Sunday, September 20, 2015

Emmy Nominations and Predictions: Drama

Tonight are the Emmy Awards! Yesterday, I posted my thoughts and predictions for the comedy categories. Here are the drama ones:


BEST DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mad Men
Orange Is the New Black

With last year's champ Breaking Bad done and dusted, it's a great opportunity for a handful of these shows. Will Mad Men win for a fifth and final time? Will Game of Thrones, the show nominated for the most Emmy Awards with 24, break through finally? Will the new category for Orange Is the New Black mean an easier time for a win (no)? Will Better Call Saul just pick up where Breaking Bad left off? Any of these scenarios could happen so I'm at a bit of a loss, but thankfully I'm OK with any of those happening! I'm more annoyed that they still didn't find a way to honor The Americans or even the huge network hit Empire.

Prediction: Mad Men
Alternate: Game of Thrones
Should Win: Orange is the New Black
Should've Been Nominated: The Americans, The Leftovers, Empire, Agent Carter

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
Jeff Daniels, Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Does Jeff Daniels have some blackmail-worthy information or something? I mean I haven't seen his show, but it's all still so perplexing. It IS nice seeing Chandler pop up randomly here, though again I have no opinion since I haven't seen his show. The rest of the nominees were predictable based on history and with Cranston out of the way COULD IT BE THIS YEAR FINALLY JON HAMM MIGHT WIN? That is the big question of course and I do think it'll happen with the rule change (more people voting) and the perceived slight of Hamm not winning for this particular role.

Prediction: Jon Hamm
Alternate: Kevin Spacey
Should Win: Jon Hamm
Should've Been Nominated: Cillian Murphy, Matthew Rhys, Charlie Cox, Jamie Dornan

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
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

Tatiana Maslany! Tatiana Maslany! I was honestly shocked, pleasantly, when her name was called nomination morning. I still can't believe it. This is actually an amazing, amazing short list top-lined by Davis and Henson who should both be seen as the favorites to win. I wouldn't know who to pick between the two of them if I had a vote... so I probably would just pick Moss for her first win and final time to honor her for her fantastic Peggy Olson. I do wish this was another category that had extra slot since Keri Russell and (more unlikely) Hayley Atwell would've fit right in.

Prediction: Taraji P. Henson
Alternate: Viola Davis
Should Win: Elisabeth Moss
Should've Been Nominated: Keri Russell, Hayley Atwell, Olivia Colman, Gillian Anderson

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Michael Kelly, House of Cards

These nominees are refreshingly different from last year with Dinklage and Carter as the only repeat nominees. In Carter's case, I have no earthly idea why they keep nominating him and even Dinklage didn't have much to do this season. I am very much rooting for Banks here who delivered a knockout season (and episode), but who knows? My personal list, however, would've trended a bit younger such as Matt Czuchry, Joshua Jackson, Jussie Smollett, Conrad Ricamora, Matthew Goode, Vincent Kartheiser, Jack Falahee, Allen Leech... I could go on and on.

Prediction: Jonathan Banks
Alternate: Ben Mendelsohn
Should Win: Jonathan Banks
Should've Been Nominated: Jussie Smollett, Joshua Jackson, Matt Czuchry, Conrad Ricamora

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black

Unlike the men, a lot of the nominees are repeats from last year with previously Emmy nominated Clarke and Aduba replacing Maggie Smith (finally!) and last year's winner Anna Gunn. If there was ever a free-for-all category, this is it. Literally, any one of these ladies could win. If I had to pick the most likely winners it'd have to be Hendricks for the final season of her show, Aduba for being the MVP of her show (at least in terms of general perception), and Baranski (The Good Wife has had a female acting winner 5 years in a row). The big crime here though is not awarding Lorraine Toussaint a nomination for her singular work. She would've been a shoo-in for Guest Actress, but alas a recent rule change put her here in a much more competitive/crowded field.

Prediction: Uzo Aduba
Alternate: Christine Baranski
Should Win: Lena Headey
Should've Been Nominated: Lorraine Toussaint, Samira Wiley, Ann Dowd, Charlotte Rampling


Overall, the big question of the night is how much will the Emmys decide to honor Mad Men for its final year in contention? And if the answer is no, which shows and actors will take up the baton? Game of Thrones? Better Call Saul? Orange is the New Black? Of course, there were still plenty of shows I wished were honored like The Americans, The Leftovers, and even Empire. Alas.

And just for completeness sake, here are my predictions for the Miniseries/TV Movies categories, with the exception of Best TV Movie which was given out to Bessie during last week's Creative Arts Emmy Awards:

BEST TV LIMITED SERIES: Olive Kitteridge
BEST ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE: David Oyelowo
BEST ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE: Frances McDormand
BEST SUPP. ACTOR, LIMIT/MOVIE: Bill Murray
BEST SUPP. ACTRESS, LIMIT/MOVIE: Mo'Nique

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