the Television Set Waltz

It seems Mike and I (or any of you) didn't play the Emmy Guessing Game™ last year.

He probably was in a hissy fit back then and not talking to me or something. But now that a potential bounty of cookies are involved, he's all about the inclusion. So away we go.

Well, away we kind of go.

Where with the Oscars, they might be an educated guess, this is a full blown-out blindfolded pin the the tail on the donkey thing.

TV has changed - not that that is a bad thing. But it turns out, I'm not a good binge watcher. So many shows are now geared towards that method. I'm not a Game of Thrones fans (oh - some poor guys reading this just passed out!) and we just got Netflix, so.......since I don't binge, I haven't seen all of the shows here. Or many.

Crap that I watch won't get nominated.  Sorry House Hunters Off the Grid!  Sorry reruns of Law & Order: Criminal Intent!

So yeah. It's a guess. But I don't think Mike (or any of you who'd like to play along) are gonna do any better.

Prove me wrong.


(as it turns out, the Creative Arts Emmys were given last week, so anything in blue is a given for both any participant. They already won. We are really only counting the things in red.)


Drama series
"Game of Thrones"  "Mad Men" "Downton Abbey" "Orange Is the New Black" "Homeland"
"House  of Cards" "Better Call Saul"

Because it's time. 

Comedy series 
"Louie" "Modern Family" "Transparent" "Silicon Valley" "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" "Veep" "Parks and Recreation" Limited series "American Crime" "Olive Kitteridge" "American Horror Story: Freak Show" "The Honorable Woman" "Wolf Hall"

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

Because it's time. 

Actor in a drama
Bob Odenkirk, "Better Call Saul" Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards" Jeff Daniels, "The Newsroom" Kyle Chandler, "Bloodline" Liev Schreiber, "Ray Donovan" 

Because it's time. And the other nominees aren't that great. 

Actress in a comedy 
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep" Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation" Lily Tomlin, "Grace and Frankie" Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie" Amy Schumer, "Inside Amy Schumer" Lisa Kudrow, "Comeback"

I could got with Poehler (though not her best year in Parks and Rec). Louis-Dreyfus just nails it.

Actor in a comedy 
Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent" Louis C.K., "Louie" Anthony Anderson, "black-ish" William H. Macy, "Shameless" Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes" Don Cheadle, "House of Lies" Will Forte, "Last Man on Earth"

Actress in a limited series or movie 
Felicity Huffman, "American Crime" Frances McDormand, "Olive Kitteridge" Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Honorable Woman" Queen Latifah, "Bessie" Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story: Freak Show" Emma Thomson, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (Live From Lincoln Center)"

Actor in a limited series or movie 
David Oyelowo, "Nightingale" Richard Jenkins, "Olive Kitteridge" Timothy Hutton, "American Crime" Mark Rylance, "Wolf Hall" Ricky Gervais, "Derek: The Final Chapter" Adrian Brody, "Houdini"

Variety talk series 
"The Colbert Report" "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" "Jimmy Kimmel Live" "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" "Late Show With David Letterman" "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"

Reality-competition program 
"The Amazing Race" "Dancing With The Stars" "Project Runway" "So You Think You Can Dance" "Top Chef"

Variety sketch series 
"Drunk History" "Inside Amy Schumer" "Key & Peele" "Portlandia" "Saturday Night Live" Television movie "Agatha Christie’s Poirot: Curtain, Poirot’s Last Case" "Bessie" "Grace of Monaco" "Hello Ladies: The Movie" "Killing Jesus" "Nightingale"

Supporting actor in a drama series 
Jonathan Banks, "Better Call Saul" Ben Mendelsohn, "Bloodline" Jim Carter, "Downton Abbey" Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones" Alan Cumming, "The Good Wife" Michael Kelly, "House of Cards"

Because it's the only one I watch. And Cumming is great in it.

Supporting actress in a drama series 
Joanne Froggatt, "Downton Abbey" Lena Headey, "Game of Thrones" Emilia Clarke, "Game of Thrones" Christine Baranski, "The Good Wife" Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men" Uzo Aduba, "Orange Is the New Black"

Guest actor in a drama series 
Alan Alda, "The Blacklist" Michael J. Fox, "The Good Wife" F. Murray Abraham, "Homeland" Reg E. Cathey, "House of Cards" Beau Bridges, "Masters of Sex" Pablo Schreiber, "Orange Is the New Black"

Guest actress in a drama series 
Margo Martindale, "The Americans" Diana Rigg, "Game of Thrones" Rachel Brosnahan, "House of Cards" Cicely Tyson, "How to Get Away With Murder"

Writing for a drama series 
Joshua Brand, "The Americans" Gordon Smith, "Better Call Saul" David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, "Game of Thrones" Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner, "Mad Men" Matthew Weiner, "Mad Men"

Because I believe it's for the final series and the phone calls were just great.

Directing for a drama series 
Tim Van Patten, "Boardwalk Empire" David Nutter, "Game of Thrones" Jeremy Podeswa, "Game of Thrones" Lesli Linka Glatter, "Homeland" Steven Soderbergh, "The Knick"

ummmm....... ?

Supporting actor in a comedy series 
Andre Braugher, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" Adam Driver, "Girls" Keegan-Michael Key, "Key & Peele" Ty Burrell, "Modern Family" Tituss Burgess, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" Tony Hale, "Veep"

Like them all. It's total guess.

Supporting actress in a comedy series 
Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory" Niecy Nash, "Getting On" Julie Bowen, "Modern Family" Allison Janney, "Mom" Kate McKinnon, "Saturday Night Live" Gaby Hoffmann, "Transparent" Jane Krakowski, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" Anna Chlumsky, "Veep"

Wish Anna Chlumsky would get it. It'll probably go to Modern Family, but Nash is underrated and great in Getting On.

Guest actor in a comedy series 
Mel Brooks, "The Comedians" Paul Giamatti, "Inside Amy Schumer" Bill Hader, "Saturday Night Live" Louis C.K., "Saturday Night Live" Bradley Whitford, "Transparent" Jon Hamm, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"

Guest actress in a comedy series
Christine Baranski, "The Big Bang Theory" Gaby Hoffmann, "Girls" Pamela Adlon, "Louie" Elizabeth Banks, "Modern Family" Joan Cusack, "Shameless" Tina Fey, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"

I love Joan Cusak, but never saw it. Though shouldn't Tina Fey have one this just for the Marcia Clark make-up and hair?

Writing for a comedy series 
David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik, "Episodes" Will Forte, "The Last Man On Earth" Louis C.K., "Louie" Alec Berg, "Silicon Valley" Jill Soloway, "Transparent" Simon Blackwell,Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche, "Veep"

The show is so well done. I hope they get something.

Directing for a comedy series 
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, "The Last Man On Earth" Louis C.K., "Louie" Mike Judge, "Silicon Valley" Jill Soloway, "Transparent" Armando Iannucci, "Veep"

Supporting actor in a limited series or a movie 
Richard Cabral, "American Crime" Denis O'Hare, "American Horror Story: Freak Show" Finn Wittrock, "American Horror Story: Freak Show" Michael Kenneth Williams, "Bessie" Bill Murray, "Olive Kitteridge" Damian Lewis, "Wolf Hall" 

Supporting actress in a limited series or a movie 
Regina King, "American Crime" Sarah Paulson, "American Horror Story: Freak Show" Angela Bassett, "American Horror Story: Freak Show" Kathy Bates, "American Horror Story: Freak Show" Mo'Nique, "Bessie" Zoe Kazan, "Olive Kitteridge " 

Writing for a limited series, movie or a dramatic special 
John Ridley, "American Crime" Gina Rodriguez and Tatiana Maslany. Dee Rees, Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Horton Foote, "Bessie" Stephen Merchant, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, "Hello Ladies: The Movie" Hugo Blick, "The Honorable Woman" Jane Anderson, "Olive Kitteridge" Peter Straughan, "Wolf Hall"

Directing for a limited series, movie or a dramatic special 
Ryan Murphy, "American Horror Story: Freak Show" Dee Rees, "Bessie" Hugo Blick, "The Honorable Woman" Uli Edel, "Houdini" Tom Shankland, "The Missing" Lisa Cholodenko, "Olive Kitteridge" Peter Kosminsky, "Wolf Hall"

Host for a reality or reality-competition program 
Tom Bergeron, "Dancing With the Stars" Jane Lynch, "Hollywood Game Night" Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, "Project Runway" Cat Deeley, "So You Think You Can Dance" Anthony Bourdain, "The Taste"

Structured reality program 
"Antiques Roadshow" "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" "MythBusters" "Property Brothers" "Shark Tank" "Undercover Boss" Unstructured reality program "Alaska: The Last Frontier" "Deadliest Catch" "Intervention" "Million Dollar Listing New York" "Naked And Afraid" "Wahlburgers"

Variety special 
Bill Maher: Live From D.C. The Kennedy Center Honors "Louis C.K.: Live at the Comedy Store" "Mel Brooks Live at the Geffen" "The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special" "Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE!"

Writing for a variety series 
"The Colbert Report" "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" "Inside Amy Schumer" "Key & Peele" "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver"

Writing for a variety special 
"The 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards" "Key & Peele Super Bowl Special" "Louis C.K.: Live at the Comedy Store" "Mel Brooks Live at the Geffen" "The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special" 

Directing for a variety series 
James Hoskinson, "The Colbert Report" Chuck O'Neil, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" Amy Schumer and Ryan McFaul, "Inside Amy Schumer" Jerry Foley, "Late Show With David Letterman" Dave Diomedi, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"

Directing for a variety special 
Natalie Johns, "Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live In Concert" Louis J. Horvitz, "The Kennedy Center Honors"  Hamish Hamilton, "The Oscars" Don Roy King, "The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special" Glenn Weiss, "68th Annual Tony Awards"



Song by: Matthew Penn