Featuring the only category that I’ve ever picked six alternates for. The competition is really that good.
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Picture it: Hollywood. Emmys season, 2011.
That’s the year the TV Academy decided to combine limited series and made-for-television movies into one category, in direct response to there not being enough submissions on the ballot to reach the then-minimum threshold of five nominees unless they were lumped together.
Oh, what a difference almost a decade can make.
Being the midst of the second coming of the shorter-form format, there was the opposite of a shortage in this year’s exceptional offerings, which ran the gamut from hilarious to heartbreaking (often with elements of both at once). With all but the two supporting categories topping out at five nominees each, it was also a real test to whittle down which shows and performances are the most deserving beyond the buzz.
And with that, I accepted the challenge, and my second Emmy Dream Ballot picks are locked and loaded. Let’s see if you agree with where I landed.
OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
Defending Jacob
Mrs. America
Normal People
Unbelievable
Watchmen
Behind My Ballot: It was such a strong year for limited series that many worthy contenders had to go by the wayside. When it came down to it, my final five picks were the productions that I felt were the most fully realized. Defending Jacob was a first-rate soap opera thriller that crackled with urgency and surprise around every corner (bonus that it was set in my home state of Massachusetts, too). The brilliantly timed Mrs. America captured an era in American life and politics that doubled its impact as something of an origin story of where we find ourselves today. Similarly, Watchmen leveraged history to shine a stark, artistically fierce light on the horrors that bridge our country’s past and present, tapping into its source material’s sci-fi super hero DNA to effectively elevate poetic metaphors. Unbelievable lived up to its title with a stunning real-life story centered on a trio of complex, flesh-and-blood women whose journeys intersect to land with a gut-punch. And, simply put, Normal People is a beautifully made, skillful piece of art; a rare example of true heart and soul on celluloid that really stuck with me.
If I Could Pick One More Contender: Years and Years
OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE
American Son
Bad Education
The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Patsy & Loretta
Behind My Ballot: This roster seemed to write itself, with probably the five easiest picks I had to make. American Son shatteringly brought the Black Lives Matter movement into hyper-sharp focus in the film adaptation of the 2018 Broadway play featuring the same next-level cast. Bad Education was a classic, old school HBO production with a story and stars that took me along for the ride, while El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie took us all on something of a literal ride as we found out what happened to Jesse following the ambiguous series finale. That leaves two excellent, based-on-a-true-story music-focused pieces, courtesy of none other than Lifetime: The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, which captured the long, rocky road to fame and loss of the real-life family of church-singing stars, and Patsy & Loretta, a lovely ode to Ms. Cline and Ms. Lynn, and the origins of their beautiful friendship.
If I Could Pick One More Contender: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Daisy Edgar-Jones, Normal People
Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Regina King, Watchmen
Kerry Washington, American Son
Merritt Wever, Unbelievable
Behind My Ballot: When all my ballot-ticking was said and done, this category was by far one of the most difficult – which is why I’m also including a full roster of six(!) more contenders that would be just as worthy of landing on the final list. In the end, though, I decided to go with the performances that moved me the most; the ones that were so skillfully grounded that I believed every moment, and not for a minute ‘saw’ the acting. That factor was on exquisite display in both Daisy Edgar-Jones and Shira Haas’ performances as young women on the winding journey to finding their deeper identities as they struggle to fully escape the worlds that oppressed them. Regina King and Merritt Wever continued their streaks of top-notch work, with both bringing to the surface complicated internal conflicts as their characters question the belief systems their law enforcement character always held dear. And Kerry Washington – also standout in Little Fires Everywhere – showed new shades of her immense talent in a 90-minute tour de force that put her on the other side of the police equation, as she awaits news of the fate of her arrested son with a heartbreaking resolution.
If I Could Pick One Six More Contenders:
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Kaitlyn Dever, Unbelievable
Michelle Dockery, Defending Jacob
Aunjanue Ellis, The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel
Kathryn Hahn, Mrs. Fletcher
Reese Witherspoon, Little Fires Everywhere
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Chris Evans, Defending Jacob
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Aaron Paul, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True
Behind My Ballot: If there’s a theme running through my final picks, its depictions of men in a myriad of crises, demanding complex portraits that each of my nominees didn’t disappoint in delivering. Mark Ruffalo’s ingenious, dark portrayal of twin brothers, one of whom suffers from mental illness, is a master class in nuance, similar to the naturalistic, soul-moving work on display in Paul Mescal’s breakout role. Hugh Jackman, meanwhile, appropriately boiled and burst as a Long Island school administrator steeped in secrets and lies, and Chris Evans walked a similar tightrope to keep me on the edge of my seat as a star cop who finds himself in the witness chair. Aaron Paul rounds things out, returning to his multiple Emmy-winning role, better than ever.
If I Could Pick One More Contender: Andre Holland, The Eddy
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Allison Janney, Bad Education
Winona Ryder, The Plot Against America
Holland Taylor, Hollywood
Tracey Ullman, Mrs. America
Behind My Ballot: Lemme tell ya: Having only six nominees in this super-stacked category made for some tough narrowing down. At first glance, it was really tempting to make this list a Mrs. America love fest, and it would have been justified. But to my viewing eye (along with a lot of thinking back on key scenes), there were two among that ensemble that weren’t just standout, but stellar: Uzo Aduba as an impassioned and scandalized female political leader ahead of her time, and Tracy Ullman, who could have secured her spot for her one scene as a drunk Betty Friedan alone. That makes room for me to also honor four more stars from other shows that were at the top of their game. Allison Janney reminded us why she has a boatload of Emmys and an Oscar in her portrayal of a real-life disgraced embezzler who, dramatically speaking, could have been a second cousin of Tonya Harding’s mother. Toni Collette was the other half of her series’ cop counterpart act, providing necessary levity and balance in every scene. Winona Ryder hit a new height in her decades’ worth of great work by effortlessly communicating the deep yearning and desperation of a woman caught between late-in-life love, family and her political position in light of her Jewish heritage. Finally, Holland Taylor, once again, was the best thing about her show as a woman with a similar sadness as she seeks companionship while keeping up with the mid-century Hollywood boys’ club.
If I Could Pick One More Contender: Jean Smart, Watchmen
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Robert Forster, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Louis Gossett, Jr., Watchmen
Eugene Lee, American Son
Dylan McDermott, Hollywood
Jim Parsons, Hollywood
John Turturro, The Plot Against America
Behind My Ballot: If you’re looking for a group of great acting vets in roles that remind of us of their immense chops, this category is it. Louis Gossett, Jr. powered his series’ story from the outset, building a mystery in each scene that served as the seamless through-line from premiere to final fade-out. John Turturro was a masterful antagonist whose internal conflict with ambition and heritage bubbled under the surface of his strong-handed outward bluster. The two Hollywood stars couldn’t have been more different, with Dylan McDermott serving endearingly resigned sensitivity as a mentor and money-making hustler, and Jim Parsons making the most of his over-the-top portrayal of a real over-the-top creep agent. And with only one scene each, Eugene Lee and the late Robert Forster proved that it isn’t how much you have to do; it’s what you do with it, in performances so commanding that their few unforgettable minutes on-screen came to define their respective movies.
If I Could Pick One More Contender: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen
All right, with this ballot stamped and sealed, I have one more coming your way before the Academy officially weighs in.
Check back on Monday, when I wrap up my Dream Ballots with the best and brightest from this year’s dramas.