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With Emmy season in full swing, the Television Critics Association has announced the roster of nominees for its 32nd annual awards ceremony, boosting HBO and FX to the top of the pack with 12 and 11 overall nominations, respectively.

The 32nd TCA Awards ceremony will be held Aug. 6 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Jane the Virgin’s Jaime Camil is set to host the event.

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

Bryan Cranston, “All The Way,” HBO
Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot,” USA
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul,” AMC
Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” FX
Keri Russell, “The Americans,” FX
Courtney B. Vance, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” FX

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

“The Americans,” FX – (2015 Winner in Category)
“Better Call Saul,” AMC
“Game of Thrones,” HBO
“The Leftovers,” HBO
“Mr. Robot,” USA
“UnREAL,” Lifetime

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

“The Americans,” FX
“Fargo,” FX
“Game of Thrones,” HBO
“Making a Murderer,” Netflix
“Mr. Robot,” USA
“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” FX
“UnREAL,” Lifetime

Source: http://www.ew.com

The FX series is the best drama on television — not one of the best, the best — and the Golden Globes have given the Emmys a golden opportunity.
The Television Academy is about to have its hour of redemption.

I say this while admitting that my knee-jerk reaction is to follow that sentence with “although it may not be aware of that yet.” However, last year the Emmy voters took a huge step forward in both self-awareness and action, so I’m choosing to believe that the Television Academy is keenly aware of the position it now finds itself in at long last.

When nominations are announced in July, it is, positively, the moment when the Television Academy can snatch back its importance, reputation and relevance.

There are two things needed for the Emmys to matter again, and one of them is already in the books: The Golden Globes had to implode.

Or, if you prefer, the Golden Globes had to revert back to being the Golden Globes -— ridiculous, scattershot, influence-free and pointless (other than being a fine and fun party that can be entertaining when you point a camera at it).

After a number of years where the Golden Globes actively tried to out-influence the Emmys and calculatedly attacked the weakness of the Emmy voters (rubber-stamping the past, refusing to honor many channels or series and the actors in those series and steadfastly refusing to see what was both new and excellent in the rapidly expanding industry), the Globes flat-out gave up in 2016.

It was patently a capitulation to whimsy and popularity — a haphazard blast of underdog nominees and winners that were either asinine (Lady Gaga being nominated and actually winning) or frivolous (Mozart in the Jungle winning best comedy or musical), calculated for maximum feel-good buzz. And that’s exactly what the Globes should be doing — helping to save Crazy Ex-Girlfriend by giving the awesome Rachel Bloom the best actress award for comedy or musical; making damn sure Jon Hamm won for best actor for Mad Men; nominating Casual and Narcos and Outlander and Master of None’s Aziz Ansari; and all the things that viewers (and even critics) could feel good about, without actually having any gravitas or sense of hard-won justice.

That’s what the Emmys are for — take note, Television Academy. Continue reading Critic’s Notebook: How the Television Academy Can Save Itself By Nominating ‘The Americans’