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"Sopranos" favored to grab more Emmy recognition
2007-07-18
Tony Soprano's fate may remain a mystery, but he is almost certain to muscle his way back into the Emmy race one last time when nominations for U.S. television's highest honors are unsealed on Thursday. HBO's celebrated mob saga "The Sopranos," which ended its six-season run last month with a famously ambiguous blackout, is heavily favored to grab one of five nominations in doled out the contest for best drama series, the title it claimed back in 2004. Some pundits have said the gangster drama is a shoo-in to win, thanks largely to the media hype leading up to its finale and the outpouring of debate over the meaning of its fill-in-the-blank conclusion. "It will dominate the nominations, and it will no doubt win," said Ray Richmond, a TV columnist and critic for the Hollywood Reporter. If Richmond's prediction comes true, it would mark the first time in Emmy history a drama series has won the top prize after leaving prime time, according to Tom O'Neil, host of the Los Angeles Times entertainment award site, TheEnvelope.com. He said the only other post-finale Emmy winners for best series have been comedies -- among them "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Barney Miller." Emmy watchers say the biggest contenders for the four remaining best-drama slots include the 2005 champion, ABC castaway mystery "Lost," and two hit medical shows nominated last year -- "Grey's Anatomy" from ABC and "House" on Fox. Two freshman NBC shows, the hit superhuman serial "Heroes," and the low-rated teen-football story "Friday Night Lights," also are given strong odds to clinch a best-drama bid. Those shows will put to the test recent Emmy rule changes designed to give newcomers and underdogs a better shot at the winner's circle, O'Neil said, adding that "Friday Night Lights" is the show for which many critics are rooting. Last year's big winner, Fox espionage thriller "24," has fallen out of favor with critics this season, and many predicted it will be shut out of the competition for the 59th annual awards, though O'Neil says it still has a chance. COMEDIES AND PERFORMERS Among comedies, a consensus of the most likely candidates seemed easier to come by, according to O'Neil's poll of leading Emmy pundits. Last year's best-comedy winner, the popular NBC workplace satire "The Office," is seen as a front-runner along with two newcomers -- ABC's "Ugly Betty" and NBC's ratings-challenged but critically praised show-within-a-show, "30 Rock." NBC's offbeat hospital comedy "Scrubs" and the bawdy CBS hit sitcom "Two and a Half Men" also rank as strong contenders to return to the nominees list, while HBO's Hollywood satire "Entourage" is favored by some critics. Unlike the Oscar race for the movies or the Grammy competition in the recording industry, Emmy recognition usually does not translate into greater commercial success for TV shows that get honored, except in situations where a new series is struggling to build an audience. Such was the case with shows like "All in the Family," "Hill Street Blues" and "Cheers," all of which took off as hits after winning Emmys early in their runs, O'Neil said. The same could prove true for "30 Rock" and "Friday Night Lights." But O'Neil said the subject matter for "Lights," a sports drama set "in George W. Bush's home state," may prove a turnoff for many "snobbish Emmy voters." Richmond agreed. "'Friday Night Lights' might sneak in this year, but I doubt it. It's rare that Academy voters and critics are in sync," he said. As for performance awards, "Sopranos" stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco are seen by many experts as favorites to add to their respective best-actor and best-actress Emmy collections. Each has won three times. Front-runners for comedy performers are Steve Carell in "The Office" and Alec Baldwin in "30 Rock" among actors, and America Ferrera in "Ugly Betty" and Tina Fey for "30 Rock" among actresses.
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