EMMY NOMINEES 2014: THE CHEERS AND DISAPPOINTMENTS

The Emmy Award nominations were announced today, and here’s what the Television Academy got perfectly right, and where they lost out on recognizing the best of TV for 2013-14

THE CHEERS

1. THE GOOD WIFE’s ‘big three’ got nominated: Last year, Julianna Margulies was denied an Actress – Drama nomination, despite there being seven nominated actresses. This year, the Academy has got it right by putting her among the six nominees. In addition to that, it’s great to see Josh Charles nominated for his amazing work during his last few episodes on the show. And the Academy love Christine Baranski anyway.

2. MASTERS OF SEX performances nominated: Lizzy Caplan delivered quite a performance in the freshman series. The Academy loves restraint and economy in performance, so it’s not really a surprise, but it’s good to see her name among the Actress – Drama nominees. Also, with Beau Bridges and Allison Janney among the Drama Guest Actor and Actress nominees, it’s good to know that good performances that may not be spoken about much still get recognized. Janney especially was excellent in the first season of the show.

3. GIRLS is not nominated for Outstanding Series – Comedy: This is a relief. Given its last two nominations in the category and a win at the Golden Globes, it unfortunately seemed like the show would stick around in these categories while other shows that are actually good are denied a spot. This year, however, it’s good to see that GIRLS is off that list.

4. Allison Janney got nominated for MOM: This wasn’t the kind of show that would be nominated for anything, and this is probably one of the only nominations it’ll ever get at the Emmys, but Allison Janney deserves this nod. She absolutely nails Bonnie’s one liners and callous attitude.

5. DOWNTON ABBEY is still going strong: Many felt that season four of DOWNTON ABBEY was not as good, and a few even said that the show should probably end, but I, in fact, felt like the writing was particularly strong in the most recent season. I’m happy to see that the Academy thinks so too, and has given it an Outstanding Series – Drama nomination this year as well. It’s also great to see the regulars like Michelle Dockery and Jim Carter in the acting mix, and of course, it would’ve been unfair to leave out Joanne Froggatt, given her outstanding portrayal of Anna dealing with being raped.

THE DISAPPOINTMENTS

1. THE GOOD WIFE was denied an Outstanding Series – Drama nomination: Season five has arguably been the best season of the show, and it is undoubtedly the best network drama. Everyone who watched season five of THE GOOD WIFE would agree that it deserved to be on the list, except for the Academy. Sad.

2. BROOKLYN NINE-NINE didn’t make it to the Outstanding Series – Comedy list: It won the Golden Globe for Best Series – Comedy this year, and even though I didn’t agree with the HFPA’s choice at first, I grew to love this show, as I recognized how amazing it really is. I definitely think that it’s one of the best new comedies of the season that just ended, and it certainly should’ve got a spot among the six best comedy series of the season, overall.

3. MASTERS OF SEX and Michael Sheen lose out on nominations: A few episodes in, and I could see this show filling the void that MAD MEN will leave next year when it ends. It really did deserve a nod, and Michael Sheen’s excellent portrayal of the cold, yet deep and heavily layered William Masters definitely deserved some recognition.

4. Overacting performances from SCANDAL got undue credit: While the Academy does love restraint, it also tends to consider overacting as good acting, as is evident from them nominating Kerry Washington for a second time. Worse is that performers like Vera Farmiga (BATES MOTEL) and Elisabeth Moss (MAD MEN) have been left out of this year’s Actress – Drama list, while Washington’s over-the-top histrionics have made it. And if anyone has overacted as much, or more than her on the show, it would have to be Joe Morton, who plays Rowan Pope, and sadly, he’s been nominated for Guest Actor – Drama.

5. ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE hog Guest Actress – Comedy: I’m sure ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK has some great performances, but the nominee list suggests that these two shows are the only ones that had good performances by female guest stars. Also, I never understand how sketch performances on SNL outweigh performances by actors and actresses who put so much into building recurring guest characters. I don’t see how SNL fits into the regular fiction categories anyway.

So that’s that. Below is the list of all the acting and series nominations. If you wish to see all the technical nominations as well, click here. Do share your thoughts on what was well deserved, and who was unjustly denied a place in this list.

Outstanding Drama Series

BREAKING BAD

DOWNTON ABBEY

GAME OF THRONES

HOUSE OF CARDS

MAD MEN

TRUE DETECTIVE

Outstanding Comedy Series

THE BIG BANG THEORY

LOUIE

MODERN FAMILY

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

SILICON VALLEY

VEEP

Lead Actor in a Drama

Bryan Cranston, BREAKING BAD

Jeff Daniels, THE NEWSROOM

Jon Hamm, MAD MEN

Woody Harrelson, TRUE DETECTIVE

Matthew McConaughey, TRUE DETECTIVE

Kevin Spacey, HOUSE OF CARDS

Lead Actress in a Drama

Lizzy Caplan, MASTERS OF SEX

Claire Danes, HOMELAND

Michelle Dockery, DOWNTON ABBEY

Julianna Marguiles, THE GOOD WIFE

Kerry Washington, SCANDAL

Robin Wright, HOUSE OF CARDS

Lead Actor in a Comedy

Louis C.K., LOUIE

Don Cheadle, HOUSE OF LIES

Ricky Gervais, DEREK

Matt LeBlanc, EPISODES

William H. Macy, SHAMELESS

Jim Parsons, THE BIG BANG THEORY

Lead Actress in a Comedy

Lena Dunham, GIRLS

Edie Falco, NURSE JACKIE

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, VEEP

Melissa McCarthy, MIKE & MOLLY

Amy Poehler, PARKS & RECREATION

Taylor Schilling, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

Supporting Actor in a Drama

Aaron Paul, BREAKING BAD

Jim Carter, DOWNTON ABBEY

Peter Dinklage, GAME OF THRONES

Josh Charles, THE GOOD WIFE

Mandy Patinkin, HOMELAND

Jon Voight, RAY DONOVAN

Supporting Actress in a Drama

Anna Gunn, BREAKING BAD

Maggie Smith, DOWNTON ABBEY

Joanne Froggatt, DOWNTON ABBEY

Lena Headey, GAME OF THRONES

Christine Baranski, THE GOOD WIFE

Christina Hendricks, MAD MEN

Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Andre Braugher, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE

Adam Driver, GIRLS

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, MODERN FAMILY

Ty Burrell, MODERN FAMILY

Fred Armisen, PORTLANDIA

Tony Hale, VEEP

Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Mayim Bialik, THE BIG BANG THEORY

Julie Bowen, MODERN FAMILY

Allison Janney, MOM

Kate Mulgrew, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

Kate McKinnon, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Anna Chlumsky, VEEP

Guest Actor in a Drama

Paul Giamatti, DOWNTON ABBEY

Dylan Baker, THE GOOD WIFE

Reg E. Cathey, HOUSE OF CARDS

Robert Morse, MAD MEN

Beau Bridges, MASTERS OF SEX

Joe Morton, SCANDAL

Guest Actress in a Drama

Margo Martindale, THE AMERICANS

Diana Rigg, GAME OF THRONES

Kate Mara, HOUSE OF CARDS

Allison Janney, MASTERS OF SEX

Jane Fonda, THE NEWSROOM

Kate Burton, SCANDAL

Guest Actor in a Comedy

Bob Newhart, THE BIG BANG THEORY

Nathan Lane, MODERN FAMILY

Steve Buscemi, PORTLANDIA

Jimmy Fallon, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Louis C.K., SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Gary Cole, VEEP

Guest Actress in a Comedy

Natasha Lyonne, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

Uzo Aduba, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

Laverne Cox, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

Tina Fey, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Melissa McCarthy, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
BOARDWALK EMPIRE ("Farewell Daddy Blues"), Tim Van Patten
BREAKING BAD ("Felina"), Vince Gilligan
DOWNTON ABBEY ("Episode 1"), David Evans
GAME OF THRONES ("The Watchers on the Wall"), Neil Marshall
HOUSE OF CARDS ("Chapter 14"), Carl Franklin
TRUE DETECTIVE ("Who Goes There"), Cary Joji Fukunaga

Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series
EPISODES ("Episode 309"), Iain B. MacDonald
GLEE ("100"), Paris Barclay
LOUIS ("Elevator, Part 6"), Louis C.K.
MODERN FAMILY ("Vegas"), Gail Mancuso
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK ("Lesbian Request Denied"), Jodie Foster
SILICON VALLEY ("Minimum Viable Product"), Mike Judge

Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
BREAKING BAD ("Ozymandias"), Moira Walley-Beckett
BREAKING BAD ("Felina"), Vince Gilligan
GAME OF THRONES ("The Children"), David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
HOUSE OF CARDS ("Chapter 14"), Beau Willimon
TRUE DETECTIVE ("The Secret Fate of All Life"), Nic Pizzolatto

Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
EPISODES ("Episode 305"), David Crane
LOUIS ("So Did The Fat Lady"), Louis C.K.
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK ("I Wasn't Ready"), Jenji Kohan and Liz Friedman
SILICON VALLEY ("Optimal Tip-to-Tip Efficiency"), Alec Berg
VEEP ("Special Relationship"), Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, and Armando Iannucci