Critics Choice TV Awards Keep Getting It Right
L-R: Michael Cudlitz (Southland), Casey Wilson (Happy Endings), Monica Potter (Parenthood), Regina King (Southland)
Emmys Schmemmys. Those jokers rarely get it right, but for the third year in a row the Broadcast Television Journalists Association has nominated a worthy crop of shows/actors/actresses for their annual Critics Choice Television Awards. Besides showing love for my personal (and professional) picks for recognition – Monica Potter! Regina King! Michael Kudlitz! Caesy Wilson! – they also shared lots of love with TV’s biggest comedy, The Big Bang Theory. A quick side note – The Big Bang Theory is actually a good show. It’s funny, which is what we hope for from our comedies. The script is tight and the actors deliver. The beating it often takes from critics is completely unwarranted. End of side note.
A few notes:
- It’s good to see The Americans break out, with four nominations. Nothing for my girl Margo Martindale though?
- Nominees represent the most diverse grouping ever for a TV awards ceremony, with FX, USA, BBC America, A&E, ABC Family, Netflix and Sundance Channel all joining the usual suspects. Further proof that broadcast networks need to scramble.
- Alfre Woodard, still reliable. Someone give her a starring role.
- The ceremony will be broadcast via Ustream on June 10 (it’s also TV’s shortest awards “season.” How fresh is that?), hosted by Parks and Recreations‘ Retta.
Below, check out the nominees.
BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Americans
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Homeland
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Damian Lewis (Homeland)
Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead)
Timothy Olyphant (Justified)
Matthew Rhys (The Americans)
Kevin Spacey (House of Cards)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Danes (Homeland)
Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)
Keri Russell (The Americans)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad)
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones)
Michael Cudlitz (Southland)
Noah Emmerich (The Americans)
Walton Goggins (Justified)
Corey Stoll (House of Cards)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter)
Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones)
Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad)
Regina King (Southland)
Monica Potter (Parenthood)
Abigail Spencer (Rectify)
BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jim Beaver (Justified)
Jane Fonda (The Newsroom)
Martha Plimpton (The Good Wife)
Carrie Preston (The Good Wife)
Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones)
Jimmy Smits (Sons of Anarchy)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Big Bang Theory
Louie
The Middle
New Girl
Parks and Recreation
Veep
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Don Cheadle (House of Lies)
Louis C.K. (Louie)
Jake Johnson (New Girl)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation)
Jeremy Sisto (Suburgatory)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Laura Dern (Enlightened)
Zooey Deschanel (New Girl)
Lena Dunham (Girls)
Sutton Foster (Bunheads)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Max Greenfield (New Girl)
Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory)
Alex Karpovsky (Girls)
Adam Pally (Happy Endings)
Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation)
Danny Pudi (Community)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Carly Chaikin (Suburgatory)
Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory)
Sarah Hyland (Modern Family)
Melissa Rauch (The Big Bang Theory)
Eden Sher (The Middle)
Casey Wilson (Happy Endings)
BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A COMEDY SERIES
Melissa Leo (Louie)
David Lynch (Louie)
Bob Newhart (The Big Bang Theory)
Patton Oswalt (Parks and Recreation)
Molly Shannon (Enlightened)
Patrick Wilson (Girls)
BEST MOVIE OR MINISERIES
American Horror Story: Asylum
Behind the Candelabra
The Crimson Petal and the White
The Hour
Political Animals
Top of the Lake
BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Benedict Cumberbatch (Parade’s End)
Matt Damon (Behind the Candelabra)
Michael Douglas (Behind the Candelabra)
Toby Jones (The Girl)
Al Pacino (Phil Spector)
Dominic West (The Hour)
BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Angela Bassett (Betty & Coretta)
Romola Garai (The Hour)
Rebecca Hall (Parade’s End)
Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Asylum)
Elisabeth Moss (Top of the Lake)
Sigourney Weaver (Political Animals)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE OR MINISERIES
James Cromwell (American Horror Story: Asylum)
Peter Mullan (Top of the Lake)
Zachary Quinto (American Horror Story: Asylum)
Sebastian Stan (Political Animals)
David Wenham (Top of the Lake)
Thomas M. Wright (Top of the Lake)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Ellen Burstyn (Political Animals)
Sienna Miller (The Girl)
Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story: Asylum)
Lily Rabe (American Horror Story: Asylum)
Imelda Staunton (The Girl)
Alfre Woodard (Steel Magnolias)
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First Look: Crisis (NBC)
Photo courtesy of NBC.
SHOW: Crisis, drama
WHO: Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), Dermot Mulroney (New Girl), Rachael Taylor (666 Park Avenue), Michael Beach (Third Watch), James Lafferty (One Tree Hill), Lance Gross (House of Payne), Halston Sage (How to Rock), Max Martini (Revenge), Max Schneider (How to Rock), Joshua Erenberg (Suburgatory)
WHAT: When Washington’s most powerful players are pulled into an international conspiracy, an unlikely puppeteer will bring everyone from CEOs to The President of the United States to their knees by threatening the things they hold most dear.
WHEN: Sundays, 10:00 PM EST (midseason)
WHERE: NBC
BOTTOM LINE: Looks good. Great cast. Heavy serialization. Just what I like. Which means it’ll probably only last 4 episodes.
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Not yet following me on Twitter? Get on the sofa: @josephrileyland
First Look: Star-Crossed (The CW)
Photo courtesy of The CW.
SHOW: Star-Crossed, drama
WHO: Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights), Matt Lanter (90210), Malese Jow (The Vampire Diaries), Titus Mankin Jr. (Glee), Grey Damon (Friday Night Lights), Natalie Hall (All My Children), Greg Finley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager), Maggie Elizabeth Jones (the only good thing about Ben and Kate), Chelsea Gilligan
WHAT: Passion and politics threaten the peace and an epic romance ignites between a human girl (Teegarden) and an alien boy when he and eight others of his kind (The Orion 9) are integrated into a suburban high school ten years after they and hundreds of others landed on Earth and were immediately consigned to an internment camp where they’ve been imprisoned ever since.
WHEN: TBA (midseason)
WHERE: The CW
BOTTOM LINE: The CW is going really sci-fi this season. This show has Teegarden from the beloved Friday Night Lights. so expect a loyal (if small) following. In theory, it sounds interesting. I like how the clip they released reminds us of integration of schools in the US in the sixties. Only time will tell if they really delve in or if that’s only skin deep.
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First Look: Surviving Jack (Fox)
Photo courtesy of Fox.
SHOW: Surviving Jack, comedy
WHO: Chris Meloni (Law & Order: SVU), Connor Buckley (Deception), Claudia Lee (Hart of Dixie), Kevin Hernandez, Tyler Foden
WHAT: Based on Justin Halpern’s book I Suck at Girls, it’s a story about a boy becoming a man, and a man becoming a father, in a time before coming of age was something you could Google.
WHEN: TBA (midseason)
WHERE: Fox
BOTTOM LINE: In 3 minutes it looks better than that other retro TV show, The Goldbergs. Meloni is a king in drama, but I’m not sure how I will like him in a comedy. I didn’t hate what I just saw. We’ll see… Oh, and with Hart of Dixie being renewed, Lee will probably be recast. She’s a decent actress, actually.
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First Look: Us and Them (Fox)
Photo courtesy of Fox.
SHOW: Us and Them, comedy
WHO: Jason Ritter (Parenthood), Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls), Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Kurt Fuller (Psych), Kerri Kenney (Reno 911!), Dustin Ybarra (Californication), Ashlie Atkinson (Eat Pray Love)
WHAT: Based on the BBC series Gavin & Stacey, friends and family are the best support and the worst nightmare when two very different lovers (Ritter, Bledel) meet and try to make a long-distance relationship work.
WHEN: TBA (midseason)
WHERE: Fox
BOTTOM LINE: People love Ritter. I don’t get it. Not on Parenthood. Not on The Event. The preview did nothing for me. But maybe I’ll give it a shot, just because, but no promises.
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First Look: We Are Men (CBS)
Photo courtesy of CBS.
SHOW: We Are Men, comedy
WHO: Chris Smith, Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar), Jerry O’Connell (The Defenders), Tony Shalhoub (Monk), Rebecca Breeds
WHAT: A young guy (Smith) finds camaraderie living among the more experienced guys he meets in a short-term rental complex following being dumped at the alter.
WHEN: Mondays, 8:30 PM EST
WHERE: CBS
BOTTOM LINE: Very CBS. Someone will watch this mess; it just won’t be me.
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Not yet following me on Twitter? Get on the sofa: @josephrileyland
First Look: The 100 (The CW)
Photo courtesy of The CW.
SHOW: The 100, drama
WHO: Eliza Taylor, Henry Ian Cusick (Lost), Kelly Hu (Arrow), Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy), Eli Goree, Bob Morley, Marie Avgeropoulos (Cult), Paige Turco, Thomas McDonell, Christopher Larkin
WHAT: Ninety-seven years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization, a spaceship housing the lone human survivors sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth to investigate the possibility of re-colonizing the planet. Based on the forthcoming The Hundred book series.
WHEN: TBA (midseason)
WHERE: The CW
BOTTOM LINE: It’s a story about one hundred young men and women, mostly white. It sounds and looks a lot like The CW. It also reminds me of Terra Nova. None of those things makes it exciting. But, Isaiah Washington and Henry Ian Cusick do. I’ll watch the pilot for them. That’ll determine if they get anything else.
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