Supporting comedy actor and actress finalists
Here come two more lists of the ten actors and actresses that are finalists for Emmy nominations in the supporting comedy categories. As with the other awards, there are some surprises on the list, and some notable omissions. For the ladies, the headline is that last year’s winner, Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl), didn’t make the cut. Surprise finalists include Conchata Ferrell (Two And A Half Men) and Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live). I don’t mind seeing Conchata on the list because she is consistently funny on the show, but I don’t know that there is enough to her role for her to actually garner a nomination when you consider the competition.
On the other side of the coin, the defending champ, Jeremy Piven (Entourage), is back. None of the boys over at SNL managed to make the leap from Variety to Comedy that Poehler did.
There is one welcome surprise on the list, though. Fred Willard (Back To You) is in the running. Given the fate of the show, I expected it to be mostly forgotten by now, but Willard is always solid, and the acknowledgment of that is nice to see. I would have liked to see Tyler Labine (Reaper) in the running, but The CW, much like WB and UPN before it, might as well not even exist where the Emmys are concerned. The rest of the finalists, after the jump.
Supporting Comedy Actress
- Kristin Chenoweth - Pushing Daisies
- Conchata Ferrell - Two And A Half Men
- Jenna Fischer - The Office
- Jane Krakowski - 30 Rock
- Judith Light - Ugly Betty
- Elizabeth Perkins - Weeds
- Amy Poehler - Saturday Night Live
- Jean Smart - Samantha Who?
- Holland Taylor - Two And A Half Men
- Vanessa Williams - Ugly Betty
Supporting Comedy Actor
- Jon Cryer - Two And A Half Men
- Kevin Dillon - Entourage
- Justin Kirk - Weeds
- Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother
- John Krasinski - The Office
- Jack McBrayer - 30 Rock
- Tracy Morgan - 30 Rock
- Jeremy Piven - Entourage
- Fred Willard - Back To You
- Rainn Wilson - The Office
For me, choosing who I would like to see win the actress category is pretty easy. I’ll take Kristin Chenoweth all day. She has a crazy role, on a great show, and she regularly steals scenes. Even when they aren’t dressing her up in red, white, and blue sequined bikini tops. On the men’s side, I’m a little torn. Jack McBrayer is great on 30 Rock, but it’s hard to go against Neil Patrick Harris. What do you think? Omissions? Favorites?
Emmy Still Laughing at Jenna, Vanessa, But Jaime’s Name Is Mud
This is shaping up to be not much of a year for Emmy repeats (unless James Spader runs away with it again).
My Name Is Earl star Jaime Pressly, who was named Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy in 2007, has been left off the shortlist of female laugh-inducers who stand a chance of hearing their names announced July 17, when the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences reveals all the nominees for the 59th Prime-Time Emmy Awards.
Meanwhile, the competition Pressly beat out last year has made the cut, according to another top-secret list obtained by the L.A. Times’ Gold Derby blog.
But Pressly’s in good company. Also in no danger of repeating last year’s glory is Lost’s Terry O’Quinn, Grey’s Anatomy’s Katherine Heigl and Extras’ Ricky Gervais, who apparently can’t stand to do more than two seasons of a critically acclaimed series.
Whether the writers’ strike left Pressly without a golden moment this season is a valid question, but Emmy voters obviously found enough to like in scenes belonging to 10 other actressesall of whom (minus Weeds’ Elizabeth Perkins), it should be noted, honed their craft on broadcast networks, while all of the other major acting categories have ventured almost equally into the nether regions of cable.
Returning to the list are Perkins, Two and a Half Men’s Conchata Ferrell and Holland Taylor, Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams and The Office’s Jenna Fischer.
Other familiar faces being considered include 30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski (who seemingly had a lot less to do in season two, but whatever), Ugly Betty’s Judith Light and Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler (sketch show performers have been moved form the variety/musical mix to the sitcom crowd).
Pushing Daisies’ Kristin Chenoweth and Samantha Who?’s Jean Smart round out the list.
Meaning, no Emmy love (again) for Desperate Housewives’ Nicollette Sheridan or (surprisingly) her new neighbor, Dana Delany; no change of fortune for Ugly Betty’s Ashley Jensen (who at least should have been nominated for Extras last year); no extra recognition for Pushing Daisies’ eccentric, aquatic aunts, Swoosie Kurtz and Ellen Greene; and another thankless season for Monk’s girl Friday Traylor Howard.
Speaking of dipping into the cable pot, check out this list of contenders for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama:
- Keith Carradine, Dexter (Showtime)
- Charles Durning, Rescue Me (FX)
- Danny Glover, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
- Robert Morse, Mad Men (AMC)
- Peter O’Toole, The Tudors (Showtime)
- Oliver Platt, Nip-Tuck (FX)
- Peter Riegert, Damages (FX)
- Stanley Tucci, ER (NBC)
- Glynn Turmann, In Treatment(HBO)
- Robin Williams, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)