Special Jury Prize 2016

As I promised in my article dealing with the Top ten shows of 2016, I have decided to, like certain film festivals, give a special jury prize honoring the series and actors who were part of some of the best shows of 2016, but haven't gotten enough credit for it.

Best Series to Wrap Up This Season: Rectify

Ray McKinnon as an actor was a vital part of the first season of one of the formative series of the new golden age of TV (Deadwood) and a key member of the writing staff of a second (Breaking Bad). Now, he has completed work on another one of the most exceptional accomplishments of the past few years. The story of Daniel Holden and his family, dealing with the aftermath of him being released from death row after nearly twenty years, was one of the most simple and brilliant series ever created for TV. Its final season dealt with Daniel's finally coming to terms with all of the abuse he endured in prison, and his family finally coming to terms to life outside his imprisonment. It is telling as to the kind of work McKinnon was doing that the critical part of the final episode was not Daniel's guilt or innocence but rather the act of healing for the entire Holden family. Most of the story was about a wasted life. The fitting conclusion to Rectify was that there could be one.

Most Enjoyable New Comedy: Speechless

ABC has done some radical new reinvention of the sitcom over the past few years, but this is clearly one of their most daring. Based on a family centered around a young teenager with cerebral palsy, the DeMeos are one of the most politically incorrect families to emerge in the often cookie cutter world. At its center is Minnie Driver in her best role for television as a mother who takes no prisoners when it comes to her son, sometimes even at the expense of her own family. This may be the most enjoyable new show the network has produced so far this year. Now if they could just shift their focus away from such numbing dramas.

Most Intriguing New Show From An Unlikely Source: Billions

We've gotten used to Showtime pushing the envelope that its rare for a series that is actually trying something different to come around. This drams, dealing with a clashing of titans, hedge fund billionaire Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) and Wall Street Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) as they go to war may be the most intriguing new approach to drama Showtime has tried in quite some time. But as always with a Showtime series, its the women that are the most intriguing, and watching Wendy Rhoades) (Maggie Siff) try to negotiate between the two worlds and ultimately choosing to walk away from both was one of the most scintillating performances that the Emmys chose to ignore. As the second season fast approaches, I can't wait to see who the next casualties will be.

Most Undervalued Actor for 2016: Michael K. Williams

As a general, if you ever find yourself in a TV series, and Michael Williams offers to help you, take it. I'm pretty sure he would be your best chance of surviving a zombie apocalypse. Fortunately, he keeps to a higher plane, and participated in two of the most undervalued series this year. In Hap & Leonard,  the Sundance series based on the critically acclaimed Joe Landsale novels, he played an African-American, gay, Vanilla Wafer loving Texan trying to stay alive in a search for sunken treasure among some of the most bizarre criminals that you've ever met - until Season 2, I'm sure. In the limited series, The Night of, he played the prison con who the beleagured Naz turned to when he was wrongfully accused of murder. In a series full of understated performances, he very nearly stole the show from John Turturro and Bill Camp. He'll never win an Emmy for anything, but he deserves to be recognized as a great actor.

Most Undervalued Actress for 2015: Caitlin Fitzgerald

Tempting as it is to recognize Sarah Paulson, the one thing Paulson wasn't this year was underrecognized. Fitzgerald, however, has been doing yeoman's work in one of the most undervalued series on TV Masters of Sex. Playing Libby, the now ex-wife of Bill Masters, she continued to register as one of the  most astonishing finds of the series. Her monologue in the second episode, where she revealed her infidelities to her stunned husbands, would be a fine highlight for Emmy voters. She also gave a superb performance in Rectify as a pregnant artist who took upon what many would've considered an impossible task -healing Daniel - and coming closer than anyone on the series has managed. The odds of her getting an award for anything are remote, but now that both series are over, may I humbly suggests the next female led series - any genre - Fitzgerald gets first dibs.