Tune In or Tune Out: Mom (CBS)

Mom (CBS)

Created by: Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory), Eddie Gorodetsky (Two and a Half Men), Gemma Baker (Two and a Half Men)

Starring Anna Faris, Allison Janney, and French Stewart

Chuck Lorre is a machine for CBS, the main now has four sitcoms on the eye network, Two and Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Mike and Molly, and now Mom.  The man turns out ratings power houses for this network although Mike and Molly is not the strongest of his series, but both Two and Half Men and The Big Bang Theory have been the highest rated sitcoms for for the last 11 years, which is an incredible feat.  The problem is that Big Bang is the only clever show within the cannon of his sitcoms, does Mom act more like Big Bang or the lack luster Mike and Molly?

Mom centers around three generation of women who all became young mothers in their teenage years.  Anna Faris plays Christy a waitress who had potential but followed in her mothers foot steps getting pregnant young, an alcoholic, and dating married men.  Allison Janney plays Christy's mom Bonnie, and the two have not been in each other's life for many years but come face to face in a Alcoholic's Anonymous.  The show also centers on the new pregnancy of Christy's teen daughter.

The good thing on the side of this show is the talent of both Faris and Janney, they are both incredibly funny women.  The material is dark for a traditional sitcom, and this may have done better in a non traditional format, but when these two interact there is some magic.  I would argue that the show tries too hard to fit within the sitcom world, and that it should loosen up a little to fit the material, and then the show will become more natural.  With Janney and and Faris the show has potential to be something more than just the by the book sitcom.  As a pilot, this was middle of the road, but with the talent on screen this show has potential.

One of the things on this shows side is that Emmy voters still prefer this type of performance, a person has won an acting trophy from a Chuck Lorre sitcom for the last five years including three for Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), two for Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), and one for Melissa McCarthy (Mike and Molly).  I see this show lasting because of the talent of both Faris, and Janney, they are both great.

Tune In-: Giving this show a chance, but mostly for Janney and Faris

Emmy Awards (2013) Ruled by Death,Dancing and Drugs

This year's awards were filled with some pretty big surprises (more about those below), but the ceremony seemed to ruled by three things: death, dancing, and drugs.

Dancing

Let's tackle these alphabetically, dancing obviously comes first.  Neil Patrick Harris puts on a great show, he is a song and dance man, but I can't help but think that the pressure to do a lavish dance number took over the fact that he did not want to for monologue, but put a dance number in the middle of the show?

Harris is hilarious; he has great puns, but he felt out of his element tonight, the opening with the past hosts fell flat until Amy Poehler and Tina Fey chimed in to being on the laughs for the the first award of the night.

In the middle of the show Neil put together a pointless dance number with Nathan Fillion and Sarah Silverman, I am still baffled at why this happened and why these two stars.  This was put in, and people's speeches were cut off for this?

Props to the show for doing the Best Choreography Award on the show, and the number by the nominees was great, and connected to the different series, I was entertained by this, and glad cutie Derek Hough won.

At the end of the night the lackluster monologue and the attempt to be too showy made this a bummer of a show"

Death 

Speaking of ultimate bummers, or downers, I get that Jame Gandolfini, Cory Monteith, and Jonathan Winters were all "bigger" names who passed away this year, but having the formula of award death tribute brought down this show in a big way.  Yes Carl Reiner, and Edie Falco made me cry, and their tributes were beautiful, but this was too much.  I get the sincerity was there, but couldn't they have played clips from the actors shows?  This would have made much more sense.

Drugs

On to things that do not make, sense and that was many of the winners came from out of left field, although none of them were exactly.  I have to wonder if people were high while voting, or if voters finally stopped rubber stamping winners?  Breaking Bad applause also dominated the applause of the evening.

I have to applaud the voters for breaking the mold, in fact none of the winners should have been "surprising" the real surprise is that voters did not follow the trend they typically follow.

Awards

The first surprise of the night came with the Outstanding Comedy Supporting Actress winner Merrit Wever; she was a massive surprise she had 100/1 odd on most sites, and most people predicted her last, or not at all.  Wever's shocked speech proves this with a simple "Thank You."

While some may be surprised Tony Hale won Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, I had him ranked second.  I knew he was a true spoiler, but I thought they would go with a Modern Family guy for sure.  Modern Family only took home two trophies tonight no acting winners for the first time in the shows history which shows its vulnerability for next year, watch out for Veep!  Even though it was an expected win I have to say that Julia Louis Dreyfuss bringing Tony Hale onto the stage was the best inside joke within an acceptance speech, ever!

Another surprise came when they announced Bobby Cannavale the winner in the Outstanding Supporting Actor Drama category.  In my predictions I talked about my hunch he would win, and placed him second in my predictions as well.  Boardwalk in the Drama Series category but won the most Emmy Awards with 6 wins.  Cannavale is a truly respected actor, and had a previous win, I had a hunch, but for some reason bet against him.

Jeff Daniels was the next big surprise winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, if there was going to be a spoiler I thought it was going to be Spacey, but my guess is that voters were over the moon with Daniel's speech at the beginning of the Pilot for Newsroom, which was a great soliloquy on the problem with our society.

The Colbert Report finally toppled The Daily Show in Variety Show Writing, and Outstanding Variety Show.  The Amazing Race was taken down for only the second time in the history of Outstanding Reality Show/Competition by The Voice.  The Voice has done what American Idol could never do, which was interesting.

Will these wins signify new patterns, or were people expecting voters to be as predictable as they have been in the past few years?  I think that many of the winners were the right choices especially Breaking Bad for Outstanding Drama Series.  I would just caution the people behind this ceremony to let winners talk a little longer, and avoid the terrible "middle" dance numbers.

Emmy Week (2013) Predicting the Winners

Outstanding Drama Series 

Breaking Bad 

Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

Homeland

House of Cards 

Mad Men

Who Should Win:  My pick for "should" this year would be Game of Thrones, it was the most consistent of the six series.  Bad's season 5.1 was great but part of a build and would be number two.  Homeland  would be third.

Who Will Win: This is a race between last years winner Homeland and Breaking Bad.  Bad has the luck of airing its last and final part of its season during the voting, and this season has been heavily acclaimed.  I would argue that that factor puts Breaking Bad as the winner.  Homeland is a close second the show has the government clout factor, and proved itself last year.  Game of Thrones would be higher (most nominations) but it floundered at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Comedy Series 

The Big Bang Theory

Girls 

Louie

Modern Family 

30 Rock 

Veep

Who Should Win:  This would be down to Louie or The Big Bang Theory for me, with Louie on top.  Louie has never been better, and while i liked season two better there is something about the different story arcs in season three which sold this show.  The Big Bang Theory would be second, the show has not only found a groove, but never let is characters grow tired.  Veep would be third, the show is hilarious.

Who Will Win:  Will Louie break the model of winners?  Will Modern Family win a fourth award in this category?  Is there a swell of sentimental support for 30 Rock?  Can Big Bang Theory finally take the top prize?  I have to say that all signs point to Modern Family for the four-peat, and I think its going to be the winner plain and simple.  I would argue that any of the other three could win, and that my hunch of 30 Rock winning here could happen, but for the moment I will stick with my gut and pick Modern Family.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Hugh Bonneville-Downton Abbey

Bryan Cranston-Breaking Bad 

Jeff Daniels-The Newsroom

John Hamm-Mad Men

Damien Lewis-Homeland

Kevin Spacey-House of Cards 

Who Should Win: My pick for this year would be Kevin Spacey in House of Cards, while its not the popular choice when he breaks the fourth wall, and with his accent, but he was fantastic.

Who Will Win:  Damien Lewis versus Bryan Cranston, I have been back and forth on these men.  At the moment I have Cranston, but I also do not think they are going to pick him for a fourth this year, and Lewis is amazing in his submitted episode Q&A.  This is one of the tougher categories to predict, because tape matters here typically in the past.  No one picked Kyle Chandler to win for Friday Night Lights.  Could John Hamm finally win?  In his tape Don Draper is broken down more than ever, could people finally recognize him?  Spacey is the biggest spoiler in my book; he is a two time Oscar winner, and Cards is clearly well liked winning two Creative Arts Emmy Awards. At the end of this I am going to pick, Kevin Spacey, just a hunch.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin-30 Rock 

Jason Bateman-Arrested Development

Don Cheedle-House of Lies

Louis C.K.-Louie

Matt LeBlanc-Episodes

Jim Parsons-The Big Bang Theory

Who Should Win:  Louis C.K. story arc where he was looking for the next woman in his life, and attempting to take on the late show are proof that this man is more than just a great stand up comedian and writer he has the chops to carry great material.

Who Will Win: Baldwin's tape is weak, but he is beloved.  Louis C.K. has the best tape, but this categories history proves that C.K. can be admired but more as a writer.  Parsons tape is solid, and I think he will win for a third time.  My predicted winner is Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory.  Any of the of the other two men could spoil.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series 

Connie Britton-Nashville 

Claire Danes-Homeland

Michelle Dockery-Downton Abbey

Elisabeth Moss-Mad Men

Vera Farmiga-Bate's Motel

Kerry Washington-Scandal

Robin Wright-House of Cards

Who Should Win:  While Farmiga is good in Bate's Motel, the show is crap.  I think of these seven women the winner should be Claire Danes from Homeland.

Who Will Win:  Danes has the prestige factor, as does Farmiga, both are highly acclaimed performers. While the third person who has a shot at this is Kerry Washington who is a good actress and has the 'it' factor.  I could see any of these three women winning here, but I think that Q&A is one of the most admired tapes this year, and that Claire Danes will pull off a second win.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Laura Dern-Enlightened

Julia Louis-Dreyfuss-Veep

Lena Dunham-Girls

Edie Falco-Nurse Jackie 

Tina Fey-30 Rock

Amy Poehler-Parks and Recreation

Who Should Win: Amy Poehler submitted her best tapes; she is hilarious, and I am shocked that she has never won this award, its time for her to win this award.

Who Will Win: Fey, Poehler, and Louis Dreyfuss are the comedic geniuses of the moment.  This award is also between the three of them. I could see Fey winning because of sentiment, but I also think she is in third place at the moment.  Can Poehler finally win?  She has the tape, it's a long two parter where she gets married, and "huggable."  While I have moved Poehler up in my predictions as the spoiler I still think the winner will be Julia Louis Dreyfuss for Veep.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series 

Jonathan Banks-Breaking Bad 

Bobby Cannavale-Boardwalk Empire 

Jim Carter-Downton Abbey

Peter Dinklage-Game of Thrones

Mandy Patinkin-Homeland

Aaron Paul-Breaking Bad

Who Should Win: The winner should be Mandy Patinkin, Saul is the heart of the show and provides the right level of support needed to further Homeland to be a great show.

Who Will Win: I have had this gut reaction ever since the nominations were announced that Bobby Cannavale would win this award.  Part of the reason is because his role is showy and he is one of the only major nominations remaining for this series.  Paul repeated, and is one of four men to win this award twice, no person has won this category three times it could be him.  Many people are predicting Patinkin for this, because of his prestige factor, but he was not nominated last year, surprisingly.  I am going to go with Mandy Patinkin, but gut is saying Bobby Cannavale, we will see.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Ty Burrell-Modern Family

Bill Hader-Saturday Night Live

Tony Hale-Veep

Adam Driver-Girls

Jesse Tyler Ferguson-Modern Family

Ed O'Neil-Modern Family

Who Should Win: Tony Hale from Veep would get my vote; he has created some memorable funny supporting roles throughout the year, and I love that he his work on Veep this season; he was great.

Who Will Win:  Flip a coin on one of the Modern Family men.  I think this year its between Ed O'Neil (who would take home his first trophy), and Ty Burrell.  While Hader could have been a slam dunk with his swan song episode he submitted badly.  At the end of the day my money is on Ty Burrell his tape is hilarious, but beware of the should win spoiler Tony Hale.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series 

Morena Baccarin-Homeland 

Christine Baranski-The Good Wife

Emilia Clarke-Game of Thrones 

Anna Gunn-Breaking Bad 

Christina Hendricks-Mad Men

Maggie Smith-Downton Abbey

Who Should Win: Anna Gunn may be hated by many as Skylar White, but he character has developed into something much more like able, and understanding.  Gunn's walk into the pool was haunting and she should win this prize.

Who Will Win:  Anna Gunn is is going to win this prize, but never rule out Dame Maggie Smith who is one of the most liked characters on this series; she is the character people talk about the most, and she has the prestige to back her up, never count her out, but I do think that Gunn is going to win this award this year.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 

Mayim Bialik-The Big Bang Theory

Julie Bowen-Modern Family 

Anna Chlumsky-Veep

Jane Krakowski-30 Rock 

Jane Lynch-Glee

Sofia Vergara-Modern Family 

Merrit Wever-Nurse Jackie

Who Should Win: This is probably the weakest category in all of the acting nominees (minus guest) this year.  Of these nominees the winner should be Anna Chlumsky she has done a great job evolving the character of Amy.

Who Will Win:  While I would love to see Jane Krakowski win this award I believe Julie Bowen is on for a three-peat; she is well liked, and that is a traditional pattern within this category, so why break tradition.

Best Directing in a Comedy Series-Louie-Daddy's Girlfriend

Best Directing in a Drama Series-Breaking Bad-Gliding Over All

Best Writing in a Comedy Series-30 Rock-Last Lunch

Best Writing in a Drama Series-Homeland-Q& A

Outstanding Mini-Series/Movie-Behind the Candelabra

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-Series/Movie-Michael Douglas-Behind the Candelabra

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini-Series/Movie-Jessica Lange-American Horror Story: Asylum

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series/Movie-Scott Bakula-Behind the Candelabra

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series/Movie-Sarah Paulson-American Horror Story: Asylum

Emmy Week (2013) Who Should Have been Nominated?

Every year there are always some gasps about major snubs, and because the Emmy Awards split their categories between drama, and comedy, there are always one or two in each category that should have made the cut in each category, but did not.  Who should have made the cut?

Outstanding Drama Series 

The Good Wife 

The Good Wife was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series for its first two years, but last year it was snubbed, and it became the first year no major broadcast nominees received a nomination.  Wife had a slow start, but built to a terrific finale, and had one of its strongest years creatively.

What would it have replaced, Downton Abbey.  Sorry friends, Downton is good, and addicting drama, but it is not one of the best shows on the air anymore.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Matthew Rhys-The Americans

While the show itself was not amazing, in my opinion the performances from Matthew Rhys and Kerri Russell were out of this world.  Rhys who was great on Brothers & Sisters took things to a whole new level in this show.

Who would he have replaced-Hugh Bonneville-Downton Abbey-While Hugh had a great story line this past season with the death of his daughter and trouble with his marriage he could not hold a candle to the great performance of Rhys.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Tatiana Maslany-Orphan Black

Maslany is a multiple threat, and I mean that literally she plays so many roles on Orphan Black it is hard to keep track of the number.  Maslany is fantastic in all of these roles, and she carried this show on her back with her great performance.

Who would she have replaced-Connie Britton-Nashville-The Emmy Awards have a toner for Britton, and while she deserved her three previous nominations she should have sat this year out.  Nashville is fun, and Britton is great, but Maslany is just miles ahead.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (tie)

Sam Waterston-The Newsroom 

Love or hate the first season of The Newsroom, you can't deny that Charlie Skinner (Waterston) was the heart, which kept this show going.  Waterston is great in this role, and made you feel the passion this man has had for the news all these years.

Who would he have replaced?-Bobby Cannavale-Boardwalk Empire-Again Cannavale is a great actor, and I have admired his career trajectory, but this role was too over the top for me.  I think Waterston's under stated nature grounded his show.

 Corey Stoll-House of Cards

How can you nominate House of Cards for Best Drama, Best Actor, and give it 7 other nominations without a nomination for Corey Stoll.  Stoll was the heart of of this show, and his downward spiral within the DC world of political power was fascinating thanks in great part to this character actor.

Who would he have replaced?-Aaron Paul-Breaking Bad-I know this going to be unpopular, but Paul did not do much at all last season (I would nominate him next year).  In the first half of the last season Jesse Pinkman took a back seat to Mike, and just did not have as much to do; he was still great.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Monica Potter-Parenthood

Potter's cancer story line was one of the most heart wrenching things on television this past year; she was great, and I do not know if there was a moment where the actress did not sell every aspect of dealing with her disease.  What a beautiful performance.

Who would she have replaced-Christina Hendricks-Mad Men-Come on Matthew Weiner Joan is more than window dressing, and you gave her nothing to do this past season.  I get that the show centers around Don, but you lose other characters in the mix, and this year you did not do enough for the talented Ms. Hendricks.

Outstanding Comedy Series

Parks and Recreation

For some reason the Emmy Awards nominated this show one year, and has forgotten about it year after year.  This show continues to be the funniest show on the air, and the Emmy Awards for some reason have not gotten on board with this show.  Leslie Knope come on!

What would this show have replaced-30 Rock-While the show had a great last season, I think Parks never falters the way Rock did, and I would have rather seen the Emmy Awards stop trying to think their cool.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Jake Johnson-New Girl

Nick Miller grew up a little bit, and his relationship with Jess last season was one of the biggest highlights of the season.  Aside from this relationship Nick developed even further, and this is in large part to Jake Johnson's performance.

Who would he have replaced-Matt LeBlanc-Episodes-Another talented actor who has grown, but this show has lost its flavor, and LeBlanc did not do enough to deserve a nomination this time around.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 

Zooey Deschanel-New Girl

How do you forget this quirky girl?  While the list of six nominees is great this year I can't help but think that without Deschanel there is something missing.  Jess's journey through love, and unemployment this year was touching, and hilarious.

Who would she have replaced-Edie Falco-Nurse Jackie-Falco is a great actress, and the show is solid, but she should have been bumped, because people are just simply voting for her as a name rather than on the talent.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series 

Simon Helberg-The Big Bang Theory

How do you ignore Howard ?  Hellberg and the writing have fleshed out this character brilliantly making him less one dimensional hornball and rather a great loving husband, and soon to be father this season.  I am excited to see how that plays out, but there are more men on this show than Parson.

Who would he have replaced-Any of the Modern Family men-Hard to pick, each the show is getting monotonous, and while its hilarious, and good still, they should not have three spots anymore, and its to go in the way of The West Wing, where they fade away slowly.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 

Jessica Walter-Arrested Development

Binge watching, and the Emmy Awards were not kind to Arrested Development, but Walter should have been nominated, her single episode was one of the best of the season; she is great and one of the best television characters of all time.  How and why did she miss out?

Who would she have replaced-Jane Lynch-Glee-Speaking of character fatigue, love Jane Lynch, but how do these voters see this character as anything but one note now.  Ryan Murphy is the only person to blame, because he had no structure to the progression of his character.  In fact I think he makes things up as he goes, but poor Jane Lynch should not be nominated this year.

Tune In or Tune Out: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)

Created by: Dan Goor (Parks and Recreation), Michael Schur (Parks and Recreation)

Starring: Andy Samberg, Melissa Fuermo, Joe Lo Truglio, Terry Crews, and Andre Braugher 

The team from Parks and Recreation has brought together another odd ball group, but this time they are in a police station in Brooklyn.  While crime hasn't been funny since Barney Miller (1974-1982) this show tackles cops in a truly hilarious way.

The shows strength is ensemble which centers around Detective Jake Peralta (Samburg), Detective Amy Santiago (Fuermo), Detective Charles Boyle (Lo Truglio), Sergeant  Terry Jeffords (Crews), Captain Ray Holt (Braugher), and some relatively new players to round out the ensemble.  This show was at the top of my list for must-watch new comedies, and it did not disappoint. 

While Samburg may not be everyone's cup of tea his charm as cocky police officer attempting to grow up works.  Samburg has worked with Schur before on Parks and Recreation; he gets the humor and blends into this series well without becoming too obnoxious.  The best part of this first episode was Braugher; he is one of my favorite actors working today, and he tackles humor here with that perfect dry wit.  Braugher is the standout of the episode, but like this duos past work on Parks and Recreation there is a great ensemble which looks like it will be developed further.  The only person who felt a little out of place was Crews whose shell shocked officer was more gimmick than anything else.  

These two men who have worked on Parks and Recreation have helped write and create some of the greatest moments for the show.  Parks and and Recreation also knows how to use characters, through evolving them, or having them move on from the series.   I feel as though this was a great start to a show that has tremendous potential.   

Tune In! One of my Favorite Comedy pilots in a while 

Tune In or Tune Out: Sleepy Hollow (FOX)

Sleepy Hollow (FOX)

Created by: Alex Kurtsman (Fringe), Roberto Orci (Fringe), Phillip Iscove, Len Wiseman (Underworld)

Starring: Tom Mison, Nicole Beharie, and Orlando Jones

The legend of Sleepy Hollow with the headless horseman, Ichabod Crane, the Von Tussles, and many more characters has been told in a variety of manners from cartoon to a film version from Tim Burton in 1999.  This television series takes on the lore in a present day setting with a hole new twist.

After Ichabod Crane (Mison) 'dies' on a mission for George Washington in 1781 he is transported to present day 2013.  When Ichabod is transported to the present day so is the Headless Horsemen and he goes on a murderous rage in order to find his head.  Crane teams up with police office Abbie Mills (Beharie) in order to track down the Horseman to try and stop him, and figure out why and how both men ended up in the present day.

This show was surprisingly entertaining, the only reason I ended up watching the show was because my friend reminded me it was airing, and not other broadcast networks were airing new scripted television shows.  This became more of a happy accident, the episode went by quickly, was action packed and entertaining.

One of the flaws in the show was the quick pace of the the connection between Crane, and Abbie things moved about as quickly as they would or should move within at least three episodes or more to build that connection.  While this can also be seen as the show not wasting any time with the pleasantries I think taking time to develop the show a little more would have worked better.

With that said the preview for the upcoming episodes looked solid, and I am excited with change of direction with the myth the show is exploring.  I am not going to spoil the show because i liked stumbling upon it as the show unfolded, but this horsemen.  I think the strength behind this show is that it has two co-creators of Fringe, whose lore became one of the strongest aspects of the series.  I trust Alex Kurtsman and Roberto Orci to take this show to a level similar to that of Fringe, which will be a great achievement.  

Hollow already has success on its side, the ratings (without DVR) were the highest FOX has had for a a Pilot of a scripted shows since K-Ville in 2006 with 10 million viewers.  If the show continues to carve out the niche lore genre of the supernatural then I feel that this show can be a massive success.  The show does have to be mindful of of its acting, and being too fast paced or too "out there."

Tune In (for Now)-If you like the supernatural

Emmy Week (2013): Time to Liven Up Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards. Can Louis C.K. Save the Day?

For the past 6 years 2 shows have won Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards, 30 Rock and  Modern Family.  From 1999 until 2006 only one show repeated their victory and that show was Everybody Loves Raymond.  Between 1999 and 2006 shows like Ally McBeal, Friends, Will & Grace, Sex and the City, Arrested Development, and The Office each took their turn at the podium.  Each of these shows won in a year with critical support, they were the best seasons of their shows history, and deservedly.  The only win I would argue against was Everybody Loves Raymond's repeat, which should have been a repeat win for Arrested Development, or even Desperate Housewives.

As stated above 30 Rock and Modern Family have dominated these categories for six years, and this could be the seventh, this award winner has gotten stale like back to the days of Frasier's 5-peat in the mid to late nineties.  The big question of the week is can comedian Louis C.K. come in and save the day making this category a bit more interesting?

Ove the years only a few shows have repeated in this category, Frasier has the most wins at 5.  There are three shows tied with four wins: All in the Family, Cheers, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.  Four shows have three wins: 30 Rock, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Modern Family, and Taxi.  Seven shows have 2 wins: Everybody Loves Raymond, Get Smart, The Golden Girls, I Love Lucy, The Jack Benny Show, Murphy Brown, and The Phil Silvers Show.

Of the 65 years only 20 years have had repeat winners, which is pretty great at creating variety in this category, but we are in a drought.  Both Modern Family and 30 Rock are heavy front runners this year, but there is one upstart who could change it all, and that's Louis C.K. for Louie.

Over the years shows like Louie rarely win in the series category, but do score nominations.  Curb Your Enthusiasm is obviously the closest show to compare.  Curb  has been nominated for 39 Emmy Awards, but only won 2, only one non technical award for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series.  Louie has just tied Curb's record of two wins, one for writing last year, and one for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.  C.K. himself has been nominated all three the show has been on the air for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, but this is the first year the show has been nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series.  Can Louis C.K. do what Larry David, the creator of Seinfeld from an HBO series could never do with Curb, win?

Louis C.K. is nominated for nine Emmy Awards this year, and the answer is maybe.  Is there Modern Family fatigue?  The show was nominated for fewer awards this year, and one of their cast members was snubbed for the first time since the first season.  The show also has no writing nominations.  Can 30 Rock swing back for the purpose of sentimentality?  The show won it's first Emmy in 3 years Outstanding Casting, which is fairly rare for a show in its last season.  The only problem is that only two shows have won for their final seasons, and they are Everybody Loves Raymond and Barney Miller.  30 Rock may win win an acting and writing or directing, but not series.

Does this open the door for Louie?  Why not The Big Bang Theory, the most watched show comedy on television?  Bang has no writing or directing nominations, along with some of the other major technical awards that signal a win here.  Girls is too polarizing and has lost its sheen, and while Veep has the clout it did not score a writing or directing nomination in a show where those factors are the most important.

My gut says Modern Family will keep the snooze fest of this category alive, but I am going to go out on a limb, and predict that Louie will shake things up, and pull out a surprise victory in this category.