Winners!! 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards

With nominee-host Jane Lynch, an odd choice on the Academy’s part, at the helm of this year’s awards, the show took some unusual turns that were either pleasantly surprising or critically panned. As both ABC’s Modern Family and Downton Abbey (PBS’s Masterpiece Theater) can attest — with 5 and 4 wins, respectively, the most for all nominated programs — the 63rd edition of the Primetime Emmy Awards saw an unusual mix of expected shoo-ins and widely praised hopefuls leave with a statuette. I won’t spoil anymore of the excitement for you; check out the winners (in bold) and not-so-winners below.

Winners!! 27th TCA Awards

In what was perhaps a solid upset, Friday Night Lights took home the top trophy of the night.  Lights has been nominated for pretty much all of American television’s top awards, but winning one is a different story. Behind The Wire, Alias, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and others, Lights will likely go down as one of the most under-appreciated shows in TV history…

But not last night! Last night its winning percentage was 50% (its only other nomination and only loss was to Mad Men), which is quite the success considering it’s usually hovering pathetically around 0%. The aforementioned Men and ABC’S Modern Family were the night’s biggest winners; each walked off with 2 trophies, which is about as good as it gets because the TCA is thankfully stingy with its awards categories (it only has 12). Other winners included newbie Game of Thrones, Nat Geo doc Restrepo, CBS’s The Amazing Race, and Oprah Winfrey. All winners appear below (in bold).

Nominees! 63rd Emmy Awards

We all (should) know about the Oscars of TV awards and here is this year’s batch of nominees. Staying true to the status of “standard-bearer” for all TV awards shows, the Emmys have again garnered immediate criticism, congratulations, and confusion. Todd Haynes’s Kate Winslet-starring period piece Mildred Pierce leads all programs with 21 nominations. Mad Men leads all drama series with 19 nominations and Boardwalk Empire follows close behind with 18 nominations. Of the comedy series nominees, Modern Family takes first with 16 nominations and 30 Rock finishes a close second with 13 nominations. So, what do you think? Is this moving toward a more balanced field of popular shows, acclaimed pieces, and deserving work, or are the snubs too glaring to approve the field?

Outstanding Drama Series	Outstanding Comedy Series
Boardwalk Empire (HBO) Dexter (Showtime) Friday Night Lights (The 101 Network/NBC) Game of Thrones (HBO) The Good Wife (CBS) Mad Men (AMC)	30 Rock (NBC) The Big Bang Theory (CBS) Glee (Fox) Modern Family (ABC) The Office (NBC) Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Outstanding Miniseries or TV Movie	Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
Cinema Verite (HBO) Downton Abbey (PBS) The Kennedys (ReelzChannel) Mildred Pierce (HBO) The Pillars of the Earth (Starz) Too Big to Fail (HBO)	The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) Conan (TBS) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Winners!! 1st Critics’ Choice Television Awards

Alright, I guess I’ve taken a little too much time off (my bad — big time), but I just couldn’t let these awards shows escape coverage — especially ones just beginning. This post and the next one contain some older news, but important news nonetheless.

22nd PGA Award Winners

Film

THEATRICAL PICTURE
The King’s Speech

• 127 Hours
• Black Swan
• Inception
• The Fighter
• The Kids Are All Right
• The Social Network
• The Town
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit