Emmy nominations are announced tomorrow, and why wait — you and I can start talking about who’s sure to get snubbed by the Academy of Arts and Sciences now. The great thing is, if we’re wrong, some of our favorite shows and actors will be rewarded with a nomination!
Near the top of my list of longshots are The Shield, True Blood, Battlestar Galactica, Eastbound & Down, and Fringe. (Let me guess: at the top of yours are Chuck and Pushing Daises, right?) Any and all of these shows deserve some Emmy affection. To stick to only the very top categories:
• Best Drama Series: If the explosive yet subtle final season of The Shield doesn’t get nominated, I’ll blow my stack in homage to Vic Mackey. Ditto Battlestar Galactica, which taught a lesson to other series on how to wrap up a series that had a complex “mythology.” There’s a trio of HBO shows I like here — Big Love, In Treatment, and True Blood. Sure To Be Snubbed: My beloved Fringe. And I’d say Blood probably won’t get much recognition until next year, when its pop-culture-exploding second season becomes eligible for consideration.
• Best Comedy Series: After you assume the certainly superb The Office, 30 Rock, and The New Adventures of Old Christine, this category could use three really fresh nominations. Sure To Be Snubbed: Better Off Ted, Eastbound & Down, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
• Best Lead Actor in a Drama: Hoo boy, I fear, given past Emmy history, an avalanche of final-season Boston Legal nominations in many categories in addition to this one. James Spader for sure, and maybe even William Shatner. Sure To Be Snubbed: Josh Holloway, who’s overdue for Lost. Ben McKenzie in Southland.
• Best Lead Actor in a Comedy: Figure Alec Baldwin, Zach Braff, and David Duchovny as locks here. Sure To Be Snubbed: Danny McBride’s heroic portrayal of a screw-up in Eastbound & Down. Jim Parsons’ dexterous excellence in The Big Bang Theory. Zachary Levi in Chuck. Jay Harrington in Better Off Ted!
• Best Lead Actress in a Drama: Sigh. The names will likely be all too familiar: Sally Field. Mariska Hargitay. Maybe Glenn Close (last year’s winner) again? I hope Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love) is included. Sure To Be Snubbed: Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men! Anna Paquin, consistently fine in True Blood. Regina King, so beguiling in Southland. Amber Tamblyn in (we need to remember this series!) The Unusuals. Evangeline Lilly in Lost. Mary McDonnell in Battlestar!
• Best Lead Actress in a Comedy: An even bigger sigh if one place is given to America Ferrera in Ugly Betty; sorry, neither the show nor her repetitive performance merits it this particular year. There’ll be a buncha Desperate Housewives, I presume. Academy members will probably pat themselves on the back and nominate Toni Collette for United States of Tara, and she certainly offers an excellent performance. But so are these: Sure To Be Snubbed: Kaitlin Olson in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Yvonne Strahovski in Chuck. Portia de Rossi in Better Off Ted!
So who have I forgotten? Who do you think deserves to be nominated, but probably won’t be?
I really think that Jill Scott deserves to be nominated for The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. I thought she was wonderful. Best woman on TV this year in my opinion.
http://www.joeonthetube.com
Kyle Chandler
Connie Britton
Any actor on Law & Order (not SVU)
Amber Tamblyn reference!! I thought she was amazing in The Unusuals.
Anna Paquin in True Blood deserves it. She is great and so HOT.
Kyle Chandler (actor)
Connie Britton (supporting actress)
Friday Night Lights (best drama)
How I Met Your Mother (comedy, even if this last season wasn’t its best)
Better Off Ted (comedy)
Ken Tucker, as usual you are so off base. Most of your locks are people or shows that have either never been nominated (Old Christine) or have not been nominated for years (the ladies of Desperate Housewives; Zach Braff).
I certainly hope there will be a lot of new actors/shows nominated but it will probably be the same ole, same ole.
DEXTER!
Here’s my Snub list, although they are dark-horses in the first place.
- “Rita” from Dexter
- “Wilson” from House
- Fringe
- Family Guy (time to break the animated barrier)
PLEASE let Battlestar Galactica be nominated for SOMETHING!!!
I think Tina Fey should win every season she’s on the air—for me she synched it this year for her 5-second rendition of “Night Cheese.” She has created an iconic character that will be remembered for a long time. Thankfully, she should be a lock.
Ken, you left out Friday Night Lights. Consistently effortless and criminally overlooked. My personal favorite: Connie Britton. She is a real live woman, and she plays Tami with such grace.
And Elizabeth Mitchell > Evangeline Lilly. The end.
im not sure whether they would classify as comedy or drama but what about the actors on bones?? emily deschanel(Sp?) and david boreanaz(sp?) as well as the rest of the cast are amazing when it comes to comedy and/or drama.
I loved the unusual’s too it rocked it was a smart cop show that was about characters and dialogue and not procedure it would be great if it got some emmy love
Edward James Olmose should defintiely get a nod for BSG. He was really the backbone of the series.
Psych’s James Roday always gets snubbed and I hope this will be the first year he makes it in. If he does, I’m almost positive that he will win. He is so underrated.
DEXTER DEXTER DEXTER DEXTER DEXTER! Where’s the love for Michael C. Hall?