David Strathairn, "Alphas"

Nomination Status: A well-respected Emmy winner comes to series TV? Sure! For a Syfy series? Oh. Never mind.

In His Favor: David Strathairn's mere presence on Alpha has given a big boost of credibility to the entire Syfy dramatic series family. He's an Oscar nominee and he has a strange Emmy win for a performance in "Temple Grandin" that he probably barely remembers. And in "Alphas," Strathairn gives a solid, grounding performance that gives gravitas to everything around him.

Working Against Him: Syfy's gotten occasional Emmy juice for miniseries projects in the past, so it's not like Emmy voters are totally oblivious to the network. Just mostly. And totally oblivious to this show, likely.