At this year’s Emmys, “Mad Men” leads among drama series with 17 nominations, including bids for six performers — leads Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss, supporting players Jared Harris and Christina Hendricks and guests Ben Feldman and Julia Ormond.
While the AMC period piece has won Drama Series for four years running, it has yet to win an acting prize despite a staggering 19 nominations. How has this happened?
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The show is faithful to its setting in the 1960s, a time when emotions ran underneath the surface for the most part. There was a shift in tone last season with the episode “The Suitcase.” Hamm’s character, Don Draper, revealed his emotional baggage to Moss’ character, Peggy Moss, in what was essentially a two-hander. However, they lost to Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) and Julianna Margulies (“The Good Wife“) respectively.
This year, they are both entering the episode “The Other Woman” in which Draper wins an account but loses loyal employee Peggy who resigns. Hamm was bested in his first three bids by Bryan Cranston who is back in contention with new episodes of “Breaking Bad.” And Moss faces fierce competition from both Margulies and newcomer Claire Danes who won the Golden Globe earlier this year for the first season of “Homeland.”
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Hendricks is also submitting “The Other Woman” with her character, Joan Harris, willing to sacrifice her principles and bed down a client to land the account and a promotion. This is her third consecutive Supporting Actress nomination.
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Harris is contending for the first time and is submitting his final episode — “Commissions and Fees” — in which his character, Lane Pryce, kills himself after being exposed as an embezzler.
Feldman picked up his first Emmy nod for his recurring role as adman Michael Ginsburg who faces off against Draper in the episode “Dark Shadows.”
And 2010 Movie/Mini Supporting Actress champ Ormond (“Temple Grandin”) was nominated for her performance in the season finale as Marie Calvet, Draper’s less than understanding mother-in-law.
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