Cannes Film Festival 2013

If I had an Emmy ballot 2011: Outstanding Comedy Series

Celebrating 'Parks and Recreation,' 'Community' and more

<p>April and Andy's wedding was a brilliant moment in a "Parks and Recreation" season full of them.</p>

April and Andy's wedding was a brilliant moment in a "Parks and Recreation" season full of them.

Credit: NBC

And now Fienberg and I come to the end of our longer-than-planned (in days, not posts) trip through some of the top Emmy categories, with our look at the contenders for Outstanding Comedy Series. The ballots are already in, but we wanted to get these last two categories done before the nominees are announced on July 14, at least.

As we have throughout this project, we're approaching the idea in two ways, with me as the optimist and Dan as the pragmatist. So while Dan has his usual exhaustive photo gallery of potential nominees (starting with the most likely and moving on down to longshots he wishes were favorites), I'm going to pretend that I was given an actual ballot to fill out in this category, and narrow it down to the six shows I'd most like to see make the cut.

'Treme' - 'Do Watcha Wanna': Home is where the funk is

Everyone comes home for Jazz Fest in the surprisingly upbeat season finale

<p>Albert (Clarke Peters) and Delmond (Rob Brown) perform in the "Treme" season finale.</p>

Albert (Clarke Peters) and Delmond (Rob Brown) perform in the "Treme" season finale.

Credit: HBO/Paul Schiraldi

"Treme" just wrapped up its second season. I offered up a general overview of my feelings about the season on Friday, and I have a review of the finale coming up just as soon as the advance orders come in from Switzerland...

'True Blood' - 'You Smell Like Dinner': The naked time

Eric takes on the witches in the season's second episode

<p>Fiona Shaw on "True Blood."</p>

Fiona Shaw on "True Blood."

Credit: HBO

Once again, y'all should know the drill by now with "True Blood," where I provide these short posts for everybody who wants to discuss the episode immediately after it's over, rather than waiting for Leslie Gornstein's recap to show up at our Monkeys as Critics blog within a few hours (or for people who prefer to keep all their HitFix TV discussion in one place).

"You Smell Like Dinner" offered us more of Fiona Shaw as the leader of the local witch coven, finally crossing paths with Eric; it explained how Bill came to be in his current position; it let dud storylines like Jason and Andy's problems crawl along; and, for those who are interested in that sort of thing (not that there's anything wrong with that), it featured copious amounts of nudity from various guest stars.

What did everybody think of it?

'Friday Night Lights' - 'The March': Breaking away

A lot of good news/bad news situations as we barrel towards a finale

<p>Taylor Kitsch and Derek Phillips on "Friday Night Lights."</p>

Taylor Kitsch and Derek Phillips on "Friday Night Lights."

Credit: NBC/DirecTV

(I originally posted this review back when "Friday Night Lights" was doing its exclusive DirecTV run. The comments from that period have been preserved. For the sake of people who are watching the episodes as they air on NBC, I will ask anyone commenting from this point forward to only discuss plot events up to the episode in question. Do not discuss, or even allude to, anything that has yet to air on NBC. Thank you.)

"Friday Night Lights" is almost done with its final season, and I have a review of tonight's episode coming up just as soon as I say "hoot"...

'Burn Notice' - 'Bloodlines': Like father, like son

Family secrets come to the surface when Michael's mom helps on a case

<p>Sharon Gless and Jeffrey Donovan on "Burn Notice."</p>

Sharon Gless and Jeffrey Donovan on "Burn Notice."

Credit: USA

A quick review of last night's "Burn Notice" coming up just as soon as you steal my watch...

Review: 'Treme' closing out terrific second season

More plot, less lecturing have made for big improvement in the New Orleans drama

<p>Wendell Pierce as "Treme" trombonist Antoine Batiste.</p>

Wendell Pierce as "Treme" trombonist Antoine Batiste.

Credit: HBO/Paul Schiraldi

Sunday night's 90-minute "Treme" season 2 finale (10 p.m., HBO) is the series in a microcosm. There are times where it seems much longer than necessary for the stories that it's telling, but many more where the sense of atmosphere and joy is so great that the length becomes irrelevant. And every now and then, there's a moment that's incredibly powerful precisely because of the show's loose pace, which can seem relaxed to the point of catatonia if you're not invested.

If I had an Emmy ballot 2011: Outstanding Drama Series

Celebrating 'Mad Men,' 'Terriers' and more

<p>Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James in "Terriers," which should be nominated for an Emmy but likely won't be.</p>

Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James in "Terriers," which should be nominated for an Emmy but likely won't be.

Credit: FX

As I mentioned last time, the deadline to submit Emmy ballots came at the end of last week. Still, that's not going to stop Fienberg and I from finishing out our whole nomination prognostication thing, since any overlap between our suggestions and the actual Emmy nominations (which will be announced on July 14) would have to be considered purely coincidental, anyway.

We're down to our final two categories, staring with Outstanding Drama Series, and we're continuing to approach it two ways, with me as the optimist and Dan as the pragmatist. So while Dan has published his usual exhaustive photo gallery of potential nominees (starting with the most likely and moving on down to longshots he wishes had a shot), I'm going to pretend that I was given an actual ballot to fill out in this category, and narrow it down to the six shows I'd most like to see make the cut.

'Louie' - 'Bummer/Blueberries': Two girls and a guy

Neither of Louie's dates goes as planned

<p>"Louie" (Louis CK) on the first of two dates in tonight's episode.</p>

"Louie" (Louis CK) on the first of two dates in tonight's episode.

Credit: FX

A review of tonight's "Louie" coming up just as soon as I go down the road of buying your Vagitine...

'Wilfred' - 'Trust': Let my love open the door

Wilfred seeks revenge after Ryan betrays his trust

<p>Ryan (Elijah Wood) and Wilfred (Jason Gann) take a trip to the dentist.</p>

Ryan (Elijah Wood) and Wilfred (Jason Gann) take a trip to the dentist.

Credit: FX

A quick review of "Wilfredepisode 2 coming up just as soon as Bob Barker is the puppetmaster...

'Deadwood' Rewind: Season 1, Episode 5: 'The Trial of Jack McCall' (Veterans edition)

Everyone has parts to play in one of the series' most crucial episodes

<p>Sol (John Hawkes) and Seth (Timothy Olyphant) in "Deadwood."</p>

Sol (John Hawkes) and Seth (Timothy Olyphant) in "Deadwood."

Credit: HBO

We're continuing our trip back through the first season of David Milch's epic revisionist Western "Deadwood," and we're continuing to do it with two separate but largely identical posts: one for people who watched the whole series and want to be able to discuss it from beginning to end, and one for people who are just starting out and don't want to be spoiled with discussion that goes past the current episode. This is the former; click here for the newbie-safe version.

A review of episode 5, "The Trial of Jack McCall," coming up just as soon as I look it up in my yesterday's diary...

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