I’m a huge awards show geek and I watch the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, and Tonys like it’s my religion. That being said, last night’s Emmys were kind of disappointing. Seth Meyers proved to be a lacklustre host starting the evening off with quite the dull monologue. The winners all seemed to be repeats of previous years; it felt like I was watching the Emmys from 2009 again. Voters are aware that there are other shows on television besides Modern Family, right?
However, not everything was bad. Highlights include Amy Poehler as a presenter (“best onscreen orgasm in a Civil War reenactment”), Billy Eichner’s Billy On the Street segment, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston’s moments together, countless unpredictable wins, Jimmy Kimmel essentially taking over as host, and the lovely In Memoriam segment with a great tribute to Robin Williams by Billy Crystal.
Network television ruled last night, cable fared better last week at the Creative Arts Emmys, and Netflix surprisingly bombed. The hit Netflix dramedy Orange is the New Black walked away with zero Emmys last night after almost every prognosticator expected it to take home a handful of statues. This is either a big middle finger to online programming or confusion due to category placement. The academy needs to set stricter rules in terms of where shows qualify to compete. True Detective is a drama series, but American Horror Story is a miniseries? What’s the difference? Orange is the New Black rides that fine line between comedy and drama, but so do shows like Nurse Jackie and Shameless (a show that finally gave up on campaigning as a drama series for years and made the switch to comedy this year). With all of the category confusion, voters once again went with the traditional comedy and lazy choice Modern Family for the top prize.
In my opinion, there were many undeserved wins, so here is how I think the Emmys should have gone last night. I would have given the awards to…
Best Drama Series – Game of Thrones / Breaking Bad
Best Comedy Series – Veep
Best Miniseries – Fargo
Best Television Movie – The Normal Heart
Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series – Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series – Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – Louis C.K., Louie
Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Best Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie – Martin Freeman, Fargo
Best Lead Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie – Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – Tony Hale, Veep
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – Kate Mulgrew, Orange is the New Black
Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie – Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart
Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie – Julia Roberts, The Normal Heart
Best Variety, Music or Comedy Series – The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Best Reality Competition Program – Project Runway
Best Directing for a Comedy Series – Jodie Foster, Orange is the New Black (“Lesbian Request Denied”)
Best Directing for a Drama Series – Neil Marshall, Game of Thrones (“The Watchers on the Wall”)
Best Directing for a Miniseries or TV Movie – Adam Bernstein, Fargo (“The Crocodile’s Dilemma”)
Best Directing for a Variety Special – Glenn Weiss, The 67th Annual Tony Awards
Best Writing for a Comedy Series – Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche & Armando Ianucci, Veep (“Special Relationship”)
Best Writing for a Drama Series – Moira Walley-Beckett, Breaking Bad (“Ozymandias”)
Best Writing for a Miniseries or TV Movie – Noah Hawley, Fargo (“The Crocodile’s Dilemma”)
Best Writing for a Variety Special – Sarah Silverman, Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles
and some awards that were given out last week at the Creative Arts Emmys…
Best Host of a Reality Competition Program – Heidi Klum & Tim Gunn, Project Runway
Best Directing for a Variety Series – Jonathan Krisel, Portlandia
Best Writing for a Variety Series – The Colbert Report
Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series – Robert Morse, Mad Men
Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series – Allison Janney, Masters of Sex
Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series – Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live
Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series – Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
Maybe next year there will be some new winners and fresh faces at the podium. With Breaking Bad gone for good, will it finally be Mad Men‘s turn to scoop up some last chance Emmys? Is Modern Family done ruining the comedy race? Will the tastes of Emmy voters develop and finally let a new show win the Emmy for comedy series? Let’s force voters to watch Veep, Orange is the New Black, Louie, Parks and Recreation, Silicon Valley, Broad City, hell, even Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Fingers crossed for better winners, a better host, and a Sunday night broadcast for the 67th Annual Emmys!
The Film Nook 