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.
Emmy Likes Grey’s Gals, Grande Dames
The women of Lost are nowhere to be found.
None of the eligible female players from ABC’s mind-boggling island mysteryin addition to the XX crew of Battlestar Galactica, women married to Bill Paxton and hardly anyone who solves crimemade it onto the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences’ list of semifinalists for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Not that some pretty fine thesps didn’t make the cut, per the list obtained by the L.A. Times’ Gold Derby blog. But this year it was lawyers, moms, people giving or receiving therapy, people who just plain need therapy and some familiar hot doctors who tickled Emmy voters’ fancy.
Standard 2007, etc. nominees Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson from Grey’s Anatomy scrubbed in as usual, along with Brothers & Sisters sister Rachel Griffiths.
But thanks to the Emmy-eschewing Katherine Heigl and the demise of The Sopranos and its large cast, the path to glory was also cleared for a host of first-timers, including Tell Me You Love Me’s Jane Alexander, Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks and Damage’s Rose Byrnewho despite her central role has apparently been relegated to the sidelines to make way for scene-chewing Lead Actress Glenn Close.
Speaking of which, Connie Britton, who as Friday Night Lights’ Tami Taylor was a semifinalist for Best Actress last year, was bumped into the supporting category this year and then didn’t make the Top 11. (Well, at least the beloved yet painfully underwatched show is still being considered for Best Drama and maybe, just maybe, will squeeze another couple of viewers out of the publicity.)
Veterans Candice Bergen and S. Epatha Merkerson are also in consideration for their respective boss-lady roles on Boston Legal and Law & Order.
Fellow grande dames in the fold are two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest, who plays the therapist’s therapist on HBO’s In Treatment, Dirty Sexy Money matriarch Jill Clayburgh and Burn Notice’s chain-smoking mommy dearest Sharon Gless.
Final nominees for the 60th Annual Emmy Awards will be announced July 17.
Lindsay Not Asking for Your Consideration
Edie Falco, Elaine Stritch, Carrie Fisher, Vivica A. Fox, Sarah Silverman and the 35 other women who were good for a hearty laugh over the last year can rest easy.
Lindsay Lohan has decided not to submit herself for consideration at the upcoming 60th Annual Emmy Awards, despite being eligible for an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series trophy for the not-quite-60 seconds she spent on screen in the season finale of Ugly Betty.
“The appearance was brief,” Lohan’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, told the Los Angeles Times’ Gold Derby blog. “We made a decision to wait.”
To be fair, Lohan’s Betty-tormenting character will have at least five episodes to strut her stuff next season, so no one can say for certain that the comebacking actress won’t leave an Emmy-worthy comedic footprint on the ABC comedy in the future.
Also in the running in 2008 after submitting their names to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences are Mary-Kate Olsen, Jenny McCarthy, Alyssa Milano, Sherri Shepherd, Heather Locklear and, speaking of much-needed positive moments in the spotlight, Britney Spears.
A couple days ago, Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl said she didn’t give herself a chance for a Supporting Actress Emmy repeat this year because of her character’s lack of meaty material this season.