Goddamn It, Several Great People Won Emmys and Several More were Nominated

It feels stupid to feel stupid about getting emotionally involved in Hollywood awards ceremonies, but, you know, life is suffering short, so one may as well be candid. The 67th Emmy Awards happened last night, and an impressive number of massively talented humans were (further) rewarded for their ample talents at it. People looked sexually attractive in conventional and unconventional ways. Bilaterally symmetrical facial features were privileged. Feelings were convincingly enacted. Andy Samberg was very funny. It’s an old saw that the lives of beautiful, famous, rich people take up more space in most people’s consciousnesses than is appropriate, but just because something feels dirty doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

However, there’s some consolation in knowing that given the options, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences chose to recognize the brilliant likes of Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Uzo Aduba, Reg E. Cathey, Margo Martindale, Jeffrey Tambor, Bradley Whitford, Joan Cusack, Richard Jenkins, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Armando Iannucci, Lisa Cholodenko
, and Jill Soloway. And in a field that included staggeringly excellent fellow nominees like Bob Odenkirk, Liev Schreiber, Jonathan Banks, Alan Cumming, Christine Baranski, Cicely Tyson, Louis C.K., Don Cheadle, William H. Macy, Edie Falco, Amy Poehler, Lily Tomlin, Andre Braugher, Kate McKinnon, Paul Giamatti, Pamela Adlon, David Oyelowo, Tina Fey, Jessica Lange, Felicity Huffman, Emma Thompson, Denis O’Hare, Steven Soderbergh, Lesli Linka Glatter, and John Ridley. It was an extraordinarily strong year for real artists who do popular work.

Even the more obvious wins like Jon Hamm (Oustanding Lead Actor for Mad Men) and Amy Schumer (Outstanding Variety Sketch Series, Inside Amy Schumer) were on the side of the angels. There were only a couple of highway robbery moments, but if there’s a world in which Mark Rylance didn’t win Outstanding Actor in a Mini-series or Movie for Wolf Hall, at least he lost to Richard Jenkins (for Olive Kitteredge). Likewise Jonathan Banks (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Better Call Saul) losing to to Peter Dinklage (for Game of Thrones), and Taraji P. Henson (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Empire) to Viola Davis for How to Get Away With Murder. Can a world in which Rylance’s Thomas Cromwell, Banks’s Mike Ehrmantraut, and Henson’s Cookie Lyon don’t vet vaulted to the winners’ circle ever be called truly just? As Harvey Graynamore once told a confused young man named Joe Banks, “Damned if I know, kemosabe. All I know is that when you’re making those kind of calls, you’re in the high country.” (And never fear: Cookie comes back.)

Viola Davis’s supercharged victory speech has been posted everywhere, and with good reason. I hope they make it its whole own cable channel. But for now it bears reposting and rewatching. There’s enough conviction, compassion, and righteous zeitgeist emotion in those 110 seconds to justify the hours of pomp and self-congratulation that made it possible.

Outstanding Drama Series: Game of Thrones

Better Call Saul

Orange Is the New Black

Downton Abbey

Homeland

House of Cards

Mad Men



Outstanding Comedy Series: Veep


Louie

Modern Family

Parks and Recreation 

Silicon Valley

Transparent

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt


Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Claire Danes, Homeland
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom

Kyle Chandler, Bloodline

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul

Jim Carter, Downton Abbey

Alan Cumming, The Good Wife

Michael Kelly, House of Cards

Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife

Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones

Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey

Lena Headey, Game of Thrones

Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Reg E. Cathey, House of Cards

F. Murray Abraham, Homeland
Alan Alda, The Blacklist

Beau Bridges, Masters of Sex
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife

Pablo Schreiber, Orange Is the New Black

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Margo Martindale, The Americans
Khandi Alexander, Scandal
Rachel Brosnahan, House of Cards
Allison Janney, Masters of Sex
Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones
Cicely Tyson, How to Get Away With Murder

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Louis C.K., Louie
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
William H. Macy, Shameless

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish

Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth

Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep


Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer

Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Tony Hale, Veep
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Adam Driver, Girls
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Allison Janney, Mom

Julie Bowen, Modern Family

Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory

Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Niecy Nash, Getting On

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Bradley Whitford, Transparent
Mel Brooks, The Comedians
Louis C.K., Saturday Night Live
Paul Giamatti, Inside Amy Schumer
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live
Jon Hamm, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt


Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Joan Cusack, Shameless
Pamela Adlon, Louie
Elizabeth Banks, Modern Family
Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
Tina Fey, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Gaby Hoffmann, Girls

Outstanding Reality Competition Program: The Voice


Top Chef

Dancing With the Stars

The Amazing Race

So You Think You Can Dance

Project Runway

Outstanding Variety Series: The Daily Show

The Colbert Report
Jimmy Kimmel Live

Last Week Tonight

Late Show With David Letterman

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series: The Daily Show

The Colbert Report
Inside Amy Schumer
Key & Peele
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series: Chuck O’Neil, The Daily Show
James Hoskinson, The Colbert Report
Amy Schumer and Ryan McFaul, Inside Amy Schumer
Jerry Foley, Late Show With David Letterman
Dave Diomedi, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series: Inside Amy Schumer
Drunk History
Key & Peele
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Limited Series: Olive Kitteridge
American Crime

American Horror Story: Freak Show
The Honorable Woman 

Wolf Hall

Outstanding Actor in a Mini-series or Movie: Richard Jenkins, Olive Kitteridge

David Oyelowo, Nightingale

Adrien Brody, Houdini

Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall

Ricky Gervais, Derek



Outstanding Actress in a Mini-series or Movie: Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge

Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Freak Show

Felicity Huffman, American Crime

Queen Latifah, Bessie

Emma Thompson, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Live From Lincoln Center

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie: Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge

Richard Cabral, American Crime
Denis O’Hare, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Damian Lewis, Wolf Hall
Michael Kenneth Williams, Bessie
Finn Wittrock, American Horror Story: Freak Show

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Limited Series or Movie: Regina King, American Crime

Angela Bassett, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Zoe Kazan, Olive Kitteridge
Mo’Nique, Bessie
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Freak Show

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Transparent, “Best New Girl,” Jill Soloway
Louie, “Sleepover,” Louis C.K.
Silicon Valley, “Sand Hill Shuffle,” Mike Judge
The Last Man on Earth, “Alive in Tucson (Pilot),” Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Veep, “Testimony,” Armando Iannucci

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: Veep, “Election Night,” Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche
Episodes, “Episode 409,” David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik
Louie, “Bobby’s House,” Louis C.K.
Silicon Valley, “Two Days of the Condor,” Alec Berg
The Last Man on Earth, “Alive in Tucson (Pilot),” Will Forte
Transparent, “Pilot,” Jill Soloway

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Game of Thrones, “Mother’s Mercy,” David Nutter
Boardwalk Empire, “Eldorado,” Tim Van Patten
Game of Thrones, “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken,” Jeremy Podeswa
Homeland, “From A to B and Back Again,” Lesli Linka Glatter
The Knick, “Method and Madness,” Steven Soderbergh

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Game of Thrones, “Mother’s Mercy,” David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Better Call Saul, “Five-O,” Gordon Smith
Mad Men, “Lost Horizon,” Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner
Mad Men, “Person to Person,” Matthew Weiner
The Americans, “Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?” Joshua Brand

Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or a Dramatic Special: Olive Kitteridge, Lisa Cholodenko

American Horror Story: Freak Show, Ryan Murphy
Bessie, Dee Rees
Houdini, Uli Edel
The Honorable Woman, Hugo Blick
The Missing, Tom Shankland
Wolf Hall, Peter Kosminsky

Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special: Olive Kitteridge, Jane Anderson

American Crime, “Episode One,” John Ridley
Bessie, Dee Rees, Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois, and Horton Foote
Hello Ladies: The Movie, Stephen Merchant, Gene Stupnitsky, and Lee Eisenberg
The Honorable Woman, Hugo Blick
Wolf Hall, Peter Straughan