Who we'd like to see as Emmy presenters

The Emmys are less than a month away, so it's time to start thinking about presenters we'd like to see bestowing awards to their peers on Sept. 18 when Jane Lynch ("Glee") hosts the kudofest on Fox. Here are a few choices for Emmy producers to chew over. If you have any other creative ideas, sound off in the comments section below.

Ed O'Neill with Katey Sagal
These former "Married ... With Children" lovebirds went their entire careers without receiving Emmy nominations. Both had a great chance of breaking that curse this year, but only O'Neill came away with a nod for "Modern Family." Sagal must make due with her Golden Globe win earlier this year for "Sons of Anarchy." It sure would be nice to see these veteran actors appearing on camera once again all these years later. Emmy producers should like this idea since "Married ... With Children" first appeared on Fox.

Walter Bishop with Walternate Bishop
Fans and critics blast the Emmys every year for snubbing "Fringe" star John Noble. Since the awards are airing on Fox, this is the perfect time for the network to ballyhoo its cult sci-fi hit to the masses, while at the same time giving Noble some overdue Emmy attention. There's no better way to showcase the craziness of the show than to have Noble appear as both of his characters -- the endearing Walter and the evil Walternate -- on the live telecast. With a little help from CGI, of course.

Steve Carell with James Spader
A passing of the "Office" torch seems like a no-brainer for the Emmy telecast. Steve Carell famously hands the reins of the popular NBC comedy over to James Spader this season, so pairing them up together would be fun for "Office" fans everywhere. This is Carell's last shot at winning an Emmy for "The Office," so he's already the talk of the town, and looking back at Spader's Emmy history suggests he'll be winning a trophy next year in the same lead actor category. (He replaced Dylan McDermott on "The Practice" and won an Emmy for it.)

The kids of "Modern Family"
While the main stars of "Modern Family" continue to rack up Emmy nominations, the hilarious kids on that show shouldn't be forgotten. Rico Rodriguez, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter and Nolan Gould are each wonderful performers, it's just a shame that Emmy has a bias against child actors.

The husbands of "Desperate Housewives"
Much like the above, all of the attention goes toward the main stars of "Desperate Housewives," and the lesser-known performers get overlooked. With the show ending next year, it's one of the last times for the Emmys to recognize this once-popular nighttime soap opera, and having James Denton, Doug Savant and Ricardo Antonio Chavira take the stage would be a creative way to honor the series.

Bryan Cranston
No matter what happens, Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") must present this year's lead drama actor category. He's dominated this race for the past three years, and now that he's ineligible due to his show's extended hiatus, it'd be a real treat to see him bestow the award to one of the leading men that he's been keeping from winning.

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--Tom O'Neil

Photo: Ed O'Neill and Katey Sagal in "Married ... With Children." Credit: Fox TV

'Sons of Anarchy' creator Kurt Sutter lashes out against Emmy snub

 

"Sons of Anarchy" producer/writer Kurt Sutter went ballistic on his Twitter account, spewing profanity and insults, after his TV show and wife (star Katey Sagal) were snubbed by Emmy voters.

He wrote: "if my mom and dad were alive this emmy snub would kill them. that's not true, they were too old to understand my show. just like the academy ... Two academy member walk into a bar. One orders a beer. Then they both die because they're so ... old."

He also took a potshot at "Glee," which received 12 nominations, including a bid for best comedy series. "Hate those annoying, 'please accept me for who i am', singing brats," he wrote. "there, i said it. are you happy?"

Afterward, once word of his rants spread, Sutter had a change of heart, tweeting, "i love ryan murphy. he's always very cool with me. love glee too."

Addressing the rest of the Emmy lineup, he added, "you do know that i'm really okay with no noms right? if i was really upset, i wouldn't be ranting. i'd be plotting. i'm all about the love."

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-- Tom O'Neil

Photo: Kurt Sutter and his wife, actress Katey Sagal, at the Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

The actors' Emmy episode submissions: What we know so far

The Emmy nominations won't be announced until July 14, but many acting contenders are already weighing which sample episodes they should submit to judges if they score a bid. Below is a compilation of what we know about their leanings so far, but the decisions are not final. This information has been gathered from the stars' publicists, our interviews with contenders and various Internet sources. Nothing is final until specific episodes are submitted officially to Emmy jurors.

Among the drama contenders, "Mad Men" might finally win an acting trophy (or two) thanks to Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss submitting "The Suitcase," which feels like a two-person play packed with drunken confessions. Speaking of boozing, two-time past Emmy champ William H. Macy gets big, grandstanding scenes in the season finale of "Shameless" when he must atone for his drunken behavior.

In her showcase episode of "Sons of Anarchy," Katey Sagal appears tough and tender as she reunites with her father (Hal Holbrook), who suffers from dementia. Timothy Olyphant ("Justified") is considering one of two final episodes of a season filled with great action scenes, murders and a suicide.

Emmy mystery surrounds 'Sons of Anarchy' star Katey Sagal [video]

At the upcoming Emmys, Katey Sagal ("Sons of Anarchy") teeters on the edge of getting an overdue nomination for lead actress in a TV drama series.

On the plus side: Sagal has strong awards momentum. Earlier this year, she won the Golden Globe. Last week came the good news she's nominated for the new Critics' Choice TV Award. That may suggest an easy Emmy nomination is next, but beware: Sagal could be fighting a weird Emmy curse. She and "Married … with Children" costar Ed O'Neill were never nominated during their 11 years on that classic sitcom. (By contrast, she received four Golden Globe bids as Peggy Bundy.) Neither scored Emmy bids last year now that each of them is back on the air. O'Neill was the only male adult star of "Modern Family" who was snubbed by TV academy voters.

To blame may be the notorious snobbism of Emmy voters, those elite Hollywooders who were probably repulsed by the delightfully trashy Bundy clan and now may be put off by Sagal as chief biker babe of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club.

"I would argue for our show that I don't look at us as trashy people," she says with a wry smile in our webcam chat. "I look at us as all different classes of people. Gemme [her character] and Clay [Ron Pearlman as her husband] are the hierarchy of that world, so we have a certain sophistication about us. That's what I would say!"

Looking back at "Married … with Children," however, Sagal admits, "We were kind of, obviously, looked over." Specifically, she thought it was "kind of weird" that her costar Ed O'Neill was never nominated. "I thought, wow, this is the funniest guy on television!"

However, "when I won the Golden Globe for 'Sons of Anarchy,' he was really proud of me," she says. "He was included in all my pride of it too."

-- Tom O'Neil

Photo: FX Network

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'Game of Thrones,' 'Justified' and 'Parks and Recreation' rule bids for Television Critics Assn. awards

"Game of Thrones," "Justified," and "Parks and Recreation" lead with the most nominations (four) unveiled by the Television Critics Assn.

In the comedy lineup, "Glee," "The Big Bang Theory" and "30 Rock" were all snubbed, while there were surprise nominations for "Raising Hope" and "Louie" for best laffer.

Among TV dramas, "Justified" reaped its first bid for best series and "Friday Night Lights" gets a chance to score a final touchdown.

Oddities: "Boardwalk Empire" was not nominated for best drama series, but did make the list for program of the year. Conversely, "Mad Men" wasn't nominated for best program, but did make the cut for best drama series.

As usual, the Television Critics Assn. was heavily biased toward men in the performance categories. Out of the 12 nominations for best individual achievement in drama and comedy, only three females made the contests: Amy Poehler ("Parks and Recreation"), Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife") and Margo Martindale ("Justified"). Surprisingly shut out: recent Golden Globe champ Katey Sagal ("Sons of Anarchy") and last year's TCA award winner Jane Lynch ("Glee").

It's interesting to compare the list of TCA nominees to the one recently issued by the rival group of tube journalists bestowing the new Critics' Choice Television Awards. While TCA considers "Raising Hope" to be among the five best TV comedies, it's not among the 10 Critics Choice contenders for best laffer. Critics' Choice nominees snubbed by TCA: "American Idol," "The Voice" and "Survivor."

Awards will be bestowed on Aug. 6 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Below, the full list of nominees:

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA
Steve Buscemi ("Boardwalk Empire," HBO)
Peter Dinklage ("Game of Thrones," HBO)
Jon Hamm ("Mad Men," AMC)
Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife," CBS)
Margo Martindale ("Justified," FX)
Timothy Olyphant ("Justified," FX)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY
Ty Burrell ("Modern Family," ABC)
Louis C.K. ("Louie," FX)
Nick Offerman ("Parks and Recreation," NBC)
Amy Poehler ("Parks and Recreation," NBC)
Danny Pudi ("Community," NBC)
Jon Stewart ("The Daily Show," Comedy Central)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS AND INFORMATION
"If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise" (HBO)
"Restrepo" (National Geographic Channel)
"60 Minutes" (CBS)
"The Rachel Maddow Show" (MSNBC)
"30 for 30" (ESPN)

Envelope Emmy Week: Actors discuss the draw of their shows, and the odd families therein [video]

As part of the Envelope Emmy Week and Screening Series, we gathered a group of actors to participate in an Alternative Families panel earlier this week — Jennifer Carpenter of "Dexter," Peter Krause of "Parenthood," Cloris Leachman of "Raising Hope," Denis O'Hare of "True Blood," Emmy Rossum of "Shameless" and Katey Sagal of "Sons of Anarchy" — to talk about how each of their shows, in their own weird ways, involve the bonds of family, and the intimate relationships those bonds can bring.

In the hourlong conversation moderated by Times television critic Mary McNamara, the panel members, in the clip below, discuss what drew them to their roles, and the odd sort of families they contained, whether it be the lure of "being an outlaw," even one who has the normal everyday family concerns, or whether it's the ability to make your own family, if you happen to be among the vampires in "True Blood."

 

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-- Elena Howe

Envelope Emmy Week: Bringing personal experience to the role and not knowing what direction their character might go [video]

As part of the Envelope Emmy Week and Screening Series, we gathered a group of actors to participate in an Alternative Families panel earlier this week — Jennifer Carpenter of "Dexter," Peter Krause of "Parenthood," Cloris Leachman of "Raising Hope," Denis O'Hare of "True Blood," Emmy Rossum of "Shameless" and Katey Sagal of "Sons of Anarchy" — to talk about how each of their shows, in their own weird ways, involve the bonds of family, and the intimate relationships those bonds can bring.

In the hourlong conversation moderated by Times television critic Mary McNamara, the panel, in the clip below, discusses what they bring of their selves to their character, like Sagal's fierce maternal instinct, or how the cast and crew themselves become a sort of family and when someone is written off the show there's a weird emptiness, says O'Hare. Rossum and Carpenter agree that everyone has the experience they need; whether it's pain or happiness, there is something they can draw on. 

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— Elena Howe

Envelope Emmy Week: Alternative Family panel brings a wide mix of actors, shows [video]

As part of the Envelope Emmy Week and Screening Series, The Envelope gathered a group of actors to participate in an Alternative Families panel earlier this week — Jennifer Carpenter of "Dexter," Peter Krause of "Parenthood," Cloris Leachman of "Raising Hope," Denis O'Hare of "True Blood," Emmy Rossum of "Shameless" and Katey Sagal of "Sons of Anarchy" — to talk about how each of their shows, in their own weird way, involve the bonds of family, and the intimate relationships those bonds can bring.

In the hourlong conversation moderated by Times television critic Mary McNamara, the panel, in the clip below, discusses how actors must find a way to justify playing characters who sometimes do horrible things. Check back later for more clips.

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— Elena Howe

FX network's Emmy campaign for 'Sons of Anarchy' and 'Justified'

FX network's Emmy campaign package is slick and efficiently designed. Inside there are reminders of praise from top media ("Justified" had a "triumphant second season," roars Matt Roush of TV Guide) and of other awards won (that Golden Globe bagged by Katey Sagal for "Sons of Anarchy").

Included are six DVDs containing sample episodes. Click on each photo for a larger view.

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-- Tom O'Neil

"JUSTIFIED" – "The Moonshine War," "Brother's Keeper," "Bloody Harlan"
"SONS OF ANARCHY" – "SO," "Lochan Mor," "NS"
"RESCUE ME" – "Blackout," "Sanctuary," "Goodbye"
"LOUIE" – "Dr. Ben/Nick," "Bully," "Night Out"
"ARCHER" – "Placebo Effect," "El Secuestro," "Jue Monegasque"
"IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA" – "Who Got Dee Pregnant?" "Dee Gives Birth," "The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods"
"THE LEAGUE" – "The White Knuckler," "The Kluneberg," "The Marathon"
"LIGHTS OUT" – "War"
"TERRIERS" – "Change Partners"

Envelope Emmy Week: Screening series and roundtables kick off the season

With the Emmy race poised to shift into high gear, the Los Angeles Times will kick things off with Envelope Emmy Week -- five days of television series screenings, cast Q&As and roundtable panels beginning June 1. 

Matt Weiner's "Mad Men" will launch the screening series programming as stars Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks and Kiernan Shipka join creator and executive producer Weiner for a lively discussion about the turns the AMC series took last season -- the new agency's in trouble, Don Draper's remarrying(!), Joan is pregnant and Sally, well Sally's growing up awfully fast.   

On June 2, William H. Macy and the cast of Showtime's "Shameless" will screen the series and talk about what could be television's most dysfunctional family ever, or maybe just its worst father ever.

Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins and the rest of the "Justified" gang gather on June 6 to take us behind the scenes of the highly acclaimed show about the U.S. marshal.

Emmy week continues on June 7 and 8 with two roundtables. Up first is Alternative Families in which an eclectic mix of actors will look at what "family" means on TV these days -- from biker gangs to vampire kingdoms -- and how their on-screen relationships help them and challenge them as actors.

The Geek TV roundtable on June 8 will look at the pop culture impact of shows that target the fanboy audience, as well as characters who embrace their geek status as a badge of honor.

After each panel, check back on Awards Tracker for video highlights of the night's discussions.

Guild members can get additional details and RSVP to attend any of the events at http://events.latimes.com/envelope/.

-- Elena Howe

Top photo: Jon Hamm as Don Draper. Credit: AMC

Bottom photo: Timothy Olyphant as U.S Marshal Raylan Givens. Credit: FX