are the football and I am Charlie Brown, running up for that much anticipated kick. Every year I think you will FINALLY nominate my favorite shows, especially when the the Critics' Choice Awards start to show them love and then you pull the ball away right at the very last second. Good grief! You got a few things right, for which I am grateful. You understand that So You Think You Can Dance continues to excel 9 seasons in, and that's great. You like Homeland and Breaking Bad and I like those shows too. But several things you got VERY wrong. You've simply offered no room at the table for some of TV's best shows! WHY?? Here are the nominations for the 64th Annual Emmys, and allow me a moment to rant about some people who are, in fact, SNUBBED ONCE AGAIN!

Best Comedy
The Big Bang Theory
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Girls
Modern Family
30 Rock
Veep

I can accept the disappointment that comes with Community being egregiously overlooked by the Academy as being too oddball and misunderstood and unwatched for it to make the short list. It belongs there, no doubt, but I will accept its exclusion on those grounds. However, I draw the effing line at Parks and Recreation not being allowed into the conversation. Parks & Rec should WIN! It's the show I laugh at the most and I actually root for the characters to succeed - not just Amy Poehler who is amazing, but the whole cast. This show is a total delight, and it had one of the strongest full season arcs of any show that aired this year dealing with Leslie's campaign. Emmys, you've done the town of Pawnee wrong. I hope the ghost of Li'l Sebastian haunts you all year for this.


Best Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Mad Men

All these are acceptable. I don't watch Boardwalk Empire so I would've rather seen The Good Wife in its place. Good Wife scored tons of acting noms but no Best Drama. No Drama nomination for CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox this year. But PBS got in there!

Lead Actress in Drama
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

I love me some Kathy Bates but you know who I'd love to see here more? Katey Sagal for Sons of Anarchy. What does Academy have against this woman? What else does she need to DO on that show? If they serious can't bring themselves to watch SOA, then maybe they should look at Lena Headley for Game of Thrones.


Lead Actor in a Drama
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland
Michael C. Hall, Dexter

I love me some Downton Abbey, but if there's one character I find the least compelling it's Boneville's Earl of Grantham. Maybe his spot could've gone to Timothy Olyphant's in Justified? I'm just saying. Whatever, Bryan Cranston's going to win anyway. Deservedly so. As Walter White would say, "It's over. I won."


Best Competition Reality Show
The Amazing Race
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
The Voice
Top Chef

The Voice is entertaining in its way, but it's also a mess and Carson often loses control of the whole thing as the host. Top Chef in Texas was also literally and figuratively all over the map last season. Either show could've been bumped for the past season of RuPaul's Drag Race, which served up some fierce and fabulous competition this year. And also, I think Wipeout doesn't get the credit it deserves!




Best Non-Competition Reality Program
Antiques Roadshow
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
MythBusters
Shark Tank
Undercover Boss
Who Do You Think You Are?

I only watch competitive reality TV programming, so I honestly don't know.



Best Reality Show Host
Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Betty White, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With The Stars
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance

Betty White for Off Their Rockers? Come ON, Emmys. She does more as host of that show than Probst does on Survivor? Probst has WON this award basically since it was conceived and now he's not even nominated for Betty White? If it wasn't going to Probst, this slot should've gone to RuPaul for Drag Race and Drag U. Ru is amazing.
Lead Actress in a Comedy
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

I love Melissa McCarthy, but Mike & Molly? Really? She had her surprise win last year. Amy Poehler must win this year or I will seriously throw things at my TV. But,if we're just gonna keep piling people into the mix how about



Lead Actor in a Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louie
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Jon Cryer's spot should go to Joel McHale. I can say no more without launching into all caps.  

Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

Either Alison Brie or Gillian Jacobs should have Kathryn Joosten's spot. Joosten is lovely and I realize that she passed away following the conclusion of the season and that has perhaps created a swell of support around her nomination, but she's already won two guest star Emmys for this role. The ladies of Community had so much to work with this season and always delivered. It should've been the year for a nomination for at least one of them.

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live

I said on the FB that they need to just create a "Best Supporting Actor on Modern Family" category so that other people can be recognized. I love MF, but the entire cast didn't have a better season than anyone else on any show. I think that in acting categories, no show should be able to nominate more than two actors per year. Spread the love. Nick Offerman especially should be on the short list. Ron Swanson rules. Everybody knows it. Stop trying to deny it, Emmys.

Best Supporting Actress, Drama
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

This is another solid category truth be told, but I would've liked to see Homeland's Morena Baccarin in the mix for her vulnerable and engaging performance on that show. Of the 6 shows nominated for Best Drama only 3 are represented here. We can do better than that.


Best Supporting Actor, Drama
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad
Brendan Coyle, Downton Abbey
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Jared Harris, Mad Men

I'm not so sure about Jim Carter's nomination for Downton. I DO love Mr. Carson, but did he really have a better season on that show than Dan Stevens as Matthew? We could also look to Mandy Patinkin in Homeland, who really delivered in Homeland. I have friends who would want me to shout for Walton Goggins in Justified, so I'll do that as well.

Best Animated Program
American Dad
Bob’s Burgers
Futurama
The Penguins Of Madagascar: The Return Of The Revenge Of Dr. Blowhole
The Simpsons

American Dad is a better animated program than South Park? Or Archer? Okay...

Best Guest Actress in a Comedy
Dot-Marie Jones, Glee
Maya Rudolph, Saturday Night Live
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Elizabeth Banks, 30 Rock
Margaret Cho, 30 Rock
Kathy Bates, Two and a Half Men

Again with Kathy Bates! Did you SEE Patricia Clarkson on Parks and Rec? Give me a break. The Parks and Rec snubs across the board are really infuriating. I swear the Academy didn't watch the show this season. It's the only possible explanation.

Best Guest Actor in a Comedy
Michael J. Fox, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Greg Kinnear, Modern Family
Bobby Cannavale, Nurse Jackie
Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live
Will Arnett, 30 Rock
Jon Hamm, 30 Rock

Normally, I would not say a word against Jon Hamm, but he was in the live episode of 30 Rock for like 2 minutes! He spent more time this season showing up as the non-Host on SNL. He was funnier there too! This spot should've gone to Paul Rudd for his work as Bobby Newport on Parks and Rec. 

Best Guest Actress in a Drama
Martha Plimpton, The Good Wife
Loretta Devine, Grey’s Anatomy
Jean Smart, Harry’s Law
Julia Ormond, Mad Men
Joan Cusack, Shameless
Uma Thurman, Smash

Martha Plimpton or Loretta Devine should win this, so I'm not gonna go after the Uma Thurman nomination for Smash. But I could! If Smash had to be nominated for something here, give it to Bernadette Peters!

Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Mark Margolis, Breaking Bad
Dylan Baker, The Good Wife
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Jeremy Davies, Justified
Ben Feldman, Mad Men
Jason Ritter, Parenthood

Not a bad list. Somebody from Homeland should've made the cut here though. Lots of recurring male roles that were not series regulars showing up and doing awesome work, including Jamey Sheridan as a nastypants Vice President. Baby can you dig yo' man? He's a righteous man...Ahh, a little shout out to The Stand faithful out there...

The Mini-Series Categories are all Movie Stars and American Horror Story. Let's just agree to root for AHS and leave it at that.

I feel better having gotten all that off my chest. The 64th Annual Emmys, will air Sept. 23 on ABC. It feels like forever from now, but I'm sure the time will fly by. Here's hoping Amy Poehler will be collecting that much deserved statue on Emmy Night!