This year's Emmys was the awards show where people stopped being polite and started getting real. I have never seen more obviously disappointed, if not flat-out pissed, reactions to losing entertainment trophies than I did during last night's ceremony. Check out Cicely Tyson redefining gif-able shade above when losing out to Jessica Lange in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie category.
Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul got the old band—and by "band" I mean "crystal meth operation"—back together for a fake pawn shop reality show to promote the upcoming Emmys. 2013 Best Actress in a Comedy Julia Louis-Dreyfus also appears, playing 1996 Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
It wouldn't be the Emmys without someone getting snubbed, but at least most Emmy hopefuls get to decide where they'll be when they find out whether they got the nomination. "Fucking Indian woman who has her own fucking network television show" Mindy Kaling co-hosted this year's noms, so she had to remain on stage and keep reading announcements after she was passed over for Lead Actress in a Comedy.
Every year, Americans are treated to a long procession of assemblies in which Hollywood's most creative minds boldly suggest there is intrinsic entertainment value in watching people give prizes to themselves. On Sunday, we passed the first of these. And yet, for the 71st straight year, the most deserving martyrs of all—the actors pretending to be humans on our favorite reality shows—went uncanonized.
It's that time of the year again when the days get shorter, the leaves change colors, and Tina Fey hosts the Saturday Night Live season premiere to make it seem like it just might be worth tuning in this time around.
The weirdest running thread of the Emmys was the series of green-room cutaways to Criminal Minds actor/former Soul Train host Shemar Moore. When the camera turned on him, it could go real right or real wrong, as they say on Basketball Wives. Sometimes he stumbled over the cue cards, seemingly unable to catch up with himself. Sometimes he repeated himself, seemingly riffing. Sometimes there were awkward silences. Sometimes, he read straight through with the contrived naturalness of the TV presenter he is apparently aspiring to be. What's up with that?
Edie Falco, who spent eight years playing the wife of the late James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano, gave one of the night's most memorable speeches, remembering her longtime onscreen partner with a touching, emotional tribute.
Kevin Spacey just wants to watch Kaley Cuoco introduce the death montage without some goddamn camera getting up in his face. Is that so much to ask?
Did he get caught where he wasn't supposed to be on live TV? Is this a bit? Is it real? Is it fake? Does it matter when the shuffle is this great?
Before performing his song "Home Again," Elton John read a speech about Liberace (the subject of the multi-nominated HBO movie Behind the Candelabra) that he clearly did not write and maybe had never seen before he read it on live television.
Here's Merritt Wever winning for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Nurse Jackie. They should all be this short and this weird. None of them will be.
Sofía Vergara's ass cheeks made a bold leap for freedom last night, bursting through the back of her dress just before their minder was due onstage to accept an Emmy.
It's a very darling sort of year for the Emmys with critical/Internet/real people favs like Girls, Breaking Bad, Homeland, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock popping up in multiple categories. Mad Men and American Horror Story lead with 17 nominations. Somewhat weirdly, American Horror Story qualifies for the miniseries categories because, as Vulture explained earlier this year, "the miniseries distinction is reserved for programming that has a story line that gets resolved in a single season." This logic led the first season of Downton Abbey to be considered by the Emmys as a miniseries last year, although that was bullshit then (clearly Mary and Matthew had more heart-dragging to do — no one could have possibly thought that the first season finale constituted resolution). It's a bit more understandable in the case of American Horror Story, which will focus on an entirely different story every season, but it's still a little weird since we know several characters from last time around will return. (Actually, word is that returning actors will not be reprising their Season 1 roles but take up all new ones. Jessica Lange, for example, is supposed to play a nun.) No matter - whatever it takes for a show so batshit crazy to be regarded as distinguished is fine with me.
These two actors blew more than air kisses on the red carpet, but do their spouses know? This Dancing with the Stars contestant is a little crazy, and this actor left his date in the car at the Emmys so he could hit on other women. That show really saw some action!
Really, Josh Charles? On the Emmy's red carpet? Josh Charles, star of Emmy-nominated drama The Good Wife, boyfriend of ballerina novelist Sophie Flack? You know your parents watch the Emmy's, right? And your high school math teacher? And your Great Aunt Judy, and her pervy husband Fred? Everyone you have ever known has now seen you getting to second base with your significant other. I mean, your call, but let's just say your parents will never lay off on the grandkids thing, now. [Images via Splash]
Just like the weekend, the 63rd Primetime Emmys are history. This year's telecast was hosted by Glee's Jane Lynch and aired live on Fox from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. Despite Alec Baldwin's last-minute pullout, pretty much every small screen star showed up to celebrate television's biggest night.
