When Joshua Jackson and Melissa McCarthy announce the Emmy nominations tomorrow, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get a lot of what I want. That's how these award shows go, really. While good shows do get recognized and awarded, equally good shows are often snubbed. Brilliant performances are overlooked. I guarantee you that, those nominations are announced, the first reaction of many fans won't be happiness that their favorite show/actor was nominated, but that they were snubbed.
So here's my Emmy nominations dreamlist for the drama categories (I don't watch a lot of American comedy). I assure you, these aren't who I think will be nominated -- some of them definitely won't be. But, if I controlled the Emmys, here's who I'd give nods to.
Best Drama
There's no doubt that the winner of the past three years, Mad Men, deserves the nod. Its fourth season continued the brilliance of the previous three seasons, even with its self-reinvention after the earthquake that was the season three finale. HBO's Boardwalk Empire had a stellar first season and also deserves the nomination. But if we're talking about HBO's freshmen lineup, it's painfully obvious that Game of Thrones needs the nomination. I'd love to see it get a win, but it probably won't (I'm holding off until season three for my hopes). FX's Justified also had a really, really strong season. It's a show that's really easy to love, but as a cop/action show, it probably won't even get the nod. Finally, there's no doubt in my mind that the best show on network television is Fringe. With its third season, Fringe brought a level of complex storytelling to the small screen that lost it a lot of viewers, but solidified its place as not only a hallmark of genre television, but one of the best shows of the year.
Best Actor - Drama
It's safe to say that Mad Men's Jon Hamm is the frontrunner for this category, followed closely by Boardwalk Empire's Steve Buscemi. Both were fantastic in their respective shows, though I think the focus lended to Hamm's character Don Draper over the more ensemble focus of Boardwalk Empire might push him to the front. In any case, they're both a lock. The same can probably be said of Dexter actor Michael C. Hall. Dexter's most recent season might not have been its best, but Hall continued to be chillingly magnificent as the man with a Dark Passenger. Justified's Timothy Olyphant (above right), meanwhile, probably won't get the nod he deserves. The man's so subtly brilliant in his role as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens that it might just go unnoticed. If that's the case, Olyphant can at least take comfort in knowing that most television critics have his back. To close out the category, how about Game of Thrones actor Sean Bean? As Eddard Stark, he slowly picked up steam over the course of the series, though the episode "Baelor" really brought out just how good of an actor he was. The scene in which he looked out to the crowd and realized he was all alone? That was when it was painfully obvious that Bean deserved at least a nomination.
Best Actress - Drama
The Good Wife actress Julianna Margulies is impressive enough to warrant a nomination, but from the network television pool, I think it's Fringe's Anna Torv who deserves the nomination most. Torv took on multiple roles for the third season of the FOX sci-fi series, and nail every one of them without turning them into gimmicks. In terms of technical prowess, this award should be hers. Elisabeth Moss deserves a nomination just as much for her role as Peggy Olsen in Mad Men; remember the episode "The Suitcase?" That's an example of great acting. Newcomer Mireille Enos, who fronted AMC's new drama The Killing, might not have the star power to get the nomination she deserves. And while Khandi Alexander delivered a heartbreakingly believable performance on HBO's Treme, I'm afraid that her best episodes aired too late in the process for her to get the nod that she undoubtedly deserves.
Best Supporting Actor - Drama
John Slattery's Roger Sterling on Mad Men might have been a little reduced this year (especially since Slattery directed two episodes), but the character (and the performance) remained as charmingly magnetic as ever. Walton Goggins from Justified probably deserves a nod as the conflicted criminal Boyd Crowder, one of the strongest members of the FX show's supporting cast. I'd even say Joel Kinnaman from AMC's The Killing deserves a nod for his morally questionable homicide detective Stephen Holder. If it was up to me, though, the race would come down to two people: Fringe's John Noble and Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage. Both brought a blend of comedy and drama to their roles. With Game of Thrones looking toward a longer future than Fringe, I would say that Noble deserves the win the most; Dinklage should have plenty of opportunities to pick his up later.
Best Supporting Actress - Drama
To start off the nominations of my final dreamlist category, I'll go with the obvious: Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, who turned her character into an iconic staple of pop culture while still making her three dimensional. Boardwalk Empire's Kelly Macdonald is another shoo-in. Her slow transition throughout the show's first season became one of the main reasons to watch the show. I'm also thinking that Treme's Melissa Leo deserves a nod as the grieving widow Toni Bernette, whose relationship with her also grieving daughter over the course of the season was heartbreaking. Margo Martindale, from FX's Justified deserves the win, though. There are just no words to describe how sympathetic -- and how
terrifying -- she was as the matriarch of the Bennettcrime family. And, for my last pick, why not go with a wild card? Game of Thrones introduced us to a lot of wonderful child actors, but the best was Maisie Williams (right), a first-time actress who could have fooled me into believing she'd had hundreds of film roles before. She won't get the nomination, but I wouldn't mind if she did.
I totally agree with you on Anna Torv, I do hope she will be nominated, because frankly Anna Torv should be the one winning the Emmy.
Most actresses on so-called experts lists have trouble finding one good episode, Anna has too many to choose from. If she is not nominated, huge outcry to be expected, and disbelieve.
This is just my thought, and that is it, but deep inside I am sure that Sean Bean will be nominated for best actor and will win. Just my thought. And I totally agree with you regarding Maisie Williams. Fantastic actor. Would love to see her nominated.
Anna Torv and the entire Fringe cast deserve nominations for a mind-blowing season. If Anna and John at the very least don't get a nomination, Fringe fans are going to raise hell, in fact two hells from both universes! ;)
Those who make predictions for the Emmys always proclaim Jon Hamm as the frontrunner, whether he deserves this recognition or not.
That's a silly statement. I can't think of a time since Mad Men started that Jon Hamm hasn't deserved recognition.
John Noble should win every category.
You and I like the same shows!! Great picks. I wasn't as fond of Boardwalk Empire as many, it just never sucked me in, but all the actors of Justified you mentioned should be nominated. Wonderful show!!! The three most memorable characters/actors to me this year were Margo in Justified, Dinklage in GT, and Kinnaman in The Killing.
You should write a review of A Dance with Dragons for this site when you finish reading it. It would be interesting to hear what you think of it since you are such a devoted fan and have written about the television show so much.
I plan to. I'm on page 193 now, so it'll be a week or so before I finish, hopefully, but I'll have a review out as soon as I'm done.