The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards (which will be presented on September 18). Unsurprisingly, the costume dramas got a lot of love, though there were some sad (and some surprising) omissions and nominations. Here’s a breakdown:
Mildred Pierce got 21 nominations, more than any other program, which makes me think that the voters were on autopilot here. “An HBO costume drama? Yeah, go ahead and nominate it for everything. It’s HBO! We love HBO! And Kate Winslet has an Oscar, so let’s nominate her too.” So, it’s got nominations for lead actress in a miniseries or TV movie for Kate Winslet (big shock there); best supporting actor for both Guy Pearce and Brian F. O’Byrne (who played Bert Pierce. Really, voters? Did you even watch the miniseries? This guy was ok, but not that memorable); best supporting actress for Evan Rachel Wood, Melissa Leo, and Mare Winningham; and, of course, best TV movie or miniseries. Plus a number of nominations in the technical categories. I’m not sure about this. I didn’t think Mildred Pierce was all that good. It dragged, a lot of the roles were miscast (including Mildred herself, and believe me, I love Kate Winslet. I just didn’t love her here). Nominating the actor who played Bert and the actress who played Mildred’s waitress friend is absurd to me when there were other actors who deserved nominations more for doing far better work with more memorable characters. You know, like half the cast of Pillars of the Earth (and on that subject–wow, that gets nominated for an Emmy this year? Doesn’t it feel like ages since we watched that? It was the first thing I recapped her. Ahh, the memories). POTE, by the way, got one major nomination: in the TV movie or miniseries category, which to me just says that the voters don’t watch Starz.
Or Showtime, apparently, aside from Dexter, because The Borgias got no love whatsoever, apart from a couple of technical categories, which I think totally sucks, because The Borgias is really good.
The voters did, wisely, ignore the execrable Camelot. I guess they feel the same way as I do about that.
Boardwalk Empire was better received than Game of Thrones, which sounds about right to me. All Game of Thrones got was a nomination for best drama and best supporting actor in a drama for Peter Dinklage, who I think really is the best part of that show. I’ll be cheering him on, along with John Slattery from Mad Men. BE, on the other hand, got nominations for best drama series, best lead actor (Steve Buscemi), and best supporting actress (Kelly Macdonald). I’m a bit surprised Michael Shannon and/or Michael Pitt didn’t get any nods for supporting actor, or even Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham, and Vincent Piazza, but c’est la vie. I’d be happy to see Buscemi or Macdonald win, but he’s going up against John Hamm for Mad Men (who will probably win) and Kyle Chandler for Friday Night Lights (whom I really, really, really want to see awarded for the show’s final season), so it’s probably not going to happen. And she’s facing down two actresses from The Good Wife, which people seem to love, and Christina Hendricks from Mad Men, who really deserves some recognition, so I’m not all that hopeful here.
Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs both got plenty of nominations to brag about, and for the love of God, let Downton win, because it actually deserves it. Upstairs Downstairs was a mess, which is probably why it didn’t get nominated for best TV movie or miniseries. Even The Kennedys got nominated in that category. Mildred Pierce will probably take that one, but it’d be nice to see Downton get it, because I think it deserves the top prize. There’s almost no way Elizabeth McGovern will win in the best actress category (Winslet will get it for sure), but I’d scream and throw things if Jean Marsh wins for her turn as the whiny, useless Rose. Maggie Smith goes head-to-head with Eileen Atkins in the supporting actress category, which is kind of awesome. Hard to say what’ll happen there—they may split the British costume drama votes and Evan Rachel Wood or Melissa Leo could take it. I’m not sure I’d be heartbroken by that—they both did really good jobs with their Mildred Pierce roles. Downton’s got a really good shot in the writing category, I think. I’d be interested to see what Jean Marsh has to say if they do win. Will she start bleating about how they ripped her off again?
Wierdest nomination: Mildred Pierce in the special visual effects for a miniseries, movie, or special category. What visual effects? I’m leaning towards Pillars of the Earth for that one.
What’s your opinion, readers? Any nominations (or lack thereof) surprise you? Anyone you’re hoping to see win (or lose)?
