The Emmy race: who should win, who will win

The pressure, the pressure...Blobby, my blogger and now real-life friend (Peter and I met him for drinks and dinner when he and his partner "710") were in New England earlier this summer) has publicly chastised me for failing to follow up on a task. You see, last winter, I challenged Blobby to a "Who Will Win the Oscars" contest, which by some miracle, ended up in a tie. I am certain he cheated somehow. So now it's time for the Emmys, the Oscars of the television world, and Blobby is challenging all comers to another competition. Here are his rules (as you can see, he's very bossy):

I will highlight in red (who will win), blue (who should win) and green if it is both. The winner only gets the 'who will win' category.  I will post my selections on 9/22 (awards are the next day).  No points go to people who post answers after the show starts.  Sorry - thems are the breaks. 

So now that Blobby has throw down the proverbial gauntlet, I feel I must answer his call. But because I am a gentleman and an upfront and honest kind of guy, I do have to tell Blobby that some of the awards on his list have already been bestowed. You see, there's a little show called the "Creative Arts Emmys" that aired last night, and some of the categories, like "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series", "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series", "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series", and "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" were completed. So I have removed those four categories from the list below and will ask Blobby to do the same on his blog. I will unwaveringly follow his directions on how to select the winners:

• RED = Will Win
• BLUE = Should Win
• GREEN = Should and Will Win

And for those of you keeping track or who want to play, you can copy and paste the list below on your blog (and for god's sake, follow Blobby's rules) or just leave a comment on this post. The primetime Emmy awards will be televised next Sunday night, September 23. I can almost taste victory.

COMEDY SERIES

"The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO)

"Girls" (HBO)

"Modern Family" (ABC)

"30 Rock" (NBC)

"Veep" (HBO)

COMEDY ACTOR

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in "The Big Bang Theory" 

Larry David as Himself in "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

Don Cheadle as Marty Kaan in "House of Lies" 

Louis C.K. as Louie in "Louie"

Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy in "30 Rock" 

Jon Cryer as Alan Harper in "Two and a Half Men"

COMEDY ACTRESS

Lena Dunham as Hannah Horvath in "Girls"

Melissa McCarthy as Molly Flynn in "Mike & Molly"

Zooey Deschanel as Jess Day in "New Girl" 

Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton in "Nurse Jackie"

Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope in "Parks and Recreation"

Tina Fey as Liz Lemon in "30 Rock"

Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer in "Veep"

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR

Ed O'Neill as Jay Pritchett in "Modern Family"

Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett in "Modern Family"

Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy in "Modern Family"

Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker in "Modern Family" 

Max Greenfield as Schmidt in "New Girl"

Bill Hader as various characters in "Saturday Night Live"

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS

Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler in "The Big Bang Theory"

Kathryn Joosten as Karen McCluskey in "Desperate Housewives"

Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy in "Modern Family"

Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in "Modern Family"

Merritt Wever as Zoey Barkow in "Nurse Jackie"

Kristen Wiig as various characters in "Saturday Night Live"

DRAMA SERIES

"Boardwalk Empire" (HBO)

"Breaking Bad" (AMC)

"Downton Abbey" (PBS)

"Game of Thrones" (HBO)

"Homeland" (Showtime)

"Mad Men" (AMC)

DRAMA ACTRESS

Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in "Damages" 

Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley in "Downton Abbey"

Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in "The Good Wife"

Kathy Bates as Harriet Korn in "Harry's Law"

Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in "Homeland"

Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson in "Mad Men"

DRAMA ACTOR

Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson in "Boardwalk Empire"

Bryan Cranston as Walter White in "Breaking Bad" 

Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan in "Dexter"

Hugh Bonneville as Robert, Earl of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"

Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody in "Homeland"

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in "Mad Men"

SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS

Anna Gunn as Skyler White in "Breaking Bad"

Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"

Joanne Froggatt as Anna in "Downton Abbey"

Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma in "The Good Wife"

Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart in "The Good Wife"

Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway Harris in "Mad Men"

SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR

Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in "Breaking Bad"

Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo 'Gus' Fring in "Breaking Bad" 

Brendan Coyle as John Bates in "Downton Abbey"

Jim Carter as Mr. Carson in "Downton Abbey"

Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in "Game of Thrones"

Jared Harris as Lane Pryce "Mad Men"

MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE

"American Horror Story" (FX)

"Game Change" (HBO)

"Hatfields & McCoys" (History)

"Hemingway & Gellhorn" (HBO)

"Luther" (BBC America)

"Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia" (PBS)

LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Connie Britton as Vivien Harmon in "American Horror Story" 

Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in "Game Change"

Nicole Kidman as Martha Gellhorn in "Hemingway & Gellhorn" 

Ashley Judd as Rebecca Winstone in "Missing"

Emma Thompson as She in "The Song of Lunch"

LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt in "Game Change"

Kevin Costner as 'Devil' Anse Hatfield in "Hatfields & McCoys"

Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"

Clive Owen as Ernest Hemingway in "Hemingway & Gellhorn" 

Idris Elba as John Luther in "Luther"

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Frances Conroy as Moira in "American Horror Story"

Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon in "American Horror Story"

Sarah Paulson as Nicolle Wallace "Game Change"

Mare Winningham as Sally McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"

Judy Davis as Jill Tankard in "Page Eight"

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE

Denis O'Hare as Larry Harvey in "American Horror Story"

Ed Harris as John McCain in "Game Change"

Tom Berenger as Jim Vance in "Hatfields & McCoys"

David Strathairn as John Dos Passos in "Hemingway & Gellhorn"

Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson in "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

VARIETY SERIES

"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)

"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (ABC)

"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" (NBC)

"Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO)

"Saturday Night Live" (NBC)

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

Robert B. Weide, "Curb Your Enthusiasm "

Lena Dunham, "Girls"

Louis C.K., "Duckling"

Jason Winer, "Modern Family"

Steven Levitan, "Modern Family"

Jake Kasdan, "New Girl"

WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

Chris McKenna, "Community"

Lena Dunham, "Girls"

Louis C.K., "Louie"

Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"

Michael Schur, "Parks and Recreation"

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

Tim Van Patten, "Boardwalk Empire"

Vince Gilligan, "Breaking Bad"

Brian Percival, "Downton Abbey"

Michael Cuesta, "Homeland"

Phil Abraham, "Mad Men"

WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

Julian Fellowes, "Downton Abbey"

Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon & Gideon Raff, "Homeland"

Semi Chellas & Matthew Weiner, "Mad Men"

Andre Jacquemetton & Maria Jacquemetton, "Mad Men"

Erin Levy & Matthew Weiner, "Mad Men"

DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL

Jay Roach, "Game Change"

Kevin Reynolds, "Hatfields & McCoys"

Philip Kaufman, "Hemingway & Gellhorn"

Sam Miller, "Luther"

Paul McGuigan, "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"