Emmy Still Laughing at Jenna, Vanessa, But Jaime’s Name Is Mud
This is shaping up to be not much of a year for Emmy repeats (unless James Spader runs away with it again).
My Name Is Earl star Jaime Pressly, who was named Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy in 2007, has been left off the shortlist of female laugh-inducers who stand a chance of hearing their names announced July 17, when the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences reveals all the nominees for the 59th Prime-Time Emmy Awards.
Meanwhile, the competition Pressly beat out last year has made the cut, according to another top-secret list obtained by the L.A. Times’ Gold Derby blog.
But Pressly’s in good company. Also in no danger of repeating last year’s glory is Lost’s Terry O’Quinn, Grey’s Anatomy’s Katherine Heigl and Extras’ Ricky Gervais, who apparently can’t stand to do more than two seasons of a critically acclaimed series.
Whether the writers’ strike left Pressly without a golden moment this season is a valid question, but Emmy voters obviously found enough to like in scenes belonging to 10 other actressesall of whom (minus Weeds’ Elizabeth Perkins), it should be noted, honed their craft on broadcast networks, while all of the other major acting categories have ventured almost equally into the nether regions of cable.
Returning to the list are Perkins, Two and a Half Men’s Conchata Ferrell and Holland Taylor, Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams and The Office’s Jenna Fischer.
Other familiar faces being considered include 30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski (who seemingly had a lot less to do in season two, but whatever), Ugly Betty’s Judith Light and Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler (sketch show performers have been moved form the variety/musical mix to the sitcom crowd).
Pushing Daisies’ Kristin Chenoweth and Samantha Who?’s Jean Smart round out the list.
Meaning, no Emmy love (again) for Desperate Housewives’ Nicollette Sheridan or (surprisingly) her new neighbor, Dana Delany; no change of fortune for Ugly Betty’s Ashley Jensen (who at least should have been nominated for Extras last year); no extra recognition for Pushing Daisies’ eccentric, aquatic aunts, Swoosie Kurtz and Ellen Greene; and another thankless season for Monk’s girl Friday Traylor Howard.
Speaking of dipping into the cable pot, check out this list of contenders for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama:
- Keith Carradine, Dexter (Showtime)
- Charles Durning, Rescue Me (FX)
- Danny Glover, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
- Robert Morse, Mad Men (AMC)
- Peter O’Toole, The Tudors (Showtime)
- Oliver Platt, Nip-Tuck (FX)
- Peter Riegert, Damages (FX)
- Stanley Tucci, ER (NBC)
- Glynn Turmann, In Treatment(HBO)
- Robin Williams, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Emmy Passes Up Britney for… Actresses
Ted and Barney weren’t the only ones to give Abby the receptionist the brushoff.
Britney Spears’ hyped two-episode appearance on How I Met Your Mother didn’t catch the eye of Emmy voters, who left her off their list of semifinalists for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, per the latest round of Emmy scoopage from the L.A. Times’ Gold Derby blog.
Spears shouldn’t feel too snubbed, thoughfellow twentysomething Mary-Kate Olsen, who played a pot-dealing proselytizer on Weeds, didn’t make the cut, either. And she’s been acting all her life!
But this year, only two under-40 thesps made the first cut, the relative young’uns being Sarah Silverman, who could be a two-time Emmy nominee thanks to her turn as a psycho fan on Monk, and Oscar nominee Amy Ryan, who made quite the impression as the Michael-liking “new Toby” on The Office.
In addition to needing way more experience, it also probably would have helped if Spears and Olsen had guest-starred on 30 Rock or Desperate Housewives. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences singled out three seasoned stars apiece from eachEdie Falco, Elaine Stritch and Carrie Fisher for shaking things up at NBC and elder Housewives Polly Bergen, Shirley Knight and Kathryn Joosten, the last of whom also won the Emmy in 2005 for her role as Lynette’s neighbor, Mrs. McClusky.
Also well-served by their sharp comedic chops were Christopher Guest regular Jane Lynch, who appeared in Two and a Half Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Vivica A. Fox and Ugly Betty’s Annie Potts.
On the masculine side of things, there’s a lot to like about the short list for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy, despite the pitiful absence of Ugly Betty’s Michael Urie, any of the dudes from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Entourage’s Jeremy Piven…
Kidding! Of course Piven has the chance to win his third Emmy in a row for playing Ari Gold. The Office’s Rainn Wilson, Two and a Half Men’s Jon Cryer, How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris and Piven’s Entourage costar Kevin Dillon have their second shot in a row for a trophy, as well, but they’ll face some stiff competition from, among others, everyone’s favorite NBC page.
Jack McBrayer, who plays the infectiously funny Kenneth on 30 Rock is facing off against costar Tracy Morgan, as well as The Office’s John Krasinski, Weed’s Justin Kirk and Back to You’s Fred Willard, whose performance looks to be the only one the Academy singled out from the already canceled Fox sitcom.
On a more serious note, House’s Hugh Laurie, Rescue Me’s Denis Leary and defending champ James Spader of Boston Legal are back in the hunt for Lead Actor in a Drama, where they join Golden Globe winner Don Hamm of Mad Men, Patrick “McDreamy” Dempsey of Grey’s Anatomy and a host of captivatingly conflicted charactersDexter’s Michael C. Hall, Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston, The Riches’ Eddie Izzard and In Treatment’s Gabriel Byrne.
Holding down the fort for the woefully underwatched Friday Night Lights is best actor possibility Kyle Chandler, who proves that nice guys don’t have to finish last.
Speaking of overlooked, the fate of Battlestar Galactica (its Emmy fate, anyway) might really rest on President Roslin’s shoulders.
It’s not confirmed at the moment, but a tipster has indicated to Gold Derby that Mary McDonnell is a semifinalist for best actress in a drama…finally.
In all likelihood, her fellow competitors will be past winners Sally Field of Brothers & Sisters, Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: SVU and Patricia Arquette of Medium; The Riches’ Minnie Driver and The Closer’s Kyra Sedgwick, both nominees last year; Damages’ Glenn Close, Big Love’s Jeanne Tripplehorn (seeing as she’s Wife No. 1 and all), Saving Grace’s Holly Hunter and, possibly, Elisabeth Moss from Mad Men.
The blog has also confirmed seven of the semifinalists for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy (again nothing shocking here): 30 Rock’s Alec Baldwin, The Office’s Steve Carell, Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Larry David, Golden Globe winner David Duchovny of Californication, Pushing Daisy’s Lee Pace, Monk’s Tony Shalhoub and Two and a Half Men’s Charlie Sheen.
Behold, the Mighty, Giant Bouncy Balls
Splash, splat, waaah…
The sounds of summer TV are distinctiveand popular, with solid premieres last week for Wipeout, I Survived a Japanese Game Show and The Baby Borrowers, per Nielsen Media Research stats.
ABC’s Wipeout, a slippery, sloppy obstacle course fit for American gladiators, but tackled by American Joes and Janes, was the most watched show among TV’s prized, but ever-dwindling pool of 18-to-49-year-olds.
Overall, it averaged 10 million viewers, posted its network’s biggest summer premiere in three years, and ranked second behind NBC’s veteran summer show, America’s Got Talent (11.7 million).
I Survived a Japanese Game Show, an ABC offering fit for a Survivor-chosen island, but set on, yes, a pads-and-helmets-required Japanese game show, pulled in at 10th place (8 million).
NBC’s Baby Borrowers finished 11th, and averaged 7.9 million people who wondered what sort of people would let teens play parents to their children.
Add in 60 Minutes (third place, 9.4 million), So You Think You Can Dance (sixth place, 8.8 million for Thursday’s show; eighth place, 8.3 million for Wednesday’s show), Million Dollar Password (seventh place, 8.5 million for Sunday’s show) and NBC’s all-new Celebrity Family Feud (fifth place, 8.8 million), and there was little room in the Top 10 for any show that didn’t involve hot seats, buzzers or judges.
If the summer ratings stay strong, can giant bouncy balls be far behind for the fall?
Sure would keep Desperate Housewives hopping.
Other ratings highlights from the TV week ended Sunday:
- With all the premieres, Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen (14th place, 7.8 million) got a bit lost, though not by young adults. In the 18-to-49 demo, the cooking competition heated up to second place.
- NBC’s Last Comic Standing (44th place, 5.3 million), likewise, looked bigger in the demo standings, where it ranked 16th.
- ABC’s Hopkins is billed as a documentary, not reality, serieshence, no giant bouncy balls, and, hence, no eye-popping ratings (34th place, 5.9 million). Still, it won the most eclectic time slot of the season, opposite CBS’ Swingtown (36th place, 5.6 million) and NBC’s Fear Itself (56th place, 4.5 million).
- Swingtown did top Hopkins among younger, more open-minded viewers, finishing 25th in the 18-to-49 demo.
- Ratings-wise, ABC’s Dance Machine (73rd place, 3.6 million) is a throwback to The Ex-Wives Club and other reality-show bombs of last summer.
- In cable, pro wrestling on USA ruled (6.2 million).
- The BET Awards took second, with 5.8 million viewers, but also suffered a 9 percent drop from last year’s telecast.
- Lifetime got a solid premiere out of its new movie, The Tenth Circle (3.1 million). Disney Channel got an even-more solid rerun out of Camp Rock (4.2 million).
- USA’s In Plain Sight (4.5 million) was the most watched new scripted series, followed by USA’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent (4 million) and Lifetime’s Army Wives (3.8 million).
- Michelle Obama’s June 18 appearance on The View helped the ABC daytime show to its biggest week in three months. Among all the White House-aspiring Obamas and McCains who have appeared on The View since March, Michelle Obama drew the biggest crowd (4.5 million), followed by husband Barack Obama (4.1 million), John McCain (3.9 million) and wife Cindy McCain (3.5 million).
Looking at the overall network numbers, ratings continued to do the oddest thinggo up.
ABC and NBC had especially big weeks, thanks to their new summer shows, up 11 percent and 9 percent, respectively, over a year ago. Still, CBS finished on top in total viewers, averaging 6.6 million. Fox won the demo crown.
In cable, USA was the top prime-time network (3.1 million), followed by Disney Channel (2.4 million) and TNT (2.1 million).
Here’s a look at the 10 most watched broadcast network prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:1. America’s Got Talent, NBC, 11.7 million viewers
- America’s Got Talent, NBC, 11.7 million viewers
- Wipeout, ABC, 10 million viewers
- 60 Minutes, 9.4 million viewers
- Two and a Half Men, CBS, 9.2 million viewers
- Celebrity Family Feud, NBC, 8.8 million viewers
- So You Think You Can Dance (Thursday), Fox, 8.6 million viewers
- Million Dollar Password (Sunday), CBS, 8.5 million viewers
- So You Think You Can Dance (Wednesday), Fox, 8.3 million viewers
- CSI: Miami, CBS, 8.2 million viewers
- I Survived a Japanese Game Show, 8 million viewers
Sarah Silverman: best comedy actress?
As the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences tries to whittle the submissions down to actual nominees, it’s interesting to take a look at who has made it to the semifinals. It’s not a nomination, but it’s one step away. Today comes word of the finalists for best comedy actress and best supporting drama actor. There are some surprises.
Chief among those for me is Sarah Silverman. I honestly hadn’t even considered her in the running. I’m not much of a fan, but I do like that she is being considered for the simple fact that the base the nominees are drawn from can always use some expansion. And if she is the most surprising inclusion, the most surprising snub just might be Teri Hatcher. Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross, and Felicity Huffman all made the cut, but not Hatcher. Ouch. The rest of the finalists, and the supporting actors from a drama, after the jump.
The complete list of finalists for comedy actress:
- Christina Applegate - Samantha Who?
- Marcia Cross - Desperate Housewives
- America Ferrera - Ugly Betty
- Tina Fey - 30 Rock
- Anna Friel - Pushing Daisies
- Felicity Huffman - Desperate Housewives
- Eva Longoria - Desperate Housewives
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus - New Adventures Of Old Christine
- Mary-Louise Parker - Weeds
- Sarah Silverman - The Sarah Silverman Program
If I can only pick one, it would be Anna Friel. The list of supporting actors in a drama doesn’t look quite as controversial, but with so few spots somebody is going to get overlooked. Lost scores two of the coveted spots, and probably the most surprising name missing from the list. Naveen Andrews and Michael Emerson are great, but I’d take Terry O’Quinn over both of them every time. Not so with the academy. The biggest surprise for me here is Bruce Dern on Big Love. The finalists:
- Naveen Andrews - Lost
- Bruce Dern - Big Love
- Christian Clemenson - Boston Legal
- Ted Danson - Damages
- Michael Emerson - Lost
- Zeljko Ivanek - Damages
- T.R. Knight - Grey’s Anatomy
- William Shatner - Boston Legal
- John Slattery - Mad Men
- Blair Underwood - In Treatment
- Jake Weber - Medium
I could have gone for Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad, but I’ll take Christian Clemenson for the win, and consider it a long overdue nod to Briscoe County Jr. Members will now watch the submitted episodes for all of the finalists and rank them from 1 to 10 before the two groups are knocked down to a final list of nominees. What do you think? Who doesn’t belong on the list? Who was overlooked?