2012 Emmy Nominations

[CaptainCanada]

The usual mix of things people love and things people are very angry about.

I'd say the most notable thing is that after 63 ceremonies, the 64th is the first time that the major broadcast networks have been shut out of the Best Drama category, thanks to the surprise omission of CBS' The Good Wife. Cable networks AMC (Breaking Bad, returning champ Mad Men), HBO (Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones), and Showtime (Homeland) dominate, alongside the PBS-imported Downton Abbey.

AMC's two nominees saw a few notable shakeups in who specifically was nominated, with Jared Harris replacing John Slattery in the supporting actor category for Mad Men, and Giancarlo Esposito joining Aaron Paul for Breaking Bad. Anna Gunn also finally got nominated, ending the voters' weird blind spot for that show's female castmembers.

The networks continue to score a majority of the nominations in the comedy categories, at least, which tend to be split between the really popular broadcast shows and niche cable series. Little-seen network shows can't get much of a word in between those two poles. Community got a writing nod, though, which is nice.

 

[Harvey]

Not a bad list of nominations, with one or two exceptions. But how on earth do they calculate what counts as a miniseries or a movie? American Horror Story and Missing don't seem to belong there; does the latter count because it only lasted ten episodes?

 

[CaptainCanada]

There's some vagaries in how "miniseries" is defined that allows for that to happen. Downton was nominated in the miniseries category for its first season, before jumping tracks to drama for its second, which is what American Horror Story will likewise have to do.

 

[tomalak301]

I am pissed that Parks and Recreation didn't even get nominated for best comedy. They had an absolutely fantastic year and to not even get a nomination is an insult.

 

[CaptainCanada]

I was surprised, after it got nominated last year, but all the HBO comedies forced it out.

 

[tomalak301]

I was surprised, after it got nominated last year, but all the HBO comedies forced it out.

Well, maybe it's for the best. Modern Family (Despite people calling it a not so great season) will clean up, like they did last year. Still, Season 4 of Parks and Rec was a very awesome season and I am rooting for the writing awards and for Amy Poehler, who definitely deserved her nomination for the final episode alone.

 

[gblews]

I love that Anna Gunn joins Brian Canston and Aaron Paul with her first nomination for her work in Breaking Bad. I really expected Giancarlo Esposito to be nominated. He created one of the most unique, fascinating, and badass villains, ever. Gunn has been absolutely great from season 1. The subtle but intense emotions she conveys through her character, sometimes expressed exclusively by her face and eyes, contributes solidly to one of the best dramatic ensembles I have ever seen.

Good luck to former winners, Cranston and Paul.

I'm also hoping that BB finallly breaks Mad Men's stranglehold on Best Drama. I do love MM but Bad had one hell of a season with a finale for the ages.

Man, Lena Dunham. The chick is talented.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Uma Thurman does not deserve to be nominated for Smash. She was pretty awful in that role.

American Horror Story is a very borderline miniseries. The fact that there's going to be more seasons of the show under that title should invalidate it. The fact that it has an unusual season based anthology format does not mean it isn't a single series, just that it doesnt have the same format as most series do. They just want to horn in on a far emptier category to increase their odds of nominations and wins.

My list of most aggravating snubs: Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Timothy Olyphant, Katee Sagal, and Jon Bernthal.

 

[tomalak301]

Man, Lena Dunham. The chick is talented.

She also plays the more unlikable character on the show. Maybe that says something good about her talent.

Anyway, I'm actually rooting for Veep in the Best comedy category. I find Veep funnier than Girls (I don't watch Modern Family so maybe it is good enough to clean up) even though I like both shows. I just wish Parks and Rec got more respect than it does.

 

[Winged Victory]

AMC's two nominees saw a few notable shakeups in who specifically was nominated, with Jared Harris replacing John Slattery in the supporting actor category for Mad Men, and Giancarlo Esposito joining Aaron Paul for Breaking Bad.

Gah! Along with Esposito and Harris securing nominations, Brendan Coyle and Jim Carter from Downton Abbey scored noms as well. And Peter Dinklage from GoT. I have to root for all of them! But maybe I'll root a little harder for Jared Harris-he was sublime in his last performance as Lane Pryce.

 

[gturner]

Lead actor in a miniseries or movie:
Kevin Costner as 'Devil' Anse Hatfield in "Hatfields & McCoys"
Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"

That's not going to end well.

 

[gturner]

I wonder if Peter Dinklage will repeat his 2011 win as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones?

Anyway, on to more important nominations.

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAMS
"84th Annual Academy Awards" (ABC)

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Don Mischer, "84th Annual Academy Awards"

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
"84th Annual Academy Awards," Jon Macks, Dave Boone & Carol Leifer, with Tim Carvell, Jeff

ART DIRECTION FOR VARIETY OR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
"84th Annual Academy Awards," John Myhre & Joe Celli

PICTURE EDITING FOR SHORT-FORM SEGMENTS AND VARIETY SPECIALS
"84th Annual Academy Awards," Kabir Akhtar

LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
"84th Annual Academy Awards," Robert A. Dickinson, Robert Barnhart, Jon Kusner & Andy O'Reilly

SOUND MIXING FOR A VARIETY SERIES OR SPECIAL
"84th Annual Academy Awards," Paul Sandweiss, Tommy Vicari, Pablo Munguia & Kristian Pedregon

TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE
"84th Annual Academy Awards," John B. Field, et al. (long list)

You can win an Emmy for working the Oscars? Who knew? And eight nominations? How about giving out Emmys for the best acceptance speeches at last year's Emmys?

 

[Dream]

Mad Men going to win again for Drama. Boring.

How the heck did Downton Abbey get nominated for drama? I guess popularity really does count for something.

The only thing I'm rooting for is Game of Thrones and Peter Dinklage. There BADLY needs to be more good Sci Fi and Fantasy shows on cable and network television.

 

[gblews]

Anyway, I'm actually rooting for Veep in the Best comedy category. I find Veep funnier than Girls (I don't watch Modern Family so maybe it is good enough to clean up) even though I like both shows. I just wish Parks and Rec got more respect than it does.

"Veep" is funnier than Girls, and Parks and Rec is funnier than Modern Family, and I like "Family" a lot. But, IMO, it currently is the flavor of the month so unfortunately Parks and the superb Amy Poehler will likely lose out again.

 

[LeadHead]

Don't like the nominations. Not an unusual situation, though. Once again, Community has been snubbed. Also White Collar, Leverage & Burn Notice deserved something.

No reason to watch the Emmys again. Too bad, when they used to nominate things that deserved it like The West Wing, Frasier, The Practice & Law & Order, I would enjoy watching it. Sadly, now they nominate things that don't deserve it, over and over.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The only thing I'm rooting for is Game of Thrones and Peter Dinklage. There BADLY needs to be more good Sci Fi and Fantasy shows on cable and network television.

Yeah where's our sci fi GoT? I'd even settle for a space opera Walking Dead.

Downton Abbey lets the Emmy voters nominate something fun and breezy, and all the costumes let them pretend it's quality too. Plus, it's on PBS.

 

[Kegg]

It'd be nice for Peter Dinklage to win (and boy did he do well this year) but I'm actually rooting for Giancarlo Esposito from Breaking Bad. His smouldering, low-burn intensity as Gus Fring on that show's very good and hey, recognition, why not.

Definitely some excellent nominations here. Hell, I think this is the first time in years (perhaps ever) I've seen most of the best drama noms (all except Downton Abbey) and every one of the ones I have seen have had fantastic years. If Mad Men wins - and it is Mad Men, so emmy now please - I'll be pretty happy, but just as happy if any of the others do.

In comedy they lose me a little, suppose I've been watching less comedy. The only comedy nominated I've actualy been watching is Veep (which I really enjoy, though).

Not a bad list of nominations, with one or two exceptions. But how on earth do they calculate what counts as a miniseries or a movie? American Horror Story and Missing don't seem to belong there;

I'm assuming American Horror Story went for miniseries because the show is built around doing season-long anthologies - each season is essentially a new show with the same name. If the Emmys let that count I suppose they could keep getting nominated there indefinitely.

 

[Greg Cox]

Lead actor in a miniseries or movie:
Kevin Costner as 'Devil' Anse Hatfield in "Hatfields & McCoys"
Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"

That's not going to end well.

Hah!

 

[Warp Coil]

Wow, it's pretty cool to see that the major broadcast networks have been shut out in most of the categories, while the higher-quality cable series continue to take over. "Modern Family" seems to be the only broadcast series to get much recognition. I'm not sure where "Downton Abbey" fits, since it's an import and airs on PBS (which is kinda in its own special category... I don't consider it a broadcast network in the same way ABC or CBS is). Overall, I am impressed with many of the nominations and I'm particularly excited about "Downton Abbey". There are still a few snubs (like, say, "Community") but overall I think they did well.

 

[Anwar]

I'm upset that Alfie Allen didn't get a nomination for GoT.