Well, it’s about that time. The nominations for the 2013 Emmy Awards will be announced this morning, Thursday, at around 8:15am EST, in Los Angeles, and while I certainly don’t have to tell you that Diaspora representation will be nearly absent, I thought I’d at least take a quick look at those few black actors (and shows) whose names just might be called when Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Kate Mara (House of Cards) announce the nominees, less than 24 hours from now.
Of course we’ll have the full list of nominations once they are announced, which I’m sure will be dominated by perennial favorites like Mad Men, Modern Family and 30 Rock, as well as expected wild cards.
Until then, here are our best bets for black actors and shows (in the major categories) we might hear mentioned later this morning.
– First, in the Best Actor in a Drama category: No one. Idris Elba in Luther wouldn’t count this year, because season 2 aired in 2011. Season 3 debuts in the US in September this year. There was a longer-than-expected gap between seasons 2 and 3. Besides, Luther is typically considered a mini-series.
– Second, for Best Actress in a Drama: Kerry Washington, of course! Who else? Although things haven’t been looking very good for Scandal this TV awards season. I say that because last month’s nominees for the 3rd Annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards (from the The Broadcast Television Journalists Association), were Scandal-free. The hit Shonda Rhimes series didn’t receive a single nomination. Skip ahead 3 weeks later to the Television Critics Association (TCA) announcement of their nominees, which was also completely Scandal-free.
– Third, Best Supporting Actor in a Drama: No one who’s made enough of an impact that I can think of. No Giancarlo Esposito this year, unfortunately.
– Fourth, Best Supporting Actress in a Drama: Regina King has a shot at a nomination, for her work in Southland, which was canceled after this last season.
– Fifth, Best Drama: Scandal obviously. Although, as noted earlier, leading up to tomorrow’s reveal, the Shonda Rhimes series hasn’t seen any *love* at all from other TV association awards announcements. So I don’t think it’s chances are high. Plus competition in this category is probably the toughest of all categories: Mad Men, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and more…
– Sixth, Best Comedy: Nothing here.
– Seventh, Best Actor in a Comedy: Don Cheadle has a shot at a nomination for his performance on House Of Lies.
– Eighth, Best Actress in a Comedy: Nobody here. Where are all our funny actresses?
– Ninth, Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy: No one strong enough.
– Tenth, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy: No one here either.
– Eleventh, Best TV Movie/Miniseries: I’d say that one of the 3 Lifetime original movies with all-black casts might find itself on tomorrow morning’s list: Betty & Coretta, Steel Magnolias, and Abducted: The Carlina White Story. Although, of the 3, I’d say that Steel Magnolias has the best shot.
– Twelfth, Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie: I frankly can’t think of anyone who’d qualify.
– Thirteenth, Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie: Given that Angela Bassett and Alfre Woodard have both been recognized for their performances in the respective TV movies they starred in (Betty & Coretta and Steel Magnolias), I’ll say both of them could get looks, with Woodard ahead of Bassett, if only because the movie she starred in was stronger overall (its ensemble cast especially).
– Fourteenth, Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie: Once again, I’m stumped. There isn’t much to choose from.
– Fifteenth, Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie: I’m looking at all the black actresses in the aforementioned Lifetime movies – Phylicia Rashad, Adepero Oduye, and Condola Rashad notably.
That’s about it!
Did I miss any that should’ve been obvious? Keep in mind that this isn’t a list of who I’d like to see nominated, but who has a realistic chance of being a nominee, based on the numerous “expert” predictions lists I’ve looked at in the last 24 hours.
With BET leading all black TV networks, making an original scripted programming push, one can only assume that it’s only a matter of time before they score a series that’s both a critical and commercial hit – enough to get Academy of Television Arts & Sciences recognition – that is assuming BET wants that kind of acknowledgement.
As for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN, the network only very recently entered into the original scripted dramatic and comedy series space (although nothing in the fledgling network’s lineup in those categories, would be nominated at this point); so if OWN receives any nominations at all, they’ll be in the Reality TV category.
But I don’t expect any OWN nominations to be announced this morning; not this year.
We’ll find out later today!
What does your predictions list look like?
