Emmy voters did right by comedies and dramas, but need a reality check
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There’s a lot to love about Thursday morning’s Emmy nominations.
As expected, “Glee” and “Modern Family” both were nominated for outstanding comedy and did incredibly well across the board.
“Glee” earned 19 nominations in total, including lead actor nominations for Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele and supporting actor nominations for Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer.
“Modern Family” grabbed 14 in total, including supporting actor nominations for five of its biggest players, Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet. (No love for Ed O’Neil or our personal favorite, Rico Rodriguez).
But there are other noteworthy things. For his long seven months hosting “The Tonight Show” on NBC, Conan O’ Brien was nominated. For taking back “The Tonight Show,” Jay Leno was not.
“Lost” returned to the drama category, where it definitely belongs. Matthew Fox received his first Emmy nomination for his impressive work in the series’ final season. Emmy regulars Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson deservedly were nominated again.
Big on our TV radar: Finally! Recognition for two of the best actors in drama today: Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton. Their portrayal of a realistic, loving, and hard-earned marriage on “Friday Night Lights” is touching and compelling and we have no idea why the voters have ignored them over the years. Their work in the fourth season of the show was outstanding and the only thing we’re going to complain about is that the show itself was not nominated.
CBS broke into the drama category with a superb series, “The Good Wife.” Julianna Margulies and her sidekick, Archie Panjabi, were recognized and it makes us smile.
We are thrilled that Jim Parsons has been recognized for the incredible job that he does playing Sheldon on “The Big Bang Theory,” but it’s really hard to believe that the series was overlooked for outstanding comedy. It had a brilliant season. Shame on you voters!
By that same token, we are very excited that “Breaking Bad” was nominated and that Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul (the fly episode!) got their dues again, but Anna Gunn is one of the finest actresses on TV right now and there seems to be room for her in the “supporting actress” category. (And what about Dean Norris?)
No surprises with “Dexter” and that’s a good thing. Nominated for outstanding drama, it also earned nominations for Michael C. Hall and guest star John Lithgow, who seems unbeatable to us. We are still reeling from the season finale of that show, and it aired in December!
We did notice that FX’s new drama, “Justified” was completely overlooked and that’s a shame. It’s well-written and Timothy Olyphant is phenomenal in the lead role. Walton Goggins ruled in his guest role. We know the dramatic field is crowded, but we would have made a little room for them.
We end with the reality category, which deeply disappoints us.
How on Earth could “Survivor” not have been nominated? Anyone who watches the show will tell you that “Heroes vs. Villains” was incredible television. Certainly more riveting than “Dancing With The Stars” or “Project Runway.” We need a recount!
And let’s not even talk about “RuPaul’s Drag Race” because we might lose our tempers. A competition show that’s got humor and heart and interesting challenges that require creativity. Seriously, voters?
And no nominations for Cat Deeleyor RuPaul as reality TV host? Ugh.
OK, we’ll try to return to our happy thoughts about “Glee” now.
--Maria Elena Fernandez
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