Something Old, Something New... Emmy Winners 2016

If there's one thing I've learned about the Emmy Awards after watching them for years and years and years, it's that voters from the Television Academy love to honor the same people year after year after year. I call it the John Larroquette Rule, since he won four Emmys in a row for his role on Night Court. Or maybe I should go with Larroquette/Hunt, since Helen Hunt did the same thing -- four in a row -- for Mad About You. Although they weren't consecutive, Candice Bergen won five Emmys for playing Murphy Brown on Murphy Brown, Rhea Perlman took home four statuettes for playing Carla on Cheers and Don Knotts earned four as Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show back in the 60s.

For different roles and performances, Cloris Leachman owns eight Emmys, while Ed Asner has seven, including five for playing Lou Grant (three from his stint with Lou on Mary Tyler Moore and two from Lou Grant.) Yeah, there's no questions that the Emmys gravitate to certain stars.

This year's Emmys did the Larroquette/Hunt Rule one better: Julia Louis-Dreyfus picked up her fifth consecutive Oustanding Lead Actress in a Comedy award for her role as Selina Meyer, the VP in Veep on HBO. Louis-Dreyfus has another Lead Actress Emmy for The New Adventures of Old Christine and a Supporting Actress win for Seinfeld, putting her total at seven. She's gaining on you, Leachman! (Allison Janney and Mary Tyler Moore are also sitting at seven. MTM may come back and snag another one in a guest category and you know Janney will get another three or four before she's done. As will Louis-Dreyfus. It's just a question of who'll get past Leachman first, I suppose.)

Louis-Dreyfus's partner in the comedy lead acting categories was also a repeater, as Jeffrey Tambor picked up his second Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Emmy for playing transgender Maura Pfefferman on Transparent.

Veep was the winner as Outstanding Comedy for a second year, serving notice that Modern Family and its five straight awards were a thing of the past. In supporting categories, Louie Anderson won for playing Zach Galifianakis's mother on Baskets, and Kate McKinnon added to Saturday Night Live's total haul over the years, giving the show its 45th Emmy.

Tatiana Maslany

If the comedy lead actors were same old, same old, the drama leads were brand new, as Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) and Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) were both first-time (and much deserving) winners. They also hit my best-dressed list, but more on that later.

One of their supporting pals was a repeat, though, as Maggie Smith took home another award (and didn't show up to accept it one more time) for Downton Abbey. The Outstanding Supporting Actor winner -- Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn for Bloodline -- was a first-time winner, but like Smith, he was not in attendance to accept his trophy.

When it came to shows, Game of Thrones and its Best Drama Emmy (the final award of the night) set a record, too, putting it at 38 overall Emmys and unseating Frasier, which earned a mere 37 in its time, as the series with the most wins ever. In addition to repeating as Outstanding Drama Series, Game of Thrones earned Emmys for director Miguel Sapochnik for the "Battle of the Bastards" episode, as well as for its casting, costumes, editing, makeup, production design, sound mixing, special visual effects, stunt coordination and writing. (Of the four different awards for makeup, Games of Thrones won two, giving them a total of 12 Emmys this year.)

The other big winner was The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which won nine awards. The program took honors as Outstanding Limited Series as well as gathering awards for lead actress Sarah Paulson (who played prosecutor Marcia Clark), lead actor Courtney B. Vance (defense attorney Johnnie Cochrane), supporting actor Sterling K. Brown (prosecutor Christopher Darden) and writer D. V. DeVincentis, along with wins for its casting, editing, hairstyling and sound mixing.

Rami Malek

As I said above, I picked Rami Malek (right) and Tatiana Maslany (above) as two of my fashion favorites even before their names were announced as winners. Maslany wore one of two sensational red gowns that stood out, along with Priyanka Chopra (Quantico).

You can see the entire list of winners here at the Emmys official site. Here are some of the winners in major categories (including a few given out last weekend at the "Creative" ceremony):

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
black-ish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
*Veep

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
*Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
Laurie Metcalf, Getting On

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Will Forte, Last Man on Earth
William H. Macy, Shameless
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley
*Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY 
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Allison Janney, Mom
Judith Light, Transparent
*Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Niecy Nash, Getting On

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
*Louie Anderson, Baskets
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Matt Walsh, Veep

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
*Tina Fey & Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Melora Hardin, Transparent
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Laurie Metcalf, The Big Bang Theory
Amy Schumer, Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Larry David, Saturday Night Live

Tracy Morgan, Saturday Night Live
Martin Mull, Veep
Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory
*Peter Scolari, Girls
Bradley Whitford, Transparent  

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
The Americans
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
*Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mr. Robot

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
*Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
*Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans
Robin Wright, House of Cards 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
*Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
*Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Mahershala Ali, House Of Cards
*Hank Azaria, Ray Donovan
Reg E. Cathey, House Of Cards
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Paul Sparks, House Of Cards
Max von Sydow, Game Of Thrones

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Ellen Burstyn, House Of Cards
Allison Janney, Masters Of Sex
*Margo Martindale, The Americans
Laurie Metcalf, Horace And Pete
Molly Parker, House Of Cards
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife

OUTSTANDING TV MOVIE
All the Way
Confirmation
Luther
A Very Murray Christmas
*Sherlock: The Abominable Bride

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
American Crime
Fargo
The Night Manager
*The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Roots

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
*Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Lili Taylor, American Crime
Kerry Washington, Confirmation

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Bryan Cranston, All The Way
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Idris Elba, Luther
Cuba Gooding, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
*Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Hotel
Olivia Colman, The Night Manager
*Regina King, American Crime
Melissa Leo, All The Way
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Hotel
Jean Smart, Fargo 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
*Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story 
Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager 
Jesse Plemons, Fargo
David Schwimmer, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
John Travolta, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Bokeem Woodbine, Fargo

OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK SERIES
Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
*Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Late Late Show With James Corden
Real Time With Bill Maher
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
Documentary Now!
Drunk History
Inside Amy Schumer
*Key & Peele
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING VARIETY SPECIAL
Adele Live In New York City
Amy Schumer: Live At The Apollo
The Kennedy Center Honors
*The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Prime Time Special
Lemonade

OUTSTANDING REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
American Ninja Warrior
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef
*The Voice

OUTSTANDING HOST OF A REALITY PROGRAM
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With The Stars
Steve Harvey, Little Big Shots Starring Steve Harvey
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway
Jane Lynch, Hollywood Game Night
*RuPaul Charles, RuPaul's Drag Race
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A COMEDY SERIES
Chris Addison, Veep
Aziz Ansari, Master Of None
Alec Berg, Silicon Valley
Mike Judge, Silicon Valley
Dave Mandel, Veep
*Jill Soloway, Transparent
Dale Stern, Veep

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A DRAMA SERIES
Jack Bender, Game Of Thrones 
Michael Engler, Downton Abbey
Lesli Linka Glatter, Homeland 
David Hollander, Ray Donovan
*Miguel Sapochnik, Game Of Thrones
Steven Soderbergh, The Knick 

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
*Susanne Bier, The Night Manager
Noah Hawley, Fargo
Anthony Hemingway, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Ryan Murphy, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story 
Jay Roach, All The Way
John Singleton, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A VARIETY SERIES
Dave Diomedi, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Don Roy King, Saturday Night Live
Tim Mancinelli, The Late Late Show With James Corden
*Ryan McFaul, Inside Amy Schumer
Paul Pennolino, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
*Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, Master Of None
Alec Berg, Silicon Valley
Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe

Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, VeepDan O'Keefe, Silicon Valley
David Mandel, Veep

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
*David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Game Of Thrones
Sam Esmail, Mr. Robot
Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey
Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, The Americans
Michelle and Robert King, The Good Wife
Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, UnREAL

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Joe Robert Cole, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Bob DeLaurentis, Fargo
*D.V. DeVincentis, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
David Farr, The Night Manager
Noah Hawley, Fargo

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Inside Amy Schumer
Key & Peele
*Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Amy Schumer: Live At The Apollo
John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid
*Patton Oswalt: Talking For Clapping
Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted
Triumph's Election Special 2016

And that's all till next year, when there will be no Maggie Smith for Downton Abbey and no People v. O.J. There's no end in sight for Veep or Game of Thrones, however.

Emmy Nominations Blog-a-palooza

And two months later, she comes back to her blog...

I spent most of May and June transitioning out of my job as interim artistic director at Heartland Theatre, directing the annual 10-minute play festival there, and actually taking a vacation. It seems I needed some time off. But local theatre and entertainment have gone on without me too long, I think! You didn't get to hear my side of the "Class Reunion" plays -- terrific all around, if I do say so myself -- or the TV, movies and stage shows that came and went while I was AWOL. I even missed the Tony wrap-up.

So what lured me back? The 2015 Emmy nominations, of course! I always have opinions on that sort of thing and I can't keep them under wraps a minute longer.

If you want to see Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black) and Cat Deeley (So You Think You Can Dance) read the list of nominees, you can find that video here or here. If you want to read the complete list, all the way through Outstanding Costumes For A Contemporary Series, Limited Series or Movie on page 11, the Emmy site can help you out.

Here are some highlights:

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Louie (FX)
Modern Family (ABC)
Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Silicon Valley (HBO)
Transparent (Amazon Instant Video)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
Veep (HBO)

Should win: Parks and Recreation, which finished out its run with a triumphant series finale.
Will win: It's hard to bet against Modern Family, which has won the past five years. But surely the Academy is tired of it by now. One can dream... Transparent has the zeitgeist (and a bunch of Golden Globes) but Veep is an Emmy favorite. Still, I'm holding onto hope for Parks and Recreation.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish (ABC)
Don Cheadle, House of Lies (Showtime)
Louie C. K., Louie (FX)
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth (Fox)
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes (Showtime)
William H. Macey, Shameless (Showtime)
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Amazon Instant Video)

Should win: Jeffrey Tambor
Will win: Jeffrey Tambor

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback (HBO)
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie (Netflix)

Should win: Amy Poehler. She has made Leslie Knope a beautiful mix of ambition, good cheer and idealism, and that work deserves to be celebrated before we put Parks and Recreation out to pasture.
Will win: Lisa Kudrow has done amazing work with a flawed character who is too real to be all that funny, Amy Schumer is the current It Girl (and definitely funny), Edie Falco keeps doing yeoman work with Nurse Jackie, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus is an Emmy fave with three wins in this category for Veep plus one for The New Adventures of Old Christine and one as a supporting actress for Seinfeld. So who will win? Probably Louis-Dreyfus. Emmy voters love their streaks.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul (AMC)
Downton Abbey (PBS)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Homeland (Showtime)
House of Cards  (Netflix)
Mad Men (AMC)
Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)

Should win: I am partial to Mad Men. Like Parks and Rec, this powerhouse finished up its run this year.
Will win: Game of Thrones may have all the buzz, given its 24 nominations and polarizing plotlines (especially concerning violence toward women), but I think Mad Men will emerge as the victor in celebration of its brilliant final season.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline (Netflix)
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom (HBO)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
Bob Odenbirk, Better Call Saul (AMC)
Liev Schrieber, Ray Donovan (Showtime)
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards (Netflix)

Should win: Jon Hamm
Will win: I refuse to accept any outcome other than Jon Hamm finally winning an Emmy for his fantastic work as complicated, screwed-up, product-of-his-time Don Draper.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Danes, Homeland (Showtime)
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder (ABC)
Taraji P. Henson, Empire (ABC)
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black (BBC America)
Elizabeth Moss, Mad Men (AMC)
Robin Wright, House of Cards (Netflix)

Should win: Anybody except Claire Danes. This is a talent-packed category. Tatiana Maslany, previously overlooked, certainly deserves the Emmy for her insane array of Orphan Black clones, as does Viola Davis, who is so brilliant that she makes the otherwise crazy How to Get Away with Murder so very watchable. And then there is the force of nature known as Taraji P. Henson as Cookie on Empire, while Elizabeth Moss, so good for so long on Mad Men, and Robin Wright, a bright spot in a dismal season of House of Cards, are also worthy.
Will win: I'll go with Viola. She was a stunner. Her taking-off-her-wig scene was as good as it gets on TV.

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
American Crime (ABC)
American Horror Story: Freakshow (FX)
Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
The Honorable Woman (Sundance)
Wolf Hall (PBS)

Should win: Olive Kitteridge
Will win: Olive Kitteridge

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE
Agatha Christie's Poirot: Curtain, Poirot's Last Case (Acorn TV)
Bessie (HBO)
Grace of Monaco (Lifetime)
Hello Ladies: The Movie (HBO)
Killing Jesus (National Geographic Channel)
Nightingale (HBO)

Should win: Bessie is the total package.
Will win: Bessie. Poirot is also wonderful, and in Curtain, the show (and Poirot himself) boarded that crime-solving Orient Express in the sky, which may give it some sentimental oomph. Still, Bessie was bold and sad and provocative and everything an Emmy winner should be.

And outside those categories... If you are connected to Illinois Wesleyan University, you will be pleased to know that alum Richard Jenkins was nominated as lead actor for his work on Olive Kitteridge, while Jane Lynch is representing ISU with a nomination as host of Hollywood Game Night.

It's also noteworthy that half of the nominated field for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie is British this time out. The English trio are Ricky Gervais (Derek Special), David Oyelowo (Nightingale) and Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall), with Americans Jenkins, Timothy Hutton (American Crime) and Adrien Brody (Houdini) filling out the category. Over on the actress side of Limited Series or Movie, Emma Thompson (Sweeney Todd) is the lone Brit, facing Queen Latifah (Bessie), Frances McDormand (Olive Kitteridge), Felicity Huffman (American Crime) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Honorable Woman).

If I'm picking winners for TV movies and minis, nobody much on the male side stood out for me, but I'll go with Queen Latifah as Best Actress. Mo'Nique was also nominated for Bessie, for her supporting role as Ma Rainey opposite Queen Latifah's Bessie Smith, and if I'm honest, I'd like to see both of them win.

The Emmy Awards will be broadcast on Fox on September 20th. I'm sure prognostications will become more prevalent as we get nearer to September. In the meantime, it's well worth your while to check out the last episodes of Mad Men and Parks and Recreation as well as Bessie and Veep from HBO, Poirot's Curtain, Tatiana Maslany and Orphan Black, Transparent on Amazon and Kimmy Schmidt and Bloodline on Netflix. It's all still out there for the viewing.