One of the criticisms regularly leveled at the Emmy Awards is that the same people and the same shows are nominated, year after year.
Not this time.
After a much-better-than-usual season, the announcement of nominations in July was full of names we hadn’t heard before: several actors from “Orange Is the New Black” and “Fargo,” half the cast from “The Normal Heart,” the dangerously alluring Lena Headey from “Game of Thrones” and Joe Morton, who plays Kerry Washington’s troublemaking father on “Scandal.” The academy is paying attention!
They had to have watched Allison Tolman on “Fargo” or Uzo Aduba on “OITNB” to nominate them, because prior to these shows, no one in the TV universe knew who they were.
The embrace of the new continued as Aduba and Morton picked up Best Guest Actress and Best Guest Actor awards at the Creative Arts Emmys on Aug. 16. There’s a good chance, then, that Monday night’s show will see more first-timers accepting statuettes.
For the new nominees, it’s been an exciting summer, to say the least. For Kate Mulgrew, who received her first Emmy nod in a 40-year career for her amazing performance as the convict Red on “Orange Is the New Black,” the Emmy whirlwind has been “completely miraculous,” but, she adds, “I feel I’ve already won the prize, because I won the role. I don’t know when I’ve been so happy going to work every day.”
Taylor Schilling
Best Actress in a Comedy Series: “Orange Is the New Black”
Taylor Schilling had one network series, NBC’s medical drama “Mercy,” under her belt when she landed the part of Piper Chapman. But there’s no comparison between the two projects. “Mercy” lasted one season, and “OITNB” is a sensation that has won an astounding 12 Emmy nominations, with three wins going into tonight’s ceremony.
Speaking to The Post on a break from filming Season 3, the 30-year-old Boston native is almost giddy when describing the year she has had on the prison show. “I mean, it’s just unreal. It feels like we’ve all worked very truthfully and honestly to make this show happen,” she says. “I’ve never worked with actors this dedicated and courageous.”
The set was deluged with oranges the day the nominations were announced. “Somebody put bowls of oranges out. There was orange juice all over the floor,” she says. “People were putting oranges down my shirt. We were ecstatic. It was one of the most joyful days of my life.”
Star-turn scene: Schilling let the producers submit an episode for her for academy voting. It was Episode 5, “The Chickening,” where Piper sees a chicken in the prison yard, prompting Red to offer a gift to the person who catches it. Piper then imagines she sees the bird everywhere, leaving her unstrung. “It’s when Piper starts to go native,” says Schilling.
Upcoming projects: In January, Schilling will co-star with Peter Dinklage of “Game of Thrones” in an off-Broadway revival of Turgenev’s comedy “A Month in the Country” at the Classic Stage Company. She will also appear in the independent comedy “The Overnight” with Adam Scott and Jason Schwartzman.
Her competition: Julia Louis- Dreyfus, “Veep”; Lena Dunham, “Girls”; Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”; Melissa McCarthy, “Mike & Molly”; Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation”
Allison Tolman
Best Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Miniseries: “Fargo”
Allison Tolman was a complete unknown when she auditioned for the part of Deputy Molly Solverson, so the Emmy nomination and accompanying brouhaha has been a strange kind of fairy tale. “It’s too fantastic to be believed. It’s hard to be more eloquent than that,” she says.
A year ago, Tolman, 32, was working at a Chicago photography studio, and looking for other jobs so she could supplement her income. Her acting credits were sparse. “There’s no way I could have imagined landing this part,” Tolman tells The Post. “As we put it together, I think my lack of experience in making television shows didn’t allow me to see how good it was. I think the guys [in the cast] knew how good it was.”
Has Tolman thought about actually winning?
“A little bit,” she says. “Certainly it would be an incredible capper to this insane year. Even if that’s not the way the wind blows for me, to know that I’ve made it this far has been incredible and set me up for this turn in my career.”
Star-turn scene: In Episode 8, the story line jumps ahead a year and finds Solverson married — to Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) — and pregnant. “I love Gus and Molly together in this domestic state . . . [It was] such a turnaround for me playing Molly in that light.”
Upcoming projects: Tolman will not return to “Fargo” in Season 2, as the show will have a new murder case. She recently filmed a guest spot for the HBO show “Hello Ladies,” as well as a voice guest spot on “Archer.”
Lizzy Caplan
Best Actress in a Drama Series: “Masters of Sex”
Lizzy Caplan was sick in bed the morning the Emmy nominations were announced. “I can safely say that this is one of the few phone calls a person wants to get at an ungodly hour,” she told the Huffington Post. “I am shocked and thrilled and shocked and really, really excited. Did I mention I’m shocked? Because I am shocked. Champagne before 6 a.m. is OK, right?”
First-time Emmy nominee Caplan, 32, has some fierce competition, but don’t count her out. As Virginia Johnson, a smart woman and single mother fighting sexism and making her way in the world in the 1950s, Caplan offers a subtle and surprising characterization.
Star-turn scene: In the pilot, Virginia Johnson goes on a date with her boyfriend, Dr. Haas (Nicholas D’Agosto). He gets bombed and comes on too strong. When she rebuffs him, he hits her. Virginia slugs him right back.
Upcoming projects: Caplan plays Agent Lacey in the upcoming comedy “The Interview,” with James Franco and Seth Rogen. She is currently filming an untitled Christmas movie with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards airs Monday at 8 p.m. on NBC. View the full list of Emmy nominees here.