The Emmys announced their nominations Thursday morning and reaffirmed their commitment to most of the shows they already liked, at least in the drama category. Mad Men and American Horror Story led the nominations totals with 17 nominations each (a number AHS got to by reclassifying itself as a “miniseries,” which gave it less competition), followed closely by Downton Abbey (now competing as a drama series, rather than a miniseries) and History Channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys with 16 nominations. Modern Family garnered the most nominations for a comedy series with 14 nominations, while Homeland grabbed the most for a new series with nine nominations. HBO led for networks with 81 nominations, followed by CBS with 60 nominations and PBS with 58.
The drama series category had only slight changeover from last year, but it still marked an important milestone for the Emmys, as it’s the first time no broadcast networks have received a nomination in one of the two big series categories. The Good Wife, last year’s sole network representative, was pushed aside by either Breaking Bad (returning to the category after a year off) or Downton. (The other series “pushed out” was the not-returning Friday Night Lights.) In addition to Breaking Bad and Downton, nominations went to Boardwalk Empire, Game Of Thrones, Homeland, and Mad Men. The comedy series category saw a significant amount of change, as three of last year’s nominees—Glee, The Office, and Parks & Recreation (grrr)—were pushed aside by three HBO series: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Girls, and Veep. Curb is a perennial nominee that just wasn’t eligible last year and the other two are in their first years of eligibility. The broadcast network series The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and 30 Rock rounded out the category.
Nearly every good show on television was nominated for at least something, however, with several bright spots in the smaller categories. (One exception: Archer, which was nominated nowhere.) Community finally broke through into a major category with a nomination for writing for its multiple timelines episode (and the comedy writing category, in general, is a stronger set of nominees than the series nominees list), while Louis CK set a new record for most nominations for an individual at the Emmys in one year with seven nominations. (The previous record, held by David Lynch in the first year of Twin Peaks, was five.) In addition, the supporting categories are filled with deserving first-time nominees, from Giancarlo Esposito and Anna Gunn of Breaking Bad to Jared Harris of Mad Men. (AMC’s twin dramas broke through in a big way in the acting categories, with both receiving guest actor nominations as well, for Mark Margolis and Ben Feldman respectively.) The comedy acting categories were once again dominated by Modern Family but still made room for New Girl’s Max Greenfield and Nurse Jackie’s Merritt Wever.
Of course, there were curious snubs as well, including the epic Game Of Thrones episode “Blackwater” somehow missing out on directing in a drama series, and Vince Gilligan and his writing staff for Breaking Bad continuing to be unable to break through in writing in a drama series (perhaps because of the stranglehold Mad Men has on the category). The fact that Parks was unable to score a nomination for comedy series after doing so last year was enervating, as was the fact that CK could be nominated seven times but somehow not get nominated for Louie as a series. (Replace any two of Modern Family, Big Bang, and Curb with Louie and Parks, and this is one of the best Comedy Series lineups ever.) The Emmys are always going to do several bizarre things, but this year, the weirdness was very nearly matched by pleasant surprises and out-of-nowhere cool nominations, which doesn’t always happen. All in all, it was one of the better years, as far as nomination lists go.
A select list of nominees from categories you will care about follows. To read the complete list of nominees, go here.
Outstanding Drama Series:
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game Of Thrones
Homeland
Mad Men
Outstanding Comedy Series:
The Big Bang Theory
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Girls
Modern Family
30 Rock
Veep
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series:
Kathy Bates, Harry's Law
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series:
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damien Lewis, Homeland