Thoughts on Emmy Nominations: Drama Series

Emmy nominations come out next week, and here are my thoughts on the “series” nominations for the Drama category.

Nominated Last Year:

• Breaking Bad
• Dexter
• The Good Wife
• Lost
• Mad Men
• True Blood

Lost ended, and won’t be nominated again (barring any time travel hijinks). Breaking Bad, because of scheduling, won’t be eligible for a 2011 nomination, which opens up another spot.

Will be nominated:

• Dexter
• The Good Wife
• Mad Men
• Boardwalk Empire
• Game of Thrones
• Friday Night Lights

Some critics have started to turn on Dexter, hoping for more of a shake up in the show’s narrative, but I think it’s firmly entrenched in the nomination habit. I don’t watch The Good Wife, but by all accounts, it didn’t dip in quality, and it was here last year. Once in, it’s hard to drop off. However, True Blood’s third season was a complete mess (with the exception of the delightful and scenery-chewing Denis O’Hare), so I do see that show falling out to make room for two other HBO shows, Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, both of which are deserving. Boardwalk could be slow-moving at times, but it didn’t skimp on atmospheric details or finely crafted performances (though if I never have to suffer through any more of Paz de la Huerta’s “acting,” I will celebrate like when prohibition was repealed. Really, when’s the last time a red-blooded hetero male looked at a frequently naked actress and screamed “GET OFF MY TV!” at the screen?). Game of Thrones surely belongs on the list, too. HBO took a beloved series of books, and brought them fully to life on screen, creating a completely realized fantasy world filled with rich characters and a hard-edged seriousness. No easy task, that. Last year, the Emmys finally got around to realizing that Friday Night Lights existed, with nominations for Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them throw the show itself a bone for its farewell season. Mad Men, of course, will and should be nominated.

Should be nominated:

• Game of Thrones
• Mad Men
• Friday Night Lights
• Terriers
• Justified
• Boardwalk Empire

I don’t differ too much from the “will be nominated” list. I enjoyed Dexter’s season more than most, but realize as a whole, anything that doesn’t deal with Dexter himself, his sister or the killers can try your patience. So instead of Dexter and The Good Wife, I would choose two FX dramas. One, Justified, just might have a shot at a nomination. Building on an already top-shelf first season, it upped the ante in season two with a sensational arc featuring a riveting performance from Margo Martindale as antagonist Mags Bennett (and fantastic supporting performances from the entire regular cast, along with guest stars Jeremy Davies, Kaitlyn Dever and Rebecca Creskoff, among others). There’s no chance my favorite show of 2011, the shaggy dog PI show, Terriers, gets a nomination and that’s a shame. It was a brightly written, wonderfully acted spin on the lower tier of the detective business, a la The Rockford Files.

Honorable Mention:

Fringe, Men of a Certain Age, Rubicon, In Treatment

I was tempted to put Fringe on the “should be” list, perhaps in place of a sentimental vote for Friday Night Lights, since they went balls to the wall with the sci-fi narrative in the third season and got some fantastic character moments from the main trio. Really, it’s a coin flip for me. I was late to the Men of a Certain Age party, but what a lovely, intimate, realistic and funny show that turned out to be. Rubicon started slow and botched the landing, but I wish it had been rewarded a second season (as any show with a character named “Truxton Spangler” should be). In Treatment isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s hard to ignore how much involving mileage they got out of two people sitting in a room talking. A fine send off for Paul Weston.