For those of you that don’t know, at the Emmys contenders must submit sample episodes to be judged by voters. Series submit six episodes that are paired up into three “tapes” that are handed off to three sections of judges. Actors submit one episode.
Veep
Comedy Series
Tape A: “Some New Beginnings” and “The Choice”
Tape B: “Alicia” and “Fishing”
Tape C: “Special Relationship” and “Debate”
The first tape is a strong one, although I wasn’t a huge fan of the season premiere, a lot of people were. The second episode on the tape is a great take on a current debate placed into the hilarity of the show. The second tape is similarly strong. In all, they submitted some of the best they had. They missed opportunities like “Detroit” and “New Hampshire”, but in all they submitted a strong set of tapes.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus | Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | “Crate”
With the penultimate episode of the series, Dreyfus doesn’t get much to do. It’s somewhat funny watching her lug around her crate and eventually trying to prevent the reporter to find his phone, however her money scene comes toward the end when she discovers that the President intends to resign at that she is taking his place. I think the reason she chose the episode was because of the bathroom scene with Tony Hale, which is great. She’s proved in her last two submissions that she doesn’t need a great episode to win, but overall it’s an underwhelming choice.
Tony Hale | Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | “Crate”
Most of the episode, Hale is lugging Selina’s crate around. However, his money scene is the same as Dreyfus’. The bathroom scene where he also finds out that Selina is going to be POTUS is also his strongest scene. He does have another fun moment when he’s trying to stop the repeater from finding his phone. Although this submission was better than his from last year, I don’t think it’s going to be enough for a second win.
Anna Chlumsky | Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | “Detroit”
Chlumsky plays the “straight” character of the series. Although Bowen won two Emmys for the same type of role, I don’t think Chlumsky has enough in this episode to do it. She has small scenes scattered throughout, but I don’t really see why she submitted it. I think she would have been better off submitting “Special Relationship” or even “Debate.”
Check out what I thought of Breaking Bad‘s submissions here.
Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.