Reaction to the 2015 Emmy Nominations: Snubs and Surprises

Reaction to the 2015 Emmy Nominations: Snubs and Surprises

The Primetime Emmy nominations were announced Thursday morning, here are my thoughts on some of the big categories. 

Outstanding Comedy Series: Louie, Modern Family, Parks & Recreation, Silicon Valley, Transparent, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Veep

The surprises here were good ones, Parks and Recreation and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt are both terrific shows and deserved their spots. Veep, of course, is always deserving. Emmy voters were never going to deny Louie and Modern Family. Haven't seen the other two. 

Outstanding Drama Series: Better Call Saul, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland, House of Cards, Mad Men, Orange Is The New Black

The snubs include Empire, which I haven't seen, but many people seem to like, and Bloodline, which I liked, if not loved,  The Americans and The Good Wife. Honestly I don't think very highly of any of the shows that were nominated. 

Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Kyle Chandler, Jeff Daniels, Jon Hamm, Bob Odenkirk, Liev Schreiber, Kevin Spacey

Of all the first rate performances on Bloodline, to single out Kyle Chandler for a nomination seems a bit odd. Jeff Daniels is a bit of a surprise, but deserved for anchoring that bizarre final season of The Newsroom.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series : Claire Danes, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, Tatania Maslany, Elisabeth Moss, Robin Wright

I don't get what everyone sees in Orphan Black. Maslany gives a good performance, but not exactly Emmy-worthy. Surprised not to see last year's winner Julianna Margulies or Ruth Wilson or Taylor Schilling nominated. Would have liked to see Tea Leoni get a nomination for Madam Secretary, but I knew that was a long shot. 

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Felicity Huffman, Jessica Lange, Queen Latifah, Frances McDormand, Emma Thompson

Another nomination for Jessica Lange? Really? Queen Latifah is the obvious choice to win, for her astonishing performance as Bessie Smith. I did see the PBS broadcast of Sweeney Todd, and I thought Thompson made a great Mrs. Lovett, so I am happy about that nomination. 

Lead Actor in a Comedy: Anthony Anderson, Louis C.K., Don Cheadle, Will Forte, Matt LeBlanc, William H. Macy, Jeffrey Tambor

Surprising to see Anderson and Forte, but they always do solid work, so I'm not complaining. LeBlanc and Macy are fantastic on really good shows.  Interestingly no Jim Parsons. 

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series : Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Amy Poehler, Amy Schumer, Lily Tomlin

By far the biggest snub of the morning is Ellie Kemper. I just do not understand. And Lily Tomlin? She's a legend, but the show is very mediocre. Would have liked to have seen Emmy Rossum or Constance Wu or Mindy Kailing or Gina Rodriguez or even Sutton Foster.

Supporting Actor In A Drama Series: Jonathan Banks, Ben Mendelsohn, Jim Carter, Peter Dinklage, Alan Cumming, Michael Kelly

Jon Voight got snubbed. I thought Norbert Leo Butz gave a little more layered performance than his Bloodline co-star Mendelsohn. 

Supporting Actress In A Drama Series: Joanne Froggatt, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Christine Baranski, Christina Hendricks, Uzo Aduba

How both Sissy Spacek and  Linda Cardellini got snubbed for their extraordinary work on Bloodline is a mystery to me. I am also perplexed by Aduba's nomination. Kate Mulgrew and Lorraine Toussaint (along with Schilling in the lead category) are simply in a different league than the rest of the actors on that show. Those three women give such profound performances, it's puzzling how they were overlooked in favor of their good-for-a-web-show co-star. 

Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series: Andre Braugher, Adam Driver, Keegan-Michael Key, Ty Burrell, Tituss Burgess, Tony Hale

Hale and Burgess were both deserving. 

Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series: Mayim Bialik, Niecy Nash, Julie Bowen, Allison Janney, Kate McKinnon, Gaby Hoffmann, Jane Krakowski, Anna Chlumsky

Nash got a Timmy nomination last year for her Getting On role, so I'm glad the Emmys have finally caught up. This is a pretty good category, although I would substitute Hoffman for her co-star Judith Light.