Thursdays with Tom? The Emmys
NOTE: Fear not everyone, I did send this out on Tuesday morning per usual. I had some issues with TinyLetter approving the content -- which ended up just being a precaution as nothing here is inappropriate. Maybe they didn't like my jokes. But here it is and hopefully we won't have this issue again.
As far as awards shows goes, The Emmys get the rawest deal of the bunch. Everyone knows the Oscars and it’s the biggest standalone pop culture viewing event of the year aside from The Super Bowl. The Tonys are like your friend who does improv on the side: a very, very dedicated few people show up to see an over-the-top live performance. They happen in the dead-TV period of the summer. Even the Golden Globes, the Oscars’ carefree drunk uncle, gets their own night in January for its trophy-handing ceremony. But despite being the biggest night for celebrating TV, the Emmys are almost an afterthought as a broadcast. So much so that this year NBC is bumping them from their usual fall Sunday night slot to Monday night (nothing is standing in the way of the 1,000,000th telecast of Cowboys-Giants on Sunday Night Football). It’s also oddly presented because new seasons of TV have to hit a specific window of premiere time, meaning that some long-standing shows don’t even get considered if they take a long time off. On the flip side, you can get years and years of competition between the same shows -- something the Oscars, Globes or Tonys can never replicate. That makes for intriguing plots like Jon Hamm finally getting his due for his performance as Mad Men’s Don Draper.
The lines between linear TV and streaming services are so blurred now that people like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are now leading the conversation with a combined 53 nominations across the board. HBO has been a staple in the awards show, mostly fueled this year with the return of Game of Thrones as a nominee after a one-year hiatus. The broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC aren’t going away. Hold on, National Geographic has two nominations? What the hell is going on Emmys! If you’re a fan of almost any TV, you’ve likely seen some of these shows. If not, you can probably catch up on an entire series between now and the show. I’ll go over the major categories, but first a few things to note about the nomination process.
The window for submission is June 1, 2017 through May 31, 2018.
Entrants submit a single episode as their nominated piece. So basically it’s the best of one performance or episode as a consideration at large.
Show will be hosted by Michael Che and Colin Jost on NBC. That has nothing to do with the nominations. Networks tend to pick important people within their own shows to tap as hosts and these two SNL Weekend Update hosts fit the bill there.
SUPPORTING ACTORS
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Game of Thrones
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
David Harbour, Stranger Things
Matt Smith, The Crown
Joseph Fiennes, The Handmaid’s Tale
Summary: Get ready to see Game of Thrones in a lot of categories. They have seven nominations, including two in this section between show brothers Tyrion Lannister (Dinklage) and Jaime Lannister (Coster-Waldau). Rounding out the list is the angriest actor ever Mandy Patinkin, America’s favorite local cop from Stranger Things, the guy who played Dr. Who in Matt Smith and the guy who played Shakespeare from Shakespeare in Love! This award has been dominated by a few people in the last eight years. Dinklage has won it twice already and with Thrones on its way out soon, I’d give him the slight edge here. Harbour might be the people’s favorite, but the people don’t get to vote. And personally, I haven’t seen The Crown or Handmaid’s Tale, but John Lithgow won it for The Crown in this very category last year and Handmaid’s Tale is clearly favored by the Emmy voters after last year’s Drama Series win.
Who Should Win: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Who Will Win: Peter Dinklage
Who I Want to Win: Peter Dinklage
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things
Vanessa Kirby, The Crown
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale
Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid’s Tale
Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Summary: Take it easy Handmaid’s Tale! I know the show is a walking women’s rights movement, but to get three nominations in one category is pretty insane. Must be a testament to the strength of the acting and Ann Dowd won the trophy last year. I just saw her catching up on The Leftovers and she was terrifying in that role. Millie Bobby Brown is the main girl from Stranger Things. You can thank her for every 25-year old girl’s Halloween costume from the past two years. Thandie Newton spends most of her time on Westworld naked but she is actually a bright spot on the show. The greatest injustice here is Lena Headey a.k.a Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones. I am completely shocked she hasn’t won any Emmys for her performance. That needs to be recognized. Maybe they’ll do it in the last season or this one, but it’s long overdue. On the other hand, the Emmys tend to reward the same people over and over again.
Who Should Win: Lena Headey
Who Will Win: Ann Dowd
Who I Want to Win: Lena Headey
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Brian Tyree Henry, Atlanta
Henry Winkler, Barry
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Summary: For about six years this award rotated between the casts of Modern Family and Veep. That won’t be happening this time as Veep is ineligible due to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ cancer treatment delaying the final season and the Academy finally realized that Modern Family sucks now (hot take alert!). In their places we have a host of new nominees and some very old ones. Namely, Henry Winkler is back in the race for his wonderful role on HBO’s Barry. Can you believe he never won an Emmy for playing The Fonz? That’s a damn shame. Unfortunately for Winkler he’s got stiff competition here. Louie Anderson won two years ago for Baskets, Alec Baldwin won last year playing Trump on SNL and many people (myself included) think Brian Tyree Henry just turned in a stunning performance as Paper Boi on Atlanta. And you read that right, Kenan Thompson is still on SNL. Unbelievable. This is a stacked grouping. I feel very weird giving Baldwin another award for playing a caricature of a president who needs none over other more deserving actors. But the Hollywood voters may disagree with me here.
Who Should Win: Brian Tyree Henry
Who Will Win: Alec Baldwin
Who I Want to Win: Brian Tyree Henry
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Zazie Beetz, Atlanta
Laurie Metcalf, Roseanne
Betty Gilpin, Glow
Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live
Leslie Jones, Saturday Night Live
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Megan Mullally, Will & Grace
Summary: This category is a weak spot for me as I’ve only seen Atlanta and SNL clips of the other women. But I’ll give it my best effort. Kate McKinnon is the two-time defending champ and is on a hot streak career wise. She should be the front-runner again. Megan Mullally is back for the return of Will & Grace. She won this award twice for the same part in 2000 and 2006. I have an Atlanta bias but I think Zazie Beetz is great on that show. Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel will likely take home something, but probably not here. This is McKinnon’s award to lose.
Who Should Win: Kate McKinnon
Who Will Win: Kate McKinnon
Who I Want to Win: Zazie Beetz
LEAD ACTORS
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us
Ed Harris, Westworld
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld
Summary: If you love the main characters on This Is Us and Westworld, this might be the category for you. Four of the six men nominated here come from those two shows, a rarity that will likely hurt them more than help them. This is where my personal taste becomes a factor as I didn’t like Westworld’s second season. I respect both actors but I find their characters monotonously dreery. The favorite here is Sterling K. Brown. He won this category last year and the year before won the Lead Actor Emmy in the Best Limited Series group for The People vs. OJ on FX. Guess what? He also is nominated this year in the Guest Actor Comedy category for his role on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Do the Emmys love Sterling K. Brown or what?! Other subplots: Matthew Rhys has been nominated three years in a row for The Americans. This was their farewell season so he could get the Jon Hamm-sympathy vote. Jason Bateman is a personal favorite of mine. I enjoyed Ozark and he really goes for it on that show (in a good way). It would be a major upset to see him win it.
Who Should Win: Sterling K. Brown
Who Will Win: Sterling K. Brown
Who I Want to Win: Jason Bateman
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans
Claire Foy, The Crown
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld
Summary: Another area where I’m light on shows I’ve seen (just Westworld!). But this one is pretty hotly contested. Elisabeth Moss won last year and the year before that Tatiana Maslany did. They’re both back in the category against six-time Emmy nominee Sandra Oh. She was Dr. Yang on the seemingly never-ending Grey’s Anatomy. Oh is the first Asian-American to get a Lead Actress nomination for Drama. Claire Foy was perceived to be the runner-up to Moss last year and Keri Russell is in the same boat as her co-star and real-life husband Matthew Rhys for The Americans (praying for the farewell trophy). Evan Rachel Wood is probably the face of the Westworld franchise that the Academy seems smitten with. Maslany plays several characters at once in Orphan Black which leans me to believe she is deserving of another honor. But if history serves us right, Moss will win again.
Who Should Win: Tatiana Maslany
Who Will Win: Elisabeth Moss
Who I Want to Win: Anyone Besides Evan Rachel Wood
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Bill Hader, Barry
William H. Macy, Shameless
Summary: Talk about a mix of old and new nominees. Ted Danson, Larry David and William H. Macy have combined for 42 Emmy nominations and multiple wins. Shameless re-classified as a Comedy to win more awards, but so far it’s been five nominations in a row and no wins for Macy. David feels like a legacy nomination, as the return of Curb was just alright. Danson won this award in the previous two decades and is a sneaky candidate to win in a third one. This is Anthony Anderson’s fourth straight nomination and I think he’ll be going home empty-handed once again. To me, this comes down to the new guys. Specifically, defending winner Donald Glover and newcomer Bill Hader. Glover was a surprising but deserving winner in 2017. But I thought he took a back seat as an actor on Atlanta this year. If anything he might get his recognition as a writer or showrunner. Hader is also the leader of his show Barry, but the key difference is he carried the show as the lead actor better than Glover. If you watch his episode nomination “Loud, Fast and Keep Going” you’ll probably be blown away at how good he is. The Emmys do like the new guy.
Who Should Win: Bill Hader
Who Will Win: Donald Glover
Who I Want to Win: Bill Hader
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Pamala Adlon, Better Things
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Allison Janney, Mom
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
Summary: Julia-Louis Dreyfus’ absence in this category means for the first time in six years, there will be a new winner for Best Comedy Lead Actress. Don’t worry, she’ll win it one more time in Veep’s farewell season. In the meantime, there’s a hungry group of fantastic women ready to pounce on the opportunity. Shoutout to my mom and aunts who seem to be the only people I know watching Grace and Frankie. Lily Tomlin thanks you all! I’ve seen a few episodes of Insecure and I’m impressed with Issa Rae. Mrs. Maisel is nominated for 14 Emmys this year and this seems like the place for them to take home an award. My only hesitation is Allison Janney. She is probably the most beloved actress by Academy voters save for Meryl Streep. Janney has won seven Emmys and just picked up her first Oscar win earlier this year. She switched her role in Mom to the best Actress category two years ago and is hoping to crank out a win. I think it might happen.
Who Should Win: Rachel Brosnahan
Who Will Win: Allison Janney
Who I Want to Win: Issa Rae
BEST SERIES
Outstanding Limited Series
The Alienist, TNT
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, FX
Genius: Picasso, National Geographic
Godless, Netflix
Patrick Melrose. Showtime
Summary: This is a newer category that recognizes the growing trend of limited miniseries or anthology series like American Horror Story. But let’s put that aside for a second. Has anyone seen Genius: Picasso? Anyone? Did you know that Antonio Banderas was playing Pablo Picasso on the same channel you watch lions mate? I cracked up learning that. Anyways, it doesn’t stand a chance here. My Playstation Vue was so insistent that I watch The Alienist that it recorded every episode for me without even asking. I avoided it out of spite. Benedict Cumberbatch played the title character on Patrick Melrose. This is probably between the Gianni Versace show and Godless. I have no clue who will win!
Who Should Win: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Who Will Win: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Who I Want to Win: Genius: Picasso (for comedy purposes)
Outstanding Comedy Series
Atlanta
Barry
Black-ish
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Glow
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Silicon Valley
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Summary: Three-time champion Veep’s not around to defend their title, so we will have a new winner here. This is the first time in seven years Modern Family didn’t get nominated and it benefited first-time nominees Mrs. Maisel, Glow and Barry. Larry David’s series is back in the race and the rest of the group is rounded out by returning nominees Black-ish, Silicon Valley, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Atlanta. Let’s take this one at a time. I thought Silicon Valley was kinda weak this year. Count them out as well as Kimmy Schmidt and Glow. Their low nomination total suggests there isn’t much support for those shows. Black-ish is a mainstay nominee and hasn’t broken through but nothing suggests that will change now. I think this is a four horse race between Atlanta, Barry, Curb and Mrs. Maisel. I’ve seen all but Mrs. Maisel and I really loved Barry the most. But it seems too soon for them to win. And it’s probably too late for Curb, an industry favorite but no one would say this season was a top-notch year. So it should come down to Atlanta and Mrs. Maisel -- last year’s rookie darling vs. this year’s.
Who Should Win: Atlanta
Who Will Win: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Who I Want to Win: Barry
Outstanding Drama Series
The Americans
The Crown
Game of Thrones
The Handmaid’s Tale
Stranger Things
This Is Us
Westworld
Summary: The final award of the night and of this newsletter pits a bevy of well-regarded and popular shows against each other. Swooping in like a one-hundred foot-long dragon from the sky is Game of Thrones, the back-to-back winner in 2015 and 2016 for Best Drama. They weren’t eligible last year but they lead all shows with 22 Emmy nominations this year. In the other corner is The Handmaid’s Tale, winner of eight Emmys in their freshman season last year and the defending Drama Series champ. This isn’t to cut short The Americans in their final season or the most popular broadcast drama in many years This Is Us. How about maybe the most popular Netflix show Stranger Things? And closing off the group are deliriously expensive prestige dramas The Crown and Westworld. Again, we’ll take this one by one. I like Stranger Things but I think we’ve already reached the tipping point where “surprise summer delight” meets “probably overrated”. The last time a network TV show won this category was 24 in 2006. So sorry This Is Us. You’re done. I don’t think enough people love The Crown or The Americans enough to catapult it over the other top contenders. Westworld gets style points for it’s slick production, but it has more gawkers than true admirers in my opinion. So it’ll come down to current champ, The Handmaid’s Tale, and the most popular show in the entire world in its penultimate season. Dragons against dystopian women? I know where I stand.
Who Should Win: Game of Thrones
Who Will Win: Game of Thrones
Who I Want to Win: Game of Thrones
Tom’s Thoughts of the Week
While we’re on this topic, last week Emmy Rossum announced she is leaving Shameless after the upcoming ninth season. You would think that the lead character of a series leaving a show would be enough to end it, but Showtime is picking it up for a tenth season. Enough! This show should have ended three seasons ago. I already gave up on it last year.
I finished Ozark’s second season in one weekend. If you liked the first season, expect more of the same in the next batch of 10 episodes. No spoilers here but I do wonder how the writers decide to kill people off in this show. Seems to be completely random when important characters get to live or die.
Anyone who really knows me already knows my thoughts on the Steelers tying with the Cleveland Browns. Very strange NFL Sunday in general, night-capped by Aaron Rodgers ripping out the Bears hearts yet again on national TV. I’m just glad football is back.
I have very vivid recall of my dreams. Last week I had a dream that Rupert Grint, the actor who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, was a star NCAA basketball player. He played for a small private college called Dredford (which doesn’t exist) and he carried them to March Madness for the first time in school history. For some reason he had grown out his hair to Tarzan-length levels. Everyone in the world was heckling him and many showed up in wigs saying “I’m Ron Weasley”. Then in the middle of the game, I got tapped on the shoulder and was told I had to leave. Apparently I had been cast as the lead of the Broadway hit The Music Man and needed to be immediately rushed to my performance. The problem is I had not practiced any of the songs or blocking, so when I got on stage I completely made up everything and was booed until they closed the curtains on me Guitar Hero style. My alarm went off shortly after this. Get on my dream level.
Did you know the original writer of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” was a male punk rock singer? Robert Hazard wrote the original in 1979 from the perspective of a bad boy with a girl craze. Cyndi Lauper adapted the song in 1983 and turned it into her signature hit. Pretty cool how universal music can be across genres and perspective.
I want to apologize to Adam Foxman for not giving him his credit for inspiring last week's newsletter. It was him! I couldn't have done it without you BUD! Adam is a wonderful guy.