Nine Emmy nominations for 'Veep' on National Veep Day

Happy National Veep Day!

National Day Calendar informs me that today is National Veep Day, the anniversary of August 9, 1974, when "Vice President Gerald Ford became President of the United States upon the resignation of President Richard Nixon."  It's a day "designated to give recognition to the succession plan of the President of the United States."  If I had known about this last year, I might have written about the HBO comedy "Veep" and its Emmy nominations.  Unfortunately, "Veep" isn't eligible this year, so it won't defend its five Emmy Awards.  It also means I won't write any more about the final season of "Veep," which hasn't aired yet.  Darn.

The final season of "Veep" has aired and has earned nine Emmy Award nominations, so it's time for me to be a good environmentalist and reycle this idea.  The nine nominations are:

• Outstanding Comedy Series
• Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series for Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series for Tony Hale
• Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for Anna Chlumsky
• Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series for Peter MacNicol
• Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
• Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Program (Half-Hour)
• Outstanding Casting For A Comedy Series
• Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (Half-Hour) And Animation

While this is not the 17 nominations "Veep" earned two years ago to lead nominated comedies at the Primetime Emmy Awards, it is a respectable showing.  "Veep" still has an opportunity to win five Emmy Awards as it did two years ago.  Of those, it is returning to contend for four of them, Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour or Less).  It failed to win a nomination in the fifth category it won two years ago, Outstanding Cinematography for A Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour), losing out to "Ballers," "Fleabag," "Homecoming," "Insecure," "Russian Doll," and "What We Do in the Shadows."  I can at least take comfort in seeing two Saturn Award nominees, "Russian Doll" and "What We Do in the Shadows," among the nominees, so speculative fiction is well-represented.

Still, "Veep" will have very stiff competition for its nominations, particularly from "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," which won eight Emmy Awards last year and is nominated for twenty this year, the most of any comedy both seasons.  It is contending with "Veep" for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series, Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series, where it has two nominees to one for "Veep," and Outstanding Casting For A Comedy Series, and is the returning winner in four of them, Comedy Series, Lead Actress, Supporting Actress, and Casting.  There are other match-ups to watch in comedy particularly between "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and "Barry," but this is the one I plan on looking at closest when I examine all the comedy nominees and make predictions.  Stay tuned.

Previous entries in this series.

• 'Point of View: Sandy Hook Promise' among Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial