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 purposes:
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, 5-7 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, 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 5-7 shows that I like the best and the B-Team still loses, that means the Nominee list is pretty damn strong.
FX broke the Mini-series category back in 2012 when American Horror Story used the barren field to collect an ungodly number of nominations. In the years since, every prestige or hopeful network has gotten in on the anthology series game, so much so, that they even changed the name to Limited Series. TV movies still lag behind though. The 2017-18 season is the first step back in quality programming in a lot of years. I'm not sure if that gives the B-Team more or less hope.
Previously:
The Scruff
Reality Shows
Variety Series and Specials
* Indicates a show that I haven't watched this season.
# Indicates a show I've seen before, not this season.
Limited Series
The Alienist
* The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
* Genius: Picasso
Godless
* Patrick Melrose
B-Team
American Vandal
The Last Tycoon
* The Looming Tower
* Top of the Lake: China Girl
* Twin Peaks
The options are pretty deep this year. I didn't even have room for Alias Grace and Waco, which were both fine. I heard good things about Collateral and The Girlfriend Experience too. The fact that AHS: Cult didn't even make my B-Team reflects the wealth of options in the field compared to a decade ago (and shows how much AHS: Hotel soured me on the series).
I watched both The Alienist and The Last Tycoon, and neither were good enough to justify what I skipped to make time for them. Genius: Picasso was widely panned by critics and American Crime Story was less universally praised than the OJ season. I honestly haven't heard anything about Patrick Melrose. Meanwhile, The Looming Tower was got a lot of praise for its performances. Top of the Lake: China Girl suffered from airing such a long time ago (I really figured Elisabeth Moss was a lock for a nomination). While I curiously have no desire to watch Twin Peaks, it's stupid that something so ambitious with such a fervent fan base couldn't manage a nomination. American Vandal was one of my favorite shows of 2017: a nearly perfect mimic of the True Crime series structure that managed to be engaging while still making fun of the idea.
Winner: B-Team
It's not looking good for the nominees if there's such a small gap between everything at the top. Normally, there's at least one series (a Fargo or a OJ American Crime Story) propping the Nominees up. There isn't one this year.
Television Movie
Fahrenheit 451
* Flint
* Paterno
* The Tale
USS Callister (Black Mirror)
B-Team
* Descendants 2
* I Am Elizabeth Smart
Psych: The Movie
* Sharknado 5: Global Swarming
* Doctor Who: Twice Upon A Time
I say it every year, but this is one sad mix of options. Black Mirror limited the number of submissions to one, but it could've had more, easily. USS Callister is the correct choice though if only one is being submitted. I hope to get to The Tale soon, because I've heard very good things about it. Paterno is the standard kind of HBO biopic. Fahrenheit 451 is a fun attempt at something different for them. I don't know anything about Flint. I love Psych, but the movie is basically a super-sized episode. Doctor Who specials are generally fine.
Winner: Nominees
I included a Sharknado movie in my B-Team. That's dire.
Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie
* Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story: Cult)
Michelle Dockery (Godless)
* Edie Falco (Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders)
* Regina King (Seven Seconds)
* Jessica Biel (The Sinner)
* Laura Dern (The Tale)
B-Team
* Hayley Atwell (Howards End)
Lilly Collins (The Last Tycoon)
Sarah Gadon (Alias Grace)
Cristin Millioti (Black Mirror: USS Callister)
* Elisabeth Moss (Top of the Lake: China Girl)
* Carey Mulligan (Collateral)
This was perhaps the most brutal category last year. It's a lot nicer now. A lot of the nominees are here on reputation as much as anything. Paulson, Dockery, Falco, King, and Dern are all former nominees in weaker series than when they were previously recognized. Dockery is the only one I remember being singled out for possibly being better than in previous work. I did like her in Godless. That just leaves Jessica Biel, who surprised many with her work on The Sinner. The B-Team is the more interesting group. I was pretty cold about Alias Grace, but Gadon was very good in the lead role. Mulligan and Atwell have yet to be bad in anything that I've seen. The fact that Millioti wasn't nominated for Black Mirror is just lazy voting. I still don't know what to say about a lack of a nomination for Moss, who I figured was the most favorite of all Emmy favorites at this point. Collins is more of a supporting character in The Last Tycoon. The show wasn't that great, so she didn't get much room to shine anyway.
Winner: B-Team
Look. maybe the Nominees really were better this year. I didn't see as much of the shows this year, so I'm not sure. Going anecdotally, I heard more about the work of the actresses in my B-Team when their shows premiered. I also saw more of those shows and can attest to the good work.
Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie
* Darren Criss (The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story)
* Antonio Banderas (Genius: Picasso)
* John Legend (Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert)
* Jeff Daniels (The Looming Tower)
* Benedict Cumberbatch (Patrick Melrose)
Jesse Plemons (Black Mirror - "USS Callister")
B-Team
Kelsey Grammer (The Last Tycoon)
Michael B. Jordan (Fahrenheit 451)
Taylor Kitsch (Waco)
* Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks)
Jack O'Connell (Godless)
Jimmy Tatro (American Vandal)
The main problem with my B-Team is that so many of them were actually prominent supporting characters (not leads) or were blown away by support characters in their shows. Grammer certainly felt like a supporting character to Matt Bomer, not a co-lead. He chewed scenery spectacularly though, so he still got the B-Team spot over Bomer. Jimmy Tatro, as good as he is, is the main subject of American Vandal, not the lead character. Jordan is mostly hampered by a poor script and that fact that Michael Shannon got the juicer part. Taylor Kitsch gives a committed performance in Waco, but just about every other character was more interesting as the focus of a scene. Jack O'Connell is a sturdy lead in Godless, but his main purpose was to counterbalance things so Jeff Daniels could go as big as he wanted. Kyle MacLachlan got gloriously weird in Twin Peaks, from what I hear. I don't think any of the Nominees other than Darren Criss really blew anyone away in their roles. They are all good leads for their series though.
Winner: Nominees
This hurts, because I watched and liked most of the series my B-Team was in. I chose to skip most of the Nominees' shows because they didn't interest me much. The Nominees' lead performances don't need any asterisks though.
Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie
* Adina Porter (American Horror Story: Cult)
* Penélope Cruz (The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story)
* Judith Light (The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story)
Letitia Wright (Black Mirror - "Black Museum")
Merritt Wever (Godless)
* Sara Bareilles (Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert)
B-Team
Melissa Benoist (Waco)
* Gwendoline Christie (Top of the Lake: China Girl)
Dakota Fanning (The Alienist)
* Nicole Kidman (Top of the Lake: China Girl)
* Angela Lansbury (Little Women)
Sofia Boutella (Fahrenheit 451)
This is one of the more interesting matchups I've had so far. I didn't even realize Judith Light was in ACS until now. I'm guessing her Transparent resurgence helped her get this nomination. I'm betting almost no one was aware of PBS' Little Women, featuring Angela Lansbury. I was hoping she could sneak in a nomination and finally get that Emmy (#JusticeForLansbury). Oh well. I hear she was excellent in this. Cruz, Wever, and Bareilles all got raves for their nominated performances. Wright is tricky to categorize. The nature of her Black Mirror episode made her a lead but with little screen time. Supporting Actress feels right, I guess. Regardless, she's quite good. Kidman and Christie were both fine, from my understanding, in Top of the Lake. Fanning was absolutely a co-Lead in The Alienist. That's balanced out by The Alienist being only OK. Boutella gives a fine, not spectacular, supporting performance in the decidedly mediocre Fahrenheit 451. Mainly, I just like Benoist, so I'm throwing her into my B-Team. It easily could been Julia Garner from Waco instead. Both roles were a little too small, even as supporting roles. Lastly, I know nothing about Porter's work on AHS. I assume that since she hasn't been nominated before, she was a welcome breath of fresh air.
Winner: Nominees
The true supporting performances among the Nominees (Cruz, Wever, Bareilles) push them over the edge.
Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie
* Ricky Martin (The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story)
* Edgar Ramírez (The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story)
* Finn Wittrock (The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story)
Jeff Daniels (Godless)
* Brandon Victor Dixon (Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert)
* Michael Stuhlbarg (The Looming Tower)
John Leguizamo (Waco)
B-Team
* Paul Bettany (Manhunt: Unabomber)
Rory Culkin (Waco)
Luke Evans (The Alienist)
Zachary Levi (Alias Grace)
Scoot McNairy (Godless)
Jimmi Simpson (Black Mirror: USS Callister)
Michael Shannon (Fahrenheit 451)
Another fun one. Daniels took over Godless, so I'm picking him over more modest work by McNairy in the same series. I'm not sure how Leguizamo got a nomination over Culkin in Waco. Culkin had the most interesting character in the whole thing. I didn't realize how much ACS was going to dominate the Emmys. That's really getting in the way of my assessments. Of the trio from ACS, Ricky Martin is the only performance that I heard any buzz about. Simpson and Levi had fairly small parts in their shows which they were fine in. I heard a lot of praise for Dixon as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, and Stuhlbarg is sturdy in any role. Shannon almost steals the show in Fahrenheit 451. Bettany is probably equally in danger of doing that in the Unabomber series. Calling Evans a supporting character in The Alienist is laughable. He's a co-lead. Like Dakota Fanning in the supporting actress field though, The Alienist isn't good enough for the category fraud to matter.
Winner: Nominee
This is entirely because of Jeff Daniels.
Writing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special
American Vandal - "Clean Up"
* The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story - "House By The Lake"
Godless
* Patrick Melrose
* Twin Peaks
Black Mirror - "USS Callister"
B-Team
Alias Grace
* Collateral
The Last Tycoon
* The Looming Tower "9/11"
* The Tale
* Top of the Lake: China Girl
This category is a little wacky, because the nominees aren't at all equal. If every episode of a limited series has the same writer(s), it gets nominated as a whole. If different people write different episodes, individual episodes are nominated. That makes a degree of sense, but it's weird to compare the entirety of Twin Peaks to a single episode of The Looming Tower. Twin Peaks was a supersized 18 episodes filled with utter insanity. That is a major coup for the Nominees. Black Mirror episodes are normally driven by the writing and USS Callister is no exception. Godless packs a full world into only a few episodes and leaves the audience wanting even more. I also love that Emmy voters found room for American Vandal. It's a great set of nominees. The B-Team doesn't have anything major of note. I'm sure the 9/11 episode of The Looming Tower was the highlight (?) of the season. The Tale is a movie, so it certainly has less fat to trim. Otherwise, it a bunch of full seasons that were good, but no one gushed about them.
Winner: Nominees
I can't deny Twin Peaks and American Vandal made me so happy to see included.
Directing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special
* The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story - "The Man Who Would Be Vogue"
Godless
* Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert
* The Looming Tower - "9/11"
* Paterno
* Patrick Melrose
* Twin Peaks
B-Team
Alias Grace
American Vandal
Fahrenheit 451
* The Tale
Black Mirror: USS Callister
* Top of the Lake: China Girl - "Birthday"
* Top of the Lake: China Girl - "Who's Your Daddy"
Godless was well-directed and is being taken as a whole. All 18 episodes of Twin Peaks, again, is almost unfair. The 9/11 episode is the spotlight episode of The Looming Tower. And I always give live productions like Jesus Christ Superstar bonus points for degree of difficulty. Meanwhile, Top of the Lake has fine direction. USS Callister and Fahrenheit 451 both have that "SciFi on a budget" look. American Vandal does some surprisingly complex work (remember when they recreate the events of the party with iPhone videos?).
Winner: Nominees
Because Twin Peaks and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Casting For A Limited Series, Movie Or Special
* The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Godless
* Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert
* The Looming Tower
* Patrick Melrose
B-Team
Alias Grace
American Vandal
Fahrenheit 451
* Top of the Lake: China Girl
* Twin Peaks
Godless and Alias Grace both build Western or Western-era casts with an interesting assortment of familiar faces. Godless gets more out of them though. ACS caters to an under-served demographic, which is nice. Top of the Lake gets some decently big names to play different parts than they take. The Looming Tower has a good assortment of middle-aged white guys. I'm not sure how much credit to give Fahrenheit 451 for recognizing that Michael B. Jordan is a charismatic lead and Michael Shannon makes a good villain. Jesus Christ Superstar has a fun mix of singers. I feel like every single person is in Twin Peaks. Actors, non-actors, the dead, the living. It doesn't matter. Again, I have no knowledge of Patrick Melrose. That's the one with Benedict Cumberbatch, right? I give American Vandal a lot of credit, because it's hard to cast that many good actors who can pass for high schoolers. The pool of actors is much shallower.
Winner: B-Team
Seriously, all the people are in Twin Peaks. And I really like the casting of American Vandal.
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A 6-3 record looks pretty good for the Nominees, but when you consider that it was an easy 9-0 sweep last year, it doesn't look so good anymore. This was the most entertaining day yet. The Comedy and Drama series days always have the most competition. As long as there are some token challengers before now, I consider it a good showing for the B-Team.
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