The Nominees:
- Louie Anderson for FX"s Baskets - Episode: "Easter in Bakersfield"
- Andre Braugher for FOX's Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Episode: "The Oolong Slayer"
- Tituss Burgess for Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Episode: "Kimmy Gives Up!"
- Ty Burrell for ABC's Modern Family - Episode: "The Party"
- Tony Hale for HBO's Veep - Episode: "Inauguration"
- Keegan-Michael Key for Comedy Central's Key & Peele - Episode: "Y'all Ready for This?"
- Matt Walsh for HBO's Veep - Episode: "Kissing Your Sister"
Both Tony Hale and Ty Burrell are two-time winners in this category. The battle between Modern Family and Veep has been a major story at the Emmys for the last few years. Veep emerged victorious in the Best Comedy Series race a year ago. And now, Modern Family is falling even further off the Emmy radar. Conversely, Veep is only getting stronger. It now has two nominations in this category. That's impressive. Its ensemble is so deep and so great. Anyone in it would have deserved a nomination. This year Matt Walsh gets to share the Emmy love with Hale. Both of them being on the ballot increases the odds that Veep will will this category. The descent of Modern Family hurts Burrell. It's great that he's still nominated. His status as a two-time winner makes him a contender as well. But this really may be a race between Hale and Walsh. Both have episodes that compliment each other. So now, it's up to the voters to decide who they like better.
Or perhaps the voters will go in a completely different direction. That's possible as well. Many would argue that Louie Anderson delivers the best performance amongst this crop of nominees. Baskets is such a small and niche show. Anderson was the best part about it and wonderfully got into this race. That's such great recognition. Baskets didn't really make an impression elsewhere on the ballot. So, it's going to be an uphill battle for Anderson. And yet, the support that got him nominated could also propel him to victory. This could be a case of it being harder to get nominated than to actually win. He has a strong episode submission. This category hasn't traditionally rewarded actors with more dramatic material. But no one can question the caliber of performance that Anderson gives. He's the true dark horse to watch in this race.
Andre Braugher, Tituss Burgess and Keegan-Michael Key are strong contenders as well. Braugher is largely a nominee because of his name recognition amongst the voters. Brooklyn Nine-Nine hasn't been embraced elsewhere on the ballot (except for stunts). He's always hilarious and had a couple of episodes to choice from this year. His submission is great because of the distinct way he got to say "the oolong slayer." Meanwhile, Burgess had an even better season of Kimmy Schmidt than the first one. He was a strong contender for the top prize a year ago. And now, he has even better material. Of course, I'm not sure he picked the right episode to showcase his role. Yes, he gets to spend a lot of his screen time singing. But the later episodes of the season were probably more impressive. That could ultimately hurt him in the end. And finally, this was the last season of Key & Peele. It took awhile for voters to embrace it but they finally did these last two years. Key chose the season premiere where he got to play Luther, Obama's anger translator. That's perhaps his most memorable character from the series. So, he could win as a kind of sendoff for the show from the Emmys. Everything really is a possibility in this race.
Should Win: Andre Braugher
Will Win: Tony Hale
Dark Horse: Louie Anderson
Or perhaps the voters will go in a completely different direction. That's possible as well. Many would argue that Louie Anderson delivers the best performance amongst this crop of nominees. Baskets is such a small and niche show. Anderson was the best part about it and wonderfully got into this race. That's such great recognition. Baskets didn't really make an impression elsewhere on the ballot. So, it's going to be an uphill battle for Anderson. And yet, the support that got him nominated could also propel him to victory. This could be a case of it being harder to get nominated than to actually win. He has a strong episode submission. This category hasn't traditionally rewarded actors with more dramatic material. But no one can question the caliber of performance that Anderson gives. He's the true dark horse to watch in this race.
Andre Braugher, Tituss Burgess and Keegan-Michael Key are strong contenders as well. Braugher is largely a nominee because of his name recognition amongst the voters. Brooklyn Nine-Nine hasn't been embraced elsewhere on the ballot (except for stunts). He's always hilarious and had a couple of episodes to choice from this year. His submission is great because of the distinct way he got to say "the oolong slayer." Meanwhile, Burgess had an even better season of Kimmy Schmidt than the first one. He was a strong contender for the top prize a year ago. And now, he has even better material. Of course, I'm not sure he picked the right episode to showcase his role. Yes, he gets to spend a lot of his screen time singing. But the later episodes of the season were probably more impressive. That could ultimately hurt him in the end. And finally, this was the last season of Key & Peele. It took awhile for voters to embrace it but they finally did these last two years. Key chose the season premiere where he got to play Luther, Obama's anger translator. That's perhaps his most memorable character from the series. So, he could win as a kind of sendoff for the show from the Emmys. Everything really is a possibility in this race.
Should Win: Andre Braugher
Will Win: Tony Hale
Dark Horse: Louie Anderson
