The Emmys’ biggest problem has always been its incredible inertia, awarding shows years after they have slipped in quality. (I’m looking at you Modern Family, Downton Abbey and The Amazing Race). Meanwhile with television programming proliferating like zombies in a post-apocalyptic thriller, more and more amazing shows are going unnoticed.
Which shows are deserving of Emmy nominations when they’re announced on Thursday 16 July? Some are things that will get noticed but there are also many that are guaranteed to be overlooked. Here’s a celebration of everything that is deserving.
Best drama
The best drama category is naturally going to be the most crowded, especially after a rule change that means hour-long shows like Orange is the New Black have to compete in this category. Expect for that show to get a nod, even if the third season was a little bit shaky. This is also the last chance to honor Mad Men, and its bow was certainly worthy of scoring a record-breaking fifth Emmy win. Better Call Saul started slow but had an impressive first season, as did The Leftovers. The Americans continues to be a bright spot in the television calendar, though it doesn’t get the attention it deserves. The Knick was one of the most daring things on TV this year, and if its soundtrack doesn’t win something, there is no justice in the world. Game of Thrones’s fifth season was a bit slow and uneven, but just in terms of the spectacle it certainly earned the Emmy attention it will get.
House of Cards is a shoo-in for some love, but its third season was far too over-the-top and not nearly as interesting as the first two. The same goes for Downton Abbey, which is now a straight-up soap opera and has given up any of the trappings of being a serious drama it once had.
The newcomer to this race is going to be ratings juggernaut Empire, but I have a feeling Emmy voters might overlook it in the series category and instead recognise it with actors. How to Get Away with Murder, Halt and Catch Fire and The Affair are all worthy of nominations, but sadly are long shots, as is The Good Wife, which, for my money, is still the best show on television.
Best actress in a drama
At least The Good Wife’s Julianna Margulies will get nominated for best actress in a drama, as she should. She’s going to have stiff competition from two newcomers (and Oscar nominees) Taraji P Henson, who stole the show on Empire as the brash Cookie and Viola Davis, whose wig-snatching moment on How to Get Away with Murder had golden statue written all over it. Robin Wright deserves an award for her hair and costume alone (actually, her hair and wardrobe departments deserve awards for that) on House of Cards. This is Elizabeth Moss’s last shot to win for Peggy Olsen, whose saunter down a hallway smoking a cigarette on Mad Men is the perfect Emmy reel.
Those women are sure to get some love, but get ready for Twitter’s annual freakout when Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany doesn’t get nominated. She really deserves it. Playing a coterie of clones on the sci-fi show is one of the most outstanding acting achievements I’ve ever seen. I would give her a $25 Amazon Gift Card and a pat on the back, but she really deserves something bigger. The same goes for Keri Russell. The former Felicity is giving one heck of a subtle performance on The Americans and no one will notice unless she cuts her hair off once again. Ditto for Abigail Spencer, whose nuanced Amantha is one of the best things about the haunting Rectify.
Best actor in a drama
Though he never does much, Jon Hamm finally deserves a best actor in a drama win for his legendary Don Draper. As far as I’m concerned everyone else this year is playing second banana. I think Bob Odenkirk could use some love for playing Saul Goodman on Better Call Saul, since he never got it on Breaking Bad. Sadly the mealy Jeff Daniels, hammy Kevin Spacey, and wooden Terrence Howard will get nominations for The Newsroom, House of Cards and Empire, respectively.
Clive Owen’s beleaguered doctor on The Knick should get some attention if only for maintaining that ludicrous moustache for 10 straight episodes. Matthew Rhys should ride an Americans sweep that will only happen in my fantasies. How come we take Andrew Lincoln’s performance as Rick on The Walking Dead so much for granted? Is it because he always has zombie guts in his hair?
Best supporting actor in a drama
Michael McKean did a wonderful job on Better Call Saul, Joshua Jackson was one of the highlights of the sometimes-stilted The Affair, and Rupert Friend is the unsung hero next to Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin on Homeland. But it will probably go to Peter Dinklage for Game of Thrones and I’m all right with that, as long as no one from Downton Abbey gets nominated.
Best supporting actress in a drama
Speaking of Game of Thrones, Lena Headey deserves a best supporting actress in a drama trophy just for Cersei’s naked walk of shame, shame, shame (ding, ding). Uzo Aduba may get nominated for Orange Is the New Black, even though Crazy Eyes’s role this season wasn’t nearly as meaty as Laverne Cox’s or Taryn Manning’s after Pennsatucky suffered a rape. Maura Tierney as a wife wronged was the grounding force of The Affair. Carrie Coon gave a searing performance on The Leftovers, but it was Amy Brenneman’s silent struggles as a cult member that were really impressive. But please, give this award to Christina Hendricks for Mad Men. Pretty please. With cherries on top.
Best comedy
Speaking of redheads, I hope that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt can finally break Modern Family’s stranglehold over the best comedy category. If not that then maybe Transparent will do it. In fact, there were a bunch of great new comedies this year that deserve to get recognition, but that probably won’t.
There’s You’re the Worst, FX’s anti-romcom and one of the best shows of last summer; Black-ish, which is family comedy done with a panache that Modern Family hasn’t had in seasons; Fresh off the Boat, which seems like it should be stupid but is dishing up some truly subversive yucks; The Last Man on Earth, a show so crazy it shouldn’t work but it does; and Grace and Frankie, proving that the Centrum Silver set can still be hilarious.
Speaking of all-girl duos, Broad City deserves some recognition as one of the most wildly subversive shows on the air. The same goes for Mom, which is a recovery drama wrapped in a three-camera sitcom shell. And let us not forget about The Comeback and Looking, the only two HBO comedies that probably won’t get nominated, but deserve it more than anyone else for stellar second seasons.
Best lead actress in a comedy
Since we’re still talking redheads, can Lisa Kudrow finally win a lead actress in a comedy Emmy just like Valerie Cherish did at the end of The Comeback? I know Julia Louis-Dreyfus is amazing, but there has been no comedy character as fully realized as Valerie in the past 10 years. Well, except for maybe Ellie Kemper’s Kimmy Schmidt, who hides some serious darkness underneath a shell of glitter. The only thing the Emmys love more than not changing is giving movie stars awards, so look for Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin to get some much-deserved admiration.
Gina Rodriguez was the best part of Jane the Virgin and she already has a Golden Globe to prove it. Constance Wu hasn’t received an award yet for being the best thing on Fresh off the Boat, but she should. In a perfect world, both Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson would share a trophy for Broad City and light a blunt on stage to celebrate, giving a shout out to Aya Cash from You’re the Worst. Oh, and let’s not forget about Laurie Metcalfe’s brittle brilliance on Getting On, the hospital comedy that is too dark to win awards. Speaking of which, this is Nurse Jackie’s last go-round, but do we really doubt the brilliance of Edie Falco?
Best lead actor in a comedy
As for the best lead actor in a comedy, let’s just give it to Jeffrey Tambor right now for his work on Transparent. He’s going to win, he should win, and I hope Caitlyn Jenner (hey, she’s a TV star now!) presents the award. What a perfect way to end a summer of trans visibility. And if Billy Crystal or Josh Gad get nominated in this category for the horrible The Comedians, then it should be seen as transphobic, and we should all boycott the Emmys forever.
Best supporting actor in a comedy
If I were handing out the Emmys it would also be a one-man race for the best supporting actor in a comedy trophy. Tituss Burgess’s Titus Andromedon in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is one of the greatest comedy creations in a long time and I would just give him the gold. Andre Baugher’s butch gay boss on Brooklyn Nine-Nine is sort of the opposite of Titus, but just as excellent. And if we want to make it an all-gay category, we can throw in Sam Waterston and Martin Sheen from Grace and Frankie (though I didn’t quite buy their sexual chemistry). Let’s skip the gay men of Modern Family though, shall we? Isn’t that played out? The dudes of Veep are all solid contenders, especially past winner Tony Hale, but maybe he should share the spotlight with Hugh Laurie this year.
Best supporting actress in a comedy
As for best supporting actress in a comedy, always a bridesmaid never a winner Jane Krakowski should get nominated for playing Kimmy Schmidt’s narcissistic boss. Since Hollywood can’t figure out what to do with Judy Greer, maybe she should win for her great work on FX’s about-to-return Marry Me? Carrie Brownstein should probably win something for her Portlandia/Transparent one-two punch, and it might as well be here. And let’s never forget the comedic gem that is Wendi McLendon-Covey, who holds The Goldbergs together like ridiculous Super Glue. Togetherness is probably too dark for the Emmys overall, but Amanda Peet deserves an Emmy here as some sort of lifetime overachievement award.
Best limited series
Moving on to best limited series, American Horror Story: Freak Show will probably get a ton of nominations it doesn’t deserve because the fourth season of this anthology show was a muddled, confused, uninspired mess. God bless that old Emmy inertia. Luckily, ABC’s American Crime should also earn some nominations and it was truly one of the highlights of the year, and on a broadcast network too. The Honorable Woman, which aired on SundanceTV on this side of the pond, will get some much-deserved praise (and hopefully Maggie Gyllenhaal’s perfect English accent will get the recognition). The Missing is another British import that should score points. But look for HBO’s stellar Olive Kitteridge to clean up, including well-deserved trophies for Frances McDormand and Bill Murray.
Best made for television movie
Just give it to HBO already. Bessie and Nightingale are really the only two movies that might win this category. Who do you think is going to beat them? Nat Geo’s Killing Jesus? There might be some spoilers from theatrical movies that found their way to television instead, like Grace of Monaco (you know Nicole Kidman will get a nod) and Stockholm, Pennsylvania, which didn’t wow at Sundance, but was the best thing Lifetime aired this year.
• This article was amended on 15 July 2015 to correct the spelling of Keri Russell’s name, from Kerry Russell as an earlier version said.
