The nominees are: Girls' Lena Dunham; Nurse Jackie's Edie Falco; Veep's Julia Louis-Dreyfus; Mike & Molly's Melissa McCarthy; Parks and Recreation's Amy Poehler; and Orange Is the New Black's Taylor Schilling.
1. JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUSS - VEEP (HBO)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "CRATE"
Veep has quickly proven to be the best role of Julia Louis-Dreyfuss' career. And that's saying something considering she won two Emmys previously for two different series (Seinfeld & The New Adventures of Old Christine). This season of the political satire comedy was so good and secured more nominations this year than the previous two. Louis-Dreyfuss could have submitted any number of episodes. "Crate" includes that bathroom scene that will likely secure wins for both her and co-star Tony Hale. And I am just fine with that.
2. TAYLOR SCHILLING - ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (NETFLIX)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "THE CHICKENING"
Schilling is the shiny newcomer in this field. She has the advantage of screentime since her series runs an hour while every other nominee is in a half-hour format. Despite your personal feelings towards her character Piper, Schilling is great and a more than capable central performance in the early episodes before the prison dramedy fully embraced its ensemble nature. However, it would have helped her if she submitted an episode in which Piper was the focus of the flashbacks. She has great moments in "The Chickening." It's the first episode where she fully embraces the craziness of her new atmosphere. Also being a part of the flashbacks would have created a stronger overall tape.
3. MELISSA MCCARTHY - MIKE & MOLLY (CBS)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "MIND OVER MOLLY"
You can't count McCarthy out of this race. You just can't. You can fully believe that her CBS sitcom is a waste of her talents. But she's movie star Melissa McCarthy. She can still pull out a Number 1 movie at the box office simply because she's in it. This was also a much more Molly-centric season of what she's actually nominated for. I don't know what she does in her episode but you can bet the voters will love her.
4. AMY POEHLER - PARKS AND RECREATION (NBC)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "RECALL VOTE"
It's so frustrating that it's looking like Poehler will never win an Emmy for playing Leslie Knope. She had yet another great season on the NBC comedy. She may have had stronger odds of a win if she was able to submit the two-part season finale "Moving Up." Both parts aired consecutively and I know some past nominees have been able to submit both if that was the case. But perhaps that couldn't have been. So she has "Recall Vote" which was another big episode for Leslie this season as her lifetime dream of politics was crushed. A very deserving nominee that doesn't seem likely unfortunately.
5. LENA DUNHAM - GIRLS (HBO)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "BEACH HOUSE"
"Beach House" was the best episode of Girls this season. However, it was much more of an ensemble piece than how Girls usually operates. Writing the episode definitely helps but Dunham is just one piece of what makes this episode so special.
6. EDIE FALCO - NURSE JACKIE (SHOWTIME)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "SUPER GREENS"
The voters have respect for Edie Falco. Whenever it seems like she might fall out of this field to make way for the shiny new thing, she remains. But that also means I don't really consider her a major contender for the top prize. It's not because she's not doing great things on her Showtime series. I just believe there is better and more deserving nominees.
1. JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUSS - VEEP (HBO)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "CRATE"
Veep has quickly proven to be the best role of Julia Louis-Dreyfuss' career. And that's saying something considering she won two Emmys previously for two different series (Seinfeld & The New Adventures of Old Christine). This season of the political satire comedy was so good and secured more nominations this year than the previous two. Louis-Dreyfuss could have submitted any number of episodes. "Crate" includes that bathroom scene that will likely secure wins for both her and co-star Tony Hale. And I am just fine with that.
2. TAYLOR SCHILLING - ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (NETFLIX)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "THE CHICKENING"
Schilling is the shiny newcomer in this field. She has the advantage of screentime since her series runs an hour while every other nominee is in a half-hour format. Despite your personal feelings towards her character Piper, Schilling is great and a more than capable central performance in the early episodes before the prison dramedy fully embraced its ensemble nature. However, it would have helped her if she submitted an episode in which Piper was the focus of the flashbacks. She has great moments in "The Chickening." It's the first episode where she fully embraces the craziness of her new atmosphere. Also being a part of the flashbacks would have created a stronger overall tape.
3. MELISSA MCCARTHY - MIKE & MOLLY (CBS)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "MIND OVER MOLLY"
You can't count McCarthy out of this race. You just can't. You can fully believe that her CBS sitcom is a waste of her talents. But she's movie star Melissa McCarthy. She can still pull out a Number 1 movie at the box office simply because she's in it. This was also a much more Molly-centric season of what she's actually nominated for. I don't know what she does in her episode but you can bet the voters will love her.
4. AMY POEHLER - PARKS AND RECREATION (NBC)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "RECALL VOTE"
It's so frustrating that it's looking like Poehler will never win an Emmy for playing Leslie Knope. She had yet another great season on the NBC comedy. She may have had stronger odds of a win if she was able to submit the two-part season finale "Moving Up." Both parts aired consecutively and I know some past nominees have been able to submit both if that was the case. But perhaps that couldn't have been. So she has "Recall Vote" which was another big episode for Leslie this season as her lifetime dream of politics was crushed. A very deserving nominee that doesn't seem likely unfortunately.
5. LENA DUNHAM - GIRLS (HBO)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "BEACH HOUSE"
"Beach House" was the best episode of Girls this season. However, it was much more of an ensemble piece than how Girls usually operates. Writing the episode definitely helps but Dunham is just one piece of what makes this episode so special.
6. EDIE FALCO - NURSE JACKIE (SHOWTIME)
EPISODE SUBMISSION: "SUPER GREENS"
The voters have respect for Edie Falco. Whenever it seems like she might fall out of this field to make way for the shiny new thing, she remains. But that also means I don't really consider her a major contender for the top prize. It's not because she's not doing great things on her Showtime series. I just believe there is better and more deserving nominees.
