EMMY AWARDS 2017

Unlike the presidency, Emmys go to the winners of the popular vote... Did not expect to see Sean Spicer, I'll tell you that. I'm fine with Stephen Colbert's performance so far. Political, but funny and Emmy-related.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
David Harbour, Stranger Things
Ron Cephas Jones, This Is Us
Michael Kelly, House Of Cards
John Lithgow, The Crown
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

I was rooting for Ron Cephas Jones, but I think we all kind of knew this was going to Lithgow, a perennial Emmy favorite.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Vanessa Bayer, Saturday Night Live
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Kathryn Hahn, Transparent
Leslie Jones, Saturday Night Live
Judith Light, Transparent 
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Another no-brainer. She won last year and was even better this season.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Regina King, American Crime
Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
Shailene Woodley, Big Little Lies
Judy Davis, Feud: Bette and Joan
Jackie Hoffman, Feud: Bette and Joan
Michelle Pfeiffer, The Wizard of Lies

This category was a little harder to predict, but I think it's very well-deserved. And it may portend a good night for Big Little Lies.

Random presenter note: Three smoking red dresses in a row. Nicole Kidman, Gina Rodriguez and Issa Rae all looked fantastic.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Jamie Babbit, Silicon Valley
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Mike Judge, Silicon Valley
David Mandel, Veep
Morgan Sackett, Veep
Dale Stern, Veep

Glover is also nominated for a writing Emmy for Atlanta. Hmmm... Can he take that one, too?

OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
Billy on the Street
Documentary Now!
Drunk History
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live
Tracey Ullman's Show

Yeah, no surprise there.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
The Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things
Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, The Americans
Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, Westworld
Bruce Miller, The Handmaid's Tale
Peter Morgan, The Crown
Gordon Smith, Better Call Saul

Expecting to hear a lot from Handmaid's Tale tonight.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tony Hale, Veep
Matt Walsh, Veep

This is four awards for actors from SNL (counting Dave Chappelle and Melissa McCarthy, who won last week during the Creative Arts Emmy ceremony) plus the Variety Sketch award above.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Noah Hawley, Fargo
Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan
Ron Howard, Genius
James Marsh, The Night Of
Jean-Marc Vallée, Big Little Lies
Steven Zaillian, The Night Of

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies David Thewlis, Fargo
Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette and Joan
Stanley Tucci, Feud: Bette and Joan
Bill Camp, The Night Of
Michael Kenneth Williams, The Night Of

OUTSTANDING WRITING IN A VARIETY SERIES
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee  
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver 
Late Night With Seth Meyers 
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things  
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale
Chrissy Metz, This Is Us
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale 

I'm still bitter about the dearth of honors for The Leftovers, but there's no question Ann Dowd deserved and deserves awards for both her stint on that show and her work on The Handmaid's Tale. She knows how to do evil, that's for sure.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe, Master of None
Alec Berg, Silicon Valley
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Stephen Glover, Atlanta
Billy Kimball, Veep
David Mandel, Veep

I admit I think Master of None is a better show (or at least a funnier show) than Atlanta, so I'm not sorry Donald Glover didn't get that second Emmy for this. The writing on Master of None really is spot-on.

OUTSTANDING REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
American Ninja Warrior
Project Runway
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Top Chef
The Voice

Random production note: Why are they playing Steely Dan's "Reelin' in the Years" after a win by The Voice? Or is there no connection? Because I don't exactly think Walter Becker or Donald Fagen would've done well on that show. Yeah, I think it's just a coincidence, but not very good planning. It wouldn't have gone any better with any of the other choices.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Stephen Daldry, The Crown
Kate Dennis, The Handmaid's Tale
The Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things
Vince Gilligan, Better Call Saul
Lesli Linka Glatter, Homeland
Reed Morano, The Handmaid's Tale
Jonathan Nolan, Westworld

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror: San Junipero
Jaffe Cohen, Michael Zam and Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan
Noah Hawley, Fargo
Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan
David E. Kelley, Big Little Lies
Richard Price and Steven Zaillian, The Night Of

A bit of a surprise, I think. And this may just mean that Feud and The Night Of are shut out. You never know about Jessica Lange and Emmy voters, though.

Production note: The In Memoriam reel is always tough, but this one... Right at the heart. And closing with MTM closing the door at WJM. Wow. Beautiful performance by Christopher Jackson as well as a proper amount of celebration of the departed. Well done, Television Academy.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
Andy Fisher, Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jim Hoskinson, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Don Roy King, Saturday Night Live
Jeremy Konner and Derek Waters, Drunk History
Paul Pennolino, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK SERIES
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Late Late Show with James Corden
Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Real Time with Bill Maher

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, Blackish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Zach Galifianakis, Baskets
Donald Glover, Atlanta
William H. Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

I am not sure Donald Glover is the best actor in that bunch. I have that problem with the Comedy category fairly often, however.  

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Pamela Adlon, Better Things
Tracee Ellis Ross, Blackish
Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie
Allison Janney, Mom
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Whatever points the Academy got for not going with Jeffrey Tambor again (I get really tired of Emmy repeats and threepeats and fourpeats...) they lost with this one. Don't get me wrong -- I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus. But she's been honored PLENTY. And then some. Let's not always see the same hands. I guess she can only win one more for Veep, anyway.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Atlanta
Blackish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Riz Ahmed, The Night Of
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Lying Detective 
Robert De Niro, The Wizard of Lies
Ewan McGregor, Fargo
Geoffrey Rush, Genius
John Turturro, The Night Of

Can't argue with that! 

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Carrie Coon, Fargo
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan
Susan Sarandon, Feud: Bette and Joan
Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies

I sometimes kvetch about movie stars winning Emmys when they do TV, but Kidman absolutely deserves this. No kvetch.

OUTSTANDING TV MOVIE
Black Mirror: San Junipero
Dolly Parton’s Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Sherlock: The Lying Detective
The Wizard of Lies 

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
Big Little Lies
Fargo
Feud: Bette and Joan
Genius
The Night Of

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Anthony Hopkins, Westworld
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us

Not gonna lie -- very happy about this. Sterling K. Brown has been outstanding on This Is Us, elevating everyone around him. Extra credit for a wonderful acceptance speech, mentioning Andre Braugher, Bryan Cranston and Jon Hamm and their indelible characters from shows past.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
Claire Foy, The Crown
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
Keri Russell, The Americans
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Not a surprise. And she knows who Dick Whitman is, too.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
The Crown
The Handmaid’s Tale
Westworld
Stranger Things
This Is Us
Better Call Saul
House of Cards

Margaret Atwood on stage? Holy smokes! 

All in all, I would say that was a spiffy show. Mostly the winners were fine by me, Rachel Bloom was fun, the Westworld robot bit was nicely done, it all moved well and I enjoyed seeing Carol Burnett, Norman Lear and Oprah. In a year when we lost TV royalty like Mary Tyler Moore, I'm glad to touch base with those three. And Margaret Atwood!

Emmy Awards: Part One

The Television Academy gives out so many Emmy Awards for excellence in primetime television that they have to split them into three separate nights, with 93 different categories of "creative arts" divided into two early ceremonies and the rest -- big awards like Best Actor, Director and Drama -- reserved for the fancy ceremony a week later.

All of those "creative arts" Emmys were handed out over the weekend, honoring everything from guest actors, casting directors and editors to animation programs, documentaries, variety specials and informative shows. Here are Saturday night's 28 winners (29 if you count the tie for Outstanding Choreography):

Outstanding Special Class Program
70th Annual Tony Awards

Outstanding Variety Special
Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special 2017

Outstanding Short Form Variety Series
The Daily Show – Between the Scenes

Outstanding Interactive Program
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Outstanding Documentary Filmmaking
LA 92

Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
Planet Earth II 

Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
13th 

Outstanding Informational Series or Special
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath

Outstanding Animated Program
Bob’s Burgers

Outstanding Short Form Animated Program
Adventure Time

Outstanding Structured Reality Program
Shark Tank

Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program
United Shades Of America: With W. Kamau Bell

Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series
Viceland at the Women’s March

Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program
Born This Way

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy

Outstanding Choreography
(tie) Mandy Moore, Dancing with the Stars, for "On Top of the World" and "Carol of the Bells," and Travis Wall, So You Think You Can Dance, for "The Mirror," "Send in the Clowns," and "She Used to Be Mine."

Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program 
Planet Earth II: Islands

Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program
Born This Way

Outstanding Costumes for Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Programming
RuPaul’s Drag Race

Outstanding Directing for a Nonfiction Program 
O.J.: Made in America 

Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special
The Oscars

Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special 
Hairspray Live! 

Outstanding Host for a Reality/Reality-Competition Program
RuPaul Charles, RuPaul’s Drag Race

Outstanding Narrator
Meryl Streep, Five Came Back

Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic) 
Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics
"Letter to the Free" by Common, Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins for 13th

Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program 
13th

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Next up: Guest actors, cinematography, editing, stunts and lots, lots more...

Winners at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards

Last weekend, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gave out a big chunk of their Primetime Emmy Awards, in what they call the "Creative Arts" categories. The official definition for the Creative Arts ceremony is that it honors "outstanding artistic and technical achievement in a variety of television program genres, guest performances in weekly series, as well as exceptional work in the animation, reality and documentary categories."

More than 80 Emmys were handed out on Saturday and Sunday, in categories ranging from animation to casting, cinematography, costumes, editing, hairstyling, music, sound, special effects, stunt coordination and writing.

What's left for the big, star-studded ceremony coming up next Sunday? About twenty awards, the ones the Academy has deemed the Big Kahunas, I guess. Although it's hard to see why the award for Writing for a Variety Special, which will be awarded next week, is any bigger or cooler than Writing for a Variety Series, which was done yesterday. Or how there's any difference in the "artistic and technical achievement" they are to be celebrated for. But there you have it. The Academy can't honor a hundred folks in one evening, so they've gone for three.

Here are some of the highlights of the Creative Arts winners (with "highlights" as defined by me):

ANIMATED PROGRAM
Archer "The Figgis Agency" (FX)

CHOREOGRAPHY
Kathryn Burns, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW), for "I'm So Good at Yoga," "A Boy Band Made Up of Four Joshes" and "Settle For Me"

DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SERIES
Making a Murderer (Netflix)

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Peter Scolari, Girls (HBO)

GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Hank Azaria, Ray Donovan (Showtime)

GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live (NBC)

GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Margo Martindale, The Americans (FX)

HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
RuPaul Charles, RuPaul's Drag Race (Logo)

STRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM
Shark Tank (ABC)

VARIETY SPECIAL
The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Prime Time Special (CBS)

WRITING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM
Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, Making a Murderer "Eighteen Years Lost" (Netflix)

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Note that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were nominated as one entity in the Guest Actress category for hosting Saturday Night Live, and they won as one entity, too. That makes Emmy history.

And Peter Scolari wasn't among the nominees for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series when nominations were first announced. Peter MacNicol was there for his role on Veep, but it was subsequently determined that he was ineligible since he appeared in more than 50% of the episodes in Veep's season. The episode put him over the 50% limit aired after he was nominated, so his nominee status was revoked ex post facto. The Academy went back to the nomination ballots and gave Peter Scolari the slot instead. And he won.

Making a Murderer, the Netflix documentary about a criminal case in Wisconsin that seemed rife with injustice, was a big winner, taking home four Emmys in the six categories in which it was nominated. It won for overall Outstanding Documentary and its writing, as you see above, as well as Outstanding Directing and Picture Editing.

Last weekend's festivities will be broadcast in an edited version on the FXX network on Saturday, September 17 at 8 pm Eastern/7 pm Central time and again at 10:30 pm Eastern/9:30 Central. The splashier ceremony will air live at 7 pm Eastern/6 pm Central on Sunday, September 18, on ABC.