The 2016 SAG Award nominations were announced Wednesday morning, and two things struck me:

1. The Screen Actors Guild LOVED Trumbo, maybe a bit more than me.
2. I don’t think they’ve seen Fargo yet on FX. Seriously…

This is just one of several award shows (which airs Jan. 30th on TNT and TBS), but it’s one of the few that gauges my interest more than others because it acknowledges both the film and TV world. Here are the nominees and some quick thoughts on each category.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

• Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
• Johnny Depp – Black Mass
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
• Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
• Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

I really have no problem with this category. I have yet to see Revenant or The Danish Girl, but I don’t doubt the performances of DiCaprio or Redmayne carry their films like the other nominees. If there was someone that I would like to see get more credit, it’s Jason Segel as David Foster Wallace in End of the Tour. It didn’t take much transforming, aside from the obvious hair and glasses, but Segel’s performance is as engaging and natural as any from the summer…especially in his interactions with Jesse Eisenberg.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

• Cate Blanchett – Carol
• Brie Larson – Room
• Helen Mirren – Woman In Gold
• Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
• Sarah Silverman – I Smile Back

I can’t get upset about this category because I think it’s Brie Larson’s award to lose, and hers alone. However, I’m surprised Jennifer Lawrence was left out after another highly anticipated David O’Russell  role. Of course the film hasn’t hit theaters yet, so I can’t really talk..Alicia Vikander deserves more love for Ex Machina because she still haunts my dreams for her performance.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale – The Big Short
• Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation
• Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
• Michael Shannon – 99 Homes
• Jacob Tremblay – Room

This category is HEAVY. Even without Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight), Sylvester Stallone (Creed) or Paul Dano (Love & Mercy), it looks stacked…but I’d like to see them all in it.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

• Rooney Mara – Carol
• Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
• Helen Mirren – Trumbo
• Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
• Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

Helen Mirren has 3 nominations here and I’m not sure she’s winning any of them. It will be fun to see what her batting average is though by the night’s end. I would be interested to see what kind of buzz Jennifer Jason Leigh gets after Hateful Eight is released.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

• Beasts of No Nation
• The Big Short
• Spotlight
• Straight Outta Compton
• Trumbo

Spotlight is my favorite film from this year and it deserves all the good things that come its way. I am surprised both The Martian or Steve Jobs were left out of this category, considering how star studded their casts were. Their performances didn’t disappoint either.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

• Idris Elba – Luther
• Ben Kingsley – Tut
• Ray Liotta – Texas Rising
• Bill Murray – A Very Murray Christmas
• Mark Rylance – Wolf Hall

I don’t have many thoughts on this other than (1) Luther rules, (2) I turned off A Very Murray Christmas after 10 minutes and (3) Where is Oscar Isaac for Show Me A Hero. 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

• Nicole Kidman – Grace of Monaco
• Queen Latifah – Bessie
• Christina Ricci – The Lizzie Borden Chronicles
• Susan Sarandon – The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
• Kristen Wiig – The Spoils Before Dying

I literally have zero thoughts about this one, because I haven’t seen any of the nominated performances yet.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

• Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones
• Jon Hamm – Mad Men
• Rami Malek – Mr. Robot
• Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul
• Kevin Spacey – House of Cards

I’m happy to see Rami Malek get props for playing the best introvert on TV, but this is Don Draper’s victory lap and I don’t see anyone getting in his way. I’m also always shocked to not see Mads Mikkelsen ever nominated for Hannibal. I guess that’s for fringe loving types like me.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

• Claire Danes – Homeland
• Viola Davis – How To Get Away With Murder
• Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife
• Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey
• Robin Wright –House of Cards

Viola Davis has the momentum from the Emmys but I will always maintain that the past two seasons of House of Cards have been great nearly because of Robin Wright as much as Spacey.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

• Ty Burrell – Modern Family
• Louis C.K. – Louie
• William H. Macy – Shameless
• Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory
• Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent

Modern Family to me is “What Will Phil Dunphy Do Next?” because that’s all I watch for now, but Jeffrey Tambor holding a torch for the transgender community has become way more important.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

• Uzo Aduba – Orange is the New Black
• Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie
• Ellie Kemper – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep
• Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation

That is all.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

• Downton Abbey
• Game of Thrones
• Homeland
• House of Cards
• Mad Men

If you’ve been watching the second season of Fargo, you’re probably wondering if perhaps the actors didn’t know how to spell it filling out their nominations, considering every Monday night feels like the show’s best episode…If you’ve been watching Homeland this season, you might be wondering why it’s on here. The season finale is in a week and I still have no idea if it was good or not this year.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

• The Big Bang Theory
• Key & Peele
• Modern Family
• Orange is the New Black
• Transparent
• Veep

I would love to see Key & Peele ride off into the sunset with some hardware.

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

• Everest
• Furious 7
• Jurassic World
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Fury Road is one of the best films of this year and a modern classic. Pick against it and you lose.

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series

• The Blacklist
• Game of Thrones
• Homeland
• Marvel’s Daredevil
• The Walking Dead

I just watched end Episode 2 of the first season again. This is why I love Daredevil.

How are you pulling for this Awards season? Let me know on Facebook or Twitter.