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Emmys: Fans cry foul over left-out faves

The Columbian
Published: July 13, 2014, 12:00am

Cries of “snub” are inevitable during awards season, but the cacophony of complaints reached near-deafening volume following Thursday morning’s announcement of the 2014 Emmy nominations.

Perhaps no group was more outraged than fans of BBC America’s “Orphan Black,” who were reaching for their pitchforks when Tatiana Maslany, who plays close to a dozen different parts in the sci-fi series, was overlooked in the actress-in-a-drama category for the second straight year. She has won fervent critical acclaim for her chameleon-like performance as a group of wildly different clones, but has yet to earn recognition from the famously habit-prone voters of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

But Maslany and her admirers can take heart knowing that she was passed over in one of this year’s most fiercely competitive categories, where two-time defending champ Claire Danes was nominated once again for “Homeland,” alongside Kerry Washington (“Scandal”), Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”) and Robin Wright (“House of Cards”). Julianna Margulies, who was passed over last year for her work on “The Good Wife,” returned to the category.

This left room for just one new entry, Lizzy Caplan, for “Masters of Sex.”

It also left an unusually talented field of casualties by the wayside, including Keri Russell, whose steely performance as a Soviet spy in the FX drama “The Americans” has (almost) made viewers forget her days as America’s sweetheart on “Felicity,” and Elisabeth Moss, a previous nominee for her role on “Mad Men.”

In a sign of the sheer depth of quality programs available on television, both traditional and otherwise, many dramas considered worthy were left out of the series category.

Even with a rule change that allowed for seven slots in the event of a vote difference of less than 2 percent between the sixth- and seventh-place nominees, several favorites were snubbed. If Twitter is any indication, the most egregious oversight was for “The Good Wife.” The CBS legal drama enjoyed renewed critical praise for its highly dramatic fifth season.

Also overlooked was the Cold War drama “The Americans,” a critical favorite that has yet to see its glowing reviews translate to awards recognition.

Former favorite “Homeland” was similarly left out of the drama category, as was previous nominee “Boardwalk Empire.”

On the comedy side, Golden Globe-winner “Brooklyn Nine Nine” failed to receive a nod, as did onetime darling “Girls.”

But a few surprising names managed to overcome the famous Emmys inertia and score nominations. HBO’s tech satire “Silicon Valley” was nominated for outstanding comedy series, and in probably the biggest surprise, Ricky Gervais was recognized for his role as a slow-witted nursing home employee in the Netflix comedy “Derek.”

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