Imagine being Julia Roberts and George Clooney, waking up on the morning of nomination announcements, and not hearing your name called.
The 2019 Emmy Awards nominees list were announced Tuesday, July 16 and boy were there a lot of surprises. First of all, as stated above, Julia Roberts was not nominated for her role on Hulu’s “Homecoming” and George Clooney was not nominated for “Catch 22.” This is probably the biggest shock of the morning because Julia Roberts was actually being looked at as a favorite to win in her category. Her nomination however went to Mandy Moore, who is great in “This Is Us” and got her first nomination for that role this morning so it evens itself out in my opinion. Julia has enough awards. Mandy isn’t going to win, but whatever.
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll)
Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag)
The obvious winner in this category is the woman who has won the past six times she has been nominated and that is Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I watched the first three seasons of Veep, and while it wasn’t my favorite, I could not dispute the talent that was Dreyfus, She made the show and was definitely the funniest part of it. If he wins she will be the actor with the most acting emmy wins in history. Last years winner Rachel Brosnahan would have had a chance had Veep not been eligible but it is and the second season of Mrs. Maisel was just not as good. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is amazing in Fleabag but I think the fact that her show is still so new works against her, because the Emmys tend to favor shows in their last season, which Veep is in, so I think she’ll get it next year.
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)
Don Cheadle (Black Monday)
Ted Danson (The Good Place)
Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method)
Bill Hader (Barry)
Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek)
I’m going to be honest, I don’t watch a majority of these shows, but based off what I know, I’m going to guess it is either going to be Michael Douglas, Bill Hader or Eugene Levy. I feel like The Kominsky Method has gotten a lot of love in the past, and Bill Hader has won for Barry before so I think he has a good chance to win again. I threw Eugene Levy in there because Schitt’s Creek is loved by a lot of people and it is in it’s last season so they might throw him a bone.
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman (Ozark)
Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us)
Kit Harington (Game of Thrones)
Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)
Billy Porter (Pose)
Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us)
I wouldn’t be upset if any one of these people won but just based off of Sterling K. Brown’s track record, I would put my money on him. The emmy voters really seem to love him and he would give a great acceptance speech so I won’t be mad at it. I would say the only two people who could snub him are Billy Porter and Kit Harrington. Billy Porter is such a force and Pose has grown to be so popular, and to win for a show which gives off such a unique message would just be such a stand out moment which the emmys would want for their show. Kit Harrington is in the running just because Game of Thrones is the biggest show ever and it just aired its last season. Kit really didn’t do much this season but the little he did do, he did well.
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones)
Jodie Comer (Killing Eve)
Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder)
Laura Linney (Ozark)
Mandy Moore (This Is Us)
Sandra Oh (Killing Eve)
Robin Wright (House of Cards)
As I said before, do not expect a win from Mandy Moore. I think Sandra Oh is going to win because Killing Eve has only gotten better in its second season and her acting has just been incredible. Emilia Clarke also has a pretty good chance. The last season of Game of Thrones showed her character kind of going crazy and she did amazingly well. The writing was horrible but we can’t fault the actors for the bad writing and acknowledge that they did a phenomenal job with what they were given. The scene in episode 5 where she contemplates burning down the city or accepting her win was perfection.
Other notable nominees are Joey King for the Act, Gwendolyn Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams for Game of Thrones, Tony Hale for Veep, Tony Shalhoub for Mrs. Maisel and Henry Winkler for Barry.
Anyways, the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards will air on FOX on Sunday, September 22, 2019.