My Predictions (And Hopes) For This Year's Emmy Nominations, Week 3, Part 3: Outstanding Lead Actress in A TV Movie/Limited Series

 

There is a very real possibility that the winner in this category was decided in November of 2020. Admittedly, quite a few major candidates had already announced themselves by that point. But as has been the case for the last five years, some of the most extraordinary performances of the year were given in this category. The winner may be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t revel in the other candidates. Here are my choices.

 

Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You

It was more than a year that one of the most stunning performances in all of the 2020-2021 season appeared on screen. I hope the Emmys don’t need to keep looking back towards the past the same way Arabella did. Michaela Coel’s work in this series was astounding: it wasn’t just that she gave one of the most unforgettable performances of the year, it was that she wrote every episode and directed almost every one as well, which meant that she had control over every angle of Arabella’s story in a way that the writer who began that series never had in any aspect of her life. It was one of the most haunting journeys in all of 2020. And she has been conquering many of the awards: she took BAFTAs for Best Actress, Writing and Direction and triumphed at the Independent Spirit Awards new TV categories. If anyone is capable of a major upset in this category, Coel is likely to do it.

 

Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha

A confession: I’ve never liked National Geographic’s Genius series. In a medium that has been able to do so much with exploring the depths of real-life people these days, Genius has always seemed perfunctory and by-the-numbers, the television equivalent of a term paper. No matter how great the cast and they’ve had some great leads, there’s nothing here that wouldn’t be out of place in a ‘70s biopic. I give full credit for Erivo for doing everything she can to make this material work, but despite being a great musician, she couldn’t make Aretha – the series or the title character – sing. So why am I advocating for her nomination? One word: reparations. In 2020, Erivo gave a masterful performance as Holly Gibney, the logical investigator who finds her chasing the supernatural. It was one of the best performances of the year, and would assuredly have gotten Erivo a nomination had HBO not made the incomprehensible decision to make what was clearly a limited series eligible only in the Drama categories. I know recognizing an actress for the wrong performance is illogical, but its one of the things the Emmys does best.

 

Nicole Kidman, The Undoing

I’m still angry that Kidman was snubbed for her work on Big Little Lies last year (Zendaya? Seriously?) and I’m still kind of stunned I have to make the argument for her in this category as well. Say what you will about the changes that Kelley made to the source material; the one thing he didn’t change was the way Grace Fraser had to react to the fact that she had never known her husband at all. And the fact that so much of the series dealt with Grace trying to find a way to support him despite the evidence mounting up, gave Kidman depths that she hadn’t been able to plumb in quite sometime. IMHO, though Kate Winslet’s work on Mare of Easttown was as good as Kidman’s work here, if the choice came to which Oscar winning actress deserved the nomination for an HBO series, I’d still probably lean towards Kidman. My guess is they’ll find room for both but they should remember Kidman’s. She sang the theme song and I didn’t recognize her voice until someone told me! Does that count for something?

 

Elisabeth Olsen, Wandavision

Olsen, like Paul Bettany, never quite got her due in any of the Avengers movies. This is unfair because, even before she became the Scarlet Witch, Olsen has always been one of the more talented young actresses working in the past decade. And it seemed a little bit of a shame that she finally might get recognized for playing the character she’s most recognized for. But Olsen finds a way to find order in the increasing chaos that surrounds her and Vision through the increasingly insane adventures that they end up going through as the series proceeds. And while the ending may not have been believable, Olsen still has a way of making the impossible seem to resonate. She’d say it’s magic. There’s more to it than that.

 

Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit

I’m really trying to figure out what there is left to say about Taylor-Joy’s astonishing work as Elizabeth, the orphan whose horrible path is measured by two things: chess and drugs. Every actress in this category gave a remarkable performance. Taylor-Joy was perhaps the most incredible because it was all the more brilliant when she didn’t say anything. There was just something sphinx-like in that stare that you couldn’t tell what she was thinking – maybe because she was never trying to think more than the next game down the road. There was as much trauma in her story as everybody else in this category, but unlike so many there was actually triumph at the end. You know she will come through. Taylor-Joy has won every single award leading up to the Emmys. It’s a little early, but I think all the other candidates might as well turn their king down now.

 

Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown

Granted I am hardly the Henry Higgins of television, but I found far too much attention was paid to Winslet’s supposed mastery of the impossible Philadelphia accent in this series. In all candor, it sounded little different from Winslet’s accent in Little Children or Titanic and hardly different from Anya Taylor-Joy or Nicole Kidman. I am more concerned with minor details like how great a performance an actress gives, which even by the standards of someone who was not infatuated with the series was nevertheless superb. Playing a Philadelphia cop who had a great moment as a teenager and has never truly lived it down, Mare came across as someone truly damaged by her son’s suicide and who has been trying to control every element and it pisses her off that even her own mother seems to like her ex-husband better. Mare made slow passages towards healing as she investigated a horrible crime only to find her pursuit of justice would cause destruction to almost everyone she loved. This was a towering performance that would more than deserve an Emmy any other year. But Winslet’s been here before. She can wait.

 

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Ruth Wilson, Oslo

Wilson is one of the great actresses of television. From her incredible work as Allison in The Affair to her work as the force of evil in His Dark Materials to playing her own ancestor in Mrs. Wilson, she has given some of the best performances and never been recognized. Just as it would be fitting to recognize Andrew Scott for his work in this brilliant filming of the award-winning play, it would be equally appropriate to recognize Wilson for playing the woman who sets the negotiation into motion, tries to hold everything together, and everything that follows, still believes in the process. I don’t normally advocate for actors in movies for this group of categories. For this film and this actress, I will gladly make an exception.

 

 

My Predictions (And Hopes) For This Year's Emmy Nominations, Week 3, Part 2: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series

 

With Mark Ruffalo winning the Golden Globe and SAG Award in this category and John Boyega deciding that his role in Small Axe is a supporting one, the race is wide open. While there are a lot of exceptional candidates, I must admit to being reluctant to consider quite a few. As great as Hamilton is, I’m not wild about giving nominations to the filmed version of a stage play. And I have quite a few problems with a couple of other candidates from by the number docudramas such as The Comey Method and Halston. So with that in mind, here are my six candidates.

 

Paul Bettany, Wandavision

There’s an argument that nominating Bettany for his work as Vision is just doing service to the Marvel-verse rather than any real acknowledgement of talent. After all, he’s playing a robot. But Bettany has always been one of the most gifted actors working in Hollywood and has always been gifted as finding humanity in so many of his performances. One of the nicer benefits of watching Bettany throughout this series was seeing this A.I. utterly incapable of dealing with traditional situations as well as giving the man a chance to demonstrate his skill for comedy, something that so many of the Marvel films weren’t quite willing to give him. There’s a lot of charm in his work, and I support his nomination.

 

Bryan Cranston, Your Honor

I need to put this up front. Your Honor was by far one of the weakest limited series I’ve seen on television in an era known for great ones. It was cliché ridden from beginning to end, almost every major character was a stereotype and every single tired trope was used throughout. It had some of the best actors in television starring in it and almost none of them could rise above the weight of the material. One of the few exceptions – and anyone whose seen him work should not be surprised by it -  was Bryan Cranston’s work as one of the few incorruptible New Orleans public officials who sacrifices everything to save his son when he’s involved in a fatal accident killing the son of a gangster. Cranston managed to rise above every single crass manipulation of the story in every scene he was in, and revealed much more humanity than he was ever allowed to do as Walter White. The series doesn’t deserve a lot of nominations. Cranston assuredly deserves another.

 

Hugh Grant, The Undoing

Ever since Florence Foster Jenkins, Grant has been enjoying one of the most remarkable late career renaissances in recent history. And his work as Paul in The Undoing is one of the most remarkable works of his entire career. Anyone who has the read the book knows that Paul is guilty of the crime he’s accused of.  So it’s a testament to Grant’s ability that even knowing this and watching the evidence piles on against him that there was still a fair amount of doubt even going in to the finale as to Paul’s guilt. Just like his family, we want to believe Paul’s innocent even though there’s just something about his entire attitude from beginning to end that we just don’t trust. In a rarity for Kelley’s work these days, the male performances in The Undoing were stronger than those of the women. And considering that everything about Paul was the complete opposite of what we associate with Grant, that more than anything makes this one of the more powerful performances in an already impressive repertoire.

 

Ethan Hawke, The Good Lord Bird

Hawke has always been one of the great actors of the last thirty years, but part of the reason I don’t think he gets nearly the appreciation he deserves from awards groups is that he’s always good at being incredibly restrained and low-key. Which makes his work as John Brown all the more remarkable as he starts out at eleven and only goes higher for most of the series. It’s obvious from the moment we meet Brown that he is (as Onion would eloquently put it) ‘nuttier than a squirrel-turd’ and that almost all of his plans are doomed by that thinking. Yet as the series progresses and his fate becomes inevitable even to him, we see that there is a measure of tragedy to the man – he saw too much. An argument can be made that the raid on Harper’s Ferry was the match that lit the Civil War, but we’ve seen Brown as deluded and incapable. Hawke does a fine job showing what Brown was, and what it cost him well before it took his life.

 

Chris Rock, Fargo

I never thought I’d have to make an argument for this nomination. The center of the fourth season of Fargo, from beginning to end Rock was absolutely dead-on as Loy Cannon, the head of a crime syndicate in Kansas City, who clearly has the mindset of an entrepreneur but is utterly limited by the prejudices of the 1950s – and today. As the feud between the Cannon and Fadda syndicate turned into a complete and utter bloodbath with attacks coming from every possible angle – including his own family – Rock was utterly masterful as playing a man trying to remain in control even though “We’re on the ride now!” It was one of the great performances in a series that has had many of them. Why then has Rock received so little consideration from the pre-Emmy awards and is on the most outside of chances to get a nomination? Rock has been a Hollywood and television icon for more than thirty years and his performance was the equal of those in the category and far superior to some of the more likely candidates? Is it because Fargo is now considered passé? Rock is old hat? I am hoping the Emmys will show the good sense that most of their counterparts have lacked and give these great performances the recognition it deserves.

 

Andrew Scott, Oslo

No, I’m not just pushing this because he wasn’t nominated for Fleabag.  Andrew Scott has always been one of the most versatile actors working in television from John Adams to his breakout role as Moriarty on Sherlock to his most recent performance on His Dark Materials. Much like Hawke, he rarely gets credit because so much of his work is quiet and restrained. There’s a similar level of quiet in his work as one of the people behind a back-channel trying to do the impossible – find peace between Israel and Palestine. The delicacy of what needs to be done is lost on no one and the way Scott’s measured tone tries to handle every conceivable obstacle – and even more than come up – is one of the greatest feathers in his cap so far. He more than deserves a nomination here – and yes, it was a blasphemy that he didn’t get anything for Hot Priest. Come on!

 

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Jason Schwartzman, Fargo

 

Am I going into deep on Fargo? Maybe. But it’s hard to ignore the quality of any of the performances on that series. And after Season 4 ended, I have to admit I came to admire much of Schwartzman’s work as Josto Fadda, the son who ends up becoming the leader of his family and is in over his head from beginning to end. The irony that the Fadda clan is just as much outsiders as the Cannon clan is something that becomes clear early on, and in a way makes Josto as much a tragic as he is a comic figure. Every move he makes is the wrong one, and quite a few end up working out for him – until the end where he ends up dying because of a decision that even now, I’m not sure really was his fault. Like Rock, Schwartzman is an immensely gifted comic actor who reveals great depths whenever given the chance.  I’m inclined to agree with Josto’s statement that ‘America is a crime story!” and just like so many, he was a victim of her.

My Predictions (And Hopes) For This Year's Emmys, Week 3, Part 1: Outstanding Limited Series

 

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

In all candor, the only thing that’s still limited about this category is the number of nominees. Every other category has seven or eight more than qualified nominees; why are the Emmys still stuck in only allowing five? I’m still hoping that, given the level of quality in this category, the Emmys might be willing to go as high as six nominated shows. So I’m going to pick my six favorite as well as one that I think deserves to be considered. I admit up front my choices will not please a lot of people; I still haven’t gotten around to a couple of Amazon’s picks and I’m not wild about all of HBO candidates. But I do think there’ve been a lot of good series, so here we go.

 

Fargo (FX)

I really didn’t think I’d have to make that hard an argument for this series. Historically, this anthology has been one of the most nominated and honored series in award show history. And the fourth – and most likely, final – season was just as outstanding as the previous three. It delved into the racial and class issues that dominate so much television these days (and Noah Hawley was planning it for a couple of years before the pandemic, so it’s not like he was trying to be timely) mixed it with all of the colorful characters that have made up the world of Fargo, told another dark and comic story and in its final moments, showed us how this 1950s era story linked with every other incarnation of the series. Yet for some reason, it hasn’t done nearly as well with all of the previous awards that have come out and seems unlikely to do well at the Emmys. And considering that that the writing was incredible (East/West was one of the best episodes of any TV show 2020) and had the usual level of brilliant performances (from Chris Rock and Jason Schwarzman all the way down to Timothy Olyphant), I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I’m actually hoping that the Emmys historical laziness when it comes to recognizing previous nominees will grandfather the show in. Because Fargo didn’t just tell another great story; it showed just how America works  by showing just how the world of crime works.

 

The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)

By far this was Showtime’s greatest accomplishment when it came to limited series.  The Comey Rule played like a really bad documentary and Your Honor was formulaic despite its extraordinary cast. Everything about The Good Lord Bird was exactly what television – a look at one of the most controversial men in American history and showing that being insane and prophetic are not mutually exclusive. Ethan Hawke gave what may very well be the performance of his already storied career, but the entire cast was more than up to the challenge. We followed Brown from Missouri to his fate at Harper’s Ferry and saw it from a perspective that no one else would’ve dared to take. Considering the Peabodys were willing to recognize it as one of the great accomplishments of the past year, I think the Emmys would do well to take note.

 

I May Destroy You (HBO)

It debuted last June, but it’s impossible to forget Michaela Coel utterly mesmerizing series dealing with another appropriate issue – consent and where we draw the line. Coel’s utterly mesmerizing work as Arabella, the millennial writer whose entire life changes after a night out she can’t remember clearly but her subconscious refused to let her ignore. This was one of the darkest series on a network that has been known for them, mainly because it took a look at an issue we really don’t want to consider that much, even after last few years. It’s hard to watch, but it’s impossible to forget. The Peabodys also made tribute to the series last week, and I think more tributes do including multiple nominations for Coel in writing, acting and direction. If she doesn’t win at least one Emmy this year, there’s little meaning to the trophies

 

Mare of Easttown (HBO)

I’m not entirely convinced this series deserves all the praise it has gotten the last few months. Compared to some of the other limited series, its pretty conventional and I’m pretty sure that if Kate Winslet was being worshipped for doing a perfect Philadelphia accent, there wouldn’t be half the attention being paid to it. That being said, there are a lot of great supporting performances in it and I have to admit I didn’t see the final twist coming at all. It’s a very well performed and written HBO series. It’s not nearly as good as some of the other limited series in this category (or even some HBO limited series) But hey, it’s the Emmys. That’s usually enough.

 

The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

Will Netflix finally be able to break through in a major category this year? The odds are very good, and a lot of it stands with one of the more remarkable achievements they’ve managed in more than a decade of original programming (and that’s saying a lot). Taking a subject that has nearly been impossible to make interesting in any visual medium – chess – and centering it around one of the great performances of the last year Anya Taylor-Joy’s incredible work as Elizabeth, a troubled child who becomes a trouble addicted adult with only chess to sustain her. There are a lot of other great performances in this series, and frankly, some truly remarkable visuals. And if for no other reason that this series made chess at the center of a great story and comprehensible to more people who just know what the pieces are, this series deserves praise. It has been waltzing to the Emmy for Best Limited Series (though admittedly the Peabodys were a stumbling block) and its going to be real hard for any other series in this category to avoid being checkmated by it.

 

Wandavision (Disney +)

This may be the best Marvel series for people who (like me) have very little use for the Marvel-verse. If you knew what the comic storyline that was built around this show was, I’ve no doubt you could enjoy it, as well as appreciate all the Easter eggs. If you just liked seeing brilliant visuals, well crafted satire, and some truly exceptional performances, then Wandavision could appeal to you as well. I have no doubt that a lot of people basically saw this was a Marvel series and dismissed it out of snobbery. But unlike The Mandalorian, this was a series that was able to take its source material and use it to negotiate far more interesting territory than you’d expect from anything in television, much less a mere ‘comic book series’. Plus there were a lot of great performances. May Kathryn Hahn finally get the Emmy she’s deserved for at least the past ten years!

 

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

The Undoing (HBO)

Honestly, if you had told me at the end of 2020 that this series wasn’t going to be guaranteed an Emmy nomination for Best Limited Series, I’d have told you were out of your mind. It’s a David E. Kelley adaptation of a best-selling novel with Nicole Kidman as the lead; the nominations practically seem guaranteed. And though I admit to have issues as to how it was adapted (anyone whose read You Should Have Known knows it bares on resemblance to what we got) that doesn’t change the fact that it was a genuine phenomena in the fall of 2020. Everybody was talking about it, and why shouldn’t day. Kidman for a change wasn’t the best thing about it; there were extraordinary performances by Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland, both of whom are long overdue some kind of award recognition by now. I know our attention spans are shorter these days; but this series came out around the same time as The Queen’s Gambit; why is that show still remembered and this one being ignored? It’ll get a lot of nominations, but it deserves to be nominated for Best Limited Series far more than Mare of Easttown. I am certain of that.

It's Going to Be A Bumpy Flight: Better Late Than Never The Flight Attendant

 

Kaley Cuoco has been acting her entire life. For those whose only exposure to her was her undeniably hysterical work on The Big Bang Theory, it’s easy to forget that she’s been acting since she was seven years old. Guest starring on My So-Called Life and Ellen, playing John Ritter’s daughter on 8 Simple Rules to her work on the final season of Charmed, she’d already been acting for most of her life before her work as Penny. But despite being an expert in comic television, Cuoco has neither gotten the ability to play in dark territory nor gotten the recognition from the Emmys. Both are very likely to change very soon with her role in The Flight Attendant.

Cassie Bowden is hard partying and very hard drinking flight attendant. On one night in Bangkok, she meets up with a passenger named Alex (Michael Huisman). After joining the mile high club, Alex is apparently charmed enough that he invites her out to a night of drinking and debauchery in Thailand. The next morning Cassie wakes up in a wrecked hotel room with a hangover… and Alex lying in bed with his throat cut. Understandably, she freaks out. She tries to clean up the mess – badly – then leaves the hotel – messily – and makes her flight and tries to act normal – horribly. Then the news comes out that Alex is dead.

And that’s when things get weird.  Cassie starts having flashbacks and hallucinations where Alex and she start talking (think Sherlock’s mind palace on crack, and you’ll have an idea). This gets mixed in with a series of hallucinations that not even Cassie seems able to understand. By the time she arrives back in New York she’s a nervous wreck. Then the FBI starts investigating.

I’ve only seen the first two episodes of the HBO Max series and I will admit that I’m as much in the dark as Cassie is. It’s clear that Alex is mixed up in something very shadowy involving a woman named Margaret. Right now Cassie think she killed Alex because of a bad breakup, but given how we’ve seen her behave I don’t think its anywhere near that simple.

If the series were strictly a whodunit, it wouldn’t be worth the time. What makes it enjoyable is that there’s a very strong sense of hysterical humor. A lot of comes from Cuoco’s  exceptional work as Cassie. Yes, she’s blonde and yes she’s messed up, and yes Hitchcock is mentioned in an episode title but Cuoco’s plays a lot of the utter insanity of this for comedy and it makes it work. It also helps that the rest of the cast is spot on. Huisman is quite brilliant as Alex and is clearly as confused as Cassie is about what happened. There are also a lot of very good female supporting characters. Zosia Mamet, who I could never stand in Girls is a measure of sanity as Cassie’s best friend, who happens to be an attorney and is understandably horrified by what she’s gotten into. Merle Dandrige is sold as Agent Hammond, the FBI investigator into the case who has a chip on her shoulder about the agent backing her up. But the best performance belongs to Rosie Perez as Megan, a fellow flight attendant who knows something is going on with Cassie and is hiding her own secrets as well. Perez in particular deserves a nomination as well.

I’m not convinced yet that everything in The Flight Attendant will work. There’s a storyline going on with Cassie’s brother Davey who’s planning a visit to New York with his family and is worrying that his sister is becoming an alcoholic. Much as I love T.R. Knight, I’m not entirely convinced this story is either necessarily nor will pay off in the long term. And like all mysteries you wonder how exactly this will pay out in a second season which has already been agreed to for next year. But for now, as an entertainment, the series is a small gem. If you’re wondering whether or not it’s worth it to get a subscription to HBO Max, this show may be enough to sell you. (It’s possible Hacks may end up being an added bonus…but the jury’s still out on that.)

My score: 4 stars.

My Predictions(And Hopes) For This Year's Emmy Nominations: Week 2, Part 5 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy

 

With the exception of the usual suspects from Saturday Night Live, there are going to be a lot of new faces in this category, if only by default. There are some likely candidates from series I haven’t seen yet (Girls5Eva is the most obviously) and some who I just can’t bring myself to vote for, at least not yet (she’s rising in the standings, but I just can’t acknowledge Hannah Einbander  in Hacks). So I’m going to lean more on veterans in this category, though there will be a little bit of youth. Here are my choices

 

Holly Hunter, Mr. Mayor

Holly Hunter is one of the greatest actress in any medium she’s appeared in. And despite her incredible history in television, she’s only got one Emmy. Nothing for her remarkable work as Grace Hanadarko on the criminally underrated Saving Grace. Nothing for her superb work in the limited series Top of the Lake. And while everybody in the cast got recognized, no nomination for her superb turn as the possible heir to the Roy empire on Succession.  Perhaps it’s not fair to say she’s the best thing about Mr. Mayor, a still erratic comedy series. But as the activist with a name I’m not even sure she can spell, Hunter delivers some of the best lines and demonstrates that she do comedy with the best of them and hold her own with some of the greatest comic actors working today. The odds of her being nominated are remote, but I’m going to pull for her anyway as a dark horse.

 

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

I think I’ve run out of superlatives to describe Kate McKinnon’s incredible work on Saturday Night Live. I’m not sure if there are any major political figures that are left in her arsenal to portray, but the truth is she doesn’t need them. One of the better openings this season came when McKinnon simply played Kate McKinnon and it remained utterly funny and frankly, more of a character, than so many of the ones she’s played for so long. I don’t know how much longer she’ll be on SNL. Perhaps not even McKinnon knows at this point. And I think she’d (self-effacingly) say getting another nomination would probably be an example of ‘How The Emmys Don’t Work.” But as long as she’s there, she deserves them. And if you’ve read my column for the last several years, you know how hard it is for me to admit this.

 

Rosie Perez, The Flight Attendant

Admittedly, there are quite a few actresses who could be in this category – Zosia Mamet’s attorney is a prominent example. But I’m still leaning for Rosie Perez’s Megan, Cassie boon companion of way too many flights who knows her friend way too well especially when she’s lying. Perez is for the first time in awhile, playing a character who’s not recognizably Rosie Perez. But like so many of my choices in this category, Perez has been in the business for so long (wow, was In Living Color that long ago?) that I think she deserves a seat at the table for being around. She’s also really funny and has energy, but you knew that coming in.

 

Mary Steenburgen, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Like Hunter, I’ve admired Steenburgen for a very long time. Like Hunter, she’s also had a very good record on television – from Joan of Arcadia to the final season of Justified to 30 Rock and Curb Your Enthusiasm. And her work as Maggie, Zoey’s mother she’s done a lot of great work. Admittedly, there was a better sample in Season 1 as she played the rock as her husband continued to degenerate from ALS. But there were equally brilliantly moment this year as she finally had to learn to live now that her husband was gone and try to build a new life. There were funny moments, moving moments and musical ones and she shown at all of them. And come on! Her husband’s been getting nominations in every category imaginable for decades. Wouldn’t it be great if she had another reason to be here other than his date?

 

Juno Temple, Ted Lasso

Like so many characters Keeley starts out as one-dimensional – she’s a model and she seems to serve as a love interest. Then just like every other character in this series, we get to see the layers behind her pretty façade. Part of it is due to her burgeoning friendship with Rebecca (one of the richest female friendships I’ve seen in either a comedy or a drama) and we get to see that Keeley wants more out of her life than being a model or somebody you sleep with. When she and Roy finally seem to be building a relationship we actually cheer because both characters have done a lot to earn it. Juno Temple has spent much of her career being a Keeley Hawes, but Ted Lasso, like its title character, brings out the best in her. I think the odds of her prevailing are remote (this year) but like Keeley she has spirit and this nomination will be the first of many.

 

Kathleen Turner, The Kominsky Method

Has the world missed Kathleen Turner as much as I have? After being one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in 1980s and 1990s Hollywood, Turner basically disappeared from… well, the world for the 21^st Century. I’m sure even she would be willing to admit her looks are no longer what they were (Jane Fonda and Nancy Travis she’s clearly not) but her talent has not diminished, and neither has her pitch perfect comic timing. I’ve been hoping she would make a return as Sandy’s hated ex-wife since we saw her for a wonderful cameo in Season 2, and sure enough she’s back in LA. And just like everybody else in this series, she continues to have great dialogue and wonderful character. I’m sure the world  was thrilled when Douglas and Turner were back in the same scene (maybe we’ll even get Danny Devito to return and complete the Romancing The Stone reunion). I think she could get a nomination to celebrate her return.

 

Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso

Waddingham is the outside favorite to win in this category, and I really can’t make an argument against her. Rebecca Welton starts out as the heavy, who hires Ted solely for the purpose of destroying the football team that her husband loved. Then against her will, she gets won over by Ted despite her attempts to destroy him. Then we meet her ex (please, oh please, give Anthony Stewart Head a nomination to) and we understand a lot about why she’s where she is. Like so many heavies in a Bill Lawrence, we are won over to Rebecca’s side the longer we watch her, and a lot of that is do to Waddingham’s delightful viciousness. By the end of Season 1, she’s become a multi-dimensional human being and she’s completely changed where she was at the beginning of the series.  I would love to see her take this price, if only to see how Rebecca would react.

 

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Emma Kenney, Shameless

How many actresses are there on television we’ve literally watched grow up? When we first met Debbie Gallagher, she was a relatively normal eleven year old and she had the most messed-up arc of any of the clan…and that’s saying a lot. She basically tricked a man into taking her virginity, then she became a teen mom against Fiona’s strident wishes, then she worked become a welder, found herself exploring her sexuality, became the brick of the Gallagher clan after Fiona left, and then in the last couple of seasons had more nervous breakdowns than Liam would. Kenney was such a great force on that series, its kind of remarkable that her parents would even let her watch so many of the early episodes where she did her best work. Kenney’s not going to slow down (she’s on The Connors now, another role which could earn her a nomination) and honestly, I almost want her to get nominated for a lifetime achievement award just for her work as Debbie Gallagher. Hell, for surviving the South Side, she deserves a nomination.

 

I’ll finish up next week with the Limited Series.

My Predictions (And Hopes) For This Year's Emmy Nominations Week 2, Part 4: Outsatdning Supporting Actor in A Comedy

 

There’s a very strong possibility that Saturday Night Live will dominate this category. I don’t object that much. There’s just as strong a possibility that Ted Lasso will. I can only hope. There are a lot of great supporting performances that don’t all come from the world of sketch comedy. I’m pretty sure I’m going to leave out some of them, but for now here are my choices.

 

William Fichtner, Mom

William Fichtner has been playing intense characters for so long he probably would’ve been one of the last actors I ever thought would be capable of doing comedy, much less being able to hold the stage with Alison Janney’s Bonnie on Mom. But almost from his first appearance on the series nearly five years ago, Adam has not only been capable of deriving jokes from the most unlikely of sources – hell, his character’s in a wheelchair and he can still keep up with them – he made you root for him and Bonnie to work out despite all of the obstacles. Not only did they, he did a lot of heavy lifting throughout the second season. Fichtner would be worth of a nomination even before you consider he has somehow gone his entire career and not gotten one. Can we give him one before the lights go out?

 

Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso

I could just as easily make an argument here for Phil Dunster’s remarkable performance as Jamie, the egotistical superstar, or Jeremy Swift, the incredibly burdened down Higgins, loyal to Rebecca but utterly delightful when he says anything. (And hell, they might get nominated without me having to endorse them.) But there’s a greater argument to be made for Goldstein’s endearing work as Roy, the aging hero who knows his time is running out but who Ted still places all his faith in. There’s a lot to love - his sweet romance with Keeley, his messy relationship with Jamie, the one he clearly loves his niece – and most of all, that last episode where he throws everything into the final and ends up walking off the pitch to the cheers of the crowd.  I don’t know how Roy will play into Season 2, but Goldstein makes us root for him all the way. He’s really earned it – just like Roy.

 

Michael Huisman, The Flight Attendant

This is how great an actor Michael Huisman is – he’s doing some of his best work as a corpse. (Alright, he’s technically a part of Cassie’s subconscious as she works out what happened the night he was murdered; potato, po-tat-o) Huisman is yet another actor in this category who seems to have been acting for ever (he’d worked in European television for more than a decade before he came to my attention on Treme) and for the first time it what seems to be in his career, he gets to appear in a show and have fun. (Yes as a corpse.) My guess is we won’t see him in Season 2, so let’s give him his due for playing the part that essentially puts everything into action. For once, this is a Game of Thrones actor I won’t mind seeing at the Emmys.

 

Brendan Hunt, Ted Lasso

There are so many great supporting roles on Ted Lasso (as indeed there are on any Bill Lawrence comedy) that you could easily fill both categories with any number of them. I have a couple of good choices, but one of my personal favorites is Hunt in his wonderful role as Coach Beard. For most of the series he is so laconic that he gets the lion’s share of his laughs by the few words he uses. But like every other character he has so many layers that you realize that, like Ted, there’s more than meets the eye. When he finally launches into a loud rant against Ted’s strategy in the penultimate episode of Season 1, you realize that he may understand sports even more than Ted does. It’s a delivery worthy of a nomination of itself. Of course, the reason I would like to see him nominated is to see that seen of his rendition of ‘Poker Face’. Keep it up, Coach!

 

Alex Newell, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Just like with Ted Lasso, there are a lot of good choices from Zoey for this category – I could make a great argument for Skyler Astin as Max, the man who should have Zoey’s heart or for John Clarence Stewart as Simon, the man who temporarily gets it. And given how Newell identifies, some might argue what he’s doing in this category at all. But it impossible to watch any seen that Mo is in and not be in awe. As the first person who knew Zoey’s secret (and the only one who doesn’t need an excuse to start singing) there is just something astonishing in progress every time Newell walks on camera. Her delivery, her humor, and her utter boldness in everything they do makes you in awe of Mo.  I don’t know if the Emmys will duplicate the Critics Choice, but in Newell’s case, they absolutely deserve too.

 

Paul Reiser, The Kominsky Method

Throughout this comedian’s long and storied career, a lot of his work has been somewhat ‘traditional’, rarely venturing from the standards of the sitcom. So in that sense, it’s remarkable watching him do some of his best work as Martin, the much older lover of Sandy’s daughter in The Kominsky Method. Its amazing watching him banter with Michael Douglas and come of the better in so many of their interactions. You can understand why Mindy is so disturbed that her father (and this season, her mother) get along too perfectly with the man she’s loves. And yet Reiser’s basic likability makes him seem like both a genuine lover to her and a companion to her father, which frankly is incredible enough. Match that with his still shard delivery and you have a recipe deserving of an Emmy nomination.

 

Keenan Thompson, SNL

I don’t normally advocate for an actor or actress being nominated in two separate categories in the same year. I do, however, make exceptions and it’s really hard not to make one for Keenan Thompson. He’s been on Saturday Night Live since before a lot of its current viewers were born, and he was working in sketch comedy well before that. He doesn’t have a lot of recurring characters and he isn’t at the center of a lot of sketches. All he does is make you laugh whenever he’s on the screen. Very few comedians are this consistently entertaining for a few years, much less twenty. I’m not saying I necessarily want him to win the Emmy, but unlike so many years where I couldn’t understand why SNL comedians were even on the ballot, I wouldn’t mind seeing him up there.

 

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Michael Che/Colin Jost, Saturday Night Live.

Yes they’re also on SNL. And yes, all they basically do is the news.  But as someone who has been watching the show for more than a quarter of a century, who has seen Fey and Poehler do their thing, that’s not just what they do. Furthermore, we gave Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert lots of Emmy for doing variations on this. And these guys are more than that. The two of them are comedic soulmates in a way that very few performers are, and like my favorite reporter in the show’s history – Colin Quinn – you get a feeling they’re more like the man on the street than so many of the other comedians. They’ve been working like a well-oiled machine for seven year. Lord knows how much longer either one we’ll be there. Let’s give them a nomination before they give each other jokes for the last time.

 

 

My Predictions (And Hopes) For This Year's Emmy Nominations: Week 2, Part 3: Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy

 

This category more than any other is likely to have a group of new faces. The previous four consecutive winners have either had their series come to the end of the run or are ineligible this year. Almost none of the previous three years nominees are in a similar situation. So who’ll fill the spots? Here are my best guesses and hopes.

 

Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant

It was really appalling that for all the nominations that The Big Bang Theory got over its twelve year run, not a single one was for Kaley Cuoco who perhaps more than any other character was willing to degrade herself for a laugh. That same impulse is at the center of her in the title role as Cassie, a woman who meet riding planes and carousing to the tune of ‘The Good Time Girl.’ Then she wakes up in a hotel bed in Bangkok with her one night stand dead. That’s only the start of how things get crazy for her, and that’s just inside her head. I’m not sure whether this series is going to be considered greatness, but seeing this incredible comic actress finally get to play the lead and turn her craziness up to eleven is inspiring. She’s the favorite to win an Emmy, and I’m kind of pulling for.

 

Daisy Haggard, Breeders

I’ve been an admirer of Haggard for a very long time. On Episodes, she was capable of comic genius without ever uttering an intelligible word. In the exceptional Back to Life she gave a wondrous performance as a parolee trying to start a new life in a British community that nearly two decades later still wasn’t ready to forgive her. (I hope we see that series come back too.) And as Ally, she has her best role yet: as a wife with a husband who just keeps forcing crap on her, as a mother who is constantly playing a peacekeeper between the children and her father,  and as a daughter whose mother clearly never had much use for her and seems happier with her new fiancé then anything she did with her children. Add to this the stress when she agreed against her will to go into IVF and how she ended up accidentally kissing a work colleague and it’s a wonder she’s still sane. Haggard has flown under the Academy radar for a very long time, and I realize the odds of her being acknowledged this time are still remote. But Haggard deserves recognition. So does Ally.

 

Allison Janney, Mom

I think arguing that Janney needs more recognition from the Emmys is kind of ridiculous. Her bookshelf must have been groaning from the weight of Emmys before she started playing Bonnie. That doesn’t change the fact that she’s been one of the most brilliant comic actresses on TV for the past eight years, and given the opportunity to completely lead the series in its final season, she more than demonstrated that she was everything you could ask for. And considering the series got the rug pulled out from under it before it could give all his characters a proper goodbye, one more nomination wouldn’t be a bad farewell present for Janney.

 

Jane Levy, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Right now the biggest possible argument against Levy getting nominated is that her show got cancelled. Which is completely unfair to both the series and her. Levy has one of the toughest jobs in all of television. She has to be the complete straight woman for all the music and choreography going around, she has to try and carry her family and her friends, she has to manage things at SPRQ point, and she has to deal with everything in her relationship. Is it any wonder every episode starts with her being bleeped? Levy does all of this with class and likability and she makes an unbelievable premise work. She was a sure thing for a nomination (a Golden Globe nomination really counted) and I refuse to accept that the fact that NBC had the bad taste to kill her show should count against her.

 

Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish

Rainbow Johnson is one of the most brilliant mother figures to come across television in decades. Ross is one of the great comic forces I’ve seen in years and watching her duel with Dre, with her mother-in-law, with well everybody is always one of the great joys of watching TV. She is a comfort, a support and a barrel of laughs, and it’s a crime beyond words that she hasn’t won at least one Emmy already. (Thanks a lot Julia-Louis Dreyfus!) Yes, I know her career wasn’t launched by this role any more than Anthony Anderson’s was, but she’s even more due to win her than he (especially since her character’s origin story was cancelled just as it was starting to get interesting)

 

Jean Smart, Hacks

With each subsequent episode, this series continues to grow on me. But it wouldn’t take much for me to be in awe of Smart’s incredible work as Deborah Vance, a performers whose been around for so long people doubt her ability and the next generation have no use for her. But mixed in all the one-liners she delivers is a lot of rage. I’m still in awe of the monologue she delivered to Hannah when she tried to tell her how ‘good’ she was and the longer you watch the series you can tell just how hard Deborah had to battle to get everything she was owned. I know Smart has a couple of Emmys on her shelf at home, and she could very well earn another in an entirely different genre this year. But I’ll admit I’d like to see her up there to complete the set in Best Comedy. Deborah would approve

 

Lena Waithe, Master of None

How does Lena Waithe the time to act these days? It hasn’t been four years since she became the first African American lesbian to win an Emmy and in that period. Since then, she’s created two new series (both of which she writes extensively for) has worked for Spielberg, appeared on Westworld and she’s not even forty yet. And having wrapped things up on Master of None five years ago… well, I guess she figured she wasn’t busy enough. So she wrote a five episode arc for Denise and her characters romance and starred in it. She deserves a nomination just for finding the time to do it all. You consider the subtleties of her performances and the fact that she’s finally getting to be lead in her story, and it would be highway robbery to deny her a nomination… not that this won’t be the only one she gets this year.

 

FOR YOUR NCONSIDERATION

Alia Shawkwat, Search Party

 

This is more of a lifetime achievement nomination than anything else – though perhaps considering that Shawkwat is barely thirty-two makes than kind of absurd. But honestly, ever since we first met her on Arrested Development, she has put up a career that kind of makes you wonder when she’s ever going to slow down. And considering that Search Party is one of the most amusing and surreal projects she’s ever done (and consider her career) I think its time she got to visit the Emmys. All of her Arrested  have gotten some kind of credit from the Academy and watching her play clueless even as the walls get deeper is still remarkable four seasons in. Two HBO Max actresses are certain to get nominated. Why not someone has a track record just as remarkable and a comedy that’s lasted against all odds?

 

 

 

 

My Predictions and Hopes for This Year's Emmys Week 2, Part 2: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy

 

There’s going to be a lot of veteran blood in the Lead Actor category with three more than likely nominees in their seventies as well two veterans from SNL – one of whom will likely have a chance to double dip. I think the winner in this category is preordained, but that doesn’t mean they’re aren’t a lot of worthy candidates.

 

 

Anthony Anderson, black-ish

Dre Johnson has been one of the great fathers in sitcom history, trying to make a better life for his family even though he knows better than anyone just how layered the system is for them. Of course Dre also has an ego that is almost inevitably punctured – how hard it was for him to deal with the fact he wasn’t a essential worker or a real protestor or willing to take the same risks as his children. Anderson has always been the most brilliant asset to come out of the New Golden Age: his career in stand-up comedy shows how will he can deliver a punchline; his history in series drama shows how well he can handle serious topics without preaching. They’re running out of time to give Anderson an Emmy. I hope they get to it soon.

 

Ted Danson, Mr. Mayor

Despite the faith that NBC has shown in it (instead of another, better shows) I’m not convinced that Mr. Mayor will ever be a great comedy. It’s too slapdash in its humor and it hasn’t gone anything near a consistent tone. But there are a couple of things that work in its favor and the biggest of them is Ted Danson in the title role. Neil Bremer may be clueless and out-of-touch when it comes to politics, but Danson has spent pretty much his entire career making often truly hard-to-like to characters genuinely likable and amusing with often less. Danson is endearing and funny in so many ways that you find yourself rooting for the comedy. (And let’s be honest: he should’ve gotten at least one Emmy for The Good Place. So let’s just keep them coming as long as he can keep going.)

 

Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method

Everyone knows that Michael Douglas is one of the greatest actors in history. But I’m willing to bet the lion’s share of today’s audience forgot what a great comic actor is when he starred in so many often terrible thrillers. Playing Sandy Kominsky a man who never lived up to his potential – as an actor, as a husband and it’s hard to tell as a father – the one thing he’s always been good at is being a friend. And seeing him without Norman, much of Sandy has been doing in this series (sob) final season has shown him try to be better at his life because of what his friend meant to him. Douglas delivers jokes and pathos nearly perfectly and he’s always wonderful to watch. Just like Sandy, though, Douglas’ timing is off: among  a lesser group of nominees, he’d be a shoo-in for an Emmy. But there’s always been someone better than him out there. Douglas doesn’t need trophies to testify to his greatness. A nomination is enough.

 

Martin Freeman, Breeders

Martin Freeman has always been one of the more versatile actors in the past ten years. I don’t if anyone else could be capable of playing the most human version of John Watson TV’s seen yet and one of the most loathsome monsters on Fargo in the same calendar year. He never quite seems to get the credit from the Emmys that he deserved and of my seven choices, he’s the most unlikely to break through. But when you consider his work as Paul, a husband and father whose anger is so deep he utterly rejects the idea of getting rid of it no matter how much his wife and children argue against it, you see a hundred ways how this series could go wrong and how Freeman manages to avoid every single snare. Part of is because he co-created the series, but most of it is because of the humanity that lies behind all of Paul’s actions, especially in the final episode when he realize just how much he’s hurting his family with his anger and does something that few comedies would dare try. Freeman’s work may be subtle compared to some of the other nominees, but he’s earned it.

 

William H. Macy, Shameless

Macy is one of the greatest actors ever. Full stop. Part of the reason I really hated Shameless for so long was because it took the likeability that permeated his being and put into a character who did everything in his power to make you loathe him and who did everything throughout the series entire run to be utterly resistant to change. Is it any wonder that every year, one by one, the Gallagher children abandoned him? And to the very end, Frank was resistant to it. His last words (which in true Shameless tradition, his children will almost certainly never see) were telling each of his children how much they disappointed him. He never cared for a single human being who couldn’t do something for him; hell, that’s what ended up killing him. And it is because of that very ability that Macy deserves to get one last bite at the Emmy apple. Because I’m not sure of a single other actor who could have played this despicable human being, and yet somehow laugh at his antics for eleven years. His family won’t miss him, but the world will.

 

Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

I don’t think anything can stop Sudeikis from taking the Emmy this year. He’s won every major award already and gone from outsider to odds-on favorite in just a few months. And the thing is, he deserves it. Leaving aside the comic brilliance of every aspect of Sudeikis’ performance, the way he delivers perfect and often very subtle jokes – it has been a really long time since any major series – not comedy, series – has had at its center a purely and utterly nice human being. I’m not saying Ted’s not flawed, but he’s so charming that even the people who want to hate him end up liking him anyway. In the era of the antihero, this is utterly unheard of, much less on a streaming show where it seems to be a law that no one can be entirely pleasant. (Well, maybe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.) Sudeikis doesn’t make this show wonderful by himself, but without his utterly charming persona we might not believe in it. Sudeikis has earned an Emmy, and we know he’ll be gracious when he accepts – like Ted

 

Keenan Thompson, Keenan

He’s been on SNL for twenty years – and that wasn’t the start of his career in comedy. Thompson has always been one of the great comic talents of the last thirty years, and I’m kind of appalled its taken him this long to finally get his own series. I wish it was a little less traditional than so many clichéd comedies, but Thompson gets to use a lot of the charm he doesn’t quite get a chance to do enough on Saturday Night Live. (Of course, the odds are good he’ll get nominated for that show too, but that’s a different story) Thompson has always been good at mining laughs at material you wouldn’t get them from and that ability will no doubt work in his favor.

 

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Iain Armitage, Young Sheldon

I’m frankly astonished this undervalued comedy hasn’t gotten a boatload of nominations by now. Maybe that’s because as long as The Big Bang Theory was on the air, it was also going to overshadow its spinoff. But now that it’s gone, maybe attention can finally be paid to this young genius who has so many mannerisms of Jim Parsons down pat its kind of uncanny. I’ve known Armitage was an incredible actor during Big Little Lies and this series more than demonstrates his incredible comic skills. Armitage is so good in his role you almost don’t need to see who he’ll grow into being. This Sheldon deserves as many Emmys as the man he’ll grow into. But you have to nominate him first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Choices and Hopes For This Year's Emmys, Week 2, Part 1: Outstanding Comedy Series

 

Though I haven’t been as hip to them as last year, there have been a lot of great comedies this past season. And though there are a few that have just arrived, quite a number on my list have come to the end of their run. (There’s one that might have a chance of coming back but it’s uncertain.) There are quite a few possibilities that I haven’t seen yet, and that I may reconsider after the nominations. However at this moment, these are my top choices.

 

black-ish (ABC)

This is one of the great comedy series of the past decade, creating a mini-empire that has never quite gotten the respect it deserved. As the Johnson’s faced the world of the pandemic, racial divide and their own family struggles – which is big for everybody else but for them, a typical Tuesday – they continued to demonstrate this entire casts great gift for bringing laughs out of the darkness of the world. Next year will be the last season for black-ish, so at least it’s leaving on its own terms. Now its time for the Emmys to do their job and give this series as many nominations as possible. It’s a little late and not nearly enough, but isn’t that typical for the Johnson family?

 

Breeders (FX)

This is my longshot series. I think its more likely that Girls5Eva or Master of None will get this spot (and they may deserve it) but I have to say this is one of the harshest and darkest (and it must be said, the funniest) series about raising children. Martin Freeman gives one of his greatest performances as Paul, a father so invested in his anger and living his way that he doesn’t see any problems when people tell him as much. He thinks being a good dad means doing things his way, and this year we saw the consequences on his marriage and more than that with his troubled son. Even for an FX series, which can go into some dark territory, this can be hard to watch. It’s a good thing there are so many entertaining jokes as we go on our way, mainly from the clueless grandparents. This series appeals to me in a way that a lot of high concept series don’t, and I think it deserves recognition.

 

The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)

I’m still not a hundred percent sure this comedy-drama-mystery- surreal exercise is really worthy of being considered part of the comedy listings at all. I know that it’s likely to be among the nominees based on the previous awards shows and the high concept in general. There is, of course, one real reason to nominate and that is Kaley Cuoco. After everything she did in 12 seasons on The Big Bang Theory (and there was a lot, believe me) she never seemed to quite rise to the potential in her work as a flight attendant awakening from a drunken encounter with a passenger and finding his body in her bed. (Not that they stop talking, that’s part of the charm.) This series has grown on me very quickly and there are a lot of actors who deserve nominations. But more than any other show, The Flight Attendant justifies subscribing to HBO Max.

 

The Kominsky Method (Netflix)

This remarkable series started its third and final season with a funeral and ends with a wedding. In between is some hysterical work for some of the greatest actors in history. Michael Douglas continues to remind us why he is one of the greatest comic actors ever, and even without the beloved Alan Arkin, he has stellar support all the way down from Lisa Edelstein and Paul Reiser to the remarkable return of Kathleen Turner (we’ve missed you) to Morgan Freeman in a role I don’t even think they could’ve ever seen himself playing. Hollywood is a messed up business (we learned that every time Haley Joel Osment opened his mouth) and as Sandy discovered, death doesn’t even start the end the problems you have. This is not the most radical series that Chuck Lorre has ever done, but it is one of the funniest and the series deserves recognition as it leaves us.

 

Mom (CBS)

Here’s another sitcom that never got nearly its due when it was on the air. Allison Janney led a cast of incredible performers so gifted at playing various levels of drunken messed up women that the series didn’t even seem to miss Anna Faris, the original lead, when she left at the beginning of this year. Its featured some of the most gifted comic performances this decade and remarkably managed to mine them through subjects like addiction, paralysis, crime and illness. How is it that somehow Janney was the only to win for it? Bad enough this series got cancelled without getting a proper goodbye; maybe it could leave us by getting a lot of nominations before it left? Call it the eight year chip.

 

Shameless (Showtime)

In retrospect, I spent way too much raging about the grime and muck of this series rather than appreciating it for just that. As I said earlier this year, the Gallagher clan is the best example of TV’s family. They’re always fighting to survive – often against each other. They’re broke, they have mental issues, they have dependency issues, they have problems with authority. And this is before you consider how much damage Frank Gallagher did to them throughout their lives. (It didn’t come as much of a surprise that they dealt with his death with barely a shrug.) This was an incredible cast all the way down, and we needed the Gallagher far more than we realize. They left us on their own terms… especially Frank, who got was coming to him and will never be missed. (If they even know he’s dead.) This series has basically been ignored the entire time it was on the air, mainly because for half its run, the Emmys couldn’t decide if it was a drama or a comedy. It was a comedy,  a very dark one but still a comedy, and we should really let the Gallaghers have one big party before they leave us

 

Ted Lasso (Apple TV)

Is there anything left to be said about this series that right now is so incredible that it seems to be the only thing politicians on both sides of the aisle agree about? This may not only be the funniest comedy series in years, its also centers on the nicest human being we’ve had on television in a very long time. Jason Sudeikis gives a performance that starts out as pure hayseed clown and with every encounter reveals deeper and deeper layers. But then that’s true with every character in this remarkable cast, even the ones who says very little. The jokes are incredible. The character development is unheard of. And its already won every major award since the Golden Globes.  Bill Lawrence, this is the moment you’ve deserved since Scrubs debuted. The big question isn’t will Ted Lasso win the Emmy, it’s how many other awards it’ll take when it triumphs.

 

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC)

What’s the only thing stopping this series from collecting a lot of nominations? The fact that NBC didn’t have enough faith in this remarkable series to renew for a third season. (Get off your ass, Hulu!) But honestly, this is one of the most remarkable series developed even in the era of Peak TV.  From Zoey hearing everybody express themselves through song to everything that goes on in her life which is relatable. Her problems with relationships. Her struggle with her beloved father’s death. Her moving up the ladder as SPRQ point, a company which represents every bad thing the tech world has. And all the remarkable voices of the men and women around her, from Skylar Astin  to Mary Steenburgen. I really hope that some service gets around to pick up this show. But even they don’t, that should not stop the Emmys from nominated this, well, extraordinary series.

 

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Superstore (NBC)

I only periodically watched this incredible satire of life in a retail store. But having seen enough of it, and particularly the finale, this is a series that – like its remarkable cast – deserves a happy ending. Superstore demonstrated from beginning to end just how horrible your job can be. And at the same time, it also show us just how vital the people we work with are to us. Especially after this past year, I think that’s a revelation that the world – as well as the cast – have come to. Add to this has some of the funniest actors working at all, and they deserve to be recognized. Could someone please give Mark McKinney an Emmy for something?