News Roundup: Early 2012 Cast & Plot Updates

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This is the second part of our first news round-up of the year, so it covers nearly three weeks of entertainment fun facts. As mentioned before, there has been a TON of news in the past three weeks, so we split the post into three topics to be more digestible (though you may notice that this is the smallest section of the bunch). Next week we plan to return to our normal, one-news-post-per-week schedule.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Carl Reiner will guest on Parks and Recreation. So will Paul Rudd.

Whoopi Goldberg will play Sue's guidance counselor on The Middle.

Emma Stone will be on 30 Rock on January 26th.

Brian Stokes Mitchell and Jeff Goldblum will play Rachel's dads on Glee.

Howard Stern is the newest judge on America's Got Talent. [NBC Universal Press Release]
Word around the tabloids is that Leah from Teen Mom 2 is pregnant again... AND engaged. But that's not all. Jenelle has been charged with making harassing phone calls and communicating threats. She was released on bond. Later that same week, she was arrested again, this time for violating a domestic protective order.

The new season of Who Do You Think You Are? premieres February 3rd. But, more importantly, it will feature Martin Sheen, Maris Tomei, Helen Hunt, Reba McEntire, Rob Lowe, and more.

Next fall's The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" episode is already underway. Showrunner Al Jean has said that, "It deals with in no particular order, The Mayan calendar's prophecy of the end of the world, black holes, Paranormal Activity and what would've happened if Homer and Marge hadn't gotten ready."

Mike & Molly's eponymous stars will likely get married for May sweeps.

2011 Primetime Emmys, Part 1: Comedies

Today we begin with the (non-Creative Arts) 2011 Primetime Emmy Nominations and my picks! You may be aware that I don't have the best record for predicting award winners... but it's still fun! And I know that the nominations have been out for two months now, so you've probably had a chance to see who got nominated for what and start predicting the winners. But, as I mentioned last week at the start of my Creative Arts predictions, I think some people pick winners too early. Anyway, be sure to let me know how my picks measure up to who and what you think deserves the prestigious award this year!

Outstanding Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
The Office
Parks and Recreation
30 Rock
- Big money is going to be on Modern Family. But I just don't find the show to be funny... much like I don't care for the humor in The Office. For me, the only true choice for Outstanding Comedy Series is The Big Bang Theory.

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
"Episode 107" from Episodes by David Crane, Jeffrey Klarik
"Poker/Divorce" from Louie by Louis C.K.
"Caught in the Act" from Modern Family by Steve Levitan, Jeffrey Richman
"Good-Bye Michael" from The Office by Greg Daniels
"Reaganing" from 30 Rock by Matt Hubbard
- I'm not very well-versed in Episodes, so perhaps I am ignoring a very worthy candidate, but I'm going to give the Writing award to The Office.

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
How I Met Your Mother "Subway Wars" by Pamela Fryman
Modern Family "Halloween" by Michael Alan Spiller
Modern Family "Slow Down Your Neighbors" by Gail Mancuso
Modern Family "See You Next Fall" by Steve Levitan

30 Rock "Live Show" by Beth McCarthy-Miller
- I just can't shut up about how well How I Met Your Mother's "Subway Wars" was done! Though, I wouldn't be too surprised if "Halloween" pulls it out.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory
Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter in The Big Bang Theory
Matt LeBlanc as Matt LeBlanc in Episodes
Louis C. K. as Louie in LouieSteve Carell as Michael Scott in The Office
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock- So much amazing talent in this category! I think that Johnny Galecki does an exceptional job on The Big Bang Theory, though.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Laura Linney as Cathy Jamison in The Big C
Melissa McCarthy as Molly Flynn in Mike & Molly
Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton in Nurse Jackie
Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope in Parks and Rereation
Martha Plimpton as Virginia Chance in Raising Hope
Tina Fey as Liz Lemon in 30 Rock- I didn't see every episode of the season's Parks and Recreation, but Amy Poehler's acting did stand out to me, and though I've heard a great deal of buzz over Laura Linney for this category, I'm going to stick with Poehler.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel in Glee
Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett in Modern Family
Ed O'Neill as Jay Pritchett in Modern Family

Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker in Modern Family
Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy in Modern Family
Jon Cryer as Alan Harper in Two and a Half Men- Four out of six nominees are from Modern Family. Too bad I can't stand that show! Jon Cryer is always my favorite on Two and a Half Men, so I'm favoring him here, too.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester in Glee
Betty White as Elka Ostrosky in Hot in Cleveland
Julie Bowen as Calire Dunphy in Modern Family
Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in Modern Family
Kristen Wiig as various characters in Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney in 30 Rock- From the moment she was announced as a candidate in this category, I've been backing Betty White for her role on Hot in Cleveland. Maybe that's too cliche and smart money would be on Jane Lynch or Kristen Wiig, but I'm staying with the veteran actor.

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Idris Elba on The Big C
Nathan Lane as Pepper Saltzman on Modern Family
Zach Galifianakis, Host on Saturday Night Live
Justin Timberlake, Host on Saturday Night Live
Matt Damon as Carol on 30 Rock

Will Arnett as Devin Banks on 30 Rock- I'm actually a little surprised by the nominees here. I was expecting to see one or two folks who didn't make the cut, apparently. I'm between Justin Timberlake and Matt Damon, and the more I ponder the two, the more I lean toward the latter, for his role on 30 Rock.

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristin Chenoweth as April Rhodes in Glee
Fot-Marie Jones as Coach Beiste in Glee
Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holliday in Glee
Cloris Leachman as Maw Maw in Raising Hope
Tina Fey, Host in Saturday Night Live
Elizabeth Banks as Avery in 30 Rock- I've complained about Glee before. A lot. But I thought that Kristin Chenoweth really shined last year.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Emmy predictions: Dramas.

The Creative Arts Primetime Emmys, Part 3

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Continuing in our predictions for the Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Awards, today we take a look at the awards in Picture Editing, Sound Mixing & Editing, and Nonfiction Programming. I know that they don't sound as if they belong together in the same breakdown, but they fit together well when you consider that the bulk of the remaining awards cannot really be classified into anything beyond "miscellaneous," LoL.

PICTURE EDITING CATEGORIES
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire "Pilot"
Dexter "Take It!"
The Killing "Pilot"
Man Men "The Suitcase"
Mad Men "Blowing Smoke"
- I'm just semi-educated on these specific nominees, but I'll stand behind Dexter's "Take It!"

Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (Single or Multi-Camera)

The Big Bang Theory "The Agreement Dissection"
How I Met Your Mother "Subway Wars"
Modern Family "Halloween"
Modern Family "Slow Down Your Neighbors"
30 Rock "100"
- This is one where, if I'm wrong, it's because I really don't know what I'm doing. I think that the picture editing for How I Met Your Mother's "Subway Wars" was amazing.

Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie
Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey "Part 1"
Mildred Pierce "Part Four"
Sherlock "A Study in Pink"
Too Big to Fail- Voting near-blind on this one, let's say Mildred Pierce.

Outstanding Short-Form Picture Editing
83rd Annual Academy Awards "Opening Film"
83rd Annual Academy Awards "This Year's Unintentional Musicals"
American Idol "Top 3 - Results Show - Scotty's Home Story"
The 2010 ESPY Awards "Images Piece"
Jimmy Kimmel Live "After the Academy Awards - The President's Speech"
- Really? I think there are some peculiar choices here, but I suppose that the opening of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards is as good as any.

Outstanding Picture Editing for a Special (Single or Multi-Camera)
Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking
Lady GaGa Presents The Monster Ball Tour - At Madison Square Garden
Louis C.K. - Hilarious
Ricky Gervais - Out of England 2 - The Stand-Up Special
Thurgood- How does one predict a winner when all of the nominees seem to be ridiculous choices? Of course it doesn't help that I don't know any of them very well... actually, I haven't seen more than an advertisement for any of these, so this is a completely unfair and ignorant vote. So.... let's go with... Lady GaGa Presents.

Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming
American Masters "LennonNYC"
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations "Haiti"
Becoming Chaz
Freedom Riders
If God is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise- I'm going to go ahead and give it to Freedom Riders. Don't ask.

Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming
The Amazing Race "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win"
Deadliest Catch "Redemption Day"
Project Runway "There is an 'I' in Team"
Survivor "Don't You Work for Me?"
Top Chef "Give Me Your Huddled Masses"
- I think there are some good, quality picks here. It'll be a close call, but I'm standing behind Project Runway... for some reason.


THE SOUND EDITING & MIXING CATEGORIES
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series
Boardwalk Empire "Pilot"
CSI: NY "Life Sentence"
Game of Thrones "A Golden Crown"
Nikita "Pandora"
True Blood "Hitting the Ground"
The Walking Dead "Days Gone Bye"
- Sound editing is a really tough thing to judge, at least for me. I don't know if I'm just not a good listener, but I struggle to notice any editing at all a lot of the time. So, sadly, the bulk of the picks in the sound mixing and editing categories may be poorly selected, as I don't have the ear for it. The Walking Dead.

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
Any Human Heart "Part 2"
Downton Abbey "Part 1"
Mildred Pierce "Part Five"
The Pillars of the Earth "The Work of Angels"
- Mildred Pierce.

Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-camera)
The Amazing Race
American Idol "Auditions No. 2: New Orleans"
American Masters "Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides"
Baseball "The Tenth Inning 'Top of the Tenth'"
Gettysburg
Whale Wars "To the Ends of the Earth"
- Gettysburg.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)

Boardwalk Empire "Pilot"
Burn Notice "Last Stand"
Dexter "Take It!"
Glee "The Substitute"
House "Bombshells"
Mad Men "The Suitcase"
- Glee.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie
Cinema Verite
The Kennedys
Mildred Pierce "Part Five"
Too Big To Fail- Mildred Pierce.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation
Californication "The Last Supper"
Family Guy "Road to the North Pole"
Modern Family "Halloween"
The Office "Andy's Play"
Parks and Recreation "Andy and April's Fancy Party"
- Parks and Recreation.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or Special
83rd Annual Academy Awards
American Idol "Finale"
The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards- I suppose The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards makes the most sense.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming
The Amazing Race "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win"
American Idol "Auditions No. 2: New Orleans"
American Masters "LENNONYC"
Deadliest Catch "Redemption Day"
Gettysburg- American Idol.


THE NONFICTION CATEGORIES
Outstanding Nonfiction Series
American Masters
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
Biography
Moguls & Movie Stars
Pioneers of Television
30 for 30
- I struggle with nonfiction more than with most other categories because I feel like it's exceedingly difficult to judge one entry against another - they cover such a vast array of subjects! Still, I think that Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations stands out and deserves a win.

Outstanding Nonfiction Special
Becoming Chaz
Gettysburg
His Way
Jaws: The Inside Story
Stand up to Cancer
- I'm sitting here thinking about this one, and I'm just stumped. I even thought about googling to see who other people were picking, because I just don't know which is the best. I suppose it's in this sort of situation that you just go with your gut instinct, which in this case is Jaws: The Inside Story. 

Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming
The Amazing Race by Bertram van Munster
American Masters "A Letter to Elia / Reflecting on Kazan" by Martin Scorsese, Kent Jones
Becoming Chaz by Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato
Gasland by Josh Fox
Top Chef "Give Me Your Huddled Masses" by Paul Starkman
- Haven't seen all of them, so this is slightly unfair, but I'm going to give the Emmy to American Masters. Three cheers for Elia Kazan!