Emmy Nomination Analysis: Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

CATEGORY: Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

NOMINEES: Mayim Bialik for The Big Bang Theory, Julie Bowen for Modern Family, Kathryn Joosten for Desperate Housewives, Sofia Vergara for Modern Family, Meritt Wever for Nurse Jackie, Kristen Wiig for Saturday Night Live

ANALYSIS: Previously, I had seen Bowen, Vergara, and Wiig's tapes. First, I rewatched Wiig's tape. It starts off incredibly strong with my favorite Wiig character, Junice, and continues with her Secret Word airhead Mindy Grayson. But then it kind of stalls. She plays the background in a karaoke skit, disappears toward the middle of the episode, and then comes back again in an unfunny skit about a fake  soap opera. She's one of the only good things about that particular skit. But then comes the final skit; set up as a fake graduation ceremony, Mick Jagger, the host of the episode, highlights Kristen who is heading on to bigger and better things (in real life, this is Wiig's final episode of Saturday Night Live), and the band comes together to play "She's a Rainbow" as Wiig strips off her graduation garb for a nude colored dress and dances with all of her castmates. As a Wiig fan, I teared up watching it the first time, second time, and every time after. There is no acting needed here, she's funny when doing silly dances, but very real and emotional when saying goodbye to castmates like Bill Hader and Jason Sudekis. The whole cast comes together to sing "Goodbye Ruby Tuesday" but all eyes are on Wiig. It's a big, emotional punch. After the success of Bridesmaids, Wiig became a household name and her departure from SNL will leave a big hole in the show next season. She's got two really funny skits, a stall in the middle, but a powerful moment at the end, and combined with this being her last opportunity to win an award for SNL, she is a serious frontrunner. Before I talk about Bowen and Vergara's tape, I should mention that when multiple actors from a series are nominated in the same category, voters will see the performances of all the actors. In the case of these Modern Family ladies, that means voters will get to see two episodes from each actress. I watched Vergara's actual tape first. She has funny moments in the tape, but she's not a standout. She gets to have fun playing quiet when her husband says she has a tendency to be loud. She's solid. In this episode, Bowen criticizes her brother-in-law and his parenting skills. Bowen's character is kind of high maintenance, but she comes off a little mean at times. She's still funny though. In Bowen's actual tape, she has a fun night out when her children and husband are all out of her way. She gets a lot of funny moments, including an awkward confrontation outside her friend's house with a man she thinks is gay and a misunderstanding of Gone with the Wind. It's a really good tape for her. In Bowen's tape, Vergara is worried that her son is...well, doing "man" things (read into this as you can). She worries a lot which can be pretty funny, but she's not anything very special in this episode. Of the two Modern Family actresses, Bowen's chances look better than Vergara's. Bowen is the returning winner, which could be an advantage or a disadvantage. Next, I watched Wever's tape. Having only seen one episode of Nurse Jackie before (Bobby Canavale's tape for Guest Actor), I didn't know a lot about Wever's character, but instantly in this episode, you can tell she's a quirky spitfire. She's really funny throughout the episode, from acting tough in her first scene, to gushing about her new roommate, complaining about new scrubs, and finally a dance attack in her kitchen. It's a really funny tape, but I don't think it's strong enough for her to win. Besides, she wasn't even considered a frontrunner for a nominee. But one of the Supporting Emmy categories also throws a surprise winner, so it's possible. Next, I watched Bialik's tape. I recently watched the first four seasons of The Big Bang Theory (in about two weeks, I was addicted), but I haven't seen a lot of this fifth season. But Bialik's work was pretty good in the fourth season when her character joined the show. My cousin had mentioned a "tiara moment" this season that was really funny, and I found out Bialik's tape was the episode containing this moment, so I expected a really good tape. It's not. Now, don't get me wrong, the "tiara moment" is really really funny, but that's all she has in this episode. She has only one other scene, but the focus is mostly on her scene counterpart, Jim Parsons, for storyline purposes. Unfortunately, one funny minute won't be enough, but overall love for The Big Bang Theory could win her some votes. Finally, I watched Joosten's tape. Joosten passed away a few weeks before Emmy nominations were announced, and many believe that, heartless as it may sound, it helped her earn a nomination. The most ironic part of her final season storyline was that her character was battling cancer, in the same way the actress was. It is not clear yet whether Joosten is submitting both halves of the finale, or just the first or second half. I have watched both and can say that Joosten gives a great performance. In the first half, she realizes the sisterhood of her neighborhood and sacrifices herself for the well-being of her friends. It is very touching, and Joosten also has a great time with the material. Her character has always been very snarky, and although it has been a few years since I watched Desperate Housewives, she has always been one of my favorite parts of the show. The second half gives her a little less material, but *SPOILER ALERT* her character passes away, and it is very emotional, considering Joosten herself also recently passed away. It is a good performance, and voters may choose to recognize the actress one last time. She's definitely got a shot at this. This is a hard category to predict, for sure.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Kristen Wiig came to the rescue of a failing Saturday Night Live and reinvigorated the stage. She carried the weight of the show on her shoulders for seven years, and she is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars of the show. A final reward for her work would be well-deserved.

WHO WILL WIN: Wiig, Bowen, and Joosten all have an incredibly good chance of winning this award, but right now I'll give the edge to Wiig. Bowen and Joosten, though, could easily take this award. This is a category to watch on Emmy night.

RANKINGS:
1. Kristen Wiig - Saturday Night Live
2. Julie Bowen - Modern Family
3. Kathryn Joosten - Desperate Housewives
4. Sofia Vergara - Modern Family
5. Meritt Wever - Nurse Jackie
6. Mayim Bialik - The Big Bang Theory

What do you think?? Should the Academy give a final "congrats" to Wiig or Joosten, or will a Modern Family lady take the award once again? Or could the award go to an unrecognized nurse or nerd? Sound off below!

Evan