I have to admit that despite ...
Zach Gilford, Friday Night Lights
Question: I have to admit that despite the critical accolades, I avoided watching
Friday Night Lights during the season. I'm not a football fan and when I hear the words "family drama," I tend to think of useless tripe like
7th Heaven, so I really didn't think the show would appeal to me. I finally decided to give it a shot, and all I can say is: wow! I'm happy to admit that I was completely wrong in my assumptions. My question is about the show's Emmy chances. I think that a best-drama nod would give the show the type of exposure that could really help it in the ratings department, but do you think any of the cast members have a shot at being nominated?
Kyle Chandler and
Connie Britton would seem the most likely, but I'd love to see
Zach Gilford or
Scott Porter nominated. Their characters are truly the heart of the show, but I worry that because they're younger, their performances will go completely overlooked. Then again, as screwy as the Emmys are, I guess I'll be happy if the Academy even remembers this wonderful show exists.
Answer: Score. Another convert. Only several million more to go and my job will be done. As I've said before, and I'll keep saying it until the nominations are announced on July 19, how the Emmys treats
Friday Night Lights will help me decide how I treat the Emmys this year. This show is my litmus test. No show is more deserving of the boost that Emmy nominations can give a struggling newcomer than
Friday Night Lights. Will it happen? Not if you believe some of the bozos who dominate the discussion on a certain awards-centric website. In the past, we've raved on and on about the adult leads, but I should tell you how difficult it was when compiling our
Dream Emmy Ballot to choose between Zach Gilford (who breaks my heart as sincere quarterback Matt Saracen) and Scott Porter (who brought a grave resolve and great charisma to paraplegic ex-QB Jason Street), and in retrospect, we should have included both on the list. The Emmys, like many other awards groups, has an instinctive bias against nominating younger performers. In this case, that would be a real shame. I defy anyone to find a performance more natural and heartfelt than Zach Gilford's this season. It didn't even feel like acting to me, which is why I also worry he may not make the cut.
