Limb-stepping time, in terms of winning choices for this year’s Emmy Awards. Here’s my roundup of how the major categories will go down. Love hearing whether you agree or disagree, so feel free to comment below. Fox will televise the Emmy Awards Sunday, Sept. 18.
Comedy Series: Modern Family
No sophomore slump here. The best comedy series in recent years maintained its freshness and multi-generational perspectives in year two. A great cast and production team continues to break sitcom ground, and many people can’t wait for season three’s beginning.
Actor/Comedy Series: Steve Carrell, The Office
This one will be a make-up for all the times Carrell missed in this category the last few years. His time on The Office is over, so now it’s time for reward for all Carrell brought to this series’ table.
Actress/Comedy Series: Laura Linney, The Big C
Make it three years in a row that someone from a Showtime series picked up this Emmy, following Toni Collette from United States Of Tara two years ago and Edie Falco of Nurse Jackie last year. It’s a fine line to draw humor from a woman living day-by-day under the cloud of cancer, and Linney walks it beautifully.
Drama Series: Boardwalk Empire
Mad Men’s own three-year streak winning this category comes to an end, thanks to HBO’s atmospheric and well-realized vision of Prohibition times in Atlantic City. Amazing what a huge budget will do ($50 million-plus for the first episode alone) when put in capable hands, among them creator/lead writer Terence Winter and executive producer/director Martin Scorcese.
Actor/Drama Series: Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Thanks to the absence of Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, another three-year streak ends for sure. Case of perennial bridesmaid Hamm, heart and soul of Mad Men, breaking through at last. Extremely deserved, Jon.
Actress/Drama Series: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Whether you consider The Good Wife workplace drama, legal drama or personal drama, Margulies shines as someone not willing to play victim to her circumstances, self-generated or not. Just like Modern Family, Margulies expanded the scope of her performance in year two while keeping it fresh and unpredictable.
Movie/Miniseries: Mildred Pierce
I almost don’t want to pick a winner here, because of the Emmy’s lame-brained decision to combine the movie and miniseries categories, insulting everyone involved in the business of producing work in either genre. In hopes this will be a one-year occurence, going back to two seperate categories in 2012, I’ll settle on Mildred, thanks to Kate Winslet’s title performance and the effort to recreate James M. Cain’s novel in its full glory, way beyond the classic Joan Crawford movie.
Variety Series: The Colbert Report
Jon Stewart, you’ve dominated this category long enough. Time for your companion satire to get some love.
Reality Series: Undercover Boss
Wonderful, eye-opening picture of how workplaces work, don’t work, and how they can work when company leaders see for themselves what’s going on.
Reality Competition Series: So You Think You Can Dance
Wish this could tie with Dancing With The Stars, since both series have made dance a hot commodity on TV. Plus Dancing director Alex Rudniski continues to be denied nominations for his outstanding work, such as the “Dreams” performance this May by ballet prodigy Patricia Zhou and singer/songwriter Priscilla Ahn, one of the best live TV moments anywhere this season. However, for showcasing a variety of dance, a variety of dancers on the rise and willingness to tackle social issues via choreography, So You Think You Can Dance takes the bow.
Great luck with your Emmy picks. Until the next time, stay well and stay tuned!