Drama series

I wrote some capsules on the drama series Emmy nominees for today's Variety. Let me know what you think:


Deadwood

Network: HBO

Exec producers: David Milch, Gregg Fienberg

Emmy series pedigree: None

Millions of viewers: 5.6 (cumulative over best week)

Why it could win: There would be little arguing that "Deadwood" is the most intelligently written show on TV. The acting is superb (despite the lack of supporting noms) and everything from the set design to wardrobe to language is so authentic, you can practically feel the dust coming through your screen.

Maybe not: Even the most ardent supporters thought the storyline about the annexation got a bit dense and hard to follow.

Quote: "I don't think that Swearengen has any more of an articulate understanding of what moves him than Bullock does; it's just that his compulsions do not invoke a legal framework," says Milch to Salon.com.

Critically speaking: "Deadwood itself is almost a breathing organism -- a muddy, grim landscape of freewheeling brutality, where death comes quickly and pigs literally devour the evidence. Meticulously shot and scored, it's a perfectly realized backdrop to Milch's exploration of the depth to which people will plunge -- or not -- in lawless surroundings," says Brian Lowry, Variety.


Lost

Network: ABC

Exec producers: J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Carlton Cuse, Jack Bender

Emmy series pedigree: None

Millions of viewers: 15.9

Why it could win: In the copycat world of broadcast television, here was something new and imaginative. Abrams, who has managed to delight auds with "Felicity" and "Alias," is building up a reservoir of goodwill at the TV Acad.

Maybe not: Not that it's unprecedented, but winning with a freshman series isn't easy. Voters like shows that have established themselves. Most Emmy-winning dramas of the recent past have a bit more gravitas to them ("The West Wing," "The Sopranos").

Quote: "Basically one of the things that we realized very early on in doing a show about a plane that crashes on an island (was) that we didn't want to do the 'Gilligan's Island' treatment, where every single week somebody else is washing up on shore and it's the theater pro one week and the Russian cosmonauts. So we realized ... we had to populate the island with a very, very large cast because these are the people that we're going to be with," says Lindelof.

Critically speaking: " 'Lost' provides the best sustained mystery since 'Twin Peaks,' and seems more intricately plotted than made up on the fly. Even '24' doesn't seem as planned or as shocking. I have no idea where 'Lost' is going, but, so far, I've loved every step of the journey," says David Bianculli, New York Daily News.

Six Feet Under

Network: HBO

Exec producers: Alan Ball, Robert Greenblatt, David Janollari, Alan Poul, Bruce Eric Kaplan, Rick Cleveland

Emmy series pedigree: Two noms (2002, '03)

Millions of viewers: 6.2 (cumulative over best week)

Why it could win: As the show bows out after this season, an Emmy win would be a nice sendoff. While the show has at times floundered in the past, it's often been a water-cooler skein through good times and bad.

Maybe not: The self-loathing and whining became a little too much at times and some voters might not feel the same passion for the show as when it began in 2001.

Quote: "If you're very, very lucky, when you work on something, if you have all the right elements, the collaborative project will take on its own life. And when that happens, if you're smart, you recognize it and get out of the way. You stand back and allow it to unfold organically. And that's really what happened here," said Ball to About.com.

Critically speaking: "This acclaimed series appeals to our fascination with death but is more deeply rooted in a time-honored television winner: great characters," says Tim Goodman, San Francisco Chronicle.

24

Network: Fox

Exec producers: Brian Grazer, Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon, Evan Katz

Emmy series pedigree: Three noms (2002, '03, '04)

Millions of viewers: 11.9

Why it could win: Series refocused on its strengths, ditching Jack Bauer's hapless daughter Kim and going all-out on an action-packed terrorism storyline. The pace and intensity of the show remain unmatched on primetime TV.

Maybe not: The real-time format has gone from high-concept to gimmick rather quickly. Also, repetition and a limited bag of tricks that writers keep dipping into to create weekly cliffhangers might have stretched credulity too far for serious-minded Emmy voters.

Quote: "People felt we had a resurgence since the second half of last season, and I have to tell you we're very surprised. Fans who regularly watch us tell us this is our best season. ... We look for different ways to tell suspense stories. What we do now is what we've always done: Keep fans on the edge of their seats," says Surnow.
Critically speaking: " '24' is not as richly woven as 'The Wire' on HBO, but it is still one of the best shows on television. It is certainly the best secret-agent show," says Alessandra Stanley, New York Times.

The West Wing

Network: NBC

Exec producers: John Wells, Christopher Misiano, Alex Graves

Emmy series pedigree: Four wins (2000-03), nom in '04

Millions of viewers: 11.1

Why it could win: Talk about spending your well-earned political capital: "The West Wing" had a brilliant 2004-05 season, taking the action out of the Beltway and into the heartland. The race for the presidency, from the perspectives of the leading Democratic and Republican candidates, was great drama.

Maybe not: The show has already won four times and seemed to be on its last legs before this season. It'll be tough to win back those viewers who turned away last year.

Quote: "People seemed to be really engaged. ... In dealing with the primaries, it was one of the areas during the first five years of the show that we hadn't explored. One of the things you're constantly doing is look for places in the story you haven't done sometime before," says Wells.

Critically speaking: "For two years the show was in steep decline but this year they told stories you could care about. The campaign episodes took you back to the better times," says Matt Roush, TV Guide.