When it was all said and done, it was a mostly uncontroversial and predictable year at the Emmys. Jimmy Kimmel was a perfectly sharp-tongued, but not too biting host that moved the show swiftly through its massive running time. The big shows predictably got the big overall wins, as “Game of Thrones” (deserved for what was certainly its finest season yet) and “Veep” took home most of the major prizes in the drama and comedy categories respectively, while the excellent “American Crime Story: The People Vs. OJ Simpson” swept up the majority of the limited series awards. The main awards in the comedy category continued to be almost too predictable, with not only the overall “Veep” win but the fifth straight win for Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Seinfeld”) in the best actress category and the second straight for Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development”) in the best actor category for “Transparent.” However, the night was saved from complete expectedness by some inspired choices in some of the other acting categories.
Geeks won the drama category as Rami Malek (“The Pacific”) and Tatiana Maslany (“Eastern Promises”) won the leading actor/actress awards for the highly popular “Mr. Robot” and “Orphan Black,” respectively. Many an Internet commenter felt that the awards were highly deserved but totally unexpected, with Maslany’s intensely committed performance(s) as multiple, diverse clones in particular feeling long overdue. The dramatic supporting actor/actress categories also had some great surprises in store as well, as the ever-adored Maggie Smith (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”) surprisingly beat out three dynamite “Game of Thrones” performances to snag the supporting actress in a drama series win for “Downton Abbey,” and Ben Mendelsohn (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) earned the best supporting actor win for his underrated and superb performance in the Netflix drama “Bloodline.”
In comedy land, the supporting actor/actress awards continued to serve up upsets. Kate McKinnon (“Ghostbusters”) continued her meteoric rise into stardom with her win for her roles on “Saturday Night Live,” stealing the award from the expected winner Anna Chlumsky (“Hannibal”), who was snubbed for the fourth time for her always-great performance on “Veep.” The strangest shocker of the night came in the supporting actor in a comedy series category, where Louie Anderson (“Life with Louie”) won for his role in the wonderfully weird, yet not widely-watched, comedy “Baskets.”
While the acting awards kept it interesting, in the end, it was another rote one for the Emmy books this year. In an era of television this fantastic, it’s easy to guess who’s going to walk away with the gold. However, next year looks to be interesting, with a slew of promising and exceptional new shows, such as “Stranger Things,” “Preacher” and “Westworld” entering contention as shows like “Game of Thrones” enter a late release schedule, putting them out of the running. Hopefully the surprises in this year’s acting categories spell out an exciting awards show program for these new programs. Until then, we’ll just have to keep our eyes glued to the tube and see what surprises it offers in the coming year.
