2014 Emmy Winners + my thoughts

After last year's Emmys made their theme about death, this year's was way funnier. Seth Meyers hosted, and I thought he was wonderful. There were a ton of great jokes and segments. Weird Al performed an awkward melody of some of the nominated show's theme songs. The only funny one was Game of Thrones when he told GRRM to "write them faster, write them faster" and proceeded to have someone hand him a type writer in the audience. There was also a touching tribute to Robin Williams. There were a few surprises with the winners too. The Normal Heart got shut out in the acting categories, and Sherlock won instead. Breaking Bad went out big just like it should've. Here's a list of the winners in bold, my thoughts as always follow in green.

Best Drama Series
“Breaking Bad” 
“Downton Abbey”
“Game of Thrones”
“House of Cards”
“Mad Men”

“True Detective”
I pretty much jumped for joy when this was announced. Breaking Bad deserved to go out on top. I bet HBO regrets submitting True Detective in the drama category now.

Best Comedy Series
“Modern Family” 
“The Big Bang Theory”
“Louie”
“Orange is the New Black”
“Silicon Valley”
“Veep”
I was really hoping Veep would take this, but the Emmys are still very much on the Modern Family train. This is their 5th consecutive win in this category.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad” 
Jeff Daniels, “The Newsroom”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Woody Harrelson, “True Detective”
Matthew McConaughey, “True Detective”
Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”
I was so nervous about this one because I thought McConaughey would win, but they gave it to Cranston one last time. In his speech he said even he almost voted for McConaughey, and that he enjoyed his scenes with Anna Gunn in bed. Cranston was on fire tonight.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife” 
Lizzy Caplan, “Masters of Sex”
Claire Danes, “Homeland”
Michelle Dockery, “Downton Abbey”
Kerry Washington, “Scandal”
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”

Lead Actor, Comedy
Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory” 
Ricky Gervais, “Derek”
Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes”
Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”
Louis C.K., “Louie”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Another repeat. I'm happy for Parsons, but I was hoping Louis CK would take it.

Lead Actress, Comedy
Julia Louis Dreyfus, “Veep”
Lena Dunham, “Girls”
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
Melissa McCarthy, “Mike & Molly”
Amy Poehler, “Parks & Recreation”
Taylor Schilling, “Orange Is the New Black”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus looked SO HOT at the Emmys. When she was presenting with Bryan Cranston earlier, she told him she reminded him of a character she dated on Seinfeld. When Cranston said that was him, she looked all embarrassed. "We even had a kissing scene." Cranston pointed out. So when she run here, Cranston ran up to her and made out with her for what felt like minutes. I think it was the best part of the night.

Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
Benedict Cumberbatch, “Sherlock: His Last Vow” 
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “Dancing on the Edge”
Martin Freeman, “Fargo”
Billy Bob Thorton, “Fargo”
Idris Elba, “Luther”
Mark Ruffalo, “The Normal Heart”
I did not see this coming. I thought Ruffalo had it. I would've been happy with any of these men winning, but I'm glad Cumberbatch finally got some recognition for Sherlock. I just wish he was there to accept it.

Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story: Coven” 
Helena Bonham Carter, “Burton and Taylor”
Minnie Driver, “Return to Zero”
Sarah Paulson, “American Horror Story: Coven”
Cicely Tyson, “The Trip to Beautiful”
Kristen Wiig, “The Spoils of Babylon”

Supporting Actor, Drama
Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad”
Jim Carter, “Downton Abbey”
Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
Josh Charles, “The Good Wife”
Mandy Patinkin, “Homeland”
Jon Voight, “Ray Donovan”
Yeah, bitch! He even plugged his wife's charity she runs. What a guy. (and seriously, Kind Campaign is legit. Lauren Paul seems like such a doll.)

Supporting Actress, Drama
Anna Gunn, “Breaking Bad” 
Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey”
Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey”
Lena Headey, “Game of Thrones”
Christine Baranski, “The Good Wife”
Christina Hendricks, “Mad Men”
Her speech was so sweet, and I'm glad she won. Still a little miffed at Melissa McBride not being nominated. I do have to point out Lena Headey, when she was presenting earlier Andy Samburg came out dressed as Joffrey and was trying to get her attention. "Not now, Joffrey." she said. Perfection.

Supporting Actor, Comedy
Ty Burrell, “Modern Family” 
Andre Braugher, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
Adam Driver, “Girls”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Modern Family”
Fred Armisen, “Portlandia”
Tony Hale "Veep"
I was hoping for Tony Hale to win, but this was Ty's first time. His acceptance speech was long and stupid.

Supporting Actress, Comedy
Allison Janney, “Mom” 
Mayim Bialik, “The Big Bang Theory”
Julie Bowen, “Modern Family”
Kate Mulgrew, “Orange Is the New Black”
Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”
Anna Chlumsky, “Veep”

Reality-Competition Series
“The Amazing Race” 
“Dancing with the Stars”
“Project Runway”
“So You Think You Can Dance”
“Top Chef”
“The Voice”

Variety Series
“The Colbert Report” 
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live”
“Real Time with Bill Maher”
“Saturday Night Live”
“The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon”

Miniseries
“Fargo” 
“American Horror Story: Coven”
“Bonnie & Clyde”
“Luther”
“Treme”
“The White Queen”
I'm happy Fargo took home the big price. It was deserved.

Television Movie
“The Normal Heart” 
“Killing Kennedy”
“Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight”
“Sherlock: His Last Vow”
“The Trip to Bountiful”
This was the Normal Heart's big win. The speech was very moving.

Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie
Martin Freeman, “Sherlock: His Last Vow” 
Colin Hanks, “Fargo”
Jim Parsons, “The Normal Heart”
Joe Mantello, “The Normal Heart”
Alfred Molina, “The Normal Heart”
Matt Bomer, “The Normal Heart”
This was another one that surprised me, but I'm happy for Freeman. I wish he would've been there.

Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie
Kathy Bates, “American Horror Story: Coven” 
Frances Conroy, “American Horror Story: Coven”
Angela Bassett, “American Horror Story: Coven”
Allison Tolman, “Fargo”
Ellen Burstyn, “Flowers in the Attic”
Julia Roberts, “The Normal Heart”
Allison Tolman was robbed! I love how the Emmys made this huge deal over Julia Roberts being there, then she lost. Even Kathy Bates looked surprised she won.

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
“Breaking Bad” - Ozymandias 
“Breaking Bad” - Felina 
“Game of Thrones” - The Children 
“House Of Cards” - Chapter 14 
“True Detective” - 
I'm so happy Ozymandias won here. It's the best hour of television I've ever seen.

Directing for a Drama Series
True Detective - Who Goes There - Cary Joji Fukunaga
Boardwalk Empire - Farewell Daddy Blues - Tim Van Patten
Breaking Bad - Felina - Vince Gilligan
Downton Abbey - Episode 1 - David Evans
Game of Thrones - The Watchers On The Wall - Neil Marshall
House of Cards - Chapter 14 - Carl Franklin
I was really rooting for Gilligan or Marshall here, but Fukunaga directed a fine episode of True Detective. (And he's seriously hot..)

Directing for a Comedy Series
Modern Family - Vegas - Gail Mancuso
Episodes - Episode 309 
Glee - 100
Louie - Elevator
Orange Is The New Black - Lesbian Request Denied 
Silicon Valley - Minimum Viable Product 
Another Modern Family Win. I saw the Louie and Silicon Valley episodes, and they were both hysterical. 

Writing for a Comedy Series
Louie -• So Did The Fat Lady 
Episodes - Episode 305 
Orange Is the New Black - I Wasn’t Ready 
Silicon Valley - Optimal Tip-To-Tip Efficiency 
Veep - Special Relationship 


Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
Sherlock: His Last Vow 
American Horror Story: Coven - Bitchcraft 
Fargo - The Crocodile’s Dilemma 
Luther
The Normal Heart 
Treme -…To Miss New Orleans 
Bitchcraft is the best episode title I've ever heard.

Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
Fargo - Buridan’s Ass 
American Horror Story: Coven - Bitchcraft
Fargo - The Crocodile's Dilemma
Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight 
The Normal Heart 
Sherlock: His Last Vow 

Writing in a Variety Special
“Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles” 
“67th Annual Tony Awards”
“Billy Crystal: 700 Sundays”
“The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards”
“The Beatles: The Night That Changed America”
I love that Sarah Silverman won here. That was a good stand up special.

Directing in a Variety Special
“67th Annual Tony Awards” 
“Six By Sondheim”
“The Beatles: The Night That Changed America”
“The Kennedy Center Honors”
“The Oscars”

“The Sound Of Music Live!”