The final (half) season is almost here! Couldn't be more excited, and now the first looks are coming out. Pretty heavy on the "tease" part of these teasers, but AMC obviously knows how pumped everybody is. Aug 11th is the premiere date, mark your calendars!
Can't wait! The new season starts Sept 8th
Glee star Cory Monteith was found dead today in a hotel room in Vancouver, British Columbia, according to People. The actor has starred on Glee since it debuted on Fox in 2009, and had recently been released from a rehab facility for substance addiction. No cause of death has been released, but the Vancouver police has indicated no foul play. He was 31 years old.
Dream Nominees- Drama Series
There are so many quality dramas out there right now, that it's really hard to pick just six. Of my choices, Justified and Boardwalk Empire will probably be snubbed in the actual nominations, but I really thought they had outstanding seasons and deserve to be there. Especially Boardwalk, which is a show that in contrast to its decreasing hype every year, has only gotten better as the seasons have progressed. I know that some feel Mad Men had an off season, but to me that show is still better than almost anything out there, so I wouldn't kick that out either. I did toss last year's winner Homeland out of the mix, and that show will definitely be nominated again. There were some big plausibility issues with the second season, and while I'm never really that hard on spy thrillers in terms of plot stuff (I'm willing to suspend more disbelief than most), there were some really glaring, over the top and wacky moments this year that were just plain ridiculous, and the ever growing screentime of the teenager from hell (fans know who I mean) is like a weight around that show's neck that is just dragging it down into the abyss whenever she shows up, to the point where I started dreading her every moment even before the episodes aired.
The Americans had a really strong debut season and took a different approach to the spy thing than Homeland, eschewing overdramatic plot twists and revelations for a lot of subtlety and internal character drama that I was very surprised by (and the Homeland writers could certainly benefit from watching this show on how to deal with teenage kid characters- please, I BEG of them to take note). Game of Thrones had its best season yet, although I doubt that show will ever win, because of the fantasy genre it's stuck in, and although Justified's best season remains the second, the fourth was an ambitious mystery arc that introduced more great new characters (something this show excels at) while keeping up with the best dialogue on TV, a quality for which it's highly underrated (it's never even been nominated in writing).
Breaking Bad's half-season last year remained astonishingly suspenseful and well-acted, even if it felt unfinished (how could it not?). I choose that to finally win Series this year because I think it's time, and happily, I think it actually will win too, because the Academy is going to realize that it's now or never for that show. The final 8 episodes are airing in August, it's going to be at the top of everyone's radar, and I truly believe with Homeland's dip in quality last season, there's no more appealing alternative for the voters to go with. Other contenders in Series are House of Cards, Downton Abbey (which will probably still be nominated, but I think it's lightweight compared to these other shows) and The Good Wife. But it's Breaking Bad's for the taking this year, and I think they're going to pull it off.
Dream Nominees- Lead Actor
This particular wishlist of mine isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. Of the six, I think only Dancy and Rhys are the longshots, but both were outstanding in the debut seasons of their shows. Hugh Dancy in particular had to play a man whose mental state was deteriorating all season long, and he was entirely believable and never once over the top in his portrayal. I think it was an even more impressive "crazy" performance than his wife, Claire Danes, in her similar situation over on Homeland. And Matthew Rhys played a low key, serious yet sensitive spy husband on The Americans, and he was likeable and effective from the first episode. The rest of the guys are probably all locks to make it in, and they're all terrific and have been for years, so I see no reason to toss them out. Jeff Daniels might not make the cut, but despite the fact that he plays kind of a pompous windbag on The Newsroom, he's really good at it and deserves a nod hopefully on merit and not just name recognition. Kevin Spacey is very likely going to replace one of these guys, probably Dancy or Rhys, and that is based on name/Oscar winning status, etc. He's good on House of Cards, but he's done that kind of performance before. A lot. As for the winner, any one of these guys could win and deserve it, so I just picked Jon Hamm because he's WAY overdue and it would really be a shame for him to never win an Emmy for Don Draper.
Dream Nominees- Lead Actress
I've said this before, but if Tatiana Maslany can possibly get in, she could win because the voters would be forced to watch her play all these clones and she shows off a ton of range that the others don't have. She plays broad comedy, action, drama, and with different accents to boot. But she's still a major, major longshot for a nomination. Glenn Close has always been fantastic and I think she's deserving of another nomination, but nobody remembers Damages and if she makes it in, it's only because she's Glenn Close and her name was on the ballot. Sad, but true. Last year's winner Claire Danes will be back and I'm a little bit iffy on Margulies and Moss being here, but I couldn't think who to replace them with. Elisabeth Moss in particular got a lot less to do than usual on Mad Men this season, but someone like past nominee Michelle Dockery of Downton Abbey is certainly no better than her or Margulies. I would love to see Keri Russell get in, as she was surprisingly good at playing such a cold-hearted spy on The Americans, and is the much less sympathetic figure next to Matthew Rhys, but she pulled it off with nuance and subtlety (despite the outlandish wig situation going on with that show, the performances keep everything grounded in reality). Other contenders include Kerry Washington of Scandal and Robin Wright of House of Cards, but I wasn't too impressed with either of them. It's Tatiana all the way for me, but the likely winner is probably Claire Danes again.
Since I can't recap every show on the air, I thought I'd do a couple of mid-season and full season reviews for the new shows airing this summer that I'll be watching. That will include Showtime's Ray Donovan, with Liev Shreiber and Jon Voight, and also FX's The Bridge, which premieres tonight and stars Diane Kruger and Demian Bichir. I'll be watching them and checking in on both at their mid-season point. Here are the trailers, if you're curious:
The Bridge:
Ray Donovan:
Dream Nominees- Supporting Actor
So, for the last few years this category has been the toughest one to break into. There could very easily be a list of ten or more worthy men, and it is HARD to narrow it down to six. An entire alternate list of deserving nominees could and probably will show up here (the only reason I left out perennial nominees like Peter Dinklage and John Slattery is because I don't think they had as much to do on their shows this season). But these are my favorites, and of them I think the ones most likely to score noms will be Aaron Paul and Mandy Patinkin. Paul is fantastic on Breaking Bad, has won the last two years in a row, and will definitely be back. Patinkin has not been nominated for Homeland yet, but I have to assume he was in 7th place or so last year, so I'm guessing he makes it this time. The rest of my guys could all fall out for other people. Walton Goggins was nominated two years ago, but is great as lovable antihero Boyd Crowder on Justified, so good that I think he deserves to win. Stoll gave a heartbreaking performance and was the best character on House of Cards for me (review of that show coming tomorrow), Mikkelson is really a co-lead, but I've already talked about how mesmerizing he is on Hannibal, and I was very happily surprised at what a nuanced, sensitive and rich supporting turn Noah Emmerich gave on The Americans this year. To be honest, any of these guys deserve to win, but I chose Goggins because he's been so good for so long now, and I think he's somewhat overdue, especially counting his years on The Shield.
Dream Nominees- Supporting Actress
This field is a bit less crowded, and I have again chosen almost all people who will not make the cut. The only guarantee is Anna Gunn (and she's probably also the winner, because she has an AMAZING episode to submit). Joelle Carter had more screentime as Ava this year than I think she ever has, and as the only woman with any real role on Justified, I think she deserves recognition. It's a similar situation with Emilia Clarke, who was given a lot more to do this year than whine about her dragons, but they don't seem to like anyone except for Peter Dinklage on that show. I went for Kiernan Shipka as Sally on Mad Men over Christina Hendricks, because I think she handles the dark, emotional stuff they give her as well as or better than many of the adults, and Joan was kind of short shrift this season anyway. Olivia Munn was the only woman on The Newsroom who was not written as an idiot, and managed to play both comedy and drama surprisingly well, and finally there's Rose Byrne. Yeah, she was on a show called Damages that most people have forgotten existed entirely, much less that it aired its final season last summer. And that's really too bad, because it was a great show, and the only one I can think of that was entirely about two women as they confronted their professional and personal conflicts as well as any of these shows about male antiheroes that are ubiquitous now. Rose Byrne was essentially a co-lead, but she was terrific, and deserves at least much recognition as Glenn Close got in the show's early years. But it won't happen. Expect this category to be filled with people like Maggie Smith again, and more women from The Good Wife and Downton Abbey.
As a heads up, this summer I'll be recapping Season 2 of HBO's The Newsroom, starting next Sunday, and the final season of AMC's Breaking Bad, when it returns on Aug 11th.
Dream Nominees- Comedy Series
Okay, so out of my dream nominees in this category, only three actually are secured for nods. That would be the past winners 30 Rock and Modern Family, and probably Veep (there's a small chance that could fall out but I doubt it, since its second season was better than the first and the episodes were airing during the nominating period). Parks and Recreation was only nominated once two years ago and stands no chance, while Louie and Arrested are the wild cards. Louie is kind of a bizarre hybrid of occasional comedy but mostly quirky drama, and it's not helped by the fact that the last season aired almost a year ago now. AD was beloved by the TV academy throughout its original run, but the whole Netflix model is a serious question mark- no one has any idea how that's going to play out. I wouldn't be surprised if it's shut out, but I also wouldn't be surprised if it ran the table with nominations. Could go either way. I'm leaning toward it getting in because of its past history though.
Since Parks and Rec stands no shot, what replaces it? Unfortunately my guess is either Girls or The Big Bang Theory. Of those two I'd vastly prefer Big Bang- and I actually wouldn't be too surprised if my distaste for Girls is shared by a lot of the TV academy as well. We'll see on July 18th.
As for the win, I do think the voters are tired of picking Modern Family and will go with something else this year, but the question is what. My vote's for AD for pulling off an unprecedented return in an audacious and bold new format, but the whole structure might have been too weird for the Emmys. Could it be a return to 30 Rock for its final season? Or might they go with Arrested Development after all as a big welcome back? Maybe even The Big Bang Theory due to its ever increasing ratings and popularity? It's an open field. If they can't rally around an alternative, Modern Family may just pull off a fourth win after all.
Dream Nominees: Lead Actress in a Comedy
It pains me to have to put Lena Dunham on that list. But, since I don't actually watch every comedy show on the air anyway, and I have seen it, I can begrudgingly admit that she does put herself out there every week (anyone who watches it will know what that means) in a pretty brave way- not sure I'd call it funny, especially this season, but brave is a word that works, I guess. Laura Dern is terrific on Enlightened, but the show was just canceled, so that does not bode well for her- she'll probably be replaced by Edie Falco from Nurse Jackie. All of the other women would be repeat nominees and likely to get in, but they're all good, so that's ok with me. I have to go with JLD for the win again- even if it's getting old to see her win all the time, she really does deserve it, even more so this year than last. I'd be thrilled if Amy Poehler won, since it'd be a shame to see Parks and Rec go off the air without her ever being recognized, but hey, they did it to Steve Carell for The Office, and that was a much more iconic character, so I wouldn't put it past them.
Dream Nominees : Lead Actor in a Comedy
Ok so, right off the bat I have to admit there are a couple of supposedly deserving contenders in this field from shows that I have never watched, namely Matt LeBlanc from Episodes and Jake Johnson of New Girl- but hey, what are you gonna do? I hear they're both great, so I wouldn't have a big problem if they replaced one of the above. From my own personal list, the most likely to make it in are Baldwin, Bateman, Parsons and CK. Jason Bateman is right on the edge- he was only nominated once before and it's going to depend on how much the voters liked this new season of Arrested. Peter Capaldi and Adam Scott have zero chance, but they are both great on their shows- especially Capaldi, who's won virtually every British award they have over there and really does deserve it here too (he's eligible because Hulu broadcast the fourth season of The Thick of It). I hate to say this but Jon Cryer might take one of their slots (ugh) and in that case, the winner will be either Alec Baldwin or Jim Parsons for the repeat. I'd love for Jason Bateman to win, but something tells me it's not happening.
The Movie Seasons
Use this site for movie and television recommendations throughout the year- we have picks for the changing seasons, holidays, and moods, along with new releases and recaps of the best shows on TV
