PrimetimeEmmys-related stories
Posted Oct 26th 2009 6:36PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Celebrities, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
During the recent broadcast of the
Primetime Emmys, one of the funniest presenters was
Ricky Gervais. It's not surprising that Ricky was funny that night. He's a brilliant comic actor, writer and director. I say this even after suffering through
The Invention of Lying, a film that had a wonderful premise but was a crappy movie. Nevertheless, I still think he's fantastic. And I will watch the
67th Annual Golden Globes with Ricky Gervais as host.
The NBC censor's finger will surely be on the button January 17, the night of the broadcast, because you could imagine Ricky getting a wee bit close to the line of what you can and cannot say on TV. Although he's probably clever enough to say or do something that the censors wouldn't get till after it airs.
Continue reading Brilliant! Ricky Gervais to host the Golden Globes
Posted Jul 16th 2009 2:44PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, The Simpsons, Watercooler Talk, 30 Rock, Awards, Emmys, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory
Now that the excitement has died down, I've been scouring
the complete list of nominations. Here's a few observations... Then, let me know what you think.
-- Why bother with the Outstanding Mini-Series category? There were only two nominees worthy of a nomination. Exactly how many mini-series are even produced anymore? This is an outmoded TV format. Kill the category.
-- What's going on with the writers?
30 Rock dominates the comedy category and
Mad Men dominates the drama category. What are the chances that the lone nomination in each category wins? I'd say slim and none. I call for limitations; only two episodes per series. Writing is such a subjective thing anyway. If you like
30 Rock's scattershot humor, you're more likely to vote for it compared to a traditional sitcom like
Big Bang Theory. The latter should have snagged a nom for
The Lizard-Spock Expansion episode.
Continue reading Some random thoughts on the Emmy nominations
Posted Jul 15th 2009 4:29PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Awards, Weeds, Emmys, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
When it comes to the Primetime Emmy nominations, there are scads of terrific supporting performances to choose from in the comedy field. The difficulty is narrowing it down to just six actors and six actresses (which is better than last year's five each). Maybe the Emmys should take a page from the Academy Awards and double the number of nominations -- this year's Best Picture will include ten noms. That's not going to happen, but that doesn't mean my wish list discussion can't mention all those worthy comedy performers.
Last year's comedy winners,
Jean Smart for
Samantha Who? and Jeremy Piven for
Entourage, were both multiple winners. In Jean's case, it wasn't all for the same role, but Jeremy has been pulling a John Larroquette/Don Knotts in this category. (Larroquette and Knotts dominated this category; the former winning for
Night Court from 1985-88, while Knotts won five times for
The Andy Griffith Show from 1961-67). My wish list would start by shaking things up.
Continue reading Emmy Wish List: Supporting Categories - Comedy
Posted Jul 15th 2009 3:26PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, 24, House, Lost, Awards, Emmys, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Mad Men
Talk about a wealth of choices! When it comes to the Primetime Emmys in the supporting actor and actress categories for drama, there are a plethora of worthy candidates. Some shows, like
Mad Men or
Lost, for instance, have multiple choices in the supporting ranks, especially since these ensembles seem to have a hard time determining who's really the lead.
Earlier, I shared
my wish list for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama nominations, and I mentioned that Chloe Sevigny from
Big Love would be a deserving selection. A TV Squad reader let me know that Chloe has actually been submitted in the supporting category. Good to know, and with that in mind, I'll start my wish list by talking about that category. (Remember, there are six nominees per category.)
Continue reading Emmy Wish List: Supporting Categories - Drama
Posted Jul 14th 2009 2:01PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free, Mad Men
The actresses who have been competing for the Primetime Emmy award in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category these past few years are some of the top names in the business. Two-time Oscar winner
Sally Field for
Brothers & Sisters, multiple Emmy winner -- including last year's award --
Glenn Close for
Damages. Previous winner Mariska Hargitay for
Law & Order: SVU. Oh, yes, there's also
Saving Grace's Holly Hunter, another former Oscar winner, and Golden Globe winner Kyra Sedgwick for
The Closer.
All these ladies are worthy of winning nominations again, and it wouldn't be surprising to see one or all of them nominated. But if I were to have a say, there are some other women I hope to see recognized when the Primetime Emmy nominations are announced this Thursday.
Continue reading Emmy Wish List: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Posted Jun 10th 2009 11:09AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Mere hours after the series premiered on the cable net,
Showtime has renewed Nurse Jackie for a second season. Why so fast, you might wonder? Well, Showtime could point to the biggest premiere since 2004, but because it was on pay cable the total number of viewers is less than two million. Those are the kind of numbers that would get it canceled on USA or TNT, not to mention ABC or CBS, but for Showtime it's excellent.
Excellent is also what a majority of TV critics and bloggers -- including
Jane -- had to say about the Edie Falco dark comedy. Some were more effusive than others, but for all intents and purposes, the press was pro-Jackie from the get-go. But not everyone loved the show.
Nurses complained loudly about the depiction of their profession.
Continue reading That was fast! Showtime gives Nurse Jackie second season pickup
Posted Sep 10th 2008 2:01PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Celebrities, Emmys, Reality-Free
One of the highlights of this year's primetime Emmys is going to be musical. That's right, I'm psychic. I've looked into the future and can tell you without equivocation that
Josh Groban singing a medley of TV themes from 60 years of programs will stop the show.
On September 21, the night ABC broadcasts the big anniversary of the
Primetime Emmys, producer Ken Ehrlich has tapped balladeer Groban for a four-minute medley of TV themes. The mind reels with the possibilities of how many memorable melodies he can fit into 240 seconds.
Some choices seem obvious:
Cheers (where everybody knows your name),
The Jeffersons (movin' on up to the big time),
The Beverly Hillbillies (black gold, Texas T),
The Flintstones (they're a modern stone-aged family).
Like I said, the possibilities are vast, and the promise of a something hilarious is sure fire.
Continue reading Emmys to feature Josh Groban's TV theme medley
Posted Jul 18th 2008 2:05PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Emmys, WGA Strike, Reality-Free
For Ken Erhlich, executive producer of the Emmy broadcast, the goal is clear. "The war cry is always, 'What are we going to do and how are we going to make it better?' We did some inventive things, we changed it up, we understand that this is the industry's big night. This means something and we can't trivialize it, but we certainly can have some fun with it." He told me that last year, prior to the Emmy-in-the-round broadcast, a memorable -- and successful show.
In 2008, the decisions about the 60th anniversary Emmys are still in the works for the September LA broadcast, but one decision has already been made.
It won't be in the round. While it looked good on air, the industry didn't like it. "People loved it at home. It had a great look, but you know, you try things, you want to bring something fresh to the show."
Continue reading Big plans for 60th Emmy broadcast ... as long as there's no strike
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