It’s time for some fresh blood!
Jarett Wieselman for BuzzFeed
No disrespect meant to perennial faves, but the increasing predictability of the outstanding acting Emmy nominations has lent the annual awards show a sense of repetition.
Oh, cool, Bryan Cranston. Neat, Claire Danes. Yes, hello again, Dame Maggie Smith.
And while those nominations would definitely be warranted again this year, it's time to inject a much needed sense of surprise into the Aug. 25 proceedings by honoring these 31 deserving first-time nominees, presented below in alphabetical order:
Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black
The fact that Aduba exclusively refers to this character by her given name, Suzanne, and not her disparaging nickname, Crazy Eyes, helps explain why you feel so much empathy for Litchfield’s most unhinged inmate. Which is not to undersell the insanity; in fact, because Aduba created such a three-dimensional human being, watching the character’s unsettling conniption fits becomes a test of the viewer's emotional endurance. —Jarett Wieselman
Netflix
Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex
Strong, insightful, unexpected, and sexy are adjectives that apply to Lizzy Caplan’s career-redefining performance and to her Masters of Sex character, Virginia Johnson. But perhaps the most significant accomplishment is that Caplan is able to infuse the progressive Johnson with a sense of modernity without making her a forward-thinking character in retrospect. Through her performance, the viewer can sense the impending revolution because it’s never openly winked at. —J.W.
Showtime
