Best Comedy:
30 Rock
Community
Cougar Town
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie
Parks and Recreation
Raising Hope
I can’t decide between them, so there are 7.
Best Lead Actress in a Comedy:
Toni Collette - United States of Tara
Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie
Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Laura Linney - The Big C
Martha Plimpton - Raising Hope
Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation
I have trouble calling The Big C a comedy because some of the scenes have been so sad – Marlene’s death and when her son found the storage locker (absolutely brutal).
Best Lead Actor in a Comedy:
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Steve Carell – The Office
Matt LeBlanc – Episodes
Joel McHale – Community
Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory
Bradley Whitford – The Good Guys
I’m kind of sick of The Big Bang Theory and Sheldon but there were not a lot of choices. Bradley Whitford was awesome, and chances are, you never even watched that show, so shut it!
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy:
Tamsin Grieg – Episodes
Jane Krakowski – 30 Rock
Christa Miller – Cougar Town
Anna Deveare Smith – Nurse Jackie
Phyllis Somerville – The Big C
Merritt Wever – Nurse Jackie
I had to leave off a ton of people – all the broads from Modern Family, Jane Lynch (I’m kind of over Sue Sylvester anyway), and everyone on Community. Plus, I think Busy Phillips is good on Cougar Town, but that’s the character she always is. Christa Miller is the female highlight of that show, right Dime-Eyes?
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy:
Ty Burrell – Modern Family
Garret Dillahunt – Raising Hope
John Benjamin Hickey – The Big C
Justin Kirk – Weeds
Mike O’Malley – Glee
Nick Offerman – Parks and Recreation
I can't believe how many people I had to exclude - the rest of the casts from Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, Community, Oliver Platt, Charlie Day, Simon Hedberg, John Pankow, Jack McBrayer and Ian Gomez. Impossible choices.
Best Drama:
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Game of Thrones
The Killing
Mad Men
The Walking Dead
Best Lead Actress in a Drama:
Mireille Enos – The Killing
Lauren Graham – Parenthood
Lena Headey – Game of Thrones
Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men
Anna Paquin – True Blood
Sarah Wayne Callies – The Walking Dead
This was one of the weakest categories for me because I don’t watch a lot of female-based dramas. I was almost tempted to bump up some supporting actresses into this category, but I heeded the Academy's guidelines. I know I don’t watch Parenthood, but Lauren Graham was never nominated for The Gilmore Girls, so I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt.
Best Actor in a Drama:
Sean Bean – Game of Thrones
Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire
Michael C. Hall – Dexter
Jon Hamm – Mad Men
Hugh Laurie - House
Andrew Lincoln – The Walking Dead
No big surprises – I’m sick of House though, but couldn’t find anyone better to take his place, even though Jim Belushi was eligible for this category.
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama:
Jennifer Carpenter – Dexter
Emilia Clarke – Game of Thrones
Michelle Forbes – The Killing
Christina Hendricks – Mad Men
Kelley Macdonald – Boardwalk Empire
Callie Thorne – Rescue Me
So Julia Stiles doesn’t count for Dexter in this category – Boo! Callie Thorne deserves an Emmy from the 2009 episode where she talked about the towers falling and when she knew Jimmy had died.
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama:
Billy Campbell – The Killing
Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones
Jared Harris – Mad Men
Vincent Kartheiser – Mad Men
Joel Kinnaman – The Killing
Denis O’Hare – True Blood
I do love me some Eric on True Blood, but Russell Edgington was one crazy badass. Jonny Lee Miller is considered a ‘special guest actor’ on Dexter, so I had to exclude him.
Everything will be decided in a couple of hours.
