Tag / Taraji P. Henson

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2016 Emmy Awards – Drama

Emmy_statueTonight’s the night for the Emmy Awards, so it’s time to finish off my predictions for the awards.  Today, we’re focusing on the awards for Dramas.  I most likely have seen most of these shows, so, unlike my annual Oscar predictions, I will not mostly be going on gut feel and word of mouth, but will have a somewhat informed decision.

Outstanding Drama

The Americans

Better Call Saul

Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

Homeland

House of Cards

Mr. Robot

As much as I would like to see The Americans take home the trophy, I’m assuming that the love affair with Game of Thrones will continue.

Outstanding Actress In A Drama

Claire Danes, Homeland

Viola Davis, How To Get Away With Murder

Taraji P. Henson, Empire

Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Keri Russell, The Americans

Robin Wright, House of Cards

If it were up to me, I’d give the award to either Keri Russell or Tatiana Maslany, but I assume that Viola Davis will take home the prize.

Outstanding Actor In A Drama

Kyle Chandler, Bloodline

Rami Malek, Mr. Robot

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Matthew Rhys, The Americans

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Some new blood in this category.  I’m going with the long shot and picking Matthew Rhys.

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2015 Emmy Awards – Drama

Emmy_statueTonight’s the night for the Emmy Awards, so it’s time to finish off my predictions for the awards.  Today, we’re focusing on the awards for Dramas.  I most likely have seen most of these shows, so, unlike my annual Oscar predictions, I will not mostly be going on gut feel and word of mouth, but will have a somewhat informed decision.

Outstanding Drama

Better Call Saul

Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

Homeland

House of Cards

Mad Men

Orange Is The New Black

Now that Breaking Bad has moved on, I’m assuming that Game of Thrones will take its place.

Outstanding Actress In A Drama

Taraji P. Henson, Empire

Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Viola Davis, How To Get Away With Murder

Claire Danes, Homeland

Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

Robin Wright, House of Cards

I was pleasantly surprised to see Tatiana Maslany finally recognized for her excellent work in Orphan Black, but I assume that Taraji P. Henson will take home the prize.

Outstanding Actor In A Drama

Kyle Chandler, Bloodline

Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

With the final season of Mad Men in the books, I assume that Jon Hamm will take home the trophy for his overall work on the series.

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Midseason Review – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1We continue our look back at my expectations for the fall television season, and today we are focusing on Tuesdays.

7:00

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Following the success of The Avengers, ABC, corporate sibling of Marvel, gets to air the spin-off featuring a team of SHIELD agents tracking down threats across the globe.

What looked to be the hit show of the fall has thus far disappointed.  From a strictly Marvel perspective, the lack of any recognizable characters, beyond Coulson, from the movie universe has been a disappointment.  From a Whedon perspective, the show has lacked any of the heart that previous Mutant Enemy productions have shown.  It may be that this show just has too many corporate masters to appease in order to put on a decent show.  I’ll keep watching, though, in the hopes that it improves.

7:30

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – There hasn’t been a real police workplace comedy since Barney Miller left the air in 1982.  The premiere episode wasn’t bad, but sometimes a little bit of Andy Samberg can go a long way.

The show still struggles occasionally with Andy Samberg overload, but, besides that, it has been a very surprising comedy hit.

8:00

New Girl – This show really found its footing once Zooey Deschanel’s Jess and Jake Johnson’s Nick hooked up towards the end of last season.  The two have incredible chemistry, and keeping them apart really served no purpose.  Now if only they could find a consistent usage for Winston.

With Happy Endings ending, Damon Wayans Jr. was available to return to the role he played in the pilot, at least for the remainder of this season.  Things have been a little uneven this season. Continue reading →

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Midseason Review – Thursdays

Nearing the end of our look back at the fall television season.

CBS

Big Bang Theory – The nerds return for more fun.

This show has wisely mixed things up, with the focus nearly equal between the guys and the girls.  The additions of Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik to the cast have made a strong show even stronger.  There was one occassion where the show fell victim to the main charge of its critics, where it laughed at nerds instead of with them.  Hopefully that was a blip and not a tonal shift.

How To Be A Gentleman –  This looks to be horrible.  I doubt it lasts through November sweeps.

And it didn’t.

Person Of Interst – Michael Emerson’s first post-Lost series.  That alone is enough of a reason to give this a chance.

This is not really a bad show, but it isn’t really a good one and it seems like a total waste of Michael Emerson’s talents.  It looks like they may be mixing things up a bit by bringing Taraji P. Henson into the fold, so maybe that will help.

The Mentalist – Based on the premiere, it will be more of the same from The Mentalist.  It’s a good enough show, but I can see it burning out quickly if they don’t shake things up sometime soon.

More of the same indeed.  The addition of one of the kids from the new Melrose Place as the new boss is kind of weird, but beyond that, nothing really new.

NBC

Community – Back for a surprising third season.  John Goodman has joined in a recurring role, and, so far, looks to have brought his A-game. 

Well, John Goodman only appeared 2 or 3 times, but this season has been bizarrely brilliant.  Of course, this means that NBC has pulled it from the schedule, claiming it will return at some undetermined point in the future.  I know 3 seasons is more than most series see, but losing this show will hurt more than most. Continue reading →