« Blue to benefit in a Big Bad way | Main | TV’s stellar year gives Emmys plenty of fine choices »
July 07, 2005
The big picture: A look at how the 2005 Emmy race is shaping up
by Ray Richmond
The Hollywood Reporter
The possibility exists each year that there will be a changing of the Emmy guard, a genuine infusion of new blood - or at least semi-new blood - in the comedy and drama categories. Usually it doesn't happen, aside from the occasional hot newcomer crashing the party, but as the race for the 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards shifts into gear, an authentic transformation of many major categories appears nearly inevitable. Moreover, the network leading this momentous swing isn't HBO but - against all odds - ABC.
Nominations for this year's Primetime Emmys will be announced July 14 in typical fashion (5:35 a.m. PDT at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in North Hollywood). The highest-profile statuettes will be dispensed during a Sept. 18 ceremony set to air at 7 p.m. on CBS.
For the first time in a good while, HBO isn't moving into Emmy season with a stranglehold on the proceedings: Neither "The Sopranos" (last year's winner for outstanding drama series) nor annual multiple nominee "Curb Your Enthusiasm" are eligible for awards attention, in both cases because of a lack of episodes. This, after all, is a network that marches to the beat of its own drum and ignores the traditional seasonal concept. advertisement
While HBO does have a strong drama contender in the gritty, profane Western "Deadwood" (an 11-time nominee for its first season in 2004), and "Six Feet Under" remains a contender despite no longer being a front-runner, HBO's only hope in comedy is "Entourage," which earned a surprise Golden Globe series nomination this year but isn't considered in the class of such stalwart predecessors as "The Larry Sanders Show" and "Sex and the City." If "Entourage" doesn't make the cut, which frankly isn't all that far-fetched, it would mark the first time in 13 years that at least one HBO comedy does not appear in that series category.
So there won't be a repeat of last year, which between "Sopranos" and the much-decorated miniseries "Angels in America" saw the proceedings transform into HBO's private party. This time, there's a better chance for massive attention to go to ABC, which stands to enjoy its best Emmy nomination showing in at least a decade thanks to its hot freshman contenders "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost."
"Housewives" is poised to preside over a comedy category no longer populated by "Frasier," "Friends" and "Sex," with its chief competition expected to come from last year's Emmy darling, Fox's "Arrested Development." In addition, it is not inconceivable that all five ladies from "Housewives" could earn performing nominations: Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria for lead comedy actress and Nicollette Sheridan for supporting actress.
"Lost," meanwhile, is expected to duke it out with "Deadwood" in a drama category overflowing with other worthy candidates including CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Without a Trace," NBC's four-time drama series winner "The West Wing," Fox's "24" and the FX trio of "The Shield," "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me."
In longform, look for HBO to retain its dominant position in the telefilm and miniseries categories with such entries as "Dirty War," "Empire Falls," "Lackawanna Blues," "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," "Sometimes in April" and "Warm Springs." Then there is nonfiction, where many of the usual suspects (CBS' two-time winner "The Amazing Race" and "Survivor," NBC's "The Apprentice" and Fox's "American Idol") will troll for honors alongside some newer faces (ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," Discovery's "Monster Garage" and NBC's "The Contender").
But if there is anything we have come to expect from the Emmys, it's that we shouldn't come to expect anything. It is a kudofest annually rife with puzzling omissions, so while "Housewives" and "Lost" appear to be locks for big awards attention, it would be inadvisable to call them sure things. Emmy, after all, traditionally favors age over beauty and consistency over heat; the hip and happening still typically stand a better chance at the Golden Globes.
Even a huge nomination to tbl doesn't guarantee a show much more than, well, a huge nomination total. Big wins for a series' first season remain rare, with some recent exceptions being "Frasier," "West Wing" and "Arrested."
Posted by Jo at July 7, 2005 05:45 PM