Latinos Shut Out of All Major Emmy Categories!

 

I woke up at 8 a.m. this morning, made my café con leche and pan con mantequilla and excitedly turned on the TV to find out which of my fellow Latinos had been nominated for an Emmy. Imagine my surprise when, after hearing the entire list, I realized that Latin actors and actresses had been completely shut out of all of the major categories this year! I was heartbroken, mad and sad all at once. I couldn't eat my pan, and I make a mean bread and butter, y'all.

After the Daytime Emmys all but completely ignored us this year, I thought for sure the prime-time awards would make up for it. They didn't. Actually, allow me to add some emphasis: they really didn’t! Let's start with the nominees in the category Best Comedy Series: Entourage, Family Guy, Flight of the Conchords, How I Met Your Mother, 30 Rock, The Office and Weeds. This is a strong lineup (especially Weeds and Entourage), but where is one of the strongest comedies, and the only Latin-centric show on television, Ugly Betty? It’s also interesting to be aware that the vast majority of these casts are made up largely of white actors (and white actors only).

Best Actor in a Comedy Series nominees Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Steve Carell (The Office), Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) are all white men. The same is true for the six white women nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?), Toni Collette (United States of Tara), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) and Sarah Siverman (The Sarah Silverman Program). Were these actresses really more deserving of a nomination than Eva Longoria Parker, the most talented comedienne on Desperate Housewives? Also, why wasn’t Judy Reyes (in her final season full-time as Nurse Carla on Scrubs) not deserving of a nomination, even though she’s stolen the show in more than a few episodes for the past eight years? And I know Ugly Betty had its problems this year, but no América Ferrera? Really? She’s unquestionably one of television’s most popular actresses, and her performance on the show has been consistently good, and much better than Collette’s repetitive turn on United States of Tara. Joanna Garcia (Privileged) also deserved to be included here for her exceptional work in the fish-out-of-water comedy about a smart girl’s reactions to spoiled brats.

Best Supporting Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series offered much of the same. In fact, the only two nonwhite actors nominated in either category are Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) and Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty). The remaining eight are white. Was there really no room for Ugly Betty’s Ana Ortiz?

Meanwhile, in Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, all five of the male actors are white, including Steve Martin, Alan Alda, Beau Bridges, John Hamm and Justin Timberlake. Same goes for Guest Actress, which nominated six white actress, including Jennifer Aniston (30 Rock). Um, how is it possible that they nominated Aniston's forgettable guest work on 30 Rock, but failed to nominate Salma Hayek for her unforgettable work on the same show?

After I learned all about the comedy nominations, I moved on to read the drama nominations, café con leche still in hand (about halfway through), and it was more of the same. The Best Drama Series nominees included Big Love, Breaking Bad, Damages, Dexter, House, Lost and Mad Men—all series that don’t showcase the talents of Latin stars (although Dexter has Lauren Velez, and Lost has Jorge Garcia, both in supporting roles). The Best Actor in a Drama category included only white actors too, and I was puzzled by the omission of Edward James Olmos, who was brilliant in Battlestar Galactica’s final season! And are they seriously going to leave Benjamin Bratt off the list, even though he gives what is unquestionably the most deep and heartfelt performance of his career (and possibly in all of television) on A&E’s The Cleaner? Give me a break!

Can you guess what happened in Best Actress in a Drama Series? You’re right. No Latinas! All six women were white too, and Cote de Pablo, who was brilliant on NCIS, was left out of the race. Meanwhile, the Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress in a Drama series categories ignored us as well, leaving off Sara Ramirez (Grey’s Anatomy) and Lauren Velez (Dexter) on the women’s side, and Demián Bichir (Weeds), Guillermo Diaz (Weeds) and Kevin Alejandro (Southland) on the men’s side.

Jimmy Smits—the only Latino to earn an acting nomination—was nominated for Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his stunning work as Miguel Prado on Showtime’s Dexter, but it would have been a heinous unforgivable crime not to nominate him.

You can read the rest of the list here. It offers more and more of the same. This is a very sad day for me, because there is far too much Latin talent on TV for us to go completely ignored by this awards show.


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Seven Emmy nods a good fit

 

Ties in outstanding comedy and drama series make for interesting choices, something the acting categories could really benefit from (Alas, Denis Leary and the 'Big Love' cast).
By MARY McNAMARA
July 17, 2009

It was supposed to be six but it turned out to be seven, and you know what? Seven is better.

Earlier this year, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced that it would expand the number of nominees in the best series and acting categories from five to six.

But ties for the sixth spot (apparently a rock, paper, scissors situation is out of the question) put seven shows in competition for both outstanding comedy and drama and resulted in two lists that are, by comparison to previous years anyway, startlingly wise and even, occasionally, inspired.

This may be due to the welcome inclusion of Showtime's "Weeds" and HBO's "Flight of the Conchords" in comedy and "Big Love" (also HBO) and "Dexter" (also Showtime) in drama (Emmy voters have, apparently, finally begun to watch television). But it also seems to explain the reason that seven is perceived as a luckier number than six.

With seven, you can pull a cut-and-paste from last year -- oh, look, there's "30 Rock" ( NBC), "The Office"(NBC), "House" (Fox) and "Mad Men" (AMC) -- while still raising a few cheers and eyebrows. With the inclusion of Fox's " Family Guy," you can do both.

Seven is a large enough number to make the list interesting and inclusive (who says excellence is synonymous with high brow?) but not so large as to push it into an embarrassing every-kid-gets-a-trophy rite of self-congratulation.



You see the difference seven makes when you glance at the acting categories, which all have only six. The addition of one extra slot gave us a few new names, including Simon Baker (for "The Mentalist," CBS), Elisabeth Moss ("Mad Men"), Sarah Silverman ( Comedy Central's "The Sarah Silverman Program") and Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory," CBS). But even so, each list bears a disheartening similarity to last year's. (I am not even going to mention the numbing presence of Mariska Hargitay, who got her sixth nomination for NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and Tony Shalhoub, who received his seventh for USA's "Monk" because, frankly, I don't need the e-mails.)

If there had been seven nominees, perhaps voters could have included Denis Leary, who has totally rocked this season on "Rescue Me" or Chloë Sevigny, ditto on "Big Love." Jeanne Tripplehorn got a nod for her turn as Jackie O. in "Grey Gardens," but how can you nominate "Big Love" for best series and not nominate any of the actors?

Or the writers, for that matter. I say, if you're going to throw "Mad Men" a ludicrous four nominations (yes, it's good, but it's not that good) then you definitely have to expand that category to seven. What, there were no stand-out episodes of "Breaking Bad" or "Damages"? Did none of the voters see the road trip episode of "Big Love"? In his Miramax heyday, Harvey Weinstein could have won that thing a screenwriting Oscar.

And what about the passing of giants, including "ER," "The Shield," "Boston Legal" or " Battlestar Galactica?" Finale seasons are always dicey, awards-wise, but seriously, only a nod for Ernest Borgnine's guest appearance on "ER"? So Katee Sackhoff creates Starbuck, one of the most souped-up fabulous female characters on television and goes away without so much as a nomination?

Please.

See how easily seven can solve such problems without dislodging comfortable favorites? Even the supporting roles, in which voters tend to be a bit more flexible, would have benefited.

Katherine Heigl may have been left off the list for "political" reasons -- she withdrew her name last year after winning in 2007, snubbing the show's writers in the process. But if the "Grey's Anatomy" women are being honored (Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson), certainly Ellen Pompeo, who has worked very hard and against all narrative odds to make Meredith Grey an interesting character at last, should have been included.

Speaking of ensembles, where, I ask for the 75th time, are the men of "Weeds"? No Justin Kirk? No Kevin Nealon? No Albert Brooks? And the omission of John Mahoney for his performance as the troubled CEO on "In Treatment" is, I'm just going to say it, a crime against God and nature.

A list of seven would have solved all this. Because in a world as diverse and populated by greatness as television, the honor really is in the nomination. Look at the lists for outstanding comedy and drama, and look at the acting categories too. Maybe there are one or two that had weaker seasons, but even more so than the Oscars, it's ridiculous to contemplate anointing one or the other the Very Best of the year.

It's like trying to decide if Jessica Lange or Drew Barrymore gave the best performance in "Grey Gardens." One of them will win because that's the way it works. But the point is, they were both nominated.


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2009 Emmy Nominations

 

The Good The Bad and the Who Does BSG Have to Screw to Get Some Frakkin' Respect!
You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and their you have…. the facts of life the 2009 Emmy Nominations! Seriously. For every good (Congratulations HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER!), there is an unfortunate bad (Charlie Sheen) to even things out. Take a look.

The Good: The Academy finally decided to recognize some fresh blood, honoring THE BIG BANG THEORY’s Jim Parsons, 30 ROCK’s Jane Krakowski and BREAKING BAD’s Aaron Paul with much deserved acting nominations. The Bad: We said fresh blood, not true blood, with the hit HBO series only managing to score nods for art direction, casting and main title design.

The Good: The Emmys love dancing. The Bad: DANCING WITH THE STARS that is, which gets a nod over the far superior SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE.

The Good: With nominations for Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh, working at Seattle Grace continues to pay dividends. The Bad: Unless of course your names are Kevin McKidd, Justin Chambers, and the always overlooked Patrick Dempsey who if you ask us, deserves a medal of honor for having to put up with Meredith for four seasons.


The Good: BIG LOVE got some big props in the form of an Outstanding Drama Nod. The Bad: Like their unforgettable TV alter-egos, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin continue to be ignored.

The Good: FRINGE got an Emmy Nod! The Bad: For special visual effects, not John Noble’s ridiculously solid Emmy-worthy performance as Dr. Walter Bishop.

The Good: This is the final year William Shatner will be eligible for an Outstanding Actor Emmy due to BOSTON LEGAL’s untimely demise. The Bad: We can’t say the same for the unstoppable juggernaut that is TWO AND A HALF MEN.

The Good: 30 ROCK’s Jack McBrayer and Tracy Morgan got recognized! The Bad: For two characters that we can’t help but feel are only slightly more exaggerated versions of themselves.

The Good: 30 ROCK and MAD MEN both cleaned up in their respective writing categories. The Bad: Leaving little room for anyone else, with each show taking a somewhat unnecessary four out of five possible slots in the Outstanding Writing categories.

The Good: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA nabbed seven Emmy nominations. The Bad: Which means the show will clean up, at what host Kathy Griffin calls the “Schmemmys” (The Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards)


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Wilson tricked at Emmy announcement

 

Emmy Awards bosses tricked double-nominee Chandra Wilson into believing she'd been left off this year's shortlist.

The "Grey's Anatomy" star's name was omitted from a rundown of nominees she was shown before taking to the stage to announce the 2009 candidates on Thursday.

So she was stunned when she discovered she'd picked up two nods for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama for "Grey's Anatomy" and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for "Accidental Friendship."

A shocked Wilson tells People.com, "We did the rehearsal ahead of time and went down the teleprompter three times. My name wasn't there, so I was like, 'Cool.'

"I'd been completely duped."

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'Grey's' stars

writers react to Emmy nominations

The mood was surely celebratory on the set of 'Grey's Anatomy' yesterday as the cast and crew celebrated the show's five Emmy nominations. Series creator Shonda Rhimes shared her joy via her Twitter feed. "Yay Sandra! Yay Chandra! Yay Casting! Yay Makeup! Yay Izzie's Mom (Sharon Lawrence)!" Rhimes tweeted. She later clarified that the casting team who works on 'Grey's' was actually nominated for their work on NBC's 'Friday Night Lights', but "we cheer for our people no matter what!"

The world got to witness Chandra Wilson's reaction to her two nominations (one for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for 'Grey's', Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for 'Accidental Friendship'), live on TV, since she was surprised with the news while serving as an presenter during the announcement of the nominations. Later, she offered this statement to TV Guide Magazine, "...And for 'Grey's', I just always feel like if the Academy recognizes that I'm still having fun with this woman and still enjoying this woman and there's still so much to discover with Dr. Bailey, then yay!"

'Grey's' writer Krista Vernoff also offered congratulations via her Twitter feed: "SO excited for Chandra & Sandra. SO well deserved. & Our makeup team & the amazing Linda Lowy and Sharon Lawrence! YAY EMMY LOVE!"

But were any of the other 'Grey's' cast members disappointed not to receive nominations? Only Steven W. Bailey, who plays Joe the Bartender, expressed any jealousy, through this tounge-in-cheek tweet, "When will the Emmys finally add a 'Best TV Bartender' category?!?! .....Stupid Emmys.....".

Are you pulling for Chandra Wilson or Sandra Oh at the Emmys? Or are you still reeling from the snubs of the rest of the cast? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Katherine Heigl Super-Pissed About Emmys

 

Katherine Heigl looked delish, and way toned down, in her darker new 'do she debuted at the premiere of rom-com The Ugly Truth at the Arclight in H'wood. Unfortunately her punctuality could use some work, 'cause the babe was 20 minutes late. Someone trying to sneak out of talking about the Emmy noms?

'Course we asked her all about that, but first we tried to get some Grey's goss for the upcoming season. But Kath wasn't spilling.

"T.R. [Knight]'s no longer there, which is just depressing," was all Heigl would offer. "And Ellen [Pompeo] now has a basketball under her shirt instead of a tiny thing!"

We get it, you can't talk about any plot details. Or maybe you just despise every storyline the writers have conjured up for ya?

As far as the Emmy noms go, Heigl kept mum on her lack of a nomination but, predictably, couldn't keep her opinions to herself about everyone else in the cast:

"I'm so excited for Shonda [Rhimes] and Sandra [Oh]," Kath tells us. "I just think they're so exceptional and amazing, but I'm a little disappointed for Justin [Chambers]. This is really strong season for him, and he's such an exceptional actor and an amazing person and I love him so much and he's my TV husband and goddammit he should have gotten an Emmy nomination!"

If she's not mad at the Grey's writers, or the Emmy announcer mispronouncing her name, then it's the Academy itself for not nominating her buddy.

OK, then.

We admire the doll for speaking her mind, but ya might not wanna take the Emmys name in vain next time. Or do you not care anymore now that you've totally moved onto the big-screen stuff? 'Cause we're sure all the women seeing your flick are there for you and not Scottish man-meat Gerard Butler.

Right, Miz Higg-guhl?


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