Sunday night, we’ve got the Emmy Awards. Listen, none of the right people will win. Plus, a lot of shows are missing. The Emmys can no longer encompass all the cable and new platform shows. There’s so much good work being done. And just the people who are missing from this group: Christian Slater from “Mr. Robot”? Where is he? Hugh Bonneville, constantly overlooked from “Downton Abbey.” In fact, except for Maggie Smith, “DA” was ignored in acting for its final year. What’s that all about? And why is Jane Fonda not acknowledged for “Grace and Frankie”? She’s terrific.
So I’ve put in black who I’d like to see win and who I think will win. Some notes: Matthew Rhys is overdue and so is “The Americans.” Viola Davis, I say, give her all the awards. In limited series, both Courtney B. Vance and Cuba Gooding Jr. should tie for “People vs. OJ Simpson.” I can’t decide. Sarah Paulson must win for “OJ.” I think they could just give her an award and send everyone home. Comedy series is tough because I’m really rooting for “Blackish.” But “Veep” was crazy this season, crazy good, and deserves the statue. Ditto JLD. I could eat “Veep” with a spoon.
Peter Dinklage has to win for “Game of Thrones.” Come on. He’s the bomb. You wait through a whole episode for him. You have to get past Emilia, the dragon, Lena Headey doing Shakespeare, Jon Snow dead or alive, etc. But Peter sums it all up. Two other nominees who deserve some accolades. Louie Anderson– he’s playing Zach Galifianakis’s mother, for goodness sake. He’s waited his whole life for this. And Anna Chlumsky– as much as I do Kate McKinnon, my vote goes to Anna. Kate plays different characters all season. Anna’s Amy is a work of art.
Anyway, I’m waiting til next year when “The Night Of” wins everything. It was the “Hamilton” of TV. This year’s best TV movie was “All the Way.” Hands down. And best drama was “Downton Abbey.” But it won’t win because the Academy thought it was over. So, I go for “The Americans.” Give them some love, it’s almost over.
Here is the list of nominees in major categories:
Lead actor in a drama
Kyle Chandler, “Bloodline”
Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
Matthew Rhys, “The Americans”
Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”
Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”
Lead actress in a drama
Claire Danes, “Homeland”
Viola Davis, “How to Get Away With Murder”
Taraji P. Henson, “Empire”
Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black”
Keri Russell, “The Americans”
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”
Lead actor in a limited series
Bryan Cranston, “All the Way”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride”
Idris Elba, “Luther”
Cuba Gooding Jr., “The People vs. O.J. Simpson”
Tom Hiddleston, “The Night Manager” | Video
Courtney B. Vance, “The People vs. O.J. Simpson”
Lead actress in a limited series
Kirsten Dunst, “Fargo”
Felicity Huffman, “American Crime”
Audra McDonald, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grille”
Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O.J. Simpson”
Lili Taylor, “American Crime”
Kerry Washington, “Confirmation”
Lead actor in a comedy
Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”
Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”
Will Forte, “Last Man on Earth”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Thomas Middleditch, “Silicon Valley” | Interview
Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”
Lead actress in a comedy
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
Ellie Kemper, “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Tracee Ellis Ross, “black-ish”
Laurie Metcalf, “Getting On”
Amy Schumer, “Inside Amy Schumer”
Lily Tomlin, “Grace and Frankie”
Comedy series:
“black-ish” | Review
“Master of None” | Review
“Modern Family”
“Silicon Valley” | Interview
“Transparent” | Review
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
“Veep”
Drama series
“The Americans”
“Better Call Saul”
“Downton Abbey”
“Game of Thrones”
“Homeland”
“House of Cards”
“Mr. Robot” | Review
Limited series
“American Crime”
“Fargo” | Review
“The Night Manager” | Review
“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”
“Roots” | Review
TV movie
“All the Way”
“Confirmation”
“Luther”
“Sherlock: The Abominable Bride”
“A Very Murray Christmas”
Supporting actor in a comedy series
Louie Anderson, “Baskets”
Andre Braugher, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
Keegan-Michael Key, “Key & Peele”
Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”
Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Tony Hale, “Veep”
Matt Walsh, “Veep”
Supporting actor in a drama series
Jonathan Banks, “Better Call Saul”
Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline”
Kit Harington, “Game of Thrones”
Michael Kelly, “House of Cards” | Video
Jon Voight, “Ray Donovan”
Supporting actor in a limited series or movie
Jesse Plemons, “Fargo”
Bokeem Woodbine, “Fargo”
Hugh Laurie, “The Night Manager” | Interview
Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”
David Schwimmer, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”
John Travolta, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”
Supporting actress in a comedy series
Niecy Nash, “Getting On”
Allison Janney, “Mom”
Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”
Judith Light, “Transparent”
Gaby Hoffmann, “Transparent”
Anna Chlumsky, “Veep”
Supporting actress in a drama series
Maura Tierney, “The Affair”
Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey”
Lena Headey, “Game of Thrones”
Emilia Clarke, “Game of Thrones”
Maisie Williams, “Game of Thrones”
Constance Zimmer, “UnREAL”
Supporting actress in a limited series or movie
Melissa Leo, “All The Way”
Regina King, “American Crime”
Sarah Paulson, “American Horror Story: Hotel”
Kathy Bates, “American Horror Story: Hotel”
Jean Smart, “Fargo”
Olivia Colman, “The Night Manager”
