The stars of the small screen came out to accept honors from the Broadcast Television Journalists’ Association.
Last night, at the Beverly Hilton, the Broadcast Television Journalists Association bestowed honors upon the most written about shows of the past year at their second annual awards ceremony. Only shows/seasons that have aired between May 31, 2011 and June 1, 2012 were eligible. After surprising dominance at the Golden Globes, Claire Danes and Showtime’s freshman drama, “Homeland” received more accolades, including Best Drama Series and Best Actress in a Drama Series for Danes’ gripping turn as a mentally-ill CIA operative.
The big question for “Homeland” now is, can they topple the “Mad Men” empire. The AMC advertising show has had a stranglehold over the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series four years running. The fourth season of “Mad Men” was the Critics’ Choice winner for Drama Series. Does that mean it will fall out of Emmy favor as well?
Not all was lost though. A “Mad” woman, Christina Hendricks earned her second consecutive Critics’ Choice for Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She tied with Margo Martindale from “Justified” last year. Rounding out the acting categories was another AMC stalwart, “Breaking Bad,” whose fifth and final season begins July 15. For the Best Actor in a Drama category, Bryan Cranston continued his demolition of his dramatic acting opponents at every single award show, easily snagging another honor for his portrayal of Walter White: a high school science teacher turned ruthless drug lord. The pleasant surprise, however, was when his castmate, Giancarlo Esposito, won Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his unflinching role as Gus, the boss who sought to murder Walt and was ultimately bested. Also, former Charlie’s Angel, Lucy Liu was honored for her guest performance on TNT’s “Southland.”
Christina Hendricks, winner of Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
In the comedy categories, there was a tie for the best actress crown between Amy Poehler of “Parks and Recreation” and Zooey Deschanel of FOX’s first-year success story, “New Girl.” But the big award went to the oft-ignored NBC cult gem, “Community.” Widely regarded by critics as the best thing since sliced bread, the underappreciated show finally saw its reward. Unfortunately, the recently canned showrunner, Dan Harmon, was absent. Standup comic legend Louis C.K. won for his leading role on his FX auteur program, “Louie,” which returns for its third season on June 28. ABC’s “Modern Family” swept the supporting categories with the Dunphy parents, Ty Burell and Julie Bowen, collecting trophies for Best Supporting Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series, respectively. Paul Rudd cashed as well, winning Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series for opposing Leslie Knope in the city council election on “Parks and Recreation.”
PBS’ “Sherlock” sneaked off with two Movie/Miniseries awards. Among them, Best Miniseries and Best Actor in a Miniseries for Benedict Cumberbatch (baller name!), who plays the eponymous role. Julianne Moore walked out with a Best Actress in a Miniseries for doing her best Sarah Palin impression. Other miscellaneous categories included Best Animated Series, which was scooped up by FX’s Archer; and the Best Talk Show category belonged to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Snapping back to reality, Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations won Best Reality Series, and for Reality Competition, The Voice struck a chord. Hosts Tom Bergeron (Dancing With the Stars) and Cat Deeley (So You Think You Can Dance) locked horns for the second tie of the night.
So what does this mean for the rest of award season? Well, the TCAs (Television Critics Association) has their ceremony at the same location as the Critics’ Choice on July 28. “Homeland” scored the most nominations there with four. But again, will these results carry over to the Emmy’s? Unfortunately, the Emmys, like the Oscars, are none for being wrapped up in industry politics. Don’t get me wrong, “Mad Men” deserves each award it has won, but will the streak be broken by the Showtime’s little thriller that could? That remains to be seen. But for tonight, I’m mostly satisfied with the results—I’m not in “Community’s” camp like most of my fellow TV writers, so I would have liked to see “Parks and Recreation” take it. And why, oh why, was “Louie” left out of the Best Comedy Series category? It seems strange he would be recognized, but not the show. Another disappointment, “Game of Thrones” left with a goose egg, despite two nominations.
Regardless, you’ll have my “Louie” and “Breaking Bad” reviews to look forward to this summer as we anticipate the Emmy’s!
So, what do you all think? Who was deserving, and who stole one? The full list of nominees and winners is below (the winners are in bold):
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Homeland
Mad Men
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Kelsey Grammer (Boss)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy)
Damian Lewis (Homeland)
Timothy Olyphant (Justified)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Danes (Homeland)
Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)
Emmy Rossum (Shameless)
Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones)
Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad)
Neal McDonough (Justified)
John Noble (Fringe)
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)
John Slattery (Mad Men)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Christine Baranski (The Good Wife)
Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad)
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
Regina King (Southland)
Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire)
Maggie Siff (Sons of Anarchy)
BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A DRAMA SERIES
Dylan Baker (Damages)
Jere Burns (Justified)
Loretta Devine (Grey’s Anatomy)
Lucy Liu (Southland)
Carrie Preston (The Good Wife)
Chloe Webb (Shameless)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Big Bang Theory
Community
Girls
Modern Family
New Girl
Parks and Recreation
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Don Cheadle (House of Lies)
Louis C.K. (Louie)
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Garret Dillahunt (Raising Hope)
Joel McHale (Community)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) = TIE
Lena Dunham (Girls)
Julia Louis Dreyfus (Veep)
Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope)
Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) = TIE
Ashley Rickards (Awkward)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ty Burrell (Modern Family)
Max Greenfield (New Girl)
Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation)
Danny Pudi (Community)
Jim Rash (Community)
Damon Wayans Jr. (Happy Endings)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Julie Bowen (Modern Family)
Alison Brie (Community)
Cheryl Hines (Suburgatory)
Gillian Jacobs (Community)
Eden Sher (The Middle)
Casey Wilson (Happy Endings)
BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A COMEDY SERIES
Becky Ann Baker (Girls)
Bobby Cannavale (Modern Family)
Kathryn Hahn (Parks and Recreation)
Justin Long (New Girl)
Paul Rudd (Parks and Recreation)
Peter Scolari (Girls)
BEST MOVIE/MINISERIES
American Horror Story
Luther
Sherlock
Page Eight
The Hour
Game Change
BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE/MINISERIES
Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock)
Bill Nighy (Page Eight)
Woody Harrelson (Game Change)
Idris Elba (Luther)
Dominic West (The Hour)
Kevin Costner (Hatfields & McCoys)
BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE/MINISERIES
Jessica Lange (American Horror Story)
Gillian Anderson (Great Expectations)
Julianne Moore (Game Change)
Patricia Clarkson (Five)
Lara Pulver (Sherlock)
Emily Watson (Appropriate Adult)
BEST REALITY SERIES
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
Hoarders
Sister Wives
Kitchen Nightmares
Pawn Stars
Undercover Boss
BEST REALITY SERIES — COMPETITION
The Pitch
Shark Tank
So You Think You Can Dance
The Voice
Chopped
The Amazing Race
BEST REALITY SHOW HOST
Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars) =TIE
Nick Cannon (America’s Got Talent)
Cat Deeley (So You Think You Can Dance) = TIE
Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race)
RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race)
BEST TALK SHOW
Conan
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The View
BEST ANIMATED SERIES
Archer
Adventure Time
Bob’s Burgers
Family Guy
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
MOST EXCITING NEW SERIES (no single winner, all recognized)
The Following
The Mindy Project
Nashville
The Newsroom
Political Animals
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