Jimmy Kimmel managed to get Rachel, Monica and Phoebe back together for a mini Friends reunion on his show last night. Check it out:
I've always gotten the feeling that the women of Friends would be the only ones up for any kind of reunion at all from that show- they were the ones who seemed to be close in real life, as the guys have all moved on.
A very complicated episode that gradually moved us two years forward in time (all the way to 1960), while doing its best to keep us informed so that we don't miss anything in the lives of the characters. Almost everything tonight sticks with Bill's perspective, so we'll just start with him. It's five months from the night that Bill found Ginny's new boyfriend Shelly answering her door, and now he's finally opened his own practice, the Masters and Johnson clinic. He welcomes Lester back (yay!) from his failed career as a film director in California, and he and Ginny are just getting the clinic off the ground and are behind in everything from rent to patients. They're also sharing a building space with various other businesses that keep changing names throughout the episode as a way to tell us that time is passing. Bill's also hired a newly divorced Betty to be the secretary and bookkeeper (she kept the records at the brothel) and tells her it's a way to repay her for helping him out with the study in the past.
Things between Bill and Ginny are fairly icy though, and when Bill goes to their hotel for a drink in the bar alone, we find out that he's ended their "work" ever since he found out that she sees other men, and bitches to poor Eliott about his unfaithful "wife." Ginny is apparently still friends with Austin, and goes on a double date with him and his new girlfriend Holly, where she attempts to deny that there was ever anything between her and BIll, since he's married anyway, which of course Austin doesn't buy for a second. But she claims to be very into her new guy, whose name is Shelly and works as a girdle salesman. The whole thing is bullshit though, because the next day she tries to make up with Bill, asking him how long he's going to punish her for this, and asking why she can't see other men since he's married to Libby. Bill isn't having it, telling her he doesn't want to be another passing stranger in her kid's lives and basically calls her a slut and a bad mother. Ginny actually takes that fairly well, shrugging it off and saying Bill can't keep this up forever, so I guess she knows that he's just trying to hurt her.
Meanwhile, things are tough for BIll everywhere, as he has to get a loan to secure the clinic and Libby says that she wants him to give her another baby since he's got what he wanted in his new business, and she deserves to have what she wants too. With that, we jump forward a year to the fall of 1959, as Libby comes to visit the clinic with, you've got it, two babies in hand, and Betty lets it slip that she's taking real estate classes. Libby confronts BIll about a man who came to their house to reassess the property and finds out that BIll put the house up as collateral in a loan he never told her about. Bill says he's taking care of everything, but Libby isn't convinced. Later, BIll comes into the lobby to find his mother there waiting for him, after a long time apart. Essie tells him she's secretly been meeting with Libby and the kids for a year in Indiana, and that she has forgiven him for their fight and will keep secret his affair with Virginia. She also wants to help him with his money problems, which sets BIll off big time as he gets into a screaming match with Libby about going behind his back to enlist Essie's help. Libby won't apologize for it though, insisting that whatever his personal pain he's the only one who forces others to suffer along with him (I guess she's got you there, pal).
The two then go to a birthday party for Austin, where Holly has graduated from model to stripper, and Bill looks on jealously as Ginny has shown up with her latest boyfriend, Kenny. When Ginny introduces Kenny to Bill, he embarrasses her by going into detail about Ginny's "participation" in the study, which sends Ginny fleeing to the bathroom for a cigarette. While there she's met by Libby, who's in an equally foul mood, and who confides in her that she and Bill haven't had sex in a year and that he refuses to apologize for anything, thinking it makes him weak. Ginny seems to respond to that lack of intimacy confession by going straight to BIll and attempting to patch things up again, and Bill seems to bite this time, caressing her from behind as they look on at the party from the balcony. But then as he starts to apologize, she realizes he's mocking her as he pretends to say the things he thinks she should apologize for (again, all the other men) and she shoves him and runs out. BIll then goes to find a back-alley prostitute (apparently he's been doing this for a while) but discovers he's become impotent, as none have been able to do anything for him.
Another year passes, and Ginny sees her old boyfriend Shelly in the lobby of the building, and as they attempt an awkward conversation she realizes she can't remember anything about the guy, including his occupation or whether he has kids or not. Ouch. She then sees some of Lester's footage (he's been filming most of this episode, black and white documentary style) and sees herself straightening Bill's bowtie back during their days at maternity. This plus the run-in with the ex prompts her to try once more to reconcile with BIll, as she hands him a hotel key and says she'll wait for him there like in the old days. She also once more tells him he can't deny her some comfort outside their relationship because of Libby, and especially because none of the other men mean anything to her and what they have will always come first. BIll finally seems to relent this time, as he tells her that just because he goes to home to Libby, it doesn't mean he's not alone, and Ginny thinks that makes them fellow sufferers.
Meanwhile, Austin has Lester come to film a bachelor party for one of his pals, and sees on the dirty movie they show that his girlfriend Holly has now graduated to porn star. Burn. This bums him out and he tries to go back to his wife, telling her he'll be faithful this time, but she says it doesn't matter because she's moved on. I wonder how they're even going to integrate Austin into the cast anymore now that Masters and Johnson have gone off on their own. Bill and Ginny meet up at the hotel now, where BIll covers up his new impotence problem by saying he's going to make Ginny come with his mouth and hands only, which she seems into. Afterwards, she's happy that they've officially resumed their "work," but says they need to figure out a new place to meet, because they still aren't making enough money for regular hotel expenses. Bill asks new night manager Eliot if he can offer his services as hotel doctor in exchange for him waiving their fee, and though Eliot's happy Dr. and Mrs. Holden have patched things up (lol), he can't see that they'd need a radiologist at the hotel. He name drops Bill Masters as being the kind of doctor they could use. Ok, that was a little too cute, unless Eliot somehow knows he's really Dr. Masters (which he might, the scene was a little ambiguous about that, actually).
At the clinic, Barbara, Greathouse's secretary, comes in and wants to be a participant in the study, mostly so they could help her with a dysfunction because her vaginal opening is apparently closed. Virginia tells her that it disqualifies her from the study and Barbara is disappointed, but Ginny seems to have a new idea later on at Bill's during a birthday party for one of the kids. She asks him why they can't help the people who come to them with sexual dysfunctions and he appears to consider it. Libby then interrupts, asking Ginny if she'd bring her kids and join them on a vacation at the lake house. Ginny is unsure, but Libby thinks Bill's always nicer to be around when Ginny's there. Ok, with a comment like that I can't help but wonder if Libby probably knows all along about Virginia and BIll, and simply tolerates it. Essie shows up at the party at Bill's invitation, because he's finally decided to accept his mother as a presence in his life, because when he asked her to stay away the year before, this time she actually did it. Essie's happy to be there, and BIll lets it slip that he knows she and Libby managed to get the money to him somehow (Betty had told him profits were up 20% due to fertility patients) but he's going to let it slide because he's tired of fighting. Essie says that's the first step in moving on and tells him she's proud of everything he's become.
Whew. There was a lot of information to process in this one, but it was kinda cool how they managed to movie it all forward without making it feel like we skipped over anything too crucial. Frankly, I'm just happy that there was no more Libby the racist storyline, but it looks like next week Robert is reappearing, so I guess we'll see where that goes. If it leads to an affair, I can handle that, but please, no more Libby the racist. The actress is too sweet and she is so much better when not saddled with awful material like that. See you next week!
Repeat Winners and Record Breakers:
-Modern Family wins five Comedy Series emmys in a row, tying Frasier's record for most ever. Really? What do you guys think? Is this the best comedy in the history of television? Does it deserve to win over and over and over and over again? Or is everything else just that bad? What it mostly says to me is that I was right to worry that Orange is the New Black just might not be the kind of show that appeals to the conservative voters because of its subject matter- prison, working class people, all female cast, lesbians. So I guess we can look forward to Modern Family winning this award until the end of time or until Veep can be the one to dethrone it, because with Orange's total shutout tonight, I no longer think that show can be the one to do it.
-On the other hand, Breaking Bad's total sweep delighted me, from all the acting nominees winning (yay Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul and especially Bryan Cranston!! Woo-hoo!) to the writing and series awards. What this says to me is that the people voting for drama series are actually WATCHING those tapes! They really were, that's why True Detective won for directing (the 6-minute tracking shot in the submitted episode) as well. Bryan Cranston's win was well deserved, and I wish I'd have stuck it out with my faith in that tape of his, because I knew he would win if they were really voting based on the episode itself. And with his fourth win, he ties Denniz Franz from NYPD Blue for most wins in that category, while Aaron Paul set a new record in his, winning three times for the role of Jesse Pinkman, more than anyone else. I just wish I hadn't bet on Lizzy Caplan in actress. I should have realized Julianna Margulies made the most sense as a way to honor The Good Wife after it's great run last season (at least she was my second choice though).
-Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a five time Emmy winner and Allison Janney has six. These women are beloved by the TV academy and you should never, ever bet against them. They're now chasing Cloris Leachman's record of eight wins. Same goes for Jim Parsons I guess, who also ties a record with four wins for Best Comedy Actor (tying Carroll O'Connor, Michael J. Fox and Kelsey Grammer), although, man is that category weak.
Surprises:
-Um, hello? All that crazy Sherlock love! The show had never won anything before this year and now it has 7 Emmys! Where did that come from? To me that's inexplicable. All I can think is that The Normal Heart, for all its nominations and importance, just didn't to sit very well with the TV academy. They didn't even award Julia Roberts, preferring Kathy Bates from American Horror Story, of all things, Or, maybe they had never watched Sherlock ever, before this year, for some reason. It's a mystery.
-True Detective should have clearly submitted in miniseries, and I'm betting they will whenever the show comes back next year. HBO didn't do nearly as well as they normally do, so expect some category scrambling once more as each network tries to do whatever will benefit them the best, no matter what the category fraud. And of course, the academy will do nothing about it, preferring a free for all where all shows can label themselves whatever they want. Sigh. It's a mess.
The Show:
-Ugh. I thought it was pretty bad this year. Seth Meyers was not on his game, with most of his jokes falling embarrassingly flat, but the same goes for almost every presenter's forced "banter" or skit. The exceptions were Bryan Cranston accosting Julia Louis-Dreyfus with that makeout session on the way to the stage and Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey's digs at each other at the mic. Worst was Julia Roberts' extremely annoying presenting of Best Actor in a drama (gee, can you tell who she wanted to win?) and Weird Al's god awful rendition of fake lyrics for TV theme songs. So cringeworthy I had to look away. So, that's my take on this year. What did you guys think?
Well, it was a good night for the shows that won last year, as the Emmys went back to its usual repeat winners in most categories, and chose to shut out Orange is the New Black in favor of Modern Family again, as it now ties Frasier's record with five wins in the comedy series category. Breaking Bad also dominated, proving that the drama voters actually watched the tapes, resisting movie star McConaughey to instead make Bryan Cranston a four time winner. Here are the complete results:
DRAMA
• Series: Breaking Bad
• Lead Actor: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
• Lead Actress: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
• Supporting Actor: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
• Supporting Actress: Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
• Writing: Breaking Bad
• Directing: True Detective
COMEDY
• Series: Modern Family
• Lead Actress: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• Lead Actor: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
• Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, Mom
• Supporting Actor: Ty Burrell, Modern Family
• Writing: Louie
• Directing: Modern Family
MOVIE/MINISERIES
• Miniseries: Fargo
• TV Movie: The Normal Heart
• Lead Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: His Last Vow
• Lead Actress: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven
• Supporting Actor: Martin Freeman, Sherlock: His Last Vow
• Supporting Actress: Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Coven
• Writing: Sherlock: His Last Vow
• Directing: Fargo
VARIETY/REALITY
• Variety Series: The Colbert Report
• Reality-Competition Series: The Amazing Race
• Writing for a Variety Special: Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles
• Directing for a Variety Special: The 67th Annual Tony Awards
As you can see, the big upsets came in the miniseries categories, as the Emmy voters seem to have discovered Sherlock all of a sudden, awarding both Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, while also resisting Julia Roberts and Cicely Tyson for Kathy Bates and Jessica Lange. I don't quite know what to say about all that Sherlock love, except that they obviously didn't like The Normal Heart that much (that lone TV Movie win seems a little bit like a guilt vote since they liked none of the actors, or the writing and directing. More thoughts on the Emmy show to come later, as I once again did badly predicting these (a woeful 8/18)- as it turns out I should have gone with my alternate choices for a bunch of these categories (six of my alternates were right this year).
Sundance Channel's Rectify continued its second season in the same, haunting, mesmerizing fashion that encompassed its first. Back when the first season premiered with just six episodes in 2013, I wondered whether this slow, meditative, existential drama would be able to maintain itself into another year, but I needn't have worried. Rectify, if anything, came back stronger than ever, this time striking the perfect balance between investigating the mystery of Daniel Holden's past and holding onto that languorous, dreamlike storytelling that brings us inside the elusive ex-convict's head so deeply that we feel at times almost as lost as he is. Which for me, makes it one of the most compelling and gripping shows on TV, far more powerful in its effect than something like Hannibal, which may actually be its closest comparison believe it or not, in terms of portraying arthouse instinct on television.
We started off the second season with Daniel in a coma for three episodes, after his savage beating at the hands of Bobby Dean in last season's finale. But even though Daniel is unconscious, he is not off screen, because of course we're taken inside his head to his dream state, where we get what may be real or possibly imagined flashbacks to his time in prison and conversations with a fellow inmate, his friend Kerwin, who was executed some time before Daniel's release. These scenes are powerful on their own, but the thing I love so much about Rectify is its lack of structure. Daniel's time in prison is occasionally flashed back on, but other times not- it's not hampered by having to do it every episode; rather, it seems to show up only when necessary for the character. And it's the same for every single character on the show, not just Daniel. He's played again in a powerful, commanding performance from Aden Young, who gets plenty to do as Daniel recovers from his beating, tries to pick up on the time he missed out on, re-discovers his predilection for heavy drinking and drug use, and finally begins trying to put the pieces back together of the night of Hannah's murder.
But the characters that make up Daniel's immediate family and acquaintances are never given the short shrift. We get to intimately know his sister Amantha, his mother Janet, and his sister-in-law Tawney, who are all fully developed, interesting and three dimensional women, probably the most important characters on the show besides Daniel actually. All three have a different relationship to him and different internal goals, with Tawney especially, as his in-law and love interest, the most heartbreaking, as she continues to struggle this season with her undeniable, forcible attraction to Daniel completely overwhelming her interest in her own husband (if she ever really had any, which is questionable). Speaking of which, Clayne Crawford has a much bigger role this year as Teddy the annoying stepbrother, which I wasn't thrilled about at first, since he was my least favorite person on the show last year, but even he's given more dimension and if he doesn't quite garner sympathy, there is at least some understanding now from the audience, as we follow the aftermath of Daniel's assault on him last year. That actually plays a surprisingly big role in the development of the plot this time, as Teddy grows more and more jealous of Daniel, resentment taking over all his emotions and driving his actions.
Finally, the development of the police investigation also grew, led by the refreshingly professional sheriff, who wants to find out the truth and is continually stumped by the efforts of the evil Senator Foulkes, but it always at progresses at a completely natural and realistic pace. Just when we're tired of Daniel's wallowing in a haze of psychedelic drugs and ambiguous philosophical pondering, we get treated to a visit from Trey (the guy who murdered George last year), who immediately rouses our suspicions as he seems to plant theories in Daniel's head over what really happened, which actually has the effect of making us think that Daniel could very plausibly have been guilty as charged, or completely set up on the night in question. The suspense level in some of these scenes later in the season, as the show digs into the night of the murder, is almost unbearable, reminding me of Breaking Bad's ability to raise heart-tugging suspense out of fairly banal moments where nothing is actually happening.
Some might criticize the pace of a show like Rectify, which relishes its atmosphere (beautiful Georgia marshes again, which is both appropriately appealing and suffocating) and Southern Gothic storytelling, but I'm utterly enthralled by it. I love the setting, I'm mesmerized by the characters, I'm addicted to the mystery and the backstory...I really can't praise it enough. Happily, it's been renewed for a third season, which I'm already counting the days for (especially after a finale which left just about everything up in the air) because for me it's quite easily the best show of the year. It may not be for everyone, but it's the only show I watch that I just want to lose myself in by re-watching the episodes after they come out (which is something I never do). I just can't get enough of it. And I can say with certainty that there's nothing else on TV quite like it.
Grade: A
So now we get to my final predictions for all the top series awards. Aside from my Lizzy Caplan choice yesterday, I've been trying to play it pretty safe, and I'll continue to do so here.
Outstanding Drama Series
• Breaking Bad
• Downton Abbey
• Game of Thrones
• House of Cards
• Mad Men
• True Detective
Despite the buzz on True Detective in the early part of the year, I really think this award belongs to Breaking Bad again for the last season. Even though it aired a year ago now, the show was a mega phenomenon, and its final eight episodes were all incredible, far better than anything else on television. And the voters will be reminded of that when they have to look at all the tapes submitted. There just wasn't anything comparable and it's the last time they can ever reward it. I think it's a done deal.
Winner: Breaking Bad
Alternate: True Detective
Dark Horse: House of Cards (that's a pretty big long shot though).
Outstanding Comedy Series
• The Big Bang Theory
• Louie
• Modern Family
• Orange is the New Black
• Silicon Valley
• Veep
This is actually much tougher. On first glance, Orange definitely has the hype and the acclaim and the popularity- it would seem to be the perfect alternative to finally dethrone Modern Family, but I'm hesitant. For one thing, Modern Family had a better season this past year than the one before, and the tapes they submitted are undoubtedly funnier overall than anything Orange has, because that show is more of a dark comedy and sort of wobbles back and forth between comedy and drama. And also because the subject matter is edgy and controversial, involving prisoners and an almost entirely female cast- I'm not convinced this is the kind of show that the stodgy Emmy voters will respond to, even in the face of overwhelming buzz. Plus, Veep has actually been getting stronger at the Emmys every year, and they certainly love that cast- it's entirely possible that's more the kind of upscale show they prefer as an alternative. And hey, if votes end up split between those two shows, that may mean that Modern Family takes it once more (ugh). I'm unsure, but I'm going to assume they're sick and tired of watching Modern Family win and go with the newbie, although it's a three horse race and I wouldn't be very surprised to see any of them win.
Winner: Orange is the New Black
Alternate: Modern Family
Dark Horse: Veep
Outstanding Miniseries
• American Horror Story: Coven
• Bonnie & Clyde
• Fargo
• Luther
• Treme
• The White Queen
This is Fargo's for the taking. It would have been a far more interesting race if True Detective had submitted here as it should have. But since it didn't, it really has no competition and I'd be shocked if anything else won.
Winner: Fargo
Alternate: American Horror Story (very unlikely)
Dark Horse: none
Outstanding TV Movie
• Killing Kennedy
• Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
• The Normal Heart
• Sherlock: His Last Vow
• The Trip to Bountiful
The Normal Heart in a walk. It has a million nominations compared to everything else and it's on HBO.
Winner: The Normal Heart
Alternate: Sherlock (I'd give this maybe a 5% chance, although shouldn't the show be submitting in miniseries? What's with this ridiculous habit of calling one of its episodes a movie? The Emmy rules really need to be re-examined).
Dark Horse: none
Outstanding Variety Series
• The Colbert Report
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Jimmy Kimmel Live
• Real Time With Bill Maher
• Saturday Night Live
• The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
I'm gonna say Colbert again, because it won the writing award last week, but The Tonight Show has a real chance here, because it's extremely popular and Jimmy Fallon turned his tenure as host into a major success very quickly. And I guess never count out The Daily Show as well, the ten time winner. But this may also be the last time The Colbert Report is even nominated, so I think it's fitting for it to go out on a second win.
Winner: The Colbert Report
Alternate: The Tonight Show
Dark Horse: The Daily Show
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
• The Amazing Race
• Dancing With the Stars
• Project Runway
• So You Think You Can Dance
• Top Chef
• The Voice
Probably The Voice again. It's still popular, although, after Top Chef won a few years ago, they went right back to The Amazing Race the following year, so keep that in mind. But I'll stick with The Voice.
Winner: The Voice
Alternate: The Amazing Race
Dark Horse: Top Chef (the only other past winner in this category)
So, that's it. Tune in on Monday night for my Emmy results and recap of the show, where we get to see how much of a fool of myself I made this time, although I really did try to play it as safe as possible. Maybe that was a mistake, maybe not, but we'll see soon enough. Fingers crossed!
Here's a great nearly ten-minute blooper reel from the last season of Parks and Rec. The seventh and final year will only be thirteen episodes, so we should revel in what's left of the show while we can. Enjoy:
So here we go now with the drama categories. This is a little tougher, because there are some genuine wild cards here, with several viable contenders in every category.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
• Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
• Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
• Jon Hamm, Mad Men
• Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
• Woody Harrelson, True Detective
• Matthew McConaughey, True Detective
So, this would appear to be between Matthew McConaughey for True Detective and Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad's final season. The thing is, because of McConaughey's star power, the fact that he just won the Oscar, this is his only chance to win the Emmy due to True Detective's one-off season, and he's a big movie star deigning to come down to TV- I kinda think he's got it in the bag. But if they're actually voting strictly on the episodes, which they sometimes do (see how Jeff Daniels won last year), then Cranston should blow everyone else out of the water. The episode he sent in was the best episode in the entire history of Breaking Bad. But I don't know if they can bring themselves to vote on just the episode when there's such a big movie star name on the ballot.
Winner: Matthew McConaughey
Alternate: Bryan Cranston
Dark Horse: Woody Harrelson (who knows, maybe the two different True Detective episodes will actually help the beloved TV vet Harrelson and not McConaughey. I'd say it's possible, but not likely).
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
• Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
• Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
• Claire Danes, Homeland
• Robin Wright, House of Cards
• Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex
• Kerry Washington, Scandal
Ok, now this one is a complete shot in the dark. Seriously, any one of these six women could win here, based on the episodes themselves, and various external factors that each have going for them. Claire Danes is a two time winner here, and her episode is great, but Homeland as a whole has fallen off the Emmy radar this year. Julianna Margulies is also a two time winner, and The Good Wife had a great season, although it was snubbed in series. Robin Wright has a hot show right now but sent in an episode that she wasn't in much of, and Kerry Washington may be seen as overdue, especially because there still has not been a black actress to win this category to date. Dockery actually has a pretty good episode here for once, and Downton is still a series nominee when most of these other shows aren't, and finally there's Lizzy Caplan, the newcomer, who also has a good episode and might be seen as something of a discovery, being the only first time nominee. Danes and Margulies might be the safer bets, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here.
Winner: Lizzy Caplan (that's right, I'm choosing the newbie, betting that she's going to stand out against all the other repeaters, but I'm consciously taking a big risk with this prediction)
Alternate: Julianna Margulies
Dark Horse: Danes, Wright, Washington or Dockery (no true dark horse- like I said, I think all of them have an about equal chance of winning)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
• Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
• Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
• Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
• Josh Charles, The Good Wife
• Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
• Jon Voight, Ray Donovan
The guys that sent in the best episodes this year in this category were Aaron Paul and Peter Dinklage, with Mandy Patinkin as the spoiler. I'm torn between Dinklage and Paul- on the one hand, this is Breaking Bad's last year and it's an episode that's similar to the ones Paul won for in the past, but Peter Dinklage has a great speech at the end of his episode that's even better and more dramatic than the one he won for back in the first season of Game of Thrones. I'm going to have to flip a coin.
Winner: Aaron Paul (good will for the final season will carry him through)
Alternate: Peter Dinklage
Dark Horse: Mandy Patinkin (he's really a lead in his episode and I think it's the best one he's ever submitted, but we'll see if there's any affection left for Homeland at all).
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
• Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
• Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
• Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
• Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
• Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
• Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
I'm going to bet on Anna Gunn in this category, because she also sent in "Ozymandias," the best Breaking Bad episode ever, and she's heartbreaking in it, so I think she'll win for the second year in a row. Realistic alternatives besides her would be Christine Baranski, Maggie Smith (never count her out) and Joanne Froggatt, who had a very dramatic episode this past season as well. But I think Anna Gunn will pull this one out.
Winner: Anna Gunn
Alternate: Christine Baranski
Dark Horse: Joanne Froggatt
That's right, Walt and Jesse are back together, now running a Barely Legal Pawn shop where Julia Louis-Dreyfus stops by to pawn her Seinfeld emmy. It's pretty funny as a teaser for the Emmys next week- Cranston and Dreyfus are always game for these celebrity spoof videos:
Time to suss out the comedy races, which are most often prone to repeat winners these days. But with Orange is the New Black now coming into the race with a lot of heat, we'll see if any of those actresses can pull off a surprise win, like Uzo Aduba did for guest actress.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
• Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
• Ricky Gervais, Derek
• Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
• Don Cheadle, House of Lies
• Louis C.K., Louie
• William H. Macy, Shameless
I'm going to go very safe with this category and predict Jim Parsons to win a fourth. I know that sounds excessive, but a realistic alternative is really just Ricky Gervais, who the Emmys like and actually have rewarded before, for Extras. But this show Derek, on Netflix, is very divisive and his character a bit perplexing, so I'm not sure how likely it is that they'd go for him here. Still, if they're tired of Parsons at all, Gervais is probably the spoiler.
Winner: Jim Parsons
Alternate: Ricky Gervais
Dark Horse: William H. Macy (respected actor plus a baity role).
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
• Lena Dunham, Girls
• Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
• Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
• Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black
• Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Again, I'm choosing to play it safe and say Julia Louis-Dreyfus wins her third in a row. Her submitted episode has some really funny moments, the Academy just loves her right now, and they have given out plenty of third wins in a row in their history. If anyone else can take it, it might be Melissa McCarthy, who's won before for Mike & Molly, is also very popular, and submitted a very good episode that showed a lot of range, comedy as well as emotion, which they like. But Julia's the safe bet.
Winner: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Alternate: Melissa McCarthy
Dark Horse: Taylor Schilling (I don't really believe this will happen, but the show is the hot new thing at the moment, so she may have a slight chance).
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
• Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• Adam Driver, Girls
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
• Ty Burrell, Modern Family
• Fred Armisen, Portlandia
• Tony Hale, Veep
There's not a real outstanding episode among this group, so I'm thinking they'll finally award Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who's been nominated every year for Modern Family and hasn't won yet. His episode has a great emotional moment as well as funny ones, and the season was built around Mitch and Cam's wedding storyline, so it'd be a way to recognize that. But frankly, any of these guys could win except for probably Adam Driver, including last year's winner Tony Hale, who has another great moment in his episode.
Winner: Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Alternate: Tony Hale
Dark Horse: Ty Burrell (just because you should never count him out, and he won the SAG recently).
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
• Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
• Julie Bowen, Modern Family
• Allison Janney, Mom
• Kate Mulgrew, Orange is the New Black
• Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
• Anna Chlumsky, Veep
I think this is between newcomers Kate Mulgrew and Allison Janney, who both have great episodes and veteran status in their favor. Janney is beloved by the Emmys (she just won a sixth for guest actress the other day), but Mom was not a show they embraced on the whole, while Mulgrew is a longtime unrecognized figure in the industry who's a scene stealer on the hot new show of the moment. I think it's going to be Mulgrew as a way to honor Orange is the New Black.
Winner: Kate Mulgrew
Alternate: Allison Janney
Dark Horse: Julie Bowen (default status, but I'd honestly be pretty surprised if it was anyone other than those first two).
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
