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| Drama Announcements! |
The first announcements will be for the DRAMA categories. Presenting the awards will be none other than the Sultan himself, MAX BENOWITZ! *Que the Cheers*
Best Drama TV Show
The Walking Dead
Mad Men
Boardwalk Empire
Game of Thrones
The Leftovers
The Benny for best Drama TV show was a very difficult one. All five of the listed shows really knocked it out of the park. However, with the final season of Boardwalk Empire, every one of the eight episodes delivered. Unlike the other four nominees, Empire seemed to get every aspect right. The acting was on point, the sets and cinematography were, as always, beautiful, and the fantastic ending to the story that Boardwalk wanted to tell gave viewers a satisfying farewell.
Best Lead Male Actor (Drama TV Show)
Jon Hamm - "Don Draper" - Mad Men
Steve Buscemi - "Enoch Thompson" - Boardwalk Empire
Kevin Spacey - "Frank Underwood" - House of Cards
Clive Owen - "John Thackery" - The Knick
Anson Mount - "Cullen Bohannon" - Hell on Wheels
This was one of the very hardest categories to pick. All five of these men did such a fantastic job in their respective shows that picking one was a major challenge. Kevin Spacey is forever entertaining, but his performance on House of Cards, fun as it was, has seen no real development since the first season. Steve Buscemi, though certainly his at the centerpiece of Boardwalk Empire works in such an ensemble cast that, although he was amazing, didn't single-handedly make the show. This left me with Anson Mount, Jon Hamm, and Clive Owen. Mount was the next to be marked off the list. Though he's a total badass, his character just isn't quite as layered as the other two men. Finally, I picked Clive Owen. Portraying the internally dead, perfectionist, cocain/heroin addict John Thackery, Owen wowed in every episode of the inaugural season of The Knick.
Best Lead Female Actor (Drama TV Show)
Elisabeth Moss - "Peggy Olson" - Mad Men
Taylor Schilling - "Piper Chapman"- Orange is the New Black
Sarah Lancaster - "Catherine Cawood" - Happy Valley
Mireille Enos - "Sarah Linden" - The Killing
Robin Wright - "Claire Underwood" - House of Cards
Just like the leading man category, these five women really hit it out of the park. However, unlike the male category, I had a pretty clear picture of who the winner was. For the seven episodes of Mad Men season 7A that aired this year, Elisabeth Moss has really shown herself to be a force. Becoming the 'new' Don Draper, rising to power even as a woman, and generally delivering what lines she has like a pro, Moss earned this award and then some.
Best Supporting Male Actor (Drama TV Show)
Stephen Graham - "Al Capone" - Boardwalk Empire
- Christopher Heyerdahl - "Thor 'The Swede' Gunderson" - Hell on Wheels
Peter Dinklage - "Tyrion Lannister" - Game of Thrones
Walton Goggins - "Boyd Crowder" - Justified
Gerald McRaney - "Raymond Tusk" - House of Cards
To Heyerdahl or to Graham? To Heyerdahl or to Graham? These are the words that ran through my head while picking. However, in the end, Heyerdahl edged out the man who brought humanity to Al Capone. What Christopher Heyerdahl does that few other actors have ever done is just steal the scene every single time they're on screen. The Swede is not the most layered character on the planet. He's pretty goddamn evil, his motivations are usually driven by chaos, and the wardrobe the show picks out for him just continues his evil. But Christopher Heyerdahl is so goddamn good it doesn't matter. He just has the "it" factor whenever he steps into the frame.
Best Supporting Female Actor (Drama TV Show)
Carrie Coon - "Nora Durst" - The Leftovers
Melissa McBride - "Carol Peletier" - The Walking Dead
Eve Hewson - "Lucy Elkins" - The Knick
Lena Headey - "Circei Lannister" - Game of Thrones
Uzo Aduba - "Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes' Warren - Orange is the New Black
I could go with a depressed mother, a sassy jailbird, a diabolical queen, a nurse, or another, slightly more badass depressed mother. In the end, it really came down to the two depressed mothers. Carrie Coon and Melissa McBride, in my mind, both deserve this award. However, since there can only be one, McBride barely edges out Coon. Her portrayal of Carol Peletier is a beautiful mix of mentally insane, caring and loving, and Kurt Russell level badass. She is a force to reckoned with inside of a small mousy ex-housewife. In my mind, what won her this award was her performance in "The Grove" in which Carol had to kill a crazy little girl whom she had felt like a mother to. Heavy, intense, and most of all: impressive!
Best Directing for Drama
Mimi Ledder - The Leftovers - “The Prodigal Son Returns”
Timothy Van Patten - Boardwalk Empire - “Eldorado”
Neil Marshall - Game of Thrones - “The Watchers on the Wall”
Steven Soderbergh - The Knick - “Method and Madness”
Carl Franklin - House of Cards - “Chapter 14”
Bah Gawd! The budget on Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire is magnificent. It really really showed in the amazingly shot episodes up for nomination. However, while the fantastical battle between the northern wildlings and the Night's Watch was, in the end, overshadowed by Tim Van Patten's work on Boardwalk Empire's final episode. "Eldorado," despite amazing writing and acting, was a phenomenon to watch. Every shot seemed to emulate the feelings going on in the episode, and the last ten minutes of the series in which time flashed backwards and forwards every other thirty seconds, didn't let me look away from the screen. My eyes seemed to be glued. Patten, as he has for five years on Boardwalk and for years and years prior on such shows as Deadwood, The Sopranos, and Carnivale takes this one with ease.
Best Writing for Drama
Howard Korder - Boardwalk Empire - “Devil you Know”
Chris Provenzano - Justified - “Shot all to Hell”
Damon Lindelof - The Leftovers - “The Garveys at Their Best”
Scott Gimple - The Walking Dead - “The Grove”
Matthew Weiner - Mad Men - “Waterloo”
I really really wanted to give this to Matthew Weiner. I also really really wanted to give this to Scott Gimple. And also Lindelof... and also Korder... and also Provenzano. However, I think Gimple steals this one from the difficult competitors. Walking Dead as a whole may not always deliver 100%, but this particular episode was just amazing to watch. The emotion conveyed in the characters, the two shocking deaths of little girls, and the turmoil it put the rest of the actors in was exceptional. Though all five of these writers really deserve the nod, Gimple narrowly wins.
Labels: Boardwalk Empire, Christopher Heyerdahl, Clive Owen, Elisabeth Moss, Hell on Wheels, Mad Men, Melissa McBride, Scott Gimple, The Bennys, The Knick, The Walking Dead, Tim Van Patten