I gotta admit, I always forget that the Emmys don’t go down in the usual awards season of January-March, so the announcement of nominees always catches me somewhat by surprise. I’m bad at my job. Anyway, here’s a rundown of the Emmy nominees in all the main categories.
Outstanding Drama Series
Game of Thrones
Better Call Saul
Mad Men
Orange is the New Black
House of Cards
Homeland
Downton Abbey
See, right away this is what pisses me off about the Emmys. Seven nominees? Give it a rest. It’s good to see that Orange is no longer erroneously considered a comedy, but I’m surprised that House of Cards got a nomination, because this season was throughly MEH, and its now-obligatory inclusion in this category means that far more deserving shows like The Americans get left ouf. Ditto for Game of Thrones, who just had a pretty uneven fifth season buoyed by some great sequences and performances. But GoT is the cool kid on the block who the Emmys nominate every year, even though it has no chance of winning. I’d like to see Mad Men take this.
Outstanding Lead Actor, Drama
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Liev Schrieber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
So many tortured white guys! I’m usually slow on the uptake when it comes to issues like racial representation in media, but when you have a category made up of nominees with names like Kevin, Kyle, Bob, and Jon, you start to look pretty goddamn white. That said, I’d love to see Jon Hamm take this home. He’s never won for playing Don Draper, and it’s about time he was rewarded for seven years of a wonderful performance.
Outstanding Supporting Actor, Drama
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
BEN FUCKING MENDELSOHN! I feel like Mendelsohn’s brilliant, captivating performance in Bloodline assimilated me like the goddamn Borg. This will likely go to Cumming or Banks – the latter of whom I would have no problem with – but if nothing else, Mendelsohn’s inclusion on this list might raise his profile and get him some bigger roles.
Outstanding Comedy Series
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation
Louie
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Let’s not pretend that Modern Family isn’t going to win. Again. Jesus. Very nice to see Unbreakable up there, but Emmy voters will reason that they’ve been rewarding House of Cards for years now, so they look sufficiently hip.
Outstanding Lead Actress, Comedy
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Lily Tomlin, Frankie & Grace
This is quickly becoming one of those categories where any nominee besides Louis-Dreyfus is superfluous, because they just throw this award at her every year. She’s fantastic, but I might be the only TV critic on the Internet who has fallen out of love with Veep. It’d be nice to see Poehler rewaded for Parks and Rec‘s swan song, and while it’s awesome that Schumer has made the list, the Academy is loathe to reward performers from sketch shows, which is why Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon have never won for SNL.
Outstanding Lead Actor, Comedy
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
William H. Macy, Shameless
Louis C.K., Louie
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Ah, Matt LeBlanc, who keeps getting nominated for a show that nobody has seen. Seriously, go up to 100 strangers and ask them if they’ve seen Episodes, and the only answers you get will be “fuck yourself” and “AIIIEE! Eat mace, rapist!” This is going to Tambor in a walk. He’s been cleaning up for Transparent, so at this point if he didn’t win ONE award, the Internet would be flooding with thinkpieces asking why the Emmys are so transphobic. Great to see Forte’s name up there; he took some real risks with his character and it really paid off. Also, we’ve gone through four categories now and this is the first one with a non-white nominee.
Outstanding Lead Actress, Drama
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
Claire Danes, Homeland
Robin Wright, House of Cards
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
This is tough, because I really want Elisabeth Moss to take the trophy home. But that kind of flies in the face of everything I’ve been saying about diversity, because this category has two – TWO! – women of color in it. But should that trump a genuinely great performance? It’s so hard to be white, guys. This is going to Henson.
Outstanding Supporting Actress, Drama
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
This category usually goes to someone unexpected, like Merritt Wever winning for Nurse Jackie. So I know it won’t be Aduba, Moss, Clarke, or Headey. Baranski and The Good Wife are too high-profile, so I’m gonna predict Froggatt. Side note: I don’t think there’s been a show in television history I’ve cared less about than Downton Abbey.
Outstanding Supporting Actor, Comedy
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Tony Hale, Veep
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Adam Driver, Girls
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Hmm, this is a toss-up – will it go to the Emmys’ endless boner for Veep, or their endless boner for Modern Family? Either way, it’s not going to Burgess or Braugher (both of whom play gay men of color!), which is a damn shame.
Outstanding Supporting Actress, Comedy
Allison Janney, Mom
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Gaby Hoffman, Transparent
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Holy shit look at all those nominees. Kinda takes away the prestige a bit. “Oh great, I was nominated! Who else was?” “Literally every actress from every show on TV.” This will be Chlumsky or Janney, probably the latter. Apparently Mom is the Chuck Lorre show we’re allowed to like. Also, I’ve seen Getting On, and prior to typing this up, I had no idea it was supposed to be a comedy.
Outstanding Animated Program
Archer
Bob’s Burgers
The Simpsons
South Park
Over the Garden Wall
Oh man, when Tina talks about butts on Bob’s Burgers, I totally lose it. Every time. It never gets old. I don’t even care that Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal, and Dan Mintz are three of the least funny comedians on the planet, or that Bob’s Burgers fans will rant nonstop about how the show promotes inclusiveness before turning around and calling you a fucking dumbass if you don’t worship at the same altar. I mean – “butts”! It works on so many levels! I would like South Park to win this, please and thank you.
The Emmys air September 20, and will be hosted by Andy Samberg. You can check out the full list of nominees here.
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