In my senior year of high school, I was one of a few students selected to compete at the Nassau Community College Monologue Competition. I was 16 years old and about to start college much like my character, Benethea Younger from Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun. Again, this was a countywide high school monologue competition, so the stakes were P R E T T Y high. Still, I wasn’t nervous at all. I discovered that I had a secret weapon. I was able to cry on cue. I would rehearse the speech in front of my bedroom mirror and before knowing it, the tears would be streaming down my face. I knew when those judges set eyes on my twinkling dark brown sparklers, those other students and their pathetic Shakespearean soliloquies didn’t stand a chance. It was the first and only time in my life that I was positive I was going to win something and then actually did. I imagine this is what Sterling K. Brown feels like anytime he is nominated for…well anything. And this year is sure to prove no different. Mr. Brown is a double Emmy nominee for his work on This Is Us and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and because crying on cue seems to be his thing as well, I’m sure he will bring home both trophies.
Blurred out behind my high school acting trophy is my mother’s medal for running 26.2 miles in the NYC marathon. I like to keep her humble.
The nominations for the 70th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced yesterday at the Microsoft Theater in sunny Los Angeles. Fun fact, the Television Academy actually nominates artists for Emmy awards in over 300 million BAJILLION categories. Don’t believe me? Check out the full list of all of them here. I will Venmo you fifty dollars if you manage to scroll to the end.* Since there are so many categories, I figured I would rifle through them and share a bit of what I think is the good, the bad, or just the Emmys.
The Good
Stefani Robinson is a writer nominated for the episode of FX’s Atlanta entitled “Barbershop.” This chick is 26 (26!!!!) and the only female in Atlanta’s writers’ room. Although Robinson has admitted that she does not have COMPLETE control over Van’s character, it is likely that she has a lot of influence over the show’s main female voice. Zazie Beetz, who actually portrays Van, is also a first time nominee so this just may be the actual Webster definition of #blackgirlmagic.
Living TV legend Sandra Oh was recognized for her work in BBC America’s Killing Eve. This marks the first nomination for the network and the first nomination of any Asian-American performer in a lead acting category. Please scroll up to where I mentioned that this is the SEVENTIETH (70!!!) annual award ceremony. Please also scroll down to my last post where I acknowledged Ms. Oh’s work in the show and basically predicted this nomination and should probably be financially compensated.
Issa Rae earned a nomination for her starring role on HBO’s Insecure. The show is a hysterical dramatized version of her real life setbacks, successes, and friends in Los Angeles. If there was a show inspired by my friends and me, it would be set in suburban Long Island and called Way, Way Too Secure.
Molly Shannon is nominated for her guest appearance on NBC’s revival of Will and Grace. Maybe you don’t know exactly who Molly Shannon is. You’ve heard the name before, it sounds somewhat familiar, but you can’t quite place which older white lady she is? Let’s take a quick look.………….YEAH, THAT’S MOLLY SHANNON. You’ve likely seen her in 500 shows and movies. She is hilarious to a rare degree for any performer and deserves to get a shiny trophy for it.
Kenan & Kel star SNL star Kenan Thompson is finally being recognized for his work after 15 seasons, the longest-tenure of any cast member, on the show. In a fair world, he should have this in the bag off of his Steve Harvey impression alone.
The Bad
This Is Us. Yeah, that’s right. I’m putting one of my absolute favorite new shows in the bad section. Why?
In addition to being a Disney Princes, she was also a Disney Princess!
That’s why! All jokes aside, I will not stand idly by in the face of injustice. Mandy Moore is a gift to us all and we should be treating her as such.
Dear White People: Vol II is a great show that somehow managed to progress into a perfect show throughout its second season. The series follows a group of black students navigating their way through a PWI (if you don’t know what that means, then you’re the kind of person that should be watching this show) and is basically a play-by-play account of all of the microaggressions I faced while getting my degree in a town that had more cows than people. I urge everyone hesitating right now to get over the name and get into the show. It’s one of our best.
C u R b Y o U r E n T h U s I a S m for best comedy? Really? Mmkay.
Viola Davis’ nomination for guest starring on Scandal. STICK WITH ME, BREATHE, STAY, WAIT WAIT I’M GOING TO EXPLAIN! I adore Viola Davis. She is better than me. She is probably better than you. She is definitely better than me. If she was Emmy nominated for the work on her own show it would be great. It would be deserved! But she didn’t. She was nominated for her guest appearance on Kerry Washington’s show during the TGIT 2-hour crossover special. The same Kerry Washington who, along with show creator Shonda Rhimes, ushered in a revolutionary wave of black women on TV yet never earned an Emmy for her own work. Ms. Washington’s first nomination came in 2013 and she unexpectedly lost to Claire Danes. Yes, 2013. Yes, it has been five years. No, i’ll never get over it…………………………………………………………..Okay, I’m lying. I hope Viola wins.
There is another woman named Mandy Moore nominated for outstanding choreography on So You Think You Can Dance. Congrats to her, but how freaking cruel.
The Emmys
Between Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross, Keri Russell, Sandra Oh, Zazie Beetz, Lily Tomlin, and Thandie Newton, there is going to be some fantastic curls on this red carpet!
Michael Che and Colin Jost of SNL fame will be the hosts of this year’s awards. Personally, I don’t find them to be the funniest duo, but because of their working relationship with Pete Davidson, I’m expecting at least two solid Ariana Grande jokes. I hope they can give us at least two.
Netflix has officially knocked HBO off of its mighty (game of) throne(s) and become the most nominated TV platform. For most people, this means very little. For fellow media nerds, STREAMERS RISE!! OUR TIME HAS COME!!! VIVA LA MILLENIAL REVOLUCIÓN!!!!!
Let me know what you think! Will you be tuning in? Were your favorite shows nominated? Who, besides Mandy Moore, was the most heartbreaking snub? Do award shows even matter to anyone besides me?
* LOL, no I won’t.
BRITTANI WITH AN I 