By Frazier Moore, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --That cliche about awards says it’s an honor just to be nominated. But what about all the worthies Emmy overlooks each year? Are they being dishonored by Emmy’s neglect?
It was a question raised by Emmy’s latest round of snubs as this year’s nominees were announced Thursday.
HBO’s magnificent “Treme”? Jilted yet again.
Same for AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and HBO’s “True Blood.” They just seem to freak out Emmy judges.
Showtime’s “Dexter” was shut out, too, with no Emmy love lost on Michael C. Hall (a past best-actor nominee five years in a row) or for Jennifer Carpenter, who, as Dexter’s foul-mouthed sister, has never been nominated for one of TV’s most vivid portrayals.
Anyone who saw Tatiana Maslany in BBC America’s “Orphan Black” was floored by her multiple roles as identical women who were revealed to be clones. But Emmy shut its eyes to a salute for her.
FX’s motorcycle drama “Sons of Anarchy” continues to get Emmy’s cold shoulder, despite riveting performances from an impressive gang of actors (including Katey Sagal, who won a 2011 Golden Globe for her role as the motorcycle club’s firey matriarch but, in her long career, has never snagged an Emmy nomination).
And what about “The Americans,” FX’s splendid Cold War-era thriller? Sure, it scored a guest-actress nod for Margo Martindale. But how to explain zero recognition for terrific performances by stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys (not to mention the sly supporting-actor turn by Noah Emmerich)?
Speaking of indelible supporting actors: Christopher Heyerdahl as The Swede on AMC’s “Hell on Wheels,” which, like Heyerdahl, was spurned by the Emmys.
And is there any point in lamenting a second year that Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman were forgotten along with their great work for AMC’s “The Killing”?
Kevin Bacon’s entry into series TV was received with excitement when Fox’s serial-killer drama “The Following” debuted earlier this year, but it was “hold the Bacon” at the Emmys as he and his series was ignored.
What a difference a year makes: Fox’s comedy “New Girl” landed two Emmy nominations last season — for lead actress Zooey Deschanel and supporting actor Max Greenfield. They and the show got nada on Thursday.
Jon Cryer, last year’s best-actor winner for the CBS comedy “Two and a Half Men,” was shut out of a nomination this year.
And “Modern Family” star Eric Stonestreet, last year’s winner as comedy supporting actor, failed to make the cut this year. Three of Stonestreet’s cast mates on the ABC hit were named instead.
On Thursday the broadcast networks were crowing about their nominations, with ABC reaping 45 and CBS and NBC both claiming 53.
But none came close to HBO’s 108, and Emmy continued to be unimpressed with the crop of new series the broadcast networks introduced the past year, in what might suggest a distressing trend.
During the 2011-12 season, only nine freshman series on the five broadcast networks got so much as a single nomination. During the 2012-13 season, that number shrank to these two major nominations for a pair of new series: Connie Britton as best actress on ABC’s “Nashville,” and Anthony Bourdain on ABC’s “The Taste” as outstanding host of a reality-competition show.
Meanwhile, Internet TV network Netflix scored four major nominations (out of 14 in all) as it entered the Emmy fray with its new online originals: a trifecta for “House of Cards” (outstanding drama series, lead actor and lead actress) as well as outstanding lead actor for the comedy “Arrested Development.”
So far in its first Emmys race, Netflix clearly feels honored.
“Overnight Success” Has Been More Than A Decade In The Making For Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson
Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson, two of the stars of Netflix's whodunit "The Perfect Couple," have news for you if you want to call them breakouts: They've been working in this business for more than a decade.
Fahy made her TV debut in 2009 in an episode of "Gossip Girl." Hewson's first big film role was in 2011's "This Must Be the Place." They do concede, however, that it's recent TV roles — "The White Lotus" for Fahy and "Bad Sisters" for Hewson — that have led to new frontiers of opportunity.
Susanne Bier, who directed "The Perfect Couple," says both Fahy and Hewson are "going to be big stars."
"They certainly have proper, profound star quality, Both of them in very different ways," Bier says. "Both are incredibly creative, incredibly smart, and also have a impressive insight as to who they are. You can be a great actor or actress and not necessarily really know who you are yourself. And they do."
Hewson, 33, whose dad is U2 front man Bono, may have grown up in a famous family but she's now in demand in her own right. She will next be seen in a second season of "Bad Sisters, " out in November. She's in Noah Baumbach's next film, alongside Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Riley Keough. She's also been cast in Steven Spielberg's next production and is set to star opposite Murray Bartlett in a racing series for Hulu.
Fahy, 34, is in production on a limited series with Julianne Moore and Milly Alcock called "Sirens," written by Molly Smith Metzler ("Maid") for Netflix. She also has two films in the can with Josh O'Connor ("The Crown," "Challengers") and Brandon Sklenar ("It Ends With Us").
The two actors spoke candidly about this phase of their careers. This interview has been condensed for clarity and... Read More