2012 Emmy Predictions

The 2012 Emmy nominations will be announced tomorrow, so I thought I’d post some last-minute predictions for the major categories. My predictions are ranked in order of who I think is most likely to receive a nomination. (In other words, just because I have something ranked as #1, it doesn’t necessarily mean I think it will end up winning the category.)

Best Comedy Series

1. Modern Family
2. Parks and Recreation
3. 30 Rock
4. The Big Bang Theory
5. Curb Your Enthusiasm
6. Girls

Alternates:

1. New Girl
2. Two and a Half Men
3. Louie

Thoughts: I feel pretty confident in the first three. The Big Bang Theory and Curb Your Enthusiasm seem like reliable bets, given their history at the Emmys. (But are people getting tired of either/both?)The sixth spot is more difficult to predict. Will voters go for the trendy cable buzz of Girls, or the broad network comedy of New Girl? I’m betting the former, especially since there are already a lot of network shows in the mix.

Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

1. Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
2. Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
3. Louis C.K., Louie
4. Don Cheadle, House of Lies
5. Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
6. John Cryer, Two and a Half Men

Alternates:

1. Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
2. Aston Kutcher, Two and a Half Men
3. Will Arnett, Up All Night

Thoughts: The first three are basically locked in. Cheadle’s show is very small, but I think he’s respected enough to get in. David and his show have had a strong run with the Emmy’s. But then we have the matter of Two and a Half Men. Will the Emmy’s recognize the reliable veteran of the show (Cryer, who was nominated in the supporting category last year), or its splashy new star (Kutcher)? Or neither? Galecki was nominated last year, so I definitely wouldn’t count him out, either.

Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

1. Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
2. Tina Fey, 30 Rock
3. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
4. Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
5. Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
6. Melissa McCarthy, Mike and Molly

Alternates:

1. Laura Dern, Enlightened
2. Laura Linney, The Big C
3. Lena Dunham, Girls

Thoughts: This is a packed category. The first three ladies are in. Deschanel probably has the right combo of star power and a hit show. The next two spots are honestly a toss-up, and I could see any of the above names getting in.

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

1. Ty Burrell, Modern Family
2. Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
3. Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
4. Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
5. Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation
6. Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother

Alternates:

1. Chris Colfer, Glee
2. Max Greenfield, New Girl

Thoughts: All the Modern Family dudes are in. (Can it be Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s turn to win this year? Please?) I think Offerman will finally get his well-deserved nomination. Sixth spot could go to either Harris or Colfer. I think the fading interest in Glee from both the Emmys and the general population could cost Colfer his nom this year.

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

1. Julie Bowen, Modern Family
2. Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
3. Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
4. Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
5. Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
6. Cloris Leachman, Raising Hope

Alternates:

1. Jane Lynch, Glee
2. Maya Rudolph, Up All Night
3. Cheryl Hines, Suburgatory

Thoughts: A bit of a blah category, if you ask me (though I’d love to see Wiig win). The first four are very likely to get in. Betty White always gets nominated for things. I can’t really come up with a compelling sixth name, so I’ll go with veteran actress Leachman. I don’t think Lynch had enough to do this season to get in.

Best Drama Series

1. Mad Men
2. Breaking Bad
3. Game of Thrones
4. Homeland
5. Boardwalk Empire
6. Downton Abbey

Alternates:

1. The Good Wife
2. House
3. Dexter

Thoughts: I feel fairly confident in those six choices. They seem like the hot, critically acclaimed shows right now. However, if the Emmy’s want to include at least one network show, they could go with their beloved Good Wife, or they could send House off with one last nomination.

Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series

1. Jon Hamm, Mad Men
2. Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
3. Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
4. Damian Lewis, Homeland
5. Hugh Laurie, House
6. Kelsey Grammar, Boss

Alternates:

1. Michael C. Hall, Dexter
2. Timothy Olyphant, Justified
3. Dustin Hoffman, Luck

Thoughts: Hamm and Cranston are obviously in. Buscemi and Lewis are also very likely, I think. Laurie, who has been nominated (and lost) for the last six years in a row will probably be recognized for his final season. (Could he even be a dark horse to win?) Will Michael C. Hall’s own nomination streak end in favour of Grammar’s new show? It’s hard to say, but I’m guessing yes.

Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series

1. Claire Danes, Homeland
2. Juliana Margulies, The Good Wife
3. Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
4. Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: SVU
5. Glenn Close, Damages
6. Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Alternates:

1. Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
2. Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
3. Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey

Thoughts: The first three are in, and I say the Emmy is Danes’ to lose. Harigtay has been nominated for the past eight years, so why would she stop being nominated now? (She won back in 2006.) Glenn Close also seems likely. Tough call for the sixth spot. Even though Sedgwick missed out on the nomination last year and Bates got in, I’m going with Sedgwick.

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

1. Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
2. Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
3. John Slatery, Mad Men
4. Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad
5. Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
6. Mandy Patinkin, Homeland

Alternates:

1. Walton Goggins, Justified
2. Nick Nolte, Luck
3. John Goodman, Damages

Thoughts: First three seem like solid bets. I’d say Esposito is likely. Then it gets tough. This is what we call guessing.

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

1. Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
2. Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
3. Kelly MacDonald, Boardwalk Empire
4. Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
5. Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
6. Rose Byrne, Damages

Alternates:

1. Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
2. Michelle Forbes, The Killing
3. Angelica Huston, Smash

Thoughts: Well, it seems like there are six spots and seven ladies with a chance at filling them. I could see anyone but Smith or Hendricks missing out, but I’m guessing Gunn right now. I haven’t seen the fourth season of Breaking Bad yet, but based on the first three, she doesn’t really seem Emmy-worthy.

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Entertainment Weekly Answers Today’s Burning Question…

Where’s Adam Scott?

Amidst the excitement of Parks and Recreation gracing the cover of Entertainment Weekly, many fans were quick to question the absence of Adam Scott (a newly appointed P&R regular). Well, Entertainment Weekly has defended themselves, explaining on their website that Scott had been stuck in New York while filming Friends With Kids (a movie slated for 2012 release with Jon Hamm and Megan Fox) due to a snow storm. They also included the following statement from Scott (which was the real reason behind me posting this thing):

“Being a lifelong New Yorker (I grew up in Northern California and live in Los Angeles), when Entertainment Weekly called and begged me to be on the cover of their magazine (the show I’m on, Parks and Rec, was going to be on the cover, and thus I would ride its coattails) and that the shoot would be anywhere but Manhattan, I, of course, said no (yes).

To even consider leaving my fair city (I’ve never lived here) makes me literally vomit (not literally, actually not at all). So the decision was easy: I’d triumphantly stay in New York (I’m working on a movie here, and due to a giant storm, all flights were cancelled) while my fellow castmates mug it up in EW (I’m a subscriber). Victory (devastation)!!!

Mine (yours),

Nick Offerman (Adam Scott)”

Half a Review of Parks and Recreation, Half a Post of Fawning Over Adam Scott

Hey, remember when I said that Adam Scott was the actor that we most needed to see more of? Of course you don’t. But the important thing (which isn’t actually important at all) is that my admiration has blossomed into full grown fangirling. I’m not proud of it, but it’s the truth.

I am LOVING him as Ben on Parks and Recreation. I’m really glad that he and Rob “Stop Pooping” Lowe are in it for the long haul. I’m normally dubious when new major characters are introduced into shows that already work (remember Oliver on The Brady Bunch? That is, if you count The Brady Bunch as “working”), but I think the two of them add a lot. And Rob Lowe is fucking funny.

The show is definitely setting us up for a Leslie/Ben romance, and it has been from the start, and I am totally down for that. I really enjoy April and Andy’s relationship (which, after briefly stalling, took a turn for the more hopeful in the time capsule episode), and I hope they don’t abandon that, but I love Leslie and Ben even more. Amy and Adam have great chemistry, and I love how their characters bring out the best in each other. The relationships on Parks and Recreation are never rushed, and even though they’re really well developed, I like that they never overpower the show (though part of me just really, really wants Ben and Leslie to get together…I think I need a life).

This is probably my favourite show on TV right now. The third season, which just recently started, is already great at only three episodes in. I especially loved the second episode, “Flu Season”. Amy Poehler was hilarious as a deliriously ill but predictably determined Leslie (“The floor and wall just switched…Walk very carefully”).

It’s a show that’s always consistent with the laughs, but also really warm-spirited; I think that’s where “quirky” shows like Community falter a bit – even Arrested Development. I love both shows, and it’s some of the funniest television I’ve seen, but the humour is so stylized and zany that it keeps the audience at a distance. Some of the characters are so over the top (and I love Gob Bluth for it!) that it’s hard to really care about them. But even Parks and Recreation‘s most ridiculous characters (and let’s face, pretty much everyone except Ben and Anne would fit into that category) are still very human and weirdly relatable. Ron just wants to be left alone, Tom is desperate to fit in – it’s stuff that everyone feels, at least occasionally. The humour is always really on point, but it’s the characters that are really Parks and Recreation‘s strongest suit. There’s not a throwaway character in the bunch (well, okay, maybe Anne just a little bit…)

Oh, but that’s not all. Thanks to the beauty of YouTube, I have started watching Adam Scott’s previous sitcom, Party Down. (Side note: I don’t know how to refer to him. Calling him “Adam” seems creepy, but “Scott” seems way too formal for such a frivolous post. So I think I’ll just stick with his full name. Because that’s completely normal…) The show aired for two seasons on the U.S. cable station Starz, but was cancelled last year. I’ve only seen the first episode so far, but it made me chortle (yes, chortle) several times. Adam Scott is completely and utterly charming, as usual, and I love Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, and Jane Lynch, too. Quality television all around.