Emmy Nomination Analysis: Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

CATEGORY: Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

NOMINEES: Ty Burrell for Modern Family, Jesse Tyler Ferguson for Modern Family, Max Greenfield for New Girl, Bill Hader for Saturday Night Live, Ed O'Neill for Modern Family, Eric Stonestreet for Modern Family

ANALYSIS: One of my favorite categories. I had previously seen every tape! I watch each of these shows and I love all of these actors, so I'm excited to see who can take it. Of course, the odds are in Modern Family's favor, with four actors from the show nominated, but newcomer Greenfield and SNL all-star Hader are so deserving of recognition. As I mentioned in my analysis of Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, when multiple actors from a show are nominated, voters get to see each actor's performance in all the tapes submitted by the actors of that show. This is true here as Burrell, Ferguson, O'Neill and Stonestreet have each submitted different episodes, but voters will be able to see four performances, which could sway the voting. That means, watching these episodes, I had to analyze the performances of all four actors in four different episodes. Yikes! Before it gets confusing, let's analyze Hader and Greenfield, the non-Modern Family actors. Hader is SNL's MVP now that Kristen Wiig is gone, and he's great. The episode he selected, Katy Perry as guest host, was just okay though. He's not in it a lot; he does two impressions that each only last about thirty seconds, but they are good, and of course his major highlight is his most famous character (and my favorite), Stefon. He's hilarious, but that's all he really has. His nomination is truly his reward as he is the first male actor from SNL to be recognized in this category. Greenfield was the male comedy breakout this year, and I was so happy to see he had been nominated. His episode was one of my favorites this season and it's definitely his strongest. His character, Schmidt, is very uptight and a neat freak, but in this episode, he is taught to let that all go, and it's hilarious. He owns the episode and he's really funny. It would be considered a front-runner tape, but this is a whole different kind of category. Immediately, the four Modern Family actors have a (some might say, unfair) advantage, and I'm not sure if Greenfield can really compete with that. It's a shame, but this is only his first year of contention, so he could come back and be a huge competitor in the next couple years. Now it's time for the Modern Family comedy hour! First, let's start with Ty Burell's tape, Lifetime Supply. In this episode, Phil (Burrell) goes to the doctor and gets an unsettling call, leading him to believe he is dying. It's a really funny episode for him and he gets some great moments. It's a strong individual tape if we're to believe voters will only judge the actor in their own episode. Also in this episode, Jay (O'Neill) deals with his wife's ex-husband coming back to town and stealing his thunder. It's a funny storyline, but O'Neill doesn't contribute much to it. Mitch (Ferguson) and Cam (Stonestreet) have a funny storyline about competing trophies and each actor does a good job. The next episode is Treehouse, Stonestreet's episode. Cam makes a bet with Mitch that he can convince a woman he is straight, but later feels guilty about it. He has great chemistry with guest star Leslie Mann, and it's a really funny storyline. Mitch does a lot of reacting to Cam but it's also pretty funny. Elsewhere, Phil builds a treehouse with his son and has some good physical comedy, and Jay learns how to salsa dance, also some good physical comedy. Leap Day is Ferguson's tape, and concerns his character throwing together a birthday party for his partner. There's a great Wizard of Oz joke, hilarious physical comedy, and a touching ending, a pretty great submission. The focus is off of Cam until the end of the episode when the party falls apart and he has a funny breakdown about turning 40. Meanwhile, Jay has a pretty boring storyline about defending his wife, and his screen wife Sofia Vergara shines brighter, but Phil has a hilarious storyline about his love of leap day and his wife and daughters having their menstrual cycles on the same day. The "Satan's trifecta" line alone could win an award. Finally, O'Neill's tape is the season finale, Baby on Board. In the episode, he has to take care of his granddaughter and go to her dance recital. His shining moment comes toward the end of the episode when he has a touching talk with Lily, and he gets a laugh-out-loud moment when he is last seen dancing on stage with her. It's a very sweet tape, not a whole lot of laughter, though. Phil teams up with his wife Claire when they meet their younger daughter Alex's prom date, but more importantly, when they try to convince older daughter Haley not to move in with her boyfriend. He's pretty funny. The biggest storyline, and the one that Emmy voters will recognize most, is Cam and Mitch's storyline. They go to the hospital, believing they are going to get a baby boy, but by the end of the episode, the baby is no longer theirs. They have a great emotional scene where Mitch says he is tired of being teased with an adoption, and Cam proposes they stop looking for a child for a little bit. If the voters are watching the other actor's performances in each episode, this is going to boost Stonestreet and (to a larger extent) Ferguson's chances. In terms of best individual submission, Ferguson and Burrell probably have the best ones, followed by Stonestreet, and then O'Neill. But taking every performance from each episode into account, it looks like Burrell has a really good shot at being a repeat winner.

WHO SHOULD WIN: After not being a total standout in the first two season, Ferguson really stepped up to the plate this season, and he has a great range in each of the four episodes. With Stonestreet and Burrell already having their own Emmys, why not reward Ferguson this time and make Modern Family the first show to win three Supporting Actor Emmys for different actors?

WHO WILL WIN: I really think people love Modern Family because of Burrell and Julie Bowen, and I have a feeling he's the frontrunner to take this award again.

RANKINGS:
1. Ty Burrell - Modern Family
2. Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Modern Family
3. Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family
4. Max Greenfield - New Girl
5. Ed O'Neill - Modern Family
6. Bill Hader - Saturday Night Live

What do you think? Which Modern Family actor would you like to see take the Emmy this year? Or maybe Hader or Greenfield are more deserving? Let me know what you think below!

Evan