Dream Emmy Ballot 2013: Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Adam Driver - "Adam Sackler," Girls
Alex Karpovsky - "Ray Ploshansky", Girls
Timothy Simons - "Jonah Ryan", Veep
Damon Wayans, Jr. - "Brad Williams", Happy Endings
Mike White - "Tyler", Enlightened
Rainn Wilson - "Dwight Schrute", The Office

Driver and Karpovsky were both standouts last year, and built on those established character traits with surprising emotional depth - Adam in coming to terms with the wreckage Hannah left behind her and Ray in feeling his heart leap forward and struggling to force the rest of him to follow. Simons took a lot of verbal abuse in the second season of Veep, ostensibly about Jonah but pointedly remarking on physical attributes. He is great at both the obsequiousness of a mid-level bureaucrat, but also at playing someone who wants to give as good as he gets but can't quite keep up. As much as Happy Endings was ever governed by story arcs, Wayans really shone in the stories following Brad's loss of his job, especially in the episode where he becomes Jane's "trophy wife." In an ideal world, Mike White would get just as much recognition as network-mate Lena Dunham for everything he put into Enlightened. While Tyler's dreams may not be as expansive as Amy's, White's performance shows us that they're still there. The failure of the backdoor pilot may have been the best thing to happen to The Office, as Rainn Wilson became the MVP of the show's final episodes. Without letting up on the characteristics that made Dwight such a standout character, the show rooted a happy ending in Dwight finally getting the branch manager position and marrying Angela. 

Honorable Mentions: Will Arnett, Arrested Development; Max Greenfield, New Girl; Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live; Tony Hale, Veep; Taran Killam, Saturday Night Live; Zachary Knighton, Happy Endings; John Krasinski, The Office: Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock; Chris Messina, The Mindy Project; Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock; Lamorne Morris, New Girl; Oscar Nunez, The Office; Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation; Adam Pally, Happy Endings; Chris Pratt, Parks and Recreation; Jim Rash, Community; Reid Scott, Veep; Jason Sudeikis, Saturday Night Live; Matt Walsh, Veep; Luke Wilson, Enlightened

I wouldn't be surprised to see: Fred Armisen, Saturday Night Live; Ty Burrell, Modern Family; Charlie Day, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia; Peter Facinelli, Nurse Jackie; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family; Brad Garrett, How to Live With Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life; Nolan Gould, Modern Family; Simon Helberg, The Big Bang Theory; Ed Helms, The Office; Justin Kirk, Weeds; Seth Meyers, Saturday Night Live; Kunal Nayyar, The Big Bang Theory; Ed O'Neill, Modern Family; Rico Rodriguez, Modern Family; Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family; Jeffrey Tambor, Arrested Development

I didn't watch Modern Family this season, so I don't have a specific opinion about it one way or the other. But it certainly wouldn't shock me if they just went all in, added the kids and filled the entire category with cast members from that show.

Dream Emmy Ballot 2013: Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Jenna Fischer - "Pam Beesley Halpert", The Office
Angela Kinsey - "Angela Lipton", The Office
Zosia Mamet - "Shoshanna Shapiro", Girls
Kate McKinnon - "Misc. Characters", Saturday Night Live
Alia Shawkat - "Maeby Funke", Arrested Development
Casey Wilson - "Penny Hartz", Happy Endings



Honorable Mentions: Vanessa Bayer, Saturday Night Live; Sufe Bradshaw, Veep; Carly Chaikin, Suburgatory; Anna Chlumsky, Veep; Eliza Coupe, Happy Endings; Elisha Cuthbert, Happy Endings; Ana Gasteyer, Suburgatory; Allie Grant, Suburgatory; Rashida Jones, Parks and Recreation; Ellie Kemper, The Office; Jemima Kirke, Girls; Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock; Christa Miller, Cougar Town; Busy Philipps, Cougar Town; Aubrey Plaza, Parks and Recreation; Retta, Parks and Recreation; Hannah Simone, New Girl; Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live; Jessica Walter, Arrested Development; Allison Williams, Girls; Bebe Wood, The New Normal

I wouldn't be surprised to see: Ellen Barkin, The New Normal; Kristen Bell, House of Lies; Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory; Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Carrie Brownstein, Portlandia; Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory; Sarah Hyland, Modern Family; Cloris Leachman, Raising Hope; Jane Lynch, Glee; Melissa Rauch, The Big Bang Theory; Maya Rudolph, Up All Night; Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer; Eden Sher, The Middle; Anna Deavere Smith, Nurse Jackie; Lily Tomlin, Malibu Country; Sofia Vergara, Modern Family; Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie; Betty White, Hot in Cleveland; Julie White, Go On; Ariel Winter, Modern Family

Dream Emmy Ballot 2012: Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Anna Chlumsky - "Amy", Veep
Eliza Coupe - "Jane", Happy Endings
Cheryl Hines - "Dallas Royce", Suburgatory
Zosia Mamet - "Shoshanna Shapiro", Girls
Aubrey Plaza - "April Ludgate", Parks and Recreation
Casey Wilson - "Penny", Happy Endings

Chlumsky ably navigates between "high-strung" and "manic," a distinction that helps keep Veep from being too broad. I'm sure every Happy Endings fan has different favorites among the show's ensemble, and as someone who's kind of both a control freak and a total mess, mine are Jane and Penny. Coupe sells Jane's image of a world on which she can impose order without making her too draconian and Wilson sells Penny as an romantic and an optimist without making her seem naive. Hines' performance rests right in Suburgatory's sweet spot, with a perfect balance of the kind of superficiality the show sends up (with varying degrees of success) and the heart that shows that it's not all just silliness. Mamet, too, was distinctively, delightfully silly, but also undercut Shoshanna's superficiality by showing the fear driving her insecurity about falling behind her peers in gaining life experience. Plaza shows April growing into a more considerate adult without making it feel like a loss of her distinctive personality.

Honorable Mentions: Vanessa Bayer, Saturday Night Live; Sufe Bradshaw, Veep; Elisha Cuthbert, Happy Endings; Jemima Kirke, Girls; Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock; Diane Ladd, Enlightened; Busy Phillips, Cougar Town; Retta, Parks and Recreation; Naya Rivera, Glee; Maya Rudolph, Up All Night; Miriam Shor, GCB; Hannah Simone, New Girl; Allison Williams, Girls

Particular props to the ensembles of: Community (Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Gillian Jacobs); Suburgatory (Carly Chaikin, Ana Gasteyer, Allie Grant)

I Wouldn't Be Surprised to See: Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory; Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives; Cloris Leachman, Raising Hope; Jane Lynch, Glee; Melissa Rauch, The Big Bang Theory; Eden Sher, The Middle; Catherine Tate, The Office; Sofia Vergara, Modern Family; Betty White, Hot in Cleveland; Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live