The nominees for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced today, and, much to my - and a lot of people's - surprise, the nominations weren't terrible. In fact, they were kind of good, which is a rather unsettling feeling. Usually, my thoughts immediately following the announcement can be, like most things, summed up in the words of Ron Swanson:
Fortunately, that isn't the case this year. Read on for some of my thoughts, which jump across categories from point to point, so try to keep with it.
The full list of Emmy nominees can be found here.
• The Americans finally getting some love pretty much negates anything negative about the nominations for me. How it took the Academy until the show's fourth season to notice it beyond the writing and Margo Martindale, I don't know. But it, along with Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, are in now, and that makes me immensely happy.
• That being said, Alison Wright being snubbed in Supporting Actress is a shame, because she put in one hell of a performance this season. But you win some, you lose some.
• Rami Malek and Mr. Robot getting the recognition it so thoroughly deserves is nice. (Update: Christian Slater got snubbed, which, while disappointing, isn't especially surprising. I'm not hugely angry at him missing out.)
• Homeland's continued place in the Drama Series category continues to be unjust, while Miranda Otto's snub is simply baffling, since she was by far the best part of an OK fifth season.
• Better Call Saul is in once again, as is Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks. Disappointing, however, to see Michael McKean and Rhea Seehorn - who, in my view, deserved nods far more than Banks did this season - miss out.
• I still don't understand the Academy's love for Downton Abbey. Fortunately, this being the last year, it's the last we'll see of it. My only fear is that it'll get the gold because it's the final season and thus the final chance to honour it.
• Surprising that Taraji P. Henson made it in again. I fully expected her to be a 'one and done' type nomination, but it seems the Academy weren't thinking that way. Whether or not that was anything more than "She got nominated last year and we know her name, so, she's in," I don't know.
• The Supporting Actor nominations for Game of Thrones are... questionable. Peter Dinklage gets his preordained nomination having done next to nothing note-worthy in season six, while Kit Harrington also gets in for... reasons? Sticking with Thrones and moving to Supporting Actress: Lena Headey gets a deserved nomination (whether it's for the episode she deserves it for, "The Winds of Winter", is yet to be determined); Emilia Clarke is nominated again and again I question the Emmys' logic; and Maisie Williams also receives a nod. I can get onboard with that last one.
• Constance Zimmer got nominated for UnREAL, but Shiri Appleby didn't, which is something of a pleasure, something of a slap in the face. Both deserved nominations, but Appleby was far better than Zimmer in the first season.
• The Americans!!!
• I knew it would happen, but The Leftovers being snubbed is a shame. In particular, Ann Dowd and Carrie Coon missing out, but Justin Theroux, Regina King, Christopher Eccleston, and the show itself all deserve nominations.
• Darin Morgan's "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" was the only bright spot in an otherwise appalling six-episode run of The X-Files, but alas, no writing nomination.
• Sticking in that category, it continues to bemuse me as to why Game of Thrones' "Battle of the Bastards" got submitted, let alone nominated. There was a lot of spectacular work going on there, but writing wasn't amongst them. Certainly not to an Emmy standard. Still, The Americans' finale and the Mr. Robot pilot recieved nods here, which is great.
• Louie Anderson for Baskets! Given how obscure a show Baskets is, I expected a snub, but Anderson fully deserves the recognition for a layered, memorable performance.
• I liked Cuba Gooding, Jr. in The People v. O.J. Simpson more than most, but giving him a nod in Lead Actor in a Limited Series? Come on. Courtney B. Vance got his much deserved nomination while Sarah Paulson made it in the Actress side. Moving to supporting, Sterling K. Brown fully earned his nod, while David Schwimmer getting in is a pleasant surprise, given how good he was. I'll pass on John Travolta, though.
• No Lead Actor for Fargo. That's a surprise, despite no one really hitting the heights of Billy Bob Thornton or Martin Freeman from the first year. Kirsten Dunst has a Lead Actress nod, while Jesse Plemons has one in Supporting Actor. Also in that category: Bokeem Woodbine! Jean Smart rounds off the Fargo performer nominations, and I'd be more than content with all of these (Plemons over Woodbine, since only one can win) picking up trophies in September.
• Horace and Pete, which I haven't seen, getting two nominations (Laurie Metcalf, Guest Actress in a Drama; Multi Camera Picture Editing in a Drama) is a big thing, given that Louis C.K. distributed it on his website only.
• Laurie Metcalf managed to snag three nominations: Guest Actress in a Comedy for The Big Bang Theory; Guest Actress in a Drama for Horace and Pete; and Lead Actress in a Comedy for Getting On. That's some going.
• Rush Hour got a stunt nomination. Why, Emmys?
• Did I mention The Americans?
What did you think of this year's selections? Hit the comments with your thoughts.
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