COMEDY SERIES
Black-ish – Season 2 (ABC)
Master of None – Season 1 (Netflix)
Modern Family – Season 7 (ABC)
Silicon Valley – Season 3 (HBO)
Transparent – Season 2 (Prime Video)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Season 2 (Netflix)
Veep – Season 5 (HBO)
Should have won: Master of None
Not even nominated: The Last Man on Earth (Fox)
Say what you will about Aziz Ansari – and I have! – but Master of None really was a breath of fresh air at a time when many comedies were either creatively stagnant or intentionally more dramatic than funny. The show filtered Ansari’s personal experiences into a show that deftly navigated the silly and the melancholy.
Speaking of which, while The Last Man on Earth earned several nominations for its first season, its extended – and arguably superior – second season managed just one major acknowledgement. Let’s rectify that.
ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
William H. Macy, Shameless
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Should have won: Will Forte
Not even nominated: Zach Galifianakis, Baskets
Tambor broke ground in many ways with his win the previous season. So a repeat here was just redundant. So I’ll give it to Forte, the driving force behind the show. His Tandy showed tremendous growth in the second season, putting his face and emotions through the wringer when his long-lost brother (fellow SNL alum Jason Sudeikis) showed up.
The debut season of FX’s Baskets finally brought some well-deserved attention to Louie Anderson. But the great character actress Martha Kelly and star Zach Galifianakis got short shrift. Galifianakis shines in a dual role, and not for the first time. As twin brothers Chip and Dale, he showcased his range to surreal effect.
ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Laurie Metcalf, Getting On
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
Should have won: Lily Tomlin
Not even nominated: Maria Bamford, Lady Dynamite
In the midst of JLD’s seemingly unstoppable run, there was absolutely room to honor the legendary Lily Tomlin, whose loosey-goosey personality as Frankie never veered into caricature.
And it would have been so easy to swap out Amy Schumer for a much funnier and talented blonde comedienne: Maria Bamford. Lady Dynamite was absolutely not for everyone, but Bamford’s extreme commitment kept the wheels from falling off.
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tony Hale, Veep
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Matt Walsh, Veep
Should have won: No complaints here
Not even nominated: Zach Woods, Silicon Valley
One of the most delightful wins in the history of the Television Academy. The late Anderson was a mainstay of my childhood as the host of Family Feud, as well as the star and creator of the animated Life with Louie. (And that’s not even mentioning his cameos in Cloak & Dagger and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.) I remember watching the broadcast, and hearing Anderson’s name called surprised him and the audience. His performance as Christine is entirely built on loving homage to a certain type of mother, without an ounce of sarcasm, cynicism, or punching down.
While these days Zach Woods is currently one of the best follows on Instagram for his brilliant takedowns of the controversy du jour, he was stealing scenes right and left on Silicon Valley as the deeply sheltered but business savvy Jared. He absolutely deserved at least one nomination for his deadpan delivery.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Allison Janney, Mom
Judith Light, Transparent
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Should have won: No complaints here
Not even nominated: Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live
Kate McKinnon was definitely the breakout star of SNL in the late 2010s. And while the show relied on her a bit too much, there’s no denying what a talent she was. And Season 41 included her finest moment on the show: the “Close Encounter” sketch pictured above. But the less said about Season 42, the better.
While there certainly aren’t any weak links among the nominees here, I wish the Television Academy had found room for McKinnon’s costar Cecily Strong, who wouldn’t be recognized for another four years.
WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Catastrophe (“Episode 1”)
Master of None (“Parents”)
Silicon Valley (“Founder Friendly”)
Silicon Valley (“The Uptick”)
Veep (“Morning After”)
Veep (“Mother”)
Should have won: No complaints here
Not even nominated: The Carmichael Show (“Fallen Heroes”)
Another surprising but deserving win from the night. A deeply personal and hilarious bit of writing from co-creators Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, it proved that no matter what country your parents are from they can be… a lot.
Feel free to remove either of Silicon Valley or Veep‘s double nods to slot in the wildly underrated Carmichael Show, whose button-pushing “Fallen Heroes” episode was some of the best writing on TV that year, regardless of genre.
DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Master of None (“Parents”)
Silicon Valley (“Daily Active Users”)
Silicon Valley (“Founder Friendly”)
Transparent (“Man on the Land”)
Veep (“Kissing Your Sister”)
Veep (“Morning After”)
Veep (“Mother”)
Should have won: Master of None
Not even nominated: Angie Tribeca
With apologies to Joey Soloway, this category is also going to Master of None. “Parents” just did more emotionally and visually than the all-ladies trip to the woods.
Again, I’d remove one of the extra nods for Silicon Valley or Veep and make room for Angie Tribeca, which owes a huge debt to Police Squad! and its brilliantly executed visual gags.
DRAMA SERIES
The Americans – Season 4 (FX)
Better Call Saul – Season 2 (AMC)
Downton Abbey – Season 6 (PBS)
Game of Thrones – Season 6 (HBO)
Homeland – Season 5 (Showtime)
House of Cards – Season 4 (Netflix)
Mr. Robot – Season 1 (USA)
Should have won: The Americans
Not even nominated: Hannibal (NBC)
It wasn’t until Season 4 that the Television Academy decided to start taking the best show on TV seriously. But better late than never. While Season 6 may have been the culmination of everything Game of Thrones did best, I never fell in love with its mix of palace intrigue, gratuitous nudity, extreme violence, and dragons.
But this year also marked the last opportunity to honor the evocative and thrilling Hannibal, which only managed a single nomination for its visual effects. Dr. Lecter would rightfully disdain such a rude act.
ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Should have won: Matthew Rhys
Not even nominated: Mads Mikkelsen, Hannibal
Speaking of Dr. Lecter, Mikkelsen’s performance as the serial killer was the only one that could touch Matthew Rhys this year. Trying to explain what makes Rhys successful as an actor is like trying to explain why water is refreshing. You take it for granted at your own peril.
ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans
Robin Wright, House of Cards
Should have won: Keri Russell
Not even nominated: Taylor Schilling, Orange Is the New Black
And how lucky are we that his partner onscreen and off is his equal in every way. The show wouldn’t work if they weren’t on the same level.
This is a pretty killer lineup, but it is unfortunate that Taylor Schilling was such a victim of OITNB being ruled a drama after its first season. Even as the show’s ensemble expanded, her Piper Chapman was still our audience surrogate, and she found a new gear in the show’s third season, transforming into a ruthless entrepreneur.
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan
Should have won: Michael Kelly
Not even nominated: Richard Armitage, Hannibal
None of these nominees really move the needle for me. Since Dinklage already had a shelf full of trophies and I gave it to Banks last year, I’ll hand this one to reliable character actor Michael Kelly. He’s basically now typecast himself as a loyal but volcanic soldier, and why not? He’s damn good at it.
I’d swap any of these folks for Richard Armitage, who put his own spin on Francis Dolarhyde, a role already played to chilling perfection by Tom Noonan and Ralph Fiennes.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL
Should have won: Lena Headey
Not even nominated: Alison Wright, The Americans
It’s still pretty wild to me that the only actor to take home an Emmy for Game of Thrones is Peter Dinklage, who won four (count ’em, four!) times. He was nominated every season, with Headey right behind him at five nods. It’s quite ridiculous that Maggie Smith won yet again for playing the Dowager Countess when Cersei got her long sought-after revenge in this season.
But voters once again missed the best of the bunch. Alison Wright had been a great recurring character, sometimes delivering comic relief and sometimes showing us deep sadness. But nothing quite prepared audiences for her devastating turn this season, when her fake husband Clark (Matthew Rhys) reveals his subterfuge and helps her defect to the Soviet Union. That shot of her looking out the window at the only country she’s ever known is absolutely heartbreaking.
WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
The Americans (“Persona Non Grata”)
Downton Abbey (“Episode Eight”)
Game of Thrones (“Battle of the Bastards”)
The Good Wife (“End”)
Mr. Robot (“eps1.0 hellofriend.mov”)
UnREAL (“Return”)
Should have won: The Americans
Not even nominated: Orange Is the New Black (“A Tittin’ and a Hairin’”)
Two series finales and two pilots versus a show’s dramatic high point and an “everything goes wrong” season finale. The winner isn’t a bad choice, but to me the writing of The Americans is in another league entirely.
I’d have ditched Downton Abbey‘s perfunctory farewell for Orange Is the New Black‘s best episode of a messy third season. This is the episode that humanized the show’s main antagonist Pensatucky (Taryn Manning), giving her character another dimension.
DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Downton Abbey (“Episode Nine”)
Game of Thrones (“Battle of the Bastards”)
Game of Thrones (“The Door”)
Homeland (“The Tradition of Hospitality”)
The Knick (“This Is All We Are”)
Ray Donovan (“Exsuscito”)
Should have won: No complaints here
Not even nominated: Hannibal
I’ll absolutely let Game of Thrones have this one. While I think “The Winds of Winter” is even better, this was absolutely incredible action filmmaking.
But what the hell is Ray Donovan doing here? Get that brooding nonsense out of here and swap in Hannibal, which had more style in its opening credits than that long-running Showtime series did in its entire run.