Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy
They expect seven nominees in this category and
I'm fine with that. There is another actor in this category who has won back to
back Emmys. That happened less frequently then you might think ever since
Jeremy Piven went three for three in the final seasons of Entourage. Quite
a few actors did win multiple Emmys in
the 2010s but Eric Stonestreet and Tony Hale didn't do it back to back. It's
happened the last four years but as we will see, the odds of a three-peat have
understandably dropping.
It is likely we will see a good balance of new
faces and old faces in this category. I'm fine with six of the most likely
contenders: I'm going on a limb for a seventh. Here we go.
Ike Barinholtz, The Studio
Considering how rare it is to see both a winner
of Celebrity Jeopardy and someone who did well in the Tournament of Champions
competing for an Emmy, I would be inclined to be in favor of Barinholtz being
here for anything. But honestly Barinholtz has been one of my favorites well
before that.
He has been one of the great comic utility
players ever since he started work in The Mindy Project, appearing in
such great series as Eastbound & Down and Mad TV. He has
written for both Mindy and Mad for much of his career, worked on History
of the World and created Running Point for Netflix. I'm kind of
amazed he had time to play the role of Sal, Matt's friend who has to help Matt
finding missing film one day and gets in office wars the next.
Barinholtz, like the show itself, has been moving
up for award consideration the last few months and I couldn't be more
personally thrilled for him. I don't necessarily want him to win over some of
the other nominees but to be clear, I like Ike.
Paul W. Downs, Hacks
Last year this category was the only one
Downs' didn't get a prize for. He shared in Emmys both for writing and as executive
producing Hacks and considering that he's married to the showrunner
Lucia Aniello, he no doubt has property is that well. Giving him an Emmy for
starring in this show might be gilding the lily slightly but no one who's watched
him for four seasons can deny what a master comedian he is.
Jimmy's role was basically a gag starting the
first season but with each new season the creators have seen the potential in
Jimmy and keep building it up. It's not just that his nervous comedy combined
with the tightrope he has to walk around Deb and Ava always makes for
hysterical comedy but at this point he's now his own man in a way he just
hasn't been before. Indeed, much of the genius of Season 4 is expanding Jimmy's
role to make his character as an agent act almost independently of the major storyline.
As he continues to grow and become a force in Hollywood, is constantly surprised
by how competent Kayla has become, and is always baffled by the talent he has
to deal with (Dance Mom!) the next logical outgrowth is a spinoff where Jimmy
and Kayla run their own agency. They're halfway there already and believe me, I'd
watch.
Downs's has understandably been moving up as a
frontrunner in this category since his somewhat surprising nomination last
year. I know he's going to win at least one Emmy this September regardless of
what happens in this category but come on, at this point we want to see him
give an acceptance speech for acting. He's just good at that.
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
In hindsight the reason Harrison Ford wasn't
nominated for Season 1 of Shrinking is because of the third and final
season of Ted Lasso taking up two spots that could have gone to him. No
one pretended watching his first season as Paul he absolutely didn't deserve
won for demonstrating his incredible work as a comic actor.
It's clear watching his work on Shrinking we've
been taken Ford for granted for forty years because he is a 'supergiant' in the
world of film, connected to two of the biggest box office franchises in the
history of cinema, so many blockbuster films around that period and quite a few
dramatic masterpieces. His work as Paul demonstrates that we've forgotten how
natural a comic actor he can be given the opportunity. Leaning in to the
curmudgeon nature of his age every single line out of his mouth is often the
funniest punch line imaginable because he always makes it clear he's not trying
to be funny. We've also seen that he's by far the best psychiatrist that everyone
says he is but is also coming to realize the mistakes he's made in life – and as
we see is facing his mortality with consequences that will no doubt reverberate
in future seasons.
He's already been nominated for a Golden Globe
and a SAG award and earlier this month finally won his first award at the Astras
for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy over everyone in this field. I won't add
the fact that he's clearly the sentimental favorite as well because this only
occasionally works in favor of elder statesmen at the Emmys in general. But
hopefully as was the case for not only Jean Smart but Henry Winkler and Jamie
Lee Curtis, he will finally be in the winner's circle this year.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
No one can deny Moss-Bachrach's work as Cousin
Richie on this series isn't both the comic highpoint of this show as well as demonstrating
the greatest character growth. By the end of the second season he had evolved
far more than Carmy was willing to do by that point and that was just as clear
by the end of the third season. There were many flaws in the third season of The
Bear but no one is saying Moss-Bachrach's work is one of them.
The problem is, like so many of the other actors
on the show this year, he has been dragged down by the decidedly mixed
reactions by critics and audiences to Season 3. This was made clear as early as
the Golden Globes where he was the favorite to win but ended up losing to Shogun.
He was ignored by both the Critics Choice Awards and the SAG Awards and while
he was still the favorite going into the awards season by this point for
obvious reasons both Harrison Ford and quite a few other actors are moving
ahead of him
Throw in this fact that no one has managed to win
three consecutive awards in this category since Jeremy Piven for Entourage and
it's looking that for the first time he'll be watching from the audience this
year. He'll be nominated, no question, but for the first time in three tries he
won't be the frontrunner.
Timothy Simons, Nobody Wants This
Simons is my long shot in this category when I
should be going for Brett Goldstein or any of the supporting actors from Only
Murders in the Building. I'm given him recognition in this category not
just because I loved his work unconditionally in this show but because I could
not stand him in what was his most famous role Jonah in Veep.
I found his character unsympathetic, stupid and
loathsome: the fact that he was clearly hated by everyone including his only
family did nothing to make me think better of him. Of all the characters on
that show I hated whenever he showed up onscreen. That's why his work as Sasha
during this show was by far the most revelatory work of the entire cast.
Sasha, like Jonah, is not particularly favored in
his own family but he actually seems more balanced and okay with it. He's
clearly happily married and he's accepted he's the lesser sibling. In a superb story
in the series we saw him surprise even himself when he resolved a crisis his
adolescent daughter thought unsolvable showing he understood social media. His
relationship with Noah is clearly healthy and supportive both ways and it was
kind of sweet watching the platonic friendship building between him and Morgan
all season – as well as hysterical watching him hide it from his family as
well.
I think Simons will get nominated down the road,
if not this year then by Season 2. But by selecting him here, this is an
apology of sorts. I never understood what he was capable of in Veep. Now
I get what a talent he is.
Michael Urie, Shrinking
I wasn't surprised Urie won at the Critics Choice
Awards in this category last year so much as the fact that it was the only
nomination Shrinking got and it wasn't for 'a young and up and comer
named Harrison Ford' as Urie credited him in his acceptance speech. And it's
not like Urie's work hasn't been as much as masterclass as Ford's over the last
two seasons: it's just a different kind of comedy.
Urie's work at Brian is closer to some of the
characters he's played throughout his career: a mix of anxiety and narcissism with
an outward cheerful optimism. But Brian is far more of a grownup than that. He
and Jimmy spent Season 1 reconnecting and rebuilding their friendship and now
Jimmy is willing to rely on him more when he needs him both in the law and as a
friend. Jimmy has been dealing with issues of his own: being a husband and
trying to see himself as a father and he has been adapting. But the series
allowed him to go into darker territory when he realized the connection the
drunk driver had with Alice, went with her to reconnect – but didn't tell Jimmy
about it until he ended up learning in the worst possible way. The devastation of
this ended up hurting everyone until the end of the season.
There are going to be a couple of actors from
this incredible cast in this category (I'm going to advocate for one at the end
who might slip under the radar) and Urie has more than earned the right to be
here. I'd prefer Ford win but if Urie does manage to pull it off, I won't be
upset.
Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
I shouldn't have to advocate for Williams who has
been nominated in this category every year since Abbott Elementary debuted
and has already been nominated for yet another Critics Choice and Astra Award
this past year. So let me just explain the highlights of Gregory this year.
He fell in love and let his dorky side shine with
his soulmate Janine. He ended up almost getting in a fight with an angry parent
which he did nothing to start. He learned the truth about Ava's father before
Janine and realized the consequences. He did what he needed to get a golf
scholarship for some of his students. When Ava was fired from her job, he was
appointed principal – which he originally hoped for when he came to Abbott –
and did a far better job then even he though possible. He managed to decode Ava's
system for filing; a comic highlight itself. He went through an endless war
with Ava's secretary where gave the great punchline. And in the season finale
when he told his father he and Janine were dating, he was surprised by how his
father reacted – and got the kind of blessing he'd never expected. And he did
all of this with the kinds of looks at the camera that Oliver Hardy would tip
his bowler too with what he could express by saying nothing.\
Now at some points the Emmys are going to have to
put on their big boy pants and give him the prize he should have gotten two
years ago after he won the Golden Globe and the Astra. I'm enough of a realist
to know it probably won't happen but I know he's going to be nominated.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Ted McGinley, Shrinking
I think its far more likely Brett Goldstein will
be nominated in this category and he more than deserves to be. But from the
perspective of a character arc and everything else I want McGinley to be
nominated.
Derek was more of a comic foil in Season 1, there
to take the heat from Christa Miller's character as a loving husband. But in an
act of profound wisdom McGinley was named a series regular and was given more
time in the spotlight. We saw him give friendly advice, see him hang out with
another Derek and introduce him to Gaby, offer the kind of support he need to
his wife and son. He seems to let everything bounce off him. And then his wife started
hanging out with a college friend he'd asked her not to and she didn't tell
him. And then she kissed him. McGinley's reaction of pain and anguish as well
as the rest of the season was yet another example of what a super actor he's been.
On a side note I've always been an admirer of
McGinley's work and never understood why he took so much blame for tanking
series in his career. (For God's sake, he was a regular on Married…With
Children and it ran for eight more seasons after he joined the show!) He's
apparently got a lot of sympathetic and great feedback from so many viewers
over the last two seasons and he's earned it for the work he does. Come on
Emmys, everybody loves a Derek and you should too.
Tomorrow I will wrap this week up with Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy as well as some of my hopes for Outstanding Guest Actor and Actress
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