Emmy Nominations: Nothing For ‘Young Pope’, But Double Justice For Ann Dowd
The 2017 Primetime Emmy nominations were revealed today, and they were — as always — full of snubs that made me go “Aargh!”. Firstly, The Leftovers has been ignored across the board (almost — i’ll get to that): no Lead Actress for Carrie Coon, in one of modern TV’s greatest roles, no Lead Actor for Justin Theroux and no Drama Series; a category that includes such lifeless tripe as Stranger Things and The Crown. There are two sides to Leftovers’ exclusion: the fact that people are dumb and are getting dumber and refuse to watch an exceptionally original, intelligent show like The Leftovers. On the other hand, HBO’s awards department share a reasonable portion of the blame, putting Westworld as the focus of their Drama Series campaign. Hence, Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton all appear on acting categories.
But it ain’t all bad news for Leftovers cast members. In fact, the two most talented performers on the show have been nominated. For a brief appearance as Patti Levin in the penultimate episode, Ann Dowd has been included in the Guest Actress in a Drama category. Seriously. For real. It’s fucking awesome. And, better yet, Dowd has also been nominated for Supporting Actress in a Drama for her work on Handmaid’s Tale. Bloody brilliant.
Carrie Coon, meanwhile, has been acknowledged for her work on Fargo — a far inferior performance to Leftovers, mind you — in Lead Actress in a Limited Series. So that’s something. Coon is an extraordinary talent; it’s great that she’s on voters’ radar now.
My second favourite drama of 2016 has been totally shut out: HBO/Sky’s The Young Pope, a masterpiece of surreal satire. Voters are simply too dumb to appreciate what Paolo Sorrentino accomplished with this miniseries. Jude Law’s performance was career-defining — he isn’t even nominated. Lead Actor in a Limited Series is nonetheless strong: Riz Ahmed (also nominated for his work on Girls) and John Turturro from The Night Of — two powerhouse performances — and Robert De Niro. But Ewan McGregor was kinda awful on Fargo. He doesn’t deserve to be there. Lead Actress in a Limited Series is even better: Coon for Fargo, both Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon from Feud, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon from Big Little Lies. Their BLL co-stars Laura Dern and Shailene Woodley are up for Supporting Actress in a Limited Series, plus Feud’s Judy Davis and — best of all — Jackie Hoffman! Mamacita FTW!
Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks made the lists for Lead and Supporting Actor in a Drama, respectively, but Better Call Saul’s real MVPs this season were Michael McKean and Rhea Seehorn.
The great Bill Camp is recognised for his work on The Night Of in Supporting Actor in a Limited Series, though he — and Mark Lynn Baker — should’ve featured in Guest Actor in a Drama for The Leftovers. Camp’s category is pretty flawless: Alfred Molina and Stanley Tucci for Feud, Alexander Skarsgard for BLL, David Thewlis for Fargo and Michael K Williams for The Night Of.
Things are even better on the comedy side. Firstly, Real Time with Bill Maher — the best political show on US television — has been once again included in Variety Talk Series. Donald Glover’s Atlanta is up for Comedy Series, Glover himself nominated for Lead Actor in a Comedy. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Silicon Valley feature in Comedy Series, and Ellie Kemper and Titus Welliver are on the list also.
From SNL’s best season in years, Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin have of course been nominated (Baldwin will hopefully win for his portrayal of POTUS45), but so too Tom Hanks. David S Pumpkins is an Emmy nominee, dammit!
Master of None’s brilliant second season is up for Comedy Series and Actor in a Comedy, plus Angela Bassett for her guest role on the “Thanksgiving” episode.
In some ‘minor’ categories, there are real pleasant surprises: Kristen Schall for her voice work on Bojack Horseman, though Bojack is snubbed for Animated Programme. Young Pope made the lists for Production Design and Cinematography. The Outstanding Narrator category is a weird haven of great actors: Ewan McGregor, Laurence Fishburne, Meryl Streep and Liev Schrieber are contending for that trophy. Mac Quayle’s brilliant score for Feud is up for Title Music and Original Score for Limited Series. And A Series of Unfortunate Events gets its single nomination in Original Score for a Drama.
Overall, it’s legitimately not the worst year: at least Game of Thrones isn’t dominating all the technical categories. Feud was a show engineered to win Emmys, as it will, but it was also a damn good show. Same with Master of None. Atlanta is a more idiosyncratic project, so its recognition at the awards is something of a miracle. And, as for Bill Camp and Ann Dowd, we should just be happy. Happy as hell.
But where’s YOUNG?! POPE?!
