Don't Get Up, It's Not The Oscars

The Emmy nominations have been announced.  A lot of old favorites with some new names--a lot of nominees in general thanks to new rules. Let's look at the main categories, shall we?

Comedy Series
Louie
Modern Family
Parks & Recreation
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep

A lot of the usual suspect--though how did something as odd as Louie get to be a regular here.  The big question is will Modern Family win yet again, even if it's getting tired?  P&R gets its last chance, but the real news is two shows--Transparent (if there's a PC vote it's for this show) and Kimmy Schmidt--that aren't even shown on real TV, whatever that means.  No Big Bang--the biggest hit comedy on TV--and nothing animated.

Drama Series
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mad Men
Orange Is The New Black

Mad Men used to regularly win. Now it's lucky just to get nominated.  Better Call Saul takes the spot that Breaking Bad used to have.  In general, the same names we always see, except Orange, which should probably be considered a comedy.  Note the two most-watched dramas, Empire and Walking Dead, are nowhere to be seen.  No Good Wife either.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Kyle Chandler
Jeff Daniels
Jon Hamm
Bob Odenkirk
Liev Schreiber
Kevin Spacey

Major TV names, though I'm not that impressed--the supporting actor category is more exciting.  Jon Hamm's last chance, and isn't it time for him to finally win (even if it wasn't his best season)? No Bryan Cranston or even Damian Lewis to get in his way.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Claire Danes
Viola Davis
Taraji P. Henson
Tatiana Maslany
Elisabeth Moss
Robin Wright

Some interesting choices.  Moss's last chance, though I don't see it. (And she's close to supporting in Mad Men.)  Maslany, finally nominated, does an amazing job, but I feel with each new character she's giving the show offers diminishing returns.  Henson is the upstart here, with the most popular show--on broadcast TV no less--that's not getting much love in general.  Biggest surprise--last year's winner Julianna Margulies is missing.  So will Claire Danes take it again?

Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Adrien Brody
Ricky Gervais
Timothy Hutton
Richard Jenkins
David Oyelowo
Mark Rylance

A lot of interesting choices.  Ricky Gervais stretched a bit--will he be rewarded?

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Felicity Huffman
Jessica Lange
Queen Latifah
Frances McDormand
Emma Thompson

Nothing but famous names.  Not sure if it's because they get to make such shows or the Academy likes to honor them.

Lead Actor in a Comedy
Anthony Anderson
Louis C.K.
Don Cheadle
Will Forte
Matt LeBlanc
William H. Macy
Jeffrey Tambor

Quite a shock here--Jim Parsons, who has won four out of the last five years, doesn't even show up.  I'd say the smart money is on Tambor, who's been nominated six times (as supporting actor) but never won.  I like Matt LeBlanc, though many would rather ignore Episodes.  Not sure what Don Cheadle is doing here except he's a movie star on TV.

Lead Actress in a Comedy
Edie Falco
Lisa Kudrow
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Amy Poehler
Amy Schumer
Lily Tomlin

J L-D has won the last three years.  If she wins again, she'll tie Candice Bergan and Mary Tyler Moore for a record five wins in the category.  Some familiar names (including Tomlin, whose first nomination was over 40 years ago), but where is Ellie Kemper?

Supporting Actor in a Drama
Jonathan Banks
Ben Mendelsohn
Jim Carter
Peter Dinklage
Alan Cummings
Michael Kelly

They're still nominating Carter of Downton Abbey. I'm surprised that tired show gets any recognition.  It'd be nice to see Jonathan Banks finally win an Emmy, especially after all the great work he did in Breaking Bad as the character he's presently playing.

Supporting Actress in a Drama
Joanna Froggatt
Lena Headey
Christina Hendricks
Christine Baranski
Uzo Aduba
Emilia Clarke

Two gals from Game Of Thrones. Both been nominated but never won--probably blocking each other.  It'd be nice to see Hendricks win on her sixth nomination, though it may not be in the cards.  I still don't get why Aduba gets so much attention of all the cast members of Orange Is The New Black.  I would nominated Taryn Manning as Pennsatucky.

Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Andre Braugher
Adam Driver
Keegan-Michael Key
Ty Burrell
Tituss Burgess
Tony Hale

This category used to be the place for four Modern Family nominations, and now it's down to one--trouble?  The entire cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine does a great job, but I guess the deadpan Braugher is the name who gets the nomination.  Same with Tony Hale of the men in Veep.  I wonder if Key getting a nod will cause trouble with Peele.  Don't quite get the love for Tituss Burgess, who strikes me as a weak link in Kimmy Schmidt.

Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Niecy Nash
Julie Bowen
Allison Janney
Kate McKinnon
Mayim Bialik
Gaby Hoffman
Jane Krakowski
Anna Chlumsky

A lot of regular nominees who haven't yet won, with a couple who have.  One of these days I'd like to see Eden Sher.   With this group, I'd choose Kate McKinnon for her killer Hillary Clinton and a number of other roles (though it's hard to compare sketch performers with those in sitcoms)

Reality-Competition Program
The Amazing Race
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
The Voice

I don't care.  Let me note, however, this is the thirteenth time this award is being given, and so far The Amazing Race has ten times.

Variety Talk Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight
The Late Show
The Tonight Show

A brief history of this award.  It used to be given to actual variety shows, like Andy Williams, Danny Kaye, Carol Burnett, Flip Wilson and so on, but those show don't exist any more.  So it's mostly guys sitting behind a desk doing comedy and talking to people.  From 1998 to 2002, Letterman won.  From 2003 to 2012, Stewart won.  From 2013 to 2014, Colbert won.  This is pretty much their last chances (though Colbert could win in this category in a different show).  But I hope the TV Academy is not sentimental, since John Oliver deserves it.