Thursday, June 29, 2017

My Picks for this Years Emmys: Best Supporting Actor, Comedy

Last year, I made a fairly accurate list, and then managed to ruin my record by completely ignoring Louie Anderson for his work in the much loved Baskets. Once again, I'm going to pass over him, even though the odds are fairly good he'll be nominated yet again. But for the moment, let's consider some of the other good comics in this category.

Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
I actually remember a time when this fine talent was ignored by the Emmys.  But Captain Holt has become one of the more delightful characters in all of TV, even though most of what he does is pure deadpan, an art solely lacking in this era of wildness. Maybe its just because he's been one of my favorite actors for more than twenty years, but I would like to see him win once more.

Titus Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
There may be some wild characters in the history of this Netflix series, but he always seems to get the most brilliant showcases for his talents. For him to basically satirize Beyonce as well as he did, and then go even further from that point on is an act of sheer daring. He's one of the most original characters to come out of any platform in this decade, and he deserves to get nominated, even if he was just under the deadline.

Ted Danson, The Good Place
I've mentioned more than once that one of the nicer side benefits of TV's new Golden Age has been the revitalization of Danson's career. And some might view his return to broadcast comedy as a step backward. But consider the level of brilliance he had to play all season as Michael, the architect of The Good Place who spent the entire season on our leads side - and then in the last few minutes revealed his true colors in a way that shocked everybody. For that kind of added level to his performance alone, he deserves a nomination. Considering how good he was all season, he's cemented it.

Jay Duplass, Transparent
I realize advocating for his nomination always seems to be a little bit of a stretch. But Josh has always seemed to be the most lost of the Pfefferman children and his journey was by far the most amusing of the clan, as he tried to find new direction romantically and career-wise. Considering the slew of nominations this series gets, one figures he's earned it by now

Tony Hale, Veep
Yes, I realize what I said about how generally mediocre Veep was this year. But that did not apply to Hale, who managed to make Gary even more impressive trying to handle Selina as she dealt with being out of office. And by far some of the high points of the season - his suffering a heart attack taking a back seat to Selina's illness, his return to Mississippi for his 40th birthday being completely taken over by Selina's desire for funding - were centered around him. I know he's got two Emmys that he deservedly one, but he deserves another shot.

T.J. Miller, Silicon Valley
Ehrlich's character by far had the most ups and downs - mostly downs -- as he kept trying to latch on to a money making idea, and kept sucking everybody's life out of it. But he's still by far one of the most entertaining characters on the series, which is why I'm really sad that he seems to be leaving the show. (His final episode seemed to demonstrate he was doomed.) Miller's consistently denied he wants a nomination for his role. Ignore his wishes, Emmy voters. It would be entertaining to see him there.

WILD CARD
Sam Richardson, Veep
But by far the best thing about Veep this season was watching the expanded role for Richard, the most incompetent and innocent man in the entire entourage that follows Selena. His throwaway lines can have some of the most brilliant laughs in the entire episode, and his relationship where he fathers Margaret and her lesbian lovers child - and revealing that he had never masturbated - was actually a rather heartfelt moment in a series that usually stamps those kind of moments until they're dead. It may be hard to see him in this ensemble, but he deserves to be recognized.



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