This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
The nominations for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards were announced this morning, here are some highlights/thoughts:
• We were so happy to see Cartoon Network's awesome little show, "Adventure Time," get nominated for Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program. Right now they have new episodes running on Mondays at 8pm. Comic Maria Bamford provides a lot of the voices, making the show that much more fantastic.
• Congratulations to Louis C.K. for his nomination as Outstanding Lead Actor in "Louie" in an otherwise uninspired category. Louis also scored a Outstanding Writing nomination which he completely deserves. Speaking of which, tonight's "Louie" is hilarious - you've got to watch it.
• Also from the FX camp were the very worthy nominations for Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, and Margo Martindale for their work on "Justified." What's troubling is that other than these 2 bullet points, FX didn't get any other nominations despite having the most ground-breaking comedies and dramas on TV.
• Hopefully the academy won't make the same mistake as last year's award to Edie Falco for her work on "Nurse Jackie" (hey academy members, it's not a comedy and Falco herself stated that she is not a comedic actress) - how about awarding Martha Plimpton for the great work she does on "Raising Hope"? There are some great actresses in the Comedy category, but it would be great to see some new nominees walk away with the award.
• Congratulations to "Modern Family" which has 4 nominees in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ed O'Neill, Eric Stonestreet, Ty Burrell), 2 noms in the Outstanding Supporting Actress (Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara), as well as the Outstanding Comedy Series and other various nominations. Series creator Steve Levitan will see a lot of winners this season, and they are deserved.
• It is quite surprising to see "The Kennedys" miniseries receive several nominations as it was critically panned and was bounced from network to network before airing on Reelz. Who even saw this show and who could keep a straight face while watching it, much less nominate it?
The academy continues to mystify me - there's a lot of bread and butter nominations of super-popular shows as well as for less popular, but critically acclaimed mainstream shows like "Mad Men." The academy seems to like glitzy productions whether they are good ("Boardwalk Empire") or not ("Mildred Pierce") and if significant money has been spent, the academy recognizes it with a nomination.
Most disappointing is the list of nominated comedies: "The Big Bang Theory," "Glee," "Modern Family," "The Office," "Parks And Recreation," "30 Rock" - they're all network shows, and are "safe." Contrast that with the dramas: "Boardwalk Empire," "Dexter," "Friday Night Lights," "Game of Thrones," "The Good Wife," "Mad Men" - nothing earth-shattering here, but at least premium cable (and satellite?) is sneaking into the mix along with the perennial "Mad Men."
Other than noted above, shamefully none of the basic cable comedies or dramas are getting the recognition they deserve, other than a smattering of nominations in technical categories. How is it possible that "Sons of Anarchy," which is both extremely popular as well as critically acclaimed, did not get a single nomination, even in technical categories? That kind of exclusion/oversight destroys any modicum of credibility the academy had.
In 2 months we'll post our Emmy predictions. We'd love for you to weigh in on today's nominations with your perspective.
---
In addition to watching "Louie" tonight (see promo clip at bottom of this post), if you are a fan of comedy and have Showtime, you need to watch "The Green Room With Paul Provenza" which has an incredible panel composed of Ray Romano (who we talked to here), Garry Shandling, Judd Apatow, Marc Maron (who we talked to here), and Bo Burnham.
---
The TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan: "The Green Room With Paul Provenza" (Ray Romano, Garry Shandling, Judd Apatow, Marc Maron, Bo Burnham), "Wilfred," "Louie," "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" (Comic Bob Saget; astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson; James Blake performs)
9:00pm Burn Notice USA - No Good Deed The team searches for a super-computer to clear Barry's brother of a server heist.
9:30pm The Green Room With Paul Provenza Showtime - Season Premiere. Panelists include Ray Romano, Garry Shandling, Judd Apatow, Marc Maron and Bo Burnham.
10:00pm Wilfred FX - Acceptance Ryan's attempt to reconcile with his sister causes Wilfred to have a shocking experience at doggy day care.
10:00pm Futurama Comedy Central - The Silence of the Clamps Bender goes into hiding after testifying against the Robot Mafia.
10:00pm Suits USA - Dirty Little Secrets Harvey defends someone from Jessica's past; Louis assigns Mike to his first solo case.
10:30pm Louie FX - Joan Louie has a bad show in Atlantic City.
10:30pm Ugly Americans Comedy Central - Ride Me to Hell Grimes is upset over the end of his favorite series.
11:35pm Late Show With David Letterman CBS - Actress Kyra Sedgwick; actor Chris Evans presents the Top Ten; comic Tim Harmston; Nikki Jean performs.
11:35pm The Tonight Show With Jay Leno NBC - Comic Don Rickles; author Bristol Palin; Colbie Callait performs.
12:35am The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson CBS - Actress Zooey Deschanel; actor Jim Cumming
12:35am Late Night With Jimmy Fallon NBC - Comic Bob Saget; astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson; James Blake performs.
