Birthday Boy: Aaron Paul

Aaron Paul celebrates his 35th birthday today. Just a couple days ago, he picked up his third Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series making him the youngest and only actor to win the award three times. He won it for playing one of the best characters in TV, Jesse Pinkman, who went from meth-head punk to sympathetic hero in the course of Breaking Bad's run. His character to many, including myself, became the heart of Breaking Bad especially towards the show's end and he and the show will be missed. I still remember that Labor Day weekend four years ago when I started watching the show and noticed Paul's talents.

Of course, I had seen Paul prior to his Breaking Bad stint most memorably in Big Love playing the love interest of Amanda Seyfried's character. He was also pretty good in Smashed alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead. He also appeared in bit parts on a few TV shows and movies such as Veronica Mars, Joan of Arcadia, Mission: Impossible III, Get Real, and a whole bunch more. As for what his future entails, he starred in Need for Speed earlier this year and will be in Exodus: Gods and Kings. neither of those projects excite me. Instead, I look forward to next year for Fathers and Daughters which reunites him with Seyfried and John Hillcoat's Triple Nine which has an enviable ensemble (Winslet, Reedus, Harrelson, Affleck, Mackie, Ejiofor).

But really whatever he does now, he'll always be Jesse Pinkman and everyone will always want him to call them bitch. I know that's my dream.

The 2014 Emmys: The Winners

This morning I saw someone describe last night's Emmy Awards as "almost shocking predictability," which pretty much sums it up perfectly as the majority of winners went to those who have won Emmys before, most for the same category/roles they've won previously. In fact, all eight acting winners last night had won an Emmy before with only now 6-time Emmy winner Allison Janey winning for a new role. Meanwhile, Modern Family and Breaking Bad respectively won Best Series for a 5th and 2nd time fighting off buzzy newcomers such as Orange is the New Black and True Detective (both which a lot of people think were done in by category confusion).

It was a huge night for Breaking Bad in their last year of eligibility not only winning Best Drama Series but picking up hardware for all of its principal actors and for writing which went to only the third woman ever to win in this category for solely writing a TV script. True Detective did win Directing while Julianna Margulies won extending the wonderful streak of women from The Good Wife winning Emmys to five years. In the comedy side, it was no less predictable and yet more frustrating. Network TV stood tall here with Modern Family, Big Bang Theory, and Mom winning most of the awards while Louis C.K. (for his writing) and Veep's Julia Louis Dreyfus representing cable/premium. The latter by far had one of the best reaction to a win tonight as she got to hilariously make out with her previous Seinfeld beau Bryan Cranston on the way to the stage. Serious question though, when will the TV Academy tire of awarding Modern Family? With their win, they tied Frasier as the winningest comedy.

Fortunately/unfortunately, the miniseries/TV movie actually provided some surprises as presumed frontrunners Fargo and The Normal Heart only walked away with three trophies total including Best Miniseries and Best TV Movie respectively. The rest of went to Sherlock and American Horror Story: Coven. I actually went 0 for 4 in those Miniseries acting categories putting my overall prediction tally at 11 of 19 (with alternates 13 of 19).

The ceremony itself was okay even though there were a lot of skits and presenter banter/monologues that fell flat or went on too long. Unless you're Amy Pueblo (Poehler) or Julia Louis-Dreyfus, I don't recommend doing anything extra. Seth Myers was fine in his Weekend Update Late Night Show Host kind of way, but he really wasn't help by the lack of suprise winners or moments during the ceremony. The Weird Al performance of TV themes set to lyrics was equal parts genius and messy (would've help if they had provided captions). I also love Billy Eichner so his Emmy on the Streets routine was great, but I can see him being polarizing. The In Memoriam segment was beautiful and depressing and Billy Crystal's moving tribute to Robin Williams was perhaps the highlight of the night for a lot of people. The lowlight, at least for me, has got to be Sofia Vergara being placed in a rotating platform as Academy president ironically talked about diversity on TV.

The complete list of winners from tonight (plus the guest acting winners from last week):

DRAMA
SERIES: Breaking Bad (AMC)
ACTOR: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
ACTRESS: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife (CBS)
SUPP. ACTOR: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad (AMC)
SUPP. ACTRESS: Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad (AMC)
DIRECTING: Cary Joji Fukunaga, True Detective (HBO)
WRITING: Moira Walley-Beckett, Breaking Bad (AMC)
GUEST ACTOR: Joe Morton, Scandal (ABC)
GUEST ACTRESS: Allison Janney, Masters of Sex (SHO)

COMEDY
SERIES: Modern Family (ABC)
ACTOR: Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory (CBS)
ACTRESS: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
SUPP. ACTOR: Ty Burrell, Modern Family (ABC)
SUPP. ACTRESS: Allison Janney, Mom (CBS)
DIRECTING: Gail Mancuso, Modern Family (ABC)
WRITING: Louis C.K., Louie (FX)
GUEST ACTOR: Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
GUEST ACTRESS: Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black (Netflix)

MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIALS
MINISERIES: Fargo (FX)
TV MOVIE: The Normal Heart (HBO)
ACTOR: Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock (PBS)
ACTRESS: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
SUPP. ACTOR: Martin Freeman, Sherlock (PBS)
SUPP. ACTRESS: Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
DIRECTING: Colin Bucksey, Fargo (FX)
WRITING: Steven Moffat, Sherlock (PBS)

Emmy Nominations and Predictions: Drama

Yesterday, I took a look at the comedy categories and talked about who the favorites are and who should've been nominated. With one day left until the Emmys, here are my thoughts and predictions for the drama categories.

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
House of Cards
Mad Men
True Detective

Last year, I was fine with The Good Wife not being nominated, but this year I'm just ANGRY. There's just no excuse for that show to have been left off the list this year after its mind-blowing fifth season. I guess I should be satisfied that there aren't any real dogs among the nominees (maybe Downton Abbey a little?), but how great would it have been to see something like Masters of Sex or The Americans (this show in particular was largely ignored by the TV Academy as well as Hannibal) in the lineup. Breaking Bad is the slight frontrunner here after snatching the reins from Mad Men last year and delivering a nearly flawless final final season, but True Detective (in the wrong fucking category by the way) is the buzzy new kid on the block starring the McConnaisance so it's not a lock by any means.

Prediction: Breaking Bad
Alternate: True Detective
Should Win: Breaking Bad
Should've Been Nominated: The Good Wife, Masters of Sex, The Americans, Hannibal

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Woody Harrelson, True Detective
Matthew McConaughey, True Detective
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

The Oscars should beat the Tonys at this year's Emmys. I mean, I've made my peace that Oscar winner McConaughey will win and not undeservedly so especially since Tony winner Cranston already has won three times prior, so it's all good. And to be brutally honest, I'm pretty much just anti-Daniels this year whose win last year still confounds and angers me (over Cranston? over Spacey? over Hamm?). So everyone else can literally win as long as it's not Daniels. With that said, did the TV Academy not watch Hannibal with its stunning season-long two-man standoff between Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy? Because wow.

Prediction: Matthew McConaughey
Alternate: Bryan Cranston
Should Win: Bryan Cranston
Should've Been Nominated: Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy, Matthew Rhys

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Kerry Washington, Scandal
Robin Wright, House of Cards

The sheer happiness I felt when Caplan's name was called on nomination morning was tempered a bit when I realized that Elisabeth Moss was left out. Out of all last year's nominees, I would've pegged Moss to be the safest based on what she did on her show this season. Her non-nomination was one of those things that you didn't think about until it happened and then everything hurt. I am happy that Margulies came back after being left out last year, especially after such a brilliant season. I have no idea who the favorite is. Danes has won the past two years, but Caplan could surprise as could Golden Globe winner Wright. Write-in vote for Moss? Write-in vote for Tatiana Maslany! Who am I kidding? It'll probably be Jeff Daniels and I'll get angry all over again.

Prediction: Julianna Margulies
Alternate: Robin Wright
Should Win: Lizzy Caplan
Should've Been Nominated: Elisabeth Moss, Tatiana Maslany, Keri Russell

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

I actually still like Downton Abbey and Carson is a hoot, but Carter's nomination is just ridiculous especially in such a seriously competitive and stacked category already. Very happy to see Charles nominated here and it does lessen the sting of his character's loss in the show (and the show's snub... yes, still not over it). Previous winners Dinklage and Paul upped their level making it really easy to see and want either one in the winner's circle again. Voight is the wildcard as he could swoop in as the veteran Hollywood actor to get his first Emmy win. Dean Norris probably should've gotten nominated as well as a couple of my genre picks Jordan Gavaris and Dylan O'Brien.

Prediction: Aaron Paul
Alternate: Peter Dinklage
Should Win: Josh Charles
Should've Been Nominated: Dean Norris, Jordan Gavaris, Dylan O'Brien

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Joanne Froggat, Downton Abbey
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

The good news is that I heart all of these actresses so even if I think a couple of nominations are lazy (Smith, Hendricks), the TV Academy couldn't really do much wrong here. I'm rooting for Gunn and Baranski in equal measure as I want the former to win for delivering just an outstanding tour-de-force performance and the latter to win to continue the awesome Good Wife streak to five years of kick-ass actresses winning the Emmy from that show. With regards to who should've been nominated, there are a few names, but most are from genre shows so I didn't expect them too much. Though what does Maisie Williams have to go to get in on the Emmy love for Game of Thrones? Pay attention, people!

Prediction: Anna Gunn
Alternate: Maggie Smith
Should Win: Anna Gunn
Should've Been Nominated: Maisie Williams, Lana Parrilla, Katheryn Winnick

And if you're still reading here are just my predictions for the Miniseries/TV Movies categories:

BEST TV MINISERIES: Fargo
BEST TV MOVIE: The Normal Heart
BEST ACTOR, MINISERIES/MOVIE: Billy Bob Thornton
BEST ACTRESS, MINISERIES/MOVIE: Cicely Tyson
BEST SUPP. ACTOR, MINI/MOVIE: Matt Bomer
BEST SUPP. ACTRESS, MINI/MOVIE: Julia Roberts

Critics' Choice Television Awards Winners

On Friday, the TV awards season ramped up with the Emmy ballots being due and the critics giving us their picks for the best of the past TV year. Since this was only the fourth year of the Critic's Choice Television Awards, it's hard to take stock in how predictive they are with regards to Emmy nominations/winners. What is evident is the critics' willingness to champion shows and performers that might be too new or too niche for Emmy voters and I for one love that. My quick thoughts on the nominees and winners...

BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Americans
BREAKING BAD
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Masters of Sex
True Detective

Breaking Bad winning for its brilliant final season was expected and yet totally well-deserved even with the REALLY tough competition as it competed against shows I've loved the past year. I haven't seen True Detective and I don't question its quality. But I do question its placement here and not in Best Miniseries. I wholeheartedly believe that TV anthologies, especially with different actors featured each season, should not compete in Best Series. More on that later.

BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Big Bang Theory
Broad City
Louie
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
Silicon Valley
Veep

This is what I mean by the critics championing shows. Is Broad City and Silicon Valley even in the conversation? And as much pop culture and critical buzz winner Orange is the New Black has, I wouldn't be surprise if the TV Academy largely ignored them. I hope they don't. They would be damn stupid if they did. Though the critics are as bad as the Emmys. Four years in and Parks and Recreation is still awards-less with this group (though at least Amy Poehler won a couple years ago). Just FYI, previous winners were Modern Family, Community, and Big Bang Theory.

BEST MINI-SERIES
American Horror Story: Coven
Bonnie & Clyde
Dancing on the Edge
FARGO
The Hollow Crown
Luther

Oh look, it's the category True Detective should be in. Of course Fargo won and the race would've been far more interesting if it was pitted against True Detective, but whatever. I'm over it (no, I'm not).

BEST MOVIE
An Adventure in Space and Time
Burton and Taylor
Killing Kennedy
THE NORMAL HEART
Sherlock: His Last Vow
The Trip to Bountiful

It pleases me SO MUCH that An Adventure in Space and Time was nominated here (and got a few more nominations in other categories). Of course, this category went to The Normal Heart directed by Ryan Murphy who the critics decided to give EXTRA love this year by giving him the Genius Award. I don't actually care enough to debate whether or not Murphy deserves such an honor. What I do care about is how they completely ignored Popular (his first TV show) in his tribute. Fact: Mary Cherry is the greatest character has done and will do.

End-Of-Year: Favorite 2013 TV Shows, Part 2

Sensing a pattern here as I posted Part 1 of my TV rankings more than two weeks ago, which I posted more than two weeks after I picked my acting winners. And it's already the middle of February, so without further a due...

My Top Fifteen TV Shows of 2013

15. Trophy Wife - Like Cougar Town, the title of this little-seen sitcom hides the gem within. Malin Akerman plays Kate, the titular wife to Bradley Whitford's Pete, his third wife to be exact. His relationship with his previous two ex-wives (with kids) are friendly enough that he still keeps in constant contact with them and it's this hilarious and awkward family unit that is on full display. The cast is uniformly wonderful from little show-stealing Albert Tsai to the deadpan genius of Marcia Gay Harden.

14. Doctor Who - I'm probably ranking this show a bit higher than I really think it deserves as a whole mostly because I was quite impressed by the 50th Anniversary episode, which really was the moment the show has been working towards for the past couple of years. The rest of the episodes, including the Christmas finale, ranged from meh to good to no fault of the departing Matt Smith who was game for so many things in his last few episodes.

13. Shameless - The last season aired more than a year ago and I still can't get certain scenes out of my head such as Fiona fighting to get legal guardianship of her siblings in court or Kevin having sex with Veronica's mother in an attempt to get a baby or Mickey's dad finding his son making out with Ian and the violence that follows. But it less about these unforgettable moments, which the show has in spades, and more about this talented ensemble of mostly young actors led by an exquisite Emmy Rossum that I find most worthy of praise.

12. Broadchurch - This is a perfect example of a show that was a slow and steady burn with a tight script, wonderful cast, and breathtaking production values. The whodunnit aspect  may have been the hook for the show, but it's the deft way the show handled the complexity of its grisly plot (a young boy's murder in a tight-knit small community) that impressed me. The emotionally gratifying resolution was simultaneously shocking and organic, a rare combination. It's no wonder a US remake is on the way.

11. Masters of Sex - Who knew adapting the real life work and personal lives of famed sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson would make for some compelling TV? It certainly helps that Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan are both so good as leads with the latter doing some career-best work. But as great as they both are, the show's supporting characters really does elevate the show from the heartbreaking story arcs of the elder Scullys to the more lighthearted situations with Teddy or Jane.

10. Orphan Black - Tatiana Maslany was the breakout TV star of last year for me and she is the main reason why this BBC America sci-fi show became a crossover hit. The obvious hook was seeing one actress playing multiple characters, which Maslany deftly handles, but the show also goes deeper forcing viewers to examine their notions and preconceptions of identity, family, privacy, individuality, free will, and spirituality. Oh, plus lots of bonus ass kicking.

9. In the Flesh - This three-episode British miniseries about a post-zombie apocalypse world is definitely one of the smartest and most affecting show of its kind that I've seen. Newcomer Luke Newberry is brilliant as Kieren Walker, one of the millions of former "undead" who've been rehabilitated and allowed to resume their "normal" lives. Seeing the world, in this case Kieren's family as well as everyone in his small village, react to his return was something to behold. Plus I truly loved all of the various emotional twists and turns the story took leading up to a engrossing finale I couldn't have even imagined.

8. Parks and Recreation - If the entire year just consisted of Leslie and Ben getting married, it probably would've still been in my top 10, but thankfully the show is still doling out great episodes after another featuring one of the least celebrated ensembles on TV. I've quite enjoyed seeing Leslie go through the wringer this year--fighting with her fellow representatives, going through a recall vote, working with Eagletonians, accepting the fact that Ann is leaving--as well as seeing all of the other characters grow and evolve.

7. The Americans - I thought the pilot was quite good and it just got better and better as we got more entrenched in the lives of these two KGB agents, played magnificently by Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, living in secret as a married couple with kids in the height of the Cold War. There's much to love about the show such as its superb cast, its subtle period stylings, and its rocking musical score. But it's its ability to balance the cool spy stuff with its fake wigs, assassination attempts, and crazy gadgets, with the family/personal lives of the characters that really elevate the show for me.

6. Veep - My pick for my favorite new show of last year moves up the ranking delivering a sophomore season that was just as funny and crazy, if not funnier and crazier, as its first brilliant outing. This time around I wasn't as shocked at the insane things the show would have the cast, especially a game Julia-Louis Dreyfus, do but I still couldn't help but laugh. I'm just really looking forward to seeing what off-the-wall stuff they try to do next season.

5. Game of Thrones - With its sophomore season, I feared the show was already spreading itself too thin. Thankfully, the show came roaring back with its strongest season yet last year doing a much better job of juggling and mixing its myriad characters, locales, and stories. It wasn't perfect (Theon's unending torture), but a season that brought us the infamous Red Wedding with its jaw-dropping development is something to be celebrated. And that's just one of a dozen or so plot developments the show unveiled this past season that made me so excited to know what's to come that I *almost* considered starting to read the books!

4. Brooklyn Nine-Nine - A sitcom about cops on FOX starring Andy Samberg? What in the hell? Thankfully, I listened to the critics on this one and gave it a shot, because if I didn't I would've definitely missed out on such a hilarious show. Samberg plays a cocky detective who butts up against the new gay captain with a penchant of deadpans reactions played by Andre Braugher. They work SO well together, but the genius of this show is how every character and every relationship/interaction seem fully realized and most importantly for a sitcom, funny.

3. Orange is the New Black - *BEST COMEDY* *BEST NEW SHOW* I went back and forth on this and Brooklyn Nine-Nine for my top new show/comedy, but I had to give this show the edge both for breaking new ground (along side House of Cards) with its Netflix debut and for its predominantly large female ensemble. And what an ensemble it is (my favorite of the year) consisting of mostly unknowns or newcomers brimming with talent and charm. The actors and the writers together make it nearly impossible to pick a favorite character, which is a sign that you're doing something good.

2. The Good Wife - Everything I love about the show is still present--the interesting court cases, the superb ensemble, the envious roster of guest stars, the interplay between work and home--but their decision to pit Alicia and Cary against Will and Diane catapulted the show to whole new levels of awesome shifting everyone's relationships and allegiances and giving new energy to many of the characters and thus the show. The episode when Will found out about Alicia leaving the firm is one of the best, and most tense, hours of TV all of last year.

1. Breaking Bad - *BEST DRAMA* This was almost too easy. How could I not give one of my favorite shows the top spot especially after it delivered an almost pitch perfect final season? From the get go with Walter threatening Hank, you knew the last eight episodes would take no prisoners and thankfully it all lived up to the deafening hype and buzz. I watched the final season finding myself holding my breath or on the edge of my seat as Walter's and everyone else's situations got worse and worse. And yet the ending was pretty much what it should have been and I still can't believe the cast and crew of the show pulled it all off in the end. TV will have big shoes to fill.

Final Note: Netflix has 3 shows in my top 35 including one in my top 3 while other new networks on my list include FX, History, MTV, and Pivot. The network with my most shows is CBS with 5, but it only has one show in my top 15 while BBC America is second with 4 shows, all of them in my top 15, but in terms of British shows there are a whopping 6 in my list. The big winner, however, are freshman shows with a tally of 15 overall and 8 in my top 15. The future looks good!

Gravity Pulls Ahead After DGA and Historic PGA Wins

Though Gravity walked home empty-handed last weekend at the SAG Awards, it has so far gained a lot of ground by picking up a couple of wins from the PGA and DGA making it the favorite to win Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards.

First, the Producers Guild made history last week by declaring a tie for their top prize, giving it to not only Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity, but also to Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave. The biggest result of this was effectively keeping the Oscar race as tight and competitive as ever especially with rival American Hustle winning the Ensemble award at the SAG Awards. Though people have debated whether or not a tie was actually beneficial for either win, but my thinking is that a win is a win. For Gravity, it legitimizes their film a bit as more than being a sci-fi visual wonder while for 12 Years a Slave, it gives them a much-needed major guild win to hang on to their frontrunner status they acquired early on. The rest of the winners are below...

Motion Picture: Gravity and 12 Years a Slave
Animated Motion Picture: Frozen
Documentary Motion Picture: We Steal Secrets 
Drama Television: Breaking Bad
Comedy Television: Modern Family
Long Form Television: Behind the Candelabra
Non-Fiction Television: Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Live Entertainment and Talk Television: The Colbert Report
Competition Television: The Voice
Sports Program: SportsCenter
Children's Program: Sesame Street
Digital Series: Wired: What's Inside
Milestone Award: Bob Iger
David O. Selznick Achievement Award: Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
Norman Lear Achievement Award: Chuck Lorre
Vanguard Award: Peter Jackson, Joe Letteri and Weta Digital
Stanley Kramer Award: Fruitvale Station
Visionary Award: Chris Meledandri

With the race so close, everyone was seemingly looking to the DGA for some clarity, except that Cuarón was already seen as the heavy favorite and indeed he did win becoming the seventh straight first-time winner for the guild. With his awards season domination including his win last night, it would seem he's locked to win the Oscars and convention says if he won then Gravity would win Best Picture. Many, however, are predicting a split year with Cuarón winning Director and 12 Years a Slave winning Picture. It's possible, but history doesn't really support that scenario. At this point, it might not be until we hear who won Best Editing during the Oscar ceremony to figure out how the top two categories would go. Pretty exciting! The other DGA winners are below:

Feature Film: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Documentary Feature: Jehane Noujaim, The Square
TV Drama Series: Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad
TV Comedy Series: Beth McCarthy-Miller, 30 Rock
TV Movie/Miniseries: Steven Soderbergh, Behind the Candelabra
Reality Programs: Neil P. DeGroot, 72 Hours
Variety Program: Don Roy King, Saturday Night Live
Variety Special: Glenn Weiss, 67th Tony Awards
Children's Programs: Amy Schatz, An Apology to Elephants
Robert B. Aldrich Award: Steven Soderbergh
Frank Capra Achievement Award: Lee Blaine
Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award: Vincent DeDario
Diversity Award: Shonda Rhimes & Betsy Beers

In other news, Breaking Bad, Frozen, and Behind the Candelabra continued their own award season domination picking up awards from both guilds and for Frozen, it solidified its frontrunner status for the Oscars. The series finale of 30 Rock won a DGA alongside the series finale of Breaking Bad. None of the documentaries nominated for the PGA were Oscar-nominated, but Oscar-nominee The Square picks up momentum with its DGA win.

Screen Actors Guild Loves American Hustle & Breaking Bad

As expected, American Hustle picked up Best Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Award last night keeping it as a favorite to win Best Picture at the Oscars despite losing in the individual acting categories. All of the BFCA acting winners repeated their wins with the SAG solidifying their frontrunner status, which bodes especially well for Matthew McConaughey and Lupita Nyong'o whose facing stiff competition in their categories. 

Best Ensemble: American Hustle
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Breaking Bad and Modern Family came out on top, both winning Ensemble and Actor, which means for two years in a row, Bryan Cranston walked home with two awards (last year in TV Actor and as part of Argo's ensemble). It also means Modern Family has won the Ensemble award for four straight years, which frankly is ridiculous. Meanwhile, Michael Douglas' win completes his awards sweep for his role as Liberace. And as much as I love them, Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren's wins seem so thoughtless especially considering the competition. In Mirren's defense, she at least had the decency to call out the rightful winner in her category who was Elisabeth Moss.

Best Ensemble, Drama: Breaking Bad
Best Ensemble, Comedy: Modern Family
Best Actress, Drama: Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Best Actress, Comedy: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Best Actor, Drama: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Best Actor, Comedy: Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Best Actress, Miniseries: Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
Best Actor, Miniseries: Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra

I actually didn't watch much of the ceremony, catching only the tail end right around the Life Achievement presentation for the legendary Rita Moreno. I mean why did they hold this year's ceremony on a Saturday? The In Memoriam segment this year seemed more gut-wrenching than in previous years. In terms of Oscars, this win obviously puts American Hustle on top, but Nyong'o's win over Jennifer Lawrence is worth a mention. And then there's Dallas Buyers Club, which was the only film this year to pick up two awards. Coupled with a surprise Best Ensemble nomination here and a Best Editing nomination at the Oscars and is everyone underestimating this film?

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!"

End-Of-Year: 2013 TV Winners

Took a bit longer than expected, but here are my TV acting winners from 2013. I'll be posting my ranked list of my favorite shows in a few days. But the winners here pretty much give away my favorites shows of the past year, don't they?

Best Ensemble: Orange is the New Black
Runner-Up: The Good Wife
Other Nominees: Breaking Bad, Broadchurch, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Masters of Sex, Parks and Recreation, Veep

Looking at the shows I didn't end up picking, you just realized how many great ensemble shows there are on TV right now. This year I had to go with the largely female and kick-ass ensemble of Orange is the New Black, because it's nearly impossible to pick a favorite character from that show and they all work so well together. And The Good Wife has the best drama ensemble on network TV. No question about that. BTW last year's winner Shameless only fell because of all the new shows.

Best Actor, Drama: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Runner-Up: Luke Newberry, In the Flesh
Other Nominees: Hugh Dancy, Matthew Rhys, Kevin Spacey, David Tennant

While the other men nominated here are really quite good, especially Dancy and Rhys who pleasantly shocked me by playing against type, this award belonged to Cranston for absolutely nailing the already iconic role of Walter White in his show's final episodes. We will remember his name. Newberry is a young British actor in the little-seen, but fantastic zombie miniseries In the Flesh. I love to honor younger actors especially in genre shows and he really deserves it for what he was asked to do with the tough role.

Best Actress, Drama: Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Runner-Up: Keri Russell, The Americans
Other Nominees: Lizzy Caplan, Julianna Margulies, Elisabeth Moss, Emmy Rossum

Speaking of younger actors in genre shows, Maslany pretty much showed everyone how acting is done by expertly playing multiple clones with differing personalities. She really is the breakthrough TV star of 2013 for me and so happy for all the attention and success she's getting. Of course, there's Russell who, like her co-star, played against type and surpassed even my high expectations. Finally, the four other nominees are too fabulous for words. Margulies and Caplan debatedly gave career-best performances this past year.

Best Actor, Comedy: Matt Smith, Doctor Who
Runner-Up: Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Other Nominees: Jake Johnson, Jim Parsons, Adam Scott, Josh Thomas

This was one of the more difficult categories, because this year I didn't really FULL OUT LOVE any one of these performances. I still really, really liked all of them and definitely love certain episodes, but in general, there wasn't a name that rose to the top. In the end, I picked Smith to pay tribute to his tenure as the Doctor and Samberg as runner-up to stick up for him a bit. Many people seem to love Brooklyn Nine-Nine as I do, but still mixed on Samberg.

Best Actress, Comedy: Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Runner-Up: Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black
Other Nominees: Malin Akerman, Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sarah Michelle Gellar

This would be the third time I'm picking Poehler in just the five years I've been handing out awards on this blog and while I can totally understand people scratching their heads on my pick this year, I just needed to follow my gut. Her character Leslie went through so many ups and downs this season and Poehler navigated through it all wonderfully. Schilling was the obvious runner-up just for managing to maintain the audience's focus while being surrounded by flashier (better?) performances.

Best Supporting Actor, Drama: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Game of Thrones
Runner-Up: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Other Nominees: Josh Charles, Jordan Gavaris, Mads Mikkelsen, Corey Stoll

Bad guys with redemptive arcs is a well-worn TV trope certainly, but it doesn't mean it's uneffective with the right actor and part and my top two proves that. Playing the humbled King Slayer, Coster-Waldau showed he's more than just a pretty face full of snark. And while Paul's Jesse had long since dropped his bad guy designation, these final episodes showing him going through hell, so helplessly trapped by his previous bad decisions, have been heartbreaking in the best way.

Best Supporting Actress, Drama: Olivia Colman, Broadchurch
Runner-Up: Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Other Nominees: Christine Baranski, Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Annet Mahendru

It's actually pretty funny that Colman and Gunn are my top two picks since Gunn is actually going to be playing Colman's character in the American version of Broadchurch so you might just see Gunn here next year if she affectively delivers the same way Colman did. Of course, Gunn herself was amazing to watch this year with her character trying her best to survive amidst the chaos. The other nominees are just as amazing and wonderful, especially Mahendru who I knew nothing about before this show.

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy: Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Runner-Up: Albert Tsai, Trophy Wife
Other Nominees: Adam Driver, Nick Offerman, Jim Rash, James Wolk

I was really sad when Last Resort was cancelled last year mostly because Braugher would be off my TV, but thankfully he came back as a gay NYC captain with a penchant for the rules in Brooklyn Nine-Nine in a role that was so unexpected AND perfect at the same time. His chemistry with Samberg elevates the latter and is a key highlight for the show. Tsai in the meantime is ridiculously hilarious and watchable and not even just for his young age. Just an aside... James Wolk is super pretty. More on that below.

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy: Danielle Brooks, Orange is the New Black
Runner-Up: Kate Mulgrew, Orange is the New Black
Other Nominees: Stephanie Beatriz, Mayim Bialik, Jenna Fischer, Jane Krakowski

So I said above that it was nearly impossible to pick a favorite character in Orange is the New Black, but my top two picks here would definitely be near the top. All of the characters in that show are bigger than life, but there's something about Brooks and Mulgrew's portrayals just stick with you. Plus one of them is Captain Janeway! Finally, just a tip of the hat to Fischer and Krakowski whose shows ended this year. Wished these two superbly talented ladies were awarded more.

Best Limited Role, Actor: James Wolk, Mad Men
Runner-Up: Eddie Izzard, Hannibal
Other Nominees: Arthur Darvill, Nathan Lane, Andrew Rannells, Mark Sheppard

Wolk, who is unnaturally handsome, was the epitome of a scene stealer in this past season of Mad Men. Seemed like everyone was analyzing every word his character Bob Benson said and every outfit he wore. When we finally found out what he was up to, it was all anyone could talk about. Then there's Izzard who managed to rise to the top of sick serial killers in a show full of sick serial killers. That's a talent right there.

Best Limited Role, Actress: Allison Janney, Masters of Sex
Runner-Up: Natalie Dormer, Elementary/Game of Thrones
Other Nominees: Uzo Aduba, Cristin Milioti, Carrie Preston, Alison Wright

Finally, this is the one category where I wished I could award a 6-way tie. I'm serious. Aduba plays probably my favorite character in her show (I really love its cast if you couldn't tell) while Milioti has been such a breath of fresh air in every conceivable way. Preston is ALWAYS good be it playing the best goddamn lawyer in The Good Wife or the sassiest waitress in True Blood while Wright is such a revelation in a role that just breaks your heart. The latter you could also say for Janney who was the best part of Masters of Sex. You literally felt all of the emotions she felt and my God were there a lot of emotions. Dormer in the meantime proved in her two roles as Margaery Tyrell and Moriarty that she's pretty damn kick-ass.

As I said up top, my ranked list of TV shows will be posted in a few days. Click here to refresh your memory on my picks for Best Drama, Best Comedy, and Best New Show.

Golden Globes: TV Nominations

The Hollywood Foreign Press finally used their penchant for the newest and shiniest thing for good picking up where the Emmy Awards and Screen Actors Guild couldn't in honoring some of the new shows and faces of TV. In fact, House of Cards, a new show from Netflix, leads with 4 nods alongside HBO's Beyond the Candelabra.

Best TV Series, Drama

• Breaking Bad
• Downton Abbey
• The Good Wife
• House of Cards
• Masters of Sex

Only Breaking Bad and Downton Abbey repeated their SAG nominations from yesterday while both of those alongside House of Cards repeated their Emmy nods. That's all well and good, but I just want to celebrate the return of The Good Wife (after a two-year absence) as well as the HFPA recognizing new show Masters of Sex. There are other new shows they could've obviously honored (Orange is the New Black, The Americans, Orphan Black), but this is more than what other groups have done so far.

Best Actor, Drama

• Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
• Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
• Michael Sheen, Masters of Sex
• Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
• James Spader, The Blacklist

Can we take a moment to light a candle for Jon Hamm and Mad Men? The show was shut out of the nominations through no apparent faults of its own. Also weird to see last year's winner Damien Lewis or this year's Emmy winner Jeff Daniels missing, but this is Cranston's award to lose. Not to mention he's in a category with four guy from NEW shows. Talk about in with the new.

Best Actress, Drama

• Taylor Schilling, Orange Is The New Black
• Robin Wright, House of Cards
• Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
• Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
• Kerry Washington, Scandal

Like the men, there's a lot of new blood here most notably for the awesome breakthrough of both Taylor Schilling and Tatiana Maslany, their show's lone, but monumental nomination. Maslany especially has been a critic/internet favorite ever since her BBC America show aired so to see here here with all the big names is a delight. Just really didn't expect last year's winner Claire Danes to be out of the running though.

Best TV Series, Comedy

• The Big Bang Theory
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• Girls
• Modern Family
• Parks and Recreation

It was a very, very good day for Michael Schur. Not only does his show Parks and Recreation finally get a series nod for the first time, but his new show (also my favorite NEW show of the fall) Brooklyn Nine-Nine makes it in. Those nominations alone make this category the best it's been in years. Hey, remember last year when they nominated Smash? Though I did think Veep or the final season of 30 Rock was going to make it in.

Best Actor, Comedy

• Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
• Don Cheadle, House of Lies
• Michael J. Fox, The Michael J. Fox Show
• Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
• Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Bateman, Cheadle, and Parsons all repeat their Emmy/SAG nominations so that's whatever. But it's Fox and not Robin Williams who won the "veteran in a new comedy show" slot. And I didn't expect Samberg to be cited here, but any love for his show is fine by me. I'd probably trade any of these men with Adam Scott or Jake Johnson though.

Best Actress, Comedy

• Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
• Lena Dunham, Girls
• Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

This is pretty much the same nominations as last year except Falco replaces host Tina Fey (HFPA just really didn't care to say goodbye to 30 Rock at all). It's a solid list, but I hope reigning winner Louis-Dreyfus would be okay if I beg and plead for Poehler to win one. I mean come on now!

Best Mini-Series or TV Movie

• American Horror Story: Coven
• Behind the Candelabra
• Dancing on the Edge
• Top of the Lake
• White Queen

Behind the Candelabra leads and is probably the frontrunner. That said, I still need to see Top of the Lake and Dancing on the Edge which I hear are pretty good.

Best Actor, Mini-Series or TV Movie

• Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
• Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
• Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dancing on the Edge
• Idris Elba, Luther
• Al Pacino, Phil Spector

Just a couple of movie stars slumming it on TV. I'm talking of course about Ejiofor and Elba who are both nominated in the film categories as well this year. Realistically they don't have a chance against Emmy winner Douglas.

Best Actress, Mini-Series or TV Movie

• Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor
• Rebecca Ferguson, White Queen
• Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven
• Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
• Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

A few crossovers with SAG and the Emmy, but I'm hoping Moss avenges Mad Men's impromptu fall from grace to win here.

Best Supporting Actor

• Josh Charles, The Good Wife
• Rob Lowe, Behind the Candelabra
• Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
• Corey Stoll, House of Cards
• Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

Year in, year out, I just find it so ridiculous that the HFPA combines supporting roles in this way, but at least they made some excellent choices with Paul, Stoll, and Charles especially which surprised me.

Best Supporting Actress

• Jacqueline Bisset, Dancing on the Edge
• Janet McTeer, White Queen
• Hayden Panettiere, Nashville
• Monica Potter, Parenthood
• Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

See SAG and other award shows, the HFPA was okay not nominating Maggie Smith. You can do that also! Pretty incredible for Panettiere to repeat her nomination from last year. I'd probably give it to any of the ladies from Orange is the New Black or newly SAG-nominated Mayim Bialik, but really the one snub that absolutely pains me is Anna Gunn. That nomination really should've been a no-brainer. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

My thoughts on the film nominations to come later today!

Screen Actors Guild Nominations

Busy day meant I'm only just writing my thoughts down on this morning's SAG nominations even though just a few hours from now everyone will be talking about the nominations for the Golden Globes. That's when you know you're fully entrenched in awards season where there's a different accolade every day to keep track of! In any case, this is one of the big ones as actors is a huge group of industry folk, but unfortunately it also means their choices tend to be fairly conservative and preferential to veterans. That's why the word I would describe today's nominations would be... eh.

BEST ENSEMBLE

• 12 Years a Slave
• American Hustle
• August: Osage County
• Dallas Buyers Club
• The Butler

Big sigh of relief from Harvey Weinstein as both August: Osage County and The Butler make it into this shortlist after getting not much love from critics. Of course those two films, with their super starry cast, was tailor-made for this award and should do well in the next couple of months. 12 Years a Slave was the frontrunner and with a leading 4 nominations, it is still the frontrunner. I don't think anyone expected Dallas Buyers Club to be cited here. I was expecting Inside Llewyn Davis or Her and disappointed both came up empty-handed today.

BEST ACTRESS

• Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Sandra Bullock, Gravity
• Judi Dench, Philomena
• Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
• Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

It's super difficult to actually complain about the nominees here, because I love all of these actresses and the two performances I've seen (Blanchett and Bullock) are phenomenal. But it's also the same names everyone has been predicting give or take a possible Amy Adams spoiler. I feel for the actresses in smaller films like Julie Delpy (still my wishful dark horse), Brie Larson, Greta Gerwig, and Adele Exarchopoulos.

BEST ACTOR

• Bruce Dern, Nebraska
• Chiwitel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
• Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
• Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
• Forest Whitaker, The Butler

Apparently Robert Redford's absence here is pretty shocking, but with a field THIS strong I'm not too disappointed. If anything, I wish they could've found room instead for Oscar Isaac or Michael B. Jordan. I like Forest Whitaker, but I think this was a wasted nominated for him. Chiwetel Ejiofor in the meantime should be the man to beat if I had it my way.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
• Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
• Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
• June Squibb, Nebraska
• Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

Like the lead category, it's hard to actually find fault with the actors cited, but it'd be great if there was a surprise entry like a Margo Martindale or a Melonie Diaz. Or how about Elizabeth Banks for her work on Catching Fire. That's right I said it. Anyways, I'm happy for Nyong'o though who was quite good and I've got to admit that Winfrey was damn fun to watch in her film. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the performances.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
• Daniel Bruhl, Rush
• James Gandolfini, Enough Said
• Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
• Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

This is the one category that still feels unformed and yet I wouldn't be too shocked if most (or all) of these men are also Oscar-nominated. Bruhl is the most vulnerable probably with Jonah Hill, Bradley Cooper, and Will Forte trying to crack the category. That said, I'm kind of hoping Gandolfini makes it all the way for a posthumous Oscar. It's sentimental for sure, but not undeserved.

BEST STUNT ENSEMBLE, FILM

• All Is Lost
• Fast and Furious 6
• Lone Survivor
• Rush
• The Wolverine

Kind of shocked not to see Catching Fire, Thor, or Iron Man 3 here. I mean The Wolverine? All Is Lost? What?! Whatever.

And if you thought the film nominees were unexciting, the TV nominees make the film nominees look bold and fresh. Not to say the nominations are bad, but there was such an explosion of great new shows this year and unfortunately you could barely tell with the following nominations.

BEST DRAMA ENSEMBLE

• Boardwalk Empire
• Breaking Bad
• Downton Abbey
• Game of Thrones
• Homeland

Breaking Bad leads with 4 nominations and it's probably going to win this award and everything else until the Emmys next year for its widely successful final season. Games of Thrones makes a come back after getting snub last year, though in its place is perennial favorite Mad Men, which seems to be losing steam awards-wise of late. As I said, the lack of new shows (Masters of Sex, The Americans, Orphan Black, House of Cards, etc.) sting, but it's also something no one was really expecting anyways.

BEST COMEDY ENSEMBLE

• 30 Rock
• Arrested Development
• Big Bang Theory
• Modern Family
• Veep

Last year this group nominated Glee and The Office, so at least there's nothing that insane happening this year, but even with the fresh inclusion of Veep (and comeback nomination for Arrested Development), it still feels old hat. I thought Girls would make it in and don't get me started of their continuing to ignore Parks and Recreation. For my money this year, Orange is the New Black and Brooklyn Nine-Nine were leagues ahead of most of these shows.

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA

• Claire Danes, Homeland
• Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
• Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
• Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
• Kerry Washington, Scandal

ANNA GUNN! God, yes. All the awards to her. But look, I love Maggie Smith and all, but you really don't have to nominate her every single time. It's okay. She's never going to show up any ways. Instead we could've given it to Dockery or Margulies (both nominated last year) or those in new shows like Tatiana Maslany, Robin Wright, Tatiana Maslany, Keri Russell, Tatiana Maslany, Lizzy Caplan, and of course Tatiana Maslany.

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA

• Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
• Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
• Jeff Daniels, Newsroom
• Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
• Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Of course, Bryan Cranston. Duh. Give him the award already. But I'm sad about the exclusion of his co-star Aaron Paul. Love me some Dinklage always and Spacey was a no-brainer for this crowd as as the other two even though I again wish for newer blood like Mandy Patinkin, Matthew Rhys, Andrew Lincoln, etc.

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY

• Mayim Bialik, Big Bang Theory
• Julie Bowen, Modern Family
• Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
• Tina Fey, 30 Rock
• Julia Louis Dreyfus, Veep

Well at least Betty White was not nominated again and Julia Louis Dreyfus and Mayim Bialik got well-deserved citations. But how you can have this award without Amy Poehler is just confounding. Also shocked to see Lena Dunham come up empty (she also wasn't nominated last year) as well as to see none of the ladies from Orange is the New Black make the list.

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY

• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
• Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
• Ty Burrell, Modern Family
• Don Cheadle, House of Lies
• Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory

Blah, blah, blah they're all talented and whatever but wow I could probably come up with a list of about a dozen or so actors I'd rather see nominated like Adam Scott, Nick Offerman, Andre Braugher, Adam Driver, Jim Rash, Jake Johnson, etc.

BEST ACTRESS, MINISERIES

• Angela Bassett, Betty & Coretta
• Helena Bonham Carter, Taylor & Burton
• Holly Hunter, Top of the Lake
• Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
• Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

Nothing too shocking here, except to say that I'm pretty annoyed that Jessica Lange gets to compete in this category at the Emmys and over in Drama for this award. Also was Emmy winner Laura Linney not eligible? In any case, with those two ladies not in the running, it's a good chance for Moss to pick up the win here. I'm rooting for her!

BEST ACTOR, MINISERIES

• Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
• Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
• Jeremy Irons, The Hollow Crown
• Rob Lowe, Killing Kennedy
• Al Pacino, Phil Spector

Interesting to see Emmy nominated Benedict Cumberbatch to not get nominated here despite being in two Best Ensemble films. But no matter who was nominated, the result will be the exact same as the Emmys with Michael Douglas prevailing as it should be.

BEST STUNT ENSEMBLE, TV

• Boardwalk Empire
• Breaking Bad
• Game of Thrones
• Homeland
• The Walking Dead

This is the same nominees as last year except Homeland replaces Sons of Anarchy. You can also tell that this is pretty much the Best Drama category except The Walking Dead replaces Downton Abbey. In other words... zzz.

AFI Top Ten Films/TV Programs of 2013

Yesterday, the American Film Institute announced their picks for the best films/TV shows of the past year. And they are...

MOVIES OF THE YEAR

• 12 Years A Slave
• American Hustle
• Captain Phillips
• Fruitvale Station
• Gravity
• Her
• Inside Llewyn Davis
• Nebraska
• Saving Mr. Banks
• The Wolf of Wall Street

As early as we are into awards season, it still seems like the consensus is already taking shape as the same films keep getting all the love and it's no exception here. I at least thought we would get a random film like last year's The Dark Knight Rises or Bridesmaids from the year before, but here we are. The films that could be labeled as snubbed include Lee Daniels' The Butler and August: Osage County, but I was more hoping this group could've given a boost to smaller films like Before Midnight, Much Ado About Nothing, and Short Term 12. It's also hard for me to be super excited about this list since I've only seen four films out of the ten. Gotta catch up!

TV PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR

• The Americans
• Breaking Bad
• Game of Thrones
• The Good Wife
• House of Cards
• Mad Men
• Masters of Sex
• Orange is the New Black
• Scandal
• Veep

Unlike the film category, I've actually seen almost all of these shows with the exception of Scandal, which I will need to make time for soon. I don't really have any complaints about any of the others as I'm a big fan of all of them. I'm especially heartened to see the list citing news shows like Masters of Sex, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, and The Americans. Then there's Breaking Bad with its phenomenal final season and The Good Wife with such a game-changer season--TV is so full of good! I would've probably cited Broadchuch and Orphan Black to this list as well, but I'll just tell myself they weren't eligible for this "American" honor.

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)