Here They Are: The 64th Primetime Emmy Award Nominees!

64th-primetime-emmy

Once again, the folks in charge of the Emmys have provided their usual mixed bag of nominations for the best of the preceding year’s television. As usual, they got a lot right, quite a bit wrong along with a few things that were questionable but, in the end, acceptable. The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards will air on ABC, on Sunday, September 23rd, 2012 at 7/6C.

Follow the jump for a list of the major nominations – and a few bits of commentary.

Outstanding Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Girls

Modern Family

30 Rock

Veep

While Community isn’t my favorite sitcom, it’s certainly a better show than the past-its-due-date Curb Your Enthusiasm and 30 Rock. And for Louie, the best comedy on television, to not make the list – while its creator-writer-producer-star (and sometimes editor) Louis CK gets nominated – simply makes no sense at all.

Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

Lena Dunham, Girls

Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly

Zooey Deschanel, New Girl

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Amy Poehler, Parks And Recreation

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Once again, Edie Falco does not belong on this list. The show may be about her character, but she’s not the source of the humor – she’s the catalyst for it. She’s basically the straight man, even though the comedy that occasionally swirls around her comes from everyone else. Her slot should have been taken by Laura Linney of The Big C – she’s actually both the series lead and funny as hell.

Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm

Don Cheadle, House Of Lies

Louis C.K., Louie

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Jon Cryer, Two And A Half Men

Larry David? Really? His act is as tired as his series! Ditto Jon Cryer (though his series isn’t just tired, it’s comatose!). Community’s Joel McHale should be here – as should one of the Wilfred guys, Elijah wood or Jason Gann.

On the plus side, Alec Baldwin is the best thing about the rapidly fading 30 Rock and it’s great to see two of the best comedy leads of the season – Louis CK and Don Cheadle – get nominations.

Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory

Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives

Julie Bowen, Modern Family

Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie

Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

Overall, a pretty good group of choices – but, as uneven (read awful) as Glee was this season, Jane Lynch was still brilliant. The problem would be who to delete from the list in order to fit her in? I’d go with Wever, whose work never quite reaches the levels of insanity that Lynch’s does.

Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

Ed O’Neill, Modern Family

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family

Ty Burrell, Modern Family

Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Max Greenfield, New Girl

Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live

Delete Bill Hader; add Tony Hale from Veep. Seriously.

Guest Actress In A Comedy Series

Dot-Marie Jones, Glee

Maya Rudolph, Saturday Night Live

Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live

Elizabeth Banks, 30 Rock

Margaret Cho, 30 Rock

Kathy Bates, Two And A Half Men

Delete Dot-Marie Jones; add Mary Steenburgen for her hysterical turn as Elijah Wood’s mom on Wilfred.

Guest Actor In A Comedy Series

Michael J. Fox, Curb Your Enthusiasm

Greg Kinnear, Modern Family

Bobby Cannavale, Nurse Jackie

Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live

Will Arnett, 30 Rock

Jon Hamm, 30 Rock

Oddly enough, I have no problem with this group.

Outstanding Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire

Breaking Bad

Downton Abbey

Game Of Thrones

Homeland

Mad Men

I may in the minority, but I found Boardwalk Empire just too boring last season, for all its blood and gamesmanship. It could have been replaced by The good wife and made this category just a hair tougher.

Lead Actress In A Drama Series

Glenn Close, Damages

Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law

Claire Danes, Homeland

Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

Harry’ Law was an awful show and Kathy Bates was never good enough in it to convince me otherwise. Her spot here should have been taken by Kyra Sedgwick, who continues to make a slightly above average procedural riveting stuff sheer the sheer force of will that is Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson. Failing that, surely the amazing work of Mireille Enos, in another slightly above average series, The Killing, would have been a much better fit.

Lead Actor In A Drama Series

Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Michael C. Hall, Dexter

Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey

Damian Lewis, Homeland

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Hugh Bonneville’s spot could have been taken by any of the following – Kelsey Grammer (Boss), Dustin Hoffman (Luck), Hugh Laurie (House) or Timothy Olyphant (Justified) and this would have been a better list.

Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad

Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey

Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife

Christine Baranski, The Good Wife

Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

Whoa! Anna Gunn! I did not see that one coming! Go the Academy! That almost makes up for ignoring the fine work of Morena Baccarin (Homeland) or Rose Byrne (Damages). Who would they replace? Tough call, but I’d say either of them would be a better choice than Joanne Froggatt . After that, it gets dicey…

Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad

Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad

Brendan Coyle, Downton Abbey

Jim Carter, Downton Abbey

Peter Dinklage, Game Of Thrones

Jared Harris, Mad Men

Good list. Nice list.

Where are Mandy Patinkin and John Noble? Their work – on Homeland and Fringe, respectively – is eons better than either of the chaps from Downton Abbey!

For Noble, especially, this is a travesty. Not only has given Walter Bishop a kind of wounded nobility in his search for redemption, he’s played at least four variations on the extraordinarily complex character – all subtly, but distinctly different. His work has been Emmy-worthy for four seasons – not nomination-worthy, but Emmy-worthy! The Academy really needs to pull its figurative head out of its metaphorical backside and include him next year!

Guest Actress In A Drama Series

Martha Plimpton, The Good Wife

Loretta Devine, Grey’s Anatomy

Jean Smart, Harry’s Law

Julia Ormond, Mad Men

Joan Cusack, Shameless

Uma Thurman, Smash

Huh! I’d have thought that the Academy would’ve gone with Bernadette Peters over Uma Thurman for Smash. Go figure. And I don’t see Louise Fletcher here for her work on Shameless, either. Either could have taken Jean Smart’s slot and it would have been okay by me.

Guest Actor In A Drama Series

Mark Margolis, Breaking Bad

Dylan Baker, The Good Wife

Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife

Jeremy Davies, Justified

Ben Feldman, Mad Men

Jason Ritter, Parenthood

Okay. Jere Burns over Jeremy Davies for Justified? Sorry, I don’t see it. Burns’ weasely Wynn Duffy is a much more complex character than Davies’ good ole boy, Dickie Bennett, and Burns was flawless in the role.

Miniseries or Movie

American Horror Story

Game Change

Hatfields & McCoys

Hemingway & Gellhorn

Luther

Sherlock: A Scandal In Belgravia

Not a lot of choices available for this slot (which has been deleted from next year on anyway), but still, Hatfields & McCoys over Appropriate Adult; Hemingway & Gellhorn over The Hour? In what reality does that make sense?

Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie

Connie Britton, American Horror Story

Julianne Moore, Game Change

Nicole Kidman, Hemingway & Gellhorn

Ashley Judd, Missing

Emma Thompson, The Song Of Lunch

I’d probably choose Emily Watson (Appropriate Adult), Rachel Weiss (Page Right) or romola Garai (The Hour) over Nicole Kidman and Ashley Judd.

Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie

Woody Harrelson, Game Change

Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys

Bill Paxton, Hatfields & McCoys

Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gellhorn

Idris Elba, Luther

Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: A Scandal In Belgravia

This selection might be made better by including Bill Nighy (Page Eight) over Clive Owen, whose Hemingway was far too petulant.

Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or A Movie

Frances Conroy, American Horror Story

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story

Sarah Paulson, Game Change

Mare Winningham, Hatfields & McCoys

Judy Davis, Page Eight

Very good choices here – though I would not have been disappointed to see Laura Pulver (Sherlock) take one of the slots.

Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie

Denis O’Hare, American Horror Story

Ed Harris, Game Change

Tom Berenger, Hatfields & McCoys

David Strathairn, Hemingway & Gellhorn

Martin Freeman, Sherlock: A Scandal In Belgravia

If you have to go with someone from Hatfields & McCoys, shouldn’t it really be Powers Boothe? And while David Stratharin is never less than excellent, Ralph Fiennes would have been a better selection for his work in Page Eight.

Reality-Competition Program

The Amazing Race

Dancing With The Stars

Project Runway

So You Think You Can Dance

Top Chef

The Voice

What? No American Idol? Isn’t that one of the signs of the apocalypse? I don’t generally watch reality TV, but seriously?

Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program

Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race

Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

Betty White, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers

Tom Bergeron, Dancing With The Stars

Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance

Outstanding Variety Series

The Colbert Report

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Real Time With Bill Maher

Saturday Night Live

Frankly, just once, I’d love to see Real time with Bill Maher win. The guy has more Emmy losses than Susan Lucci!