As the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences tries to whittle the submissions down to actual nominees, it's interesting to take a look at who has made it to the semifinals. It's not a nomination, but it's one step away. Today comes word of the finalists for best comedy actress and best supporting drama actor. There are some surprises.
Chief among those for me is Sarah Silverman. I honestly hadn't even considered her in the running. I'm not much of a fan, but I do like that she is being considered for the simple fact that the base the nominees are drawn from can always use some expansion. And if she is the most surprising inclusion, the most surprising snub just might be Teri Hatcher. Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross, and Felicity Huffman all made the cut, but not Hatcher. Ouch. The rest of the finalists, and the supporting actors from a drama, after the jump.
The complete list of finalists for comedy actress:
- Christina Applegate - Samantha Who?
- Marcia Cross - Desperate Housewives
- America Ferrera - Ugly Betty
- Tina Fey - 30 Rock
- Anna Friel - Pushing Daisies
- Felicity Huffman - Desperate Housewives
- Eva Longoria - Desperate Housewives
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus - New Adventures Of Old Christine
- Mary-Louise Parker - Weeds
- Sarah Silverman - The Sarah Silverman Program
If I can only pick one, it would be Anna Friel. The list of supporting actors in a drama doesn't look quite as controversial, but with so few spots somebody is going to get overlooked. Lost scores two of the coveted spots, and probably the most surprising name missing from the list. Naveen Andrews and Michael Emerson are great, but I'd take Terry O'Quinn over both of them every time. Not so with the academy. The biggest surprise for me here is Bruce Dern on Big Love. The finalists:
- Naveen Andrews - Lost
- Bruce Dern - Big Love
- Christian Clemenson - Boston Legal
- Ted Danson - Damages
- Michael Emerson - Lost
- Zeljko Ivanek - Damages
- T.R. Knight - Grey's Anatomy
- William Shatner - Boston Legal
- John Slattery - Mad Men
- Blair Underwood - In Treatment
- Jake Weber - Medium
I could have gone for Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad, but I'll take Christian Clemenson for the win, and consider it a long overdue nod to Briscoe County Jr. Members will now watch the submitted episodes for all of the finalists and rank them from 1 to 10 before the two groups are knocked down to a final list of nominees. What do you think? Who doesn't belong on the list? Who was overlooked?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-01-2008 @ 8:39AM
fowak said...
I would add Alyson Hannigan for female comedy. BUT since HIMYM gets overlooked every year, I'm not surprised she's missing.
As far as the men in the drama category go, I'm SO pleased Micheal Emerson is being considered. He plays the most intriguing character on television today. And he does it WELL. A nice surprise to see Naveen up there, too!
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7-01-2008 @ 8:56AM
segsig said...
I agree with you on two counts: Anna Friel for the win and Bryan Cranston for being overlooked.
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7-01-2008 @ 8:57AM
justelise said...
I don't think Sarah Silverman should be considered. The rest of the actresses in the list are actual actresses who happen to be great at comedy. Sarah Silverman is a moderately funny stand-up comic who happens to be trying to act (sometimes successfully, more often than not unsuccessfully). I guess people find her funny, but as an actress I don't find her on the same level of talent as the rest of the women on that list. Sarah Silverman's brand of comedy just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe if I were 12 I'd be more enthused. When you stand her next to Tina Fey who is not only a brilliant comic actress, but a brilliant writer as well, or America Ferrara who is a brilliant dramatic actress with great comic timing, it seems like they threw in Sarah for the pity vote.
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7-01-2008 @ 9:02AM
Deezul said...
Please, no.
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7-01-2008 @ 9:05AM
StillBash said...
Since when is Desperate Housewives Comedy?!
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7-01-2008 @ 9:10AM
JFTA said...
I'm holding out hope that they are saving Cranston for "Lead Actor" or have they already announced those?
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7-01-2008 @ 9:32AM
Ryan said...
Anna Friel! This should mean Lee Pace will also be in the shortlist for the men's. Happy days!
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7-01-2008 @ 10:42AM
C C said...
I'm pleased both Blair Underwood and Bruce Dern made the top 11. I'll be ecstatic if they actually get nods.
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7-01-2008 @ 10:59AM
automagV said...
Ugh, she's annoying.
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7-01-2008 @ 11:17AM
Goats said...
It was already announced a few days ago that Bryan Cranston made the list for Best Actor in a Drama. Why the hell would he be on the supporting list?
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7-01-2008 @ 11:44AM
Brett said...
If there was an official announcement of the best actor category, I missed it. The only thing I've seen with regards to that award was a prediction by a group of critics that looked to have ten actors ahead of Cranston. That's why I mention him here, hoping they could sneak him into another category for a nomination because his was one of my favorite performances.
7-01-2008 @ 4:54PM
Jimmy said...
First things first: I agree with StillBash. I've only watched Desperate Housewives once -- for about 10 minutes in the Season One, but I'm surprised to read that it is a comedy.
Secondly, these awards seem to be turning into a youth soccer league, i.e. everyone gets a trophy. Is it really "an honor just to be nominated" when there are 10 or 11 nominees in each category?
And finally, Sarah Silverman is funny (I think I am one of the few fans of her show), but I'd put my money on Tina Fey and 30 Rock.
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7-01-2008 @ 5:07PM
Paul said...
There are still officially only 5 (or more if tied) nominees for each category. They are only announcing the "short lists" as they recently changed the nominating process to have 2 steps, allowing for a higher likelihood that the academy members will have actually SEEN the performances of the Top 10/11 and rank them accordingly.
It's not a perfect system, but it's the reason for these semi-finalist lists.
7-01-2008 @ 10:32PM
GL said...
Silverman is awesomely funny.
However, for this category I'll take JLD.
7-01-2008 @ 7:03PM
Anthony Carchidi said...
Desperate Housewives has always been a comedy for everything for some reason. Boston Legal was comedy at one point for some awards I think, but now it's drama everywhere. Brian Cranston isn't lead? And Locke hasn't been a good character this year and has gotten quite annoying so I'm glad he didn't make the cut. Michael Emmerson has a nomination all tied up due to the amazingness of his episode.
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7-01-2008 @ 7:04PM
AJ said...
Also yay for Anna Friel
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