Emmys 2016: ‘Catastophe’ is a worthy underdog, but is ‘People v. O.J.’ overrated?

There’s a lot of pop culture to sort through week after week. Times staff writer Chris Barton offers his take on what’s up and what’s down in music, movies, television and just about anything else out there that is worth considering. This week, he looks at the Emmy nominees.

UNDERRATED

Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney for ‘Catastrophe’: Perhaps hampered by a viewing home that’s better known for its political dramas and premium shipping than scripted imports, this Amazon-via-the-U.K. show is one of the most consistently funny half-hour comedies on TV. It elevates the romantic comedy genre by mixing frank sexuality with a surprisingly sensitive portrayal of a relationship. “Catastrophe” faces steep odds in a writing category that also includes “Veep,” “Silicon Valley” and “Master of None,” but with a third season in the works it’s already winning.

Bokeem Woodbine in ‘Fargo’: Unfairly competing against Hugh Laurie in the spy thriller as vacation brochure “The Night Manager” and a trifecta from “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” Woodbine delivered one of the most quietly memorable performances of the year as the unnervingly calm center of a ’70s gang war in the second season of “Fargo.” With a knack for genteel conversation and an unsettling smile, Woodbine’s cunning Mike Milligan was one of the many dry, Midwestern-chilled pleasures in a series that was full of them.

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OVERRATED

‘Homeland’: An acclaimed (if occasionally Islamophobic) Showtime series that capitalized on a certain post-9/11 paranoia served with a subliminal affirmation of jazz as the preferred music of the mentally unstable, “Homeland” is among the weakest of this year’s nominees in the dramatic series category. Although a show built around the many trials of a CIA operative played by 2013 Emmy-winner (and current nominee) Claire Danes keeps “Homeland” on voters’ radar, winter is coming for its Emmy chances, most likely in the form of “Game of Thrones.”

‘The People v. O.J. Simpson’ v. reality: There are some real pleasures in this expansive docudrama, but much of its acclaim arrived before the release of the marathon “30 for 30” documentary “O.J.: Made in America.” With that miniseries’ exhaustive examination of O.J. Simpson, the twists of the trial and his life before and after, how can a fictionalized version compare? Though there’s campy appeal in seeing David Schwimmer and John Travolta occupy a story that said so much about American culture of the time, it’s difficult to approach a copy once you’ve seen the real thing.

Watch the Emmys with us on Sunday! We’ll be live blogging all day, all night at latimes.com/emmys.

chris.barton@latimes.com

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