The Emmy Preview–Comedy: Who Got Snubbed, Who Should/Will Win, & When You Should Drink

The Emmys, the preeminent awards in television, air Monday night at 8p ET / 5p PT* on NBC. Seth Meyers figures to be the best host since Jimmy Kimmel** two years ago if not Conan a whopping eight years ago, but I'm more interested in who will/should win, who got snubbed, & how best to work drinking into the ceremony, so that's where my focus will be. You can read my thoughts on the nominations here, now though let me begin our journey by looking at the comedy categories.

*So for any timezone challenged Arizonans that's 5pm here.
**I like NPH plenty but I'll always take an actual comedian over a song & dance guy. 

Can Orange Is the New Black become the first TV show not on television to win an Outstanding Series award?

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

The Nominees:

• Fred Armisen Portlandia
• Andre Braugher Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• Ty Burrell Modern Family
• Adam Driver Girls
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson Modern Family
• Tony Hale Veep

Who Should Be Here:  Normally I'd argue for one on the many talented actors on Community or Parks and Recreation, & I'd love to single out Tucson's own Parker Young for his work on Enlisted, but this year the biggest omissions were obviously Keegan Michael Key & Jordan Peele of Key & Peele. It may seem odd to have them in the supporting category when their names are in the title but, for whatever reasons, actors in sketch comedy shows are relegated to supporting (hence Armisen being here). Also if we're adding we have to subtract so I'd knock out Armisen & Ferguson.

Who Should Win: I like Burrell much more than the show he is on, Hale was a deserving winner last year, & Adam Driver is, ironically given the title, the best thing about Girls, but none of the nominees had me laughing uncontrollably like Andre Braugher's brilliant deadpan did on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Who Will Win: Tony Hale is the returning champ & he has a strong submission episode–once you're nominated you submit one episode for voters to watch to decide their votes–but Emmy voters love Andre Braugher & with this being his first all out foray into comedy expect them to reward him.

Drink if... I'm right & Braugher wins.
Chug if... Burrell or Feguson gives MF its 4th win in 5 years in the category.
Take a shot if... Armisen wins (I don't mean to shit on him or anything, I've never watched Portlandia, I'd just be shocked if he wins). 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

The Nominees:

• Mayim Bialik The Big Bang Theory
• Julie Bowen Modern Family
• Ann Chlumsky Veep
• Allison Janney Mom
• Kate McKinnon Saturday Night Live
• Kate Mulgrew Orange Is the New Black

Who Should Be Here: Uzo Aduba won for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, beating two of her cast mates, & Kate Mulgrew is nominated here but Orange Is the New Black* still feels underrepresented with the absence of Danielle Brooks whose fun loving "Taystee" became as close to the heart of Netflix's breakout hit as any other character. As for subtraction... Bialik, the fewer TBBT nominations the better.

*Emmy eligibility runs from June to May each year thus "Orange" is competing with its first season & not the recently aired second. Next year Samira Wiley ("Poussey") will be the person whose lack of a nomination I'll be mourning.

Who Should Win: I only watched the entirety of two of these series, & purposely didn't catch an episode of TTBT or Mom, so it really boils down to Chlumsky or Mulgrew for me. Chlumsky's good & she has a wonderfully reactive face but Kate Mulgrew's "Red" was a force of nature & she handled the varying tones of the show with aplomb.

Who Will Win: Bowen's won twice before so she shouldn't be completely ruled out but this feels like a two woman race between Janney & Mulgrew. Janney has won 5 Emmys, including one this year for Guest Actress in a Drama (The Guest, & Technical, Awards are given in a separate ceremony prior to the televised one), but they've all been on the drama side, while Mulgrew is on a bigger hit with much broader Emmy support. I want to go with Mulgrew, especially since her submitted episode is title "Tit Punch", but far be it for me to bet against Allison Janney.

Drink if... I'm right & Janney wins.
Chug if... Bowen takes her third trophy in 4 years home.
Take a shot if... Kate McKinnon wins on her first nomination after Amy Poehler & Kristin Wiig didn't win for a combined 6 SNL nominations.

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series*

*I doubt anyone cares a great deal about who the directors are, & this is truly a one episode achievement, so I'm listing the show & the episode that are nominated for this & Outstanding Writing.

Nominees:

• Episodes "Episode Nine"
• Glee "100"
• Louie "Elevator, Part 6"
• Modern Family "Las Vegas"
• Orange Is the New Black "Lesbian Request Denied"
• Silicon Valley "Minimum Viable Product"

Who Should Be Here: Well Louis C.K. should've chosen "In the Woods" as his submission episode because it was the best directed episode of anything last year, but he didn't, so I'd go with Community & "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics." No, it's actually not the lava one but rather the ass crack bandit episode that so perfectly aped David Fincher's work on Zodiac, a fantastic movie by the way. Who would I kick out? I know you're thinking Glee but directing dancing is no easy task so let's knock out Episodes.

The case of why Community didn't get any
Emmy love also went unsolved.

Who Should Win: Louie is the most well directed comedy on TV, or Netflix, but I'd have chosen a third of this last season before "Elevator, Part 6". Thus I'll lean towards Orange Is the New Black's "Lesbian Request Denied" which has both "Crazy Eyes" at her most crazy, aka urinating outside of Piper's bunk area, & Sophia's flashback. Now I'll actually be happier if Louis C.K. wins, but on a pure episode comparison I think he should lose here.

Who Will Win: Modern Family has won this award three years running & they have the same director nominated as last year, & I think many understand that Louis C.K. is a true auteur, but Orange Is the New Black is going to win some things & when you consider the nominated episode was directed by Jodie Foster this one seems like it's in the bag for Netflix.

Drink if... I'm right & Orange takes home the gold.
Chug if... Modern Family wins again. If you haven't caught on by now you're chugging whenever MF wins something.
Take a shot if... Episodes wins, because WTF if that wins.

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

Nominees:

• Episodes "Episode 5"
• Louie "So Did the Fat Lady"
• Orange Is the New Black "I Wasn't Ready"
• Silicon Valley "Optimal Tip-to-Tip Efficiency"
• Veep "Special Relationship" 

Who Should Be Here: There are many episodes across the television landscape I'd like to see here, & that's despite the fact I think this is a strong group of nominees, but if I'm picking one it's Community's "Cooperative Polygraphy." Living up to the legacy of fellow bottle episode "Cooperative Calligraphy," CP was easily the funniest episode of Community's fifth season as the study group was forced to deal with Pierce's through lie detector tests conducted by Walton Goggins. Once again let's kick out Episodes.

Who Should Win: Orange was great but the pilot episode was hardly it's best. Within "So Did the Fat Lady" everyone, understandably, focuses on Sarah Baker's closing speech but the entire episode plays out expertly. With that said, Sillicon Valley's "Optimal Tip-to-Tip Efficiency" is your winner here. The finale on a whole is the show firing on all cylinders but the scene where the Pied Piper team discusses how to most efficiently masturbate an entire auditorium of men is a pantheon moment in television writing.

Hopefully the Silicon Valley guys won't look like this on Monday night.

Who Will Win: Louis C.K won this category two years ago & he is very much in play to win again. If it's not him though it will come down to Veep or Orange & if either of them wins I'd immediately put them as the favorite to win Outstanding Comedy Series. I said I wouldn't personally pick Orange's pilot but Emmy voters love pilots (5 times since 2000 a pilot has won & that includes My Name Is Earl's, a show never nominated for writing again) so expect Orange Is the New Black to be the early night favorite.

Drink if... I'm right & Orange comes bursting out of the gate.
Chug if... Emmy voters like masturbation jokes as much as I do & Sillicon Valley wins.
Shot if... Episodes pulls an incredible upset.

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series

Nominees:

• Louis C.K. Louie
• Don Cheadle House of Lies
• Ricky Gervais Derek
• Matt LeBlanc Episodes
• William H. Macy Shameless
• Jim Parsons The Big Bang Theory

Who Should Be Here: I've been told Andy Daley, & Review as a whole, are excellent but I've yet to watch it. I've always greatly enjoyed Elijah Wood on Wilfred but I've only seen a few episodes of its third season. I wanted to mention those two because there's a chance I'd pick them had I caught their whole seasons but I'm more than happy to go with Golden Globe winner Andy Samberg who, for the latter 2/3 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's debut season, was the best comedic lead on network television (I'm sorry New Girl let you down so much Jake Johnson). I'd remove Parsons so that he can't possibly win again.

Who Should Win: Obviously, Louis C.K.

Who Will Win: The last four years Jim Parsons has won three times & Jon Cryer once. In those 4 years Steve Carell was nominated twice, including for the brilliant "Goodbye, Michael", & C.K. three times. I've given up... Some quick wikipedia research revealed that Parsons got to play a drunk Sheldon at least two of the times he won an Emmy, & the other Sheldon went on a girls night out so I'll assume he ended up drunk their as well. In Parson's submission episode this year Sheldon gets drunk. I'd like to think Emmy voters were impressed by something beyond a gangly geek getting gassed* but to this point there's no evidence otherwise. Here to four time Emmy winner Jim Parsons!

*I've never called someone getting drunk "gassed" but I wanted to keep going with the alliteration & google said it's a synonym.

Drink if... Jim Parsons wins & you don't watch TBBT. If you do watch it drink if C.K. wins.
Chug if... Ricky Gervais wins for not going full retard.
Take a shot if... Louis C.K. wins & you don't watch TBBT. If you do watch TBBT take a shot if Parsons wins because you deserve to be punished for contributing to this travesty. 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Nominees:

• Lena Dunham Girls
• Edie Falco Nurse Jackie
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus Veep
• Melissa McCarthy Mike & Molly
• Amy Poehler Parks and Recreation
• Taylor Schilling Orange Is the New Black

Who Should Be Here: If I watched Shameless I imagine I'd be decrying the lack of a nomination for Emmy Rossum but I've never watched an episode of it. What I have watched is Broad City & so I'll once again be offering up two people from the same show in Abbi Jacobson & Ilana Glazer. With Troy leaving Abed behind to sail around the world with LeVar Burton for much of this season Abbi & Ilana became the most hilarious live action* friendship on TV no matter what shenanigans they were getting into. I mean just watch this. I rest my case. Then let's remove Melissa McCarthy both for being on the worst show of the six nominees & for releasing Identity Thief & Tammy on the world.

*Rick & Morty are the funniest duo in all of television. 

If only the First Lady had dictatorial powers over the Emmys...

Who Should Win: Schilling gives a far better performance than I think the average viewer gives her credit for because they don't like Piper all that much, when in fact Schilling deserves credit for playing the character as unlikable as she sometimes does. Meanwhile from a pure comedic standpoint Louis-Dreyfus is ahead of everyone in the field, but despite those two exceptional performances I'm supporting Amy Poehler all the way. I'm not even sure if she deserves it for the last season of Parks and Rec more than the aforementioned actresses but she's not far off & she damn well deserves to have won this thing one of the last four fucking years. Get your shit together Emmy voters & give her a trophy before she becomes another Steve Carell sized black eye on the ceremony.

Who Will Win: I suppose there's a chance they listen to me & Poehler wins, or that Orange sweeps everything & Schilling wins, but after two consecutive wins (& two previous wins for different roles) Julia Louis-Dreyfus appears to be a juggernaut.

Drink if... I'm right & Louis-Dreyfus wins.
Chug if... there's a God & Poehler wins.
Take a shot if... there is a God & he is Satan, meaning McCarthy wins. 

Outstanding Comedy Series

Nominees:

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
• Louie (FX)
• Modern Family (ABC)
• Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
• Silicon Valley (HBO)
• Veep (HBO)

Who Should Be Here: Again, it bears mentioning I didn't watch a few very good shows in Review, Shameless, or Wilfred, & even then I'm struggling to pick just one show for this segment. So screw that we're picking two! I mean I need to replace both TBBT & MF anyway (The other 4 are very deserving). Oy vey... this is still hard. Broad City & Brooklyn Nine-Nine had a few growing pains but morphed into two of the funniest shows on TV. Through nine episodes Community was going nearly as strong as ever before it slumped through its final four episodes, that thankfully weren't its end. While Parks & Rec remained consistent if not quite at the heights it used to be. Alright... give me Brooklyn Nine-Nine & Parks and Recreation! When in doubt use Patton Oswalt guest starring as the tie breaker. Tatiana Maslany didn't hurt P&R either.

Who Should Win: Silicon Valley & Veep have revived HBO's comedy with an intelligence sorely lacking from the days when Entourage was its flagship half hour show. Louie is a true artistic achievement & a show I'm sure I'll be revisiting for decades. For me though, Orange Is the New Black was on an entirely different level this year. Roger Ebert once said, "[M]ovies are like a machine that generates empathy. It lets you understand a little bit more about different hopes, aspirations, dreams and fears. It helps us to identify with the people who are sharing this journey with us." In this era of the United States as a racially biased prison state where half of the populace cheers on a man like Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who treats prisoners like human trash, no television show lived up to Ebert's words over the last year more than Orange Is the New Black.

My feelings towards Emmy voters if Orange doesn't win.

Who Will Win: In its four year history Modern Family has never lost. In its first season Veep won a single major acting award. In its second season Veep won two major acting awards. This year Veep had its best season yet. Those two could absolutely win, but I think voters are going to join me in celebrating Orange Is the New Black & ushering in a world where the best comedy on TV didn't even technically air on television.

Drink if... Orange Is the New Black wins.
Chug if... Modern Family wins, again.
Take a shot if... The Big Bang Theory wins & we've entered the end of days. 

Well, that's it for comedy. I'll be back soon with the drama side of things.