Who cares about the Emmys? Am I right, Portland? We don't even own televisions here!
We're all much too busy with intellectual pursuits like reading our
neighbor's unpublished autobiographical graphic novel and participating
in physical activities such as unicycle jousting to devote time to
things as frivolous as sitcoms, serial dramas, reality programs and
whatever the hell Hemingway and Gellhorn is.
OK, but here's something that might make this year's annual
self-congratulatory Hollywood wank-off fest worth paying attention to: Portlandia,
the IFC show that lovingly skewers the cliches of our fair city, has
been nominated for awards in the writing and directing categories for
variety series. This isn't the show's first go-round—it won for best costuming last year, for some reason—but this time, it's playing with the big boys, going up against perennial contenders The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, Real Time with Bill Maher and The Daily Show, which I believe has won the writing category for the last six decades or so.
As soul-crushingly boring as the Emmys often are (even for those of
us who, ashamedly, watch television), the Outstanding Writing in a
Variety, Music or Comedy Series is always my favorite category, only
because of the amusing nomination reels. And now, we—as in, people in Portland who write about media—actually have a rooting interest in the outcome! (I supposed this is a good time for full disclosure: I contributed to a Portlandia-themed blog for IFC.com during the show's second season.)
Not be outdone, Grimm, the inexplicable NBC hit about fairy-tale detectives also filmed and set in our backyard, received a nod for stunt coordination. I'd make a snide joke, but I have friends who work on the show, so I'll just say, "Kudos!"
For a full list of Emmy nominees, go here.
WWeek 2015