Emily Deschanel, "Bones"

Nomination Status: Not really a contender, but she had a good season so... Yay!

In Her Favor: Having a baby and finding herself in a long-term relationship gave Bones new shading this season and gave Emily Deschanel some new notes to play, refreshing a character who had occasionally fallen into familiar patterns in recent seasons. This is why it's stupid when showrunners string out Unfulfilled Sexual Tension arcs for five or six or seven seasons. Getting your characters together, if you're just fabricating reasons to keep them apart, is a good way to change the dynamic in potentially profitable ways. It worked wonders for Deschanel. FOX should also be taking out joint For Your Consideration ads for Emily and Zooey, let Emily graft onto some of her sister's hype. It won't work, but who would it hurt?

Working Against Her: If "Bones" wasn't an Emmy show through all of its run leading up to now, it isn't suddenly going to become an Emmy show now.