My Dream Emmy Ballot: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Don't look so sad Luke, you'd get my Emmy vote.

The Emmy nominations are once again around the corner (they'll be announced July 18) so I will present my thoughts on who should be nominated seeing as Emmy voters & I so often disagree. In fact last year we agreed on only 21 of 61 nominations, because of a tie there wan an extra Emmy nominee, last year & that gap was especially large in comedy where we found common ground on only 6 of 31. Maybe this year there will be more of an overlap but I'm not getting my hopes up. 

Before i get to my thoughts on our first category, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy, it bears mentioning yet again that Emmy voters are people who work, or worked, in the industry (actors, directors, writers, etc.) hence many of them don't have the time to watch a broad variety of shows. I, on the other hand, have plenty of time! So much time that I managed to watch 42 shows last year & I added another 6 in 2013 (seriously). Thus their choices may get tons of publicity I'd argue mine may well be more valid. Of course really I think TV critics should be in charge, since it's their job to judge television, so here's a professional's opinion.*

*I freely admit that I'm ripping off Alan Sepinwall's Emmy gimmick. As for any similarities between our picks I would merely say we both watch a lot of TV & have good taste.

It's important to also not that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry The Big Bang Theory*). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. Last year Emmy voters & I didn't agree on one nominee, come July 18th I encourage you to come back here & decide who did a better job.

*I'm not sorry. 

If I Ran the Emmys: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Community pulls a hat trick in my version of the Emmys. 

We're on to the 2nd round of my "If I Ran the Emmys" series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, which is designed to give praise to those performances & shows I consider most deserving of recognition. As I've mentioned before I watch more television than most Emmy voters, who are busy actually making TV, so I'm catching some performances & shows that they may be missing out on, & of course actual TV critics see more than I do so here's a professional's take.*

*Again these posts are absolutely ripping off Alan Sepinwall's Emmy posts. In fact we even chose 5 of the same actors in this category & the one we did disagree on we just chose different actors from the same show, & that ratio isn't really going to change. So yea... You could just read his stuff, & if you enjoy television criticism than I highly recommend you do, but I hope you'll read mine anyway. 

It's important to also note that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry Downton Abbey). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. As for the actual Emmys two years ago voters & I agreed on two nominees, last year that number shrunk to one & now I'm afraid, as with the Supporting Comedy Actress category, we couldn't find one nominee to agree on. Once again I leave it to you to decide who did a better job of singling out the best performances.

My (faux) Emmy Ballot: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Now that's an Emmy worthy handshake.

The Emmy nominations were just announced last Thursday (see the list of nominees here) I thought I’d give my thoughts on who/what should have been nominated in the major categories. Last week I detailed my list of Outstanding Supporting Actresses in a Comedy, & today we move on to their male counterparts.

No category gave me more trouble to narrow down to six nominees, as you’ll be able to tell from my honorable mentions list, than Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy (For a look at a professional critic’s opinion click here, & for my picks last year go here). There are just so many great comedic actors & roles in television that you could pick at least a dozen different actors & be able to make a fine case that they should earn a nomination, however Emmy voters are restricted to six votes so I am as well. Without further ado here are my six picks (click on their names to see one of their highlights from this season)…

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

As previously mentioned the Joeys feature 6 nominees (nominees also up for the Emmy are italicized) & I will also predict the winner of each category for the Emmys. Without further ado...

Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy, "Modern Family")-some people have criticized Burrell's Phil Dunphy as Michael Scott as a father, my response-what's wrong with that? Michael Scott is hilarious & so is Phil Dunphy, though to be fair as childish as Phil is he has a slightly better grip on reality than Michael & he's never nearly as offensive. & that's why Burrell get's major points from me, he's not allowed to be quite as unhinged as Steve Carell yet he manages to draw just as many laughs.

Glen Howerton (Dennis, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia")-Charlie Day as Charlie generally gets the most credit for the many laughs on Always Sunny, however, as much as I love Charlie, I find Howerton's mildly more intelligent Dennis to be the best of the show's ensemble. His character's self-centeredness, and belief that he's far more intelligent than he is (due to the stupidity of those around him) never fails to make me laugh. He also gets a boost for reminding me of my good friend Jamie Becwar.

Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson, "Parks & Recreation") -Offerman's Ron Swanson is one of the great comedic creations of the last few years. He is extremely prejudiced of government, despite being the head of the Pawnee, Indiana Parks & Rec department. He's had 2 failed marriages with women named Tammy, & yes, his mother's name was Tammy. Of course all of that is just good writing, but Offerman only enhances the character with his brilliant mustache, slapstick talent, odd talents, & ability to convey Ron's overwhelming hatred for human interaction.