Tuesday TV Touchbase EXTRA: Emmy Nominations For Stuff I Watch

It's time for a Tuesday TV Touchbase EXTRA. 

This coming Sunday, the Emmys will be presented in some form of virtual environment. 

I thought I might take a look at some of the categories this year since stuff I've actually watched has been nominated.

Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series

• Christina Applegate ("Dead to Me")
• Rachel Brosnahan ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel")
• Linda Cardellini ("Dead to Me")
• Catherine O'Hara ("Schitt's Creek")
• Issa Rae ("Insecure")
• Tracee Ellis Ross ("Black-ish")

My bias here is for Rachel Brosnahan to win. Granted, Rachel's performance is the only one of those nominated I've seen. Right now, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" seems to be the juggernaut going into this year's Emmys. And I will say that Rachel is phenomenal as Midge Maisel. 

Missing from the nominations? Where the hell is Kristin Bell for "The Good Place"?  Or Alison Brie for "GLOW"? 

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

• Betty Gilpin, ("GLOW")
• D'Arcy Carden, ("The Good Place")
• Yvonne Orji, ("Insecure")
• Alex Borstein, ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel")
• Marin Hinkle, ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel")
• Kate McKinnon, ("Saturday Night Live")
• Cecily Strong, ("Saturday Night Live")
• Annie Murphy, ("Schitt's Creek")

Well, holy shit, this is a tough one for me to judge.  

Is Betty Gilpin the only nomination I see for GLOW? Betty's great in GLOW but so is...

D'Arcy Carden in The Good Place. As Janet, the robot ("not a robot") girl ("not a girl"), D'Arcy always delivers a captivating performance and is long overdue for recognition. But as good as she is, you know who else is good?

Kate McKinnon and  Cecily Strong from Saturday Night Live. Kate gets most of the attention for her ability to channel a plethora of odd ball characters. But I'm rooting for Cecily here. Her balls to the wall impersonation of Fox News host Jeanine Pirro is always epic. And some of her recurring characters are among my favorites on the show: Cathy Anne, the drug-addicted woman who's always yelling outside Michael Che's window and ”The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party", an unintelligent, unnamed pseudo-activist. But as much as I would love to see Cecily win this (or even Kate), you know who else I would love to see win this award? 

Marin Hinkle and Alex Borstein of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel". Marin's work as Rose Weisman, Midge's mom, has been a revelation over the last 2 seasons. But most of the heat for this category is for Alex as Midge's ill tempered, foul mouthed agent Susie Myerson.  Alex's work as Susie is a marvel of acting, a multi-layered performance of both power and nuance.

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series

• Anthony Anderson ("Black-ish")
• Don Cheadle ("Black Monday")
• Ted Danson ("The Good Place")
• Michael Douglas ("The Kominsky Method")
• Eugene Levy ("Schitt's Creek")
• Ramy Youssef ("Ramy")

Again, I've only seen one performance and that's Ted Danson. I like Ted in almost anything he does and he was great in "the Good Place". 

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

• Andre Braugher, ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine")
• William Jackson Harper, ("The Good Place")
• Alan Arkin, ("The Kominsky Method")
• Sterling K. Brown, ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel")
• Tony Shalhoub, ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel")
• Mahershala Ali, ("Ramy")
• Kenan Thompson, ("Saturday Night Live")
• Dan Levy, ("Schitt's Creek")

Like the "Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series" category, this is a tough one for me to judge. I've seen 5 of the 8 performances nominated here.  

Andre Braugher in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is always good but I'm not really feeling it here. The last season of Nine-Nine was a bit of a mess in my humble opinion and I think we've reached peak Capt. Holt a couple of seasons back. 

William Jackson Harper as Chidi in "The Good Place" is always a winner in my book. 

But I think Kenan Thompson from "Saturday Night Live" needs to be recognized for all he has done for SNL. Kenan has done more than just stay on the show longer than anyone, he has made himself almost indispensable. There is no role, no matter how big or small, that Kenan's excellent comic timing doesn't elevate. 

Still, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" is the big dog in this contest and our eyes turn to Sterling K. Brown and Tony Shalhoub. Sterling isn't on screen that much as Shy Baldin's manager Reggie but when he is, he owns the screen. There is a reason Sterling K. Brown wins all the shit for "This Is Us" and other shit he's in. Also with a rep for winning all the shit is Tony Shalhoub and damned if he shouldn't win for "Mrs. Maisel" too. Tony's role as Abe Weisman is a spectacle of contrasts. Abe is dedicated to order and structure in his life but his soul is that of a poet and rebel. Season 3 sees him throw off the shackles of his work with Bell Lab and Columbia University only to be confronted with the loss of beloved creature comforts as a result of this rebellion. 

Outstanding lead actress in a drama series

• Jennifer Aniston ("The Morning Show")
• Olivia Colman ("The Crown")
• Jodie Comer ("Killing Eve")
• Laura Linney ("Ozark")
• Sandra Oh ("Killing Eve")
• Zendaya ("Euphoria")

I've seen three of these nominees. As much as Olivia Colman is good in everything (and she was very good in "The Crown"), I'm leaning towards either of my girls from "Killing Eve" with a slight edge for Jodie over Sandra. The thing is the 3rd season of "Killing Eve" was not the show's best season. 

I kind of think it would be cool if Jennifer Anniston wins this. 

Or maybe better yet Zendaya. 

Outstanding variety talk series

• "Daily Show with Trevor Noah"
• "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee"
• "Jimmy Kimmel Live"
• "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver"
• "Late Show with Stephen Colbert"

Once more I have seen three of these nominees. I am disappointed that my favorite show ("Late Night With Seth Meyers") didn't make the cut.

I check in on "Late Show with Stephen Colbert" from time to time. Colbert is an wickedly incisive and funny as ever in his monologues but I'm rarely impressed with his interview segments. I also touch base with "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee". Samantha usually kills in her first segment but struggles to retain my attention in the rest of the show, 

Of the shows that I watch that were nominated, my preference is for "Last Week Tonight". I am in awe of John Oliver's constantly funny but well researched take downs of people and entities who would abuse power.  

If he doesn't get an Emmy, at least he's got that sewage plant in Danbury CT that will be named after him.  

Outstanding comedy series

• "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
• "Dead to Me"
• "The Good Place"
• "Insecure"
• "The Kominsky Method"
• "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
• "Schitt's Creek"
• "What We Do in the Shadows"

Once more I have seen three of these nominees. And I've watched some episodes of a fourth ("Curb Your Enthusiasm"). It's like Seinfeld but with more awkward. 

As much as I loved "the Good Place", I don't think the last season stuck the landing. It's last episode was as perfect as you can get for a series finale but the season leading up to it felt too much like treading water.  

As I said earlier, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" is this year's Emmy juggernaut and nothing would make me happier than to see it win best comedy series. But damn, "What We Do in the Shadows" is an extremely funny show and really deserves recognition for that. 

Outstanding drama series

• "Better Call Saul"
• "The Crown"
• "The Handmaid's Tale"
• "Killing Eve"
• "The Mandalorian"
• "Ozark"
• "Stranger Things"
• "Succession"

Here I have seen four of these nominees. "Killing Eve" did not have it's best season; but "Killing Eve"'s not quite as good season is still superior to a lot of crap out there. But I don't see this being the year for "Killing Eve" to win this.  

"The Crown" with all it's ornate sets, dramatic pauses and British accents will likely sway Academy voters. Make no mistake, the 3rd season of the "The Crown" was well done and deserves any accolades it receives. Me personally, I was way more entertained by "Killing Eve". 

"Stranger Things" had a remarkably strong 3rd season and it would be so good if the show could win this thing. 

The underdog I'm rooting for is "The Mandalorian". The very idea of a science fiction show even being nominated for a best drama series Emmy is astonishing. "The Mandalorian", despite the Star Wars trappings, is thematically closer to a Western or a private eye show. "The Mandalorian" is different from any other drama on TV right now and deserves recognition for that.

OK, that's not all the categories but some of the Emmy choices for stuff I've watched. 

Next Tuesday, I've a post Emmys Tuesday TV Touchbase EXTRA.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.