On Thursday morning, Hollywood’s best and brightest awoke at the crack of dawn to hear the nominations for the 63rd Emmy Awards. But did the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences get it right? Squaring off for Outstanding Drama will be new HBO shows Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones against established favorites Mad Men, The Good Wife, Dexter, Many were happy that there was the deserving nod for the swan song of the now-concluded tearjerker drama Friday Night Lights as well. Outstanding Comedy nominees are Big Bang Theory, Glee, Modern Family, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and 30 Rock, while Community was notably snubbed in the category. Kyra Sedgwick, who won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama last year for The Closer, failed even to earn a nomination this year. Instead, Kathy Bates—of the critically reviled Harry's Law—somehow elbowed her way into the category. And Neil Patrick Harris, a four-time nominee in comedy’s supporting actor category for How I Met Your Mother, was overlooked. But potentially the biggest Emmy winner this year is Mildred Pierce, the HBO miniseries starring Kate Winslet, which racked up the most nominations with 21.
Harry Potter Takes Its Final Bow
After 10 years, eight movies, and $6.4 billion at the international box office, the last film of the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—Part 2, hits theaters this weekend. The world has spent a decade absorbed in Quidditch matches, magical teen romances, and battles against the nose-less Lord Voldemort, who according to critics, steals the final show. Ralph Fiennes, who plays the Dark Lord, who is Potter’s long-time nemesis, defended his character to critics in Newsweek, while Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof explained to The Daily Beast why Voldemort is the most evil villain of them all. The voice behind Voldemort’s Twitter account also offered his thoughts on the finale to The Daily Beast, assuring his more than 1 million followers that this is not goodbye: “This is not the Dark Lord’s end as so many of you muggles seem content to believe… I am magic… magic is not something that ends because a Hollywood production finally premieres after years. I am not a collection of CGI effects that leave my nose looking incredibly questionable. I am more than that. I am a legend, an idea, and a way of thinking. I am magic.”
Roseanne Returns to Primetime
Roseanne Barr’s reality series, Roseanne’s Nuts, which premiered on Lifetime on Wednesday, marked the scandalous comedian’s return to the public eye after a carefully orchestrated retreat. The 58-year-old star’s 16-episode reality series shows her new life on a macadamia nut farm on the Big Island of Hawaii, which she bought in 2007 and moved to fulltime last year. She lives with her boyfriend of eight years, Johnny Argent, and her teenage son, Buck, with her adult children and grandchildren around, too. “It’s based in reality,” she told Newsweek of the series. “But it’s funny. It’s not the Kardashians.” But it’s not all laughs for Barr, who now fancies herself a hippie outside the bright lights of Hollywood. She opened up about her greatest success—her family. “When your kids are looked up to by people you admire, that’s better than f---ing 10 sitcoms,” she said, crying.
