Emmy Gets It Right

The 2010 Prime Time Emmy nominations gave me, well, “Glee”-ful. (Sorry for the very bad pun, readers.)

In recent years I would grouse about how some of my favorite shows were left in the dust, like “Friday Night Lights.” Not this year. “Glee,” one of my favorite comedies, danced away with 19 nominations, the most of any series this year. “Lost,” my favorite drama of all time, earned 12 nominations for its final season, including nods for Matthew Fox (Finally!) as lead actor and Terry O’Quinn and 2009 winner Michael Emerson for supporting actor. “Modern Family,” another comedy fave, got 14 nominations, including three supporting actor and two supporting actress nods. Even “Friday Night Lights” scored acting nods for its leads Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton. Yahoo!

But the most delicious news was the now-defunct “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” earning four nominations, including one for best variety series, while “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” earned nothing, nichts, nada! And NBC, which made the boneheaded decision to reinstate Jay Leno, is airing the Emmys on August 29. I would watch the Emmys for the schadenfreude alone.

So, here are the rest of my hits and some misses for this year:

“The Good Wife,” a CBS series about a wife who returns to practicing law after her attorney general husband is involved in a sex scandal, earned nominations for its lead Julianna Margulies and supporting actresses Christine Baranski and Archie Panjabi. Two guest actors, Tony winner Alan Cumming and Dylan Baker, earned nods as well. It’s an intelligent, well-written and acted show. Hit.

“Glee” received nods for best comedy series, lead actor (Matthew Morrison), lead actress (Lea Michele), supporting actress (Jane Lynch, who totally earned it), and guest actor (Neil Patrick Harris.) But I was pleasantly surprised about nominations for Chris Colfer (Kurt) for supporting actor and Mike O’Malley (Kurt’s father Burt) for guest actor. Their scenes together are funny and touching. Hit.

“Mad Men” got 17 nominations, including those for leads Jon Hamm and January Jones, supporting actor John Slattery, and supporting actresses Elisabeth Moss and Christina Hendricks. Robert Morse received a guest actor nomination for his portrayal of the senior partner of Sterling Cooper Advertising. Hit.

Where were Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson from “Grey’s Anatomy”? Their performances, especially in the finale, were stellar. Miss.

Vampire drama “True Blood” earned its first nomination for best drama. Maybe the Emmy voters are opening themselves up to new experiences. Hit.

No Morena Baccarin, the leader of the aliens from “V”? Miss.

Discovery’s “Deadliest Catch” won nominations, including one for best nonfiction series, in the aftermath of fishing boat Capt. Phil Harris’s death from a stroke. Hit.

No love for “Law and Order” after 19 seasons? Miss.

Overall, I’m happy with this year’s picks. Guess I’ll be in front of the set next month.

Writing Diva