2014 Emmy Contenders: Best TV Movie

2014 Contenders
The Normal Heart
The Trip to Bountiful
Sherlock: His Last Vow
Killing Kennedy
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
Burton and Taylor
Adventure in Time and Space
Return to Zero
A Day Late and a Dollar Short
Clear History
Flowers in the Attic
Gabby Douglas Story
Lizzie Borden Took an Ax
House of Versace
Christmas in Conway

Commentary - This is a three-way race that has one clear front runner and two possible spoilers. The reviews and ratings, and the subject matter make it clear that The Normal Heart is a hell of a contender going into this year's Emmys. It's cast and crew are sure to rack up a ton of Emmy nominations, and I honestly don't think it can be beaten. But if anything is going to it is either going to be The Trip to Bountiful or Sherlock: His Last Vow. Now I don't know why Sherlock decided to submit as a TV movie instead of a miniseries, although I can imagine it didn't want to go up against the likes of Fargo and True Detective (who switched categories itself). It does have a shot here, but I have a feeling it will continue to be a bridesmaid. The Trip to Bountiful could end up only being about Cicely Tyson, who is certainly worthy of an Emmy. But it also plays as a significant contender here, and could be a surprise dark horse. But right now, winning is the least of our worries, we still have to get our list of nominees. Rob Lowe played a pretty good Kennedy, but I wonder if liberal Hollywood will embrace a production of a Bill O'Reilly book. Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, also rises on the performances of its stellar cast, but as a whole production is not the best. There must be a recurring theme here because Burton and Taylor, led by two enigmatic leads, suffers the same overall fate. This trio though could easily fill out the production category here on the strength of its actors. Return to Zero is an interesting addition, much better than most of the Lifetime fair, and once again features two pretty good lead turns. The contender I am most interested to see how it plays out is Adventure in Time and Space. It did well with the critics groups, and could be a surprise contender in the mix. Also look for HBO to push Clear History and Lifetime to push A Day Late and a Dollar Short despite mixed reactions to both.