If We Had an Emmy Ballot: The Best TV of 2010 to 2011

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Steve Buscemi of Boardwalk Empire Photo credit: HBO

Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Jeremy Irons, “The Borgias”
Hugh Laurie, “House”
Timothy Olyphant, “Justified”

The line-up above has changed more than any in this feature. If I actually did have an Emmy ballot, this is the one that would drive me absolutely crazy. (It nearly did here and my vote doesn’t even count.) How do you compare such a strong crop of choices?

Let’s start with the obvious runner-ups, the men who did strong work, but who I never actually considered for the final six — Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”), Ray Romano (“Men of a Certain Age”), Sean Bean (“Game of Thrones”), Denis Leary (“Rescue Me”), Holt McCallany (“Lights Out”), Donal Logue (“Terriers”), Nathan Fillion (“Castle”), Jason Clarke (“The Chicago Code”), Bill Paxton (“Big Love”), and Peter Krause (“Parenthood”). Some great actors in there and the real tragedy is that most of them are from shows that have been canceled, meaning that their chance at nomination is probably gone. I look forward to what they do next.

Two of our readers commented on the worth of Vincent D’Onofrio’s work on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and I won’t disagree. He’s an extremely accomplished actor. There’s a small problem, though, in that this Emmy year ran from June 2010 to May 2011 and most of this final season hits after that May deadline. In other words, he’d be a better candidate next year, if the Academy could remember that far back.

Who does that leave? Ten very worthy candidates who have circulated in and out of my dream nomination list like a revolving door. I love Gabriel Byrne’s work on “In Treatment,” but he just barely misses out. As for the AMC men — Andrew Lincoln (“The Walking Dead”) and Joel Kinnaman (“The Killing”) — they are both spectacular, but I think they need time develop. They just miss out to the veterans on the list above but I hope to be able to include at least one next year.

There are two new Showtime leading men that I’m sure are being strongly considered — William H. Macy for “Shameless” and Jeremy Irons for “The Borgias.” For some reason, I would only choose one and I went with the latter because I think he more clearly leads that program whereas Macy may not even be the best thing about “Shameless” (Emmy Rossum and Joan Cusack steal episodes).

As for the other finalists, Michael C. Hall, Jon Hamm, and Hugh Laurie seem inevitable and deservedly so. They have come to define their programs. HC reader Becky is right when she says Laurie has carried his program. Hall and Hamm do the same. They are true leads, and I expect they will be nominated, just as they were last year, and will be happy that Bryan Cranston won’t be there to steal the prize from them (I expect Hamm to finally win unless Buscemi steals it).

Finally, there’s Steve Buscemi and Timothy Olyphant. What more is there to say about these two amazing actors? Honestly, in all the iterations of this category through multiple drafts of this feature, they never lost their spots.

Mireille Enos of The Killing Photo credit: AMC

Best Lead Actress in a Drama

Connie Britton, “Friday Night Lights”
Mireille Enos, “The Killing”
Regina King, “Southland”
Juliana Margulies, “The Good Wife”
Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men”
Katey Sagal, “Sons of Anarchy”

Kyra Sedgwick walked away with this prize last year and is likely to get nominated again, although, admittedly, there are more deserving choices. I’d also leave last-year nominees Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: SVU”) and January Jones (“Mad Men”) off the list. As for former nominees, Connie Britton and Juliana Margulies absolutely deserve to be here and I expect both to be nominated (and Margulies to win), while Elisabeth Moss goes from supporting last year to lead this year. She’ll get in. And she deserved it.

But that leaves three spots (two if you think Sedgwick is getting in) — who deserves it?

Let’s start at the top — Mireille Enos gave the best Lead Actress performance of 2010-11 in AMC’s “The Killing.” She was riveting in every scene, taking a character who could have become a cliche (a single mother detective) and making her feel completely genuine. I don’t think it will happen, but I’d be ecstatic if Enos won. We need more strong, confident, intelligent female characters on TV.

Two more such characters belong to the great Regina King and Katey Sagal. King probably should have submitted as a Supporting Actress (I would consider everyone on TNT’s best program supporting), but she’s good enough that she can still break into this group. As for Sagal, she’s the best thing about “Sons of Anarchy” and won the Golden Globe just a few months ago. Yes, we should (and very likely could) have a situation where Peg and Al Bundy are both nominated for Emmys for the FIRST TIME. And given the strength of the premiere of NBC’s “Up All Night,” Christina Applegate is likely to join them next year. (Someone get David Faustino a pilot!)

As for runner-ups, the following talented ladies deserve mention and won’t aggravate me if they get nominated like Kathy Bates will if she lands a nod for the mediocre “Harry’s Law” (undeserving nods like that happen far too often when Oscar winners do TV) — Anna Paquin (“True Blood”), Stana Katic (“Castle”), Emmy Rossum (“Shameless”), Lauren Graham (“Parenthood”), and Anna Torv (“Fringe”).

Game of Thrones Photo credit: HBO

Best Drama

“Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)
“Dexter” (Showtime)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“The Good Wife” (CBS)
“Justified” (FX)
“Mad Men” (AMC)

I’ve been writing about television for a decade now and I’ve never had so much trouble filling out the six choices for TV’s best drama. It’s clearly a great time for fans of dramatic TV as evidenced by the eleven very worthy candidates for six spots here. If you ask me again tomorrow, I may say that my dream ballot would include “Friday Night Lights,” “In Treatment,” “Southland,” and “The Walking Dead.” And, believe it or not, I would even say that some of those shows are technically better than the ones I’ve chosen above, but Emmy nominations are a tricky business. They have influence. And there are reasons I went with my six. Here’s why:

First, a note on “The Killing” — I was a big fan of the program but, like most of you, think the finale was nothing but a cop-out, hampered by cheap, manipulative writing. The show demanded closure and it wasn’t there at ALL. It was like a talented team losing in the fourth quarter. It doesn’t impact the way I feel about any of the performances throughout the season and so I keep Enos and Forbes where they belong and won’t be too upset if the show gets the big nomination. But, and I can’t believe I’ll be alone here and expect actual voters to feel similarly, that last-minute fumble barely edges the program out of the top six…although the show certainly did enough right up until the end to warrant status as a runner-up.

Now, the runner-ups beyond the big five mentioned above that nearly made the cut. The next tier if you will: “Shameless,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “True Blood,” Big Love,” “Parenthood,” “Treme,” “Terriers,” “Lights Out,” “Fringe,” “The Borgias,” and “The Chicago Code.” I won’t scream if any of those are nominated like I will if “Private Practice” gets a Best Drama nod.

HollywoodChicago.com reader Joy makes the case for “Parenthood” by noting that she is “…never ready for the show to be over each episode and look forward to the next week.” In many ways, that’s what we all want from a drama, something we can’t wait to see again.

“Boardwalk Empire” and “Game of Thrones” — I went back and forth on whether or not to include both of HBO’s new series or pick a favorite, but I found that I just couldn’t choose one. Both programs represent what we need more of on television — ambition and scope. They perfectly embody what television can do that film cannot, with detailed storytelling and the kind of character depth that can only be found on TV (and usually only on HBO).

“Dexter” — Very few programs, if any, were as riveting as the fifth season of Showtime’s best series. And what was so remarkable about this year was how successfully the writers managed to build on what was arguably the most fascinating and daring season finales in history from the year before. “Dexter” (along with “The Walking Dead” and “The Killing” but this is the best of the three) is proof that violent programming doesn’t have to be stupid programming.

“The Good Wife” — Technically, I think “Dexter,” “Southland,” and “The Walking Dead” are better shows, but here’s why “The Good Wife” would make my cut: I’m not ready to give up on dramas on network TV and this one is the best. If all six of the nods here go to cable, it will only encourage the networks to program more reality shows and variations on “C.S.I.” A statement needs to be made that quality, character-driven storytelling can still survive on the broadcast nets. At least for another year.

“Justified” — The best program of the Spring as FX’s drama went from interesting in its first season to downright fascinating in its second. With more confidence, the entire production took off.

“Mad Men” — It would be illogical for the 4th season of AMC’s hit show to not get nominated. Will it win for a fourth straight year, something that has only happened twice before (“Hill Street Blues” & “The West Wing”) or will one of the strong new contenders stop the streak? I don’t think it should win, but it needs to be nominated just to make the race that much more exciting. Like so many categories this year, it should be fun to see how it all shakes out.

Who are your favorites? Who did we forget? Stay tuned all summer for Emmy coverage, including nominations on July 14th, 2011.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]