Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
Rob Delaney & Sharon Horgan – “Catastrophe” (Episode: “Episode 1”)
Aziz Ansari & Alan Yang – “Master Of None” (Episode: “Parents”)
Dan O’Keefe – “Silicon Valley” (Episode; “Founder Friendly”)
Alec Berg – “Silicon Valley” (Episode: “The Uptick”)
David Mandel – “Veep” (Episode; “Morning After”)
Alan Gregory & Peter Huyck – “Veep” (Episode: “Mother”)
This is one of the most wide-open categories we’ll see all night, and honestly, it’s not difficult to see any of these winning. “Catastrophe” might be the least likely, just because it’s a relative newcomer and less well known than the other shows. We’re tempted to go with “Master Of None” here, as it’d be a good consolation prize for a show that Emmy voters clearly like, because of the deeply personal nature of the nominated episode, and because “Silicon Valley” and “Veep” will be competing with themselves, having been nominated twice each.
Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series
Aziz Ansari – “Master Of None” (Episode: “Parents”)
Alec Berg – “Silicon Valley” (Episode: “Daily Active Users”)
Mike Judge – “Silicon Valley” (Episode: “Founder Friendly”)
Jill Soloway – “Transparent” (Episode: “Man On The Land”)
David Mandel – “Veep” (Episode: “Kissing Your Sister”)
Chris Addison – “Veep” (Episode: “Morning After”)
Dave Stern – “Veep” (Episode: “Mother”)
Again, this is pretty open, with lots of very fine work at play (including not two, but three “Veep” episodes). But with hers being the most obviously cinematic and impressive of the seven here, and having already taken the same prize last year, we’ve got to give the edge to Jill Soloway, who did particularly great episode on this episode (the festival one). Ansari, Berg or Stern are all also viable winners too, though.
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Louie Anderson – “Baskets”
Andre Braugher – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
Tituss Burgess – “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Ty Burrell – “Modern Family”
Tony Hale – “Veep”
Keegan-Michael Key – “Key & Peele”
Matt Walsh – “Veep”
Boy, this one’s tough. In the red corner: Tony Hale, who’s won two of the last three awards for “Veep.” In the red corner, scene-stealer Tituss Burgess, who was even better in the second season of ‘Kimmy Schmidt’ than he was in the first. And in the, uh, yellow corner, veteran comic Louie Anderson who did some spectacular work playing Zach Galafianakis’ mother in “Baskets.” Hale’s vote might be diluted this year with the presence of co-star Matt Walsh, which could open up the field to a newcomer. We think that “Baskets” might be a bit obscure for voters, so our vote goes for Burgess, but this could go any one of three ways.
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Anna Chlumsky – “Veep”
Gaby Hoffmann – “Transparent”
Allison Janney – “Mom”
Judith Light – “Transparent”
Kate McKinnon – “Saturday Night Live”
Niecy Nash – “Getting On”
Emmys and Allison Janney go together like rum and ginger — the great character actress has seven to date, and has taken this category the last two years for “Mom.” The smart money’s on a three-peat, as she managed for the first three years of “The West Wing,” and another award would see her tie with Cloris Leachman for most wins of any performer. But Emmy voters do love “Veep,” so Anna Chlumsky could sweep in instead, and Judith Light might be an interesting dark horse to watch.
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson – “Black-ish”
Aziz Ansari – “Master Of None”
Will Forte – “The Last Man On Earth”
William H. Macy – “Shameless”
Thomas Middleditch – “Silicon Valley”
Jeffrey Tambor – “Transparent”
We hope that everyone except Jeffrey Tambor has been practicing their graceful loser faces, because he won last year, and he’s winning again this year. Indeed, Aziz Ansari even made a joke of it at the Golden Globes, being pictured reading a book called ‘Losing To Jeffrey Tambor With Dignity’ during his close-up when his name was read out. Ironically, if anyone could upset, it’s probably him, but the chances of that happening are very, very slim indeed.
Outstanding Lead Actress On A Comedy Series
Ellie Kemper – “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – “Veep”
Laurie Metcalf – “Getting On”
Tracee Ellis Ross – “Black-ish”
Amy Schumer – “Inside Amy Schumer”
Lily Tomlin – “Grace & Frankie”
Like Allison Janney, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has won every year that her show’s been in existence, and like Allison Janney, the former “Seinfeld” and current “Veep” star is on seven career nominations, and could tie Cloris Leachman for the most ever if she wins. And she probably will: this is a strong line-up, with Kemper, Ross and Tomlin the biggest threats, but no one who quite seems to have the support to topple the queen, especially with a submitted episode (“Mother”) that showcased some of her finest work ever.
Outstanding Comedy Series
“Black-ish”
“Master Of None”
“Modern Family”
“Silicon Valley”
“Transparent”
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
“Veep”
Whereas some of the other comedy categories look to be simple repeats of last year, the headliner could prove to be more interesting. Last year, “Veep” broke “Modern Family”’s five-year strangehold on the category, and it’s rare for a show to just win one (“The Office” was the last to do so, a decade ago). The show’s still hitting creative heights, and is seemingly more popular than ever with Emmy voters. That said, both “Silicon Valley” and “Transparent” seem to be more and more popular with voters, and “Master Of None” and even “Black-ish” could be potential spoilers in a year where diversity has been driving the debate. “Veep” is still the smart bet, but it’s not the only one.