I don’t know why I get excited about Emmy nominations. It’s like part of me holds onto this strange hope that maybe this year will be different, maybe this year they’ll get it right, maybe this year Modern Family won’t even be nominated so I don’t have to pretend to understand or care what Sofia Vergara is trying to say when she’s somehow chosen to deliver the acceptance speech when they inevitably win, but my face again falls in disappointment.
I’m not saying they got everything wrong. Though most critics are surprised, I’m impressed with the lack of nominations for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. While the Golden Globes gave it love, it’s not a very funny show and Andy Samberg’s character comes off as so unlikeable it’s hard to believe anyone is watching this show. I’m thrilled there was support for Portlandia and a nomination for Fred Armisen and that the TV Academy finally watched Shameless and gave it some nomination love. I’m less surprised, but no less excited by Lizzy Caplan’s nomination for Masters of Sex or Silicon Valley sneaking into the Best Comedy Series race. Modern Family’s domination seems to be waning, but with 10 nominations it’s still a surprisingly strong presence. And while all of the Orange is the New Black and True Detective love is not even remotely shocking, it’s still nice to see new faces. Unfortunately, they are in a small group.
The Emmys aren’t exactly known for surprises. They like the shows they like, and ignore the ones they don’t. Sometimes I wonder if the members even watch the actual screeners they’re given. I find it hard to believe that they do given that they have once again ignored that Hannibal is a thing that exists. From a technical standpoint, it’s easily the most impressive show on television on ANY network or platform. I can see it not getting acting or series love (not because the actors aren’t incredible, but because it’s not the easiest show to watch), but to ignore the show technically makes me think they skipped right over the episodes they were given and instead chose to re-watch Downton Abbey. That’s really the only excuse I can think of for how Downton got the ridiculous amount of nominations that it did. I’m not hating on Downton Abbey, I really do love the show, but I’m not blinded by the fact that there are other, better shows out there. Orphan Black and Tatiana Maslany’s incredibly performance were left out in the cold, as was Michael Sheen for his role in Masters of Sex. I know they watched the show, but I guess they just can’t drop Jon Hamm even though he’s probably got a better shot of being struck by lightening that actually winning an Emmy (deserving as he may be…he’s the dramatic version of Steve Carell). They’re still giving the never funny GIRLS a few nominations and keeping the hasn’t-been-watchable-since-season-2 GLEE alive with a couple of technical nominations. And perennial Emmy darlings like Don Cheadle, Matt LeBlanc, Jeff Daniels, Edie Falco, and Claire Danes still manage to get nominated whether or not they even did something worth being nominated for in their shows this season. I’ll still make predictions and watch with baited breath on August 25th (because Monday seems like a good day for an award show…), but I’m always watching with the hope that next year things will be different.
