2014 Emmys: Handing Jonathan Groff, Adam Scott, Andy Daly CarterMatt comedy honors
Sometimes, you have Emmy categories that are pretty easy to call, and sometimes you have some that are pretty easy to call even though you wish that they weren’t. The Actor in a Comedy Series race is typically the latter. Take, for example, the fact that you will probably see Jim Parsons, Louis CK, and Don Cheadle on the ballet without debate. All three are very good, but there are also some other great candidates that for some reason are simply being ignored.
Maybe we’re being a “voice for the other guys” in here to some, but we don’t really think so. These are truly the most-deserving nominees from our vantage point, regardless of whether everyone is putting you on a ballot or not.
Andy Daly, “Review” (Comedy Central) – Maybe you’ve seen this show, and maybe you haven’t even heard of it. Either way, you need to check it out now. It’s hilarious, and Daly’s delivery as the man who will try almost any experience is delightfully deadpan and also laugh-out-loud-funny seconds into every scene. Specifically, a highlight from season 1 is the Eating 15 Pancakes bit, a perfect example of what happens when breakfast food turns against you. (In other news, “Review” was recently renewed for a second season! Rejoice!)
Johnny Galecki, “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS) – Comedy has for many years been about being the biggest character, and often these are the same people who get many of the honors thrown in their direction. But Galecki is in many ways the anchor of “The Big Bang Theory.” Even though he isn’t typically handed the show’s funniest lines, he still finds a way to weave around the other characters, make Leonard someone we want to root for, and we can even relate to him far more than anyone else in the cast.
Jonathan Groff, “Looking” (HBO) – Similar to “Review,” “Looking” is one of those shows in the past year that deserves way more attention in awards season than it is getting, and Groff completely makes you feel and understand Patrick throughout the show’s first season. There are parts of him in many that we know, and there are also qualities that for better and sometimes ever for worse, we can see in ourselves. There is comedy surrounding him, but also humanity.
Thomas Middleditch, “Silicon Valley” (HBO) – Middleditch finds himself often in the same position as Galecki in that he is often not given the show’s funniest lines; but, he is the hero of “Silicon Valley” and the awkward, aspirational nerd it’s so easy to cheer for. To imagine how sad we were when the “Office” spin-off “The Farm” featuring Middleditch didn’t get picked up, only for this opportunity to come to him after the fact.
Andy Samberg, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (Fox) – It wasn’t until the end of the first season that we started to peel back the layers to Andy’s Detective Jake Peralta, but even though the show chose to make us wait, Andy is one of those guys who should be here just for the sheer number of times he made us laugh. We miss Jake and his hijinks on our TV this summer more than we can say.
Adam Scott, “Parks and Recreation” (NBC) – Finally, we turn to a man who gets consistently funnier with every passing season, and the fact that he can stand out with a cast that includes Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Retta, and Nick Offerman is something special. He seems on the surface to be the most normal one of the batch, but the more you start to unravel things here, the more you realize that Ben may be the quirkiest one of all.
Photo: Emmys