The Emmys in the comedy category present particularly tight, vexed races: So many good performers, so few slots. Nevertheless, as we continue to make Emmy predictions, I think I’ve got these figured out. And I know you’ll let me know if you agree or disagree, below.
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Matthew Morrison (Glee)
Steve Carell (The Office)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Tony Shalhoub (Monk)
Who’ll win: Jim Parsons. It’s his year. (Well, so was last year.) Alec Baldwin has been amply rewarded, and Emmy voters will wait for Steve Carell’s last season to give him an Office Emmy.
Possible upset: Tony Shalhoub. It was Monk‘s final season, so there’s nostalgia plus the iron-clad Emmy law: Never Underestimate the Shloob…
Shoulda been contenders: Better Off Ted‘s Jay Harrington; Community‘s Joel McHale
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Chris Colfer (Glee)
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)
Jon Cryer (Two and A Half Men)
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family)
Who’ll win: Ty Burrell. All the guys in Modern Family are wonderful, but Burrell was probably the voters’ most pleasant surprise… since they didn’t see how good he was in Back To You!
Possible upset: Neil Patrick Harris, if all the Family men somehow cancel each other out in cumulative votes.
Shoulda been contenders: Ed O’Neil! Colfer or Cryer’s nomination robbed the remaining Family co-star from a well-deserved spot here. Also, in an ideal, lengthened list, Parks and Recreation‘s Nick Offerman and Community‘s Danny Pudi would get nominated. Of course, if I were doing the nominating, I’d have Better Off Ted‘s Malcolm Barrett and Jonathan Slavin — aka, Lem and Phil — on this list, too.
What are your picks?
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Thanks for mentioning “Back to You”. We never thought it got the notice it deserved. But the more awards for Modern Family the better. It’s excellent all around.
That show was better than many others that are still on. I think the premise of the affair between Kelsey Grammar & Patricia Heatons’ characters was lame, but the cast was great, especially the supporting cast. But oh well, now there is Modern Family and it’s definitely one of the best on television.
I think Eric Stonestreet is gonna win… and I think he should
What killed Back To You was that they had a kid –every episode the show had to go all serious and “touching” because a kid’s involved — where they should have all been shallow hilarious a-holes, like Frasier or Seinfeld or Old Christine or Will & Grace.
I’m still upset that CHARLIE from IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA wasn’t included!!! Come on Emmys …. Kitten Mittons?!?!?!!?
“…and Emmy voters will wait for Steve Carell’s last season to give him a final Office Emmy.”
How about starting by giving him a FIRST Emmy for “The Office.” (He’s previously won a Golden Globe.) Say what you will about the quality of the show in recent years (I still enjoy it a lot), and how the writers sometimes don’t treat Michael Scott kindly, but Carell has ALWAYS been excellent and Emmy-worthy.
Yes, I think Steve Carell should’ve won an Emmy a long time ago. Despite the decline in quality in writing this season, Carell’s performance has always been spot on and I cannot imagine another actor portraying Michael Scott as superbly as Carell. He was meant to play Michael Scott and vice versa.
“He was meant to play Michael Scott and vice versa.”
And… Michael Scott was meant to play Steve Carrell? Woah, way to go meta. You’re blowing my mind here, LNC!
Phil and Lem FTW!!!
(ok, in my dream world.) I’m betting someone from Modern Family will win. They seem to have a ton of momentum going for them.
You just know Phil would be nominated but Lem would be shown on camera.
LOL! And somehow Veronica would end up with the award.
hahaha this made me so happy. I miss this show
I really miss this show too! I am SO DISAPPOINTED it got canceled.
i miss better off ted
did they even show the last 2 episodes?
Actually, Jon Cryer’s phoned-in performance cost O’Neill the nomination (that, and the cast’s decision to submit themselves all as supporting roles). Colfer was a pleasant first-season surprise, although I’m not sure if the Glee creators can pull off that surprise a second time.
Agreed. Colfer’s performance (particularly in scenes opposite Mike O’Malley as his dad) was arguably the best thing in Glee, and stayed that way even as the show took a quality nosedive in its second half. Meanwhile, Two and a Half Men’s very existence remains a slap in the face to quality television, to say nothing of its continued ability to draw huge ratings and Emmy love.
aaaaagrreeeeeeeed.
AMEN!
Testify.
Totally and utterly agree.
Chris Colfer deserves to be there. Say what you will about how his best work is dramatic, but this is Best Supporting Actor IN A COMEDY. Not Best COMEDIC Supporting Actor.
He plays the most stock gay character on television. Keir Gilchrist, “United States of Tara” is a better actor than Colfer first off, and second he is playing a young man struggling to determine and identify his sexual identity which more closely resembles actual teenage boys. Colfer did not deserve a nomination. The only person in that cast who deserved one is Jane Lynch and “Constance Carmel” was still her best role on television last year and she should have been nominated for “Party Down”. “Glee” made FOX alot of money so they had much more money for the gift bags and bribes to the nominating committee. Stop deluding yourselves that these nominations have anything at all to do with the work on the screen. “Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is made for like $1200.00 an episode culled from the cast and some change left from DeVito’s “Taxi” residuals and is consistently funnier than “Glee”. (Holy crap, “The League” was consistently funnier than “Glee”, as was “Archer”, as was “South Park”, as was “Bored to Death, as was “Eastbound and Down”, as was “Secret Diary of a Call Girl”, so many shows better and more consistently funny than “Glee”.) “Its Always Sunny” didn’t get a single acting nomination or for Best Comedy which it is.
In other words, who gives a flying f— who wins these awards when the most deserving candidates are going to be doing more important things on a Sunday night in August. Hopefully they will all be partying with Kurt Sutter who is the only person in the television landscape to point out how awful and out of touch with reality this years nominations really are.
Best Actor was either Danny McBride, John Corbett, Jason Schwartzman, Adam Scott, James Roday, or Thomas Jane.
Best Supporting Actor: Charlie Day, Ted Danson, Keir Gilchrist, Ken Marino, Dule Hill, or Justin Kirk.
Completely disagree. Chris Cofer is playing a drama queen, but his portrayal is far from stock. He brings heartache and nuance to his character that a lesser actor would play as a stereotype. The episode he submitted is both hilarious and devastating. My biggest issue is with Glee being placed in the Comedy category. Why isn’t it in the variety/musical category?
I’m with HoneyB. Colfer’s character isn’t all “HEYYYY GRRRL Let’s go buy some shoes!” He’s nuanced, intelligent, and plays a character experiencing an emotional time in his life — finding out how to fit in in high school. There’s no denying that Glee isn’t consistently the most funny show on television, but it doesn’t aim to be; it’s a combination of drama, comedy, and musical, which makes it hard to categorize (unlike its characters, which are Handicapped Kid, Gay Kid, Football Player, Black Girl, Asian, Other Asian, etc.)
I’m confused, I’m not sure how you really feel. You could you bore me to death again?
Colfer is a revelation and certainly deserves his nom. He’s brought more range and depth to the show than any other single performer, and that includes Jane Lynch. If you are suggesting that his is a stock character, you either haven’t been watching, or you’re unable to understand what makes a good performance. Either way, you’re a relentless windbag.
I couldn’t agree more with ‘Honey B’ and ‘Mean Green’…. Like ‘Kathryn’ said, the category said ‘it said Best Supporting Actor IN A COMEDY. Not Best COMEDIC Supporting Actor!!!’ I’m NOT sure glee actors would win their awards if only counting for being funny or humor by emmy judges… I don’t know about how voting system goes or how judges decide the winners… But I do think that there will be percentage diving being funny, acting, dialogue, and things like that. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t think emmy do NOT count only being funny or comedy only… There may or will be some parts they are counting in choosing winners….
Not every 19-year-old gay guy can sing Rose’s Turn and Pink Houses.
I have to agree with you here on the Psych boys. They are constantly overlooked. Even when TV Guide does a cover story on the boys of USA channel they can’t seem to get a mention.
@bhm1304 Your post was damn near unbearably long (it’s ok; mine will be too), but I agree with most of your choices for best actor/supporting actor in a comedy. I think the funniest shows on TV with some of the BEST performances are “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Psych”. The actors in “Psych” manage to take what could be two obnoxious man-children and turn them into two guys with a ton of heart, brains, and joy for righting wrongs.The actors on ‘It’s Always Sunny…” are taking some of the most absurd writing on TV and turning it into the hands down funniest performances and making it (Lord help me) believable. The actors on these two shows are snubbed time and time again.
Steve Carrell and NPH have been overlooked consistently. I hope the Emmy voters do the right thing and reward them this year.
Both should have one before, especially NPH for season 4 of How I Met Your Mother. But…I hate to say it but the show wasn’t very good this year, and I don’t think NPH had any special material to work with. If he wins I’ll be happy for him, but I think others deserve it this year.
Umm, Chris Colfer robbed Ed O’Neil of a nomination? How about Jon Cryer, who never should have been nominated in the supporting category in the first place?
I’ll second that.
Ed O’Neill does a better job than both of them anyway.
Or Jesse Tyler Ferguson who, as wonderful as he is, definitely did not deserve an Emmy nomination.
That’s way the besstte answer so far!
God, am I the only one who finds Ty Burrell’s character in sufferable most episodes? Hopefully the funniest MF character, Cameron, wins!
You are not alone. When I watch the show I actually doubt that Phil has any feelings towards Claire except resentment as he perceives her as a roadblock to getting what he wants. I like Modern Family because it is “kinder and gentler” than most family comedies. You sense that amongst all of the craziness this family really cares about each other. But Phil is an exception for me. He seems cruel in exposing Claire time and again to ridicule.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Eric Stonestreet as Cameron. “Casablanca”
The producers need to done down his ineptitude a bit. I’m hoping this first season was just character building as far as Burrell is concerned, because if he is always going to be a COMPLETE doofus, well then it will get old.
At last, someone comes up with the “right” aswnre!
I don’t like the character, either. Plus his confessionals to the camera remind me of Michael Scott’s, so I don’t think Phil’s a very original character.
No you are not the only one, I love the show, but switch channel as soon as he appears, creepy, disturbing and totally NON- believable… a big casting screw up !
Chris Colfer is one of the few nominees from Glee that actually deserves a nomination. (Jane Lynch being the other.) I agree with everyone else here, Jon Cryer should have never been on the list.
Nor won last year. When they called his name I thought it was a joke.
How can you say that? Lea Michele brings such heart to the character of Rachel who in other hands would have been annoying and unlikeable. She definately deserves to be nominated. I think all the glee people who were nominated deserve it.
I agree.
Sorry, but to me Rachel is still annoying and unlikeable. Lea’s portrayal doesn’t make me care about her-even though the girl CAN sing.
This makes it seem like Chris Colfer’s nomination wasn’t well deserved and it was, and if you’re lookin for an upset, also look no further than Colfer. As many have said, Kurt is the heart of Glee and may be rewarded with a statue as such.
I resent the assertion that Alec Baldwin should step aside and let someone else have it just because he’s won before. Why in the world should it work that way?? Shouldn’t the award just go to the BEST, regardless of how full their mantle is at home?
And while I’m disappointed that Steve Carrell has been snubbed in past years, I don’t think his performances last season were award-worthy – not just because the writing was rocky, but he’s been better.
Love Larry David and Matthew Morrison too, but if I’m voting for THE BEST, Alec Baldwin FTW. Period.
Nah, I love 30 Rock, but last season was a down year, including Baldwin’s performance. That lineup doesn’t really impress me. Carrell should have won a couple of years ago when the show was at its highpoint. I’m not a fan of rewarding people for years past, although it works better for the Emmys better than the Oscars because most categories include ongoing series. Maybe Jim Parsons?… The Big Bang Theory is kinda lame though…
Two gay actors playing gays. One straight actor playing gay. One gay actor playing straight.
Unless there’s something else you’d like to add, Jon or Ty?
Well, Ty comes from the theatre world, and Jon WAS Ducky…hmmm…
yeah, suck on THAT, Newsweek!
If Alec Baldwin wins I’m moving to Canada.
I’m right there with you Nate.
If Tony Shalhoub wins I’m moving to Canada. And shooting myself.
Why go through charade of moving to Canada?
Steve Carell deserved an Emmy from Season Two onward. Imagine how much acting chops it takes to make Michael Scott not be some kind of baffoon, comic book character! It is to his talent that he makes us care about Michael and see the sweetness inside and see someone who deep down just wants to be liked. Why give Steve a “farewell” Emmy when he deserves one NOW? Go Steve!