The Emmy B-Team: Limited Series and TV Movie

How bad are the Emmy nominations? This question comes up every year when the nominations are announced and everyone has a long list of snubs and shows that didn't deserve nominations. The way people talk about the nominations, you start to wonder if the Emmy voters have watched anything in the last year or if they are just rubber stamping the shows they picked the year before or choosing the last buzzy show they heard about. I certainly had that opinion. I still kind of do. That's was drove me to make what I call my Emmy B-Teams.

In case you are new to this, the idea is pretty straightforward. I go through the Emmy nomination ballot for a bunch of categories and put together the strongest group I can among what wasn't already nominated for the Emmy. I call this group my B-Team. I then compare the Nominees to my B-Team and choose a winner based on which is a stronger group of performers/shows/etc. The idea is to see how badly chosen the nominees actually are. This serves two purposed:
1) To see how bad the nominees really are. The first year I did this, my theory was that, as a very informed TV viewer, it would be easy for me to find 5-7 names that the Emmy voters missed. I'll go ahead and say now that the Emmy voters, especially outside the Comedy and Drama categories, tend to do a pretty good job picking most of the best options in a category.
2) To highlight some other great work from the last year. With the explosion of new content over the last few years, 5 or 6 nominees just isn't enough to cover all the great work being done, especially on lesser seen shows that have trouble putting together enough support to be nominated.

As far as who I pick for my B-Team, please disagree with me. I watch a lot of TV, but I miss much more than I see. My B-Team is exactly that: My B-Team. In other words, I'm stacking the deck in the B-Team's favor. If I'm picking the 5-6 shows that I like the best and the B-Team still loses, that means the Nominee list is pretty damn strong.

Ever since FX and American Horror Story broke the Mini-Series category in 2012, the now dubbed Limited Series category has exploded with top tier content. For some context about how much it's changed, in 2012, AHS, a moderately well received series, was able to dominate the field with 17 Emmy nominations. Before that year, the award just automatically went to whatever mini-series HBO made that year (Mildred Pierce - 2011, The Pacific - 2010, John Adams - 2008, Elizabeth I - 2006). Often, the category couldn't even manage more than 2-3 nominations. Flash-forward to 2017. HBO and FX each have so many acclaimed Limited Series that they have legitimate snubs. ABC, NatGeo, and Netflix are trying as well. It's a whole different landscape. Ten years ago, this would be the most difficult group of B-Teams for me to come up with. Now it's second only to the Drama and Comedy series and gaining quickly on them.

(Final Note: I'm sure that I'll mention this more than a few times, but all my picks are based on who is submitted and in which category. For example, I would've considered the Halt and Catch Fire episode "The Threshold" a lock for my writing and directing by B-team, but it wasn't submitted. Thus, I can't include it. Similarly, Ted Danson would be a great supporting actor in a comedy contender on The Good Place. However, he submitted himself as a lead, so that's all I can consider him for)

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* Indicates a show that I haven't watched this season.
# Indicates a show I've seen before, not this season.

Limited Series

Nominees:

Big Little Lies

Fargo

FEUD: Bette And Joan

* Genius

The Night Of

B-Team

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

# American Crime

# American Horror Story: Roanoke

When We Rise

The Young Pope

The Limited Series category is no joke. The Nominees list could stack up against the Drama field with ease. The field is so strong that even the B-Team has some depth. Big Little Lies is the clear victor against the Gilmore Girls revival in the battle of the female-driven community dramas. Fargo is the better crime series in its third season between it and American Crime. FEUD beats American Horror Story: Roanoke in the battle of the Ryan Murphy FX anthologies. I'm leaning When We Rise over Genius in a matchup of series that I didn't expect to show up on the networks that aired them. The Night Of beats the oddball, possible brilliance of The Young Pope.

Winner: Nominees. 
I respect the B-Team's fight, but it's outclassed almost entirely.

TV Movie

Nominees:

* Black Mirror: San Junipero

* Dolly Parton's Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

Sherlock: The Lying Detective (Masterpiece)

The Wizard Of Lies

B-Team

Easy: Art and Life

Looking: The Movie

* Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?

* David Brent: Life on the Road

* Beaches

The Television movie category lost in the divorce with Limited series. Thanks to a number of anthologies singling out individual episodes and other similar moves, I don't have to resort to Syfy movies to fill the B-Team. Black Mirror over Easy between the anthology shows on Netflix using a single episode. Each group has a pair of HBO movies. The Immortal Life or Henrietta Lacks and The Wizard of Lies are the "prestige" picks. A little boring but they at least exist on their own. Looking: The Movie and David Brent: Life on the Road were both continuations of shows. The Looking movie at least put a nice bow on that series, although you could argue it was more of a super-sized episode than a movie. The David Brent movie weighs that pair down a bit. Each team has a laughable pick. I'd rather laugh at the meta Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? than the Dolly Parton movie.

Winner: Nominees. 
It's the less interesting group, but it has enough traditional power to keep it ahead.

Lead Actress - Limited Series Or Movie

Nominees:

# Felicity Huffman (American Crime)

Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies)

Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies)

Carrie Coon (Fargo)

Jessica Lange (FEUD: Bette And Joan)

Susan Sarandon (FEUD: Bette And Joan)

B-Team

Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life)

Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life)

* Bryce Dallas Howard (Black Mirror: Nosedive)

Oprah Winfrey (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks)

Mary-Louise Parker (When We Rise\)

* Michelle Williams (Suite Francaise)

I realize that the very best lead roles have been going to females for a few years now, but 10 months ago, I never would've guessed that the Limited Series field would be strong enough to knock Lauren Graham out of contention. I just assumed she was a lock for a make-up call nomination after years of Gilmore Girls snubs. Really, the B-Team is pretty good. A Year in the Life was disappointing, but none of that was because of Lauren Graham. Bryce Dallas Howard was a standout in her Black Mirror. Oprah Winfrey is great in Herietta Lacks although she was more of a supporting character in the movie. I'm not sure how Suite Francaise made its way from being a 2014 British film to a 2017 Emmy nominee, but I'm sure Michelle Williams was great in it. I quite like Mary-Louise Parker in When We Rise too. Oh, and there's Alexis Bledel who, in all fairness, wasn't able to overcome some awful writing for her character.

Meanwhile, look at that nominees list. Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman were tremendous doing very different work in Big Little Lies. Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon didn't get swallowed up by the huge shoes they had to fill in Bette and Joan. Welcome to the Carrie Coon bandwagon, Emmy voters. Us Leftovers fans have known about her for years. Better late than never though (and for a different show). When Felicity Huffman in American Crime is considered the weakest nominee in the category, you know it's a strong ass category.

Winner: Nominee. 
I can't pretend it was even close.

Lead Actor - Limited Series Or Movie

Nominees:

Ewan McGregor (Fargo)

* Geoffrey Rush (Genius)

Riz Ahmed (The Night Of)

John Tuturro (The Night Of)

Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock: The Lying Detective)

* Robert De Niro (The Wizard Of Lies)

B-Team

* Ricky Gervais (David Brent: Life on the Road)

Jonathan Groff (Looking: The Movie)

# Timothy Hutton (American Crime)

Jude Law (The Young Pope)

* Alex Lawther (Black Mirror: Shut Up & Dance)

Guy Pearce (When We Rise)

Do you need any more evidence of the discrepancy between great Lead female and male roles than this? If you combined the male and female categories, I'd bump one, maybe two, of the actresses for one of the actors nominated.

I won't complain about Oscar winners Robert De Niro and Geoffrey Rush being nominated, because their work exceeded the quality of the projects they were in. Ewan McGrego was fine in Fargo, especially in the later episodes. Riz Ahmed and John Turturro were both exceptional doing very different things in the oddly-structured The Night Of. And, Benedict Cumberbatch can play Sherlock in his sleep at this piont. Only the Night Of performances blew me away.

The B-Team is similarly weak but with a few bright spots. I didn't care for The Young Pope, but Jude Law did a lot to make the weirdness work. I've always liked Jonathan Groff's work in Looking, so it was nice to see him jump back into the role one last time. Guy Pearce got some good moments in When We Rise. I'll be honest. I mainly picked the other three for the B-Team off name recognition to round it out.

Winner: Nominees. 
That group is stronger at the bottom.

Supporting Actress - Limited Series Or Movie

Nominees:

# Regina King (American Crime)

Laura Dern (Big Little Lies)

Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies)

Judy Davis (FEUD: Bette And Joan)

Jackie Hoffman (FEUD: Bette And Joan)
* Michelle Pfeiffer (The Wizard Of Lies)

B-Team

# Kathy Bates (American Horror Story: Roanoke)

Kelly Bishop (Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life)

Rose Byrne (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks)

Diane Keaton (The Young Pope)

Alison Wright (FEUD: Bette and Joan)

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Fargo)

Good god. There were so many great B-Team options. Jeannie Berlin made a big impression in a very small amount of time in The Night Of. The same for Olivia Sandoval in Fargo. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is always good, so I assume her work in Black Mirror: San Junipero is worthy of attention. And did you know that Margot Robbie was in Suite Francaise, which is somehow Emmy eligible? That's not even the actual B-Team though.

Like Lauren Graham, the disappointment of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life got in the way of a chance to finally recognize Kelly Bishop for years of excellent work on Gilmore Girls. Remember how Rose Byrne always listed herself as a supporting actress on Damages despite being the main character in order to stay out of the way of her Oscar nominated co-star? Well, it happened again in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It's absurd that Mary Elizabeth Winstead couldn't get nominated for Fargo. Absurd! Diane Keaton was a basketball playing nun on The Young Pope, which is something I love to point out. And, I'm sure that someone in American Horror Story put up a worthy performance. Let's say it was Kathy Bates. Alison Wright made a nothing role into something memorable in FEUD.

So what's left for the actual nominee field? Plenty. Shailene Woodley put up a leadworthy performance in the stacked Big Little Lies. Laura Dern was great in BLL too with a true supporting performance. Judy Davis and Jackie Hoffman weren't the big names in FEUD but went toe to toe with the Oscar winning leads. I haven't seen The Wizard of Lies, but I assume Michelle Pfeiffer is good in it. Same with Regina King on American Crime, who has one of the strongest TV resumes of any performer over the last few years.

Winner: Nominees. 
As good as the B-Team is, Winstead is the only inexcusable omission from the nomination field.

Supporting Actor - Limited Series Or Movie

Nominees:

Alexander Skarsgård (Big Little Lies)

David Thewlis (Fargo)

Alfred Molina (FEUD: Bette And Joan)

Stanley Tucci (FEUD: Bette And Joan)

Bill Camp (The Night Of)

Michael Kenneth Williams (The Night Of)

B-Team

Scott Patterson (Girlmore Girls: A Year in the Life)

Adam Scott (Big Little Lies)

Michael Stuhlbarg (Fargo)

Michael Kenneth Williams (When We Rise)

Martin Freeman (Sherlock: The Lying Detective)

Raul Castillo (Looking: The Movie)

Michael Stuhlbarg was such a delightful sad sack in Fargo. David Thewlis had the signature role of that season though. Poor Adam Scott isn't given enough credit for his quiet work in Big Little Lies, but Alexander Skarsgard was a monster. The Night Of was a better Michael Kenneth Williams role than When We Rise. I could just as easily have picked Murray Barrlett or Frankie J. Alvarez from Looking: The Movie, but I'm a sucker for Raul Castillo. Regardless, Bill Camp had a better role in The Night Of. That leaves the power FEUD duo of Stanley Tucci and Alfred Molina to go against Scott Patterson and Martin Freeman. Patterson I only included because I'm also a sucker for Gilmore Girls, even when it's not that great. Freeman is a former winner for Sherlock.

Winner: Nominees. 
Similar to the Supporting Actress field, the only B-Teamer I'd bump up to Nominee would be from Fargo (Stuhlbarg),

Writing - Limited Series or Movie

Nominees:

Big Little Lies

* Black Mirror: San Junipero

Fargo ("The Law Of Vacant Places")

FEUD: Bette And Joan ("And The Winner Is... (The Oscars Of 1963)")

FEUD: Bette And Joan ("Pilot")

The Night Of ("The Call Of The Wild")

B-Team

FEUD: Bette and Joan ("Mommie Dearest")

FEUD: Bette and Joan ("You Mean All This Time We Could Have Been Friends?")

* American Crime ("Season Three: Episode Eight")

* American Crime ("Season Three: Episode One")

When We Rise ("Part One")

Sherlock: The Lying Detective

Writing for a Limited Series gets tricky because you get weird things like all seven episodes of Big Little Lies getting nominated together but FEUD getting split four ways. That already puts things at a massive imbalance. The better two FEUD episodes were actually nominated. The only eligible Fargo episode was nominated. Same with The Night Of. As much as I did enjoy When We Rise and Sherlock, there's just not enough to keep this close.

Winner: Nominees. 
Seriously, all of BLL is one nominee.

Directing - Limited Series or Movie

Nominees:

Big Little Lies

Fargo ("The Law of Vacant Places")

FEUD: Bette and Joan ("And the Winner Is... (The Oscars of 1963)")

* Genius ("Einstein: Chapter One")

The Night Of ("The Art of War")

The Night Of ("The Beach")

B-Team

* Black Mirror: Nosedive

Easy: Art and Life

Fargo ("The Law of Inevitability")

Fargo ("Somebody to Love")

When We Rise ("Part One")

The Young Pope

This gets interesting. Paolo Sorrentino directed the hell out of The Young Pope. The direction of the two Fargo episodes on the B-Team was much better than the one that was actually nominated. However, the Nominee field has an unbeatable trio. There's all of Jean-Marc Valee's work on Big Little Lies. All of it. The Oscars episode of FEUD is directed so much that it's almost showing off. And, "The Beach", the first episode of The Night Of, is arguable the single best directed episode of anything on TV in the last year.

Winner: Nominees. 
The Fargo competition from the B-Team isn't enough to bridge the gap. Not even close.

Casting - Limited Series or Movie

Nominees:

Big Little Lies

Fargo

FEUD: Bette And Joan

The Night Of

* The Wizard Of Lies

B-Team

# American Crime

# American Horror Story: Roanoke

* Genius

When We Rise

The Young Pope

As I point out every year, I don't really know what to make of the casting categories. I'm going to oversimplify and count Oscar wins and nominations.

The Wizard of Lies. Barry Levinson (1W, 6N). Robert De Niro (2W, 7N). Michelle Pfeiffer (3N).

The Night Of. Steven Zaillian (1W,4N). James Marsh (1W,1N).

FEUD. Helen Hunt (1W,2N). Jessica Lange (2W,6N). Susan Sarandon (1W,5N). Judy Davis (2N). Stanley Tucci (1N). Catherine Zeta-Jones (1W, 1N). Kathy Bates (1W, 3N).

Fargo. Billy Bob Thornton (1W,3N). Mary McDonnell (2N).

Big Little Lies. Jean-Marc Vallee (1N). Reese Witherspoon (1W. 2N). Nicole Kidman (1W,4N). Laura Dern (2N).

The Young Pope. Jude Law (2N). Diane Keaton (1W, 4N). James Cromwell (1N)

When We Rise. Dustin Lance Black (1W,1N). Gus Van Sant (2N). Rachel Griffiths (1N). Whoopi Goldberg (1W, 2N).

American Crime. Felicity Huffman (1N). Timothy Hutton (1W, 1N). John Ridley (1W,1N).

Genius. Geoffrey Rush (1W, 4N). Emily Watson (2N). Ron Howard (2W, 4N).

American Horror Story: Roanoke. Kathy Bates (1W,3N). Angela Bassett (1N). Lady Gaga (1N). Cuba Gooding Jr. (1W,1N).

This has barely anything to do with Casting, but I figured this was a good chance to address how much the Emmy voters just pick the biggest names from movies. Altogether (and I'm sure I missed some), the Nominees featured people in front of and behind the camera who have collects 14 Oscar Wins and 55 Nominations. The B-Team isn't that far behind with 10 Wins and 32 Nominations. 

Winner: Nominees. 
I ignored the question and I'm OK with that.

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Just because I can make B-Teams a lot easier in these categories doesn't mean they'll be competitive. The Nominees had a clean sweep (9-0) in the Limited Series and TV Movie categories. On the Limited Series side, Big Little Lies and FEUD were too much to overcome for the B-Team, and on the TV Movie side, the selection was too paltry still.