Welcome to my coverage of the 2013 Primetime Emmys. As it’s only a month away, I’ve decided to start a series in which I offer up my dream ballot for each major category. Then, I’ll look at the actual Emmy ballot and offer a “Who should win?” and a “Who Will Win?” for each. I hope you enjoy! Today, we’ll be looking at….
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Dream Ballot
NICK OFFERMAN, “Parks and Recreation”
It blows my mind why the Emmy voters would overlook such a fantastic character as Ron Swanson. He had a great year of food poisoning, wood-working, and wedding attending, and his relationship with Lucy Lawless’ character was unexpectedly sweet. He’s one of the best characters on television.
MIKE WHITE, “Enlightened”
First of all, this is one of my favorite shows of all time, even though it only spanned a woefully short two seasons. White is also the creator of the series, but he’s also an amazing actor. His character is awkward, heartbreaking,, and complex, and he and Molly Shannon created one of the best, most beautiful TV romances you’ll ever see.
MAX GREENFIELD, “New Girl”
I probably would’ve given this slot to Jake Johnson, but he submitted for the “lead actor” category. Greenfield is great, though, conveying a hilarious outer demeanor and spewing a ton of hilarious quotes. However, he took it a step further this year as the show explored more of his past, in particular a young relationship that was funny and endearing.
ADAM DRIVER, “Girls”
His character, and the show, are extremely polarizing amongst both fans and detractors. However, that’s because his performance is so fantastic. He did some amazing work at the end of the season, inspiring hatred, adoration, and discussion galore on the Internet, and his character arc was one of the most interesting on TV last year.
BILL HADER, “Saturday Night Live”
While SNL hasn’t been consistently good in a while, Hader’s been the anchor of the cast. His farewell season ended with a bang, as the fan-favorite Stefon married Seth Meyers in an amazing segment that involved Anderson Cooper and all of Stefon’s club friends. He’ll be missed, for sure.
RAINN WILSON/JOHN KRASINSKI, “The Office”
I know I’m cheating a bit here, but I just had to give them both credit. Krasinski has never been nominated for his work, which I find appalling, and Wilson hasn’t been nominated in a while. They both did fantastic work in this final season, especially near the end of the show’s run, and they deserve recognition for it. Jim-Pam was still the heart of the show, and you also can’t imagine the show without Dwight Schrute.
Who Should Win?
I’d narrow it down to Offerman and White, but I don’t know who I’d pick.
Others considered: Adam Pally, Damon Wayans, Jr., Ty Burrell, Will Arnett (Arrested Development), Tony Hale (Veep), Matt Walsh, Jack McBrayer, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, DJ Qualls, Luke Wilson, Simon Templeman, Chris Pratt, James Van Der Beek, Jason Gann, Jim Rash, Jeffrey Tambor
And on to the real nominations…
Ty Burrell-Modern Family
Adam Driver-Girls
Jesse Tyler Ferguson-Modern Family
Bill Hader-Saturday Night Live
Tony Hale-Veep
Ed O’Neill-Modern Family
Who should win?
Driver
Who will win?
Burrell
Analysis: Driver undoubtedly delivers the most complex, layered performance here, but I think it’s a safe bet that the Emmy voters will give the award to one of their Modern Family darlings; in this case, it’s Burrell.
Credit to NBC, HBO, FOX, New Girl, The Office, Enlightened, Parks and Recreation, Saturday Night Live, and Girls for all pictures. I own nothing.
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