Emmy Nominations Reveal Why Emmy Nominations Should Be Ignored

First and foremost let me say that I have nothing against Modern Family. It is a solid comedy with a solid cast and a solid fanbase and continues to produce solid episodes that are solidly funny.

But a cursory glance at the roster of “Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy” reveals everything that is wrong with the Emmy nominations this year. We have the adorable, talented and charming Chris Colfer of Glee; the whiny, annoying Jon Cryer, trapped in the most why-is-this-still-on-my-television show on television (known commonly as Two and a Half Men); and then Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ed O’Neill, Eric Stonestreet and Ty Burrell, all of Modern Family.

The nominees represented extreme enthusiasm for a few solid and popular series, bizarre recognition of only-okay shows, and painful snubs for some excellent ones.

Comedy

The issues with the Emmys are especially obvious with the nominations in any Comedy category. Two of the funniest characters on television—Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) from Parks and Recreation, and Troy Barnes (Donald Glover) from Community—were ignored int he Best Supporting Actor category. And while

Parks and Rec is finally getting some notice, Rob Lowe missed out on the Lead Actor nomination, despite submitting himself for Lead rather than Supporting to up his chances. And the lukewarm The Cleveland Show was nominated in the animation category while Archer and Bob’s Burgers got nada.

Community once again got no recognition in any category for the second consecutive year. While this season had its ups and downs, critics are still wont to give up on this series about the adorable pack of Community College misfits.

The Lead Actress in a Comedy category was more balanced, if a bit of a head-scratcher. Edie Falco, Laura Linney, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were all expected to get nominations. But Melissa McCarthy of Mike and Molly and Martha Plimpton from Raising Hope were both pleasant surprises in a relatively predictable awards season.

Drama

Mad Men won the lion’s share of drama nominations, and since Breaking Bad didn’t air any episodes during nominations season, its main competition is out of the way. It’s a shame that this had to happen when Dexter was coming off a bad year. Last year, is might have stood a fighting chance for best drama; this season, it struggled, and managed to eek out a nomination, but its unlikely to overcome the established Mad Men or Scorcese-driven newcomer Boardwalk Empire. So in the drama category, it might be a battle between those two. And Hamm will battle Buschemi for best actor, though it would be great to see Hall or Olyphant victorious, it looks unlikely.

Game of Thrones is the dark horse in this category. This newcomer managed to overcome the nominating committee’s usual distaste for high fantasy, and while it will have to battle tooth and nail for best drama, it would be criminal to rob Peter Dinklage of Best Supporting Actor.

Drama snubs were somewhat less dramatic. The Killing, considered by critics to have devolved into nonsense by its recent finale, picked up a couple of nominations while its AMC cousin, The Walking Dead (which had its own problems, but was consistently stronger) was left for (un)dead.

And it feels like Breaking Bad was snubbed, even though it wasn’t eligible to win anything anyway. Can’t we just make up a new category for it?

Reality, Miniseries, Etc.

This was a strong season for miniseries. Mildred Peirce, Too Big to Fail and Downton Abbey were all strong, and got the recognition to back it up; but at the end of the day, Mildred Pierce got the most nominations across the board. It would have been nice to see BBC’s Sherlock get more than one nomination (Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman were both nomination-worthy)

The Reality-Competiton category has had the exact same nominees for the past several years (Idol, Top Chef, Project Runway, Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars). This year, they added a sixth nominee. That honor went to So You Think You Can Dance  at the expense of fan-favorite/cult-hit RuPaul’s Drag Race.

There are clearly a few categories in need of some serious reform, and the Reality category is one of them: this bunch has become so wide-ranging and esoteric that it’s almost impossible to compare the nominees. Deadliest Catch, Hoarders, Mythbusters, Antiques Roadshow, Undercover Boss and Kathy Griffith: My Life on the D-List are too wildly different to be judged side-by-side.

The criteria for nominees in Guest Actor are similarly vague. Idris Elba had four episodes as Lenny in The Big C and Zach Galifianakis hosted one episode of SNL, yet they are both nominated in the same category, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy. How they can compare a guest host to a character integral to a multiple-episode arc in a scripted series is beyond me.

It’s wonderful that new series are being embraced; Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones share in the glory, while the hilarious and oft-overlooked Melissa McCarthy is getting her time to shine. But at the same time, Mad Men and Modern Family have lapped up so many nominations that the equally-excellent Community and Treme were nary mentioned at all. The Emmys are still months away, but it’s a shame to see so many excellent shows completely written off so early.