All things
considered, with the notable absence of Harrison Ford for Shrinking, this
is the best category of nominees in comedy. It’s also without question the
hardest one to pick a winner based on how close it is among the choices from
Gold Derby. I’ll do the best I can.
Anthony
Carrigan, Barry. Odds: 13-2. For Playing: Noho Hank,
the former Chechnya gangster dealing with multiple desires that end up
corrupting and destroying him. Pro: Carrigan has been the secret weapon
of Barry over the course of four seasons. Starting out as a mostly comic foil in the
early seasons, the trauma of the third season finale let him to try and deal
with his war between his love and desire for safety – which led to him making a
horrible choice at the first half. In the second half of the season, he
genuinely seemed to have obtained the impossible but the residual trauma and
his inability to let go let him into a climatic battle that led to the most
tragic death in the entire run. Carrigan has too often been overlooked and he
deserves to win. Con: It has always been Carrigan’s misfortune to be in
the category with so many of his equally talented co-stars. As we shall see
below, one of them gave just as brilliant a performance. Just as with so many
characters on Barry, fate will likely be unkind.
Phil Dunster,
Ted Lasso. Odds: 13-2. For
Playing: Jamie
Tartt, the footballer who returns to his home team – and finds himself dealing
with his most interior struggle yet. Pro: It is strange that in the
three seasons of Ted Lasso, Dunster is the only regular who hasn’t been
nominated before. To be sure, it is a very deep supporting cast and he is frequently
overshadowed by brighter suns (see below for the biggest example). But even
those who did not truly like the final season could not help but cheer Dunster’s
work as he came to some big realization about the kind of person he’d always
been, not only in terms of his sexuality but his friendships and relationships. Jamie in many ways has come the furthest of
the characters we’ve met since the journey started and it did us good to seem
win. Con: Season Three was not highly regarded and Dunster faces tough
competition (once again, see below.)
Brett
Goldstein, Ted Lasso. Odds: 11-2. For Playing: Roy, the coach
working through his relationships professionally and personally as things been
change. Pro: Let’s not kid ourselves about who the breakout sensation of
Ted Lasso has been it has been Goldstein who every time he swears
onscreen (or you know, whenever he’s accepting an award and is bleeped out) has
become one of the most beloved curmudgeons on TV in a very long time. It would
be very hard to call Roy lovable (he’d snarl at you if you tried) but the world
has fallen in love with a character who has truly become iconic in a way even
more than Ted Lasso himself has. As he
made his final journey in football, friendship and love (maybe) we felt sad
saying goodbye to Roy. (Though considering that he’s now a co-creator of Shrinking,
the Emmys haven’t nearly said goodbye to Goldstein.) Con: I think
even Goldstein was shocked when he took his second straight Emmy last year and
that was for a season of Ted Lasso that was far more highly regarded
than this one was. I have a feeling that Roy won’t enjoy a three-peat.
James
Marsden, Jury Duty. Odds: 6-1. For Playing: James Marsden,
who is irritated his celebrity can’t get him out of jury duty and makes a mess
for everybody. Pro: What does it say about Marsden that in a season where
he returned to two iconic roles on the final season of Westworld and his
dual role on Dead to Me that his
best work this season would be for playing…himself? To be sure he is no more
playing James Marsden than John Malkovich was in Being John Malkovich, but
just as in that film that is a large part of the magic. Marsden spends all of
the series playing such a temperamental, monstrous, ridiculous buffoon that you
almost believe that’s really who Marsden is! It must have been difficult for
him to accept this offer, but it would have been harder to turn it down. His
work was some of the most fun of the year and I understand why this is the role
the Emmys nominated him for. Con: The
Emmys has never been able to give recognition to these kinds of parodies of
roles (Larry David has never been able to win for Curb Your Enthusiasm)
and this entire show is a harder reach than that. Still wouldn’t it be fun.
Ebon
Moss-Bachrach, The Bear. Odds. 11-2. For Playing: Cousin
Richie, the screwup who can’t adapt to anything Carmie does. Pro: Moss-Bachrach
spends most of the first season of The Bear making you absolutely hate
him. He berates and mocks every single person in the shop, treats everybody
horribly, and is absolutely resistant to any kind of change or improvement. But
throughout it you can see just how badly the death of Richie has hurt him, and
he wears his pain far less well than Carmie does. In the finale of the season
he completely collapses in a horrible way and reveals to Carmie how badly he’s
broken too – and slowly finds a way for all of them to move forward. Moss-Bachrach
was one of the breakout performers of 2022, and I understand very well why he’s
one of the favorites in this category. The fact that he also had a small but
critical role on the first season of Andor shows his versatility. Con:
Considering how much attention was deservedly shown on White and his other
co-stars, it may be difficult for him to triumph this year.
Tyler James
Williams, Abbott Elementary. Odds: 6-1. For Playing: Gregory, settling
in as a teacher and trying to deal with
his crush on Janine. Pro: Williams
has already won the Golden Globe and the Image award for his performance in
Season Two and honestly, he more than deserves to win this year. Williams is,
in many ways, the secret weapon of Abbott Elementary, sometimes by what
he says, just as often by what he doesn’t say but we read on his face. Not since
Jon Krasinski’s days on The Office has a man been able to express so
much by saying absolutely nothing. And we have been rooting for Gregory and
Janine as they do everything in their power to move one step forward, two steps
back, trying to make it work and screwing it up for everyone else. Williams is one of the great pleasures of one
of the most incredible shows on television and he is my favorite in this category.
Against: A lot of great shows have premiered while Season 2 was
airing. And while Williams is clearly
more qualified than some, it’s hard to argue his early wins count for as much anymore.
Henry
Winkler, Barry. Odds: 7-1. For Playing: Gene Cousineau,
trying to deal with the horrors of Barry’s arrest – badly as always. Pro: In
what was a very dark season, Winkler provided most of the comic highpoints of
Season 4 as Gene’s desire to promote himself got in the way of his desire for
justice. His attempt in the second half
of the season to redeem himself came undone due to that fact – and then in a
way no one could have foreseen, he became the scapegoat for everything that had
happened to him. His final moment in the series was incredibly painful – even more
so when we saw what his legacy was in the aftermath. It was the capper in what
has been four years of incredible work. Con: Winkler has received, if
anything, more love from the awards show circuit than Hader did: he took
Supporting Actor prizes from the HCA and the Critics’ Choice last year. I wouldn’t
object if he won a final Emmy – no one would really – but I think it’s a long
shot.
My Pick: This is the
toughest category to handicap with no bad performances in it. I’m giving the
barest of edges to Williams.
Tomorrow, I
wrap up the week with Supporting Actress in a Comedy as well as my preferences
for the Writing, Directing and Guest Performances.
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