The Emmys veered wildly between stupid, boring picks and comfortable but awesome picks. I have no explanation for the continued enthusiasm for Modern Family in the face of vibrant competition like Veep and Orange is the New Black; and in my heart I was rooting for True Detective in the drama categories, but in the end I’m thrilled Breaking Bad got a great send off. For me it’s one of the best shows in the last many years.
The ceremony itself was mostly a snooze. Seth Meyers has always been a better writer than performer, but he wasn’t terrible. The musical cues were all weird. The In Memorium tribute was kind of devastating and the best part of the show was Billy Crystal capping it off with a loving remembrance of his friend Robin Williams. I’m still a little teary about that.
Anyway, that’s that. Your winners:
- Drama: Breaking Bad
- Comedy: Modern Family
- Miniseries: Fargo
- TV Movie: The Normal Heart
- Variety Series: The Colbert Report
- Reality: The Amazing Race
- Actor – Comedy: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
- Actor – Drama: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
- Actor – Mini/TV: Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
- Actress – Comedy: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
- Actress – Drama: Julianna Margulies
- Actress – Mini/TV: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
- Supporting Actor – Drama: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
- Supporting Actor – Comedy: Ty Burrell, Modern Family
- Supporting Actor – Mini/TV: Martin Freeman, Sherlock
- Supporting Actress – Drama: Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
- Supporting Actress – Comedy: Allison Janney, Mom
- Supporting Actress, Movie/Mini: Kathy Bates, American Horror Story
- Writing – Drama: Moira Walley-Beckett, Breaking Bad, “Ozymandias”
- Writing – Comedy: Louis C.K., Louie
- Writing – Mini/TV: Steven Moffat, Sherlock
- Writing – Variety Special: Sarah Silverman, We Are Miracles
- Directing – Drama: Cary Joji Fukunaga, True Detective
- Directing – Comedy: Gail Mancuso, Modern Family
- Directing – Mini/TV: Colin Bucksey, Fargo
- Directing – Variety Series: Glenn Weiss, 67th Tonys
“Comfortable” is the key word.
Television may be moving into new and exciting territory, but judging from the industry’s awards, it’s doing so reluctantly. The Emmys are always a familiar incarnation of the previous year.
The show was a bit high school in parts: dropping a typewriter in GRR Martin’s lap probably sounded funny around the table, but looked really clumsy on the telecast.
Breaking Bad got its due, Normal Heart was seriously snubbed in the acting categories (its strongest element), and all the new players that make TV worth watching were pretty much ignored, save for Fargo.
Ahh, academies. What would we do without their steady hand?
I’m torn between being happy one of my favorite shows Breaking Bad dominated the drama categories, and being disappointed my new favorite True Detective didn’t make a better showing especially since it will be a totally different show next season.
Emmys do seem to lean toward the safe far too often, even more so than the Oscars.
Modern Family is the biggest mystery to me just because it keeps winning, but at the same time I know it’s still a well-liked show.
One thing I noticed – it was the first awards show I’ve seen where the losers (esp those who expected to win) actually looked pissed-off.
Ryan Murphy, in particular, as Normal Heart stalled in every category except one, looked like he was ready to strangle somebody.
Usually it seems like the director cuts away from the losers as soon as the award is announced with a few notable unintended exceptions. That’s kind of funny. I actually didn’t notice because I was too busy live tweeting.