The September 18 Emmys are still a long time away, but the nominations were announced last night. Here’s our expert analysis on who will win, who should win, and who got snubbed.
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men
Who Will Win: Mad Men. This is there year to break through the Breaking Bad wall. Boardwalk has a strong chance as well, but I think the boys at SCDP are going to be happy come Emmy night.
Who Should Win: Friday Night Lights. The final season of FNL was not its best (season 1 or 4), but was still very good, and getting a symbolic win in its last season would be great to see. Don’t hold your breath though.
Who Was Snubbed: Justified. Seriously, how was this show forgotten?
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
The Office
30 Rock
Parks and Recreation
Who Will Win: Too Close to Call. This is a really tight category, where any of these shows could take the statue, but…
Who Should Win: Parks and Recreation. Hands down the funniest show with the best cast. The show went nuts this year, with no weak episodes, and if it doesn’t win, I’ll go on a hunger strike (or probably just be mad for a few days).
Who Was Snubbed: Community. The show had a few brilliant episodes this season, including a few that were light on the wacky humor that helped build the shows fanbase, but heavy on tremendously done storytelling. A shame it didn’t get a nod.
BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Timothy Olyphant, Justified
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Who Will Win: Jon Hamm. It’s his year to hold the statue before Cranston comes back. And honestly, if you saw the episode “The Suitcase,” you’ll have no problem agreeing with me.
Who Should Win: Kyle Chandler. Like FNL in the Drama Series category, this would be symbolic, though Chandler was pitch perfect in his final season as Coach Taylor, and deserves it outright.
Who Was Snubbed: This category is surprisingly tight. Not much you can argue here.
BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Mariska Hargitay, SVU
Mirelle Enos, The Killing
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Who Will Win: Elisabeth Moss. If you saw Hamm in “The Suitcase,” you know Moss deserves an Emmy for her work too. She’s past due, and this will be her year.
Who Should Win: Connie Britton. If I had a vote, I’d vote for Moss, but Britton spent five years doing phenomenal work as Tammy Taylor, and it’s sad to see her come away from it all empty handed.
Who Was Snubbed: January Jones, Mad Men. I’m not the biggest January Jones fan, and Betty didn’t have much to do this season, but when she was on screen, the whole mood of the scene changed. Betty was fascinating to watch this year, thanks in large part to Jones.
BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
Amy Poehler, Parks & Recreation
Who Will Win: Amy Poehler. Tina Fey might surprise, but I think this is Poehler’s year. She was very good all season, and I think that will be hard to ignore.
Who Should Win: Amy Poehler. Seriously. She was great.
Who Was Snubbed: Alison Brie, Community. Annie is one of the sweeter, more fun characters on TV right now. Just watch her try and be someone else in the bar night episode, you’ll see what I mean.
BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Steve Carell, The Office
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Louie C.K., Louie
Who Will Win: Steve Carell. He hasn’t won an Emmy yet for playing his most iconic roll, and this is the last chance. Voters won’t forget that.
Who Should Win: Louie C.K. It seems like an odd nomination, but it’s sort of Louie‘s consolation prize.
Who Was Snubbed: Joel McHale, Community. The longer he’s on Community, the better he’s getting.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY
Chris Colfer, Glee
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Who Will Win: Ty Burrell. It’s gotta be someone from Modern Family, and it might as well be the most consistently funny.
Who Should Win: If not Burrell, Eric Stonestreet. After Phil, Cam is among the funniest characters on TV.
Who Was Snubbed: A long list here, including Danny Pudi, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Rainn Wilson, all of whom did fantastic work this season on shows that were not Modern Family.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Walton Goggins, Justified
John Slattery, Mad Men
Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age
Who Will Win: John Slattery. Like I said, it’s Mad Men’s year to break through the Breaking Bad wall.
Who Should Win: Walter Goggins or Peter Dinklage. Both were fantastic, but will certainly be forgotten come voting time.
Who Was Snubbed: Not to bring in more Mad Men, but the more the show has gone on the more I like Vincent Kartheiser as Pete, who has yet to get a nomination.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY
Jane Lynch, Glee
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Who Will Win: Kristen Wiig. This will be her anointment into stardom, much the same way Tina Fey (and hopefully Amy Pohler) got her first Emmy en route to a successful movie career. She deserves it too.
Who Should Win: Julie Bowen. Claire isn’t a likable character without her.
Who Was Snubbed: Rashida Jones, Parks and Recreation. Poor, beautiful Anne.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Margo Martindale, Justified
Michelle Forbes, The Killing
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Who Will Win: Christina Hendricks. This is a really tight category full of deserving actresses, but she’ll have the Mad Men luck behind her.
Who Should Win: Margo Martindale. If you’ve watched Justified, you know why.
Who Was Snubbed: No one here. Fantastic group of actresses.
OUTSTANDING MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey
The Kennedys
Mildred Pierce
The Pillars of the Earth
Too Big to Fail
BEST VARIETY SERIES
The Colbert Report
Conan
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Real Time with Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live
OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM
Antiques Roadshow
Undercover Boss
OUTSTANDING REALITY COMPETITION
The Amazing Race
American Idol
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
Conan O’Brien has been keeping busy before his new TBS talk show premieres in November, with a traveling road show and now, a rockabilly EP and spoken word single, out next week on Jack White’s Third Man label. The EP, Conan O’Brien Live at Third Man, came from a live performance in June, and features a duet with CoCo’s longtime pal White. The single, And They Call Me Mad?, is an improvised, spoken word telling of the Frankenstein story, with a B-Side of White interviewing Conan. Both will be available for purchase in physical form
Here you go folks, your 2010 Emmy Nominations! A little bit of snap analysis accompanies each category. Sound off on your thoughts in the comments!
We’ve followed the NBC-Conan-Leno Triangle of Mistrust for almost six months now, but it seems that Conan’s recent 60 Minutes interview rustled a few feathers back at NBC. If you missed the interview, there wasn’t a lot that Conan did/could say regarding NBC and Jay Leno. He did get a few shots in, saying he didn’t get a fair chance and that if he had been in Leno’s shoes, he wouldn’t have taken The Tonight Show back. What NBC is apparently upset about how ever is a remark that Conan made regarding why he got the boot instead of Leno. Conan said that basically, NBC bought out Conan instead of Leno because he was cheaper, adding that Leno would have cost around $150 million, which was more than three times what they eventually paid Conan. NBC has responded today through
Though he’s on a 
Despite several months of bad press and a terrible prime time show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno has regained the lead in the Late Night ratings scrum. Through it all, Leno has somehow managed to win back 82% of the audience he had before moving to a 10pm prime time show. The Late Show with David Letterman has slipped back into second place, but the gap between the two shows is significantly smaller than it was before Conan O’Brien took over the once proud NBC franchise. The problem both shows are facing though is an aging audience, with Leno averaging viewers aged 56 and Letterman 54. Viewers in the coveted 18-34 bracket are instead tuning into cable programing on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and Comedy Central. This could be an important note for Conan, who could jump to cable for a new show. And thus concludes our ratings lesson for the day. Read more at
Conan O’Brien announced the 30 dates for his upcoming “The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour” this morning. The dates cover the whole country and even include a stop at Bonnaroo. No word on what the tour will include other than, “A night of music, comedy, hugging, and the occasional awkward silence.” Head over to
When he’s not