by Helen Langdon
It’s that time of year again, when the nominations for the Primetime Emmys are announced. And this year, Game of Thrones is the most nominated series with a total of 19 nominations to its name, while new film-to-TV adaptation Fargo is nominated 18 times. The latest instalment of American Horror Story, Coven, is third place in the nominations list with 17. Let’s look at how the nominations break down in the major categories!
It’s that time of year again, when the nominations for the Primetime Emmys are announced. And this year, Game of Thrones is the most nominated series with a total of 19 nominations to its name, while new film-to-TV adaptation Fargo is nominated 18 times. The latest instalment of American Horror Story, Coven, is third place in the nominations list with 17. Let’s look at how the nominations break down in the major categories!
Firstly, Outstanding Drama Series for 2014 is going to be a hard-fought category. Four-time winner Mad Men is nominated again for the first half of its final series, alongside Netflix’s final series of Breaking Bad. As we said when looking at the BAFTA TV awards, this is definitely the year of internet streaming sites becoming legitimate content producers, as Netflix also have House of Cards nominated in this category. The category is rounded out by Game of Thrones, True Detective and Britain’s own Downton Abbey (which is flying the flag for the UK this year with 12 nominations).
But these aren’t the only series represented when it comes to the awards for Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama Series. True Detective has both of its leads, Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, nominated alongside House of Cards’ Machiavellian Kevin Spacey. Bryan Cranston will be hoping he can add to his three wins for playing Walter White in Breaking Bad, but Jon Hamm won’t want to make a new record for most times nominated without a win. Jeff Daniels won last year for The Newsroom, but he faces stiff competition this year.
In a strong year for female roles, two-time winner Claire Danes is nominated again for her role in Homeland, along with past nominees Robin Wright (House of Cards), Kerry Washington (Scandal), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) and Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife). Lizzy Caplan is the final nomination in this category for her role as sex researcher Virginia Johnson in Masters of Sex.
But these aren’t the only series represented when it comes to the awards for Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama Series. True Detective has both of its leads, Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, nominated alongside House of Cards’ Machiavellian Kevin Spacey. Bryan Cranston will be hoping he can add to his three wins for playing Walter White in Breaking Bad, but Jon Hamm won’t want to make a new record for most times nominated without a win. Jeff Daniels won last year for The Newsroom, but he faces stiff competition this year.
In a strong year for female roles, two-time winner Claire Danes is nominated again for her role in Homeland, along with past nominees Robin Wright (House of Cards), Kerry Washington (Scandal), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) and Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife). Lizzy Caplan is the final nomination in this category for her role as sex researcher Virginia Johnson in Masters of Sex.
But it’s not all about drama – the Emmys also love comedy. Modern Family have won for the past four years, and just need to win this year’s category to equal Frasier’s all-time record. Their competition is The Big Bang Theory, Veep, Louie, Silicon Valley and Netflix (them again!) series Orange is the New Black.
For the last couple of years, Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus has won Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, but this year she’s up against past winners Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) and Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly), as well as writer-director-star of Girls, Lena Dunham, SNL alumnus Amy Poehler (nominated again for her work in Parks and Recreation) and first-time nominee Taylor Schilling.
In the Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category, it could get interesting. Jim Parsons has won three times previously for his role as Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory, but also nominated is past winner Ricky Gervais (who won in 2007 for Extras, and is now nominated for Derek). Also nominated is Louis CK for his portrayal of a fictionalised version of himself in Louie, Matt LeBlanc for Episodes, and film stars Don Cheadle and William H Macy for their roles in House of Lies and Shameless respectively.
For the last couple of years, Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus has won Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, but this year she’s up against past winners Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) and Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly), as well as writer-director-star of Girls, Lena Dunham, SNL alumnus Amy Poehler (nominated again for her work in Parks and Recreation) and first-time nominee Taylor Schilling.
In the Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category, it could get interesting. Jim Parsons has won three times previously for his role as Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory, but also nominated is past winner Ricky Gervais (who won in 2007 for Extras, and is now nominated for Derek). Also nominated is Louis CK for his portrayal of a fictionalised version of himself in Louie, Matt LeBlanc for Episodes, and film stars Don Cheadle and William H Macy for their roles in House of Lies and Shameless respectively.
Obviously that’s not all of the nominations – what about Benedict Cumberbatch going up against co-star Martin Freeman in the Lead Actor in a Miniseries category (Cumberbatch obviously nominated for Sherlock, Freeman for Fargo)? And the fact that four out of six nominations for Supporting Actor in a Miniseries go to actors in The Normal Heart (Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Joe Mantello and Matt Bomer)? And that’s to say nothing about the creative awards! The Primetime Emmys are just so comprehensive that it’s impossible to talk about all of them in one article, so check out the full list of nominees on the website now.
The Primetime Emmys Show will be taking place on August 25th, hosted by Seth Meyers, who has himself won a Primetime Emmy (for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for his work on Saturday Night Live).
The Primetime Emmys Show will be taking place on August 25th, hosted by Seth Meyers, who has himself won a Primetime Emmy (for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for his work on Saturday Night Live).
What do you think? Are the Emmy nominations a fair representation of the state of TV today? Or is it a crime that Tatiana Maslany still hasn’t been nominated despite playing more characters in one episode of “Orphan Black” than Johnny Depp has played in the last fifteen years? Let us know in the comments!
RSS Feed
