Critics’ Choice TV Awards preview: Why ‘The Big Bang Theory’ will throttle ‘Veep’
Before we start off our Emmy preview series early next month, we’re going to spend a few days here talking about some of the specific nominees for the 2013 Critics’ Choice TV Awards, which will be held on June 10. If we are being completely honest, we love the show’s nominees far more than any Emmy telecast over the past few years. There’s no monopolization by a single show, “Two and a Half Men” is nowhere to be seen, and there is some recognition given to series that are often ignored.
We’re going to start today with the Comedy Series category, which is perhaps emblematic this year of one thing: There is no breakout comedy that everyone’s talking about. “Modern Family” has grown boring to voters, which explains why it’s not on the list below. This also explains why all of the nominees are at least a year old, something that is rather rare in this “we must embrace the new!” culture.
The nominees – “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS), “Louie” (FX), “The Middle” (ABC), “New Girl” (Fox), “Parks and Recreation” (NBC), “Veep” (HBO).
The surprise – “The Middle” is a good show, but it has almost been branded at times as too mainstream to really merit any love from the hipster voters for these types of award shows.
The snubs – We mentioned “Modern Family” earlier, but how about “Happy Endings”? Or, what about “Girls”? We may be in the minority on this, but we found season 2 to be a much more original and thought-provoking season than season 1.
What should win – “New Girl.” In the absence of a runaway favorite, you have to decide between some solid contenders. If we go by “The YouTube Rule,” which to us is how often we look up clips after watching an episode online to watch again, Zooey Deschanel’s series has this in the bag. It’s funny, wacky, and makes us genuinely care about its characters, even if there are problems and Winston became a borderline psychopath at times.
What will win – “The Big Bang Theory.” It’s hard to fault this choice. While season 6 started slow, it ended strong with great performances, evolution for its characters, and huge ratings. When a show can be commercially accessible and still embraced by some niche audiences, you know you’re doing something right. “Louie” is probably going to be forgotten, “The Middle’s” too middle-of-the-road, “Parks and Recreation” had a better year in season 4, and “Veep” is too polarizing.
If you want to view the full list of nominees for the 2013 show, be sure to visit the link here.
Photo: Critics’ Choice TV Awards