If We Had an Emmy Ballot: The Best TV of 2008 to 2009

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Best Supporting Actor in a Drama

John Mahoney in In Treatment Photo credit: HBO

Jeremy Davies, “Lost”
Michael Emerson, “Lost”
Walton Goggins, “The Shield”
William Hurt, “Damages”
John Mahoney, “In Treatment”
Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad”

There’s no way that this category won’t include a shake-up or two. Last year’s winner, Zeljko Ivanek of “Damages” wasn’t on season two of that show and his co-star and fellow nominee, Ted Danson, had a much smaller role that won’t be nominated. That’s two open spots.

As for repeats, Michael Emerson deserves to be here again for “Lost” and John Slattery for “Mad Men” wouldn’t be a horrible decision, although let me suggest a few alternatives.

The Television Critics Association finally nominated the great Walton Goggins for his amazing final season of “The Shield”. The Academy should follow suit and nominate one of the best supporting performances of the last decade.

If they wanted to pick a fellow “Lost” cast member to join Emerson, Jeremy Davies did spectacular work this year, although there are clearly several good choices on that island.

Even though we think the second season of “Damages” doesn’t come close to matching the first, we expect that William Hurt’s presence on the show guarantees him a nod and you can’t fight destiny.

Finally, voters should turn to two drastically different but brilliant cable performances for the last two slots. The always-amazing John Mahoney on the fantastic “In Treatment” and Aaron Paul for his riveting work on “Breaking Bad”. They gave Cranston the award last year for “Bad” and his co-star is just as good.

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama

Hope Davis in In Treatment Photo credit: HBO

Jennifer Carpenter, “Dexter”
Hope Davis, “In Treatment”
Marcia Gay Harden, “Damages”
Cherry Jones, “24”
Elizabeth Mitchell, “Lost”
Alison Pill, “In Treatment”

We’ve never understood the popularity of “Grey’s Anatomy,” so can’t stump for last year’s Sandra Oh or Chandra Wilson. And “Brothers & Sisters” is a decent soap opera that we don’t mind catching up with on DVD but would never nominate. Finally, Dianne Wiest is great, but there were two better supporting actress performances from the great “In Treatment” this season. So, we’re suggesting a complete house-cleaning and a whole new list of nominees.

In our dream Emmy world, Hope Davis and Alison Pill share an Emmy for their amazing work on “In Treatment”. Nominate them both and maybe that can actually happen.

Jennifer Carpenter and Elizabeth Mitchell should have been nominated last year for “Dexter” and “Lost,” respectively, so let’s make up for that injustice this year.

Finally, Marcia Gay Harden just won a Tony. Encourage actresses of her caliber to do more television by nominating her for “Damages” and do the same with the great Cherry Jones, the most intriguing character on “24” this season.

Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Denis Leary in Rescue Me Photo credit: FX

Gabriel Byrne, “In Treatment”
Michael Chiklis, “The Shield”
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Denis Leary, “Rescue Me”

This category is unbelievably crowded. We could offer a worthy list of five alternate nominees in Jeffrey Donovan for “Burn Notice,” Nathan Fillion for “Castle,” Simon Baker for “The Mentalist,” Damian Lewis for “Life,” and Kiefer Sutherland for “24”. But, as great as all five of them are, there are six that are just a bit better.

We think voters should copy at least four of last year’s nominees - Bryan Cranston, Michael C. Hall, Gabriel Byrne, and John Hamm for “Breaking Bad,” “Dexter,” “In Treatment,” and “Mad Men,” respectively.

Let’s look to the consistently great FX for the other two slots. Michael Chiklis should have been nominated multiple times for “The Shield” - he arguably did his best work of the series in the final season - Denis Leary continues to get better every episode on “Rescue Me”. He’s doing the best work of his career in season five. Nominate them both.

Best Lead Actress in a Drama

Anna Paquin in True Blood Photo credit: HBO

Glenn Close, “Damages”
January Jones, “Mad Men”
Regina King, “Southland”
Mary McCormack, “In Plain Sight”
Anna Paquin, “True Blood”
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”

We love Holly Hunter in general but not her work on “Saving Grace.” However, we’re down with nominating her TNT co-star, the fantastic Kyra Sedgwick on “The Closer”. She should repeat and get a deserving nod.

It would be a shock if Glenn Close didn’t repeat for “Damages” and the Academy loves Sally Field in “Brothers & Sisters” and Mariska Hargitay in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”. We think both are good but not as interesting as some deserving alternates.

January Jones should have been nominated for the first season of “Mad Men”. Let’s make up for that mistake this year. Also Mary McCormack is riveting on “In Plain Sight” and Regina King is easily the best thing about “Southland”. Both would be shocking choices that would indicate that the Academy is willing to think outside of the box.

Finally, Anna Paquin is the life of the undead hit “True Blood,” so it’d be a shame to forget her.

Best Drama

The Shield Photo credit: FX

“Dexter”
“In Treatment”
“Lost”
“Mad Men”
“The Shield”
“True Blood”

There are a surprising number of good choices for the big category of the night. We would be stunned and very happy if the Academy would take a risk on a show like “Burn Notice,” “Breaking Bad,” “Battlestar Galactica,” or “Rescue Me,” but we don’t see that happening and can actually suggest six other nominees.

The Academy definitely moved outside of their comfort zone last year, nominating two basic cable series for the first time - “Damages” and “Mad Men”. The former had too disappointing a second season to repeat but we expect the latter will and deserves the nod. “Dexter” should repeat as well, even if the third season wasn’t quite as good as the perfect second (and we wouldn’t be too disappointed if it were replaced by one of the four shows in the first paragraph).

For the rest of last year’s nominees, even “House” fans think the last season was a step down and they thankfully can’t nominate “Boston Legal” again.

With “Dexter” and “Mad Men” repeating, what else might make the cut for the other three spots?

There have been rumors that HBO might consider canceling “In Treatment”. A nomination for the Best Drama on TV might change their minds. Heck, the show arguably deserves to win.

The network also deserves a nod for their insanely addictive “True Blood,” the most ridiculously watchable hour of television of the week. It may be soapy and ridiculous (which means it probably won’t be nominated) but it’s much harder than people think to make TV this riveting.

What more is there to say about “Lost”? When we look back at the ’00s, it will be one of the two most influential shows of the entire decade (with “24”). Season five wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely top six.

Finally, the last season of “The Shield” was the best program of 2008 and an amazing end to a spectacular show. Don’t let your last chance to nominate this great series pass you by.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com