Emmy Nominations: Snubs and Surprises

Emmy Nominations: Snubs and Surprises 

The Primetime Emmy Nominations were announced today, but not without some controversy. As with every year, fans took to Twitter and the Internet to express their 'outrage' that their show didn't get enough love. An unavoidable part of any award season, but let's examine some of the omissions and surprises to come from today's announcement.

Snub: Broadcast television

With cable and Netflix, the broadcast networks are virtually shut out yet again. That means deserving shows like "The Good Wife" and "The Blacklist" were omitted from Best Drama Series and "Parks and Recreation" and "Trophy Wife" were left out of Best Comedy Series. Predictable, but unforgivable nonetheless.

Surprise: Lizzy Caplan 

A welcome surprise, Lizzy Caplan broke into the highly competitive Lead Actress in a Drama Series category. Even though the writing for Showtime's "Masters of Sex" isn't quite there yet, Caplan's understated and emotional work was definitely the highlight of the so-so first season.

Snub: James Spader

James Spader was by far the best part of "The Blacklist". Every scene as Raymond Reddington was worthy of an Emmy itself. Already a three time Emmy winner, and recent Golden Globe nominee, this omission is more puzzling than anything.

Surprise: "Orange is the New Black"

It was obvious that the buzzy Netflix comedy would get into Comedy Series and the lovely Taylor Schilling was a shoo-in for Lead Actress. But more surprising were the four other acting nominations the series received; Kate Mulgrew for Supporting, Uzo Aduba, Natasha Lyonne, and Laverne Cox for Guest. Mulgrew, in my opinion, was holding back in Season One, and didn't show what we all knew she was capable of until Season Two, but maybe voters also wanted to recognize her long career in shows like "Ryan's Hope" and "Star Trek". The ladies in Guest Actress dominated that category, and are definite surprises.

Snub: Mariska Hargitay

"Law and Order: SVU's" Mariska Hargitay delivered a layered and painful performance as Olivia Benson as she deals with several brutal attacks from a serial rapist (the also omitted Pablo Schreiber). By far the best work she has done in her fifteen seasons on the show, Hargitay is yet another victim of the Broadcast shut-out.

Some non-surprising but definitely deserved nominations went to Kathy Bates (for the hastily thrown together third season of "American Horror Story"), Minnie Driver (for the powerful "Return to Zero"), Josh Charles (for "The Good Wife"), Ellen Burstyn (for Lifetime's "Flowers in the Attic"), and four nominations for the delightful "The Sound of Music Live!" special from last year. The Primetime Emmys air August 25 on NBC.