Emmys 2017 Voter Reveals His Winner Picks, and Hatred for 'Westworld'
You know those brutally honest Oscar ballots fans love to read? Now you can shake your head at, or agree with, this Emmy voter's choices.
The "Westworld" tied for the most nominations, but it got no love from this anonymous TV Academy member, who shared his thoughts with The Hollywood Reporter.
The Emmy voter called himself an "old white guy," and said that might be why he doesn't find comedy nominee "Atlanta" to be funny. Here's part of what he had to say about the comedy nominees:
"I'm very old-fashioned when it comes to comedies — I like them to be funny — and Atlanta is not funny. It's very creative — I'm a big Donald Glover fan, I think he's a huge talent and I wish that show nothing but success — but it isn't funny, at least to an old white guy like me. I enjoy Master of None more in theory than I do in practice; it's just a little too preachy and sanctimonious. Similar thing with Black-ish: it's funny, but I always feel like I'm being scolded and educated, and while I don't mind John Oliver educating me about obscure things, I don't need that from a network comedy. It just got a little too up its own ass this year."
He talked about more comedy nominees, but ultimately gave his vote to "Silicon Valley," saying it had its best season this year.
When it came to the reality TV category, he admitted he hadn't seen a lot of them this year, but he had seen bits and pieces over time, and mostly knew what he didn't like (i.e. too female, too gay):
"Top Chef? Is that the one with the cranky chef? [He's referring to MasterChef's Gordon Ramsay.] I don't like him. Anyway, I'm a Food Network guy, so that [Bravo show] doesn't work for me. Project Runway and RuPaul['s Drag Race]? They're a little too female, a little too gay for me — they're fine, but not for me. The Voice? was a big American Idol fan all those years, right to the end, and what bugs me about the rip-off shows is that they're supposedly about finding the next big star, but none of them have produced anyone who actually went on to have a real recording career in the way that, say, Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood did. For me, it came down to The Amazing Race and American Ninja Warrior...."
He ultimately voted for "American Ninja Warrior."
In terms of Best Drama, he decided to vote for "This Is Us," after bashing a few of the other nominees, including "Westworld" and "House of Cards":
"I'm the only person I know who has hated House of Cards from the start. It's always seemed pompous and too impressed with itself, and never has worked for me, but I dip a toe in every season to see if it's gotten any better, and it's like, 'Nope!' I really tried with Westworld, but while I was watching it — which I did because my wife loves it and I'm a good husband — I kept thinking to myself, 'This is pretentious bullsh*t.' I know I'm supposed to be wowed by The Handmaid's Tale — I liked it, but it was a little too monotone for me, and everything after episode two felt like filling in time. I kind of wanted to vote for Better Call Saul because it hasn't gotten the love that it deserves — it's so well-written, so well-acted and not like anything else on television — but I didn't. I loved Stranger Things — it was creepy and fun, you could just feel the passion that went into it and they really nailed that '80s sensibility and got some terrific work out of those kids. I loved The Crown even more. I've been an Anglophile since The Beatles showed up, and this show was so beautifully presented, like the old Masterpiece Theatre, that I just felt like, 'Oh, my God, I'm right there with her.'"
He said he voted for "This Is Us" because it was "the most surprising" of all of the nominees. "Every episode was great, everyone can relate to at least one of those characters, and it was the one show this year that we would rush home to watch and talk about; I mean, they just posted a teaser clip from Season 2 and I showed it to my wife and I was in tears." He also liked that it was a network show, which means more episodes than the others, and "many more opportunities to belly flop."
Read more of his ballot, and watch the Emmys this Sunday to see if this particular voter's ballot matches the winners. Here's the full list of nominees.
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