Everything about Orphan Black, eh?

He Said/She Said: How about those Emmy nominations?

Join Greg and Diane every Monday as we debate what’s on our minds. This week, we dissect the Emmy nominations.

She Said:

OrphanOne of the biggest snubs of last year’s Emmys has been rectified this year: Tatiana Maslany got her first nomination as outstanding actress for her multitude of roles on Orphan Black. I hope they give her 7 statues if she wins. Long-running Degrassi — recently revived by Netflix and Family Channel after its cancellation by TeenNick and Bell — was nominated as outstanding children’s program.

That’s some great recognition for Canadian-made shows, when most years we have to be satisfied celebrating individuals who left the Canadian industry for the bright lights of Hollywood … not that there’s anything wrong with that. Go Michael J. Fox (The Good Wife), Semi Chellas (Mad Men), Jeremy Podeswa (Game of Thrones) and Jeff and Mychael Danna (Tyrant) for their nominations, too.

Besides the Canadian invasion, the most interesting trend in this year’s Emmys is how streaming services are threatening to become dominant in the same way cable started talking over broadcast series years ago. Netflix earned 34 nominations, including for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Orange is the New Black, Bloodlines, House of Cards, Grace and Frankie, and Derek. Amazon snagged 12, mostly for Transparent, and even Yahoo was nominated for Community, the show they saved from an NBC cancellation.

In fact I feel unprepared to get excited about who was snubbed or what the surprises are in the nominations because after cutting the cable, the Netflix shows and The Good Wife are among the only non-Canadian shows I’m current with in my viewing. I’d love to see Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt win for comedy but I haven’t seen the current seasons of its competitors yet. Same with Orange is the New Black in the drama category. I was disappointed enough in this season of The Good Wife not to think it was snubbed, I think House of Cards is cheese wrapped in a prestigious package, but I haven’t seen the nominated seasons of the other series, even those that are must-watch shows for me. I’m waiting for them to appear on Netflix or I likely won’t bother.

Which makes a nice segue to a topic that’s been on my mind lately: the Canadian industry might want to figure out what to do about streaming services sooner rather than later. It’s possible broadband-delivered content isn’t just a fad.

He Said: 

As Diane has already said, a hearty “Woohoo!” to all of the Canadian nominees. Despite what some might think about the Canadian Screen Awards, it warms my heart to know we handed out hardware to Orphan Black and Tatiana Maslany before the U.S. has acknowledged the show’s greatness.

Property_BrosAnd a special shout-out to Jonathan and Drew Scott, who I left off my initial post announcing the Canadian Emmy nominees last week. They nabbed a nod in Outstanding Structured Reality Program for their long-running Property Brothers series.

As Diane has already pointed out, streaming services being nominated in the major categories has quickly gone from outrageous to commonplace, a reflection of how quickly everyone has adjusted to online broadcasters and the fact fantastic stuff comes out of those outlets.

I’m still on cable, so can attest that Mad Men and Better Call Saul deserve kudos for Outstanding Drama Series, though I felt Downton Abbey and Homeland have been on the downslope for the last couple of years. I’d have liked to have seen Justified added to the category because FX’s U.S. marshal series has gotten better with every passing year, including its final one. Likewise, I’m happy Louie and Modern Family received nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. The Big Bang Theory was left off the list, opening the door for Silicon Valley, Parks and Recreation and the excellent Transparent to get some serious consideration.

I’m a big fan of veteran series and talent being rotated out of categories so that newer projects and people get the chance to shine, and there is a nice mix in the 2015 nominees. Take a look at the full list of nominees, put your Emmy pool together and prepare to cheer for the Canadians when the Primetime Emmy Awards air Sunday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.

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Link: ‘Orphan Black’ Emmy nominee Tatiana Maslany talks ‘breaking stereotypes’

From Glenn Whipp of The L.A. Times:

‘Orphan Black’ Emmy nominee Tatiana Maslany talks ‘breaking stereotypes’
Nothing has provoked more outrage on Emmy nominations morning the last couple of years than the exclusion of Tatiana Maslany, the 29-year-old Canadian actress who so thoroughly brings to life a variety of clones puzzling out the meaning of their existence on BBC America’s sci-fi thriller “Orphan Black.”

The nominations for the 67th Emmy Awards were announced Thursday morning. Among the snubs and surprises were “Empire,” Gina Rodriguez and Tatiana Maslany. Continue reading.

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Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany, Degrassi nominated for Primetime Emmys

Congratulations to Tatiana Maslany, who was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for her extensive work on Orphan Black.

“#CloneClub & #clonesbians, this bud’s for you. Thanks buddies :)” Maslany tweeted to her 207,000 followers minutes after the nominations were announced for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Maslany plays Leda clones Sarah, Alison, Cosima, Helena, Rachel and Krystal on Space’s sci-fi series, which just wrapped up its third season. (One could argue Maslany should have a category all her own, but how would we choose a favourite clone!?!) She faces off against Taraji P. Henson (Empire), Claire Danes (Homeland), Robin Wright (House of Cards), Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) in the category.

The Saskatchewan native was nominated for a Golden Globe for Orphan Black, and has won a Canadian Screen Award, two Critics’ Choice Awards and a Gemini Award for the roles.

Meanwhile, Degrassi garnered a nomination in the Outstanding Children’s Program category. The long-running drama, which is jumping from MTV Canada to Family Channel for 2016, is nominated alongside Alan Alda and The Actor Within You, Dog with a Blog, Girl Meets World and Nick News with Linda Ellerbee.

Calgary’s Semi Chellas was nominated for her fifth Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series on Mad Men and Edmonton’s Michael J. Fox received an Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for The Good Wife. Jeff and Mychael Danna are nominated for two awards for music for an episode of Tyrant and Jeremy Podeswa is up for a directing award for his work on Game of Thrones. Jonathan and Drew Scott received a nomination in Outstanding Structured Reality Program for Property Brothers.

Here’s a complete list of the Primetime Emmy nominations.

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Link: The ‘Reelside’ of Science Fiction with Graeme Manson

From Melissa Girimonte of The Televixen:

The ‘Reelside’ of Science Fiction with Graeme Manson
I quite enjoyed Episode 4, “Science Fiction”, which featured director/screenwriter Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice), writer/producer Graeme Manson (Orphan Black, Cube), and actor Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica, Teen Wolf). I chatted with Graeme Manson about that episode, and he had some great insight into the creative process, as well as some thoughts on how it has changed since the advent of social media. Continue reading.

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Comments and queries for the week of July 9

Back to Square One on Dark Matter

“… the ring in his bedside table was apparently taken off his dead father, Emperor Ishida, after he was murdered by his son … a son identified as Four.”

But recall in the pilot that Five said she remembered living in the palace “until they killed my father and came after me. I could have killed them but I didn’t. I carved out their eyes and left them for my stepmother to find, the bitch.” When Two asked her, “You carved out their eyes?” Five answered, “Well, in the dream it was me, but it wasn’t wasn’t really me, because it wasn’t my dream.” Now we know it was Four’s dream, and that it wasn’t a dream, but a memory.

So according to Five’s memory of the events, Four didn’t actually murder his father; it sounds like his stepmother had the father murdered and then pinned it on Four. —Kathode

Thanks for clearing that up; I had totally forgotten that hint from Episode 1.


Is George leaving Murdoch Mysteries?

I live in Pretoria, South Africa, and when ITV choice started we first saw Murdoch, but Season 8 has just ended, so we are are looking for Season 9. Hope George is cleared. Wouldn’t be the same without him, but I believe he leaves the series. —Margaret


Which Orphan Black clone do you identify with? Who is your favourite reality TV host?

I identify with Alison all the way. She’s the one with the most “normal” life of the clones, I know a few women in real life very similar to her. I gotta respect how she manages to hold her family together (rehab stint aside) despite all the craziness going on around here. And you have to respect her ambition to be School Trustee and Drug Queen at the same time.

Also chose Jon Montgomery. He anchors the show well and you can see enthusiasm for it each year. The U.S. one has ran for 26 seasons so you can understand why Phil seems tired but it still dampens things a bit. —Dan

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or via @tv_eh.

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