Emmy Wishlists: Comedy Categories

In times of absolute turmoil in the world, TV, especially comedy shows keep me just a little bit sane. So with Emmy nominations set to be announced tomorrow, I just wanted to highlight the shows and performers that I think deserved to be nominated.

First up are the comedy categories and as I said above, they keep me the most sane and I'm glad there's a plethora of choices out there. For all categories, I'll be picking my top 10 picks out of all eligible shows and actors.

BEST COMEDY
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Dear White People
The Good Place
Jane the Virgin
Master of None
The Real O'Neals
Superstore
Trial & Error
You're the Worst

People seem to think comedy is dying on network TV especially with the relative boom of edgier comedies found on cable, premium, and streaming channels. So the fact that 7 of my 10 picks are network shows (4 from NBC alone!) caught me by surprise. Suffice to say, you should seek out all of these shows immediately and binge the hell out of them. Shout out to the quirky People of Earth, the poignant and hilarious Insecure and outstanding Speechless which just missed my shortlist.

BEST LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Wyatt Cenac, People of Earth
Nicolas D'Agosto, Trial & Error
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Jay R. Ferguson, The Real O'Neals
Chris Geere, You're the Worst
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Thomas Middledtich, Silicon Valley
Randall Park, Fresh Off the Boat
Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

This is always the easiest category to narrow down simply because there just isn't that many to choose from. With that said, if any of these people actually get nominated I will be very happy. My biggest FYC would be Ted Danson since his character just worked on so many levels, but I won't lie that I'm excited to see if the TV Academy honors Aziz Ansari (again) and Donald Glover with nominations.

BEST LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY
Kristen Bell, The Good Place
Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Logan Browning, Dear White People
Minnie Driver, Speechless
America Ferrera, Superstore
Leighton Meester, Making History
Martha Plimpton, The Real O'Neals
Issa Rae, Insecure
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Constance Wu, Fresh Off the Boat

I thought with Broad City not eligible this year would make this easier, but there's just SO MANY great comedic female talents year in, year out. Half of my picks come from freshman shows which gives me joy since it means there are new shows and actresses to love. I think the surprise pick here might be Leighton Meester, but if you watch her crazy (sadly cancelled) show, you know she's the HIGHlarious heart of it all. Shout out to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ellie Kemper, and Tracee Ellis Ross still doing amazing work on their respective shows as well as Lena Dunham who probably had a career-best in her show's final season.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live
Desmin Borges, You're the Worst
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Brett Dier, Jane the Virgin
Micah Fowler, Speechless
Noah Galvin, The Real O'Neals
William Jackson Harper, The Good Place
John Lithgow, Trial & Error
Timothy Simons, Veep
Zach Woods, Silicon Valley

Loathe am I to honor anything alluding to our current president, but everyone has to admit the masterful job Alec Baldwin did this year. He'll surely be nominated and likely win, but hope people don't sleep on the rest especially the beloved John Lithgow who also plays a bubbling idiot, except in a more charming way. Shout out to Titus Burgess, Jaime Camil, and Tony Hale whose schticks haven't gotten old yet.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY
Zazie Beetz, Atlanta
D'Arcy Carden, The Good Place
Donna Lynne Champlin, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Yael Groblas, Jane the Virgin
Jameela Jamil, The Good Place
Jayma Mays, Trial & Error
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Rita Moreno, One Day At A Time
Chelsea Peretti, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Lena Waithe, Master of None

This category is always impossible to narrow down, but after some tough choices, these were the 10 that rose up. Baldwin's counterpart Kate McKinnon of course makes it in since she's a national treasure. However, if I was putting money on FYC campaigns I'd support D'Arcy Carden and Lena Waithe since they made me howl and smile respectively in strong episodes which I hoped they submitted. Shout out to the non-Rita Moreno ladies of the wonderful One Day At A time and the non-Yael Groblas ladies of the still perfect Jane the Virgin.

BEST GUEST ACTOR, COMEDY
Riz Ahmed, Girls
Shoukath Ansari, Master of None
Josh Charles, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Daveed Diggs, black-ish
Santino Fontana, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Tom Hanks, Saturday Night Live
Hugh Laurie, Veep
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Saturday Night Live
Matthew Rhys, Girls
Jimmy Smits, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Guest categories are always fun to navigate because it has such a mix of names and talents. I do particularly love that I've picked two Hamilton alums in Daveed Diggs and Lin-Manuel Miranda and do we think they'll be nominated due to Hollywood's obsession with that show? But could anyone defeat David S. Pumpkins?

BEST GUEST ACTRESS, COMEDY
Becky Anna Baker, Girls
Angela Bassett, Master of None
Laura Dern, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tovah Feldshuh, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Rashida Jones, black-ish
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Aubrey Plaza, Drunk History
Alia Shawkat, Drunk History
Kristen Stewart, Saturday Night Live
Samira Wiley, You're the Worst

There's a Hamilton connection here as well with Aubrey Plaza and Alia Shawkat playing Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton respectively and I do hope they get nominated just for the laughs. The biggest surprises here for me are Rashida Jones in a kind of role I've NEVER seen her in and Kristen Stewart who delivered a truly excellent hosting job. Sean "Spicey" Spicer will probably win.

I'll post my thoughts on Drama and Movie/Limited Series categories later tonight.Emmy Wishlist