The 2009 Emmy award nominees have been announced, and as always there are a few surprises. Namely, HBO’s Grey Gardens kind of cleaned house with 17 nominations, as noted by Choire at the Awl. (To put this in perspective, John Adams — which we think generated a lot more critical buzz — scored 23 last year. Strange, right?) Our favorite show on TV 30 Rock has the most-ever nominations for a comedy series in a single year: 22. Now will America finally start watching?
We were shocked that Friday Night Lights failed to garner a nod for Best Dramatic Series, but we were glad to see that AMC landed both Breaking Bad (which is really fantastic) and Mad Men in that category. Mad Men won last year, so we’re rooting for first-time nominees Big Love or Breaking Bad. Also: Where’s True Blood?
Looking at the Best Comedy Series category actually left us feeling depressed. Entourage? The Office? Weeds? All three of these shows have seen much better days, although we’re not really sure what series we would have nominated instead. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? The Big Bang Theory? Maybe it doesn’t really matter. 30 Rock has this one in the bag.
For Best Actor, Drama Series you already know that we want our crush Jon Hamm to win, but if we’re being really honest with ourselves, it should probably go to Gabriel Byrne for his work on In Treatment. (Hamm is also up for his guest role on 30 Rock, so maybe we’ll let Byrne have this one.) The Best Actress, Drama Series category is dominated by film stars — Glenn Close, Sally Field, Kyra Sedgwick, and Holly Hunter — so we’re hoping it goes to Mad Men‘s Elisabeth Moss instead. (Plus, we really liked her in Speed-the-Plow.)
The Best Supporting Actor, Drama Series category pits veteran actors William Shatner and William Hurt against one another. We’re actually rooting for John Slattery, who is one of the best parts of Mad Men — plus we loved him as the water sports-loving politico on Sex and the City. We’re not sure who should win in the Best Supporting Actress, Drama Series category, but we don’t think either of the Grey’s Anatomy gals deserves the trophy — Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson have both had stronger seasons in the past. Maybe Hope Davis or Dianne Wiest for In Treatment?
For Best Actor, Comedy Series we’re rooting for Alec Baldwin (who had a really strong season), but we don’t really care who wins as long as it isn’t Tony Shalhoub from Monk. For Best Actress, Comedy Series it MUST be Tina Fey. We won’t even discuss the other nominees (sorry, Toni!).
The race for Best Supporting Actor, Comedy Series is a little more intense, as pits a handful of our favorites against one another: Tracy Morgan, Kevin Dillon, Neil Patrick Harris, and Rainn Wilson. Best Supporting Actress, Comedy Series is likely to go to Amy Poehler for her final work on SNL, even though funny (and deserving) ladies Jane Krakowski and Kristin Wiig put in a lot more screen time. That’s OK, as long as Vanessa Williams doesn’t win for Ugly Betty. Who is still watching that show?
The Emmys will air on September 20 on CBS. Brace yourselves now for our live blogging of the big event.