'This is Us' and 'Veep' Win Top SAG Awards

The Handmaid's Tale whiffed tonight, with Claire Foy taking it from Elisabeth Moss (damn! should have stuck with my first instinct on that one) and NBC's This is Us taking ensemble. I also should have considered that they might move over to Veep on the comedy side, given that that show hadn't won here yet. What was I thinking? Nice to see a couple of surprises at least, in the TV categories. 

SAG WINNERS:

• MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: William H. Macy, Shameless
• FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES: Veep
• MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Sterling K. Brown, This is Us
• FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Claire Foy, The Crown
• ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES: This is Us
• MALE ACTOR IN A MINISERIES/TV MOVIE: Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies
• FEMALE ACTOR IN A MINISERIES/TV MOVIE: Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies

SAG TV Predictions

TV predictions are a shot in the dark, but here goes:

MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA

• Jason Bateman- Ozark
• Sterling K. Brown- This is Us
• Peter Dinklage- Game of Thrones
• David Harbour- Stranger Things
• Bob Odenkirk- Better Call Saul

SAG likes to go to veterans, but in this case I bet it will be the Emmy and Golden Globe winner Sterling K. Brown.

Winner: Sterling K. Brown

Alternate: David Harbour

Spoiler: Bob Odenkirk

FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA

• Mille Bobby Brown- Stranger Things
• Claire Foy- The Crown
• Laura Linney- Ozark
• Elisabeth Moss- The Handmaid’s Tale
• Robin Wright- House of Cards

I would say probably Elisabeth Moss again, but I could see Claire Foy getting this, since it was her last turn as the young Queen Elizabeth II. But safest bet is to stick with Moss.

Winner: Elisabeth Moss

Alternate: Claire Foy

Spoiler: Robin Wright

MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY

• Anthony Anderson- Black-ish
• Aziz Ansari- Master of None
• Larry David- Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Sean Hayes- Will & Grace
• William H. Macy- Shameless
• Marc Maron- GLOW

Macy has been on a streak lately at SAG, and I’m not sure if they’re ready to go to someone else yet. Could go back to returning vets Larry David or Sean Hayes, could be Aziz Ansari. Or maybe there’s too many vote splits with the newcomers and Macy just takes it again. Stumped on this one.

Winner: William H. Macy

Alternate: Aziz Ansari

Spoiler: Larry David

FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY

• Uzo Aduba- Orange is the New Black
• Alison Brie- GLOW
• Jane Fonda- Grace and Frankie
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus- Veep
• Lily Tomlin- Grace and Frankie

This has bounced back and forth between Uzo Aduba and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for several years now, and I don’t think it will change hands yet. Julia for the win. Again.

Winner: Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Alternate: Uzo Aduba

Spoiler: Jane Fonda

MALE ACTOR IN A MINISERIES/TV MOVIE

• Benedict Cumberbatch- Sherlock: The Lying Detective
• Jeff Daniels- Godless
• Robert DeNiro- The Wizard of Lies
• Geoffrey Rush- Genius
• Alexander Skarsgard- Big Little Lies

As you can see, these categories combine supporting and lead, so is that enough to give Robert DeNiro the win over Alexander Skarsgard? Given SAG’s love of vets, I’m gonna say yes.

Winner: Robert DeNiro

Alternate: Alexander Skarsgard

FEMALE ACTOR IN A MINISERIES/TV MOVIE

• Laura Dern- Big Little Lies
• Nicole Kidman- Big Little Lies
• Jessica Lange- Feud: Bette and Joan
• Susan Sarandon- Feud: Bette and Joan
• Reese Witherspoon- Big Little Lies

Don’t think anyone is taking this away from Nicole Kidman.

Winner: Nicole Kidman

Alternate: Jessica Lange

ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA

• The Crown
• Game of Thrones
• The Handmaid’s Tale
• Stranger Things
• This is Us

Stranger Things won it last year, can it do it again? The ensemble award tends to repeat for a while, yet The Handmaid’s Tale was such a big cast and the show so hyped. Going with Handmaid.

Winner: The Handmaid’s Tale

Alternate: Stranger Things

ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY

• Black-ish
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• GLOW
• Orange is the New Black
• Veep

I think this will go to the cast of GLOW, which is pretty massive and almost entirely female. Would be very deserving too.

Winner: GLOW

Alternate: Orange is the New Black (has won this multiple times, but I think they’re ready to move on)

'The Handmaid's Tale' Returns for Season 2 on April 25

Hulu's award-winning The Handmaid's Tale comes back on April 25th for its second season, and debuted a new teaser today with some haunting imagery. I was sort of mixed on Season 1 to be honest, but I'm going to watch the second because I'm really curious to see what happens now that it's gone beyond Margaret Atwood's original book. I think my feelings were highly influenced by having read the novel beforehand, and now that it can do whatever it wants, I may be less constrained by the material in my own head.

'Big Little Lies,' 'Handmaid's Tale' Win at Critics Choice Awards

These were mostly routine, although a couple of little surprises came through, like Ted Danson for The Good Place and Jimmy Kimmel for Best Talk Show. Otherwise though, it seems a lot of the TV awards are lining up with each other this year, at least for the big stuff. There's usually a little more variety than this.

• BEST COMEDY SERIES: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Ted Danson, The Good Place
• BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Walton Goggins, Vice Principals
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
• BEST DRAMA SERIES: The Handmaid’s Tale
• BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
• BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: David Harbour, Stranger Things
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale
• BEST LIMITED SERIES: Big Little Lies
• BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TV: The Wizard of Lies
• BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES: Ewan McGregor, Fargo
• BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES: Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES: Alexander Skarsgård, Big Little Lies
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES: Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
• BEST TALK SHOW: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• BEST ANIMATED SERIES: Rick and Morty
• BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SERIES: Born This Way
• BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SERIES: Shark Tank
• BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES: The Voice
• BEST REALITY SHOW HOST: RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race

'Silicon Valley' Returns in March for Season 5 Without T.J. Miller

The first trailer for Season 5 of HBO's hit shows the guys for the first time without Erlich Bachman in the gang. T.J. Miller announced his departure very publicly from the show last summer to conflicting views from fans and critics, but with the recent accusations of sexual assault against him, the show and the network are probably relieved he left when he did. For the record, I predict the show survives just fine without him. The ensemble cast is good enough all around to carry it forward with no problems, and hopefully it leads to more screen time for its female characters, Monica (Amanda Crew) and Laurie (Suzanne Cryer), who remain underused for the most part. 

'UnReal' Finally Returns With a Female Suitor for Season 3

It's been so long since the second season of Lifetime's UnReal that they're probably hoping you forgot how widely panned that season was. Still, I'll give this new one a chance, although it's curious that it's been wrapped and kinda sitting on the shelf for a while now (the show's already moved into production for Season 4). They're finally doing a take on The Bachelorette instead of The Bachelor, but who knows how that's gonna go, since I'm pretty sure the creator/showrunner claimed to prefer writing female characters as the contestants. I have always liked Caitlin Fitzgerald in everything she's been in from Masters of Sex to Rectify. It returns on Monday, February 26th at 10pm.

'Big Little Lies,' 'Handmaid's Tale' and 'Mrs. Maisel' Take Top Globes on TV Side

It was a big night for female dominated shows, as Big Little Lies, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and The Handmaid's Tale all won top honors. This was one of my better years predicting, as I went 8 for 11. 

• Best Supporting Actor: Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies
• Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
• Best Actress in Miniseries/TV Movie: Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
• Best Actor in a Miniseries/TV Movie: Ewan McGregor, Fargo
• Best Miniseries/TV Movie: Big Little Lies
• Best Actress in a Drama: Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
• Best Actor in a Drama: Sterling K. Brown, This is Us
• Best Drama Series: The Handmaid’s Tale
• Best Actress in a Comedy: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Best Actor in a Comedy: Aziz Ansari, Master of None
• Best Comedy Series: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Golden Globe TV Predictions

Okay, TV time! The Globe Awards for TV are always a pretty meaningless grab bag of whatever it is this odd group of 90 older, foreign journalists happened to like best, so there’s no big secret to predicting in these categories. They tend to have a history of liking new, first season shows and bigger name winners, but that’s about it, and even that gets varied up from time to time. Let’s dive in.

BEST DRAMA SERIES

• The Crown
• Game of Thrones
• The Handmaid’s Tale
• Stranger Things
• This is Us

Gonna go with Handmaid’s Tale. It’s the buzziest new first season show, so I think they’ll want to jump on that Emmy bandwagon.

Winner: The Handmaid’s Tale

Alternate: The Crown

Dark Horse: This is Us

BEST COMEDY SERIES

• Black-ish
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Master of None
• SMILF
• Will & Grace

Be kinda funny if Will & Grace could win for its comeback after more than a decade, but…I’m thinking the Globes will choose the brand new Mrs. Maisel show (which I haven’t seen one second of. Not an Amy Sherman-Palladino fan).

Winner: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Alternate: Will & Grace

BEST ACTOR- DRAMA

• Jason Bateman, Ozark
• Sterling K. Brown, This is Us
• Freddie Highmore, The Good Doctor
• Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
• Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Eh- I think probably Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown? He’s new, he’s popular, and they liked the show, since it’s nominated.

Winner: Sterling K. Brown

Alternate: Freddie Highmore

BEST ACTRESS- DRAMA

• Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
• Claire Foy, The Crown
• Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Deuce
• Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why
• Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale

I think Elisabeth Moss will win, but I could see it going to newcomer Katherine Langford as well, which would be a kind of Golden Globes thing to do.

Winner: Elisabeth Moss

Alternate: Katherine Langford

BEST ACTOR- COMEDY

• Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
• Aziz Ansari, Master of None
• Kevin Bacon, I Love Dick
• William H. Macy, Shameless
• Eric McCormack, Will & Grace

I feel like Kevin Bacon will win this, for some reason. Big name, veteran actor. Also a very Globes thing to do, but maybe Eric McCormack could take it.

Winner: Kevin Bacon

Alternate: Eric McCormack

BEST ACTRESS- COMEDY

• Pamela Adlon, Better Things
• Alison Brie, GLOW
• Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Issa Rae- Insecure
• Frankie Shaw, SMILF

I would love to see Alison Brie or Issa Rae win, and since both are new I could see it happening. But neither of their shows are nominated, so I’m thinking they’ll pick Brosnahan, whose show made it into the series category.

Winner: Rachel Brosnahan

Alternate: Issa Rae

Dark Horse: Alison Brie

BEST ACTOR- MINISERIES/TV MOVIE

• Robert DeNiro, The Wizard of Lies
• Jude Law, The Young Pope
• Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks
• Ewan McGregor, Fargo
• Geoffrey Rush, Genius

Ummm…going with Jude Law. That show made more of a splash overseas than here, I think, and the HFPA are mostly European, so there you go. Plus he’s a big movie name.

Winner: Jude Law

Alternate: Kyle MacLachlan

BEST ACTRESS- MINISERIES/TV MOVIE

• Jessica Biel, The Sinner
• Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
• Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan
• Susan Sarandon, Feud: Bette and Joan
• Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies

This category’s packed with big movie names, but going to go with Emmy winner and Globe darling Nicole Kidman here. Jessica Lange in a distant second.

Winner: Nicole Kidman

Alternate: Jessica Lange

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• David Harbour, Stranger Things
• Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette and Joan
• Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies
• Christian Slater, Mr. Robot
• David Thewlis, Fargo

I don’t know…maybe Skarsgard? He won the Emmy for this too, surprisingly. I’m assuming they’re going to fall all over themselves for Big Little Lies, like the Emmys did, so perhaps it’ll just clean up.

Winner: Alexander Skarsgard

Alternate: Alfred Molina

Dark Horse: David Thewlis

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
• Ann Down, The Handmaid’s Tale
• Chrissy Metz, This is Us
• Michelle Pfeiffer, The Wizard of Lies
• Shailene Woodley, BIg Little Lies

Again, the Emmy winner was Laura Dern, but I have a feeling Chrissy Metz could take this. The Globes don’t always follow the Emmy precedent. I might as well take a chance somewhere.

Winner: Chrissy Metz

Alternate: Laura Dern

BEST MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE

• Big Little Lies
• Fargo
• Feud: Bette and Joan
• The Sinner
• Top of the Lake: China Girl

Big Little Lies, for sure. It led the nominations, it’s HBO, it’s the most popular. It will win.

Winner: Big Little Lies

Alternate: Feud: Bette and Joan

Top 10 Shows of 2017

To kiss off 2017, here were the top ten shows I enjoyed the most. I thought this year was a slight comedown in terms of quality, at least compared to recent years, but that's because some of my favorite shows produced some "down" seasons. Still, this is what came out on top:

1. THE VIETNAM WAR

A grueling, engrossing 18-hour experience that documents the war, the times, the fighters on both sides, the government, the citizens, everything you'd ever need to know about this defining era in American history. Like the best documentaries, what it masterfully provides is context for what happened then so you can read into what's still happening now. A can't miss.

2. CASUAL SEASON 3

I'm one of about three people who actually watches this show, which is too bad, because many are really missing out. Sadly, that's why the fourth season will be its last, but Hulu's family dramedy is really something special and will be missed. This last season was its best yet, as the cast keeps on shining and the show continues the reveal the depths of the sibling relationship at its center by exploring Alex and Valerie's past. Funny, real, filled with pathos and heart, but not sentimentality. I love it.

3. FARGO SEASON 3

Amazingly, Noah Hawley wrote another quality season of Fargo without repeating himself. This one gave us another female cop heroine (Carrie Coon), a dual performance by Ewan MacGregor and a deliciously repulsive villain in David Thewlis. It packed a particularly powerful punch in a finale that took aim at the heart of 2017, asking us about who "wins" versus who deserves to, or whether anything truly matters at all.

4. AMERICAN HORROR STORY: CULT

Yup. I never watched any other season of this show, but this one gave me the murderous catharsis that I was looking for this year. Evan Peters kills it as an insane alt-right cult leader (and impersonates several famous ones in history) while Sarah Paulsen gives us the vengeance we deserve. If only.

5. THE CROWN SEASON 2

A glorious second season is in lockstep with the quality of the first, enhancing our intimate knowledge of the royal family as the 1960's roll onward. With deepening looks at Philip and Margaret's shenanigans, it's Claire Foy who stays majestic as the stoic Elizabeth, doing more with subtle looks and unemotional rigidness than most actors can do when given tantrums and hysterics to work with. It's going to be hard to get used to a new Queen when the show recasts for its third season.

6. BROADCHURCH SEASON 3

I loved this show's first season and hated the second one, so it was SO nice to see it reclaim its former glory with a story centered on a serial rapist terrorizing the town, with Hardy and Miller on the case. A much better note for the show to go out on. 

7. FEUD SEASON 1

For Old Hollywood junkies like me, this was like candy. Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon relish playing Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, respectively, but Joan's story gets the most poignancy in the end, as the show manages to garner some sympathy for her tragic life. Filled with trivia and great performances from Stanley Tucci and Alfred Molina, its commentary on the lasting effects of how women are treated in Hollywood resonates even more as we go through what's happening today.

8. CATASTROPHE SEASON 3

A darker, more serious tone for this show is still entertaining and packs a punch, especially since death and alcoholism are some of the themes Sharon and Rob have to deal with, now that they have two little kids and financial problems. It's still hilariously funny of course.

9. LEGION SEASON 1

Probably the most innovative new show of the year, also from Noah Hawley, and unlike any other superhero show on TV, even though it's dealing with a character who's technically part of the X-Men. It's almost pointless to explain it- you just have to be willing to submit to all eight episodes and experience it yourself. Headtrip doesn't begin to describe this.

10. GLOW SEASON 1

A lovely surprise this summer, as this delightful ensemble looks at the origins of women's wrestling on TV in the 1980's. Funny, fresh and smartly cast, especially leads Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin as frenemies Ruth and Debbie, while Marc Maron brings exactly the right amount of crabby cynicism to the proceedings. Kinda reminds of a series version of A League of Their Own.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Big Little Lies, Stranger Things 2, Orphan Black S5, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt S3, Underground S2, Planet Earth II

'Underground' Season 2 Starts March 8th

One of the best new shows of last year was WGN's Underground, which returns for its second season in just a couple of weeks. This year they cast Aisha Hinds to star as Harriet Tubman and I cannot wait. Looks amazing.