TV Heartbeat! Emmy Nominations List! Finally some Tatiana Maslany Love! And the Snubs!

Oh the agony and the ecstasy of the Emmy nominations! The Television Academy finally got a thing or two right, but also, well, there are some names missing today.  Who made the cut and who didn’t?

Hallelujah! Finally we get some Emmy love for the outstanding performances of Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black! It’s taken a while to get here, but it’s all the more sweeter when she finally gets the recognition she so richly deserves! (Although several places are still misspelling her name –it ain’t that hard peoples!!)

I also have to cheer since Tatiana got the slot that’s normally reserved for Michelle Dockery’s increasingly bitchy Lady Mary in Downton Abbey.  I loved Downton Abbey, but the recent seasons haven’t been as strong and there are so many other worthy performances that should be recognized. The Television Academy can break their voting habits! Progress!

After an outstanding season, Game of Thrones leads the pack with an amazing 24 nominations including 4 acting nods for Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and Dame Diana Rigg.

Streaming networks Netflix and Amazon are breaking through in a big way with 34 and 12 nominations respectively. I’m guessing someone at NBC is feeling bad (or fired?) for kicking out Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which just landed 7 nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series for Netflix. Whoops!

For every happy story, there’s always disappointment. Considering how much truly amazing TV we have, there are bound to be omissions and, well the voters are quite conservative so they can be slow to change.

Outlander had some truly outstanding work, but it’s new and different and sometimes difficult material so it may take a year or two for the Academy to give the show some recognition. There was a lot of support for Caitriona Balfe and SamHeughan in particular so we may yet see them crowned next year.  (Hopefully Sam will have some episodes which aren’t quite as graphic to watch since the conservative Emmy voters may not reward such tough material).

I thought there was a strong chance for Outlander to be nominated for costumes, but American Horror Story, Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones and Wolf Hall got the nominations instead.  At least Bear McCreary was recognized for his outstanding score so we know voters are watching…

Bear McCreary, Raya Yarbrough and Paul Cartwright perform the Outlander main title theme

One of the biggest shows on TV and a perennial Emmy darling dropped off the list this year – no Best Comedy or Best Actor in a Comedy nomination for the Big Bang Theory. Those millions of dollars a year will have to be their own reward this year.

The Good Wife is also missing the top drama and actress nomination which may put the show in a precarious position for renewal since it’s not a big ratings draw. (It still has 4 nominations though.)

Constantine may have been cancelled, but it eked out a nomination for production design. The Flash, Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Vikings earned single nominations this year — for special effects. Jane the Virgin got a nod for best narrator (that’s a category?!?!), but nothing else.

Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mad Men
Orange is the New Black

Outstanding Comedy Series
Louis
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
Taraji P Henson, Empire
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy
Anthony Anderson, Blackish
Louis CK, Louis
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
William H Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambour, Transparent

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Allison Janney, Mom
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Adam Driver, Girls
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Titus Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep

Outstanding Actress in a Mini-series or Movie
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Queen Latifah, Bessie
Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge
Emma Thompson, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Live from Lincoln Center

Outstanding Actor in a Mini-series or Movie
Richard Jenkins, Olive Kitteridge
David Oyelowo, Nightingale
Adrien Brody, Houdini
Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall
Ricky Gervias, Derek

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie
Richard Cabral, American Crime
Denise O’Hare, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Finn Wittrock, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Michael Kenneth Williams, Bessie
Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge
Damian Lewis, Wolf Hall

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie
Regina King, American Crime
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Angela Bassett, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Mo’Nique, Bessie
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Zoe Kazan, Olive Kitteridge

Outstanding Reality Program
Amazing Race
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance?
Top Chef
The Voice

Outstanding Television Movie
Agatha Christie’s: Poirot’s Last Case, Acorn
Bessie, HBO
Grace of Monaco, Lifetime
Hello Ladies: The Movie, HBO
Killing Jesus, National Geographic
Nightingale, HBO

Outstanding Variety Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight
Late Show with David Letterman
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Outstanding Limited Series
American Crime
American Horror Story: Freak Show
The Honorable Woman
Olive Kitteridge
Wolf Hall

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
Drunk History, Comedy Central
Inside Amy Schumer, Comedy Central
Key & Peele, Comedy Central
Portlandia, IFC
Saturday Night Live, NBC

Outstanding Structured Reality Program
Antiques Roadshow, PBS
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Food Network
MythBusters, Discovery
Property Brothers, HGTV
Shark Tank, ABC
Undercover Boss, CBS

Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program
Alaska: The Last Frontier, Discovery
Deadliest Catch, Discovery
Intervention, A&E
Million Dollar Listing New York, Bravo
Naked & Afraid, Discovery Channel
Wahlburgers, A&E

Outstanding Reality Host
Jane Lynch, Hollywood Game Night
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Anthony Bourdain, The Taste

Stay tuned!

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