With the end of Game of Thrones tonight, the 2013-14 Emmy season is basically over. Nominations get announced next month, and though the Emmy's aren't as clueless as the Oscars, they still make a lot of weird choices. Focusing on the drama category, I'm curious about which six shows you'd all pick.
As far as shows likely to be nominated, True Detective, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones are sure things, and would absolutely make my list. Hannibal had a spectacular second season, but it has no chance of recognition. A season that included a dead woman sliding out of a dead horse, or a drugged psychopath eating his own face, isn't going to make the clip show. Mad Men is doing the bullshit split final seasons that Breaking Bad did, and though I hate that format and AMC for running out the string, it still had a great seven episodes, maybe the best they've ever done. It might get a nomination but the Emmy's have been pushing it aside for Breaking Bad and maybe True Detective this year. Lastly, Boardwalk Empire might've had the single greatest episode of the whole season in its season finale. Not enough people watch it, it probably won't get a nomination, but a season that ended as perfectly as that one did is deserving of all the awards.
If I gave the award, it'd go to Game of Thrones, but in real life, Breaking Bad or True Detective are going to win, with GoT as a dark horse.
The Americans is in the next six. So is Justified and Parenthood. I don't watch Homeland or House of Card, and The Walking Dead is... not great. What do you guys think?
I agree that True Detective, BB, and GoT get in... easy. I think the Walking Dead gets in, too. People are in love with it... and I get why. I enjoy the show, although I don't think it's award winning. They're also making a spin-off/add on, which I think hurts them for awards going forward for some reason with splitting their world up later.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch Boardwalk Empire passed Season 1... nothing drew me back. Homeland and House of Cards are both great, and I'd be happy to put both in the top six... although, I'd put Orange is the New Black slightly above both of them....and I think Homeland edges out House of Cards for the sixth spot, but that's a coin toss, unless Madmen (I don't watch it) gets in. Hannibal definitely deserves to be in there... but I agree that it won't get the recognition... yet.
I think Breaking Bad takes the hardware, but wouldn't be surprised to see TD or GoT grab it.
I don't watch the FX stuff for god know what reason, but here would be my guesses for the six in drama...
ReplyDelete- Breaking Bad - Fairly obvious
- Game of Thrones - Best season in the series, so another gimme
- Mad Men - They just had a great run of episodes and they've won this award four times I believe, so that would be a huge shocker if they didn't get a nom
- True Detective - I think it should be nominated as a miniseries, as that what it felt most like. I think it's the favorite to win.... feels like awards bait.
- Uhhhh.... House of Cards & The Good Wife? I don't know. Boardwalk Empire had a weak season IMO. I can't make a call on FX or Showtime. The other two noms are probably a non-factor.
The lead actor in a drama is going to be interesting as well. Dinklage has won for Tyrion before, but wouldn't it be cool for him to take home a lead actor Emmy for the character that also won a supporting actor Emmy? Regardless, Cranston probably adds one more to the mantle, unless my man Rust Cohle is put up for lead. Then, it's game on. Oh yeah, and we still have Jon Hamm & Kevin Spacey. Jesus. I feel bad for Hamm. Don Draper is an amazing character. I really hope he pulls it out next year, but I think he's up against too much this time around.
Orange is the New Black is going to win a lot of awards I think. For starters, they have two seasons they can draw from (both ran in the 7/1/13-6/30/14 the Emmy's look at). Second, it'll be submitted for comedy, and can you think of any other comedies that were better? Third, it should probably take home the top 3 best supporting actress in a comedy slots. Red & Crazy Eyes should both be nominated (Crazy Eyes should win).
Which reminds, best lead actress in a comedy is stacked. I think it'll be tough for Taylor Schilling to win best lead actress, as Amy Poehler just had a great run on Parks & Rec and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss was awesome again in Veep. FWIW - I would give it to Schilling, but I will be rooting for Poehler. Leslie Knope is an iconic character, and that needs to be rewarded eventually. The Emmy's already have a large enough black eye never giving Steve Carell an Emmy for Michael Scott.
Orange is the New Black is weirdly going for comedy, though that's likely because Netflix doesn't want it to compete against House of Cards. If it submitted as a drama. which it actually is, it would bump out Mad Men or Hannibal on my list.
ReplyDeleteI would recommend getting back into Boardwalk. Its first season is unquestionably the weakest and each subsequent season has gotten progressively better.
Lead actor in a drama is between Cranston and McConaughey. Dinklage is Supporting, Hamm has never won and the Emmy's have been nominating Mad Men for less and less each year, and McConaughey satisfies the 'movie star acting in TV' requirement so Spacey gets shut out of the win, though he'll likely get nominated. As long as anyone but Jeff Daniels wins for the Newsroom. That gave me a rage stroke last year.
I quit watching the Walking Dead this year, and I'm totally fine with it. For a show with stakes as high as they can get, it's way more boring than it should be. None of the characters are memorable, they've never done or said anything interesting, and everything is predictably going to end up collapsing, as it has through the 3.4 seasons I've watched. The Emmy's have correctly never nominated it for anything serious, and it's one of their better moves in the last five years.
Orange is the first show that could ever be nominated for both - season 1 is definitely heavier on the comedy, while season 2 is more a drama. Could season 1 get a comedy nom and season 2 a drama nom? I say go for it.
ReplyDeleteIf Dinklage is supporting.... who's the lead of Game of Thrones? Or does the show just not have a lead?
Jeff Daniels was solid in the Newsroom, but to knock off some of those other titans was jarring. I had to actually look up who won last year b/c I didn't believe you just now. Has someone ever won then not been nominated, despite still playing that character? Seems unprecedented, but wouldn't shock me if it happened here. I'm gonna bet on McConaughey winning b/c Cranston won so many already for Walter White, and it's the only shot Rust will get.
Boardwalk was not as good this year as it was season 3, but that makes sense. Seasons 2 & 3 had some particularly memorable performances that just weren't there in season 4. But yes, season 1 is far and away the weakest of the series.