This year's Primetime Emmy nominations were announced yesterday, but none of it really matters. The Emmy's just draw more eyeballs than most other awards ceremonies of their ilk, as the "Oscars of U.S TV". But if it keeps a few good-but-struggling shows on the air a bit longer, that's always nice. (Shame they snubbed Hannibal, then). Below is a list of the main Emmy categories, and some very brief thoughts on each set of nominees.
COMEDY SERIES
- The Big Bang Theory – wildly popular, but leaves me cold
- Louie – nahh, season 4 was quite poor
- Modern Family – I don't watch it
- Orange is the New Black – struggled to get into this
- Silicon Valley – desperately wanted to love this, but it fell flat for me
- Veep – adore Armando Iannucci's British work, but don't care about this
DRAMA SERIES
- Breaking Bad – amazing, but a victim of praise-fatigue?
- Downton Abbey – hilariously overrated in the U.S
- Game of Thrones – wonderful
- House of Cards – never got into season 1
- Mad Men – great show, middling half-season
- True Detective – well-deserved
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY
- Louis C.K (Louie) – yeah, he's quite good
- Don Cheadle (House of Lies) – don't watch
- Ricky Gervais (Derek) – wha--? Seriously? Ridiculous!
- Matt LeBlanc (Episodes) – yawn, yawn, yawn! (He's not even the lead!)
- William H. Macy – heard he's very good
- Jim Parsons – good comic actor
LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA
- Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) – absolutely terrific
- Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom) – he's okay
- Jon Hamm (Mad Men) – good, but character doesn't evolve
- Woody Harrelson (True Detective) – under-appreciated
- Matthew McConaughey (True Detective) – excellent!
- Kevin Spacey (House of Cards) – he's fun in this
LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
- Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) – good
- Martin Freeman (Sherlock) – also good
- Chiwetel Ejiofor (Dancing on the Edge) – haven't seen it
- Idris Elba (Luther) – good, but award-winning?
- Mark Ruffalo (The Normal Heart) – haven't seen it
- Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo) – very, very good
LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
- Lena Dunham (Girls) – don't follow it
- Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) – no, no, just no
- Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Veep) – she's good
- Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly) – uhhhh, what?
- Amy Poehler (Parks & Recreation) – fine
- Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black) – don't watch
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
- Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex) – oh YES, very good
- Claire Danes (Homeland) – a good performance
- Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) – hahaha, just... no
- Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) – excellent
- Kerry Washington (Scandal) – don't watch
- Robin Wright (House of Cards) – sorry, don't watch
LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
- Helena Bonham-Carter (Burton & Taylor) – missed it
- Minnie Driver (Return to Zero) – didn't see
- Jessica Lange (American Horror Story) – she's good fun
- Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) – not for this season!
- Cicely Tyson (The Trip to Beautiful) – never heard of it
- Kristen Wiig (The Spoils of Babylon) – ditto
OUTSTANDING MINISERIES
- American Horror Story: Coven – what's going on?!
- Bonnie & Clyde – god no!
- Fargo – yes, please!
- Luther - uhh, it was okay this series
- Treme – don't watch
- The White Queen – no
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
- Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) – deserved
- Adam Driver (Girls) – don't watch it
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family) – hmm
- Ty Burrell (Modern Family) – hmmmm
- Fred Armisen (Portlandia) – never seen it
- Tony Hale (Veep) – don't watch it enough
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
- Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) – brilliant, richly deserved
- Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) – ugh, nooo
- Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey) – she's okay
- Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) – this fourth season? No
- Christine Baranski (The Good Wife) – absolutely
- Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) – not this season
OUTSTANDING TV MOVIE
- Killing Kennedy – didn't see it
- Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight – ditto
- The Normal Heart – ditto
- Sherlock: His Last Vow – it was okay
- The Trip to Beautiful – didn't see
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
- Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) – oh yeah!
- Jim Carter (Downton Abbey) – Yanks lap this show up, huh?!
- Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) – absolutely; great scene-stealer
- Josh Charles (The Good Wife) – would be very cool
- Mandy Patinkin (Homeland) – very good
- Jon Voight (Ray Donovan) – hehe, he was okay
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
- Colin Hanks (Fargo) - good performance
- Jim Parsons (The Normal Heart) - Didn't see it
- Joe Mantello (The Normal Heart) - As above
- Alfred Molina (The Normal Heart) - Ditto
- Matt Bomer (The Normal Heart) - huh, is this worth watching?
- Martin Freeman (Sherlock: His Last Vow) - always good
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
- Mayim Bialik (Big Bang Theory) – who?
- Julie Bowen (Modern Family) – don't watch
- Allison Janney (Mom) – didn't see it
- Kate Mulgrew (Orange is the New Black) – with that accent?
- Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live) – sorry, who?
- Anna Chlumsky (Veep) – I like her
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
- Kathy Bates (American Horror Story) - she was OK
- Frances Conroy (American Horror Story) - fun in bursts
- Angela Bassett (American Horror Story) - decent
- Allison Tolman (Fargo) - very good
- Ellen Burstyn (Flowers in the Attic) - didn't see it
- Julia Roberts (The Normal Heart) - passed me by
A complete list of ALL the categories can be read here.
