2011 Emmy Nominations

I'm still trying to recover from this morning's Emmy nomination announcement, so I'll just provide some quick thoughts:

The Good:

• Parks & Recreation and Amy Poehler's comedy series and comedy actress nominations. I couldn't think of any show or anyone more deserving of these nominations. If they don't win, I'll picket outside the Academy, compose precisely worded, 140 character-long angry emo tweets, and cry for days. Those are obviously the most logical and normal responses you'd expect from anybody come September 18th and their names aren't inside the ballot.
• Laura Linney for The Big C. I know she's up against my beloved Amy P, but Laura Linney is fantastic on this show.
• Conan and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon nominations in the Variety, Music, or Comedy Series category. Guess what wasn't nominated? Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Strangely enough, neither was Letterman. I wonder when the last time at least one of these shows wasn't nominated in this category.
  

The Bad:

• All the adult actors on Modern Family receiving supporting actress/actor, comedy nominations. Let's be real here. This season of MF was considerably weaker than the last. I'd say Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet's nominations were well deserved, but I don't think it was necessary to nominate everyone. Maybe next year the kids will get some Emmy cred. Doubt it, though. The Academy usually turns their noses up at nominating youngin's.
• Glee for best comedy series. Was I watching the same season as the Academy was when they decided on nominees? This has to be by far, the worst season of Glee that has ever been produced. Am I being harsh? Maybe. Was this season of Glee cringeworthy? Definitely.
• Kathy Bates for best actress, drama series in Harry's Law. Hey, I know it's Kathy Bates and I've seen Misery and everything, but I've also seen Harry's Law. That should sum it up right there.
• No major Walking Dead nominations? None, not at all? Wow, ok.
• Not sure if this belongs on the bad list, but I'd say it lies somewhere in limbo between good and bad: the absence of The Killing in the best drama series category. Did they shoot themselves in the foot with the much talked about and (mostly) hated season finale? Looks like it, doesn't it?
  

The Ugly:

• Um, I'm sorry, but where the hell is Fringe? Don't tell me John Noble doesn't deserve to be nominated for his Walter/Walternate portrayals. JUST DON'T TELL ME THAT!
  
• Another slap in the face: Nick Offerman for Parks & Recreation. I challenge anyone to find a character any more flawlessly awesome than Ron Swanson. COME ON, TRY. No one sums up this great injustice better than the fabulous Amy Poehler:
  

  "A lot of people don't know that just last week, Tom Selleck presented him with a Lifetime Mustache Award, which a lot of people don't know. He'll always have that, and they can't take that away from him. But it's a hot load of bullshit that he didn't get a nomination, and you can quote me on that. But I suspect and hope that will change. And certainly that field, there's a lot of talented men vying for that position. If you asked Nick, he'd say the show is represented. But I would say his work on the show is the best stuff on TV, and he deserves every award." (via Hitfix)

• Shameless being snubbed almost completely, if not for Joan Cusack's guest actress nomination. I thought at least Emmy Rossum would receive a nomination because of her great performance during the show's freshman season, or maybe even William H. Macy, because he's William H. Macy, but no. No dice.
  

See the rest of the nominees below. View the whole list on Emmys.com. The Emmys will take place live on Sunday, 8/7c, 9/18 on FOX.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Timothy Olyphant, Justified

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Walton Goggins, Justified
John Slattery, Mad Men
Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Margo Martindale, Justified
Michelle Forbes, The Killing
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Bruce Dern, Big Love
Beau Bridges, Brothers & Sisters
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Paul McCrane, Harry’s Law
Jeremy Davies, Justified
Robert Morse, Mad Men

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Mary McDonnell, The Closer
Julia Stiles, Dexter
Loretta Devine, Grey’s Anatomy
Randee Heller, Man Men
Cara Buono, Mad Men
Joan Cusack, Shameless
Alfre Woodard, True Blood

OUTSTANDING COMEDY
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
The Office
Parks and Recreation
30 Rock

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Louis C.K., Louie
Steve Carell, The Office
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Chris Colfer, Glee
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Jane Lynch, Glee
Betty White, Hot In Cleveland
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Idris Elba, The Big C
Nathan Lane, Modern Family
Zach Galifianakis, Saturday Night Live
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live
Matt Damon, 30 Rock
Will Arnett, 30 Rock

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Kristin Chenoweth, Glee
Dot-Marie Jones, Glee
Gwyneth Paltrow, Glee
Cloris Leachman, Raising Hope
Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live
Elizabeth Banks, 30 Rock

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW HOST
Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Jeff Probst, Survivor

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW COMPETITION
The Amazing Race, CBS
American Idol, Fox
Dancing With the Stars, ABC
Project Runway, Lifetime
So You Think You Can Dance, Fox
Top Chef, Bravo

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
The Colbert Report, Comedy Central
Conan, TBS
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Comedy Central
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, NBC
Real Time With Bill Maher, HBO
Saturday Night Live, NBC

OUTSTANDING TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Cinema Verite, HBO
Downton Abbey, PBS
The Kennedys, ReelzChannel
Mildred Pierce, HBO
The Pillars of the Earth, Starz
Too Big To Fail, HBO