'Saturday Night Live' tied for most Emmy nominations with 22, 24 counting its web series and interactive program

I concluded 'Last Week Tonight With John Oliver' leads variety talk shows at the Primetime Emmy Awards by writing "I have one last post about "Saturday Night Live," which will be mostly recycled.  Hey, I'm an evironmentalist!"  I will recycle later in this entry, but I begin with something new (at least here) from The Entertainment Factor blog.

Variety Sketch Series

“Billy On The Street” (truTV)
“Documentary Now!” (IFC)
“Drunk History” (Comedy Central)
“Portlandia” (IFC)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
“Tracey Ullman’s Show” (HBO)

Neither of the previous winners in this category's short history ("Inside Amy Schumer" and "Key and Peele") were nominated because neither is on the air anymore, making this an open category.  I'd say "Saturday Night Live" is favored because of its number of nominations (22, tied with "Westworld"), number of previous nominations (2), and the general zeitgeist.  The two shows with the best but still slim chance of upsetting SNL are "Drunk History" and "Portlandia," the only other shows also nominated all three times the category has been offered.  Of the two, "Drunk History" has four nominations and "Portlandia" has three.  As for the rest, the next best bet is "Tracy Ullman's Show."  Other than that, this should be the beginning of the second part of an SNL near-sweep.

Follow over the jump for discussion of the rest of SNL's 22 nominations, 24 counting its web series and interactive program.

I begin the recycling with SNL's nominations in 'Veep' leads nominated comedies at the Primetime Emmy Awards with 17 nominations

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin (“Saturday Night Live”)
Louie Anderson (“Baskets”)
Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”)
Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
Tony Hale (“Veep”)
Matt Walsh (“Veep”)

Tony Hale of "Veep" won this award in 2013 and 2015, so he could do it again, especially as it's an odd-numbered year.  However, the returning winner is Louie Anderson.  The other previous winner among the nominees is Ty Burrell, who won in 2014. Any of them could win, but none are safe.  I suspect Alec Baldwin might win based on his Trump impersonations.  I'll have more to say about that next week.  As for Matt Walsh, he was nominated against Hale last year and two years ago.  He lost both times, so I don't think he has much of a shot.

My opinion has not changed.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live”)
Vanessa Bayer (“Saturday Night Live”)
Leslie Jones (“Saturday Night Live”)
Anna Chlumsky (“Veep”)
Judith Light (“Transparent”)
Kathryn Hahn (“Transparent”)

I'm going to let Anna Chlumsky, who announced the nominees and found that she was a nominee in person, have the first word.


Yes, she's been nominated five times.  I don't think she'll win unless the voters split their ballots among the multiple nominees from the same shows.  I doubt that will happen.  Instead, I expect that Kate McKinnon, who won last year, will repeat.  Still, that is a political show, even if it's one I won't get to until next week.

It's now next week, and my opinion hasn't changed.

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Riz Ahmed (“Girls” — “All I Ever Wanted”)
Matthew Rhys (“Girls” — “American Bitch”)
Dave Chappelle (“Saturday Night Live” — “Host: Dave Chappelle”)
Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Saturday Night Live” — “Host: Lin-Manuel Miranda”)
Tom Hanks (“Saturday Night Live” — “Host: Tom Hanks”)
Hugh Laurie (“Veep” — “Blurb”)

Hugh Laurie is my choice for the best actor of the bunch, but I wouldn't put it past the Emmy voters to pick either Lin-Manuel Miranda or Tom Hanks.  I might have more to say about them and SNL next week.

Between the two, I would say that Hanks has better name recognition and a more memorable performance on SNL, but the voters might think Miranda might send a stronger message to the country.  Yes, it's that kind of year.

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Wanda Sykes (“Black-ish” — “Lemons”)
Carrie Fisher (“Catastrophe” — “Episode 6”)
Becky Ann Baker (“Girls” — “Gummies”)
Angela Bassett (“Master of None” — “Thanksgiving”)
Kristen Wiig (“Saturday Night Live” — “Host: Kristen Wiig”)
Melissa McCarthy (“Saturday Night Live” — “Host: Melissa McCarthy”)

I wrote about this category briefly in Star Wars at the Primetime Emmy Awards, when I noted "the late Carrie Fisher was nominated for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance in 'Catastrophe.'"  I didn't make a prediction then, so I'll make it now.  Fisher might garner a sympathy vote, but Melissa McCarthy was nominated last year and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler won last year.  Based on that track record, I'd say either McCarthy or Wiig will win, probably McCarthy.  She made an outstanding Sean Spicer.

No change in opinion here.

The recycling continues with SNL's cameo appearances in 'Last Week Tonight With John Oliver' leads variety talk shows at the Primetime Emmy Awards.

Directing for a Variety Series

Derek Waters & Jeremy Konner (“Drunk History”)
Andy Fisher (Jimmy Kimmel Live”)
Paul Pennolino (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”)
Jim Hoskinson (“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”)
Don Roy King (“Saturday Night Live”)

As much as I'd like one of the late night talk shows to win, especially either "Last Week Tonight" or "The Late Show," I think "Saturday Night Live" will win for no other reason that it's the only show from this field to win before -- five times from 2010 to 2014.  In addition, it looks like this is a great year for them with 22 nominations, 24 counting its web series and interactive program.

I wrote this yesterday and nothing has changed.

I've been running into the show's nominations all throughout this series except in non-fiction and drama.

On the other hand, I was wrong about this.  When I searched the previous entries in this series, the only place where SNL didn't show up was in commercials.  I found its nominations in contention with both non-fiction and drama shows, not just comedy and variety.  SNL is everywhere this year!

Writing for a Variety Series

Jo Miller, Samantha Bee, Ashley Nicole Black, Pat Cassels, Eric Drysdae, Mathan Erhardt, Travon Free, Joe Grossman, Miles Kahn, Melinda Taub & Jason Reich (“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee”)
Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss & Juli Weiner (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”)
Jermaine Affonso, Alex Baze, Bryan Donaldson, Sal Gentile, Matt Goldich, Dina Gusovky, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, John Lutz, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Seth Reiss, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker & Ben Warheit (“Late Night with Seth Meyers”)
Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Opus Moreschi, Stephen Colbert, Tom Purcell, Matt Lappin, Michael Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Cullen Crawford, Paul Dinello, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Django Gold, Gabe Gronli, Daniel Kibblesmith, Michael Pielocik, Kate Sidley, Jen Spyra, Brian Stack & John Thibodeaux (“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”)
Chris Kelly, Sarah Schneider, Kent Sublette, Bryan Tucker, Pete Schultz, James Anderson, Kristen Bartlett, Jeremy Beiler, Zach Bornstein, Joanna Bradley, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Anna Drezen, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Nick Kocher, Dave McCary, Brian McElhaney, Dennis McNicholas, Drew Michael, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Katie Rich, Streeter Seidell, Will Stephen & Julio Torres (“Saturday Night Live”)

This is another category that John Oliver won last year, so I'd call him the favorite.  However, it was also the only category Samantha Bee was nominated for, so it might be her strongest, at least for her regular show.  I wouldn't put money on either, as it might just be the year for "Saturday Night Live."

Picture Editing for Variety Program

Robert James Ashe, Christopher Heller, Meaghan Wilbur & David Grecu (“Conan In Berlin”)
Aaron Morris (“Drunk History”)
Ryan Barger (“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”)
Anthony Miale (“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”)
Adam Epstein (“Saturday Night Live”)

Again, "Last Week Tonight" is the returning winner.  On the other hand, it's up against "Saturday Night Live," so I'm not confident in its favorite status.

Interactive Program

Carol Ray Hartsell, Kim Burdges, Ana Breton, Caroline Schaper & Brittany Van Horne (“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Online”)
Partially Important Productions (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”)
James Corden, Ben Winston, Rob Crabbe & Adam Abramson (“The Late Late Show with James Corden”)
NBC (“Saturday Night Live Multiplatform Experience”)
Jimmy Fallon, Marina Cockenberg, Felicia Daniels & Tonight Show Social Team (“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”)

"The Late Late Show with James Corden" is the returning winner, so I'd say it's the favorite.  However, "Saturday Night Live" is a returning nominee, and an SNL sweep could put it over the top.

Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Series

John D. O’Brien, John Pierre Dechene, Richard G. Price, James L. Hitchcock, Brian Wayne Armstrong, Nick Gomez (“The Big Bang Theory”)
Charles Cuip, Chris Hill, Ed Moore, Brian Reason, Ron Lehman, Nathanial Havholm, Bettina Levesque, Bert Atkinson, Daryl Studebaker, Adam Margolis, Damien Tuffereau, Andy Waruszewski, Mike Malone, Mike Carr, Rob Palmer, Keith Dicker, Freddy Frederick, Ed Horton, Helena Jackson (“Dancing with the Stars”)
Dave Saretsky, Augie Yuson, Dante Pagano, John Harrison, Rob Balton, Jeff Latonero, Jerry Cancel (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” — “Gerrymandering”)
Steven Cimino, John Pinto, Paul Cangialosi, Len Wechsler, Eric Eisenstein, Dave Driscoll, Susan Noll, Frank Grisanti, Jeff Latonero, Ann Bergstrom, Randy Bittle (“Saturday Night Live” — “Host: Jimmy Fallon”)
Allan Wells, Terrance Ho, Diane Biederbeck, Danny Bonilla, Suzanne Ebner, Gudio Frenzel, Alex Hernandez, Dave Hilmer, Marc Hunter, Scott Hylton, Katherine Iacofono, Scott Kaye, Ron Lehman, Steve Martynuk, John Perry, Jofre Rosero, Steve Simmons (“The Voice” — “Live Finale (Part 2)”)

The returning winner is "Dancing with the Stars," so I'd say it's the favorite.  However, SNL is also a previous winner, so a sweep could but it over the top. Too bad, as I've blogged about the gerrymandering episode and would like it to win.

I quoted the entire section without comment because, again, my opinion hasn't changed.

When I said SNL is everywhere, I meant it.  I listed it in contention with two non-fiction programs in three categories that I wrote about in two different posts, the second of which is actually part of a different series on the Emmy Awards.  I mentioned the two in this series in "13th" vs. "O.J.: Made in America" plus other non-fiction political programs nominated at the Primetime Emmy Awards.

Original Music and Lyrics

Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen (“Crazy Ex Girlfriend” — “We Tapped That Ass”)
Christopher Willis, Darrick Bachman, Paul Rudish (“Duck the Halls: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special” — “Jing-A-Ling-A-Ling”)
Jonathan Kimmel, Gary Greenberg (“Jimmy Kimmel Live” — “The Ballad of Claus Jorstad (Devil Stool)”) Eli Brueggemann, Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, Kenan Thompson, Will Stephen (“Saturday Night Live” — “Last Christmas”)
Common, Robert Glasper, Karriem Riggins (“13th” — “Letter to the Free”)
Jeff Richmond, Tina Fey, Sam Means (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” — “Hell No”)

In its final nominated category, "13th" would be the winner of a game of "One of these things is not like the other" in this field.  All the rest are for comedies.  At least as the most serious, it would stand out.  That written, I'd actually have to listen to all of them to give an informed opinion.

I will say that Common wrote "Glory," the Academy Award winning song for "Selma."  That's a point in its favor. In addition, if the Emmy electorate wants to send a message, that might be even more effective, if less popular, than picking a Christmas song from SNL.

Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series

“Creating Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
“Feud: Bette and Joan: Inside Look” (FX.com)
“Jay Leno’s Garage” (nbc.com)
“National Endowment for the Arts: United States of Arts” (arts.gov)
“Viceland at the Women’s March” (Viceland)

"Viceland at the Women's March" is the political program, but "United States of Arts" also fits the theme, as it was produced by the government.  I'm also counting "Creating Saturday Night Live," as the parent program can be very political and I'm examining it in a future entry.

After checking the award's history, "Jay Leno's Garage" is the most consistent nominee, having been nominated six out of the seven years the award has been given as well as having been its first winner.  All things being equal, which they're not, I'd say that's the favorite.  On the other hand, a Hollywood crowd might fall for a Hollywood story, so “Feud: Bette and Joan: Inside Look” might just win.  That written, I'm still rooting for "Viceland at the Women's March."

Here's a category I mentioned two months ago in Nature and science at the Primetime Emmy Awards, part of a different series.

"Bill Nye Saves The World"...earned two nominations for Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming and Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Nonfiction, Reality, or Reality Competition Programming.
...
As for it winning, I don't have much hope.  It's competing for the writing award with "13th."  In...production design, it's competing against "Saturday Night Live," one of the two most nominated shows this season.

Here is the entire field from the entertainment factor.

Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Nonfiction, Reality, or Reality-Competition Series

James Pearse Connelly, Lydia Smyth & Stephanie Hines Trigg (“Bill Nye Saves the World”)
Chloe Arbiture, Monica Soto & Rae Deslich (“Drunk History”)
Schuyler Telleen & Katherine Isom (“Portlandia”)
Eugene Lee, Akira Yoshimura, Keith Ian Raywood & N. Joseph DeTullio (“Saturday Night Live”)
Anton Goss, James Pearse Connelly, Zeya Maurer, Brittany MacWhorter & Stephanie Hines (“The Voice”)

I have one item to add to this discussion.  "Portlandia" is the two-time returning winner.  I'm now less certain about SNL winning and even more confirmed in my opinion that "Bill Nye Saves the World" is out of its league in this category.

I wrote that SNL even showed up in drama nominations.  I didn't mention it in "House of Cards" leads contemporary American political dramas with six nominations, but it showed up in 'Westworld' leads drama series with 22 Emmy nominations, followed by 'Stranger Things' with 19 and 'The Handmaid's Tale' with 13, an entry in yet another series about speculative fiction nominees.

Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie, or Special
Eryn Krueger Mekash, Michael Mekash, David Leroy Anderson, James Mackinnon, Jason Hamer, Melanie Eichner, Cristina Himiob,  Maiko Chiba (“American Horror Story: Roanoke”)
Nick Dudman, Sarita Allison, Barney Nikolic, Dennis Penkov (“Penny Dreadful” — “No Beast So Fierce”)
Louie Zakarian, Jason Milani, Tom Denier Jr., Amy Tagliamonti, Craig Lindberg, Steve Kelly (“Saturday Night Live” — “Host: Alec Baldwin”)
Greg Nicotero, Jake Garber, Garrett Immel, Kevin Wasner, Gino Crognale, Kerrin Jackson (“The Walking Dead” — “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be”)
Christien Tinsley, Hiroshi Yada, Georgia Allen, Gerald Quist, Myriam Arougheti (“Westworld” — “The Original”)

Once again, the field is nearly full of speculative fiction, including the fourth and final nomination for "Penny Dreadful" and the only nomination for "The Walking Dead."  I'm rooting for them along with "Westworld" and "Stranger Things," but it would not be surprising if "Saturday Night Live" wins for turning Alec Baldwin, Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon into members of the Trump White House.

Two months later and I still haven't changed my mind.

I did say this entry would be mostly recycled.  That written, the recycling is over.  Here are the rest of the nominations from the Entertainment Factor blog.

Costumes for Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Programming

Daniela Gschwendtner, Steven Norman Lee, Polina Roytman, Karina Torrico & Howard Sussman (“Dancing with the Stars”)
Mary Vogt & Carolyn Dessert-Lauterio (“Hairspray Live!”)
Amanda Needham, Jayme Hansen & Jordan Hamilton (“Portlandia”)
Zaldy Goco & Perry Meek (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”)
Tom Broecker & Eric Justian (“Saturday Night Live”)

Both "Portlandia" and "Saturday Night Live" are previous winners, so they have a leg up.  However, those wins appear to have been awarded when the award given by a jury, as all the nominees won those years.  Last year, the award was put up for a vote and "The Wiz Live!" won.  Based on that interpretation, I'd say "Hairspray Live!" might just be the favorite.

Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special

Mary Guerrero, Kimi Messina, Gail Ryan, Derrick Spruill, Rene Vaca & Patricia Pineda (“Dancing with the Stars”)
Miia Kovero, Terry Baliel, Roxane Griffin, Lawrence Davis, Jill Crosby & Joy Zapata (“Hairspray Live!”)
Gabriel Villarreal & Hector Pocasangre (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”)
Jodi Mancuso, Jennifer Serio, Inga Thrasher, Joe Whitmeyer, Cara Hannah Sullivan & Christen Edwards (“Saturday Night Live”)
Jerilynn Stephens, Meagan Herrera-Schaff, Cory Rotenberg, Anna Maria Orzano, Stacey Morris & Darbie Wieczorek (“The Voice”)

"Saturday Night Live" is the five-time defending winner and has a sixth win from the first time the category was awarded, so I'd say it's the favorite.  The only other show that has any wins is "Dancing with the Stars" with three.  Sorry, "Hairspray Live!"  Even though the show is about hairstyles, the odds are not in its favor, although it could pull an upset.

Lighting Design/ Lighting Direction for a Variety Series

Noah Mitz, Ryan Tanker, Mike Berger, Andrew Webberley & Matthew Benson (“America’s Got Talent”)
Simon Miles, Matthew Cotter, Suzanne Sotelo & Matt McAdam (“Dancing With the Stars”)
Phil Hymes, Geoff Amoral & Rick McGuinness (“Saturday Night Live”)
Robert Barnhart, Matt Firestone, Patrick Boozer & Pete Radice (“So You Think You Can Dance”)
Oscar Dominguez, Sam Barker, Daniel Boland & Johnny Bradley (“The Voice”)

"The Voice" is the two-time returning winner with a third win four years ago, so it's my pick for favorite.  "Dancing with the Stars" won three years ago, so it's the apparent runner-up.  As for "Saturday Night Live," it's been nominated nine consecutive times and never won.  Consistent high quality, but never the best.

Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic)

Zena Shteysel, Angela Moos, Julie Socash, Patti-Ramsey Bortoli, Sara Woolf, Donna Bard (“Dancing with the Stars” — “Halloween Night”)
Melanie Hughes, Judy Yonemoto, Jill Cady, Julie Socash, Shutchai Tym Buacharern, Angela Moos (“Hairspray Live!”)
Jennifer Aspinall, Scott G. Wheeler, David Williams, James Rohland, Ned Niedhardt (“MADtv” — “Episode #1.4”)
David Petruschin (“RuPaul’s Drag Race” — “Oh. My Gaga!”)
Louie Zakarian, Amy Tagliamonti, Jason Milani, Daniela Zivcovic, Rachel Pagani, Andrew Sotomeyer (“Saturday Night Live” — “Host: Alec Baldwin”)
Darcy Gilmore, Kristene Bernard, Thea Samuels, Gina Ghiglieri, Diane Mayo, Jackie Dobbie (“The Voice” — “Live Playoffs, Night 1”)

"Saturday Night Live" has won this category five times this decade, counting the 40th Anniversay Special, so it's the favorite, doubly so since the nominated episode has Alec Baldwin hosting.  Yeah, Baldwin as Trump should win this.  The only current nominee who took home a statue was "Dancing with the Stars," which won five years ago.  I'm not optimistic.  The rest of the field is quality competition, but the zeitgeist is not in their favor.

Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or Variety Program

Erik Marshall Solky (“Angie Tribeca”)
Norman Howell (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”)
Brian Smyj (“Saturday Night Live”)
Eddie Perez (“Shameless”)
Jill Brown (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)

"Shameless" is the returning winner and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" won twice before that, so they're the favorites.  "Saturday Night Live" has been nominated all three times, but never beat them.  I don't even think a sweep of other categories could put it over the top.

That's it for this planned series, although I'm feeling like putting together a post with embedded video of all the nominated "Last Week Tonight" episodes that I haven't used yet for an encore.  Stay tuned.