Emmy Nominations and Predictions 2016

The Emmys are today and since I revel in procrastinating, here just now are my quick thoughts on the nominations and my accompanying predictions for tonight's award show. In general, they did pretty okay. Definitely lots of people I would have wanted to get nominated weren't, but a few others did. That's the best one can hope for.

BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Americans
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Mr. Robot

Let's get this out of the way first, last year's Emmy champ Game of Thrones will win. It has the most nominations and they won last year for their weakest season. The two shows I can possibly see toppling it would be the two shows that broke through this year, which would be the buzzy freshman show Mr. Robot and the "should've been nominated a bunch of times already" The Americans. The latter's inclusion pretty much meant I was pretty damn happy nomination morning no matter what happened. I'm already excited about next year though when Downton Abbey *and* Game of Thrones aren't in the running. What happens then?

Prediction: Game of Thrones
Alternate: The Americans
Should Win: The Americans
Should've Been Nominated: Sense8, Orange is the New Black, The Leftovers, Marvel's Jessica Jones

BEST LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Matthew Rhys, The Americans

With Jon Hamm and Jeff Daniels out from last year, it made room for two of the new best nominations this category has had in awhile with Matthew Rhys finally getting his deserved dues and breakout star Rami Malek also getting honored. This category is actually confounding me in terms of predicting a winner especially since the category has been all Cranston (then Hamm) for the past few year. Chandler is actually the only past Emmy winner while Spacey is the Susan Lucci (outdated reference) of this category with 9 previous nominations and no win.

Prediction: Kevin Spacey
Alternate: Rami Malek
Should Win: Matthew Rhys
Should've Been Nominated: Damian Lewis, Aldis Hodge, Cillian Murphy, Justin Theroux

BEST LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans
Robin Wright, House of Cards

SUCH a stacked category, like it is every damn year. This list is actually the same as last year (with last year's breakout Maslany surprisingly getting a repeat nom!) with the exception of Keri Russell replacing Elisabeth Moss. Wait, let me repeat that... KERI RUSSELL IS NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY FOR HER WORK IN THE AMERICANS. She'll probably lose, but goddamn if that isn't just the best new ever. Last year's winner Viola will likely repeat and I can't complain that much since I lover her.

Prediction: Viola Davis
Alternate: Keri Russell
Should Win: Keri Russell
Should've Been Nominated: Shiri Appleby, Carrie Coon, Julianna Margulies, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Kristen Ritter

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

Last year's winner Dinklage won for a season where he barely did anything so underestimate him at your peril. With that said, the "surprise" nomination for Harington shows great love for the show and he IS featured heavily in the show's "best" episode of the season so don't be too shocked if his name is called tonight. With that said, this really is the best time for them to honor Banks for his great work not only on this show, but as a tribute to what he did in Breaking Bad.

Prediction: Peter Dinklage
Alternate: Kit Harington
Should Win: Jonathan Banks
Should've Been Nominated: Joshua Jackson, Miguel Angel Silvestre, Martin Wallstrom, David Tennant

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones
Constance Zimmer, UnReal

After taking a refreshing breather last year, the TV Academy decided to honor Smith one last nomination for her work in Downton Abbey. Will it translate to an actual win given her strongest competitions, the three Game of Thrones ladies, might split votes? That's actually good news as well for Tierney and Zimmer (both inspired choices for nominations). That said... so damn strange to see both Uzo Aduba and Christine Baranski left out especially for the latter's final season.

Prediction: Lena Heady
Alternate: Maggie Smith
Should Win: Maura Tierney
Should've Been Nominated: Jamie Clayton, Ann Dowd, Calista Flockhart, Alison Wright

BEST COMEDY SERIES
Black-Ish
Master of None
Silicon Valley
Modern Family
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep

I do like that slowly and surely, these comedy categories are changing with the times especially with Black-ish and Master of None breaking through. With that said, sure let's nominate Modern Family again I guess. It's not as if there's a whole list of shows they could've picked instead like Broad City, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane the Virgin, etc. Last year, I thought Transparent was a lock to win, but Veep won instead. This year, Veep garnered more nominations than any other comedy show by a lot... so obviously that will win.

Prediction: Veep
Alternate: Transparent
Should Win: Black-ish
Should've Been Nominated: Broad City, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane the Virgin, Fresh Off the Boat, Shameless

BEST LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Will Forte, Last Man on Earth
William H. Macy, Shameless
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

If there's anyone who could beat Tambor (he won't lose regardless), it might just be Anderson. It is the more popular show and it's an easy performance to honor especially if voters think Tambor's been awarded enough. I'm just happy that Ansari broke through (lots of those happening this year) as well as Middleditch. And while this category is less heinous than in year's past, I encourage them to keep thinking outside the box.

Prediction: Jeffrey Tambor
Alternate: Anthony Anderson
Should Win: Aziz Ansari
Should've Been Nominated: Chris Geere, Andy Samberg, Randall Park, Timothy Omundson

BEST LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Veep
Laurie Metcalf, Getting On
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Lily Tomlin, Grace & Frankie

As great as this line-up is, I was bound to be disappointed with the exclusion of Rachel Bloom, Gina Rodriquez, Aya Cash and both Broad City ladies. There's just so much damn talent out there begging to be recognized! That said, Louis-Dreyfuss will probably win unless they're sick of awarding her (they are not). There isn't even anyone that would seem to be competition to her unlike last year with both Lisa Kudrow and Amy Poehler delivering career-best work. Perhaps Ross, but that's not a gimme.

Prediction: Julia Louis-Dreyfuss
Alternate: Tracee Ellis Ross
Should Win: Tracee Ellis Ross
Should've Been Nominated: Rachel Bloom, Aya Cash, Gina Rodriguez, Ilana Glazer, Abbi Jacobson, Constance Wu

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep
Matt Walsh, Veep

Most of these are repeat nominees from last year with Adam Driver the only one not cited again and being replaced by Anderson and Walsh. I didn't see his show, but apparently Anderson is terrific while Walsh's inclusion shows the deep love the TV Academy has for Veep. Speaking of, last year's champ Hale is your likely winner, but I'm rooting hard for Braugher to finally get his comedy Emmy.

Prediction: Tony Hale
Alternate: Louie Anderson
Should Win: Andre Braugher
Should've Been Nominated: Jamie Camil, Noah Galvin, Andrew Rannells, Cameron Monaghan

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Allison Janney, Mom
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Judith Light, Transparent
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Last year, the TV Academy gave this category 8 slots so this year they've trimmed it down to just six which meant a few perennials were left out like Mayim Bialik, Julie Bowen, and sadly Jane Krakowski. That said, Judith Light is a bit of a surprise inclusion this year and might just fight for the win against last year's champ Janney. The only other person I can see possibly winning would be Chlumsky if Veep suddenly sweeps.

Prediction: Allison Janney
Alternate: Judith Light
Should Win: Kate McKinnon
Should've Been Nominated: Donna Lynne Champlin, Yael Groblas, Cecily Strong, Jane Krakowski

They've already given out the Guest Acting Awards last weekend at the Creative Arts Awards. The winners are below:
BEST GUEST ACTOR, DRAMA: Hank Azaria, Ray Donovan
BEST GUEST ACTRESS, DRAMA: Margo Martindale, The Americans
BEST GUEST ACTOR, COMEDY: Peter Scolari, Girls
BEST GUEST ACTRESS, COMEDY: Tina Fey & Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live

What an interesting list of winners. No one predicted Azaria and Martindale barely broke a sweat garnering her second win for this role. Scolari meanwhile was a late addition to the category and still won. And of course this is Poehler's FIRST Emmy win. I'm happy for her, but she also deserved A LOT better than sharing an Emmy win for a guest stint on SNL that won't be televised.

Finally, for completeness sake, here are my predictions for the Limited Series/Movie categories:

BEST TV LIMITED SERIES: The People v. OJ Simpson
BEST TV MOVIE: All The Way
BEST ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE: Courtney B. Vance
BEST ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE: Sarah Paulson
BEST SUPP. ACTOR, LIMIT/MOVIE: Hugh Laurie
BEST SUPP. ACTRESS, LIMIT/MOVIE: Jean Smart

I love you and I like you...

Was trying to think of a perfect post to put up this Valentine's Day. Was scouring for gifs or screencaps of romantic moments from the past year in movies and TV shows. But then I stumbled into this fantastic fanvid someone put together to chronicle the beautiful story of Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt, so I thought I'd share that...


...of course the show ended last year when NBC unceremoniously aired its final season a year ago, doubling up episodes to air weekly during the first two months of the year. No matter, as it was still worth it in the end. So to Parks and Recreation, I love you and I like you.

Golden Globes Does the American Hustle; Brooklyn 99 Surprises

Due to my parent's anniversary falling on Golden Globes Sunday this year, I actually missed all of the red carpet coverage (blessing in disguise?) and the first hour or so of the ceremony. So it felt like I was playing catch up all night. Most of this could be attributed to the weird hi-jinks happening on stage like a barefoot Emma Thompson hamming it up or Diane Keaton singing at the end of her tribute to Cecil B. Demille recipient Woody Allen. But I think the unpredictability of the awards, especially the TV ones, and the spread the love mentality also had something to do with it. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were predictable great. The Clooney joke was one for the ages and all of their in-show skits were just right. They should be asked again next year in two years if they're willing. But of course, we have to talk about the winners...

Best Motion Picture, Drama: 12 Years A Slave
Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical: American Hustle
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Best Actress, Drama: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Best Actor, Drama: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actor, Comedy or Musical: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Actress, Comedy or Musical: Amy Adams, American Hustle
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Animated Film: Frozen
Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty
Best Screenplay: Spike Jonze, Her
Best Score: Alex Ebert, All Is Lost
Best Song: "Ordinary Love," Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

American Hustle walked home with the most awards with three total, two for its actresses and one for Best Comedy/Musical. Dallas Buyers Club was the only other film to pick up multiple awards with two for Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey. The latter was a bit of a surprise winning against presumed front-runner Chiwetel Ejiofor whose film was actually shut out for most of the night until winning the last award for Best Drama Film. It was a curiously weak showing for 12 Years a Slave that could portend things for the Oscars. But it did still win the top prize, which many thought was going to go to Gravity especially with Alfonso Cuaron winning Director earlier, so it's still very much in the race. Meanwhile Leonardo DiCaprio got his second Globe win this time in Comedy/Musical while Cate Blanchett continued her winning streak. As an aside, did anyone else gasp when DiCaprio was presenting Best Actress in Drama and said "Cate" thinking for a split second he was goign to say "Winslet" instead of Blanchett? In any case, Her also managed to win a major award for Spike Jonze's screenplay while Frozen expectedly won Best Animated Film (though not Best Song which went to U2, an obvious result in hindsight). I went 8 out of 14 with my predictions getting a couple of acting and most of the below-the-line categories wrong.

Best TV Series, Drama: Breaking Bad
Best TV Series, Comedy: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Best Actress, Drama: Robin Wright, House of Cards
Best Actress, Comedy: Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Best Actor, Drama: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Best Actor, Comedy: Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Best Mini-Series or TV Movie: Behind the Candelabra
Best Actress, Miniseries/TV Movie: Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake
Best Actor, Miniseries/TV Movie: Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
Best Supporting Actress: Jacqueline Bisset, Dancing on the Edge
Best Supporting Actor: Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

The big winner on the TV side is the letter B with Breaking Bad, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Behind the Candelabara picking up two awards each for the series and their lead actors. Bryan Cranston and Michael Douglas' wins were expected, but who could've predicted Andy Samberg to beat out Poehler in getting awarded for a sitcom role? Thankfully the universe righted itself immediately as Poehler finally, finally won (suck on that Emmy Awards) and was given the opportunity to make out with Bono as well as delivery a truly lovely speech. Fellow internet-fave Tatiana Maslany didn't win as she lost to The Princess Bride herself Robin Wright. More exciting though was the win for Elisabeth Moss for Top of the Lake making her the first Mad Men actor to win a major acting award. Pretty ridiculous stat, right? Other wins included Jon Voight who was weirdly nervous and Jacqueline Bisset who was clearly in shock as she delivered a confused and rambling speech that just made everyone uncomfortable. Overall, I did pretty poorly predictions-wise with 5 out of 11, but at least most of the wins were pleasant surprises. Mostly pleased for Brooklyn Nine-Nine whose wins should guarantee a S2 renewal. In the end, Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul said it best when he accepted the show's series win, "Yeah, bitch!"

The 2013 Emmys: The Winners

So... that was a weird Emmy ceremony, wasn't it? I mean we all know how fantastic Neil Patrick Harris is as awards host, but he never really got it going after a lackluster opening that relied more on other people (especially consummate awards show saviors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler) to make entertaining. Yes, he did a fun song-and-dance number in the middle of the ceremony about singing and dancing in the middle of the ceremony and the skit he had with his How I Met Your Mother cast was pretty good, but this was one of his lesser hosting turns I think.

Harris certainly wasn't helped by the (unintentional?) depressing theme of the night: dead people. They were everywhere. The idea behind the separate In Memoriam tributes for a few choice people was ill-conceived from the start, but the execution (them being spread out throughout the show and featuring no clips) left much to be desired and really brought a solemn mood to the ceremony. Though I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how affective Edie Falco's tribute was for the late James Gandolfini. We even had a 1963 tribute that began with Dr. King's death and ended with Carrie Underwood murdering a Beatles song. And if that weren't enough, we had someone's spouse accepting an award on behalf of her late husband and Claire Danes dedicating her award to a writer on her show who had also died. Oh and there was also the most random Liberace tribute in the middle of the show even though the man died more than two decades ago.

The awards themselves were fairly unpredictable in a night that saw quite a lot of first-time winners and upsets in key categories. Modern Family took home the Comedy Series award again (as well as Directing), but for the first time since they've been eligible, they were shut out from the acting awards with first-time winners Tony Hale and Merritt Wever taking the Supporting categories. Wever was the night's first winner and memorably left the stage without really making an acceptance speech while Hale came back on stage to hilariously assist his co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus during her acceptance speech for Actress. Jim Parsons took home Actor while the Emmys gave some love to 30 Rock in the form of a Writing award for Tina Fey.

There were plenty of drama in the Drama categories with all six of its acting awards going to six different shows. Danes was the only repeat winner for Actress while Jeff Daniels, Anna Gunn, and Bobby Cannavale all upset (though Gunn's win actually made me happy while Daniels' just caused me to shake my head). Last year's powerhouse Homeland picked up a second prize tonight for its Writing while Netflix picks up its first ever Primetime Emmy win for David Fincher's Direction for House of Cards. The night ended on a high note with Breaking Bad winning Best Drama Series and from the looks of it, it should be seen as the favorite for next year as well.

The top winner of the night is Behind the Candelabra picking up kudos for Actor, Directing, and Miniseries. Oddly enough I predicted all of the acting winners in Miniseries putting my tally at 10 of 19 which is a personal best. If we're counting alternates, I'm at 12 of 19. Other award highlights include The Colbert Report finally winning over The Daily Show and the surreal/visually fun Choreography performances, which I really hope they do every year.

Here is a complete list of winners from tonight...

DRAMA
SERIES: Breaking Bad (AMC)
ACTOR: Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom (HBO)
ACTRESS: Claire Danes, Homeland (SHO)
SUPP. ACTOR: Bobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
SUPP. ACTRESS: Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad (AMC)
DIRECTING: David Fincher, House of Cards (Netflix)
WRITING: Henry Bromell, Homeland (SHO)
GUEST ACTOR: Dan Bucatinsky, Scandal (ABC)
GUEST ACTRESS: Carrie Preston, The Good Wife (CBS)

COMEDY
SERIES: Modern Family (ABC)
ACTOR: Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory (CBS)
ACTRESS: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
SUPP. ACTOR: Tony Hale, Veep (HBO)
SUPP. ACTRESS: Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie (SHO)
DIRECTING: Gail Mancuso, Modern Family (ABC)
WRITING: Tina Fey and Tracey Wigfield, 30 Rock (NBC)
GUEST ACTOR: Bob Newhart, Big Bang Theory (CBS)
GUEST ACTRESS: Melissa Leo, Louie (FX)

MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIALS
MINISERIES OR MOVIE: Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
ACTOR: Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
ACTRESS: Laura Linney, The Big C: Hereafter (HBO)
SUPP. ACTOR: James Cromwell, American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
SUPP. ACTRESS: Ellen Burstyn, Political Animals (USA)
DIRECTING: Steven Soderbergh, Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
WRITING: Abi Morgan, The Hour (BBC America)

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM
SERIES: The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
SPECIAL: Louis C.K.: Oh My God (HBO)
DIRECTING: Saturday Night Live (NBC)
WRITING: The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)

REALITY
COMPETITION PROGRAM: The Voice (NBC)
PROGRAM: Undercover Boss (CBS)
HOST: Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway (Lifetime)

Emmy Nominations and Predictions

I've been so remiss in talking about the Emmy Awards this year to the point that I didn't even blog about my instant reaction to the nominations a couple months ago. Suffice to say, my feelings have largely stabilized and so I am now able to calmly discuss this year's nominations and give my predictions just in time for this year's ceremony which airs tomorrow. And so my thoughts...

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Mad Men

Can someone stop Mad Men from a winning a record fifth time? If there was ever a year, this would be it. Breaking Bad has built up so much buzz and goodwill that it may be seen as timely to give it the big win, but it'd also be foolish to underestimate new show Homeland and everyone's obsession Downton Abbey. I was shocked that The Good Wife didn't make it in, but it's not as if these nominees aren't worthy. I'm thinking Mad Men's streak ends this year.

Prediction: Homeland
Alternate: Breaking Bad
Should Win: Breaking Bad
Should've Been Nominated: The Good Wife

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland

Jon Hamm had his chance last year, but it wasn't meant to be and it is even harder this year with 3-time winner Bryan Cranston back in the line up as well as newcomer Damian Lewis. I'm pretty sure one of those men will get the prize, as I predicted before they even got nominated, but which one is anybody's guess. No one really got robbed of a nomination here, but I wished another leading man from Downton Abbey made it in. Or even Jason Isaacs for his under-appreciated show Awake.

Prediction: Damian Lewis
Alternate: Bryan Cranston
Should Win: Damian Lewis
Should've Been Nominated: Dan Stevens, Jason Isaacs

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Kathy Bates, Harry's Law
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

I'd complain about a few snubs like Emmy Rossum or Madeleine Stowe, but this category is stacked like whoa with very talented ladies. I honestly can say I'm equally rooting for about four of them to win so I think my chances are good for the big night. The frontrunners are obviously past Emmy winners Claire Danes and Julianna Margulies, but anything can happen. I'd say they'd randomly give it to Bates, but she finally won her first Emmy last weekend for Guest Actress. I also want to take this moment to FREAK OUT over Dockery's nomination. I seriously thought it was a long shot!

Prediction: Claire Danes
Alternate: Elisabeth Moss
Should Win: Michelle Dockery
Should've Been Nominated: Emmy Rossum, Madeline Stowe

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Brendan Coyle, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad
Jared Harris, Mad Men
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad

Definitely didn't expect the Emmy voters to go Downton crazy this year, at least to this extent, but it's quite evident in this category. Their nominations are their reward though while the other four men will duke it out. Initially I really thought this category was going to pit last year's winner Dinklage against 2010's winner Paul, but perhaps another Breaking Bad actor will take it all. In my heart, I think Esposito could upset, but I still think I will predict Paul or Dinklage to win.

Prediction: Aaron Paul
Alternate: Peter Dinklage
Should Win: Aaron Paul
Should've Been Nominated: Gabriel Mann, John Noble

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

I love the actress, but Froggatt's nomination is hilarious. On the other hand, I am over the moon ecstatic that Anna Gunn was recognized for her stellar work. I think Lena Heady was robbed a bit, but not to the extent that I'm super angry about it. As for who has the edge, I'm actually going to pick Christina Hendricks to be the first Mad Men actor to win an Emmy! Yes, even over the great dame Maggie Smith who can just as easily win of course.

Prediction: Christina Hendricks,
Alternate: Maggie Smith
Should Win: Christina Hendricks
Should've Been Nominated: Lena Heady, Maisie Williams

BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Big Bang Theory
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Girls
Modern Family
30 Rock
Veep

I understand the snub of Community YET AGAIN, but this category is pure and utter bullshit without Parks and Recreation. In fact, I'd probably only support two of these shows to make the shortlist, so I have pretty negative feelings about the Comedy categories overall. I mean at least they didn't nominate Glee or Smash, but seriously this category is useless with Parks and Recreation. Repeating myself? YES I AM.

Prediction: Modern Family
Alternate: Girls
Should Win: None since it belongs to Parks and Recreation
Should've Been Nominated: Parks and Recreation, Community

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
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

See my comment above about having negative feelings about these comedy categories. Of course it doesn't help that I only watch two of these performances regularly, but even those don't really inspire strong feelings within. I was a bit shocked that Elijah Wood didn't get nominated for Wilfred, but I guess that show was off their radar or something. I don't even have a rooting interest really. Moving on.

Prediction: Jim Parsons
Alternate: Alec Baldwin
Should Win: Louis C.K.
Should've Been Nominated: Adam Scott, Elijah Wood

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Kind of annoying that there's seven nominations, but at the very least they included Amy Poehler even though they snub her show (still not over it). If there was any justice in the world she would win this award, but I think the front runner here is Emmy favorite Julia Louis-Dreyfus, which in her defense would be completely deserved. Deschanel and Dunham as the new kids in town also have the edge for being new and cool. Was a bit bummed about Plimpton's snub, but she won a guest Emmy last week so it's all good!

Prediction: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Alternate: Zooey Deschanel
Should Win: Amy Poehler
Should've Been Nominated: Courtney Cox, Martha Plimpton

BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live
Ed O'Neill, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Look, I like Modern Family as much as any other guy, but chill the fuck out Emmy voters. The show is NOT THAT GOOD. With that said, I'd be shocked if anyone from another show wins, because the odds are just so stacked against them. Greenfield's nomination was a bit refreshing though, but Nick Offerman, Jim Rash, and Damon Wayans Jr. should've been nominated as well. This category just saddens me.

Prediction: Ed O'Neill
Alternate: Ty Burrell
Should Win: Casting director of Modern Family
Should've Been Nominated: Jim Rash, Nick Offerman, Damon Wayans Jr., and more

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

Joosten gets her posthumous nomination and her show's one and only. As crass as it is to talk about, her death does give her an edge here. Last year's winner Bowen could just as easily repeat, but I think Joosten's biggest challenge is from Sofia Vergara. Bialik's nomination gives me immense joy as she's the one consistent bright spot on her show. Never underestimate Wiig though especially for her farewell season. Lots of snubs particularly Jane Krakowski and my fave girl in Girls Zosia Mamet.

Prediction: Kathryn Joosten
Alternate: Sofia Vergara
Should Win: Mayim Bialik
Should've Been Nominated: Zosia Mamet, Jane Krakowski

OTHER CATEGORIES
Best Miniseries or Movie: Game Change
Best Actor, Miniseries: Clive Owen, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Best Actress, Miniseries: Julianne Moore, Game Change
Best Supporting Actor, Miniseries: Martin Freeman, Sherlock
Best Supporting Actress, Miniseries: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Best Guest Actor, Comedy*: Michael J. Fox, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Best Guest Actress, Comedy*: Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Best Guest Actor, Drama*: Mark Margolis, Breaking Bad
Best Guest Actress, Drama*: Joan Cusack, Shameless

Please take my predictions with a grain of salt as historically I have NOT done well. Last year, I predicted 7 of 19 awards correctly which is quite pathetic. *With the Creative Emmys already giving out the awards for guest acting last week, I start off with a whimper in my predictions getting a grand total of zero correct. Though if I really thought about it, I should've realized Bates was the easy pick in her category. On to the show!

Critics' Choice Television Awards Winners

It was only last year when the Broadcast Television Journalists Association held the inaugural Critics' Choice Television Awards and just tonight they handed out their second set of winners. I unfortunately didn't get to talk about the nominees when they came out a couple of weeks ago since I was still in blogging limbo-hiatus land, so just wanted to quickly give my thoughts on the nominees below and the eventual winners.

BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Big Bang Theory
COMMUNITY
Girls
Modern Family
New Girl
Parks and Recreation

Community surprised everyone by notching the most nominations of any show and it shocked everyone again by taking the top prize. While it wouldn't be my personal choice (my vote would have been for Parks & Rec), I can't help but feel ecstatic for the show and the cast. Nomination-wise, no big shockers. Happy Endings and Cougar Town really should be here, but it is what it is.

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
HOMELAND
Mad Men

I would have loved for them to find room for Fringe, but how can I really complain with a nomination list so obviously full of quality? My own pick would probably be Breaking Bad, but I do mean it when I say that any of these shows would've been a worthy winner. This year the prize went to Homeland.

BEST MOVIE/MINISERIES
American Horror Story
Luther
SHERLOCK
Page Eight
The Hour
Game Change

Weirdly enough I've seen four out of the six nominees though not the one starring Julianne Moore. Sherlock took the win and it probably would've gotten my vote as well from the choices.

Who Should Replace Eddie Murphy as Oscar Host?

I'm a bit late on the whole Brett Ratner Oscar controversy, but chances are if you're reading my blog you've seen it all already on other blogs and news sites. When I first heard about Ratner's homophobic comments on Monday, I was angry of course, but I had already resigned myself for the usual "sincere" apology follow by the slap-in-the-wrist punishment. Even after reading Mark Harris' excellent article calling for Ratner's firing, I was pleased many were strongly making their feelings known, but I still didn't think the Academy would actually do anything.

Fast forward to the next day and suddenly Ratner has resigned as producer. I actually missed the initial reactions to this since I was oddly enough in the midst of watching the Ratner-produced Horrible Bosses (Sidenote: Pretty funny, but I credit the casting director). Then there was the probably expected, but still shocking announcement yesterday that Eddie Murphy was stepping down as Oscar host. All in all, it's been a busy and ugly few days for the Academy and now they have to find a new producer (Brian Grazer!) and a new host (TBD!) ASAP.

Now Grazer has produced a bajillion things, so he's clearly up to the task, but who will he pick to replace Murphy? Maybe not replace him at all as there are already rumors that he might convince his Tower Heist star to stay on or to get co-star Ben Stiller. There's also people saying that he's courting his Apollo 13 star Tom Hanks to do it, but zzzz. He's also worked with Jim Carrey, which would certainly be a fresh choice, but still wouldn't be my own personal pick for the job. So in an effort to help out, below are my top 10 choices for Oscar host (sorry if this list is ridiculous repetitive from all of the other wishlists that have popped up):

1. The Muppets with Jason Segel and Amy Adams -- everyone thinks so #muppetsoscars
2. Neil Patrick Harris with or without Hugh Jackman -- he needs an EGOT in hosting and I want singing!
3. Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy and/or Octavia Spencer -- big year for all of them and also they are very funny
4. Ellen Degeneres -- still remember fondly when she hosted
5. Meryl Streep -- she can do no wrong; in fact she can probably host as Eddie Murphy no problem.
6. Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, and/or Amy Poehler -- as a solo act, as a pair, as a threesome... mix-and-match, it's all good!
7. Justin Timberlake -- no joke; he quite excels at hosting Saturday Night Live
8. Ryan Gosling, Jessica Chastain, or Michael Fassbender -- collectively they're in 90% of films this year... so why not?
9. Alan Rickman or Maggie Smith -- would never happen, but this is one way they can "honor" the Harry Potter series if they want
10. Anne Hathaway and James Franco -- everyone deserves a second chance as long as they rehearse (don't be Ratner!)

As you can tell I'm against the usual template of old white dude. You have to go down to my 6th choice to find the first straight white male and I'm advocating he hosts in tandem with one or two ladies. Then again the chance that one of my picks will actually be chosen is probably slim to none, but I can still dream and make crazy lists! Now it's your turn! Who do you want to host?

Birthday Girl: Amy Poehler

The beautiful and generally kick-ass Amy Poehler celebrates her 40th birthday today. This weekend, she'll no doubt be walking down the red carpet with husband Will Arnett at the Emmy Awards where she's nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy Series alongside best friend Tina Fey. She'll probably lose to Laura Linney, because they like their comedy dark and edgy preferably given by a movie star. Do I need I remind the TV Academy that Poehler too is a movie star? Remember how she played the "cool mom" in Mean Girls or how about her breakout role as Susie in the cult classic Wet Hot American Summer?

But hey even if she loses, her fantastic show Parks & Recreation starts its 4th season in less than a week! That pretty much means that everyone wins! Happy Birthday Amy!

Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later

Ten years ago, Wet Hot American Summer debut in New York City and according to Wikipedia, it promptly became a "commercial and critical flop." Was the film perfect? Hardly. But it had an energetic cast doing silly antics and has thus gaining a cult following of which I'm a proud member. I re-watched the film today and I was cracking up at all of the same places I cracked up a few years ago. The film is also a wonderful time capsule of the careers of most of the actors in the film who have since gone on to bigger fame. Thus this following quote from the film, uttered by the then unknown Bradley Cooper, takes on new meaning:

Hey, let’s all promise that in ten years from today, we’ll meet again, and we’ll see what kind of people we’ve blossomed into.

Let's see just how they blossomed, shall we?


Both Janeane Garofalo and David Hyde Pierce were already household names when they did the film back in 2001. They already got a couple of Emmy nominations, with Pierce winning three at that point for Frasier. So really it was all downhill from there. Okay, not really. Both kept working throughout the decade mostly sticking to TV. Garofalo most recently appeared on the now-canceled Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior while Pierce finished his stint on the Broadway stage in La Bête earlier this year.


Michael Showalter wrote the film with the director David Wain. Both were part of the MTV series State in the mid-90s. He has mostly stuck to writing and hosting in his own shows, sometimes collaborating with fellow co-star Michael Ian Black. Browsing through her credits, it's probably easier to name TV shows that Marguerite Moreau hasn't appeared in. She was clearly in demand before the film and kept quite busy since. More recently, she made a multi-episode appearance in Parenthood and Shameless.


This entry is really devoted to these two. Not many people knew who the heck Amy Poehler and Bradley Cooper were when this film came out and now? Let's start with what happened right after the film was released. She started her stint in Saturday Night Live and he went on a show named ALIAS. The rest, shall we say, is history. She went on to appear in a few movies and TV shows before branching out on her own show Parks and Recreation where she is brilliant and has been twice Emmy nominated. He, on the other hand, has turned into a in-demand Hollywood heartthrob getting his huge break in The Hangover. He starred in the film's sequel this year and is rumored to play Lucifer in an upcoming film adaptation of Paradise Lost.