If I Had an Emmy Ballot: Limited Series and TV Movies (2016 Edition)

BEST ACTOR

- Bryan Cranston (All The Way)
- Oscar Isaac (Show Me A Hero)
- Andy Samberg (7 Days in Hell)
- Paul Sparks (The Girlfriend Experience)
- Courtney B. Vance (The People vs. OJ Simpson)
- Patrick Wilson (Fargo)

Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson in All The Way is the stuff they should teach in acting classes. We knew the 4-time Emmy winner could act thanks to his work on Breaking Bad, but holy cow did he put the exclamation point on his career. It’s cliché, but you truly lose Cranston in the role… The only other actor that comes close to Cranston is Courtney B. Vance- who was the prohibitive favorite when The People vs. O.J. Simpson ended. Vance’s portrayal of famed lawyer Johnnie Cochran was that of legend. He perfectly played Cochran’s boisterous public persona but brought humanity and warmth to the role when we saw him in his private life… Andy Samberg doesn’t have a snowball’s Hell in chance of winning this award for his work in the delightfully silly 7 Days In Hell, but he sure was great in it. Perfectly shot and edited in the style of an ESPN 30 For 30 film, 7 Days in Hell is a goofy parody with Samberg’s bad boy tennis star Aaron Williams leading the charge… It took me a while to get over the fact that Paul Sparks wasn’t the annoying Mickey Doyle from Boardwalk Empire when I was watching The Girlfriend Experience- which is a testament to how good Sparks was as the sleezy David Tellis… Time has already proven how great of an actor Oscar Isaac is, and watching one scene of Show Me A Hero lets you know that Isaac deserves all of the awards… Patrick Wilson was not as flashy of a name as Billy Bob Thornton, or even Martin Freeman, but he’s an excellent actor who brought quiet grace and honor to a young Lou Solverson in the second season of Fargo. 

The Girlfriend Experience Is Your New Guilty Pleasure

The plot and story of Starz new show The Girlfriend Experience, loosely based off Steven Soderbergh's 2009 film of the same name, seems cliche. A young 20-something law student struggles to pay her bills so she turns into a high-end escort to pay the bills. However, Amy Seimetz and Lodge Kerrigan tell this story in such an interesting and slick way, that you won't be able to stop yourself from binge watching all 13 episodes, all of which are now available.

The show is cold and distant, like its lead Christine Reade (played spectacularly by Riley Keough- the daughter of Lisa Marie Presely and the granddaughter to The King himself) which in turn makes its voyeuristic tendencies hauntingly beautiful.