At this time of the year I’m usually livid over the awful Emmy nominations. They typically ignore new, young shows in favor of the old standards. But this year I’m having a hard time getting that upset.
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The truth is that this year’s nominees are the best I’ve probably ever seen. They welcomed new shows like Glee, Modern Family and The Good Wife with a ton of major nominations. They recognized returning favorites like 30 Rock and Mad Men. They felt nostalgic and gave Lost 12 farewell nominations, including recognizing Matthew Fox. And the Emmys made up for past crimes by finally nominating Friday Night Lights‘ stars Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton.
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Overall, it’s a great bunch of nominees, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some major snubs who deserved to get in. Here are the 10 biggest problems with this year’s Emmy nominations.
No Sons of Anarchy
For two years this FX biker drama has provided some of the best TV around, yet it only scored one nominations last year and absolutely nothing this year. The biggest oversight is Katey Sagal for her stunning performance, but I would’ve settled for writing or directing.
What Does Courteney Cox Need to Do?
A cool bit of trivia is that Cox is the only Friends star to never earn an Emmy nomination. Cougar Town was supposed to be her time to get some love, but somehow she got shut out. Maybe next year, if they change the show’s title, Cox will finally earn some respect.
The CW Gets Shut Out
Usually the CW picks up a handful of technical nominations, but nothing this year. No special effects nomination for Supernatural. No recognition for the brilliant new drama Life Unexpected. Not even a costume nomination for The Vampire Diaries. For a major network to score zero nominations is an outrage.
Friday Night Slights: Zach Gilford
Clearly the Emmy voters watch Friday Night Lights because they finally nominated Chandler and Britton. And clearly they watched “The Son,” the amazing episode where Gilford delivered the performance of the year when Matt Saracen’s father died, because it was nominated for Writing. But somehow Gilford was denied a nomination? Boo!
Nobody Loves Al Bundy
Modern Family earned an impressive five supporting acting nominations, which is great, but you have to feel awful for Ed O’Neill, the only adult actor who didn’t get a nomination. I know giving four spots in a single category to one show might seem like a lot, but with this cast, it would’ve been deserved.
Damages Gets Cut
The third season of Damages was fantastic and while the show earned acting nominations for Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Martin Short, Lily Tomlin and Ted Danson, it somehow dropped out of the race for Outstanding Drama Series. That’s a crime Patty Hewes would be perfect to prosecute.
The Wire, Part 2: Treme
Perhaps the greatest crime in the history of the Emmys is the way it ignored David Simon’s HBO masterpiece The Wire. His new show, Treme, is just as strong, yet its only nomination came for Directing. How about the brilliant stars Wendell Pierce, Khandi Alexander, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Kim Dickens, etc? Don’t ignore this New Orleans drama like the federal government ignored Hurricane Katrina or else I’ll get Kanye West to say “Emmy voters don’t care about black people.”
The Clock Runs Out on 24
So in its final season Lost gets a slew of big nominations while the best the Emmys can do for 24 is give Gregory Itzin another Guest Actor nomination? I guess the voters don’t care that Kiefer Sutherland‘s Jack Bauer saved the world … again!
No Party for Party Down
In the sad aftermath of news that Starz canceled Party Down the show once again came up empty at the Emmys. I thought at the very least Jane Lynch would get nominated for Guest Actress, but instead they nominated Lynch in that category for her work in Two and a Half Men, which is just sad.
Who Does Grey’s Anatomy Have to Shoot to Get Some Emmy Love Again?
I was a huge fan of the season finale and thought, at the very least, it would help earn Grey’s Anatomy a few technical nominations and maybe an acting nomination or two. Instead the show received just two nominations this year, both for makeup. Now that’s the real tragedy.
What were you most upset to see left off the Emmy nomination list?
(Image courtesy of FX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
