The Emmys: A Dramatic Shift Toward Cable
Jon Hamm courtesy AMC
If you heard someone momentarily flatlining in the audience at the reading of the Emmy nominations Thursday morning, that was me. They were announcing the best drama series candidates and I was mostly on board as I checked my list in the back of the TV Academy theater.
Damages. Yay!
House. OK.
Boston Legal. I don't approve, but I'm no longer surprised.
Lost. OMG!
Dexter. OM-Freaking-G! Wait. That's five. Surely they didn't leave out . . .
And they didn't. AMC's dazzling
Mad Men, the last to be announced, not only made the cut, it made history. With 16, it's the most nominated drama of the year, and with FX's
Damages (seven nominations total), represents basic cable's first-ever breakthrough into the top tier of Emmy accolades for best series.
Mad Men also has to be seen as the odds-on favorite for best drama at this point.
While we're on this category- and let's face it, this is the golden age of TV drama, so this really is the night's top prize- let's hail the Emmy voters for recognizing the creative rebirth of
Lost this season, which had fallen off the list since winning best drama for its first season. And what a pleasant shock to see the Emmys embrace (only a year late) the twisted brilliance of
Dexter in its second year for coming into its own with plotting that never stopped. Of the three cable dramas vying for the Emmy,
Dexter was a much bigger surprise for me than the success of
Mad Men and
Damages, which despite not airing on pay cable have the look and feel of first-class blue-chip entertainment. (I secretly suspect Emmy voters were confused about
Mad Men having been created by a former
Sopranos writer and just assumed it aired on HBO, since it surely looks like it does.)
Now that I've gushed, let's pause for a moment to lament the final snub for HBO's searing urban masterpiece
The Wire (a single writing nomination) and another cold shoulder for
Friday Night Lights (a casting nomination, but no acting honors yet again). I guess the Emmy voters must somehow think these shows are documentaries, not dramas. And because they take place on those strange, obscure planets of Texas and Baltimore, the Hollywood contingent simply can't be bothered.
God forbid they'd favor either of these shows over the cartoonish pandering of
Boston Legal (seven nominations, including three for acting and one for directing). I'm a little irked as well by the rote nomination of
House (four nominations, including no-brainer Hugh Laurie and directing) after a lukewarm season marred by awkward cast transitions. A few killer episodes, especially toward the end, does not a deserving season make, but no argument about Hugh Laurie.
Speaking of best drama actor, which like the best-drama category made room for six nominees, how does one choose among Laurie, Jon Hamm, Michael C. Hall, Bryan Cranston (an inspired choice for AMC's other new drama,
Breaking Bad; what a great year for AMC),
In Treatment's brooding Gabriel Byrne and the inevitable James Spader. Laurie is overdue, but I'm torn between Hamm and Hall. An embarrassment of riches.
The best drama actress category is more clear-cut. Some terrific contenders in past winners Sally Field and Mariska Hargitay, plus TNT queens Kyra Sedgwick and the over-the-top Holly Hunter, but this one's going to
Damages' Glenn Close for her ferocious performance as the cunning Patty Hewes. (Kudos to Ted Danson and Zeljko Ivanek for earning supporting nominations for
Damages as well.)
Few surprises in the various comedy categories. I was bummed that
Pushing Daisies, despite earning 12 nominations (second only to 30 Rock's 17 in the comedy field), didn't crack the best-comedy category. I blame the strike, which kept
Daisies from completing more than nine episodes. I also blame the Emmy voters' infatuation with HBO, because
Entourage certainly didn't deserve a nod for its most recent subpar season. (No such argument with Jeremy Piven and Kevin Dillon's supporting nominations.) But
Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, 30 Rock and
Two and a Half Men were all expected to make the cut, and did.
A quick note on the movies/minis categories. As usual, HBO leads the pack with its epic miniseries
John Adams earning 23 nominations. Its only real rival: PBS
Masterpiece's delightful
Cranford, with eight. The movie prize will come down to HBO's politically charged satire
Recount and ABC's beautifully rendered remake of
A Raisin in the Sun, unless HBO's
Extras movie finale is a spoiler. (
Raisin's Phylicia Rashad, who won a Tony for the role, should be a shoo-in for movie actress despite tough competition from Laura Linney's Abigail Adams and Dame Judi Dench's poignant
Cranford spinster. With lesser competition,
John Adams' Paul Giamatti is probably a lock for best actor, unless
Extras' Ricky Gervais pulls off another upset.)
Some thoughts on other major categories (for a full list, go
here):
Comedy actor: Nice to see
Pushing Daisies' charming Lee Pace break into a tight category. But
30 Rock's Alec Baldwin, denied a win last year, will take this one. (I knew it was a long shot for this year, but I'm hoping the Emmys will soon discover
The Big Bang Theory's truly hilarious Jim Parsons.)
Comedy actress: Ditto Christina Applegate, joining a list of worthy repeat nominees. I'd love to see Julia Louis-Dreyfus' hysterical
Old Christine win again. That underappreciated show could use the boost.
Supporting/guest nominations: Shout-outs to
Lost's Michael Emerson and
Grey's Anatomy's Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson for representing their otherwise neglected ensembles; to
How I Met Your Mother's Neil Patrick Harris and
Mad Men's John Slattery; to
Saturday Night Live's versatile Amy Poehler for forcing the Emmys to consider work in late-night comedy worthy of inclusion in the comedy category; and while
Desperate Housewives' regular cast was entirely shut out, here's to guest actresses Kathryn Joosten and Polly Bergen for keeping Wisteria Lane on the map.
Reality: How likely is it that
The Amazing Race will once again beat
American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Bravo's Project Runway and
Top Chef for reality-competition? Very likely. But
Race's Phil Keoghan was left out of the new reality-host race, which should go to
Dancing's unflappably appealing Tom Bergeron (his competition: Heidi Klum, Jeff Probst, Ryan Seacrest and, gulp, Howie Mandel, who can now add "Emmy nominee" to his resume). Still the wackiest category: Outstanding Reality Program, a grab-bag that includes
Antiques Roadshow, Dirty Jobs, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Intervention and
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List- who will she tell to "suck it" should she win again?
