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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