Omissions for the Emmy Awards; A Mostly Ho-Hum List of Nominees

The 63rd Emmy Awards will be broadcast on Fox on Sunday, September 18^th.  Jane Lynch of Glee will be the host.

The list of nominees contains no huge surprises.  The only real newcomer is Melissa McCarthy nominated for her title role in Mike & Molly.

There were, however, some glaring omissions. 

Neil Patrick Harris was neither nominated for How I Met Your Mother nor for hosting the Tony Awards.  He was robbed because he killed during the Tonys, as he always does.  C’mon, how can you nominate Ryan Seacrest for American Idol over Harris?

I thought Mayim Bialik might have been recognized for her role as Amy Farrah Folwler opposite Jim Parsons’ Sheldon in Big Bang Theory.  Though the casting directors and the writers get credit for securing her and writing for her, she brings it as an actress, making that show better this season than it had been – and it started out great. 

I guess the producers of Modern Family believe their actors will have a better chance of winning in the supporting actor/actress in a comedy category because all four of the male leads and Sofia Vergara are nominated as supporters rather than leads.  Or, it’s believed that the show is an ensemble show without a “lead.”  But all of those actors, especially Vergara and last year's winner, Eric Stonestreet (Cameron), are absolutely outstanding and deserve the highest honors.

Speaking of Modern Family, I’m glad Nathan Lane is up for his guest starring role as Pepper Saltzman, but Ed O’Neil shone playing opposite him in that episode where Jay spends the evening with Mitchell and his friends, instead of seeing the Four Seasons.  He was unbelievably funny from the moment he realized his wife was taking him to a performance of Vivaldi music, not the 60’s group, until the end when Lane shows up at his door the next day for a “date.”  Brilliant writing and acting.

In the drama category, it’s been written that Kyra Sedgwick was ignored as lead actress in The Closer this year.  But she has been a winner and she hasn’t changed her performance since the show began, so I’d agree with that one. 

I still have mixed feelings about Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in The Good Wife.  She isn’t as stiff as she was - she’s come out of her shell – though I still think that while the show is terrific, her acting is stilted.

Also in drama, where were the nominations for any of the actors on shows like White Collar (Willie Garson as Mozzie), Leverage (Timothy Hutton) and Rescue Me (Callie Thorne as Sheila, Michael Zegen as Damien)?

I don’t think the Emmy broadcast will be as exciting as it could be this year because the nominations are pretty ho-hum.   Of those who did get nominated, they are mostly from programs around for a while – Mad Men, Dexter, Good Wife, The Office, Friday Night Nights, Parks & Recreation, Glee, 30 Rock.  Next year should be more exciting because there are some great new programs and more are promised for the coming season.

Finally, Jane Lynch doesn’t seem like the greatest choice as host to me.  Fox could have picked a better name, though maybe not one from its own stable - unless Hugh Laurie was willing.