Thursday, July 14, 2011

2011 Emmy Watch [Part 3]


For the past two days, I shared my predictions for the acting categories for both DRAMA and COMEDY and to conclude my 2011 Emmy Watch I'm gonna share which shows I think will be called out on today's 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards nominations announcement. Please note that this is a list of who I think WILL be nominated and not who I WANT to be nominated and my predictions are basically based on buzz, predictions from "experts", voting trends in the past and threw out some wild guesses as well to shake things up.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES








Current champ and three-time winner "Mad Men" will be competing to go 4/4 and they have a great shot to achieve that although this time around it will face stiff competition with HBO's period drama "Boardwalk Empire" which already picked up Golden Globe and SAG awards. The dark horse is the red hot "The Good Wife" which gained stronger critical support the past season and is the standard bearer of broadcast dramas. Fantasy and sci-fi shows don't usually get much support on the Emmy awards but "True Blood" got in last year and I think the more critically-acclaimed "Game of Thrones" has the momentum and could sneak in a nomination. Perennial nominee "Dexter" will likely return while "Friday Night Lights" will bid for its first and last nomination. "Friday Night Lights" made waves last awards when it scored three major nominations for its actors Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton and another one for writing. With the show already ended and DirecTV's heavy campaign, FNL has a real shot of breaking in this year. It's now or never

Wildcard


This FX drama got a strong critical support for its second season and if the voters heard the loud raves for this show there's a great chance it could get 'Breaking Bad's slot which is not eligible this year. Plus the buzz for its supporting actress Margo Martindale is pretty strong and could help carry the show for a nomination.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES















"Modern Family" and "Glee" will battle it out again for this award, yes there's no doubt both shows will get nominated this year. "30 Rock" ended its winning streak last year but it does not mean that the Emmy voters will forget them for good, it had a good season with buzzed episodes so this show is pretty much a lock for another nod this year. I predicted the "The Office" will not make it to the nominations last year after a sub-par season but they did and this year I'm quite sure they will be nominated again after producing a couple of strong episodes especially with Steve Carell's Michael Scott departure. "Nurse Jackie" was a surprise nominee last year (and I suspect mainly because of Edie Falco) and I think this pseudo-sitcom will still make it this year. "Parks and Recreation" is arguably the best reviewed sitcom overall the past season and NBC acknowledged that and launched an aggressive campaign and I strongly believe it will pay off with major nominations.
Wildcards




I predicted that "The Big Bang Theory" would get a nod last year and be the only traditional sitcom to make it but I was wrong and the show was snubbed but the good side is Jim Parsons' won for Lead Actor so it could help the show finally crack the series nominations field but I'm managing my expectations so I kept them as wildcard because it could be just a case the voters just like Jim Parsons and the show's geeky nature might not be something they prefer. Meanwhile, Showtime's "Episodes" featuring Matt LeBlanc received mixed reviews from critics but the show is a satire on producing sitcoms adapted from a foreign material and since the voters are from the TV industry (duh!) and they like shows that they could relate to (30 Rock, Entourage) so don't be surprise is "Episodes" could sneak in a nomination later.

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And there you go! I'm so excited to find out LATER the nominations this year! I really hope to see some new faces and I hope a lot of my personal favorites would be recognized! Tomorrow, I will share my comments and thoughts on the actual nominees list :)


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