Emmy nominations were announced this morning. Over the past few years, it has been annoying to lament how the Emmy voters get things so wrong. And yet, they finally seem to have a lot of things right this year. It's impossible to be perfect. But the voters have really come up with a solid list filled with wonderful surprises - and some big snubs too.
Comedy Series - black-ish, Master of None, Modern Family, Silicon Valley, Transparent, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Veep
The comedy field has been strong over the past few years. There aren't as many underserving shows that get rubber-stamped in - unlike drama series. Even the shows that have been in the category for multiple seasons now deserve to be here. Of course, the outlier is Modern Family. It's a five time winner in this category. It didn't drop off the list despite losing to Veep last year. But there are so many other comedies I would have slotted in its spot instead. Still, a solid list.
Drama Series - The Americans, Better Call Saul, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland, House of Cards, Mr. Robot
Nothing else in this category really matters because The Americans finally got nominated at the Emmys! That's a huge deal. It has consistently been one of the best shows on television and just delivered its strongest season yet. Sure, it may not be a huge contender to win - the other shows have better track records with the voters. Plus, Game of Thrones was a behemoth in total nominations this year. It's also great that Mr. Robot broke into the field. It's such a distinctive and unique show. Of course, it sucks that Orange Is the New Black was pushed out. Are Downton Abbey, Homeland and House of Cards really that much better?
Limited Series - American Crime, Fargo, The Night Manager, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Roots
There's so much anticipation in this race because there truly were some incredible limited series this year. The field wasn't even able to recognize HBO's fantastic Show Me a Hero or Hulu's fun 11.22.63 or Starz's unique The Girlfriend Experience or FX's perennial favorite American Horror Story: Hotel. This is tight list of contenders. Sure, The People v. O.J. Simpson will probably win because of how much support it has across the board. But the other four nominees had brilliant runs as well. There really are no losers with this category.
TV Movie - All the Way, A Very Murray Christmas, Confirmation, Luther, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
This field really does pale in comparison to Limited Series. It's just not as exciting. Luther and Sherlock got back in because they are favorites amongst the voters. Meanwhile, the HBO voting block made sure All the Way and Confirmation got in. Another race where the winner already seems determined because of nomination counts (All the Way).
Lead Comedy Actor - Anthony Anderson, Aziz Ansari, Will Forte, William H. Macy, Thomas Middleditch, Jeffrey Tambor
Ansari and Middleditch are newcomers to the race. They really deserved it too. Of course, Macy is still sticking around for some reason. So not everything is great about this category. But the majority is strong. Will Tambor win again? I don't know. Everyone has a really solid tape to submit.
Lead Comedy Actress - Ellie Kemper, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Laurie Metcalf, Tracee Ellis Ross, Amy Schumer, Lily Tomlin
This was the most open race of the entire field of categories. Yes, they will all eventually lose to Louis-Dreyfus (and deservedly so). After being snubbed last year, it's great to see Kemper on this list for the great second season of Kimmy Schmidt. Meanwhile, it was a delightful surprise to see Metcalf rewarded for her working on Getting On. More than that, she was nominated in three different acting categories today. That's very impressive. It shows that TV and Emmy voters are still in love with her.
Supporting Comedy Actor - Louie Anderson, Andre Braugher, Tituss Burgess, Ty Burrell, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Walsh
Anderson really is the epitome of a great performance that elevates a not-so-great show. His work defined the entire conversation about Baskets. So, it's nice that it wasn't too niche for the voters. Plus, it's fun to see support for Veep only continue to grow. Walsh probably wouldn't have been the other member of that ensemble I would have nominated. I would have preferred Timothy Simons, Kevin Dunn, Hugh Laurie or Gary Cole. But he is strong as well.
Supporting Comedy Actress - Anna Chlumsky, Gaby Hoffmann, Allison Janney, Judith Light, Kate McKinnon, Niecy Nash
It's cool to see that Veep isn't the only comedy capable of getting multiple nominees in one category. Hoffman and Light both made it in for Transparent. It's disappointing that this category had to push out Jane Krakowski though. She was excellent on the second season of Kimmy Schmidt. But it's hard to argue who she should replace in the category instead.
Lead Drama Actor - Kyle Chander, Rami Malek, Bob Odenkirk, Matthew Rhys, Liev Schreiber, Kevin Spacey
Malek and Rhys joined a field of returning nominees and that has really brought some new energy and excitement to this field. Their performances have been electric. It's great that they were nominated - even though it remains curious why the voters went for Chandler and Schreiber again. They had plenty of options here too - including the two leads on Horace and Pete, the two leads on Billions, or the two leads on The Path. Lots of male co-leads this year.
Lead Drama Actress - Claire Danes, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, Tatiana Maslany, Keri Russell, Robin Wright
The Americans wave continues with Keri Russell breaking into this field for the first time. A pregnancy didn't stop her from delivering one powerful performance this year. Plus, it's great that Maslany's nomination wasn't a one-time fluke either. This year was much better for her. So, she could be a serious threat to win. Still bummed no room was made for Eva Green, Taylor Schilling, Shiri Appleby, Caitriona Balfe or Carrie Coon.
Supporting Drama Actor - Jonathan Banks, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Michael Kelly, Ben Mendelsohn, Jon Voight
Well, this is a very odd category. It's momentous that Jim Carter has finally failed to earn a nomination for Downton Abbey. But he's simply been replaced by Voight for some reason. That's odd. This was the largest field for the voters to choose from. So, I guess name recognition won out. Also, Game of Thrones domination continues with Harington getting his first nomination. That just makes it seem likely that either him or Dinklage will win.
Supporting Drama Actress - Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Maggie Smith, Maura Tierney, Maisie Williams, Constance Zimmer
Okay, now the Game of Thrones love is starting to be a little bit too much. Actresses from that show cover half of the category here. That's very impressive. But it also pushed out last year's winner Uzo Aduba and veteran nominee Christine Baranski. And yet, some wonderful and deserving faces broke into the field as well. Tierney and Zimmer are so strong on their respective series that it's hard to argue against them being in this very competitive field.
Lead Limited Actor - Bryan Cranston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Courtney B. Vance
The love for The People v. O.J. Simpson definitely lifted Gooding Jr. to a nomination. He wasn't the lead of the show but was submitted as such because he played the titular character. He got in over the more deserving Oscar Isaac and Patrick Wilson. But The People v. O.J. Simpson love also means Vance will finally win an Emmy for a very strong performance and a phenomenal career of work.
Lead Limited Actress - Kirsten Dunst, Felicity Huffman, Audra McDonald, Sarah Paulson, Lili Taylor, Kerry Washington
This category is stacked with talent. Sarah Paulson delivered the best performance of her career. But everyone else in this field had such strong work too. Not a bad or undeserving nominee in the bunch.
Supporting Limited Actor - Sterling K. Brown, Hugh Laurie, Jesse Plemons, David Schwimmer, John Travolta, Bokeem Woodbine
First of all, it's disappointing that name checking got Travolta in for whatever it was he was doing on The People v. O.J. Simpson. He got in over American Crime's Connor Jessup and Roots' Forest Whitaker. And yet, it's again hard to be angry with voters because they recognized some phenomenal talent and performances with Brown and Woodbine.
Supporting Limited Actress - Kathy Bates, Olivia Colman, Regina King, Melissa Leo, Sarah Paulson, Jean Smart
It's great that voters loved The Night Manager so much that Colman was able to break into the race. She was the best part of that limited series. So, it's nice to see that recognized. Plus, Paulson becomes one of the few performers nominated for multiple roles this season. Again, very impressive. Plus, King and Smart had phenomenal work as well. Once more, it's hard to disagree with anything the voters have done in this category in a very competitive year.
The 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards air on Sunday, September 18 on ABC with host Jimmy Kimmel. The Creative Arts Emmys where the majority of the technical awards will be announced will happen across two ceremonies on Saturday, September 10 and Sunday, September 11.
