The internet's awash with articles about this year's Emmy nominations, so I'm not going to bore you too much about it here. The key things that interest me about the nominations are below:
- Matt LeBlanc is nominated for 'Lead Actor in a Comedy Series' for his work on Episodes playing a fictional version of himself. Seriously. What is going on? The post-Friends glow can't be lasting this long, so voters must genuinely think that's an award-worthy performance. Oh yeah, let's forget about those silly British actors, Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Grieg, who do the heavy-lifting every week.
- Boardwalk Empire has fallen out of favour with Emmy voters, as its regular place in the 'Drama Series' was lost. This is in line with my own lack of interest with the HBO gangster drama, as I couldn't even finish the third season and have little interest in the fourth.
- Netflix made history with House of Cards earning 14 nominations, including one for 'Drama Series' (replacing Boardwalk Empire?), 'Lead Actress in a Drama Series' for Robin Wright, and 'Outstanding Directing' for David Fincher's first episode. Whatever your thoughts on the series as a whole, this is a ground-breaking result for non-broadcast entertainment.
- Vera Farmiga got a nod for her twitchy work as Norma Bates in Bates Motel, which is indeed the best thing about that A&E show.
- Americans are so enamoured with Downton Abbey they've convinced themselves Michelle Dockery is a rare find, granting her a nomination for 'Lead Actress in a Drama Series'. Madness. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike what Dockery's doing on the show, but is it one of the best performances in a TV drama? Absolutely not. Ditto her Downton co-star Hugh Bonneville, nominated for 'Lead Actor in a Drama Series'.
- Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad and Mandy Patinkin for Homeland are both very deserving of their nods for 'Supporting Actor in a Drama Series' (especially the latter), but I'm overjoyed voters gave Breaking Bad's Jonathan Banks some love in the same category. It took the loss of Giancarlo Esposito from the critically-beloved AMC drama to edge Banks into Emmy voter affections, but nevertheless that's fantastic.
- Emilia Clarke was nominated for Game of Thrones in the 'Supporting Actress in a Drama Series' category, and this puzzles me slightly. She's a lovely presence and a favourite GoT character, but I don't think she's asked to do much that's award-winning.
- Is American Horror Story really an 'Outstanding Miniseries or Movie'? In terms of what exactly? I would like to see Top of the Lake win.
- Nice to see Britain's own Benedict Cumberbatch get a nomination for Parade's End as 'Lead Actor in a TV Miniseries or Movie', as Sherlock wasn't on-air this year.
- Netflix will be overjoyed with House of Cards dominating the Emmy's this year, but they must be disappointed the over-hyped return of Arrested Development didn't make half the splash. A nomination for Jason Bateman for 'Best Actor in a Comedy Series' feels almost like a consolation prize, and for it not to appear in the 'Outstanding Comedy Series' category must bug creator Mitch Hurwitz. The show had Emmy success while on Fox seven yeas ago, of course. Its other nominations were for music and picture editing, which is strange because Arrested Development actually suffered from some atrocious sound-mixing!
- Mad Men's writers didn't get a nomination in the writing category, breaking a six-year run. Ouch.
- BBC America's commendable attempt to get "newcomer" Tatiana Maslany an Emmy nomination for her multiple roles in Orphan Black failed, which suggests voters either have something against sci-fi or don't watch that channel. Creating several different characters is really tough, y'know. Just ask Eliza Dushku! She couldn't do it. You might even expect an award for managing to pull that off. Hint.
