Boston Legal
A David E. Kelley series typically involves a motley crew of colorful characters who are fondly remembered by TV viewers. The cast of Boston Legal, recognized again for its stellar work this year, is his best ensemble yet. The actors, like finely tuned instruments, played off one another every week to create the proper chords, tone, mood, and crescendos. The riff between Alan Shore (James Spader) and Denny Crane (William Shatner) that closed every episode could have grown stale by the end of the show's run, but as with all good arrangements, we heard a different note every time. It may not be Beethoven, but as television perfection goes, Kelley got pretty close.
He was helped by a cast any writer would consider a gift. Candice Bergen as the beautiful but acerbic Shirley Schmidt, fighting off the advances of the sexually charged Denny, was pure comedy. Spader was perhaps at his best as an actor when matched with his co-stars; he was certainly spot-on in the final season. Particularly funny was Christian Clemenson as Jerry Espenson, a man with Asperger's syndrome who'd make strange clicking and popping sounds or dance in circles. Clemenson probably could have had his own show.
But the beauty of an ensemble is that juxtaposing a character like Jerry to a Paul Lewiston (veteran actor Rene Auberjonois) or a Denny Crane can result in moments of perfection. Clemenson and Spader also had a particularly rhythmic chemistry, with Clemenson sometimes running away with a scene while Spader sat back and enjoyed the ride. The entire cast is duly recognized. Roles like these are a rarity, but come to think of it, so is the cast of Boston Legal.
The ensemble of Boston Legal was nominated for a SAG Award in 2006, 2007, and 2008. James Spader and William Shatner are individually nominated this year.
— Heather Langone
The Closer
Though Kyra Sedgwick's Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson is the mesmerizing focal point of The Closer, the show wouldn't be nearly as textured without the stellar supporting cast that surrounds her. Each actor brings an essential quality to the proceedings, and together they make for one of the most multilayered ensembles on television.
This season, several of Sedgwick's castmates stepped into the spotlight and proved that their characters are more than capable of carrying a story line. Take Raymond Cruz's passionate Detective Julio Sanchez. As the character dealt with the murder of his beloved younger brother, Cruz ably conveyed wrenching grief and loss. And as gruff fan favorite Detective Lt. Provenza, G.W. Bailey deftly displayed chops both comedic and dramatic, particularly in an episode that had his character go undercover, botch an operation, and nail a killer. Meanwhile, Jon Tenney continues to provide the perfect, calming counterpoint to Brenda as her FBI agent fiancé, Fritz Howard. Whether Fritz is clashing with Brenda over a case or going to great lengths to avoid spending time with his future in-laws, Tenney is always nicely calibrated. He makes Fritz a sweet guy but not a pushover. And as Assistant Police Chief Will Pope, J.K. Simmons is a solid, reliable presence. Four seasons in, his near-constant exasperation with Brenda — tempered, of course, by his concern for her well-being — is still one of the most entertaining elements of the show.
Michael Paul Chan, Tony Denison, Robert Gossett, Phillip Keene, Gina Ravera, and Corey Reynolds round out the cast, each bringing a unique element to his or her character. In the midseason cliffhanger, Sanchez took a bullet meant for Provenza, and as he struggled for life, Brenda issued a direct order: "Keep breathing." We're right there with her. We can't imagine this show without its perfectly balanced complement of regulars.
The ensemble of The Closer was nominated for SAG Awards in 2006 and 2008. Kyra Sedgwick is also individually nominated this year.
— Sarah Kuhn
Dexter
It's easy to give all the kudos to the extraordinary Michael C. Hall, as he plays the title character and almost single-handedly carries this fascinating Showtime series. For the most part, Dexter lives in his own moral universe, but the show's ensemble is absolutely essential in providing the "normal" contrast to Dexter's detached voiceovers.
Series regulars David Zayas, Lauren Vélez, C.S. Lee, and Jennifer Carpenter, who make up Miami Metro's Homicide team, offer a warm presence and serve as yin to Dexter's colder yang. The last thing his sailor-mouthed sister (Carpenter) needed was another boyfriend either involved in a case or responsible for a crime, and Season 3 did not spare her from another sticky relationship, this time with a confidential informant (David Ramsey).
The strongest guest star by far was the exceptional TV veteran Jimmy Smits. As Miguel Prado, a charismatic and corrupt assistant district attorney, he nearly became Dexter's best friend and partner. They shared a vigilante bond, and Dexter gave him a rare glimpse into the Code, but ultimately Dexter realized that for self-preservation's sake he needed to remain a solitary killer.
Julie Benz's character has come a long way since the frigid, traumatized Rita of Season 1. Rita had nesting on the brain after becoming pregnant with Dexter's child and accepting his marriage proposal. And in dream sequences, Dexter's foster father (James Remar) adopted a sterner role as Dexter's conscience, advising him against getting close to anyone who might potentially discover his homicidal nature.
During the writers strike, Dexter got nice exposure on network TV, further widening its audience. Perhaps the strike was the catalyst that finally got this talented ensemble its first nomination after three solid seasons.
Michael C. Hall is also individually nominated this year.
— Cassie Carpenter
House
For four years now, Hugh Laurie has been SAG Award-nominated for his dramatic work as the eponymous Dr. Gregory House on Fox's highest-rated scripted show, House. Laurie deserves the recognition, and the show, now in its fifth season, has consistently featured strong work from all its actors. Each character was fully fleshed, but they were satellites to House. Last year is the first in which the series developed a true ensemble feel.
What changed? The show's writers shattered its ensemble at the end of the 2006 season by stripping House's diagnostic team: Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) and Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) quit, and Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer) got fired. In the 2007 season, House instituted a competition to replace them, ultimately whittling 40 down into a new trio: Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson), Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn), and Dr. Remy Hadley, aka Thirteen (Olivia Wilde). At the insistence of Dean of Medicine Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), Foreman returned as a counterbalance to House's hubris, working with but not exactly for him. Chase and Cameron remained with the hospital, their roles growing back from almost nonexistent as they became auxiliary members of the diagnostic team and invaluable resources for the newbies. And Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard, in top form this season), ever the sidekick, was nearly destroyed by a tragedy partly of House's doing and cleared out, declaring himself finished with his supposed best friend. When Wilson returned partway through the 2008 season, it was clear House had lost his hold.
Essentially, they all stopped putting up with House's crap. It was something of a Copernican revelation: House wasn't the center of the universe anymore. Even the cranky doc himself realized it. And because the characters were put on more equal footing, each actor's work became more integral to the show's balance of tense drama and tongue-in-cheek humor. Revamping a hit show so drastically often spells disaster. That the ensemble is earning its first SAG Award nomination only after the transformation bears witness to the show's successful evolution.
Hugh Laurie is also individually nominated this year.
— Janelle Tipton
Mad Men
How can a dramatic exploration of the cigarette-smoking, cocktail-drinking, secretary-bedding ways of an early 1960s Madison Avenue advertising agency be of interest to audiences today? By building on the backs of an exceptional cast, AMC's Mad Men has gone beyond being of interest to win the hearts and minds of viewers, not to mention awards. Jon Hamm, John Slattery, January Jones, and Elisabeth Moss make up most of the seductive package at Sterling Cooper.
Solid writing weaves multicharacter story lines into a canvas on which the actors easily paint masterpieces involving cheating spouses, vicious revenge, unscrupulous business dealings, and a fearfully closeted lifestyle. At the center of it all is Hamm's Don Draper, the complete ad man, all drive and ambition, whose secret life is catching up with him. Hamm wears Draper's complicated duality like a second skin. Moss surprises with her portrait of Peggy, Draper's former secretary, now a junior copywriter. Mixing ballsy brawn with sunshine, Moss glides between the compartments of Peggy's character. Slattery as Roger Sterling is always at his best, with a cigarette in one hand and ladies' undergarments in the other. Jones' Betty performed the high-wire act that is family, even when the normally stand-by-me wife got it on with a stranger in a bar.
The ensemble also includes Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell, Aaron Staton as Ken Cosgrove, Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway, Michael Gladis as Paul Kinsey, Bryan Batt as Salvatore Romano, Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper, Mark Moses as Duck Phillips, Maggie Siff as Rachel Menken, Alison Brie as Trudy Campbell, Rich Sommer as Harry Crane, and Colin Hanks as Father Gill.
The Mad Men ensemble was nominated for a SAG Award in 2008. Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss are also individually nominated this year.
— Laura A. Butler