The Nominees:
- Vanessa Bayer for NBC's Saturday Night Live - "Host: Dwayne Johnson"
- Anna Chlumsky for HBO's Veep - "Groundbreaking"
- Kathryn Hahn for Amazon's Transparent - "Life Sucks and Then You Die"
- Leslie Jones for NBC's Saturday Night Live - "Host: Tom Hanks"
- Judith Light for Amazon's Transparent - "Exciting and New"
- Kate McKinnon for NBC's Saturday Night Live - "Host: Dave Chappelle"
This was the year of Saturday Night Live. You don't need to look any further than the race for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series to see that. The show was expected to get a couple of performer nominations across the acting board like it does every year. And yet, this is the first time it has had three performers from the regular cast nominated in the same category. That shows that the voters really responded well to the last season of the show. And more importantly, one of the nominees happens to be last year's winner - Kate McKinnon. She has to be the frontrunner once more because she played Hillary Clinton during the election year. That just seemingly makes this a done race. After multiple nominations, she'll now become a two-time winner. That's impressive and well-deserved. And yet, it shouldn't be a lock because there are a number of really great performances in this race.
Of course, it still seems likely that someone from Saturday Night Live will win solely based on the screentime advantage that they clearly have. Saturday Night Live episodes run longer than every other comedy series. And there are three of them in this category. McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Vanessa Bayer didn't submit the same episode either. So, they will all be seen in three different, extended episodes if the voters are actually watching the tapes. That seems like a gigantic advantage for them. Again, it will probably benefit McKinnon the most because she is easily the best and most versatile performer on the show at the moment. But Jones and Bayer have their moments as well. This has been a big year for Jones in the public spotlight while Bayer may get a boost from this being her final season on the show.
Without a doubt though, Judith Light has the best submission episode of these nominees. The third season of Transparent was more a collection of big, impressive moments than a consistent season-long story. But the season finale was a terrific showcase for Light. The moment I saw it I knew that it would be her submission. And if she didn't win, it would be such a massive disappointment. The odds are stacked against her because the buzz for Transparent seems to be dying down as the voters embrace Saturday Night Live once more. But she still has the chance to upset because she appears in more than one episode as well. Kathryn Hahn was another surprise in the nominations. It's a well-deserved nomination too. She had increased screentime on this past season. But if someone wins from Transparent, the edge has to go Light.
With all of these multiple nominees in the category, Anna Chlumsky could become the beneficiary of vote splitting. The voters could be divided on who to vote for because they have a variety of options from the same show. Chlumsky has been a perennial nominee in this category but she has never won. She's still completely deserving of it. She stands out in a stacked ensemble. It just seems like an uphill battle for her this year. Of course, if she manages to win, then it should be a signal that Veep will probably win Best Comedy Series again.
Should Win: Judith Light
Will Win: Kate McKinnon
Dark Horse: Leslie Jones
Of course, it still seems likely that someone from Saturday Night Live will win solely based on the screentime advantage that they clearly have. Saturday Night Live episodes run longer than every other comedy series. And there are three of them in this category. McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Vanessa Bayer didn't submit the same episode either. So, they will all be seen in three different, extended episodes if the voters are actually watching the tapes. That seems like a gigantic advantage for them. Again, it will probably benefit McKinnon the most because she is easily the best and most versatile performer on the show at the moment. But Jones and Bayer have their moments as well. This has been a big year for Jones in the public spotlight while Bayer may get a boost from this being her final season on the show.
Without a doubt though, Judith Light has the best submission episode of these nominees. The third season of Transparent was more a collection of big, impressive moments than a consistent season-long story. But the season finale was a terrific showcase for Light. The moment I saw it I knew that it would be her submission. And if she didn't win, it would be such a massive disappointment. The odds are stacked against her because the buzz for Transparent seems to be dying down as the voters embrace Saturday Night Live once more. But she still has the chance to upset because she appears in more than one episode as well. Kathryn Hahn was another surprise in the nominations. It's a well-deserved nomination too. She had increased screentime on this past season. But if someone wins from Transparent, the edge has to go Light.
With all of these multiple nominees in the category, Anna Chlumsky could become the beneficiary of vote splitting. The voters could be divided on who to vote for because they have a variety of options from the same show. Chlumsky has been a perennial nominee in this category but she has never won. She's still completely deserving of it. She stands out in a stacked ensemble. It just seems like an uphill battle for her this year. Of course, if she manages to win, then it should be a signal that Veep will probably win Best Comedy Series again.
Should Win: Judith Light
Will Win: Kate McKinnon
Dark Horse: Leslie Jones
